Xia Huna leisurely nudged Zhang Hong, trying to wake him. Zhang Hong, however, was sound asleep, smacking his lips in his dreams. Seeing that the boy wasn't faking it, Xia Huna unleashed a rapid series of slaps that nearly killed Zhang Hong.
Zhang Hong, rubbing his face, got up from the ground and groggily looked at Xia Huna. "Boss Xia, why did you hit me?"
Xia Huna grinned. "Not bad, you still remember me as Boss Xia. Do you know how you passed out just now?"
Zhang Hong rubbed his jaw and thought for a moment. "Hmm, if I remember correctly, a sound suddenly echoed in my head, and then I felt dizzy. After that, I fell asleep."
Xia Huna found this story incredibly bizarre. A sound in your head, and then you fall asleep? Was he trying to fool a ghost?
"What sound?"
Zhang Hong thought about it and then started humming. Xia Huna was very familiar with this sound; it was the famous Jigglypuff lullaby from his previous life.
How powerful was this song? No matter if you had the protagonist's halo or the bloodline of a divine beast, you would fall asleep upon hearing it. Although there was no concrete evidence, everyone believed it could even lull Arceus to sleep.
However, the sound coming from Zhang Hong's mouth was far from pleasant; it could only be described as flat. Even more absurdly, as soon as Zhang Hong uttered the seventh note, he closed his eyes and collapsed.
Xia Huna counted on his fingers. The first line had eleven notes, and he couldn't even finish it before collapsing? What a voice.
Xia Huna looked around and then grabbed a cup of water, splashing it on Zhang Hong's face. "Wake up. You sang yourself to sleep with a lullaby. That's quite a talent."
Zhang Hong, with water all over his face, slowly woke up. "I fell asleep again? That shouldn't be. I didn't hear that sound in my head just now."
Xia Huna twitched his lips. "No, it wasn't in your head. You were singing it yourself."
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Xia Huna asked Zhang Hong, "So, did this kind of thing only happen to you today?"
Zhang Hong nodded. "Yeah, I don't know what's going on. It's just that..."
Xia Huna quickly formed a deduction. This kind of ability to make a sound directly in someone's brain was definitely the work of a Psychic or Fairy-type Pokémon.
"By the way, is Jigglypuff a Fairy type?"
Xia Huna turned to ask Zhang Hong. Zhang Hong thought for a long time before stammering, "Should... should it not be?"
"Never mind, let's go and see. Let's find out which Pokémon targeted you."
Zhang Hong was a little timid. "Um, is anything going to happen?"
"You're being a bit of a coward. If this Pokémon wanted to harm you, it would have just used Perish Song. Why bother singing? It has plenty of other ways to hurt you."
Xia Huna's words made sense. Hearing him, Zhang Hong followed him out of the secret base, wanting to see if there were any Pokémon targeting him around. As soon as they stepped out of the secret base, they saw a Durin on the ground by the entrance.
Xia Huna bent down and poked the little Durin. The Durin immediately jumped up, shook its leaves, and then lay still on the ground as if nothing had happened.
Xia Huna chuckled. "Zhang Hong, it seems your accuser has come to your doorstep."
Zhang Hong came down the stairs and looked at the Cherubi. "You mean this little guy?"
Hearing Zhang Hong's voice, Cherubi immediately leaped onto Zhang Hong's head and stayed there motionlessly. Xia Huna, looking at the Cherubi, which seemed to be on vacation, was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "I say, this little guy likes you a lot. What did you do to it?"
Zhang Hong was confused. "What did I do? I didn't do anything. I've never even seen this Cherubi before."
Upon hearing Zhang Hong say he hadn't seen it, Cherubi jumped off his head and rolled on the ground, crying as it did so. Although it felt a bit heartless, Xia Huna found Cherubi's crying quite cute.
Cherubi turned into a mobile sprinkler, crying inconsolably on the ground. Xia Huna glared at Zhang Hong, as if to say, you're responsible for your own mess, so what are you going to do about it?
Since the secret base was converted from a villa, there were still many people living nearby. If they were seen like this in the middle of the night, their reputation would be ruined. Both of them were concerned about their image, so Zhang Hong quickly picked up Cherubi. "Okay, okay, let's go inside and talk, let's go inside and talk."
Zhang Hong carried Cherubi back inside, while Xia Huna looked around the entrance of the villa. Cherubi didn't have the ability to make sounds echo in Zhang Hong's mind, so this little guy must have had other "accomplices."
Xia Huna looked around and then waved outside. Zhang Hong, holding Cherubi, turned around. "Boss Xia, what are you doing? Enjoying the breeze?"
