“Are you alright, Alder, Cynthia?”
Alder kept his promise and had no intention of chasing after Joker and his group.
Cynthia shook her head, looking at Sheena with some embarrassment.
Sheena bit her lip, contemplating whether to use her trump card.
She really didn't want to use that move unless absolutely necessary, especially with so many people around. Once her trump card was exposed… Sheena felt she wouldn't have a peaceful day for the rest of her life.
But she couldn't just watch the Life Orb slip away from her again!
Just a few meters away, Su Sheng suddenly noticed Sheena, turned around, and called out:
“Oh, right, almost forgot about this.”
Hearing Su Sheng's voice, everyone subconsciously looked up at him.
In that instant of turning their heads, something was thrown over.
Sister Bai Cai subconsciously raised her hand and caught it.
She found that what landed in her arms was the Life Orb!
Sister Bai Cai was completely stunned.
Sheena, Alder, Wallace, and the others around her had the same expression.
He, he returned it?
“What's that?”
Hutao and Xiaoqian, the two little radishes, popped their heads out from the back of the car, curiously looking at the gem in Cynthia's arms.
“Is, is it real?”
Wallace swallowed.
Ya Xuan took a deep breath and placed his hand on it.
The moment his fingertip touched it, Ya Xuan felt an endless wave of energy, like a galaxy, coming from within!
“It, it's real.”
The tension in Ya Xuan's voice turned into certainty.
Aside from Arceus, he couldn't think of anyone else who possessed such vast energy.
“He, he actually returned it?”
Cynthia was completely dumbfounded.
Looking ahead, the three of them were long gone.
She didn't understand, she didn't understand at all!
They went to so much trouble to pull a switcheroo, getting their hands on the real Life Orb.
Why did he return it?
“Well, in any case, it's good that Arceus's legacy is back, at least we don't have to worry anymore.”
Alder tried to ease the atmosphere.
He didn't understand why Joker returned the Orb, but it was a good thing after all.
At least they didn't have to worry, constantly fearing Arceus's revenge, right?
Arceus's legacy!?
Hearing these words, Kotetsu, who had just returned to the back seat of the car, had a sudden change in expression.
Alder then took out his phone and called Damaracchi, quickly reporting the results of the operation.
Alder glanced at Sheena, who was hugging the Life Orb like a wife, and breathed a sigh of relief.
The process was terrible, but the result was undoubtedly good.
Far away in the Indigo Plateau, Damaracchi had the same attitude after listening to Alder's report.
Although he was shocked by the defeat of Team Dream, at least the item was successfully recovered no matter what.
In the chairman's office, Damaracchi stroked his chin and beard, pondered slightly, and then said:
“Alder, turn on the speakerphone, I have something to say to everyone.”
“Okay.”
Alder pressed the speakerphone button and placed the phone in the center of the group.
“Everyone, the chairman has something to say.”
“Can everyone hear me?”
Damaracchi's voice came from the phone.
Cynthia: “Yes, Mr. Damaracchi.”
Wallace scratched his cheek in embarrassment, “Sorry, Chairman, after Champion Lance fell, we really couldn't stop him…”
Janine pursed her lips, “I'm too weak…”
“It's okay, it's okay, everyone has done very well.”
Damaracchi was also very curious about the specific course of the war, but now he chose to first comfort the feelings of these future pillars of the League.
After comforting this group of supernovas for a few words, Damaracchi's kind tone became serious, “I have something to ask of everyone.”
Kiku Elder interjected: “Chairman, you're too polite, everyone is a member of the League, you can just say what you need.”
The other end of the phone hesitated for a few seconds, and finally Damaracchi made up his mind and said:
“Please announce to the public that the League won this war.”
Hearing Damaracchi's so-called “request,” Hutao, who was hiding behind the car, almost couldn't help but shout out.
Fortunately, Xiaoqian next to her tightly covered her best friend's mouth, but the future Jinjin Gym Leader also widened her eyes in surprise.
“I know this sounds a bit shameless, but Cynthia, Wallace, you are the future of the League, you should know why I'm doing this.”
