"Chief Engineer Lin—what's the current situation inside the Secret Realm?"
Compared to the increasing number of Secret Realms, Guo Yi was more concerned with what was actually happening within them.
After all, whether their numbers rose or fell, the rampaging wild Pokémon inside were the most immediate threat.
"Uh…"
Faced with Guo Yi's question, Chief Engineer Lin was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Sorry, Teacher Guo. Right now, we have no information on the interior of the Secret Realm."
"With our manpower stretched thin, the Pokémon Corps can barely guard the entrances and exits to prevent more wild Pokémon from reaching the lake. We simply lack the capacity to explore further inside."
Currently, they couldn't even ensure Yunlong Dam's safety, much less undertake a Secret Realm expedition.
If the three hadn't arrived in time, many would likely have lost their lives today.
At that moment, Jin Peng spoke up. "The manpower issue will be resolved soon."
"Reinforcements from various universities and regions are already en route. Within a day or two, they'll start arriving."
Because they'd delayed slightly to wait for Guo Yi, Jin Peng, Lin Feng, and Guo Yi had traveled ahead of the main forces via Salamence.
The rest of the reinforcements were still on their way.
"Then once reinforcements arrive, we'll enter the Secret Realm to investigate further."
"Chief Engineer Lin, please arrange temporary accommodations for us."
After informing Chief Engineer Lin, Lin Feng turned to Guo Yi and Jin Peng. "You two should rest. I'll keep watch over the dam today."
Even though the Gyarados crisis had been resolved, Lin Feng decided to stay vigilant—just in case.
"Then we'll trouble you, Brother Lin," the two replied, nodding.
Led by Chief Engineer Lin, they soon reached Yunlong Dam's temporary quarters.
"Elite Four Jin, Teacher Guo—this is your rest area."
"Sorry, it's rather basic—please bear with it."
Chief Engineer Lin appeared apologetic as he showed them into a small room of barely twenty square meters.
"It's fine," Guo Yi said. "It's much better than sleeping outside."
He was satisfied enough.
Jin Peng nodded as well.
Though born into the Jin family, he'd experienced hardship growing up.
Besides, they weren't here on vacation.
A place to sleep was good enough.
"Then please rest, Elite Four Jin, Teacher Guo."
"If anything happens, I'll send someone immediately."
After exchanging brief pleasantries, Chief Engineer Lin quickly returned to his duties.
In truth, given their status, personally leading the way wasn't necessary for Chief Engineer Lin.
But when faced with Jin Peng—the Dragon-type Elite Four—and Guo Yi, he'd shown them the highest respect.
Once Chief Engineer Lin departed, Jin Peng smiled at Guo Yi.
"How's it feel, Guo Yi?"
"It's your first official League mission—are you nervous?"
In Jin Peng's eyes, being immediately thrown into such a major situation would inevitably cause some anxiety.
However—Jin Peng was underestimating him. What reason did Guo Yi have to be nervous?
In terms of strength, with Beedrill beside him—even after giving Ninetales and Zapdos to his disciples as life-saving cards—he still wasn't afraid of anyone.
Moreover—Don't forget, he still had Mewtwo as his final trump card.
With his current Master Teacher Points, supporting Mewtwo through a decisive battle wasn't difficult.
Even against a Major Legendary Pokémon, Guo Yi wouldn't flinch.
Guo Yi laughed lightly. "Nervous?"
"What's there to be nervous about?"
"I'm just here for support. Even if the mission completely fails, what does that have to do with me? Aren't you and Lin Feng the ones who'll bear responsibility?"
"All I need to do is stay alive."
Seeing the shameless smile on Guo Yi's face, Jin Peng was momentarily speechless.
Stay alive?
That bar was far too low.
With a Beedrill that strong, Guo Yi was clearly their greatest force.
Jin Peng sighed helplessly. "If even you struggle to stay alive, then Brother Lin and I are doomed."
After some banter, the two turned to a more serious topic.
"Guo Yi," Jin Peng asked, listening to the constant thunder outside, "how do you think Team Galactic and the Seven Sages managed to create weather this extreme?"
Even in this world of Pokémon powers, nature's force wasn't easily manipulated by humans.
Guo Yi considered briefly before responding.
"If my guess is correct, we're likely facing a Legendary Pokémon in this incident."
