Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 739 The Mad Hunter J
Time goes back to the present.

After deciding to participate in the second "Pastry Chef Competition", Soap Milk Fairy began its final sprint before the competition.

Compared to the theme of the competition, which was revealed during the last registration, the theme for this competition has not been determined yet, or rather, it will be determined during the competition itself.

In this era of countless desserts, in order to cater to the individual tastes of judges from different regions, one must also ensure that one is not eliminated simply because one cannot make a certain dessert.

Extensive practice is essential.

And with so many works of practice, how do you handle them?

—Naturally, it's left to the few Pokémon with big appetites on the farm.

At this moment, besides Alcremie, who was focused on decorating the cake, several other Pokémon were enjoying the delicious treat in the kitchen.

While enjoying their meal, they also dutifully provided feedback, allowing Creamy Fairy to adjust the flavor based on this feedback.

Of course, among the Pokémon that were sampled, there were also those who were all talk and no action, and could only be answered with "Delicious!" or "Five ants!"

For example, there's that little Snorlax sitting on the ground.

At this moment, it was using both arms, which were covered with long hair, to display a dexterity that was disproportionate to its size, constantly landing on the exquisitely designed cakes placed in front of it.

With his left hand, he grabbed the cake, and with his right hand, he stuffed the cake he had just grabbed into his mouth.

Despite eating continuously, its belly showed no signs of swelling, as if its stomach were a bottomless pit.

To be honest, Luo Mu really admires it.

When Alcremie occasionally turns around to ask a question, it fully utilizes its species' "unmovable" characteristic, never stopping its mouth, only making a couple of "Gambi Gambi" noises between meals.

Without needing to ask Zhihui Xing and the others to translate, Luo Mu could guess that its answer would be roughly the same pattern as before.

There is another Pokémon that is similar to it.

The plump hedgehog, like a burrowing groundhog, had already plunged most of its body into the cake base that had been gnawed into a hole.

Even though it was clearly very agitated at that moment, it inexplicably just wouldn't explode.

This made Luo Mu increasingly suspicious that the guy was deliberately holding back that urge to defecate, only to mischievously release it when he got close.

Luo Mu's gaze fell on the half of the flower that Xie Milu had exposed.

Determining the extent to which the "toxins" in this person's body have been cleared is a very simple matter.

Judging from the appearance of the flower, the dark purple color has faded by several shades compared to its initial appearance.

And it had been less than half a month since Shemi arrived at the farm.

If things continue at this pace, Shaymi should soon regain the ability to transform into his sky form.

All you need to do then is take it to the Gracidia flower field where the flower therapy rings are taking care of it.

Perhaps there's still enough time for Luo Mu to lead it to catch up with the rest of the Shemi flower-carrying convoy.

Of course, this also depends on Shami's own wishes.

If it wanted to stay for a few bites of food, Luo Mu wouldn't mind.

The Pokémon were all busy eating delicious food, so Luo Mu wouldn't be so disappointed as to say something like, "Eat less, or you'll get fat again."

Luo Mu simply took a plate of crème brûlée, which he had just made in his spare time to serve to the guava sitting outside, from the Cream Fairy, and then turned and walked towards the living room.

It didn't take long.

A gasp of surprise rang out from the living room.

"This pudding is delicious too!!"

In the Sinnoh region, in an unnamed forest.

"That crazy woman shouldn't be able to find us now."

Shinji withdrew his wary gaze from the pit.

Turning his head, he looked into the underground space, which was somewhat visible due to the electric current flashing from the two plug-like horns on the top of the electric monster's head.

There were three people lying there, two men and one woman, and they looked quite disheveled.

His clothes were covered in mud, and he had several large and small abrasions on his body.

However, Shinji didn't use his usual sharp tongue to mock Satoshi, who was about the same age as him, as he usually did.

Not long ago, Shinji was training his Pokémon in this forest, as he usually did.

But a sudden explosion caught his attention.