Damaracchi said earnestly:
“The small team you two and Lance form is, without exaggeration, the League's highest combat power group in the future.”
“If the news that your team lost to Joker's group spreads… what will the people of the Pokémon continent think?”
As soon as these words came out, Cynthia and Wallace, who were originally shocked, fell silent.
Although their popularity had not yet reached the peak period of the original work, they were already well-known in their respective hometowns of Sinnoh and Hoenn.
They were almost recognized by the locals as the next League Champion without a doubt.
In addition to Lance, the head of the Indigo League Elite Four.
Such a combination actually lost to Joker!?
The impact of this news on the people of this continent.
Was no less than the fans of Su Sheng's previous life seeing the score of 7:0.
Alder, who was over half a hundred years old, understood why Damaracchi was doing this even more, and eased the atmosphere with a dry smile:
“At, at least in terms of results, we did win, didn't we? After all, the Life Orb has been retrieved…”
As he spoke, Alder's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally he fell silent completely.
Damn, it felt even more embarrassing.
The Life Orb was not snatched back by them, but returned by Joker on his own initiative.
Hutao, who was hiding behind the car, almost possessed Zhuge Liang, scolding “I have never seen such a shameless person.”
At this time, Damaracchi's voice came from Alder's phone again:
“Is Mr. Kotetsu of Network World Company also there?”
Hearing this, Kiku Elder shouted to the back:
“Hey! Kotetsu, the chairman is calling you!”
Kotetsu, who had just sat down, had to get out of the car again and run over, “Chairman, you called me?”
“I heard that the media in the entire Unova region is your industry, I'll have to trouble you with this matter.”
Damaracchi sighed.
“Yes, yes, yes, I guarantee it will be done beautifully.”
Kotetsu said in a flattering tone.
He had just “escaped from death” once, and now he had to minimize his presence as much as possible.
“I'm coming to Unova soon, Cynthia, Wallace, you can tell me what happened then.”
After saying the last sentence, Damaracchi hung up the phone.
After the call ended, there was a moment of silence in the scene.
Whether it was Cynthia, Wallace, or Janine, they all lowered their heads in silence.
Although their personalities were not as arrogant as Lance's.
But as geniuses who became famous at a young age, they also had self-esteem, okay.
They obviously lost, but they had to force themselves to say they won.
It was embarrassing!
Xiaogan took advantage of the fact that the attention of the people in front was distracted and quickly drilled into the bushes on the side of the road with her best friend.
She originally wanted to say hello to Champion Alder.
Now it seems that if the two of them go out at this time, there will be big problems.
“Cough cough!”
Finally, Alder coughed twice to ease the atmosphere.
“E, everyone must be tired, right? Let's go back to headquarters for a good rest first, and then discuss the next plan after the chairman comes.”
Speaking, Alder took the initiative to carry the still unconscious Lance into the car.
Cynthia, Wallace, and others also remained silent.
Wallace, this stone fanatic, had no thoughts about the Life Orb in Sheena's arms, only thinking about how Joker operated in the battle just now.
Cynthia was also replaying the battle just now in her mind, but in addition to that, there was another question - why did that guy give himself a nickname!?
……
……
Rihua had just taken tonight's dinner from the delivery guy, returned to the living room, and found Yishu next to Su Sheng.
Su Sheng took out the note that the glasses loli gave him.
“This is… that child's phone number, right?”
Yishu guessed, looking at the string of numbers on the paper.
“Are they the two girls from Jinjin Station a year ago? Why did they run to Unova?”
Yishu said, took a sandwich from the takeaway bag and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Jinjin Station?”
Rihua sat next to Su Sheng and raised her eyebrows slightly, handing a glass of Coke to Su Sheng.
She didn't pay much attention to the two little girls who were less than 10 years old.
“At Jinjin Station a year ago, saved those two children when Team Rocket was causing trouble.”
The sandwich filled Yishu's face, briefly explaining what happened at Jinjin Station back then.
“Hey~ Are they little star-chasing girls? I remember there was your fan club in Johto before we attacked Asagi Gym.”
