He knows Pokémon better than me.

Chapter 4254 Sonia Who Has Lost Contact!

Ash landed on the open ground in front of Motostoke, recalled Corviknight, and arrived at the city's entrance stairs.

Compared to the simple, unadorned staircase entrance in Machine City, the entrance before us was quite flamboyant—

The top of the steps is carved from heavy raw stone, and the whole thing is sculpted into a huge dragon head.

The dragon's mouth is half-open, nearly ten meters high, and covered with teeth on both sides, making it majestic and imposing!

The stone steps extend upwards along the curve of the dragon's mouth, as if they were actively leading into the depths of the dragon's throat.

"Uh, I can't recognize him."

Ash stopped in front of the steps, put his hands on his hips, craned his neck and observed for a while, and finally shook his head.

I can't tell what Pokémon it is.

This dragon head carving is quite realistic, with a sharp horn standing between its forehead and a pair of longer curved horns branching upwards from between its eyebrows, as well as many sharp spikes on both sides of its cheeks.

With a ferocious and menacing expression, many people probably wouldn't even dare to go inside late at night.

He quickly went through all the known Dragon-type Pokémon in his mind.

Dragon Pokémon with a triangle on their head include Gyarados and Mega Charizard Y.

However, many parts don't match up.

He shrugged, not thinking about it any further, guessing it was a Dragon-type Pokémon he hadn't seen before.

"Never mind, let's go inside first and talk about it later."

Ash stepped onto the stone steps, his two Pokémon still by his side, and reminded him:

"Let's go, Pikachu, Victini~"

The two little ones then climbed down from the stone dragon tooth next to them.

As for the Mr. Mime, he remained in the Watchtower Castle.

The latter is currently focusing on training, practicing the resonance with that Galar Articuno feather.

Upon entering Motogakure, the city exudes a strong sense of antiquity, with imposing castle-like buildings visible everywhere.

The stone walls on both sides intersect with the streets paved with blue bricks, forming a series of castle corridors.

The modern facilities such as Pokémon Centers, restaurants, and clothing stores have all been built in the style of stone buildings, blending in with the art style of Motostoke City.

Of course, the brightly colored shop signs seem a bit out of place, but they add a touch of vibrant life.

"This place feels really nice."

Xiao Zhi slowed down and looked around.

The streets, varying in elevation, are built in layers according to the terrain, with staircases connecting different heights visible everywhere.

Looking up from this angle makes the main tower, located in the very center of the city, appear even more majestic.

He wasn't in a hurry to climb the tower; instead, he planned to find the local Pokémon Center first and book a room.

I estimate I'll be staying in this city for another two or three days.

"Uh, this place is really difficult to walk on."

Ash stood at the crossroads, scratching the back of his head. Motostoke City was full of narrow corridors and staircases.

Without looking at the Rotom map, you simply can't find which height of the wall the Pokémon Center is located on.

A few minutes later, he successfully found the Pokémon Center and checked in with Nurse Joy at the front desk. He then pressed Rotom on his phone and sent a text message to both Marie and Sonia.

The former replied quickly, saying that he would probably arrive in Hammerlocke City by evening.

"Don't worry, my match is tomorrow morning~"

After casually replying, Xiaozhi switched to Sonia's communication interface.

On the screen, he had already sent the message "Are you there?" several times in a row.

Remembering that Sonia had also been to Hammerlocke City before, it would be a good opportunity to run into her.

I've been asking "Are you there?" for two days now, seven or eight times, but there's still no reply. When I call, it's just a busy signal.

"strangeness."

Xiao Zhi stared at the screen, his brows furrowed.

Sonia isn't buried in data at the research institute, oblivious to the passage of time. If she were in Hammerlocke City, she could reply anytime, right?

"No way... he's really been arrested by President Rose?"

Ash suddenly recalled what Professor Magnolia had said before.

When Sonia suggested exchanging papers with Chairman Loz at the Woodpole Town Research Institute, hoping to gather intelligence, he said that her intentions might be discovered.

He wouldn't resort to torture, but given Loz's personality, he'd probably arrest her and lock her up to prevent her from going out and disrupting his plans.

At the time, Sonia patted her chest, indicating that she would absolutely not be exposed.

"If that's the case, then it'll be difficult."

Ash scratched his head, looking troubled. There was still a month and a half until the League Tournament.

According to the timeline in Xiaoyou's dream, wouldn't Sonia be locked up for a month and a half?

He couldn't very well call Chairman Loz and ask directly where Sonia was.

Wait, it seems like you can actually ask!

So he pressed the phone screen, quickly organized his thoughts, and tried not to reveal what he knew.

Tsk, if only Mr. Mime were here.

Its language communication skills are much better than mine!

As for Pikachu and Victini, they were already having a blast on the sidelines and couldn't be counted on for any help.

After typing the message and hesitating for a moment, Ash sent it to Guild Master Rose.

"President Rose, Miss Sonia was supposed to meet me in Motogakure City, but I can't get in touch with her now."

“I heard her say before that she was coming here to talk to you about history papers or something.”

Yes, that makes sense.

Less than half a minute later, the other party actually replied to the text message.

This surprised Xiao Zhi, as he was playing on his phone intensely.

"I'm sorry, President Loz and Miss Sonia parted ways after discussing their papers. We don't know where she is right now."

"But don't worry, I will immediately mobilize the group's resources to help find Miss Sonia."

"—Olive."

The text message was written very formally, and even had a signature at the bottom.

Olive.

Ash remembered, wasn't she the aloof female secretary next to President Rose?

The text message reply was indeed very much in line with the other person's style.

"Don't they know either?"

Looking at the text message, Xiao Zhi pursed his lips, not believing it.

Sonia wanders all over the Galar region every day, and unless something extremely unusual happens, it's impossible for her to go missing.

Even after hearing Xiaoyou's account of her dream, he still trusted her even more.

In his mind, President Loz had already been labeled as "suspicious".

If we are actually captured, then "mobilizing resources to search" is just a polite formality.

After thinking for a moment, Ash switched screens and informed Professor Magnolia of the news.

The latter replied very quickly:

"Don't panic, that girl might not have been arrested yet."

"Since Ash is in Motostoke City now, you can go find the gym leader of the local Motostoke Arena. He and Sonia are on good terms, so you can ask him."

Dr. Mulan is currently at a loss as to what to do about this.

We can't exactly let her confront Lorz herself, can we? (End of Chapter)