Chapter 634: The Eternal Flower

“Chiruu?!”

As dense raindrops pelted its body, Seven-Star Bird showed no joy—instead, it nervously glanced left and right.

It, apparently, disliked rainy days.

Including Lusia, everyone present understood exactly what was happening.

For Seven-Star Bird, sunny days, sandstorms, even hail were all bearable.

Even though its Dragon typing granted resistance to Water-type attacks, only rain was unbearable.

—Because cotton isn’t waterproof.

Raindrops struck Seven-Star Bird’s cotton-like wings—not sliding off or being repelled by a waterproof layer—but soaking straight in!

The cotton wings were visibly absorbing water and sinking inward.

Once fully soaked, Seven-Star Bird would lose its ability to fly within moments!

If this were a Super Contest, Lusia would lose points right from the start.

Lusia, fully aware of this, knew she had to find a way out of this predicament.

“Guh. We can’t just sit here and wait, Little Qingqing—Sunny Day!”

Though she might seem clueless about things outside Pokémon, Lusia’s fundamentals had been forged personally by Milly and Adam.

She instantly thought of using weather to counter weather.

Seven-Star Bird, deeply bonded with her, immediately responded—stretching its neck as far as possible, gathering a blazing hot fireball before its open beak!

Boom!

Seven-Star Bird blasted the orb upward into the “sky”—it exploded with a sudden crash!

Intense light spread outward, frantically dispersing the gray rain clouds beneath the ceiling.

“Good choice—but Lusia overlooked something more important.”

Adam’s furrowed brow, like the gloom beneath the ceiling, refused to lift.

That’s right.

Sunny Day had been successfully released by Seven-Star Bird; logically, the weather should shift to favor Fire- and Grass-types, while disadvantaging Water-type Politoed.

At least, that’s how it worked in the games.

But from Milly and Adam’s perspective, the bright light did disperse some gloom—but quickly lost momentum.

The reason was simple.

Seven-Star Bird simply lacked mastery of Sunny Day compared to Politoed, which had turned “Rain” into instinct—daily honing it, forever training beside that massive damp rock.

Of course, the gap in raw power also played a role.

If their power levels were equal, they might have contested the weather.

But just as Gyarados’s Rain couldn’t dispel Groudon’s Sun, or Camerupt’s Sun couldn’t counter Kyogre’s Rain—

Seven-Star Bird’s Sunny Day stood in absolute disadvantage against Politoed’s Rain.

Seven-Star Bird lost the weather battle!

“Then let’s decide this before its wings get soaked.”

“Little Qingqing, Charm!”

Even as she spun playfully in place, Lusia issued her new command.

As Seven-Star Bird’s enchanting voice rang out, countless pink heart-shaped notes surged forward as sound waves toward Politoed!

The water beneath Politoed began violently trembling; Politoed itself wore a look of discomfort.

“It worked!”

Lusia’s face lit up—but in the next instant, her smile vanished.

Disturbed by the sound waves, Politoed immediately prepared its counterattack.

“Niu—Ruuu—!”

A roar-like bellow erupted, generating sound waves far fiercer than Charm—even raindrops shattered into mist under the terrifying vibrations.

Move: Hyper Voice—a signature technique of Politoed, amplified by its species' innate ability.

“Hold on, Little Qingqing—we’ll counter with Hyper Voice too!”

Lusia clapped her hands over her ears and gritted out the command.

In the next instant—

The two powerful sound waves collided—but neither held its ground.

As Politoed’s roar grew louder, the melodious Seven-Star Bird was completely overwhelmed!

Hyper Voice vs. Hyper Voice ended with Seven-Star Bird’s defeat.

A beautiful voice simply couldn’t match the thunderous bellow.

But there was one good thing: trapped continuously within Hyper Voice’s range, Seven-Star Bird’s waterlogged wings unexpectedly lost some weight.

—Most of the moisture had been shaken loose!

“Water Pulse!”

Luo Mu issued his next command without hesitation.

