Chapter 414: Rendezvous
Having consumed too much mental energy in the Unknown Space, Bai Feng felt a bit listless after opening his eyes.
"I'm fine, I just need to rest for a bit," Bai Feng said, waving his hand.
"Oh, right, Dr. White, how exactly did you fall into a deep sleep? Do you remember anything?" Bai Feng asked, looking at Dr. White, who had just woken up.
Dr. White recalled, "That day, we opened the Ruins Entrance and were about to go in when we were suddenly blocked by a black shadow. We don't know how, but the black shadow screamed and then disappeared."
Bai Feng and Ninetales exchanged glances. The black shadow hadn't disappeared; it had been repelled by Ninetales. If Ninetales hadn't intervened, they would have likely been in danger at that moment.
Dr. White continued, "Because we were scared, we didn't dare to enter the Ruins immediately. We didn't expect that after returning, something would happen to us." After that, they started having constant nightmares, and although they were scared, they couldn't wake up no matter what.
"That's it? Nothing else?" Bai Feng asked.
Dr. White and the other Archaeological Team Members tried hard to remember, then shook their heads.
"There really wasn't anything else."
Bai Feng thought for a moment and said, "Get some good rest. I'll come back tomorrow, and you can take me to the Ruins to take a look." It was getting late, and Bai Feng was worried that if he returned too late, Mister Steel wouldn't let him in the Doorway.
Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for him to stay at his own Home, but if anything happened, he wouldn't be able to get the news immediately, so it was better to go to Mister Steel's Home.
Dr. White nodded. "Alright, thank you, Mister Bai Feng."
After saying goodbye to Dr. White and the others, Bai Feng took Ninetales and planned to return to Mister Steel's Home.
On the way, Bai Feng asked Ninetales, "Did you not get a clear look at the black shadow's true appearance back then?"
Ninetales shook its head. "I couldn't see clearly. It was shrouded in black mist, completely obscuring it."
"It seems we'll only be able to figure out what that black shadow was when we get to the Ruins tomorrow," Bai Feng said.
"Yes!" Ninetales nodded.
Then, Bai Feng saw the Slowpoke following him step by step and said, "Slowpoke, aren't you going Home?"
Slowpoke looked up at Bai Feng. Its dull gaze showed no emotion, but it also showed no thought of leaving Bai Feng's side.
After looking at Slowpoke for a while and seeing no reaction from it, Bai Feng said helplessly, "Alright, if you want to follow, then follow."
The moment he finished speaking, he saw the Slowpoke's dull, vacant eyes curve into two crescent moons.
Bai Feng: ...
Had he been latched onto?
Returning to Mister Steel's Home, Bai Feng saw Qianhui standing at the Doorway with her Slowpoke, Xiao Dai, looking out anxiously.
Upon seeing Bai Feng, she quickly ran over and asked with a worried expression, "Brother Bai Feng, are you alright?"
Bai Feng smiled. "What could happen to me? Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
Qianhui breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "That's good, that's good." After Bai Feng left, her heart had been in her throat, afraid that something would happen to Bai Feng at the Archaeological Team's location.
"Good kid." Knowing that Qianhui was worried about him, Bai Feng rubbed the top of her head. "Let's go back in."
"Mhm~" Qianhui nodded, then noticed the Slowpoke behind Bai Feng. She exclaimed in surprise, "Where did this Slowpoke come from? Brother Bai Feng, did you catch it? We're not allowed to catch Slowpoke in Azalea Town."
Bai Feng was full of helplessness. "It insisted on following me."
Afraid that Bai Feng would be misunderstood, Slowpoke quickly nodded its head, indicating that what Bai Feng said was true. It was the first time Qianhui had seen a Slowpoke move so quickly.
Then it affectionately hugged Bai Feng's pant leg and rubbed its head against his calf little by little.
"As expected, Brother Bai Feng is very popular with Slowpoke!" Qianhui said with a smile.
The two lifted their feet and walked into the Home. The Slowpoke following Bai Feng and Qianhui's Xiao Dai met, and the two Slowpoke just stood there, head to head, staring at each other, completely motionless.
Seeing this, Qianhui said with a smile, "Don't mind them. When they get tired of staring, they'll naturally know to go Home." She was already used to Slowpoke communicating in this way.
"Alright," Bai Feng said helplessly.
After entering the Doorway, Bai Feng saw Mister Steel already sitting at the table, drinking a little wine. When he saw Bai Feng, he put down his wine glass and said, "Go wash your hands, dinner is ready."
"Okay, thank you for having me."
