Chapter 113: Earning the Emblem, The Celestial Arrow Bridge

“Sonai!”
Gardevoir unleashed a Shadow Ball, aiming at the Knight Snail, but the Knight Snail swiftly dodged.

Immediately, the Knight Snail darted beside Gardevoir.

“Use the back of your blade to strike.”

Gardevoir instantly teleported away, evading the attack, then fired another Shadow Ball.

“Knight Snail, quick defense!”

The Knight Snail quickly raised its twin needles in front of itself, blocking the Shadow Ball’s assault.

“Sonai!”

Suddenly, Gardevoir used a Psychic Shock, dealing significant damage to the Knight Snail.

“Knight Snail, high-speed movement!”

The Knight Snail charged rapidly.

“Frenzied attack!”

Swinging its twin needles at incredible speed, the Knight Snail struck relentlessly. Gardevoir dodged repeatedly but was eventually hit.

“Sonai!”

Gardevoir used Flash; the entire arena brightened, blinding the Knight Snail. Temporarily, the Knight Snail lost its sight and couldn’t attack.

Gardevoir seized the moment and hit the Knight Snail directly with a Shadow Ball.

“Gardevoir, final move—Psychic.”

Using telekinesis, Gardevoir immobilized the Knight Snail, which was unable to move.

“Now, Gardevoir.”

With Psychic control, Gardevoir slammed the Knight Snail forcefully against the ground, back and forth, until it lost its ability to fight.

“The Knight Snail has lost its battle capability. The winner of this match is the challenger, Chengcheng Hatake.”

“Return, Knight Snail.”

Mr. Arty recalled the Knight Snail into its Poké Ball and then approached Chengcheng.

“Chengcheng, Muko, congratulations to both of you on your victories. Here is the Flying Cloud Gym Badge.”

Chengcheng and Muko each received a gym badge. Muko still needed two more, Chengcheng three. Once they collected all badges, they would qualify to participate in the League Tournament.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Arty.”

“All right, Muko, let’s go.”

Chengcheng and Muko left the Flying Cloud Gym and returned to the Pokémon Center.

“Miss Joy, could you please take care of this for us?”

“Sure, no problem. It’ll be ready shortly.”

They entrusted their Pokémon to Nurse Joy for healing and began discussing their next destination.

“Chengcheng, where are we heading next?”

“Next, we’ll go to Shichihō City. There’s a Shichihō Gym there. We should be able to get the next badge.”

“Sounds good, let’s set off together.”

Early the next morning, after packing, Chengcheng and Muko set out for Shichihō City.

Between Flying Cloud City and Shichihō City lay a large bridge—the Sky Arrow Bridge.

“Wow, what a huge bridge!”

Muko was amazed by the sheer size of the Sky Arrow Bridge.

“Of course. The Sky Arrow Bridge is the largest in the Unova region. Isn’t it familiar to you?”

“Well, before going to the Pokémon Breeder School, I stayed in Dragon’s Home and never traveled, so I wasn’t familiar with many places.”

“I see. Then let’s enjoy the scenery as we walk.”

The Sky Arrow Bridge was very long; Chengcheng estimated it would take about two hours to cross.

They walked slowly, admiring the view. Below was a clear river; cities stood at both ends. The gentle breeze brushed their faces, making it very pleasant.

“So comfortable. I wish we could keep walking like this forever.”

“Better not. We need to get to Shichihō City and earn that gym badge.”

Chengcheng rejected Muko’s wish to walk endlessly. If they continued too long, it would become less pleasant and more unsettling.

As they crossed halfway, Chengcheng suddenly sensed something amiss around them.

A faint mist appeared, gradually thickening until visibility shrank to just five meters.

“Muko, come closer. Something’s not right here.”

Within the dense fog, Chengcheng felt the presence of psychic energy—probably from a Pokémon. A Pokémon capable of producing such an effect must be very powerful, even stronger than the Crystal Lamp Spirit they’d encountered before. If it had no hostility, that would be fine, but if hostile, it could be trouble.

Muko moved closer. Although she lacked psychic abilities, she also sensed the unnaturalness of the fog.

“Chengcheng, what’s going on?”

“It must be caused by a Pokémon. We need to find it first.”

Chengcheng extended his psychic sense, but the thick fog blocked his detection. He retracted his power and decided to call out directly.

“Hey, I know you can hear me. We just want to pass through to reach the city ahead. If we’ve done anything wrong, please let us know. Also, if you need to speak with us, please show yourself.”

“Goth.”

Suddenly, a black Pokémon flew down before Chengcheng—not a Gothita or Gothorita, but their evolved form, Gothitelle.

“That’s Gothitelle.”

Muko also saw the descending Gothitelle.

“Gothitelle, why are you blocking our way?”

“Goth.”

Chengcheng connected telepathically with Gothitelle and began communicating.

At first, Gothitelle was surprised Chengcheng could link with her mind.

“Gothitelle, may I ask why you sought us?”

“This place is very dangerous. Please leave immediately.”

“Why is it dangerous?”

“There is an evil Pokémon here. I had a battle with it earlier, and it disappeared. But I’m certain it’s still here. If you proceed, you will be attacked.”

“But we must cross the bridge.”

“Very well, I will escort you, but be careful.”

“Thank you, Gothitelle. Don’t worry, we’re strong too.”

“All right, follow me.”

“Gothitelle, can you disperse the mist?”

“No, this mist prevents others from coming in and keeps that evil Pokémon from finding you. Follow me; you won’t get lost.”

Gothitelle ended the connection and led them toward Shichihō City.

“Chengcheng, how’s it going?”

“It’s fine. An evil Pokémon has been causing trouble here. Gothitelle covered the area with mist to protect us. Let’s follow her.”

“If there’s a rogue Pokémon, we’ll just beat it up and catch it.”

“We’ll see. If it’s too strong, surviving will be victory enough.”

They followed Gothitelle closely. After a short while, she stopped.

“Goth.”

Gothitelle stared ahead. Chengcheng spread his psychic sense and detected a Pokémon radiating strong energy nearby—seemingly not weaker than Gothitelle herself.

Soon, a Pokémon appeared before Chengcheng: a Dark-type Spiritomb.

As expected, a Ghost-type Pokémon. Only Ghost-types can appear and vanish so suddenly. Spiritomb was likely slightly weaker than Gothitelle; otherwise, it wouldn’t have fled despite type disadvantage.

Chengcheng checked Spiritomb’s data:
Type: Ghost
Level: 57
Combat Power: 5443
Skills: Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Palm, Bind, Leer, Curse of the Night, Petrify, Insight, Scare, Strange Light, Clever, Shadow Sneak, Pursuit, Spell, Will-o’-Wisp, Shadow Punch, Doom, Dark Gaze.

Spiritomb was extremely strong with a diverse skill set. Chengcheng’s Pokémon could hardly defeat it. Ghost types were also a major threat to Psychic types.

Suddenly, Spiritomb used Shadow Punch, striking toward them.

Gothitelle immediately used Protect, blocking the attack, then countered with a Shadow Ball at Spiritomb. Spiritomb dodged.

“Come out, Lunatone.”

Chengcheng released Lunatone—his strongest Pokémon.

“Go, Swellow.”

Muko released her Swellow.

“Lunatone, use Hypnosis.”

“Swellow, use Dragon Pulse.”

Both Pokémon attacked simultaneously from different angles. The attacks only caused slight disturbances and missed Spiritomb.

Gothitelle took the opportunity to hit Spiritomb with a Shadow Ball, though it wasn’t very effective.

“Lunatone, use Rock Slide.”

Rocks fell from above, striking Spiritomb directly.

Spiritomb vanished instantly and reappeared behind Lunatone, landing an Ice Punch that sent Lunatone flying.

“Goth.”

Gothitelle used Psychic to control Spiritomb briefly.

“Now, Muko.”

“Lunatone, use Hypnosis again!”

“Swellow, use Dragon Pulse!”

Under Gothitelle’s control, Hypnosis and Dragon Pulse struck Spiritomb, knocking it away and breaking its control.

Seizing the chance, Gothitelle used Dazzling Gleam, but Spiritomb vanished again.

Chengcheng used Psychic to confirm Spiritomb had truly left. Gothitelle withdrew her energy and continued toward Shichihō City, knowing Spiritomb wouldn’t reappear.

Chengcheng and Muko followed Gothitelle. Half an hour later, they crossed the bridge.

“Thank you so much, Gothitelle.”

Chengcheng and Muko expressed their gratitude. Gothitelle flew backward into the mist and disappeared.

“That was really dangerous. We need to train harder from now on.”

“Absolutely, Chengcheng. Let’s work hard together.”