"All right, enough already!"
"Stop fighting!"
Seeing the two Pokémon about to start a brawl, Guo Yi hurriedly stepped forward to mediate.
Beedrill immediately backed off upon hearing his voice, obediently staying to one side—discipline fully maxed out.
Zapdos, however, was still feeling rather disgruntled. But since he'd already acknowledged Guo Yi as his trainer, it would look awkward to suddenly retract that admission now. Thus, he could only lift his head defiantly, holding onto the last shred of his pride.
Guo Yi chuckled softly at Zapdos' stubbornly prideful appearance.
"Come on, Zapdos."
"There's no need to feel so resentful. With Beedrill's current strength, even without my help, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."
When Beedrill had broken through earlier, Zapdos had already fainted, so he wasn't aware that he was no longer on the same level as Beedrill.
Zapdos instantly bristled upon hearing Guo Yi's words and opened his beak to retort. But before he could speak—
Guo Yi continued to explain calmly, "Beedrill has already surpassed Champion-Tier."
The instant those words left his mouth, disbelief flashed through Zapdos' eyes.
Impossible!
How could a Pokémon who'd only defeated him with a trainer's assistance surpass the realm he'd always dreamed of?
"Beedrill!" Guo Yi called out, noticing Zapdos' skeptical gaze.
Understanding immediately, Beedrill released the aura he had been suppressing, instantly revealing his true Master-Tier strength.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
Guo Yi suddenly shot a glance at Mewtwo.
In the next instant—
Zapdos, who had yet to recover from the shock of Beedrill's breakthrough, suddenly felt an even more terrifying aura descend upon him like the crushing weight of Mount Tai, completely suffocating him.
At that moment, all traces of arrogance vanished from Zapdos' eyes.
Ridiculous!
Both Pokémon before me are stronger than I am. What right do I have to remain proud?
Seeing that the timing was about right, Guo Yi calmly extended an invitation to Zapdos.
"So, Zapdos, are you willing to become my partner now?"
He quickly added, "But if you're unwilling, I won't force you."
"When your strength has fully recovered, you can leave freely."
Capturing Zapdos was certainly a gratifying event. But a forced bond would never be meaningful. If Zapdos truly desired freedom, Guo Yi wouldn't impose himself.
Beedrill's breakthrough had made it crystal clear to him:
Bonds were a force as formidable as raw power—sometimes even more so.
This power couldn't be measured simply by level or stats. Only when trainer and Pokémon genuinely connected could this strength fully manifest. If their hearts weren't aligned, Pokémon battles would become nothing more than cold calculations, effective only in advantageous situations. Once disadvantaged, turning the tables would become nearly impossible.
And that kind of relationship with Pokémon wasn't something Guo Yi wanted.
Zapdos, upon hearing Guo Yi's words, felt an inexplicable emotion stir within his heart.
For Legendary Pokémon of his caliber, captured by humans, who had ever considered their feelings? If they cooperated, fine. If not, humans had plenty of ways to force compliance.
Zapdos fell into deep contemplation.
Guo Yi patiently waited beside him, not rushing his decision in the slightest.
After five minutes, Zapdos finally responded.
[I can become your Pokémon, but you must help me win the Divine Battle.]
"The Divine Battle?"
Guo Yi was hearing this phrase for the very first time.
Zapdos quickly explained what the Divine Battle was.
Simply put, it was a battle among the gods—or more precisely, among Legendary Pokémon. Naturally, it wasn't about first-class legends. Battles among them would easily destroy heaven and earth and couldn't casually happen.
Instead, this Divine Battle was limited to second-tier Legendary Pokémon, specifically among the Three Legendary Birds—Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres.
Curiously, only these three engaged in such battles. Other second-tier Legendaries—like Suicune, Entei, Landorus, and Tornadus—had no similar tradition.
The reason was simple: The Three Legendary Birds each had their own clans. Wherever there were clans, there would inevitably be conflict. Thus, the Divine Battle had emerged as a way to settle disputes.
Any Pokémon confident in its strength could challenge the current holder of the Divine position. The winner would assume authority as the new guardian deity.
