"Whatever they've run into, we must find a way to get in touch with them!" The manager urged anxiously.
At that moment, an attendant rushed in, visibly flustered.
"Manager! Chairman Shu of Shanghai Pokémon Technology Company is here to see you."
The manager frowned slightly.
"Chairman Shu? What's he doing here?"
"Tell him I'm extremely busy right now and really don't have the time! And please offer my sincere apologies!"
Normally, he wouldn't dare refuse an audience with a figure like Chairman Shu. But given the current emergency, he truly couldn't spare even a second. If something happened to the flight, his own future would be in jeopardy!
However, the attendant spoke up again nervously, "Chairman Shu says his granddaughter is on Flight 573 today!"
"What?!"
"Which flight number did you say?"
"Flight 573!"
The manager clapped his palms together, dread twisting his stomach.
After a brief hesitation, he reluctantly decided to meet Chairman Shu after all.
Inside the airport lounge, a stern, authoritative elderly man sat calmly in his chair.
Chairman Shu was no ordinary man. In his younger years, he'd stormed into Shanghai alone, relying solely on his fierce Aggron to carve out a place for himself in this international metropolis.
Eventually, he founded Shanghai Pokémon Technology, now a premier company in the country.
Even after stepping back to hand over the reins to his granddaughter, Shu Xinni, his influence remained immense. If he spoke, everyone in Shanghai with status would give him face.
"My apologies, Chairman Shu!"
"I was handling an emergency—I'm sorry to keep you waiting!" the manager rushed in, sweating profusely.
Chairman Shu gave a faint smile. "I'm sorry to trouble you. It's just that my granddaughter's flight has already been delayed half an hour. I just wanted to ask what's going on."
Chairman Shu, concerned about his granddaughter, naturally wouldn't hold trivial delays against the manager. But the question itself left the manager at a loss for words.
After a long pause, he finally admitted slowly, "Chairman Shu, I'm afraid Flight 573 might have run into some trouble!"
"What?!"
Shocked, Chairman Shu abruptly stood up from his seat, gripping the manager's arm. "What kind of trouble?"
Since his son and daughter-in-law had passed away years earlier, his granddaughter was his only remaining family. If anything happened to her, how could this old man keep living?
"Chairman Shu, please calm down!" the manager quickly soothed him. "It's just a loss of communication for now. We suspect they've entered a temporary secret realm. But please don't worry—the plane has an Elite Four-Tier Pokémon onboard, so they should be safe!"
Chairman Shu's sudden outburst had given the manager chills, as if facing a ferocious Pokémon in person. Even retired, powerful figures remained terrifying!
Upon hearing about the Elite Four-Tier Pokémon, Chairman Shu felt slightly reassured. But his anxiety quickly returned as he pressed further, "How long has it been since contact was lost? Have you sent out a rescue party?"
The manager smiled bitterly. "Chairman Shu, we haven't received any messages at all—how could we dispatch rescuers?"
"Hmph!" Chairman Shu snorted coldly. "Don't you have real-time location tracking? You should at least know exactly where the plane disappeared."
The manager hesitated awkwardly. "Chairman Shu, I… that wouldn't follow protocol!"
It was true they had precise coordinates for the flight's last known location. However, without concrete information, he wasn't authorized to send out an official rescue party—not at his current level of authority.
Seeing his hesitation, Chairman Shu decided not to press him further. Instead, he firmly said, "If that's the case, then give me those coordinates. I'll take my own people there personally!"
The manager still hesitated, uncertain how to respond.
Chairman Shu's expression hardened immediately.
"What? Do I, this old man, no longer have enough face around here? Or do I need to call your CEO Lin directly to make things happen?!"
Since his granddaughter's safety was at stake, Chairman Shu had no choice but to throw his weight around.
"N-no! That won't be necessary, Chairman Shu—I'll send it to you immediately."
Seeing the old man was determined, the manager knew refusing again would spell doom for him, regardless of the flight's fate.
After obtaining the coordinates, Chairman Shu immediately left the airport with his people.
Watching his retreating figure, the manager sighed deeply, silently praying in his heart,
Please, Flight 573… please be safe… If something happens, I'm finished…
---
Flight 573 raced forward at maximum thrust.
