Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 753 The Moltres Gets Hanged Up and Beaten Up

This further fueled Cynthia's interest in Arcanine.

In terms of strength, they are only comparable to Wusong and his main team.

However, in the battle just now, Arcanine achieved a result that even their Pokémon would have found difficult to achieve with their full strength.

—Could its extremely high temperature power be the same power that the ancient Sinnoh's Elite Growlithe and Arcanine possessed?

Zhu Lan is very interested in this topic.

However, the most urgent task at present is to treat the burns on Garchomp's arm. The flames released by Arcanine actually broke through the highly concentrated energy of Garchomp's "Dragon Claw".

It can also leave burn marks on Garchomp's arm without the user even noticing.

—It's just like that seemingly harmless flowing lava that hides danger.

The flames that ignite when Arcanine unleashes "Flame Charge" are so unrestrained and flamboyant.

But beneath that lies a danger akin to lava, and the danger of it breaking through the meteor shower with its "double-edged hammer."

Could it be that the emerald-looking Arcanine is a Fire/Rock type?

While reflecting on the results of her observations, Cynthia also gave Garchomp's arm a simple treatment.

Fortunately, Garchomp's defense is not so weak. The scorch marks and signs of melting are mostly on its surface layer of fine dragon scales, which have a shark-skin-like appearance.

The skin beneath the dragon scales was mostly intact, with only slight redness at most.

This also means that Arcanine does pose a threat to Garchomp, but there is still a long way to go before Garchomp really has to be on high alert to deal with it.

"Unexpected, but not too unexpected."

In her heart, Zhu Lan silently gave Arcanine a fair evaluation that represented "appreciation".

After things were mostly finished here, Cynthia was about to turn around and continue into the farm. She remembered that before Togekiss entered the Poké Ball, it pointed to a place that seemed to be called the "Farming Area".
There seemed to be plenty of treasure chests waiting for them there.

But at this moment, Zhu Lan was completely unable to move her feet even an inch.

—Because in front of her were a whole bunch of treasure chests that Arcanine had dug out while pitifully injured after triggering its defeat cutscene.

Putting aside the fact that in that pit, besides treasure chests, there were also some teeth-grinding bones, unknown bird feathers, and a large number of oversized slippers worn by humans.

Many of them are new.

But each of the treasure chests in front of them was filled with Cynthia's favorite ice cream, and each one had a completely different flavor.

This is also why the bamboo orchid is completely unable to move its feet.

She couldn't bear to watch the ice cream pass its prime!

Rather than immediately heading to a new location, Zhu Lan prefers to finish the ice cream in the treasure chest in front of her first.

Maybe we'll get the hidden version?

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Lan swallowed hard, her gray eyes fixed on the treasure chest piled in front of her, and reached out to touch it.

Then, her hand stopped in mid-air.

Upon seeing this, even though he was mentally prepared, Garchomp still sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Well, it looks like it'll be hard to leave before evening.

Garchomp slumped its shoulders and, amidst the bewildered expressions of Arcanine and Houndoom, plopped down on the ground.

What's going on here?
The two Bruces tilted their heads in confusion, while Garchomp just smiled and remained silent. Then it pointed its paw in the direction of Cyndaquil, indicating that they would understand once they looked.

Zhu Lan's fingertips, suspended in mid-air, trembled slightly. Her gaze, so different from her sharp eyes during battle or her usual gentle gaze, flickered uncertainly over the treasure chest.

That's the look in your eyes when you're caught in a dilemma.

At this moment, Zhu Lan is struggling with which treasure chest to choose first.

—Just like when she sits in front of her little stall, agonizing over which flavor of ice cream to choose.

Even if I wanted them all, this problem still wouldn't be solved.

Because Orchid would consider the possibility of getting a stomachache from eating too much ice cream.

The ice cream in the treasure chest in front of you won't have this problem, because the internal capacity is not large, and the amount is only enough to taste a few flavors.

Even so, Zhu Lan still found herself in a state of internal struggle because she was torn between choosing which treasure chest to open first.

