"So this is the battle schedule for tomorrow?"
Lucas looked at the tablet Lucian handed over and asked.
Lucian popped a rice ball into his mouth, took a good while to swallow, and then nodded with a grunt.
"Semifinals — Tobias vs. Aran? Looks like I'll have to prepare her mentally ahead of time. If that's the case, then Ash and Paul are finally going to face off?" Lucas muttered to himself.
"Knowing how much you wanted to see Ash and Paul battle, I grouped them together," Lucian replied to Lucas.
"Even though what you did feels a bit like rigging the bracket, I still have to say, well done." Lucas snapped his fingers.
"Speaking of Ash, after I met him in the Hoenn region, I had high hopes for him. Back then, I actually wanted to give him the Mega Stone for Sceptile." Steven adjusted the sleeve of his suit and said.
"And then?" Flint looked at Steven curiously and asked, "Did you give it to him, Mr. Steven?"
"I didn't, because I had a thought at the time: he hadn't reached that stage yet. Letting him master Mega Evolution too early might actually hold him back, so I canceled that idea," Steven replied to Flint.
"Mega Evolution... I've never tried it... Damn it!" Aaron wailed.
"That's because none of your Pokémon are suited for Mega Evolution," Flint said. "Besides, I don't think that even without so-called Mega Evolution, our strength would fall behind anyone else's." Flint's words were full of confidence.
"I believe that I and my partners are the strongest!"
"That's certainly true, well said." Grandma Bertha rarely joined the conversation.
Shauna and Little Tomoyo, the two little girls, were eating while raising their little heads to watch the adults' conversation at the table. Although they couldn't understand some of it, that didn't stop them from listening intently.
"Mega Evolution is just the icing on the cake for one's strength; only the power of oneself and the Pokémon is the most important thing." Cynthia glanced at the Garchomp beside her and said, her voice cool.
"Whether it's Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, or even the Terastallization from the Paldea region, they are all based on the bond between oneself and the Pokémon." Lucas returned the tablet to Lucian, reached out to rub Ninetales' head, and said.
"The key stones for Gary and Paul were given by you, right, Lucas?" Hearing Lucian's question, Lucas nodded. "I just felt that they might be able to master this ability and show a different kind of brilliance at the League Conference."
"Simply put, he just wants to be entertained." Cynthia understood Lucas very well; she spoke up and pierced through his thoughts.
"Although there is that reason, don't you think it's more exciting to see the competitors go back and forth at the League Conference?" Lucas explained.
Everyone nodded.
Steven watched Lucas from the side, thinking to himself that Lucas also gifts key stones and Mega Stones to Trainers he favors, just like him.
"You only gave them to Paul and Gary, not Ash?" Lucas shook his head.
"Ash will have them in the future, but not now." Lucas said softly.
"Come to think of it, Ash doesn't seem to have any Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, right? I mean his Sinnoh League team." Aaron burped and asked.
"Indeed, he doesn't." Lucian recalled and said.
"Tomorrow's battle between Ash and Paul, Ash should be using his Sinnoh region team, right? According to what Lucas said, he made a promise to defeat Paul using his Sinnoh region team."
Everyone looked at Lucas. Lucas spread his hands, "That's a promise they made, there's nothing I can do about it."
After finishing dinner, Shauna and Little Tomoyo were getting ready to take Chimecho and Dratini out to play, but they were dragged back by Lucas. Like carrying little ducks, he lifted them up with one hand each and walked towards the hotel.
"Go back and take a bath and go to sleep, especially you, Little Shauna. Your mother has already told me that you cannot stay up late!"
"I won't! I'll just play for a little while! A little while! Then I'll go back to wash up and sleep!"
"You said that yesterday too, but you still snuck into your sister Cynthia's room and didn't come back until the middle of the night, so I won't believe your words anymore."
Hearing Lucas's words, Shauna, who was being held by Lucas, kicked her short legs, but in the end, she could only let Lucas carry her.
"You hateful uncle, humph! Uncle is a big bad guy!"
"That won't make me lose a piece of meat."
"Little Tomoyo, help me~"
"Uncle—"
"Little Tomoyo, don't get led astray."
Walking to the hotel entrance, Lucas saw Paul standing by a pillar. He put down Shauna and Little Tomoyo and came to Paul.
Paul saw Lucas and quickly stood up straight, saying somewhat unnaturally, "Tomorrow, I will definitely prove to you that my method is better than his." After speaking, Paul bowed and left without looking back.
Watching Paul's back, Lucas shook his head. This little tsundere.
Shauna's wailing came from beside him.
"Let me go, Machamp, put me down."
