Xia Huanao approached the Xerneas, poking his head forward to examine it closely: "Xerneas?"
Miyazaki Sakura and Kana, standing nearby, were startled by Xia Huanao's action.
"What are you doing? What if you anger Xerneas?"
"You little elf thief, are you planning to make a move on Xerneas? Surrender immediately!"
Xia Huanao shot a look at Officer Kana, annoyance evident. "Get lost. Why does this Xerneas feel so familiar?"
He circled Xerneas twice, then sniffed its scent. "This smell is also familiar."
"Human, you have angered me!"
Hearing Xerneas's voice, Miyazaki Sakura and Kana trembled. Xia Huanao, however, threw his arms around Xerneas's neck. The already panicked girls became even more frightened. But then Xia Huanao exclaimed excitedly, "Mew, I've missed you so much!"
A pink light flashed, and the Xerneas transformed into a small pink sprite. Sakura and Kana looked at the sprite. "This sprite... it looks like the legendary Mew."
Xia Huanao reached out and petted Mew's tail. "Mew, why did you come to play with Xerneas?"
Mew extended a hand and patted Xia Huanao's face twice. "How did you know it was me?"
Xia Huanao pressed his face against Mew's small one. "I don't know what Xerneas smells like, but your scent, Mew, is something I'm incredibly familiar with. If I lived with you for so long and couldn't recognize you, I'd be too foolish."
As he spoke, Xia Huanao felt someone patting his shoulder from behind. He flicked his arm. "Stop fooling around, let me have some more time with Mew."
Despite his words, he felt the person behind him pat his shoulder again. Xia Huanao turned abruptly, swatting the hand away. "I told you to stop..."
Xia Huanao swallowed the rest of his annoyed words. As he turned, he saw Mewtwo, holding a tightly compressed Dark Pulse in its right hand, glaring at him with extreme ferocity.
Xia Huanao immediately deflated, releasing Mew. "Uh, Mew sis, you're here too. Long time no see."
The system, uncharacteristically, chimed in. "Not recognizing it doesn't make you an idiot, but recognizing Mew and then daring to hug it directly... I find it hard to say you're not an idiot."
Xia Huanao gave a wry smile. He always forgot that Mew was invariably accompanied by Mewtwo. It was a primal bond, difficult to break.
While Xia Huanao was being threatened by Mewtwo's Dark Pulse, Mew floated in front of the two girls. "Hello there, I'm Mew, a very cute girl!"
Miyazaki Sakura and Kana stammered, "H-hello, Mew."
Just as they finished greeting, they heard Xia Huanao's scream. They looked over to see Xia Huanao sprawled on the ground, with Mewtwo's right hand holding a Dark Pulse pressed against him.
Xia Huanao's pained, sharp cries sent shivers down Mew and the girls' spines. Miyazaki Sakura whispered, "Is he okay? Will something happen?"
Mew hugged its tail. "He's fine, he's used to it."
As expected, Mewtwo's Dark Pulse only tormented Xia Huanao for a minute before it ended. Xia Huanao slowly got up from the ground. "Damn it, do you really think I'm a sick cat? Gekkouga, Dark Pulse!"
Xia Huanao's resistance, or even his active provocation, greatly surprised Kana and Sakura. However, Mew, with a playful air, floated between Gekkouga and Mewtwo, blocking the Dark Pulse. "Fun, interesting! Xiaxia, let Gekkouga battle with me."
Xia Huanao looked at the energetic Mew, eager to battle Gekkouga. "Mew, are you sure about this? Won't Mewtwo be unhappy?"
Mew glanced at Mewtwo, who nodded, allowing Mew to play freely. Mew smiled, circled a few times, tail in the air, and said, "Let me show you the power of Xerneas-Mew!"
Xia Huanao: "...Xerneas-Mew? What kind of Pokémon is that?"
Mew turned around and transformed into the form of Xerneas. "Ta-da! Introducing Xerneas-Mew!"
Xia Huanao looked at the Xerneas before him. "This is Xerneas-Mew? If that's the case, I still prefer Yveltal-Mew."
Yveltal-Mew... As soon as this name was uttered, everyone except Xia Huanao froze. Mew lifted its front leg. "What's Yveltal-Mew!"
"If Mew transforming into Xerneas can be called Xerneas-Mew, then shouldn't transforming into Yveltal be called Yveltal-Mew?"
Mew shook its head. "No. Although I can transform into Yveltal, this is Xerneas's domain, and he wouldn't be happy."
Xia Huanao sighed. "Let it be. If it were Yveltal-Mew, I might have had an advantage."
