Chapter 159: A Woman's Voice

Chen Ou’s fiery display certainly had plenty of momentum.

Fortunately, all the flames remained entirely under Chen Ou’s control. The fire merely draped over the structures, and the temperature was meticulously regulated, so no significant damage was done. Otherwise... Celadon University would have had to rebuild an entire training ground.

To be honest, when the leaders of Celadon University first heard that Chen Ou had set fire to their training facility, their faces were practically beaming with excitement.

Of course, it wasn't because they wanted compensation; rather, they felt that sacrificing a multi-purpose training ground of little consequence was a small price to pay to make Chen Ou feel indebted to them.

What an absolute bargain of a deal!

However, according to Erika’s subsequent report, it was clear that Chen Ou had no intention of owing them this favor. Even though the school administrators felt a twinge of deep regret, they still had to praise Chen Ou’s transcendent level of control.

Naturally, nobody bothered to dispute this point either... After all, letting a wave of fire engulf a city while leaving it completely unscathed is simply not something an ordinary person could pull off.

This was primarily thanks to Chen Ou's new ability, which allowed him to control the temperature of the flames.

This skill was practically indispensable; otherwise, the searing temperature of even a casual spark from Chen Ou would make it unbearable for anyone to get close, which would have severely disrupted everyday life.

This could be considered a little parting gift from Liu Nian.

Still, Chen Ou no longer needed to worry about losing control of his flames the way he used to.

He had already unleashed his maximum-output flames, yet he still felt an absolute sense of control over the fire that was vast enough to blanket the entire field.

As for exceeding this range... it was hard to say, but he could test it out sometime in the future.

Right now, however, was clearly not the time.

As the flames dissipated, Chen Ou looked at Gold, who was lying flat on the ground with lifeless eyes, feeling quite sheepish and embarrassed.

Typhlosion had been recalled into its Poké Ball by Gold at the very first moment. A Poké Ball's fire resistance was indeed formidable, and under normal circumstances, it was more than enough to insulate against an ordinary blazing inferno.

Come to think of it... Gold had genuinely believed that Chen Ou was about to wipe him out. His mind had been completely flooded with thoughts of how on earth he could have possibly offended Chen Ou.

"Sorry about that, Gold. I didn't scare you, did I?" Chen Ou asked, extending a hand toward Gold.

Gold lay face down on the ground, raising his head to stare blankly at the hand outstretched toward him.

"What do you think?" Gold asked, his voice trembling. Honestly, if he hadn't seen the big wide world before... he would have practically pissed his pants right then and there...

Chen Ou offered an apologetic smile. To be fair, he knew he was in the wrong, but with his initial intention to find someone to establish dominance, Gold had simply walked right into the line of fire.

"Didn't Professor Elm tell you when I asked him to pass along the message yesterday: 'The most important thing is to protect yourself and don't be afraid; today's spectacle might be a bit big'? Didn't he mention it to you?" Chen Ou was puzzled. He had clearly asked Professor Elm in advance to give Gold a warning. Why on earth did Gold still look completely unprepared?

Upon hearing Chen Ou's words, a vortex of extremely complicated emotions churned within Gold.

He thought to himself: Your idea of a warning is vague enough to be a riddle, and you call this a "spectacle that might be a bit big"? And Uncle Elm is just as hopeless—since Chen Ou was already being so cryptic, you just had to pile on an extra layer of vagueness...

Gold truly felt like crying without tears at that moment.

Chen Ou grabbed Gold's hand and hoisted him up from the ground, lifting him as effortlessly as if he were a rag doll.

Emmm... Chen Ou paused for a fraction of a second, realizing his physical strength seemed to have grown by "a bit"...

Gold had yet to recover from the sea of fire Chen Ou had just conjured, and now he plunged into an even deeper state of confusion...

Was the guy standing right in front of him really human?

Hard to say...

Chen Ou, on the other hand, was rather pleased with his own strength. Now he could boldly and openly go out into the world and declare himself a true newcomer trainer.

"Alright, enough of that. The battle is over. If there's a chance next time, we'll have another match and really go all out."

Seeing Gold looking somewhat dazed, Chen Ou assumed he was feeling depressed about not being able to showcase his full strength, so he stepped forward to offer some comforting words.

If worse came to worst, he could just suppress his own power the next time he battled Gold, allowing him to have a satisfying match. They were friends, after all; there was no need to be like this.

At those words, Gold instantly shuddered. He shook his head frantically and stammered, "No need! You're too kind. I had a wonderful time, and let's make sure we never battle each other again!"

Are you kidding me? Fight Chen Ou again? You might as well go pick a fight with the absolute legends out there!

He finally understood: big shots only play with other big shots, so please leave him out of your games.

Following this ordeal, Gold's primary reaction in any future wild battles would forever be to immediately look for cover—or build it himself.

And from then on, Gold inadvertently pioneered a brand-new style of wild battling.

The "Bunker Style."

As steady as a defensive tower, though sadly devoid of any visual spectacle.

Meanwhile, while Chen Ou and Gold were shooting the breeze, the area outside the arena had grown so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard.

"Hey, hey, hey! What on earth was that thing down there? Such massive waves of fire, and they were practically in a liquid state?!" Bruno was the first to shout out loud.

His cry finally snapped the others back to reality. Everyone swallowed hard in unison.

Blue also wore a look of utter astonishment, but a moment later, he turned to Red beside him with a teasing tone, "Red, you really ought to have a wild battle with Chen Ou and knock him down a peg. Otherwise, he's going to get entirely too full of himself after this match!"

Though delivered in a jocular tone, Blue's expression was dead serious, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking or speaking his mind.

Naturally, that dilemma did not exist for Red, who had spent years alongside him.

Red decisively rolled his eyes at him, then sighed helplessly, "It looks like I won't be able to play wild battles or no-holds-barred matches with Xiao Ou anymore. Having an extra legendary Pokémon is simply too much of a cheat code..."

Blue didn't pay much attention to his sigh. Instead, his gaze drifted to the empty space right beside Red.

"Hey, Red, is there... someone standing right next to you?" Blue asked out of the blue, phrasing it as a question but using the tone of a statement, his eyes fixed intently on that patch of empty air. It certainly didn't look like he was merely guessing.

"Yeah, a friend of mine. She's very interested in Xiao Ou, so I brought her along to take a look."

Red made no move to hide it, as there was no need. Letting her turn invisible was merely to avoid causing a panic, but now that Blue had figured it out, there was no point in lying.

"Hello, Blue. Long time no see."

A slightly spirited and heroic female voice echoed directly in Blue’s mind.

Blue turned his head and said with a helpless sigh, "You're still hanging around Kanto? I thought you'd moved on to other regions by now. I haven't heard a peep from you in ages."

"...I am searching. For the meaning of my existence."

There was a clear hesitation in the female voice.

"Then you really ought to go meet Xiao Ou..." Blue stared intently at that empty air once more. "In a certain sense, the two of you are cut from the same cloth..."

With that, he turned his head away to look at the other side, where professors and trainers were currently marveling, sighing in amazement, and even reaching for syringes to draw blood from Chen Ou.

Mewtwo gazed down at the young man in the arena below, murmuring softly to herself, "Cut from the same cloth?"

Unconsciously, a trace of yearning laced her tone.

*(Translator's Note: The depiction of Mewtwo in this novel is drawn from the theatrical film "Genesect and the Legend Awakened," please interpret it as an alternate parallel world.)*
*(Translator's Note: Thanks to the supporters for their monthly tickets! Thank you all for your backing!)*