"Nina?"
Jenny walked into the Breeding House and found Nina sitting in the lounge area, holding Shauna and watching cartoons with Gengar. She asked curiously, "When did you get back?"
Nina took a bite of the berries in her hand. "Came back from the Unova region with Lucas last night."
"Is that so?"
Jenny nodded and then asked again, "Where's Lucas? Why isn't he sitting in the lounge today? Still asleep?"
Hearing Jenny's words, Nina and Shauna both turned their heads to look at Lucas in the backyard. Nina raised an eyebrow.
"He's hanging in the backyard."
"Hanging? What happened again?"
Jenny was incredibly puzzled, hearing something that made no sense.
Seeing that Nina and Shauna couldn't explain it clearly, Jenny walked toward the backyard. "Forget it, I'll go to the backyard and see for myself."
Passing through the counter and the kitchen to reach the backyard, the first thing Jenny saw was Lucas hanging from the swing tree, pitifully swaying with the wind.
"What did you do wrong this time? Why are you hung up again?"
Jenny finally understood why Nina said Lucas was hanging in the backyard. Lucas was currently wrapped in bug silk like a cocoon, with only his head exposed, hanging from the tree. Every time the wind blew, he swayed along with it.
Lucas lifted his eyelids, looked at Jenny, and said pitifully, "I don't know either. I was hung up by Gothitelle early this morning. This bug silk was even spun by a few Ariados at Gothitelle's request. I'm so wronged, Sister Reese."
Jenny listened to Lucas's complaints, clicked her tongue, and rubbed her chin with her right hand while sizing him up. She said, "Based on my understanding of you, and my understanding of Gothitelle and the others, none of the punishments you've received so far have been wrong."
Jenny continued to twist the knife in Lucas's heart. "So this time, it's most likely not a mistake either. It's probably because you did something that made people angry."
"Just hang there properly. I'll keep you company."
Lucas was overjoyed. "Really?"
Jenny nodded, then walked to the garden to bring over a chair. She placed the chair not far from Lucas, brought over a table, sat down on the chair, and let out a comfortable yawn.
"Sister Reese—is this what you meant by keeping me company?"
"What else would it be?"
Jenny took the afternoon tea handed to her by Alcremie, took a delicious sip, and then raised her cup to signal to Lucas. "Do you want some?"
"Oh, sorry, I forgot. You can't drink right now. Sigh, I guess I'll have to reluctantly drink it for you."
Jenny shook her head regretfully, talking to herself.
Lucas: "—"
"I thought you meant you'd hang there with me."
Hearing Lucas's words, Jenny looked at him with an expression that suggested she was looking at an idiot. "Is your brain broken? I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not an idiot. Why would I hang on a tree with you? Do you think this is a reward?"
Jenny glared at Lucas, took the small cake handed to her by Alcremie, and put her hands together. "Thank you, Alcremie."
"imai~"
Alcremie smiled sweetly, then looked at Lucas hanging on the tree, snorted, and turned away.
Jenny dug a spoonful of cake, put it in her mouth, and savored the delicious taste. Seeing Alcremie's attitude toward Lucas, after Alcremie left, she looked up at Lucas and asked, "Did you make Alcremie angry?"
"No. I only got back last night, and I was hung up first thing this morning."
"Then why is she ignoring you?"
Lucas seemed to think of something, pursed his lips, and didn't speak.
At this moment, Vespiquen flew over holding a small jar of sweet honey. She handed it to Jenny, then looked at Lucas, who had turned into a "bug baby," and mercilessly mocked him.
Serves you right!
After mocking him, Vespiquen turned and left.
Lucas: "—"
"Poor me, Lucas. Back then, as a powerful Champion of the Pokémon League, a famous Pokémon Professor, and a top-tier Pokémon Breeder in the world, I was respected wherever I went. Who would have thought that today, I would be captured by a small Breeding House."
"And even less did I expect that not a single Pokémon in this entire Breeding House would stand up for justice for me. Damn it!"
Listening to Lucas's performance, Jenny calmly picked up her milk tea and took a sip, then interrupted Lucas. "First, I need to correct one thing."
"What?"
"You failed your Intermediate Breeder exam."
"..."
"..."
