**Chapter 40: The Flame Mask and Mega Evolution**
Bai Feng felt his consciousness drifting far, far away, making him feel groggy, as if he had lost all concept of time.
In the eyes of Lysandre and Caitlin at this moment, Bai Feng was surrounded by a dense purple mist. After surging, the purple mist began to enter Bai Feng's forehead strand by strand. Suddenly, Bai Feng opened his eyes.
A blue-white light flashed in his eyes. For that instant, it gave off a captivating feeling.
The blue light only appeared for a few short seconds before disappearing into Bai Feng's eyes. At the same time, Bai Feng regained consciousness.
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~" Are you okay, darling?
Bai Ye asked impatiently upon seeing this.
Brionne, Helioptile, and Larvitar also looked at Bai Feng with concern.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Bai Feng shook his head to comfort the Pokémon. Although he said he was fine, he felt very strange at the moment. The world seemed to have changed in his eyes. To be precise, it seemed to have become clearer. He could even vaguely sense the various type energies permeating the air.
Just then, Caitlin's voice came: "Uncle Lysandre, see? I told you my senses weren't wrong. And you said he wasn't a Psychic!"
At this moment, Bai Feng understood why Caitlin had called him a Psychic.
When Lugia parted ways with him, it had given Bai Feng a gift. At the time, Bai Feng didn't understand what it was, but Lugia said he would understand when the time came. Now it seemed what it left behind was actually a Psychic Seed.
It was just that this Seed hadn't sprouted yet, so Bai Feng hadn't noticed anything unusual. Now, under the nourishment of Caitlin's Psychic Energy, that Seed had broken through the soil, and Bai Feng had truly transformed into a Psychic.
However, his Psychic Energy had only just emerged, so it was still very weak. Bai Feng also didn't know how to control it. Bai Feng even felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded from the initial awakening of his Psychic Energy, like spinning in circles dozens of times.
"Miss Caitlin, I apologize to you," Bai Feng said sincerely. "But I wasn't lying. My Psychic ability hadn't awakened before. What you sensed was just the dormant Psychic Seed. The specific reason involves some secrets, so I won't explain too much to you. Please understand."
Caitlin was a little surprised to hear this. The existence of a Psychic Seed meant that Bai Feng's Psychic ability wasn't innate but came from some kind of fortuitous encounter.
The birth of Psychics generally falls into two categories.
One type is people who are born with powerful Psychic Energy that is difficult for ordinary people to match. As time passes, they naturally transform into Psychics.
The other type is through a fortuitous encounter to obtain a Psychic Seed. This Psychic Seed can come from a powerful Psychic or a powerful Pokémon. Once the Psychic Seed sprouts, its owner naturally becomes a Psychic.
However, to become a Psychic through the second method, one's own Spirit Form must be slightly stronger than that of ordinary people; otherwise, they cannot receive a Psychic Seed from elsewhere.
If everyone could unconditionally receive a Psychic Seed, Psychics would probably be widespread in this world long ago.
Neither type of Psychic is inherently stronger or nobler than the other. Innate Psychics vary in strength due to varying talent, and acquired Psychics also vary in strength depending on the source of their Psychic Seed.
In addition, whether one actively trains their Psychic Energy is also a key factor in determining the strength of a person's Psychic ability.
Knowing that Bai Feng's Psychic ability came from a fortuitous encounter, Caitlin decisively curbed her curiosity. She just nodded slightly and said no more.
Lysandre, however, quickly guessed the reason for the birth of Bai Feng's Psychic Seed. Bai Feng hadn't deliberately hidden what happened in the Sea God's Cavern from him and Calyrex.
But Lysandre just smiled and didn't say anything else.
Bai Feng and Caitlin entered a High-end Restaurant under Lysandre's guidance. Everyone ate and chatted.
Bai Feng took the opportunity to ask Caitlin many questions about Psychics. Caitlin was very generous; as long as it didn't involve family secrets, she explained everything to Bai Feng in detail, even guiding Bai Feng on how to sense the existence of Psychic Energy and how to control Psychic Energy, which greatly benefited Bai Feng.
