Chapter 281: The Dark Trio Sets Their Sights on Victini

That icy sensation could only come from metal or a blade; Mo Mo Mengduo's body instantly turned utterly rigid.

His Adam's apple, slightly indistinct due to his obesity, bobbed as he tried to speak, but one of the three white-haired, masked figures who had somehow appeared behind him in the library warned in a hoarse, cold voice like a snake flicking its tongue:

"Don't move, don't make a sound, do exactly as we say, or you know what will happen."

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Mo Mo Mengduo's back; with permission from the person holding the dagger behind him, he nodded slightly to indicate he understood.

Dark, hidden beneath his mask, curled the corner of his mouth slightly, seemingly pleased with Mo Mo Mengduo's compliance, and asked directly: "Tell us everything you know about the Dragon of Truth and the Dragon of Ideals."

"Don't think about lying; we have plenty of ways to test whether you are lying, and if we catch you, you know the result."

Mo Mo Mengduo felt the dagger at his neck press closer to his skin as the other person's hand gradually exerted force; in his panic, he could only nod slightly to show he understood.

Dark nodded in satisfaction; the Dark Trio had once been saved by Lord Ghetsis, and now, acting as his sharpest daggers in the darkness, all three had adopted "Dark" as their names; for the future of Team Plasma, they absolutely had to complete this mission perfectly.

When Luo Mu arrived at the library with his Luxray, what he saw was a terrified Mo Mo Mengduo slumped on the floor, books scattered everywhere inside the library, and a window through which cold wind blew in from outside with a whoosh.

After exchanging a glance and nodding at each other with Luo Mu, Jiang Ta asked, "How are the students?"

It had been a long time since Victini had enjoyed such a grand feast.

The reason Luo Mu could locate them was simple: white hair, ninjas, three people, searching for legendary dragons—these characteristics were simply too obvious.

As the referee who had rushed over blew his whistle, Luo Mu and the boy simultaneously sent out their Pokémon amidst the cheers of surrounding tourists and residents.

Placing his hand on Luxray's back, Luo Mu pondered for a moment, already having a plan in mind: "We don't do anything special; the Battle Festival will proceed as scheduled. Their target will only be me and the Victini by my side; with this intelligence, we can accomplish many things."

If his guess was correct, the three individuals who had just held Mayor Mo Mo Mengduo hostage were likely subordinates of Ghetsis from Team Plasma, the fellows known as the Dark Trio.

Once they pressed the button aimed at the location where Victini's presence was detected, a strange magnetic field would rapidly erupt, forcibly revealing Victini, at which point they would strike with thunderous speed and snatch it away in one go!

After searching for a while, the group quickly detected a signal resembling that of an invisible Pokémon, likely Victini.

It was the kind where they crush you with raw power while continuously healing you.

Extremely terrifying.

In the game, their style was like that of ninjas, appearing and disappearing without a trace, leaving scents was even more impossible; plus, they likely carried some black technology from Team Plasma, so it was no surprise that Luxray found no traces of them nearby.

The next day, in the largest square of Nimbasa City.

Urged by the three Darks, Mo Mo Mengduo could only reluctantly begin explaining the history of Nimbasa City to them, finally stating outright that the divine stones formed by the two dragons had broken through the castle rocks and vanished into the sky.

According to the rules, trainers wearing tags could battle each other upon meeting, and when only one trainer with a tag remained, the champion would be decided.

If anything happened to the students Luo Mu had brought, he, who had suggested they sleep in the castle tonight, would feel guilty for a very long time.

"Dark, you must know that Lord N's order for this operation is that no innocent Pokémon are to be harmed; this definition is too vague, and to avoid angering Lord N, we cannot take risks."

Alomomola nimbly dodged the water-wreathed slashes of the approaching Samurott drawing its scalchop blades, dancing as if among flowers, while countless falling petals, like swirling snow, surged toward Samurott like a storm.

Biwa nodded, stepping aside to let the referee, who had come to ask Luo Mu if he wished to battle, pass through.

On his shoulder, the glasses detected a massive energy fluctuation!

Although it was daytime, opportunities vanished in an instant; they just needed to snatch Victini away in one go!

The few exchanged glances, and after making their decision, their figures instantly turned into afterimages and vanished.

Having defeated Biwa, Kalita turned her gaze toward Luo Mu, who was passing by, and the corner of her mouth curled up slightly: "You've arrived just in time!"

Luo Mu smiled slightly: "It will be fine."

"Should we find a place to hide, or cancel tomorrow's Battle Festival and notify Miss Miss Junsha to place the city under lockdown?"

