I caught a Pokémon

Wow, such a deep friendship, how enviable...

The two walked along the street for a while, and when they came to a crossroads, Xia You suddenly stopped and faced Li Jia.

"Next, we should choose a route to the capital. Would you like to take a plane, a boat, or go to Goldenrod City first and then take the maglev train to Goldenrod City?"

Just as Xia You said yesterday, transportation is now extremely developed. Besides walking or riding Pokémon, they can certainly consider other faster human means of transportation.

In addition to having an airport in the suburbs, despite being located in the heart of Kanto, Yukiho City also has a large port due to the presence of an inland sea, with many ships traveling to and from other areas every day.

Of course, flying is the best option, as it takes the shortest time and is the most efficient. The maglev train is the next best option, but it requires a return trip to Golden City. As for taking a boat, the slow waterway will undoubtedly waste more time, making it the route that Xia You least recommends.

Originally, Xia You thought it would be most appropriate to ride the fire-breathing dragon back to the city. However, since she was traveling with Li Jia this time, out of respect, Xia You couldn't make a decision on her own and had to ask for her opinion first.

Lijia pondered for a moment, but instead of making a choice, she asked in return, "How do you usually travel?"

Xia You replied without hesitation, "For short distances, we'll rely on walking. For longer distances, we'll use Charizard. Although Charizard isn't very fast, it's convenient. We can stop and go whenever we want, which is very liberating!"

“Then let’s ride Charizard together,” Rika said with a smile. “You’re still challenging the gyms, so you must need to train your Pokémon along the way, right? Just do it your way, no need to accommodate me!”

"this…"

"Don't worry." Rika clenched her fist at him. "I'm a trainer too, I'm not that delicate!"

She's so understanding...

Xia You was still somewhat hesitant, but since Li Jia had already said so, he didn't try to persuade her any further.

"Alright, let's ride the Charizard back to Johto. However, the long flight will inevitably be a bit tiring. If you feel unwell, please don't hesitate to tell me. We can stop and rest for a while before continuing our journey!"

Seeing Lijia nod, Xia You took out a Poké Ball and released Charizard.

He first helped Rika hang her luggage on one side of the Charizard, then gentlemanly helped her sit on it. After she was settled, he then rode the Charizard himself.

When traveling with Naz, Naz would usually sit in front and lean against Xia You's chest. But now that it was Li Jia, out of respect for the difference between men and women, she sat behind Xia You and kept a certain distance from him to avoid their bodies touching.

With everything ready, Xia You patted the fire-breathing dragon's neck, instructing it to fly as steadily as possible. Then, with a push of its feet, the fire-breathing dragon leaped into the air, spread its wings, and soared into the clouds, carrying them towards the capital!

……

Above the city of Jodo, in a region whose name is currently unknown.

After departing from Yuhong City and flying for a day, they finally arrived in Johto before nightfall.

During this journey, the two only stopped for lunch once; the rest of the time they were constantly on the road, until now.

Just as Lijia said, she was indeed not as delicate as she appeared.

Whether she's a perfume shop owner or a florist, she's first and foremost a gym leader and a trainer. So, she persevered through the cold air and the tedious journey without flinching.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

After glancing at the time and seeing that it was already late, Xia You turned to Li Jia and said, "Alright, now that we've arrived in the capital, there's no need to rush. I think we should rest here for the night!"

Chapter 354 Green Wilderness

Hearing that she could finally rest, Lijia breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite her relaxed expression, she had been putting on a brave face the whole time. Even though she was a powerful trainer with a strong will, her body was still that of an ordinary human woman, and the long journey had left her physically and mentally exhausted.

Once the fire-breathing dragon landed on the ground, Xia You jumped down first, and then helped Li Jia down as well.

Their hands briefly touched, and Xia You could feel that her fingers were very delicate and her skin was extremely smooth and fair. In a daze, his mind went blank, and he subconsciously squeezed her hand hard.

Lijia didn't notice anything unusual about this; she simply remained calm and thanked him in a natural and generous manner.

A gentle breeze brushed against her cheeks, and whether it was just her imagination due to fatigue, Lijia felt as if even the air here smelled of fresh grass!

Having sat on the Charizard for so long, when she stepped back onto the ground, her legs felt a little weak. She sat on a rock and gently pounded them a few times. Once the fatigue subsided, she was able to look around.

