There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

"Y-really?"

Ah Wan and Happin nodded at the same time, "I just told you this this morning, you must have remembered it wrongly."

Is that so?

"Maybe you're too tired recently?" Bratano said, "If you don't rest for a long time, your memory will decline. There is scientific evidence for this."

"Maybe..."

Shuoya Ye questioned it for a few seconds, but finally chose to put it behind him.

"Where are you going now?"

Ah Wan stood on tiptoe and looked in the direction they were moving. "If this road is... is it the department store?"

"It's the Golden Gym."

Shuoya Ye shook his head and corrected, "I heard from Dr. Bratano that the Golden Gym seems to be open, and we are on our way to challenge it."

"Yes, it is open."

Ah Wan recalled a casual glance at a building he passed by in the morning.

"I saw a trainer go in..."

He rubbed his shoulder after being bumped by someone, "There weren't so many people in the morning, and that trainer got off directly at the gym entrance by car, so I remember it more clearly."

Unsure, he turned to Happiny for confirmation, "Is that so?"

Happy Egg nodded.

"Great, Sakuya." Bratano laughed, "Challenge the Golden Gym and let me see the power of the Monarch Snake with my own eyes."

"Ok!"

Sakuya Ye thought of someone, turned around and said, "Sakura, how about you——"

nobody.

He was stunned for a moment and looked around.

"Doctor, have you seen Sakura?"

"Isn't she here?"

Upon hearing this, Bratano also began to look around.

The man, who was able to take in everything in front of him by taking advantage of his height, shook his head after a brief search.

"It seems that there are too many people and they are scattered."

Ah Wan worriedly dragged Happiny a few steps to the side of the road, "It's troublesome, it's hard to find so many people."

"It should be fine." Sakuya Ye said, "Sakura is a local, she won't get lost that easily."

The prerequisite is that she must not show her poor sense of direction.

"Besides, she knows we are going to the Golden Gym, so she might get there first."

"That's good." Ah Wan breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, if the Sakuya brothers want to challenge a gym, can I go and watch?"

He scratched his head at the boy's surprised look.

"Although we decided long ago to stay in Golden City with Happiny, we both seem to have forgotten where to go, so we can only wander around the streets with nothing to do."

He continued, grunting at the crowded street.

"With so many people here, I guess we won't be able to have fun. Why not go and watch an exciting Pokémon battle?"

"Right, Happy Egg?"

Happy Egg voted in favor.

"Of course I'm fine."

Shuo Gu Ye nodded and said, "Then let's go together."

"Great!"

----

The woman selling cheesecakes took a moment to look up at the three people and one Pokémon standing not far away, and began to murmur.

"I didn't eat anything, I didn't buy anything, I just stood in the sun..."

Although the weather has gradually turned cooler, there probably wouldn't be many people who would deliberately stand in the sun for half an hour or so just to keep warm, right?

Look, the boy in shorts has even taken off his jacket and put it on his hand.

"She hasn't come yet..."

Ah Wan, who had more fat, was more resistant to cold than the other two. With the warmth of the sun, he wiped off his sweat and murmured, "I'm getting dehydrated. If I don't come, I'm going to faint..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Happiny immediately brought the kettle.

"This is just an exaggeration, not that I really can't stand it!"

Despite Happiny's protesting gaze, Amaru still took the kettle and took a big gulp.

"We've been waiting for a while." Bratano, unable to bear the rising body temperature, suggested, "Why don't we go challenge the gym first? Fujino should come in when he gets here."

"So be it."

Although Shuo Gu Ye wanted to wait a little longer, he had to give up when he saw that the two of them could not hold on any longer.

He turned around first, stepped through the sensor door, and walked towards the dim and dark gym.

Amaru and Buratano followed.

----

About ten minutes later, the girl who had hurried over stood in front of the gym door and looked around.

The cheesecake lady glanced at it and didn't care much.

When she raised her head again, the beautiful girl was standing in front of her.

"Auntie, have you seen two people?"

Fujino Sakura asked anxiously, panting slightly.

The sticker on the girl's cheek had curled up, making the old lady, who suffered from mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, feel a little uncomfortable.

"Two people?"

