Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 846 Shadow Invasion, Darkrai's Movements
Upon hearing the King of the Rathalos's response, Cattleya paused for a few seconds.

She never expected that the truth behind the "precognition" technique that Rachel had used together with Miss Gothic was actually like this.

Did we foresee our future?
Could this seemingly impossible feat have actually been accomplished by the Pokémon Calyrex, which Luo Mu described as having everything under control from the start of the battle?
If she lost in pure combat, Cattleya might actually feel resentful and think about getting back at her after improving her strength.

Being able to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings at such a young age must give her a certain amount of pride. Even if she loses a battle, she will still have the idea of ​​striving to catch up.

However, in terms of "predicting the future," it was completely crushed by an unreasonable and overwhelming force, something even Cattleya had to admit.

When it comes to "predicting the future," Lacecrown is the "strongest"!

"I see, I've learned something new."

Caldelia, whose face was slightly pale from overusing her superpowers, lifted her skirt with both hands and bowed gracefully.

This battle may seem brief, but she benefited greatly from it.

At least for Rachelon, who had become somewhat unclear about her goals after ascending to the throne of the Four Heavenly Kings, she pointed out a clear path.

It turns out that predicting the future can achieve this kind of effect.
The farther you can see, the greater your advantage in combat.

Unlike the mystical astrologers on Carlos's side who only glimpse a vague corner of the future, this person actively seeks out the future, ensuring they are always one level above others in battle.

She, Cattleya, understood.

Intuition told Cattleya that if she could really do that, she was confident she could challenge even that lecherous old man who had regained his strength.

If I can win the championship, I can stay by my older sister's side more legitimately.

After the battle with Cattleya ended, thankfully Karuno and Wanlong didn't suddenly decide to challenge them to a fight.

After a short rest, everyone set off and left Baiyang Town.

Amid Wu Song's relentless calls on the other end of the phone, Zhu Lan smiled and said that Luo Mu could use the villa as much as he wanted for the next few days.

She also left behind her butler, Jerome, who couldn't go to the Sinnoh League headquarters with her, asking him to take care of Luo Mu and Shinji's daily life for the next few days.

She also said that Luo Mu had been so hospitable to her and Alice at the farm, so as the host, she had to show her appreciation.

What could Luo Mu do? He could only say that Sister Zhu Lan was very generous.

After Zhu Lan got into the car and left, Luo Mu and Zhen Si looked at each other in the huge villa, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Apart from the smiling butler Jerome, the once lively living room was now empty except for the two of them.

After inquiring about Shinji's training progress that afternoon, Luo Mu glanced at the time and then stood up.

"Then go to sleep early. I need to get up early tomorrow to work with Alcremie to work on the desserts we'll be using for the competition this afternoon."

"Okay." Shinji nodded gently. He had been training all afternoon and was indeed feeling a little tired.

You should get some rest.

"Then I'll prepare a glass of warm milk for you both before bed," the butler, Jerome, said at the opportune moment.

"Thank you for your trouble." Luo Mu nodded slightly, then called for the Crowned Queen to go back to their room.

She also covered Shaymi's mouth when he tried to ask Jerome for food.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was late at night.

The bright moonlight filtering through the curtains was obscured by dark clouds at some point. An object moving at high speed in the shadows circled around Zhulan's villa before finally retreating and heading elsewhere.

In Luo Mu's room, who was fast asleep, the Queen of the Rosary, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes as if she had sensed something.

Its shadow twitched beneath its feet, and then the Spirit Horse's figure quietly rose, adding a touch of chill to the surrounding air.

Looking at her beloved horse, the Crowned King said softly, "My dear horse, did you sense it too?"

The spirit horse nodded, its blue mane swaying with its movements.

But it didn't respond with a hiss as usual, because if it really woke up Luo Mu, its favorite black carrot supply would be cut off and it would be all over.

As a Pokémon capable of manipulating shadows, it sensed that the shadows in the shadows of this town seemed to be stirring.

Lingyouma tilted its head and looked at the Crowned King, as if asking it whether it should intervene.

"Never mind, at least the starting point was good."

The Crowned King shook his head, his deep gaze fixed on the garden outside the window.

"Moreover, I don't sense any malice from it, which means that its actions at least have a reason."

