Pokémon, you're not allowed to expel me from human form!

Her brain capacity simply doesn't allow her to get caught up in such complicated matters while enjoying herself.

But sometimes these anxieties don't disappear; they just shift.

Where did it go?

Is it on Luo Ke?

Do not!

It was transferred to Carmen!

When Carmen suspected that Karen was different from before, she withdrew the people who were exploring the central area of ​​the Long Wind Grass Sea and concentrated them in Eagle City.

So when Rocco and Karen entered Eagle City, Carmen learned of the news immediately.

Then Carmen recognized Rocco.

Although Luo Ke doesn't appear in public very often, he hasn't reached the point where he would be recognized by people if he walked down the street.

However, within the trainer community, due to Rocco's Phantom Strategy, the only people who might not recognize his face are probably a small minority like Randyll, who are engrossed in one thing and rarely care about anything else.

Carmen even watched the live broadcast of the exhibition match.

After reviewing all of Roko's information, she felt that Roko, like herself, was a trainer whose most Pokémon were Elite Four level and whose ace Pokémon were Champion level.

Having such a helpful person only reinforced her conclusion that her younger sister had grown up.

Karen and Roko appeared openly in Eagle City, confronted the Grass and Tree Gym head-on, and then spent the whole day playing after leaving... all of this must have a deeper meaning.

Carmen guessed that this was Karen's way of openly exposing herself to her after she had gained help, a challenge to her!

She simply smiled and shook her head at this.

She is never afraid of challenges from others!

But something else caught her attention even more.

"Since Kallen approached Rocco with a plan, then her taking the Aura Stone must have been because of Rocco—so Rocco has the potential to awaken Aura?"

"That Karen has such a good relationship with a wave guide user..."

Carmen thought of some of her family's ideas.

But before she could think any further, she saw the smiles on Karen and Rocco's faces as they played together. Although she was still a little conflicted, she finally nodded slightly.

"...Whatever their initial motives, as long as they are happy now, that's fine."

......

17. Carmen: Oh no, we've been set up!

When Ningya returned to the Grass and Tree Dojo, she learned that Karen had brought Roco to visit her earlier. This made her sigh slightly, but she also took a copy of Roco's information.

"So... the one aiming for my Elite Four title is this Phantom Trainer."

"That's right. With his strength, there's really no point in challenging the gyms step by step. Aiming for the Elite Four title is a reasonable thing to do."

Ningya quickly pieced together everything that had happened during this period.

Luo Ke is a rising star.

He was very talented, had great opportunities, and rose to prominence very quickly.

Then, after being basically convinced of the Heavenly King's strength by Bai Youyou during the entertainment match, he decided to take it one step at a time and planned to become the Heavenly King through the Heavenly King replacement battle.

That makes perfect sense, absolutely perfect.

Ningya even had a guess as to why the Ripple Dojo would help Luo Ke.

"After leaving the Grass and Tree Gym, he had a lot of fun with Karen... If they're that close, it's not surprising that the Ripple Gym would help him."

"If there's only one problem..."

After figuring out the 'truth', Ning Ya looked helpless.

"...Why didn't you aim at Bai Youyou but instead aimed at me?"

"You don't think I'm easier to deal with than Bai Youyou, do you?"

Since the entertainment match ended, the kings and champions have been teasing Bai Youyou a lot in their group chat.

As it turns out, Luo Ke's challenge to become the king is her... Ning Ya can already imagine what Bai Youyou will say about her after she finds out about this.

Just thinking about the other person holding the witch's hat and looking so arrogant made Ningya want to force out her mask of pain.

As for whether he will lose to Luo Ke?

Ningya didn't think she would lose.

She acknowledged Rocco's talent and potential, but said it was too early to say.

And this is Eagle City, she has that elf's help—she will win!

...

The next morning, after enjoying breakfast at the hot spring inn with Rocco, Karen once again came to the Grass and Wood Dojo.

"The curator has been waiting for you two for some time. Please follow me."

This time, the staff took the two of them directly into the Grass and Tree Dojo, and Luo Ke once again experienced the architectural features of Eagle City.

Like most buildings in Eagle City, the Grass and Wood Dojo is carved inside giant trees.

The sacred eaglehorn wood, a specialty of Eagle City, has insect-repelling properties. It's fine for Bug-type Pokémon, but you won't see any wild insects, except for those that are fed to certain creatures that consume it.

Furthermore, its sap is even more effective than cement, and the wood itself is fireproof, lightning-proof, sturdy, and waterproof... In short, it is an excellent building material.

The vitality of the sacred eaglehorn tree is also extremely terrifying. Even if the inside is hollowed out, as long as the roots are not pulled out and some of the outer shell is preserved, it can continue to survive.

Therefore, the interior of the Grass and Wood Dojo is cylindrical, similar to that of a convenience store, and is divided into multiple levels. Looking up from the spiral staircase, you can see the situation on each level and the sunlight shining through the countless windows.

Incorporating modern architecture into this sacred eaglewood was a style that was very new to Rocco.

However, even with the staff's guidance, they didn't get to actually explore the entire interior of the Grass and Tree Dojo.

She led Rocco and Karen up the spiral staircase until they exited at the top and arrived at a special rooftop located at the top of the giant tree. It was bathed in sunlight, home to many bird spirits, and planted with numerous flowers.

