Pokémon: The Genetic Researcher Just Wants to Slack Off.

Chapter 523 Present and absent, yet present

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two were shocked. Xia Ye immediately used his superpower to lift his arm and Xiao Ya's head up together.

Xiaoya quickly adjusted her posture, used the momentum to get up, and was even faster than a god. She landed in a flash and fled through the door.

As they ran away, they didn't forget to close the door behind them, the loud bang waking Xia Ye's friends up completely.

The cats and dogs rubbed their eyes as they got up, and few noticed anything amiss; they simply moved closer to Natsuno and snuggled against him.

Xia Ye breathed a sigh of relief, his heartbeat gradually calmed down, and he patted each of his companions on the head to wake them up from the beautiful morning.

However, at this moment, Xiao Cai's little nose suddenly twitched, and she asked the soul-searching question: "Tulu, Tulu Tutu (Strange, the smell of Cattleya)?"

The male researcher's mind raced: Dogs have the best noses, what should we do?

Xia Ye's eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly regained control with his masterful acting skills. He saw the blanket still covering his legs and instantly came up with an excuse.

"Ah, last night after you were asleep, I saw it was too cold, so I went and grabbed a blanket from Xiaoya to cover myself with. This is my spoils!"

After saying that, Xia Ye picked up the thin blanket that Xiao Ya had brought and showed it to Xiao Cai and the others, his expression turning smug.

Xiao Cai understood in a few moments and was convinced of Xia Ye's behavior of "stealing Xiao Ya's blanket even though he had one in his own room".

There's no way around it, Natsuno is the kind of person who would do this, not for any other reason than to tease or retaliate against Xiaoya's usual sharp-tongued behavior.

Having passed the test, Xia Ye breathed a sigh of relief and decided to coordinate with Xiao Ya using their inner voices later to avoid giving themselves away.

"Alright, get up and wash up. We still need to go find Ho-Oh today, so get ready!"

The next second, the first little round one to float up made a questioning sound as she picked up a pair of slippers with her superpowers—a pair of cute women's slippers that were clearly a size too small for Natsuno.

Xia Ye was stunned, and roared in his heart: Why are you barefoot? It's really bad to be in contact with the ground too much!

She maintained her smug smile: "This is also a spoil from last night. Xiaoyuan, why don't you take it back to Xiaoya? Be merciful."

Xiaoyuan had no doubts and used her superpowers to carry the slippers to Xiaoya's room.

Xiaoya, blushing and with a racing heart, lay down on her bed. Her movements as she opened and closed the door were so forceful that they woke up her friends who were sleeping on the bed next to her.

Faced with her friends' puzzled questions, Xiaoya panicked a little: her friends asked her where she had gone in the middle of the night.

Before I could figure out how to explain, Xiaoyuan knocked on the door. The distinctive sound of water made everyone inside know that she had arrived.

Xiaoya quickly declined, saying, "It's not important, I'll go open the door, you all get up!"

When she opened the door, Xiaoyuan was carrying her slippers with her superpowers. Xiaoya blushed instantly, and a look of panic flashed across her face.

Oh no, how could I forget this? How am I supposed to explain this?

Unexpectedly, the next second Xiaoyuan said something like, "Natsuno asked me to return your spoils to you." The superpowered young lady was completely bewildered and asked a few more questions.

Upon learning that this was how Natsuno had explained things to his friends, Xiaoya was both angry and amused, mentally waving her fist at the Natsuno she had conjured up.

Natsuno? You? You think you can steal my things? When have you ever successfully snatched anything from me in your life?

However, she couldn't expose Natsuno's lie and could only tearfully accept her first "defeat" that never actually happened.

Her companions had by then understood the "reason." She disappeared in the middle of the night because she went to fight with Natsuno, but suffered her first defeat in a battle against Natsuno, so she was too embarrassed to tell her companions.

They all came up to comfort her very considerately.

