Chapter 95: Negative News Regarding Lysandre
Bai Feng's Golden Finger would continuously grow stronger with increased usage, but he hadn't expected it to suddenly advance today.
He supposed "advance" was the right word to describe it; it was his first time having the Golden Finger, so he wasn't entirely sure.
He tried controlling the Golden Finger energy and found that his control over it had become much more effortless.
Just as Bai Feng was planning to strike while the iron was hot and continue using the advanced Golden Finger to help Carbink with its rejuvenation, he suddenly heard a crisp sound. The Diamonds embedded in Carbink's body actually began to fall off one by one.
"What's going on?"
Bai Feng was startled. "This isn't my fault, is it?"
"Miexi~ miexi~"
At this moment, Carbink quickly came forward to explain. It wasn't a big deal. After Carbink grows to a certain stage, the Diamonds on its body automatically fall off and will grow back soon enough.
The shedding of Diamonds is a sign of it becoming stronger. The more times it sheds, the stronger its power. This wasn't the first time Carbink had shed its Diamonds.
The newly grown Diamonds would be harder than the previous ones, providing Carbink with even stronger defense.
After hearing Carbink's explanation, Bai Feng breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that there was no problem.
It's just... a bare Carbink is a little ugly.
But Bai Feng didn't dare say that out loud; it would hurt the Pokémon's feelings too much.
Suddenly, Bai Feng seemed to hear some sound of movement.
Crunch... crunch... crunch, crunch, crunch...
"What's that sound?"
Bai Feng turned his head to look and saw Larvitar happily gnawing on a Diamond that had fallen off Carbink.
Its teeth were really good; it could even chew on Diamonds.
"Larvitar, what are you doing!"
Bai Feng roared out of nowhere, startling Larvitar, which trembled all over. The Diamond it was halfway through eating clattered to the ground.
"Yo~ yo~" "N-nothing... I wasn't doing anything..."
Larvitar guiltily shuffled its feet, quietly inching towards the door, actually trying to sneak away.
Bai Feng walked over and blocked the doorway. "Why are your hands so quick? You eat everything!"
Larvitar lowered its head, twisting its little fingers together, feeling incredibly wronged. "Isn't it just eating a piece of rock?" it seemed to say. "I'm not allowed to eat Silver-Gold Stone, and I'm not allowed to eat this either!"
At this moment, Carbink hopped over and told Bai Feng that its shed Diamonds were useless anyway, so Larvitar could just eat them.
Upon hearing this, Larvitar immediately looked at Carbink with teary eyes. "Waaah... you're so nice!" it seemed to say. "From now on, we're closer than brothers!"
(Note: Carbink has no gender.)
Carbink was even made shy by Larvitar.
"Is that why I didn't let you eat it?" Bai Feng said exasperatedly. "You eat everything; what if you get a stomachache?"
"Yo~ yo~" "I won't!"
Larvitar said, puffing out its cheeks. After speaking, it took advantage of Bai Feng's inattention and darted like a wisp of smoke back to the half-eaten Diamond, picked it up, and continued eating.
Crunch~ crunch~ crispy and delicious!
Bai Feng was speechless with frustration.
After finishing the rejuvenation, the Pokémon all went back to sleep.
Bai Feng woke up early the next day because the holiday was over, and he had to go back to School.
With Hatterene at home, Bai Feng didn't have to get up early every morning to make breakfast and slept soundly every day.
After eating breakfast, he carried his school bag and went to School. As he walked out of the courtyard gate, he suddenly heard the sound of movement from nearby. He walked over to take a look and found that it was Larvitar and Carbink doing their morning training.
Don't look at how quiet and gentle Carbink usually is; during battle, it was surprisingly decisive.
Larvitar charged towards Carbink with its head down, intending to attack Carbink with Iron Head.
But it had only run a couple of steps when transparent rocks suddenly appeared on the ground, continuously hitting Larvitar and making it cry out in pain.
That was Stealth Rock. Needless to say, it must have been Carbink's move.
After the Stealth Rock attack ended, Larvitar regrouped and continued to attack Carbink.
Just then, rocks suddenly appeared above Larvitar's head, looking like they were about to fall.
This was Rock Slide.
"Yo~"
Larvitar let out a loud cry, swinging its small fists non-stop. White light flashed on its fists, and all the falling rocks were shattered one by one.
The move Larvitar used was Step-by-Step Strike.
