The Dirge of Annihilation would inflict the status of Dirge of Annihilation on all the elves present. All elves who heard the Dirge of Annihilation would lose their combat effectiveness after a certain period. This was true even for the elf who used the Dirge of Annihilation.
In the current situation of being ganged up on, if it really came to that, exchanging all the elves present for one Arceus would be a profit for the four old men, no matter how you looked at it. Although the four old men were all "dead men in the grave" from over a century ago, in terms of lifespan, living for several hundred years was not difficult for elves. It was possible they still had some exceptionally long-lived elves who hadn't appeared yet.
However, Xia Huanao soon abandoned this idea. What exceptionally long-lived elves? These people didn't even spare their own descendants, so why would you expect them to keep their elves? That made no sense. So, if both sides had no elves left, it seemed Xia Huanao's side could accept it?
So, what was the best way to deal with the Dirge of Annihilation? Switching elves, or direct soundproofing. But what if neither side had the option for such maneuvers?
Xia Huanao and his companions, along with the four old men, reached a tacit understanding to end the battle. As long as their battle was forcibly ended, the Dirge of Annihilation would naturally cease to exist. With this thought, Xia Huanao and his companions skillfully recalled their elves and prepared to flee. As for the four old men, their actions were somewhat absurd; they threw out four Master Balls and hurled them at Arceus's head. This bizarre move left Xia Huanao stunned.
The four Master Balls flashed with light, and finally, Arceus was captured in one of them. After seeing this, Xia Huanao started cursing, "Damn it, what the hell is this? After all that, you didn't even capture it? If I had known, I would have used a Master Ball too. It's just a Master Ball, who doesn't have one."
Saying this, Xia Huanao poured a pile of purple Master Balls from his bag. "Look, regret is a terrible thing. If I had thrown them earlier, wouldn't it have been over?"
Meng Tianya leaned down, "Stop fooling around. Do you think I haven't used your type of ball before?" As he spoke, he reached out to rub the Master Ball on the ground, but after rubbing it twice, he found nothing unusual. "No, is this a real Master Ball?"
"What do you think? If I had known, I would have used it long ago. What a shame."
While Xia Huanao was lamenting, the old men on the other side had already started fighting. This was, after all, the first time Arceus had ever been captured, and it was destined to be recorded in history. The ownership was a very important matter.
And just as these individuals were arguing endlessly over the ownership of Arceus, Xia Huanao and Meng Tianya exchanged a glance, and then...
"Froakie, Water Shuriken!"
"Drowzee, Hypnosis!"
Youngsters, no sense of honor, actually launched a sneak attack while the four old men were arguing about Arceus, harming these old comrades who were over a hundred and twenty years old. Fortunately, the four old men reacted quickly and threw Arceus's Poké Ball back.
Arceus stepped forward to block the Water Shuriken, but was then controlled by Drowzee's Hypnosis. Xia Huanao further lowered his standards by throwing out a second Poké Ball and sending out a Ditto to steal the Master Ball from the ground.
Holding the Master Ball, Xia Huanao declared, "The situation has reversed now. Once I recall Arceus, you'll be at my mercy."
Xia Huanao held the absolute advantage, yet he forgot the age-old saying that villains die from talking too much. Just as he was about to use the Poké Ball to recall Arceus, the Poké Ball in his hand emitted white smoke and then broke.
"Kid, did you think I wouldn't have precautions? Now, let's see how you recall Arceus."
Xia Huanao hadn't expected anyone to go to such lengths as to rig a Master Ball to self-destruct upon changing hands. However, this might not be a bad thing. "Since this Poké Ball is broken, I'll just switch to another one. Froakie, Water Shuriken!"
Froakie once again used Water Shuriken to suppress Arceus's health. Xia Huanao, seizing the opportunity, took a Master Ball from his backpack and threw it at Arceus. Although there were remedial measures for damaged Poké Balls containing Pokémon, for a Pokémon like Arceus, without establishing a certain bond, it was akin to releasing it. It would be a shame if Xia Huanao didn't seize this moment to strike.
As a result, Xia Huanao's Poké Ball was destroyed by Arceus's attack as soon as it flew out. It seemed Arceus had an aversion to Poké Balls, making a direct capture impossible.
This was troublesome. Given their current positions, it would be difficult for Xia Huanao to find an opportunity for a surprise attack on Arceus. How could this go on like this?
