Chapter 128: Little Little Dandan

Crack—

The sound shifted Luo Mu's attention from the Growlithe at the woman's feet to the woman herself; she held a well-maintained camera, capturing a photo of Luo Mu's astonished expression just as he looked up.

The woman smiled brightly and pressed the shutter several more times: "Wonderful. I've captured another great expression this time; seeing your confidence during the battle turn into astonishment is quite interesting~"

"."

Disliking the woman's over-familiarity, Luo Mu frowned and asked, "Did you get my permission before taking my photo?"

"Ah, so you're the type who doesn't like being photographed? Alright, I understand!" The woman covered her mouth in sudden realization, then directly showed Luo Mu her camera's display screen, smiling: "I've deleted them all now; is there no problem anymore?"

Luo Mu nodded, reluctantly accepting the woman's solution, then glanced at the growing crowd of onlookers around them and asked, "Do you still want to battle?"

If you don't want to battle, I'll call someone else.

Although Luo Mu was puzzled about the woman's identity and why a Hisuian Growlithe appeared beside her, now was clearly not the time to discuss these matters.

The woman seemed to realize that Luo Mu only wanted to battle; glancing at the Growlithe curiously looking over from beside Luo Mu, she smiled and said, "I do want to fight, but my Pokémon is this one."

A large brown owl appeared before Luo Mu, its height estimated at around 1.6 meters, roughly equal to the height of a certain strongest human.

Noctowl, a Normal- and Flying-type Pokémon, can rotate its neck 180 degrees; accustomed to being nocturnal, its vision is sharper at night, while during the day it often feels somewhat listless.

But regardless of whether the Noctowl was energetic or not, Luo Mu could tell this Noctowl possessed decent strength, several tiers above the previous Jammy; judging by the capabilities of Mudbray, Mawile, and Growlithe, even with his command, their chances of victory were slim.

In that case—

Luo Mu looked at the Delibird flying innocently on his right; through their daily interactions, he had vaguely sensed that Delibird's actual strength was quite formidable, after all, it was the leader of the Delibird flock living in the treacherous Glaseado Mountain of the Paldea region and knew many moves.

Therefore, Luo Mu was certain that a Delibird capable of becoming a leader in that great snow mountain filled with fierce wild Pokémon must possess extraordinary strength.

"Then I'll send out Delibird."

"Then, before we officially begin, let me introduce myself." The woman twirled the tips of her gradient-colored short hair, holding a camera in one hand and keeping the other in her pocket, saying: "I'm Little Little Dandan, a photographer from the Sinnoh region currently traveling everywhere to escape a slump~"

Luo Mu nodded; confirming he had never heard the name Little Little Dandan, he stated flatly: "I am Luo Mu, just an ordinary farmer."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Luo Mu and Little Little Dandan's eyes met; without needing further words, the battle began the instant their gazes locked.

Under the eager gazes of the surrounding crowd, Little Little Dandan made the first move: "Wing Attack!"

The Noctowl's wingspan was only about half its body height, yet that was still nearly enough to envelop Delibird's body; as the two Pokémon flew in the air, the Noctowl's wings, shimmering with Bai Guang, slashed directly toward Delibird!

Squinting calmly, Luo Mu commanded: "Fake Out!"

Strictly speaking, Little Little Dandan was not a qualified Trainer, so she was unfamiliar with many moves, including Fake Out.

Delibird's wings, which served as both wings and hands, suddenly clapped once; an imperceptible wave of energy rippled out, abruptly interrupting the Flying-type energy entangling the Noctowl's feathers; the white light flickered unwillingly a few times before vanishing, and the Noctowl itself plummeted uncontrollably due to the sudden stiffness seizing its body.

Little Little Dandan was stunned; what move could strike first despite acting later and also interrupt the Noctowl's attack?

Wanting only to finish the battle quickly, Luo Mu had no intention of explaining; instead, he directed Delibird to launch a relentless assault against the flustered Noctowl.

Although Delibird's physique was much frailer than the Noctowl's, its strength and move pool were quite good, and combined with Luo Mu's commands, they easily turned the tide, swiftly suppressing Little Little Dandan and her Noctowl.

With great difficulty, Little Little Dandan and the Noctowl seized upon a gap in Delibird's movements caused by its habits as a wild Pokémon, and just as they used Air Cutter to try to regain the advantage—

"Present."

Under Luo Mu's timely command, Delibird pulled several glittering boxes from its tail and threw them at the Noctowl.

The next instant, every box erupted in a violent explosion; smoke filled the air immediately, completely blocking the Noctowl's Air Cutter.

The Noctowl's sharp gaze pierced through the black mist, locking directly onto Delibird's position; regardless of anything else, Little Little Dandan, who had been suppressed the entire time, finally ignited with anger and declared fiercely: "Brave Bird!"

The Noctowl was instantly enveloped by a phantom divine bird burning with sky-blue flames, charging straight at Delibird with the same fierce momentum as Little Little Dandan.

At this moment, Luo Mu revealed a smile of a plan successfully executed and said: "Blizzard."

A biting, bone-chilling cold wind mixed with ice and snow surged overwhelmingly toward the Noctowl; the power of this Blizzard was such that even Luo Mu was moved by it.

Unstoppable, it directly froze the Noctowl along with the phantom divine bird, then spread even higher into the sky, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to drop suddenly.

It seems he had still underestimated Delibird's strength; truly worthy of being the flock leader living on Glaseado Mountain.

After the battle, Luo Mu and Little Little Dandan tacitly agreed to go their separate ways; once the disappointed crowd dispersed, they met up again at a hidden spot near the edge of the beach.

"I actually lost... I was raising my Pokémon according to techniques passed down from my ancestors!"

Little Little Dandan clearly could not accept having lost the battle so easily, even though she claimed orally to be merely a photographer with no talent for being a Trainer.

Relying solely on her Noctowl and the Leafeon in her team, she had been confident enough to challenge the Sinnoh League Gyms; if what Luo Mu said was true, she had actually lost so easily to an ordinary farmer...

Luo Mu did not understand what she was depressed about; crouching down to carefully observe the Growlithe Little Little Dandan had with her, his confusion deepened.

Undoubtedly, the Growlithe Little Little Dandan had with her was indeed a genuine Hisuian Growlithe, absolutely not some cosplayer in disguise.

Then, from where did this woman named Little Little Dandan obtain this Growlithe?

(End of Chapter)