Chapter 384: Furious Scolding

"What!?"

Even though Yan Di was dignified and steady, after being knocked over by the object that suddenly shot out, he still let out an incredulous exclamation.

"Dad!"

Xiao Mi, who cared most about Yan Di, shouted in worry.

"Mm, I'm fine, Xiao Mi."

Yan Di stood up again, looking with hostility at Feng Su Gou and Luo Mu on its back, whose true forms were revealed as the surrounding smoke cleared.

"Who are you!"

Yan Di's dignified voice rang out like thunder striking flat ground; heavy pressure surged forth, and even the air began to fill with a smell of sulfur.

Even though it was a false phantom born from Xiao Mi's dream, the prototype of Phantom Yan Di was still a legendary Pokémon, the incarnation of a volcano.

Before this power, akin to a volcanic eruption, could even be released, the shockwave had already swept outward in all directions.

Except for the area where Xiao Mi was, which Yan Di deliberately avoided, both Luo Mu and Feng Su Gou, as well as Satoshi and Lizardon, took the full force of this shockwave.

Lizardon, who was already in poor condition, could barely stand firm under this shockwave; feeling Lizardon beneath him swaying unsteadily, a thought rose in Satoshi's heart that he fundamentally did not want to believe.

Yan Di—had not yet used his full strength.

Standing unmoving alongside Feng Su Gou amidst Yan Di's pressure and shockwave, at Luo Mu's signal, Delibird flew to the stunned Kasumi, Takeshi, Hanako, and Xiao Mi, patting its chest to indicate that Grandpa Delibird would protect them all from now on.

After sending Delibird out as a bodyguard, Luo Mu took out a Great Ball, placed it in his hand, and toyed with it; pausing for a moment, he said meaningfully, "I'm just a passerby... never mind, just consider me someone who came to save the day."

Looking at the surrounding environment, and at Xiao Mi hiding behind Hanako with a face full of fear, Luo Mu clicked his tongue in his heart.

As the saying goes, arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time, but now it was clearly somewhat ill-timed.

If he had arrived even one step later, Xiao Mi should have directly run out to soften up the daughter-obsessed Yan Di; instead, things had turned out such that Yan Di was full of hostility toward him, and Xiao Mi had not spoken up to stop Yan Di.

Coming to their senses, Kasumi and Takeshi looked at Luo Mu's back and said in surprise, "That Mr. is..."

The Rocket Trio looked at Feng Su Gou; Nyarth widened his eyes, covered his mouth with his paw pads, and whispered softly, "What kind of Pokémon is that, meow?"

Satoshi, with a face full of surprise, recognized the person on Feng Su Gou's back: "Mr. Luo Mu!"

"Yo, Satoshi! That was truly a close call."

Luo Mu greeted Satoshi, then locked eyes with Yan Di, who was staring intently at him.

"Roar!"

The white smoke drifting behind Yan Di, resembling volcanic fumes, grew increasingly massive; the fire energy within him surged, making people feel as though he could trigger an eruption of magma from deep within the earth at any moment.

"Stop roaring, your opponent is it."

Luo Mu threw the Great Ball in his hand.

The next instant.

An aura older and more tyrannical than that of the current Phantom Yan Di rose; Meng Lei Gu's massive body appeared before everyone's eyes. A trace of caution flashed in Yan Di's fury-filled eyes as he clad himself in Bai Guang and pounced directly at Meng Lei Gu.

"Taishan Press!"

But the speed at which Meng Lei Gu released its move was even faster than Yan Di.

Although surprised that Luo Mu would let it enter battle instead of Kairyu, Mimikkyu, or Fire, Meng Lei Gu did not harbor the slightest negligence, opening with its signature trick.

"Swift Thunder!"

An extremely fast thunderstorm exploded from Meng Lei Gu's thundercloud mane; the pouncing Yan Di hadn't even reacted before being sent flying backward at a speed even faster than when it had charged.

"...!"