"Secondly, this is your Breeding House, and you were captured by your own subordinates."
"Finally, I am very curious about what you did to cause such public outrage. To make the Pokémon in the entire Breeding House unwilling to plead for you."
"What else could it be? A few days ago, when we were handling things in the Unova region, he took the time to go back to the backyard and told Alcremie to her face that she had gained weight. This caused Alcremie to hide in the kitchen, crying sadly. It was Gengar who used his phone to make a video call to Sister Nina, and that's how Gothitelle and Lilligant found out about it. Gothitelle and the others had a hard time comforting Alcremie. That's why he was hung up to blow in the wind as soon as he returned to the Breeding House."
Latias, who appeared out of nowhere, revealed herself and spoke up.
Jenny: "No wonder, serves you right!"
"You actually dared to tell a young girl that she had gained weight to her face."
Latias took a bite of the small cake and continued. "That's not all. He even compared Alcremie to Vespiquen. It was excessively mean."
Jenny squinted at Lucas. Lucas guiltily twisted his body, turning the cocoon away from Jenny.
"Just stay hanging there."
Jenny said viciously.
Don't you know you should never tell a girl she's gained weight to her face! Especially when you compare her to someone else!
Listening to Latias's voice in his mind, Lucas finally understood the whole story.
"Gengar! You betrayed me! Bastard!"
As soon as Lucas's voice rang out, Ninetales used Confusion to stuff a berry into his mouth, blocking it.
"Wuwuwu—"
Ninetales lay under the tree, lazily patted its tail, and changed positions to continue sleeping.
"Xiu."
Just hang properly, don't make noise.
Gengar in the lounge area scratched its own butt and looked toward the backyard.
"Gen gengar?"
Strange, did someone call me just now?
After pricking up its ears and listening carefully for a while, it found that no one was calling it, so it picked up the cake Alcremie had sent over and ate it happily.
This kind of life suits me better, hehe.
Because his hands were trapped in the cocoon, Lucas couldn't eat the berry in his mouth, nor could he spit it out. He could only keep twisting his body, causing the whole cocoon to swing.
At this moment, Mrs. Fujino brought a guest to the backyard to choose a Pokémon. The guest pointed at the white cocoon hanging on the swing tree and asked with some Confusion, "What is that—? A Pokémon? So big."
The guest was a bit nearsighted and couldn't see clearly.
Mrs. Fujino took a look and smiled, "That is a feature of the Breeding House, not a Pokémon."
"Is that so? But it moves."
"It's quite normal for the features to move."
"So that's how it is."
The guest nodded and said, "Oh."
Mrs. Fujino pointed to the backyard and said, "In the backyard, except for the Pokémon wearing specific wooden plaques around their necks, you can choose the rest of the Pokémon. After choosing, you need to discuss it with the Pokémon you've chosen. If you can convince it to go with you, then you can take it away."
After Mrs. Fujino finished speaking, she let the guest move on their own.
She came to the swing tree, picked up the milk tea Jenny had poured for her, and took a sip. "Phew, there are quite a lot of guests today."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Jenny said with a smile.
Mrs. Fujino also moved a chair and sat over. "That's not hard work. We actually hope more guests come."
Mrs. Fujino looked at Lucas hanging on the tree, smiling gently, and said, "Lucas, is the wind more comfortable up there?"
"Mmm—mm mm mm—mmm—"
Lucas's mouth was blocked by the berry, so he could only make "mm mm mm" sounds.
"It seems so."
Jenny said with a smile.
Immediately after, Jenny began to complain to Mrs. Fujino about work matters.
Mrs. Fujino comforted Jenny from the side as someone with experience.
Above their heads, there was still a huge cocoon rolling constantly.
"? What is that?"
Latias suddenly looked up and said.
Jenny and Mrs. Fujino looked up together and found a shooting star streaking across the sky above the Breeding House, heading in the direction of Veilstone City.
Lucas stopped moving and looked up, but only saw the exhaust trail of the shooting star.
Ninetales watched the direction the shooting star was fading away with vigilance.
Lilligant, who was dozing in the planting area, Dash in the sparring area, and Gengar inside the house all came over.
"Xiu."
Such a strong aura.
Lucas frowned.
A very strong aura? Pokémon?
