Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 209 The Roaring Tail's 'Prestige' in Zone Zero

After sorting through the materials, Ze Shu collected a bunch of miscellaneous items.

Most of them are related to ores, or materials that have fallen off their own Pokémon, not just high-quality Corviknight feathers.

There are also the green and red peppers produced by the fierce pepper, the unique juice produced by the three sea voles, the wood ear mushrooms produced by the terrestrial jellyfish, and the cloth carefully woven by the trap spider...

"Is this the enthusiasm of the residents of Xuezha Town?" Ze Shu blinked.

He now truly believed that the Steel Treasure Master would be fed very well here.

"Ugh, ugh!"

Gengar appeared out of nowhere, wearing brand-new gauntlets, and was waving them around randomly, looking quite interested.

Ze Shu casually caught the gloved punch it threw, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

This is a Pokémon item: Boxing Gloves. It enhances the power of punching attacks, and when you attack an opponent with a punch, the gloves will block the opponent's "Counter" attacks, such as the Static ability and the Bump Helmet.

It's a pretty good item for a boxer Pokémon.

"But are you, Gengar, a 'boxer'?"

"Goblin!"

Gengar raised its chubby, jet-black head with a confident expression, then, mimicking a stance it had somehow seen, squatted down with its thick legs, intending to assume a horse stance and demonstrate its punches to Ze Shu.

Unfortunately, its body was plump and round, and its limbs were short, making its stance look awkward and out of place.

Zeshu gently poked it.

Gengar: =↑°□°)

With a thud, it fell to the ground.

It even rolled around in the pile of gifts several times.

Ze Shu laughed and said, "That's it?"

Gengar quickly scrambled to its feet, puffing out its cheeks: "Hehehe!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take it," Ze Shu agreed with a laugh. "If you like the 'boxing gloves,' you can have them. But, I remember you don't even know the 'Farmer's Three Punches,' do you?"

Kikuko's training philosophy prioritizes efficiency.

Therefore, most of her Gengars wouldn't consider moves like "Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Thunder Punch," which are the farmer's three punches. The Gengar that Sawaki took over from Kikuko didn't know any "fist and footwork" at all.

"Hehehe!"

"Okay, okay, you can learn, you can learn anything."

Since Gengar seemed so enthusiastic about "boxing," how could Zeki refuse?

However, he wouldn't specifically find a teacher for Gengar, since Gengar learns boxing and can take on anyone without making a sound (meaning it doesn't hurt or itch), so he'll just let it do what it wants.

"Let's go."

After tidying up the gifts at the scene, Ze Shu and the others said goodbye to Xin Li behind them and left Xuezha Town.

They first went back to the coffee shop in Little Key Town to tidy up.

And then you open the door of the café, which is adorned with wind chimes.

Then Nemo's slightly resentful face appeared: "Mr. Ze Shu! You broke your promise!"

Ze Shu tilted his head, somewhat puzzled.

Nemo then placed a stack of papers on the coffee table and said, "These are my 'reflections' on watching you fight, Professor Zeshu, a full two thousand words! Professor Zeshu, you promised me that I would have a duel with you after I finished writing them! But I've been writing them for two days now..."

I just caught a glimpse of you!

Finally, Nemo, dressed in her best attire, turned her head and shouted:

"I don't care, I just want to fight!"

Ze Shu suddenly exclaimed "Oh!"

Nemo's words, no matter how they circled around, ultimately boil down to two words: confrontation.

Thinking of this, Ze Shu slowly said:

"Don't rush."

Nemo: "???"

She was so anxious!

Since her first battle with Ze Shu at the entrance of Orange Academy when he joined the company, she hasn't had another match with him since!

This made this "battle maniac" extremely frustrated!

Now you're saying—don't rush?

"There's a great training ground with many powerful Pokémon that you've probably never seen before. It's a place like that..."

"Do you want to go?" Ze Shu asked with a smile.

Nemo paused for a moment, then turned her head back and honestly replied, "Yes!"

"That place is called Zone Zero. If you want to go—" Ze Shu casually rubbed Sylveon, who was nestled in a corner of the cafe, and said, "Let's just wait for one person. Once he arrives, we'll set off immediately."

Nemo subconsciously hummed in agreement.

But then she realized:

"But what does this have to do with you, Mr. Zeki, that you're going to fight me?! Don't try to fool me!"

"Of course it's related." Ze Shu rubbed Sylveon's fur, making it purr softly, and after thinking for a moment, said, "What if Nemo, your Pokémon gets hurt by my Pokémon? That place is dangerous, wouldn't that be a loss?"