Rihua said with a faint smile.
“She still seems to admire you after you crashed, it's not easy, do you want to meet?”
Yishu also felt that Hutao was really persistent enough.
Since the “Asagi Gym Incident”, Joker's reputation has plummeted.
Comparable to those celebrities in his previous life who collapsed.
Many fans announced their defans on social platforms.
And this girl with glasses was able to chase from Johto to Unova.
Yishu was scared.
So persistent?
“Can I go see too?”
Rihua also became interested.
According to Yishu, Su Sheng was definitely Hutao's savior.
Although in her opinion, Hutao's feelings for Su Sheng were just a collection of gratitude and idol worship, and although she was cute in terms of appearance, she was not comparable to top beauties such as Cynthia, Rurina, and Kona.
But being able to be so persistent, Rihua felt it was necessary to observe.
……
In a hotel room in Nimbasa City.
“I really didn't expect the League to be so shameless! It was obvious that they lost, and that Lance even fainted, but they still turned black into white!”
Hutao, who was usually as timid as Hinata in the early stage, was now righteously indignant and accused the League all over.
However, due to her personality, she really couldn't utter a few swear words.
Words such as “shameless”, “excessive”, and “shameless” were basically her limit.
Xiqian, as the granddaughter of the Gym Leader, wisely chose to remain silent.
Seeing her best friend in such a state, she knew that Hutao wouldn't listen to anything she said now.
Buzz buzz~
Just then, the phone on the bedside table rang.
Hutao pounced on it with a “swoosh”.
“It must be a harassing call…”
Xiqian muttered in her heart.
She didn't think Joker would really contact her best friend.
Although through what happened this afternoon, she also found that the League was not as perfect as she had imagined.
But no matter what, Joker was a wanted criminal, and the League couldn't catch him after so many things.
It was enough to show Joker's caution.
How could it be…
“I'm Joker.”
Hearing the boy's voice from the phone, the shy Hutao was so excited that she almost jumped up from her seat, “Jo… Joker? Re, really Joker-gege? My, my, my name is Hutao, do you still remember? Jinjin Station a year ago…”
Seeing her best friend with steam seemingly coming out of her head, Xiqian was shocked.
No, no, he really called.
“Um um um! No problem, Joker-gege.”
Then, Hutao nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.
After hanging up the phone, she took a few deep breaths to relieve her emotions, but the blush on her face did not diminish at all.
“Hu, Hutao, is it really Joker? What did he say?”
Xiqian curiously leaned over.
“Joker-gege asked me to go to the coffee shop! Wuwuwu~ It's like a dream! I knew I should have gotten contact lenses, by the way, I feel like my hairstyle is a bit uncool, should I get my hair done first…”
Hutao turned around anxiously with her face in her hands, looking like a girl in love.
Xiqian was numb.
She completely didn't understand what Joker was thinking, a fan meeting?
You are a wanted criminal and you are still doing this?
Or does he want to kidnap Hutao?
That's not right, Hutao is from a civilian background and doesn't have any background.
It's understandable for Joker to kidnap famous ladies such as Xiao Zhuang and Jiadeliya.
What's the need to kidnap Hutao?
But in any case, Xiqian felt that Hutao shouldn't meet with Joker.
No matter whether he was wronged or not, it couldn't erase the fact that he was a wanted criminal.
There would be no benefit to her best friend being involved with him.
But seeing Hutao like this, Xiqian didn't dare to say it.
She was afraid that Hutao would break up with her.
In the end, Xiqian could only choose to go with her.
An hour later, on the outdoor seating of a coffee shop next to the Nimbasa Gym.
Hutao pursed her mouth high, looking at Xiqian with the eyes of a light bulb.
Xiqian, who was disliked by her best friend for the first time, was extremely speechless.
I was worried about you, that's why I came together, okay!?
“Why aren't you wearing glasses?”
The voice suddenly came from behind Hutao and Xiqian.
The same voice as on the phone just now.
Hutao was so excited that she almost stood up from her seat.
“Just sit like this.”
