Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Xiaoxia dragged Jiangchuan along, the gravel crunching under their feet, the mountain wind whistling past their ears, carrying the coolness seeping from the cracks in the rocks.

After running for a while, Xiaoxia gradually slowed down and looked around.

Apart from the gray-brown rock walls and low shrubs on both sides of the mountain road, there was nothing else to be seen. Occasionally, a few Rattatas would peek out from the cracks in the rocks, only to quickly retreat back inside. Even the calls of Bug-type Pokémon were sparse and infrequent.

"It's so quiet around here. It doesn't seem like there's any activity like the Onix or other large Pokémon you were talking about."

Xiaoxia stood with her hands on her hips, her chest rising and falling slightly, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Jiang Chuan, you're not kidding me, are you?"

She turned to stare at Jiang Chuan, her cheeks puffing out slightly, her tone tinged with suspicion.

"Driving you around like this has made me so hungry!"

Jiang Chuan followed at a leisurely pace, casually brushing her wind-blown hair behind her ear, his tone indifferent.

"I'm not lying to you, we'll be there in a little while."

He glanced ahead and added another sentence.

"Are you hungry? No problem, let's walk a little further, there are some delicious fried meatballs ahead."

Xiaoxia, who was still panting, frowned immediately upon hearing this.

"Are there fried meatballs in this deep mountain forest?"

She tilted her head, looking Jiang Chuan up and down, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Jiang Chuan, do you think I'm too easy to fool lately?"

She took a step forward, tilting her chin up so that her nose almost touched Jiang Chuan's chest.

"How is that possible? Miacha Mountain isn't the commercial street of Cerulean City. Where would you find fried meatballs halfway up a mountain? Do you think I'm Psyduck?"

Jiang Chuan chuckled, didn't reply, but grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.

"Let's go."

We hadn't gone far.

At the bend in the rock wall ahead, on a slightly flattened platform, there was indeed a simple little shed.

A few wooden stakes supported a yellowish canvas, beneath which sat two or three low tables and several wooden stools. Beside the shed stood a large iron pot, the oil inside still bubbling gently, while an old woman wearing a gray apron was stirring something with long bamboo chopsticks.

The aroma of fried food wafted in the air, mingling with the mountain breeze, and was surprisingly enticing.

Xiaoxia stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening instantly.

"No, no way..."

Jiang Chuan turned his head to look at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Xiaoxia turned and glared at him, then quickly shifted her gaze back to the oil pan, her throat involuntarily bobbing.

After the two sat down on the wooden stool, the old lady brought over a pot of cold tea and two plates of fried meatballs.

The meatballs are small, with a golden and crispy outer skin. When you bite into them, they are very juicy, mixed with chopped wild vegetables and some kind of spice, with a savory and slightly sweet aftertaste.

Xiaoxia was probably really hungry. She didn't care that it was still hot from the pot. She blew on it a couple of times and then stuffed it into her mouth.

One by one.

His cheeks were bulging, his lips were greasy, and he still managed to pick up a teacup, gulping down half a bowl of cold tea before letting out a satisfied sigh.

Jiang Chuan held his teacup, sipping slowly, his gaze falling on Xiaoxia. Seeing her eating with her mouth full of oil, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

"I told you that climbing the mountain would help you get your abs back, but you ate so much while you were climbing."

He sighed deliberately, his tone full of sarcasm.

"When will it be possible to fix this for you?"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Xiaoxia's eyes widened, and she reached into the plate, grabbing a meatball and shoving it into Jiang Chuan's mouth with lightning speed.

"Ugh—"

Jiang Chuan was caught off guard, the hot meatball pressed right against his back molars.

Xiaoxia puffed out her cheeks, chewing as she mumbled, "Mmm! This guy! Even such a big meatball can't shut you up!"

She swallowed a mouthful, picked up the teacup again, and glanced sideways at Jiang Chuan.

"You're not allowed to say that about me. I've eaten this meal, and I'll try my best from now on..."

The last syllable was drawn out softly, with a hint of coquetry, as if she were trying to save face.

Jiang Chuan chewed the meatball in his mouth, swallowed it, shook his head with a smile, and stopped teasing her.

After Xiaoxia finished eating, the two rested for a while before continuing their ascent up the mountain.

The higher you go, the harder the road becomes.

The gravel path turned into an exposed rock slope, and in some places, one had to use both hands and feet to climb up. Xiaoxia, on the other hand, was quite fit and kept up closely the whole way.