When Larvitar was born, it only knew three moves: Leer, Sandstorm, and an inherited Iron Head. Step-by-Step Strike was something it learned later.
After shattering all the falling rocks, Larvitar suddenly looked up and glared fiercely at Carbink. Its eyes were wide open, which actually made it look a bit cute.
This was Leer, which has the effect of lowering the opponent's defense.
However, what Larvitar didn't know was that Carbink's Ability was Clear Body. Its Leer had no effect.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Carbink shook its body, and the Diamonds that had just grown back on its body suddenly became sparkling. Its body also became more angular.
That's right, in just one night, the Diamonds on Carbink's body had grown back, although they were still very small, they looked much brighter than before.
The move Carbink just used was Edge Sharpening, which has the effect of boosting its own attack.
Carbink is a Pokémon with extremely outstanding defenses, but its offenses are a bit weak. If it doesn't boost itself, its attacks will just feel like tickles.
Larvitar swung its small fists and charged towards Carbink, crying out. Suddenly, sharp rocks like spears appeared around Carbink's body.
Under its control, the rock spears shot out with a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound. However, they didn't hit Larvitar but formed a circle, trapping Larvitar inside.
Clearly, Carbink had held back.
Larvitar was startled and plopped down in the middle of the circle, tears immediately welling up in its eyes.
Seeing this scene, Carbink immediately became flustered.
"Larvitar, stop crying, stand up." At this moment, Bai Feng walked out and said, "It's just sparring. Carbink didn't hurt you, so why are you crying?"
Larvitar pouted, reluctantly climbed up from the ground, and at the same time, held back the tears that hadn't had time to fall from its eyes.
"They won't even let me cry, is there any justice left!"
"From now on, no crying when sparring with your companion!" Bai Feng said again.
Larvitar was afraid of having its meals deducted, so it obediently nodded.
"Okay, I won't cry. I can take it for now. Just wait and see if I don't beat your heads in someday!"
After Bai Feng finished speaking, he looked at Carbink again and said, "Carbink, your power is really strong. Was Sister Zhi Huo the one who trained you?"
In just that short while, Carbink had used four moves: Stealth Rock, Rock Slide, Edge Sharpening, and Stone Edge. And each one was used very skillfully; it was clear it had undergone special training.
Carbink shyly nodded.
"Then can you show me all the moves you've learned?"
Bai Feng had just returned yesterday and hadn't had time to properly get to know Carbink.
"Miexi~"
Carbink nodded in agreement.
"Then let's begin."
As Bai Feng's words fell, a white barrier suddenly appeared in front of Carbink.
"It's Reflect!" Bai Feng recognized this at a glance. Bai Ye also knew this move, so Bai Feng was very familiar with it.
Then Carbink hopped up and slammed its body onto the ground. A yellow light spread from the ground, and the ground was immediately cracked.
"Earth Power!"
Bai Feng certainly recognized this move as well. If it weren't for this move, he wouldn't have fallen into a pit and then somehow ended up at Sister Zhi Huo's home.
After demonstrating Earth Power, Carbink's body suddenly shone with a metallic luster.
The Steel-type move Iron Defense is for boosting defense.
Carbink truly lived up to its reputation as a Pokémon with extremely high defenses. It had great talent in learning defensive moves. Besides Reflect and Iron Defense, it also showed Bai Feng Magic Coat, a move that reflects moves that inflict status conditions.
Carbink could also learn Light Screen from Bai Ye, and when conditions allowed in the future, it could also learn Safeguard.
With this, Carbink would definitely grow into an excellent tank-type Pokémon!
In addition to the moves mentioned above, Carbink also knew Dazzling Gleam, Gravity, and Stomping Tantrum. It really had many moves; it was the Pokémon among all of Bai Feng's current Pokémon (those being primarily cultivated) that had learned the most moves.
These moves were all taught to Carbink by Zhi Huo.
Bai Feng praised Carbink with satisfaction, then suddenly realized he still had to go to school, so he grabbed his school bag and ran.
As expected, Bai Feng was late.
"Report!"
Standing at the doorway, Bai Feng looked awkward. Class had already started for more than ten minutes.
"Come in."
The teacher didn't blame Bai Feng. Bai Feng usually had good grades and was well-behaved; this was his first time being late, so the teacher let him return to his seat without saying a word.
After Bai Feng sat down, Student Dafu quietly leaned his head over and asked, "Bai Feng, did you have too much fun during the break and oversleep this morning?"
