"Brother Lin, wait!"
Lin Feng hadn't gone far from the General Headquarters when he heard Jin Peng calling after him.
"Xiaopeng, are you here to discuss the operation?" Lin Feng asked.
Don't be fooled—Jin Peng came from a great clan like the Jin family, while Lin Feng was a symbol of the common folk.
But their relationship was far better than outsiders imagined.
Jin Peng strode up, slung an arm around Lin Feng's shoulder without a hint of restraint, and spoke as they walked.
"It's a little related to the operation, but not that much."
"I'm planning to invite someone as reinforcement."
Since they would be acting together, if Jin Peng wanted to pull in an outsider, he naturally had to ask Lin Feng what he thought.
After all, this mission was extremely important.
Hearing that, Lin Feng's interest was immediately piqued.
"Who?"
"Someone you need to personally invite?"
For all that Jin Peng seemed easygoing right now, Lin Feng knew him well.
Anyone Jin Peng went out of his way to invite wouldn't be ordinary.
And just as Lin Feng suspected, the person Jin Peng wanted wasn't ordinary at all.
"Brother Lin—the one I want to invite is Guo Yi, disciple of that 'Bug Master.'"
"Right now, Guo Yi has his teacher's Beedrill and Zapdos. If we can get his help, this trip will be foolproof."
Jin Peng was confident.
With Lin Feng and himself—two Elite Four—Yunlong Dam's safety should be guaranteed.
But he still wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
As their final trump card.
With Beedrill and Zapdos on their side, even if the enemy had a Legendary Pokémon, they wouldn't need to fear.
"So it's him." Lin Feng nodded at once. "Then I've got no objections. The more hands, the more strength."
"It's just a question of whether he'll agree."
Lin Feng had no issue with the request—if anything, he welcomed it.
Perfect. He could see with his own eyes that terrifying Beedrill.
And if he got the chance, Lin Feng even wanted his own Beedrill to learn from it.
"Leave contacting him to me," Jin Peng said.
"We're landing at the Shanghai airport anyway. I'll go invite him in person."
Seeing Lin Feng didn't oppose, Jin Peng was in an even better mood.
Then Jin Peng brought up the matter of Z-Moves.
"Brother Lin—can you lend me that crystal to try? I want to experience it too."
"Please?"
It was a bit abrupt, but Jin Peng was genuinely curious about Z-Moves.
And he wanted to test something as well—
If his Pokémon used a Z-Move, just how much power could it unleash?
"Of course. No problem," Lin Feng said.
"Really?!"
Jin Peng's face lit up in wild delight.
However—Lin Feng immediately cut the excitement short.
"Don't celebrate yet."
"I can lend you the two tools, but there's a condition—you need to have a Bug-type Pokémon."
Jin Peng froze, then shot back, "A Bug-type Pokémon?"
"Does that mean only Bug-types can use that move?"
If only Bug-types could use it, then Jin Peng truly wouldn't be able to use a Z-Move.
There was no way he'd abandon the Dragon-type Pokémon he'd cultivated for years just for a Z-Move, then turn around and raise Bug-types instead.
"I can't say for sure whether it's only Bug-type," Lin Feng said, spreading his hands helplessly.
"But these two tools I have can only release a Bug-type Z-Move."
He'd only managed to learn how to use it.
As for the deeper secrets behind it, Lin Feng didn't understand them at all.
"I see…" Jin Peng lowered his head, falling into thought.
That was true.
These were entirely new Pokémon tools—their knowledge base on them was basically zero.
But he quickly thought of someone who should know more.
The person Jin Peng was planning to invite: Guo Yi.
After all, Guo Yi's teacher could use that power skillfully. As his disciple, Guo Yi surely knew some of the inside details.
So Jin Peng shared his thoughts with Lin Feng.
Lin Feng laughed. "Then it looks like we have no choice but to make this Shanghai trip."
Whether it was to invite Guo Yi, or to uncover the secrets of Z-Moves—
They had to go pay him a visit.
After the two agreed on a departure time, each went home to pack.
...
Two days later.
Shanghai Pokémon University was also making arrangements for this relief operation.
After all, there was no way they could let students head out alone.
Teachers had to lead the teams.
Three disaster zones.
The university would allocate personnel according to the different situations.
And since they needed leaders—Guo Yi naturally became one of the school's top targets.
However.
Just as Tang Ming and Guo Yi were discussing which relief squad he would lead—the sudden arrival of Jin Peng and Lin Feng threw their plans into chaos.
...
The president brought out his treasured tea to treat Jin Peng and Lin Feng.
Then he asked their purpose for coming.
