Chapter Seventy-Four: The Wrath of Nature and the Fury of the Dragon

"Hey, little brother, how exactly did you pull off that move? Teach me how to do it." All the way, Ah Ju had switched to his annoying mode, making Zhu Suihan regret dismantling all the traps in one go. He could only think that if there were still some hidden dangers on the road, Ah Ju wouldn’t be so at leisure now.

"How am I supposed to teach you something like luck?"

Ah Ju shook his head resolutely. "No, no, you must be some sort of master fighter. I once saw an old man at a dojo who, despite his age, could easily shatter a huge rock."

"I heard him say that he could sense the rock’s breathing. Scientifically speaking, he found the weak point in the rock’s structure and shattered it with precision."

"You must be an expert in that technique too!"

Zhu Suihan curled his lips. "If you don’t mind me asking, who was that old man at the dojo?"

"Oh, that was a long way away, the master of a dojo on an island in the Galar region. I met him when I was there with the boss on business."

Oh, Master Ma. That explained everything.

Zhu Suihan shook his head helplessly. "Believe it or not, I only know one trick."

Ah Ju's eyes sparkled. "Please, master, teach me!"

"Liu Bo, could you help me out?" Zhu Suihan placed a hand on Liu Bo’s shoulder. "You’re powered up. Go on."

Liu Bo: ?

Why am I getting dragged into the madness of you two youngsters?

Suddenly, the little Swinub twitched its nose and shuffled over to a corner of the mine, rooting around.

"Li Mu!"

Soon, the Swinub came over to Liu Bo with a pale blue stone in its snout.

A Water Stone.

Ah Ju: ...

This isn’t scientific, this isn’t scientific!

No, Swinub’s sense of smell is extremely sharp, so it must have detected the fluctuation of elemental energy and found the Water Stone!

Yes, that’s it, and the timing was just a coincidence! Just a coincidence!

Ah Ju felt like his brain was about to explode.

"A Water Stone. The quality’s mediocre," Liu Bo inspected it. "There’s a lot of impurities—looks like fire energy mixed in. That lends some credence to the legend."

Zhu Suihan was puzzled. "No matter what properties a volcano’s terrain has, it should be fairly easy to check. Doesn’t the League have equipment for that?"

"That volcano legend is just too old. Whatever was underground has probably shifted by now," Ah Ju replied, examining the Water Stone closely.

"If Team Shadow wasn’t so obsessed with ancient technology and divine power, they could’ve been a professional archaeological team."

Zhu Suihan considered this. "If I remember right, they were originally caught stealing relics, and that’s how the League took them down."

"Right, they stole a set of ancient implements, but the League and several companies checked them over and found they weren’t important."

Ah Ju tugged his mask. "Of course, it’s possible Team Shadow has something that could make those implements function."

I see, it’s a set.

Zhu Suihan tapped around the mineshaft. "Don’t you guys ever think about recruiting more psychics and just using precognition to find people directly?"

"Here’s a basic fact: Team Shadow’s boss is Bishas, and people like him always carry countermeasure items," Ah Ju explained. "They have devices on them that alter their energy signatures—think of it as equipment to hide or erase their personal magnetic field."

"Precognition doesn’t work, or even a group of psychics can’t break through the alert threshold of those machines."

"You know Sabrina is a powerful psychic, right? Even she can’t do it."

Ah Ju glanced at Liu Bo. "The three of us once tried, but we alerted him and he got away. After that, the League just ordered the gym leaders to stay vigilant."

It seemed Bishas really did have some good stuff—enough to escape three gym leaders working together.

"Don’t look at me. If Bishas hadn’t already shown up near Caji Town, I wouldn’t even have gotten involved this time," Liu Bo said, tossing the Water Stone forward. Delibird caught it and stuffed it into its satchel.

"You both stay alert. We’re here."

Ahead lay a vast subterranean cavern. Ah Ju’s Crobat soared up into the air to keep watch.

Zhu Suihan glanced at Delibird, who shook its head, leaving him puzzled.

"Strange. Normally, there should be a swarm of Zubat in a place like this. Where are the Pokémon?"

Liu Bo asked, "Ah Ju, did you see anything while you were disabling the traps?"

"No. I was just doing my job, nothing else," Ah Ju replied, scanning the area. "The air here isn’t strange—in fact, it doesn’t even smell like Pokémon. The trace of humans is faint too."

Either Team Shadow had already taken whatever was here, or they’d found nothing of value and abandoned the area.

Liu Bo turned to Zhu Suihan.

"Uh, that might be tough," the white-haired monkey shrugged. "Finding the Crown Shell or uncovering the historical truth was mainly thanks to that Slowking back then."

Psychic Pokémon had their advantages—even if there were no markings on the Crown Shell, with psychic power sealing it, the shell itself became a repository of information.

"No, what I mean is, why don’t you use your earlier method and find us a breakthrough point?" Liu Bo glanced up. "As for any falling rocks, I’ll handle them. Do as you like."

