“It hurts so much, my head hurts so much.” The yellow-haired Wang Tianxiang sat in the car on the way back to town, clutching his head.
“Why does it hurt so much? Why can’t I remember anything?”
The Dwebble beside him also clutched its head and said, “Dweb… Dweb…” (My head hurts so much too… I can’t remember why either…)
Finally, Chen Kai and Xiao Mei helped the yellow-haired man and Dwebble to the Pokémon Center downstairs for treatment.
Before long, the yellow-haired man and Dwebble were fine, they had just hit their heads and suffered temporary amnesia.
Hearing that they were fine, Chen Kai went home alone, leaving Wang Yi to accompany the yellow-haired man back to the village.
Wang Yi felt a bit embarrassed and interrupted Wang Tianxiang and Dwebble: “Weren’t you here in the county town to get Bug Powder? Is the Bug Powder still there?”
Wang Tianxiang listened, then rummaged through his pockets: “Hey! It’s still here.”
Wang Yi took out her phone and said to him: “I looked it up on my phone, this powder can be applied externally, and Pokémon absorb it better. I’ll send it to you to take a look, study it more, maybe your head won’t hurt anymore.”
Wang Tianxiang listened and laughed happily: “Thanks, Sis.”
Chen Kai, as promised, took Miraidon to buy bread, cakes, and sandwiches.
It only cost less than a thousand yuan to buy out all the goods in the store.
Chen Kai couldn't help but sigh: “The prices of ordinary goods are still very normal, but things related to Pokémon are ridiculously priced. Selling a few Berries might be equivalent to several months’ salary for an ordinary person.”
Miraidon, still with a piece of bread in its mouth, mumbled indistinctly: “It’s quite normal… those few Berries of yours… contain energy… hundreds of these breads can’t compare.”
“So, next time I won’t sell the Berries, I’ll just give them to you to eat?”
Chen Kai’s words almost made Miraidon choke on the bread: “No… that won’t do.
Berries are Berries, sandwiches are sandwiches! You can’t generalize.”
Chen Kai laughed heartily: “Just kidding, next time I’ll sell the Berries and still buy you some.”
One person and two Pokémon returned home in the evening. Chen Kai carried a large bag of bread and sandwiches on his back, and Xiao Mei even carried a bag of cakes in her hand.
Bai Lijuan was very surprised to see this: “Did you guys rob a cake shop?”
Chen Kai complained powerlessly: “Mom, what are you saying? I sold Berries and got money, I bought these legitimately, they don’t cost much.”
“Oh, I see. Then can you still eat dinner?”
Hearing Bai Lijuan’s question, Miraidon cried out in urgency.
“Gao Wu!”
Chen Kai quickly explained: “Miraidon means it can still eat, bread is bread, it doesn’t affect the main meal.”
Miraidon nodded hastily in agreement.
Bai Lijuan smiled, looking at the playful person and Pokémon.
“Alright, I’ve still prepared dinner for you all, come eat later.”
…
It was another peaceful night.
Miraidon held a sandwich in its mouth, its claws gently and continuously scrolling on Chen Kai's phone, browsing a certain app.
“Hehe… Xiao Kai, look at this video, it’s very interesting.”
Chen Kai sat in his usual spot—in front of his desk—and glanced at Miraidon.
Why did it feel like it was becoming more and more different each day?
“As long as you’re happy.” Chen Kai finished speaking and looked back at the distant mountaintop.
The moonlight was bright, outlining the mountain’s silhouette.
“The weather has been quite good recently!
I have a feeling… we’ll make progress tomorrow!”
Miraidon asked without turning its head: “Huh? What progress?”
“Emm… you should just keep eating your sandwich.”
As dawn was just breaking, Chen Kai and Miraidon once again peeked and probed Area Zero.
The night had just passed, and there was still some mist on the mountaintop that hadn’t dissipated, making it impossible to see too far.
But even not far from Chen Kai, there were ravines and gullies everywhere; trees were either snapped whole or burned to charcoal.
Only the occasional mountain wind, blowing through the ruins, made faint sounds; there was no other noise around.
Deathly silent.
Chen Kai cautiously scouted for a while, then said: “It seems Hydreigon isn’t nearby.”
Miraidon nodded: “Even the Grimmsnarl Family isn’t in this vicinity anymore.”
“Then according to the original plan, we’ll detour to the south.”
Step by step, with utmost vigilance, they descended the mountain, constantly alert to their surroundings.
The once lush mountains, now after Hydreigon’s rampage, presented a shocking and tragic sight.
On the steep slopes, trees lay haphazardly, some uprooted, lying crisscross, branches broken, Leafage withered, as if groaning in pain.
The mountain itself was riddled with holes from destructive beams, and giant rocks had rolled down, piling up on the mountain path.
