Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Xia Chen then realized that Mikoli's report to the Alliance had betrayed him. Knowing he was in the wrong, he whispered, "I should have known better than to tell them..."

Upon hearing this, Cynthia became even more enraged. "Why didn't you tell us? Did you think you could handle everything? Who gave you that confidence? Guleton? Or that Deoxys?"

Gu Leton, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, shrank back, indicating that it was none of his business.

…………

Xia Chen knew that Cynthia was really angry this time, so he quickly explained, "No, but... if Groudon and Kyogre really wake up, then Sootopolis will be in too much danger."

He certainly didn't have the confidence to face the Hoenn gods alone, otherwise he wouldn't have thought of running away in the first place.

But it was precisely because he didn't want to involve Cynthia and the others he cared about that he chose not to tell her.

"Oh? So you think Higana and I are weak? Want to have a match?"

Gadriya wasn't as angry as Cynthia, and even had the leisure to say something slightly sarcastic.

Xia Chen smiled wryly, "How could I have such a thought... But I've faced legendary spirits before, and their strength... is truly beyond our human comprehension, so..."

Perhaps it was Xia Chen's sincere words and motives that moved Cynthia, whose expression softened slightly as she said, "What do you think a champion is? Just a title?"

Xia Chen, like a primary school student eager to show off, answered quickly: "I know, it also means responsibility, the responsibility to stand in front of the general public in times of crisis."

Cynthia said irritably, "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Xia Chen muttered stubbornly, head down, "But this is Hoenn, not Sinnoh or Unova under your jurisdiction..."

Cynthia was furious. "Xia Chen, was I too lenient with you before?"

Caldelia, stirring things up from the sidelines, said excitedly, "Do you need my help? I've been wanting to teach this rebellious wretch a lesson for ages!"

Upon hearing that Jia Deliya was about to make a move, Xia Chen was so frightened that he quickly surrendered, "Okay, I know I was wrong, I will definitely change next time."

Cynthia finally calmed down. "Tell me, what's going on now?"

Xia Chen smiled wryly, "Before that, why don't you take a shower first? After all, the human body is not like that of an elf."

Chapter 327 Rainy Night, The Beginning

The sound of rain outside the window was clear and dense, like the beat of drums, while the sound of water inside was much more ambiguous and enchanting.

Cynthia and Gadriya, who had braved the rain to reach Sootopolis, were taking a bath together in the bathroom.

The reason is certainly not that this luxurious sea-view villa doesn't have two bathrooms. If that were the case, then the owner of this house, Chairman Zvoich, would be far too low-class.

After much pleading and cajoling from Gadriya, Cynthia reluctantly went into the bathroom with her.

Then, the warm golden lights came on, and Cattleya's exclamations of surprise and laughter mingled with Cynthia's embarrassed and annoyed rebukes.

Finally getting a breather, Xia Chen returned to the living room, pondering with some concern whether the arrival of the two champions would have any impact on the current situation.

Undoubtedly, the two of them can be considered among the top combatants among humans, and even Cattleya herself may have the strength of a Pokémon equivalent to an Elite Four member or even a Champion.

So, what would it be like if the champion faced off against a legendary Pokémon?

Such a scene has never appeared in this world, so Xia Chen can only find references from anime or special comics.

The first thing that came to his mind was Steven's Mega Metagross's earth-shattering attack on Kyogre.

That was already a highlight moment for the champion Pokémon, but even so, in the subsequent battles, it and Alain's X-Charizard still couldn't stop Primal Revert Groudon from fighting against Kyogre.

This shows that there is a significant gap between Champion-level Pokémon and true Legendary Pokémon.

Even more frightening is that, according to Xia Chen's comparison, the legendary Pokémon in the real world are a whole order of magnitude more powerful than those in the animation, at least those cover Pokémon.

That means the gap between the two will widen further, so their participation in the war may be useful, but it is unlikely to be as useful as imagined.

…………

"Brother Xia Chen, who are those two older sisters?"

Xiao Xi, who appeared out of nowhere, suddenly interrupted Xia Chen's thoughts with a question.

When Cynthia and Gadriya first came in, the heavy atmosphere made her and Serena slip upstairs. They only came out now that the two were gone.

"It's Cynthia and Cattleya, they are the champions of the Sinnoh League and the Unova League."

Before Xia Chen could speak, Serena first explained this fact that almost everyone knew.

Her tone was excited and her expression was full of longing; she seemed to be a big fan of one of the two female champions, or perhaps both.

Xiao Xi nodded repeatedly and continued to ask, "Oh, what are they doing here? Are they here for the grand celebration too?"

Serena couldn't answer such a private question for him. She looked at Xia Chen with the same intense curiosity, her intuition telling her that there was some shocking gossip involved.

Xia Chen mumbled, "Not really, I just need to talk to you about something..."

The word "perfunctory" was written all over his face, so the two girls understood and stopped asking.

Xia Chen didn't tell them that Groudon and Kyogre were about to wake up. Putting aside whether they would be willing to leave after knowing, even if they were, he didn't dare to leave the two of them alone outside at this time.

What if the two idiots happen to wake up at that time?

The safest place is actually by your own side, so while Leighton might not be able to beat the two idiots, he certainly won't have any problem protecting the two little girls.

During their conversation, a noise came from the bathroom. The door opened, and two stunningly beautiful women in bathrobes emerged. Their faces were flushed, whether from the water temperature or something else, making them even more beautiful than peach blossoms.

Serena was greatly impressed by the unique charm and temperament of the two women, which were completely different from those of the naive young girl.