The gist of it is something like, "Natsuno is bad, Xiaoya is good," or "We must have fallen for his trick."

Faced with her friends' comforting words, Xiaoya accepted them with a mix of amusement and exasperation, secretly making a grudge against Xia Ye in her heart.

Then, for no apparent reason, I thought of how it felt to sleep in Natsuno's arms, and my face turned red uncontrollably.

She rushed to the bathroom to wash up, and it took her a while to return to normal.

Soon, there was another knock on the door, this time it was Natsuno's voice: "Cattleya, breakfast is ready."

"Oh, oh."

Xiaoya waited until Xia Ye's footsteps faded away before opening the door, trying to act as if nothing had happened, and led her friends to the hall for breakfast.

Everything was fine, except that Xiaoya and Xiaye deliberately distanced themselves from each other, including when choosing their flight partners.

Katsuki was released by Natsuno to carry Fuji again, while Aya calmly climbed onto the back of her symbol bird and quietly awaited Natsuno's instructions.

Xia Ye watched as Xiao Ya sat on the symbol bird, still habitually sitting on the right, leaving the left side for Xia Ye, but without turning her head, she looked straight ahead.

Natsuno hesitated for a moment, his mind racing with various thoughts, but in the end he still took out Xiaocai's ball.

"Xiao Cai, you'll be the one to lead the flight this time. It's been a long time since you've flown."

Xiao Cai was puzzled, but she still obediently conjured up an energy Pidgeot.

Xia Ye boarded the Energy Pidgeon and, following the address on his phone, led the team out again.

Xiaoya watched as Xia Ye took off first, feeling a bit resentful. In frustration, she moved half a body length to the side.

He muttered to himself, "Hmph, fine, I won't sit then. I have plenty of room to myself. You bastard, Natsuno."

Soon, the group arrived at the location where they first met Marcia.

Xia Ye led the group to circle in the air, looking down at the forest below, which seemed no different from before, with some confusion.

"We've arrived, but where is Ho-Oh? We searched this entire island last time and didn't see it."

At that moment, Marshadow peeked out from his shadow: 'Here and not here, land.'

Natsuno was too lazy to comment on such mystical talk, so he had Aya follow his instructions to land on the outskirts of the forest.

When Xiaoya saw Masado appear, she was startled and instinctively tried to move closer to Xia Ye.

But after taking only two steps, he remembered Xia Ye's previous aloof actions, gently clenched his fist, closed his eyes, and stepped back again.

The next second, she heard the sound of a Pokémon releasing a ball, and a round guy ran over and hugged her, giving her a relatively strong sense of security.

Hugged by Xiaoyuan's big arms, Xiaoya opened her eyes and watched as Xia Ye carefully put away Xiaoyuan's deluxe ball. Her anger subsided considerably, and she even felt a little joy.

Marshado emerged entirely from Xia Ye's shadow, raising her small hands high, and energy began to condense around her.

Xiao Lan on Xia Ye's shoulder straightened up instantly, and the Poké Ball on his chest flew up, revealing Xiao Meng, who protected Xiao Ya.

Faced with this situation, Natsuno had no choice but to become more vigilant.

But then the smoke and shadows around Marcia's legs began to spread under his influence, quickly enveloping the forest in front of him.

As the shadows swept by, the scene changed.

Follow me.

Chapter 524 Shadow Authority, Phoenix King... Egg?

Natsuno and his group were astonished to see the forest, which had turned gray under Marshall's influence.

Xiaoya couldn't resist and quickly walked behind Xia Ye. However, this time she didn't reach out to hug him. Instead, she used this opportunity to hide in fear, not daring to look into the forest interior where the scene looked out of place.

Natsuno didn't pay much attention; what mattered was that Little Blue, perched on his shoulder, spoke up: 'I sensed Ho-Oh's presence! It's definitely here!'

Natsuno was overjoyed. After being led around and around on the sea by Marcia, he was finally going to see the person in front of him. He immediately stepped forward.

