Chapter 314: Cynthia, Who Loves Eating Ice Cream, Wants to Wrestle with Adu

It was merely a doubling of speed!?

Even though Alice was currently extremely immature compared to her future self, upon hearing Luo Mu's casual explanation, she still felt a stifling sense of frustration, unsure of how to retort.

Adding to her frustration was the fact that Excadrill currently knew no weather moves, let alone activating its Ability, which might be "Sand Rush" or "Sand Force."

Alice glanced guiltily at Xia Ka out of the corner of her eye; after all, the reason Excadrill hadn't learned Sandstorm was that she had skipped class that day to play in the wild.

Xia Ka's lower face, obscured by a white beard, made it impossible to read his expression; one could only tell his gaze was sharp and steady, like a straight sword piercing through the distracted Alice, forcing her to focus her attention back on the battle between Sandslash and Excadrill.

At this moment, Excadrill was defending against attacks from all directions; since it hadn't learned any weather moves and could not contest the weather with Sandslash, it could only seek an opportunity within its opponent's domain.

The collision of steel claws against steel claws rang with the sound of clashing metal, bright sparks standing out vividly against the dense hail weather.

Under the hail, the Snow Cloak Ability significantly offset the clumsiness of the Alolan Sandslash, whose movements were more cumbersome than ordinary Sandslash due to the heavy ice needles on its back.

Sandslash had already left several wounds on Excadrill with its terrifyingly sharp hooks; in contrast, Excadrill was not only being continuously suppressed by Sandslash but also suffering constant damage from the hail, leaving the Excadrill, which had achieved a hundred consecutive victories in the Dragon Village and was brimming with confidence, utterly frustrated.

Although Alice was flustered, perhaps talent was simply that unreasonable; utilizing her excellent observational skills, Alice discovered that in the instant before Sandslash used its speed to move and strike Excadrill, it would often charge forward involuntarily for a period due to the inertia brought by its body weight.

To counteract this inertia, Sandslash needed one to two seconds after appearing to suppress it, resulting in a slight interval between its appearance and the initiation of an attack.

In the gap when Sandslash repelled Excadrill and rushed to behind it at a speed inconsistent with its weight, appearing momentarily, Alice shouted without hesitation: "Excadrill, Bulldoze!"

The trust between Excadrill and Alice caused Excadrill, even without catching sight of Sandslash, to subconsciously stomp heavily on the ground.

The ground cracked with Excadrill at the center, sending out earth-yellow shockwaves in all directions, and since Sandslash was in the phase of suppressing its inertia, it was unable to dodge this highly effective attack.

The next instant.

Excadrill's surging earth-yellow shockwave, filled with anger born of frustration, exploded beneath Sandslash's feet; the energy and explosion caught the unprepared Sandslash off guard, sending it flipping onto its back.

"Awesome!"

Feeling she had sounded the horn for a counterattack, Alice jumped high, letting out an excited cheer.

Drasna covered her mouth, saying in surprise: "That child's observational skills are truly keen."

Serving as the referee and closely monitoring the situation on the field, Cynthia raised the corners of her mouth, murmuring to herself: "A very good judgment."

The Dragon-type Trainers watching from all around erupted in exclaimations, unanimously retracting their previous evaluation of Alice as "too immature."

"Not bad."

Luo Mu spoke up, praising Alice's powerful observational skills, which were nearly akin to wild instinct.

"However, at this level, it is still far too early to defeat Sandslash; Icicle Crash!"

Wincing in pain, Sandslash steadied itself; the thick, sharp ice needles on its back emanated frost that surged into the sky, enveloping the area above Excadrill's head.

Assisted by the hail weather, the formation speed of the ice pillars was extremely fast; before Excadrill could react, countless sharp ice pillars rained down from the sky.

"Oh right, Sandslash is an Ice-type!"

Alice covered her small mouth; since Sandslash had only used Steel-type and Fighting-type moves while clashing with Excadrill, she had almost forgotten about Ice-type moves, which would receive a significant boost under hail weather!

"We absolutely cannot get hit; Drill Run!"

At this critical moment, Excadrill merged its two claws and the protrusion on its head into one, spinning its body at high speed, looking just like a large drill capable of boring through anything.

Having no intention of confronting the Icicle Crash head-on, Excadrill leveraged the talent of Ground-type, mole-like Pokémon and dove straight into the ground.

In merely the time of a single breath, half of Excadrill's body had submerged underground.