Defeating the current holder and claiming the Divine position had been Zapdos' lifelong ambition since he was young.
…
"I see."
"Then it's settled. If there's anything you need during the Divine Battle, I'll do everything in my power to support you."
Once Guo Yi understood the stakes, he immediately made his promise.
If this had involved first-class legends, perhaps Guo Yi wouldn't have spoken with such confidence.
Yet a second-tier Legendary...
That's not impossible for me to handle.
Seeing Guo Yi agree, Zapdos slowly lowered his head in front of him—a gesture clearly expressing submission.
Guo Yi reached out instinctively, gently touching Zapdos' feathers.
Immediately afterward, his expression showed slight surprise.
He had expected the feathers to feel sharp like spikes, but instead, they were surprisingly soft. This softness was one of Zapdos' unique traits. Only during battles, when lightning surged throughout its body, would these feathers harden like needles, providing formidable external defense. Otherwise, they were no different from ordinary bird feathers.
After completely subduing Zapdos, Guo Yi swiftly took out three servings of Pokéblocks from the system, placing them before each Pokémon.
Following such a fierce battle, Beedrill and Zapdos were already ravenous and couldn't resist the temptation of these Perfect-grade Pokéblocks. Without hesitation, they began eagerly devouring them.
Mewtwo, however, hesitated, turning the Pokéblock over several times, inspecting it curiously.
Under Guo Yi's expectant gaze, Mewtwo finally placed it into his mouth, his expression immediately relaxing into one of quiet enjoyment.
Taking advantage of the moment while his Pokémon enjoyed their meal, Guo Yi retrieved the Master Ball and examined it thoughtfully.
[Master Ball]:Pokémon Mewtwo registered. Spend 100,000 Mentor Points to summon Mewtwo in any of its forms for one hour.
"Although using it to save the plane passengers wasted one opportunity... at least the Master Ball isn't a single-use item. I'll still be able to summon Mewtwo again in the future."
Guo Yi sighed inwardly. Though he had used the Master Ball without hesitation to rescue the passengers, he still felt some regret afterward. After all, properly used, this Master Ball could have been a trump card against even first-tier Legendaries.
Fortunately, not all hope was lost.
A hundred thousand Mentor Points was substantial, but not unattainable with some effort.
---
As the rescue team arrived, the passengers were swiftly evacuated to safety.
"Grandfather, thank you so much... I didn't expect you'd have to step in personally again."
Inside a private aircraft, Shu Xinni apologized guiltily to her grandfather.
She had never anticipated that at his advanced age, Chairman Shu would still be running about and pulling strings on her behalf.
The quick arrival of the rescue teams was all thanks to Chairman Shu. Without him personally leveraging his influence, the League's rescue response would never have been so swift.
Yet Chairman Shu only smiled warmly, gently holding his granddaughter's delicate hand with his own coarse one.
"It's nothing! As long as you're safe, no effort is too great."
Before confirming his granddaughter's safety, Chairman Shu had worn such a severe expression that even his trusted butler dared not approach him.
But now that he knew Shu Xinni was unharmed, the heavy burden had finally lifted from his heart.
With a soft sigh, he continued, "You were exceptionally lucky this time, encountering such a powerful trainer."
Chairman Shu had learned every detail of the crash from Shu Xinni herself. Had he not heard it directly from his granddaughter, he would never have believed that an ordinary Beedrill could exhibit such extraordinary strength.
"Grandfather, do you have any leads on this mysterious trainer?"
Recalling Guo Yi commanding Beedrill in battle against Zapdos, Shu Xinni's heart trembled slightly.
Is this what they call falling in love?
But alas!
After the battle ended, the mysterious trainer disappeared immediately. Shu Xinni didn't even have the chance to see his face, let alone exchange contact information.
Her only hope was that her well-informed grandfather might have some insight.
Yet Chairman Shu shook his head helplessly, equally baffled.
In his memory, the one most renowned for cultivating Bug-type Pokémon was unquestionably Lin Feng, the Bug-type Elite Four.