With weather this unnatural, Guo Yi doubted such effects could be achieved without Legendary Pokémon involvement.
Given Team Galactic and the Seven Sages' cooperation—If they didn't possess at least one or two Legendary Pokémon, the villains in this world would be too underwhelming.
Jin Peng agreed with this assessment.
Certainly, numerous Pokémon could theoretically produce this weather.
But deploying large numbers would make their actions too conspicuous.
After all, Pokémon capable of using Rain Dance—wild or trained—weren't weak.
This would require not only vast numbers of Pokémon but also extensive manpower.
Yet, up to now, the Pokémon League had found no signs of large groups of suspicious people near Yunlong Dam.
Besides manpower, another key point convinced Jin Peng that a Legendary Pokémon was involved was...
Control of the weather.
If this rain were purely Pokémon-made, then the presence of so many Torkoal should've countered it more effectively.
Thus—their opponent wasn't relying solely on numbers.
In fact, even before Jin Peng departed from Capital City, he'd begun suspecting this possibility.
That suspicion was part of why he invited Guo Yi.
If they truly encountered a Legendary Pokémon, at least they wouldn't lack a means to fight back.
Guo Yi clearly understood Jin Peng's intentions.
He hadn't refused.
On the contrary, faint excitement stirred in him.
With Beedrill already at Master Tier, its progress had slowed considerably.
Only powerful opponents could further unlock Beedrill's potential.
Right now, Guo Yi was deeply curious about what kind of Legendary Pokémon might appear.
Just which Legendary Pokémon have they prepared?
Zapdos, Suicune, Thundurus… or perhaps Lugia, even Kyogre?
Given the constant thunder and torrential rain, few Pokémon could cause this kind of weather.
Of these, Lugia and Kyogre were mostly Guo Yi joking.
If the enemy truly had those two, a coastal attack would make more sense.
For them, the sea was their natural battleground.
Though Yunlong Dam was in a coastal area, it was still quite inland.
Here, Lugia and Kyogre's destructive potential would be diminished by two or three tenths.
Especially Kyogre...
When it emerged, its goal was flooding entire continents.
Frankly, Yunlong Dam wasn't worth Kyogre's attention.
Excluding these Major Legendaries, Guo Yi believed any "minor" Legendary was possible.
After all, in the manga and anime, minor Legendaries had been captured more than once.
Capturing them was certainly plausible.
Thankfully, in this world, minor Legendaries' strength remained at Champion Tier—you wouldn't see ridiculous scenarios like in the anime, where a simple fishing net was enough to catch them.
...
After chatting a while longer, the two rested.
Traveling by Salamence wasn't easy.
Guo Yi was fine—ever since taking Hu Yan'er as a disciple, he'd gained a "Super Rookie's" enhanced physical endurance.
The journey had only left him mildly fatigued.
But Jin Peng wasn't as fortunate—he lacked Guo Yi's physical toughness.
Sure enough, before long, Jin Peng was fast asleep.
Dawn broke quietly through the morning clouds, waking the land. A new day had arrived.
After resting overnight, Guo Yi and Jin Peng's condition was fully restored.
Simultaneously, reinforcements from various schools began steadily arriving.
As the saying went—where there are people, there are societies.
Sure enough!
On an open patch not far from Yunlong Dam, a small market quietly emerged.
These students had arrived to support the relief efforts—but naturally, they wouldn't ignore the opportunity to obtain Pokémon resources from the Secret Realms.
Markets like this efficiently facilitated trading those resources.
Lin Feng and Jin Peng tacitly allowed it.
After all, the market's existence benefited future operations.
Otherwise, with so many people, even daily expenses would quickly become problematic.
Yunlong Dam alone couldn't support this influx of Trainers.
Moreover, as reinforcements arrived, the Pokémon Corps' burden greatly eased.
They could now redeploy forces to defend Yunlong Dam and maintain market order—
Preventing incidents of fraud or price-gouging.
Under Lin Feng's organization, the supporting Trainers were smoothly integrated into relief efforts.
"Brother Lin," Jin Peng said, noting Lin Feng's fatigued expression, "you worked hard yesterday."
"Go rest. Leave things here to us."
Lin Feng nodded without putting on airs.
Right now, maintaining his strength was crucial.
"Then I'll trouble you two. We'll discuss specific battle plans this afternoon."
With that, Lin Feng yawned and headed toward the quarters.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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