"This aura is not quite right—it seems like it's not from our world—I feel like I've felt it somewhere before—"
Latias fell into deep thought.
After a long while, Latias suddenly spoke up.
"I remember now! The aura on it is similar to the Rayquaza I saw in Hoenn last time; quiet, yet powerful."
"Mmm-mmm-mmm—"
"But Rayquaza shouldn't be a meteor—"
"Mmm—mmm-mmm-mmm—"
"Lucas, what do you think?"
"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm—"
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Mmm-mmm-mmm—"
Gengar quickly removed the berries from Lucas's mouth. "Latias!"
"Why are you being mean to me? I just forgot that you couldn't talk—"
Latias stuck out her tongue and giggled.
Lucas rolled his eyes and looked at Gengar. "Gengar, have Gothitelle come back. If it's really like what Latias said, we should chase after it and see if we can catch up."
Gengar put down his phone, signaling that he had already called Gothitelle.
Ninetales gently blew a puff of Heat Wave, and Lucas fell straight out of the cocoon, landing steadily on Ninetales' back.
A few minutes later, Gothitelle descended from the sky to the Breeding House.
Lucas didn't say much, recalled them all into their Poké Balls, and then mounted Latias.
"Do you remember which direction it went?"
"Mm."
"Let's go."
Latias nodded.
Lucas looked at Mrs. Fujino and Jenny. "I'll leave the Breeding House to you two for now."
"Don't worry, Lucas."
"Be safe on the road."
Lucas hummed in acknowledgment, then gently patted Latias' neck. Latias and Lucas vanished from the backyard.
"He just came back last night, and today he's out busy again."
Watching Lucas and Latias disappear, Jenny sighed.
"With great power comes great responsibility—"
Mrs. Fujino sighed, shook her head, and said.
"That's right—with great power comes great responsibility—"
Jenny also sighed, then said, "It's just that as his older sister, it's hard not to worry about my little brother."
Mrs. Fujino took Jenny's hand, a smile on her face.
"Why is it flying so fast?"
Latias was wearing windproof goggles, and her speed had reached the limit of what Lucas could withstand, yet they still couldn't catch up to that meteor from earlier.
Lucas's face was distorted, and his saliva was drifting around in the high altitude.
In Veilstone City.
Maylene rushed to the scene with her Lucario and discovered a Pokémon she didn't recognize floating in the air.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
Looking at the Pokémon with an orange-red body, a blue-green face, and standing on two legs like a human, Maylene couldn't help but ask aloud.
Unfortunately, no one around her responded.
She looked at the Jenny of Veilstone City. "Jenny, please evacuate the surrounding crowd first; leave the rest to me."
"Alright, be careful. It's very strong."
Maylene nodded and then gave an order to her Lucario.
Lucario gathered an Aura Sphere in its hands and threw it at the Pokémon.
Seeing the Aura Sphere flying toward it, the Pokémon in the air changed its body, transforming into a shield-like form, and absorbed the Aura Sphere.
"What is that?"
Maylene was shocked, but as a Gym Leader, she remained calm in the face of danger.
"Bone Rush!"
Lucario generated a bone in its hands and charged at the unknown Pokémon.
The unknown Pokémon changed shape again, turning into a form with three sharp horns on its head and two sharp horns growing on its legs.
A powerful psychic power erupted, and Lucario was sent flying backward, crashing down beside Maylene and falling unconscious.
???
Lucario was defeated in one hit?
Watching the unknown Pokémon flying toward her, Maylene recalled Lucario into its Poké Ball and rolled to dodge the unknown Pokémon's attack.
Due to momentum, the unknown Pokémon flew forward for a distance.
After stopping, it turned to look at Maylene and charged at her again.
Maylene originally intended to keep dodging its attacks, but the next second, she just stood still.
While the unknown Pokémon was confused, it suddenly felt a killing intent behind it.
It quickly turned around and found a big purple-black fatty staring at it with a grin, holding a huge Dark Void in its hands.
Gengar slammed a Dark Void directly onto Deoxys, and the Dark Pulse and Shadow Ball contained within it exploded instantly, sending the unknown Pokémon crashing into a nearby residence.
There was movement in the dust and smoke, and the unknown Pokémon slowly rose from the house, now in the shape of an airtight egg.
