"Who is that person?"
"That huge Pokémon, what kind of Pokémon is it?"
Countless viewers watching the live broadcast were asking the same question.
"Dr. Oak," the beautiful host of the Pokémon Channel's global broadcast said to the white-coated professor beside her, "may I ask, what is this huge Pokémon?"
Dr. Oak was the most famous Pokémon professor in the Kanto region, and one of the most respected in the world. If not for the global importance of this competition, the local Pokémon Channel would never have been able to invite such an esteemed guest.
Dr. Oak frowned as he looked at the Legiana on the screen. "I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I have never seen this kind of Pokémon before."
"Then can you judge its attributes or its base stats?" the host, Xiaolan, asked, seeing the flood of questions in the live chat. "Our audience is very interested."
"I can roughly judge that," Dr. Oak said, stroking his chin as he watched the Legiana fly. "Based on my judgment, this huge Pokémon should be a Dragon/Flying type. Its ability appears to double its speed, similar to Swift Swim in rain, but it may also be triggered by sunny weather. As for its stats... its base speed should be around 160. As for the rest, it is difficult to judge, as it is only flying, not fighting. But based on my intuition and analysis, this Pokémon should be a pseudo-legendary."
"A pseudo-legendary!" Xiaolan exclaimed. A pseudo-legendary was second only to the gods of the Pokémon world, a creature countless trainers dreamed of owning.
"What! Another pseudo-legendary!"
"My god, how many unknown pseudo-legendaries does this Zhang Tian have?"
"Wait, what do you mean 'other' pseudo-legendaries?"
"You must be a foreigner. Not long ago, he battled our Water-type Gym Leader and used two other huge Pokémon. They were also judged to be pseudo-legendaries."
"Three unknown pseudo-legendaries... that's incredible."
"What's his name again?"
"Zhang Tian!"
Because of Dr. Oak's judgment, Zhang Tian was now completely famous. Netizens all over the world began to discuss him. The term "pseudo-legendary" had immense power, and in the eyes of the public, Zhang now had three: Barioth, Nargacuga, and now this new flying wyvern.
"A quasi-Elite Four trainer with a pseudo-legendary," an old trainer sighed. He had been a Gym Leader-level trainer his whole life, and a pseudo-legendary was something he could never hope to obtain. They were priceless, monopoly resources.
"Zhang Tian... I've written it down. One day, I will be as strong as him."
"A true young genius!"
"I wish my son were that powerful!"
"I want to be his girlfriend!"
Across the world, countless people now knew the name of the young genius with a quasi-Elite Four team and three pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
"Why aren't you hiding your strength?" Iris asked, slowing her Dragonite to fly alongside Zhang. "For a trainer, intelligence is just as important. There are many people behind you who are just as fast, but none of them are showing it. They are hiding their true power. Why are you in such a hurry?"
In Iris's opinion, Zhang was a genius of her home region, her junior, and she felt a duty to offer him some advice.
"I am hiding my strength now," Zhang replied with a calm smile. "It's just that their strength is too weak. Even when I'm hiding my strength, they still can't compare."
"Oh?" Iris looked at him thoughtfully. An Elite Four-level trainer? Her heart skipped a beat. It seems I've underestimated you. She took a deep breath, and her Dragonite surged forward again. Terrifying little fellow. If he really has the strength of an Elite Four member, it won't be long before he becomes a Champion.
Under Iris's lead, the group of trainers flew out over the sea. "Dragonite, Ice Beam!" she commanded.
The Dragonite opened its mouth, and a beam of icy blue light shot out, instantly freezing a 10-meter-wide, thousand-meter-long path on the ocean's surface. It was for the trainers who didn't have flying Pokémon.
After flying for a while, Iris stopped.
"Dragon Master Iris, is this the competition site?" Zhang asked, looking at the empty sea. "Why can't I see anything? Are we racing on the sea? That wouldn't be fair to the Pokémon who can't swim or use ice moves, would it?"
