Chapter 228: Crossing Time and Space

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Huo La heard Xiaoyin's tone of caution and impatience.

Huo La silently exhaled in his heart—apparently Xiaoyin's character hadn't broken, still the son who harbored no goodwill toward Sakaki.

"To be honest, I originally wanted Bilan to bring you back to Viridian City, to see Sakaki... to have you two, father and son,..."

"Tch, see him? What's there to see." Huo La hadn't finished speaking when Xiaoyin's unmasked contempt came through the phone, his tone full of distance, "I have nothing to discuss with him."

"You're right, there's indeed nothing worth seeing." Huo La rarely echoed.

He knew Xiaoyin's past—abandoned by Sakaki since childhood, once kidnapped and used by the Masked Man, so his resentment toward that cheap father was perfectly understandable.

This sense of detachment only made Huo La more certain that the Xiaoyin before him was the "genuine" version.

On the other end, the line fell silent, as if they hadn't expected Huo La to go along with his words.

A moment later, Xiaoyin's voice sounded again, steadier than before: "What exactly are you trying to say? Stop beating around the bush."

"I originally wanted you to return to Viridian City to see Sakaki, but that's no longer needed," Huo La shifted tone, becoming solemn, "I now need a favor—take good care of Bilan, keep her in Chengdu for the time being, and don't let her return to Kanto."

"What happened?" Xiaoyin, keenly catching the weight in his tone, asked further.

"Sigh, things are a bit complicated, the current situation is still unclear," Huo La exhaled, not elaborating, "In short, Kanto isn't safe right now; you all stay away for the time being, and I'll contact you once I have a lead."

"Understood," Xiaoyin replied succinctly, followed by the rustle of handing the phone back to Bilan.

"You two have been whispering mysteriously for ages, what exactly were you talking about?" Bilan's voice came immediately, thick with curiosity.

"Nothing, just some casual chat," Huo La brushed off, then shifted, "By the way, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it? Speak!" Bilan perked up instantly, voice excited.

"Check the movements of the Chengdu Rocket Team for me," Huo La said in a low voice.

"Chengdu Rocket Team?" Bilan's voice was full of doubt, "What's up with them? Could it be related to the Kanto situation?"

"Sort of," Huo La replied vaguely without details, "I've heard the Rocket Team's focus may have shifted from Kanto to Chengdu; since you're over there, I want you to keep an eye on their actions and promptly report any anomalies to me."

"Got it, you can count on me!" Bilan agreed cheerfully, then hesitated a bit, "So me and Xiaoyin... really aren't going back to Viridian City?"

"Not for now," Huo La soothed, "I have nothing urgent here; later I'll be training intensively with Xiao Gang Ge for a while. When the timing is right, I'll reach out to you proactively, it'll be in time."

After hanging up, the night slipped away quietly as thoughts lingered, and the sky outside the window gradually turned a pale dawn, the day about to break.

Suddenly, a swearing voice shattered the room's silence: "Damn it! Truly damn unlucky!"

Huo La followed the voice and saw Gui Si crawling out from under the floor, constantly sticking out his tongue, face full of disgust, as if he had just swallowed something hard to swallow.

"What's wrong? Did you detect anything?" Huo La sprang up immediately, tone urgent.

"What else could it be? That old Sakaki's power is just absurd!" Gui Si kept sticking out his tongue, his voice tinged with fear, "Damn, I've lived this long and never felt such intense Intimidation from a living person!"

"Hm?" Huo La looked astonished, "Did you face him head‑on?"

"Not exactly a direct clash," Gui Si shook his head, pausing before saying, "I never manifested; I was just a pure ghost form hovering before him, and ended up meeting his gaze!"

He paused, adding, "That Intimidation was several notches stronger than the Masked Man I'd seen before, a completely different magnitude!"

"You didn't manifest?" Huo La seized the key info, brows knit, "Then how did he notice you?"

"Who knows!" Gui Si swayed irritably, "I was in an actively invisible ghost state; ordinarily a regular Trainer couldn't even sense a edge! Yet he gave me the feeling that he could see me perfectly! That locked‑on feeling is unbearable!"

"You, who can see a ghost state and actively stay invisible?" Huo La's pupils dilated, eyes full of disbelief, "How is that possible? Even a top‑tier Psychic Type Trainer would find it hard to achieve that level, right?"

"Why would I lie to you!" Gui Si said firmly, "That intuition of being seen through never errs! Moreover..." He shifted tone, becoming solemn, "I also sense a faint distortion surrounding him, very weak but definitely present—like a Space Distortion Trace left by space."

"Space!" Huo La sprang up, chest rising slightly from rapid breathing, pacing the room, his fingertips drumming his palm, muttering, "Yes! It must be Spatial Power! I was right after all; the situation is most likely exactly this!"

Gui Si floated in mid‑air, watching his leaping and frantic pacing, shook his head confusedly, "Kid, what are you freaking out about? One moment standing, the next sitting—what are you trying to figure out?"

Interrupted by Gui Si, Huo La finally steadied a bit, returned to his seat, his eyes still dazzlingly bright, staring straight at Gui Si, his tone brimming with uncontainable excitement, "Do you remember I told you there's a second hypothesis I haven't voiced?"

Gui Si glanced at him, tone a little disdainful, "I've lived long, but I'm not senile. I was only out here a short while; how could I forget?"

"I suspect the Sakaki you saw isn't the Sakaki of our world!" Huo La said each word deliberately, his voice hammering the air.

"Not from our world?" Gui Si's voice suddenly rose, his pale‑green eyes filled with shock, "You mean... he comes from Another World?"

"Yes!" Huo La nodded heavily, tone firm, "A Parallel World where Pokémon exist!"

"The one you mentioned before, the world with the Giant Dragonite?" Gui Si asked immediately.

"No, probably not," Huo La shook his head, fingertips tracing the tabletop, thoughts racing, "That world's developmental trajectory diverges too much from ours, yet this 'Sakaki' can precisely control the Rocket Team's forces... The world he's from is most likely a parallel world whose development mirrors ours closely, but diverged at some point."

He paused, then added, "The Space Distortion Trace you sensed is the best proof, though we still don't know how he does it."