Shinji initially thought it was just a commotion caused by a fight between wild Pokémon in the forest, so he didn't intend to meddle.

After all, he was still struggling with how to unleash the hidden power within Chimchar.

But whether it was good luck or bad luck, the commotion got closer and closer to him.

Then he saw it.

Ash, Brock, and the new female rookie trainer who joined their travel group—whose specific name Shinji didn't even bother to remember.

The three of them were being chased by a Salamence.

On the back of that Salamence sat the protagonist of the recent prison break incident that had caused such a stir in the Sinnoh region: Pokémon Hunter J.

For some unknown reason, Hunter J angrily commanded his Salamence to unleash a barrage of attacks on Ash and his friends, completely disregarding the possibility that his actions might reveal his location.

Although Shinji doesn't really like Ash, he did get to eat Brock's delicious cooking a few times when he was traveling with Nemo and Shizuka in the Hoenn region.

He wouldn't stand idly by just to save Xiaogang.

As for the other two, let's just bring them along.

After a moment's thought, Shinji quickly came up with a feasible rescue plan.

He wouldn't be foolish enough to confront Hunter J head-on, after all, who knows what kind of strange technological weapons that woman has.

Shinji's rescue plan was simple, consisting of only two steps.

First, he had his Iron-Faced Ninja hide in the shadows, waiting for the speed to reach its maximum. With his own safety as the top priority, he used the terrain advantage in the forest to harass the "Sky Overlord" Salamence, which had difficulty using its flight ability.

This achieves the goal of temporarily diverting Hunter J's attention.

Then, he had his Moon Bear dig a tunnel in the path the three fleeing guys were bound to take, and while Hunter J was being harassed by the Iron-Faced Ninja, he secretly moved the three guys underground.

Hunter J, having lost sight of his targets, couldn't linger in one place and was determined to find them, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.

After all, as the culprit who made the Sinnoh League lose face among other leagues, Hunter J is now under a pursuit far exceeding that of ordinary escaped prisoners.

It's said that one of the Sinnoh Elite Four members was personally leading the team searching for Hunter J. And indeed, Shinji predicted it.

When Hunter J realized that the person she was chasing had mysteriously disappeared, she couldn't bother chasing the Iron-Faced Ninja, whose agility in the forest far surpassed that of Salamence. She could only helplessly and furiously let Salamence bombard her in place for a while.

However, she was also afraid of the Sinnoh League's pursuers, worried that if she stayed nearby for too long, she might accidentally get surrounded.

In the end, she could only circle around in place for a while before reluctantly riding away on her Salamence.

Shinji also considered the possibilities that Hunter J might not leave no matter what, or that she might have found a place to hide and lie in wait.

In this situation, if they foolishly show their faces thinking the other party has left, they might get caught red-handed.

Fortunately, Luo Mu had taught him this knowledge when he was studying at Orange Academy.

For this possibility, the simplest solution is to carefully let the Moon Bear dig a burrow until it reaches a place far away from this area before it surfaces again.

—He remembered that Luo Mu had mentioned something called "tunnel tactics"?
Even Shinji had to admit that much of the knowledge taught by Luo Mu seemed strange and unreliable at first.

But one day in the future, this knowledge and experience will truly play a huge role.

Such practical knowledge and experience are usually hard to learn in school.

Shinji glanced again at the Moon Bear digging a hole horizontally, took a deep breath, looked at the three people who were still panting, and calmly asked, "Why is Hunter J chasing you?"

As expected, Ash was the first of the three, who were panting heavily, to recover.

He didn't answer Shinji's question immediately, but instead said with a look of relief, "Thank you so much for saving me, Shinji."

"Hmm." Shinji nodded slightly, accepting Ash's thanks.

Then, he turned his expressionless face toward Xiaogang.

Shinji thinks that of the three, only Takeshi is somewhat reliable.

“I also want to thank you, Shinji.” Kogoro thanked him first, then frowned and said, “It’s probably because we ruined her plans.”

He recounted how, not long ago, the three of them had successfully prevented Hunter J from kidnapping a Gardevoir.