Lucas looked over and found Shauna being carried by Machamp.
"Ma Machamp." She tried to run just now, so I brought her back.
"Well done." Lucas praised Machamp, then came to Shauna and pinched her little face, "Little one, you still want to sneak away? You don't even look at whose Pokémon are all around."
He then looked at Tomoyo standing to the side. Before he could speak, Tomoyo spoke first.
"Just now when you were talking to Brother Paul, Little Shauna secretly told me to leave with her. I definitely couldn't agree, because Uncle said we have to bathe and sleep and can't stay up late, and we can't learn from Little Shauna, so I refused. But Little Shauna snuck away, so I reported her to Machamp and the others." Tomoyo said a long, complex sentence without changing her expression.
"Even if Little Shauna won't play with me, I still have to report it, because we are children and must listen to Uncle."
Lucas reached out and patted Tomoyo's little head, "Well done, you deserve a reward." Thinking about it, he added, "But next time, you don't have to learn from Lilligant."
Lilligant, who was giggling on the side: ??? It stretched out its leaf-like little hand towards Lucas, baring its teeth. Believe it or not, I'll jump up and kick your knees!!! ( ) (Fierce)
"And don't learn from Latias, that little red airplane."
Bang! Lucas's head hurt, and his expression twisted instantly. Won't your head hurt?
Looking at Tomoyo's shocked expression, Lucas eased the pain in the back of his head and breathed out, "After all, the tone you speak in, in the Breeding House, besides Lilligant, only Latias would say that. If I analyze it strictly, it's highly likely Latias said it. Latias's tone is more aggressive, while Lilligant's is chronic poison."
Lilligant slightly lifted its skirt to signal, "Lilli~" Thanks for the compliment~
Lucas skillfully turned to the side, then reached out to wrap his arm around the little red airplane's neck, and gave its head a "Misae" style flick.
"Who do you think I am? I'm the boss of the Breeding House; do you think I'll fall for the same trick twice? Take this flick to the head!"
"Lucas!!!"
Lucas let go and bolted towards the hotel. A gust of wind kicked up behind him.
Machamp was carrying Shauna, and Shauna was dejected, "Poor Little Shauna was caught by the bad guy Alliance's Machamp, and even Little Shauna's best friend betrayed her. Little Shauna is so pitiful—"
Gothitelle led them to the concierge, showed the room card, and walked into the hotel. Seeing Lucas and Latias still messing around, its mouth twitched.
Explain, Latias is invisible. That is to say, in the eyes of the people in the lobby, only Lucas himself was jumping up and down, making constant noise.
Gothitelle gently raised its hands and pressed down. Lucas, who was jumping, suddenly felt his body become heavy, fell flat on his face, and couldn't get up again. Latias was the same.
"Why—even I have to—" Lucas said slurred.
Gothitelle felt everyone's gaze, floated quickly past Lucas, and used psychic power to throw Lucas and Latias at Machamp.
The elevator door opened. A man looked inside: a tall Machamp holding a little girl in one hand and a young man in the other; floating beside the held little girl was a Chimecho, making hair-raising sounds in the elevator; standing beside them was a cold-faced Gothitelle, an exceptionally burly Ninetales, a Gengar digging out its own eyeball to scare another little girl holding a pink Dratini; sitting on Machamp's shoulder was a Mime Jr. clapping and cheering, with red dye on the corners of its eyes—
And two cats with two tails that had applied a little red mark on their faces to cheer, but because it had been too long, it started to melt, staining their entire faces red. Legendary Nekomata?
He swallowed his saliva. At this moment, a beautiful and cute Lilligant gestured slightly to him.
"Lilli?" Do you want to come in?
The man swallowed his saliva and was about to walk in, when his vision blurred, and he saw himself with a tail smirking at him.
The man shook his head frantically and exited the elevator. "You guys go first, you guys go first—"
Gothitelle took a deep breath. Suddenly feeling a bit tired—
Powerful psychic power began to surge, interfering with the normal operation of the elevator, and the lights began to flicker.
Seeing this scene, the man collapsed to the ground, crawled back a few steps, then stood up and ran towards the main entrance. "Ahhhhhhh!!!! There's a ghost!!!!"
The elevator door closed. Gengar stuffed its eyeball back into its eye socket, looked up, and looked curiously at the elevator door.
"Gen Gengar?" Strange, why do I feel like someone called me just now? Is it my illusion?
"In short, you guys just stay in the room honestly now, don't run around, especially Gengar, do you hear me!" On the other end of the phone, Cynthia's voice was exceptionally cold, with a hint of helplessness and fatigue.
