Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 247 Now I can finally get up, right? Miss Secretary? (Please continue reading)

"Lord Hakushu!"

Only then did Olive finally snap out of her shock and daze!

Unable to maintain her cold facade any longer, she cried out in surprise and rushed to Bai Zhou.

Seeing his body covered in wounds and his utterly exhausted expression, my eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"ah----"

Bai Zhou seemed to be a beat behind when he heard her call, and turned his head in a daze.

He looked at the woman before him, whose face was haggard yet still undeniably beautiful, and forced a smile that carried an apology.

"It's Olive — you've worked so hard — I see the search and rescue team, the organization is excellent — you must be exhausted after doing so much —"

"No! It's not hard work!"

Olive shook her head vigorously, tears finally streaming down her face. She wanted to reach out and support his swaying body, but she was afraid of touching his wounds.

Bai Zhou wanted to say something more.

But the string that had been stretched to its limit in his mind finally—completely relaxed—after confirming that Young Gilas had been safely sent away.

What followed was an irresistible, intense dizziness and darkness!

Ah—the world—it seems to be spinning—

Indeed—some—couldn't hold on any longer—

In the last moment before his consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness, he only felt his body fall into a soft and elastic embrace.

A unique, refreshing fragrance lingered around his nose.

I could vaguely hear a few shouts, seemingly coming from a very distant place.

"Lord Hakushu!"

"Hakushu!"

"Medical staff! Quickly!"

—And then, he knew nothing more.

"Three days! It's been a full three days! All his vital signs are normal! Why hasn't he woken up yet!"

In a private medical room at the Pokémon Center.

Out of control, Yulongdu grabbed the collar of Sakaki's suit and pressed him firmly against the wall, his bloodshot eyes filled with rage.

"Weren't you always by Bai Zhou's side? He trusted you so much! He even kept you by his side! And this is how you protect him!?"

"If those Red guys find out about his current condition, can you guarantee they won't go crazy?!"

"What will you do then?!"

Upon hearing the reprimand, Sakaki's calm face underwent a slight change.

He opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, he just remained silent and didn't refute.

He does believe he bears responsibility for this matter.

"Calm down, A-Du!"

Daigo, who was standing to the side, was clearly not expected that Lance would suddenly erupt. He quickly stepped forward and stopped him, forcefully pushing him aside and placing himself between the two.

"Professor Oak and Miss Joy have checked him repeatedly. This is a self-protective sleep caused by excessive physical and mental exhaustion. There is no danger to his life! He may wake up soon!"

"As for the situation at the time—I heard from Mr. Sakaki that it was very complicated. No one could have predicted that the entire underground mine would suddenly collapse. It shouldn't be entirely blamed on Mr. Sakaki—"

Yu Longdu certainly knew this principle, but he just couldn't control this nameless anger.

This anger was directed at both Sakaki and himself.

He did protect the city, but not perfectly.

Although the Rainbow Rockets' invasion was successfully thwarted and most of their members were arrested, the damage and losses suffered by Dragon City were considerable.

Crucially, he also managed to ensure that one of the masterminds behind the attack, Ichisui Gotoku, escaped with serious injuries at the last moment.

This was unacceptable to him, who strived for perfect law enforcement.

Yu Longdu's chest heaved violently. He wanted to say something more, but the next moment, a cold but unquestionable voice interrupted him.

"Quiet!"

Olive slowly rose from Bai Zhou's bedside, turned to look in the direction of Yu Longdu, and with an icy tone, directly ordered him to leave.

"Lord Shiraishu needs absolute rest. If you cannot remain quiet, please leave the ward immediately."

Yu Longdu was taken aback by these words, looking at Olive's bloodshot yet unusually determined eyes, and Bai Zhou's pale face on the hospital bed.

He forcibly suppressed his surging emotions, walked dejectedly to a chair to sit down, and began to quietly stay by the bedside.

Seeing this, Daigo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, gave Olive an apologetic look, and then pulled Sakaki to sit down on the other side of the ward.

During the three days that Bai Zhou was in a coma.

Oliver hardly left the ward, taking care of the patient wholeheartedly and meticulously, and everyone could see the extent of her dedication.

What's even more admirable is that she was able to take care of Bai Zhou while also handling all the tasks he had entrusted to her before he fell into a coma in an orderly manner.

Including company operations, post-disaster reconstruction coordination, and the allocation of relief supplies, they demonstrated amazing capabilities and perseverance.

She is now certainly qualified to say such things.

The ward returned to quiet.

No one noticed that Bai Zhou, lying on the hospital bed, twitched his fingers almost imperceptibly.

The dark dragon ring that had quietly appeared around his neck was emitting extremely subtle and gentle energy fluctuations.

Like a gentle stream, it slowly seeped into his body, nourishing his parched body and soul.

Feel----

The body was warm.

Bai Zhou's hazy consciousness gradually floated upwards, slowly breaking free from the shackles of darkness.

However, what awaited him was not the familiar world of light, but the persistent and severe aftereffects of forcibly extracting his body's potential and overusing the power of super resistance.

An intense, aching pain, as if he were being crushed and reassembled, instantly swept over his limbs and bones like a tsunami.

The intense stimulation made every tired cell in his body ache, causing him to let out a suppressed yet ecstatic groan from deep within his throat.

"Mmm... Ah~"

This groan not only completely jolted him out of his daze, but also, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattered the stagnant atmosphere in the ward.

This startled everyone in the room, and their eyes all turned to him with a mixture of surprise and worry!

After adjusting to the somewhat glaring light for a while, Bai Zhou slowly used his arms to support his seemingly heavy body and sat up against the headboard.

He glanced around at the various expressions on the faces of the people in the ward, and scratched his still somewhat messy hair with a hint of embarrassment.

"Um—everyone's here—"

Before anyone could respond, Olive, who was closest to him, had already turned into a whirlwind!

She instantly threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her head deeply in his chest.

His whole body trembled slightly from the extreme fear and joy, and a muffled sob came through.

Ouch—it hurts—

Bai Zhou winced as the sudden hug startled him, and instinctively wanted her to be gentler.

But feeling the heat and wetness spreading rapidly in his chest, he ultimately swallowed his words.

He silently endured the protests coming from all parts of her body, raised a hand, and patted Olive's trembling back, which was shaking from crying.

When the trembling in his arms gradually subsided, leaving only soft sobs, he spoke softly in a hoarse voice filled with guilt and gratitude: "I'm sorry for making you worry—and thank you for your hard work—"

"Um--

Olive responded with a muffled sound, her voice thick with nasal tone, but she showed no intention of getting up from his arms.

Part of it is due to the emotional dependence after surviving the ordeal, but a larger part stems from the immense shame that comes after the fact.

She just now, in front of so many people, completely disregarded everything and—

Now that I've calmed down, I realize that Wataru, Daigo, and Sakaki were also in the ward.

She felt her face was burning hot enough to fry an egg, and dared not look up. So she buried herself even deeper into this reassuring embrace like an ostrich.

Seeing this, even Sakaki, who had been silently observing, knew that Shiraishu had most likely safely passed through the most dangerous phase.

While silently breathing a sigh of relief, I also felt a mix of emotions.

He stood up, nodded slightly in Bai Zhou's direction as a greeting, and also gestured with his eyes towards the outside of the ward.

He still has many important matters to attend to.

He needed to personally oversee the interrogation, detention, and subsequent handling of the arrested Team Rainbow Rocket members, as well as the reconstruction of order in Dragon City.

"It's good that you're alright."

Yu Longdu also stood up, his tone stiff, but his concern was hard to hide.

"Next time—don't be so reckless."

Like Sakaki, he was also not good at expressing his concern directly. After confirming that Shirashu had indeed woken up and was in a good condition, he also prepared to leave.

They left the ward one after the other.

At the alliance headquarters, there was a mountain of reports and accountability questions waiting for him to deal with.

With his exceptionally high emotional intelligence, Daigo naturally wouldn't spoil this precious atmosphere. He gave Shiraishu a gentle and gratified smile and nodded politely.

He then quietly left the ward with the two of them, considerately closing the door behind him, leaving the small space entirely to Bai Zhou and Olive.

"They're all gone—"

Bai Zhou looked down at Olive, who was still clinging to him and refusing to look up, and his voice softened a little more.

"Now you can get up, right, Miss Secretary?"

