Chapter 67 The Storm is Brewing, the Incident Erupts.
Accepting Blaine's advice, Xia Mu, being only a temporary Gym Leader, was obligated to follow the Gym Leader's orders.
This wasn't Blaine forcing Xia Mu to do so, but rather Blaine teaching him how to handle situations, honing his abilities while also imparting wisdom.
Overconfidence would only lead to short-sightedness.
Just like yesterday, Xia Mu remained at the Gym, dealing with the continuous stream of challengers while simultaneously monitoring the weather.
If the storm arrived, it meant today would be the day of the Mewtwo incident.
Unlike yesterday, today's challengers were noticeably stronger and of higher age.
Xia Mu hadn't expected Ali and Xiao Tian to come and make a brief appearance; they too had come to admire the strength, but seeing Xia Mu there immediately understood the situation.
After them, Xia Mu encountered other challengers of similar age, all with Pokémon at level 50—elite among elites, undoubtedly league champions.
He was simply unknown and didn't appear in the original work.
In short, if yesterday's matches had been this high-quality, he wouldn't have only leveled up two or three times.
Unfortunately, even the challengers are now at levels forty or fifty, and to accumulate the experience needed to reach level 70, it would be impossible without at least a hundred matches.
The higher the level, the harder
it is to level up. Initially, leveling up was quite fast; Xia Mu only felt that it became much harder every ten levels.
But no matter how difficult it was, finding opponents of the same level was still relatively easy.
Now at level 70, to gain even one level, he would need at least one or two days of continuous gym battles like this.
This was relatively smooth; if the challengers were below level forty, the experience points would be pitifully small, and it would take much longer.
Actually, Xia Mu had a strange feeling that once the level difference reached a certain point, it might be impossible to gain experience points from lower-level Pokémon.
Take yesterday's battles with Pokémon in their early twenties—so many of them, even small ants add up to a considerable amount.
This can only be known after further testing.
By noon, Xia Mu had been battling all morning.
The difference in strength between his challengers and his own was too great, and his Pokémon, having greatly increased in strength, didn't need to take low-level battles seriously, winning easily.
It should be said that Xia Mu's displayed strength today once again shocked Blaine, Professor Magnolia, and Sonia.
They already had a clear understanding yesterday, but today Xia Mu opened their eyes again, letting them know that he had been hiding something.
Little did they know that Xia Mu had a cheat simulator, able to buy Rare Candies to level up his Pokémon, which explained his sudden increase in strength.
Xia Mu was also unaware that Blaine and Professor Magnolia were already secretly estimating his strength might be comparable to a champion.
...
During the lunch break, they ate together as before, but the conversation focused on the strongest Pokémon trainers.
Sonia was the one earnestly talking; since arriving at Cinnabar Island, she had heard too many rumors about this kind of thing, so she used her free time to do some research.
Her intention was to go to the new island to see what kind of people dared to call themselves the strongest Pokémon Trainer.
Professor Magnolia stopped her, because in Magnolia's view, they were outsiders, having come from afar and unfamiliar with the place; if something happened to them, it would be too late to regret it.
Blaine, however, took advantage of Sonia bringing up the matter and began to speak.
"Actually, before you came, I also thought about investigating, after all, it happened right under my nose, but I haven't had the time.
These past two days, with Xia Mu overseeing the gym, I've finally had some time to investigate, but unfortunately, I've found nothing," Blaine said, his old face full of worry.
Open enemies are easy to deal with; it's the hidden villains who are the real threat.
Blaine was worried about this, so he'd been preoccupied lately, though he hadn't shown it outwardly.
Xia Mu somewhat understood Blaine's meaning and asked suspiciously, "Grandpa, did you send anyone to the new island to check?"
Blaine nodded, then shook his head: "Actually, I specifically dispatched my men yesterday, but none of them brought back any useful information.
They only said that the strongest Pokémon Trainer doesn't welcome uninvited guests."
"They're avoiding us?" Professor Magnolia asked.
Blaine didn't give a clear answer, pondering for a moment before saying, "That's the news, but I suspect my men were sabotaged.
Perhaps they have a Psychic-type Pokémon that altered their memories."
Professor Magnolia became noticeably more serious upon hearing this, while Sonia listened attentively, taking notes.
Xia Mu was also slightly taken aback; the memory alteration part was indeed how the original story unfolded.
Psychic-type Pokémon have the ability to delete or modify the memories of humans and Pokémon.
Mewtwo and Mew's abilities in this regard are even more extraordinary, allowing them to modify all traces related to themselves to a certain extent.
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive, as things had become rather complicated.
"They chose to appear in the public eye, yet they hide on the new island, and sending people there isn't even a welcome gesture.
What exactly are they trying to do?" Professor Magnolia murmured.
"That's what I want to know too. It's obviously impossible without a purpose," Blaine chimed in.