How can someone staying at a hotel cause nearly 60% of the hotel's guests to want to check out? Now the hotel is spreading rumors everywhere that in the elevator, there is a man with the ghosts of two little girls wandering around, causing guests to prefer climbing the stairs rather than taking the elevator.
"I'll handle the rest, you guys just sleep honestly, and watch the match tomorrow, okay?"
"Hmm."
Lucas sat honestly with Shauna, Tomoyo, Gengar, Mime Jr., Munchlax, the Meowstic siblings, and Zorua on the bed, facing Cynthia on the screen, lowering his head sincerely and admitting his mistake.
After the call hung up, Lucas lay back, lying on Munchlax's little belly, bouncing up and down.
"Lilligant, I'm so tired, can you help me turn on the hot water?"
"Lilli~" I am chronic poison, you can't play with me~
Lucas: —
Gengar on the side heard this and laughed out loud. You deserve it for speaking ill of Lilligant, now she won't bother with you~ Chronic poison~ Gengar made faces at Lucas.
Lucas kicked Gengar's big face, kicking Gengar off the bed.
"Lilligant~" Lucas started to act spoiled.
"Lilli~" No way~ Poison is poisonous~
Hey, I found that you, Lilligant, are really pedantic—
Before Lucas finished speaking, he saw Gengar bounce up from the floor, then pounce towards Lucas on the bed, stepping on Lucas's face with its foot.
Shauna, Tomoyo, and the Meowstic siblings saw this and skillfully grabbed pillows, blankets, and other bedding to leave the bed, giving the space to Lucas and Gengar. Shauna even took out melon seeds, distributed them to everyone, and started cracking them.
On the bed, Lucas and Gengar fought again.
Lucas reached out and pulled Gengar's mouth corners hard.
Gengar's face was distorted by the pulling; it used its hands to try to resist Lucas's attack, while kicking Lucas twice with its big fat feet.
"Gen Gengar—" Let you kick me—take this.
"Damn it, get your foot away, you didn't wash your foot, you jerk—" Lucas was kicked until his face was unrecognizable, shouting slurred.
Gothitelle on the side poured a cup of hot tea for itself and Lilligant and drank it. Ninetales yawned lazily and lay on the floor.
After Lilligant finished running the hot water, it came out of the bathroom, came to Gothitelle's side, drank tea with Gothitelle, and waited for Lucas and Gengar to finish fighting.
Gothitelle and Lilligant were drinking tea as usual, when suddenly they saw Machamp walk over. Gothitelle: ? Lilligant: ?? Ninetales raised its head: ??? Lucas and Gengar looked at Machamp suspiciously.
Machamp grinned, "Ma Machamp." I'm coming!
Gothitelle: ! Lilligant: !! Ninetales: !!! Lucas, Gengar: Σ(°△°|||) Don't come over here!!! (Voice crack)
Cynthia: —
"Forget it, there's a villa nearby, you guys go live there, don't live in the hotel—" Cynthia pinched her brow and said.
"No."
"Huh? It's bad enough that you made people think it's haunted, but you also collapsed their bed. Now what hotel will take you?"
She had only hung up the phone for a few minutes, and they had already collapsed the hotel's bed. In a few more minutes, wouldn't they collapse the hotel too?
"One word, are you going or not?" Cynthia's voice became cold. Garchomp behind her narrowed its eyes.
"kao!"
"Going." Lucas decisively conceded.
"Lilligant, you and Gothitelle—"
"Lilli." Packed up.
You guys—
I—
"Forget it, let's go."
Lucas took Gengar and the others out of the room. After Cynthia negotiated the compensation with the hotel owner, Lucas paid the compensation and followed Cynthia downstairs.
At this time, the man who had just been coaxed back by the hotel manager suspiciously questioned the hotel manager, "Really no ghosts?"
"No no." The hotel manager wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "That was an accident, an accident."
He walked into the hotel with the hotel manager, half-believing. Lucas and the others also came out of the elevator. Because Gengar blocked Shauna's way, Shauna hit Gengar's kidney with a rocket headbutt.
Poof— Gengar's eyeball flew out directly.
It happened to bounce onto the man's face.
He picked up Gengar's eyeball, wondering what it was. Gengar floated over, patted his shoulder, and took the eyeball from his hand.
"Gen Gengar—" Thank you.
The man looked up and saw Gengar's hollow eye sockets.
Man: —
"Ah—" The man fainted directly. The hotel manager let out a blast.
Cynthia who walked out of the elevator: —
Lucas: "I said it really wasn't intentional, do you believe me? Hehe."
Cynthia took a deep breath.
"Let's go, quickly."
"Alrighty."
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Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