"Elite Four Jin, Elite Four Lin—may I ask what brings you to our university so suddenly?"
At a time like this, with two members of the Elite Four arriving together, they clearly weren't here just to take a stroll.
Lin Feng lifted his teacup and took a light sip.
He stated their goal directly.
"To be honest, President, we're here to invite Teacher Guo Yi to go with us to Yunlong Dam and assist."
As expected.
Hearing they'd come for Guo Yi, the president looked enlightened.
"So it's for Teacher Guo."
"Perfect timing—he's discussing disaster relief arrangements with Director Tang right now. I'll notify him immediately."
"Then we'll trouble you," Jin Peng said.
"No trouble at all."
Very soon—only a few minutes later, there came a knock.
"President, it's me—Guo Yi."
"Come in."
Hearing it was Guo Yi, the president quickly got up and opened the door.
"Teacher Guo, you're here. Elite Four Jin and Elite Four Lin have something to discuss with you."
"You three talk. I'll step out."
The president knew the two Elite Four had business with Guo Yi.
And he was tactful enough to make himself scarce, yielding his office.
Sigh.
Who knew why?
Ever since Guo Yi arrived, whether it was the president or Director Tang, someone always had to give up their office for him.
If only Guo Yi would accept a promotion.
By school rules, a teaching assistant wasn't allowed to have a private office.
It was heartbreaking.
But when the leadership thought about the prestige Guo Yi had brought the university lately…
They could only suffer—and enjoy it—at the same time.
"Elite Four, what can I do for you?" Guo Yi asked casually.
Given his relationship with Jin Peng, there was no point in trading empty formalities.
And Jin Peng got straight to it.
"Guo Yi, we came to you for two things."
"First, we want to invite you to go with us to Yunlong Dam."
"Second, we want to ask about these two tools."
As he spoke, Lin Feng took out the Z-Ring and Z-Crystal.
Seeing them, Guo Yi wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, his own Z-Ring and Z-Crystal had been given to him by Tapu Koko.
If he could obtain them, why couldn't others?
"Teacher Guo," Lin Feng asked urgently when he saw Guo Yi's calm expression, "do you know what these two tools are?"
Guo Yi nodded. "A bit."
"These two tools are called a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal. The Z-Crystal contains powerful natural energy. As long as the Trainer and Pokémon resonate and exert strength together, it can unleash tremendous power."
"For the specifics, you can watch the video of my teacher's battle with Beedrill. The final strike that defeated Zapdos—that was the power of a Z-Move."
"By the way, where did you get these two tools?"
Guo Yi wasn't surprised by their appearance.
But he was very curious about where they had come from.
Don't tell me they were from Tapu Koko again?
"These tools came about like this…"
Lin Feng then described his experience to Guo Yi again.
"Tapu Bulu." Guo Yi nodded. "Elite Four Lin, you got lucky."
"To run into the gentlest of the Island Guardians."
Among the four Island Guardians, Tapu Bulu had the best temperament.
If the one Lin Feng met had been Tapu Koko…
He'd probably have gotten beaten up, and he wouldn't have gotten anything.
After all, Guo Yi himself had only earned Tapu Koko's recognition because of Beedrill's strength, and only then received the Z-Ring and Z-Crystal.
"Island Guardians?" Jin Peng perked up at the new term.
"Guo Yi—judging by what you're saying, there's more than one of them?"
"That's right." Guo Yi continued, "Besides Tapu Bulu, there are Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Koko—three more Island Guardians."
"The Pokémon tools my teacher has were gifts from Tapu Koko."
"But among the Island Guardians, Tapu Bulu is the most easygoing."
"As for the others… they won't be nearly so easy to deal with."
Jin Peng pressed again. "Then Guo Yi, do you know how to encounter these Island Guardians?"
"And about Z-Moves—are they only Bug-type?"
Guo Yi answered each question in turn.
"First, if you want to run into them, that comes down to luck."
"They're all Legendary Pokémon. It's very hard for us to track their whereabouts."
"As for Z-Moves, they aren't only Bug-type. Every type has them. The type of the Z-Move depends mainly on the energy inside the Z-Crystal."
"Like Elite Four Lin's crystal, and the one my teacher has—both of those are Bug-type Z-Crystals."
After Guo Yi's explanation, the two of them gained a far deeper understanding of Z-Moves.
"By the way," Guo Yi asked, "if you two Elite Four are going, can Yunlong Dam still be in danger?"
He'd answered their questions—now he raised the doubt in his own heart.
In his view, with two active Elite Four stationed there, Yunlong Dam should be unbreakable.
Wouldn't him going just be a waste?
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl