Chapter 303: From the Future, the Dancing Iron Valiant!

Just before the battle between Luxray and the mysterious Pokémon was about to begin, Luo Mu, with Victini perched on his head, Mimikyu on his shoulder, and Vulpix in his arms, finally arrived at the scene.

The instant he saw the full appearance of the Pokémon confronting Luxray, Luo Mu's first reaction was impossibility.

Isn't that Iron Valiant, a Paradox Pokémon of the future species that should only appear in the Great Crater of Paldea!?

Having the Iron Bundle sleeping beneath the forest was one thing, but why was even a Paradox Pokémon with such an off-the-charts danger factor like Iron Valiant running rampant across the land of Paldea?

Serperior, Swampert, Dragonite, Moltres, and Meng Lei Gu also arrived one after another, watching Iron Valiant vigilantly.

They knew Iron Valiant's strength was considerable, yet not a single Pokémon chose to step forward; instead, they let Luxray confront Iron Valiant, then tacitly scattered to prepare to offset the aftermath of their battle.

They trusted in Luxray's strength, so all they needed to do was handle logistics.

The very next moment after the Pokémon made their preparations, the battle began.

Amidst crackling bursts of electricity, Luxray's limb muscles, stimulated by the current, bulged violently; its movement speed turned it into a lingering afterimage as it instantly appeared before Iron Valiant, its fangs gleaming with blinding electric light biting down!

In response, Iron Valiant instantly raised its arm, the pink-purple glow on its blade flaring up again as it forcibly engaged in a fierce struggle against Luxray's Thunder Fang.

One second before the clashing energies went out of control, a stream of data flashed once more in Iron Valiant's eyes.

The next instant, Iron Valiant's figure seemed to become the source of a blindingly intense light; countless brilliant rays erupted outward with Iron Valiant at the center, indiscriminately destroying everything around them, the scorching heat of those rays no different from roasting a person over an open fire.

Skilled combat experience allowed Luxray to erupt with massive currents to defend, while the aftermath of their clash, just as it was about to reach the farm fence, was blocked by the Pokémon each displaying their own unique abilities.

But this smile was quickly replaced by seriousness as a violent explosion roared out; Luxray withdrew from the center of the smoke, looking at Iron Valiant, which had not revealed a shred of emotion from start to finish and simply wished to advance into the farm.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu said in a deep voice, "Go, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui."

The moment the sound of clashing armor rang out as Cangyan Cangyan Rengui ran, Iron Valiant focused its gaze upon Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

"Bu jin—"

Victini pointed at the gleaming blade held by Iron Valiant, asking Luo Mu why the blade in Iron Valiant's hand was trembling slightly.

Luxray, fiercely clashing with Iron Valiant, glanced backward with the corner of its eye; while feeling much more reassured, it couldn't help but reveal a smile.

Only after receiving permission did Cangyan Cangyan Rengui move out.

"Ti mi~"

It said—

It was only because this time, they could understand what Iron Valiant was saying.

Iron Valiant gave no reaction to this, still staring straight at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

The Pokémon's eyes widened; even Luxray revealed a look of surprise.

But there was one point Luo Mu couldn't figure out: why did Iron Valiant know Cangyan Cangyan Rengui was in this farm, and why was it so obsessed with entering the farm to see Cangyan Cangyan Rengui?

He felt there must be some reason for it.

Swampert erected a solid wall made of earth, Dragonite created a domain of blowing gale winds, shadows surged from beneath Mimikyu's skirt, and Serperior, simply and crudely, directly spawned countless tough, frenzied plants from underground, transforming them into a solid wall of tree roots for defense.

Oranguru, through telepathy, accurately and flawlessly translated Iron Valiant's meaning for Luo Mu.

Although Luo Mu had long had this feeling, he was still amazed by Iron Valiant's strength; in every aspect, Iron Valiant was terrifyingly balanced, effortlessly employing physical attacks, special attacks, and moves, so all-rounded it inspired fear.

A pale green barrier spread out before Iron Valiant, a single use of Protect; as long as the gap in strength wasn't large, the move Protect could block most attacks.

From current observations, Iron Valiant's only method for dealing with wide-area attacks was the move Protect; if Luxray unleashed a large-scale thunderstorm like it did during its battle against Mewtwo, Iron Valiant's slender body alone would likely struggle to withstand it.

