Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 863 The Riotous Locust Swarm He's Simply a Superman

"That's it~"

Although the clues about Peony have run dry, Leihe doesn't seem discouraged.

Instead, he became even more motivated.

At first, she thought the white Pokémon with indistinct features might be an Absol Pokémon.

Even though there are almost no sightings of this Pokémon in the Padilla region, nothing is absolute, and there are definitely a few sporadic sightings.

It is said that in the Hoenn region in the past, this Pokémon was often mistaken by some ignorant people as a Pokémon that brings disaster.

Because when they emerge from the deep mountains, they are often accompanied by various natural disasters.

Earthquakes, torrential rains, droughts, tsunamis.
Humans once regarded it as an ominous symbol, referring to it as a monster that brought disaster, or simply a "disaster beast."

It wasn't until recent years, as Pokémon scholars gained a deeper understanding of Absol, that it was finally exonerated.

It turns out that Absol Pokémon have special racial talents.

Just like the X-ray vision of the Roentgenie cats, which can see through objects by consuming electricity, Absol's crescent-shaped horn has the unique ability to sense natural disasters.

When the scholars published this discovery.

Only then did people realize that these Pokémon were not "disaster beasts" that brought calamities, but rather kind Pokémon that left the deep mountains to warn humanity, even when misunderstood.

In addition, the frequent crop failures in this area can be considered a sign of disaster, so it's understandable that Absol appeared to warn humans and Pokémon.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon didn't actually intend to hide its appearance and revealed its true form to Reho and the others several times.

It was a white and green canine Pokémon, unrelated to Absol, and certainly not an undiscovered evolution or pre-evolution of Absol.

And it is precisely for this reason that Leihe firmly believes—

Perhaps that Pokémon is the legendary Pokémon that the Padilla region has always lacked, and whose existence may have been buried for some reason!

As a tomb raider—no, as an archaeologist with the same profession as that female champion from the Sinnoh region.

She naturally has a considerable degree of enthusiasm for the past.

But if you were to ask her what type of history she's most interested in, it would definitely be the ancient history closely linked to "legendary Pokémon".

She had traveled to many regions to study their myths and legends, including those of Kanto, Alora, and Unova.
But this was the first time Reho had ever seen that kind of Pokémon.

She believed that the other person must be hiding a secret.

Thinking of this, Leihe took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the somewhat familiar woodland before her—

This is the very place where they last lost track of that mysterious Pokémon yesterday.

"Pay attention, everyone! Be aware of your surroundings!" she whispered a reminder.

Everyone nodded, held their breath, and scanned the trees with their eyes.

Just as they were considering whether to release their Pokémon to help them search for the Pokémon's whereabouts...

In the blink of an eye, accompanied by a gust of wind blowing past his side, that familiar white figure, like a ghost, reappeared without warning on the open ground not far ahead.

It still had that mysterious canine posture with its white and green stripes, and a strip of material inlaid with pink hexagonal gemstones, like a scarf, was suspended.

It just stood there quietly, seemingly looking back at them, as if waiting for them to catch up.

"It's here!" Pipa exclaimed softly, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

However, this time, the mysterious canine Pokémon did not disappear as quickly as before.

Its speed slowed down considerably, almost strolling ahead to lead the way, occasionally stopping to look back and check if Leihe and her group were keeping up.

"It seems like it's waiting for us?" Peony pushed up her glasses, her expression somewhat strange.

"Looks like it's finally realized we can't keep up with its speed." Leihe smiled. "Stay close, everyone, and don't fall behind this time!"

Guided by the mysterious Pokémon, the group cautiously ventured deeper into the forest on the outskirts of town. The trees grew denser, and the light became dimmer.

As they went deeper, a strange rustling sound began to emerge, initially faint, but later becoming clearer and more frequent.

The white Pokémon walking in front stopped again, turned to the side, and looked at an area with particularly dense trees.

Seeing this, Leihe quickly made a gesture, and the group slowed down and quietly approached.

When they pushed aside the last shrub blocking their view, the sight before them made everyone gasp.

The woodland ahead had almost completely changed.

