Chapter 109

Ecological Area

Rocky mountain scene.

Keqing and Hongyi arrived with more than 20 guardsmen. The famous characters in the nearby group chat who heard the news and came to watch the excitement included Lumine and Paimon, who originally caused the incident, as well as Hu Tao, Chongyun, Xingqiu, Yelan, Childe, and others.

Those who weren't present had their friends take a video. Everyone was curious about how long the forest champion Chesnaught could last.

**Hu Tao:** "I'll bet one Mora. If Noivern and Cresselia join in, Chesnaught will be down in seconds!"

**Childe:** "Oh, I'm not betting—only fools would!"

Yelan frowned. Champion Pokémon? From a distance, she could see Chesnaught's destructive power and feel its oppression and threat. She wasn't sure if she could win against it herself.

"They're here!" Paimon pointed excitedly.

Cresselia, who had been guarding the research institute, used Teleport to bring Lurantis and Noivern.

Cresselia floated in the air without any intention of landing, while Lurantis and Noivern landed near Chesnaught. The battle was about to begin. In other words, Lurantis and Noivern teamed up to beat Chesnaught unilaterally.

**Solar Blade!**

A sharp beam of sunlight struck Chesnaught's carapace. Noivern, a powerful Pokémon, had been getting closer to Lurantis recently and knew about Lurantis's past battle with Chesnaught. It didn't hold back.

**Dragon Pulse!**

**High Horsepower!**

**Megaton Kick!**

A barrage of powerful skills fired off, overwhelming Chesnaught. It could dodge one or two attacks, but not all of them. Whenever Chesnaught got hit, it didn't die but was badly injured.

Boom, boom, boom—every skill that missed still caused terrifying damage to the surrounding area. During this time, Chesnaught tried its best to withstand Lurantis's relentless sneak attacks.

The champion Pokémon roared in frustration and sorrow.

"No! Lurantis!! You weren't like this before. You used to fight me head-on with pride! Fight like a true warrior—don't be sly and deceitful!"

But Lurantis had made up its mind to fight in doubles alongside Noivern. After a few rounds, the once proud and resilient Chesnaught was exhausted, its armor-like shell covered in wounds.

**Dragon Rush!!**

Noivern finished with a powerful dragon move. Boom! A deep pit, dozens of meters wide, appeared in the ecological zone. As the dust settled, Noivern swaggered out, calling to Lurantis, and then looked up towards Cresselia, who was hovering above.

A little further away, Lumine, Paimon, Keqing, Hongyi, and the other onlookers widened their eyes in astonishment.

The "sisters" from the research institute were just too powerful! The majestic forest champion, a powerful Pokémon nearly on par with their own, was subdued in mixed doubles until it lost its strength and was pushed into the ground.

Throughout the entire battle, Chesnaught couldn't even launch a single skill effectively—it was pitiful.

**Childe** shivered. "If we had faced similar combat power... We'd be done for."

Lurantis may have been okay, but that Heavenly King-ranked Noivern was truly fearsome—one not to be provoked!

If only they knew Takumi had recently fought and defeated a King's Arcanine on the volcanic island of the Hisui region, beating it until it tucked its tail between its legs and whimpered. Everyone would marvel even more at Nightclub Manager Takumi's strong moral character.

"Paimon, Traveler," Cresselia's clear, melodious voice sounded in everyone's minds, "Bring that champion's cub here."

In the deep pit, Chesnaught hissed and tried to lift its head. It saw its cub—sitting comfortably in Lumine's arms, looking at its father, who had been thoroughly beaten. Chesnaught's eyes reddened. This was his cub—so moved! So incredibly moved! 

"Forest champion, your cub has chosen this trainer named Lumine. From now on, it will grow and train alongside Lumine," Cresselia continued, exuding the majesty of the embodiment of the crescent moon and the god of dreams.

"Do you have any objections?"

The implication was: do you even dare to object?

Chesnaught hesitated, raising his head and looking at Cresselia. He felt Noivern still suppressing him with its sheer presence.

Chesnaught's expression turned into a grimace. "I-I agree."

After speaking, he collapsed.

"Human, I leave my cub to you..."

Chespin jumped out of Lumine's arms, walked to his father's head, and wiped a tear from his father's eye with his tiny paw.

"What about~? Well, well, well!"

*(Dad, why are your eyes wet? Where did this water come from?)*

Chesnaught spat out a mouthful of blood.

Holy moly!! You brat—I'm crying! Have some heart!

Never mind, humans—take this kid away! I'm afraid I'll start bawling again if I keep seeing this naughty child. Why did I have such a cub...?