Not just Zhang, but the audience watching the live broadcast was also confused.
"What is the Daxia region doing?"
"This isn't fair!"
"Protest! This is rigged!"
Iris just smiled. "Don't worry. Wait a moment, and you will understand."
Just as the chorus of doubts in the live chat reached its peak, a cry echoed through the sky. A massive, ice-blue bird appeared.
"An Articuno!" Zhang's eyes narrowed. It was one of the legendary bird trio. But this one was much larger than the one from the game's Pokédex, which was only 1.7 meters tall. This one was nearly as large as his Legiana. It seems the legendary Pokémon in this world are much larger than in the games, he thought, recalling the mountain-sized Groudon from the movies.
"It's a legendary Pokémon! Articuno!"
"A divine beast!"
The crowd of trainers erupted in exclamations of shock.
"My God, how can there be an Articuno here!"
"I'm blessed to see a legendary Pokémon in my lifetime!"
"A divine beast! I'm going to see it! I'm buying a plane ticket right now!"
"There's someone on its back!" someone shouted as the Articuno drew closer. It was the champion of the Daxia region, Gu Xinghe, a very handsome middle-aged man.
"It's the champion! Champion Gu!"
"Ugh!" The Articuno spread its wings, and a terrifying cold air washed downwards. Under the force of its Absolute Zero attack, the surface of the sea instantly froze, forming a massive, smooth ice island tens of kilometers wide.
Looking at the sea that had frozen in an instant, countless people were shocked. Is this the power of a god?
"So powerful... so terrifying."
"How did a divine beast so strong get here?"
"If the legendary birds are this powerful, how strong are the major legendaries?"
The trainers stared at the island, utterly stunned. The ability to instantly freeze the sea and form a giant island was a true natural disaster.
In the live broadcast room, the audience also exploded.
"That's a natural disaster! It's not something humans can stop!"
"So that's why there was no competition venue! They made one!"
"Worthy of a great country, using a divine beast to create the battlefield!"
"You don't seem surprised at all," Iris said, looking at Zhang's calm face.
Zhang wanted to tell her that he had seen another "god" not long ago—the Deviljho, whose power was no less than this Articuno's. And the Elder Dragons he would soon face, like Ibushi and Amatsu, were on a completely different level.
"In their eyes, the Articuno is a god," he said calmly. "In my eyes, it is just a relatively powerful Pokémon. It's not invincible. It won't be long before I am stronger than it, so naturally, I'm not surprised."
"So confident," Iris smiled. "Even Gu Xinghe wasn't as arrogant as you when he was young. But I like your arrogance. A truly powerful trainer will not yield to anyone. It's not terrible to fight; what's terrible is spiritual submission." She admired his spirit; every young genius, every future champion, was an arrogant person who believed themselves invincible. "I hope you are worthy of your arrogance. I hope to see you on the road to the championship."
She then flew to the center of the group. "Everyone, this is the venue. Let's go up."
"That Dragon Boy, Zhang Tian... his Pokémon really is big," Gu Xinghe thought, glancing at the Legiana from a distance before flying away on his Articuno. His show of force was complete. It was a message to the enemies of the Daxia region, like Team Aqua and Team Magma. I hope you can be quiet, he thought. Otherwise, don't blame me for going on a killing spree.
Led by Iris, the trainers flew to the ice island. "Alright, everyone rest for two hours. After that, the competition officially begins," she announced, before starting to direct the staff who had arrived by helicopter to set up cameras and lottery machines.
"Zhang, you were really in the limelight just now," Bea said, coming over to him. "If only I had a flying Pokémon, I would definitely be faster than you."
"Bea, I thought you were trying to hide your strength," Zhang teased. "But it turns out it was just because you don't have a flying Pokémon."
"Hahaha," Cynthia laughed as she joined them. "Zhang, you don't know Bea's character. She's too reckless to think about hiding her intelligence."
"Who said that? I'm smart!" Bea protested, unwilling to admit she was a reckless fool.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus