Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 248 Young Gilas, let's forge a bond!

"Yo?"

Young Gilas was initially a little confused, but when he saw the white boat in front of him, he suddenly felt a little guilty.

The little girl held her belly with her hands, lowered her head, and made a faint, mosquito-like chirping sound.

"Yo-yo~ (Sorry~)"

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Bai Zhou gave it an apologetic smile.

His gaze swept over its dark green armor, which was now somewhat grotesque and terrifying due to the unstable dark energy.

My heart was filled with a surge of emotions, including pity and a sense of responsibility.

"It's my fault for not finding you sooner, leaving you to bear so much alone."

Bai Zhou took a deep breath, extended his hand to Young Gilas, palm up, his eyes firm and sincere.

"Younggilas, let us forge a bond!"

His voice was clear and strong, echoing in the quiet ward.

"No matter what the future holds, from this day forward, we will be family, supporting each other, and partners walking side by side! Forever!"

"Now, what's your answer?"

The moment I heard the words "family" and "forever".

Young Kiras suddenly raised his head, his face showing great surprise. His small eyes, which had been dim with confusion, were immediately flooded with large tears.

Does it have a family now?

Is there really anyone who would be willing to accept it as it is?

It's so cowardly, so useless, unable to control its own power, and always causing trouble, making people worry and angry —

Does it really deserve to have a "family"?

Will anyone actually like it?

Looking at the young Gilas's tearful, self-conscious yet yearning expression, Bai Zhou felt a pang of sadness and stopped waiting for its response, which it might not be able to utter due to fear.

He stepped forward and firmly grasped its slightly cold little hand, announcing in an unquestionable tone.

"If you don't reply, I'll take that as a yes!"

"From this moment on, you are family! No one can change that!"

Professor Oak watched this scene with satisfaction, his eyes welling up with tears. He quickly raised his hand and quietly wiped away the moisture from the corner of his eyes.

What was the purpose of his life, which was to spend most of his time working tirelessly on Pokémon research?

Isn't it all about witnessing this pure, precious, and all-encompassing bond between humans and Pokémon?

Despite being moved, he still had an important mission entrusted to him by the alliance, which he needed to formally convey to Bai Zhou.

It's not too late to share this joy after we've finished our business.

They patiently gave Bai Zhou and Young Gilas some time alone until Young Gilas calmed down a bit and shyly turned into red light and hid back in the Dark Sphere.

He cleared his throat and spoke again, his tone becoming more formal.

"Ahem, Shirazuchi."

Professor Oak stood up straight, his expression serious.

"Now, on behalf of the Pokémon League, I extend my highest respect to you and my sincerest gratitude for everything you have done recently —"

"Not at all, Doctor, you flatter me. I only did what I was supposed to do—"

Seeing that Professor Oak was about to bow to him, Bai Zhou was so frightened that he ignored his aching body and quickly got up from the bed, reaching out to stop the professor.

"No! This isn't just my personal opinion; it's also on behalf of the Alliance, and on behalf of the innocent people who are safe because of your actions!"

Professor Oak's tone was unusually firm. He resisted Shirazu's attempt to stop him and, under the young man's incredulous gaze, solemnly bowed slightly to him.

"From turning the tide in the initial Di'an City incident to your decisions and contributions during the Longcheng crisis, you are undoubtedly the greatest contributor! There is no doubt about that!"

Professor Oak straightened up, his gaze intense.

"The Alliance has comprehensively evaluated all your contributions and has entrusted me to formally deliver this token of gratitude to you."

As he spoke, he took out an antique-looking wooden box from the pocket of his white coat, held it with both hands, and solemnly handed it to Bai Zhou.

"The alliance has been discussing what kind of reward would be commensurate with your achievements, which has caused some delay."

"Your contributions accumulate, and you find that ordinary money, honors, or items seem insignificant."

"Finally, it was the top management who made the final decision to 'grant this' to you."

Just give me the money directly—really! I'm not picky at all!

Of course, Shirabu only dared to think these words in his heart and ultimately did not dare to say them to Professor Oak.

With a touch of curiosity, he slowly opened the wooden box.

What could it be that could make the well-informed Professor Oak show such a serious expression?

The moment the wooden box was opened, a gentle energy fluctuation rippled out like water.

The moment Bai Zhou saw the contents inside, his pupils contracted sharply, and almost reflexively, he slammed the box shut again!

