Just as our classmate Xia Hunao entered the shrine, on the small path outside, a person in a Manying police uniform furtively followed his footsteps upwards.
If Xia Hunao were here, he would have complained furiously: "Why are you still clinging to me? Wouldn't it be better for you to deal with that pervert or pervert yourself? Why follow me? And how on earth did you recognize it was me? Another question is, with your behavior, you look like a thief even in a police uniform!"
The female police officer followed Xia Hunao into the shrine, only to be caught red-handed by Sakura, who was also watching Xia Hunao, as soon as she entered the door.
Sakura was stunned when she saw the female officer, and then became angry: "Times have changed. Are even police officers stealing from shrines now? You don't break into houses like this."
The female officer also looked embarrassed when she saw Sakura. As the police officer in charge of the area, how could she not recognize the shrine maiden in this shrine? But coming to the shrine so late at night was bound to cause misunderstandings with the maiden.
"Um, Miss Shrine Maiden, I saw someone break into the shrine just now, so I followed. Please don't misunderstand."
Sakura nodded slightly: "Thank you for your concern. I won't misunderstand."
After a brief explanation, Sakura and the female officer named Kana reached a consensus and went to pursue Xia Hunao, who had broken into the shrine. Although Xia Hunao had been there in the afternoon, he wasn't casing the place, so after entering, he was in complete darkness and had no idea where to go.
Xia Hunao patted Sakura-chan's head: "Sakura-chan, do you know where Cherubim lives?"
Sakura-chan pointed in a direction, and Xia Hunao quickly ran over. The two who were supposed to be following behind had already lost track of Xia Hunao because they had been hesitating at the entrance for a while.
"Sakura, do you know where that thief might go to steal things?"
Sakura's memory had always been good. Although she had only seen Xia Hunao once in the afternoon, she recognized him at a glance. Since she recognized the suspect, she knew exactly what he would do.
"Follow me, I know where he's going."
It had to be said that Xia Hunao was no match for Sakura when it came to understanding the shrine, so even though Sakura and Kana were late, they could still catch up.
Xia Hunao ran around the shrine for a long time before arriving in front of the house where Sakura and Ran lived. Xia Hunao lowered his head and looked at Sakura-chan. Although the little one had pointed the way, only the direction was correct, and the walls in between almost made Xia Hunao get lost.
Xia Hunao looked around: "I should have let her wait for me at the entrance."
Hearing Xia Hunao's words, the two who had been hiding in the shadows were stunned: "What is he saying?"
"I'm not sure. Although we have many tourists from the Minglong Kingdom, I really don't understand the Minglong language."
"Could he be calling for an accomplice?" Kana asked.
Sakura thought for a moment and then nodded: "It's possible."
Kana was about to go out to enforce justice and arrest Xia Hunao, the Pokémon thief, but was stopped by Sakura: "Let's watch a bit longer."
Although she didn't know what Sakura was thinking, Kana was thinking about catching him red-handed.
Xia Hunao took out a Poké Ball: "Shedinja, come out."
Shedinja emerged from the Poké Ball and, following Xia Hunao's instructions, went into the room to steal a Poké Ball.
Shedinja stealing a Poké Ball, and Xia Hunao keeping watch outside – this was a little different from a normal Pokémon thief. Kana was stunned to see this scene: "Are there still Pokémon thieves like this?"
Shedinja did not let Xia Hunao down and soon stole a Poké Ball, floating to Xia Hunao's side. Xia Hunao glanced at the Poké Ball: "Is this it? She shouldn't have only one Poké Ball, should she?"
Xia Hunao muttered softly, and Sakura, hiding in the shadows, recognized it as her Poké Ball at a glance. Kana asked Sakura: "We have caught him red-handed. Shall I go out and arrest him?"
Sakura shook her head, asking Kana to accompany her to watch a bit longer. Xia Hunao, along with Sakura-chan, fled to a large hall with the Poké Balls. Xia Hunao released Cherubim, and as soon as Cherubim saw Sakura-chan, it excitedly jumped over.
Sakura-chan turned away haughtily, and Cherubim, missing its target, looked at Sakura-chan with a wronged expression: "I missed you so much, and you dodged me?"
Sakura-chan went up to Cherubim and began to reprimand it. Cherubim just let Sakura-chan scold it, and the two watching from the side were dumbfounded. Kana asked: "What's going on? Is this a tactic to lure Cherubim with Sakura-chan?"
Sakura shook her head: "I don't know, but I can now confirm that he is not here to steal Pokémon."
"Miss Shrine Maiden, don't be so naive. These detestable Pokémon thieves are wicked and will stop at nothing. Don't be fooled."
