Yuga had a sudden idea and proposed, "How about this? You follow me, and I help you heal your injuries. What do you think?"
He couldn't deny that the thought of having a Legendary Pokémon like Zapdos with him was tempting. He had been envious when he saw Joyna's Latias before.
Joyna's Latias hadn't reached the peak power of a Legendary Pokémon, and it was far weaker than this Zapdos, which had lived for over a thousand years.
If not for encountering that excessively powerful Melotic, it could probably beat any other Level 2 Legendary Pokémon.
With the Max Revives in his possession, Yuga was confident he could completely heal Zapdos.
Although the previous one had been used by Dragonite's mother, Yuga had cultivated new Revival Herb, and he had a freshly made Max Revive in his system's backpack.
The Max Revive was the crystallization of ancient human medical knowledge, capable of healing any injuries on all Pokémon, with an effect equivalent to the Sacred Ash of Ho-Oh.
If a Pokémon's injuries couldn't be healed even by Ho-Oh's Sacred Ash, then it was as good as waiting for death.
"Zapdos!!!"
Don't even think about it!!!
Hearing Yuga's proposal, Zapdos's eyes turned red with anger.
You want to tame me? No way! Just looking at you makes my heart, liver, and spleen ache. If I have to see you every day, I might die from frustration!
Furthermore, all the past issues stemmed from misunderstandings. Today, Dragonite had taken half of my power source again! That's a new grudge!
Healing this power source injury wouldn't be easy.
Legendary Pokémon, influenced by their divinity, became stronger and had incredible regenerative abilities. But that was under the assumption that their power source remained intact.
With half of it gone, do you seriously think you can heal me? I don't believe it!
Look at all the Legendary Pokémon whose power sources have been damaged. Which one of them hasn't had to recover for decades or even centuries?
Seeing Zapdos in such a state of frustration, Yuga realized that taming Zapdos was out of the question. He had only wanted to try it, even though the chances of success were slim.
But now, there was no chance at all...
"Why are you so worked up? It's not easy for you to recover from your injuries in your current state. Having me help you wouldn't be a bad idea, would it? Although your injuries were caused by us, we didn't have much of a choice! If you get better, we'll be the ones suffering."
Yuga wasn't giving up and tried to convince Zapdos again.
"Just you... can heal me?" Zapdos replied disdainfully. "I'm not underestimating you, but you seem like a naive country bumpkin who has never seen the world. You dare say anything, even bragging! Why don't you say Arceus is your father too!"
Zapdos cast a scornful glance at Yuga, making its disdain clear.
(_) Forget it, I don't need a Pokémon that talks back like this...
Yuga rolled his eyes and said, "If I can heal you, will you follow me?" He still wanted to give it a shot.
Zapdos gave Yuga another glare and said, "Impossible! Even if you heal me, I won't follow you!"
"Ah..." Forget it!
Yuga sighed.
"Well, how about this? Let's consider it a deal. I'll heal your injuries, and we'll bury the hatchet. You won't pick a fight with Melotic or any other Pokémon here, okay?"
Yuga proposed this as a last attempt to reach an agreement with Zapdos.
Zapdos looked at Yuga skeptically and asked, "Are you really confident that you can heal me?"
Naturally, it was willing to heal its injuries. Given its current condition, it wasn't even thinking about territorial disputes anymore; it might die soon if things continued as they were!
As for Melotic, it held no grudge. It was its own fault for picking a fight in the first place. Territorial disputes had always been a matter of might makes right, without much room for resentment or grudges.
Engaging in territorial disputes was nothing new for it over the past thousand years, and there was no way it could hold grudges against all of them.
If anyone was to blame, it was itself for not being able to defeat even an ordinary Melotic! (Melotic: Don't talk nonsense, I'm not ordinary! You can't defeat me!)
Zapdos hesitated for a moment and said, "If you can really heal me, then I won't hold it against you."
After all, he was just a ordinary human. Since it was all a misunderstanding, it wasn't worth holding a grudge against him.
But... sigh... it had been a thousand years of wasted time!
Yuga replied, "Alright, I'll help you heal. You also need to keep your promise!"
Zapdos retorted, "Do you think I'm like you humans?"
Having been lying on the ground motionless for too long, Zapdos's body had stiffened, and it didn't want to talk to Yuga anymore.
Seeing Zapdos's silence, Yuga took the Max Revive from his system's backpack, opened Zapdos's beak, and fed it to him.
When Yuga touched Zapdos, who still had faint electrical arcs flickering around its body, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his hand and arm due to the residual electricity.
