There seems to be something wrong with these Pokémon

Xiao Ye looked at the large characters on the plaque of the arch-shaped gate, proving that he had finally arrived in the city. He couldn't help but relax and smiled.

There were people coming and going at the entrance of Huangjin City, and everyone had a warm smile on their face. Many children were running around with soup spoons in their hands, chasing each other. The old people moved small stools and sat aside to chat, occasionally casting worried glances at the children running wildly.

Everything seemed so leisurely and from this scene alone, it was impossible to tell that this was the golden city that terrified Sakura beyond words.

Sakura, who had made up her mind to face the shadow, looked at the scene in a trance, and repeatedly looked up to confirm whether she had read the words on the plaque wrongly.

Jin...Huang...City, that’s right!

How come this city is not as lifeless as it was before she left, but instead is full of vitality and looks prosperous?

Sakura, who seriously doubted her memory, stopped a man and asked.

"Excuse me, uncle. May I ask... has anything big happened in Jinhuang City recently?"

The man in the yellow baseball cap was startled, and turned his head to look at the woman with long red tea-colored hair who was standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"What do you mean by big things?"

The one who answered Sakura's question was not the man or woman in front of her, but a cold voice coming from behind them.

The man and the woman moved their feet, and a girl holding a doll emerged from among them. Her waist-length dark green hair fluttered in the wind, and star-like light blue will-o'-the-wisp fires were burning beside her.

Xiaoye's pupils constricted, and he subconsciously reached out to block Xiaoying behind him, watching this counterintuitive scene with a frown.

"You are afraid, why?"

The girl accompanied by the will-o'-the-wisp blinked, as if she really didn't know why others were afraid.

"Don't you think it's interesting?"

interesting? !

Who would find this interesting?

Sakura, who had just faced the girl, almost had her nose touched by the ghost fire that suddenly floated in, as if the icy yet scorching temperature had burned her soul.

"Okay, Haunter, stop it." The man in the baseball cap smiled helplessly, and a hint of blue light flashed in his raised right hand.

The next moment, a Pokémon floating in the air with a big grin appeared under the man's hand. The way its eyes were bent with laughter was enough to show its bad character.

“Sorry, Haunter was a little playful.” The woman smiled apologetically and took out two candies from her skirt pocket and handed them to the frightened two. “I’m sorry to scare you.”

"It's okay, it's okay." Xiaoye let out a breath, smiled and took the candy from the woman's hand and gave it to Xiaoying.

When he realized that everything that had just happened was disguised by the power of Pokémon, his previous fear and vigilance disappeared instantly, and he was filled with smiles.

But Sakura still looked frightened, swaying left and right to avoid the Haunter floating in the air.

The naughty Haunter was obviously aroused by the sight of the girl who was obviously avoiding him. Several times, he inadvertently floated to Xiaoying's side when Xiaoye was communicating with the woman, and suddenly opened his bloody mouth to scare her. When he saw the girl's hair standing up, he would laugh and float back before others discovered what he had done.

Sakura, who was frightened to the point of nervous breakdown, suddenly hid behind Xiaoye, and stuck her head out like a frightened little animal, staring at the movement of Haunter.

So, the Pokémon she is least good at dealing with are ghost-type Pokémon!

"You want to know what happened in Golden City?"

The dark green-haired girl raised her hand to call back the grinning Haunter and said with a cold face, "It's nothing serious, it's just that the Golden Gym has been temporarily closed."

After saying that, she ignored the two shocked people and took the lead to walk forward, leaving the city and heading towards the forest.

Seeing this, the man and the woman smiled at each other helplessly, raised their hands to signal, and followed the girl.

Looking at the suitcase the man was dragging, I guess his family is planning to go out for a trip?

"The Golden Gym was...closed down?" After seeing Stone leave, Sakura put her hands on Xiaoye's shoulders and stuck her head out with a look of shock on her face, "How could it be? Who could...beat Nancy?"

It was not the first time that the Alliance had sent Pokémon Inspectors to judge the situation at the Golden Gym, but without exception, they were thrown out without any further ado.

I had just stepped into Golden City one second, and found myself in the forest the next.

This left the Pokémon prosecutors helpless, and they could only report back to their superiors again and again, trying to enter Golden City again.

and many more!

Is there anyone who can beat Nancy? Could it be the Four Heavenly Kings or the Champion?

Sakura's eyes suddenly opened and her pupils dilated slightly.

Yes, no matter how powerful Radiance is, she must have no ability to resist those who have climbed to the throne of Pokémon Master after thousands of battles, right?

She hurriedly expressed her guess, but saw that the boy in front of her frowned, as if he did not agree with her point of view.

Thanks to the chance encounter with Master Kona not long ago, when the two were chatting, Kona inadvertently revealed some of the current situation of the Pokémon League.

The Four Heavenly Kings have been too busy lately to get away, so it is unlikely that they will be the ones to take action.

After all, compared to Nancy who would not harm anyone's life, the recent frequent terrorist attacks in Kanto have attracted more of their attention.

Watari had fought with Cahill just a week ago, and after defeating him easily, he was ambushed.

Fortunately, the timely support of the gym leader of the nearby Rainbow City, Erica, prevented a landslide caused by the bomb detonated by Team Rocket. Otherwise, Rainbow City, which is located at the foot of the mountain, would have suffered heavy losses.

Hiba was dealing with the extremely powerful and aggressive Pokémon that were inexplicably rampaging in various places, and used the "Primary Anti-E-Type Machine" developed by the Pokémon Research Institute to barely pacify the Pokémon that were rioting in groups.