"Doctor! Are you sure—this is the reward the Alliance gave me?!"

Bai Zhou's voice was filled with disbelief and shock.

Professor Oak smiled slightly and nodded affirmatively at his reaction.

Bai Zhou swallowed hard, wanting to say something more to refuse.

But seeing Professor Oak's knowing look, he finally sighed resignedly and slowly opened the wooden box again.

Inside the wooden box lay two strangely shaped feathers, radiating a hazy glow.

One strand is pure and flawless silver-white, as if imbued with the breath of ocean currents.

The other one shimmers with a dreamlike rainbow of light, containing the pulse of life and the sacred.

What they had in common was that they all constantly emitted gentle energy fluctuations, indicating that their extraordinary origins did not require system identification; their names instantly appeared in Bai Zhou's mind.

A silver feather that can guide the way and summon Lugia, the god of ocean currents!

And the iridescent feathers that symbolize good fortune and attract the attention of photographers like Ho-Oh!

This thing—for ordinary trainers, it's an absolute treasure they dream of!

Regardless of whether they can ultimately gain the recognition of the legendary Pokémon, they are merely given the opportunity to witness the legend firsthand and interact with it.

That's enough to drive countless trainers crazy!

Furthermore, if the means are sufficient—

Theoretically, it's possible to use the primal energy contained within these two feathers to create a special Poké Ball capable of forcibly binding legendary Pokémon.

But the problem is—this is of no use to Bai Zhou at all!

He wasn't interested in the bodies of those two big birds (his old friends Rayquaza, Zygarde, and others agreed).

Giving him those two feathers is not as practical as transferring a large sum of money directly to his account!

At least you can spend your money however you want!

Thinking of this, Bai Zhou reached out somewhat dejectedly and picked up the rainbow-colored feather.

To his surprise, the moment he touched the feather, it faintly emitted a layer of resistant, dim black light, as if expressing its "disdain" for him.

Hey! My temper is raging!

Bai Zhou couldn't stand it anymore!

That's incredibly arrogant of it! Even the Phoenix King wouldn't dare to be so cocky in front of it. How dare it insult me ​​like this with just a single fallen feather?!

Is it simply because he is upright, honest, and kind-hearted?

Does that mean good people deserve to be bullied? What kind of ridiculous logic is that!

Just as Bai Zhou's eyes hardened, preparing to teach this "snobbish" feather a lesson...

The rainbow-colored feather seemed to sense immense danger instantly, and suddenly burst forth with a blindingly bright seven-colored light.

"Ah! My eyes!"

Bai Zhou was caught off guard by the sudden "flashbang," and his vision went completely white for a moment.

He hurriedly and clumsily stuffed the two feathers, along with the wooden box, into the system space, thus isolating himself from the continuous "mental pollution."

Professor Oak, standing to the side, seemed to have anticipated this all along.

Before anyone knew it, he had already pulled out a pair of cool sunglasses and put them on, perfectly avoiding this "visual attack".

It was Professor Oak's "precognition" that allowed Shiraishima to figure out the key!

BYD!

Is the league using him as a free safe deposit box?!

Knowing that he might not be able to handle this hot potato properly, he simply handed it over to him, this "hero"?

It's called a "reward," but in reality, it won't tarnish the alliance's reputation, and it ensures that the items are in the hands of "reliable" people.

Killing two birds with one stone, what a brilliant plan!

Behind all this, Professor Oak, that "old rascal," must have been involved in all the slander and instigation!

Thinking of this, Bai Zhou's gaze towards Professor Oak was suddenly filled with resentment.

"Ahem, now that we've finished talking business, I still have a ton of data to process at my research institute, so it's about time I headed back."

Professor Oak felt a little uneasy under Bai Zhou's gaze, and tried to slip away with a forced laugh.

"Um—you can rest assured, I won't bother you any longer—"

"Let's go together, Doctor."

Bai Zhou also nimbly rolled off the bed. Although the movement still caused a slight pain in his injured area, his eyes had regained their clarity.

"I've also just been discharged from the hospital."

As the post-disaster reconstruction work in Longcheng fully commenced, related news also caused a huge uproar online, with various true and false claims circulating widely.

Some say it was a perfect evacuation drill that inadvertently uncovered the evil organization's invasion plot, not only catching the enemy off guard but also wiping them out in one fell swoop.

Some people confidently claimed to have witnessed an unknown, legendary dragon appear in the sky above Dragon City, its majestic form piercing the heavens.

