"Crobat, Max Airstream!" Lord Magma commanded. The Dynamaxed bat Pokémon opened its mouth and spat out a huge tornado that rolled towards the Seregios. At the same time, the force of the attack pushed the Crobat high into the sky. Lord Magma's goal was not to defeat the Seregios, but to escape.
As he thought he was about to get away, a green light flashed, and a figure shot in front of the Crobat. It was Zhang's Astalos.
"Roar!" The Astalos's large horn, crackling with green electricity, was like a greatsword. It was its Thunder Blade skill.
CLICK!
The horn instantly cut the Crobat in half. It was a brutal, bloody sight. The controller of a nearby drone, filming the scene, trembled. In his eyes, the Astalos was not a Pokémon at all, but a monster from an old-era novel, brutal and ferocious.
"Roar!" The Astalos flapped its wings, batting aside the two halves of the Crobat's corpse, and grabbed Lord Magma. The corpse fell, instantly shrinking back to its normal size. The Astalos flew back to Zhang and dropped the Team Magma cadre at his feet.
"Lord Magma, a cadre of Team Magma. A pleasure to meet you," Zhang said, his tone calm.
"Hmph. Unlucky," the cadre sneered. "Don't think that just because you've captured me, you can get any information about Team Magma. It's impossible. I have a psychic block placed in my mind by a powerful psychic Pokémon. The moment you try to probe my memory, it will activate and blow up my brain. So don't bother. Just give me a quick death." His tone was calm, without a trace of fear.
"What a tough guy," Zhang said. "Don't worry, I won't torture you. I'm not interested in that. As for whether you die or not, that's not up to me, but the Pokémon League." He looked up at the sky. "Isn't that right, Gym Leader Iris?"
Iris had already arrived on her Dragonite. The Seregios's appearance had been too loud to ignore.
"Little friend Zhang, you really are powerful. Even a Team Magma cadre is no match for you," she smiled, landing beside him.
"I heard the bounty on Team Magma cadres is very high. What are the benefits?" Zhang asked.
"Many benefits, but I think the only one that will matter to you is that you can choose a Z-Crystal and a Z-Ring. You'll be able to use Z-Moves. If you want, I can help you buy two more Z-Crystals, but you'll owe me a favor."
"Two Z-Crystals for a favor? What kind of favor?" Zhang asked.
"Your tracking ability is very strong. Otherwise, you couldn't have found Lord Magma. I hope you will help me track down a person, an enemy of mine. But for your safety, I'll wait to ask until your strength has reached the champion level. With your growth rate, I believe that won't be long." She had seen his information. A few months ago, he was just an ordinary student. Now he was an Elite Four-level trainer. His growth rate was terrifying.
"I agree," Zhang nodded. A favor to be redeemed when he was a champion? It was a good deal. There was no risk, only benefit.
"Excellent," Iris smiled. "Choose three Z-Crystal types. I'll have them for you tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. You can bring me the money then."
"Dragon, Electric, and Fire," Zhang replied. Those were the most common types among his Pokémon.
"Got it," Iris nodded, and left with Lord Magma in tow.
Z-Moves, Terastallization, Dynamax, and Mega Evolution, Zhang thought. I already have three of the four special mechanics. Now I just need Mega Evolution. He thought of the gift package in the Glory Shop. When the tournament is over, I'll get some more glory points, draw a package, and get a Mega Stone.
"Now, it's time to go back," he said, recalling his monsters and flying back to the gym on his Astalos. The pedestrians on the road were shocked again.
"Another Elite Four Pokémon! Zhang Tian really is an Elite Four trainer! Can he really become a champion within a year?"
"An eighteen-year-old Elite Four trainer... we've never had one of those in the Great Xia. Even Bella was only at that level at 21."
"It's like witnessing the birth of an epic hero."
"What a beautiful creature. Powerful and wild," someone said, staring at the Astalos, captivated by its raw power.
"Are you alright, Zhang Tian?" Bea asked as he landed.
"It seems you won," Cynthia said with a smile. The commotion from the battle had woken them up.
"I'm fine, don't worry," Zhang smiled.
"I can't believe you're already an Elite Four trainer. You're a monster," Bea said, her eyes burning. "Your growth rate is really fast. Tomorrow, I'll use my trump card and fight you for real."
