Chapter 366: If Psychic Power Doesn’t Work, There’s Always Cash Power

The video continued playing.

The white figure leaped onto the top of the bookshelf.

Only then did everyone finally get a clear look at it—

An Alolan Vulpix.

A tuft of curly white fur sat atop its head, and its eyes looked like two blue sapphires.

At that moment, it was looking down arrogantly at the sisters from above.

"Big Sis! Look!"

"A white Vulpix!"

"It’s completely snow-white!"

"It’s like a moving marshmallow!"

Selene grabbed Aurelia’s arm and shook it wildly.

"It’s way too cute!"

"Is this another mutated form?"

"It’s not really a mutation."

Professor Kukui explained:

"This is a regional form that developed after Vulpix adapted to the snowy mountain environments of Alola over generations."

"Not only did its fur turn white, its type also changed from Fire to Ice."

"You could call it a classic example of regional Pokémon evolution."

"Professor, now really isn’t the time for a lecture!"

Acerola pointed toward the Vulpix on top of the bookshelf.

"Hurry up and catch it!"

"That book is an extremely important cultural relic!"

"Easy."

"Leave it to me!"

Blue light appeared in Selene’s heterochromatic eyes.

Her psychic power transformed into a gigantic invisible hand and reached toward Vulpix.

Vulpix didn’t even bother looking at it.

It simply yawned.

The psychic hand seemed to slam into an invisible wall and shattered instantly.

Selene’s pupils trembled.

"???"

Refusing to believe it, she immediately fired three more waves of psychic power.

The exact same thing happened.

All three were knocked away.

One even bounced back and blasted Selene’s bangs apart—

Giving her a perfect middle part.

"BIG SIS!"

Selene whipped around toward Aurelia.

"This Vulpix is immune to my psychic power!"

"It’s cheating!"

Aurelia’s psychic power instantly spread outward.

She tried to control the books on the shelves and bury Vulpix beneath them.

But Vulpix had already used that opening to launch itself from the bookshelf.

It bounced across Professor Kukui’s head then Acerola’s then Mimikyu’s—like they were stepping stones.

And with a final whoosh, it shot straight through the library doors.

"Big Sis, let’s go!"

Without another word, Selene wrapped herself in psychic power and flew straight out through the window.

Aurelia sighed.

Then followed her out.

"Ciallo Sisters! Good luck!"

Acerola scooped up the collapsed Mimikyu.

"If you catch that Vulpix, I’ll treat you to Alolan shaved ice!"

Then she turned toward Professor Kukui.

"Professor, aren’t you going after them?"

"I’m wearing sandals."

"..."

When the sisters flew out through the library window Vulpix was perched on top of a streetlamp.

The ancient book remained clenched in its mouth.

Its tail swished back and forth.

Almost as if it were waiting for them.

"It’s actually waiting for us?"

Selene was touched for approximately one second.

"That’s surprisingly polite."

The next moment—

Vulpix raised one paw and patted its own face.

Then it arrogantly curled that paw toward Selene in a blatant taunt.

It looked exactly like a tiny white demon.

The smile on Selene’s face instantly stiffened.

She took a deep breath.

Then rolled up her sleeves.

"All right."

"If I don’t catch you and turn you into a pillow today, I’ll resign as President and go home to inherit the Gym instead!"

Aurelia didn’t stop her.

She simply moved a few steps to the side.

Vulpix wasn’t actually that fast.

But its movement was outrageously flashy.

It ran across construction scaffolding like a balance beam strutted along clotheslines like it was walking a runway its little backside swaying left and right with every step then suddenly leaped onto the guardrail of an overpass and sprinted along it.

Selene and Aurelia flew on opposite sides of the overpass.

Three figures chased one another above the flowing traffic.

Every now and then, Vulpix would look back.

Confirm that the sisters hadn’t fallen behind.

Then keep running.

"It’s..."

"Waiting for us?"

Aurelia asked suspiciously.

"It’s taking us for a walk."

Selene corrected her irritably.

Vulpix led the sisters across the overpass for a full three kilometers.

