When Mu Li returned with a dejected expression, everyone ignored him.
Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping were already very familiar with Mu Li’s personality; he usually liked to cause trouble and act dramatically anywhere.
However, Ling Fei couldn't help but recall when he first met Mu Li.
That was the first time he had seen Mu Li return from outside with such a dejected expression; he was startled at the time, as Mu Li was usually lively and cheerful, and he rarely showed any low emotions, let alone such a dejected state.
He frantically asked for a long time before he learned that Mu Li was so dejected because he saw someone else’s Pidgeotto carrying a child flying in the park, while his Dratini and Bulbasaur couldn't carry him.
This kind of thing happened more than once.
That was the first time Mu Li spent winter in the Imperial Capital, and the winter in the Imperial Capital was incomparable to that in Yangcheng.
For Mu Li, who had never experienced winter in the north, the world outside the house was like hell.
Because the weather was too cold, Mu Li simply refused to go out, so every time Ling Fei took him out, Mu Li would be in this half-dead state.
Ling Fei worried about this for a long time, even wondering if he should find a Fire-type Pokémon to accompany Mu Li, but then a couple of days later, this guy somehow caught a Charcadet himself.
In the Imperial Capital, a place full of humans, he found a Charcadet, a Pokémon that basically lives in hot regions; even Ling Fei didn't know how Mu Li found it.
Fortunately, with the presence of Charcadet, Mu Li finally came out of his room and could at least persist in attending training.
The same thing happened in the summer of the second year.
Because the summer was too hot, Mu Li somehow caught a Gastly, saying it was for cooling off, until he later discovered that Gastly's internal ghost energy was insufficient and simply couldn't achieve the cooling effect, which he complained about for a long time.
But since Gastly was already caught, Mu Li had no choice but to quietly train Gastly into Gengar; fortunately, Gengar could indeed provide a cooling effect, which finally satisfied Mu Li's strange wish.
PS: The space where Ghost-type Gengar is located will lower the temperature.
Not to mention Mu Li, because his bed was uncomfortable, specifically caught a Munchlax to use as a pillow.
Because he was too lazy to clean, he caught an Abra and trained it from a young age to clean, resulting in countless broken bowls and chopsticks.
At that time, Ling Fei was very worried that Mu Li had caught so many random Pokémon, which would affect the formation of his battle team, but later he found that this guy could not be measured by normal thinking at all.
Relying on this inexplicable and completely untargeted Pokémon system, Mu Li qualified for the Olympics Pokémon Battle event right after his debut, and the reason was simple—because among the National Team's Heavenly King Level players, no one could defeat him anymore.
Whether it was Yan Jin, Guan Tong, Wu Bing, or Zhang Yi, these people were all Heavenly King Level players who had joined the National Team two years before Mu Li, but unexpectedly, Mu Li completely disregarded team balance, directly brought an inexplicable combination, defeated all Heavenly King Level trainers in the country, and forcefully secured a spot in the competition.
Everyone knows the subsequent result: Mu Li, with a combination of six Pokémon—Dragonite, Armarouge, Venusaur, Alakazam, Snorlax, and Tyranitar—won a bronze medal from the Champion trainer of the United States.
Mu Li did not win many medals in his professional career, mainly because his career was only a short three years, and among them, the Olympic medal was only a pitiful bronze medal, but no one can deny his contribution to China's Pokémon Battle project.
Recalling this, Ling Fei suddenly asked, “Next year is the Olympics, and they specifically organized an exhibition match this year. Are you interested in going?”
Mu Li was startled and asked, “What exhibition match? I’ve been retired for so many years, why would they ask me to go? Don’t we have a bunch of players in our National Team?”
Ling Fei smiled and said, “It seems you don’t know anything?”
“Know what?” Mu Li asked, puzzled.
“This exhibition match is organized by the World Pokémon Battle League, and its purpose is to showcase the charm of Pokémon battles and attract more young trainers to participate in Pokémon battles. The invited players in this exhibition match are for Pokémon trainers worldwide, including all Heavenly King Level and Champion Pokémon. For this, the organizers have collected votes from all over the world. Guess who the people of the world most want to see as a guest in the exhibition match?” Ling Fei deliberately kept him in suspense.
Mu Li chuckled, “It wouldn’t be me, would it?”