Her trump card? Zhang's eyes flickered. Bea's Machamp was only a quasi-Elite Four. Her true ace must be an Elite Four-level Pokémon. A third-tier god... Urshifu! He remembered that Bea's master in the games was Mustard, so it was likely she had an Urshifu. It was a third-tier legendary, a Pokémon with a base stat total below 600.
"I hope we can have a fight tomorrow, Bea," Zhang smiled gently.
"We definitely will," she replied, eager for the challenge.
"Zhang Tian, your movements are really big," Bella said, descending the stairs with the silver-haired woman. They were both floating in the air, clearly psychic.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bai Xiaoyue, I am Bella's sister, and the master of the Psychic-type gym. I'm 29 and unmarried. Do you have a girlfriend? Want to consider me?" she said with a teasing smile.
"Eh!" Zhang was a little speechless. He felt this woman was a bit of a joker.
"Sister, what are you doing? Weren't we supposed to talk business?" Bella said, exasperated.
"Isn't my marriage a serious matter?" Bai Xiaoyue retorted.
"Get up," Bella said, pulling her sister behind her. "Zhang Tian, the thing is... my sister's brain has a problem. Don't mind her."
"Hey! That's not a nice thing to say about your sister!" Bai Xiaoyue protested.
"Shut up, you!" Bella covered her sister's mouth.
Zhang, Bea, and Cynthia watched, speechless.
"This Psychic-type gym leader... she's a bit of a clown, isn't she?" Bea whispered.
"That's right," Cynthia nodded.
"Okay, time for business," Bella said, pretending not to hear them. "My sister has discovered a secret realm that can only be entered by trainers under the age of 20. She hopes that you can go to this realm and bring back the psychic fruit inside. There are three of them. You can take one. After eating it, you can become a psychic."
"Is it dangerous?" Zhang asked.
"Not for you. The most powerful Pokémon inside is only Elite Four level. We were going to give up, since there are no Elite Four trainers under 20 in the Great Xia. And we can't just give our Pokémon to someone else to take in; for some reason, secret realms won't allow you to use another person's Pokémon."
A secret realm, Zhang's eyes flashed. An alien space with precious resources. A psychic fruit that could make an ordinary person a psychic was priceless.
"Deal," he nodded. "After the tournament, I can go." He very much wanted to become a psychic. It would increase his strength and allow him to command his Pokémon with telepathy.
"Then that's it. When you finish tomorrow's game, we'll come to you again," Bella said, and left with her sister.
"Sure enough, if you are strong, everyone comes to you to make deals and ask for help," Zhang thought, looking at the departing sisters.
"Zhang Tian, you're a hot commodity now," Bea smiled.
"Okay, go back to sleep. Less gossip," Zhang said, poking her on the forehead before turning to leave. "Bea, Cynthia, see you tomorrow."
After he had left, Cynthia looked at Bea, pinching her cheek. "Be honest. When did you get an Elite Four Pokémon? You're not a quasi-Elite Four like me? How did you get stronger than me? You're so dishonest!" she said in a mock-angry tone.
"Hirona, let me go," Bea said helplessly. "I have a Pokémon that I grew up with. Its origin is not ordinary, so I have one Elite Four-level Pokémon. I'm not a cheat like Zhang, who can just throw out a bunch of them at a moment's notice. I don't know how he does it. His Pokémon weren't that powerful at the beginning, and now they're a level higher than ours. I suspect it won't be long before he becomes a champion. It's perverted to think about."
"Not an ordinary origin? A mythical beast?" A hint of surprise flashed in Cynthia's eyes.
"That's right. Urshifu. My master gave it to me."
"No wonder you're so confident! You have a legendary!"
"It's just a legendary that hasn't grown up yet. It's only Elite Four level. If it were at its peak, I would have challenged the champion long ago."
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow even more now," Cynthia smiled. "I hope you get to meet Zhang. I want to see your legendary."
The next day, Zhang got up early again. As soon as he finished breakfast with Bea and Cynthia, Iris arrived on her Dragonite.
"Here are the Z-Crystals you wanted, and a Z-Ring," she said, handing him a bracelet and three colored stones.
"Thank you, Gym Leader Iris," Zhang said, taking a space backpack from his Gengar and handing it to her. It was filled with the gold coins to pay for the two extra crystals.
"Don't be so polite. It was just a trade. Okay, I'm leaving. I wish you the championship," she said, and flew away.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Zefyrus