Chapter 638: VS Drake, A Double Battle!

On the evening of January 21st.

Outside the Battle Tower in Mossdeep City, the phrase "a sea of people" was insufficient to describe the crowd gathered there.

Even though they could watch via live broadcast, many still wished to witness and experience firsthand the exhibition match about to be held.

—Not long ago, news that a heavyweight exhibition match would take place in the Battle Tower tonight had already been broadcast far and wide by the cube-shaped robots scattered throughout the city.

Electronic advertisements for the exhibition match filled every street and alley of Mossdeep City.

The identities of the two opposing trainers had also been disclosed right from the start.

Because they were from different regions, and considering a long time had passed since the incident on Seafloor Island, many people in the Hoenn region were not very familiar with Luo Mu.

Nor did they connect him with the promising young trainer Hearing Hearing Nimo's teacher from the Champion Test live stream that had recently gone viral online.

However, since Professor Londo and the others had not concealed Luo Mu's status as a Champion-level trainer, no one questioned whether Luo Mu was qualified to battle the other participating trainer.

After all, compared to Luo Mu, the opponent was, barring the top two Champions who frequently alternated positions, the undisputed pinnacle of Hoenn region trainers.

The Elite Four who commanded Dragon-type Pokémon, Drake!

Once news spread that he would be holding an exhibition match at this Battle Tower in Mossdeep City, the entire city, and even some nearby cities, became stirred up.

Even now, there were likely still many people boarding the sea-crossing train, continuously rushing toward Mossdeep City.

This was the world of Pokémon.

Even for someone who rarely appeared in public, his identity as an Elite Four member was Drake's living billboard.

This also meant he had no worries whatsoever when setting out to sea as a captain.

Amidst such a massive crowd, Ash and his companions were naturally mixed in.

However, by leveraging the identity of their newly acquired friend, Xiao Chao, they had managed to get backstage and secure entry tickets that were now hard to come by.

—Including several other newly made friends, each of whom received one as well.

Chatting about the aurora that had strangely appeared in the afternoon, the group marched boldly through the crowd, openly using Xiao Chao's pass with higher clearance privileges to enter through the back door.

In the interval before entering, Aaron, who had served as Ash and Xiao Chao's opponent that afternoon using Blaziken, abandoned his usual calm demeanor and said with some longing:

"I never expected to see Mr. Drake battle today; coming all the way from Fortree City just for the Battle Tower was truly worth it!"

The twin sisters, Catherine and Audrey, likewise gave their full support to their big brother Aaron.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm his die-hard fan!"

Shota, who used Blastoise, nodded in agreement, and then, with an agility that belied his somewhat stout figure, he dropped to one knee before May, who hadn't reacted yet.

"However, in my heart right now, Miss May, you are number one!"

"... Ahaha."

May could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

Xiao Chao, who had remained silent all along and seemed somewhat socially anxious, suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"What about Mr. Drake's opponent? Since he was also invited, does that not indicate he is a trainer of that same caliber?"

As Professor Londo's child, Xiao Chao had evidently inherited some of his father's clever mind, guiding the conversation in another direction with a different perspective.

The moment his words fell, Ash immediately chimed in.

"Of course! My Master is super~ amazing!"

As if to increase the credibility of his words, Ash and Pikachu raised their arms in unison, attempting to express their excitement with exaggerated gestures.

"Master? Is Mr. Drake's opponent your master?"

Shota asked with some curiosity.

Who would have expected Ash to scratch his head somewhat embarrassedly, smiling sheepishly: "Master hasn't admitted it yet; right now, it's just me acknowledging him as my master unilaterally."

"... I thought so."

Shota shrugged; he really couldn't imagine how a trainer capable of holding an exhibition match with Mr. Drake could have taught someone as rough and careless as Ash.

During the several Battle Tower sparring matches that afternoon, the other party's bizarre operations had been numerous, making them repeatedly find it unbelievable that Ash was actually a seasoned trainer who had once won a League Conference.

"Still, I'm more optimistic, or rather, I strongly support Mr. Drake."

Aaron's voice paused for a moment.

"After all, he is a bona fide Elite Four member; as for what level a Champion-level trainer is exactly... a conclusion cannot be reached temporarily, but presumably, they should not be superior to a Regional Champion."