As soon as Zapdos swallowed the Max Revive, a warm sensation spread through its body. Its pain disappeared, replaced by an indescribable feeling of relief.
It really worked! Zapdos was delighted.
"Zapdos!!!"
Before long, Zapdos had completely healed its injuries and let out an excited cry.
It carefully assessed its body and found that there were no issues at all.
Hmm... (T_T) It did lose quite a few levels, though. But there was no other way. After all, losing half of its power source, it was unexpected that it could recover this much.
This human is unexpectedly competent! Since that's the case, I won't hold a grudge against him for what happened before.
With its injuries healed, Zapdos lifted its sharp claws, held its head high, and took a few steps.
(*≧▽≦) Hmm, hmm... it feels great! Should I try flying again?
With that thought in mind, Zapdos flapped its wings.
(°°) Huh? Why am I not flying? Why does it feel like there's a draft? It's chilly.
Zapdos tried to flap its wings again but still couldn't take off.
(⊙...⊙) It feels even chillier now.
"Uh... your wings..."
Yuga, watching Zapdos's futile attempts to fly, couldn't help but remind it.
Wings? What's wrong with my wings?
Zapdos turned its head to look at its outstretched wings.
{{{Д"}}} Trembling!!!
???
Where are my golden feathers?! Where are my dazzling feathers?
At this moment, Zapdos's wings were devoid of any proper feathers, with only a few sparse down feathers left.
"I think what you're looking for should be over there."
Yuga pointed towards the shoreline, where countless golden feathers were floating in the water, rising and falling with the waves. Quite a few had already been washed ashore.
Following Yuga's gesture, Zapdos sat down on the ground, its expression blank.
It's over... my feathers...
And its butts seemed felt chilly too. Zapdos belatedly realized.
Actually, all of its tail feathers were gone too, washed away when Melotic submerged it in water.
So you didn't notice all this time!
Seeing Zapdos in such a shocked state, Yuga felt somewhat speechless. Could this Zapdos be naturally clueless or just naive?
Little did he know, Zapdos had been in too much pain from its previous injuries to even think about its feathers. Furthermore, right after its injuries were healed, its body had still been somewhat numb, making it unable to feel whether its feathers were there or not.
"Well... as for your feathers... they should grow back eventually." It would just have to rely on its feet and claws for a while.
Zapdos was not comforted at all by Yuga's words and eventually had to accept the fact that it had become a featherless bird.
Seeing that Zapdos was fine now, Yuga silently collected all those feathers from the beach. These were valuable feathers from a legendary bird, and it would be a shame to lose them.
He approached Zapdos with a pile of feathers and asked, "Do you still want these feathers?"
Zapdos remained unresponsive.
Most bird Pokémon cherished their feathers and even had a habit of collecting their own molted feathers. Yuga didn't know if Zapdos was one of them.
If you don't want them, I'll keep them!
Seeing Zapdos's lack of reaction, Yuga quietly stashed all the feathers in his system backpack.
It's not that I'm not giving them to you; it's that you don't want them!
With Zapdos no longer posing a threat, Yuga went to find Mr. Drake.
Mr. Drake was surprised to see that Zapdos had healed without causing any trouble. He wondered what method Yuga had used to calm Zapdos down.
However, these details didn't matter as long as the situation was resolved.
But why did Zapdos seem a bit dazed? Mr. Drake couldn't help but wonder. Nevertheless, Zapdos's featherless appearance was quite a sight!
(˙-˙=) In its daze, Zapdos inexplicably felt an arrow to the knee.
Over the next three days, Yuga and Mr. Drake stayed on the Melotic Island. The crew members' injuries gradually healed during this time.
During these three days, Zapdos managed to strike some sort of agreement with Melotic, which surprisingly led Melotic to agree to let it settle on the small island.
Two powerful Pokémon coexisting like this was truly uncommon.
Zapdos: Do you think I want this? My strength has plummeted, and I've lost the ability to fly. I need to find a reliable ally now!
As for the dignity of Legendary Pokémon, it didn't exist when all its feathers had fallen off!
The only concern was Dragonite, who had fallen into a deep sleep after absorbing Zapdos's Source power. However, it seemed to be in good condition, so Yuga wasn't too worried.
What really troubled him was Chimecho.
Chimecho remained in a coma, and there was no Pokémon Center here. Yuga was genuinely worried about its condition.
Their ship had suffered extensive damage due to Melotic's influence, and repairing it would be quite challenging.
They had spent three days on the small island, and not only had Yuga missed the agreed-upon meeting time with Cynthia, but Mr. Drake and the others had also been delayed in carrying out their tasks at Sinnoh region.