After climbing a certain distance, Xiaoxia suddenly stopped, pointed to a relatively flat area ahead, and frowned.

"Why is the irrigation canal on this mountain such a mess?"

What she saw were wide and deep ravines, crisscrossing the rock surface. Some cut diagonally down the hillside, while others meandered around large piles of rubble. They varied in depth and had uneven edges, showing no signs of being man-made.

Jiang Chuan stopped and looked in the direction she pointed, then glanced at the mountains further away.

These gullies extend upwards from the mountainside, resembling the marks left by some giant creature that has been crushing, dragging, and colliding over the years.

He looked away, his tone calm.

"This is not some kind of irrigation ditch."

He paused, then gestured for Xia to look at the broken rocks and scratches along the edges of the ravines.

"These are the marks left by the giant onyx snake rampaging across this mountain."

Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment.

She looked back at the ravines, her gaze slowly sweeping over the nearest one.

That width... it could easily fit three Onix side by side, let alone one Onix.

Her mouth was slightly open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

When Jiang Chuan told her at the foot of the mountain that "the giant rock snakes here are particularly large," she only had a very vague idea in her mind.

Now that she has seen these ravines with her own eyes, she truly realizes just how big "extraordinarily big" really is.

"This...this is way too outrageous..."

Xiaoxia murmured, her fingers unconsciously clenching Jiang Chuan's clothes.

Jiang Chuan didn't say anything more. His gaze calmed down, and he mobilized the power of waveguide, spreading his perception outward.

Invisible ripples extend along the mountain winds, rock layers, and crevices, like an extremely fine net, slowly enveloping the surroundings.

At first, there were only some faint life reactions—small Rock-type Pokémon, a few Geodude hiding in the shadows, and some scattered Grass-type or Bug-type fluctuations.

Jiang Chuan ignored them.

The waveguide continues to be explored in depth.

Soon, at the edge of his perception range, an extremely deep and solid energy reaction emerged.

The reaction was not intense, but exceptionally solid, like the slow and powerful beating of the heart of an entire mountain range.

It is it.

Jiang Chuan opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Found it."

He grasped Xiaoxia's hand and immediately quickened his pace.

"Come with me."

The two bypassed several deep ravines and moved quickly upwards along the rock slope.

Halfway there, Jiang Chuan paused almost imperceptibly.

Another fluctuation entered the range of perception.

Unlike the previous deep and heavy energy, this fluctuation was more condensed and concentrated, carrying a kind of extremely tenacious vitality.

Moreover, it comes from humans.

Jiang Chuan had a rough idea of ​​who this was.

He didn't stop, and continued to move closer to that direction with Xiaoxia.

as predicted.

After passing through a pile of rocks, the terrain ahead opened up, and on a huge rock platform about half the size of a basketball court, a burly figure was standing upside down.

The man was wearing only white trousers, his upper body bare, his muscles sculpted as if directly carved from rock. Every muscle was sharply defined, and beads of sweat streamed down his bronze skin, glistening in the sunlight.

He stood upside down, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, his body as straight as a ruler, moving up and down with an extremely steady rhythm.

Jiang Chuan recognized him at a glance.

Shiba.

One of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kanto, a master of fighting styles.

Shiba had clearly noticed someone approaching long ago.

He turned his head to the side, his upside-down face revealing no expression, and his gaze swept over Jiang Chuan and Xiao Xia.

"If you two are on a date, then that's all the advice I can offer."

His voice was deep and resonant, carrying a hint of blunt warning.

"It would be very dangerous to go any further."

As he spoke, Shiba did two more push-ups, his movements perfectly coordinated.

"My suggestion is that you return the way you came."

Jiang Chuan understood.

On the surface, this is a well-intentioned reminder, but it actually carries another layer of meaning.

The other party clearly did not want anyone to venture further into this area.

The reason is self-evident.

That giant rock snake.

Before Jiang Chuan could even speak, Xiaoxia excitedly jumped out.

"Hey, sir!"

She took a big step forward, her eyes shining brightly.

"We're not here for tourism; we're here to capture a super-sized Onix!"

She tilted her head back, her tone filled with an arrogant excitement.

"Have you seen it?"

Shiba stopped moving.

His body paused in mid-air for a moment, then he pushed off with his arms and sprang up from his inverted position.

He used his waist and abdomen to spin in mid-air and landed steadily in front of the two people.

It didn't even stir up much dust when it landed.

