Chapter 63 Repulsion and Aftermath

Xiaoyou was able to fly, naturally thanks to Haunter.

With it by his side, there was simply no need to worry about any accidents occurring; he could soar and do whatever he pleased in the sky!

Accompanied by Zapdos's fierce cry, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky above the city, layering thickly to make the vast expanse of the sky as dark as the bottom of a blackened pot.

Beneath the television tower, Ash and Pikachu exchanged glances, then raised their heads to look at Zapdos, which shone like the sun beneath the gloomy clouds. Light seemed to ripple within their eyes. "This move is..."

"That's right, it's Thunder," Brock, who was well-traveled and knowledgeable, nodded and said. "It's a tremendously powerful Electric-type move. If it's raining, the opponent won't even be able to dodge it at all!"

When the might of the thunder and lightning reached its critical threshold, accompanied by Zapdos's second cry, an immensely thick bolt of lightning struck the giant Tentacruel with lightning speed before it could even cover its ears!

This time, the giant Tentacruel could no longer endure and collapsed toward the ground!

Moreover, whether due to its energy being completely exhausted or because it had lost consciousness, its body shrank once more until it returned to its normal size.

Cheers erupted among the crowd. Without the giant Tentacruel to command them, the other Tentacool retreated in successive defeats and were quickly driven out of the city once again.

Zapdos glided a few circles in the air and then flew toward the television tower. Seizing the moment, Xiaoyou gave a single leap, landed on its back, and under the gaze of the onlookers, the person and the Pokémon quickly vanished behind the tower.

Not long after, when Xiaoyou removed his mask, blended into the crowd, and ran back to the foot of the television tower, everything was already over.

By this point, this disturbance caused by the jellyfish Pokémon had inflicted tens of billions in damages upon the city. Not only had countless buildings collapsed, but innumerable properties had also been destroyed!

With such a massive disaster occurring, Madam Boss not only had her entire enterprise ruined, but her reputation had also hit rock bottom. I'm afraid she would never be able to continue investing in Maiden's Peak Wharf, and as her dreams shattered, one could only wonder what kind of lessons people would draw from this painful catastrophe.

Because they had been too immersed in the battle earlier, Ash and Brock did not notice Xiaoyou's departure. Only Misty seemed to have picked up on something, beaming a gentle smile at Xiaoyou without spelling it out.

Xiaoyou recalled his Pokémon into their Poké Balls and was about to leave with Ash and the others when he noticed that Horsea had now approached Misty.

During the chaotic battle just moments before, Misty had not only bandaged its wounds but also stepped in to protect it. This caused the Horsea to mentally accept Misty, and so when the incident came to an end, it voluntarily became her Pokémon.

Having labored for a long time, around noon, Xiaoyou and the others set up camp outside the city to rest and had lunch together.

It was only at this moment that Xiaoyou tasted Brock's cooking for the very first time.

"Wow, this is simply too delicious!" Xiaoyou raised his thumb, gave Brock a sign of approval, and said with envy, "Compared to your culinary skills, the things I make really do my stomach a disservice! It seems that if I have the chance in the future, I should also travel with someone who has superb cooking skills!"

This was not an exaggeration by Xiaoyou. In fact, those seemingly ordinary ingredients, once prepared by Brock, became exceptionally delicious. Moreover, he cooked with great care, which not only made Xiaoyou burst into praise, but even his Pokémon ate with lingering enjoyment!

"It's not as delicious as you make it sound."

Slightly embarrassed by the compliments, Brock took out a pen and paper from his backpack, wrote down a few recipes, and handed them to Xiaoyou.

"I have a few recipes here. Although the ingredients used are very common foods, if you can follow my methods, they will surely turn out exceptionally delicious!"

"Thank you so much!"

Xiaoyou solemnly put away the recipes. Just as they were enjoying their lunch, the video of the battle between Zapdos and the giant Tentacruel had already been uploaded online by people, quickly attracting massive attention. Its popularity soared straight up and even spread to other regions!

People were engaged in frantic discussions, all speculating on the identity of the man wearing the Haunter mask.

Furthermore, Zapdos's majestic posture and the strength it displayed left countless people drooling with envy!

After taking a short rest, although Misty felt a great deal of reluctance in her heart, she knew that the time to say goodbye had arrived once more.

Xiaoyou waved goodbye to them, but before leaving, he gifted that bottle of perfume to Misty.

"Accept it. This is a gift I bought for you in Saffron City. I don't know if you'll like it or not."

Misty's face turned slightly red as she shyly took the gift box, though she did not open it on the spot.

In truth, regardless of what was inside, even if it were just a single piece of candy, she would cherish it dearly.

Watching Xiaoyou's gradually receding figure, Misty's eyes welled with a mist of tears as she whispered in an extremely soft voice, "Big Brother Xiaoyou... let's meet again next time."

Ash's ears twitched slightly.

"Huh? Big Brother Xiaoyou? Why do you call him that?"

"Idiot!" Not expecting Ash to overhear, Misty became embarrassed and annoyed. She grabbed Ash's ear and said loudly, "He's older than us! Out of basic politeness, isn't it completely normal to call him older brother?!"

"So that's how it is!" Ash was completely incapable of understanding a girl's feelings, but seeing that her reasoning made sense, he smiled and said, "Then I'll call him Big Brother Xiaoyou from now on as well. It really sounds very affectionate!"

Leaving Maiden's Peak Wharf, Xiaoyou continued northward, and a few hours later, he arrived at Maiden's Peak once again.

Returning here after many days, he did not feel any particular sentimentality about revisiting an old place or seeing things change while people remained.

Walking through the streets he had once traversed, he headed straight to the Maiden Shrine.

At this moment, the elderly Shinto priest whom they had briefly crossed paths with on that day was holding a broom, cleaning up the debris within the courtyard. Although the summer festival had passed long ago, as a popular tourist town, there were still many tourists coming here every day to sightsee and leave mementos.

Xiaoyou walked up to the elderly priest and stated his purpose.

"What? You want to help us spread the story of Maiden's Peak better?!" The energetic priest nodded and said, "That's wonderful. Thank you so much."

Upon learning that he intended to let more young people understand the story here through manga, although the elderly priest did not quite understand the medium, he still attached great importance to it.

"Although this matter originated more than two thousand years ago, it now involves the entire town, and I dare not make a decision on my own. I think it would be best if you waited here for a moment. I'll go notify the mayor right away, and once he arrives, you can recount what you just told me to him."

"Eh? I have to notify the mayor too?"

Xiaoyou was taken aback. His original intention was merely to help the Maiden's ghost convey her wish better, and incidentally give Haunter peace of mind. He had assumed that printing these manga at the shrine and distributing them to tourists would complete the mission.

He never expected that it would end up alarming the town's mayor!!