However, there was one point: training Psychic ability requires special meditation methods. Caitlin's family, as a long-standing Psychic family, naturally had their own meditation method, but Caitlin did not have the right to teach it to Bai Feng.
Bai Feng felt very frustrated upon receiving this information. Indeed, scarce resources are held by a few people, and it's not easy for ordinary people to obtain them.
The three chatted for a while before parting ways. Before leaving, Lysandre gave Bai Feng the address of his residence in Lumiose City, telling Bai Feng to find him if he had any difficulties.
After separating from Lysandre and the others, Bai Feng felt a bit dizzy from the initial awakening of his Psychic ability, so he didn't continue wandering outside. He took Bai Ye and the others back to the Hotel.
When he returned, Teacher Omura hadn't come back either.
Bai Feng thought that Teacher might have been chatting happily after not seeing his friend for a long time, so he didn't think too much about it. He let the Pokémon play by themselves, while he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep, sleeping until dark.
When he woke up, the Pokémon were gathered around the sofa in the Room watching TV.
After waking up from a nap, Bai Feng felt very refreshed. He walked to the sofa and asked, "Have you eaten dinner?"
The Pokémon all nodded. For dinner, they ate Pokéblocks. Larvitar also ate a Silver Gold Stone under Bai Ye's supervision (mainly because she was afraid it would sneak-eat).
"Oh, right, did Teacher Omura come looking for me?" Bai Feng suddenly slapped his forehead and said. He had slept too soundly and had forgotten about Teacher Omura.
The Pokémon looked at each other, then simultaneously shook their heads.
"Didn't come looking for me? That's strange!" Bai Feng said doubtfully.
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~"
Just then, Bai Ye suddenly informed Bai Feng that Teacher Omura hadn't returned since he left today.
Bai Feng couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing this: "You mean Teacher Omura hasn't come back at all until now?" As he spoke, he checked the time. It was almost seven in the evening!
Bai Feng didn't have time to think further and quickly ran to the door of Teacher Omura's Room. He knocked on the door, and indeed, there was no response inside.
Then he started calling his Teacher's phone. The call connected, but no one answered. Bai Feng made more than ten calls in a row, but Teacher Omura didn't pick up.
Helplessly, Bai Feng went to the Hotel front desk to inquire about the situation. The answer he received was still that they hadn't seen Teacher Omura return. Bai Feng also asked the Hotel to check the surveillance footage. The Hotel cooperated, but Teacher Omura's figure had not appeared in the surveillance since he left.
Finally, with no other options, Bai Feng took Bai Ye and the others to the Police Station in Lumiose City.
However, coincidentally, after Bai Feng reported it, he was informed by the police that they were actually looking for him. The reason was that Teacher Omura had been kidnapped!
"Wait, what are you saying? Kidnapped?" When Bai Feng first heard this news, he thought the police were joking with him.
After a detailed explanation from a police officer, Bai Feng finally believed that Teacher Omura had really been kidnapped, on his first day arriving in Lumiose City!
It turned out that a drug trafficking gang had recently arrived in Lumiose City, and this gang had targeted Teacher Omura's friend.
Teacher Omura's friend was a very famous botanist and pharmacist in Lumiose City. The drug trafficking gang wanted to develop a new type of drug, so they planned to kidnap Teacher Omura's friend to help them research the medicine.
Who knew that Teacher Omura happened to visit his friend at this time? So the drug trafficking gang kidnapped Teacher Omura as well.
The police only figured out Teacher Omura's identity after some investigation. They were about to send someone to the Hotel to notify Bai Feng, but unexpectedly, Bai Feng came to them voluntarily.
"Is my Teacher safe now? Is he injured? Is his life in danger?" Bai Feng asked the police worriedly.
The police comforted Bai Feng: "The hostages are temporarily not in danger. We have actively arranged personnel to organize a rescue. Please believe us, we will definitely bring your Teacher back safely."
Bai Feng knew that no matter how anxious he was at this moment, there was nothing he could do, so he could only repeatedly plead with the police: "Please, you must rescue my Teacher."