By the time Seven-Star Bird, still dazed from the sound waves, reacted, the torrential water column was already upon it.

Luo Mu and Politoed still aimed to soak Seven-Star Bird’s wings.

Lusia understood this—rather than let Seven-Star Bird become a drowned bird, she chose to gamble.

“Idols in Super Contests never lose composure, Little Qingqing—use Sparkling Aria at full power!”

Brilliant light erupted from Seven-Star Bird, colliding head-on with Politoed’s Water Pulse.

Under normal conditions, Seven-Star Bird might have resisted this targeted Water Pulse with Sparkling Aria.

But now—it was raining, it was Politoed’s home turf, and the power gap determined the outcome.

After a brief ten-second stalemate, the Water Pulse, like Hyper Voice before it, shattered Sparkling Aria’s defense and slammed directly into Seven-Star Bird.

The Dragon typing lessened the damage, but Seven-Star Bird was still forcibly grounded onto the water battlefield’s floating platform.

Its appearance now bore no trace of elegance or beauty—it was a dazed, soaked bird, dripping water everywhere.

Lusia tried to salvage the situation, attempting to use training spins to shake off the water—but Luo Mu gave her no chance.

“Blizzard!”

“Niu Ru!”

Politoed raised its arms—behind it, a freezing gale erupted, laced with ice and snow.

Amid the rain, a vast white torrent froze countless raindrops—and froze Seven-Star Bird solid.

Fourfold weakness, devastating impact—this single blow ended the one-sided massacre.

Beyond soaking Seven-Star Bird, Luo Mu didn’t even use any strategy.

He simply forced Lusia and Seven-Star Bird to counter with stronger, more oppressive moves—then shattered their counters, repeating the cycle.

Though disappointed, Lusia now confirmed the truth of Luo Mu’s advice—and the theory she’d pondered all night.

—If I grow stronger, with pure numerical superiority, I can realize my own aesthetics—and impose them without reason!

Yes, that’s exactly how my unique idol path must be.

Lusia had finally found the way to become the world’s greatest Super Contest idol!

Beside the battlefield’s pool—

“Bago!”

Talo Bago stared at Politoed with sparkling eyes, thinking it was incredibly awesome.

That booming Hyper Voice was so cool!

“Niu Ru…”

Rarely praised like this, Politoed blushed slightly, embarrassed—murmuring that Talo Bago could do the same someday.

After all, it had heard from other Pokémon: Talo Bago was a Pokémon on the level of Ho-Oh, Regice, Regigigas, and Snowy Horse—far superior to ordinary Pokémon like itself, who could only rely on hard work.

But Talo Bago didn’t think so—it lowered its head in disappointment.

“Bago—”

Saying it would surpass Politoed? It could barely maintain its battle form for long—how could it fight like Politoed?

Though suddenly transported to Luo Mu’s “future world,” Talo Bago could still sense: compared to its powerless past, it hadn’t changed much.

The Terastal energy within it—determining every Talo Bago’s ultimate limit—remained just as scarce.

Nothing like its powerful kin, whose Terastal energy overflowed and even warped the environment.

Politoed didn’t understand why Talo Bago had suddenly grown gloomy—it could only clumsily comfort it.

It wondered: if its reliable friend, Cangyan Ren Gui, were here, perhaps that Pokémon could calmly dispel Talo Bago’s unknown unease.

While these two Pokémon conversed, on the other side, Luo Mu pointed out several flaws in Lusia’s battle performance.

After all, Super Contests also test a Trainer’s command skills—Lusia couldn’t improve without addressing these.

But all problems ultimately came down to insufficient stats; under Milly and Adam’s hesitant expressions, Lusia declared she’d begin ascetic training to grow stronger!

Fortunately, Seven-Star Bird had nearly recovered under Hua Liao Huan Huan’s healing—it no longer shivered like it had after being thawed.

It tenderly groomed its feathers, distressed: soaked in water, then frozen—it felt its cotton wings were no longer as fluffy.

