107 Zapdos

What are Legendary pokemon?

It was a question that people had been trying to answer for millennium in this world, and that had led them to a variety of answers.

To some, the Legendary pokemon were just regular pokemon that were rarer and stronger than normal pokemon, but were not at all the dieties that others thought they were.

To others, they were the gods that created and ruled this world, while we were just their guests.

I would say these people had it the closest considering what I knew of the lore behind several of the Legendary pokemon.

Going off of what I knew from the games in my past life, and what we had learned from the professor, I could confirdently catagorize and describe each of the Legendary pokemon. That I knew about at least.

Firstly were the minor Legendaries, those who were still active and of which there were several of scattered throughout the world.

In this catagory were pokemon like the Legendary birds, beasts, Regis, and even Lugia, Ho-Oh, Heatran, Darkrai, and several others like the true alphas.

With the sole exception being Ho-Oh, which I believed there was only one of due to complete lack of sightings in the last several centuries, there were several of each of these Legendary pokemon scattered all over the world, to the point that I believe Galar even had their own variants of the Legendary birds.

Not only were these Legendary pokemon more numerous compared to their powerful cousins, but they all also had roles to play in every single region that one could find them in. Except for the Regis of course, as any of those that had been discovered were slumbering deep underground.

Then there were what I considered to be the greater Legendaries, mostly those who had already accomplished their roles and now slumbered, while also possessing power on a completely different level than those mentioned previously.

Within this group, there were Kyogre, Groudon, Regigigas, Rayquaza, and the Lake trio, Mesperite, Azelf, and Uxie.

Each of these Legendary pokemon were powerful enough to affect the world on a global scale compared to merely a regional scale like the previous group, and as far as I was aware there was only one of each of them in the entire world.

An example of their power was how Groudon had been the one raise the landmasses that became the world's continents, while Kyogre summoned the deluges that flooded the world to create it's oceans, or how Regigigas possessed the strength that it had pulled all of the landmasses that Groudon created into their place.

Aside from these, and any others I didn't know about from the other regions, Rayquaza and the lake trio were unique in that they could still be considered active. Rayquaza was so powerful that it could readily be considered the protector of the world, as it actively patrolled the upper atmosphere and rarely came down to rest. The lake trio meanwhile were the physical embodiments of the mind, and were the ones who granted humans our Knowledge, emotion, and will.

The reason I included the three of them in this catagory, despite none of them having the global changing power of the others, was because when they were together they were capable of calming even those who's powers were the basis of creation itself.

That brings me to the third group, the mythical Legendaries who's strength was on a planetary, or even universal scale.

In this catagory were Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and also Mew.

Dialga, Palkia and Giratina were a part of the creation trio, being created directly by Arceus with the power to control time, space, and the Distortion world, and all possessed the capabilities to create or destroy entire universes.

Mew was also considered a part of this catagory since it was the creator of literally every other Legendary pokemon in our world as far as I was aware, the only exceptions being Arceus and the creation trio.

As for Arceus himself, well I'd say he was in an entirely different category all on his own.

Then there was Mewtwo.

Technically Mewtwo SHOULD fall under the same category as Mew, but at the moment I'd consider him more like one of the minor Legendary pokemon instead.

The reason for this was because of Mewtwo's age and experience, as he wasn't even a year old as far as I was aware. In Legendary terms, he was barely even considered a newborn.

But give him a century or two, and he would've smoked Gengar like he was nothing instead of needing to Mega Evolve.

However right now we weren't on our way to see Mewtwo, but one of the other Legendary pokemon that I would consider one of the 'minor' Legendaries.

Don't let the word 'minor' fool you though, as a Legendary was still a Legendary, and they were ALL regarded akin to gods for a reason. One just needed to look at how the Seafoam islands islands were after Team Rocket picked a fight with Articuno to see that, or how Gengar had easily destroyed Lavender town despite being weakened after being sealed for a thousand years.

So, Lucario and I kept serious faces as we raced across the mountainous landscape of Thunder Ridge, our aura flowing through our bodies to propel us faster.

