Chapter 122: Protecting Precious Memories, Part 3
"A former champion is all you are."
Steven replied faintly, then turned his head and said to the group of people and Pokémon behind him.
"You all should leave quickly. I will handle things here."
Just as the people below could clearly hear what the General Captain said, the General Captain could also clearly hear this exchange between Steven and the others.
The General Captain shook his head.
"Leave?"
"None of you should even think about leaving!"
As if he felt they were all already in his grasp, the General Captain revealed a bizarre smile.
Steven signaled Skarmory to fly higher, then hovered in the air, looking at the man wreathed in black aura from afar.
"If you think you can keep everyone here with just this one Pokémon, are you not underestimating me a little too much?"
Steven's tone still held no emotional fluctuation, but the confidence in his words could be felt by everyone.
"No, no, no, Mr. Champion. How could I not take you seriously?"
The General Captain waved his hands repeatedly.
"It is precisely because I know how formidable you are that I don't want you to leave," the bizarre smile on the General Captain's lips grew more pronounced.
He reached for his waist and took out another black Poké Ball.
However, the hand holding the Poké Ball was trembling, as if unable to bear something.
"I saved this one especially for you..."
A black light shone in the General Captain's eyes.
"Mr. Champion!"
"Come out, Articuno!"
The black Poké Ball was thrown into the air, and cold frost overflowed from it.
"Caw—"
Accompanied by a high-pitched bird cry, a large bird Pokémon with extremely long tail feathers and three deep blue, diamond-shaped feathers on its crest emerged, flapping its wings.
"Articuno!!!"
Rio naturally recognized what this beautifully poised sacred bird was, but in the next moment, his eyes widened.
"How is it black?!!!"
Yes, this magnificent bird known for its icy coldness, its entire body was no longer the crystal-clear ice-blue that Rio was familiar with. Instead, it was like mud on snow; its nearly cerulean feathers were covered in large patches of black markings. What swirled around its side were not ice crystals, but a dense black mist.
"This mist..."
Watching this scene, Rio felt a sense of déjà vu. He thought for a moment, then it dawned on him.
"Just like Mewtwo back then!"
While Rio's heart was still in turmoil here, a trace of gravity appeared on Steven's otherwise calm expression.
Facing the gigantic Steel God Pillar, although its presence was terrifying, Steven, who was also proficient in the Steel-type, keenly sensed that the energy within the Steel God Pillar was not as fearsome as its appearance suggested. In that case, with his Mega Metagross and the coordination of the several other powerful Pokémon in his possession, he could ultimately suppress the Steel God Pillar, Registeel.
But now, with the addition of a strange-looking Articuno, also one of the transcendent legendary Pokémon, the pressure on Steven instantly increased.
"How about it, Mr. Champion? This is the opponent I prepared for you," the General Captain said smugly.
"Leave as soon as possible. I will try to hold off these two Pokémon," Steven descended again to the group (and Pokémon) and said in a deep voice. "If possible, it would be best to find Norman."
"If you can't find him, then head to other cities, find the person in charge, and tell them about the situation here."
"Mr. Steven..."
Míng Rìzhào started to speak but hesitated.
Steven ascended into the air again.
"These two fellows won't be easy to block."
"However, I am the Champion!"
"Although, not anymore... haha."
Steven let out a rare, hearty laugh.
Champion. A title representing the strongest person in a region, and at the same time, the region's greatest guardian.
At this moment, Míng Rìzhào seemed to feel a bit of the weight of these two words.
From the side, Officer Jenny, who had driven over in a police car, helped the two elderly people into it, then said to Míng Rìzhào, "Quick, you get in too."
"Mm."
Míng Rìzhào didn't dally. She nodded and was about to get into the police car.
"Rio, get in quickly."
Rio glanced at the two tense, confrontational sides, then at the silent Pokémon Center.
He frowned.
"Xiao Zhao, you guys go first!"
Time was short. Rio left only this one sentence and ran towards the Pokémon Center without looking back.
The Pokémon Center, usually transparent with light and open all day, was now without its usual activity.
Rio slipped in through the half-open door, carefully dodging the fallen bookshelves and the various miscellaneous objects on the floor.
"The Aura is... in that direction, right?"
In Rio's field of perception, those few weak Auras, under the powerful energy radiation of Registeel and Articuno, were like inconspicuous small flames, flickering faintly. If Rio's perception hadn't become extremely keen, he probably wouldn't have noticed them.
Stepping over the toppled chairs and beds, Rio arrived at the inner rooms of the Pokémon Center.
"Not this room... not this one either... Ah, found it!"
Pushing open the doors of each room one by one, Rio finally found the target he was looking for in the innermost room.
A woman in a pink nurse's uniform lay unconscious on the floor, and in her arms, she was still holding several Pokémon eggs.
"Nurse Joy!"
The ensuing cry of surprise made Rio freeze.
"Didn't I tell you to leave quickly?"
Faced with Rio's annoyed words, Míng Rìzhào took the hat she was wearing and put it on Rio's head, then deftly tied up her long hair and rolled up her sleeves.
"I am your trainer. How could I abandon my own Pokémon and escape alone?"
"Ruru, Rio, you two lift Nurse Joy."
Míng Rìzhào said while bending down to gather the few Pokémon eggs into her arms.
"Let's go quickly. Otherwise, if they start fighting, I'm afraid it will affect this place... Ah!"
