Chapter 528: Cangyan Cangyan Rengui and Armarouge

It must be said that the wilds truly hone a Pokémon's abilities.

Luo Mu remembered that in the original anime, before evolving into Pidgeot, Pidgeotto itself was not outstanding in combat power; many times, it appeared merely as a guiding bird.

But after its final evolution, having led its flock in the wild for about half a year, Pidgeot's aura had become not only more majestic and domineering, but from what could be observed with the naked eye, it was clearly battle-hardened.

Even if it could not compare to the Charizard specially trained by Moltres, Pidgeot was already considered among the top-tier combat forces in Ash's team.

By observing Pidgeot's physique and aura, Luo Mu made this analysis.

Thinking of this, Luo Mu curiously asked Ash, "Is Pidgeot staying at Professor Oak's Laboratory now, ready to travel with you anytime, or did it just return for a visit before going back to the flock it protects?"

Without a second thought, stroking Pidgeot's feathers, Ash replied, "Usually it stays in the forest of the laboratory, occasionally returning to check on the flock, ensuring the few Pidgeotto it raised can hold their own against the Fearow."

Ash was a single-minded person; he understood many things very simply, but this answer was what Professor Oak had told him, so he memorized it firmly and used it to answer Luo Mu now.

After bidding farewell to Ash's Pidgeot, Ash continued to lead Luo Mu on a tour of the laboratory's backyard.

Here were not only Ash's Pokémon, but also quite a few Pokémon deposited by other trainers who had departed from Pallet Town.

Among them, the auras of several Pokémon were exceptionally remarkable; Luo Mu guessed that these Pokémon were not Professor Oak's own, but likely those deposited here by Green or Red.

Luo Mu had also asked Ash where he had placed Larvitar and its mother, Tyranitar.

Ash's answer was—for the sake of researching Tyranitar, Professor Oak had simply contracted an entire mountain not far from the backyard to serve as the territory for Tyranitar and Larvitar.

Hearing this made Luo Mu's eyelids twitch; contracting a whole mountain so casually—one really had to say, as expected of Professor Oak? When the two arrived at a small hill topped with standing hard rock, Luo Mu finally caught sight of one of his goals for coming to Pallet Town: the figure of Charcadet.

On this small hill, not only was Charcadet present, but Charizard and Typhlosion were also here; they seemed to be tempering their own Fire-type moves, continuously spewing flames at the large hard rock standing before them, which was about two meters high.

Upon spotting the arriving Ash and Pikachu, the three Pokémon stopped their actions; they first greeted the running Pikachu in a friendly manner, then looked toward Ash and Luo Mu beside him.

"Roar..."

The moment it saw Luo Mu, Charizard, usually afraid of nothing under heaven, constricted its pupils, and its expression immediately became evasive.

Why has Luo Mu come!? If he is here, could it be that Moltres and Feng Su Gou have also come? Am I about to start another round of getting beaten up? Compared to the pessimistic Charizard, Charcadet's reaction was much better.

It trotted over to the two, looking at Luo Mu with some anticipation.

"Char-char?"

Has Cang Yan Ren Gui come? Luo Mu could roughly understand Charcadet's meaning and couldn't help but chuckle.

It seemed Charcadet still relied heavily on its own kind, Cang Yan Ren Gui.

However, seeing that Charcadet's current appearance had visibly become more cheerful, Luo Mu was quite happy; didn't this prove that Charcadet had already walked out of its past shadows? Beside them, Typhlosion also stood up, its face full of anticipation.

Is special training starting again? (Drooling)

Training fire control with Master Cang Yan Ren Gui was exhausting, but it also meant eating skewers every day; it was about to grow a size heavier.

Since both Pokémon were so expectant, Luo Mu naturally obliged them; he took out a Poké Ball and summoned Cang Yan Ren Gui.

"Si-luo."

Seeing the two Pokémon approaching, even though Cang Yan Ren Gui was usually reserved in its emotions, the flames burning in its eyes subconsciously swayed with joy a few times; it was clear that it was quite happy.

Seeing Cang Yan Ren Gui appear, Charizard beside them breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't that big dog that completely countered it or Moltres that often pressured it.

Leaving the Pokémon to interact on their own, Luo Mu brought up the main point to Ash.

He directly took out from his backpack a set of golden-red armor, two sizes larger than the backpack itself, which though old had been carefully maintained several times, and said with a smile, "As promised, this is your reward for winning the Silver League."

"Its name is the Auspicious Armor; as the name suggests, the armor contains feelings of celebration, and it is an item capable of allowing Charcadet to complete its evolution."

The moment Luo Mu finished speaking, Ash's excited voice rang out.

"Wow! It can make Charcadet evolve!?"

Ash's eyes lit up; he first examined the Auspicious Armor for quite a while, thinking this set of armor was simply too cool.

Immediately after, his gaze stuck to Cang Yan Ren Gui, circling around it.

A shadow swordsman with azure flames burning on dual blades!

Charcadet can also evolve into Cang Yan Ren Gui! Luo Mu's Cang Yan Ren Gui had left quite a Shen Ke De Yin on Ash; that fluid sense of coexisting power and agility made Ash feel that if Charcadet could successfully evolve into Cang Yan Ren Gui, he and it would definitely be extremely compatible!

Hearing this news, Charcadet beside them also looked at Cang Yan Ren Gui with longing; could it also become like Cang Yan Ren Gui? That would be great! But Charcadet did not notice Cang Yan Ren Gui's hesitant expression.

Unable to ignore Ash's expectant gaze, Luo Mu could only shatter his fantasy.

"If this armor is used, Charcadet's evolved form is not Cang Yan Ren Gui, but a Pokémon named Armarouge."

"Its types are not Fire and Ghost, but Fire and Psychic."

Luo Mu rummaged through his backpack and handed Ash a photograph he had prepared long ago.

On the photograph, Armarouge's heroic and vigorous appearance was faithfully recorded.

In addition, in the corner of the photo, a cute young girl with a bob haircut had half of her body appearing in the shot.

That's right.

This photograph was taken by Mei Mei Luoke, a student of the Art Club at Grape Academy, whom Luo Mu had asked for help by leveraging his position.

It was merely coincidental that Mei Mei Luoke entered the frame in this photo, but Luo Mu felt that Armarouge's demeanor was captured best in this particular shot, so he didn't fuss over it too much.

Staring at the photo for quite a while, surprisingly, Ash did not give an answer immediately, but chose to confirm Ji De Xiang Fa.

"Charcadet, what do you think?"

Placing the photo in front of Charcadet, Ash waited for its answer.

Right now, Charcadet's heart was quite conflicted.

On one hand, it longed to become a powerful and cool swordsman like Cang Yan Ren Gui, severing everything from the past.

On the other hand, it felt that since it had been weak and lashed out indiscriminately at Ash, who cared for it, how could it deserve to become Cang Yan Ren Gui? Past encounters had left Charcadet not particularly confident, but under the care of Ash and his Pokémon, its psychological trauma had been repaired.

It felt it should not be willful, but rather accept the Auspicious Armor frankly and repay Ash with concrete actions.

Charcadet did not feel this was forcing itself; although it longed for Cang Yan Ren Gui, it did not resist Armarouge; no matter which evolutionary branch it chose, its conviction would not change.

After thinking alone for a while, Charcadet made its decision.

It wanted to become Armarouge, serving as the knight who protects Ash!

Under Cang Yan Ren Gui's silent encouragement, Charcadet poured out Ji De Xiang Fa.

Then he obtained Charizard, Typhlosion, as well as the support of Xiao Zhi and Luo Mu.

However, a decision is merely a decision; whether Charcadet can evolve into Ceruledge still depends on itself.

Possessing the Auspicious Armor item does not guarantee that Charcadet will successfully evolve into Ceruledge.

Perhaps in the game, using either the "Auspicious Armor" or "Malicious Armor" on Charcadet allows it to evolve directly into Armarouge or Ceruledge regardless of whether it is level 1 or level 100. Leaving aside strength factors, which are the most basic foundation, there are no detailed standards for this.

But in this reality, certain factors that can only be intuited and not expressed in words will also influence the success or failure of evolution.

Just like Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, who was once a Charcadet, was abandoned by that person because it could not evolve into Cangyan Cangyan Rengui for a long time, being told it lacked the aptitude to become Cangyan Cangyan Rengui.

There is only one thing Luo Mu can say.

Let Charcadet try touching the Auspicious Armor; if the conditions are met, it will naturally be able to successfully evolve into Ceruledge.

If there is no reaction, there is no need to be discouraged; just continue growing, and one day success will come.

This could be considered Luo Mu's words of experience.

Charcadet attempting to evolve into Ceruledge would naturally not begin so carelessly.

Luo Mu had Dragonite notify Professor Oak and Tracey, but unexpectedly, this also brought along Hanako, who had come by the way to deliver afternoon tea.

Under the gaze of the crowd and the Pokémon, Charcadet closed its eyes and carefully, gently touched the Auspicious Armor placed before it, which emitted an aura of antiquity.

The light of evolution did not shine.

Although mentally prepared, Xiao Zhi could not help but feel somewhat disappointed.

However, he did not turn that disappointment into pressure to burden Charcadet; instead, he intended to step forward to comfort Charcadet, telling it that they could train for a while before trying again.

Noticing Xiao Zhi's intention, Luo Mu said nothing, because Cangyan Cangyan Rengui had already blocked him as he was about to step forward.

"."

Looking at the Cangyan Great Sword blocking his path, Xiao Zhi looked at Cangyan Cangyan Rengui with confusion.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui merely shook its head at him, saying nothing more.

For it, having experienced successful evolution, it was too early to draw a conclusion now.

Gazing at Charcadet's back, memories of the past flashed through Cangyan Cangyan Rengui's mind.

Its evolution had occurred shortly after Luo Mu successfully challenged the fifth gym, the Bottled Gym.

Shamefully speaking, during the battle at the Bottled Gym, it was defeated without defeating a single opponent.

It was Luxray, which had already evolved from Luxio, that turned the tide, single-handedly defeating all three of Gym Master Master Haidai's Pokémon.

Coincidentally, Luo Mu passed through Qincin Town and found a Malicious Armor; not wanting to drag the team down, it endured its psychological discomfort and began attempting to evolve via the Malicious Armor.

At the beginning, it was just like before.

Even though Charcadet touched the Malicious Armor, the light of evolution did not favor it; no matter how long it touched, there was no sign of its arrival.

When it failed for the first time, it felt extremely uneasy, but Luo Mu gave it an incredibly warm embrace.

When it failed for the tenth time, it was not disheartened; after embracing Luo Mu, it continued to work hard to improve itself.

Then, on the fifteenth time, it distinctly heard that voice.

It was a voice from within its own heart, as if posing a question.

"Do you have the resolve to become the swordsman belonging solely to him?"

At that time, it answered "Yes" without hesitation; it longed to become the sharpest sword under Luo Mu, who had given it warmth and a home.

The miracle arrived as promised.

It completed its evolution, becoming the Cangyan Cangyan Rengui of today.

And now, the Charcadet before it—

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui quietly gazed at the back of Charcadet, whose eyes were tightly closed; seemingly perceiving something, the corners of its eyes curved imperceptibly.

What is this? This is far more promising than I was, hesitating and shy back then.

At this moment.

Charcadet, having touched the Auspicious Armor, similarly felt a questioning seem to originate from within its own heart.

"Do you have the resolve to become the knight belonging solely to him?"

Charcadet paused slightly, then answered within its heart without hesitation.

I want to become Xiao Zhi's knight.

The moment this vow fell, Charcadet could feel that it had formed a connection with the Auspicious Armor before it.

This gave it a premonition that it could succeed.

The moment it placed its other hand upon the Auspicious Armor.

A rich, milky white light burst forth from its body and the Auspicious Armor, forming a cocoon of light that enveloped them both.

Amidst the light, a golden-red radiance began to expand from a tiny point; when the light completely dispersed, Charcadet's new form was exposed before everyone.

It was a Fire Knight, noble in posture, clad in golden armor as dazzling as the sun, with flame-like plumes on its helmet burning fiercely, and a determined gaze.

The Fire Warrior Pokémon, Ceruledge.

Compared to Xiao Zhi, whose eyes were shining and who was already shouting excitedly.

Luo Mu, Professor Oak, and Tracey were more in sync.

One took out a camera, found the right angle, and snapped photos furiously, while the other took out a handheld device prepared long ago, recording data with a fanatical expression.

Professor Oak even muttered to himself: "Oh, oh, oh, so this is the rare sight of Charcadet evolving that few have ever seen!"

Tracey's inspiration surged like a rushing torrent; the moment his pen touched the paper, he seemed aided by the gods, swiftly sketching Ceruledge.

Compared to the few men, Hanako's focus was clearly different.

Cupping her cheeks, she said with a slightly longing voice: "It's just like a knight from a picture book!"

"Hehehe, Little Char actually managed to evolve so handsomely."

Charizard and Typhlosion were also full of surprise.

This evolution is so cool! Meanwhile, Dragonite felt somewhat emotional.

It vaguely remembered that at that time, it had just evolved from Dratini into Dragonair.

Back then, it had also witnessed Cang Yan Ren Gui's evolution; in terms of state of mind, it was probably just like Charizard and Typhlosion now.

Whether it was Cang Yan Ren Gui or Ceruledge, in terms of handsomeness, they could be said to perfectly match human aesthetics.

(End of Chapter)