Chapter 111: Scrooge McDuck: Return to the Arena

"This is a miniaturized implantable tracker prepared for you."

Junsa Ritsu pushed a small box toward the white-haired man.

"Implant it anywhere you like. It emits encrypted radio waves. I currently hold the decryption program, so there is no risk of it leaking."

Zhu Suihan took it. "How is the battery life?"

"It absorbs biological energy. In short, the host's appetite might increase. If they used to eat one bowl of rice, they might need an extra bowl of ramen now."

*Damn, that's high-tech,* he thought.

Zhu Suihan tossed the box into his incense burner, then looked at Joy Jing with an expectant gaze.

"Why are you looking at me? Our academy is responsible for rescue operations; this isn't our specialty." Joy Jing shook her head helplessly. "Be careful once you get to Hoenn. If you really run into trouble, you can go to the nearest Pokémon Center; I've already made the arrangements for you."

"Understood. Thank you, both Deans."

Having this was enough. His incense burner was already stocked with two months' worth of supplies—absolutely sufficient for a short-term operation.

"As for how you'll reach the vicinity of Route 130, we've already figured that out," Pryce said. "Yukinari's Dragonite has already departed for the overseas Dragon Island. A Dragonite from there will fly over to assist you and carry you toward Route 130."

"Once you arrive near that location, the rest will be up to your Lapras."

The North Sea Ball at the white-haired man's waist stirred. The confidence in Lapras's eyes was almost overflowing.

*A mere sea route? Leave it to me!*

As for why those ruins were in that specific place, such trivial matters were outside their scope of concern. If the King of Pokélantis was still alive, as long as the Dark Team made a blunder and gave them an opening, that would be enough.

"Did you bring the signal equipment? If you find anything, set up the equipment and contact us immediately," Pryce said. "That area has been bought out for development by someone named Scott. It's very likely you'll run into other people while investigating."

Of course, there was also the possibility that the contents of the underground ruins might be intercepted by someone else. As everyone knows, construction sites are the areas with the highest "blind box" drop rates for history. One day you might dig up gold, silver, jewelry, or precious antiques, and the next day you might dig up a burial pit.

The helper called by Professor Oak had arrived. It was a Dragonite with clear eyes—in plain terms, a younger one.

"Kairyu."

Professor Oak’s Dragonite pointed at its young junior, letting the white-haired man know that this one was the fastest. The young Dragonite waved at the white-haired man in a goofy manner, signaling for him to take care.

"Kairyu!"

Once Zhu Suihan was seated, the goofy expression of the Dragonite vanished instantly. It catapulted into the sky and vanished from everyone's sight in a flash.

*If I could build my own aircraft, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble,* he thought. The high-tech vehicles that are standard equipment for villains in the Pokémon world are all about looking cool.

Speaking of Scott, his image varies depending on the circumstances. In the anime, he’s a chubby man in sunglasses and beach shirts who goes around recruiting people to compete in his Battle Frontier. He’s a bit like those NPCs in beginner villages who provide opportunities and hand out quests. *Come, young man, take this wooden stick, and from now on, you are the hero!*

In the Special manga, when Scott first appeared, he gave off the vibe of a potential mastermind, sneaking into the association to gather intelligence in his personal aircraft. But this chubby man could contact Norman—Ruby's father in the Hoenn arc—via a Pokénav. He told Norman that his son and daughter-in-law had been chosen by the Orbs to save the world and were currently in Sootopolis City, getting up close and personal with two Legendary Pokémon. Norman, who was busy coordinating with Wally at the Sky Pillar, nearly had a mental breakdown. Norman described him as someone "elusive, possessing a group of high-quality Pokémon trainers, and holding a vast amount of intelligence."

An elusive, powerful information broker.

"If he's an information broker, maybe I can use that identity to greet him later." His current identity was Scrooge, a mysterious psychic with a unique passive: a "Future Sight" version of hearing divine oracles. He had copied this template from the gym leader of Anistar City in Kalos. That guy had already predicted Greninja’s Bond Phenomenon when Ash arrived for his gym battle; he was quite impressive.

"Kairyu."

The Dragonite reminded Zhu Suihan. It didn't know the specific distance, so whether they had reached the destination could only be determined by the human on its back. The speed of a Dragonite flying at full throttle was no joke; it certainly wasn't something the speed stat of a Magikarp in the games could compare to.

"Hold on, let me check the location." Zhu Suihan pulled out his phone and took a glance. "Fly about forty miles further, then drop me off near the surface of the sea. I'll handle the rest of the journey myself."

"Kairyu."

The Dragonite acknowledged, returning to its high-speed flight. If it weren't rude to disturb someone while they were working, the white-haired man really would have liked to poke the pair of tiny wings on the Dragonite’s back. Compared to the Dragonite's speed, those slow-flapping little wings had a certain "gap moe."

Upon arrival, the Dragonite slowly descended, finally hovering just above the sea. A powerful draconic aura radiated outward, ensuring that Zhu Suihan wouldn't be attacked by other Pokémon while making the transfer.