Having fallen to the ground again, the somewhat bewildered Yan Di showed an expression of incredulity flashing in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

The human who suddenly appeared and the Pokémon he rode—he was confident he could defeat them; this Pokémon's strength was clearly on par with his own, so why was its attack speed even faster than his?

Luo Mu had no intention of explaining to Yan Di; he commanded in a low voice, "Electric Terrain."

Zzzzt—

Dense electromagnetic waves rippled outward with Meng Lei Gu at the center, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding area was transformed into a field of splashing electric light.

"Pika~~"

Pikachu, who had become weak due to the battle with Yan Di, twitched its ears, rubbed the electric sacs on its cheeks with its small hands, and let out a comfortable cry.

Because of the electric current winding across the Electric Terrain, Pikachu's weakened state improved somewhat.

"This move... is so amazing."

Still in his original series version, Satoshi widened his eyes just from the single move "Electric Terrain."

Yan Di was an existence born from Unown and Xiao Mi's dream; he was not an ordinary Pokémon, and thus possessed extraordinary intuition.

His intuition told Yan Di that Meng Lei Gu's next move would be very bad; in order to prevent Xiao Mi from being taken away by bad people, Yan Di also unhesitatingly unleashed his full power.

The ethereal white smoke on his back turned fiery red and began to change shape; terrifying molten fire power gestated within, becoming increasingly violent due to Yan Di's rage.

The next instant.

From the fiery red volcanic crater formed by the transforming white smoke, a terrifying pillar of fire erupted; accompanied by a deafening boom, countless meteors of fire rain, formed from Xiong Xiong burning flames, fell from the sky.

Luo Mu had no doubt that even a Water-type Pokémon, if it took Emperor Yan Di's current "Flamethrower" move head-on, would likely enter a heavily burned state.

What was surprising was that, seemingly due to the influence of Unown's power, Yan Di's Flamethrower was well restricted to the area where Luo Mu himself, Feng Su Gou, Victini, and Meng Lei Gu were located.

Facing this strike from Yan Di, Luo Mu, who intended to end the battle quickly, naturally responded with full power as well.

Victini had already completed the enhancement for Meng Lei Gu; gazing at the sky burned fiery red, Luo Mu gently raised his right hand toward the sky and said calmly, "Power Up."

Vroom—

The air, which was already trembling incessantly, emitted a vibrating hum that shook the soul; all the electricity within the Electric Terrain gathered under Meng Lei Gu's accumulation.

Boom!

Amidst a blinding flash, violent Lei Ting transformed into a pillar of light, rising from beneath the feet of the horrified Yan Di, destroying everything along with the fire rain that fell as if it were an eternal doomsday.

The soul-shaking roar continued incessantly; only after quite a while did the violent power of Lei Ting slowly dissipate, allowing Satoshi and the others to finally open their eyes again.

The scene before their eyes stunned them.

The Flame Emperor, who had just been imposing and majestic, had lost most of his body and lay weakly on the ground.

But since the Flame Emperor was never made of flesh and blood, the parts of his body scattered by "Rising Voltage" glowed with a dazzling blue light, regenerating at an extremely fast speed, just like those crystals.

Even though his strength fell far short of the genuine Flame Emperor, as long as the Phantom Flame Emperor remained within the domain created by Unown, he could regenerate nearly infinitely.

Riding on Feng Su Gou, Luo Mu arrived before the Flame Emperor.

". Bastard."

Watching the forelimbs of Feng Su Gou descend in his field of vision, now only a hair's breadth away, the Flame Emperor felt humiliated, yet even more he desired to repair his body quickly; he absolutely could not let these fellows take Xiao Mi away.

Noticing the defiant look in the Flame Emperor's eyes, Luo Mu rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Do you still want to fight?"

Just as the Flame Emperor was about to throw out a threat, a panicked voice suddenly came from behind.

"Xiao Mi!"

