Hu Chengliang kept a vigilant eye on the group of wild Electric-type Pokémon ahead.
Granted, the bond between these wild Electric-types and Zapdos was genuinely moving.
But Zapdos was clearly on its last legs.
And the deeper the feelings involved, the easier it would be for those Pokémon to lose control once the worst happened.
Hu Chengliang was worried.
If Zapdos died here and now, would these wild Pokémon—already harboring resentment toward Chen Mo—completely lose their minds and attack him on the spot?
"Troublesome..."
To be honest, Hu Chengliang was irritated.
Because of the Pikachu Cup, public acceptance of Pokémon had been increasing by the day. Everything was moving rapidly in a positive direction.
Professor Zhou, the mentor of both Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan, had even planned to use the momentum generated by the Pikachu Cup to launch the proposal Chen Mo had suggested earlier: integrating Pokémon more deeply into society.
But at such a critical moment, this sudden attack on the power station by wild Pokémon was like a blow to the head.
No matter how the authorities handled the matter afterward, it would be problematic.
Criticism was inevitable.
At that moment, Zhou Yichuan suddenly spoke.
"Looks like Xiao Mo turned off the livestream."
"Hm?"
Hu Chengliang froze.
Before he could think further, he noticed something strange.
The wild Electric-type Pokémon that had previously been glaring at Chen Mo with hostility suddenly became restless.
Then, every single one of them changed the way they looked at him.
The hatred they had shown earlier disappeared completely.
In its place were traces of pleading and hope.
"What happened? What did he do?"
Hu Chengliang was utterly baffled.
From his perspective, all he'd seen was Raichu grabbing onto Chen Mo's pant leg.
Chen Mo had said something to it.
And then everything changed.
Within his field of vision, as Chen Mo walked forward, the surrounding wild Pokémon hurriedly parted to form a path.
Their movements were almost fearful, as though they were terrified of angering Chen Mo if they moved too slowly.
"Hey~"
Chen Mo waved toward Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan.
Understanding what he meant, the two quickly approached.
"Xiao Mo, what's going on with these Pokémon?"
Hu Chengliang noticed that as he and Zhou Yichuan approached, the expressions of the wild Pokémon changed once more.
Their nervousness was obvious.
It was almost as if they feared Chen Mo might suddenly abandon them and leave.
"It's like this."
Without hesitation, Chen Mo explained his intention to save Zapdos.
"...That's my reasoning. A living Legendary Pokémon is far more valuable than a dead one. Right now, what we're lacking most is top-tier combat power. If Zapdos joins us, it'll help make up for part of that weakness."
"So, Brother Hu, Brother Chuan, what do you think?"
Zhou Yichuan glanced at Zapdos lying beside Raichu but remained silent, turning instead to Hu Chengliang, who was deep in thought.
After a long pause, Hu Chengliang asked seriously,
"How confident are you?"
Chen Mo smiled.
"Honestly? Not very. But I want to try."
"..."
Hu Chengliang didn't deliberate for long.
"I agree. A living Legendary Pokémon is definitely more valuable to us. And if Zapdos survives, it'll also ensure these wild Pokémon don't continue causing trouble later."
"Xiao Mo, what do you need us to do?"
Both Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan were intelligent men.
It was obvious Chen Mo hadn't called them over merely to inform them about saving Zapdos.
There was definitely something else he needed help with.
Chen Mo glanced toward the crowd watching from afar.
His gaze lingered briefly on William, whose foreign appearance stood out among everyone else.
Noticing this, Zhou Yichuan explained:
"We met this foreigner on the way here. His name is William Adams."
"His car was forced to stop after being hit by a Magnemite that fell from the sky. While he was helping the injured Magnemite, Zapdos descended nearby."
"We figured he was one of the few people who had seen Zapdos beforehand, so we brought him—and the Magnemite—along with us."
"I see..."
Chen Mo nodded.
His gaze moved away from William and returned to Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan.
"The process of treating Zapdos is... somewhat special."
"Brother Hu, Brother Chuan, I need you to arrange for everyone to leave with the injured Pokémon as soon as possible. Don't let them stay here."
"Understood."
Hu Chengliang nodded.
"Oh, right."
"What about the wild Pokémon lying around over there?"
"They can leave too."
"Most of them just exhausted their electrical reserves. Have the Chansey family give them basic treatment and they'll be fine."
"No major issues."
"Got it."
Neither Hu Chengliang nor Zhou Yichuan wasted time.
They immediately began organizing everyone.
The unconscious wild Pokémon couldn't be recalled into Poké Balls, so members of the Bureau and their Pokémon worked together to carry them away.
"Excuse me, can I help too?"
William, standing awkwardly among the crowd with his blond hair and blue eyes, finally raised his hand after a moment of hesitation.
Not long afterward, permission was granted.
Chen Mo glanced at William rushing over to pick up a Magnemite and couldn't help feeling curious.
After all, this was the first foreigner he'd ever seen show such affection toward Pokémon.
And in Huaxia, no less.
"..."
After pondering briefly, Chen Mo turned and walked toward the dying golden bird once the cleanup was nearly complete.
"So, Zapdos."
"Raichu explained everything, right?"
"What do you think?"
"..."
Zapdos stared at Chen Mo for a long time before finally letting out a weak cry.
"Chirp..."
(You want to catch me and make me your Pokémon?)
After Pikachu translated, Chen Mo could only smile helplessly.
