Chapter 166:Leave It to Natsume! Zoroark’s Illusions Play Tricks

“Poochyena~”

Watanabe felt a bit heavy.

He slowly opened his eyes to see a Poochyena standing on his head, curiously peeking down at him.

“What a mischievous little guy.”

Watanabe lifted the Poochyena up.

He looked around.

It seemed he was in the middle of a flower sea.

Various colored flowers swayed gently under the glow of the setting sun.

Eevee were running around.

On the columns of the gazebo, several Sewaddle were hanging, trying their best to climb up.

In the nearby empty plot of land, smoke was rising.

Sizzle~

That was the sound of meat cooking on a barbecue grill that had been oiled.

The oil must have been freshly pressed since an Arboliva was standing nearby.

Natsume, the Gym Leader, was sitting behind the grill chatting with Onami.

Onami looked very happy.

Many balloons of various sizes floated in the sky.

These balloons had been made by Onami’s Primarina.

It had blown up the balloons while Zorua and Larvitar bounced around, nudging the balloons into the air.

“I slept so well.”

Watanabe stretched as he took in the scene before him.

“Speaking of which, why am I here with Manaphy?”

Watanabe’s expression suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly opened his backpack set aside.

A round little head peeked out.

“Phione~”

Watanabe’s eyes widened slightly.

“Ah.”

Watanabe was startled and fell backward, landing on the ground.

Phione glared at him, clearly unhappy.

Watanabe's shout caught the attention of Natsume and Onami.

Natsume looked over at Watanabe, waved, and greeted him, “You’re awake.”

“Hatching…”

Watanabe stared blankly at Phione.

“Phione~”

Phione pulled the Manaphy Pokémon egg from the backpack and then wiped the egg incubator.

“Huh?”

Watanabe was momentarily confused.

Wasn’t it hatching? Why was there still an egg?

“This isn’t Manaphy.”

Natsume walked over and explained, “This is Phione.”

“I got this Pokémon from the secret realm.”

Onami followed Natsume and said, “We already know about Manaphy.”

“Uncle, what do you plan to do about this matter?”

“I heard from Minamiyou that many people have set their sights on you.”

Watanabe forced a smile. “So everyone knows.”

“Well, after all, this is Manaphy’s Pokémon egg.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure how to handle it.”

Watanabe sighed as he spoke. 

“When I first obtained Manaphy, I was naturally excited.”

“But I quickly realized the trouble it would bring me.”

Watanabe looked at Natsume and asked, “What if you were in my position, Gym Leader Natsume?”

“If you got the Pokémon egg of Manaphy, what would you do?”

“Me?”

Natsume replied, “I would probably keep it in the cabin or let Leavanny take care of it.”

“Leavanny~”

Leavanny was sitting on the ground, making clothing for the Weedle out of leaves.

The so-called clothing was actually the layer of green leaves wrapped around Sewaddle.

Natsume smiled at Leavanny and said, “In fact, most of the newborns on the farm are taken care of by Leavanny.”

“Leavanny!”

Hearing its name, Leavanny looked over in their direction.

Leavanny noticed the egg incubator Watanabe was holding and walked over.

“Leavanny!”

Leavanny looked at Watanabe expectantly.

“Uh…”

Watanabe turned to Natsume and said, “After all, this is the Pokémon egg of a legendary creature. Aren’t you worried it could be lost?”

“Leavanny!”

Leavanny glared at Watanabe in displeasure.

Natsume said, “It’s quite rude to say such things in front of Leavanny.”

“What I mean is, just like when someone raided my house yesterday.”

“What if it gets stolen?”

Natsume chuckled, “I have some confidence in the strength of everyone here on the farm.”

“Dragonite~”

In the sky, Dragonite flew over with a large bunch of washed Springy Mushrooms.

It landed on the ground, placing wooden skewers beside it.

Dragonite happily swung its legs as it skewered the Springy Mushrooms and placed them on the grill.

“Anyway, here, you don’t need to worry too much.”

“We're getting ready to have a barbecue. If you don’t mind, feel free to let your Pokémon join in the fun.”

After saying this, Natsume walked over to Dragonite.

“Need any help, Dragonite?”

“Dragonite~”

Dragonite picked up a handful of wooden skewers and handed them to Natsume.

Watanabe looked around the farm, and his previously chaotic thoughts gradually settled.

“Noibat.”

A drowsy Noibat, accompanied by a Woobat, landed next to Natsume.

Natsume smiled at Noibat and said, “Noibat, you’ve been working hard lately. You’re about to evolve, aren’t you?”

“Noibat~”

Noibat thought so too.

“Heracross!”

“Bulbasaur!”

Watanabe saw Heracross chasing after a Bulbasaur.

“Bulbasaur!”