"After learning that the Dragon of Truth and the Dragon of Ideals had vanished without a trace, they switched targets and asked about Victini?"

Not long ago, outside the Sword of the Earth Castle, a discussion took place among the Dark Trio, who were hiding in the shadows.

It could be described as a very simple and easy-to-understand rule.

Casually brewing a pot of hot tea and pouring it into a teacup, Luo Mu placed it before the slightly trembling Mo Mo Mengduo and casually found a chair to sit down.

Hearing that someone was plotting against him, Victini, sitting on Luo Mu's shoulder in an invisible state, fearfully emitted uneasy sounds.

Kalita seemed to want to battle him only at the very end and did not issue a challenge immediately, so Luo Mu could only pretend to be somewhat vigilant, walking around the streets of Nimbasa City, waiting for when those fellows would make their move.

The opponent was a boy; his name was not important, as they were merely battling once, a relationship like strangers meeting by chance, requiring no excessive conversation, leaving everything to be settled through combat.

Luo Mu shook his head at Jiang Ta, who was looking at him with concern, causing Jiang Ta to immediately wear a worried expression: "Then what should we do now? With the dragons no longer their target, they have set their sights on Victini."

A hundred emotions ultimately could only transform into a single sigh.

If Pepino were here at this moment, he would definitely retort asking where Samurott got the courage to challenge Teacher Alomomola; once, when a student accidentally offended the always amiable Alomomola, both he and his Pokémon were nearly traumatized by Alomomola.

She helplessly glanced at Mo Mo Mengduo; she wanted to be angry but didn't know what to say to him, after all, it was a life-or-death crisis, and her position made it difficult to condemn Mo Mo Mengduo.

Although his heart was filled with unease, Mo Mo Mengduo forced himself to smile and announced with a "joyful expression": "The rules are as previously introduced; I declare that the Battle Festival held to celebrate the Harvest Festival, begins!"

As the sound of ceremonial cannons rang out, amidst the cheers of Nimbasa City's people and tourists, Luo Mu, Hearing Hearing Nimo, and the others each received a wooden tag.

"Dark, are we leaving just like this? According to that mayor, Victini is inside this castle, right?"

Jiang Ta's daughter, Kalita, a child of the earth people around the same age as himself, and the roaring Hydreigon!

Hydreigon's body was primarily blue, covered in a layer of black fur, with three pairs of wings on its back and two rows of purplish-red patterns on its belly; lacking feet, true to its name, it had three heads, though only the middle head possessed a brain and consciousness.

Without much hesitation, Luo Mu, who had long promised Kalita he would use his main team to battle them, naturally accepted her challenge.

Jiang Ta patted his chest as if a heavy burden had been lifted, his entire body relaxing with a sigh of relief.

Looking at Mo Mo Mengduo, Luo Mu said in a deep voice: "You mean three white-haired, masked people, like ninjas, held you hostage and questioned you about intelligence regarding the Dragon of Truth and the Dragon of Ideals?"

Jiang Ta, who had rushed over anxiously, had just pushed open the door when he heard Mo Mo Mengduo's trembling voice of repentance.

Rubbing the unexpectedly well-crafted wooden tag, Luo Mu bid farewell with a nonchalant expression to an excited Hearing Hearing Nimo and Biwa, as well as Pepino and Botan, who had been forcibly dragged into participating in the Battle Festival and looked utterly despairing, before setting off himself.

As Luxray continuously poured energy into its eyes, it saw more and more of its surroundings, until it penetrated several floors and clearly saw the situation inside the library near the castle underground; instantly, Luxray stood up and without hesitation chose to wake Luo Mu.

At this moment, another Dark placed his hand on his shoulder, signaling him to remain absolutely calm, and asked in a deep voice: "So, regarding that Victini you mentioned in your story, how much do you know about it?"

After handing the wooden tag to the referee, Biwa walked dejectedly to Luo Mu's side and whispered, "Teacher Luo Mu, I lost."

The three pairs of eyes landed on the back of a young man walking around a rarely visited corner, holding a cute, ice-blue Vulpix.

"Dark is right; after we report to Lord N that there are no longer dragons sleeping in this castle and Lord N departs, we will return to make preparations, and then wait for an opportunity to capture that Victini following humans for Doctor Colress."

Just after turning a corner, on an uphill slope, Luo Mu witnessed the figure of Biwa's Annihilape crashing down heavily; looking at her opponent, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow, revealing a surprised expression.

"Victini."

