The airplane's wheels touched down smoothly on the runway of Paris Airport, emitting a slight friction sound, and Chen Kai slowly awoke from his light slumber amidst this subtle jolt.
He slowly opened his eyes, raised a hand to rub his slightly sore eyes, and looked out the window.
The evening sky over Paris, though somewhat hazy, still couldn't hide its charming allure.
The cabin door slowly opened, and Chen Kai, following the bustling crowd, unhurriedly walked out of the airport, officially stepping into this city brimming with art and romance.
“Is this Paris?” Chen Kai looked around curiously, finding that the people around him only differed in hair and skin color, and the architectural styles were only slightly different.
Because in Long Country, there were many buildings built to Mimic French style, the sight before Chen Kai didn't strike him as particularly novel.
He turned to Miraidon, smiling as he said, “See, everything went smoothly on this trip, nothing happened at all. Your worries before were completely unnecessary.”
Chen Kai first traveled from Qu County to Mountain City, and then flew from Mountain City to Paris. The journey indeed went smoothly.
Miraidon, however, shook its head helplessly and said, “Whenever you say that, something is bound to happen.”
Chen Kai patted Miraidon, comforting it, “Relax, let's find a hotel to rest well tonight, and tomorrow we'll go to that place called Vosges Mountains, as Master Senior Brother Lu Yang said.”
Just as they were talking, a dark-furred Rattata, like a black lightning bolt, suddenly darted out from behind a nearby car.
Its eyes were tightly locked onto the small bag on Miraidon's back, and it squeaked incessantly, as if it had discovered a rare treasure.
This Alola Rattata charged towards Miraidon at an extremely fast speed, intending to snatch the small bag.
At the same time, Chen Kai heard the warning from Iron Bundle and instantly realized the situation was critical. Without time to think, he quickly pulled out a Poké Ball from his waist and shouted:
“Xiao Mei, Thunderbolt!”
A dazzling white light flashed, and Xiao Mei instantly appeared in front of Chen Kai.
As soon as Xiao Mei appeared, it accurately locked onto the Rattata.
The beads on its tail instantly flickered with crackling electric light, and it unhesitatingly unleashed the Thunderbolt skill towards the Rattata.
The powerful current, like a surging tide, swept towards the Rattata.
The Rattata was struck by this sudden Thunder Shock, its entire body trembled violently, and it shrieked in pain.
Its forward momentum was abruptly halted, and it fell to the ground with a thud, its fur standing on end from the electric shock.
Then, it struggled to get up, tucked its tail between its legs, and scurried away, quickly disappearing around the corner of the street.
Chen Kai quickly walked over to Xiao Mei, gently stroked its head, and praised, “Well done, Xiao Mei!”
“Is… is it this chaotic outside of Long Country?” Miraidon couldn't help but exclaim.
“This is my first time going abroad, I hadn't quite expected it.” Chen Kai scratched his head. Although he had heard that it might not be safe abroad, he really hadn't expected to encounter a Pokémon robbing someone on the street right after leaving the airport.
“It seems we need to be even more careful,” Miraidon reminded him.
The bag on Miraidon's back only contained some documents and everyday change of clothes. Chen Kai had hidden all his valuables in the gem given by Iron Boulder.
After a moment of thought, Chen Kai decided to also put his documents into the orange gem he carried close to his body, to avoid being unable to take a plane back.
Due to his unfamiliarity with the roads of Paris and the recent Pokémon street robbery, Chen Kai decided to take a taxi to a nearby hotel to check in.
After Chen Kai left, a dark figure slowly emerged from where the Rattata had fled.
This tall and burly dark figure, with an angry expression, spat “Pah!” and cursed in a low voice, “Didn't they say he was just a student? How is he so strong?”
Just then, another person walked out from behind the dark figure. This person was thinner, with arms crossed, and said disdainfully, “Your abilities are simply too weak. You can't even handle a student, what else can you do?”
The tall dark figure's face turned red with anger, about to retort, but the thin dark figure waved a hand and said, “Stop talking nonsense, quickly call and find out which hotel he's staying at. This time, watch me.”