"Damn it!" the captain cursed loudly. "Just how big is this secret realm anyway?"
He'd flown at top speed for nearly four minutes, yet there was no end in sight. Still, complaining now was meaningless.
He could only pray that Zapdos hadn't yet caught up.
But his heart sank when a yellow shadow loomed ahead.
"It's over!"
With their Pokémon protectors down, the plane had no defense left. They were sitting ducks before Zapdos's attacks. With its strength, destroying the plane would take mere moments.
The title of "Legendary" wasn't for nothing.
Zapdos showed no mercy.
Diving from above, its wings shimmered with a metallic sheen.
[Steel Wing]
Screeech—!
A horrible tearing sound resonated as its razor-sharp wings gouged a deep slash across the aircraft's outer shell. Only modern Pokémon-infused technology had prevented total structural failure. Had this been a plane from a past era, it would've already shattered into pieces.
BOOM—!
The passengers were jolted violently by Zapdos's assault, faces filled with despair.
This was a Legendary Pokémon! Even an Elite Four-level trainer would barely survive, let alone passengers without even Gym Leader-Tier strength.
After breaching the plane's hull, Zapdos paused, not immediately launching another strike.
Instead, it would deliver final judgment through lightning itself.
"Kreeee!"
Zapdos's sharp cry pierced the heavens.
Thunder erupted violently from the clouds, countless bolts snaking wildly—like a vision of the apocalypse itself.
"Miss Shu, I'm so scared!"
Having just graduated a year ago, Jiang Rou had never encountered such a terrifying scene. Petrified, she buried her face tightly into Shu Xinni's embrace.
Though Shu Xinni appeared composed, her trembling eyes betrayed fear.
Indeed—
Even the strongest corporate elite would tremble at the brink of life and death.
Grandpa, I'm sorry…
As lightning was about to descend, Shu Xinni quietly closed her eyes, whispering an apology.
If only she'd listened to her grandfather and sent a subordinate to YN City in her place, none of this would have happened.
But regret now was useless…
BOOM—!
A deafening thunderclap shook the sky.
The captain, crew, and passengers all shut their eyes tightly, quietly awaiting death.
One second passed… two… three…
They opened their eyes, astonished to find the plane still flying normally.
"I'm… still alive?"
"Did Zapdos suddenly have a change of heart?"
"But why haven't the storm clouds dispersed?"
Though relieved to be alive, confusion filled everyone's hearts.
Just then, a young girl's crisp voice drew everyone's attention:
"Mommy, look! There's a giant bug outside fighting that bad bird!"
A giant bug?!
Everyone's initial reaction was disbelief—surely they'd heard wrong?
Had it been a different Pokémon, perhaps a Dragonite, Salamence, or even a Hydreigon confronting Zapdos, they might understand.
But…a bug?
Zapdos was Flying-type.
What kind of insect would dare challenge it? Was it suicidal?
Yet when they looked out the window, their jaws collectively dropped in shock.
"That's… a Beedrill!"
"Oh my god! A Beedrill is actually confronting Zapdos? Has my entire worldview been wrong all along?"
Everyone was thoroughly familiar with Beedrill, infamous as the bully of the forest. After all, almost every trainer had clashed with one while starting their Pokémon journey.
Precisely because of their familiarity, no one could fathom how such a common Pokémon dared to challenge Zapdos—and why Zapdos seemed wary of it.
---
"Kreeee!"
Zapdos emitted a furious cry, angrier than ever. Since when did a mere Beedrill dare to challenge it? Clearly, it didn't value its life!
Feeling its dignity as a Legendary Pokémon challenged, Zapdos vowed to harshly punish this ignorant insect.
With a powerful beat of its golden wings—
Countless bolts of lightning tore from the clouds, aiming directly at Beedrill.
Inside the plane, passengers instinctively shut their eyes, expecting doom.
To them, there was no way Beedrill could withstand this devastating attack. Once it fell, they would surely be next.
Yet, as lightning fell, Beedrill's form suddenly blurred into rapid motion.
Even lightning itself couldn't catch its agile movements—each strike easily dodged.