Lei Ting seemed to transform into a sacred battle garment covering Luxray's body; before Iron Valiant could even raise its blade to defend, Luxray slammed violently into Iron Valiant's body, which appeared even more slender than Luxray's own, causing massive electric currents to instantly erupt and wreak havoc recklessly across Iron Valiant's surface.

A pitch-black passage leading to who-knows-where appeared beneath it; after the passage swallowed Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's body, it opened not far in front of Iron Valiant, and Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's figure emerged from within.

Regarding this strike, Iron Valiant, through data analysis, judged that it could not oppose it with force.

Luxray's movements halted; although it didn't understand why Iron Valiant, which clearly had nothing to do with the Electric type, was being boosted by Electric Terrain, its tacit understanding and trust with Luo Mu still made Luxray forcibly stop the action of releasing Electric Terrain, compelling itself to control the nearly out-of-control electricity and blast it all at once toward Iron Valiant!

Blinding electric light erupted, golden currents resembling dancing mad snakes blasting toward Iron Valiant.

However, a significant gap still existed between Iron Valiant and Luxray; if not for considering that releasing full-power electricity would destroy the surrounding roads and trees along with everything else, Luxray would have acted long ago.

"Bu jin—!?"

Luo Mu felt he seemed to understand something.

Its voice sounded a second time.

Strong, battle, happy, sword.

There was no need for any exchange; in an instant, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and Iron Valiant danced their blades into conflict, and immediately Luo Mu's ears were completely filled with the sound of metal clashing against metal.

As the currents surged, Luxray's black fur stood on end strand by strand, pointing toward the sky like countless sharp swords; just before the electricity it had accumulated to the limit was about to explode, Luo Mu spoke to stop it: "Don't use Electric Terrain; that will also bring a terrifying boost to the opponent."

At Luo Mu's signal, Luxray withdrew and moved to stand beside Corviknight.

Iron Valiant had likely come for the sake of battling Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

After making this judgment, Iron Valiant's bizarre behavior and its action of only wanting to enter the farm could be explained.

Following the direction Victini pointed, Luo Mu looked over, and only then did he finally confirm a fact—

"Hou—"

In fact, Iron Valiant did block this strike, but the instant its Protect barrier collapsed, Luxray's figure instantly rushed forward; this time it was—Wild Charge.

Through extremely limited information, plus the fact that Iron Valiant was staring fixedly at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, its gaze completely admitting no other existence.

Luxray did not act arrogantly; taking a deep breath, its majestic and domineering roar blasted forward together with black waves, loudly roaring and forming a fierce clash against Iron Valiant's psychic impact, for a time proving evenly matched.

Stung by pain, Iron Valiant, with black smoke rising from its body, continuously swung its blade to force Luxray back; at the tip of the blade, psychic energy gathered, transforming into solidified psychic waves that repelled everything as they blasted toward Luxray!

This strike was highly effective; patches of scorched marks from electric current ravaging instantly appeared on Iron Valiant's surface, and for the first time, using its vocalization mechanism, it let out a cry of pain.

But before that, one must first satisfy Iron Valiant's—or rather, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's—fighting spirit.

Just as Luo Mu was pondering how to capture Iron Valiant with minimal impact, Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and Oranguru, who had been busy handling breakfast ingredients, finally arrived.

There were no flashy long-range attacks; at most, faint pale flames lingered around the great flame sword, or a pink-purple edge gleamed upon the blade.

This battle was a pure contest based on swordsmanship skills.

Iron Valiant's sword techniques were like those of an elegant dancer, moving around Cangyan Cangyan Rengui with beautiful yet sharp-hidden skills, its continuous swordplay truly a work of art.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's sword techniques possessed a few more touches of plain simplicity; as its two great flame swords danced, an impenetrable dual-blade sword net suppressed Iron Valiant, forcing it to accelerate the speed of its own dancing.

Either side could be called a master of the sword way.

While watching the battle, Luo Mu saw the occasional pink-purple light flare up on the Iron Valiant's blade, and as if grasping something, his memories revived.

That Hanze from the Johto region, who had gifted him the Miltank, once said that when he encountered a ferocious Tyranitar, he had been saved by a hero.