Sakura looked at the two reconciled Pokémon: "I confirm, he is not a Pokémon thief."
Although Sakura said so, Kana obviously didn't believe it. She leaped out from the shadows: "You Pokémon thief, surrender!"
Xia Hunao was startled by the sudden appearance of Officer Kana: "You, why are you here?"
The language barrier finally became an obstacle for Xia Hunao's defense. Xia Hunao quickly took out the Rotom Dex from his bag: "Wake up quickly, don't sleep. If you keep sleeping, I'll be in trouble!"
Rotom groggily opened its eyes and began its translation task. Just as Xia Hunao woke Rotom up, Sakura also emerged from the shadows and stood before Xia Hunao.
Xia Hunao felt a little awkward seeing Sakura: "This..."
"I believe this gentleman is not a bad person, but can you tell me why you did this?"
Xia Hunao looked at the two Pokémon who were being affectionate with each other. Sakura also followed Xia Hunao's gaze towards them. Cherubim, seeing its trainer staring at it, instantly cowered. Seeing Cherubim like this, Sakura-chan directly stood in front of Cherubim, looking like a "big sister defending you."
Xia Hunao chuckled: "A beauty saving a hero? This drama is actually quite nice."
Kana didn't know what to say looking at the scene. At this moment, a door nearby suddenly opened, and the three people present simultaneously heard a voice: "Come in, come in."
Xia Hunao asked Sakura: "Miss Miyazaki, what is that place?"
Although Xia Hunao had familiarly called her Sakura directly in the afternoon, in this situation, calling her Miyazaki was more appropriate.
Miyazaki Sakura replied: "That room is where our shrine houses the divine beast."
Hearing this, both Xia Hunao and Kana were stunned. If that was the case, it meant a divine beast was summoning them?
Xia Hunao gave a wry smile: "Indeed, this is a shrine after all. It's not strange to have a divine beast. But Miss Miyazaki, which divine beast does your shrine house?"
Before Sakura could answer, the voice sounded again: "Come in, come in."
Xia Hunao cursed inwardly: "You're a divine beast, and all you can say are these two sentences? But Xia Hunao's thought was only a momentary one, because he didn't know if this Pokémon could read minds. If there really was mind-reading, he would be finished."
As the three of them, Xia Hunao, Sakura, and Kana, along with their Pokémon, entered the room where the divine beast was housed, the door of the room suddenly closed, and it became pitch black. Xia Hunao immediately sent out Froakie to prepare for battle. Kana also sent out her Tsareena to deal with any potential emergencies.
Sakura also hugged her Sakura-chan, but at this moment, the candles in the hall suddenly lit up, emitting a faint blue glow. In the dim blue light, Xia Hunao looked at a statue in the center of the room.
"Froakie, there's no need to be so nervous. This shrine houses Xerneas, and it's relatively easy to communicate with."
Miyazaki Sakura looked at Xia Hunao: "You know Xerneas?"
Xia Hunao nodded: "Well, no wonder your shrine can see cherry blossoms in autumn. Xerneas is a Pokémon that controls order. Your shrine can use Xerneas's power to defy order to some extent, so it's not strange that cherry blossoms bloom in autumn."
Kana looked at Xia Hunao: "I didn't expect you, a Pokémon thief, to have such insight."
Xia Hunao stomped his foot: "I'm telling you, I'm not a Pokémon thief. You'd better stop talking nonsense."
Kana retorted: "You still say you're not a Pokémon thief? Then why are you at the shrine in the middle of the night? And you took her Poké Ball."
Xia Hunao thought to himself: "This is bad. I can't explain this now. Is this suicidal?"
Xia Hunao looked at Miyazaki Sakura, hoping she would explain for him. But before Miyazaki Sakura could speak, the three of them saw a blue ring of light envelop them. With a flash of light, the three of them and their Pokémon were transported to another place.
Sakura and Kana were a little nervous looking at themselves suddenly being in such a place, away from the shrine, while Xia Hunao squatted down and touched the grass under his feet: "Is this Xerneas's space?"
Sakura and Kana turned around: "What did you say? This is Xerneas's space?"
Xia Hunao stood up: "I can understand Manying speech now? It seems this is also one of Xerneas's space's abilities, allowing for barrier-free communication."
"You still haven't answered my question. How do you know this is Xerneas's space?"
"I've been to a similar space before, is there a problem?"
"Someone like you..."
As she was speaking, a Pokémon walked out of the nearby forest. The sound of rustling through the trees attracted the attention of the three. Upon seeing Xerneas, Sakura covered her mouth: "This, is this the Xerneas we enshrine?"
Xia Hunao stroked his chin, looking suspicious: "This thing is Xerneas? Why don't I believe it?"