Chapter 389: Shi Ying Plateau, Another Moltres

After bidding farewell to Ash and his companions, Luo Mu naturally returned to Goldenrod City, boarded the maglev train, and arrived in Saffron City by evening.

Saffron City.

The largest and most prosperous city in the entire Kanto region, it held the same status in Kanto as Goldenrod City did in Johto.

The headquarters building of Silph Co., a world-class enterprise, stood right in the center of Saffron City, extremely conspicuous.

Here also stood the Saffron Gym, guarded by Sabrina, a psychic known as the Human Pokémon.

However, all of this had nothing to do with Luo Mu.

In the past, he might have wanted to visit Sabrina to see if he possessed any psychic talent.

But after receiving three negations from Oranguru, Mewtwo, and Lei Guan Wang, he had extinguished that thought.

As soon as he stepped off the maglev train, people from the Kanto League were already waiting for him at the exit.

The woman had long, wavy blue hair; she wore a yellow crop top, white capri pants, and high heels matching her outfit.

With a solemn expression, the woman emitted an aura of considerable pressure, causing pedestrians to keep their distance from her.

Some people recognized the woman's identity, but still dared not approach due to her overwhelming presence.

The woman seemed to already know what Luo Mu looked like; the moment he left the ticket gate, she strode toward him in her high heels with long, rapid steps.

Luo Mu instructed Delibird to stay close behind him so they wouldn't get separated in the heavy crowd, then looked up at the woman who had already reached him and greeted her with a smile: "I didn't expect you to come pick me up personally, Elite Four Karen."

"Everyone else is busy with matters, but Chairman Daemalanche felt we could not treat you with disrespect, so he sent me from the Johto region to Saffron City to wait for you in advance."

Karen nodded slightly and looked toward the station exit.

"I parked the car outside; given the time of day, it's too late to reach headquarters today. The League instructed us to rest in Saffron City first; the hotel is already booked, so I will take you there."

Aside from the imposing aura brought by commanding Dark-type Pokémon, Karen radiated an overall air of competence, handling matters without any drag or hesitation.

Under Karen's lead, Luo Mu and Delibird naturally boarded her black Jeep.

Perhaps Luo Mu's surprised gaze was too obvious, for as Karen navigated through the bustling traffic of Saffron City, she pushed up the night-vision polarized sunglasses on the bridge of her nose:

"There's nothing to be surprised about; I am a pragmatist. Since I often need to travel between wilderness areas and other cities, I naturally choose a vehicle with high ground clearance and durability for transportation."

"Dee-li~"

Delibird nodded; it also felt that practicality was best.

Luo Mu displayed an expression of thoughtful contemplation.

Indeed, when traveling within cities, unlike in the Alola region, in some major cities of Kanto, most Pokémon are not allowed to carry passengers on the roads.

Only Pokémon like Dodrio are permitted, and even then, one must obtain a certificate before being allowed on the road.

Even though the sky gradually darkened and the flow of people on the streets showed no sign of diminishing, Karen glanced out of the corner of her eye at Luo Mu, who was sitting in the passenger seat intently watching the scenery outside, and asked, "Are you free tonight?"

Luo Mu blinked; unsure of Karen's intention, he chose to answer conservatively.

"... I suppose not; I pulled an all-nighter last night and plan to get a good sleep tonight."

"Is that so? Then let's make plans another day."

Karen nodded lightly, her attitude very casual and free-spirited.

Several question marks appeared above Luo Mu's head, and he asked hesitantly, "May I ask what you intended to do with me?"

Karen did not answer immediately.

When the Jeep turned a few corners and stopped in front of a high-end hotel, she crossed her hands, stretched lazily, and spoke in a voice full of languor.

"I rushed non-stop from Mt. Silver to Saffron City; collecting a little interest isn't excessive, is it?"

"If possible, after arriving at Shi Ying Plateau, have a one-on-one Pokémon battle with me."

Karen made no secret of her desire to battle Luo Mu; perhaps most Pokémon Trainers were enthusiastic about such things.

"No problem." Luo Mu nodded slightly. "However, I didn't bring my ace Pokémon on this trip."

"Then send out your main force. By the way, I'm very interested in that Dragonite which defeated Moltres; since there's no flight record for you this time, you must have ridden it here, right?"

Karen spread her hands, clearly appreciating Luo Mu's straightforwardness.

"As you know, the champion ace of our Johto League is also a Dragonite; I have never given up on taking that position and have done much training for it—it might unexpectedly be quite targeted when the time comes."