Just then, Officer Jenny walked over. She patted Bai Feng's shoulder and firmly guaranteed: "Young man, I promise you, we will do everything in our power to rescue the two hostages. We are irreconcilable with evil!"
After being comforted by the police, Bai Feng walked out of the Police Station dejectedly.
This is just too unlucky! They had only been in Lumiose City for one day, and they already encountered a kidnapping incident. What about the promised central city of Kalos? This is it? Is this the security?
Bai Feng walked back to the Hotel, racking his brain trying to figure out a way to rescue Teacher faster. Just then, he vaguely heard a cat's meow. The sound came from a dark alley on his left.
He turned his head to look at the alley and saw a sneaky little cat's head sticking out from the darkness. It looked left and right, then noticed Bai Feng staring at it.
Purrloin!
Bai Feng recognized the Purrloin that had knocked over his juice earlier in the day at a glance.
Seeing that Bai Feng had noticed it, the Purrloin turned its head and ran, its figure disappearing back into the dark alley in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, a golden electric current shot out from Bai Feng. It was Helioptile chasing after it.
"Meow oh!!!"
A miserable cat's meow soon came from the alley. Clearly, the Purrloin had been caught by Helioptile. Bai Feng's Helioptile had an advantage: it ran a little faster than other Pokémon. Bai Feng had gone through a lot of trouble trying to keep up with it in the past.
Bai Feng walked into the alley and indeed saw the Purrloin pinned to the ground by Helioptile, its body wrapped in constantly flashing electric current, clearly in a state of paralysis.
"Got you now, didn't I? Let's see if you still dare to run around on the street!" Bai Feng walked over and lifted the Purrloin by the scruff of its neck.
"Meow meow meow~"
The Purrloin kicked its legs wildly, trying to break free from Bai Feng's control, but held firmly by the scruff of its neck, its struggles were useless.
However, just then, a fireball descended from the sky, almost hitting Bai Feng. Fortunately, Helioptile intercepted the fireball with electric current in time.
Bai Feng looked up and saw a Masked Man wearing strange clothes standing on the roof to the right of the alley. Beside the man stood a Blaziken with an equally flamboyant posture.
Who else could this be but the one who chased the Purrloin during the day?
"Haha... I finally caught you, the contact person!" The Masked Man laughed heartily, then he said doubtfully, "Why is the contact person a kid? Oh well, never mind, I'll catch him first!" With that, he jumped down from the roof flexibly and lightly, with Blaziken following closely behind.
After landing, the man and Pokémon struck a pose so embarrassing it made Bai Feng curl his toes.
"Kid, quickly tell me where your headquarters are and how many people are in your organization! If you're honest, you'll suffer less." The Masked Man said as he approached Bai Feng.
"What headquarters? What organization? What are you talking about?!" Bai Feng was full of question marks.
Bai Feng's confused expression made the Masked Man think he was pretending to be foolish, so the Masked Man said angrily, "In that case, I won't be polite!"
Saying that, the Blaziken beside him darted out again, fiercely swinging its fist wrapped in flames.
Bai Feng tilted his head, dodging Blaziken's attack. Helioptile took this opportunity to dart in front of Bai Feng, shooting out an electric current that forced Blaziken back.
"Oh ho, quite capable!" The Masked Man said with a chuckle.
"Sir, you've misunderstood. I really don't know what headquarters or organization you're talking about!" Bai Feng explained anxiously.
"Pretending to be foolish? I caught you meeting with the Purrloin, and you're still pretending!" The Masked Man said while directing Blaziken to attack.
Bai Feng said angrily upon hearing this: "That's because when you were chasing the Purrloin during the day, you knocked over the juice I just bought!"
The Masked Man's attacking motion paused for a moment upon hearing this. Just when Bai Feng thought the misunderstanding was about to be resolved, the Masked Man suddenly acted as if he had a sudden realization:
"Oh~ I see, you were looking for an opportunity to meet during the day, weren't you? I didn't even notice! You should just surrender obediently, kid!"
Damn it.
Bai Feng really wanted to curse. What kind of thought process is this?!
Helioptile was clearly no match for the opposing Blaziken. Helplessly, Bai Feng had to send out Brionne.