To his words, Shota and the two twin sisters expressed strong agreement, while May and Max hesitated slightly, after all, they had also witnessed the prowess of that Delibird.

Xiao Chao remained silent, Brock smiled without speaking, and Ash became spirited, looking ready to debate with Aaron and the others to the very end.

—At this moment, Hikari, who had been holding her computer and looking something up, pushed up her glasses and murmured in a voice only she could hear: "Unknown, very interesting."

Despite the noisy chatter along the way, the group successfully reached the front-row seats with the best view and sat down.

Next, all that remained was for the exhibition match to begin.

Inside the waiting room, one could faintly hear the noisy cheers of the audience, separated by who knew how many walls.

Luo Mu sighed with slight emotion; today was truly, it seemed, his first time participating in a battle with such a grand spectacle.

The vast arena and the sea of spectators were all proof.

It was his first time being so "out in the open."

After all, previous battles were either closed-door or had few spectators.

If one calculated carefully, the battle with the largest viewership should still be the graduation match he had against Hearing Hearing Nimo in Mesagoza City not long ago.

Looking back carefully now, he realized it was no wonder his popularity was less than Drake's; this really couldn't be blamed on anyone.

Who asked him to rarely show himself in official competitions?

That afternoon, after reaching an agreement with Professor Londo and obtaining the important puzzle piece "reward" needed to build his own Eco Dome almost for free.

Because Professor Londo had seen his son Xiao Chao's "battle" on television, extremely excited, he had rushed out with his assistant, Miss Yoko.

With nothing else to do, Luo Mu released Luxray and Bagon again, and the group marched boldly through Mossdeep City to sightsee.

If the notification for the exhibition match hadn't been issued close to five in the afternoon, Luo Mu might have been able to stroll around outside a bit longer.

After all, having large headshots of himself and Genji plastered all over the streets was truly unbearable.

Luo Mu could only slip into the Battle Tower ahead of time before being surrounded by curious crowds, which worked out fine since Professor Londo had just called him then.

Luo Mu looked up at the live broadcast showing the sea of people outside.

Suddenly, several shocked shouts erupted from the crowd; this wasn't because Old Man Genji had accidentally wandered into a circle of frenzied fans, but simply due to the changes in the gradually darkening night sky.

Layers of brilliant, curtain-like auroras were flickering in the night sky, as if carrying someone's longing for another.

Such a strange natural phenomenon naturally caused surprise among the crowd.

Auroras are caused by solar winds; when solar winds reach Earth, the high-energy charged particle streams within them, under the action of the planet's strong magnetic field, travel along the magnetic field lines toward the two poles.

That is a uniquely beautiful natural phenomenon belonging only to those two regions.

After all, the Hoenn region strictly speaking belongs to coastal tropical areas, not the polar regions, so brilliant light and shadow like auroras in the night sky should not appear here.

—It is worth noting that such auroras have actually appeared before.

Just this afternoon, around four or five o'clock, auroras had also appeared on a small scale in Lavaridge Town.

Setting aside the uproar caused by these unreasonable auroras, at least Luo Mu knew clearly how these auroras were triggered, or rather, who triggered them.

The DNA Pokémon Deoxys, who was once defeated by Rayquaza on the ice field, had its entire body destroyed in one breath, leaving only its core crystal to plunge into the deep sea, spending a long four years regenerating.

That's right, Deoxys had already arrived in Lavaridge Town and, amidst countless magnetic interferences, was attempting to locate the traces of its companion.

And the aurora was this mythical Pokémon from outer space's unique method of communication.

Luo Mu had not encountered the other party this afternoon, nor did he have any intention of doing so.

Because the plot of this time could achieve a perfect "making dumplings" ending without his intervention.

After tonight, tomorrow would be when Rayquaza, following Deoxys's scent, would arrive, marking the time for the great evacuation of Lavaridge Town.

It had to be said that Rayquaza truly held a grudge; upon sensing the same aura after four years, its first reaction was to kill its way over.

It was indeed persistent enough.

Fortunately, the black one he had offended was thrown far away by Lei Guan Wang, so it should be very difficult to encounter.

A knock at the door interrupted Luo Mu's thoughts.

"Mr. Luo Mu, it is almost the scheduled time."

After the "thump thump" knocking sound, a vigorous male voice came from outside the door.

There was nothing much to prepare for, nor was any mental preparation needed.

