Chapter 114: But I Was Here First!
The next day, before the sky was even bright, Ming Rizhao had already woken up early.
"Ruru, Rio, wake up!"
Ming Rizhao shook Ralts, who was sleeping on the same bed as her, awake, then immediately ran to the sofa in the hotel room and pushed Rio hard.
"Quick, quick, hurry up! Or we won't make it in time!"
Rio yawned as he looked at the hyper-excited girl, then lazily asked Ralts, who was standing beside him with her small head nodding, "Ruru, what's your Xiao Zhao up to so early in the morning? It's not like her to wake up so early."
Recalling the immense effort it took to wake the girl up every time in the past, Rio felt that today's Ming Rizhao was simply abnormal.
"(Pokémon Language) I don't know... zzzz... Xiao Zhao was talking in her sleep all night... zzz... something about a motorcycle... It made me unable to sleep well all night... zzzzz..."
Ralts spoke with her eyes closed, her voice still full of sleepiness.
"Motorcycle!"
This keyword instantly jolted Rio awake.
"That's right! Today is the release date for that motorcycle! And it's a limited release!"
Thinking of this key point, Rio also leaped up as if his butt was on fire, busying himself alongside Ming Rizhao.
"Ruru, don't sleep, wake up, we have to go."
"(Pokémon Language) Zzzzz..."
Seeing Ralts had unknowingly crawled back onto the bed and fallen asleep again, Ming Rizhao scooped her up in her arms, and then hurried out the door with Rio.
It is worth mentioning that yesterday, their month-long part-time work career at the cold drink shop had ended. And Ming Rizhao and Rio, who had worked for three days and slacked off for two, and even skipped work to participate in a motorcycle race, naturally didn't have much of a salary. However, Ralts—Ruru—who had not only served as a dessert creator and dessert taster but also concurrently handled a series of tasks such as air conditioner maintenance, table cleaning, and flyer design for the ice room, had earned a part-time salary that far exceeded the sum of the former two.
The thought of the usually stern-faced dessert master burying his head and shouting "Master Ruru, don't go!" when she resigned yesterday made Rio unable to help but laugh.
"Master Ruru, ahahahaha..."
"(Pokémon Language) Iya?"
Ralts didn't quite understand why her little companion was snickering from time to time.
Zidian City's morning was different from Verdant Leaf City's. If Verdant Leaf City's was "serene," then Zidian City's could be considered "bustling." The roads were already jammed with vehicles before the sky was fully bright, various large advertising screens were on day and night without rest, and there were also the neon lights that scattered multicolored light even during the day. In addition, the sounds of various shops opening for business all wove together to create a lively scene of heavy traffic.
Naturally, no matter how anxious one was, one still had to obey traffic rules.
Ming Rizhao hugged Ralts, anxiously waiting for the red light to turn green.
Although Rio was also anxious to snag that motorcycle, he still had some leisure to observe his surroundings.
Beside him was a man in a uniform, wearing glasses, with a refined appearance.
However, from this man, Rio inexplicably sensed an aura that made him feel disgust.
Suddenly, the man seemed to notice Rio's gaze. He lowered his head slightly and met Rio's eyes.
"Rio, let's go!"
Ming Rizhao, having finally gotten the green light, quickly signaled for Rio to follow.
"What the heck..." Rio shook his head and followed closely behind Ming Rizhao. Even after moving far away from that man, he still felt as if a gaze like a needle in his back was staring intently at him.
No one noticed, or realized, that the man in the uniform had vanished into an imperceptible black mist, leaving no trace.
…
At the same time, on a road in Verdant Leaf City, the figure of a man in a uniform materialized from illusion.
"The emissary who is not within fate..."
The man's eyes were vacant, but his body automatically walked in a certain direction.
…
Ming Rizhao hurried and rushed, finally arriving at the entrance of the motorcycle dealership.
However, from inside the dealership, several people were already walking out, pushing that limited-edition motorcycle, with smiles on their faces that couldn't be stopped.
"No way, have all the motorcycles been bought up already?"
Ming Rizhao was startled and quickly squeezed into the motorcycle dealership.
"Thank you for your patronage! Please come again next time!"
The motorcycle dealership owner, whose beaming smile clearly showed he had made a fortune, saw Ming Rizhao, his eyes lighting up as if he had seen a walking banknote.
"Hello, miss. How can I help you?"
Seeing Ming Rizhao point in the direction of the limited-edition motorcycle, the owner's smile became even more sincere.
"You're also here to snap up this motorcycle, right? We've already sold 9 units just now, and there's only one last one left. Congratulations on being able to purchase this..."
Before the owner could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a male voice.
"You're the shop owner, right? I'll take this motorcycle."
Ming Rizhao turned her head to look. The one who had abruptly cut in was none other than that Croagunk trainer.
"I was here first! The right to purchase this motorcycle should be mine!"