Olive nodded gently in his arms, as if she had made a great decision, and finally slowly loosened her arms that were tightly holding him, and straightened up somewhat stiffly.

She forced herself to remain calm, turned her face away, and quickly wiped away the tears from her already swollen and red eyes and cheeks.

She was trying to salvage some of the "cold-blooded secretary" image that had long since vanished.

"Lord Bai Zhou----"

Her voice was still a little hoarse, with a soft, lingering quality from crying.

"Oh, right!"

Bai Zhou wanted to say a few more words to comfort her, but a crucial thought suddenly flashed through his mind, making his heart tighten.

Forgetting everything else, she anxiously grabbed Olive's shoulder and asked, "Ragnaros! How's Ragnaros?! It's the Pokémon I asked Mewtwo to urgently take to Professor Oak!"

Olive opened her mouth, but before she could answer...

The door to the ward was gently pushed open with a "click".

Professor Oak walked in, sporting messy hair and dark circles under his eyes, but still wearing a kind smile.

"Shirafune! Daigo just told me you were awake, so I rushed over right away—uh."

Professor Oak was speaking when he noticed the slightly intimate posture of the two people in the ward and Olive's obvious signs of crying.

He paused, a subtle expression on his face suggesting, "Did I disturb you?"

"My arrival seems ill-timed?"

"No! Doctor! You've come just in time!"

Bai Zhou quickly spoke up, afraid that if he hesitated even a moment, this key figure would really leave. What he was most concerned about now was the condition of Young Gilas!

"Doctor! How is Young Gilas? Is it out of danger?"

"Don't worry, it's safe now—"

Professor Oak rubbed his tired brow, walked over to the bedside of Shirabuki, and sat down. His tone was soothing, yet also tinged with seriousness.

Seeing this, Olive immediately straightened her somewhat disheveled clothes and composed demeanor, and nodded slightly to Shirazuki and Professor Oak.

Then, very sensibly, he quietly left the room and gently closed the door again, leaving them alone.

Professor Oak carefully took three Poké Balls out of the inside pocket of his white coat.

These are the Moon Ball for White Boat Gengar, the Sweet Ball for Kirlia, and the Dark Ball that temporarily houses Larvitar.

He solemnly handed the three Poké Balls to Bai Zhou, then spoke in a serious tone.

"Gengar and Kirlia have both fully recovered to their best condition thanks to Nurse Joy's careful treatment."

"As for Young Gilas—it is indeed out of danger, but—"

Shirashu's heart sank at the sound of that "but," but he didn't interrupt, only urging Professor Oak to continue with his eyes.

"That special ore contains not only enormous energy, but also extremely domineering energy."

Dr. Oak carefully considered his words.

"After such a long period of erosion and symbiosis, the body of the young Gilas has undergone an almost irreversible fusion with this energy, the most direct manifestation of which is the permanent mutation of its outer shell."

"Most of its carapace was tainted by that energy and solidified into a deep black color."

Professor Oak paused, observing Shiraishu's reaction.

"This mutation isn't all bad; it grants the young Gilas terrifying physical defenses and resistance to special energies, far exceeding those of their kind. However, correspondingly—"

Professor Oak hesitated for a moment, seemingly considering the least hurtful wording for Shiraishu, but ultimately chose to be honest.

"This deep energy fusion and alteration of body structure greatly hinders its natural evolutionary path."

"Or, according to existing evolutionary models, unless a specific opportunity arises that is sufficient to reverse this energy balance."

"It may never evolve into Shakiras, let alone the ultimate Tyranitar."

At this point, he immediately added, "Of course, this is just a deduction based on existing data and theories! Pokémon lives are full of miracles, and things are not entirely hopeless!"

"I see----"

Bai Zhou's gaze hardened as he gripped the dark sphere tightly in his hand.

"It became like this to save me."

His voice was deep, yet it contained an undeniable determination.

"No matter what, I will find a way to solve its problems!"

As if in response to his solemn vow, the dark sphere in his hand suddenly vibrated slightly!

Immediately afterwards, a beam of red light shot out from the sphere!

The young Gilas appeared, its small but strangely heavy figure seemingly weak, shaking its round head.

Then, without any hesitation, he plopped down on Bai Zhou's lap.

It raised its small head, covered with a jet-black shell, and quietly looked at the white boat with its red eyes.

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