How come my Pokémon turned into a girl?

This is the man she has chosen!

……

"Although I appreciate Miss Sakura's generosity, after considering it all night, I have decided to decline this commission."

In the reception room, Qianye, with Eevee and Kokoda lying on his shoulders respectively and a large wolfhound lying beside him, frankly informed the three Hualan sisters in front of him of his decision.

"Why? Aren't the conditions offered by my sister very generous?"

"Ayame!" Sakura stopped her sister's rude behavior and looked into the boy's eyes with her green eyes. Although she was not too surprised by this decision, she still wanted to know the reason.

"My companions and I's journey is far from over, and our steps will never stop here. Thank you again for your hospitality, and I hope to see you again."

He stood up and bowed deeply to Sakura. When he raised his head again, everyone understood that no matter what they said, they could not keep each other.

The gates of the Cerulean Gym opened wide, escorting the young man down a road that seemed to have no end in sight. Sakura looked up. The ceiling was covered in soothing colored lights, illuminating the vast gym like an aquarium tank.

Xiaoxia, you've also... gone to the sea, right?

Chapter 21 Miracle Virus

After bidding farewell to the Hualan Gym, Qianye and his group walked on the street. The moist and slightly salty sea breeze caressed their cheeks, and the fresh air moistened their lungs.

"Bandages and various medicines are consumed in quite a few quantities, and Poké Balls... well, let's prepare a few more."

Tumbling through his backpack and counting the missing supplies, Qianye continued on his way to the Cerulean City Item Shop as planned. For some reason, the streets were exceptionally bustling today, with a crowd of mostly women pouring onto the streets. The surging flow of people briefly gave the young man walking against the flow the illusion of facing a herd of wild Kentaro.

The direction they were heading seemed to be... the dock?

Confused, Qianye stopped a middle-aged man who had fallen behind the group. Sweat dripped from his chin like rain, soaking his vest. He looked like he had jogged all the way from a long distance, but due to exhaustion, he could only take a slow walk to rest.

"Um, what are you guys in such a hurry to see?"

Hearing Qianye's question, the man's face showed surprise, "You haven't heard? That Daigo is coming to our Cerulean City today."

Daigo... that name sounds so familiar, I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. Wait?!

"The Daigo you're talking about, is he the one from the Hoenn region..."

Thinking of a certain possibility, Qianye's breathing suddenly became rapid. If it was that person, visiting Hualan City would indeed be a big deal.

"Who else could it be except him? After my daughter heard the news, she cried and begged me to go to the scene to take a photo. She really didn't consider my old bones at all." The middle-aged man complained.

Tsuki Daigo, the former Hoenn League champion and son of the Dewen Company, possesses the combined power, wealth, and good looks to incite the admiration of females and the jealousy of males. He's the ultimate promax version of Shigeru.

With such a star among stars appearing here, it's no wonder the people of Hualan City were so enthusiastic. Even Qianye himself was tempted to change his original plan and go see the legendary figure.

After all, that was the League Champion! The most powerful Pokémon Trainer in the entire region, bar none. Although he had now stepped down, rumors circulated that the former Champion had little interest in handling championship matters and had passed the position to another powerful Trainer.

"Thank you, uncle. I'll take a photo of you if I have the chance."

After straightening the backpack behind him, Qianye turned around and strode towards the dock.

At this moment, at the Cerulean City dock, the roaring sound of the whistle drifted towards the port along with the sea breeze. It was the roar from the rugged steel behemoth.

The Santiano, a world-renowned luxury cruiser, is 170 meters long, has a gross tonnage of nearly tons, and can carry approximately passengers. Today, this renowned vessel once again brought distinguished guests from afar to Kanto.

The long ladder was lowered, and a handsome silver-haired man in a black tuxedo with a red tie fluttering on his chest slowly walked down the ship, followed by a large number of accompanying staff and guards.

As he appeared, the crowd that was isolated by the fence immediately burst into screams. Many women became crazy about him as soon as they saw his handsome face.