The key point is that there seems to be a blurry human figure standing on the dragon's head!

Other reports claim that the largest earthquake in history occurred in the Kunlun Mountains, but fortunately, poaching gangs had already abducted the Pokémon in the mountains beforehand.

They were then intercepted and rescued by the League in time, allowing the Pokémon to miraculously escape this natural disaster.

Various versions of the story flooded the internet's trending topics, with netizens speculating about the truth behind the incident.

Because the alliance intentionally controls information, most people tend to believe that this is the result of a series of coincidences and good luck.

As the true planner and core executor behind all these events, Bai Zhou has not appeared in the public eye due to the confidentiality of specific details.

However, quite dramatically, the name "Bai Zhou" became a viral sensation across the internet in a way he never expected.

And it firmly occupied the top spot on social media in all regions!

The reason is simple—legendary Pokémon.

These words themselves possess unparalleled appeal.

Shirazuki was the key figure who, at that recent summit academic conference, propelled "Legendary Pokémon" from a vague concept into a systematic and theoretical one.

He is also a certified Doctor of Mythology, personally acknowledged by Professor Oak!

Mingming Zhou himself advocated concealing the specific details of the incident in order to reduce public panic.

But life is full of surprises.

He inexplicably and in a completely different manner became the most talked-about and discussed figure in this series of events.

As a result, the popularity of his game "Pokémon" has soared again, sparking a new wave of discussion and playing.

Many netizens, including some who are known as "Sherlock Holmes," have even dug up information about it.

This newly appointed Dr. Shirafusa bears a striking resemblance to the handsome researcher in the Pokémon game who is hailed as the "most skilled NPC"!

This has led many players and onlookers to speculate about the depth of their private relationship between game producer Salty Fish and mythology PhD Bai Zhou.

Even more outrageous are those with wildly imaginative ideas.

I suspect that the detailed information about legendary Pokémon in the game was obtained by Mr. Salty with two boxes of Moooo milk, after much pleading and haggling with Professor Shirafuji.

In short, the online world has become exceptionally lively and joyful during this period because of the name "Bai Zhou".

Meanwhile, Bai Zhou, who was at the center of the vortex, was extremely happy as he watched his personal reputation soar like a rocket and the BP points that kept pouring in.

A rough estimate puts it at several thousand.

Although excessive fame might cause some minor troubles to his daily slacking off, it's not as bad as the real BP points he earns.

These have all become negligible "sweet troubles".

Unfortunately, during the subsequent search of the underground mines in the Kunlun Mountains, no bodies or traces of Rainbow Saka and Crimson Flame Pine were found.

Bai Zhou felt that this old cunning guy had many trump cards up his sleeve, making him extremely difficult to kill. Although he was seriously injured this time, he was probably still alive.

According to Giovanni, Armored Mewtwo disappeared prematurely during his battle with him, which seems to indirectly confirm that Rainbow Giovanni is still alive.

If Giovanni were to die, Armored Mewtwo would definitely go berserk immediately.

However, even if Giovanni hadn't died, given his physical condition when he was buried, it's uncertain whether he would have been able to get out of bed with all four limbs intact.

Bai Zhou wasn't too worried.

Let's get back to the present.

Shirazumi has been actively seeking solutions to the aftereffects of the unstable dark energy emanating from Larva.

The first person he thought of was Xiao Huang, who was known as the healer.

With the affairs in Dragon City now settled, it's time to return to the Kanto region.

dong dong dong.

A crisp knock came from the door, accompanied by Yu Longdu's energetic urging voice.

"Shirazuki! Aren't you ready yet? Professor Oak is already waiting downstairs! We'll miss our flight if we don't leave soon!"

"Almost done!"

Bai Zhou responded and quickly did a final check on all the bags and packages that had been packed in the dormitory.

Then, amidst Gengar's various "eye-squeaking" accusations, it stuffed all the luggage into its shadow space without further ado.

He straightened up and glanced at his friends in the room.

Gengar, looking aggrieved, floats around clutching its belly.

Kirlian's demeanor has become increasingly calm and elegant, subtly resembling that of a "head maid."

And the young Kiras, who had just joined this new family and was still somewhat timidly hiding in his own shadow.

Bai Zhou took a deep breath and glanced around the now empty dormitory one last time.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he pushed open the door without hesitation, and, facing the light from the corridor outside, shouted, "Let's go, Kanto!"