"Alright."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, unbuckled his seatbelt, then walked to the back row to lift Delibird, who was sitting obediently in the child seat, and under Karen's guidance, completed the check-in procedures in one go.

On the hotel's top floor, outside the room, Karen leaned against the doorframe and waved her hand.

"Get some good rest; driving to Shi Ying Plateau tomorrow will still take about half a day."

"Okay."

Luo Mu closed the hotel room door, breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Delibird who was curiously inspecting the hotel room, thought for a moment, took out the Poké Balls he carried with him, and released everyone.

Dragonite, Moltres, Feng Su Gou, Victini, and Meng Lei Gu... that's right, the height of this hotel room, one of the finest in Saffron City, was sufficient for Meng Lei Gu to stand upright freely.

Mimikyu crawled out from the shadows; Luo Mu picked it up, took a piece of high-quality fabric and needle and thread from his bag, and shouted to Moltres, who had retracted its flames and was patrolling the room furnishings like a ground chicken: "Keep an eye on your big son!"

Although the room was rented by the Kanto League, Luo Mu still felt they should try to avoid causing too much damage.

After nodding to Luo Mu, Moltres immediately turned its gaze toward Feng Su Gou, who was lying by the door.

To Moltres's surprise, Feng Su Gou merely glanced at the neatly arranged disposable slippers before shifting its gaze away, appearing completely uninterested in them.

Moltres: "..."

So it only targeted Luo Mu's slippers for destruction; quite principled, indeed.

Walking up to Feng Su Gou, Moltres slowly began grooming its feathers (fur).

On the other side, using Mimikyu as a model, Luo Mu tried to sew the fabric into an identical shape; unfortunately, his skill clearly hadn't reached mastery yet, and the final product was somewhat horrific to behold.

Although Mimikyu, wagging its wooden tail, didn't mind, since Luo Mu had already promised to prepare a cute cloth doll disguise for Mimikyu, he had to do the job to the best of his ability.

Folding up the "failed attempt" and putting it into his backpack, Luo Mu took out a second piece of fabric and continued trying to sew.

It was not until the night had deepened, around eleven o'clock.

Although a satisfactory work had not yet been produced, the accumulated experience was by no means false; Luo Mu yawned, his gaze falling upon Dragonite and the others, who had already gathered together and fallen asleep.

Just now, Dragonite and Meng Lei Gu had been playing on the slide with Victini for a long time, and now they both looked exhausted. "It's about time to sleep."

Feeling a drowsiness that seemed ready to swallow his consciousness, Luo Mu yawned again, lay down on the bed holding Delibird in his left arm and Mimikyu in his right, and fell into a deep sleep.

With the two of them there, there was no need to even turn on the air conditioner; his whole body felt cool, and the muggy heat of the summer night had absolutely no effect.

The next day.

Freshly washed and dressed, Luo Mu had just stepped out the door when he ran straight into Karen, who was leaning against the wall.

Blinking his eyes, Luo Mu complained with genuine sincerity, "You're making me feel like you've been standing here in this pose all night long."

Karen didn't respond, brushing the hair from her shoulder before raising an eyebrow and saying, "Let's go."

"Alright."

Parked at the hotel entrance was still Karen's jeep; Luo Mu and Delibird took their seats in the back row, and as the car engine roared to life, the jeep pulled onto the road, heading toward the most solemn place in the Kanto League.

Along the way, Luo Mu rummaged through Delibird's tail feathers to pull out the camera and began reviewing the photos with Delibird.

After all, the camera had only been with Delibird for less than a month, so the content wasn't very extensive.

However, what caught Luo Mu's attention most was a photo Delibird had taken in a certain forest.

Lush, leafy trees blocked out the sky and sun, making the forest lighting extremely poor; although the photo was clearly taken during the day, it looked as dark as night.

If it were just a pitch-black forest, it wouldn't have been enough to capture Luo Mu's attention.

The focus of the photo lay in a mysterious creature hidden in the sea of trees in the distance like a Pokémon, emitting a emerald-green glow.

Because the distance was too great, it looked somewhat indistinct, but judging by its silhouette... it looked very much like that Pokémon.

In Luo Mu's mind emerged the figure of a mythical Pokémon bearing transparent cicada wings, possessing a small green body, and sporting two pairs of thick black eye-rings.

The mythical Pokémon Celebi, which possesses the ability to travel through time and space.

With Celebi's presence and such a gloomy forest, this must be the Ilex Forest.

Delibird really has incredible luck, managing to photograph even the rarely seen Celebi.

Seemingly embarrassed by Luo Mu's praise, Delibird shyly scratched its head with a wing.