Marshall led the way, and as soon as they stepped into the Shadow Forest, all sounds from the outside world disappeared, except for the sound of their footsteps.

Xiao Lan carefully observed the gray, hazy environment around her, marveling at it.

'My authority: Shadow. This is a special space constructed with authority, like entering a world of shadows, where no one can see or touch it.'

"Lord Ho-Oh is at the deepest part. Please follow my steps closely; those unfamiliar with this place can easily get lost."

Fuji had already taken the lead, his eyes filled with excitement, and he walked quickly.

Natsuno, who was a little slower, clapped his hands vigorously as he listened to Masado's slightly smug tone: "Amazing! Even other authorities couldn't detect it. Your authority is truly remarkable."

As Xiaoya, now at the back of the group, listened to the surrounding noise disappear and the environment gradually darken, she began to feel a chill.

No longer caring about anything else, she rushed forward headlong, crashing straight into Xia Ye's back, grabbing his arm, and closing her eyes.

'You jerk, Natsuno, I'm scared! I can't watch where I'm going! Pull me along!'

Xia Ye felt helpless, but after feeling Xiao Ya's trembling body, he swallowed his words of refusal and could only let Xiao Ya hold his arm and follow him.

After winding through the woods for a few minutes, the surrounding scenery changed, gradually becoming clearer from a grayish hue.

As you walk a little further, the surrounding environment becomes more colorful, even more vibrant and lively than what you see in the real world.

The narrow woods suddenly opened up, revealing a wide clearing. The light in the center was not dazzling, yet it involuntarily drew all eyes to it.

A giant egg, 4 meters high and over 2 meters wide, stands here, with a flame burning fiercely on its surface.

It is clearly a flame, but looking at it, you can feel the infinite vitality it contains. The light emitted by the flame transforms into a rainbow that spreads in all directions. Just one glance at it fills you with happiness.

The group was so shocked by the sight before them that they were speechless, staring blankly at the egg, unable to look away.

Even Xiao Lan, a guardian of order who claimed to be knowledgeable and experienced, couldn't help but slowly float up and utter a shocked thought.

'I have never seen Ho-Oh look like this before.'

Xia Ye was a little surprised. At this moment, he suddenly felt a slight itch in his shoulder. He didn't know when, but Cattleya had gently placed her head on his shoulder.

The superpowered young lady was no longer fearful; a slight smile played on her lips, and her eyes sparkled with happiness as she pondered something.

Natsuno didn't disturb her. He quietly looked at the egg. In the rainbow, he seemed to see himself and his bride walking down the aisle. Legendary and mythical Pokémon were all there to support him.

Champions and PhDs from various regions attended as relatives and friends, and the Grand Master served as the wedding officiant. The scene was incredibly grand, to the point that I would laugh out loud in my dreams.

After staring at him with a smile for a while, Natsuno suddenly came to his senses.

"Wait a minute, this egg is Ho-Oh? Are you kidding me?"

Xia Ye's tone and actions brought all the eyes that were looking at Feng Wang to their senses. Xiao Ya, who was still in her pose, instantly came back to her senses and realized the current situation.

Her eyes darted around, she took a deep breath, and kept her head resting on Xia Ye's shoulder, her heart gradually racing.

Natsuno's attention wasn't on that, but on the Phoenix Egg in front of him.

Reminded by Natsuno, Fuji looked at Marcia on the ground, his eyes swirling with a mix of emotions.

Marshall turned around and nodded slightly: "Yes. I also do not know what situation Lord Phoenix is ​​in, but this place is undoubtedly his."

Upon hearing this, Fuji's expression froze for a moment, and then, still unwilling to give up, he asked again.

"How long has Ho-Oh been like this? Do you know how long it will take for it to hatch again?"

Although Fuji didn't know Ho-Oh's condition, the sight of such a large egg made him subconsciously try to deduce its nature from the perspective of an egg.