Ming Rizhao said, somewhat angered.
That trainer named Maji glanced at her, then took out a large wad of banknotes from his wallet.
"Boss, I'll add more money."
Ming Rizhao's little face flushed red with anger.
"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money!"
Maji glanced somewhat arrogantly at this "defeated opponent."
"Sorry, but with money, you really can do whatever you want."
The motorcycle dealership owner watched the two argue. When he saw that both of them had Poké Balls on their waists, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
"You two should both be Pokémon trainers, right? How about... you decide who gets to buy this motorcycle according to your tradition?"
Maji snorted.
"I don't think we need to compete. This person just lost to me recently. I don't think she can win against me in another battle."
At this moment, Ming Rizhao, on the contrary, was not so angry anymore. Although this punkish youth before her spoke harshly, from the competition in Electric Town last time, it was clear that this youth, whether in his command technique or the Pokémon he raised, possessed a certain level of strength.
She looked down and signaled to Rio. After getting a confirmed look from her Pokémon, Ming Rizhao said to Maji in a composed tone, "Let's battle!"
Rio looked at Maji's somewhat nonchalant expression and also rubbed his fists in preparation.
Things are different now, handsome!
…
In Verdant Leaf City, at the home of the Normal-type Gym Leader, Norman.
Because his son, Ruby, was away training for many years, only Norman and his wife lived together at home. The couple also lived a regular and stable life.
"What's going on..."
Norman was feeling a little uneasy. He had lost the desire to sleep before the sky was fully bright.
"I'll go check on the Gym."
After washing up, Norman found he had nothing else to do and simply planned to go back to his Gym. It was also a good opportunity to clear his head on the way and let his cluttered mind sober up.
"Mr. Norman."
"Hello, Mr. Norman."
"…"
The people of Verdant Leaf City, who were up early to work, all greeted this legendary Gym Leader with respect.
Norman's originally serious face also carried a hint of a smile as he nodded gently in response.
"Hmm? A challenger so early?"
Before Norman even reached the Gym door, he already saw a man in a uniform waiting.
However, he could understand. After all, for many Pokémon trainers, challenging a Gym was no less than an important exam. So, many trainers would go to the Gym very early to wait for a challenge. One reason was to try and get an early spot in the challenge queue, because some popular gyms had many challengers every day, and since the duration of each Pokémon battle varied, sometimes if you didn't go early, you might not even get a chance to challenge that day. Secondly, it allowed them to familiarize themselves with the environment in advance so they wouldn't be too nervous.
"A challenger, are you? Please come in with me."
Norman opened the Gym's door and walked in first.
The man in the uniform said nothing, quietly observing his surroundings, especially observing Norman's every move.
"According to the rules, you should first challenge my apprentices here, and only then can you challenge me. However... forget it. Let me battle you directly."
According to the League's rules, each Gym could recruit a certain number of apprentices or assistants to help lighten the Gym Leader's pressure.
Because there were simply too many Pokémon trainers in the Pokémon world, the mere dozen or so gyms in each region would welcome many challengers every day. If every challenger required the Gym Leader to battle, the time and energy spent would be immense. So the Pokémon League allowed Gym Leaders to set certain assessment rules: Gym puzzles and assistant battles.
Gym puzzles were certain modifications made to the Gym according to the Gym Leader's own requirements, thereby setting up some checkpoints to test the challenger's basic qualities, such as assessing whether the challenger possessed agile thinking ability, strong physical fitness, or whether they could pass the puzzles through cooperation with their Pokémon.
And assistant battles were when the Gym Leader selected suitable apprentices and assistants to battle the challenger. Only challengers who passed the assistant battles could stand before the Gym Leader to have a Gym badge battle.
However, the two situations above were not quite suitable for the man in the uniform before him.
Because from this man, Norman felt a faint sense of threat. This was a feeling he had rarely encountered since becoming an Elite Four member. In this situation, sending out any apprentice or assistant would be unable to stop this man, so Norman decided to take the field himself.
Leading the man to the Pokémon battlefield, Norman was the first to take out a Poké Ball, summoning his signature Pokémon.
A Vigoroth of lv35, which was restless from the moment it appeared, came out.
"Let's see the situation first..."
Norman said nothing, concentrating his gaze on the man standing opposite.
The few Poké Balls on his waist moved restlessly.
Because he had been feeling that something was not quite right all morning, he had left a lv45 Slaking at home for protection, and had also subconsciously brought his few strongest Pokémon with him. However, it was impossible to bring out his strongest Pokémon right at the start, so Norman had chosen a Vigoroth of a moderate level to meet the challenge.
"Is this your Pokémon?"
The man finally spoke, but his voice was somewhat hoarse, as if without any emotion.
"It seems your Pokémon is quite close to you."
Facing the man's strange words, Norman was somewhat unmoved, but his eyes were still fixed on his opponent.
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you