It was truly a case of "speak of the devil." The girl hadn't even finished her words when the ground began to shake violently again.
The strong tremors caused the already crumbling Pokémon Center to begin to collapse. Steel plates falling from the roof came crashing down towards them.
Fortunately, Rio discovered it in time.
"[Brick Break], [Rock Smash]!"
The high-leaping Riolu chopped the steel plate, then proceeded to smash the split steel plate into pieces.
"Quick, go! I'll block the debris... Oh my god, looks like I don't need to..."
A light suddenly shone before the girl and the Pokémon. The entire upper part of the Pokémon Center had been directly blasted away by a powerful energy cannon, revealing the few of them staring blankly at the now-empty space above.
Looking from afar, several of Steven's Pokémon could be seen fiercely battling Articuno.
"Caw!"
With a miserable bird cry, countless dark clouds suddenly drifted over in the sky, and then hailstones the size of fists rained down, peppering the ground with small round craters.
Míng Rìzhào, Rio, and Ruru quickly pulled Nurse Joy to a sheltered spot in the Pokémon Center.
"This is not good. We can't leave like this."
The girl's face was a little grave.
The [Hail] unleashed by Articuno had an extremely wide range, and the damage brought by the falling hailstones was no less than the earthquake caused by the Steel God Pillar's steps.
Moreover, for the time being, Steven couldn't possibly break away to save them.
Because Steven, right now, was also in a bitter fight.
"What should we do? Using [Agility], I can leave here quickly. If Ruru uses [Confusion], protecting Xiao Zhao won't be a problem, but," Rio glanced at Nurse Joy, whose forehead was bleeding from being hit by scattered debris, and sighed. "I can't just leave Nurse Joy behind."
No matter which dimension, the gentle and kind Nurse Joy was always a spiritual harbor for people and Pokémon. Leaving aside human trainers, just from what Rio had heard from the Pokémon he had met in Newmoon Forest who had wandered in human society, this woman, who always wore a pink nurse's uniform, would often gently provide shelter and food for those homeless Pokémon, and even personally treat and bandage their injuries, making these wandering Pokémon who had tasted the cold and warmth of human society often think of her fondly.
This time, with everyone else in the Pokémon Center having already fled, Nurse Joy had still resolutely turned back to protect the unhatched Pokémon eggs, completely disregarding the danger she was in.
Such a kind and respectable Nurse Joy, how could Rio not care?
It was obvious Míng Rìzhào had the same thought.
"Rio, you hold these Pokémon eggs and leave using [Agility]. I believe you can dodge the falling hailstones and the aftershocks of the battle."
The girl took the hat from Rio's head and carefully placed the Pokémon eggs one by one into the hood.
"Ruru, you use [Confusion] to protect Nurse Joy, then follow Rio."
Ruru became anxious.
"(Pokémon Language) Then what about you, Xiao Zhao?"
The girl forced a smile that said everything was fine.
"I should be fine hiding here for a while. I believe the aftershocks of their battle won't spread here so quickly." Seeing that Ruru still looked worried, Míng Rìzhào quickly added, "Just come and get me as soon as you find a place to settle down."
Before she could finish, a huge block of ice fell from the sky and stuck straight into the center of the Pokémon Center.
"...I'm afraid you'll be smashed to death."
Rio rolled his eyes and said bluntly.
"Ahaha, it's fine, it's fine. You guys hurry up and go."
Míng Rìzhào smiled awkwardly, urging Rio and Ruru to leave quickly.
But Rio discovered that deep in the eyes of the girl before him, there was still an imperceptible look of fear.
"In the end, she's still just a kid..."
Rio sighed in his heart, then mobilized all his brain cells to think.
He looked at the giant standing still, condensing a ball of energy in its palm. Then he looked at the figure sitting on Skarmory, commanding Mega Metagross and Claydol, and that sacred bird soaring freely, scattering cold winds everywhere.
...Wait a minute, Registeel is gathering energy again?!!!
Rio's scalp instantly tingled; that familiar sense of pressure assaulted him again.
"Mega Metagross, use [Giga Impact] again!"
Steven naturally noticed this point as well. He wanted to knock Registeel back like last time to interrupt Its move.
However, this time, a third party intervened.
"Caw—" Articuno flashed in front of the charging Mega Metagross. Its beak opened, and a cold beam of light subsequently shot out.
[Ice Beam]! A beam of freezing cold light is fired. The temperature is so low, it can even freeze the opponent in an instant!
"Buzz!"
Mega Metagross took the hit head-on and was immediately covered in frost. Its originally imposing charge also slowed down.
This slowdown gave Registeel the time it needed to complete its move.
The energy orb grew larger and larger, seeming as if it could shatter at any moment.
"…"
Rio pursed his lips, staring intently at the terrifyingly fluctuating energy orb. His claws had unknowingly clenched into tight fists.
In a daze, it seemed as if countless phantoms floated before his eyes:
A phantom of a stone with many protrusions on its four sides, then a phantom resembling a human, a phantom of a growing spherical object, and finally, resting on a giant phantom that stood between heaven and earth.
When he came back to his senses, everything before his eyes became clear again.
Rio finally remembered what that stone was.
"But, isn't there still a wristband missing?"
However, there was no more time to think. Rio quickly turned around, took the stone Steven had gifted from Míng Rìzhào's crossbody bag, and then, without another word, dived directly into his Poké Ball.
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you