Chapter 140

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash leaped, his finger pointing straight at the golden Pokémon ahead.

Pikachu's body erupted with electricity, orange-yellow current condensing into a rotating ball shape in its palm. Accompanied by a sharp cry, the Electro Ball boomed toward Raikou like a meteor.

"Salandit, Poison Fang!" Huo La's voice followed closely. Salandit's purple pupils flashed with red light, sharp fangs glowing with purple-black poisonous light. Its four limbs kicked the ground, turning into a dark red residual image, pouncing fiercely toward Raikou's flank, trying to coordinate with the Electro Ball to form a pincer attack.

Raikou raised its head and let out a deafening roar, its golden mane moving without wind, and the lightning surrounding its body instantly surged several times. Countless golden lightning bolts struck down from the void, weaving into an impenetrable lightning barrier in front of it.

"Bang!" The Electro Ball exploded the moment it hit the barrier, current splashing everywhere but unable to break through at all;

Salandit's Poison Fang was bounced away fiercely by the current the moment it touched the lightning, staggering back a few steps, with charred electric marks remaining on its scales.

"Can't stop! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash clenched his fists, his eyes full of determination.

Pikachu understood, its body turning into a yellow lightning bolt, flexibly shuttling close to the ground, avoiding the sporadic falling lightning arcs, and launching a surprise attack on Raikou's legs.

"Salandit, Smokescreen for cover!" Huo La adjusted his tactics quickly. Salandit opened its mouth and spat out thick black smoke, instantly covering the battlefield.

In the smoke, yellow electric light and dark red figures intersected. The two and the Pokémon cooperated tacitly, constantly looking for Raikou's flaws.

Raikou's pupils were still sharp in the smoke. It sensed the energy fluctuations around it, suddenly raised its front paws, and gathered all the lightning around its body.

"Roar—" With a long howl, golden lightning swept toward the surroundings like a tsunami, the smoke was instantly torn apart by the lightning, and the dazzling light illuminated the entire battlefield.

Pikachu was about to launch an attack when it was hit head-on by the lightning, its yellow body drawing an arc in the air, falling heavily to the ground, the electric light on its body instantly dimming;

Salandit also failed to escape, the lightning penetrating its defense, making it let out a painful hiss, collapsing to the ground and losing its battle ability.

"Come back, Salandit." Huo La hooked his finger and recalled Salandit into the Poké Ball.

On the other side, Ash also stepped forward quickly, hugging Pikachu into his arms.

Choosing Raikou as Salandit's first battle, Huo La hadn't held any hope of winning from the start.

The task on the system panel appeared synchronously when Raikou appeared.

Like Entei and Suicune, apart from the name and aptitude, the rest were always a series of question marks.

Salandit's appearance this time was just to let this newly born little life adapt to the rhythm of high-level battles in advance.

This was Huo La's expectation for it, and also a special way of cultivation.

Other Pokémon were all step-by-step, polished layer by layer, while Salandit appeared, and its opponent was a Divine Beast. At least in terms of starting point, this sense of oppression from the strong could make it grow faster.

Raikou slowly converged the sharp lightning rays jumping around its body, its vertical pupils finally sweeping Ash, and then its figure disappeared into the depths of the forest like lightning, leaving only the residual electric aura in the air.

Until Raikou completely disappeared, Fan Ye dared to poke his head out from behind a big tree in the distance, patting the grass clippings on his clothes, his eyes shining amazingly: "It's Raikou! It really is Raikou! Plus the Entei and Suicune you encountered before, the three legendary beasts have all appeared. Next, only that 'Guide' is missing!"

"'Guide'..." Huo La muttered, his gaze falling on Ash's shadow.

"Alright alright, let's eat first." Brock walked over with two boxes of hot bento.

Fan Ye immediately took the bento, but his gaze was stuck on the mountain peak in the distance that pierced the sky, his tone full of unbelievable anticipation: "Ahead is Mount Tianqing... I'm about to see the Ho-Oh I've been thinking about day and night. This feeling is like a dream."

"Mount Tianqing! And Ho-Oh!" Ash leaned over, his eyes shining like light, clutching Pikachu's paws, his fighting spirit and excitement all written on his face.

Only Huo La didn't answer. He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the system interface that only he could see—three unfinished tasks hung there quietly, like a heavy stone.

In his memory, Ash would fight with Cross, which would lead to Marshadow's rampage; but now, Cross didn't appear at all, so how would things on Mount Tianqing change? Would Ho-Oh be affected? How should the task be advanced...

"Huo La, why did you choose Salandit to challenge Raikou?" Ash's voice suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

Huo La came back to his senses, looked at Ash, who was full of curiosity, and smiled lightly: "Nothing special, it's just that this little guy hasn't hatched long ago, and it just happened to encounter Raikou. Come to think of it, being able to let Raikou be its first opponent can be considered its destiny."

"So that's it! But Raikou's Electric-type skills are too strong; my Pikachu is still far behind." Ash scratched his head and sighed.

"Pika! Pika Pika!" Pikachu immediately jumped out of his arms, stood with its hands on its hips and shouted, its little face full of dissatisfaction.

"Hehe, interesting!" Gengar's voice suddenly sounded in Huo La's heart, carrying a playful smile. "This Pikachu is saying that it's not weak! The weak one is clearly that guy Ash, hahaha!"

Hearing Gengar suddenly speak, Huo La shoveled a few mouthfuls of the bento Brock handed him, then found an excuse of "going nearby to see if there is a water source," and walked away from the three people by the campfire quickly. Behind him, he could vaguely hear the laughter of Ash and Pikachu playing.

Huo La drilled into a dense bush not far away, the withered branches scratching his cuffs with a rustling sound. He lowered his voice and asked: "Old Ghost, can you sense the hostility around?"

Gengar floated beside him with its semi-transparent body, light purple mist rising and falling with its breathing.

It swept across the surroundings slowly, its gaze sweeping over the canopy dyed gold: "I don't have that ability. However, when you encountered Suicune before, a man and a woman and a Meowth were following behind your butts. Now, I can't even smell their scent."

"Team Rocket trio..." Huo La muttered to himself. The branches above his head suddenly shook, and a few withered leaves spun and fell on his shoulders, making the unease in his heart heavier.

"Old Ghost, I've been feeling uneasy." He looked up at the direction of Mount Tianqing. The mountain peak was now completely exposed to the scorching sunlight, and the clouds and mist that originally wrapped the mountain peak were evaporated by the sunlight.

"The further I go toward Mount Tianqing, the stronger this feeling of panic becomes!"

"Hmm? Sixth sense?" Gengar circled him twice, its eyes in the mist full of teasing. "You don't have psychic powers; what can you sense? Maybe it's just that the wind in the mountains is too cold, making you uncomfortable."