But just then, the Icicle Crash also struck the ground.

Boom!

As ice shards scattered in all directions, frost instantly froze this entire area; white mist rose, making the region resemble a celestial fairyland.

However, this celestial fairyland was a bit cold.

The power of this Icicle Crash was stunningly impressive, causing the Dragon-type Trainers surrounding the area to twitch the corners of their mouths slightly.

They never expected that they would witness an Ice-type move displaying its might at the Dragon Grand Feast, an event held specifically for Dragon-type Pokémon Trainers.

When Excadrill, its body still spinning at high speed, emerged from underground and landed on the thin layer of ice on the ground, kicking up a sound of shattering, everyone clearly saw its pained expression and its feet eroded by the cold air.

Because her ace, Garchomp, was quadruply weak to Ice-type moves, Cynthia already possessed extensive research experience regarding them.

She frowned slightly, whispering: "Still too late, was it?"

Because the Icicle Crash, composed of massive Ice-type energy, exploded, Excadrill, which hadn't managed to fully enter the ground in time, was frostbitten by the cold air.

And for Sandslash, whose speed doubled under the hail weather, an Excadrill whose feet were rendered immobile by the cold was like a lamb awaiting slaughter; defeat was merely a matter of time.

"Excadrill!"

Alice's worried voice rang out, while Xia Ka sighed imperceptibly, four words floating in his mind—

The situation is decided.

Subsequent developments unfolded exactly as Xia Ka had anticipated; the Excadrill, restricted in its movements, was completely unable to resist Sandslash's attacks, which combined both speed and power; even when Alice went all-in with Horn Drill, a move that would guarantee a one-hit knockout if it landed, it was meaningless against the Sandslash, which under Luo Mu's command hardly ever showed any openings.

After dodging Excadrill's Horn Drill, Sandslash once again used Icicle Crash to completely drain the last bit of Excadrill's stamina.

Stepping onto the ice layer in her high heels, Cynthia approached to check Excadrill's condition, then solemnly announced: "Excadrill is unable to battle, therefore this match is won by Sandslash and Champion Luo Mu!"

"Boo-wu~" "Sha-sha!"

Sandslash returned steadily to Luo Mu's side, exchanging high-fives with Dragonite, who had been closely following the battle.

At this moment, Sandslash felt somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, in order to train one of its major weaknesses, Dragonite had specifically asked Sandslash to help it train its resistance to cold; during the process of assisting in this training, Sandslash had developed quite a bit of its own strength, otherwise it would have truly been difficult to battle against this young Excadrill, which was full of bull-headed energy.

Alice came to Excadrill's side dejectedly, saying apologetically to the Excadrill, which still retained a sliver of consciousness: "I'm sorry; if only I had pulled myself together a bit more."

Excadrill looked helplessly at Alice, not understanding why it, having lost, still had to comfort her.

"Du-si."

Although Excadrill thought this in its heart, its actions showed not a hint of hesitation as it emitted a sound faint as a mosquito's buzz to comfort Alice.

In that instant, even though Excadrill was not a Dragon-type Pokémon, Alice still perceived Excadrill's unwillingness to accept defeat, as well as the surging, unyielding fighting spirit within its heart.

Alice widened her eyes, a smile appearing on her small face as she reignited her fighting spirit: "Mm! After we return to the academy, we will train again, and then challenge Big Brother Luo Mu once more!"

Seeing Alice regain her spirits, Xia Ka, Cynthia, and Drasna all felt deeply gratified; the future of the League was precisely being pioneered by these vigorous young people.

Originally, Xia Ka intended to summon the healer arranged here by the Dragon Clan to help restore the Garchomp's stamina, but Luo Mu directly stopped him, releasing a small Comfey and smiling as he said, "Leave the healing to Comfey."

"Comfey~"

The reliable doctor Comfey arrived atop the Garchomp's head, swaying its body under Alice's curious gaze, enveloping the Garchomp in a pleasant floral scent and pink energy.

With the intervention of healing energy, the Garchomp perceived that not only were its legs, numb to the point of having almost no sensation, gradually improving, but its draining stamina was also being slowly replenished.

Alice looked up at Comfey: "It smells so good; what Pokémon is this?"

"Comfey, a Pokémon unique to the Alola region, Fairy-type, and very skilled at healing."

Cynthia handed the unharmed Garchomp over to Alice, smiling as she answered her question.

"Fairy-type."

