Chapter 98: Viridian Power, Growing More Troublesome

The entire Summer Festival of Maiden's Gorge finally drew to a close amid a lively yet tranquil atmosphere.

Because Meowth was "hired" by Huo La as a temporary translator, Musashi and Xiao Ci Lang lost their partner, so naturally they didn't cause any trouble in Maiden's Gorge;

And Ash followed the original route to arrive here, reuniting with Huo La and Xiao Gang.

Bilan, however, after the Summer Festival ended, went separate ways with them, leaving only the words "I have my own business to attend to," and vanished without a trace—only that Lotus‑leaf Child egg remained, still entrusted to the nurturing Xiao Gang for care.

Ultimately, Huo La, Xiao Gang, Ash, plus their companions Xiao Xia and Pikachu, the five set out on a journey toward Goldenrod City.

In a room of the Goldenrod City Pokemon Center, Huo La was lazily lying on the big bed, eyes vacant, staring blankly at the chandelier on the ceiling.

"Heh heh heh…" a sinister chuckle suddenly burst from his body, with a hint of mockery, "Little ghost, your partners have all gone to challenge the Gym, and you, you're hiding here to slack off?"

Huo La didn't even lift an eyelid, his tone still lazy: "I may have set out traveling to collect Badges and challenge the League, but traveling itself should be a joyful thing. Go when it's time to go, stop when it's time to stop, enjoy the scenery, rest a bit; there's no need to push yourself so hard."

As soon as the words fell, a wisp of violet‑black gas slipped out from his sleeve, half of its body concealed within him, half floating in the air, eyes and sharp fangs clearly visible—indeed the hired Gastly.

Back when leaving Maiden's Gorge, Huo La had already transferred 200,000 League Coins into the account that Gastly opened under the guise of Fortune‑Telling Granny.

He wasn't worried that this thousand‑year‑old Old Ghost would run off with the money—given its credentials, it wouldn't jeopardize its "reputation" over such a sum.

"Old Ghost, may I ask you something," Huo La finally turned his head, looking at the floating gas mass, "Can something like Psychic be acquired through cultivation after birth?"

"Show some respect to this old man!" Gastly leapt forward, its crimson tongue licking its fangs, eyes bulging, "I've lived two thousand years and have never heard of humans acquiring Psychic through training—that's something innate!"

"However, I have seen people possess Viridian Power and Waveguide Power; those two should also count as Psychic, right?" Gastly said after a pause, sounding uncertain.

"Viridian Power, Waveguide Power…" Huo La muttered to himself, already having an answer in mind.

The holder of Waveguide Power, he happened to know one—namely Ash, who travels with him, though the current Ash has yet to awaken that latent power.

As for Viridian Power… legend has it that Sakaki of the Rocket Team once possessed it, but its truth is hard to verify.

"Both abilities are indeed quite rare," Gastly swayed the gas mass, tone indifferent as if stating a commonplace fact, "The little girl you stayed with in Maiden's Gorge has Viridian Power."

"What?!" Huo La sprang up with a sudden jerk, eyes wide open, almost blurting out, "You're saying Bilan has Viridian Power?"

"Hm?" Gastly was startled by his reaction, then let out a harsh laugh, "Heh heh heh! I thought she was your girlfriend; turns out you didn't even know that?"

Huo La ignored Gastly's teasing altogether, his mind racing, sinking into contemplation.

Viridian Power is the natural gift bestowed by Viridian Forest; its bearer can not only communicate heart‑to‑heart with Pokemon but also heal their injuries and spirits, a truly rare talent.

This ability appears once every ten years; he had assumed that this generation's bearer would mostly be Red, Ash, or others with a deep bond to "Viridian", and at worst someone like Green—but he never imagined the final carrier would be the seemingly willful Bilan.

No wonder she's especially sensitive to Pokemon's emotions; no wonder her gaze softens when she cradles the Lotus‑leaf Child egg… it turns out everything had been hinted at from the start.

"That girl, she hides it so deeply," Huo La muttered low, then slammed his hand hard onto his forehead, a sigh rolling from his throat, full of helplessness.

He collapsed onto his pillow, staring at the ceiling and rolling his eyes, silently reciting the word "trouble" eight hundred times in his mind—secrets have never existed in isolation.

The more secrets there are, the easier they are to receive "special attention".

"Sure enough, fear brings what it fears," Huo La tugged the blanket, tone irritated, "I originally just wanted to calmly collect Badges, make a little money, stand at the top of the Pokemon World, but now, being tangled with her, the future troubles are bound to keep mounting."

"Heh heh heh…" Gastly floated around him, laughing with malicious glee.

"How could I have known she hid so many secrets," Huo La retorted irritably, "Had I known she had Viridian Power, I should have kept my distance from the start—to avoid getting dragged into a mess of trouble."

He said that, but in his heart he knew—if Bilan got into trouble, he might not be able to simply walk away.

Not to mention this damn system, even an ordinary girl in danger he couldn't just stand by and watch her die.

"Fine, let the troops block, the water be covered by earth," Huo La sighed, sitting up from the bed, his gaze clearing again, he looked at Gastly, raised an eyebrow: "Old Ghost, you've lived two thousand years; do you know what 'fate' most holders of Viridian Power usually have? Don't tell me you don't know."

Gastly's gas mass gently swayed, a distant glint in its eyes, its tone shedding its usual mockery, gaining a hint of world‑weariness: "There is no fixed destiny… Viridian Power is simply a pure gift from nature to this world. How far one can go or what one can do with this power ultimately depends on the bearer's own choices."

A rapid knocking sound suddenly "bang bang" echoed, accompanied by Ash's sobbing shout: "Huo La! Huo La, open the door quickly! Help! Xiao Gang and Lilian are in trouble!"

Huo La's heart tightened.

Almost simultaneously, the violet‑black gas mass beside him silently contracted, vanishing instantly into his body.

Huo La took a deep breath, suppressing the foreboding in his heart, and hurried to the doorway to fling the door open.

Outside, Ash's hair was disheveled as if blown by a gale, gray smudges on his cheek and chin, his usually lively eyes now filled with panic, even a hint of tears‑about‑to‑spill grievance.

"Huo La! It's bad! Something huge happened!" Ash burst through the door, his voice full of urgency and fear, "Xiao Gang and Lilian… they were turned into dolls by Natsume and locked in the Gym! Only Xiao Xia and I barely escaped, what do we do now? We have to rescue them!"

"Turned into dolls?" Huo La's pupils narrowed, his steps instinctively moving half a stride forward; Xiao Gang still hadn't escaped this unlucky fate.