Using the last rays of the setting sun, she discovered that behind them lay a vast forest, and in front of them were several small, grassy hills connected together.

It wasn't my imagination; I really could smell the scent of fresh grass!

Seeing such a view lifted her spirits considerably, which had been dampened by the journey.

After all, due to excessive human development around Yuhong City, with its towering buildings and the discharge of waste gas and wastewater everywhere, such lush grasslands are no longer visible. For her, who loves plants, this is undoubtedly a refreshing sight!

Xia You took a sip of water, then took out her phone, opened the map, and checked their current location.

"Let me see... Hmm... Not bad. According to the map, as long as we cross those few hills ahead, we'll reach a place called Green Fields. There's a small town there with a Pokémon Center where we can stay overnight. Looks like we're really lucky; at least we won't have to sleep in the wild tonight!"

"Green fields?"

Lijia frowned slightly, feeling that she had heard the name somewhere before, and quickly took out a travel guidebook from her backpack.

After flipping through a few pages, she suddenly pointed to a picture and exclaimed with a hint of surprise, "So this is it! It says that the Green Fields is a peaceful and lush place, and even the wind that blows there can soothe the hearts of humans and Pokémon! Besides, many Grass-type Pokémon live there, and it's also the number one 'place girls most want to visit' in the Johto region! I never thought that my first stop in Johto would lead me directly to this place!"

What's the place girls most want to go? Number one?

This was the first time Xia You had ever heard of such a ranking!

Since it's the place that girls most want to go, the scenery there must be very beautiful, or there must be some romantic legends or stories about it!

And it can soothe the soul, does that mean there is some kind of magical power there?

However… glancing at the manual in Rika’s hand, it was surprising that she had even prepared something like this. It seemed that she had done her homework for this trip!

After resting for a while, the two set off again.

Knowing that Rika had had enough of riding the Charizard and that their destination wasn't far away, Xia You suggested that they walk the rest of the way on the ground.

Lijia did not object; she did need to stretch her legs, so she readily accepted the suggestion.

The two climbed over hill after hill, their light steps carrying them as time passed and the sky grew darker. When they came to their senses and looked up at the sky, it was filled with stars!

It's already so late...

But the starry sky far away from the city is really beautiful!

Finally, when they reached the top of the last hill, just as they were about to step into the green fields and thought they could see some amazing scenery, they saw a shocking scene!

Below the mountain lay a peaceful and tranquil field, and in the field was a quiet town. But at this moment, a dazzling purplish-blue pillar of light suddenly burst forth from a manor not far from the town!

The beam of light arrived so suddenly that in the blink of an eye, it pierced through the clouds and reached the horizon, dazzlingly bright in the night!

In an instant, the entire manor was completely enveloped in a bluish-purple light, gradually being devoured until it finally turned into a crystal, resembling a giant tower!

Before the two of them could even realize what was happening, the next second, a bluish-purple light wave overflowed from the manor, slowly spreading outwards and covering the entire hill!

As you can see, wherever the light waves reach, whether it's buildings, flowers, or rocks, they all instantly turn into crystals, resembling a strangely shaped crystal maze!

"this…"

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

"What happened?!"

"I don't know, should we go and take a look?"

They walked quickly toward the town, and after a dozen minutes, they had reached the edge of the town.

By this time, many townspeople had noticed the strange light. They ran out of their houses and gathered outside the manor, watching the light waves that continued to spread outwards and discussing it amongst themselves.

However, this light wave was so strange that none of them dared to go forward. They could only stand on the outside, helplessly retreating as the light wave invaded.

Xia You and Li Jia also mingled into the crowd.

It's easy to tell from their astonished conversation that they were also extremely shocked and confused by the sudden appearance of the pillar of light and the crystals, and had no idea what had happened!

They pushed their way through the crowd and reached the outermost edge.

Beneath their feet, the light waves continued to spread outwards, but now their speed had slowed down, moving like a snail crawling.

After staring at it for a long time, Lijia asked in surprise, "What exactly is this thing?"

"It's hard to say, but it should be some kind of energy." As Xia You spoke, she glanced in the direction of the manor again. "Even without going inside, we know that there must be a powerful energy constantly erupting inside, attempting to transform the environment here!"

After saying that, he picked up a twig and slowly poked it at the light wave. But the moment it touched the light, the tip of the twig turned into crystals and quickly spread towards the direction Xia You was holding!

He didn't dare to delay any longer and hurriedly threw the branch aside. The moment it hit the ground, the branch had completely turned into crystals!