The Dragon-type trainers surrounding them, who had enjoyed the battle and were about to disperse while feeling even more wary of Ice-type moves, suddenly halted their steps; upon hearing the type Cynthia mentioned for Comfey, they all displayed strange expressions.

Steel, Ice, Fairy—one resists Dragon, one counters Dragon, one is immune to Dragon and counters Dragon; could Luo Mu really not be here to crash the Dragon Grand Festival?

The battle ended; as the surrounding trainers dispersed, Luo Mu and the others did not linger on the battle field without fighting, but instead moved directly to an open area.

Gently stroking her golden long hair that reached her waist, Cynthia smiled and extended her hand to Luo Mu: "Let me introduce myself; I am Cynthia, an archaeologist, currently holding the position of Champion of the Sinnoh League."

Luo Mu likewise extended his hand, briefly clasping Cynthia's before letting go.

"I have long heard of your great name, Champion Cynthia."

Luo Mu had thought this was merely an ordinary greeting and self-introduction, when suddenly Cynthia said, "Just call me Cynthia; after all, this already counts as our second meeting."

"Huh?"

Luo Mu was slightly stunned.

"Oh my, does this mean you don't remember me?" Cynthia covered her face with one hand, chuckling happily: "Cream Ice Cream Poffin, the taste was wonderful; isn't your Shuang Nai Xian following you this time?"

"Young Lady Z!?"

Luo Mu's eyes widened slightly; memories rapidly surfaced, recalling the dessert competition he participated in to obtain an evolution item for his Milcery in Floaroma Town, and the blonde judge Young Lady Z wearing a Togepi mask.

"It seems you have remembered."

Before Cynthia could finish speaking, Alice, who had already composed herself on the right, blinked and asked curiously, "Miss Cynthia, what is Cream Ice Cream Poffin? It sounds very delicious~"

Hearing this, Cynthia looked at Luo Mu, who had quickly calmed down from his surprise, their gazes meeting.

Luo Mu knew Cynthia was asking if he permitted her to speak of it; having no reservations about this, Luo Mu directly nodded in agreement.

After all, his main profession now was farm owner, with trainer being merely a side job.

Even Drasena and the seemingly serious Xia Ka now had their ears slightly perked up, curious about when Luo Mu and Cynthia had met before.

Under Cynthia's narration, the few of them listened slowly; it was roughly a simple story with little excitement, where Cynthia had been invited to anonymously serve as a dessert judge, and Luo Mu had won by creating Orange Peel Honey Poffin ~ Cream Ice Cream.

Finishing her words, Cynthia placed her index finger before her lips, smiling brightly at Alice: "Please, everyone must keep this matter secret, especially do not let Lucian and the others find out."

After all, for the sake of participating in that event, she had specifically handed her current work over to Lucian and Grandma Bertha to handle.

Xia Ka's expression was slightly strange; in his impression, Cynthia, the Battle Goddess of the Sinnoh region, was always elegant and confident on the battlefield, driving enemies into a desperate situation, possessing an aura and presence entirely equal to male trainers.

Yet he had never expected Cynthia to be so fond of sweets.

Drasena cupped her face, her narrowed eyes opening slightly: "Just listening to Miss Cynthia's endless praise, even someone of my advanced age feels a bit eager to taste that dessert."

Alice, with a drop of clear liquid forming at the corner of her mouth, nodded vigorously: "Me too!"

Alice displayed a drooling expression toward the Poffin Cynthia described; who said a wild girl couldn't like sweets? She liked them very much.

The few of them continued chatting, yet their gazes subtly turned toward Luo Mu; even the most dull-witted would know what they were plotting, let alone Luo Mu, who was not dull-witted to begin with.

"If there is an opportunity, everyone is welcome to visit my farm; the address is Luo Mu Farm, located in the outskirts of Cortondo Town in the Paldea region."

Whether Cynthia, Xia Ka, Drasena, or Alice, any of them could potentially become future clients of the farm; perhaps, relying on their connections, he could even expand business to other regions.

Although currently the farm's by-products were only purchased within Cortondo Town, with a small portion taken to be auctioned in Mesagoza, this did not prevent Luo Mu from gathering some potential clients for himself.

Regarding this, it was merely a matter of preparing a table of desserts and specialty foods to treat them; Luo Mu was quite willing to do so.

Drasena said with a face full of joy: "Then I will definitely make time to visit~"

"Teacher, Teacher!"