"Woooooow doll! My husband is so handsome!"

"What do you mean your husband? He's obviously my husband!"

"What did you say...Aren't you a man?"

The riots were difficult to quell for a while. The police officers responsible for maintaining public order had a hard time fighting against the people who tried to break in. The continuous sound of shutter clicks echoed throughout the harbor amidst the flashes.

Mixed in the crowded crowd, Qianye raised his head and without looking for anything, his sight immediately caught the silver-haired young man who was smiling and waving at the crowd.

He looked even younger than the image I had seen on TV before. However, even though this young man didn't say a word, his every move gave people a sense of being the master.

Is this the demeanor of a league champion?

Qianye couldn't help but sigh, "This is what training is all about."

Kokodora on the right shoulder seemed unconvinced. Her azure eyes stared directly at Daigo above her, burning with fighting spirit and ambition:

“But, but!”

Humph, he can take his place!

Hmm? Feeling a pair of sharp gazes, Daigo paused, his eyes scanning the crowd, and soon spotted the silver-white beast lying on a black-haired boy.

"Mr. Daigo, what's wrong?" The entourage around him saw Daigo suddenly stop and asked hurriedly.

"It's nothing, I just saw something quite interesting." Daigo didn't pause, his lips curled slightly. "Let's move on. We can't keep our friends from the Kanto Alliance waiting too long."

……

The top floor of the Hualan Building has been completely booked by the alliance, and well-trained police officers are guarding every corner of the floor. Those present today are all important figures, and no accidents can be allowed to happen.

In the spacious conference room, all those who could sit on the main seats were extraordinary people, including the four kings of the Kanto League, and even the workaholic, Dragon Envoy Du, who was fighting crime for 365 out of 300 days a year and on his way to fight crime for the remaining 65 days, and who was also the Dragon King and the champion of the Kanto League, appeared here.

While the remaining seated figures weren't as prominent as the Four Heavenly Kings, they were nonetheless senior administrative staff members of the Kanto Alliance. The silence was so profound that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard. Everyone remained silent, their gaze fixed on the tightly closed door.

With a dull sound, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a head of iconic silver-gray short hair first entered everyone's field of vision, followed by a hearty and confident chuckle:

"Mikoli is unable to leave due to alliance matters, so I will be the representative of the Hoenn region for this meeting for the time being."

Upon hearing this, an Alliance clerk quickly replied, "The Hoenn Alliance has already informed us of this matter. Please take a seat, Mr. Daigo and everyone from the Hoenn region."

As a result, the vacant seats were filled one after another, and the meeting was officially declared to have begun.

The person who read out the meeting charter was an old man with gray hair on his temples. He was a veteran of the Guandu Alliance. Although he had reached the age to retire and enjoy his old age, he still insisted on participating in handling various affairs of the alliance.

"Today we're discussing the increasing number of Pokémon hunters pouring into the Kanto region. Some travel in groups, some alone, but all belong to the same organization—the Evolution Association. Mr. Daigo, I've heard that this organization originates from your Hoenn region."

"Yes, Mr. Chairman." Daigo took out a document from his briefcase and said in an extremely serious tone:

"The Evolution Association is a non-governmental organization that has only become active in the Hoenn region in recent years. Initially, they only passively accepted new members and never engaged in any dangerous activities, so we didn't pay much attention to them at first. However, as more and more Pokémon hunters and other criminals have become affiliated with the Evolution Association, we can no longer regard it as a purely clean organization."

While Daigo was explaining, his assistant took the information from his hand and distributed it to each member present in stacks.

"Everyone, please take note. Anyone who becomes a member of the Evolution Association can turn in their captured Pokémon to the Association, who will exchange them for points of equivalent value based on their rarity and species potential. These points can be redeemed for various Evolution Stones, battle items, and other resources, all of which the Alliance strictly limits trading quantities for ecological protection."

"We've conducted an in-depth investigation into this organization. It's run by nothing more than a few obscure research institutes. Theoretically, they don't have the resources to raise so many valuable resources, unless..."