Large numbers of bean crickets and grasshoppers gathered here, densely covering the tree trunks, branches, leaves, and even the ground, like a constantly wriggling gray-black carpet.

The rustling sound is the sound they make when they nibble on plants.

The trees here have suffered; many low shrubs and herbs have been completely eaten away, leaving only bare stems.

Even the bark of some large trees was gnawed away, leaving them with sparse branches and leaves, presenting a desolate scene.

"Good heavens," Wu Li murmured, "so many bean crickets and scorpion grasshoppers!"

Pipa frowned even more: "They've almost completely eaten all the plants here."

"Hey, why do they seem to be emitting wisps of faint black mist?"

After careful observation, Danyu made a new discovery and quickly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly looked over again, and sure enough, they saw a faint trace of black aura on almost every bean cricket and scorpion locust.

"Moreover, this quantity and proportion are too abnormal."

Peony, who had been typing away on her portable computer keyboard, looked up and showed the computer screen to everyone.

A clear and easy-to-understand comparison chart is prominently displayed on it.

Peony also chimed in, "I retrieved a chart showing the evolution ratio of Crickety to Locust from statistics compiled by Pokémon scholars in the Padia region."

She pointed to the data on the screen, her brow furrowed: "According to normal data, the proportion of bean crickets evolving into grasshoppers in a population should be around 30%, but look here—"

On the screen, the red bar representing the scorpion locust is significantly taller than the blue bar representing the bean cricket.

"The number of grasshoppers here is almost three times that of bean crickets! This is completely out of proportion to their normal population!"

Peony's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

"Even though Crickety is a Bug-type Pokémon and evolves very quickly, it's still too abnormal that the evolved forms are the majority now!"

"hiss--"

Just as everyone was shocked by the unusual data, the mysterious white canine Pokémon that had been standing quietly in front suddenly let out a low growl.

Its sharp eyes were fixed on the depths of the woodland where the locust swarm had gathered.

Everyone followed its gaze—

In the heart of the dense swarm of bean crickets and locusts, deep within the woods, stood a strangely shaped stake!
The stake was an ominous dark color, its surface covered with indistinguishable patterns, and a worn-out bell hung on it.

Even more disturbingly, thick streams of black gas were seeping continuously from the surface of the piles and then slowly seeping into the ground.

"That's... the Sealing Stake!?" Leihe's pupils contracted sharply; this was the first time she had ever seen it in person. After a brief moment of shock, her gaze towards the stake instantly turned fervent.

Wu Li nodded emphatically at this moment: "Apart from the fact that it looks a bit strange, it is basically the same as the sealing stake we saw near Luanji Waterfall before."

“We’ve finally found it,” Pipa said with a sigh of relief.

"But how do we get there?"

Peony instinctively hugged her arms tightly, feeling that the densely packed Bug-type Pokémon were particularly eerie.

If anyone present today were afraid of Bug-type Pokémon, they would probably have been instantly knocked unconscious upon seeing this scene.

"If a road is impassable, just use your fists to make it open."

Biwa clenched her fists, and her usually gentle tone became firm.

Although her words seemed rash, they were indeed reasonable.

Based on the current situation.

Rather than doing something impossible like secretly purifying the sealing stake in the center in front of so many eyes, without anyone noticing.

At least breaking through by force is more realistic.

"Those bean crickets and grasshoppers seem to be sucking up the black mist emanating from the stake. Could their imbalanced evolutionary ratio be related to this?"

Joey Joestar, who had been carefully observing inside, suddenly spoke up.

“Very likely,” Leiho nodded.

According to her analysis, the legendary Pokémon of the four Calamity Treasures are very likely to have the Dark type.

It just so happens that the Pokémon Ragdoll is a Bug/Dark type. Even though Cricket is only a Bug type, it doesn't stop them from using the strange black mist that is escaping and is likely the cause of crop failures as food for their growth.

This explains the unusually large number of locusts.

Just as everyone was pondering how to approach the sealing stake and then pour the "clear water that purifies all filth" given by Luo Mu,

Joey Joestar, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

"I think it would be better to report this situation to the Parthian League first."

