However—
The figure engulfed by flames suffered no harm whatsoever, instead releasing a spirited bark. In the next instant, all the fire was entirely absorbed into its own body.
"Arcanine!"
Leng Yun broke into a relieved smile at the sight of the Pokémon shielding them. Not just because Arcanine had successfully defended against the combined [Flamethrowers] of the Pyroar, but more importantly, he spotted the rescue team insignia on its body.
This meant rescue had finally arrived.
Seeing their combined attacks blocked, the Pyroar couple became even more enraged. Roaring furiously, the male Pyroar charged Arcanine directly—
[Take Down]: a reckless, powerful move damaging both attacker and defender.
"Woof!"
Arcanine barked twice, effortlessly dodging Pyroar's reckless charge using [Extreme Speed].
As a rescue Pokémon, Arcanine clearly understood his mission—avoid unnecessary battles if possible. If unavoidable, he would fight using methods minimizing energy consumption.
With agile precision, Arcanine quickly appeared beside Pyroar, launching two swift, powerful kicks.
[Double Kick]—Fighting-type, highly effective!
Pyroar yelped loudly under the barrage of kicks.
"Venusaur, restrain Pyroar with [Vine Whip]!"
Leng Yun immediately seized the chance to help. Since Pyroar had bullied them two-on-one, it was their turn to taste similar treatment.
"Vena!"
Two sturdy vine whips lashed out from Venusaur's back like serpents, tightly binding Pyroar in place.
"Arcanine, quickly!"
Seeing Pyroar temporarily immobilized, Leng Yun shouted urgently. Pyroar, after all, was a Fire-type Pokémon—breaking free from vines wouldn't pose much difficulty.
Arcanine gave a brief nod, immediately lunging at Pyroar with jaws wide open—
Crackle!
Sparks of electricity danced fiercely between Arcanine's teeth as [Thunder Fang] bit into Pyroar's body. Instantly, powerful currents surged through Pyroar, causing his resistance to collapse as he slumped weakly.
Seeing her mate losing, the female Pyroar rushed forward to aid him—but before she could move, several massive stones materialized in midair, raining down and burying her completely.
Moments later, He Yongsen and his rescue team emerged through the flames.
Seeing the Pyroar subdued by Arcanine and Venusaur, He Yongsen breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness we made it!"
He and his team had become extremely worried upon hearing the screams of the two fleeing instructors, mistakenly believing the camp was already under assault by wild Pokémon. Without hesitation, he'd ordered Arcanine ahead alone to assist immediately.
...
"Hello, I'm the rescue team leader. What's the situation in camp right now?"
After they'd completely subdued the still-resisting Pyroar, He Yongsen quickly asked for an update.
Leng Yun promptly answered, "There are ten students in camp and just one other instructor left besides me."
He Yongsen nodded, but after scanning the area, confusion filled his face. Aside from the two Pyroar, no other wild Pokémon were visible.
Then what had caused the earlier screams?
Noticing He Yongsen's puzzled expression, Leng Yun explained quietly, "Earlier, two instructors left camp to… scout the situation."
Instantly, He Yongsen understood perfectly.
"Scouting the situation"—merely a polite euphemism. Under such dangerous conditions, what situation was there left to scout? Clearly, they'd intended to abandon their students and flee.
He Yongsen felt deep contempt toward their actions, though their tragic outcome tempered any anger he might have expressed.
"We've opened an escape route on our way up," He Yongsen quickly informed him. "We need to evacuate immediately!"
The wildfire continued spreading rapidly. The path they'd created might vanish at any moment; time was of the essence!
They quickly placed the students onto Numel and Arcanine, swiftly retreating along the escape route. Everyone silently gave thanks—the Secret Realm had appeared without blocking their way out. Had it done so, not only rescuing others but even their own survival would have been uncertain.
---
Whoosh!
A sharp gleam flashed, followed swiftly by Beedrill's twin needles piercing forward like a dragon.
With that decisive strike, the last Magcargo collapsed. Nearby, dozens of Slugma already lay unconscious—another Pokémon colony wiped out effortlessly by Beedrill.
None among the Magcargo colony showed exceptional talent, so Guo Yi simply retrieved the item indicated by the opportunity and left with Beedrill.
"At last, I've collected enough [Mentor Points]."
After selling all his newly acquired Pokémon items to the system, Guo Yi finally reached 15,000 [Mentor Points].