"Is that all it takes for me to relentlessly pursue you?"

Shinji felt that things were probably not that simple.

Although saying that made him very unhappy.

But for a Pokémon hunter of Hunter J's caliber, even if he were starting from scratch again, he wouldn't be so enraged by the loss of a single "cargo".

Not to mention, Hunter J's actions just now gave the impression that he was willing to expose himself to the Sinnoh League's pursuit again in order to eliminate Ash and his two friends on the spot.

At this moment, Xiao Guang, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"Um... I remember Hunter J's change in attitude was after Ash announced his name, right?"

She hugged Bogaman tightly, her tone hesitant.

Although he is usually carefree and often says "no problem," Xiaoguang actually has quite good observation skills.

So she also noticed the moment when Hunter J, who had initially seemed indifferent to the mission's failure and was about to leave, suddenly changed his attitude.

After that, Hunter J completely ignored Gardevoir and its trainer Maria, and launched an attack on the three of them.

"what did you say?"

Shinji frowned and looked at Satoshi.

"—Ash from Pallet Town, Pikachu's best partner, top 8 in the Indigo League, champion of the Silver League, top 32 in the Rainbow League, and apparently also... an excellent apprentice of Master Luo Mu?"

Xiao Zhi repeated the story with a blank expression, clearly not yet realizing where the problem lay.

"You idiot."

Shinji almost laughed at Ash's stupidity.

Let's set aside whether Teacher Luo Mu acknowledges him as his disciple.

Even a fool wouldn't openly reveal that he has an unusual relationship with Luo Mu in front of Hunter J, who clearly has a deep grudge against Luo Mu, right?

Last year, when Shinji was studying at Orange Academy, Botan mentioned that Luo Mu was the one who personally captured Hunter J and handed her over to the League Court and prison.

In this situation, it would be strange if Hunter J didn't hate Luo Mu, the person who ruined her career.

However, she was hesitant to act because of Luo Mu's strength and could not find a feasible revenge plan for the time being.

But at this very moment, Ash, who claims to have a close relationship with Luo Mu, appears in front of the incredibly frustrated Hunter J. It would be strange if Hunter J didn't go crazy and chase after him.

As for Xiaogang and Xiaoguang, they were simply caught in the crossfire.

Shinji explained the feud between Hunter J and Luo Mu to the three of them, and finally said expressionlessly, "You'd better be careful in the wild in the future. If you get chased again, you won't be as lucky as you are today."

While warning the three, Shinji himself also became secretly on guard.

If Hunter J somehow finds out that she is Luo Mu's student, she might very well turn her attention to her.

Shizuka at the Pokémon Center is another example.

I should let her know when I get back to the city.

While the four were exchanging ideas, Moon Bear continued digging.

Before long, it successfully brought the four people back to safety.

Shinji originally intended to turn around and leave, returning to the city.

But as his gaze swept over Xiaozhi's silly face, he remembered the contents of the letter he had exchanged with Luo Mu not long ago.

At the time, Luo Mu suggested that he try to establish an emotional connection with the little chimpanzee, which might unleash its hidden power.

But no matter how Shinji tried, he couldn't do it during this time.

He simply couldn't muster any enthusiasm, nor could he do anything as ambiguous as "getting by with sheer force of will."

His mind will always remain calm and make rational choices.

This also made Shinji realize that he had no talent in this area.

But right now, isn't there a freak right in front of me whose aura controls his brain and whose impulses dominate his thinking?

Perhaps I can find some inspiration from Xiao Zhi?
Shinji felt he was probably going crazy, but the idea of ​​drawing out the hidden power of Chimchar was something he simply couldn't refuse.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Shinji took out an ordinary red and white Poké Ball from his pocket and looked expressionlessly at Ash, who in his eyes was no different from Magikarp.

Seeing the other person's puzzled expression, Shinji said in a calm and collected tone, "A while ago, I caught a little Chimchar."

(End of this chapter)