Of course, the reason for the shock was not only physical attributes such as appearance, figure, and temperament, but also the fact that someone who could only be seen on TV in the past was now appearing in front of him in this way.

The shock of this contrast made Serena suddenly feel inexplicably envious of Xia Chen.

In this world, only he could see these two champions so relaxed.

…………

"Oh, so you've already formed a family of three in Hoenn without even telling your master?"

After getting to know her, the seemingly innocent and naive Cattleya becomes a bit more unrestrained and witty, easily spouting witty remarks about yin and yang.

Xia Chen ignored his cheap master and introduced them to each other: "This is Xijia, a Meteorite. I brought her along on my trip to Meteor Village. This is Serena. She was originally here to attend the Grand Festival, but we met on the way and started traveling together."

Cynthia greeted her two juniors in a friendly manner, while Gadriya, being more aloof, simply nodded in acknowledgment.

It was much simpler when it came to Cynthia's turn. "These two are Sinnoh Champion Cynthia and Unova Champion Cattleya."

The two girls reacted with great excitement. Serena was obviously excited, and although Xiaoxi had been isolated from the world for many years, she was essentially someone who admired the strong, and the title of champion was enough to excite her for a long time.

The women, whose ages varied considerably, had now officially met.

"Alright, now can you tell me what's going on here?"

While drying her smooth blonde hair with a towel, Cynthia asked Xia Chen.

Xia Chen glanced at the two oblivious girls beside him and smiled helplessly. He had no choice but to tell them now.

After gathering his thoughts, he said seriously, "I have a hypothesis, a hypothesis without much evidence, which you all know is that Groudon and Kyogre are about to awaken..."

She recounted what had happened since arriving in Hoenn and her thoughts to the four, leaving Serena and Nozomi speechless, and Higanbana and Gadria deep in thought.

Cattleya asked first, "I remember you predicted Yveltal's awakening last time in Carlos, even down to the exact number of days. Why can't you do it this time?"

Xia Chen shook his head and said, "Last time, we had Absol's reminder, and... Gardevoir and Sylveon's methods, so we can't do that this time."

Cynthia, with the expertise of a mythologist, analyzed: "There have been two meteorite impacts in the history of Hoenn, and both times they led to the awakening of two legendary Pokémon. If we combine this with the thousand-year prophecy of the Meteor Dwellers... could we connect the two events?"

Xia Chen replied, "I had considered your idea before, but if they were awakened because of the meteorite's fall, why are there such strong signs now?"

Cynthia fell silent for a moment, clearly agreeing with the argument.

However, Xia Chen didn't make any absolute statements, shrugging as he added, "Of course, it's also possible that Groudon and Kyogre sensed the arrival of the meteor in advance and are preparing to awaken and save Hoenn. In any case, I've already told Wallace about this idea, and the observatory is ready to observe."

Xia Chen's considerations were so thorough that Cynthia and Gadriya had nothing to say for a moment, only pondering slightly.

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, a telephone rang suddenly.

"Loto's phone is ringing! It's Fire Goose Loto calling!"

Fire Goose? What does she want to say by calling at such a crucial moment?

Cynthia and Gadriya were surprised that Xia Chen had this connection with the core members of Team Lava.

To his surprise, Xia Chen answered the phone.

…………

Is it a convenient time to talk on your end?

Fire Goose's voice was very hurried, and it didn't even offer any polite greetings.

Is Team Lava about to launch an operation?

Xia Chen had a vague idea in his mind, and quickly said, "Okay, go ahead."

Fire Goose's reply was as expected: "Crimson Flame Pine just held a high-level meeting; they're about to launch an operation! And he already has the Crimson Pearl!"

Xia Chen was startled. At this particular moment, the Crimson Flame Pine suddenly made a move... Could this be a coincidence?

No, it's highly likely that a mole planted by Team Magma in the upper echelons of the league informed Red Pine about the message that the Hoenn League was spreading on a very small scale, which is why the latter suddenly took action.

Given the mutual animosity between Team Magma and Team Aqua, Team Aqua is very likely to make their move at the same time.

Pulling himself back to reality, Xia Chen asked succinctly, "What about the time and place of the operation? Is there a simple tactical plan?"

Although Groudon's awakening was almost inevitable, Xia Chen didn't want Crimson Pine to approach Groudon with the Crimson Orb, in case that thing triggered its Primal Reversion.

Between ordinary solids and primitive regressive solids, he would definitely prefer to face the former.

Fire Goose replied very quickly: "We'll start the operation tonight. Crimson Pine will take me and an elite team of about thirty people to the Awakening Temple in Crystal City. The purpose is to awaken Groudon. Hokage and Himura will take the rest of the people to the underwater cave to stop or delay Team Aqua."

Xia Chen frowned slightly. How could Red Flame Pine be so certain that Groudon was sleeping in the Temple of Awakening, while Kyogre was in the underwater cave?

He wasn't sure, but he was inclined to believe that Crimson Pine possessed some information he didn't know. After all, he had studied Groudon in depth for so many years; it wouldn't make sense if he hadn't made any progress.

Xia Chen replied, "I understand. I'm in Liuli City. I'll stop them. Remember to protect yourself and don't give yourself away when you see me tonight."

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone, "Don't worry, haven't you heard that low-level actors are on screen and top-level actors are in politics? Team Lava is not an easy place to get by."

Xia Chen smiled slightly and replied, "Okay, then let's stop contacting each other from now on. After the Lava Team is wiped out, I will help you arrange a legal identity."

Huo Yan smiled gently and said, "Then I'll thank my benefactor in advance."

"See you tonight, Miss Christina."

After saying goodbye, Xia Chen hung up the phone.