The battle commenced. Mew charged towards Gekkouga with its four hooves. Gekkouga leaped up and retaliated with a Water Pulse. Mew flicked its horn, and the Water Pulse dissipated. Seeing the Water Pulse was ineffective, Gekkouga used Double Team and launched a counter-attack against Mew.
Mew stomped its front two legs, and a pink aura spread out, engulfing everyone.
"Misty Terrain? What's the point of that?"
Kana was confused, but Xia Huanao understood clearly. Mew was about to seal off all his control methods. Xia Huanao pouted. "Gekkouga, let's try that too! Use Hexa-Ninja Kill Formation!"
Gekkouga's forward charge faltered slightly, then it accelerated, darting around Mew with remarkable speed, looking quite impressive.
The system, witnessing this, began to doubt itself. "When did he train this? I have no recollection of it!"
Xia Huanao explained, "It's right that you don't remember, because I never practiced it. This is the first time I'm trying it to see how effective it is."
The system: ...
Gekkouga's Hexa-Ninja Kill Formation differed from a Greninja's technique. Since Gekkouga's strategy did not involve close combat, its Hexa-Ninja Kill Formation was a barrage of attacks.
A cascade of skills, with clinking and clanging, was unleashed. However, after the smoke and dust cleared, Xerneas-Mew not only hadn't fallen but seemed completely unharmed. Xia Huanao was utterly perplexed. Even if his Hexa-Ninja Kill Formation was a first-time use, its effectiveness was far too poor.
Xia Huanao's attack phase ended. Xerneas-Mew began its counter-attack. Its two horns lit up, and it charged towards Gekkouga. Xia Huanao commanded Gekkouga to block with Aqua Shield, but to his surprise, the wooden horn pierced the Water Shield and struck Gekkouga.
Gekkouga was sent flying backward, gouging a trail in the grass. Xia Huanao ran over and asked, "Gekkouga, are you okay?"
Gekkouga leaped up and continued to attack Xerneas-Mew. Xerneas-Mew, in turn, engaged Gekkouga in a brutal horn-to-horn struggle.
Xia Huanao blinked at the sight, but then commanded, "Gekkouga, use its horn to leap! Use Sky Uppercut!"
Gekkouga grabbed Xerneas-Mew's horn, exerting its strength to flip onto Xerneas-Mew's head. As Xerneas-Mew exerted force, combined with Gekkouga's leap, it propelled Gekkouga straight into the sky.
In the air, Gekkouga formed a two-colored sphere and hurled it down at the Xerneas-Mew below. Xerneas-Mew looked at the attack descending from the sky and unleashed a powerful beam from its head.
"It's a Hyper Beam!"
"Gekkouga, Double Team!"
The Hyper Beam streaked across the sky and struck Gekkouga. Gekkouga flew towards a distant large tree, crashing into it and nearly breaking it in half.
Gekkouga struggled to stand. Kana exclaimed in disbelief, "No way, that was Mew's Hyper Beam!"
Xia Huanao breathed a sigh of relief. He had used Double Team to continuously reduce the power of the Hyper Beam, barely managing to withstand it. However, as Gekkouga returned to the battlefield, Xia Huanao reached out and stopped it. "Gekkouga, stop fighting. It's pointless."
Miyazaki Sakura asked, "What do you mean? Are you giving up because you know you can't win?"
Xia Huanao shook his head. "Even if we could win, there's no need to fight. This isn't Xerneas-Mew, it's Xerneas."
Upon hearing Xia Huanao's words, everyone looked at Xerneas-Mew, which stood motionless. Indeed, above Xerneas-Mew's head, the light distorted, and a cute little Mew appeared in their vision.
"How did you figure that out?"
Xia Huanao explained, "With that attack just now, even Mew wouldn't have emerged completely unscathed. So I suspected Xerneas had replaced Mew. The subsequent attacks further confirmed my suspicion. Xerneas's attack style is different from Mew's."
Xia Huanao's explanation wasn't complete. He had omitted one detail: Mew would never end a battle with a Hyper Beam. If it had been Mew, it would have certainly used Origin Supernova to conclude the fight.
Mew landed on Xia Huanao's shoulder. "Xiaxia is amazing. Let me introduce you. This is one of my good friends, Xerneas."
Xia Huanao walked over. "Hello, Xerneas. Thank you for what you did earlier."
Xerneas nudged Xia Huanao with its horn, then looked at Miyazaki Sakura. Although nervous under Xerneas's gaze, Miyazaki Sakura stepped forward. "Hello, Xerneas. I am Miyazaki Sakura, a shrine maiden."
Xerneas made two calls, and Mew translated, "Xerneas says he knows you are a shrine maiden and he really likes your Kagura."
"Oh, I'm glad you like it, Xerneas."