The aunt shook her head. "Not long ago, there were three people who stayed here for a long time. They looked like they were waiting for someone."

three people?

Fujino Sakura was stunned and asked again.

"Is there a tall, thin man in a research suit and a boy with silver-gray hair?"

She raised her arm and gestured, "About this tall, wearing a black coat."

"Seems to be..."

The aunt couldn't remember clearly either, so she could only say vaguely, "I don't remember the black coat, but it's true that there was a Happy Egg following them all the time."

Well...

When it comes to Happy Egg, Fujino Sakura immediately thinks of Amaru.

She pondered for a few seconds.

Could it be that Xiaoye and the others met Awan on the road, so they came to the Golden Gym together?

"It's too late if you want to find them."

The aunt knocked on the stove and raised a hand to point to the gym, "They went in. They should be going to challenge the Golden Gym."

"It's really strange. There are quite a lot of people challenging the gym recently..."

The auntie skillfully flipped the cheesecake over while mumbling something.

"Since the gym reopened a week ago, there has been an endless stream of people coming, and those who are dressed all in black are not afraid of the heat."

"The day before yesterday, another boy and girl went there. The girl was quite pretty. She looked very elegant in a red dress. If I were a few years younger, I would also try that dress."

"This morning, a very wealthy boy stuffed a stack of Alliance coins into the driver's pocket after getting off the bus."

At this point, she tutted her lips in envy, "Which young master is coming to challenge the gym? Why doesn't he come to my stall to buy some food? Even if you give me a few more dollars..."

Suddenly, she frowned as if she remembered something and muttered to herself.

"It's weird, so many people went in but no one came out—"

"what?"

Fujino Sakura turned around and looked at the old lady who was standing still with the shovel in her hand.

It was as if the pause button was pressed; the sound, movement, and even breathing stopped in an instant.

Her pupils were out of focus for a moment, but returned to normal when the girl spoke.

She was still flipping her cheesecake, but what she was talking about was completely different from before.

"I remember they went in for a while but came out right away."

The aunt tapped her head and said, "My memory is getting worse and worse."

"I just remember that they came out, but I have no idea which direction they went."

"That's enough!" Fujino Sakura didn't have time to care about the old lady's irrelevant words. After thanking her hurriedly, she left and continued to look for someone.

"Thank you, aunt!"

"Hey, you're welcome. Just run slower."

The old lady smiled and waved at the girl.

In the mezzanine of the cart, a girl's rag doll was lying quietly inside.

The blue light around its button eyes gradually dissipated, and when the aunt reached out to take it out, there was nothing unusual at all.

"Hey, this doll is pretty." The aunt wiped the dust from the corner of its mouth, "Since no one wants it, I'll take it home, wash it and give it to the girl to play with..."

----

The lights inside the gym were not fully turned on.

So even though I could barely see the road clearly, I had no idea what was around me.

Shuoya Ye walked slowly forward on the blue ground that was like flowing water.

“This is the concept of stream of consciousness.”

Bratano looked at the tiles under his feet, "It really is a psychic gym. Just like the ones in the Kalos area, they are all very mysterious."

"Hey, are there any psychic gyms in Kalos?"

"of course."

Bratano introduced the two, "Ms. Gejihua, the head of the Baike Gym, possesses the ability to predict the future. She has informed the alliance of the impending crises in the Kalos region many times."

"Thanks to her we were able to extinguish the danger before it came."

Ah Wan's eyes widened, "You are not making up a story to amuse us, are you?"

"We are not at the age where we can read fairy tales anymore!"

"Replacement guaranteed."

"Psychic Pokémon are already puzzling, but humans with psychic powers are even more difficult to explain," Blatano continued.

Dada-da-da-da

Shuo Gu Ye paused and looked back.

"what happened?"

Ah Wan imitated the boy's action and looked back, but saw nothing.

Shuo Gu Ye was stunned for a moment and slowly shook his head.

"No, I must have heard it wrong."

Bratano patted the boy's tense shoulders and said, "Relax, it's just a normal gym match."

"Although I am indeed curious about the secrets of the monarch snake's evolution, success is something that cannot be forced. All we can do is be prepared to capture it accurately when it arrives."

"That's right, brother, you're too nervous."