Without hesitation, he spent heavily—purchasing the special opportunity costing 10,000 points.
Information immediately unfolded before him:
[A thousand years ago, the legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh underwent rebirth at this volcano, leaving behind a precious Rainbow Wing imbued with a portion of Ho-Oh's divine power. It possesses resurrection abilities and grants tremendous boosts to Fire or Flying-type Pokémon.]
[Note: A thousand-year-old Ninetales guards this Rainbow Wing.]
"So it's a [Rainbow Wing]... no wonder the price was a hefty 10,000 [Mentor Points]."
Seeing the true nature of the mysterious feather, Guo Yi felt his investment was undoubtedly worth it.
Setting aside other considerations, just its resurrection ability alone made its value immeasurable.
Yet obtaining such a treasure wouldn't be easy.
"A Ninetales that's lived a thousand years..."
"The strength of such a Pokémon must be terrifying!"
"I wonder if it's reached the Master-Tier yet...?"
Guo Yi pondered thoughtfully.
A thousand years of cultivation—even a pig would probably reach Champion-Tier strength by then, let alone a mystical Pokémon like Ninetales.
Legend had it that Ninetales emerged from the fusion of nine celestial beings, each possessing divine power, making it a Pokémon shrouded in mystery. Each of its nine tails was said to contain unique, secret powers, granting it a lifespan of a thousand years.
And although this Ninetales hadn't consumed the [Rainbow Wing], merely guarding it closely would subtly but steadily enhance its potential and strength.
Such a Ninetales undoubtedly possessed incredible power!
[Ding! Opportunity alert!]
[Please check immediately!]
A sudden system notification caught Guo Yi's attention. Seeing the large exclamation mark beside [Opportunity], curiosity surged through him.
This was the first time Guo Yi had encountered such an unexpected notification.
He immediately opened the message:
[Obtain the Rainbow Wing and reach the specified location within 30 minutes to acquire a disciple with Blue template potential.]
Simultaneously, a detailed map materialized in his hand.
"A Blue template!"
Guo Yi was astonished.
Blue!
The legendary trainer who'd evenly matched the greatest trainer of them all, Red, and even briefly held the upper hand early on.
A disciple with potential no weaker than Su Qingxue's!
"Thirty minutes…"
"Looks like I'll have to brute-force it," Guo Yi muttered, eyes locking onto the distant volcano. He immediately released Zapdos from its Poké Ball.
Given his current distance, if he traveled on foot, he'd barely make it to the volcano in half an hour—let alone fight the thousand-year-old Ninetales, retrieve the [Rainbow Wing], and reach the designated location.
Zapdos was his only option.
Upon emerging, Zapdos cast a disdainful glance toward Beedrill, arrogantly turning its head away. Even though Beedrill was stronger, Zapdos refused to acknowledge him with anything resembling respect.
Guo Yi wasted no words, immediately mounting Zapdos's back.
"Zapdos, fly straight to that volcano's crater!" he commanded, urgency clear.
Time was precious; he had no moment to spare on explanations.
Zapdos didn't hesitate either. Though displeased with Beedrill, that was strictly between Pokémon. Having accepted Guo Yi as its trainer, Zapdos naturally obeyed every command without question.
"Skreee!"
With a fierce cry, Zapdos spread its wings and soared rapidly toward the smoking volcano, Beedrill following swiftly behind.
Even without a divine title, Zapdos's entrance remained undeniably imposing.
Dark thunderclouds gathered overhead, casting an ominous shadow as if signaling the world's end.
Every wild Pokémon sensing this overwhelming presence instantly cowered, bodies pressed flat against the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Despite their aggressive temperament heightened by the natural disaster, none dared to defy the aura of a legendary.
Meanwhile, deep within the volcano, a Ninetales cloaked in shimmering silver-gray fur slowly opened her eyes. Clearly, she had sensed Zapdos's presence as well.
Without hesitation, Ninetales rose gracefully. With several agile leaps, she swiftly ascended from the molten depths to a platform at the volcano's edge.
Her gaze turned sharply toward the approaching energy.
Soon enough, she spotted the luminous, lightning-wreathed figure in the sky—and the human riding upon Zapdos's back.
"A Shiny Ninetales!"
At the same moment, Guo Yi noticed her too, instantly recognizing the rare coloration distinct from ordinary Ninetales.