A voice in her head told her that she should finish choosing quickly, enjoy the ice cream with the Pokémon, and then go to the next place.

Another voice kept asking her what she should do if she didn't get a rare or hidden flavor after going through so many treasure chests.
Bamboo orchids are not actually the type of person who hesitates or is indecisive.

She makes very decisive judgments in battles, but when it comes to desserts, she becomes like this.

Arcanine and Houndoom stared for a long time before they finally understood what Cyndaquil was doing, with her hand hovering in mid-air and her whole body frozen in place.

Because they understood, the surrounding air instantly became silent.

Is this right?

How could someone who seems perfect have such a "flaw" as indecisiveness?
After a period of time, the agricultural area...

Peony wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and looked at the mess in front of her with lingering fear.

God knows what she just saw.

Moltres, which is supposed to be super effective against Grass-type Pokémon, was instead hung up and whipped by those fierce tree roots, with little ability to resist.

Recalling the resentful look in the Moltres's eyes as it flew away, Peony shuddered involuntarily and instinctively decided not to visit Teacher Luo Mu's farm for the next few months.

Otherwise, she suspected that the firebird would definitely find a chance to retaliate against her.

It's like when she's walking down the street, and suddenly a lump falls from the sky.

After all, in a sense, it was Moltres that betrayed itself.

It's not a complicated matter.

Basically, after Peony finished her dance and made sure no one had seen her, and that she didn't need to go and kill anyone in the middle of the night, she decided to continue her search for the treasure chest since her Eevee companions hadn't had enough ice cream yet.

Along the way, they also used their sense of smell and completed tasks assigned by some Pokémon scattered throughout the farm, which allowed them to obtain quite a few treasure chests.

Especially the Snowstorm Horse; Peony had a pretty deep impression of it before, after all, she was one of the people who witnessed those things in the Crown Snowfield.

But this time, Peony's impression of the Snowstorm Horse was completely overturned.

That guy just glanced at his own successfully slimmed-down Sylveon and the Glaceon next to him, and without saying a word, stuffed a bunch of treasure chests into his hands.

Then, Snowball actually started panting heavily through its nostrils, trying to approach Sylveon and Glaceon. Just as Peony was wondering what to do, Calyrex suddenly appeared out of nowhere, took out its whip, and lashed Snowball a few times, leading the now docile Snowball away.

Peony, on the other hand, got a bunch of treasure chests for free and even opened a lot of rare ice creams from them, but still didn't get the hidden ones.

This led the lazy peony to decide, after a moment's thought, to continue struggling.

—After all, it would be an insult to a homebody's sense of duty to retreat without having drawn an SSR!
As she walked, she came to this agricultural area.

Logically, she should have walked around the agricultural area, because there was no icy fog like air conditioning floating around there, probably to ensure that the crops would not be affected by the rapidly changing temperature.

As Peony was about to turn and leave, the commotion in the farming area caught her attention.

There are two Pokémon there.

With shifty eyes and a face full of gossip, its neck was stretched out as long as that of the Flame Bird meme.

There are also Serpents that become unusually enraged for some unknown reason, like they're about to rush out and start a fight.

Fortunately, Moltres self-destructed through telepathy, and Peony quickly figured out the reason for Serperior's rage.

This also surprised Peony.

Although some of the signs were quite obvious in retrospect, it wasn't until she actually saw how angry Serpent looked that she realized Serpent really did like her heartless teacher a little too much.

He might even get jealous because of gossip brought by the Moltres and a woman.

Considering the identity of the Bamboo Orchid Champion, and based on some information she had observed, Peony hesitated for a few seconds before getting involved in the matter.

She told the monarch serpent what she had observed.

Fortunately, Serperior was reasonable. After confirming that Peony wasn't lying or trying to deceive it to avoid trouble, Serperior turned its anger directly on Moltres—

Next comes the beating.

Just like Peony was shocked just now.

The Serperior Serpent's inexplicably thick, hard, regenerating, and inexhaustible roots somehow managed to overcome the elemental affinity issue by forcefully using its powerful bricks. Despite the Moltres's terrified flames, it managed to tie it up, hang it up, and whip it.