Bulbasaur swung its vines to hold back Heracross, which was reaching out with its hands.

“Teddiursa!”

Teddiursa joyfully burst out from the garden, holding a jar of honey.

Two Combee lazily flew behind it.

Watanabe thought to himself as he observed the scene before him: Takamagahara, Takamagahara, this truly deserves the title of a paradise.

Watanabe made a decision.

He took out a Poké Ball and said, “Floatzel, Pelipper, everyone come out.”

With a flash of red light, all of Watanabe’s Pokémon were released.

Watanabe looked at his Pokémon and said, “Everyone, make sure to thank Gym Leader Natsume for his hospitality.”

“Floatzel!”

Watanabe smiled as he spoke to Floatzel and the others. “Great, let’s go.”

At that moment, the frown that had been etched on Watanabe's face relaxed.

He walked toward Natsume and the others with a relaxed expression, asking, “Do you need any help?”

“Floatzel!”

Floatzel raised its arm, ready to help.

Natsume replied without hesitation, “Then you can handle the grilling while I take a break.”

Watanabe was slightly taken aback but then smiled, “No problem.”

“Corviknight!”

A call from Corviknight echoed in the sky.

Natsume looked up at the sky while holding a skewer of meat and said to himself, “It seems like the farm will be bustling in the next few days.”

Corviknight descended from the sky.

Ohtaka jumped off Corviknight's back.

“Long time no see, Gym Leader Natsume.”

Natsume looked directly at Ohtaka and said, “Did you come because of Manaphy?”

“Right.”

Ohtaka nodded and looked at Watanabe, who was already standing behind the grill. “I think everyone knows what’s going on.”

“Manaphy is a Pokémon crucial to the balance of the ocean, and all the regional leagues are very concerned about its hatching.”

Watanabe waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve already decided to hand over Manaphy’s Pokémon egg to Gym Leader Natsume.”

“Gym Leader Natsume, will you help take care of Manaphy’s hatching?”

Natsume nodded, saying, “Of course.”

He looked at Ohtaka and asked, “What does the league think about this?”

Ohtaka reached for a skewer of Springy Mushrooms that Dragonite had cooked.

Pop~

Dragonite swatted Ohtaka's hand away and looked at him with a protective expression.

“Dragonite!”

Dragonite seemed to say, "I haven't eaten yet; you can cook for yourself!"

“Selfish.”

Ohtaka muttered, then turned to Natsume and said, “The plan for the internal league is to center around your farm.”

“Because many people from other leagues are likely to infiltrate soon.”

“They might make a move directly on the farm.”

Natsume thought for a moment and replied, “You don’t need to worry about the farm.”

“If you want to set up guards, just arrange them near the gym below the mountain.”

“Would that be safe enough?”

Ohtaka discussed this with Natsume, saying, “If you agree, Minamiyou can come personally to help you watch over Manaphy’s Pokémon egg.”

“No need.”

Natsume replied casually, “By the way, is Minamiyou in charge of the Manaphy incident?”

“Yes.”

Natsume asked in confusion, “Then why isn’t he coming over?”

“Uh…”

Ohtaka's tone suddenly became a bit strange.

He looked at Natsume and said, “He’s probably a bit afraid of you.”

“Ah?”

Natsume replied in surprise, “Afraid of me?”

“Why?”

Watanabe, upon hearing this, was shocked: “Gym Leader Natsume, you didn’t actually hit Minamiyou, did you?”

“He is the Elite of the Eastern Region, after all.”

Onami also looked at Natsume with curiosity.

Natsume shrugged slightly, “Not really.”

“In fact, I’ve never met him formally.”

Ohtaka gently reminded, “Gym Leader Natsume, while you may not have met him in a formal setting,

some of your actions have made quite a few people hesitant to get too close to you.”

Upon hearing this, Natsume understood what Ohtaka meant.

Some of the things Natsume had done were definitely considered too extreme by the standards of the league.

After all, even the Elite and Champions have said they would die if necessary.

No one wants to be around someone who might have the ability to kill them.

Watanabe glanced at Natsume and then at Ohtaka, saying, “I’m not quite clear on exactly what happened, but I can be sure that my choice should be the right one, right?”

Ohtaka shot a glance at Watanabe and said, “Not quite; you’ve gone a different way.”

Natsume smiled and said, “Let’s not talk about that for now.”

“These are all ready to eat.”

“After we finish, I’ll take you to see the Water Tribe ruins.”

“Awooo~”

The moonlight grew brighter.

On the farm, Arcanine and Houndoom still looked very energetic.

They occasionally howled at the moon above.

Zoroark stepped out from behind a tree.

Since joining the farm, Zoroark's life had been quite leisurely and carefree.

It didn’t need to maintain illusions every day to ensure the territory was safe.

