Chapter 219: Chairman Zhi Mi's Battle Banquet Invitation: A Gathering of Big Shots

"Eh, Luxio?"

Clemont first froze, as if unable to react, but then his memories rapidly returned, recalling the Shinx he had encountered during his school life a few years ago.

Clemont naturally knew that Shinx's evolved form was Luxio, but he hadn't abandoned Luxio; it was clearly just—

Luo Mu's serious gaze fell upon Clemont, as if seeing through his thoughts, and he spoke with precise weight: "You want to say you didn't abandon Luxio, that you merely regret missing the chance, right?"

On the way here, Luo Mu had been thinking: since Clemont had missed the appointment once due to unforeseen factors, even if Clemont had rushed back afterward, the Shinx's figure had already vanished by then.

Yet afterward, no one had forcibly demanded that Clemont could not stay in Lumiose City; in the several years that followed, did he not even once go to search for Luxio?

Infernape had said that while Luxio's existence wasn't exactly common knowledge, one could learn of a Luxio guarding the power supply system there with just a little inquiry.

"."

At a loss, Clemont cast a pleading glance at Limone; this situation made him, who was already poor at social interaction, even more nervous, his mind turning into a muddled mess, unsure where to begin.

Limone simply stood aside with arms crossed; this time, he did not speak up for Clemont.

Just as stated before, although it wasn't his subjective intention, Clemont had indeed abandoned Luxio in terms of facts, and he needed to use this lesson to make Clemont understand what responsibility and obligation truly meant.

"Big brother... Father?"

Suddenly, the elevator behind them opened again, and a slightly puzzled childish voice rang out.

The three turned their gazes over to see a cute little girl of seven or eight, with hair the same color as Clemont's, stepping out of the elevator; she was clearly confused about the current situation, her eyes shifting continuously among the three of them.

Limone frowned and asked: "Bonnie, why have you come?"

"Because you guys haven't come home for so long, I thought Big Brother was probably inventing devices again while forgetting to eat or sleep, so I came to supervise Big Brother to eat lunch properly~ Only by becoming strong and healthy can you find a reliable bride!"

The innocent and lively Bonnie instantly dispersed the stagnant atmosphere the moment she arrived, as if the air had begun flowing again; suddenly, Clemont dropped to his knees, his voice becoming choked with sobs.

"I just thought that because of my broken promise, Shinx no longer trusted humans, and I was afraid that when I found it, I would see distrust and coldness in its eyes, which is why I didn't dare to search for its whereabouts."

"I didn't dare to gamble on whether Shinx could still forgive me."

In front of Luo Mu, Infernape, Limone, and Bonnie, Clemont tearfully analyzed his own cowardly psychology that had prevented him from taking that step forward.

He was terribly afraid that the accident back then had caused Shinx to lose trust in him; precisely because of this fear, Clemont adopted an ostrich mentality—as long as he didn't go looking for Shinx, that precious memory would remain preserved in his heart, with Shinx still being inseparable from him within those memories.

Having heard the whole story, Luo Mu looked thoughtfully at Limone; on the way back, Limone had talked about Clemont's personality, mentioning how his lack of confidence often caused him to hesitate in place.

He hadn't expected that the root of the problem was actually a regret jointly created by an unfortunate accident and Clemont's lack of confidence.

Luo Mu and Infernape exchanged a sighing glance; as for Clemont's side, Bonnie was already looking at her brother, who was kneeling on the ground receiving instruction, with the seriousness of a little adult, and began to lecture him.

"Bonnie doesn't even know what to say to you, Big Brother; Luxio is so pitiful, having waited there alone for so long. The key point now isn't whether Luxio is willing to trust Big Brother again, but that as a man, Big Brother must take responsibility, find Luxio, apologize to it, and explain the reason for breaking the promise."

"Even if you have to prostrate yourself on the ground, you must seek Luxio's forgiveness! Really, Big Brother, you are too outrageous; Bonnie was right to think about finding a bride for you!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Clemont didn't dare to talk back and could only hang his head in dejection, accepting his sister's lecture.

Limone came over to Luo Mu and Infernape's side and sighed: "Sorry about this; Clemont isn't even as sensible as Bonnie, but I think after this lesson, he should change."

Luo Mu nodded: "Clemont isn't bad at heart; as long as he is willing to face this issue and actively go to Lumiose City to resolve it, that will be enough."

"Even if it takes some time to make Luxio trust him again, after experiencing this setback, they will surely become inseparable good partners, and Luxio will also become active as Clemont's new partner at the Lumiose Gym."

Luo Mu felt that today's luck was quite good; not only did he get to have Arcanine fight a battle, but he also managed to buy Lumiose Leigelei Sect cakes as souvenirs through connections, and as for Clemont's side, he didn't need to lecture him at all since Bonnie had taken care of everything.

Congratulations~

Limone suddenly asked: "Luo Mu, how much longer do you plan to stay in the Kalos region? To thank you for giving Clemont the opportunity to face his problems, I'd like to take you around the vicinity of Lumiose City again."