I had also spread my senses out to detect any wild pokemon around us in case they tried to attack us, but thankfully the two of us were moving too quickly for that. I did however sense and see numerous wild electric pokemon that weren't just from Kanto, but from several of the surrounding regions, most likely brought over and released by followers from the cult of Zapdos.

Soon I noticed a few hundred human presences up ahead as we approached the foothills of the tallest mountain in Thunder Ridge, before a settlement came into view that obviously housed the members of the same cult. And while I made a mental note to stop by there on the way back, since we hadn't found ANY Thunder Stones since arriving this morning, the two of us shot right up to the mountain without slowing down in the slightest.

This time however we had to dodge numerous electric type attacks as the people in the settlement tried to stop us, none of them coming close since they were just warning shots. But, when it was apparent that we weren't listening to their warning, the attacks started becoming much more powerful and precise.

"Don't they have anything better to do?" Lucario grumbled as we started a game dodge-lightning, right before the strongest blast yet hit a tree beside us and set it on fire.

"They're probably wary of any outsiders after what happened with Articuno." I reminded him pointedly, as the Lady of Ice had yet to be found after she froze the Seafoam Islands. By this point it might as well be all but confirmed that Team Rocket had captured her with Mewtwo, before he left them.

I'll have to make it a point to ask him for the details next time I see him.

Either way, the hostility we were getting made sense with that in mind. But even I started to get annoyed when we began climbing the mountain, and several electric type attacks blasted the rock around us to make it rain down the mountainside.

Lucario even had to start intercepting any boulders that would get dislodged above us so that we didn't get turned into a pair of pancakes.

"This is starting to get annoying..." Lucario growled as he shattered the largest boulder yet with Rock Smash, which then rained numerous pebbles down onto me as I continued climbing upwards.

"!!!"

"Look out!" I declared as I felt a sudden burst of energy below us, immediately followed by a brilliant flash as the largest lightning bolt yet hurtled towards us.

"Shit!" Lucario swore as he turned to face the incoming attack, using Metal Claw to bury one hand into the cliff face for stability.

I saw a brief flash of light as Lucario tried to put up a Protect, before he was completely enveloped in the light of the lightning bolt.

"Lucario!" I cried out with worry as my partner disappeared amidst the bright light, but unlike the previous attacks there was no destruction on the mountainside.

Instead, the light persisted for several seconds before the attack died down, revealing Lucario without any kind of protective barrier, yet no worse for the wear.

"Are....you ok?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Yeah.... I think so...?" He answered, seemingly just as confused as I was about how he took that attack and was completely unscathed.

"No way..." I uttered in disbelief while looking between Lucario and the cliff-face, and I could almost feel the gears turning in my head as I recalled everything I knew about electricity.

Unfortunately that would have to wait, as we were still under attack and had to move.

Creating small aura footholds under our feet, Lucario and I shot up the near-vertical surface of the mountain as quickly as we could to get out of range of the attacks coming from the cult of Zapdos. And thankfully, that seemed to be the case as we inched closer to the thick and pitch black rolling clouds above us.

And within those clouds, both Lucario and I could sense a massive aura that acted like a beacon amidst the darkness. It was like the polar opposide of Gengar's sinister black aura, but equally oppressive as it bore down onto us from above.

The hair on my head and arms began to stand on end as static electricity filled the air, before I started to hear it crackle around me as we entered the sea of black clouds. At that point the skin all over my body began to tingle with the energy in the air, and the two of us had to slow down since we could only see a couple feet in either direction around us.

There was no worry about losing one another though, since Lucario and I could ALWAYS sense the other's aura.

So we cautiously continued our climb while staying within arms reach of one another, and keeping our senses alert for any possible signs of danger.

Suddenly, we broke through the intense thunder heads to find ourselves at the top of the massive peak.

It was a flat-topped area that spanned at least a half-mile wide, with numerous jagged spires that stuck up at random intervals. But what dominated the peak, as well as our attention, was the massive yellow and black bird that was nested in the middle of it.

