Chapter 154: A Little Scheme

"Scyther, break the lock!" Huo La did not hesitate at all, raised his hand and threw a Pokeball.

Red Light flashed, and Scyther's agile figure landed beside the iron gate, its teal wings fluttering gently, its sharp forelimbs glinting with a cold light.

Upon receiving the command, it swung its forelimb without hesitation; with a "crack" sound, the rust‑spotted chain on the door was cleanly cut in half, the cut looking as neat as if sliced by a knife.

"Nidoqueen, push open the gate!" Huo La ordered immediately after.

Nidoqueen took a massive step forward, its sturdy limbs firmly planted on the ground, and shoved the iron gate with force—"creak—" a harsh metallic scraping sounded, and the tightly shut gate slowly swung inward, revealing a pitch‑black passage inside.

At the moment the gate opened, an extremely pungent stench surged out, smelling like rotting garbage mixed with sewage, driving straight into people's noses.

"Ugh—what's that smell!" Xiao Gang instantly covered his nose, his complexion changed, and he instinctively stepped back half a step, "This stench… matches the odor your Chou Ni usually gives off, even worse!"

Huo La also quickly pinched his nose, his brows knit into a knot, his eyes turning serious: "It's not similar, this is exactly the smell of Chou Ni."

He knew clearly that many Chou Ni were likely gathered here, perhaps even the evolved Muk.

As if to confirm his words, a wave of "Chou Ni—Chou Ni—" cries rose from deep within the passage, the sound murky and viscous, making one's scalp tingle.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the doorway, one could vaguely see clusters of deep‑purple shapes moving in the passage—indeed the Chou Ni and Muk.

They were perched on several grates at the water‑driven turbine's inlet, their bodies constantly shifting, sealing the grates tightly; the water that should have flowed into the Power Plant now pooled behind the grates as a small patch of sewage, unable to drive the turbine.

"Sure enough, the Chou Ni blocked the inlet," Huo La's eyes glittered, "It seems these Chou Ni gathered here, sealing the water channel, causing the Power Plant to halt."

Xiao Gang also saw the situation clearly, pinching his nose and saying in a hoarse voice, "That's way too many! And their odor is overwhelming; how are we going to drive them away?"

"What else can we do? Fight them!" Huo La spread his hands, his tone helpless yet somewhat decisive, "These Chou Ni and Muk are proof of Black Cloud City's Pollution; as long as the environment doesn't improve, they'll keep multiplying. Apart from repelling or subduing them, there's no other way."

He suddenly brightened, pointing at the inlet grate deep in the passage: "Oh right, Xiao Gang, keep that blue Muk over there for me; I want to subdue it!"

Xiao Gang was startled; by the faint moonlight he examined closely and indeed, among a heap of deep‑purple Chou Ni, he saw a Muk shimmering with a cyan sheen—larger than ordinary Muk, its slime thicker, perched on the grate staring at them.

"Not a chance, Huo La?" Xiao Gang said, face full of shock, "You already have a Muk, and you want another? Then you'll be carrying two 'mobile stink sources'; even Miss Li Jia's perfume sprayed all over won't mask that smell, right!"

Huo La chuckled, waving his hand nonchalantly: "Don't worry, I'm not keeping them; after subduing, I'll send it to Professor Oak."

"Send to Professor Oak?" Xiao Gang was first stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile, his voice full of sympathy, "What kind of mischief has Professor Oak gotten into! He's already headache‑inducing enough keeping the Snorlax that ate up the warehouse for you, and now you want to torment his sense of smell with Muk; I'm afraid whenever he sees the Pokemon you teleport, he'll have to shake them off!"

"If I'm the only one 'cursing' him, that'd be fine," Huo La laughed more mischievously, then shifted tone, deliberately drawing it out, "Xiao Gang, tell me… will Ash be able to subdue Chou Ni or Muk?"

"Ash?" Xiao Gang was stunned again, then snapped back, raising a hand to his forehead: "Damn, Professor Oak's mischief is no small thing! Not only does he have to take your Muk, he might even have to take Ash's; the Oak Research Institute might turn into a 'Chou Ni breeding base'!"

Huo La laughed even louder, patting Xiao Gang's shoulder: "Don't be so pessimistic. Doesn't Professor Oak always say 'research must embrace all things'? Two more Muk give him a chance to study the habits of different‑colored Muk, how academically valuable!"

Xiao Gang rolled his eyes and said nothing more—he could see Huo La was doing it on purpose.

Nevertheless, despite the sarcasm, he still pulled out his own Pokeball, looking at the Chou Ni swarm in the passage: "Alright, stop whining, let's deal with these guys quickly, or the Pokemon Center's backup power won't hold up."

Huo La folded away his smile, his gaze instantly focusing, and raised his hand toward the air, waving: "Alright! Come out!"

As several Red Lights flashed, Beedrill, Victreebel, Golbat, and his original deep‑purple Chou Ni all appeared in the passage.

The Pokémon of different types lined up, instantly bolstering the aura, even the surrounding stench seemed to be suppressed a bit.

"Scyther, Beedrill, you two are in charge of the first and second inlet grates on the left!" Huo La quickly assigned tasks, his gaze deliberately sweeping toward the cyan Muk, "Remember, move lightly, don't hurt that cyan Muk; keep it for me to subdue!"

"Got it!" Scyther's wings twitched, its sharp forelimbs flashing, and it darted toward the left grate first; Beedrill followed closely, its Poison Needle faintly glowing, vigilantly eyeing the writhing Chou Ni on the grate.

"Victreebel, Nidoqueen, you two are responsible for the two inlet grates on the right." Huo La turned to the two larger Pokémon.

Victreebel growled low, the bud on its back swaying slightly, a few emerald Vine Whips silently extending; Nidoqueen also nodded heavily, its sturdy limbs leaving shallow marks on the ground, ready to unleash its moves.

Huo La finally looked at the Zubat circling in the air and the deep‑purple Chou Ni at his feet: "Golbat, you handle the sweep, use Supersonic to disrupt the fleeing Chou Ni, prevent them from reaching other areas; Chou Ni, stay by my side and protect me."

"Sup!" Golbat emitted a sharp cry, darting quickly toward the top of the passage, beginning a circling watch; the deep‑purple Chou Ni slithered sticky to Huo La's feet, its body trembling slightly, ready to unleash its skill.

"Xiao Gang, the remaining grates are yours!" Huo La turned his head toward Xiao Gang, his tone trusting.

"Don't worry!" Xiao Gang immediately tossed his Pokeball, and Onix, Zubat, Vulpix, and the newly evolved Graveler entered in succession, "Zubat works with Huo La's Zubat to interfere with them; Vulpix, use Flamethrower to drive back the approaching Chou Ni, watch the equipment; Onix and Graveler, you two clear the mess, no holding back!"

"Rock~" Onix moved first, its massive body winding toward the innermost grate, its tail whipping to entangle several Chou Ni; Vulpix also spat a small flame, landing near the Chou Ni cluster, the heat instantly forcing several Chou Ni to retreat; Graveler rolled straight ahead, like a boulder crashing into the central grate, scattering the Chou Ni everywhere.

For a moment, the passage rang with Pokémon cries and the Chou Ni's "wails", and the inlet grate that had been tightly blocked was quickly cleared into a small opening, allowing the water to slowly resume flowing.