As she watched Jiraiya and the others walk away, Cynthia frowned and turned to Hoopa. "Hoopa, who took you to the casino?"
Hoopa blinked, completely oblivious to the anger in Cynthia's eyes. "Lil' Ryo! Ryo took me to the casino. It was so fun there, Cynthia! Next time, I'll take you too!"
Cynthia's brows twitched, and she glared toward the wooden cabin. She hadn't noticed it before, but now it was clear—after just one trip out, Hoopa had already been corrupted?
She then turned her attention to Diancie, suspicion growing in her mind. If Hoopa had turned out like this, what about Diancie? Had she changed too?
The thought made Cynthia even more upset with Ryo. She'd spent a lot of effort raising Diancie properly, only for this to happen?
Meanwhile, inside the Pokémon House—
"Achoo—!"
Ryo, who had been cultivating on the sofa, opened his eyes and rubbed his nose. He murmured to himself, "What the… Did I catch a cold or something?"
He shook his head and resumed his training.
…
Up on the mountain trail, Tsunade glanced around at the wild Pokémon roaming nearby. "Jiraiya, are all of these Pokémon?"
Shizune also looked to Jiraiya curiously.
He nodded. "Yep, they're all Pokémon."
Tsunade looked surprised. "There are so many different types? And their abilities and attributes all seem so different."
"Exactly. According to the boss, there are over 900 species. Almost a thousand."
As he spoke, Jiraiya casually pulled out a Poké Ball. "Come on out, Deino. Stretch your legs."
Tsunade and Shizune both turned to look.
"Raaawrrr—!"
As soon as Deino appeared and saw the surrounding area—and the other Pokémon—it let out a slightly grumpy growl at Jiraiya.
This place was way too boring. It would rather stay in the ball and sleep.
"Eh?" Jiraiya scratched his head. "We finally got back, and you're already complaining?"
Deino turned away from him and spotted Tsunade and Shizune. Immediately, it charged at them with a mischievous glint in its eye.
Tsunade reacted instinctively, raising her fist and sending Deino flying with a single punch. Her mouth twitched as she muttered, "Jiraiya, you might want to recall it. Like master, like Pokémon, huh?"
It wasn't the first time this happened—more like the tenth. Along the journey back, Tsunade and Shizune had seen Deino try the same stunt multiple times.
Even though it mostly stayed in its Poké Ball, it was always released during mealtime—and then it would repeat the same trick. Every time.
Jiraiya sighed, watching Deino soar off again. He really wanted to ask: Seriously? Have you learned nothing? How many times is this now?
Sure, Tsunade was beautiful—even he had admired her for years—but this level of thirst? You're a Pokémon, for crying out loud!
That said, under Jiraiya's training, Deino had become much stronger, now reaching level 30. Unfortunately, its taste for mischief had grown too.
It had even developed a preference—no longer interested in scaring men, it now exclusively targeted attractive women.
"Raaawrr…"
Deino trudged back with its head lowered and didn't approach Tsunade again. Maybe it finally learned its lesson… or maybe not.
"Ahem—" Jiraiya coughed and quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, let's keep looking for a suitable Pokémon."
Tsunade rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more, continuing up the mountain trail.
Along the way, the group stopped now and then, spotting various Pokémon.
"Hahaha! Sasori! Accept my challenge! I'll beat you with my Pokémon—yeah!"
Just then, a loud voice echoed from not far ahead.
"Someone's bullying a Pokémon?" Tsunade frowned. "No way—we have to help that one named Sasori!"
Jiraiya furrowed his brows and rushed toward the sound. As the gallant Toad Sage, he couldn't ignore injustice.
Tsunade and Shizune tried to stop him, but he was already gone. Helpless, they followed behind.
Soon, Jiraiya arrived at the scene.
Without hesitation, he jumped forward. "Stop right there! You're forcing and bullying a Pokémon? Sasori, get back! I won't let them harm you!"
Deidara and Sasori froze as the white-haired idiot jumped out of nowhere. What was going on?
Seeing their reaction and sensing their powerful chakra, Jiraiya's gaze turned wary. "Who are you two? Why are you here?"
Since they weren't wearing their Akatsuki robes anymore, he didn't recognize them immediately.
As Jiraiya questioned them again, Deidara and Sasori snapped out of their daze.
"Hey! White-hair! Who even are you? Why are you here?" Deidara snapped back. "We should be the ones asking that!"
Sasori, however, narrowed his eyes slightly, easing his guard. "He's one of the Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya of the Leaf."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Not surprised they knew him—he was pretty famous, after all.
But their calmness only made him more suspicious. "Who exactly are you? What's your purpose here?"
Deidara ignored him, eyeing Jiraiya curiously. "Sasori… you sure this is one of the Sannin? He seems kinda off, doesn't he?"
Sasori was starting to doubt it too.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, looked at Sasori in confusion. "Wait—you're Sasori? You're not a Pokémon? So the one being challenged wasn't a Pokémon… but a person?"
>>>>><<<<<>>>>><<<<<
follow my patreon.com/Yueru1 for 35+ advanced chapters