"So fast… so strong!"
Inside the cockpit, the captain and Xiao Cao stared wide-eyed, clearly witnessing the clash.
The lightning they'd considered unavoidable had been casually dodged by Beedrill. And its next move left them even more stunned:
Crossing its stingers before its chest, Bug-type energy surged powerfully.
Incredibly, Beedrill was launching an attack against Zapdos!
A Bug-type Pokémon attacking a Flying-type Legendary was unthinkable. Had anyone told the captain this before, he would've given them a good smack upside the head.
But now, it was happening right before his eyes.
"Bzz!"
A crimson [X-Scissor] slammed directly into Zapdos, perfectly triggering Beedrill's [Sniper] ability.
Despite being a Bug-type move, [X-Scissor] inflicted significant damage on Zapdos, causing it to cry out in pain.
Now fully enraged, Zapdos finally grew serious. Folding its wings inward, countless shining stones began circling around it.
As [Ancient Power] surged forth, Zapdos's body momentarily flashed, its aura strengthening further!
[Ancient Power]: Using this move has a chance to boost all of the user's stats!
Zapdos had gotten lucky—it triggered [Ancient Power's] secondary effect.
Fortunately, only its special defense had increased. Had its attack, special attack, or speed risen, Beedrill's situation would have become significantly worse.
After all, against Zapdos—another Champion-Tier Pokémon—Beedrill had neither type nor strength advantages.
Pigeoooot—!
Taillow—!
At that moment, two familiar cries echoed from afar.
Swellow and Pidgeot were flying toward them from a distance.
"Captain! Look!" Xiao Cao excitedly shouted, spotting the approaching Pokémon. "It's Swellow and Pidgeot!"
"What?" The captain turned in disbelief. To his astonishment, the two Pokémon were indeed alive.
Though both bore clear signs of earlier lightning injuries, they were unquestionably Swellow and Pidgeot.
Moreover, the captain noticed someone riding atop Pidgeot's back—a masked figure whose face was obscured.
It was, of course, Guo Yi.
After healing both Swellow and Pidgeot, he'd temporarily borrowed Pidgeot as his mount. He didn't have a Flying-type Pokémon himself, after all. As his savior, Pidgeot naturally wouldn't refuse this request.
Seeing this mysterious figure atop Pidgeot, a sudden thought occurred to the captain:
Could he be the trainer of that Beedrill?
It didn't take long for his guess to be confirmed.
"Beedrill, dodge with [Double Team]!"
"Then follow up with [Poison Jab]!"
Standing confidently on Pidgeot's back, Guo Yi commanded his Pokémon while scanning Zapdos with his analytical skill, [Data Eye]:
[Zapdos (Electric/Flying)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv90 (Champion)]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Moves: Ancient Power, Thunder, Discharge, Zap Cannon, Drill Peck, Wild Charge, Brave Bird, Steel Wing (commonly used)]
[Egg Moves: None]
[Held Item: None]
[Potential: Master]
"A Level-90 Zapdos—just a step away from Master Tier…"
"This battle will be an enormous challenge for Beedrill."
Guo Yi frowned deeply.
Ordinary Pokémon already struggled at the same level as Legendary Pokémon due to inherent differences. Moreover, Beedrill faced severe type disadvantages here.
This fight would be brutal, even tougher than confronting Tapu Koko had been. Though Tapu Koko was Master-Tier, it hadn't unleashed its full strength, and had remained passive, rarely initiating attacks.
But Zapdos wasn't interested in holding back.
Seeing Beedrill charging forward, stingers glowing deep violet, Zapdos let out a piercing cry, wings once again shining with metallic brilliance as it counterattacked head-on.
CLANG!
Steel clashed against poison, both Pokémon locking attacks.
Yet Zapdos's [Steel Wing] easily blocked Beedrill's poison.
And that wasn't all.
As the two combatants separated, electric arcs danced around Zapdos's body—
Then, piercing the darkness, a massive bolt of lightning thundered down from above.
Thunder—a devastating Electric-type move!
In these stormy conditions, Zapdos could freely unleash lightning without concern for accuracy.
Unable to evade in time, Beedrill was struck directly by the thunderous strike!