Chapter 213: Huo La

Early the next morning, Huo La appeared in the Spark Restaurant next to the Pokémon Center with a pair of dark panda eyes, looking wilted.

Xiao Gang, who had just taken a sip of soy milk, saw his appearance and couldn't help but spray it out with a "pfft," hurriedly taking out a tissue to wipe the corners of his mouth, asking while holding back laughter: "Huo La, are you... staying up late researching tactics, or did you have all-night special training with your Pokémon?"

Huo La slumped onto the chair, glanced helplessly at the pouting Bilan opposite, and said weakly: "Don't mention it, I was beaten by her last night."

"Ah? Bilan, why did you even hit him?" Xiao Gang looked at Bilan in astonishment.

"Xiao Gang, he was the one who let that Gengar go peek at me showering! It's already good that I didn't beat him to the ground!" Bilan slapped the table with a "bang," her cheeks pouting, her tone full of indignation.

The scene from last night instantly flooded Huo La's mind.

Just as Bilan's scream fell, his door was slapped hard. The moment he opened the door, two solid fists slammed into his eye sockets, directly knocking him silly.

By the time Gengar crawled back from the wall with a lecherous smile, and then thinking of Bilan's appearance when she was only wrapped in a bath towel, Huo La couldn't explain it even if he had a hundred mouths, so he could only take the beating and didn't sleep well all night.

"Oh—no wonder I said I vaguely heard Bilan's scream last night; so that's what happened." Xiao Gang dragged out his tone, the teasing in his eyes almost unable to be hidden.

"That was Old Ghost running there itself, what does it have to do with me?" Huo La hurriedly defended.

"Gengar is your partner; if you don't manage it well, who else should I blame if not you?" Bilan immediately retorted, righteous and confident.

Huo La: "..."

He was actually speechless.

"Hehehe, brat, this little girl is much more interesting than you, hehe." Gengar's voice sounded in Huo La's mind again, carrying a hint of teasing that didn't mind the chaos.

Huo La was too lazy to entangle in this topic and hurriedly diverted his attention: "After breakfast, I have to go to town to buy a hat to cover these panda eyes. I found that my hairstyle is actually quite suitable for wearing a hat; maybe after wearing it, my temperament won't be worse than Brother Xiao Chi's."

Bilan heard this and glanced at him unceremoniously: "You? After wearing a hat, don't say you have that calm feeling of Red; I'm afraid you can't even compare to Ash's vitality."

"Tch, no eye for quality." Huo La curled his lips, full of disdain.

"Tch, big pervert." Bilan retorted without showing weakness.

Xiao Gang shook his head helplessly, already used to the daily bickering between the two, and smiled to smooth things over: "Buying a hat is fine, I also happen to want to go shopping in Cinnabar Town. I heard that the silk short sleeves here are very famous nationwide, and I plan to buy a few sets to mail back to Pewter City as gifts for my younger brothers and sisters."

"Silk short sleeves? Sounds very cool, I want to pick two pieces too!" Bilan's eyes lit up, instantly forgetting the bickering with Huo La, her attention all attracted by the new clothes.

Huo La glanced at her and threw out a sentence slowly: "Do you have money to buy them?"

"You!" This sentence instantly poked Bilan's pain point. Her cheeks flushed red, her just-ignited interest instantly wilted, and even her tone leaked, unable to say any words of rebuttal for a long time.

She had been traveling with Huo La and Xiao Gang for so long, and her expenses were basically covered by Huo La.

After all, Huo La was a registered Trainer, and Xiao Gang was a former Gym Leader certified by the League. Both of them had League subsidies for accommodation and basic meals at the Pokémon Center, so they didn't need to spend extra money as long as they didn't exceed the standard. But she was neither a Trainer nor had relevant qualifications, so naturally, she didn't have this benefit.

Looking at Bilan's embarrassed and angry appearance, the bit of depression Huo La felt because of his panda eyes finally dissipated. The laughter he was holding back almost couldn't be held, and then he acted generously: "Forget it, I'll help you pick two pieces later, consider it compensation for Old Ghost's prank last night. I also happen to want to change into a light set, so as not to get heatstroke from the high temperature inside the Volcano Gym."

He paused and added: "By the way, I'll go to the Pokémon supplies store to see if there are any suitable heatstroke prevention items. After all, we have to battle in an extreme environment like a volcano, so we have to prepare some things to avoid suffering from being unaccustomed."

Bilan heard this, her eyes lit up instantly, the embarrassment and anger just now swept away, and she immediately leaned over and smiled: "Consider you still have a bit of conscience! I want to pick the coolest style!"

At the back of Cinnabar Volcano, a heavy stone door was tightly closed. The stone door was carved with blurred flame patterns, and the surrounding rock walls were still radiating heat that hadn't dissipated, clearly baked by volcanic geothermal heat all year round.

The three of Huo La stopped in front of the stone door. Their attire at this moment was completely different from when they were on the commercial street during the day.

Bilan wore a light green suspender short skirt, shaking a folding fan in her hand;

Xiao Gang changed into a loose linen short sleeve, with a sweat-absorbing towel draped around his neck;

Huo La wore a black cool hat with mesh ventilation, the brim pressed very low, just enough to cover the panda eyes that hadn't completely faded, and also covering most of his face.

"Gym Leader Blaine, I am a Trainer from Pallet Town, Huo La, here to challenge the Cinnabar Gym!" Huo La stepped forward and shouted at the stone door.

His voice echoed between the empty mountain walls, but he didn't get any response for a long time, and the stone door remained motionless.

"Gym Leader Blaine, I am a Trainer from Pallet Town, Huo La, here to challenge the Cinnabar Gym!" Huo La patiently raised his volume and shouted again.

But behind the stone door was still dead silence, not even a sound of footsteps came out.

"Could it be that this Gym Leader named Blaine isn't in the volcano at all?" Bilan fanned herself, sweat hanging on her temples, her tone carrying a hint of irritability: "I remember there is a place with a 'Cinnabar Gym' sign at the end of the commercial street. Maybe Blaine is over there, and we made a wasted trip."

"That one is fake, specifically used to stop tourists." Huo La shook his head firmly. He had a very clear memory of this: "I'm sure Blaine must be behind this door, just don't know why he refuses to answer."

"But if he doesn't open the door, we can't just keep wasting time here, right?" Bilan stomped her feet, the high temperature near the volcano making her unable to hold her temper.

Xiao Gang also frowned and looked at Huo La: "Do you have any other way? We can't force the door open."

Huo La raised his hand to adjust the brim of his hat, his voice lowered, his tone carrying a hint of cunning: "I do have another way."

"What way?" Xiao Gang and Bilan leaned closer at the same time, full of curiosity.

Huo La pointed to the cloud-shrouded, smoking crater above his head, and the corners of his mouth hooked into an arc: "Go in from the top!"

"What?!" The two exclaimed in unison.

Bilan's eyes widened even more: "Go in from the crater? It's full of magma and thick smoke inside, let alone finding someone, we'd be roasted if we went in!"

Xiao Gang also hurriedly waved his hands: "This is too dangerous, the terrain inside the volcano is complex, and there is hot air that may erupt at any time, absolutely cannot take risks!" ===== CHAPTER 214 =====