Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 391 "What??? Uncle Liu??? The masked man is Uncle Liu???"

"But----"

As Qibana looked at the young man kneeling on the ice, constantly apologizing, and then at the sad little Lapras in his arms, his voice became somewhat agitated.

"Are we just going to watch? Just—watch?"

Dan Di remained silent for a moment.

Finally, he sighed.

"Go and save them."

"Even though it might mean restarting the game, even if it might mean starting everything from scratch—I can't just stand by and watch someone die."

"I am a champion, and I am also a trainer. One of the responsibilities of a trainer is to help Pokémon in need."

"No matter the time, no matter the place, whether in a game or in reality."

Upon hearing this, Cibana paused for a moment, then grinned.

"That's more like it! Forget all the paradoxes and fallacies, let's save them first!"

Without further hesitation, the two controlled their characters to run towards the young man.

"Charge!!! Forget about paradoxes! Saving lives is the priority!"

"Leon's words are absolutely right—a trainer's duty is to help Pokémon in need, no matter when or where!"

"This is what a trainer should do! Not be a battle champion, not be the strongest player, but protect!"

"Although my rational mind tells me not to change the past, emotionally I support them!"

"Fine, restart the game then! I'll restart it with you guys! We can always start over!"

"I'm so touched, guys! This is why we love Pokémon!"

The live chat exploded, with all sorts of gifts flooding the screen.

However, just as they were about to get close...

A figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

Masked Man.

He stood between the two men and the young man, his eyes beneath the mask coldly watching them.

"Masked Man: That's enough."

"A masked man?!"

Chibana's eyes widened, his voice filled with anger.

"You're trying to stop us from rescuing people?!"

The masked man didn't answer; he simply raised his hand.

A green light flashed.

A small figure appeared on the ice.

"Seraphi Lv.90"

Type: Psychic/Grass

"Characteristic: Natural Recovery (possesses exceptional vitality; while resting, it removes abnormal statuses from nearby allies)"

"Mastered Techniques: Nature's Grace, Mystic Protection, Self-Regeneration — Foresight, Healing Wish, Leaf Storm"

Analysis: The legendary forest god is a traveler who can travel through time. Whenever he appears, the forest will be revitalized. Legend has it that those who see him will have a bright future.

The Pokédex scan will automatically scan and display information.

At this moment, Celebi still had a struggling look in its eyes. The dark red light on its body was fainter than before, but it was still there.

"Masked Man: Celebi, stop them, don't let them get close to that person."

The shrine let out a mournful cry, clearly showing some resistance, but still raised its hand.

Emerald green light surged from its body, transforming into countless vines that swept towards the two of them!

Battle is imminent!

"Dragonite! Extreme Speed!"

"Charizard! Flamethrower!"

Chibana and Dante immediately accepted the challenge.

Dragonite transformed into a golden streak of light, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air, and charged straight at Celebi.

The fire-breathing dragon opened its massive jaws, spewing forth scorching flames that ignited all the attacking vines.

Even though its strength is greatly reduced after being controlled, and even though its struggles prevent it from exerting its full power, it is still a legend!

It traverses time and space, its figure appearing and disappearing, its vines attacking from all angles, making it impossible to defend against.

One second you're being attacked from the front, the next you might be attacked from behind.

What's more troublesome is that it can also use psychic-type moves.

The continuous use of telekinesis and precognition further exacerbated the already exhausted Pokémon of the two.

"No, we can't defeat Celebi in a head-on fight in a short time!"

"Even though it's been controlled, a legendary Pokémon is still a legendary Pokémon!"

"Dragonite and Charizard were already in bad shape, they should be exhausted after fighting for so long, and Celebi is still teleporting like crazy, how are we supposed to win?"

"The Masked Man didn't even give any commands; Celebi's instinctive fighting ability is strong enough!"

"This will drag us down! Dan Emperor! Think of something!"