Alice looked at Xia Ka with expectant, starry eyes; the cold-outside-but-warm-inside Xia Ka did not hold out long before surrendering.

Xia Ka bowed slightly to Luo Mu: "At that time, please allow me to bring Alice along to visit."

Luo Mu nodded: "When the time comes, please be sure to contact me."

Cynthia also looked at Luo Mu with a smile: "I wonder if I might also join in the fun?"

"That goes without saying; recently my farm has also begun raising Da Nai Guan, replacing the milk used for making ice cream with Tapu Tapu Moumou milk, and I am preparing to develop Wooloo goat milk mixed with matcha, adding matcha ice cream on top of Poffins."

Luo Mu had merely stated his recent plan to upgrade the raw materials with a calm expression, yet after he finished speaking, he discovered Cynthia had remained silent the entire time.

When Luo Mu's gaze fell upon Cynthia's face, he found that the current Cynthia was actually stunned.

Seeing her expression, Luo Mu suddenly remembered that although Cynthia was set to like sweets, her absolute favorite was... ice cream!?

After Cynthia's stagnant gaze finished processing the volume of information, it instantly transformed into a look of eager anticipation.

If not for the fact that she still had duties as the Sinnoh Champion and archaeological work to attend to after the Dragon Grand Festival concluded, she would certainly have immediately traveled to the Paldea region to visit Luo Mu's farm.

Pure Da Nai Guan Tapu Tapu Moumou milk and Wooloo goat milk, which carries a slight grassy fragrance, blended with matcha to make ice cream; just thinking about it gave Cynthia an impulse to disregard everything, cast aside her current tasks, and go taste the delicacy.

Unfortunately, reason told Cynthia this was impossible.

Before the few of them could chat further, it seemed the time had arrived; night completely shrouded the sky, and bright lights illuminated the Dragon Clan's manor as if it were broad daylight.

The next instant, a wild wind descended from the heavens; its force was just right, neither causing any chaos nor arousing people's dislike, yet precisely enough to announce its own presence.

In the sight of everyone, a Dragonite with restrained momentum appeared in the sky, and on the Dragonite's back was... Lance, Elite Four of the Kanto League and Champion of the Johto League!

Cynthia said with great interest: "A perfect control of his own power; interesting."

The next instant.

Amidst a chorus of gasps, Lance leaped directly down from a height of one hundred meters; his red-lined, black-outside cape fluttered loudly, returning to calm as Lance landed steadily on the ground.

A normal person—Luo Mu's mouth twitched—are all you people from Kanto and Johto that abstract? That was a height of one hundred meters!

Xia Ka and Drasena did manage to discern a hint of the underlying mechanics.

Xia Ka stated in a deep voice, "That Dragonite used the power of wind to offset most of the force generated by its descent."

Drasena maintained her cheerful demeanor: "Coupled with that Officer's long-honed physique and his one hundred percent trust in his Dragonite, it created such a stunning entrance; truly, he is not only proficient with Dragon-types but also highly skilled in the domain of Flying-types."

Xia Ka nodded slightly; usually one who wrestled with Haxorus, Druddigon, and Salamence, he unexpectedly felt a desire to wrestle with Lance and compare whose physique was stronger.

As Lance took the stage, becoming the focus of everyone present, Clair arrived at the scene accompanied by an extremely elderly man.

The elder introduced himself as the Dragon Elder, the administrator in charge of the Dragon's Den.

The Dragon Elder looked cheerfully at the Dragon-type Trainers gathered from all over the world, first welcoming their arrival, then speaking aloud: "Today is merely the appetizer for this Dragon Festival; it is held to thank all our guests for honoring us by attending this event hosted by our Dragon Clan."

"After tonight's banquet concludes, tomorrow morning at this very same location, the true event of the Dragon Festival will commence—the Dragon's Den Trial!"

"On behalf of our Dragon Clan, I pledge here that any Trainer who overcomes the myriad obstacles at the entrance of the Dragon's Den and reaches its interior may select one Dragon-type Pokémon, or a Pokémon of another attribute possessing Dragon bloodline, from within the Den; this even includes our Dragon Clan's representative Pokémon lineages: Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite."

"Of course, should you pass the hidden trial, and your Pokémon happens to be a Dragon-type capable of learning the move 'Extreme Speed'... I will take it upon myself to bestow upon you the secret Extreme Speed technique passed down through generations of our Dragon Clan!"

(End of Chapter)