In Calyrex's mind, the scene of encountering the Pokémon named Darkrai with Luo Mu during the day flashed through her mind.

There was no doubt that the other party was angry and malicious towards Luo Mu at the time, but strangely, this malice was only directed at Luo Mu.

With me here, the other party obviously cannot attack Luo Mu.

Therefore, judging from the fact that the other party left after just one round and moved on to other places, it was clear that they had changed their target.

Strangely, the Queen of the Lace Crown was unable to sense even the slightest bit of malice from the other party's actions when attacking other targets.

On the contrary, what urgent goodwill exists?

Moreover, there was something else that concerned King Raicho.

During its battle with Cattleya and Miss Goth, it suddenly discovered something.

That is, its ability to predict the future has encountered certain obstacles—

It could have at least used its own "foresight" to directly shatter and neutralize Cattleya and Miss Gothia's "foresight" the moment it manifested.

However, due to interference, it could only glimpse the location of the future attack and was forced to intervene to block it, before ending the battle with a simultaneous future prediction.

The last time this happened was in the past, during the era known as Xicui, influenced by the still-active local legends.

So this time...
The Crowned King narrowed its eyes; its intuition told it that the situation in this town might be somewhat unusual.

It turned out that Luo Mu's elaborate preparations on the farm were actually a way of knowing that he was about to be sent to Xicui through some peculiar method, as always.

But now it seems that perhaps Xicui was the unexpected one, the town called "Baiyang" that was originally their destination.

That's why Luo Mu fielded all his main forces.

So, all I can do now is wait and see.

The Crowned Queen's thoughts drifted away.

at the same time.

In the entire town of Baiyang, apart from Gao Di's courtyard and the Tower of Time and Space.

The jet-black sphere kept flashing in residential houses and outdoor areas where wild Pokémon lived.

Nightmares are silently encroaching on the peaceful sleep of both humans and Pokémon in Ashford Town.

Early the next morning.

Having gotten plenty of sleep, Shinji got up early. After enjoying the sumptuous breakfast prepared by Jerome, the butler of Orchid, he told Luo Mu, who was busy in the kitchen with Alcremie, that he was going out to relax in Poplar Town.

Strangely, as Shinji walked down the street, he suddenly noticed that a strange sense of panic seemed to permeate the entire city. Pedestrians hurried along, their eyes rimmed with dark circles.

The wild Pokémon were also listless, no longer as lively as he had seen them when he first arrived in Ashford.

But before Shinji could investigate the source of this panic, he no longer had the time to pay attention to the matter.

I passed by a square that was at least somewhat lively, though there weren't many people with dark circles under their eyes.

He suddenly heard a very familiar shout.

"Pikachu, use one hundred thousand volts!"

Shinji froze, looking to his side with disbelief.

Shinji saw a figure that looked very familiar to him, a figure he would recognize even if reduced to ashes. The owner of this figure was passionately directing his ever-present partner, the yellow-skinned rat, to unleash a Thunderbolt attack on another trainer, Torterra, whom Shinji had never seen before.

What an idiot!!!

Shinji really didn't want to admit that he had actually made a promise with this guy to use the Pokémon he had trained in the Sinnoh region to battle again at the Lily of the Valley Conference.

It's clear that I've fought my own tortoise a dozen or twenty times, if not a hundred.

It turns out this person couldn't remember that Torterra is a Ground-type Pokémon, and that it's immune to Electric-type moves when the strength difference isn't significant!
Judging from the trainer's astonished expression, you could tell just how outrageous this was.

Moreover, if Shinji remembers correctly, judging from the advertisements posted on the lampposts along the way, these people gathered here should be trainers who will participate in the Grand Contest to be held in the Tower of Time a few days later, after Luo Mu's dessert contest ends.

Shinji doesn't discriminate against Contest Trainers as mere showmen, because he has witnessed the strength displayed by Wallace, a Coordination Master.

Ash's behavior is a disgrace to all trainers!
Shinji stopped without hesitation, abandoning his plan to wander around the plaza and see if any vendors were selling cheap, affordable items. He turned to leave this troublesome place.

But at this moment, seeing that Thunderbolt had no effect, Ash immediately commanded Pikachu to use Iron Tail. With the power accumulated from traveling to four regions, Pikachu used its small weight to knock Torterra over.

