Chapter 175: Evolve, My Phone

He closed the door, Huo La took a deep breath, and gently pressed the Pokeball's switch.

A red light flashed, and a palm‑sized Pokemon landed in his palm—its whole body wrapped in blue with red, surrounded by faint electric sparks, it was Rotom.

"Lo‑to~ Lo‑to~," Rotom chirped happily, circling once in his palm, curiously surveying everything in the room, occasionally tapping the bedside appliances with its tiny claws, producing a faint crackle of electricity.

Huo La looked at the lively little creature before him, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but lift.

Rotom doesn't belong to the usual six‑Pokemon battle roster, and few people ever use it in combat, but its unique fusion ability is certainly a handy companion on a journey.

He pulled out his smartphone, pointed at Rotom, and laughed, "Rotom, for the upcoming trip, I'm counting on you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Rotom's body suddenly turned into a blue‑white bolt of electricity and "whoosh"—dove straight into the phone.

The next second, the once‑ordinary phone screen lit up abruptly, and a cartoon Rotom appeared on the back, with a tiny lightning antenna sprouting from the top out of nowhere.

Huo La released his hand, and the phone hovered steadily in midair, still emitting a cheerful "Lo‑to~" call.

"Beep… Host phone detected upgraded to Rotom Phone; system will upgrade and sync with it, synchronizing data… Please wait patiently, Host."

The cold system prompt sound ended, and the hovering Rotom Phone suddenly plummeted without warning. Huo La instinctively reached out to catch it, but before it touched his palm, the phone vanished into thin air.

Huo La froze in place, then looked up at the system panel in his mind and saw, to his surprise, the words "Upgrading, cannot use" displayed.

He clicked his teeth at Hanako, sighed helplessly, and turned to pour himself a glass of water.

This system of his is truly unfathomable—call it a mechanical program, and it occasionally throws out odd operations; call it an intelligent AI, and it executes commands so rigidly.

It's just incomprehensible.

But right now, what worries Huo La more is the "Heartless Person" who attacked Professor Oak's Lab.

In his impression, only one person in the entire Pokemon World is called that—Chi Ri!

But… how could Chi Ri suddenly come to Kanto? And specifically attack Professor Oak's Lab—what is he actually looking for?

"If only I'd asked Professor Oak more when I called earlier about what Pokemon the attacker used, it would have narrowed down the identity," Huo La said, shaking his head in frustration. "But if it really is Chi Ri… the situation in Kanto is getting more and more chaotic."

"Let's not even mention the Rocket Team; the mysterious assailant who attacked Lijia Gym later showed up with the Flash Flame Team in Shuangye Town, and now a suspect Chi Ri attacker appears…" Huo La massaged his throbbing temples, his face full of irritation, "It's all trouble. What on earth is happening, why are so many forces popping up all of a sudden?"

Just as his mind was in turmoil, the room door was suddenly knocked hard—"Dong dong dong!" a fast, rough rhythm.

Huo La heard the familiar knocking, instantly lost his temper, and without thinking knew it had to be Bilan, that girl.

He got up, opened the door, and indeed saw Bilan standing at the entrance with an eager expression, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, clearly having run over.

"Huo La! Something happened! I just saw three people in orange‑red clothes at the Pokemon Center entrance!"

"Orange‑red clothes?" Huo La's mind jolted, instantly recalling the Flash Flame Team, "What do they look like? Did they say anything?"

"They looked pretty fierce; one of the women had short hair and was holding a fiery sparrow, seeming to be briefing the other two. I was too far to hear clearly," Bilan panted, adding, "They headed toward the western suburb of the town, and mentioned 'factory' and 'stone' as they left!"

"Great, finally a clue!" Huo La's eyes lit up; the irritation stirred by the various factions vanished instantly, and he became fully excited.

"Hey hey, what are you trying to do?" Bilan was startled by his sudden excitement, stepped back half a step, and eyed him with a puzzled expression.

"Ahem." Huo La cleared his throat twice, realizing his reaction was overblown, quickly composed himself and feigned calm, saying, "Nothing major; if nothing goes wrong, we might still be able to get a few more of those stones you gave me before."

Bilan instantly got it, raising an eyebrow and teasing, "Tsk tsk tsk, you always act like a gentleman, now you're just like me?"

"Ahem." Huo La, stung in the heart, awkwardly turned his head away, avoiding Bilan's gaze—had he known, he wouldn't have mocked her in the first place.

"Shall we go right now?" Bilan's eyes brightened, and she stepped forward two paces, clearly unable to contain her urge to act.

"Wait a bit longer, until Xiaogang Ge Ge returns," Huo La waved his hand, "By the way, your Lotus‑leaf Sprite has already hatched; later you can go get it yourself from Xiaogang Ge Ge."

"Huh? The Lotus‑leaf Sprite hatched!" Bilan instantly forgot about the mission, rushed over excitedly, voice full of anticipation, "Great! I've been wanting to see what my little guy looks like!"

"Don't shout so loudly." Huo La rubbed his temples, his face weary as he lay back on the bedside, "I just finished a Gym battle this morning, and tonight I still have to scout the West Suburb Factory—let me get some proper rest."

Bilan pursed her lips, let out a soft "tch," didn't argue further, left the room, and even closed the door for Huo La.

The room finally fell silent, Huo La exhaled, just closed his eyes to nap, when a dark shadow suddenly fell from the sky, "Bang!" and struck his face precisely.

"What the—!" Huo La winced in pain, sat up abruptly, rubbing his numb cheek, and looked down—lying on the blanket was the Rotom Phone that had vanished earlier; its screen was dark, and the lightning antenna at the top still twitched slightly, as if "playing dead."

He looked up at the system panel in his mind, and it stubbornly still displayed "Upgrading, cannot use."

"Damned system! Upgrade it, but dropping the phone on someone is what?" Huo La grabbed the phone to complain; as his finger touched the body, the screen lit up briefly, showing Rotom's plaintive little head, whispering "Lo‑to~ sorry~," clearly indicating it was also involved in the earlier "accident."

Huo La stared at the lively little figure on the phone, swallowed any further complaints, sighed helplessly—fine, arguing with a Pokemon and a rigid system only adds to his own frustration.