Chapter 129: Crossing Over: It’s Time to Stop a Friend from Committing a Crime Again

“Why are you going to Golden Yellow City? Do you have a pen pal there?”

After obtaining permission to enter, Du immediately rode his Dragonite and flew to the vicinity of the Great Lake. He was taken aback when he saw a Gyarados being tended to by Zhu Suihan.

Beneath the Gyarados was a thick layer of ice, and judging by the way Dragonair was leisurely swimming nearby, it was likely the creator of this icy makeshift bed.

“It’s not a pen pal, it’s a charging station,” Zhu Suihan replied, eyeing the Gyarados thoughtfully. He was pondering how tall he would have to grow proportionally to make the Gyarados look like sashimi laid out on an ice platter.

If the power of the Magmar was pushed any harder, he might even catch a whiff of fish fragrance.

“What happened here?” Du asked.

“Oh, he went to challenge a big shot on the back mountain and got scorched by a single Flamethrower,” Zhu Suihan explained.

Du raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute, this Gyarados is already solidly at the Elite Four level. What kind of Pokémon could have hit him so hard?”

“A champion-class Magmar. Scary, right?”

Du was stunned. “You actually have monsters like that in your academy?”

“Of course. There aren’t many Pokémon who can learn Flamethrower,” Zhu Suihan said. “Besides the Magmar family, I remember Coal Turtle, known as the Little Groudon, and Camerupt can learn it as well.”

He found it amusing that in the Hoenn region, Camerupt and Walrein were considered the ‘little trio’ of starters, with Camerupt even having a Mega Evolution.

What puzzled him more was how the cute Spheal evolved into a fierce, bulky Walrein at its final stage.

Du nodded. “Flamethrower is similar to Surf — both are moves that directly showcase a Pokémon’s strength, but very few can learn them.”

There was also Dragon Pulse.

Zhu Suihan recalled that Regidrago’s move functioned on a similar principle.

In the game, the higher the HP, the greater the damage; in reality, the better the condition, the stronger the attack.

Whether, like Ash, the bond would ignite fighting spirit so fiercely that even at low health the damage output would increase — that remained unknown.

In real battles, anything was possible, especially when factoring in the kind of spiritual bonds that lock in health, like in fantasy stories.

However, using such moves might be akin to ultimate self-sacrifice, requiring a trip to the Pokémon Center afterward.

Xiaoxiannai, relying on her ability to fly, was applying burn ointment all over the Gyarados.

Dragonite circled to the front, letting out a soft whimper. “How are you feeling now?”

“Gala,” the Gyarados responded weakly.

He wanted to say he was in terrible shape. He had summoned all his courage and channeled his fury to the utmost before challenging Magmar, only to be nearly roasted by a single Flamethrower.

“You’re confident. Even if you’re a roast fish now, at least you’re a giant roasted king mackerel,” Zhu Suihan quipped as he slid across the large ice block, scanning the Gyarados with a detector to ensure no hidden injuries were left untreated.

Being careless during recovery would bring tears to loved ones’ eyes — Adalick would understand that well.

“You can’t beat Magmar. How about going up against a Tyranitar instead?”

The Gyarados bellowed angrily, “Gala!”

“I think you want me dead!” he seemed to say.

Du was surprised. “Tyranitar? You have such strong Pokémon in your academy?”

Zhu Suihan put away the scanner and patted the Gyarados’s heavy tail, signaling that treatment was complete.

It seemed Magmar had held back; the injuries were only superficial.

“Yeah, Tyranitar is at least on the same level as Magmar. You want to give it a try? If there’s any damage on the back mountain, I’ll cover the costs.”

Before Du could react, Dragonite was already shaking his head vigorously.

“Kailu! I refuse!”

Clearly, Dragonite also thought the white-haired monkey was eager to see him dead.

“Champion-class Tyranitar messing with you!”

The Gyarados glanced at Dragonite and lay still on the ice block, too weary to move. Zhu Suihan had said he couldn’t touch the water until the ice melted naturally, or else the ointment would be wasted.

He would have to maintain his ‘sashimi pose’ for a while longer.

“Alright.”

A massive Magikarp surfaced, opening its mouth to Zhu Suihan, revealing a batch of Water Gems that Gyarados had put down as a medical deposit.

“Thanks,” Zhu Suihan said, patting the Magikarp’s head. This was the prime specimen of the Dragon Gate Potions line, with sharp eyes and a body growing sturdier by the day.

“Your life is pretty easy, huh?”

Du yawned. Just watching Zhu Suihan treat the Pokémon and listening to his casual chats with Gyarados made him sleepy. The atmosphere was incredibly peaceful.