The two Pokémon appeared on either side of Blaziken. Helioptile flashed, using Agility to disappear from its spot. The next second, it erupted with intense blue electric current and blasted towards Blaziken.
However, Blaziken's speed was much faster than Helioptile's. It kicked out a foot, scattering the blue electric current. Helioptile was also kicked away instantly, slamming heavily against the wall nearby.
The moment it sent Helioptile flying, Blaziken suddenly heard a beautiful singing. Immediately after, the surrounding air began to vibrate violently. Before it could react, the air suddenly exploded.
Not only that, but the exploding air was also mixed with a large amount of water vapor, making it feel very uncomfortable as a Fire-type Pokémon.
"As expected, you have some tricks up your sleeve. You truly are someone capable of being a contact person." The Masked Man praised, saying, "Blaziken, Sky Uppercut!"
Although Brionne had injured Blaziken, that amount of damage didn't affect it much. It disappeared from its spot and suddenly appeared beside Brionne the next second, sending Brionne flying with a punch.
The gap is too big! Bai Feng thought to himself. This Masked Man is a master, much stronger than Lysandre and Calyrex.
"What exactly do you want? I really don't know what you were asking about earlier!" Bai Feng said, frowning.
"Just wait until I catch you, then you can explain." The Masked Man seemed stubborn and wouldn't listen to Bai Feng's explanation, only believing what he thought was correct.
Seeing the Masked Man approaching Bai Feng step by step with Blaziken, the Purrloin huddled in Bai Feng's hand, not daring to make a sound.
At this moment, Helioptile and Brionne took the opportunity to attack Blaziken again. An electric current and a Water Gun simultaneously blasted towards Blaziken.
However, Blaziken calmly extended its two claws and easily crushed the electric current and Water Gun.
In this critical moment, Bai Ye voluntarily came out of her Poké Ball and hit Blaziken with a Dazzling Gleam, sending it flying.
Bai Ye was different from Helioptile and Brionne; her strength was much greater. With just one hit, she seriously injured Blaziken.
Seeing the injured Blaziken, the Masked Man didn't get anxious. Instead, he became excited. He said, rubbing his hands together:
"It seems I have to bring out my trump card too!"
Hearing this, Bai Feng felt his scalp tingle. Is this never going to end?
The Masked Man fumbled around on his body and quickly pulled out a shiny spherical stone. In the center of the stone was a spiral pattern flashing with dazzling light.
This is a Key Stone!
"Blaziken, respond to my heart! Release your sealed power! Mega Evolve!" The Masked Man shouted, holding up the Key Stone.
As the Masked Man's words fell, the Key Stone erupted with intense rainbow-colored light. At the same time, the Mega Stone worn by Blaziken also emitted intense light, intertwining with the light from the Key Stone.
That Mega Stone was originally hidden in the thick fur on Blaziken's chest, no wonder no one could see it.
In the light, Blaziken's appearance began to change. Not only did its physique become more robust and agile, but it also gained two flame ribbons on each wrist, and the crest on its head stood straight up, becoming somewhat similar to the mask the Masked Man wore.
The surrounding temperature seemed to have risen slightly due to Blaziken's Mega Evolution.
The Mega Evolved Blaziken became even stronger. It leaped high into the air, kicking towards Bai Ye with a foot wrapped in scorching flames. Its jumping ability was terrifyingly strong.
Purple light shone on Bai Ye again, and at the same time, Reflect was put up. This Reflect was even stronger defensively than the previous one.
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~
Blaziken kicked rapidly, each kick hitting the same spot on Reflect heavily. Finally, Reflect couldn't hold on and shattered with a roar.
Although Bai Ye had become stronger by fusing with Bai Feng's Psychic ability, the Mega Evolved Blaziken was even stronger.
Just as Blaziken's foot was about to hit Bai Ye, Bai Feng grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him, shouting loudly, "Wait a minute!"
Perhaps afraid of actually hurting Bai Feng, who was just a child, Blaziken stopped in time and didn't kick Bai Feng. After all, their goal was to catch Bai Feng, not to actually do anything to him.
(End of Chapter)