His peripheral vision, as if he had some kind of mysterious radar for Shinji, locked onto Shinji's retreating figure.

"Isn't that Shinji!?"

When Shinji heard that call from behind, he knew he was in trouble.

He tried to pretend he hadn't heard and leave, but the speed at which the other party's "physical body" exploded, as always, was clearly beyond his ability to get rid of.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, accompanied by a surprised cry from the little Chimchar on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Ash standing in front of him with a bright smile.

Shinji knew that this time he couldn't escape it.

To be honest, he really wanted to distance himself from Ash and only have one battle with him at the Lily of the Valley Conference.

After all, this person is really a bit strange. He keeps getting lost or encountering unexpected events along the way. Wherever he goes, something bad is likely to happen.

It carried a somewhat ominous connotation.

Shinji wanted to avoid Satoshi because he didn't want to get caught up in some strange incident while taking a walk to clear his head.

Shinji slowly raised his head, looked at Satoshi with a blank expression, and spoke in a calm tone without any inflection.

"Why are you here?"

Pretending not to see Ash was his last act of defiance.

"You know Xiaoguang and Xiaogang too, so I won't introduce them."

"This is Miss Alice, your tour guide in Poplar Town."

Ash pulled Shinji in front of his friends and, with rare display of emotional intelligence, introduced him to them.

Xiaogang and Xiaoguang had met before and interacted many times, so a nod was sufficient to acknowledge them.

But Shinji still introduced himself to Alice, the tour guide who was looking over.

"Hello, I am Shinji, a trainer who is passing through this area on my travels."

After receiving a response, Shinji was about to make an excuse to slip away when he heard the tour guide, Alice, clapping her hands and suggesting, "By the way, I was just about to invite everyone to visit the garden. Would you like to come along, Shinji-kun?"

Upon hearing this, Shinji looked up and glanced at Alice with a puzzled expression.

"The courtyard refers to that high-ranking man's courtyard?"

"Yes."

Alice nodded in affirmation.

"Okay."

For some reason, Shinji nodded and accepted the invitation.

Following behind the lively crowd, watching Chimchar play with Ash's Pikachu and Dawn's Piplup, Shinji's gaze wandered somewhat.

He recalled the conversation between Luo Mu and Zhu Lan and the others last night.

Shinji remembered that the second round of the dessert competition that Alcremie was going to participate in was held in the "Gaudi's Garden" that Alice mentioned.

According to Zhu Lan and the others, and based on the content of the notification text messages that Luo Mu received afterward.

Their second theme was preparing desserts for the wild Pokémon that lived in the yard.

However, "Gaudi's Garden" is temporarily closed to the public due to preparations for the competition, and the Confectionery Association has also brought some other types of Pokémon from several regions.

For example, the starfish with the strange walking posture that Luo Mu mentioned.

So this morning, Luo Mu and Alcremie were busy in the kitchen preparing a dessert suitable for most Pokémon.

Although he didn't know why the tour guide, Miss Alice, was able to lead them into the courtyard, he still wanted to go in and take a look since he had the opportunity.

If we could find out the approximate species of wild Pokémon inside, we could share this information with Luo Mu and Alcremie, increasing Alcremie's chances of winning, instead of trying things like a headless fly.

Yes, that was Shinji's original plan.

But after he had toured the courtyard and heard Alice playing a strange tune on a grass flute, he decided to take his leave.

The sudden appearance of a Gallade sent a message that gave Shinji a bad feeling.

As he followed the others to a corner of the courtyard, Baron Albert suddenly appeared, along with another scholar wearing glasses named Dononi.

The ominous premonition grew even stronger.

as predicted.

When the Pokémon Darkrai appeared, Shinji knew things were going to get bad.

I really shouldn't have gone on this trip with Ash!
Shinji stood with the others, and based on past experience, he instinctively felt that he should be the "spectator" that Luo Mu had mentioned.

After all, trouble always comes to Xiao Zhi.

But then he noticed that the Darkrai was looking at him, its blue eyes flashing with undisguised hostility.

Darkrai's voice suddenly rang in his ears, almost as if it were directed at Shinji.

"Get out!!!"

(End of this chapter)