"Have you heard? The disasters hitting Dragon Country this time seem pretty serious!"
"Yeah! Droughts, floods, earthquakes—everything's happening all at once."
"Troubled times, for real…"
"I just hope things calm down soon."
In the classroom, students were buzzing with discussion.
After all, so many major disasters breaking out together—this was a first in Dragon Country's history.
"Ahem."
With a light clearing of his throat, Guo Yi walked in from the doorway carrying his teaching materials.
Every student immediately sat up straight.
Setting the materials down, Guo Yi relayed the Academic Affairs Office's message to the class.
"I'm sure everyone already knows about the natural disasters that have been striking Dragon Country lately. Because of how frequently these disasters are occurring, all kinds of Pokémon Secret Realms have been appearing nonstop, which makes rescue operations far more difficult."
"Therefore, the League hopes each school can dispatch Pokémon squads to support the disaster areas."
"I hope everyone will sign up enthusiastically."
The moment he finished, the room boiled over with fervor.
"I'm signing up—I want to support the disaster zones!"
"My Pokémon are Water-type. I can go support the drought relief in the north!
"All my Pokémon are Fighting-type. I can head to Chengdu for emergency rescue!"
"Me too—!"
Just as the students excitedly began picking where they wanted to go, Guo Yi couldn't help pouring a bucket of cold water on them.
"Don't get carried away. I'm not finished yet."
"This disaster situation is different from the past."
"According to reports from the front, the Pokémon appearing in these Secret Realms this time aren't weak. So, to ensure your safety and keep rescue work running smoothly…"
"Any student who wants to sign up must have at least one Ace-level Pokémon."
As soon as that condition was announced, a lot of students let out long sighs.
"No way… Ace-level?"
"At that level, aside from upperclassmen, how many freshmen even have one?"
"Looks like the people going will mostly be upperclassmen. We should just stay here and study like we're supposed to."
"Ace-level, huh? My Hariyama is only one step away. If I cram in a few days of special training, maybe I can break through."
"I wonder if, after all this, new Pokémon will show up again."
Disasters caused Secret Realms to erupt more frequently—but more Secret Realms also meant more chances for brand-new Pokémon to appear.
If your luck held and you caught one you'd never seen before…
You'd hit the jackpot.
Facing the signup decision, Su Qingxue and Hu Yan'er were also debating intensely.
"Xue, where do you think we should go support?" How about we go to the north? We might even run into Yongsen."
Hu Yan'er offered the suggestion.
Relief was relief—didn't it all count the same no matter where you went?
Besides, if they went north and He Yongsen needed a hand, she could help out.
"Good idea," Su Qingxue said, nodding in agreement.
They were fellow disciples. If they could help, of course they'd do it without hesitation.
"But we should still ask Teacher what he thinks."
Even if the final call was theirs, Guo Yi's opinion carried decisive weight.
"Mm."
"Then after class, we'll go ask Teacher together."
...
Beep-beep-beep!
As the class bell rang, every student immediately stopped chatting and began listening intently.
"We've already covered Sandstorms, Hail, and Sunny Weather."
"Next, I'll be teaching Rain. As everyone knows, at the moment there's only one Rain Weather setter: Pelipper."
"And the Abilities and Pokémon that can pair with Rain include…"
After nearly three months of lectures, Guo Yi's Weather Tactics course was nearing its end.
Of course, that didn't mean he was preparing a brand-new curriculum.
On the contrary.
For the rest of the semester, he would continue building around the four weather types, going into far greater detail.
He would also provide technical support for students interested in assembling full weather teams.
And under Guo Yi's vivid, engaging explanations, the students listened as if spellbound.
Even when the end-of-class bell rang, they were still immersed in the sea of knowledge, reluctant to surface.
Only when Guo Yi spoke again did they slowly come back to themselves.
"About the support mission I mentioned earlier—"
"Students who meet the requirements and are interested can sign up on the school's official website."
"All right. Class dismissed!"
With that, Guo Yi gathered his materials and headed straight out of the classroom.
Su Qingxue and Hu Yan'er hurried after him.
"Teacher! Teacher, wait!"
They called repeatedly from behind.
"Qingxue, Yan'er—what is it?" Guo Yi stopped and asked.
Both of them shook their heads, indicating it wasn't about the lesson.
Su Qingxue stepped forward to take the materials from him, then asked, "Teacher, we want to ask about the relief assignment."
Guo Yi walked toward the office as he replied, "Relief?"
"You two have ideas of your own?"
He wasn't surprised they wanted to go.