Nemo paused for a moment, then said, "That's true..."

"Then, when you come back from Zone Zero, Sawaki-sensei must have a match with me!"

Clearly, she has temporarily abandoned her plan to fight Zeki.

"Hahaha, since you're not planning on fighting, then—" Higana suddenly jumped out, stood on a chair, and exaggeratedly provoked the crowd, "then let me start the war!"

What's wrong with Higana now?

Zeshu hugged Glaceon to his arms, gently rubbing its cool, soft body. He looked helplessly at Higanbana—the Sylveon he had just rubbed until it was purring had been chased away by Glaceon, which had managed to squeeze into Zeshu's arms.

Nemo's eyes lit up slightly when she saw Higana declare war.

Since I can't battle Sawaki-sensei, battling Sidgara, who looks quite strong and is so "confident," can be a small appetizer. I heard Sidgara is a Dragon-type trainer...

Nemo was already thinking about 'tactics' in her mind.

But then she saw Higana suddenly pull a deck of cards from her bosom:

"Wahahaha—"

"I! Higana! The Queen of Poker! Let's see who can defeat me in the world of poker!"

Nemo: ? ? ?

The "war" that Higana mentioned

How could it be this?!

"Higana, you lost again."

Little Blue stuck a note on Higana's face that symbolized a loser, and the note read "Idiot".

Higanbana: "Ugh!!!"

Her cheeks puffed up red, and she mumbled a few words before finally managing to say, "Next round! I'll definitely win the next round!"

Xiao Lan chuckled, "Yes, yes, yes, our 'Queen of Poker,' Xijiana."

Then she stroked her finger, thinking, "Let me think... how many times have you said that...?"

Nemo, whose face was also covered in sticky notes, shouted, "I know! Six times! Miss Higana has said it six times! But she hasn't won!"

Higanbana choked, a look of embarrassment spreading across her face, muttering things like "bad luck" and "I'll definitely turn things around next time." Hearing her words, everyone and the Pokémon watching burst into laughter, filling the store with a joyful atmosphere.

"W-What happened? Is something funny?"

Piper, who had just walked in from the coffee shop, was completely bewildered.

He was bulging and carrying a heavy bundle on his back, like a traveler on a long and arduous journey.

"It is indeed funny, hmm..." Ze Shu said, noticing Xi Jiana's puffed-up face, "but I suggest you ignore it for the sake of someone's feelings."

Papa said "Oh," without thinking much of it, and put down the bag he was carrying. He took out two books from them and handed them to Ze Shu, saying, "These are the two books my parents told me to carry with me—the Book of Vermilion and the Book of Purple."

Xiao Lan asked curiously, "Why did you bring these two books? Is there anything special about them?"

After all, while the "Book of Crimson and Purple" in the Padiya market wasn't a bestseller, it was a book that anyone could find and buy, so it wasn't considered rare.

Pipa blinked, looking at the book in her hands, and said uncertainly, "It seems to say that these two books are the 'original texts,' and they were quite important items in my parents' possession. That should be it, anyway, I don't really know."

"Ze Shu...Teacher, these two books are for you. My parents asked me to keep them."

Ze Shu took it, nodded, and said, "Then let's set off, Zone Zero."

"Peony, let's close the coffee shop. No, yes, you're coming too."

Zone Zero is a unique circular landform in the center of the Padiya region. The entire landform is like a deep pit, sinking thousands of meters deep. It is also known as the Padiya Giant Pit. Historical records show that it has existed for two thousand years, and some studies suggest that it existed even a million years ago.

For two thousand years, it has attracted many explorers to go there. Even the ancient Kingdom of Padia, which was destroyed by the Treasure of Calamity, sent people down to explore it. However, most of them returned empty-handed, and some even got stuck there for the rest of their lives.

Even just going down there is not easy.

However, near Jinhui Town, there is a sluice gate that has been built since ancient times, which allows people to go down.

Currently, this gate is controlled by the Padia Alliance, so as soon as Ze Shu and the others arrived, the head of the Jin Hui Town Gym came to "welcome" them without even having a meal.

"Aoki, it's been a long time."

After only about a month apart, Ze Shu noticed that Aoki's dark circles were even more pronounced and he looked even more haggard. This made him sigh inwardly, lamenting the exploitative nature of the Padia Alliance.