The two looked at each other and then fell silent.
"That's why I want to go up and take a look. Although it's dangerous, Xia Mu can come with me.
He's so powerful, you should feel at ease, right?" Sonia seemed to have already thought of everything, and even dragged Xia Mu into it.
"Me?" Xia Mu pointed to himself, somewhat caught off guard.
He hadn't expected this burden to come to him first.
He had been worried that Sonia would get involved, so he had kept a low profile these past two days, avoiding any provocation.
But she seemed to enjoy the chaos, using him as a shield.
"You don't want to?
Don't you want to know who the strongest Pokémon Trainer is? Don't you want to battle him?" Sonia's words would have easily fooled anyone unfamiliar with the original story, or even a trainer with some skill.
But he was different; he knew everything.
Before Xia Mu could answer, Professor Magnolia and Blaine seemed to understand each other's thoughts and made a decision.
"Xia Mu, what do you think of this strongest Pokémon Trainer?" Blaine asked proactively.
The message was clear: if Xia Mu was interested, he could investigate and test the waters.
This was Blaine's approval of Xia Mu's abilities, so he was quite at ease.
Professor Magnolia didn't object either, because Xia Mu had the ability to ensure Sonia's safety; it shouldn't be a problem.
"Without seeing him in person, I can't give an evaluation, but I did plan to go, because I also received an invitation from the strongest Pokémon Trainer." Xia Mu said, pretending to reach into his hoodie pocket, but actually taking out an electronic invitation from his storage space.
Upon seeing the invitation, Blaine, Professor Magnolia, and Sonia all widened their eyes.
Blaine had seen it before and recognized it.
Professor Magnolia and Sonia hadn't, so they opened the e-invitation and examined the information.
"I don't know why, but this woman looks so familiar," Sonia said, staring at the figure on the e-invitation, a feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Have we seen her somewhere before, Sonia?" Professor Magnolia asked.
She knew her granddaughter's memory; if she said she looked familiar, she must have seen her somewhere before.
Blaine looked up at Sonia, awaiting her answer.
He was also somewhat expectant, because even a little information would allow them to learn more about the situation.
Xia Mu was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Sonia to say that.
He remembered that in the original story, it was Xiao Gang who saw Joey's photo and said she looked familiar.
After a long pause, Sonia shook her head. "I can't think of anyone right now. Maybe I'll only remember when I see them in person."
Professor Magnolia and Bob pondered for a moment, then looked at Xia Mu.
"In that case, Sonia's safety is in your hands, Xia Mu," Professor Magnolia said.
Since the elders had said so, Xia Mu could only nod in agreement.
"Don't worry, I won't hold you back," Sonia said lightly, genuinely unsure of what she would experience on the new island.
"I hope so," Xia Mu didn't intend to be blunt with her. He figured even if he warned her to be careful, she probably wouldn't take it to heart.
Some things only become truly dangerous after experiencing them.
In short, their trust was far from sufficient, especially since Sonia was the type who liked to show off; she wouldn't easily back down in front of others.
If Xia Mu gave her too many hints, it would only make her feel like hesitant.
"Not only do you need to ensure Sonia's safety, but you also need to ensure the safety of the other trainers.
After all, you are still the acting Gym Leader of Cinnabar City. A ship will depart for the new island after 2 PM this afternoon. You should prepare to go with the invited trainers. I will speak with the port manager, Port Manager," Xia Mu said.
Hearing this, Xia Mu's heart tightened immediately.
Departing this afternoon?
That means the plot is about to unfold?
...
After returning to the backyard from the restaurant, Xia Mu fed the Pokémon Pokéblocks before putting them into their Ultra Balls.
Back in his room, Xia Mu quickly organized his thoughts, conducting a comprehensive review of the original plot.
In fact, he was organizing his memories, making sure not to miss any details from the original work, striving to be foolproof and without any oversights.
Xia Mu had already planned to be the last person to arrive on the island, sneaking there unnoticed.
He would let the plot develop for a while to avoid his Pokémon being cloned by the island's cloning machines before making his appearance.
At that time, all that was needed was to deal with Mewtwo.
He just had to bring Sonia along; hopefully, she wouldn't be a problem.
"Beedrill, this time it's all about your power!" Xia Mu muttered, pulling out a Beedrill's Ultra Ball.
Yesterday's upgrade had pushed Beedrill's friendship level over 200 points, and it had even attempted Mega Evolution, completing the Critical Strike Mod for Mega Beedrill.
As for how well it would perform in actual combat, that would depend on how it fared in a real fight.
...
After a long while, Xia Mu heard Sonia's shouts coming from outside.
It has to be said, getting to know Sonia deeply reveals that she is a very lively and proactive girl.
Sonia's shout to call Xia Mu outside came as the previously cloudless, clear sky suddenly became overcast, clearly a harbinger of an impending storm.
"This is too much of a coincidence. Suddenly it's stormy weather; will the ship still be able to sail?" Sonia said hesitantly.
Everyone here is an adult; they have basic common sense.
The storm came suddenly, and it was clear it wouldn't dissipate anytime soon, definitely affecting travel.
"Let's go check the situation first. Actually, you don't have to go; the weather isn't suitable for going out anyway," Xia Mu said tactfully.
Sonia immediately objected: "Don't try to shake me off! So what if it's a storm? I'm not some delicate girl."
She adopted a haughty demeanor, hands on her hips, puffing out her chest as she spoke, giving Xia Mu a good look.
Noticing Xia Mu's gaze, Sonia realized her actions had been too bold. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she immediately shrank back, adjusting her collar. Then, she slightly raised her chin and glared fiercely at Xia Mu: "Hmph~ You took advantage of me."
"???" Xia Mu was full of questions, his eyes wide, and he said innocently, "Wait, I didn't mean to, and you weren't naked, so how did I take advantage of you?"
Sonia's cheeks grew redder and redder, not expecting Xia Mu's direct answer: "Then you stared at me... kept staring! You're still staring!"
Looking at Sonia's shy and cute appearance, Xia Mu's heart fluttered.
He immediately looked away, but had already memorized the image of her fair skin.
"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have looked. We should go to the port. Let's go tell my grandfather and your grandmother first."
Xia Mu took the initiative to change the subject.
Sonia's pretty face was still slightly red, and she didn't want to keep dwelling on the matter, so she followed him.
After walking for a while, Sonia broke the silence: "Tell me, what secrets are hidden on that new island? Don't tell me you have no idea. You seem to know something; your eyes betrayed you."
Xia Mu couldn't lie, and when he was hiding something, his eyes would subtly become empty.
It wouldn't be surprising if an acquaintance noticed, but he hadn't expected Sonia to be so perceptive after only two days together.
[I need to practice more, otherwise everyone will know I'm troubled.] Xia Mu thought to himself.
"Surprised? I'm an expert at reading facial expressions. Grandma said your eyes don't lie," Sonia said, raising a finger with a smug smile.
Xia Mu looked at her pretty face without answering, deliberately glancing at her full breasts.
That one glance was a complete victory.
Sonia didn't care about asking anymore; her blushing face showed her mind was in turmoil.
A good figure is indeed a woman's asset. Although she was a researcher, Sonia liked to dress up and paid attention to her figure.
She never felt this strange shyness when being looked at before, but Xia Mu's gaze was odd.
It made her feel as if she'd been stripped naked just by being looked at.
Those seemingly clear eyes seemed to possess magic, as if they could see through things.
Actually, she was right; if Xia Mu were to use his aura to cover her body, he could indeed see through her…
Of course, Xia Mu wouldn't be so despicable as to do such a thing.
They arrived at the study in the front yard.
Blaine and Professor Magnolia were drinking tea and chatting.
Xia Mu introduced Sonia to them, exchanged a few words, and then left the Cinnabar Gym.
"It seems these two little ones have a good impression of each other. I feel like I'm seeing a younger version of myself and you," Blaine said with a laugh.
"You shameless old man, who's going to talk about your younger self? Besides, shouldn't we be worried about their safety? The storm outside is huge; the ship can't possibly go out to sea," Professor Magnolia said, taking a sip of tea.
Upon hearing this, Blaine picked up his teacup, his gaze deep. "I have a feeling this storm came so suddenly, as if it were deliberately orchestrated.
But how could humans possess such power to control nature? Even powerful Pokémon couldn't do that..."
Having risen to such a position of power, Blaine was far more than he appeared.
His foresight had already led him to some possibilities.
"You mean... perhaps it involves legendary Pokémon?" Professor Magnolia was stunned.
If that were the case, then this matter was far more serious.
"I hope I'm just overthinking it. Don't worry too much." Blaine put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the phone.
After a moment's thought, he picked it up and dialed the number for the port.
After exchanging information and understanding the general situation, Blaine said that the acting gym leader had gone to help.
He then made several phone calls to deploy manpower and contacted the Cinnabar City police to coordinate with the port management to maintain order.
Once everything was arranged, Blaine returned to his seat.
Professor Magnolia remained silent throughout, simply watching Blaine.
...
Outside the Cinnabar Gym.
Xia Mu didn't choose to take a car to the port, but instead summoned Arcanine.
Driving was too slow; Arcanine would arrive the fastest.
This led to another awkward situation: Sonia was hesitant and reluctant.
Xia Mu momentarily forgot about the proper etiquette between men and women.
However, he wasn't in the mood to waste time on such matters. Since she was being accused of taking advantage, he might as well go all the way.
"Are you going to get on or not? If not, I'm leaving."
"Wait... I, I'll get on."
...
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(End of Chapter)