Peony and the rest of the Ibuki watched from the VIP seats.

For this reason, Peony was somewhat worried that she might be retaliated against by Moltres.

Just as Peony was contemplating whether to simply run away halfway, a vine gently draped over her shoulder.

She turned her head and found that it was the Serpent Lord, whose emotions had calmed down.

Recalling the Serpent's fierce performance just now, Peony's body trembled subconsciously, and she inexplicably felt her legs go slightly weak.

Fortunately, the Serpent Lord had no intention of implicating the innocent; it simply nodded in a certain direction, signaling Peony to follow.

Peony shuddered again, perhaps because she had experienced some bad things in the past. Seeing the Serpent's actions, she subconsciously thought the worst.

Could it be that the Serpent Lord is trying to take me to that tall wheat field and use the cover of vision to "deal with" me?

Fortunately, Serperior isn't so bad as to be completely lacking in taste.

A short while later, what appeared before Peony was a small natural freezer.

It was a block of ice about the height of a person, emitting wisps of cold air, yet it showed no signs of melting under the sunlight.

The inside of the ice block was hollowed out and filled with more treasure chests than Peony had collected over a long period of time.

"This is."

Peony murmured, looking at the Serpent Lord with a puzzled expression.

“Gallop.”

The Serpent Lord merely raised its proud head in that direction, indicating that Peony could take whatever she wanted.

Anyway, everything in the natural refrigerator was prepared by Luo Mu at its request, as a treat for the white pufferfish, three-legged voles, and heavy mudslingers that usually work in the fields to cool off in the summer.

Occasionally, a Steel-armored Raven will fly down to take it.

The Serpent Lord was fair in rewarding and punishing, and since Peony had rendered meritorious service, there was no need for her to play that childish treasure hunt game with Luo Mu.

No matter how much ice cream Peony and her Pokémon dream of, Serperior will eat it all!

Peony quickly understood the meaning of the Monarch Serpent, and her eyes, hidden behind her thick glasses, gleamed slightly.

No homebody girl dislikes desserts, but the reason she was reluctant today was because she could only find ice cream if she exercised outdoors!
But now she doesn't need to go looking anymore, and there's plenty of ice cream.

—Then what are you waiting for? Let's go all out and show off!
Peony cheered and, along with Sylveon and the others, pounced straight ahead.

When Mudan opened the first blind box she had casually picked up, she was stunned when she saw what the ice cream inside looked like.

"A type I've never seen before, could it be a hidden gem?"

Looking at the ice cream in front of her, which was covered with some kind of unknown fruit crumbs and had a light green color that wouldn't spoil her appetite, Peony never expected that she would be so lucky.

Am I really that lucky today?
Did I get the hidden item on my first try?
But when Sylveon skillfully manipulated its ribbon to open a blind box, the ice cream that appeared was still the same color.

After taking a few bites, Peony confirmed that this must be the pistachio-flavored ice cream that Luo Mu had mentioned.

Without tasting any more, Peony opened several more treasure chests/blind boxes.

It contains a unique grassy and floral aroma, and its flavor is subtly different from other ice creams.

There are also ice creams wrapped in a thin layer of edible gold leaf, which look very mysterious and impressive.

In that instant, as if realizing something, Peony subconsciously turned her head to look at the Serpent Lord behind her.

As if knowing what she wanted to ask, the Monarch Serpent raised its proud head and nodded slightly.

That's right, all the treasure chests and blind boxes in the Natural Refrigerator require Luo Mu to put in that hidden ice cream.

As a royal Pokémon, Serperior naturally wants the best of everything.

Even ice cream has to be the rarest kind.

"So, all of these are hidden items?"

After understanding what the monarch serpent meant, Peony's eyes widened immediately.

Based on her years of experience playing video games...

She accidentally stumbled upon a hidden dungeon while "clearing" the levels today, and after clearing it, she unlocked an incredibly luxurious hidden reward!?

Could it be that today is actually my lucky day?

(End of this chapter)