Chapter 469 470: The Strange Presence Beneath the Water
"Ice Elite Four!"
The moment Officer Arashi Jenny saw Luo Bingxue, she snapped into a respectful salute.
Seeing her reaction, everyone nearby instinctively turned around.
When they spotted Luo Bingxue and Lin Feng approaching together, the lively chatter gradually died down.
"You're here too?"
There was only one road from Wutong Town to Wutong Forest.
Since Lin Feng and Luo Bingxue were headed for the same destination, they naturally ran into each other.
At first, Lin Feng hadn't greeted her.
He simply wasn't sure what to say.
Luo Bingxue had been thinking exactly the same thing.
She also didn't know how to start a conversation.
Now that they had reached their destination, pretending not to notice each other would only make things more awkward.
More importantly...
She was now an official Elite Four member of the Pokémon League, essentially serving as one of the League's top investigators.
Meanwhile...
Despite being the champion of the Vertigo Tournament, Lin Feng technically still held only the League certification of a Beginner Trainer.
"...Mm."
Luo Bingxue gave a small nod.
Oddly enough...
Lin Feng felt even more awkward afterward.
The way she looked at him remained...
Complicated.
There was even a trace of quiet resentment in her eyes.
But no matter how hard he thought about it...
He couldn't figure out what he had done to upset her.
Without saying anything else, Luo Bingxue turned toward Officer Jenny.
She nodded once before facing the gathered crowd.
"Everyone, please disperse."
"Remaining here could become dangerous."
The Trainers exchanged glances.
Since an Elite Four member had personally arrived, staying here served little purpose.
Under Officer Jenny's guidance, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Lin Feng, however, stayed where he was.
Even though Luo Bingxue had just cleared the area...
He had no intention of leaving.
After all...
This matter might very well have something to do with him.
Besides...
If Entei really ended up fighting Luo Bingxue...
He wasn't convinced that an Ice-type specialist would have much advantage against Entei.
Most importantly...
Wutong Forest was practically his backyard.
He didn't want anything happening here.
Turning toward Officer Jenny, he asked politely,
"I'd like to go in and take a look as well."
Officer Jenny glanced toward Luo Bingxue.
After receiving silent approval, she saluted Lin Feng.
"Then we'll be counting on you, Mr. Lin Feng."
Lin Feng nodded.
He then looked toward the Arcanine standing beside Officer Jenny.
"Arcanine."
"Come with me."
"Woof!"
Arcanine happily dashed over with its tongue hanging out.
But after arriving beside Lin Feng, it turned to glance at Officer Jenny's Arcanine.
Its expression couldn't have been clearer.
I'm heading out on a mission. Wait for me.
Officer Jenny's Arcanine looked back with obvious concern.
It clearly understood what kind of Pokémon Entei was.
Unfortunately...
Its duty was to remain beside its Trainer and help maintain order.
Watching the exchange...
Even Lin Feng couldn't help wanting to tease them.
After patting Arcanine on the head, he shifted his gaze toward another Pokémon sitting nearby.
Lucario.
Lucario spent most of its time inside the forest.
No one knew the forest better than it did.
Perhaps it had already encountered Entei.
Sensing Lin Feng's questioning look...
Lucario simply shook its head.
It had sensed the mysterious Pokémon's aura before.
But every time it went to investigate...
The target had already vanished without leaving any trace.
The difference between them was simply too great.
Lin Feng didn't ask any further questions.
Aura wasn't omnipotent.
Aside from Aura Sphere, its greatest strength lay in surveying terrain and detecting nearby life.
If the target exceeded Aura's effective range...
Even Lucario wouldn't be able to find it.
Which was exactly why Lin Feng had brought Arcanine along.
Its incredible sense of smell might prove useful.
As Lin Feng entered the forest with Gardevoir and Arcanine...
Luo Bingxue released Froslass and quietly followed behind.
...
By May, the forest was anything but silent.
Warm sunlight filtered through layers of dense leaves.
Birdsong echoed from every direction.
Caterpie crawled lazily across branches.
Lin Feng even spotted a Pinsir clinging to the trunk of a massive tree.
Arcanine lowered its nose to the ground, carefully following every scent.
At the same time, Lin Feng released Serperior.
Compared to when it had first studied Aura under Lucario...
Serperior's Aura had improved by an astonishing amount.
Both its detection range and its precision had increased several times over.
Beside them...
Luo Bingxue had her own method.
In addition to Froslass, she released Mr. Rime.
Using its psychic powers, Mr. Rime carefully examined the surrounding environment.
Its Psychic abilities weren't searching directly for Pokémon.
Instead...
They analyzed the subtle traces left behind by anything that had passed through the area.
With enough experience, a skilled Trainer could reconstruct a Pokémon's path from those lingering signs.
Of course...
This method had its limitations.
Some Pokémon left almost no tracks at all.
Psychic-types could simply Teleport.
Ghost-types floated above the ground.
Neither left meaningful traces.
But Entei was a Fire-type Pokémon.
There was no reason it should be able to move through the forest without leaving evidence behind.
Sure enough...
Arcanine's nose...
Mr. Rime's psychic senses...
And Serperior's Aura...
All pointed toward the same trail.
Following that trail deeper into the forest...
They eventually arrived at a quiet lake.
Then...
Every trace disappeared.
"Mime..."
Mr. Rime stopped walking and slowly shook its head.
Arcanine barked twice in confusion.
Only Serperior continued staring at the surface of the lake.
Its eyes narrowed slightly.
"Did we lose it?"
Luo Bingxue asked.
Mr. Rime nodded with certainty.
Without thinking much about it, she turned toward Lin Feng.
"Do you have another idea?"
Perhaps...
Some miraculous dish again?
The thought quietly crossed her mind.
"Wait."
Lin Feng raised a hand.
Instead of answering immediately, he looked at Serperior.
"Did you discover something?"
"Sera!"
A rainbow-like shimmer flashed through Serperior's crystal eyes.
Its gaze remained locked firmly on the water as it let out a low hiss.
Aura traveled through a medium.
Just like sound moved most easily through air...
Its transmission became much weaker through earth or water.
At this moment...
Neither Lin Feng nor Gardevoir could accurately sense what lay beneath the lake.
But Serperior could.
Its Aura had surpassed theirs in both strength and precision.
That was why it had noticed the anomaly hidden underwater.
"Something's in the lake?"
Luo Bingxue followed Serperior's gaze toward the water.
"Is something hiding down there?"
She immediately gave an order.
"Mr. Rime."
"Ice Beam!"
A brilliant beam of icy light shot toward the lake.
Just before the attack touched the water...
A figure suddenly burst upward from beneath the surface...
------------------------------
Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.