"It's been a long time." Aoki nodded weakly, looking haggard. "Without further ado... let me open the road to Zone Zero for you."

Opening the gate was not that difficult.

It's not like the power outage and dust in the game, after all, the two doctors are still alive, and the Padia Alliance still has a positive attitude towards researching the Padia Giant Sinkhole.

None of the people present were novice trainers, well, except for Batman...Pippa. Soon, with the help of their flying Pokémon, they descended from the gate through a helicopter landing bay and landed successfully, arriving at the top level of Sector Zero.

"?! I thought this was some kind of vicious and dangerous place! It's actually so beautiful!"

Higana stood up from the back of the Salamence and screamed.

But it must be said that the scenery in Zone Zero is indeed beautiful—the sunlight shines brightly, making the green grass and trees translucent, and the colorful crystals that occasionally cover the ground and tree roots also sparkle. In the distance, you can also hear the sound of waterfalls.

"Ze Shu, you said this place is dangerous."

"But I don't see any danger in it!"

Higana took a deep breath, eagerly leaping off the back of the Salamence and landing on the upper level of Zone Zero. Then she exclaimed:

"?!"

"Why is the ground... so soft?"

Higana said with delight, stomping her feet a few more times out of curiosity, and occasionally letting out exclamations of admiration.

Ze Shu pointed to the red and white areas exposed after she trampled the ground, and said, "Is it possible that you stepped on a Pokémon?"

Higanbana: "What?"

Ze Shu smiled and said, "Pokémon."

Xiao Lan opened the Book of Crimson and said, "I think I vaguely remember this. Let me look... I found it! This Pokémon is called Mushroom. Just like its name suggests, this Pokémon is fierce and vicious, with a violent nature."

Higana was stunned: "A violent temperament?"

"No, that can't be! Look how many times I've stepped on it, and it hasn't gotten angry at all! Little Blue, there might be something wrong with your book!"

As she spoke, she stomped her feet a few more times.

"?"

After stepping on it, Xijiana felt a powerful force coming from under her feet.

Then, her gaze fell upon the sky.

"Ughh ...

"Ugh!!!"

After knocking Higanbana away, the Mushroom finally landed on the ground—a more primitive mushroom Pokémon, a combination of a dinosaur and a Mushroom, which was eyeing the group of people who had suddenly arrived.

Judging by appearances, a battle is about to begin.

Ze Shu sighed, "These people who came here don't seem to have good intentions."

Papa hesitated behind and said, "Ze... Teacher Zeshu... We are the ones who came, we are the ones who are not friendly."

Higanbana in the sky kept screaming, "Aaaaah, don't ignore me! Help me!"

But no one paid any attention to her; her Salamence was no mere decoration.

As Xiao Lan flipped through the book, she said, "The book says that the Ferocious Mushroom has a relatively low IQ. Once it identifies an enemy, it will fight like a boxer who only knows how to fight relentlessly, fighting to the death."

"We've startled this ferocious mushroom. It seems it's a bit grumpy when it wakes up."

"I'm afraid..."

"It's going to be difficult to resolve."

Nemo's eyes gleamed with excitement as she declared, "Then let's fight!"

"Let me do it, I might...?!"

Nemo wanted to fight; she even gripped the Poké Ball tightly and took a step forward.

But then, the Roaring Tail that had carried Ze Shu down like a hot air balloon seemed to be back home, sniffing here and there, before taking a step forward, just in time to be seen by the Fierce Mushroom, who was disturbed from its sleep and was in a bad mood after waking up.

Suddenly, the fierce mushroom's eyes widened as if it had seen some terrifying demon king.

"Goo-ooh?!"

The ferocious mushroom, which should have been furious and ready to fight to the death with its enemy, decisively took a few steps back. However, feeling that this was not safe enough, it turned around and hurriedly ran away into the distance with its short feet.

Little Blue: "?"

Is this still the same vicious mushroom that fights to the death against any enemy it has ever encountered, and is extremely cruel and violent?

Why did you run away as soon as you saw Zeju's Roaring Tail?

She glanced at the description in the book, then at the ferocious mushroom that had already fled far away with its short legs, and couldn't help but doubt the authenticity of what was in the book.

Ze Shu smirked, grabbed the 'tail' of the Roaring Tail, making it struggle, and said:

Is there any possibility...?

"It's not that the book is wrong; that ferocious mushroom is still brutal."

"However, my roaring tail is even more 'ferocious,' and quite infamous in Sector Zero? Hmm, I suppose it's for its singing."