There was no need to worry about intruders.

Zoroark knew that Dragonite and Serperior were very strong.

Natsume had mentioned that some people might try to infiltrate the farm in the next few days, so everyone needed to stay alert.

Zoroark didn’t want anyone to disturb its current way of life.

“Everyone, be careful.”

Suddenly, a noise came from a clump of grass up ahead.

A few people dressed in black clothing were heading toward Zoroark.

“Remember, your mission is to catch the farm's Pokémon and leave quickly.”

Kenjo quietly said to those around him, “Natsume isn’t at the farm right now, so this is our best opportunity to strike.”

As Kenjo said this, he brushed past Zoroark.

But he completely failed to notice Zoroark's presence.

In Kenjo's group’s view, Zoroark appeared to be just an ordinary tree.

Such was Zoroark’s illusion ability.

Zoroark turned to watch them.

“Captain Kenjo, I hear there are many rare Pokémon on the mountain in Takamagahara.”

“If we can successfully take them, is there a chance we could keep them and cultivate them ourselves?”

A masked man looked at Kenjo, filled with anticipation as he asked.

Kenjo replied coolly, “If you all perform well, then of course, there’s no problem.”

Zoroark glared at them coldly and then raised a hand.

The group of Kenjo moved quietly toward the farm on the mountain, completely unaware that they were suddenly turning around.

“Zoroark.”

Zoroark walked toward the gym on the farm.

They naturally followed closely behind Zoroark.

Zoroark was known as the Phantom Ruler.

If someone wasn't prepared in advance, it would be very difficult to notice they had already entered Zoroark's illusions.

Even machines couldn’t detect their illusions.

“Sirfetch'd~”

Inside the farm gym.

Sirfetch'd and the others were practicing their battle moves.

“Infernape!”

Today, Sirfetch'd's training partner was Infernape.

Beside them, Heracross was battling Annihilape.

Also present were Hawlucha and Grapploct.

The farm gym venue was always so lively.

However, everyone suddenly stopped their battles and looked at Zoroark with confusion.

At this moment, from Sirfetch'd's perspective, the scene around Zoroark had completely changed.

It seemed as if they were in a forest.

After Zoroark walked past, the forest returned to the original land.

In the forest, a group of strangely dressed men were sneaking around, looking around furtively.

This scene was certainly not real.

The group of Kenjo, caught in the illusion, couldn’t see through it at all.

“Zoroark.”

Zoroark led them into the battle arena.

Kenjo and his group started circling around the battle arena.

“Infernape?”

Infernape and the others gathered around, curiously watching Kenjo and his group.

“Captain Kenjo, why haven’t we seen a single Pokémon?”

Someone beside Kenjo asked in confusion.

“Weren’t we told that this place is full of Pokémon?”

At that moment, Kenjo felt just as bewildered.

He looked around, sensing that something was off.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was strange.

He had the distinct feeling that many Pokémon were watching them, yet he truly didn’t see anything.

Most importantly, the environment around him also felt odd.

Kenjo inexplicably had the sensation that they were going in circles.

Were they lost?

But Takamagahara on the farm was right on top of this hill.

They only needed to head toward the summit; how could they be going in circles?

It wasn’t a mountain of significant size.

“Rotom?”

Rotom flew over to Zoroark and asked, “Who are these guys?”

Zoroark replied, “They are the bad guys.”

“They want to capture the farm’s Pokémon.”

Upon hearing this, Rotom immediately said, “We need to inform Gym Leader Natsume.”

At that moment, Natsume was taking Gardevoir and Onami to visit the ruins outside the farm, so he wasn’t at home.

“We also need to call Dragonite and Serperior from the mountain.”

Zoroark calmly said, “Just inform Gym Leader Natsume.”

“As for battling…”

Zoroark looked toward Infernape and the others.

“Infernape.”

Infernape nodded.

Zoroark intended for Infernape and the others to initiate an attack directly.

However, Infernape merely walked up behind Kenjo and patted him on the shoulder.

Sirfetch'd and the others surrounded the group.

Seeing this, Zoroark understood their intentions and immediately dispelled the illusions.

At this point, Kenjo was still pondering what was going wrong.

“Who just touched me?”

Kenjo turned around.

With a slight wobble,

The surroundings shifted.

The woods vanished.

In their place stood a massive battle arena.

Before Kenjo was a fiery, flaming monkey head.

“Damn!”

Kenjo jumped in surprise, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.

“Infernape!”

Infernape beckoned to Kenjo.

Let’s battle!

Kenjo glanced around.

They were surrounded by a group of Fighting-type Pokémon.

“Houndoom~Mightyena~”

Not far away, a fierce pack of Houndoom and Mightyena were charging toward them.

In the sky, Pidgeot and Pidgeotto circled overhead.