Given what he knew of them, when it came to matters of right and wrong—if they had the strength, they wouldn't hesitate to do their part.
"We do have an idea," Hu Yan'er said from behind.
"Xue and I want to go north. That way, maybe we'll have a chance to help Yongsen."
"The north?" Guo Yi shook his head immediately. "That's not a good idea."
The northern disaster was mainly wildfire—and among their Pokémon, only Su Qingxue's Nidoqueen could contribute meaningfully when it came to putting out flames.
As for the others… well. That would be rough.
Because firefighting wasn't like other kinds of disaster relief. It demanded more specialized expertise from the people involved.
If Hu Yan'er and the others went, they'd most likely end up doing logistics support.
It would be hard for them to get onto the front line.
And that would be a waste of their capabilities.
After thinking for a moment, Guo Yi gave his own suggestion.
"If the two of you want to do disaster relief, then Qingxue is better suited for Chengdu, and Yan'er, you're better suited for Yunlong Dam."
"Secret Realms caused by earthquakes mainly have Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon. With Nidoqueen, plus Beedrill and Aron, there won't be many Pokémon in those Secret Realms that can match you."
"And as for Yunlong Dam, I've heard a lot of Water-type Secret Realms have appeared there—Pikachu's paradise. So that's naturally the best place for you, Yan'er."
In his view, disaster relief wasn't something you charged into on hot blood alone.
Trainers who intended to help should choose a disaster zone that fit their own Pokémon lineup.
That was how relief operations became faster and more effective.
After hearing Guo Yi's suggestion, Hu Yan'er froze for a moment, a reluctant pang rising in her chest.
"Ah…"
"If that's what you're saying, Teacher, then doesn't that mean I have to split up from Xue?"
If they did that…
Wouldn't that mean all of Teacher's disciples were heading to different disaster zones, with no way to look out for each other?
Guo Yi chuckled softly. "Yan'er, even fledglings have to spread their wings someday."
"In the end, the road to becoming truly strong is one you can only walk yourself."
He understood Hu Yan'er's personality well.
She had her own thoughts and opinions, yes—but not many of them.
Especially when Su Qingxue or Guo Yi were beside her, Hu Yan'er would naturally stop thinking for herself.
Whatever they said, she did.
They wouldn't harm her, after all.
And without realizing it, she'd come to rely on them.
That was part of why Guo Yi made this suggestion—he wanted to train Hu Yan'er's own independent ability.
Meanwhile, Su Qingxue felt her teacher's advice made perfect sense.
After all, they were going to do emergency rescue 963 disaster relief—not go sightseeing.
Naturally, they needed to maximize what their Pokémon could do.
Since even Su Qingxue agreed, Hu Yan'er had no grounds to refuse.
"Teacher, then we'll do it your way. Xue and I will go sign up."
With that, Hu Yan'er grabbed Su Qingxue and ran off toward the dorms.
"Sigh…"
"Troubling times," Guo Yi murmured, looking up at the drizzling, overcast sky as he shook his head.
Then he stepped forward and continued toward his office.
...
And at that very moment…
At the Dragon Country Pokémon League General Headquarters in the Capital City, an emergency meeting was already underway.
A plain, ordinary round table seated five people.
And yet—
Not one of them was ordinary.
Jin Peng, the Dragon-type Elite Four, a red cloak draped over his shoulders.
Su Xiaxuan, the Psychic-type Elite Four, a faint, unreadable smile on her face.
Li Bing, the Water-type Elite Four, hair falling to her waist, her expression cold as ice.
All three of Dragon Country's Elite Four were present.
As for the remaining two—
One was Gu Yuan, the current Champion of Dragon Country.
The other was the Chairman of the Pokémon League General Headquarters.
These were people with the power to decide Dragon Country's future.
And yet, for the moment, they only sat in silence, saying nothing—
As though waiting for someone.
Minutes later, the door slowly opened.
A middle-aged man with an unremarkable face stepped in, apologetic.
"Sorry."
"I kept everyone waiting."
It was the last of the Elite Four—Bug-type Elite Four Lin Feng.
He'd been doing special training in a Secret Realm and arrived a step late.
"It's fine," the Chairman said calmly from the seat of honor, speaking up for him. "This happened suddenly. Elite Four Lin was out in the field—it's normal that he's late."
Once Elite Four Lin took his seat, the highest-level meeting in Dragon Country officially began.
Gu Yuan looked to Jin Peng.
"Elite Four Jin—report everything your search teams have gathered. Tell us, one by one."
---
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