Chapter Eighteen: Cosmic Pokémon
The next morning, Xiaogang and Chengcheng rose early to prepare food. After breakfast, the group set out toward Shuijing City.
“We’re almost at Valley Town, everyone,” Xiaoyao said, checking the map on her Pokédex.
Seeing this, Chengcheng felt a mild regret; had he known, he wouldn’t have spent so much time making his own map.
“I can’t wait to reach Valley Town. Once we get to the Pokémon Center, we can finally rest,” Xiaoyao sighed.
“Indeed, our Pokémon need a break as well,” someone added.
The group pressed on toward Valley Town, unaware that something lurked in the nearby grass. As they passed, two figures and a Pokémon emerged from the thicket.
“I think I just heard those kids’ voices,” remarked a red-haired woman.
“Really? I didn’t catch anything,” replied a young man with blue-purple hair, munching on a rice ball.
“Forget about those kids. I saw a meteorite fall around here earlier. If we pick it up and sell it, we could make a fortune,” said a Pokémon with a gold coin atop its head.
“Alright, let’s search for the meteorite together!”
“Sonano~” Suddenly, a Wobbuffet dashed out.
Meanwhile, Chengcheng and his companions arrived at Valley Town, which appeared somewhat desolate.
“So this is Valley Town?”
“Pika.”
“It’s so quiet here.”
“Maybe everyone’s asleep?” someone guessed.
Chengcheng also sensed something strange about the town, but couldn’t recall what it was. Though he’d seen the anime, the details eluded him. The five entered the Pokémon Center and opened its doors.
“Good evening, is anyone here?” they called.
No one was in the lobby.
“Seems empty. Let’s wait here for now,” Xiaoyao suggested.
Just then, the door behind the counter opened, and Nurse Joy stepped out.
“Nurse Joy!” Xiaogang greeted her with a smile.
“Hello… do you need… anything?” Nurse Joy replied, speaking slowly, one word at a time.
“Nurse Joy, our Pokémon—”
“Sorry, I can’t help you keep your Pokémon. The equipment here is broken.”
“What about rooms—”
“Sorry, no. We’re fully booked today. Goodbye,” she said flatly, then retreated through the door.
With no other option, the group left the Pokémon Center.
“Nurse Joy seemed a bit odd just now,” Xiaosheng remarked.
“That wasn’t Nurse Joy,” Xiaogang suddenly declared.
“What? How can you tell?” Xiaozhi asked.
“Though Nurse Joys look similar, each has her own uniqueness,” Xiaogang explained, pulling out an album filled with pictures of Nurse Joys from various regions. “Despite their differences, they all share one thing—love and gentleness.”
Chengcheng rolled his eyes, knowing this was coming. Yet he too sensed something strange. What was off?
“But the scent was definitely Nurse Joy’s,” Xiaogang insisted.
If Xiaogang said so, she must be Nurse Joy. But why did she act so weird? What am I forgetting? Chengcheng tapped his head.
He recalled Nurse Joy’s demeanor—it seemed as if she were under some kind of hypnosis.
Yes, hypnosis… could it be?
Chengcheng closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings. He detected a faint psychic energy emanating from the Pokémon Center.
Was it a Psychic-type Pokémon or someone using psychic powers?
“Enough talk. I’m starving. Let’s eat first,” Xiaosheng interrupted.
“Alright, let’s fill our stomachs before we do anything else.”
Soon, Xiaogang finished preparing their meal, as well as Pokémon food.
As they ate, Chengcheng grew anxious. If it really was a Psychic-type Pokémon, it must be strong—being able to keep Nurse Joy hypnotized for so long was no easy feat. And the town’s peculiar state only deepened the mystery.
Wait, there aren’t many kinds of Psychic Pokémon—I should be able to figure this out. Could it be…?
“Oh no, Lotad is missing!”
“What?”
Suddenly, they realized that Lotad, who had just been eating Pokémon food, had vanished. The group quickly searched the area.
They soon found Lotad, but it was in the grasp of two strangers.
“Hey! What are you planning to do with my Pokémon?” Xiaogang shouted at them.
“What do you mean ‘your Pokémon’? This is a cosmic Pokémon we discovered,” the strangers replied.
“That’s nonsense—it’s clearly my Lotad!”
“Marie.”
“Okay,” Marie pulled out her Pokédex and accessed Lotad’s data.
“What? It really is Lotad!”
“That’s right, Lotad. Come back, Lotad!” Xiaogang called his Lotad back with a Poké Ball.
“Who are you people?”
“There’s always a trace of us wherever mysterious Pokémon appear.”
“P—F—C.”
“We are the Mysterious Pokémon Club: Ken and Marie.”
They removed their masks.
“You’re…!” Xiaozhi suddenly remembered seeing them before.
“You once rode the Clefairy spaceship.”
“That’s right. We’re members of the Mysterious Pokémon Club. Our goal is to seek out all kinds of mysterious Pokémon. We believe these cosmic Pokémon arrived here by meteorite,” Ken explained.
“Recently, we saw a meteorite fall here. We wanted to investigate, then encountered a Pokémon. Our memories grew fuzzy after that. It seems this Pokémon emitted some strange waves that erased our memories,” Marie continued.