It's wings and feathers were rigid and spiked, and I'd have guessed that they spanned at least thirty feet across, while it's beak was was several feet long with a needle-like narrowness.

"Zapdos..." I uttered in awe of the Legendary bird, which had a majesty and regal look to it that rest of the Legendaries that I'd met so far hadn't.

Apparently it heard me though, or sensed our arrival. Either way, the massive bird lifted it's head to look at us, before it's aura suddenly flared.

"SKREYAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Releasing an ear-shattering cry, Zapdos flared it's wings wide to make itself look even larger as dozens of bolts of lightning flashed in every direction around us.

*KABOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*

Immediately after there was a concussion of sound that nearly blasted Lucario and I off of the mountain by itself, the thunder that followed every bolt of lightning.

We both braced ourselves against the force of the thunder, and then again as Zapdos flapped it's wings once to create a blast of air that rivaled hurricanes, and tore the clouds around us asunder to create even more blinding lighting and deafening thunder.

"ZAPDOS! I CAME HERE TO TALK!" I tried to shout to it over the roar of the wind and the boom of the thunder.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAA!"

Translation, leave or die.

It was obvious that Zapdos had no intention to entertain us as guests.

But there was a reason Lucario and I were here.

"PLEASE LISTEN ZAPDOS!" I shouted back to it, only for the Legendary bird to start amassing power in it's body, making all of it's feathers crackle and pulse with energy.

This bird truly intended to kill us.

Anger filled me at the realization.

I had stared down Arceus, Mewtwo, and Gengar, and refused to back down in the face of all three. I would NOT back down here!

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With a savage roar, I channeled all of my aura throughout my body while charging at the Legendary bird, leaving a stunned Lucario behind me as I leapt and soared through the air.

*CRACK!*

"TAKE THAT YOU STUPID ELECTRIC TURKEY!"

My aura-filled fist impacted Zapdos in the face with enough force that I felt something in my hand break. But I didn't care as I yelled and tried to push the full force of the punch through, only Zapdos hadn't even flinched.

However, the power it had been building did dissipate, while it looked at me with a stunned expresson.

"What's the matter Sparkles? Never been punched in the face before?" I snarled at it, despite the throbbing pain in my hand.

"Scree?"

"Yeah, I called you Sparkles! Got a problem with it?" I asked cockily, stunning it even more as the Legendary looked me up and down.

I'm pretty sure this was the first time a human punched it in the face, or that it had been called by such a stupid name, but I didn't care.

"Now are you going to listen to what I have to say, or do I need to give you another knuckle sandwich?"

"..."

Though it could have easily zapped both Lucario and I into oblivion, it didn't. Instead it seemingly waited for me to say what I had to say.

"Alright then! I came all the way up here just to warn you that there is a group of humans calling themselves Team Rocket, and they have been trying to capture Legendary pokemon. I believe they already have Articuno under their control, and I'm pretty sure you felt it the other day when Gengar battled with Mewtwo."

"Scree?"

"Yeah, Mewtwo. He's a clone they made of Mew itself." I answered the question, before going on to explain,

"Though they made him to be their weapon, they couldn't control him so he left, and we've gotten fairly acquainted since then. The other day they released Gengar from his seal, and as a result the two of them did battle."

Zapdos was silent as it seemingly absorbed everything I said, while I could tell through it's aura that it was trying to decide wether or not to believe me.

"If you don't believe me, then you can just ask Mew." I told it.

"!?!"

"Scree!?"

"Yeah, I've met Mew." I confirmed to it, stunning Zapdos even more. "It came after sensing Mewtwo's power, and has been hanging out around here ever since."

This revelation caused numerous emotions to flash through Zapdos' aura, complicated emotions that told me there was history between it and Mew. I wonder if this Zapdos is THE Zapdos that was first created by Mew?

It would certainly explain why Kanto has the largest collection of followers of the three Legendary birds compared to the other regions.

With the revelations about Mew, Zapdos looked at me with a look of genuine interest for the first time, and not as an insect to swat that happened to catch it's attention.