"I'm so anxious! Is there any way to bypass the ghusbah?"

"Tsk—"

Kibana felt a pang of unease watching the two Pokémon on the screen constantly being harassed by the vines.

Dragonite's breathing became heavier and heavier, and Charizard's flames weakened noticeably.

They're all nearing their limits.

But the rabbi remained completely at ease.

"etc."

Dan Di frowned, keenly noticing something.

His gaze shifted from Celebi to the masked man.

To be precise, it landed on the gold and silver ball in the masked man's hand.

The light from that sphere was flashing continuously.

With each struggle of the rabbi, the light dims a little.

The rabbi's power seems unstable when he tries to control it!

"Kibana! Have Dragonite distract Celebi! Don't let it lock onto us!"

Leon shouted in the voice chat, while simultaneously ordering Charizard to sweep the ground with its jets of fire, creating blind spots with rising steam and water mist.

Cibana immediately understood.

"Dragonite! Tornado!"

Dragonite roared, its wings whipping up a violent gust of air that whipped up the snow and ice crystals on the ground, instantly forming a small ice tornado!

The airflow interfered with the shrubs, causing their attack trajectory to deviate.

"Now!"

Dan Di's eyes narrowed, and he gave a loud command.

"Charizard! Flame Burst! Target the gold and silver balls in the masked man's hand!"

The fire-breathing dragon circled in the air and took a deep breath.

The blazing flames condensed in its mouth, instantly transforming into a giant "大"-shaped flame that sliced through the ice and shot straight at the masked man!

The masked man seemed not to have expected that their target was not the Celebi, but the control device in his hand.

He instinctively raised his hand to block, but the Charizard's attack angle was extremely tricky. The flames grazed his arm and hit the gold and silver balls he was holding precisely!

boom!

The surface of the gold and silver spheres burst forth with a dazzling light, followed by the appearance of several cracks!

"One more time! Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"

Cibaner seized the opportunity and immediately took command!

Dragonite forcibly interrupted the tornado, gathered destructive energy in its mouth, and a thick white beam of light shot out!

Click—

The gold and silver balls shattered completely!

A burst of emerald green light erupted from it, and the dark red restraints on Celebi's body instantly vanished!

It let out a clear chirp, its eyes regained their clarity, and it looked around somewhat blankly.

"Beautiful!!! What perfect teamwork! Flawless!"

"Chibana and Dante's teamwork is amazing! One creates chaos, the other delivers precise strikes!"

"I cried. Dragonite and Charizard were almost exhausted but still persevered. That's what a true trainer and Pokémon are all about!"

"Leon's judgment was crucial! Attacking the control device instead of blindly attacking Celebi! That's champion-level tactical thinking!"

"Leon is the MVP! Kibana—uh, Kibana's just a carry!"

"What did you say upstairs? Didn't you see the Storm Interference and the Hyper Beam finishing blow? Kibana was a hero too!"

The masked man stared at the shattered gold and silver orbs in his hand and remained silent for a moment.

Then, he slowly raised his head and looked at Dante and Qibana.

Masked Man: — Not bad.

His voice betrayed no emotion, even a hint of—appreciation?

"Masked Man: The fact that he thought of attacking the control device instead of blindly attacking the Silavi is a very keen judgment."

But Emperor Dan frowned.

Not right.

Everything went too smoothly.

Given the combat intelligence and strength that the masked man had previously demonstrated, he shouldn't have been able to shatter the gold and silver spheres so easily.

and----

Since the beginning, the masked man has not been seriously instructing Celebi.

Although the shaman's attacks were fierce, they lacked the suffocating sense of oppression that had been present before.

More like —Pay?

Delaying time?

"You—did you do this on purpose?"

Emperor Dan spoke in a deep voice.

The masked man did not answer.

He simply turned around and looked in the direction of the glacial crevasse.

At the same moment the gold and silver spheres shattered, the glacier platform where the young man and the little dragon were located also let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain.