Upon arriving here, they finally saw one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Shenzhou region, the head of the Grass and Wood Dojo, Ningya.

She is a beautiful woman.

Her long, dark green hair was combed very neatly, with some messy parts neatly pinned up. Even though Luo Ke was not familiar with similar things, he could still tell a bit of the ancient court fashion style based on his knowledge of ancient culture he had learned while traveling in this world.

However, Ningya did not choose this courtly style for her hair accessories. Her head was quite clean, except for a white-gold wheat ear hair accessory on the right side.

She gives off the feeling of a beautiful older sister next door.

Those exquisite details make this feeling even clearer, leaving an impression on people for various reasons the moment they see her.

"Sister Ningya, I have something to tell you."

As Luo Ke sized up Ning Ya, Ning Ya was also smiling and sizing him up. The staff member leading the way understood the atmosphere and had already closed his eyes, trying to minimize his presence.

Karen, however, seemed oblivious to the atmosphere. Upon seeing Ningya, she promptly moved closer to her and spoke directly.

Ningya then turned to her helplessly.

"Yes, you really should have something to say to me."

"But Karen, don't rush things here. I already understand the details. Before that..."

As Ningya spoke, the three Steel-Armored Ravens simultaneously spread their wings.

Once the three of them took off, the carriage-like object they were clinging to was completely exposed.

"This is our Eagle City's signature Steel Raven Airlines service. I've prepared everything. Please follow me."

As she spoke, Ningya climbed into a carriage. Once she closed the door, the Steel-Armored Raven took flight and waited high in the sky.

Seeing this, Karen didn't hesitate to climb into another carriage and take off as well.

Seeing that even she, who had come to Ning Ya for something, was like this, Luo Ke also climbed into the carriage.

Karen helped him awaken his Aura. Although he said it was payment for bringing Karen to Eagle City, in reality, Rocco silently paid for everything from meals and sightseeing to lodging after they arrived in Eagle City.

Luo Ke could tell that Kallen took Ningya's approach quite seriously, probably because she claimed to be a former Ripple Gym Leader.

In short, since he didn't refuse when Karen pulled him over in the morning, it means that Rocco already had plans to help Karen when she needed it.

...

Luo Ke and the other two left just like that.

When Carmen received the message, she first frowned, then pondered, and finally stood up.

"not good!"

She had always thought that Karen had found Rocco as an accomplice to join forces with Ningya and fight against her. In her mind, these people should be in cahoots.

But now it seems that her perception was most likely exploited!

"Under our guidance, Ningya should have developed some ideas during this time. However, after Karen approached Ningya, she didn't explain things clearly to her, or perhaps she did it on purpose... This deepened Ningya's misunderstanding. She probably sees Luo Ke as a challenger!"

"Now she's launching a war to replace Luo Ke as the king!"

"We've been taken advantage of!"

......

18. The Battle of the Heavenly Kings

Ningya took Luo Ke and Karen and left Eagle City directly.

There was nothing we could do about it. When we were playing a fun match in Xiangwan City, everyone only brought out one Pokémon and no one was able to fully utilize their tactics. We already needed to find a special location where we could build a large protective barrier.

Now, with the battle for the title of "King of Kings" about to begin, all the cards will be played under these new rules, making it even more intense than that exhibition match.

For such a battle to break out in a place like Eagle City, where forests and cities blend together, is still too risky, even though there are specially constructed venues available.

So Ningya brought Karen and Roco to a large open-air arena located outside Eagle City, but not too far away.

Many large-scale events held in Eagle City are conducted here.

This time is no exception.

"arrive."

Ningya arrived here, and looking at Karen and Roco who were looking around, she spoke to them as she walked into the arena.

“Roco, the Phantom Trainer... I’ve heard of you before. If it’s going to be a contest between the two of us, then an ordinary arena definitely won’t do.”

"So let's leave it here."

"Use the most classic five-on-five rules to determine the winner directly."

Luo Ke understood when he heard Ning Ya say what had happened.

After all, things are clearly different from when Bai Youyou was around. Back then, he wasn't as famous as he is now, and since Bai Youyou knew Yurika, it was quite normal that she wouldn't use her full strength at the Heavenly King level to fight him.

But nowadays, in other people's eyes, he is at least a Champion-level trainer. As a gym leader who adjusts the lineup according to the challenger's strength, it is normal for Ningya to go all out.

But should we start fighting now?

Thinking of this, Luo Ke looked at Karen, who noticed his gaze, nodded at him, smiled, and then flipped over and disappeared into the audience.

Seeing this, Luo Ke sighed inwardly.

However, he also came to understand somewhat.

Yes, Ningya needs to come to this special venue to fight me, which will take a lot of time. On the other hand, Ningya seemed to already know why Karen came to her.

Perhaps she judged that this matter wasn't urgent, at least not as troublesome as fighting herself, so she postponed it.

Um...

With that in mind, Luo Ke made preparations.

That’s okay.

Although challenging the gym after only one day in Eagle City wasn't his original plan, since he was already here, he figured he might as well finish the challenge as soon as possible.

That's why Luo Ke asked about the rules Ning Ya had mentioned.

"Five against five?"