Sighing with emotion, Luo Mu activated the camera's Pai Li De Gong function, instantly developing that photo, planning to put it into his album later when he returned.

Half a day later, at the Kanto League Headquarters, Indigo Plateau.

Walking along a path constructed from dark gray stone steps, Luo Mu and Delibird turned their heads to gaze downward into the distance.

Rather than feeling like they were in the most solemn place in the Kanto region, the view below looked more like a resort town filled with many large facilities and beautiful scenery.

The road he and Karen were walking on was completely free of danger, even though just a short distance away lay the Silver Mountains, famous for being fraught with peril.

At this moment, Karen's voice floated down from ahead.

"As the League's strength and scale have continuously expanded in recent years, safe roads leading to the Indigo Plateau have long been built; apart from those trainers who wish to challenge themselves, very few people now attempt the Victory Road."

Withdrawing his gaze, Luo Mu and Delibird continued walking upward while pondering aloud, "So down there are the venues for the Indigo Conference, the Athlete's Village, and various supporting facilities?"

"That's correct; times are progressing, and the classification of trainer ranks has become more detailed. Nowadays, the Kanto League also intends to implement the Sinnoh League's 'Champion League' system, allowing unaffiliated Gym Leaders and past conference winners to compete and determine which trainers will challenge the Elite Four and the Champion position."

Karen chatted with Luo Mu about the recent changes in the Kanto region without even turning her head.

"I heard that the system in the Paldea region seems somewhat different from Kanto's?"

"Indeed, it is different."

Hearing Karen's question, Luo Mu thought for a moment, recalling the scene of his own Champion Assessment in his mind, and nodded gently.

Especially that initial interview segment; rather than challenging the Elite Four and the Champion, it felt more like Geeta recruiting capable trainers as employees.

Time spent in casual conversation always passes quickly; as Luo Mu and Karen chatted about topics that didn't involve the secrets of their respective regional Leagues, before they realized it, the long staircase resembling a ladder to heaven had reached its end, and the headquarters of the Kanto Pokémon League came into view.

Aside from the solemn and magnificent architecture of the Kanto League, the most eye-catching feature was undoubtedly the orange flame burning fiercely in the center of the plaza before the headquarters.

"Is that the Sacred Flame?"

Luo Mu stated with certainty.

"That's right; it is the eternal Sacred Flame originating from Moltres, used as a symbol for both the Indigo and Silver Conferences."

Karen nodded gently, then immediately displayed a strange expression.

If she remembered correctly, hadn't Luo Mu also caught a Moltres? He even had Articuno and Zapdos.

The only consolation was that the Sacred Flame originated from an exceptionally powerful Moltres.

Recalling how Moltres's flames were usually used at home by himself for heating or cooking, Luo Mu honestly kept his mouth shut to avoid stirring up unnecessary trouble.

The Sacred Flame was one of the spiritual beliefs of the people of Kanto.

Originally, passing the Sacred Flame would lead directly to the main gate of the Kanto League Headquarters, but before Luo Mu could walk around the central silver brazier, the Sacred Flame burning vigorously within seemed to sense something; the fire surged violently, actually transforming into a wall of fire that blocked Luo Mu's path.

"!?"

Fortunately, Luo Mu and Delibird reacted quickly, stopping almost simultaneously; Luo Mu's eyebrows and Delibird's feathers were only a hair's breadth away from being scorched.

Walking ahead and having provoked no reaction from the Sacred Flame whatsoever, Karen halted in place, her face showing surprise.

The Sacred Flame actually reacted? Feeling the rolling waves of heat rushing toward his face, Luo Mu's expression changed slightly; he could vaguely feel that the Sacred Flame wasn't targeting him, but rather... at this moment, a Poké Ball at Luo Mu's waist shook slightly and opened automatically.

Moltres's figure appeared directly in the plaza.

Accompanying Moltres's appearance, the Sacred Flame that had blocked Luo Mu and Delibird, seemingly having seen the object it wished to see, caused the overflowing flames to very spiritually return to the brazier, where they began to gradually condense into form, transforming into an illusory fire bird that flapped its wings and let out a long cry.

Its appearance was almost carved from the same mold as Moltres.

Looking at the lifelike fire bird within the brazier, Luo Mu widened his eyes, shocked beyond measure in his heart.

It's actually alive!? Karen, meanwhile, looked as if her horizons had been vastly expanded; unable to maintain her demeanor as a Dark-type trainer, she murmured to herself, "It actually possesses life."

Although after becoming one of the Johto League's Elite Four, she had heard that the Sacred Flame possessed life.

But witnessing it with her own eyes was a first.

(End of Chapter)