Though Lin Feng was considered the weakest among the Dragon Nation's Elite Four, being part of the Elite Four still placed him at an entirely different level from ordinary trainers.
Yet even Lin Feng, known for his expertise with Bug-types, couldn't cultivate such a powerful Beedrill. If even Lin Feng couldn't manage it, then no one else even warranted consideration.
Besides, according to Shu Xinni, this mysterious trainer was young. Chairman Shu had never even heard rumors of such a prodigious youth.
Seeing even her grandfather was at a loss, Shu Xinni's spirits sank.
Sigh.
Will I ever get another chance to thank my savior properly?
"President Shu, look at this!" Jiang Rou, Shu Xinni's secretary, suddenly said excitedly. "Someone posted a video of that battle on Douyin!"
She held out her phone, playing the short video of Guo Yi directing Beedrill against Zapdos.
Even though Shu Xinni had witnessed it firsthand, rewatching the scene left her speechless once again, the shock beyond words.
Yet when she scrolled down to the comments, her mood quickly soured. Netizens insisted the video was merely elaborate CGI.
[Sure, the visuals look impressive, but this is obviously fake. How could a Legendary Pokémon lose to a forest bully like Beedrill?!]
[Exactly! If the protagonist were Dragonite or Salamence, maybe it'd be believable—but a Beedrill? Ridiculous!]
[To be fair, the content is absurd, but the author's editing skills are top-notch. I genuinely can't spot any CGI traces. Btw, are you taking students?]
The rest of the comments either mocked the author's choice of protagonist or praised the incredible special effects, begging the uploader to teach them.
The video's original uploader tried desperately to clarify:
[Everyone, this video isn't fake! I survived Flight 573's crash. Everything you see here was personally witnessed and filmed by me—100% authentic]
But netizens remained unconvinced, responding mockingly.
"Sure, your editing skills are great, but no need to go that far to convince us!"
"Yeah right! Impossible to be real."
"Even Elite Four Lin Feng said training a Beedrill to Elite Four-tier was already the absolute limit!"
"Right! Could this mystery trainer possibly surpass even the Elite Four?"
…
The disbelief mainly stemmed from an interview given by Lin Feng himself, in which he explicitly stated that raising a Beedrill to Elite Four-tier was already his maximum limit—even though Beedrill was his starter Pokémon.
Due to Lin Feng's authority on Bug-types, the public dismissed the video outright as special-effects editing. The uploader had earlier stated that Zapdos effortlessly defeated an Elite Four-Tier Pidgeot, meaning the Zapdos must be above Elite Four-Tier—Champion-Level at least. If even Lin Feng couldn't handle a Champion-Level Pokémon, how could an ordinary Beedrill do it?
Although Lin Feng was indeed the weakest among the Dragon Nation's Elite Four, he was the most popular by far. Neither the powerful Dragon-type specialist Jin Peng nor the intelligent and beautiful Psychic-type Su Xiaxuan came close in popularity.
Lin Feng's rise from humble origins as a Bug Catcher to the Elite Four was even featured as an inspirational documentary on Pokémon TV 2.3, deeply resonating with ordinary trainers.
Moreover, due to the Dragon Nation's unique policy, every eligible citizen could receive a starter Pokémon for free—though obtaining one of the Three Starters required luck or money. Such generosity was unmatched worldwide. Even the Eagle Nation, the global powerhouse of Pokémon training, required its citizens to either catch Pokémon themselves or pay exorbitant prices to obtain starters.
This policy resulted in a massive population of civilian trainers, greatly boosting Lin Feng's popularity among the masses.
Just as netizens were pressuring the uploader for another "edited" video, an unexpected comment appeared:
[Hate to say it, but this video genuinely shows no signs of editing.]
"Editing Lessons with Ah Chao" was a popular streamer known for freely sharing video editing tutorials, boasting a large following. His comment momentarily swayed public opinion.
Yet most still refused to accept the video's authenticity. Haters quickly accused Ah Chao of envy, suggesting he feared losing fans to a superior editor, and accused him of dishonestly defending the uploader.
Thus, the controversy only deepened further.