Xia Huna was waiting for Cherubi's reinforcements and joked, "Stop messing around, I'm feeding mosquitoes."
"Boss Xia, you're the one messing around. What month is it? Are there even mosquitoes?"
"You go inside first. I'll be right there."
Saying this, Xia Huna saw a pink, round creature peeking out from the grass outside, stealthily watching the large villa. Xia Huna waved at it. "Come here, come here."
The round creature shuffled towards Xia Huna step by step. Xia Huna, seeing its short legs move so slowly, went out and picked it up. "Little guy, your pace is making me anxious."
He carried the round creature into the villa and into the secret base. Xia Huna asked, "So, do you remember where you two met?"
Zhang Hong was still confused. "I don't remember. I really don't know where we've met."
Hearing this, Cherubi rolled on the ground and started crying again. The round creature in Xia Huna's arms struggled free and rolled next to Zhang Hong, kicking him with its short legs. Zhang Hong looked down at the round creature. "Boss Xia, where did this Jigglypuff come from?"
Xia Huna covered his ears. "Jigglypuff, sing."
As Jigglypuff sang, Zhang Hong fell asleep on the ground. Xia Huna pointed at Zhang Hong. "Jigglypuff, beat him up."
Jigglypuff wasn't a physical fighter. Its small pink fists had no effect on Zhang Hong's face. Instead, Cherubi, seeing Jigglypuff attack Zhang Hong, jumped between them and blocked Jigglypuff.
Xia Huna looked at the still groggy Zhang Hong. "I still need to deal with this. Cherubi, how did you meet him?"
As Cherubi told its story, Xia Huna nodded. "Oh, I see. It was Niu Niu. Wait a moment."
Saying this, Xia Huna reached out and fumbled through Zhang Hong's clothes. "Where did this kid put Niu Niu's Poké Balls?"
After a long search, Xia Huna found two Poké Balls and released both Pokémon at once. He had no choice; months had passed, and he couldn't remember what Niu Niu's Poké Balls looked like. As soon as Snivy and Niu Niu came out, they saw Cherubi nearby. Upon seeing Niu Niu, Cherubi happily leaped towards it.
Niu Niu, not understanding what was happening, almost headbutted Cherubi away. Fortunately, Cherubi quickly explained, and Niu Niu stopped.
If Xia Huna's Pokémon were led by Gya and Little Princess, then among Zhang Hong's Pokémon, Snivy was the absolute authority. Perhaps because they were both Grass-type Pokémon, Snivy quickly hit it off with Cherubi, and they sat on Niu Niu's back, chatting and laughing.
Niu Niu also liked Cherubi, with whom it had a brief encounter. Even its friend Jigglypuff, who had helped Cherubi find its way, could sit on its back. The four of them were talking and laughing happily. The only one out of place in this scene was Zhang Hong, who was snoring soundly on the side.
Seeing its trainer lying on the ground, Snivy was unhappy. It slid down from Niu Niu's back and began to whip Zhang Hong with its tail. If Jigglypuff's little punches were considered gentle, then Snivy was perhaps Zhang Hong's savage girlfriend. The series of blows directly woke Zhang Hong from his sleep.
Zhang Hong looked at Snivy in front of him and asked confusedly, "Snivy, why are you hitting me?"
Xia Huna pointed at the two cuties sitting on Niu Niu's back. "How should I put it? They've decided to stay here with you. Whether you can catch them, and how many you catch, is your problem. I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Saying this, Xia Huna turned and walked towards the exit. However, before leaving, he turned back with a mischievous grin. "Zhang Hong, although I shouldn't interfere in matters between you and your Pokémon, I can give you a friendly reminder: if you upset Cherubi, you'll be in big trouble."
With that, Xia Huna disappeared in a flash, leaving Zhang Hong standing there looking dejected. But upon seeing the adorable Cherubi and remembering that Cherubi would eventually evolve into a beautiful Queen, Zhang Hong felt a little better. If Xia Huna were still there, he would have called him a masochist!
Xia Huna, however, was on his way home, chatting with the system. "I never thought something like this could happen in this world."
"Indeed. Did you initially think Zhang Hong had wronged some girl, and then the victim's relatives came looking for him?"
"Yes. Cherubi had many ways to contact Zhang Hong, but it chose to use Jigglypuff to deliver a message. It's hard not to jump to conclusions."
After a few more steps, the system suddenly asked, "Is it okay that you didn't tell Zhang Hong what exactly happened back then?"
Xia Huna thought for a moment. "Hmm, it should be fine. This isn't an act of revenge. Let Zhang Hong investigate it himself. I think that would be quite interesting. We have important things to do tomorrow."
"Important things? What things?"
"Jumping off a cliff."