Thud.
Ye Rong tapped Lin Yu on the head, amused by how he was acting tough now that he had backup.
Show-off.
Beside him stood a gray, boiler-shaped humanoid Pokémon.
"Dusknoir — Mean Look!"
"Dusk…"
Orange light flashed in its pitch-black eyes. A wave of psychic energy washed over every Pokémon in the room.
In the games, Mean Look only prevented switching.
In reality, it blocked all space-based escape for a short time.
"Elite Four Ye?! How did he find us so fast?!"
The thieves paled in terror.
Rumors said Elite Four Ye was cold and ruthless — he eliminated criminals on sight.
"Haha. Bold. Very bold. To cause chaos like this right under my nose in Water Metropolis."
Ye Rong's laugh was icy.
He could see clearly now: these men were the source of the city's chaos.
And below them were indeed Latios and Latias —
legendary Pokémon rarely seen by humans, now being brutalized.
"Dragonite — Dragon Claw!"
Dragonite blurred into a streak of light, darting between the enemy Pokémon.
Before any of them could react, every last one had collapsed.
Lin Yu stared, dumbfounded.
He'd barely blinked, and all the Pokémon were down.
Without his Aura Power, he wouldn't have even been able to follow the motion.
A Peak Elite Four-tier Dragonite…
was truly terrifying.
"Char!"
Charmeleon watched, fired up. Dragonite was nearly twice its size.
To defeat an entire group in the blink of an eye — so cool!
"Surrender now, or you will be killed without mercy."
Ye Rong's gaze was sharp, showing no mercy.
With Dragonite and Dusknoir watching over them, most of the men immediately knelt and put their hands on their heads.
Only the leader seemed to know capture meant certain death. His hand crept silently toward his waist.
But such a small trick couldn't escape Ye Rong's eyes.
Dragonite lunged down in an instant and struck with Dragon Claw,
severing his arm.
Blood gushed out.
After a stunned pause, a scream tore through the air.
Nobody helped him. He was left to bleed out.
The others fell deathly silent, not daring to make a sound.
"Mmm…" (Help us…)
Latias flew to Latios, who was unconscious, and looked up at the two men pleadingly.
Hearing her plea, they quickly descended.
[Pokémon: Latias / Latios]
[Ability: Levitate]
[Gender: Female / Male]
[Talent: Legendary (Tier 2)]
[Level: 32 / 34]
[Moves: Psywave, Wish, Helping Hand, Mystical Guard, Dragon Breath, Water Sport, Refresh, Psycho Shift, Dragon Pulse, Dream Ender, Healing Pulse…]
[Description]: The guardians of Water Metropolis. Latias and Latios protect the Soul Dew from those with evil intent who would use it to destroy the city. Note: Currently in a severely weakened state.
One glance showed:
Latios was covered in wounds. Latias was unharmed.
Before losing consciousness, Latios had used Healing Pulse —
clearing Latias of poison and restoring her energy.
Ye Rong frowned.
He didn't have any high-grade healing items with him, and backup would take a long time to arrive.
"I'll handle it."
Lin Yu had brought a small Space Backpack for the journey,
filled with potions, healing items, and cures for all status conditions.
He pulled out a Super Potion, cleaned and bandaged Latios's wounds,
then took out a pile of treasures and equipment.
"What are you doing?" Ye Rong asked.
"Making an antidote. The ones in my bag are too weak to fully neutralize the poison."
Lin Yu replied without looking up.
The antidotes in his bag were for ordinary poison, like from a Bulbasaur.
This was poison from a Peak Lord-tier Tentacruel.
The difference in strength was unimaginable.
"You can make antidotes? You're a Breeder?"
Ye Rong studied his future brother-in-law again.
He didn't know much about Breeding, but he could tell quality when he saw it.
That Super Potion was top-tier.
And the way Lin Yu handled the equipment and treasures…
he clearly wasn't faking it.
Could this kid actually be skilled at Breeding?
"Yeah."
Lin Yu nodded.
Worried Ye Rong might doubt him, he added:
"Master Breeder Luo Qingfeng is my teacher."
"…What?"
Ye Rong froze.
He wanted to ask more, but seeing Lin Yu's busy back, he held back.
After several minutes of hurried work…
Phew.
Ye Rong stared at the clear, stream-like antidote in disbelief.
This boy…
Poison, paralysis, confusion —
the most common status conditions in battles.
The hardest to cure was without a doubt poison.
Paralysis and confusion faded over time. Poison did not.
It required proper antidote. Common knowledge.
Leave poison in the body too long,
and even a Pokémon's physique would suffer permanent damage.
But curing poison from a Peak Lord-tier Pokémon…
that required at least a Top-Tier Breeder, right?
Breeders had ranks:
Apprentice, Junior, Intermediate, Senior, Top-Tier, Expert, Master, and finally Artisan.
This young man was already a Top-Tier Breeder?
In that case, he really did suit Qingxue.
Hmm. Later I'll ask for Master Luo's contact info.
As an Elite Four Trainer,
his biggest concern was his Pokémon's nutrition.
Sadly, the best Breeder in his clan was only Expert-tier —
and only specialized in Dragon-type Energy Cubes.
He also had Ghost-type Pokémon!
That showed just how sought-after top Breeders were.
At this kid's age…
if he really made it to Master-tier later,
wouldn't that mean free Master-tier Energy Cubes?
Ye Rong thought that was very likely.
Most of all…
back in university, Luo Qingfeng had been his secret crush.
If he and Qingxue got together…
Ye Rong's gaze softened.
His normally stern, battle-hardened face turned gentle.
"Hm?"
As Latios's expression of pain faded, Lin Yu suddenly felt a strange, meaningful stare on his back.