"not good!"

Qibana rushed toward the edge of the glacier.

But it was too late.

Snap—Boom!

The entire platform has completely collapsed!

Young Uncle Liu held Little Chenglong in his arms and let out a desperate cry!

Deep within the rift, the figures of the two dragons had completely vanished into the darkness.

The image freezes at this moment.

"you-!!!"

Chibana glared at the masked man.

"You knew this would happen?! You deliberately stalled for time, just to let the glacier collapse naturally?!"

The masked man slowly turned around.

The wind and snow fluttered his cloak, making his figure appear particularly lonely amidst the swirling snowflakes.

"Masked Man: ————Don't change the past."

"Masked Man: Otherwise, it will cause spacetime chaos—which will cause more innocent lives—to suffer."

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.

"Masked Man: If you had saved those two dragons, then Uncle Liu in this timeline wouldn't have lost them."

"Masked Man: He wouldn't have become what he is now because of this pain, he wouldn't have become the Gym Leader of Kaji Town, he wouldn't have studied Ice-type moves, he wouldn't have met you all."

"Masked Man: A butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm; one action of yours could cause the entire timeline to collapse."

"Masked Man: Countless people who should have existed will disappear, and countless things that should not have happened will happen."

"Masked Man: This is time—it is more cruel and merciless than any opponent, and it never allows anyone to rewrite the script that has already been written."

"But," Dan-di said, controlling his character to step forward, his eyes sharp.

"If you can't change the past, then why did you travel back in the first place?"

"You went through all that trouble to come here, wasn't it all to change something?"

"If you don't want to change, what's the point of you showing up here and stopping us?"

The masked man fell silent.

After a long while, he slowly spoke.

"Masked Man: When the ice and snow melt, spring arrives —"

"Masked Man: Although I lost, you should cherish the time you've spent with Pokémon all this time."

He did not answer Dan Di's question, but simply raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

"Masked Man: ———— Celebi's power is waning."

"Masked Man: You guys—it's time to go back."

The voice just fell.

The surrounding space began to distort violently!

Glaciers, fissures, snowstorms, sky —

Everything began to blur, overlap, and fragment!

The shrub cried out anxiously, flapping its wings and emanating emerald light as it tried to stabilize the surrounding space.

But the power of that spacetime turbulence was too strong!

"Oh no! Spacetime is collapsing!"

Emperor Dan's expression changed.

"Quick! Get closer to the shrine! It can take us back!"

The two frantically controlled their characters, charging towards the Celebi!

The masked man also moved.

But instead of rushing towards Celebi, he stood still and took out two Poké Balls from his pocket.

He tossed the Poké Ball gently towards the two of them.

Ah Xiang instinctively reached out and caught it.

They were two ordinary red and white Poké Balls, but they felt heavy in their hands.

"Masked Man: ————Take him back."

He only said three words.

next second.

The entire spacetime collapsed completely!

The three of them suddenly lost their footing and fell into endless darkness.

All around is a bizarre torrent of colors, fragmented pieces of time and space, and countless overlapping yet separate scenes.

The moment the glacier collapsed, the silhouette of a dragon falling, the desperate cry of a young man, decades of lonely waiting, the light of the shrine piercing through time—

Celebi flapped its wings frantically, and emerald green light enveloped Leon and Chibana, carrying them as they struggled through the rift in spacetime.

The masked man is also falling.

But he had no protection whatsoever.

The shrub cried out anxiously, trying to spare some of his strength to hold him back.

But that power vanished the moment it touched the masked man.

There seemed to be some invisible barrier that isolated the power of the rabbi.

"Shrab: Bi-!"

It let out an anxious cry.

But the masked man simply shook his head slightly.

Masked Man: No need.

His voice sounded remarkably calm amidst the turbulent flow of time and space.

"Masked Man: I—can't go back."

The surrounding space and time became increasingly blurred.