Kona received a secret mission, a top-secret mission in which no information could be revealed, so he had nothing to tell Xiaoye.

Kikuko is guarding the Kanto Pokémon League, ready to provide support at any time.

As for the champion...

Kona smiled slightly and signaled Xiaoye not to think too much.

"That champion is also very busy and probably won't appear in public in the near future."

Therefore, Sakura's speculation is completely untrue. It is impossible that those Pokémon Masters took action to clean up the Golden Gym.

Who could that be?

Xiao Ye lowered his head in thought, but a shadow suddenly appeared in his eyes.

He slowly raised his head and looked, but his breathing was stuttered the next second. He coughed dryly and quickly pulled Sakura back in small steps.

In front of them, there suddenly appeared a ghost face with blood coming out of all seven orifices.

She had a sad look on her face, her pupils were white, and her long, inky black hair fell to her toes.

Xiaoying, who was hiding behind Xiaoye, had a distorted face and screamed loudly.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!! Ghost!!!"

"Jiejiejiejie."

The next moment, the female ghost disappeared from their sight, leaving only Haunter's purple body floating in the air, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face.

"Come back, Haunter!"

Xiao Ye only felt a cold female voice appear in his ears, and in a moment Haunter disappeared in front of them, leaving only a distorted space.

Xiao Ye looked back in shock, but only saw a small figure disappearing from his sight.

"That doll..."

"Ah... Are you talking about the doll in that girl's arms?" Sakura said intermittently after her extreme panic and before she could catch her breath, "That doll is very common. It is a specialty of Jinhuang City. Even Nancy has one in her hands."

Seeing that Xiaoying was so afraid of ghosts, Xiaoye thought about it and decided not to tell her about the strange doll he had just seen.

It would only add to her fear. Some things are better not known.

"Come on, let's go. I'll take you to my house to rest for a while." Sakura stroked her chest with her right hand and said as she breathed, "This is too scary! I don't want to see a ghost-type Pokémon again!"

----

Sakura's home is a small villa in the city center, very close to the Pokémon Center.

The house is filled with warm lights, and a floor-to-ceiling window is located on the side.

There is a group photo hanging right above the TV cabinet. The smiling little girl and the snobbish and disdainful boy are particularly eye-catching.

A man and a woman stood behind the two children, smiling and happy.

Opposite this family photo, a woman is holding the young girl's hand and asking her about her well-being.

"My poor Sakura, look at how thin you have become!" Mrs. Fujino wiped her tears with her hand, her beautiful eyes full of heartache, "Luckily the Golden Gym has been closed down, otherwise I would never let you come back, Nancy is too dangerous!"

"Mom!" Sakura puffed up her cheeks in anger and said dissatisfiedly, "I've told you that I'm a completely different person now. I'm already a mature trainer. I don't need to be afraid of Nancy."

"Okay, okay, our Sakura is already a very good trainer."

Mrs. Fujino fixed her eyes on the hairpin in the girl's long hair, counting the number of badges on it.

"You've already earned five badges. You're worthy of being called Sakura!"

"Of course! I've already told you I'm awesome!" Sakura giggled and pulled Xiaoye, who was sitting next to her, over to introduce her to her parents. "This is Shuoya Ye, my friend. You should know that he saved me twice. He's my savior!"

It would have been better if she hadn't said it. After saying this, Mrs. Fujino was stunned for a moment, and couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes. She had to turn her back to the two people and wipe away her tears.

Mr. Fujino was also surprised by his daughter's "life-saving grace". But as the head of the family, he had to speak up when the hostess could not continue the topic, otherwise it would be extremely rude.

"Sakutani Ye, can I call you Xiaoye?" Although Mr. Fujino was talking to Xiaoye, his eyes were always looking at the slight chilblains on Sakura's hands resting on her knees.

"Of course no problem, uncle." Xiao Ye nodded and smiled.

Xiao Ye exchanged a few simple greetings with Mr. Fujino. When Mrs. Fujino calmed down and turned around, Xiao Ye tactfully found an excuse to hide in the bathroom, leaving time for the family who had been reunited after a long separation.

"Well, family is indeed a wonderful thing." Xiaoye washed her hands, looked up at herself in the mirror and said to herself, "Whether it's Xiaozhi, Xiaomao, or Xiaoying, there are people who will always care about them."

The earring hanging from the boy's earlobe trembled, and Ditto's dotted eyes appeared on it, wanting to hug its trainer.

Of course, it would be even better if you could get some food at the same time!

But the boy in the mirror did not look lonely as Ditto had expected. Instead, he smiled with eyes full of happiness.

"Just like Professor Oki who loves to secretly eat instant noodles, they are family members as warm as the scorching sun."

dong dong dong-

There were knocks on the door, and the sound of Xiaoying pulling on slippers to open the door also reached Xiaoye's ears.

"Sakura, it's really you!"

"Xiaomu, why are you here!?"

Outside the door, two girls of similar age were hugging each other. Their excited and laughing faces caught Mrs. Fujino's eyes, which made her feel a little relieved and no longer worried about the crisis the girls had experienced.

"Sakura you have to help me! I'm going to be a trainer and go traveling soon!"

"Isn't that great, what's wrong?"

"But the initial partner my parents found for me was an egg! I don't want an egg, I want a cute meow!"

The girl's slightly pleading voice was heard, and Xiao Ye happened to walk out and look.

The girl with round glasses hugged Sakura's neck intimately and cried.

"Help me, great trainer!"