The peaceful jungle was stirred by the Rhyhorn, raising clouds of dust. With a screech, the Rhyhorn slammed its four limbs down, shedding its forward momentum, seemingly detesting water as it came to a dead stop by the lake.
With the Rhyhorn's help, Qi Shu was the first to arrive at the lake.
Qi Shu dismounted the Rhyhorn, stood on the bank, looked at the calm lake, took a deep breath, and savored the beauty of nature.
“Wuhu~ What a comfortable place! It would be great if we could camp here.”
Zhang Heng followed closely, riding his Vikavolt to the lakeside. He had no mind to admire the surroundings, as he vaguely sensed something: the presence of pure Water-type energy.
He then said to Qi Shu, “Qi Shu, don't just stand there. The speedboat is over there. Let's go.”
Qi Shu's eyes lit up as she looked at the speedboat: “Xiao Heng, I'll drive the speedboat!”
Zhang Heng asked, puzzled, “Huh? You know how to drive a speedboat?”
“I don't.”
Zhang Heng was instantly speechless, wondering if she was sent by his family to mess with his mind.
Qi Shu then said, “But my little Rotom knows how to drive it!”
As she spoke, she held an Ultra Ball in both hands and tossed it into the air. *Boom* A series of cheerful and eerie laughs echoed through the space.
“Hehe~” A Pokémon with an orange body enveloped by a layer of blue translucent plasma—Rotom—appeared, suspended in the air.
Upon seeing Zhang Heng, Rotom instinctively wanted to tease him. With a giggle, it tried to paralyze Zhang Heng with Thunder Wave.
In the original owner's memory, the reason he disliked playing with Qi Shu was precisely because of Qi Shu's mischievous personality combined with the playful and troublesome Rotom—these two troublemakers constantly annoyed the original owner.
Zhang Heng wouldn't indulge it. He quietly reached for the Dive Ball's switch, opening it slightly to release a trace of Walking Wake's Divine Beast Field.
Suddenly, Rotom shivered all over, its smiling mouth stiffening slightly. It seemed a little scared, assessing Zhang Heng. It let out a surprised cry, “Rotom?!”
Zhang Heng scrutinized Rotom, feigning fierceness: “Still looking? Next time, I'll dissect you, a Ghost-type Pokémon, and study you further.”
Rotom fearfully flashed behind Qi Shu. Qi Shu comforted it, “Little Rotom, don't be scared. I'll protect you. But we need to leave now. Can you help us drive that speedboat?”
Upon hearing the command, Rotom's electric body quickly entered the speedboat's cockpit. It seemed like a soul powered by electricity, instantly covering the boat with its orange body like Venom from Marvel, with two large eyes on either side of the front of the hull.
Zhang Heng was quite interested, thinking, “Ghost-type Pokémon are truly bizarre.”
Zhang Heng and Qi Shu both boarded the speedboat. Qi Shu exclaimed, “Let's go!”
On Lake Heart Island...
Chirp—! With this high-pitched and clear bird cry, the entire dense forest of Lake Heart Island seemed to awaken, echoes reverberating continuously through the trees.
A Swanna, pure white as snow, stood proudly in mid-air. Its broad, powerful wings gently vibrated, and an aura emanated from the Swanna, a pressure belonging to an Elite Four level.
“Swanna! Water Pulse! Leave the prey!”
Swanna rapidly climbed higher, as Water-type energy in its mouth was about to converge into a Water Pulse Energy Ball.
Two Senior Cadres prepared to intercept.
“Don't even think about it! Fake Out!”
A Liepard, covered in purple fur with triangular hollow yellow markings on its back, was seen leaping upwards through the jungle, stepping on trees. It jumped above the Swanna and delivered a swift downward strike.
Pat... Swanna's skill charge was interrupted.
Zou Yi's face was grim. He was solely focused on stopping the prey and didn't pay attention to the opponent in front of him. Fake Out could be said to cause little damage but was extremely insulting.
The other Senior Cadre saw this: “Good opportunity. Liepard, use Dark Pulse on him!”
Another lurking Liepard suddenly shot out from the dense jungle like lightning! In its front claws was a surging mass of Dark Pulse energy. The Liepard stared fiercely at Zou Yi, pouncing towards his chest with lightning speed, its sharp claws glinting with cold light, carrying a fatal threat directly to his vital point!
Zou Yi's figure suddenly became illusory, then disappeared. What appeared in his place was a Swoobat!
Although the enemy changed, the Liepard didn't hesitate, unleashing a fatal claw strike!
Pfft—!
A sound of a blade entering flesh was heard, directly tearing open Swoobat's chest, its organs shattered. The Swoobat, already severely wounded by a Rock-type move, was beyond saving.
Zou Yi's eyes were bloodshot as he watched Swoobat fall into a pool of blood, losing its life. Before it died, it was still looking to see if its master's position was safe.
Swanna also awoke from its rigid state. When its bewildered gaze met its companion lying in a pool of blood, an uncontrollable surge of fury instantly welled up in its heart. It trembled all over, its wings suddenly spread wide, and immense power surged within its body.
“Chirp—!” Accompanied by a mournful cry, the enraged Swanna unleashed its Flying-type signature move—Twister! In an instant, fierce winds howled, sweeping towards the enemies opposite with destructive force.
The two Liepard were somewhat caught off guard by this sudden attack. They tried to steady themselves, but the violent wind was like an invisible giant hand, fiercely pushing them backward. Countless sharp wind blades moved through the Twister, mercilessly slicing at the Liepard's bodies, blood splattering and fur flying.
Earlier, Swoobat had seen Zou Yi in mortal danger and immediately used the skill Ally Switch. This skill is used in double battles to swap positions with a partner for cooperative defense. It never expected it to be so tragic when used in real combat.
The Liepard that killed Swoobat licked its blood-stained front paw, as if showing off its victory, provoking Zou Yi's easily angered nerves.
One of the Senior Cadres spoke: “A Huaguo Elite Four Trainer is nothing special; they lost a Pokémon in just one round.”
Zou Yi retorted, “You will die. Blood for blood!”
Boom~! The Divine Beast Field began to tremble again.
At this moment, Zhang Heng, riding the Rotom speedboat on the lake, suddenly sensed something: an extremely pure Water-type energy leaking from the bottom of the lake ahead.
Zhang Heng suddenly stood up and said, “Stop the boat!” Rotom disengaged its power, slowly stopping its forward motion.
Walking Wake also trembled slightly in its Dive Ball. Zhang Heng put on his waterproof bag, held the incubation cover with one hand, and said to Qi Shu, “Go into the water. There's an undercurrent down there that leads to Lake Heart Island.”
Then he pinched his nose and fell backward, a perfect dive into the water, heading down into the lake.
Qi Shu, still on the speedboat, asked, “Huh? What do you mean? Do we need to dive?”
Qi Shu also recalled Rotom and followed Zhang Heng, jumping into the lake. With a splash, she plunged into the water.
Only a lonely speedboat was left drifting on the lake...