That hero possessed incomparably magnificent sword skills; continuous attacks that seemed like a dance forced the Tyranitar into a steady retreat.

The pink-purple light emitted by that "long sword" remained vivid in Hanze's memory even years later.

All the characteristics matched almost perfectly, but, was this Iron Valiant really the kind of Pokémon that would save someone from under a Tyranitar's claws?

Future-species Pokémon were always rational and heartless, acting only according to their own goals, just like this Iron Valiant intending to forcibly break into the farm solely to fight the Ceruledge.

While Luo Mu was pondering, the "exchange of swords" between the two parties also reached its final chapter.

At the cost of taking a sharp slash from the Iron Valiant head-on, the Ceruledge swung its great flame sword, blazing with surging blue flames, down upon the Iron Valiant, which could not dodge in time due to accumulated injuries.

As the blue flames burning fiercely on the great flame sword scattered into a sky full of fiery sparks, the Ceruledge's blade hung suspended before the Iron Valiant's eyes.

"Bo-jin?"

The Iron Valiant looked up at the Ceruledge, data streams flowing continuously through its electronic eyes; it could not understand—since it had lost, why did the Ceruledge not deliver the final blow to scrap this unit that had already lost its value?

"Slo—"

The Ceruledge's faint voice rang out.

Before fighting him, the Iron Valiant had already been suppressed and exhausted quite a bit of stamina by Big Brother Luxray, causing flaws to appear in its exquisite Sword Dance, which was why he had been able to win so quickly.

Next time, when your condition is fully restored, let us compete in the way of the sword again.

The Iron Valiant, having understood the meaning expressed by the Ceruledge through its language module, froze for an instant; some strange sensation surfaced in the organ that should be classified as its heart.

"Bo-jin."

The Iron Valiant stood up, looked deeply at the Ceruledge, as if intending to brand it into its memory module.

With its back to the Ceruledge, it slowly walked toward the wild.

Next time, the Ceruledge would not win so easily; it would utilize its racial abilities to analyze the weaknesses of the Ceruledge's sword techniques, then defeat the Ceruledge with updated sword skills.

Without Luo Mu's command, the Pokémon did not rashly rush out to block the Iron Valiant's departure.

Oranguru looked at Luo Mu in confusion: "Young Master, didn't you say it was a dangerous Paradox Pokémon, and that its mere existence would cause the ecosystem to collapse due to its power and abnormality?"

"Just letting the Iron Valiant leave like that?"

Luo Mu met the gaze of the Ceruledge, whose pupils burned constantly with blue flames, for an instant, understood the Ceruledge's intent, and smiled slightly, saying: "However, that only applies to Paradox Pokémon that would cause the ecosystem to collapse, isn't that right?"

"That Iron Valiant's goal doesn't seem to be like that Iron Bundle's; it merely seeks to challenge masters in the way of the sword. It has likely been wandering across this land for quite a long time."

"But from start to finish, the League has had no reaction to its existence, which can only mean it indeed hasn't caused any destruction, though we cannot rule out that it silenced every person and Pokémon who witnessed it causing damage."

"But I feel that probability is slightly low."

At this moment, the Ceruledge stepped forward; on its handsome dark-purple armor, the marks left by the Iron Valiant's blade were clearly visible, making Luo Mu feel a pang of heartache as he pondered what to buy to help the Ceruledge repair its armor faster.

"Slo."

The Ceruledge looked at Oranguru, its voice steady and calm.

Through the battle with the Iron Valiant, whenever their blades clashed, it could sense the other's love for the way of the sword from the Iron Valiant.

The Ceruledge could guarantee that the other party should not be an existence like the Iron Bundle that would endlessly destroy the surrounding ecological environment.

Luo Mu also added finally at this point: "Since it poses no threat and at most just wants to engage in sword combat, surely we can't shout 'Iron Valiant, you are simply too powerful and have threatened the safety of the Paldea land,' then beat it until it loses the ability to fight, capture it into a Poké Ball, and throw it back into the Paldea Crater?"

Oranguru fell silent: "."

Indeed, that would be a bit strange.