A little girl, probably only six or seven years old, stumbled runingly between the Flame Emperor and Luo Mu; turning her back to the Flame Emperor, the girl, tears welling in the corners of her eyes, shouted at Luo Mu, "Don't bully Dad!"

The Flame Emperor froze, then cried out somewhat anxiously, "It's dangerous here, don't come over!"

Perhaps it was because this place was Xiao Mi's mental world, materialized by Unown.

【The Flame Emperor is Xiao Mi's father】

【The father is willing to do anything for Xiao Mi's happiness】

Under this rule, as long as it was for Xiao Mi, the Flame Emperor could unleash unimaginable power.

Perhaps worried that Luo Mu would harm Xiao Mi, the Flame Emperor roared and howled, exerting all his strength to repair his body.

Luo Mu did not understand; how had he suddenly become the great villain oppressing a father and daughter?

Spreading his hands and signaling Meng Lei Gu, who brought immense pressure to the Flame Emperor, to retreat, Luo Mu stated plainly, "If you say so, then we won't fight anymore."

To tell the truth, if it weren't to make the Flame Emperor, who hadn't been stopped by Xiao Mi due to his own appearance, behave himself, Luo Mu would have had no desire to battle the Flame Emperor at all.

With that kind of time, it would be better to consider how to deal with that group of Unown who were bound to go berserk.

Luo Mu was carefree enough, but the Flame Emperor was directly stunned.

What exactly did this human mean?

Breaking in without explanation to oppose him, yet now directly stating that not fighting was fine.

The Flame Emperor, whose fury had stalled halfway through brewing, suddenly wondered if he had taken that beating for nothing.

Xiao Mi also opened her beautiful blue eyes, looking at this handsome big brother with confusion.

Luo Mu flipped off Feng Su Gou, with a Victini stuffed full of Victory Wave atop his head, and asked the Flame Emperor only one question.

"If Xiao Mi's happiness lies in the world outside, what will you do?"

Ash and the others froze; Luo Mu's question was...

Perhaps sensing that there was no hostility left in Luo Mu, the Flame Emperor fell silent for a moment, gazing at Xiao Mi with gentle eyes, and slowly said, "I was born as a father to make Xiao Mi happy; if that is Xiao Mi's happiness... I will let go."

"Eh?"

Clinging to the Flame Emperor's forelimbs, Xiao Mi stared blankly into the Flame Emperor's eyes, which overflowed with tenderness.

Just as Misty and the others wanted to strike while the iron was hot and tell Xiao Mi that the beauty of the outside world far surpassed illusion, Luo Mu's voice, brimming with anger, rang out like a thunderclap from clear skies.

"Spout your damn nonsense!"

The air fell instantly silent.

Feng Su Gou, Victini, Meng Lei Gu, and even the Pidove diligently protecting Hanako and the others all froze for an instant.

Ash and the others were also startled.

At this moment, whether Pokémon or humans, everyone was surprised that Luo Mu, usually gentle and calm, had suddenly cursed.

The Flame Emperor even opened his mouth, looking at this baffling human, wanting to say something to refute him.

But Luo Mu sneered and said, "You aren't about to tell me something like 'love is letting go,' are you?"

The Flame Emperor: "."

Crap, he predicted it.

"That is merely your own wishful thinking!" Luo Mu rebuked the Flame Emperor with forceful words, "No matter how beautifully you disguise it, the hurt brought by separation will not change; it will be a thorn in the heart that appears from time to time throughout the long future of life!"

"Why not be a bit greedier and want it all?"

"Do you dare swear that when I asked you just now, you hadn't thought about going to the outside world with Xiao Mi and living together?"

Meeting Luo Mu's burning gaze, the Flame Emperor admitted defeat for the first time, lowering his head somewhat guiltily.

"It's impossible; I exist relying on Xiao Mi's thoughts. Without the power of those fellows, I am nothing but an illusory phantom."

Under Xiao Mi's sorrowful expression, the Flame Emperor slowly revealed his true nature.

(End of Chapter)