Seeing this, Luo Mu casually remarked:

“She’s a girl, after all—you can tell she cares deeply about her appearance.”

It was just an ordinary observation—but Lusia instantly reacted like a cat with its tail stepped on: “Little Qingqing is a handsome, charming, adorable BOY!”

“Huh?”

Luo Mu blinked in surprise; he had never imagined that this Seviper, which had hidden in Bai Leiya’s arms cooing since thawing, was male.

After all, this thing even mimicked Bai Leiya’s cute gestures perfectly!

Has the army of cross-dressing Shiftry and cross-dressing Sealeo reached here already?

After a while, with Bai Leiya’s reluctant expression, Luo Mu and Wei Er departed from the Liuli Gym.

Today, Wei Er would show Luo Mu around Liuli City, while Bai Leiya, preparing for the upcoming Wei Er Cup, could only grimly continue her training, hoping for a decent result.

The best outcome would be winning the Wei Er Cup ribbon.

Otherwise, Bai Leiya simply couldn’t face admitting she was Wei Er’s niece.

Throughout the day, Wei Er took Luo Mu to many attractions in Liuli City.

They experienced several activities unique to this region.

At least Luo Mu had a great time, and his Litten and others enjoyed the novelty of traveling to different lands.

But although they were touring Liuli City, it was truly only that—touring Liuli City.

Wei Er never once hinted at taking Luo Mu to the true Awakening Temple.

The fake one, however, had been on the itinerary from the start.

After all, that place was the heart of Liuli City, and now Wei Er had no reason to take him there.

Knowing this, Luo Mu made no request for Wei Er to take him.

In fact, it was better not to go.

Because if they truly visited, things might spiral out of control.

As a descendant of the “People of Liuli,” Wei Er bore the duty of guarding the Awakening Temple and the seal of the Sky Pillar hidden beneath the nearby waters.

If Wei Er took him to the Awakening Temple, it would mean stepping into the legendary battle of the Legendary Pokémon.

Luo Mu had no desire to be dragged into such a troublesome affair.

Thus, Wei Er’s restraint actually eased Luo Mu slightly; as they strolled through Liuli City’s streets, he began planning his next steps.

The seas of Hoenn were vast enough for Lugia and Gigantamax Dragonite to appear without causing any commotion.

Since the Wei Er Cup was still some time away, Luo Mu did not linger in Liuli City waiting for its start.

So once their itinerary in Liuli City ended, on his way to Laxi City, he could summon Lugia using the Silver Feather he carried.

Though he didn’t know where Lugia currently was, it should not be far from Hoenn’s waters.

Then, after coordinating with it, he could handle Professor Lendo’s invitation in Laxi City, enjoy the hot springs of Kanyan Town, and at the end of his vacation, casually visit the Guandong Sea to search for the whereabouts of the Gigantamax Starmie.

Unconsciously, the horizon had begun to glow with the hues of sunset.

Luo Mu and Wei Er had arrived at the final stop of their tour of Liuli City.

——The very center of Liuli City.

This area resembled a central park, where vast lawns burst with flowers in full bloom.

Many residents and tourists sat leisurely here, admiring the blooms or having picnics, the atmosphere relaxed and calm.

In the center of the grassland stood a single massive tree, and nearby was a replica of the Awakening Temple—open to the public, resembling a historical site, unlike the true temple.

Today’s final stop was this false Awakening Temple, adorned with historical murals.

Luo Mu was curious how Wei Er, as a descendant of the “People of Liuli,” would explain the past—glorified and fictionalized purely to attract tourists.

——Would he really not crack up and laugh out loud?

But as they passed the great tree, Luo Mu’s peripheral vision unconsciously flickered to the flowers around it.

It was his habit: some flowers might interest Hua Liao Huan Huan, who could turn them into garlands.

Yet that single glance made him freeze in place.

Among the blooming flowers stood one with three long, leaf-like petals, starkly out of place among the vibrant blooms—its entire form a deep black-red, swaying gently in the breeze.

That was the Eternal Flower!?

(End of Chapter)