Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 729 Anti-Giant Blacksmith Armor, but a Skilled Blacksmith's Product

As someone who has repeatedly carried out high-difficulty missions for the Rockets, her contributions are second only to the officers. In Zhenniao's eyes, her contributions are even greater than those of ordinary officers.

But now is not the time to dwell on that.

In short, as one of the Rockets' "brains," Naomi Arne knows very well what it means to weigh the pros and cons.

After discovering the identity of the troublemaker, she did not hesitate to issue the evacuation order.

There's no need for any explanation; that would just be a pointless waste of time.

As the leader of the "True Bird Matrix," she only needs a group of obedient elite soldiers who will faithfully carry out her orders, not fools who ask all sorts of questions and might even betray her.

Even Gez, who was Shin-Tori's right-hand man, fell silent under Shin-Tori's overwhelming aura.

Soon, accompanied by the roar of the airship's engines howling through the wind and snow, the airship, blatantly painted with a huge bright red "R", began to take off.

Masahiko sat upright in her chair, one hand supporting her face, her slender legs, encased in black stockings, crossed over each other, tapping the ground intermittently with the heels of her boots.

She was thinking about how to get the three members captured by Luo Mu out.

While it's true that they were incompetent, their opponent was, after all, Luo Mu, whom even Boss Sakaki had praised, so it was somewhat forgivable.

Each member of the "True Bird Matrix" was carefully selected by her, so it would be quite troublesome to add more members.

In any case, most transnational criminals are sentenced in international courts presided over by Interpol and then sent to the region where they are registered to serve their sentences.

In the Kanto and Johto regions, Team Rocket has plenty of ways to get people out of prison.

Unlike Team Galactic in the Sinnoh region, they won't have to resort to jailbreaking to solve their problems.

This is a disgrace to their evil organization.

Masato suddenly stood up, his gaze passing through his glasses and through the window onto the distant snowstorm, where the headlights of the stranded SUV were still stubbornly flashing.

Seeing this, Zhenniao said softly, "You guys are just unlucky to have provoked him."

There are many other places besides Padia where you can catch messenger birds.

The same applies to Pokémon hunters who can be commissioned.

Therefore, Zhenniao was not worried at all about the possibility of failure in the mission of "building a secret communication network through common messenger birds to avoid being discovered by the Indigo League and later expanding to other regions".

"Preparing to enter optical stealth mode!"

"Ahead!" shouted the Team Rocket member in charge of piloting the airship.

The sound pulled Zhen Niao back to reality, and she subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there were no obstacles and they escaped successfully.

Indeed, intelligence is the key to turning the tide when at a disadvantage.

"Even the champion would be helpless in this situation."

No matter how powerful the opponent is, it's impossible for them to react immediately and summon flying Pokémon to pursue them.

Moreover, before that, the airship will complete optical cloaking and completely disappear into the swirling snow.

Zhenniao curled the corners of his mouth, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride that he had surpassed Luo Mu.

Available in the next second.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the airship, and the red warning lights flashed frantically.

Makoto's expression froze instantly. Before she could question her subordinates about the situation, someone shouted in a terrified voice, "A high-energy reaction is gathering behind us, and it's classified as lightning!"

"lightning!?"

Zhen Niao frowned. Where did the lightning come from in this blizzard?

"The attack came from Pokémon!" his subordinate explained, as if he had foreseen the future.

True Bird asked coldly, "Can you dodge it?"

"It's difficult. They're targeting us; they've probably been planning this for a long time!"

Communication happens in the blink of an eye.

Zhenniao forced himself to calm down and waved his hand, saying, "Dodge if you can, otherwise deploy your energy shield!"

"Yes!"

Team Rocket's crew frantically maneuvered the airship, creating a strange protective force field on its surface.

How long until the attack?

"3!"

"what?"

"2!"

Realizing it was a countdown, Masato's pupils contracted, and he could only grab onto the nearest support while shouting, "Everyone, prepare for the impact!"

next second.

A violent tremor swept through the entire airship.

However, after only a few seconds of stalemate, the clear sound of the energy shield shattering completely shook the true bird's worldview.

What a joke!
What kind of attack could possibly penetrate the energy shield system designed and developed by countless top scientists in Team Rocket?

Could the Pokémon that unleashed lightning later be some legendary Electric-type Pokémon?
But reality doesn't give real birds any time to think.

The panicked sounds belonging to the "True Bird Matrix" and the explosions from some area of ​​the airship completely occupied her mind.

