Aspiring to become a Pokémon trainer

Somewhat disappointed, they put down their items and let the stall owner go. Before long, the blonde girls crowded around the wooden cart stall that sold drinks and desserts.

"Boss, what's this called?"

Pointing to a soft, slightly curled pastry of excellent quality, a gleam appeared in her azure eyes.

"Oh my, young lady, you have good taste!" The dark-skinned, warm-smiling stall owner introduced the cake in heavily accented Carlos. "This is called Golden Cake, made with the finest flour, camel milk, and our oasis's unique jujube honey. It's sweet but not cloying, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and is one of the most famous pastries in Desert City. Would you like to try one?"

"Two, please!" Korne said without hesitation, then, as if remembering something, she turned to Nan Yin, her voice slightly coquettish and ingratiating, "Nan Yin~ why don't you try some too? It looks really delicious!" She deliberately drew out her words, trying to use the food as a weapon to break down her lover's 'reserve'.

Nan Yin looked at the former's greedy expression and a helpless smile appeared in her eyes.

Her preference for sweets was not nearly as fervent as Korney's, but looking into her lover's expectant eyes, she simply couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Okay." She nodded gently.

Korni immediately acted as if she had received a royal decree, happily paid the money, took the two still steaming hot 'golden cakes', and eagerly put one of them to Nan Yin's lips: "Ah, come on, it's best to eat it while it's hot!"

Following Kerni's hand, Nan Yin took a small bite. The hot, crispy outer shell crackled between her teeth with a pleasant, soft sound, followed by a warm, honey filling with a rich milky aroma and the sweet scent of jujubes filling her mouth. The sweetness was indeed quite high, but it was strangely balanced by the slight astringency of the jujubes and the milky aroma, creating a complex and layered flavor that wasn't as cloying as she had imagined.

"Hmm, it's really good." She narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a fair evaluation.

"Right, right!" Korne was even happier to receive confirmation than if she had eaten it herself, and then took a bite of her own portion.

Perhaps she was too engrossed, for even her puffed-out cheeks couldn't suppress her mumbled praise.

"Wow! This honey filling is so fragrant and smooth, and the camel milk tastes so special too. Nanyin, let's buy more to take back to Grandpa and the others... Ah?"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt her hand lighten.

"It smells so good, so sweet..." A small, childlike voice, filled with longing, appeared out of nowhere in their ears, like a mosquito buzzing.

"Huh?" Korini turned her head sharply, but there was no one beside her except for Nanyin and Eevee. She could only blink in confusion. "I think I heard someone talking?"

Only after saying that did he belatedly cry out in sorrow.

"Ah, my snacks!"

She would not ignore the strangeness just now. Even though it was extremely brief, Nan Yin's mental power still managed to capture a very unique spatial fluctuation in a short moment.

The brewing emotion carried a pure, almost childlike curiosity, and the next target was the pastry left in his hand.

Unmoved, she released a waveguide from her eyebrow star, penetrating the bustling market and following the inevitable traces to find a small figure.

As expected.

Her pale pink lips curved into an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible arc.

found it.

That represents the 'childlike nature'.

That pure little Hupa that was separated.

Without dodging or avoiding, she gathered her strength as the ripples in the space spread again, and the moment that little hand reached out, she took the initiative to push forward, passing the snack through the door and stuffing it into the mouth of the little beast behind the curtain.

"Well!"

Drawn by the other's pull and distracted by the dessert in his mouth, the little guy was pulled out by the girl in the blink of an eye.

It is a mixture of pink and gray, with its head and horns curving upwards, and gold-edged rings floating around its body, giving it a smoky, floating appearance.

What came into view was a small elf.

Although a little flustered, the little guy was still very engrossed in chewing the delicious food in front of him, not caring at all that the snack had been bitten.

“Hupa…” Nan Yin’s voice was very soft, with a sigh that was both expected and somewhat amusing.

Korne also saw the small figure clearly, and her eyes widened in astonishment: "This, this child is? No, no, it, it stole my snack!"

Are you a child too?

He chuckled and rubbed his forehead.

Seemingly having heard the word "snack," Little Hoopa's ears twitched. It finally stopped wolfing down its food, and slowly turned around, holding the half-eaten cake.

Tilting its little head slightly, it first looked at the sullen Korni, then glanced at the calm Nanyin, and finally settled its gaze on the fragrant pastry in its hand.

Feeling guilty but unwilling to reflect on her actions, Hupa opened her mouth and announced in a childish, innocent voice:

"Snacks! Hoopa's! Delicious!"