One Froakie's attack power was completely insufficient. The system had already stated that Arceus had plenty of moves. What if the opponent used Rest mid-fight? That would be unbearable. What was even more infuriating was that even if it was hypnotized, the Water Shuriken still couldn't deal damage. Damage calculation seemed to be Arceus's passive ability.
If one Pokémon couldn't deal damage, and the opponent used Dirge of Annihilation in a group attack, how could they endure it? However, there were ways to deal with this. Xia Huanao shouted, "Everyone, attack together!" He then threw out a pile of Poké Balls, and several Pokémon surrounded Arceus. It was obvious to any keen observer that the fully equipped Xia Huanao had only sent out five Pokémon this time, clearly holding back.
Since Xia Huanao had a backup plan, others no longer cared about holding back. In an instant, the tactic of overwhelming numbers was once again employed to surround Arceus.
"Gothitelle, Magic Room!"
Gothitelle was about to activate Magic Room when Arceus preempted it. Ice Beam froze Gothitelle first, preventing Magic Room from being activated. This allowed Arceus to achieve an invincible position. With eighteen Plates possessing it, how could they fight?
But Xia Huanao was full of ideas. Since you have so many Plates, it should be fine to steal one out, right?
"Ambipom, find an opportunity to steal that Plate for me!"
Ambipom nodded, but then Xia Huanao thought of a problem: Arceus had eighteen Plates, so which one was suitable to steal? After all, Ambipom could only take one Plate, so it would be one against seventeen. After much deliberation, Xia Huanao decided to steal the Ghost-type Plate, as this attribute would simultaneously seal the skills of both the Normal and Fighting types, making it more suitable to steal.
Taking advantage of the distraction provided by the other Pokémon engaging Arceus, Ambipom, which had already de-Gigantamaxed, rapidly approached Arceus under the cover of various lights and shadows. As its figure flashed past Arceus, nothing happened...
Ambipom returned empty-handed, also confused. Its Thief skill was at its peak, and the attack earlier did feel like it had stolen something, so why was its hand empty?
The system explained, "It's obvious you haven't fought Arceus before. Items from the Plate series cannot be stolen because they are related to Arceus's form changes. Of course, it's a different story if other Pokémon are holding Plates."
Xia Huanao slapped his thigh. "Forget it, if one trick doesn't work, there are others. Status effects to wear down its health, that should work, right?"
He thought so, but Arceus really didn't care about status effects that could deal damage. That was the advantage of having all attributes; it had no weaknesses.
After two failed attempts, Xia Huanao scratched his head in frustration. Then, a flash of inspiration struck him: strike the king to capture the rebels! It was impossible to defeat Arceus, but why not capture the people controlling Arceus first? Based on the principle of strength dictating the situation, surrender was inevitable even if they didn't want to.
Xia Huanao said to everyone, "You guys keep Arceus busy. I'm going to deal with those troublesome old guys."
Saying this, Xia Huanao ran a few steps and called out to his Pokémon, "Froakie, let's go catch people. Everyone else, block Arceus!"
Seeing Xia Huanao rushing towards them impulsively, the four old men panicked and quickly yelled for Arceus to defend them. Although Arceus was being blocked by everyone, Arceus was still Arceus, and it directly unleashed Gravity, engulfing the entire field.
Xia Huanao felt his body sink, and his movements became sluggish. The four old men, thinking their victory was assured, decided to capture Xia Huanao. With a hostage, the battle strategy changed.
The old men surrounded him, but after a few steps, they could no longer move. Their creeping pace was even slower than crawling on the ground. Xia Huanao chuckled, "Who told you to get so close? Can your old bones withstand Gravity?"
Although he said this, Xia Huanao was also in an awkward position. If Arceus came over and kicked him, he would have nowhere to dodge. Fortunately, Froakie was nearby. Xia Huanao immediately had it slap a giant Water Shuriken onto the ground, and then used Ice Beam to turn the Water Shuriken into an Ice Shuriken.
Xia Huanao and Froakie perched on the Ice Shuriken. Using all their eight legs, they quickly left the danger zone with the help of the Ice Shuriken and returned to their teammates. "Ah, although I'm affected by Arceus's Gravity, as long as my friction is low enough, your Gravity won't affect me."
Everyone was instantly amazed, "You're still so sharp!"
Although Xia Huanao escaped Arceus's stomping range, the problem was not solved; Arceus remained a huge stumbling block.
"So, what do we do?"
Seeing Arceus charging up in place, preparing for a big move, Xia Huanao steeled himself, "You want a big move? I can do that too. Froakie, let's go!"