A Shiny variant without a doubt.
Guo Yi wasn't particularly shocked. After all, for a fox who'd lived a millennium, unusual fur color hardly seemed worth fussing over.
Truthfully, a Ninetales surviving for a thousand years wasn't unprecedented. Even certain Dragon-type Pokémon could achieve such lifespans.
But simply able to live a thousand years versus already lived that long was worlds apart.
A millennium was evidence enough of extraordinary power.
[Ninetales (Fire)]
[Gender: ♀]
[Level: Lv92 (Master-Level)]
[Ability: Drought]
[Moves: Nasty Plot, Flamethrower, Inferno, Captivate, Fire Blast, Extrasensory, Solar Beam, Dream Eater, Safeguard (Commonly Used)]
[Egg Move: Hypnosis]
[Held Item: Charcoal (Master-Tier)]
[Potential: Master-Tier]
Lv92! A whole level higher than even Beedrill!
Combined with her natural type advantage over Beedrill, and her mastery of psychic moves—particularly the dangerous [Hypnosis]-[Dream Eater] combo—this battle promised difficulty.
If used skillfully, opponents could lose without ever waking from their nightmares.
For Guo Yi, this would undoubtedly be a challenging battle.
As Guo Yi landed atop the crater, a gentle female voice echoed clearly inside his mind:
"Human, why have you come here?"
Ninetales gazed warily at Guo Yi and his two Pokémon, her eyes lingering especially on the seemingly ordinary Beedrill.
It was precisely Beedrill, not Zapdos, who gave her the deepest sense of threat.
Zapdos?
Regrettably, a mere Zapdos hardly registered to her at all.
Having lived a thousand years, she'd even glimpsed Ho-Oh—a true first-tier Legendary—in her youth. What significance could a minor deity, a member of the Legendary Birds without even divine authority, possibly hold for her?
"Skree!"
Zapdos, sensing her dismissive glance, let out an indignant cry—but refrained from action.
Because, frankly speaking, its current strength didn't allow for anything else.
In Zapdos's mind, its trainer was simply absurd.
In its long solitary past, encountering a Master-Tier Pokémon was rare—Champions only surfaced occasionally in legendary clashes. Yet this trainer not only commanded two Master-Tier Pokémon himself, but now casually stumbled upon yet another.
Zapdos wasn't sure whether Guo Yi's luck was incredibly good or tragically terrible.
Guo Yi wasn't overly surprised by Ninetales's telepathic communication. After living so long, acquiring special abilities was hardly unusual.
"Ninetales," Guo Yi replied directly, making no attempt to disguise his intentions, "I'm here for the [Rainbow Wing]."
Regardless of whether Ninetales grew angry or not, giving up the [Rainbow Wing] was never an option.
Since lying wouldn't change the outcome, Guo Yi saw no reason to conceal his goal.
Surprisingly, when Ninetales heard the phrase [Rainbow Wing], her expression remained calm—almost indifferent.
Does she not know what a [Rainbow Wing] is?
This realization quickly dawned on Guo Yi. After all, [Rainbow Wing] was the official term used in his previous world. It made sense that Ninetales wouldn't know it by that name.
Indeed, as soon as Guo Yi clarified that he sought "the feather left behind from Ho-Oh's rebirth," Ninetales's expression turned fiercely hostile.
"Human, leave immediately!"
"This object is not something you may covet."
"Bzz!"
Sensing Ninetales's fury, Beedrill immediately positioned himself defensively in front of Guo Yi.
"Sorry," Guo Yi shook his head firmly, his gaze sharpening. "The [Rainbow Wing] is just as important to me—I cannot give it up."
"Zapdos, [Rain Dance]!"
Since peaceful negotiation wasn't possible, battle was the only solution. Whether for the sake of the 10,000 [Mentor Points] he'd invested, or to acquire a disciple with Blue's Potential, Guo Yi had no room for hesitation.
"Skreee!"
Zapdos immediately ascended into the dark thunderclouds. Moments later, heavy raindrops poured down from above.
As a Legendary Pokémon wielding control over thunder, conjuring a rainstorm—even above a volcanic crater—posed no difficulty.
Sssss—!
Steam hissed violently from the scorching rock as raindrops struck relentlessly, rapidly cloaking the area in rising vapor.
Seeing this, Ninetales wasted no more time and immediately launched her attack.