"Cooperate with illegal underground organizations!" Long Shidu slammed his fist on the conference table and said what Daigo was going to say next.

Because in addition to his positions as King and Champion, he is also a senior investigator of the alliance, and often deals with businessmen who have violated taboos. They are often blinded by greed and provide various support and assistance to the local evil organization Rockets. Adu has always hated these termites rooted in the system.

However, his colleague, Ice King Kona, immediately disagreed. "But if, as you say, the Evolution Association is merely a shallow organization, how can it possibly partner with those underground organizations? Furthermore, according to your information, this point redemption system is far less cost-effective than black market transactions. Those profit-seeking individuals won't choose such a loss-making deal."

"Of course, these basic item transactions are basically used to attract civilian trainers to join the association. The real capital of the Evolution Association is this..." As if he had guessed that someone would bring up this point, Daigo gestured to his assistant, who immediately and carefully placed a safe on the table.

Several password devices were disabled, and inside the opened safe, apart from the foam padding used for protection, there was only a small bottle containing a suspicious purple solution in front of everyone.

"What is this?" Participants from the Kanto Alliance leaned forward one after another. No one knew what power this small jar contained.

"This was brought out by our undercover agent within the Evolution Association. They call it the 'Miracle Virus.' Currently, only the Evolution Association can produce this, which means... it's a monopolized resource."

Glancing around the conference table, taking in everyone's expressions, Daigo continued, "Although it's called a virus, it's not lethal or contagious. It can only infect Pokémon by injecting it directly into them... well, it's ineffective against humans."

"As for its specific effects, let me give you an example. Just a month ago, we injected a can of the miracle virus into an iron dumbbell. Without any human intervention or precious resources, the iron dumbbell evolved into a Metagross within a week. Furthermore, after testing, no hidden dangers or defects were detected in the evolved Metagross."

The crowd erupted in shock at these words. Metagross, known as a "quasi-god" due to its immense potential, was nevertheless cultivated to its final form, requiring a vast amount of resources and a lengthy cultivation period. A typical Metagross could even take years to cultivate.

And what did they hear now? With just this little jar of stuff, no more money, no more effort, no more waiting, just letting it run its course for a week and it'd be ready? And this was just for a late bloomer, a quasi-god. What if it were any other ordinary Pokémon?

"Is this...surely true?"

A clerk asked tremblingly, his question drawing the attention of many participants to Daigo. They hoped that everything they had just heard was a fallacy of the experiment. However, Daigo mercilessly shattered their illusions:

"The Hoenn Alliance has conducted several experiments using the existing Miracle Virus, and the conclusions reached are basically the same."

Now it becomes clear that this kind of thing can really drive those Pokémon hunters crazy... This is even more true for underground organizations. With the help of the miracle virus, they can raise a complete Pokémon army in a short period of time, which will bring unprecedented threats to the alliance!

"I will urge my investigators to thoroughly investigate all illegal immigrants and catch these ruthless individuals as soon as possible. I will also send someone from Team Rocket... No, I will personally monitor them and sever all ties between the two organizations."

At this moment, A'du only felt that the cushion was covered with sharp thorns. He could not delay here for a moment. He wanted to teleport back to the alliance headquarters immediately to mobilize investigators to assign urgent tasks.

The others weren't much better off, their faces livid as they discussed the situation with their colleagues. Seeing this, the chairman knew it would be difficult to continue the meeting amidst this uneasy atmosphere. He coughed heavily, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"I know everyone is anxious right now. This matter is indeed a matter of great importance to the survival of the Kanto and Hoenn alliances, and indeed the entire world. However, we must not be too hasty, lest we make grave mistakes in command and execution."

His words had an effect. Seeing that the participants had calmed down, the old man was able to put another topic on the table:

"This is the letter of recommendation Junsha from Hualan City submitted to the Alliance. Since you're all here, let's take care of this matter as well..."