After washing his hands, Bai Feng, Qianhui, and Mister Steel ate dinner together.
The next day, Bai Feng was in Mister Steel's Yard, staring at the Slowpoke, when Qianhui ran over and said, "Brother Bai Feng, a big Sister said she's looking for you."
A big Sister? Could it be Cynthia?
Bai Feng got up and walked outside. Slowpoke slowly followed him.
Bai Feng walked to the Doorway and indeed saw a tall, blonde beauty standing there, teasing Qianhui's Xiao Dai.
"Cynthia, you're finally here!"
Hearing someone call her name, Cynthia looked up and saw Bai Feng standing on the threshold, with a Slowpoke clinging to the Archway.
"I went to the Archaeological Team. Thank you!" Cynthia was referring to Bai Feng waking up the Archaeological Team.
She enjoyed archaeology and was an Old Friend of Dr. White. When she heard that her Friend was in trouble, she was extremely anxious. Fortunately, Bai Feng arrived in time.
After arriving in Azalea Town, Cynthia immediately went to the Archaeological Team's Camp to check on the situation. After confirming that Dr. White and the others were alright, she rushed to Mister Steel's Home to meet up with Bai Feng.
Bai Feng waved his hand. "There's nothing to thank me for. We're all Old Friends. By the way, I plan to go to the Ruins today to see what's going on. Do you want to come along?"
"Together." Cynthia nodded. "I also want to see what happened."
After resting for a while at Mister Steel's Home, the two set off.
Walking down the Main Street of Azalea Town, Bai Feng once again received the attention of all the Slowpoke. The Slowpoke by Bai Feng's side, afraid that Bai Feng would be snatched away by other Slowpoke, directly hugged Bai Feng's leg with its limbs, looking like it was declaring ownership.
Looking at the Slowpoke all staring at him, Cynthia asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Bai Feng didn't know how to answer. "I don't know either. Anyway, as soon as I go out, all the Slowpoke in town are like this."
Just then, the old woman Bai Feng had asked for directions from yesterday came out to take out the trash. Seeing Bai Feng, she greeted him warmly, "Oh, young man loved by Slowpoke, good morning!"
"Good morning," Bai Feng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"May the Slowpoke God bless you, you'll have a lucky day today too," the old woman said with a chuckle.
"I'll take your word for it," Bai Feng nodded.
"Maybe you really are favored by the Slowpoke God," Cynthia joked.
"Then let's pray that the Slowpoke God protects our journey and makes it smooth," Bai Feng said, playing along with Cynthia.
Under the watchful eyes of the Slowpoke, Bai Feng and Cynthia arrived at the Archaeological Team's Camp. Dr. White was already waiting for them.
"Cynthia, Mister Bai Feng." Dr. White waved at the two.
"White!"
"Dr. White."
Cynthia and Bai Feng also greeted Dr. White respectively.
"If there are no problems, let's depart immediately," Dr. White said to the two.
"Okay, let's go now," Cynthia said.
Because they were afraid of another accident, only Dr. White accompanied Bai Feng and Cynthia to the Ruins this time.
On the way, Bai Feng said to Ninetales, "Ninetales, if there's any accident, please protect Dr. White."
"Woo~~" Don't worry, leave it to me.
Ninetales nodded.
Dr. White looked at Bai Feng gratefully upon hearing this.
Then Bai Feng looked at the Slowpoke following behind him and asked, "Is it okay for you to come along? The Ruins are very dangerous."
Slowpoke slowly stood upright and slowly thumped its chest with its fist. Although it didn't say anything, Bai Feng somehow understood its meaning.
Don't look down on Slowpoke, Slowpoke is very strong.
Bai Feng shook his head helplessly. "I hope you're still this confident if we actually encounter danger."
About half an hour later, Bai Feng and the others successfully reached their destination.
The Location of this Ruins was on a Green Mountain in the Suburbs of Azalea Town. This Mountain was inhabited by many Bug-type Pokémon. Bugsy, the Gym Leader of Azalea Town, usually loved to come here to catch Pokémon, and he was the one who first discovered the Ruins.
The Ruins Entrance was on a Rock Wall on the Mountain mid-slope. Looking at the dark Hole, Bai Feng asked, "Is that the Ruins Entrance?"
Dr. White nodded and said, "Yes."
"White, wait here. Bai Feng and I will go in and take a look," Cynthia said, releasing her Spiritomb at the same time.
Bai Feng said to Ninetales, "Ninetales, please stay with Dr. White." Saying this, he also released his Delphox.
Ninetales nodded.