Gengar stuck out his tongue, tilted his head, and stared at the egg in front of him, looking curious.
What is this thing? It can transform?
Lucas frowned as he looked at the Pokémon floating in the air.
How did this thing appear in the Sinnoh region?
Shouldn't it be in space?
Why did it come down here?
Does Rayquaza know about this?
While pondering, the Pokémon in front of him changed shape again, returning to its original appearance.
Looking at the orange-red Pokémon with DNA-shaped hands, Lucas rode Latias to Maylene's side.
"Are you okay?"
Lucas asked Maylene, and Maylene shook her head.
"Be careful, Lucas. It's very strong; Lucario was defeated by it in one hit."
"Don't worry, leave this to me. You go and evacuate the people around here."
"Leave it to me."
After saying that, Maylene turned and ran.
Watching Maylene leave, the unknown Pokémon wanted to chase after her, but the big purple-black fatty flashed in front of it, blocking its path, holding a constantly rotating Dark Void in its hands.
It looked at the big fatty in front of it vigilantly.
Although it had quickly switched to Defense Forme earlier, it still took quite a bit of damage.
If it hadn't switched forms early, it would probably have lost consciousness by now.
Even so, it was still seriously injured.
What a terrifying fatty.
Lucas stared at the Pokémon in front of him.
He hadn't expected that it wouldn't be one-shot by Gengar's Dark Void while in its Attack Forme.
One had to know that in Attack Forme, its Defense and Special Defense were only a measly 20, practically made of paper.
The Pokémon in front of them stared at Gengar and suddenly changed its form.
Its legs turned into something like nails, and the horns on its head turned into two huge horns.
Speed Forme.
As it flew into the high sky, Lucas shouted, "Gothitelle!"
Powerful psychic power controlled the surroundings.
The Pokémon's body faltered, and it turned to look to the side.
On the nearby rooftop, a purple Pokémon wearing a court dress was raising its hands, looking at it coldly.
Trick Room; the speed priority was reversed.
Gengar moved a few times to get beside it, and the Dark Void in his hands was pressed onto its face once again.
Boom!
The unknown Pokémon was blasted away again, crashing into a pit.
It was extremely quiet in the smoke.
"Gothitelle!"
Watch out!
A figure quickly passed through the smoke and charged toward Lucas.
It was intercepted midway by a Psycho Boost.
Looking at the powerful beam approaching, it was forced to change into Defense Forme again.
Boom!
It transformed into Defense Forme and crashed into the pit once more.
What the hell!
How are they all so strong!
Ninetales emitted extremely intense heat, forming a Heat Wave that blew the smoke away.
Lucas looked at the Pokémon standing motionless on the ground in Defense Forme and said coldly, "Deoxys, tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?"
Deoxys didn't move.
Suddenly, Deoxys changed its form, and a terrifying psychic power surged toward Gothitelle.
Gothitelle couldn't react in time and was sent flying.
Deoxys seized the opportunity to pursue, rushing toward the rooftop.
The next second, four huge fists slammed into its body from the side, sending it flying backward.
The Gothitelle who had been sent flying couldn't contain the anger in her eyes.
With an elegant backflip, she stopped steadily in the air.
The psychic power in her body began to pour out desperately, overpowering Deoxys' psychic power, surging back toward Deoxys, pinning it to the ground, where it remained motionless in Defense Forme.
Lucas and the Deoxys in Defense Forme were in a stalemate.
Gengar and Gothitelle locked down the path in the air; Ninetales, Dash, Lilligant, and Latias locked down the path on the ground.
Deoxys couldn't get away for the time being.
However, facing Deoxys in Defense Forme, Lucas couldn't do anything about it for the moment.
Every time Gengar launched an attack, Deoxys would always change into another form to dodge Gengar's attack.
Seeing that the situation was deadlocked, Lucas took out his phone and called Cynthia, preparing to ask how to handle it.
But Cynthia didn't answer the phone, so he called Lucian.
The call connected, and noisy wind sounds came from the other side.
"Lucian? What are you doing over there? Where is Cynthia?"
"Hello! Lucas? Flint and I are currently chasing a Pokémon that came from space with the big sis."
"?"
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