Ah Wan laughed a few times, "We have survived the Crimson Forest together, what else is there to be afraid of?"

The image of fighting side by side with the fat boy came to mind.

Shuoya Ye pursed her lips, smiled, and turned around.

Dada, dada--dada, dada--

His eyes flashed, and the Poké Ball immediately rolled into his palm.

"Monarch snake, vine whip!"

In response, two vines came out, brushed past the two men's cheeks and flew backwards.

"hehe--"

The moment a childish female voice sounded, the aggressive vines suddenly froze in the air, unable to move forward a single step.

"Who?!"

Amaru turned around and protected Happiny and hid behind him.

Under the vigilant gaze of everyone, a small figure slowly walked out of the shadows.

Shuo Gu Ye looked at the strange rag doll that was only as tall as his calf and did not dare to let his guard down at all.

"Excuse me..."

Blatano stepped forward and took the initiative to take on the social task, "Are you the owner of the Golden Gym?"

The rag doll did not answer, and its lifeless eyes stayed on the three people for a long time.

Shuoya Ye's heart trembled, as if she was standing naked in front of a rag doll, unable to hide any secrets.

Buratano feels the same way.

A blush appeared on Ah Wan's face and his legs trembled slightly.

"Why, why are you a little shy...?"

After a brief stare, the blushing feeling finally disappeared.

The painted lips on the doll's face did not move, but the sound reached the ears of the three people.

"You...are not bad people."

Bratano was stunned and quickly responded.

"Right, right, I'm the Pokémon researcher Blatano, and these two are the trainer Sakuya Ye and the Pokémon doctor Amaru."

"I came here to challenge the Golden Gym Master and obtain the Gym Badge."

Sakuya Ye and Amaru nodded in agreement.

The rag doll tilted its head and slowly raised its hand under everyone's surprised gaze.

The next moment, creepy words rushed into the ears of the three people.

"If you're not a bad person...please stay."

"It's... dangerous out there."

"Nazi... must protect everyone."

"Stay forever, forever, forever..."

"Until... the crisis is completely resolved, then we can make friends again."

Ah Wan turned around and wanted to run.

But despite all his efforts, his foot could not be lifted even a centimeter. He could not help but shout, "My foot?! I can't move--!"

"It's the petrification skill!"

Shuo Gu Ye, who had seen this move before, was the first to react.

"Stop it! Blade Leaf!"

The monarch snake's abdominal muscles were tensed, and it moved quickly on the ground, with a green glow at the tip of its tail.

But the rag doll just turned its head to look at it, and the monarch snake suddenly stiffened, and was lifted high into the air by the super power without any ability to resist.

"Don't resist—"

The rag doll's soft voice spoke again.

"Nazi...I don't want to hurt you."

"So, be good, okay?"

----

Jinhuang City Central Hospital

The boy sat in the chair expressionlessly, listening to the doctor's sigh.

"Hey, you..."

"Ten days."

Izumi Yu raised his right arm to stop the doctor's persuasion.

"The last ten days, my dream..."

"Is it for the glamour contest?"

The doctor looked at the silent boy with sympathy.

"Your illness...you need to stay in bed more to feel better."

"I've also heard about the gorgeous competition. It seems like you were invited to participate as a guest?"

The doctor shook his head. "No matter how many medical instructions I give you, what's the point if you don't cherish yourself?"

"For this performance, you will definitely give your all and seize these few days of practice, right?"

Izumi Yuu lowered his brows, and the sunlight shining in through the blinds illuminated half of his body.

He slowly pulled down his coat, revealing his left arm to the doctor.

The experienced doctor frowned at the sound of the muscles throbbing beneath the skin.

"You're having trouble even grasping it now, right?"

He handed the boy a pen and judged his current situation through his movements.

After a moment he took a breath.

"This level...has already appeared!?"

Izumi Yu pursed his lips and nodded slowly.

“You have to rest!”

The doctor stood up suddenly from his chair and scolded.

"Give up the gorgeous competition. Your body won't allow you to mess around now!"

Izumi Yuu listened to the doctor's angry scolding, pulled back his coat, and picked up the pen that had fallen to the ground.

He pushed his pen forward and spoke softly.

"Just prescribe the same medicine as before, thank you for your help."