It even proudly held up the half-eaten cake in its hand, completely unaware that it had just committed 'robbery'.

Looking at its innocent yet self-righteous appearance, Korni momentarily forgot her anger, only feeling a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Nan Yin had already warned her about the demon god's dual nature, but who could have predicted that the legendary being would actually be a gluttonous child?

Nan Yin's gaze passed over Hu Pa's innocent and cheerful face and landed on the small halo at its waist. The halo shimmered slightly, and inside, ominous black threads seemed to be moving silently, like lurking shadows.

The crisis was not over; it simply arrived quietly in a more heart-wrenching way.

She walked slowly forward, not questioning anything, but simply reaching out her fingertip to touch the little beast's forehead.

"Little one, you reap what you sow. Food given to you will never taste as sweet as the reward of hard work."

Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and gentle, and when Hu Pa looked into those purple eyes, she felt a sense of disorientation, as if she had returned to a long time ago in the afternoon.

That rice paddy belonged to an old man named Gulis, who, despite being a powerful trainer, was content to spend his life cultivating the land, patiently and meticulously teaching it the fundamental principles of kindness.

"I'm not called Little Guy, I'm called Huba!"

For some reason, its response carried an extra touch of coquetry.

"Okay, so where does Hoopa come from?"

“I have always lived in Genesis Valley with my family!”

With her small chest held high, Chengyan spoke with pride.

“The Valley of Creation, is that it?” Pointing to the lush valley in the distance that didn’t seem like a desert, Corinne bent down and whispered, “It must be a beautiful place, right? How are your family? Are Mr. Balza and the others alright?”

Hoopa's previously cheerful expression instantly dimmed. Clutching the half-eaten pastry, its brow furrowed tightly. "Hoopa... Hoopa can't find Balzah! And Mayari! Everyone, everyone's acting so strange! Hoopa's scared!"

"Could you tell me the specifics?"

The gentle wave power, like an invisible warm current, carried away the girl's kindness and comfort. The little beast looked up at the ones in front of it with teary eyes, "Can you really help Hoopa, even if Hoopa steals your snacks?"

"Of course, consider that dessert as an exchange with you. A dessert in exchange for peace of mind. How about that? Pretty good deal, right?"

Touched by her tender words and actions, Little Hupa began to speak intermittently.

"Hoopa was sleeping...and then she heard a really loud noise, like thunder. And someone was shouting. When Hoopa flew out to see what was happening, she saw Balzah...Balzah was being carried away by something dark and terrifying!"

"Hupa wanted to help, but Hupa's halo became very hostile towards him. Hupa was a little scared, so he secretly ran away."

A dark, terrifying thing? It kidnapped Balzah? Nan Yin and Korni exchanged a glance. This description clearly pointed to the entity of the negative power of the Super Demon God, which had broken free of some of its seals and could even directly affect the inhabitants of the Valley of Creation, having abducted the guardian Balzah.

"Radiance..."

Once again, Nan Yin channeled a waveguide, avoiding the restless black threads, and intentionally used gentle power to soothe the disorder in the core of the light wheel.

"Hmm." Little Huba let out a comfortable sigh, feeling that the restless heat in its waist seemed to have lessened a bit, and its gaze towards the girl held more trust and reliance.

However, just as his own wave-guiding power attempted to delve deeper and investigate the whereabouts of the black line, an extremely violent will filled with destructive desires followed him like a poisonous needle.

That wasn't Hoopa's consciousness, but rather a colossal malice from another dimension, sealed away for millennia—

The true super demon god, Hoopa.

Chapter 281 The Great Gathering of Another Dimension

"Found you, Hoopa."

[Found you, my true form.]

As evil thoughts ruminate, gloom descends, dark clouds obscure the sun, and even more so, an evil shadow that blots out the sky manifests from the mountains and rivers, stretching out its body and looking down upon all living beings.

It is a similar yet different hoarseness.

Looking away, all you could see was a young man with a gloomy face slowly emerging from the shadows of the alley corner.

But if you look closely, you can see behind him a hundred-foot-tall phantom of a demon god, who is indifferently mocking you with insatiable eyes.

[The power of overpowering is the key. To prevent the situation from worsening, you will surely search for the original body, and this, too, is my guidance.]

As a negative aggregate of demons, it is not stupid, and it knows how to be more confident.

[The arrogant descendants of Gulis, from the moment they touched the bottle, their entire being fell under my control, and your attempts to trace them were also seen by me. A little waiting, and we have achieved our goal.]

An ancient god with a blue face and fangs, several sharp claws hanging high, and a deep black hole in its chest, under its control, made the young man raise his forehead, revealing the crimson in his eyes.

