Pokémon: I just became a Gym Leader, and Cynthia proposed to me.

Chapter 876 The Infatuated Armored Bird King

Dorombalut travels through the shadow space, emerging from the shadows to find a city below, predominantly green and gray.

Dorombalto landed in the shadows on the edge of the city and began to introduce himself:

"This place was originally Lilycove City in the Hoenn region. But now the castle lord is a Skarmory that blots out the sky, so it was renamed Winged City."

Standing on a high point on the edge of the city, Li Shuwen looked towards the city center and, sure enough, saw a black armored bird lying on a huge grassy field.

If its wingspan were fully extended, it would definitely exceed sixty meters, its body would resemble a small mountain, and its steel-like feathers would gleam with a cold luster under the dark red skylight.

The city itself is well-managed, the streets are clean, the buildings are intact, and the interactions between pedestrians and Pokémon are orderly.

They hadn't gone far into the city when a small armored bird landed from the sky, its wings neatly folded, and spoke respectfully:

"Lord Shuwen, the city lord invites you to an audience."

Dr. Kongmu stood still and didn't move: "I won't go. I've had conflicts with him before."

Li Shuwen, along with Gengar and Pheromosa, followed the Skarmory to the giant meadow in the city center.

The enormous armored bird lay there, its head slightly tilted to the side, one eye more than half the height of a person.

Its voice was deep, with a metallic, abrasive quality, but its tone was surprisingly gentle:

"My former master was Naki. Because of my unique physical talent, I was targeted by a dark scientist who used dark energy to modify me."

"After my size increased again, the entire city of Yinyu was destroyed and my master died in the battle."

Its gaze fell on Li Shuwen, carrying a plea as if it were looking at him from a great distance.

"I wonder if you could cook a dish that would remind me of my master, whose memory has become completely blurred?"

"Use whatever ingredients you like here. If you can manage it, you can take the rest with you."

Li Shuwen did not hesitate: "I will try my best."

He stood in the kitchen for a long time, not in a hurry to start cooking. Naki's image floated into his mind.

That trainer, famous in the Hoenn region for her Flying-type moves, always had the wind in her battles, and she always seemed to carry the scent of clouds and the sky.

Sky, soaring, the darling of the wind, clouds, the bluebird of the Qixi Festival... combine these elements to create a dish that reminds people of her.

He took flour, egg whites, berry jam, and several processed dairy products and began to work.

A one-meter-wide cloud-shaped ice cream cake, when it's done, has a warm, glossy surface, as if it's been touched by the wind.

There weren't many fancy decorations, but the atmosphere was reminiscent of clouds that can only be seen from high above.

The armored bird lowered its head, opened its mouth, and swallowed the entire meter-wide cake whole.

It held it in its mouth for a while, then slowly swallowed it and closed its eyes.

The grass was quiet for a long time.

The wind whistled through the gaps in its feathers.

The armored bird's eyelids twitched slightly, and then it opened its eyes.

His gaze softened slightly, as if he had been gently touched by something ancient.

"Yes, I do remember now. Master, and that annoying Tanabata bird over there."

It paused, as if letting the images linger in its mind for a couple more seconds, "This feeling... is really nice."

It pointed with its wing: "Take all these ingredients with you."

Li Shuwen nodded without being polite.

Gengar floated over from the side, opened its mouth wide, and stuffed the ingredients inside, its movements as practiced as a squirrel hoarding food.

Li Shuwen turned to look at Skarmory, "Your Majesty, as the master of Winged City, you have many bird Pokémon under your command, so you should be very well-informed."

"If it's convenient, I hope Your Majesty can keep an eye on my Pokémon for me."

The armored bird nodded slightly, its steel wings gently folding at its sides: "I will have someone keep an eye out."

Along the way, Li Shuwen would stay for half a day at each of the three cities he visited, preparing a batch of dishes to be distributed to the Red-Eyed Monsters.

By the time he reached the third city, he was already able to hear some fragmented feedback about spiritual cuisine from the person in charge of the outpost.

When we arrived at the Pamir Plateau, the sky was still that unchanging dark red, but the air had a slightly dry and cold feel to it.

The stronghold of the demons and monsters on the plateau was located beside a dry riverbed. When the leader of the stronghold came to greet them, his expression was noticeably more tense than the previous ones.

"Lord Shuwen, the situation is not good. Three days ago, several forces on the plateau decided to jointly attack the Emerald Greatsword Demon."

"They set a trap and successfully lured it into the icy cave a day ago."

"The temperature inside that cave is extremely low, like an Ice-type Pokémon constantly using Ice Wind, sometimes even as strong as a blizzard."

"Even if the Emerald Greatsword Demon is strong, it probably won't last much longer."

Without pausing, Li Shuwen turned and mounted the Doronbaruto.

"Go immediately. Please get to the Ice Cave as quickly as possible."

Dorombalutto nodded. "No problem!"

The Ice Cave is located deep within an ice field on the northern side of the Pamir Plateau.

The cave entrance was covered with a thick layer of ice, and the wind blowing out of the cave carried fine ice crystals, which felt like fine sand brushing against my face.

Dozens of Pokémon gathered outside the cave, all large and imposing, each exuding a fierce aura forged in the crucible of hell.

They lined up in several rows, guarding the entrance to the cave and blocking all paths of entry.

Judging from the damage visible at the edge of the cave, they must have tried to enter the Frozen Cave directly to eliminate the Emerald Greatsword Demon more than once.

One of the Charizards crouched at the front, its throat flaring with deep red flames.

Beside it was a Raichu, with golden electricity crackling between its fur.

The Blastoise's cannon barrel glowed blue.

The Pidgey's wings were slightly spread, and compressed air currents swirled among its feathers.

A Blizzard King stood further back, and the surrounding air condensed into fine ice crystals because of its presence.

They were all waiting for the Emerald Greatsword Demon to lose his temper, rush out of the icy cave, and launch a fatal attack.

There are also Ironhide Tyrannosaurus, Magneton, Bronze Bell, Metagross... covering almost all combat positions from melee to ranged.

Li Shuwen jumped off the Dorombalut and walked forward.

Gengar and Pheromosa followed side by side behind him.

"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"

The fire-breathing dragon guarding the cave entrance let out a low roar.

"You? Who do you think you are?"

Raichu lowered his body slightly, and the frequency of the electric sparks jumping between his fur increased.

Li Shuwen narrowed his eyes. "It seems I have to teach you a lesson."

"Gengar!"

Gengar immediately activated.

His body instantly sank into the shadows, emerging from the darkness at Charizard's feet, and delivered a Shadow Punch to Charizard's side.

Pheromosa exerted its strength almost simultaneously, its body transforming into a silver streak as it kicked towards Raichu.

But the Pokémon guarding the cave entrance reacted very quickly.

Charizard was knocked away by Gengar's Shadow Punch, and the shockwave from the explosion scattered the ice crystals on the ground.

As Charizard was knocked away, two jets of flame struck Gengar in a crisscross pattern.

Gengar can only fire Shadow Balls to detonate.

Two crows swooped down from the sky, launching a sneak attack on a vital spot.