After replying, Luo Mu stood up naturally and opened the door.

A Battle Tower staff member, who looked somewhat burly and wore an ID badge hung around his neck with a red ribbon, revealed a smile.

"I will take you to the preparation area of the contestant seats."

The other party made a guiding gesture, leading Luo Mu through twists and turns along the corridor until they reached a dark space.

"Please wait a moment."

After speaking respectfully, the staff member turned around and used his headset to contact someone on the other end, presumably at the control console.

Only after receiving a definite instruction did he speak: "Next, you just need to step onto the conveyor belt; it will send you to the preparation area of the contestant seats, after which that area will automatically rise to take you to the battle arena higher up, so please do not be nervous."

The other party's introduction was detailed in every aspect; after nodding slightly, Luo Mu directly stepped onto the silently operating conveyor belt.

The moment he stood firm, a force carried Luo Mu forward.

On the operating belt, every half meter there was a rotating red ring, serving scanning and transmission functions.

A faint red light shone on Luo Mu; it did not perform facial or iris recognition, but accurately sensed the pass tucked in Luo Mu's pocket.

A synthesized mechanical voice sounded accordingly.

"Pass confirmed, arrival registration complete."

"Mr. Luo Mu, we wish you a satisfactory exhibition match."

At this time, the conveyor belt also reached its end.

A red and blue circular platform patterned with a Poké Ball came into view.

Shortly after Luo Mu stepped onto it, the conveyor belt extending from the corridor automatically retracted, the safety door closed tightly, and the surroundings suddenly darkened.

Accompanied by the clatter of mechanical rotation, the battle platform began to rise under the action of the lifting device, getting closer and closer to the light source above.

—Then, the noisy atmosphere in the vast space turned into a heat wave, rushing straight at him!

On the huge circular platform, also divided into red and blue sections, spotlights shone together on Luo Mu, and the enthusiastic voice of the commentator riding a flying vehicle from high above sounded accordingly.

"The Blue Side is one of the trainers participating in this exhibition match, a Champion-level trainer from the Paldea region, Luo Mu!"

In the vast space, the enthusiastic audience filling the spectator seats was quite supportive, issuing cheers one after another.

Luo Mu could vaguely still hear the voices belonging to Ash and Pikachu.

But when the commentator introduced the trainer appearing for the Red Side, the atmosphere changed abruptly, and even the commentator's voice involuntarily became high-pitched.

"The Red Side is the pride of our Hoenn region, a veteran trainer who wields the power of dragons, Elite Four, Mr. Genji!!!"

Not to mention the commentator's introduction which obviously carried personal bias.

The moment Genji appeared, cheers two times—no, ten times or even nine times more enthusiastic than when Luo Mu appeared earlier—erupted from the spectator seats like a tidal wave.

Luo Mu's expression remained unchanged; borrowing the light of the spotlights, he sized up the white-bearded old man before him, who wore a white captain's hat and a black open-front jacket, possessing a weathered appearance carved by wind and sun over the years.

He was Genji, the Elite Four of the Hoenn region.

Just like Agatha of Kanto, Bertha of Sinnoh, Drasna of Kalos, and the great senior of Paldea.

As the most senior Elite Four member in the Hoenn region, his strength was far greater than that of ordinary Elite Four members.

To be on the safe side, when dealing with him, Luo Mu had best send out his main forces.

—But he had no such intention.

Whether it was the combination of Luxray and Mimikyu, or Mega Swampert and Politoed, both were too overpowered.

Fighting an Elite Four member didn't require being this serious.

Genji was unaware of the thoughts in Luo Mu's mind that could be called "arrogant," and instead raised the Poké Balls in both hands.

The commentator's broadcast explaining the battle rules echoed in his ears, but Genji, who already knew this was a double battle, looked at Luo Mu and said with a faint smile from Little Little Dandan, "Come on, let me witness the prowess of a Paldea Champion-level Trainer."

"Then I ask for your guidance, Senior Genji, from Duoduozhi Sect."

Luo Mu smiled slightly and threw out the red-and-white Poké Ball and the Level Ball he had prepared long ago.

Accompanied by the beams of light shooting from the Poké Balls.

In the next instant, both sides shouted simultaneously:

"Roar, Salamence, Haxorus!"

"I choose you, Moltres, Victini!"

(End of Chapter)