In the end, the incident of the Iron Valiant invading the farm concluded as a false alarm; Luo Mu gave Skarmory Skarmory Sanmao and the Rookidees, who had been frightened, more generous rewards, which made them, feeling they had played no role whatsoever, somewhat embarrassed, causing their attitude toward patrolling the farm skies to become even more serious.

Luo Mu also heard from the Ceruledge some intelligence it had gleaned from the opponent during their fierce exchange with the Iron Valiant.

When the Ceruledge asked the Iron Valiant why it knew of him and had sought him out, it mentioned several short phrases.

Mountain, cave, and the Tyranitar that they had both defeated.

Through this intelligence, Luo Mu finally confirmed how that Iron Valiant had learned of the Ceruledge.

The Iron Valiant had likely, in a place unknown to them, personally witnessed the Ceruledge defeating a Tyranitar in a cave in the wilds outside Artazon, aroused the desire to challenge the Ceruledge's sword skills, and thus trekked over mountains and rivers to track all the way from Artazon to Cortondo.

Having clarified the ins and outs of the matter, Luo Mu felt somewhat speechless; he never expected that a minor incident from one or two months ago would cause the Iron Valiant to set its sights on them.

However, through this intelligence, Luo Mu also judged that the Iron Valiant was very likely the "hero" mentioned by Hanze who had saved him, though Luo Mu did not contact Hanze immediately.

He planned to wait until the Iron Valiant came to the farm next time to challenge the Ceruledge, ask the Iron Valiant after their battle concluded, and only contact Hanze after confirming everything was correct, so as to avoid a false alarm.

Luo Mu naturally also did not forget to contact Geeta, explaining to her the existence of the Iron Valiant and the fact that the Iron Valiant would most likely not proactively attack humans or Pokémon—

Unless that human or Pokémon was a master of the sword way.

Geeta held a positive attitude toward the intelligence Luo Mu shared, indicating that this might be another Paradox Pokémon capable of coexisting with humans like the Walking Wake, urging Luo Mu to boldly proceed, and that she would restrain and remind the Paldean residents and travelers passing through the wilds outside Cortondo to pay attention to safety.

Luo Mu knew Geeta must have misunderstood something, such as him wanting to capture the Iron Valiant—at least Luo Mu truly had no such thought while exchanging intelligence; although the Iron Valiant was indeed very handsome, capturing it was still uncertain.

But the possibility for the Ceruledge to advance further due to the Iron Valiant's existence was very real; in fact, on the very day after fighting the Iron Valiant, the Ceruledge's sword skills welcomed a small breakthrough, becoming sharper and even incorporating a few advantages of the Iron Valiant's sword techniques.

As for the Iron Valiant side, as a Paradox Pokémon from the future, full of mysteries, it also possessed many possibilities.

Just like analysis, one of the strongest abilities of machines, most future-species Paradox Pokémon were inseparable from such things.

Just like that Iron Bundle which mechanically constructed the ice field, bound by programs yet also enjoying the conveniences brought by programs.

The Iron Valiant would very likely analyze and dissect the Ceruledge's sword techniques, discover weak points, and then come to challenge again.

Thinking about it this way, the Iron Valiant was simply the perfect training partner; the Ceruledge was in for a treat.

That afternoon, after settling most of the Pokémon in the farm, Luo Mu shouldered a new spatial backpack he had bought at great expense.

Today was June 26th; there were still four days until the appointment with the Dragon Clan's Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City. After spending half a day to reach the Johto region, Luo Mu would still have two or three days to explore various places in Johto.

For this trip, to be on the safe side, Luo Mu left behind a batch of main forces led by the Ceruledge, precisely to prevent the Iron Valiant from finding no Pokémon when it came to the farm and causing some major incident.

Considering that the Johto region was the headquarters of that large organization, Luo Mu naturally also brought along a portion of his main forces, so as not to lack combat power if they encountered the other party.

Besides that, the remaining Pokémon were mostly those serving a cute role, just like Vulpix and Victini.

After all, his purpose this time was simply to sightsee, catch some Pokémon, and then happily have Dragonite learn Extreme Speed before heading home.

If there was a chance, he would also go to the summit of Mount Silver to see if the taciturn Legendary Trainer was there, and secretly dig up some Mount Silver soil to feed to Garganacl.

(End of Chapter)