Chesnaught's attitude changed suddenly. He didn't set any further conditions for Lumine's adoption of his cub—he was in a hurry to send them away like they were a nuisance.

Then, dragging his heavy armored body, Chesnaught walked away in haste.

One of my children turned out differently—it's okay. I'll go back to my mate and make another little one. I'm still young and strong. With a few more tries, there'll be one I like.

"So, from now on, we are family," Lumine said with a smile, touching Chespin's head. She took out a Poké Ball, and Chespin lightly touched the switch, capturing itself. After a moment, it emerged from the red light, continuing to play with Hat Pikachu.

The entire incident was recounted in the group chat by Xingqiu, Chongyun, and Childe.

**Xiangling:** "I'm so impressed—this is a starter Pokémon!"

**Kaeya:** "Chespin, Tubby Chespin, Chesnaught... From the Pokédex, they clearly serve as tanks in teams!"

**Amber:** "I have a feeling that the Traveler will be a strong opponent in the Trainer Competition!"

Lumine felt incredible. This was her first exploration of the ecological zone, and she had boldly ventured into the deep area, finding treasures every step of the way.

Three starters and other miscellaneous loot!

"I can settle the two million Mora I owe Nightclub Manager Takumi for the egg right away.~"

"I, the Traveler, owe nothing!"

Suddenly remembering something, Lumine took a picture of the strange, mysterious, eerie stone she hadn't had time to photograph earlier and sent it to the group chat.

**Lumine:** *Manager Takumi, what is this?*

**Takumi:** *Washing dishes right now—leave a message... Huh? That's a Keystone. Where did you find it?*

**Lumine:** *In the deep forest area of the ecological zone. Manager, what's its purpose?*

**Takumi:** *You can think of it as a necessary vessel to capture a certain type of Pokémon. That Pokémon is called Spiritomb, and each Spiritomb must be bound to a Keystone to exist!*

**Paimon:** *Wow! Is it worth a lot of Mora?*

**Takumi:** *Why sell it for Mora? Lumine, let me tell you, Spiritomb is a Dark/Ghost-type Pokémon, and it doesn't need to evolve—it's already in its strongest form! Capturing one is definitely worth it.*

**Takumi:** *Let me add—Sinnoh's regional champion, Cynthia, has a Spiritomb in her championship lineup.*

After hearing this, Lumine was stunned. The other group members were also speechless for a while. Takumi's message stayed in the chat for nearly ten minutes before it was finally overtaken by a new message.

**Childe:** *Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! I can't believe this!*

**Klee:** *I feel like Klee's four-leaf clover luck isn't as good as the Traveler's luck~~*

**Takumi:** *Lumine, search where you found that Keystone—you might find Spiritomb's underground lair. The accompanying treasure is always near the corresponding Pokémon.*

**Ningguang:** *(Dangerous Smile.jpg)* *Takumi, you seem a bit too talkative today, don't you?*

**Jean:** *Why reveal all this information so generously?*

**Yelan:** *To me, information is money! Manager Takumi, you're being overly nice to the Traveler! *(Doubtful.jpg)*

---

**Hisui Region - Diamond Clan Settlement**

Takumi glanced at the group chat interface and then said to Adaman, the leader of the Diamond Clan:

"That's settled, right?"

Adaman nodded reluctantly. He, the leader of the Diamond Clan and a Champion-level trainer, had three Eeveelutions—Leafeon, Vaporeon, and Umbreon.

But Jirachi, though outnumbered, managed to single-handedly push through the entire team.

Takumi recorded the battle on video.

"How about we use this as tomorrow's competition promotion video? Show the strength and power of a Champion trainer!"

After their friendly match, the Diamond Clan members looked at Takumi like he was some kind of prehistoric monster. When Takumi found Melli, the young Warden in charge of taking care of the Braviary, Melli stuttered, trembling as they spoke.

"C-Capturing Braviary eaglets in bulk?"

"Sure, sure!"

Melli was so scared they nearly cried, blurting out something uncontrollably.

"I saw the future... A group of Braviary patrolling a land of wind and freedom. Warriors on their backs—romantic and heroic. There were windmills, vast lakes... and foreign gods?"

---

At the same time...

Lumine, Paimon, and Pikachu, carrying the newly captured Chespin, returned to the depths of the forest where they'd found the Keystone.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu pointed at a hollow in a tree.

Paimon dived into the darkness first, and her excited voice echoed from the depths:

"Hey! Oh, really—there's a cave! Lumine, come down quickly. We're gonna be rich!"

Lumine pursed her lips and didn't respond immediately. Instead, she looked at the Keystone in her hand, which emitted a faint purple light.

Did it sense something?