Chapter 92

Pokémon House Store.

Because brainwashing propaganda videos bombarded Mondstadt and Liyue indiscriminately, the store's business was booming.

"The store manager" Meloetta had left, but the business did not stop.

Fortunately, the Adventurers' Association had sent a Catherine replica machine two days ago. She was designed according to Takumi's favorite appearance. Originally, Catherine had short black hair, but it had been changed to long silver-white hair. Her blue eyes were turned into cyan-purple ones, and the uniform of the Adventurers' Association was changed to a dress.

Standing at the front desk, the clerk, whom Takumi named Emilia, was handling the store's dozen or so customers. She greeted them with three standard phrases:

"Embrace the age of Pokémon! Welcome to the Pokémon House Store!"

"May you continue to make progress on your journey to become a Pokémon Master."

"Believe in the Pokémon, nurture them, and they will be your lifelong partners."

Miss Emilia was worthy of being a perpetual-motion store clerk. She managed everything in an orderly fashion by herself:

Distributed Pokédex entries.

Helped customers draw Pokémon.

Packed goods.

Takumi and Meloetta teleported back. Xiao was sitting on the sofa in the living room, with a cup of steaming coffee in front of him. Nearby, Jirachi, who was about to wake up, muttered something and turned over on a soft pillow, then fell onto the carpet.

Xiao was stunned and reached out to pick up Jirachi, but his hand froze in mid-air because a line on Jirachi's belly slowly opened, revealing a pair of strange starry eyes.

Hmph!

An invisible psychic force enveloped Jirachi and lifted it back to the pillow. Xiao's pupils shrank, and after silently withdrawing his hand, he stared at Jirachi solemnly.

The moment the little creature's eyes opened on its belly, a power that no Yaksha could capture seemed to descend from the starry sky. Fortunately, when Jirachi closed its eyes, this strange power that made Xiao's scalp tingle also dissipated.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Xiao sensed two auras appear out of thin air. One was Meloetta, who was returning, and the other...

Takumi had already greeted him with a smile:

"I've heard the name for a long time! Teyvat's pile driver... When you look up, you won't see him, but when you look down, you'll see the true king."

This was a joke, stemming from the Yue Festival and Chef Yanxiao of Wangshu Inn. Xiao obviously didn't understand these jokes and raised his eyebrows, his voice emotionless:

"Hello, creator of the times."

"I came to Liyue Harbor. What I saw was even grander than what I had seen at Wangshu Inn."

For the first time since his liberation by the Geo Archon, Xiao felt admiration welling up inside. When the Archon liberated him, Xiao had been given his name and a glimpse of a peaceful future. And now, Xiao saw another corner of this great era.

Therefore, Xiao's attitude toward Takumi was doubly respectful. No amount of admiration could be overstated for every founder of an era.

In the thousands of years before Liyue, apart from the Geo Archon, what other god could stand up to end the troubled times?

And now... Xiao glanced at Meloetta, then at Jirachi sleeping on the sofa, and finally at Cresselia, busy in the kitchen. Takumi had earned the loyalty of many mythical Pokémon. This man was indeed worthy of being the founder of a new era.

Hmm?

Takumi felt Xiao's serious gaze and was suddenly puzzled. The majestic Golden-winged Peng King, the powerful Yaksha who had made countless demons shudder—did he truly respect Takumi this much? He must have misunderstood something.

Xiao said slowly:

"I saw a Pokémon named Pikachu at Wangshu Inn. It used a lightning move to defeat the Champion Gyarados that was causing trouble in the waters."

"Manager Takumi, I want to know, who is that Pokémon?"

There was a pause, and a hint of hope appeared in Xiao's eyes.

"Do I have a chance to draw a Pokémon of this level?"

Takumi did not answer but instead asked with interest:

"Why do you want to draw such a high-level Pokémon?"

Xiao was silent for a moment before replying:

"Before the system of the Seven Archons was established, I followed the Geo Archon to quell the Demon War. Demons and gods are immortal. Although their consciousness will dissipate, their strength and resentment remain, turning into accumulated filth, repeatedly invading all living beings."

"The grudges of the past, the unrealized aspirations, the lamentations of losers... This is the karma that accompanies us Yakshas."

"My fellow Yakshas either died in battle or, after the war, succumbed to the resentment of demons, going mad, becoming possessed, and dying painfully."

Xiao's tone still did not fluctuate:

"The last time I was nearly eroded by resentment and evil thoughts; next time, I might not survive."

"But the legacy of Yaksha cannot disappear, and Liyue needs a guardian... I think that Pokémon with the potential of divine beasts may be able to inherit the karma and mission of our lineage."

Takumi couldn't help but sigh. Even though Xiao appeared young, he was over two thousand years old. Some things he was simply too weary to plan for—his focus was only on purifying filth. Now, in Pokémon, he saw the possibility of Yaksha's inheritance. Xiao couldn't stay calm.

Speaking of Yaksha, if Takumi's research on the original work was correct, Xiao was the last one remaining. The five most powerful Yakshas corresponded to the five elements of Geo, Pyro, Hydro, Electro, and Anemo. They were Bosacius, Indarias, Bonanus, Menogias, and Alatus.

Xiao was the only remaining "Golden-winged Peng King." Four of the most powerful Yakshas had died, with the Geo and Hydro Yakshas going mad and killing each other. The extent of their lineage's suffering from the hatred and filth of demon gods was immense.

Takumi spread his hands:

"I can't help with the probability of summoning."

"I can only wish you good luck."

"Besides, you don't necessarily need a top-tier Pokémon. The potential of some ordinary Pokémon can reach divine levels—they only need god-tier resources to gain that kind of power."

Xiao was not disappointed and nodded.

"What kind of potential is closest to the divine level?"

Takumi: "Champion-level and leader-level."

"Good!"

Xiao took the blank Pokédex from Takumi. After authentication and registration, he pressed the button to start.

Suddenly, the screen displayed a flashing image of a Pokémon.

The Vigilant Yaksha, Xiao, had left Wangshu Inn for the first time, stepping into the prosperous Liyue Harbor he had never before set foot in.

On the Yujing Terrace, an elderly woman, leisurely sipping tea in front of a long table, turned her head and sensed something.

The cloudy eyes cleared momentarily, revealing a smile:

"The wind is blowing strong."

"Our protector, General Yaksha, has been blown into a realm of the human world he has never set foot in before."

At this time, a young girl with pink hair, wearing a retro judge's hat and fresh clothes that exposed her shoulders and midriff, shouted energetically:

"Master! Master!"

The best legal consultant in Liyue Harbor, Yanfei, approached Granny Ping with a smile. Without further explanation, she grabbed Granny Ping's wrist:

"Master, the wind is blowing! What a strong wind!"

"I did the math. Ganyu, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Ningguang, and Keqing—all of them have gone to the Pokémon House to adopt their initial Pokémon..."

"If we don't go, we'll be left behind by the times!"