[Come back, your true self. You shouldn't be so weak, and you shouldn't be swayed by unintentional kindness.]

"Hoopa, don't go back! Hoopa will disappear!"

The pinkish-gray beast hid behind the girl, not daring to look directly at the towering phantom image.

"......elder brother."

Mei Yali, who had been observing from the shadows, was about to step forward when Qinglu, who had tracked her down, raised her arm to stop her.

"That boy is probably under the negative control of the demon god and is unable to reflect on himself. The key is to keep Little Hoopa awake."

However, no sooner had the words left his mouth than a chilling cracking sound came from afar, like porcelain shattering, coming from the direction of the distant desert tower.

Following the sound, one could see that behind the tower, the enormous metal cauldron symbolizing a thousand-year seal—the Jar of Punishment—had developed a gruesome black crack. The crack spread rapidly, like a living thing, eroding the intact parts. Countless tiny golden runes attempted to repair it, but flickered uncertainly under the dense malice gushing from the crack, ultimately vanishing completely.

"Boom—!"

With a deafening roar, a deep, dark vortex of space formed overhead! Dust filled the air, turning the sky an ominous dark purple, and the turbulent flow of matter and energy swallowed everything in sight.

In the darkness, a colossal, despair-inducing figure slowly emerged from view.

Standing a hundred feet tall, with two legs and six arms, its ferocious body was covered in dark gold armor. Each of its six thick arms was adorned with a shimmering halo of light that swirled with spatial turbulence. Its head resembled that of a demon, its massive, blood-red eyes burning with pure destructive lust, and its sharp horns piercing through the churning dark clouds.

Hoopa, the ultimate form of the Super Demon God, descends!

Upon seeing that figure, that demon god who moved like a calamity, the unsuspecting people were instantly plunged into extreme panic!

"A monster—!"

"Divine punishment! This is divine punishment!"

"Run!"

The market's clamor was completely replaced by desperate screams. Carts were overturned, precious goods were scattered and trampled on the ground, children's cries mingled with parents' screams, and the crowd, like ants being doused with boiling water, frantically fled in all directions, seeking only to escape the epicenter of destruction. The entire desert city trembled under the oppressive force of the descending demon god.

"Roar—!!!"

Hoopa roared as it unleashed its blood-red eyes, which instantly locked onto the trembling little Hoopa, protected between the two girls. Its gaze was filled with greed, violence, and a twisted 'desire'—it wanted to reclaim this last vestige of its pure self and complete the power sealed for a thousand years.

[Come back! Become a part of me!]

"No! Hoopa, no! Hoopa doesn't want to hurt anyone!"

The little beast, its eyes brimming with tears, nestled in the girl's arms, instinctively seeking protection. "That bad guy, he's been bewitching Hoopa all along. I... I don't want to become like that..."

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Even though it was only a fleeting encounter, the little creature's purity touched Nanyin. Setting aside its cravings for food, it always considered others' needs, and therefore—

The silver-haired girl handed the former to Korne, stepped forward, and used her body as a shield to protect the weaker one behind her.

"Hey, there's a limit to arrogance!" Just like Nan Yin, Mo Ran stepped forward, his green eyes sharp as knives, and instantly threw out several Poké Balls. "Arcanine, go evacuate the surrounding crowd. Blastoise, full power, Hydro Pump!"

The rapidly swirling vortex transformed into the sharpest dagger, rushing straight towards Liberation Huba. However, upon hearing the former's sneer, the towering waves were enveloped by the rising halo of light. In one fell swoop, the condensed water cannon actually retaliated against Qinglu himself from another part of space.

Fortunately, he was focused and used his hands to brace himself on the ground, deftly avoiding the move that was originally his.

"Well, human trainers, your confident moves and tactics are meaningless to me."

A silent standoff ensued. Seeing the crowd's expressions grow even darker, the Demon God smiled sinisterly and waved his hand to open several teleportation rings.

"Epic, legendary, trainers, you see Pokémon with immense power as the ultimate goal to climb to. Well then, today, I will let you experience that feeling!"

Flames shook the heavens and thunder rumbled the earth; something magnificent was descending, something grand was approaching.

Space trembles, time vibrates, raging waves surge, and the earth cracks open...

With her pupils constricted, Qinglu stared at these figures in disbelief.

"How is that possible...?"

Those nightmarish figures have descended upon this world once again.

With a grin that stretched from the corners of his mouth to the root of his tongue, the ancient demon mocked with unrestrained arrogance.

[Hoopa is the strongest!]