"Lapras."

Zhu Suihan tossed the ball, then moved from the Dragonite’s back to Lapras’s shell.

"Thanks. Please wait for me here for a while." Zhu Suihan took out some Pokéblocks and fed them to the Dragonite. "I'll be back here in five days at most; then you can take me back."

He could have flown back from the Hoenn region after finding what he needed, but to avoid triggering any strange Legendary Pokémon plotlines, he decided it would be better to choose a different route. Saying that Hoenn is dangerous everywhere might be an exaggeration, but it holds some truth—after all, the most chaotic Legendary Pokémon families are in Hoenn and Sinnoh, with Kalos as a runner-up. Even if things went south in the Unova region, it would just be the two brothers, the heroes of the black and white dragons, having a duel with Zekrom and Reshiram.

*You want to see what kind of ingredients make up Hoenn and Sinnoh?*

It’s always natural disasters sweeping the region, spacetime distortions, or invasions from the Distortion World. Their main theme is "100 ways to destroy the world." The Galactic Bomb developed by Team Galactic isn't even a drop in the bucket compared to those.

"Kairyu?"

The Dragonite was hesitant. It had seen small islands where it could rest while flying over, but this didn't seem to match the requirements its senior had told it about.

"I know this is an extra task, so I'm paying extra." Zhu Suihan calmed his mind and gently squeezed the Dragonite’s arm. "Your muscles are a bit tight. You probably don't pay much attention to stretching after training. You need to be more careful in the future, you know?"

Dragonite: ?

*Did I just get stronger?*

"It's not an illusion; you really did get stronger. This is the advance payment for your service."

"Kairyu!"

*You should have said so, boss! It's settled!*

The Dragonite happily flew toward a nearby island, where it could find its own food and drink in addition to what Zhu Suihan had given it. Once the time came, as long as it was nearby, it would come as soon as the white-haired human called for it. *This must be the kind of talent the seniors in the clan were talking about.* Watching Zhu Suihan and Lapras depart, the Dragonite made a mental note to mention this to the seniors on Dragon Island when it returned. This was precisely why Professor Oak’s Dragonite could directly contact the overseas dragon clans; the powerful Pokémon of Dragon Island selectively chose to make contact with humans.

*The times have changed, old man!*

Even if I live in a cave and live like a hunter-gatherer, if you humans come over, I can pull a credit card out of the cave and tell you to swipe it! As for trading marbles for treasures or antiques, don't even think about it—do you really think Pokémon can't observe your micro-expressions?

"Lapras, you can slow down a bit."

Zhu Suihan sat comfortably on Lapras’s shell, with Milcery on his head admiring the sea. He was fishing; he had bought this set of gear temporarily at a tackle shop in Ecruteak City.

"Wuu wuu?"

*We don't need to get there immediately?*

"No need. The items aren't going to run away, and this is our first time out on the sea. We need to give you all some time to adapt."

Zhu Suihan flicked his fishing rod and effortlessly reeled in a Magikarp that was attempting a Splash in mid-air.

"Very good, full of spirit. I'll reward you with a bottle of Dragon Gate Serum."

Mass-distributing the serum would be poisoning the water, but catching one with a single rod was perfectly fine. After feeding the serum, he dropped the Magikarp back into the water and pulled out his binoculars to scan a nearby island.

"There are signs of human activity on the shore. Let's go around; don't let them spot us."

"Wuu."

*Hold on tight, everyone, accelerating!*

In the games, if you want to reach the Battle Frontier, you have no choice but to take a boat. In reality, there are no such restrictions. In other words, even a lowly Swimmer on the side of the road could technically travel across the sea to reach the Battle Frontier.

"It really is quite big."

On the map, the Battle Frontier is just a tiny spot, but you have to consider what kind of map that is.

"Keep going forward; there are no abnormal reactions underground here."

He had to carry the exploration equipment; this had nothing to do with whether he believed in his luck or not. Mostly, he just didn't want to end up like Ash, falling into Team Rocket's traps and constantly encountering new plotlines with an injured backside.

"Milu, Milu!"

*Trainer, something's up!*

Milcery pointed into the distance and shouted. Lapras instantly shifted from carefree to fully focused. The white-haired man quickly climbed a tree, stood on a branch, and raised his binoculars.

"What the... oh, wow."

In short, an Aggron and a Swampert were fighting.

Milcery had spotted the situation early from its high vantage point. Fragments of stone and broken wood were flying everywhere in mid-air; the scene was terrifying.

"Lag!"

Swampert let out a roar, forcibly grappled the Aggron, lifted it up, and hurled it with all its might toward the rock wall at the side!

*Boom!*

After a loud crash, the dust settled. The Aggron had disappeared, leaving behind only a massive hole.

Swampert: ?

"Lag?"

*Since when was I this strong?*

"Milu!"

*Holy moly, the trainer's luck is insane!*