Chapter 53: The Masked Rose

“Hey, did you hear? The Orange Blossom Forest was reopened this morning!”
“Really? That’s great! Now I can finally go into the forest to catch Pokémon!”
Early the next morning, while eating breakfast in the cafeteria, Hu Yang overheard two teachers chatting about it nearby.

“Hey, you’re back pretty early!” Just then, Gang Nishida appeared out of nowhere, carrying his food tray.

Hu Yang glanced at him and said, “You’ve gained weight.”

Gang Nishida chuckled, “Rika told me you brought gifts back for everyone.”

Hu Yang replied, “Come with me to get them after breakfast.”

After finishing their meal, he and Gang Nishida took a stroll to the office. Since the school was about to start a new term, a teachers’ meeting had been scheduled in advance, which made it convenient for Hu Yang to bring all the gifts there.

He handed over the gifts, and Gang Nishida exclaimed dramatically, “Wow, it’s my favorite—Firepot Rice Crackers!”

Just then, Rika walked in carrying a few books. From her, Hu Yang heard about the aftermath of the manor incident. The Hoenn League had revealed the reason for sealing off the Orange Blossom Forest these past few days and had published the two-hundred-year-old event in the newspapers.

“Mr. Noji’s bond with that Gengar was so touching. Now that he’s gone, Gengar must be heartbroken, right?” Rika found the outcome hard to accept.

It seemed the League hadn’t disclosed the full details of what happened last night.

Glancing at the newspaper, Hu Yang casually said, “Perhaps they’ve already reunited in another world.”

Rika sighed. “If only that were true.”

Gang Nishida also leaned in to read, reciting each word, “Professor Oak from Kanto has finally succeeded in developing Pokémon transfer technology. From now on, trainers will no longer have to worry about running out of space in their Poké Balls!”

“Hm?” Hearing this, Hu Yang looked over.

Sure enough, on another page of the newspaper, he saw a black-and-white photo of Professor Oak and the Pokémon transfer device.

In reality, the transfer device resembled an ATM, with an electronic screen, keyboard, and two slots for placing Poké Balls.

Rika gaped in astonishment. “Transferring Pokémon along with their Poké Balls—how is that even possible?!”

“The power of science is amazing!” Gang Nishida remarked with a hint of awe. “Back in the days before the Pokédex, I remember trainers used pencils and notebooks to record information about wild Pokémon and their journeys.”

Hu Yang, however, wasn’t as shocked as they were, since he had long known about this technology—he just hadn’t expected it to appear in this world only now.

“By the way, how many Pokémon did you travel with when you were a trainer, Nishida?” Hu Yang asked. In the games and anime, it always seemed to be six.

“Six!” Gang Nishida explained, “Because space is limited, carrying too many means you can’t fit all the food and items they need in your bag.”

“But not everyone sticks to six,” he added. “Some wealthy trainers travel by car, so they can bring as many Pokémon as they want.”

Hu Yang was speechless.

That reminded him of Gary in the first anime season—driving a convertible, surrounded by a squad of cheerleaders in short skirts chanting, “Gary is the best!”

…

With the manor incident resolved, funds for raising Pokémon were still plentiful, and the matter of Gengar had found an answer.

Hu Yang set his next goal: to become stronger and visit the ruins Gengar had mentioned to recover its body.

He took out the Dawn Stone that the ancient Oricorio had found in the manor and placed it before Roselia. “Do you want to evolve? After evolving, you’ll become stronger, even more amazing than you are now.”

“Rorili…”

Although he was a trainer, Hu Yang seldom kept his Pokémon in their balls for more than five hours a day. Most of the time, Axew and Roselia accompanied him.

Therefore, Roselia was well aware of Hu Yang’s current wishes.

It was willing to take his dream as its own and strive towards it.

Roselia turned and looked at the Gengar floating pitifully nearby, its gaze growing determined.

“Rorili!”

Roselia nodded, extending its hand and touching the Dawn Stone with its rosebud.

In the next moment, the light of evolution flared around it.

The energy from the Dawn Stone surged steadily into its body.

Axew, watching from the side, was completely spellbound.

“Axew!” Axew reached out his tiny hand, eyes wide, as if he, too, wanted a stone to evolve.

Hu Yang could only say, “The Dawn Stone can’t evolve you. You have to work hard and train to grow stronger.”

“Axew…” Disappointed, Axew hung his head.

Meanwhile, the light surrounding Roselia finally faded and merged into its new form.

Compared to its previous stage, Roserade in its final evolution looked even more humanoid.

On its face and back, mask-like and cape-like structures of green tissue resembled the attire worn at a masquerade ball.

According to the Pokédex, the bouquets in Roserade’s hands contain a variety of deadly toxins.

It could also whip out vines from the bouquets to use as weapons.

In battle, Roserade could swiftly unleash whips from its bouquets to lash or ensnare its opponents. Though its body looked delicate, its strength was not to be underestimated.

“Glele!”

No longer Roselia, Hu Yang now had a Roserade.

In his mind, Roserade’s information appeared:

[Species: Roserade ♀]
Type: Grass, Poison
Ability: Technician
Base Stats: 515 (HP: 60, Attack: 70, Defense: 65, Special Attack: 125, Special Defense: 105, Speed: 90)
Known Moves: Giga Drain, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Seed Bomb, Poison Sting, Magical Leaf, Grass Knot, Vine Whip, Toxic, Synthesis, Solar Beam
Original Moves: Stun Bomb (Stun Spore + Seed Bomb), Landmine Bomb (Seed Bomb + )
Current Mood: Calm (it seems its personality has changed a bit after evolving)
Physical Condition: Perfect
Friendship: 100 (it likes you very much and wants to stay with you forever)

Had it mastered new techniques as well?

Hu Yang was thrilled.

The three basic powders were finally complete.

Grass Knot could trip opponents, and the heavier the target, the greater the damage.

Vine Whip, which in the games dealt fixed damage, could be developed further in reality to increase flexibility and evade attacks.

For example, on rocky terrain, it could wrap around protruding stones and swing from place to place.

Toxic needed no explanation—after paralyzing or putting an opponent to sleep, it could be combined with Synthesis to wear them down.

As for Solar Beam, though it required charging, with Stun Spore and Sleep Powder for control, it could negate the charging time and hit with perfect accuracy.

At last, after all this time, he finally had a Pokémon that could really fight!