Suddenly asked about this, Luo Mu also pondered his current schedule arrangements.

Today was his second day since arriving in the Kalos region; half of his main objective had already been completed, and the only major event remaining in his itinerary was the battle banquet mentioned in the invitation sent by Chairman Zhi Mi two days later, to be held at Chairman Zhi Mi's restaurant.

The invitation mentioned that this banquet had invited many people known to Chairman Zhi Mi, allowing trainers to socialize with one another, exchange rare held items, and engage in battle exchanges.

Chairman Zhi Mi had also prepared full-of-surprises prizes intended to be gifted to the most outstanding person at the banquet.

Luo Mu wasn't very interested in that; he only planned to gorge himself on dinner at the banquet, though he supposed he wouldn't be able to avoid fighting a few battles when the time came.

Other than that, there were no other arrangements; he had even planned to take a flight back to the Paldea region the day after attending the banquet.

It felt strangely unfamiliar not having returned to the farm for several days.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu mentioned the matter of his attending Chairman Zhi Mi's invited banquet.

Limone made a surprised expression at this, but due to the presence of Clemont and Bonnie, he didn't say anything.

Over the next two days, Clemont temporarily issued a closure notice for the Lumiose Gym and headed to Lumiose City together with Bonnie, seemingly intending to win back Luxio's heart.

As for Luo Mu, he toured the vicinity of Lumiose City with Limone, getting a good look at the local customs and practices of the Kalos region.

Limone also got to see Luo Mu's other three Pokémon besides Arcanine and Infernape.

Especially when Limone learned that Swampert actually held a Swampertite, he enthusiastically took Luo Mu to a craft shop he knew and free of charge helped Swampert craft an armlet that could embed the Mega Stone.

Unfortunately, Limone didn't have any spare Key Stones on him at the moment; otherwise, he would have insisted on giving one to Luo Mu no matter what.

Then, time arrived at dusk, and the banquet hosted by Chairman Zhi Mi was about to begin.

Luo Mu rode in a car arranged by Chairman Zhi Mi to arrive at his restaurant—a luxurious manor located in the suburbs of Lumiose City.

The restaurant had no name, and serving guests seemed to operate on a reservation system, looking very high-end indeed.

The sky was gradually darkening now, with bright streetlights illuminating the road; after Luo Mu got out of the car, the driver bowed to him and said: "I am going to pick up other guests; just walk straight forward along this mountain path, Mr. Luo Mu."

"Alright."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, and after watching the black sedan depart, he was just about to start walking when a second sedan drove up, and a man whose attire could be described as outlandish for this elegant environment stepped out.

The man's outfit was somewhat strange, just like a Kamen Rider that would only appear in tokusatsu dramas; beneath a large red cape was a skintight suit with explosively high embarrassment levels, and wearing a Blaziken-themed mask, he immediately cast his gaze toward Luo Mu upon getting out of the car.

After making eye contact with Luo Mu for an instant, that Blaziken Mask approached with a hearty laugh and said to Luo Mu: "Yo, hello there, are you also here to attend this banquet?"

"Nice to meet you; I am Blaziken Mask, the righteous hero who secretly protects Lumiose City!"

Luo Mu: "."

Blaziken Mask became somewhat flustered under Luo Mu's dead-fish-eye stare.

Wait, why was he panicking?

He hadn't exposed his identity either; Luo Mu shouldn't know who he was, right?

"Limoné, what is this outfit you're wearing?"

Luo Mu's calm voice made Limoné's body go stiff; suddenly, he felt the toe-curling embarrassment of performing a shameful act in front of an acquaintance, yet he forced a loud laugh and said, "Limoné? Hahaha, what are you talking about? I, the Blaziken Mask, don't understand. Did you mistake me for someone else?"

"Perhaps."

Luo Mu did not expose him, turning instead to walk up the mountain path.

It was more important to hurry and enjoy the grand meal; if the food was good, he would ask Chairman Zhi Mi later if he could pack some to take back for Shuang Nai Xian and the others to eat.

Seeing Luo Mu walk up the mountain path coldly without even turning his head, the Blaziken Mask paused, then quickly ran over and struck up a conversation: "Meeting is fate; shall we walk together?"

Luo Mu did not refuse, nodding his head.

The two walked in silence for a stretch of road before the Blaziken Mask spoke as if casually: "Speaking of which, most of tonight's guests are dignitaries from the Kalos region on good terms with Champion Zhi Mi; among them are Champion Diantha of the Kalos region and Lysandre from the Lysandre Labs."

Luo Mu paused in his steps: "Lysandre?"

The Blaziken Mask nodded slightly, implying something deeper: "Representative Lysandre is a famous philanthropist in the Kalos region, and he is also among the investors in Champion Zhi Mi's restaurant."

"This is merely hearsay on my part, but the prize this time seems to be a Key Stone just excavated from some ruins; at the same time, Representative Lysandre wants to use this opportunity to build relations with more excellent Trainers."

(End of Chapter)