Do as I like? So I’m free to go all out?

Zhu Suihan’s eyes lit up. "Dairy Fairy, max out Lapras’s decorations!"

"Milu!"

Come on, Big Sis! Take my power!

"Woo!"

The Invincible Dragon Ship, on stage!

Zhu Suihan pointed to a massive boulder on the rock wall ahead, letting Lapras confirm the spot.

"I think there’s something there. Hit it with a Hydro Pump."

With a thunderous crash, the ground shook. Liu Bo glanced at the falling debris and issued his command calmly.

"Ice Shard."

Delibird and Swinub acted in unison. A howling storm of ice shot skyward, colliding with the rocks and shattering them midair. The three were left completely safe.

"Did we really find something?" Ah Ju called Crobat back to his shoulder and stared, mouth agape, at the exposed rock wall.

"Liu Bo, how about this—when this kid graduates, let him come work for our Rocket Group?"

Ah Ju added, "The boss would appreciate talent like his, and we’d offer him a great package."

Liu Bo waved him off. "We’ll see. That’s up to him."

Ah Ju stabbed at Liu Bo’s heart. "You’re not thinking of having him inherit your Caji Gym, are you? The League would have a reason to promote you, then."

If that happened, there’d definitely be someone in the League willing to bow down to Zhu Suihan.

Liu Bo: ?

"Ah Ju, has Giovanni ever told you you’re terrible at talking to people?"

Ah Ju coughed and silently pulled his mask higher, signaling he’d keep quiet.

As the boulder shattered, the now-unsupported rock wall collapsed in chunks, like snow sliding from a rooftop.

Jagged markings, one after another, were completely revealed before the three of them.

At the same time, a strange aura spread out. The Dairy Fairy atop Zhu Suihan’s head shrank back, clearly uncomfortable.

It wasn’t a matter of type advantage or disadvantage—it was the gulf between lifeforms.

Like a newcomer in a starting village, suddenly facing a top player so bored he’s ready to sell his account.

"Woo!"

Lapras let out a resounding cry, and the Dairy Fairy perked up.

"Milu!"

That’s right!

Big Sis is invincible!

And I have a trainer who can solo Pokémon!

Come on, I’m not afraid of you!

"Gyarados scales?"

Zhu Suihan cupped the Dairy Fairy in his hands, and the warmth relaxed it further—so much that it nearly fell asleep.

The thing above wasn’t a real scale, but a mark left by a Gyarados’s scale on the stone wall—a kind of fossil.

Zhu Suihan was plenty familiar with it, having dealt with the Gyarados in the academy’s lake almost daily.

Liu Bo suddenly understood, and Ah Ju caught on right after—both clearly realized something.

"Let’s go. This has nothing to do with us anymore," Liu Bo turned away, Ah Ju following, leaving Zhu Suihan bewildered, staring at these two powerhouses.

"I’ll explain on the way. Those markings don’t mean anything good for us," Liu Bo signaled Zhu Suihan to follow. "The legend left out a few details. This place used to be an active volcano, and it was a Gyarados tribe’s trial ground, where they honed themselves for mastery."

"A trial ground? Mastery?"

Zhu Suihan was lost. "What does that mean?"

"Put simply, it’s a higher-level technique, something science can’t replicate—a kind of spiritual transcendence," Liu Bo explained. "Humans have similar masteries. If you ever visit Cerulean City, the gym leader there has mastered a Fighting mastery."

"I remember Bruno’s mastery is ‘the sword that severs invisible enemies’—a bit of a mouthful, but a handy little technique."

Ah, makes sense—Fighting type beating Ghost types, and without any skill assistance.

Zhu Suihan recalled that episode—Bruno was a significant figure in the special series, even being Green’s childhood master.

There were other Fighting masteries too—like Gym Leader Brawly’s ‘Way of Softness’ and Chuck’s ‘Way of Hardness.’

Zhu Suihan pressed on. "So what’s with the trial ground?"

"This is where Gyarados train their strength, learning to control their rage," Liu Bo pointed to his chest. "An erupting volcano is nature’s fury, just as this is where Gyarados vent and master their own anger."

"Once they pass this kind of trial, a Gyarados’s power gets a huge boost—at least, they won’t go berserk from their own rage mid-battle."

Ah Ju chimed in, "Or you could say they’re forging their inner fire, like a fighter’s ‘spirit flame.’"

"The strength gained is a greatly enhanced ‘Dragon Rage.’"

Listening to the two powerhouses, Zhu Suihan finally understood.

In the games, Dragon Rage always deals fixed damage.

But in reality, as long as you’ve got the control, Dragon Rage’s damage is like a Kamehameha—how much it hurts depends entirely on your energy investment.

"If nothing unexpected happens, once the League spreads the word, the folks from Yanmo City will be here, ready to offer a sky-high price."