Just as Yuga and Mr. Drake were worrying about how to leave, a Pokémon approached Yuga and informed him that Melotic wanted to see him.
When Yuga hurried to the seashore, he found Melotic's massive head floating on the water, waiting for him.
"Melotic, did you need something from me?"
Since the battle between Melotic and Zapdos had ended, a mist had enveloped the area around this small island, isolating it from the outside world. Yuga knew that this mist was created by Melotic to protect the island by controlling the moisture in the air.
"Melotic!"
Without directly answering Yuga's question, Melotic let out a gentle cry towards the sea. Shortly after, Yuga saw a group of Wailord and Wailmer emerging from the water.
A few minutes later...
"You mean Wailord and Wailmer are willing to help us leave this place?"
"Melotic."
Melotic nodded gently.
Not only that, they were willing to escort Yuga and the others on their damaged sailboat to their destination. Despite the sailboat's large size, with so many Wailord and Wailmer present, it was a trivial task.
They were doing this to show their gratitude to Yuga and Mr. Drake for saving their lives.
"That's wonderful! Thank you so much!"
Yuga quickly expressed his gratitude to Wailord and Wailmer.
"Wailord..."
The cries of Wailord and Wailmer resonated harmoniously, echoing through the dense mist. It made Yuga feel immensely relieved.
Finally, they could leave.
Mr. Drake, who received the news shortly after, was equally thrilled. When the crew members heard that they could leave, they cheered excitedly.
That day, everyone began packing their belongings, deciding to depart early the next morning.
The sailboat was lying on the beach by the sea, but Melotic extended its massive tail and gently rolled it back into the water. Of course, one had to ignore the boat's numerous scars, holes, the broken mast, and tattered sails.
The next day, all the crew members boarded the ship again. Wingull and Pelipper perched on the ship's rails or the broken mast, folding their wings.
At the bow of the ship, thick hemp ropes were tied, with the ends of the ropes held in the teeth of Wailord and Wailmer. They were going to pull the ship forward like this.
In other words, they were ready to depart at any moment.
Many of the island's Pokémon had come to bid farewell to Yuga and the others.
Yuga stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the Pokémon on the shore. He saw Gardevoir with a Ralts in its arms, Shinx in the bushes with Luxio and Luxray by its side, Togepi perched on tree branches with Togetic and Togekiss, Matagross floating in the air alongside other Metang and Beldum... and his mouth watered.
However, these Pokémon all belonged to others, living in this secluded paradise guarded by Melotic for generations. Yuga could only let go; he dared not offend Melotic.
Zapdos also came, but since it couldn't fly now, it had to hide in the bushes, not showing itself but secretly watching Yuga on the ship.
This man had been entangled with it for over a thousand years! Although they had resolved their enmity, it wasn't something that could be easily forgotten.
In addition to the Pokémon on the shore, many aquatic Pokémon also came to bid farewell. The aquatic Pokémon treated Yuga and the others even more friendly attitude than those on the shore because Yuga and Mr. Drake had saved their lives.
Just as Wailord and Wailmer were about to pull the ship away, Melotic's head emerged from the water, and two Phione appeared alongside it.
The two Phione swam to the side of the ship, holding a Pokémon Egg in their hands, then leaped out of the water and landed beside Yuga.
"Is this for me?"
Surprised, Yuga asked when he saw the two Phione holding the Pokémon Egg in front of him.
"Phione!"
"Phione!"
The two Phione nodded happily with their eyes squinted.
"Melotic, Melotic!"
"You saved Phione, so this Pokémon Egg is a gift for you."
At this moment, Melotic's voice echoed in Yuga's mind.
Yuga lifted the Pokémon Egg and shouted, "Thank you."
Melotic nodded gently and then disappeared back into the water.
This Pokémon Egg was discovered by Manaphy while it was exploring in an abandoned underwater temple during one of its travels. It sensed the vitality within the egg but noticed that it had not hatched for many years. Therefore, Melotic decided to give it as a gift to Yuga.
After Phione returned to the sea, Yuga examined the Pokémon Egg in his arms. The eggshell was pure white, with a few dark blue spots scattered across it, and its size was no different from that of a ordinary Pokémon Egg.
What was strange, though, was that Yuga's Insight ability couldn't provide any information about this Pokémon Egg.
So, what kind of Pokémon was inside this egg?
Yuga's Rowlet perched on his shoulder, also looking at the Pokémon Egg with curiosity, and even patted it with its wing.
"Wailord..."
As Yuga lowered his head in thought, Wailord and Wailmer let out melodious cries. Then, they started pulling the sailboat, and it began its journey.
Can you guess what kind Pokemon egg it is?