The soil was exposed, mixed with black scorch marks, like wounds torn open in the earth, bleeding profusely.
By the time they were almost down the mountain, Chen Kai hadn't seen a single living creature.
“This… this is too terrifying, isn’t it?”
Miraidon, on the other hand, looked calm: “It’s quite normal, Dragon-type Pokémon have strong destructive power.”
“I wonder how the Grimmsnarl and Mightyena from before managed to live here stably.”
Miraidon still said calmly: “Normal Dragon-type Pokémon wouldn’t make such a big fuss; usually, they only get so angry when their territory is invaded by their own kind.”
“So, the Pokémon on this mountain suffered because of us two the day before yesterday?!”
Miraidon nodded: “That should be the case.”
“Uh…” Chen Kai clutched his chest, unable to recover for a moment.
“Sin… what a sin…
By the way, Miraidon, you’re also a Dragon-type Pokémon, why didn’t you know that was Hydreigon’s territory?”
Miraidon explained: “I lost all my power. By the time I sensed it, it had already discovered me.”
“Let’s be even more careful today!”
Miraidon said no more, just nodded again.
After descending the mountain, to ensure they avoided Hydreigon’s territory, Chen Kai and his party detoured a long way south, walking intermittently for 3 hours.
Along the way, they finally encountered a few scattered Pokémon.
However, Chen Kai didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he tried his best to avoid them.
After crossing another mountain peak, Miraidon signaled to Chen Kai: “We should be very far from Hydreigon’s territory now. We can descend west towards the plains.”
Chen Kai had no objections and agreed: “Alright! Let’s go then!”
“Wait!” Miraidon stopped Chen Kai.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Kai retracted his foot and asked, puzzled.
Miraidon was seen raising its head, sniffing left and right, seemingly searching for something.
Miraidon explained to Chen Kai: “I seem to sense a scent that is attracting me.”
“You… you actually have a nose…”
“That’s very rude of you to say, but I actually don’t have a nose. My nose area is an energy sensor that can perceive energy.” Miraidon said, continuing to ‘smell’ its surroundings.
Chen Kai thought for a moment and released Xiao Mei from her Poké Ball.
“Xiao Mei, do you sense anything?”
Xiao Mei looked around and shook her head: “Mei.” (I don’t feel anything.)
Chen Kai found a rock and sat down, glancing at Miraidon, who was still meticulously searching.
“This is truly strange.”
Miraidon suddenly pointed to the east in surprise: “I feel it, this direction!
It seems to be a bit far, but I intermittently sense something very attractive to me over there.”
Chen Kai opened the map, compared the terrain, and confirmed: “Hmm… that direction is a large lake, called Zhulongtan on Blue Star. In Area Zero, it will probably also be a lake area.
It’s not particularly far from us. Since you’re interested, Miraidon, we’ll take a detour and go take a look over there first.”
Going east was also a downhill path, and Chen Kai’s walking pace lightened slightly. It took him another half an hour to reach the lakeside.
Along the way, Chen Kai even coincidentally encountered a few Grimmsnarl, which startled him greatly.
However, it seemed the Grimmsnarl were even more afraid of the purple Miraidon beside him, and they all screamed and fled for their lives.
One Impidimp even crashed into a tree and cried as it continued to run.
This left Chen Kai utterly confused.
“So, when I arrived at this Zhulongtan, it was also all mist…”
In front of the person and two Pokémon was a huge lake, stretching as far as the eye could see, though it might have been possible to see the end normally, but a dense mist floated on the surface, making it difficult to see clearly.
Chen Kai took a few steps back and looked up at the sky.
The weather in the secret realm was still great today, sunny and cloudless.
It was currently noon, and the heat overhead made Chen Kai fully experience what summer vacation felt like.
Even with the bamboo forest’s shade, he was still drenched in sweat on his back.
Taking a step forward, into the faint mist ahead, the weather suddenly changed from clear to overcast.
Before even touching the water mist, his body strangely felt even hotter, which was very bizarre. Just as touching ice should feel cold, Chen Kai now felt scorching hot.
At the same time, the surrounding bamboo forest was no longer verdant, but eerie, like ghostly shadows.
The lake in the distance, behind the vast white mist, appeared indistinctly, flickering unsteadily.
Chen Kai felt like his brain might be broken.
“Xiao Kai, something’s wrong! Very wrong!” Miraidon timely stopped Chen Kai, fearing he would go deeper.
Chen Kai began to retreat continuously, saying: “It’s not just very wrong. It’s extremely wrong!
There must be a problem inside this lake!”
Just as Chen Kai and Miraidon were circling the mist, a figure at the bottom of the lake stirred, letting out a displeased snort, and the water around it seemed to express its dissatisfaction as well, boiling up.