"The league won't sit idly by here. They should be sending professional trainers, even Elite Four or Champion-level trainers, to handle this issue soon."

"Or, as a second-best option, wouldn't it be safer to ask Mr. Luo Mu for help?"

As a police officer, Joey Joestar's mindset naturally prioritizes safety above all else.

The group fell silent for a moment.

Because what he said makes a lot of sense.

Just as Leiho and the students were hesitating, wondering whether to take the risk or play it safe and seek help—

The mysterious white Pokémon that had been standing still and observing suddenly moved.

Instead of moving silently as before, it deliberately took a few steps forward, precisely stepping onto the dry, fragile fallen leaves that covered the ground.

Click—crack—

The crisp, loud cracking sound was particularly jarring in this woodland shrouded in the rustling of gnawing.

In an instant, all the rustling sounds stopped abruptly.

Hundreds of pairs of insect eyes turned in unison to the source of the sound, focusing on the conspicuous white Pokémon.

The bean crickets and grasshoppers, shrouded in black mist, stiffly stopped eating.

An ominous red light flashed in their eyes; their focus, which had been solely on food, seemed to be completely ignited by the sudden sound.

"Zhizhi——!"

“Hiss—!”

A sharp, piercing chirping sound suddenly erupted, coalescing into a wave of sound that sent chills down one's spine.

The group of Locusts closest to the mysterious white Pokémon reacted first. Their powerful hind legs slammed into the ground, and with an enraged ferocity, they charged straight at the white figure like cannonballs!
The mysterious white canine Pokémon stood still, seemingly unfazed by the surging swarm of insects.

With a powerful leap of its slender limbs, it soared high into the air and landed silently behind the crowd in the blink of an eye.

While the students were still stunned by the scene, the most cunning human in the room, Leihe, let out a sound of gritting her teeth.

"It did it on purpose."

He deliberately attracted the attention of those fierce-legged locusts, then deliberately pulled them to his side, where he leisurely watched the show.

This is a whole drama of shifting the blame eastward!

They were tricked by a Pokémon!

"Depend on!"

Piper, the first student to react, shouted and, facing the surging Locust and Beancutter, could only throw out a Poké Ball with a contorted expression.

"Godfather of the Mastiffs, save me!"

His actions were as if he had flipped a switch.

Everyone took out their Poké Balls and released their Pokémon.

"Zoroark!" "Sylveon!" "Nine-Tails!" "Honey Serpent!"

The Pokémon of Leihe, Mudan, Danyu, and Wuli jumped out of their Poké Balls to deal with the sudden attack.

"Crush", "Dark Blast", "Magic Dazzle", "Flame Jet", "Random Light".

The dazzling light effects of various moves burst forth, managing to stop the first wave of more than a dozen Fiery Leg Locusts and Bean Crickets that were approaching.

But the so-called locust swarm never relies on the strength of a single individual, but rather on the overwhelming and densely packed numbers that crush the enemy without any justification.

Once the first wave of approaching locusts is repelled, even more locusts will immediately fill the gaps.

In everyone's view, the sky was almost completely filled by the leaping, fiery-legged locusts.

"Phew—it seems I can't hold back either."

Upon seeing this, Joey Joestar stepped forward, took a deep breath, and assumed a fighting stance.

Facing the swarm of locusts that pressed down like a dark cloud, he shouted in a deep voice, and his fists turned into afterimages, punching into the air at an astonishing speed!
“Ola Ola Ola Ola——!”

Accompanied by his imposing battle roar, a violent fist wind swept upwards with impact force as if it were a tangible substance.

Those Fiery Leg Locusts that leaped high into the air with their powerful hind legs, attempting to pounce from the air, seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, and were blasted away and knocked down by the dense and powerful fist wind!
The crackling sounds were incessant. In the blink of an eye, a dark swarm of swarming locusts fell from mid-air like dumplings being dropped into a pot, clearing a small, brief vacuum zone around the group.

This extraordinary scene left the students nearby speechless.

No, are you Superman?!
The mysterious white canine Pokémon tilted its head slightly, its dark green body flashing, seemingly revealing a subtle surprise at Joy Joestar's performance.

(End of this chapter)