Su Sheng, who was sitting in the seat behind the two girls, spoke again:
“If my identity is exposed in the future, you might be found out, although the possibility is not high, you still need to pay attention.”
Hutao gently bit her pink lip with her pearly teeth, replying in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "I don't care."
Xia Qian's impression of Joker improved even further.
She didn't expect him to think even further ahead than she did.
Lihua, wearing sunglasses, sat directly across from Hutao, carefully observing the girl who was three or four years younger than her.
Just as she thought, she was the cute, girl-next-door type.
At least in terms of looks, she wasn't a threat.
"Hutao, right? I think glasses suit you very well."
Su Sheng said with a light smile.
"R-really? Then, then I'll keep wearing them in the future..."
Hutao nervously clutched the hem of her skirt with her small hands.
She was too rushed and didn't have time to do her hair, so she just got a pair of glasses at the glasses store.
Xia Qian secretly rolled her eyes beside her.
She had clearly said half an hour ago that she wouldn't wear glasses anymore.
"Good evening, citizens and friends, welcome to Unova Evening News."
At this moment, on the large screen in the square outside the coffee shop, the time reached 18:00, and the female host's face appeared on the screen, starting the evening news.
The screen first showed a scene of a devastated forest.
Su Sheng and Lihua, as the parties involved, immediately recognized it.
It was the Illusory Forest, the battlefield of today's great battle.
The female host reported:
"This afternoon, led by Unova League Champion Alder, and joined by Kanto Elite Four Lance, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, Hoenn Champion Steven Stone, and many other league elites, a team conducted a pursuit operation in the Illusory Forest east of Nimbasa City, targeting the League's S-class wanted criminal Joker and his two accomplices."
"After a fierce battle, the dream team composed of Lance, Cynthia, and Steven Stone, the three rising stars of the League's future, defeated the criminal trio led by Joker."
"Although the trio managed to escape due to a momentary lapse, thanks to the outstanding performance of the three young individuals, they successfully recovered the Sinnoh artifact stolen two months ago."
"The three rising stars have shown us a promising future for the League. Of course, we must not overlook the commanding role played by Unova League Champion Alder in the operation."
As soon as the female host finished speaking, Hutao couldn't hold back any longer. She slammed her fist on the table and stood up with a "pah!", "That's a lie!"
As soon as these words came out, the customers in the surrounding coffee shop and the passing citizens all cast curious glances at Hutao.
Xia Qian quickly pulled her best friend back to sit down.
Lihua couldn't help but take another look at Hutao. This little girl was even more agitated than Su Sheng himself.
Su Sheng, on the other hand, was not surprised. Not to mention that the world government in his previous life liked to manipulate public opinion through the media, even in his previous previous life, the saying 'studying journalism' was enough to prove what the media was.
He was used to it.
"Lies! The truth is not like that at all!"
Hutao, who had been pulled down by her best friend, puffed up her cheeks angrily.
Weren't they beaten to a pulp? Did she think she didn't see it?
Moreover, that gem wasn't recovered by them at all, but Joker voluntarily returned it, okay!?
"Don't worry, if I were the League, I would do the same."
Su Sheng comforted Hutao with his back to her.
He could understand why Damaracchi did this.
Cynthia, Lance, Steven Stone.
If such a combination lost, the news would be no less than the defeat of the Four Emperors.
No, it was even more so.
After comforting Hutao, Su Sheng chatted with Hutao about everyday things for a while.
Except that the two were communicating back-to-back.
The style was indeed like a casual chat between childhood sweethearts next door.
"Jo... Joker, I've decided, I want to be a reporter in the future, or even the kind who can host the news. I want to tell everyone the truth! I won't be like those people on TV who lie!"
Hutao clenched her pink fist and pointed at the female host on the big screen who was still singing praises of the trio.
Hearing Hutao's declaration of her dream, Lihua, who was sitting diagonally opposite, was stunned for a moment.
Was this little girl serious?
There's a small problem with my body, hopefully it's just psychological due to too much stress. I'll see a doctor tomorrow. Don't worry, everyone, it won't affect my writing.