After he stopped, he didn't say anything, but looked down at Jiang Chuan and Xiao Xia.

Shiba was extremely tall, standing in front of us like half an iron tower, and his shadow alone completely covered the two of us.

His gaze first fell on Xiaoxia's face, then quickly shifted to Jiangchuan.

Finally, it stopped at Jiang Chuan's feet.

The Pikachu that was squatting next to the rock, rubbing its face with its paws.

Pikachu sensed someone watching it, raised its little head, and its beady black eyes met Shiba's.

"Skin?"

Shiba was silent for two seconds.

He looked away and re-examined Jiang Chuan.

He was very young, dressed plainly, and his skin didn't look like that of someone who had spent years crawling and rolling in the wild.

There were no other Pokémon released nearby, only a Pikachu.

Is it an Electric-type Pokémon here to catch Onix?

Shiba quickly made a judgment in his mind.

Two rookie trainers.

They must have heard somewhere that giant rock snakes roamed Mount Miacha, so they came here to try their luck.

It posed no threat to that giant rock snake.

He didn't even need to say much.

However, the fact that these two were able to get this far shows that they are physically strong and quite daring.

Shiba's attitude relaxed slightly.

He crossed his arms, his gaze shifting from Pikachu to Jiang Chuan's face.

He's seen far too many young people like that.

Full of youthful vigor, feeling like he was destined to be the protagonist, he ran into the deep mountains with a rumor he'd heard from some town, dreaming of capturing a rare elf to show off back home.

They usually don't end up in a good situation.

But this one seems a little different.

Shiba couldn't quite put his finger on what was different.

It was that unhurried demeanor that made him take a second look.

"Young man."

Shiba spoke, his voice deep and clear, standing out clearly in the mountain breeze.

"Are you here to subdue the giant Onix here?"

Without waiting for Jiang Chuan's reply, he took another step forward and pointed to the ravine behind him.

"Are you familiar with the onix here?"

Shiba's tone wasn't contemptuous, but it carried the directness of an elder speaking to a junior.

"That's no ordinary giant rock snake."

"If you're bringing a Pikachu with you, I suggest you go back."

He tilted his head and looked at the Pikachu at Jiang Chuan's feet.

"So you don't hurt yourself later."

That's a very practical statement.

Shiba wasn't exactly a person who liked to beat around the bush.

In his opinion, it would be lucky if these two young people could survive three rounds against that giant onyx.

What he didn't know was that when he said those words, it wasn't Jiang Chuan who got angry first.

It's Xiaoxia.

"Feed, feed..."

Xiaoxia stepped in front of Jiang Chuan, tilted her head back, puffed out her chest, and looked like a cat protecting its cubs.

"Uncle, don't underestimate people, okay?"

She glared at Shiba, her tone sharp and crisp.

"Don't let our youth fool you, our Jiang Chuan is incredibly capable!"

When Xiaoxia said this, she held her chin high and her eyes sparkled, as if she were stating a common sense fact that the whole world should know.

"What's wrong with Pikachu? Pikachu is awesome too! Besides, Jiang Chuan has more than one Pikachu!"

She got more and more excited as she talked, almost counting on her fingers how many gym badges Jiangchuan had won.

"Let me tell you, the Cerulean City Gym Badge, Viridian..."

"cough."

Jiang Chuan coughed softly.

Xiaoxia's voice abruptly stopped.

She glanced back at Jiang Chuan and immediately realized that she had talked too much again.

Jiang Chuan didn't look at her; his gaze calmly fell on Shiba.

Shiba, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kanto, is known as the Fighting King.

In the official rankings of the league, this person is one of the few who stand at the very top of the Kanto trainer pyramid.

But Jiang Chuan knew something else even better.

The fact that Shiba is here means that he also wants that special giant rock snake.

Moreover, judging from the timeline, Shiba should have been observing this area for some time.

Since we've run into each other...

To subdue that giant rock snake, you must first get past Shiba.

There's no way around it.

Jiang Chuan slowly walked forward.

As he passed by Xiaoxia, he raised his hand and gently tapped the back of her hand twice with the back of his fingers.

The force was very light.

As if by reflex, Xiaoxia immediately stopped talking, obediently took half a step back, and stood behind Jiang Chuan.

With her hands behind her back, fingers intertwined, lips pursed, her eyes still sparkling as she stared at Shiba.

It's as if he's saying: Just you wait and see, my Jiang Chuan will come and tell you himself!