Zhu Suihan eyed him warily. “Do you and Dragonite want to rest a bit? I’m worried you might get fatigued while driving later.”

If it weren’t for the upcoming trip to the city of Tokiwa where this driver was needed, Zhu Suihan was tempted to see how long the future Dragon Champion could endure.

Du’s face darkened. “Get lost.”

The white-haired youth looked serious. “You might say my life is peaceful, but definitely not easy.”

He was joking; the most driven person in Joey Academy was himself, constantly absorbing knowledge even while sleeping.

“I’m nothing like those aimless unemployed people without fixed jobs or goals.”

Du raised an eyebrow suspiciously — he thought Zhu Suihan was subtly mocking him.

Goals? Well, he did have one: to win the Quartz Conference championship outright, preferably defeating an Elite Four member.

Just another family mission.

“True, a goal. I need to find a long-term purpose of my own.”

Du glanced at Zhu Suihan, suddenly tempted to bait him into trouble and watch him get branded a troublemaker.

At the very least, he wanted to see if this guy could escape his pursuit.

“I’ll ask for leave. If you’re interested in the ecology of the back mountain, you can check it out. We’ll meet by the Great Lake in half an hour.”

Zhu Suihan settled steadily on Dragonite’s back. “Those guys on the back mountain are pretty approachable. If you’re not confident in your social skills, just use your energy cubes to clear the way.”

Chatting isn’t fighting, and Du still had the Tokiwa power with him.

“Thanks to the clear division of roles in the Pokémon world, and especially the teachers not passing the buck so I have to go to other departments.”

Asking for leave didn’t even require seeing the dean; as long as the request form met standards, a teacher’s signature was enough.

Once approved, the academy’s system automatically updated the leave record, ensuring no mistakes during roll call or class participation.

With the two little ones hanging at his waist, Du mounted his Dragonite while Zhu Suihan rode his Salamence, setting off for Tokiwa City at breakneck speed.

“Dragonite’s speed truly lives up to its reputation.”

Zhu Suihan fiddled with a signal gun on Salamence’s back. After inserting the battery, he called Du over to catch it.

At such speeds, you couldn’t just toss things—they’d be carried away by the airflow.

“Here, a toy for you.”

Du took it and examined it. “Is that groove for holding Poké Balls? What’s it for?”

“It’s a recovery beam enhancer, with a standard range of fifty meters. Of course, it can also be used as a training tool for you,” Zhu Suihan explained. “I don’t know how you professional trainers usually train, but besides the Pokémon, the trainer also needs to improve.”

“Ever played dodgeball?”

“You can have Dragonite gradually increase its speed, then you try to hit it with the recovery beam, training your dynamic vision and reaction time.”

“Of course, just use a Poké Ball you don’t usually use, so if you hit Dragonite, he won’t be sucked inside.”

Zhu Suihan smiled. “Even though you have extraordinary power, the more details you can observe during battle, the greater your advantage. Improving yourself is definitely necessary.”

Du looked over the device again, then was interrupted by Dragonite’s warning cry.

“Kailu! Don’t even think about using me for target practice now, or it’ll be a free-fall parachute jump without a parachute!”

“You think I’m him?” Du patted Dragonite’s back. “I wouldn’t be that reckless. Thanks, Suihan. This little gadget will really help me.”

If he faced another high-speed warrior Pokémon skilled in quick strikes, the trainer’s personal skill had to keep up.

No way could you exchange a dozen moves, then wait until the round ended before issuing new commands.

Against an equal-level opponent, doing that was practically a recipe for failure.

“This training method might be a bit challenging, but it shouldn’t be a problem for me.”

Tracking a Pokémon’s high-speed battle movements with human eyesight was mostly a matter of experience.

Yet Du believed that with the Tokiwa power enhancing him, he could complete the initial training, and he was confident the results would satisfy him.

Besides, his physique hadn’t even peaked yet.

In other words, he was still growing.

“Do you usually train like this?”

“No way. I just made this thing recently,” Zhu Suihan said. “I just thought it might be useful for you. Bigger versions probably wouldn’t be practical for daily training.”

A larger recovery beam enhancer would likely only be useful when legendary Pokémon clashed, and considering signal stability, it would be more complicated to make.

“I’m curious about all the strange things you spend your time researching.”

Du joked, “You’re not still working on weapons that can directly use Pokémon’s special moves, are you?”

“Now that you mention it, that research direction did slip my mind,” Zhu Suihan said, frowning. “Weapons that can be used directly against humans and Pokémon alike.”

Du blinked.

(End of chapter)