What a strange power...

Just as Xia You was marveling at the scene, she heard a loud siren behind her.

He turned his head and saw that even the town's police had been mobilized! Several police cars came speeding by, then screeched to a halt outside the crowd!

It seems things have really gotten out of hand!

Chapter 355 Strange Crystals

Centered on the manor, the purplish-blue light waves instantly transformed everything within a 300-meter radius into crystals. The newly formed 'crystallization tower' also underwent continuous transformation, eventually turning into a peculiar shape resembling a giant flower petal!

Two pointed protrusions, like flower stamens, curve and stretch towards the sky, looking quite eerie!

Faced with such a mysterious and unknown event, the town police sent people to investigate while simultaneously setting up a cordon to keep the town's residents out.

Unfortunately, due to poor visibility at night, lack of professional equipment, and reluctance to venture deeper, we spent a long time looking but couldn't make any sense of it at all!

As the light waves continued to spread outward, they gradually turned the warning lines they had set up into crystals as well!

With no other option, after setting up several more cordons to no avail, the police officers had to use loudspeakers to urge the townspeople watching to keep backing away to avoid being affected by this strange energy.

Fortunately, perhaps due to its waning power, its spread was slowing down. More than ten minutes had passed since Xia You and Li Jia arrived, and it had only spread less than a meter!

and…

Xia You turned her head and glanced at the town behind her.

Because it's far from the manor, if it continues at this pace, it won't be able to spread to the edge of the town even by tomorrow.

This was undoubtedly good news for the town's residents, giving them a much-needed respite, as they now had ample time to move their assets before the impact on their homes.

The two men retreated with the crowd; with the police officers handling the situation, there was no need for them to step forward.

He glanced at the time again and said to Rika, "It's too dark. We can't really help anyway. I think we should go to the Pokémon Center on the other side of town, rest for a bit, and get something to eat."

Lijia nodded.

After such an incident, they couldn't just pretend nothing had happened and quietly leave. After all, as the gym leader, even if she wasn't in Kanto, maintaining peace and order in the area was still her responsibility, and she definitely needed to find out the cause and effect of the matter!

She also understood that things might calm down after tonight, but if the situation became serious, she wouldn't be able to handle anything given her current exhausted state.

The most urgent thing now is to rest well and try to restore my physical strength to normal so that I can cope with any situation!

"I understand, let's go."

The two turned around and arrived at the Pokémon Center on the other side of town. In front of the center, they met Nurse Joy, who was also looking towards the manor.

After explaining their purpose, Nurse Joy led them into the Pokémon Center, arranged two dorm rooms, and served them a delicious dinner.

Xia You originally wanted to ask Miss Joey what had happened, but Miss Joey shook her head, as she had no clue about what had just happened either.

Looks like we'll have to wait until tomorrow to talk about it...

After dinner, the two of them yawned repeatedly.

It was already past nine o'clock at night. Exhausted from the day, they had no energy to chat. After saying goodnight to each other, they went straight back to their respective rooms.

Xia You took off her clothes, washed away her fatigue, and lay on the bed, not wanting to move at all.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and he didn't know when he fell asleep. When he woke up the next day, he moved his body a few times. Although he was still a little sleepy, at least his body fatigue had been completely relieved.

Great, I'm at full strength!

After getting up and washing up, thinking about what happened last night, he went outside to take a look.

At this time, the crystal tower still did not disappear, and the light waves continued to spread. Over the course of one night, it extended outward by more than two hundred meters, showing no signs of stopping.

Fortunately, it is still some distance from the town, so it is relatively safe for the time being.

This time, thanks to the good visibility during the day, Xia You could see even more clearly.

Even from a distance, you can still vaguely see the plants and stones, fixed in the crystal, just like amber!

Looking at the center, there is no trace of the manor anymore. It has become like a huge exotic forest, not only radiating strange light, but also with bizarre shapes. Compared with the harmonious and beautiful surrounding wilderness, its style is extremely different and appears very abrupt!

It's just like the ecosystem on other planets!

After looking around for a while, Xia You turned back and glanced at the Pokémon Center behind her.

Because I arrived in the dark yesterday, I didn't get a good look at it. Now I realize that unlike Pokémon Centers in typical cities, this Pokémon Center is more like a resort, with a European pastoral style.

Back at the Pokémon Center, he met up with Rika at the restaurant.