"Engines No. 4, No. 0, and No. 3 have exploded in succession, the fuel tanks have been severely damaged, and the airship's tail power module has malfunctioned!"

"Optical camouflage function malfunction, requires repair!"

Such terrible news kept reaching Masato's ears, making her face so gloomy that it looked like she was about to drip water as she struggled to hold onto something for support.

She's not stupid; she couldn't possibly be unaware of what was going on with this sudden attack.

In that place, the only thing capable of striking an airship from such a distance, and even after penetrating its energy shield, still possessing the remaining power to cause widespread damage, was...

It can only be that Pokémon of Luo Mu.

His trump card happens to be an Electric-type Xeno'jiiva cat.

But how did Luo Mu foresee that he would choose to leave immediately, and then arrange for Pokémon to gather at a high vantage point to prepare for an ambush?

The real bird couldn't understand it.

She could only cling to the handrail in a disheveled state, gritting her teeth: "Fine, the Rockets will remember this debt!"

If someone were observing from outside at this moment, they would see the lightning, which stretched out like tree branches, temporarily suppressing the blizzard and filling the sky.

And among them, the airships that appeared incredibly small, belonging to the "True Bird Matrix".

Thick black smoke billowed from the tail of the "True Bird Matrix" airship, making it stand out conspicuously in the pure white world.

Looking up at the other party's disheveled escape, Luo Mu felt a little regretful.

Beside him, the electric currents surging around the Röntgen cat dissipated, its once-standing, majestic fur became docile again, and the bright gold in its eyes dimmed.

"Meow."

The Röntgen cat let out a self-reproachful meow, and its breathing could be faintly detected as somewhat rapid.

"Do not blame you."

Luo Mu stroked its fur with his cold hands, not thinking it was a problem with the Röntgen cat.

"You're not exactly good at ranged attacks to begin with, let alone having to cross such a long distance to make precise strikes and break shields."

"This level of achievement is sufficient."

The cat accepted Luo Mu's words of comfort.

It has done the best it can.

"Meow--"

The Röntgen cat closed its eyes, just as it had done when it met Luo Mu at a city corner, and gently leaned against Luo Mu to rest.

That wide-area "Thunderstrike" in the blizzard had almost depleted most of its stored electricity, and its power was probably only comparable to the attack it would have when it electrocuted Black Rayquaza after crystallizing. Not to mention that it also needed to keep its "X-ray vision" ability, which also consumes a lot of electricity, on to ensure that its attacks wouldn't miss due to the wind and snow.

The current X-Rayet cat is indeed a bit tired.

While stroking the Röntgen cat's fur, Luo Mu pondered when the blizzard would stop and when Mr. Tran and Ms. Officer Jenny would finally arrive.

Fortunately, with the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Burning Bugs around, Luo Mu didn't have to worry about hypothermia even in this icy environment.

There's no need to worry about a situation like the one in that Pokémon promotional animation you remember, where Xeno'jiiva warms a trainer with its body to save him, only to have its body gradually stiffen in the snow.

Drawing on its experience in ice sculpting, Kurama used its freezing beam to build a simple but effective "ice house" that could shield it from the wind and snow.

The heat released by the burning insects meant that Luo Mu and his companions didn't have to worry about staying warm.

Aside from Ninetales and Delibird occasionally patrolling to see if those Pokémon hunters and Team Rocket idiots are up to any tricks.

Luo Mu rested quietly until the blizzard gradually subsided before resuming his activities.

A ray of sunlight shone through the dispersing clouds, illuminating the black cloth that completely covered the rear of the SUV.

Luo Mu could hear some faint sounds coming from inside.

That was a sign of unease among the captured messenger birds.

The reason why the black cloth was not immediately lifted after the suppression was completed, and all these messenger birds were not released.

It was because the snowstorm was too heavy just now, and it was better to let them rush out in a panic and then accidentally cause an accident.

Why not let them stay in this sanctuary, just like those Pokémon hunters who are currently bound hand and foot by the silk of the Burning Bugs, with only their noses showing?

Luo Mu paused in stroking the black cloth, looked at the somewhat anxious messenger bird beside him, and laughed, "Why don't you open it yourself?"

“I think it is more appropriate for you, as the former leader of the tribe, to lift this cloth than for me to do so.”

The messenger bird paused slightly, looked at Luo Mu with gratitude, and nodded emphatically.

"Deli!"

Today must have been quite a thrilling day for the messenger bird people.

They were living peacefully in their territory when they were captured by a Pokémon hunter who suddenly broke in using a technological device.