"In her letter, she recommended an outstanding rookie trainer from Pallet Town, which happens to be related to the topic we discussed earlier. The Pokémon hunter previously arrested by the League was subdued by this young man. He also killed two Pokémon hunters in succession, stopping their unfinished evil deeds. I believe we need to recruit this young talent into the League. What do you think?"

As the chairman spoke, he had the boy's information distributed to each attendee's table. The moment it was displayed in front of Daigo, he looked at the photo of the black-haired boy and the column for his Pokémon, and a smile of interest appeared on his face.

"So it's him, it's really fate..."

Chapter 22 Masked Man

"Cocodora, do you think I really have some strange physique..."

Just after leaving Cerulean City and walking less than two kilometers, I saw a strange man in a long robe and a silver mask blocking the middle of the road. Next to him stood a Pokémon covered with brown shells, with a pair of narrow and sharp silver sickles extending from its arms, resembling a praying mantis.

Sharp eyes watched the approaching Qianye and his companions. With a scythe's piercing sound, it swept through a nearby tree, severing it in half. The top half fell dully to the ground, its surface smooth as a mirror. These guys clearly had ill intentions!

"Other trainers challenge different gyms every day, and I encounter different criminals every day." The boy said with a twitch in his eye, but he was already alert in his heart.

"Friends ahead, could you please move aside? We are just travelers passing by."

To prevent misunderstanding, Qianye took the initiative to remind them, but the man and the Pokémon still stayed where they were, with no intention of moving away.

He wasn't stupid enough to think that this meant they were allowed to pass. If he did, the sickle might come down on his neck right after he passed by the Pokémon.

That Pokémon should be Scythehelm, a rare rock-type Pokémon that can live in water. It was active about 100 million years ago and was once judged extinct by the academic community. It was brought to light again thanks to the latest fossil resurrection technology.

If Qianye hadn't happened to read the relevant information from Professor Oak, he probably wouldn't have recognized this rare Pokémon. Speaking of which, Scythehelm possessed three racial traits. "Combat Armor" was basically harmless, but I wondered if it would be "Easy to Swim" or the even rarer "Shattered Armor."

Heizi stretched out his head and roared a threatening warning. Kokodora jumped off his shoulder and stood up on all fours, obviously ready for battle.

Seeing this, the masked man pulled out a gray and white Poké Ball with a blue spherical protrusion from his waist. A red light flashed - it was also a Kokoro?!

No, it was slightly different... Its armor wasn't silver-white but bronze, and its azure eyes had turned scarlet. It was actually a different-colored Pokémon, commonly known as a "Shiny."

Shiny Pokémon have no difference in racial potential or the moves they can learn from other Pokémon of the same type, they are just rarer. Because of this, this appearance is often not a good thing for Pokémon, as they may be ostracized by their own species due to their appearance differences.

Unfortunately, now is not a good time to study the cause of the Shiny Pokémon's heterochromatic gene. Qianye took the lead and gave the order:

"Kokodora, summon a rockfall directly above the opposing trainer's head!"

"Ke~ke." With a crisp cry, several heavy stones gathered in the sky, covering the opponent and his two Pokémon within the attack range.

Because of the mask, Qianye couldn't tell if his opponent's expression had changed, but judging by the following command, which seemed to be deliberately lowered in tone, his tone was still quite calm:

"Scythe Helmet, split open."

"Cha!" The man in the sickle helmet obeyed the order and raised his sickle high, chopping it at the sky. The stones above that were strong enough to break bones were dismembered in an instant, and not a single piece of stone fell on the masked man.

"Cocodora, rock blockade."

This time it was Shining Kokodora's turn to act. It raised its head and let out a rough cry, and a large number of rocks were thrown towards Qianye and the others, intending to attack and block their movements at the same time.

"Kokodora, Iron Head is making a breakthrough!"

Qianye reacted quickly as well. With a wave of command, Kokodora's forehead glowed white and it directly smashed the rocks blocking its way and rushed forward.