Slowpoke still wanted to follow Bai Feng, but Ninetales dragged it to its side with its tail.
"Woo~~" Stay here obediently, don't cause trouble.
"Ya~~~ Dong~~~" Slowpoke whined pitifully.
Just as Bai Feng and Cynthia were about to enter the Ruins, a large amount of black mist suddenly emerged from the Hole, followed by several Shadow Balls flying out from within.
"Ma ho~"
Delphox swung the wooden staff in its hand, and scarlet flames surged out, instantly incinerating all the Shadow Balls.
Then Bai Feng and Cynthia saw a Gengar fly out from the Hole, emitting a terrifying aura.
Could this Gengar be the culprit behind everything? Bai Feng and Cynthia thought simultaneously.
However, Bai Feng felt that this Gengar looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Unfortunately, before he could think further, Gengar launched an attack on him and Cynthia.
Gengar raised its hand and fired a Dazzling Gleam at Spiritomb. Seeing this, Cynthia quickly shouted, "Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!"
Spiritomb immediately shot out a black energy wave, clashing head-on with Gengar's Dazzling Gleam. However, surprisingly, Spiritomb lost. Its Dark Pulse was defeated by Gengar, and it was subsequently struck by Dazzling Gleam and fell to the Ground.
So strong! Cynthia exclaimed inwardly.
While Gengar and Spiritomb were clashing with their energy waves, Delphox sent out a Psyshock towards Gengar, but Gengar seemed to have anticipated it. It dodged the attack successfully with a nimble flash of its body.
After defeating Spiritomb, Gengar launched another Dazzling Gleam, intending to press its advantage. Fortunately, Delphox blocked it in time using Mystical Fire.
"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse."
"Delphox, Psyshock!"
Bai Feng and Cynthia spoke simultaneously. Spiritomb shot out a black energy wave, and Delphox shot out a purple light ray.
But Gengar's speed was too fast, much faster than Delphox and Spiritomb. The two Pokémon's attacks couldn't reach it at all.
Bai Feng had a sudden idea and quickly shouted to Delphox, "Delphox, Trick Room."
Hearing this, Delphox raised its wooden staff, and purple radiance lit up at the top of the staff. A square Space formed and rapidly expanded, enveloping the three Pokémon.
Seeing this, Gengar threw out several Shadow Balls towards Delphox, trying to stop it. Cynthia quickly commanded Spiritomb to use Night Shade to block Gengar's attacks.
With Spiritomb buying time, Trick Room successfully formed. In an instant, Spiritomb, which was originally the slowest, became the fastest, while Gengar felt as if its entire body was bound, becoming very heavy.
"Gengar~ Gengar~~"
Gengar cried out uneasily, using Dazzling Gleam to attack Spiritomb. However, Spiritomb hit it first with Dark Pulse. It wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
Boom!
Under Spiritomb's attack, Gengar crashed into the Rock Wall behind it. Just as it was about to fly up again, Delphox's attack arrived. A purple light ray hit its body.
However, to Bai Feng and Cynthia's surprise, Gengar itself was not a Pokémon with high defense. After taking consecutive attacks from Spiritomb and Delphox, it showed no signs of falling.
This indicated one thing: this Gengar's strength was very high, stronger than both Delphox and Spiritomb.
"Gengar~~~"
Gengar roared, firing Shadow Balls in all directions. Immediately, the Trick Room became shaky under the attack of the Shadow Balls.
"Not good, it wants to destroy the Trick Room," Bai Feng shouted.
"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!"
"Delphox, Psyshock!"
Under the command of Bai Feng and Cynthia, the two Pokémon simultaneously launched their moves at Gengar. But Gengar seemed to realize it couldn't dodge the attacks and actually endured them, continuing to attack the Trick Room.
"Gengar~~"
Gengar let out a wail. Spiritomb and Delphox's attacks successfully hit Gengar, but at the same time, a crisp sound occurred, and cracks appeared on the Trick Room.
However, just as the Trick Room was about to be shattered, Cynthia shouted loudly, "Spiritomb, Trick Room."
Don't forget, Spiritomb's speed was still the fastest at this time. Spiritomb itself was a very slow Pokémon, so how could Cynthia not teach it Trick Room?
Therefore, the moment the Trick Room created by Delphox was shattered, Spiritomb's Trick Room took effect.
The square Space rapidly expanded, instantly enveloping the three Pokémon again. Gengar felt that feeling of being bound all over its body return.
"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!"
"Delphox, Psyshock!"
The black energy wave and the purple light ray shot towards Gengar again. Gengar wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
(End of this chapter)