Bai Feng ignored Dafu. Dafu slyly wanted to say something else, but the teacher's voice rang out.
"Student Dafu, if you have so much to say, why don't you come up to the podium and tell everyone?"
Student Dafu stood up and said seriously, "Teacher, what I'm saying is nonsense and not worth listening to."
The classmates burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"Sit down, listen carefully in class, and don't talk!" The teacher glared angrily at Dafu.
Dafu stuck out his tongue and sat down with a grin.
After school in the afternoon, Bai Feng went to Mr. Bryan's home, planning to give him the recipe and material for making Carbink's exclusive Pokéblocks and ask Mr. Bryan to help make them.
Mr. Bryan took the Pokéblock recipe and glanced at it, then exclaimed in surprise, "Where did you get this Pokéblock recipe? It's very intricate!"
Bai Feng asked, "Mr. Bryan, do you know Miss Zhi Huo?"
Mr. Bryan looked at Bai Feng in surprise. "You've met her?"
Bai Feng nodded. "This Pokéblock recipe was given to me by her."
Mr. Bryan suddenly understood. "So that's it. You didn't also promise to help her cultivate Diancie, did you?"
"Mr. Bryan knows about this matter too?"
Mr. Bryan said, "Of course I know. When she competed for the Elite Four back then, it was to find out the secret about Diancie from the Pokémon League. But the Pokémon League didn't have any information at all, so she just resigned directly."
Speaking of this, Mr. Bryan looked amused and exasperated.
"The matter of her wanting to cultivate Diancie isn't a secret. Old folks like us basically all know about it. So many years have passed, and she still hasn't given up."
"So many years?" Bai Feng suddenly grasped a keyword.
"Mr. Bryan, is Miss Zhi Huo very old? She looks like she's only in her teens."
"Teens?" Mr. Bryan laughed heartily. "Actually, I don't know exactly how old she is, but she's definitely not in her teens. It's been twenty years since she resigned from the Elite Four position. Back then, she also looked like she was only in her teens."
"Maybe she's the same age as me!" Mr. Bryan said jokingly.
There were many strange things in this world, even eternal life existed, let alone just maintaining a youthful appearance. Heaven knows how old Zhi Huo really was.
"That's impossible, right?" Bai Feng said hesitantly.
"Who knows? Also, when she withdrew from the Elite Four position back then, it seemed it wasn't just because she couldn't find out the secret about Diancie from the Pokémon League.
It's said that was just the surface reason. Back then, she resigned after talking with the League Chairman. What they specifically talked about, no one knows to this day. I suspect the content of that conversation was the real reason for her resignation..."
Mr. Bryan was... quite the gossip.
Perhaps because he was enjoying the conversation with Bai Feng so much, he started telling Bai Feng all sorts of dubious gossip about the Pokémon League.
As one of the veteran Elite Four, Mr. Bryan knew many secrets within the Pokémon League. At least regarding Sister Zhi Huo's matter, he knew more than Mr. Kokoburu.
Mr. Bryan was getting excited talking, and Bai Feng was also getting quite engrossed in listening. It got dark, and he still hadn't gone home until Siebold came to call them both, and they finally ended their chat.
"Grandfather, you shouldn't casually talk about things without evidence." Siebold said helplessly to Mr. Bryan.
Mr. Bryan said grumpily, "Do I need you to tell me that? I didn't tell anyone else. Bai Feng won't casually spread it. Right, Bai Feng?"
"Of course! My lips are sealed," Bai Feng quickly promised.
Bai Feng stayed for dinner here that night before going back.
Before leaving, he also specifically chatted with Buneary for a while. Only after learning that Buneary was doing well here did he leave with peace of mind.
Looking at Buneary and Heliolisk's reluctant expressions, Bai Feng felt like he had eaten a bit too much dinner tonight and felt choked up.
The next day, Bai Feng came home after school at noon and saw Bai Ye watching TV. He didn't think much of it at first, but Bai Ye excitedly called out to him.
"What's wrong, Mother?" Bai Feng asked, puzzled.
"Shana~ Shana~" "Darling, come quickly, something big has happened! Your good friend is in trouble!"
"Who? Who's in trouble?"
Bai Feng didn't immediately realize who his Mother was talking about. He quickly walked over and took the computer that Bai Ye handed him. He saw a video playing on the computer, and the title above the video was:
"Famous Philanthropist Lysandre Goes Back on His Word, Deceiving the World and Stealing Fame!"
(end of chapter)