Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Another figure flashed through her mind; it was the only one of the two people she couldn't understand, besides Sakaki.

He squinted.

He strode up to the top of the hill.

In the distance, not far from Golden City, the ground, covered by Liu Bo's ice and snow, was seeing layers of soil churning wildly upwards.

A ferocious, dark gray elf burst from the ground, accompanied by a loud roar and a pillar of fire shooting into the sky.

He patted Kenta on the shoulder beside him.

"Look closely, this is one of the world's top powers."

Kenta's eyes were filled with fervor as he nodded emphatically.

Chapter 86 The Confidence of the Four Heavenly Kings!

dong dong——

Not long after Anci left, there was a knock on the villa door.

Xia Yan, who was deep in thought, was interrupted by the knocking on the door. Startled, he slowly walked to the door without saying a word.

"Open the door."

A hoarse, shrill voice came from outside the door.

Xia Yan was clearly startled upon hearing the voice.

After hesitating for a moment.

The door was opened.

Then I saw that sinister face that could easily make a child cry in the middle of the night, the cane he was leaning on, and the familiar apron.

The Four Heavenly Kings, Juzi!

The first thing that flashed through Xia Yan's mind when he saw Kiku was the outrageous rumor he had heard at the Trainer Guild.

He just wanted to use Kikuko's name to finish the identity verification quickly, and he doesn't know how it got distorted like that.

Are they here to interrogate me?

But Xia Yan quickly dismissed the idea.

Even if she were to hold someone accountable, it should absolutely not be at this time, when Liu Bo is still alone outside braving the overwhelming riot of wild elves. As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, she has no reason to come looking for her over such a "trivial matter."

But upon closer reflection, given Kikuko's eccentric personality and her vengeful nature...

It's not impossible!

Kikuko glanced at Natsuhiko, whose expression had changed, but didn't try to guess what he was thinking.

He simply asked, "Have you been to the Dark Ruins? I'm not talking about the ruins themselves, you know what I mean."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yan was taken aback again.

He immediately breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It's good that they didn't come to interrogate us.

His brows furrowed slowly but surely.

He did go to the Dark Ruins with Daigo and Cynthia, but they didn't fall like him, nor did they enter the intricate underground tunnels.

Kikuko's question was clearly about that tunnel.

Is it the young monk Anci?

However, in their previous conversations, Xia Yan had subtly asked An Ci whether he had told the Alliance about him and the underground tunnel.

Anci stated that he only mentioned himself and the fossil pterosaur, and did not mention Xia Yan.

Although Anci may seem unreliable at times, he is indeed a monk and has never lied.

Even with those seemingly outrageous Buddhist beads, he didn't lie. It's just that his story was so real that others thought he was lying.

How did Kikuko know that?

Seemingly noticing Xia Yan's confusion, Kikuko's face twitched, and she forced an even uglier smile.

"No need to think about it, I found out from an 'old friend'."

When he said the words "old friend," he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

"Although he's an old scoundrel, he's also known for being honest and trustworthy."

Since Kikuko had said so, Natsuhiko knew he couldn't deny it.

"Yes."

“Very good.” Kikuko nodded in satisfaction. “Come with me.”

With that, he turned and left.

Xia Yan paused at the door for a moment.

Shaking his head helplessly, he put away the few Pokémon, slung the backpack hanging by the door over his shoulder, and strode after them.

What kind of situation is this?

He jogged a few steps and came up behind Kikuko.

Despite her advanced age and the fact that she uses a cane, Kikuko walks quite fast.

The two left two rows of footprints in the snow.

"Have you been to the spirit world?"

Suddenly, Kikuko asked without turning her head.

Then a round head emerged from her shadow, along with a pair of mocking eyes.

Kikuko's Gengar!

"Yes, I accidentally got caught in it and just got back," Xia Yan said honestly.

It seems that no one understands the spirit world better than the King of Ghosts.

"Gengar said you had a very special aura, but it's very faint now. Something must have come out of the spirit world with you."

"A special... aura?"

Xia Yan recalled the black mist that had helped them block Gastly's dark gaze.

Kikuko chuckled softly, "It seems you've noticed something too. That's good, you're quite alert. I don't need to remind you anymore."

But Xia Yan wasn't as optimistic as her.

He was in a hurry to have Casey bring them back from the spirit world, wasn't it to avoid the master of that black mist?

Surprisingly, it seems the other party still followed them out.

"Thank you for the reminder, Kikuko-sama."

Anyway.

Kikuko did give him the reminder out of good intentions.

In retrospect, although Kikuko may seem like a person who is unapproachable and has a dark side, she is actually not as bad or difficult to get along with as one might imagine.

At least.

Xia Yan, who had met her twice, hadn't given her a friendly look either time, but he had reciprocated each time.

Last time, he was allowed to directly obtain trainer certification; this time, he was given a reminder.

It might not be of much use to Xia Yan, but it's at least a sign of goodwill.

Come to think of it, Kiku used to be someone who played with Professor Oak. Although she later fell out with Professor Oak and still holds a grudge against him to this day.

She resented Professor Oak because he later shifted his focus to Pokémon research, and she felt betrayed because she believed his strength had declined significantly.

But even if someone who can get along with Professor Oak has an eccentric personality and a thought process that is different from ordinary people, they should still be a good person at heart.

"No need," Kikuko said calmly. "After all, only with this level of vigilance can one barely be worthy of the title of my 'disciple,' or perhaps 'nephew'? Or..."

Xia Yan's expression froze.

He took back what he had just thought.

"Hehe—" Kikuko's sinister laughter reached my ears.

Xia Yan chuckled dryly and quickly explained, "King Kikuko, that's all just other people's imagination. I didn't say that..."

"Is that so?" Kikuko stopped and turned around halfway.

Rumble!!

Before Xia Yan could explain, a huge roar suddenly erupted from the ground of Golden City, and the ground trembled violently.

Even Liu Bo's ice seal was broken.

Immediately afterwards, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, and the scorching heat rose up, actually evaporating a large hole in the clouds that held water.

Huhu——

With the howling wind, a fossil pterosaur with bloodshot eyes burst out of the ground.

Xia Yan happened to recognize this fossil pterosaur.

It was the same one that he and Anci encountered in the huge cavern of the underground tunnel.

However, its current state seems somewhat off.

Kikuko also saw the fossil pterosaur soaring into the sky, but her expression remained unchanged.

But after stopping, she continued moving, even faster than before. Xia Yan even noticed that she seemed to be floating in mid-air, leaving no footprints in her wake.

Left with no other choice, Xia Yan could only jog to catch up with her.

"The fossil pterosaurs have also appeared. It seems the enemy has reached the final stage. It's time to wipe them all out in one fell swoop," Kikuko muttered to herself.

But when it reached Xia Yan's ears, it sent a chill down his spine.

really.