Chapter 470:

"Elite Four Member Rosaline!"

Upon seeing Rosaline, Officer Jenny saluted.

The others, noticing Officer Jenny’s reaction, also turned their gazes. Upon seeing the approaching Rosaline and Kaede, the discussion gradually quieted down.

"You’re here for this too?"

There was only this one road from Aogiri Town to Aogiri Forest. Kaede and Rosaline had the same destination, so they quickly noticed each other.

Kaede just didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t greet her initially.

Rosaline felt the same way; she also didn’t know what to say, so she hadn’t greeted him either at first.

Now they had truly reached their destination. Not greeting each other at this point would feel awkward...

The main thing was, she was now an official League Elite Four member, equivalent to an investigator.

He, on the other hand, was just a champion of the Pokémon League Conference in name only, not even a League-certified Trainer by assessment, still just holding a... beginner Trainer rank.

"Mhm."

Rosaline gave a light nod. Kaede suddenly felt even more awkward.

Because the way she looked at him was still complicated, with a somewhat resentful feeling.

But Kaede didn’t know what he had done to upset her.

Rosaline didn’t say anything more. Instead, she turned to Officer Jenny, nodded, then looked at the gathered crowd. "Everyone, please disperse. There might be danger later if you stay and watch here."

The crowd looked at each other, but seeing that an Elite Four-level figure had been summoned, there wasn’t much point in them lingering. Under guidance, they gradually dispersed.

But Kaede didn’t leave...

Even though Rosaline had just asked people to leave.

After all, this matter might be related to him. Of course, he wanted to go in and see.

Moreover, if Entei really ended up battling Rosaline, he didn’t think Rosaline, the Ice-type Elite Four member, could effectively engage in battle with this Entei.

Aogiri Forest was near his home. He didn’t want anything to happen.

So, he made a request to Officer Jenny. "I’ll go in and take a look too."

At this, Officer Jenny glanced at Rosaline. After receiving a nod of assent, she also saluted Kaede. "Then thank you, Mr. Kaede."

Kaede nodded, then looked at Arcanine still by Officer Jenny’s side and called out, "Arcanine, you come with me too!"

"Woof woof!"

Arcanine ran over with its tongue lolling. Once by his side, it glanced at Officer Jenny’s Arcanine, the meaning in its eyes clear.

*I’m going on a mission. Wait for me.*

Officer Jenny’s Arcanine’s face appropriately showed a concerned expression.

It seemed it also knew what kind of Pokémon Entei was.

But its duty was to stay with its Trainer, to guard here and prevent chaos.

"...."

Kaede felt complicated at the sight.

After patting Arcanine, he looked at the other Pokémon stationed there—Lucario.

Lucario usually stayed in the forest and knew its conditions best. Kaede wondered if it had found Entei.

But when Lucario noticed his gaze, it just shook its head.

Meaning, although it had sensed that Pokémon, when it went to investigate, it couldn’t find any trace of it.

Clearly, they were not on the same level.

Kaede didn’t ask further.

Aura wasn’t omnipotent. Its uses, aside from Aura Sphere, were more about surveying the surrounding terrain and detecting Pokémon presence. If something was beyond its Aura range, it was normal even for Lucario not to know.

So, that’s where bringing Arcanine came in handy.

Arcanine’s sense of smell might provide some help.

Seeing Kaede enter with Gardevoir and Arcanine, Rosaline also called out Froslass and followed.

....

The forest in May was no longer quiet. Aside from the dense sunlight filtering through the woods, there were bird calls everywhere, crawling Caterpie, and Kaede even saw a Pinsir clinging to a large tree...

Arcanine sniffed around on the ground. Kaede also released Serperior. Serperior’s Aura ability was now countless times stronger than when it was learning from Lucario. Its detection range and refinement were far superior.

Meanwhile, Rosaline also had her method.

Besides Froslass, she released Mr. Rime, using its Psychic abilities to examine the surroundings for details.

Her approach used Psychic to scan the environment. Most Pokémon left traces where they passed. Psychic, combined with an experienced Trainer, could use these traces to find the desired Pokémon.

But this method often had strong limitations because some Pokémon left no traces when moving, like Psychic-types teleporting or Ghost-types floating.

However, Entei, being a Fire-type, shouldn’t be able to move through the forest without leaving traces, in principle.

And indeed, that was the case. Arcanine’s sense of smell, Mr. Rime’s Psychic, and Serperior’s Aura all found corresponding, clear paths based on the traces.

Following this path deeper into the forest led to a lake. And at this lake, all traces vanished.

"Mr. Rime..."

Mr. Rime stopped and shook its head.

Arcanine also let out a puzzled "Woof woof?"

Only Serperior found the water surface strange.

"Can’t find it anymore?" Rosaline asked, receiving a definite nod from Mr. Rime.

She didn’t ponder further, instead turning her gaze to Kaede. "Do you have any ideas?"

Like, maybe taking out some magical dishes...

She thought strangely.

"Wait a moment."

Kaede waved his hand, giving no definite reply, instead looking at Serperior. "Did you discover something?"

"Serperior!"

Serperior’s jewel-like, rainbow-hued eyes glowed faintly, its gaze fixed on the water surface as it hissed.

Aura transmission relies on a medium.

Just like sound travels easiest through air, but becomes much more difficult through soil or water.

At this point, Kaede and Gardevoir’s Aura couldn’t detect movements in the water, but Serperior could. Its Aura, both in strength and refinement, was stronger than theirs, allowing it to detect anomalies in the water.

"What’s wrong with the water?"

"Something inside refusing to come out?"

Rosaline followed its gaze to the water and issued a command. "Mr. Rime, Ice Beam!"

A crystalline beam of ice shot towards the water. The instant before it made contact, a figure flashed out from within the water.