"Looks like you still misunderstood."
"If you wanted to become my Pokémon, I certainly wouldn't object."
"But honestly, with your personality, I don't think you'd ever truly acknowledge a Trainer like me."
"So from the beginning, the condition I gave Raichu was simple."
"I want ten years."
"For those ten years, you may not have the freedom to go wherever you please."
"And more importantly, whenever humanity faces danger or crisis, you must step forward and help."
"That's the price for saving your life."
"So?"
"Zapdos."
"Legendary Pokémon live a very long time, don't they?"
"Ten years is probably nothing more than the blink of an eye for you."
"Will you make this deal with me?"
Chen Mo's gaze swept across the surrounding Electric-type Pokémon before settling on Zapdos.
"I know your impression of me isn't very good."
"But if you survive, won't you be able to watch over them personally?"
"Every one of these Pokémon wants you to live."
Zapdos's expression became even more complicated.
Truthfully, it had always disliked humans.
Back in its original world, every human it encountered would start shouting things like:
"Zapdos! Battle me!"
"I'm definitely going to catch you!"
And before considering its feelings at all, they would throw out Pokémon and begin fighting.
After arriving in this world, those humans disappeared.
But in their place came people who feared it.
People who hated it.
Zapdos disliked them too.
Yet regardless of which world it was in, it had never met a human as strange as the one before it now.
A chance to capture a Legendary Pokémon openly.
Yet he only wanted ten years.
He wanted ten years, but not for himself.
For humanity.
Too strange...
Zapdos gazed deeply at the young man, as though wanting to carve his appearance into memory.
After a long time, it slowly nodded.
Meanwhile, Hu Chengliang and Zhou Yichuan had already organized the Bureau personnel and moved all the injured Pokémon away from the power station.
"Should we head back now?"
Zhou Yichuan asked as he looked toward the now-distant facility.
"No."
Hu Chengliang shook his head.
"Remember what our teacher told us?"
"At times like this, what Xiao Mo needs is space."
"Right."
Zhou Yichuan nodded.
He looked back toward the power station and recalled what had happened at Mount Cangqing.
The twin pillars of light that had erupted into the sky.
The overwhelming pressure that had suppressed countless rampaging wild Pokémon.
When Zhou Yichuan had asked Chen Mo about it, the answer he'd received was simple:
A phantom of Giratina—the ruler of the Reverse World and suspected culprit behind the crystallization incident—had appeared.
Although Zhou Yichuan hadn't pursued the matter further, he knew things couldn't be that simple.
After all—
The crimson pillar could be explained by Giratina.
But what about the other one?
The azure pillar that had directly opposed the crimson energy?
What did that represent?
Chen Mo had many secrets.
Everyone knew that.
After the Mount Cangqing incident, numerous meetings had raised similar questions.
Yet every discussion had been firmly suppressed by Professor Zhou and several others.
Later, when Zhou Yichuan couldn't resist asking Professor Zhou directly, the old man had replied simply:
"There are things you don't need to know."
"What you do need to know is this: Xiao Mo is more important to this era than all of us combined."
"And stop asking."
"It's for your own good."
Out of respect for their teacher, neither Hu Chengliang nor Zhou Yichuan pursued the matter further.
But Zhou Yichuan had already reached his own conclusion.
Only a legend could oppose a legend.
That azure pillar undoubtedly belonged to another Legendary Pokémon.
In fact—
It was probably the one who had granted Chen Mo his vast knowledge.
The so-called God of Knowledge.
Uxie.
In other words—
Chen Mo had likely been protected by a Legendary Pokémon all along.
And the reason Professor Zhou had prevented further investigations, even helping suppress discussions from above, was because he feared offending the God of Knowledge standing behind Chen Mo.
Mhm...
Zhou Yichuan was convinced.
He had figured everything out.
Outside the power station.
Chen Mo had no idea that simply wanting everyone to leave—because revealing Zekrom's Source Power in front of so many people felt inappropriate—had once again resulted in poor Uxie taking the blame.
Of course, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care much.
After all, this wasn't the first time Uxie had been used as a scapegoat.
Since all the blame had naturally landed on the little mushroom-like Legendary without Chen Mo even saying anything, that was perfectly fine.
At most, Chen Mo would sincerely think:
Sorry, Uxie. Borrowing your name one more time.
"Alright."
"Since we have a deal..."
"I'll begin."
Chen Mo slowly removed the necklace hanging around his neck.
"Chirp..."
Zapdos watched his movements, confusion appearing in its weakened eyes.
Truthfully, it had always wondered how this human intended to heal someone whose Source Power was collapsing.
Initially, Zapdos assumed Chen Mo would summon the Pokémon hidden within the shadows—the one whose mere presence radiated terrifying strength.
But apparently not.
What was that black sphere?
Dizziness overtook it.
Its vision became increasingly blurry.
Zapdos could feel itself approaching its limit.
Even though it had agreed to Chen Mo's proposal, it seriously doubted whether that black orb could truly heal it.
Then—
A brilliant azure light erupted before its eyes.
The dying Zapdos suddenly felt a surge of vitality.
Even its dimming eyes regained some brightness.
That was—
Zapdos stared at the black sphere in utter disbelief.
As Chen Mo touched it, dazzling azure lightning arcs burst forth from within.
And then the young man's voice sounded.
"Zekrom."
"This is a fragment of the Source Power belonging to a Legendary Pokémon named Zekrom..."
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