“We must have been controlled by these odd waves, and the Pokémon escaped. We have to capture it.”
With that, the two hurried away.
“A Pokémon that can control people… Nurse Joy was likely controlled as well,” Xiaogang connected this to the earlier scene.
“We should hurry to the Pokémon Center and check,” someone said.
That’s it! Chengcheng remembered: the Pokémon was a Psychic-type. He decided that, if possible, he would capture it.
Returning to the Pokémon Center, they opened the door. At the same time, two figures and a Pokémon tried to enter from the other side.
“How’s it coming? Has Meowth opened it yet?”
“Almost there, meow.”
Soon, a window swung open, and the two and their Pokémon slipped in.
Chengcheng’s group heard noises and rushed over, glimpsing shadows on the wall.
“Could that be the cosmic Pokémon? Let’s take a look.”
“If you insist, let’s go see! Then we’ll graciously inform you.
To prevent the world’s devastation,
To protect the world’s peace;
To carry out the evil of love and truth,
Cute and charming villains;
Jessie,
James,
Meowth.
We are Team Rocket, traversing the galaxy.
The white hole and the white tomorrow await us.
That’s right, meow!”
“Sonano!”
“Chingling!”
“It’s Chingling!” Chengcheng recognized James’s Chingling and felt a sense of familiarity.
“It’s you, Team Rocket.”
They said it themselves, Chengcheng thought, inwardly complaining.
“Team Rocket, what are you doing here?”
“We’re searching for the meteorite, meow.”
“Meteorite? What meteorite?”
“Isn’t there one, meow?”
“Who’s over there?”
Suddenly, Nurse Joy’s voice echoed from afar.
“Not good, Nurse Joy is coming. Let’s hide!”
Team Rocket and Chengcheng’s group ducked into a room.
“What’s that over there?”
Jessie shone her flashlight, revealing a Pokémon resembling the moon.
It was Lunatone. Chengcheng grew excited: Lunatone was a Psychic and Rock-type Pokémon. If he could capture it, it would be a powerful addition. He checked Lunatone’s data:
Pokémon: Lunatone
Type: Psychic, Rock
Level: 40
Grade: Green
Rarity: Epic
Ability: Levitate
…
Moves: Tackle, Harden, Confusion, Rock Throw, Hypnosis, Psywave, Moonlight, Psychic, Wake-Up Slap
Such formidable power! Chengcheng’s desire to capture it intensified.
Meanwhile, Xiaozhi obtained Lunatone’s data.
“It’s Lunatone! Is this really a Pokémon from space?”
Meowth approached Lunatone and communicated with it.
“What did it say?” Xiaozhi asked.
“It says it’s in pain, meow… so much pain.”
“Lunatone seems injured. It’s so pitiful,” Xiaoyao observed Lunatone’s weakness.
“Haha, even if we didn’t find the meteorite, catching a Pokémon from space is a great prize,” Team Rocket suddenly leapt out.
“Today, Lunatone belongs to Team Rocket!”
“Hmph! Go, Pikachu!”
“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“Pika~chu!”
Pikachu’s Thunderbolt struck Jessie and the others directly, but instead of blasting them off as usual, they were electrocuted and lay paralyzed on the ground.
“Damn it! Go, Cacturne, use Pin Missile!”
Cacturne’s Pin Missile shot toward them, forcing the group to dodge.
“Cacturne, use Pin Missile on Lunatone!”
Cacturne attacked Lunatone.
But before its move was released, it halted.
Lunatone’s eyes glowed blue—it was using Confusion. Team Rocket was controlled by Lunatone’s psychic power and sent flying. Unexpectedly, they did end up blasting off.
“Ugh, what a hateful feeling!”
Seeing Team Rocket’s plight, Chengcheng wondered if he should still try to capture Lunatone.
“Please don’t harm Lunatone,” Nurse Joy suddenly entered.
“Nurse Joy, what’s going on here?”
At that moment, Nurse Joy still seemed to be under control. Lunatone finished using its psychic powers and collapsed, freeing Nurse Joy from the control.
“What happened?” someone asked.
“It must be that Lunatone was badly injured and hid here. To avoid being discovered, it controlled the people here,” Chengcheng recalled the events and explained.
“Could you help me bring Lunatone to the medical room?” Nurse Joy requested.
The strength of people in this world was astonishing; Lunatone, weighing over three hundred pounds, was carried to the medical room by Xiaozhi and Xiaogang.
Nurse Joy gave Lunatone a thorough examination.
“Nurse Joy, how is Lunatone?”
“Its energy is severely depleted. It’s very weak right now.”
“What should we do?”
“Let me try,” Chengcheng suddenly spoke.
He placed his hands on Lunatone, channeling his psychic energy. Though he had only recently started learning psychic abilities and could barely use them, connecting with a Psychic-type Pokémon was possible, especially one as strong as Lunatone.
Chengcheng guided his psychic energy into Lunatone, and Lunatone responded. Their psychic energies intertwined.
After a brief exchange of thoughts with Lunatone, Chengcheng’s power was spent.
“How did it go, Chengcheng?”
“There’s a way,” Chengcheng’s eyes shone brightly.