Not to mention the excited Calista, even Victini, which had moved from Luo Mu's shoulder to the top of his head, revealed a happy smile.

Whether in terms of size, or the sharpness of its gaze and aura, in the eyes of the spectators, the Samurott, resembling an unsheathed precious sword, far surpassed the seemingly delicate Comfey.

"I understand."

This was the instrument they had brought overnight; it was said to be capable of capturing the figure of a Pokémon even while it was in an invisible state. According to Dr. Colress, this was a modified product based on a device developed by the Devon Corporation in the Hoenn region, designed to reveal Kecleon.

In a room near the top of the Sword of the Earth castle, far from the library, the Luxray lying in the corner of the large bed looked at Luo Mu, who had just fallen asleep, and at Victini, who was lying sprawled across his body sleeping soundly, and unconsciously revealed a faint smile.

Luo Mu patted the tall young woman's shoulder and comforted her, saying, "It's nothing; she has already raised a Pokémon like Hydreigon. As a trainer with shallow experience, it is normal for your strength to fall short of hers; do not belittle yourself."

Victini loved absorbing victory auras; staying by Luo Mu's side, who was participating in the Battle Festival, for less than a moment, it watched Luo Mu switch between commanding Comfey and Shuang Nai Xian to easily defeat over ten trainers, emitting a quite rich and mellow victory aura.

In this Sword of the Earth castle, there was long ago no longer any slumbering giant dragon.

As soon as Mo Mo Mengduo finished speaking, one of the Dark Triad glanced out of the corner of his eye at the portable lie detector developed by the chief scientist of Team Plasma behind him, and finding that Mo Mo Mengduo was actually not lying, he immediately furrowed his brows deeply.

At the same time, only one Pokémon could be used per battle, though there was no restriction on using different Pokémon in different battles.

Mo Mo Mengduo lifted his head and asked with worry, "Is it really okay?"

The Vulpix in Luo Mu's arms quietly comforted it, indicating that no matter who the intruder was, it, the Young Lady Vulpix, would beat the opponent until their teeth were scattered all over the ground!

Victini held Vulpix's small paw, its face full of emotion.

Although the invisible Victini could not be seen, Luo Mu roughly knew what these two cute creatures were doing; helplessly shaking his head, he encountered the first opponent who actively challenged him.

Mo Mo Mengduo felt somewhat guilty; he glanced worriedly at Luo Mu and at Victini, who was hiding behind Luo Mu and quietly watching him, then covered his head and trembled as he said, "I didn't want to, but they have already put a knife to my throat. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Besides Poffins and various sweets, the food Victini liked most was the victory aura emitted from a trainer's body when the trainer won a Pokémon battle, an aura that only it could see.

Beads of sweat the size of beans instantly fell from Mo Mo Mengduo's forehead, but under the threat to his life, he gritted his teeth and slowly revealed the fact that Victini was currently following the trainer.

At the same time, atop a tall clock tower in Anville Town, the three members of the Dark Triad, though dressed as ninjas, were directly using high-tech glasses to survey the entire situation of Anville Town; if anyone had witnessed them, they would certainly have felt a great sense of dissonance.

At this moment, as a flash of lightning passed, the Luxray leaped directly through the window into the room; after Luo Mu quickly stepped forward and had a brief exchange with it, he revealed an expression of complete lack of surprise.

Luo Mu replied, "I have gone to check on them one by one; there are no problems, and they are sleeping soundly."

Just as the Luxray felt it was about time to go to sleep, as if sensing something, it suddenly lifted its head, its sharp eyes blazing with intense Jin Guang.

But the result completely exceeded their expectations.

However, after only a few rounds of engagement, amidst a chorus of gasps, the Samurott fell before the harmless-looking Comfey.

Samurott and Comfey!

Victini was already looking forward to this battle between Luo Mu and Calista, who also emitted a slight victory aura; the victory aura produced this time would surely be the largest and most delicious victory aura of the day!

Such a narrow uphill section was unsuitable for Calista and Hydreigon to exert their abilities; at Luo Mu's suggestion, the group moved to a relatively open square, where the battle was about to begin.

On the roof slightly farther away, the Dark Triad landed silently, watching the back of Luo Mu, who had already assumed his stance and was ready to begin the battle, and they revealed smiles of inevitable victory.

The mythical Pokémon Victini, which can enable a trainer to achieve a hundred victories in a hundred battles, is said to possess infinite energy;

Such a Pokémon is perfectly suited to serve Team Plasma, my lord Ghetsis, my lord N, and Dr. Colress, providing all of its power as support for Team Plasma's goals!

(End of Chapter)