Then they were crammed into cramped, dark spaces in batches, trembling in the swaying carriages, fearing their future fate.

But when the black cloth that had been obscuring their vision was finally lifted, what they saw was not the figures of those greedy and treacherous humans.

— Rather, it was the figure of the former leader who had mysteriously disappeared long ago, as perceived by the messenger birds.

Whether it was the tail that was larger than any messenger bird's, or the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar scent.

Everything is telling the same story.

Their leader has returned and rescued them from the bad guys!
Watching their own messenger birds being enthusiastically surrounded by a large number of excited messenger birds.

Luo Mu's lips curled up, and even when he carried these Pokémon hunters like cargo to the people brought by Officer Jenny who arrived later, his movements became gentler.

This is the ultimate triumphant return home.

After drinking the seafood soup with "secret seasoning" added by Luo Mu, Tron, whose strength surged like a spring, clicked his tongue in disdain when he mentioned one of the Team Rocket trio that Luo Mu had "quickly finished off."

"Tsk, I didn't expect the Rockets' reach to extend to the Padiya region."

Luo Mu turned around and asked curiously, "What are you planning to do with these guys?"

"Or like Hunter J, be thrown into the International Court of Justice?"

"Well, it'll probably end up in the International Court of Justice."

Trump sighed, knowing full well what Luo Mu was thinking.

“Keeping them in the Padia region is indeed an effective way to prevent situations like Hunter J’s from happening.”

"But there's nothing we can do. According to the regulations agreed upon by the various regions, they will serve their sentences in prisons in the Kanto or Johto regions."

“As expected—”

Luo Mu stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Should I contact Adu or Qinglu and ask them to "take good care" of these people?
In that case, even the Rockets wouldn't have the ability to get them out, right?
"Forget it, let's not talk about these unhappy things."

Trump, unaware of what Luo Mu was thinking, assumed he was still dwelling on the matter and tried to change the subject.

"Your messenger bird is the leader of these messenger birds. After this incident, most of them will be even more devoted to it."

Aren't you worried that the messenger birds will eventually choose to stay with the colony?

Trump is getting old and has seen all sorts of things.

It's not uncommon to see trainers' Pokémon choose to stay for the sake of their species.

But Luo Mu's reaction was far beyond his expectations.

"No, the messenger bird won't stay."

Luo Mu shook his head.

He didn't "completely trust" that the messenger bird wouldn't make that choice.

He simply knew the messenger bird's personality and was very certain of the messenger bird's choice.

Messenger birds yearn for adventure and freedom; they will not stay on Frosty Mountain, nor will they remain on the farm forever.

Soon, it will embark on a new journey.

At that time, all I had to prepare was to say goodbye.

After identifying more than a dozen Pokémon hunters, three Team Rocket members were detained.

The convoy that came to provide support drove back to Icebox Town in a grand procession.

Just as Luo Mu had said, after a brief period of closeness, the messenger birds refused their tribe's invitation to return and continue as leaders, and instead sent them back to their original habitat.

Then the messenger bird didn't linger and chose to ride with Officer Jenny on her police motorcycle, speeding back to the camp at the foot of Frostbite Mountain.

"Thanks to your active performance, we were able to capture this group of Pokémon hunters."

"Thank you, Mr. Luo Mu!"

Miss Officer Jenny of Freezer Town straightened her back and saluted Luo Mu to express her sincerest respect.

"It's alright, just remember to send me the bounty and the banner when the time comes."

"Oh, and remember to deliver the banner to Orange Academy. I have classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon."

Under Miss Officer Jenny's somewhat strained gaze, Luo Mu smiled and made his request.

He'd been busy all day, enduring the blizzard for so long; he'd be doing himself a disservice if he didn't get something in return.

"Okay, we'll get it done as soon as possible."

Suppressing the urge to complain, Officer Jenny forced a smile, then bid farewell to Luo Mu and headed towards Freezer Town.

Judging from his back, he seemed to be fleeing in panic.

"Alright, let's get ready to go home!"

After exchanging a glance with the X-ray cats, Luo Mu stretched and swaggered towards the parking lot.

at the same time.

Farm, blacksmith's workshop.

The skilled blacksmith was nervously presenting his work to the Crowned Lady.

The Queen of the Rathalos took the armor and examined it carefully for a long time before finally nodding.

"Passed."

"Kanu!!!"

The skilled blacksmith's face lit up with surprise; he was practically jumping for joy.

The anti-giant blacksmith armor it forged for the Steelravens was finally a success!
(End of this chapter)