Chapter 90

In the Northland Bank.

When Childe received the notification that he was banned, she was so angry that she almost smashed her Pokédex.

"Damn it, it was Ningguang who was the first to show off her wealth. Why did you catch me and ban me? Just aiming at me, right?"

With his chest heaving with anger, Childe vowed:

"I, Childe, will be the group administrator one day. I'm going to make all the people I don't like go silent!"

At this time, Bank Manager Andrei cautiously entered the room.

"Sir, the Eighth Harbinger has arrived in Liyue."

The corner of Childe's mouth curled up.

"Very good, Madame. Have you come to Liyue, which has undergone drastic changes? This magnificent new era of Pokémon must have startled you."

"Madame, let me tell you, times have changed. And I, Childe, will take my Alolan Vulpix and defeat all of you Harbingers ranked above me!"

At Wangshu Inn.

After successfully hatching the Pikachu with a hat, Lumine and Paimon left their room, preparing to cross Guili Plains and head straight to Liyue Harbor. Lumine packed her things and closed the door.

The electric mouse Pikachu sat on Lumine's shoulder skillfully. Its chubby little paws pointed toward the blue sky and white clouds outside.

"Pika, Pika-pi!"

("Let's set out on the road to becoming a Pokémon Master!")

Lumine was stunned for a moment, but she understood Hat Pikachu's energetic and ambitious cry. A subtle emotional seed grew in Lumine's heart.

Originally, in Teyvat, she was a traveler, a foreigner wandering from country to country to find her brother. She had no sense of belonging. But in that moment, amidst Pikachu's cry, Lumine was suddenly moved.

"Trainer?..."

There was a different look in her golden eyes.

Taking the elevator, which had been repaired by Wangshu Inn, she and Paimon descended. What neither Lumine nor Paimon noticed was that on the top of Wangshu Inn, a pair of hidden eyes were observing them, especially when Pikachu with a hat hatched. The eyes stared frequently.

There was a legend in Liyue that the towering Wangshu Inn inherited some mysterious mission.

"Pokémon..."

As Lumine and Paimon left in the elevator, a suspicious and cold voice whispered from the top floor.

Suddenly, an existence hidden in the dark, unnoticed by anyone, looked at the dock below Wangshu Inn. The pier was in chaos. Screams rang out as the crowd fled in all directions.

"Here we go again..."

The Vigilant Yaksha, Xiao, released his invisibility and stepped onto the observation deck, a look of helplessness on his face.

For the past week, a huge black vortex had appeared in the sky. The waters northwest of Wangshu Inn had become increasingly dangerous, with all kinds of aquatic Pokémon unknowingly spreading throughout the waters of Dihua Marsh.

The range of aquatic Pokémon activity had grown beyond the ecological zone and was expanding toward the coastal waters of Liyue.

If Xiao knew the term "species invasion," he would have described the expanding presence of aquatic Pokémon in the ecological zone this way.

Magikarp was the most numerous Pokémon, and as a result, hundreds of Gyarados now roamed the swamps around Dihua Marsh.

In recent days, more than a dozen Gyarados attacks on merchant ships and fishing boats had been reported. Xiao knew that Gyarados had a fierce temperament, and once enraged, they would destroy everything in sight. It seemed that their genes held only the instinct to burn and destroy. There was no difference between them and monsters—they needed to be dealt with.

On the observation deck, Xiao's expression changed as he saw the movement of Hyper Beam being fired from the water below.

"This Gyarados... is stronger than the others I've defeated these past days. It must be a... Champion."

At that moment, Lumine and Paimon, who had just descended to the ground, were caught in the fleeing crowd. A female guard, wielding a sword, looked tense as she rushed toward the dock against the crowd.

"Our escort ship is still by the shore. If it's damaged by those water beasts, we won't be able to cover the costs! We have to stop it, even if it costs our lives!"

Hearing this, Lumine and Paimon exchanged glances. The Pikachu sitting on Lumine's shoulder stared at the approaching Hyper Beam from the dock.

"Pika! Pika-pika!"

Its little paw pointed at itself with determination before jumping off Lumine's shoulder.

Whoosh!

Pikachu dashed forward at high speed. At the dock, the female guard in yellow was unsheathing her sword when suddenly Pikachu flashed in front of her.

Boom!

10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!

The moment this "Champion Pikachu" used its special move, Lumine felt the stone accessory on her body heat up. It was an item she and Paimon found among Pikachu's eggshell remains. Not knowing its use, she had worn it on her wrist. At that moment, the crystal gem on the wristband seemed to resonate with Pikachu, for reasons unknown.

A massive lightning beam shot forth, striking the Champion Gyarados that had launched the Hyper Beam. The intense light produced by the lightning strike was blinding, even for Xiao on the observation deck. After several seconds, the thunder disappeared, and the sky cleared.

On the rough water, electric currents danced everywhere. The female guard in yellow stood with her mouth agape. On the water's surface, a giant water Pokémon, cooked by electricity, slowly surfaced.

After using a move far beyond its usual power, Pikachu appeared dizzy, its head spinning as it staggered before collapsing.

Lumine quickly rushed over to hold Pikachu in her arms, while Paimon patted her chest in relief. She then stared wide-eyed at the massive, ten-meter-long Champion Gyarados that had been felled.

"Did... did it just get taken down in one hit?"

Paimon quickly accessed Lumine's Pokédex to record the explosive scene, uploading the video to the group chat.

(Champion Pikachu: Witness my power! I am invincible!)

All members of the group chat:

"?? Allow?"