High above the clouds, Su Bai used Charizard's massive body as cover.
Even if a small portion of them occasionally emerged from the clouds, Rock would only assume they were wild Pokémon passing by.
The sunlight was intense, but to Su Bai—the ultimate Newbie Trainer that he was—it was nothing more than a genuine "sunbathing session."
There was absolutely no need for sunscreen.
Down on the ground, a tiny figure darted around in every direction.
It was Rock, leading Haunter as they battled one wild Pokémon after another.
"Yaaawn~~ This guy's bodyguard… where are they?"
Su Bai yawned in boredom.
He had come out here specifically to find out who this so-called Shadow actually was.
But in the end, he hadn't seen anyone besides Rock..
Although Rock looked like nothing more than a tiny dot from this altitude, Su Bai's eyesight was no longer something that could be judged by ordinary standards.
Of course, he couldn't see every hair on Rock's body from this distance.
But if there were someone standing beside Rock…
There was no way he would miss them.
Aside from the fact that this guy seemed to have something wrong with his brain and was following an almost perfectly straight route, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about him.
And clearly, the Haunter produced by the Pokédex was working extremely well with the heir of the Rock family.
So far, every battle between Haunter and wild Pokémon had ended with the little guy's victory.
Of course, Rock's good luck also had something to do with it.
He hadn't run into any groups of wild Pokémon yet…
"This is impossible…"
Su Bai muttered as he watched Rock busily moving around below.
"I clearly heard that Shadow's voice…"
"Rotom couldn't possibly have gotten it wrong."
When it came to things like this, Rotom's abilities were absolutely trustworthy.
Su Bai would rather believe that his own ears had deceived him than believe Rotom had made a mistake.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Su Bai's eyes narrowed.
Rock had finally made a move!
But Su Bai's expression quickly turned conflicted.
The dignified heir of the Rock family suddenly crouched down, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground…
And ate it!
Immediately afterward, he spat the dirt out in disgust, muttering something under his breath.
Su Bai could see Rock, but his hearing wasn't supernatural.
Besides, to avoid being discovered, the distance between them was simply too great.
Su Bai had considered bringing Rotom along as a temporary "listening device," but Rotom was currently in charge of the livestream.
If possible, Su Bai didn't want to interrupt the excitement of the people in Haicheng.
"I wonder what this guy is muttering to himself…"
"And why does Haunter look so wary?"
"Could this heir of the Rock family have some kind of strange eating disorder?"
Su Bai watched as Rock continued forward.
Every so often, he would grab another handful of dirt and taste it.
Su Bai's eyebrows practically twisted themselves into a knot.
"What?"
"Is this weird eating habit picky too?"
Of course, he was only joking because he was bored.
Even if the heir of the Rock family really had a strange eating habit, the dirt he ate would surely have to be carefully selected.
There was no way he would be this…
"Indiscriminate."
"A straight-line route…"
"Combined with the fact that he keeps eating dirt…"
"It looks a lot like he's tracking something."
"Looks like I'm getting closer and closer to the answer…"
…..............
Rock had absolutely no idea that Su Bai had witnessed every one of his dignity-destroying attempts at eating dirt.
After spitting out another mouthful in disgust, he said irritably,
"Shadow, you could obviously do this yourself."
"Why do you insist on making me do it?"
From Rock's shadow came Shadow's dry, mocking voice.
"Why?"
"Because I damn well feel like it!"
"You lock me in your shadow every day. Then, whenever I finally get out, I'm either fighting or eating dirt!"
"Do you seriously think I'm an idiot?"
Rock reassured Haunter, which had once again become wary because of Shadow's voice.
Then he frowned.
"Looks like I haven't taught you a lesson in too long…"
"Forget it. We're short on time."
"How far away is the seed?"
Shadow fell silent for a moment before answering.
"Not far…"
"It should be just ahead of that structure."
"That guy seems to have stopped."
"Looks like we'll be seeing him soon."
Rock nodded and quickened his pace.
From within his shadow, Shadow's sinister voice emerged once again.
"Rock."
"Are you really sure about this?"
"That guy isn't some ordinary opponent…"
"I might not be able to beat him."
Rock didn't slow down.
Instead, he sneered.
"What?"
"Even the self-proclaimed invincible Shadow can get scared?"
The shadow fell silent for a moment.
It didn't answer.
Rock's footsteps slowed slightly.
He sighed.
"Even if you can't beat him, you still have to fight."
"That's my duty."
"And yours too…"
"Shadow."
"From the day you were born, you should have known that a day like this would come."
"If you can't beat him…"
"Then at worst, I'll die alongside you."
"Just look at this blue sky…"
Rock slowly raised his head.
High above, beneath the brilliant blue sky, a massive Charizard swept across the heavens before disappearing into the clouds.
"If we let that guy wreak havoc…"
"Even a beautiful blue sky like this might disappear."
"We only just became friends, yet I'm already asking you to fight a battle we have no chance of winning."
"Sorry about that, Haunter."
Rock smiled and gently rubbed Haunter's head.
Haunter stared back at him in complete confusion.
Rock then quickened his pace once again and hurried toward his destination.
…...........
"Holy crap!"
"That was close!"
Riding on Charizard's back, Su Bai wiped away a bead of sweat in speechless frustration.
"Why the hell did Rock suddenly look up?"
"Wait…"
"This direction…"
Su Bai recalled the route Rock had been following.
Then he looked toward the end of that route.
A crooked, twisted tower stood there.
Dense clusters of broken electrical wires hung down from its upper sections.
It was obviously a power transmission tower.
"I remember this place…"
"It was marked on City Lord Zhu's map."
"This used to be the power station for this area."
"Wait…"
"No way!"
Su Bai's eyes suddenly widened.
"Could this guy be going after Zapdos?!"
Even he was startled by his own speculation.
What level of Pokémon were the Three Legendary Birds?
One only had to look at the desperate battles Haicheng's Trainers had been fighting to understand.
And considering Zapdos's personality, it was highly likely that it would make its home inside a power station.
If that was really the case, then the fact that there was still no overflow of electrical energy from the power station might mean Zapdos was still setting up its territory…
Or perhaps it was simply sleeping.
Otherwise, the weather in that area would already be filled with thunder and lightning.
"Wait…"
"Could this guy…"
Su Bai's expression suddenly darkened.
A possibility he desperately didn't want to consider surfaced in his mind.
The battle between the Trainer team and Articuno had been completely broadcast to the public.
It was not a secret.
It wouldn't be strange at all if Kyoto had received the news in the shortest possible time.
And considering the timing of Rock's arrival…
If he had come here for a Legendary Pokémon on the same level as Articuno…
Then it really was possible.
What was more…
Rock was practically the most talented heir the Rock family had produced in its entire history.
What if he didn't want to contract a death beast…
And instead chose Zapdos, which was clearly far more powerful?
The possibility wasn't particularly high.
But it absolutely wasn't impossible.
Su Bai had no idea how Rock had managed to locate Zapdos.
But if the Rock family truly possessed such a deep foundation and history, having a few special items or abilities capable of locating a Legendary Pokémon didn't seem strange at all.
"Contract Masters…"
"Contract Masters…"
Su Bai's opinion of Rock had been quite favorable just moments ago.
Now, however, his expression had darkened.
If this really was Rock's intention…
Then it would mean that Su Bai had misjudged human nature..
"Please…"
"Please let this be nothing more than a coincidence…"
High above the ground, Charizard flapped its massive wings.
With a thunderous rush of air, it caught up with the rapidly advancing Rock.