Although the tall dark figure was unwilling, he could only obey the arrangement, pulled out his phone, and started dialing.
In the dim light, the two figures appeared particularly sinister, exuding an ominous aura.
As the call connected, they spoke in hushed voices, their eyes gleaming with greed and malice.
The taxi stopped steadily beside a quiet street in Paris. After Chen Kai paid the fare, he got out of the car.
Before him stood a hotel with strong French characteristics. Its cream-colored exterior walls were covered with lush green Vines, and a few clusters of unknown small flowers playfully peeked out from among the Vines, swaying gently in the breeze, as if waving at Chen Kai.
The hotel's main door was a heavy wooden structure, intricately carved with exquisite patterns, each line showcasing the passage of time. Warm and soft light emanated from the two glass display windows, giving a cozy feeling.
Chen Kai had booked this hotel based on online recommendations before boarding the plane, and at first glance, it seemed quite good.
After completing the check-in procedures, Chen Kai chatted with the hotel front desk staff for a long time before understanding that the Vosges Mountains was not a single mountain, but a vast mountain range located in northeastern France, bordering Germany.
This mountain range spanned three provinces: Haut-Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Vosges. Its length alone was 125 kilometers, and higher elevations even exceeded 1400 meters.
Finding a plant in a cave within such a massive mountain area was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Uh… can we find it in a week?” Chen Kai held the map, discussing with Miraidon with a worried expression.
Miraidon looked at the map and also said with some uncertainty, “My current perception ability is quite good, so I should be able to find it faster, right?”
Chen Kai secretly regretted that he should have asked Master Senior Brother Lu Yang for clarification earlier.
Unfortunately, it was evening in France, while it was already midnight in Long Country, so Chen Kai could only search for information himself and inquire with Master Senior Brother tomorrow.
Chen Kai arrived on the third floor and found his room along the corridor.
He inserted the room card into the slot, and with a “beep,” the door opened.
A faint smell of disinfectant wafted in as Chen Kai entered the room. It was a simply furnished but spacious room.
The walls were plain white, without too much intricate decoration, only a small street scene painting hung in the corner, its colors somewhat faded, as if telling a story of time.
The window was half-open, a gentle breeze blew through, and the white curtains danced with the wind. Through the window, one could see the night view of Paris.
A small part of the Eiffel Tower in the distance came into view, shimmering with colorful lights, like a dreamlike lighthouse illuminating the city's night sky.
Chen Kai carefully checked, and after confirming that there were no surveillance devices in the room, he released all his Pokémon, including Iron Bundle, Iron Hands, and Iron Thorns.
As soon as these three Pokémon came out, they began to search for power outlets to absorb electricity. It's likely that the hotel owner will be greatly surprised when he sees the electricity bill after a while.
Because Chen Ba has also been greatly surprised by the electricity bill in recent months, always feeling that there was an electricity leak at home, and the electricity bill was getting more and more expensive.
The other Pokémon made do with some simple portable food first, and Chen Kai himself just made a cup of instant noodles for dinner.
While eating instant noodles, Chen Kai searched online for information about the Vosges Mountains and the pink plant.
The phone screen was covered with dense French text, and for Chen Kai, every word was like a small mountain in front of him, requiring him to struggle to cross.
He had to frequently rely on translation software, understanding word by word, staring intently at the screen, his brows sometimes furrowed, reading with great difficulty.
As he stuffed instant noodles into his mouth, he painstakingly deciphered those unfamiliar characters, looking as if he had momentarily returned to a Zining High School classroom, listening to the teacher explain abstruse and difficult knowledge.
Gradually, sleepiness washed over him like a tide. His eyelids grew heavier, and his head began to nod uncontrollably. The already difficult-to-understand French words became even more blurry in his eyes.
Finally, Chen Kai could no longer resist the onslaught of sleepiness. His head hit his arm with a thud, and he fell asleep slumped on the table.
The phone screen remained lit, paused on a partially translated tourist attraction description page, and some unfinished noodles remained in the instant noodle bowl, the steam long gone.