Every driver on the road was dumbfounded.

One driver even filmed while driving.

"What the heck is going on?"

"Are they shooting a movie?"

"Those white-haired sisters look so cool!"

Finally—

Vulpix leaped off the end of the overpass.

It landed on a beach.

The ocean stretched out directly ahead.

Rocky reefs blocked both sides.

It genuinely looked like there was nowhere left to run.

Selene and Aurelia landed immediately behind it—

Closing in from both sides.

"HA!"

Selene planted both hands on her hips and laughed between breaths.

"Go on!"

"Keep running!"

"The ocean’s right in front of you!"

"What are you going to do now?"

"Sprout wings and fly away?!"

Vulpix lowered its head.

Its ears drooped.

Its tail fell limply against the sand.

It looked like one pitiful little marshmallow.

Selene turned toward Aurelia and raised an eyebrow.

"Big Sis, look."

"It’s accepted its fate."

Aurelia didn’t move.

Her heterochromatic eyes merely narrowed slightly.

"Selene."

"Wait..."

The corners of Vulpix’s mouth suddenly curled upward.

An incredibly humanlike smile appeared on its face.

That smile practically had four words written across it: You’re too naive.

The next second—

Vulpix turned around and charged straight toward the ocean.

The instant its paws touched the water—ice spread outward like a spiderweb.

A silver-white frozen path instantly extended more than ten meters across the sea.

And Vulpix’s running posture became even more ridiculous.

Its two front legs moved at such high speed that they looked like they’d been fitted with motors.

Its back legs barely seemed to touch the ground at all.

The ice road continued extending toward the horizon.

The little white puffball grew smaller and smaller until finally—

Poof!

It disappeared into the sea mist.

All that remained was a gradually melting path of ice and two sisters standing motionless on the beach, questioning reality itself.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Volkner]: ??? What is wrong with that Vulpix?! Immune to psychic power, creates an ice road across the ocean, and runs faster than Dragonite? Is that seriously a Vulpix?!

[Caitlin]: Selene and Aurelia are both Sabrina’s daughters. Their psychic strength should be at least ten times greater than that of an ordinary psychic. Yet that Vulpix deflected their power so easily... either it isn’t really a Vulpix—or something has strengthened it.

[Candice]: I’m more interested in that whole "walking across the sea" thing. From the beach to the ocean, that path of ice extended for at least dozens of meters. That level of Ice-type energy efficiency is absurd.

[Wulfric]: It certainly is. Even my Abomasnow couldn’t manage something like that.

[Valerie]: Why did that Vulpix steal the ancient text in the first place? Could it actually understand what was written inside?

[Korrina]: Um... Maybe it just likes collecting things?

The video continued playing.

After Vulpix disappeared into the sea mist—Aurelia closed her eyes.

Her psychic power spread across the ocean like an enormous net.

Thirty seconds later—

She opened her eyes.

"We can’t catch up."

"It’s already left the range of our psychic detection."

"We should go back and ask Professor Kukui what to do."

Selene didn’t answer.

Her head was lowered.

Both arms hung at her sides.

The sea breeze tossed her silver-white curls into a complete mess, while her entire face remained hidden in shadow.

Aurelia patted her shoulder.

"Selene?"

"Big Sis."

Selene slowly raised her head.

A raging fire burned within her heterochromatic eyes.

"Ever since I founded the Sun-Moon Group at the age of three..."

"I have never experienced a defeat like this."

She took a deep breath.

Her voice rose higher and higher.

"Never!!!"

"Do you know what people will say if word gets out?!"

"They’ll say—"

"Oh, you mean that President who got taken for a three-street walk by a Vulpix?"

Aurelia opened her mouth, attempting to comfort her.

"Actually, not that many people saw—"

"That’s not the point!"

"The point is... as President of the Sun-Moon Group, I cannot lose like this!"

Selene jumped onto a nearby reef.

Then she pulled out her communicator.

"So psychic power doesn’t work?"

Her fingers flew across the screen as the corner of her mouth curled upward.

"No problem."

"I still have cash power."