“Hahaha, if not you, then who?” Ling Fei laughed heartily. “Don't look at how lively those foreigners are now; when your name is mentioned, not a single person isn't convinced, especially those people from East Island; your title of 'World-Destroying Dragon King' is still brought up.”
World-Destroying Dragon King!!!
As soon as Mu Li heard this title, he instantly felt his whole body stiffen, and his feet were so embarrassed they were almost digging into the ground: “Please, Director Ling, don’t mention that shameful title anymore.”
He Lin on the side also leaned over and said, “I’ve heard that title too. Didn’t they give you that title because they admired you? That shows your status in their hearts!”
After speaking, He Lin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
“Come on, I can’t even say what kind of ghost title this is,” Mu Li complained. “The homeland of the two-dimensional world is indeed terrifying.”
“But do you really not want to go? This kind of exhibition match has no restrictions; you can take the opportunity to show off your strength and let those Americans see what you’ve got, give them a taste of their own medicine,” Ling Fei suggested.
Mu Li said irritably, “Come on, what’s there to go for? To play a ‘baby cup’ and bully little kids?”
Ling Fei chuckled, “But only you dare to say that. Even that old guy Otans wouldn’t dare to say that. However, we came this time also wanting to meet your friend.”
Ling Fei pointed to the sea, and Mu Li understood that Ling Fei was referring to Lugia.
“Unfortunately, it’s been in a bad mood lately,” Mu Li sighed, then recounted what had happened two days prior to the others.
“My goodness! Those foreigners are too bold, aren’t they? To actually go straight for a divine Pokémon like that?” Ling Fei couldn't help but exclaim at the foreigners' audacity after hearing it.
If they really angered those Legendary Pokémon, things could escalate to the level of national destruction.
Mu Li also shook his head and said, “Now that technology is advanced, coupled with Mega Evolution and Dynamaxing techniques, I see many Champion-level trainers trying to capture some legendary Pokémon.”
Ling Fei also nodded: “It has already happened. When we had the Champion exchange match with the United States before, we already saw a Darkrai and an Entei.”
“I expect there will be more and more in the future,” Mu Li sighed. “These legendary Pokémon are still relatively common and won’t cause any problems. I’m just afraid they’ll act recklessly and try to capture those Pokémon with divine authority; at that point, the entire Blue Star might be affected.”
“Do you have a way to prevent these things from happening?” Ling Fei asked.
Mu Li shook his head and said, “There’s no way. If I hadn’t happened to be there before, Lugia might have been caught by them too.”
“Then…” Ling Fei’s brows were furrowed with worry.
“You don’t need to worry, even if these Legendary Pokémon are caught, it’s just like that,” Mu Li comforted him. “Legendary Pokémon aren’t that easy to die, and the balance of the entire Blue Star is maintained by these Legendary Pokémon. Once one of them has a problem, other Legendary Pokémon will naturally come to help. These people can barely handle one; if there are a few more, then don’t even think about it.”
“Even in the worst-case scenario, isn’t there Arceus?” Mu Li said calmly. “But if Arceus makes a move, it’s not just a few people dying; it might even wipe out humanity in a fit of rage.”
“Don’t scare us,” Ling Fei said irritably.
“Who’s scaring you?” Mu Li said seriously. “I’m worried that with human greed, that day will come sooner or later.”
“Oh? I don’t think so,” He Lin suddenly said.
“How so?” Mu Li asked, puzzled.
“I think that among humans, while some are indeed greedy, more people are like you, A Li,” He Lin smiled. “It’s precisely because most Pokémon trainers are like you that the relationship between humans and Pokémon will become better and better.”
Mu Li smiled bitterly, “Teacher He, I’m not as great as you say.”
“I think you’re even greater than I imagined,” He Lin smiled. “Just like how you quietly saved Mewtwo and the Three Legendary Birds a few days ago, and at the same time eliminated a dark organization. Just this alone is not something an ordinary person can do.”
“If one day it truly happens as you say, there will definitely be countless trainers like you who stand up to protect humanity.”
Unconsciously, the topic became a bit heavy, so Mu Li immediately changed the subject: “Let’s not talk about these heavy things. By the way, Director Ling, what do you guys want to do this time? You don’t really want to practice with Lugia, do you?”
Ling Fei smiled, “Mainly to see you. Haven’t seen you in a while, right? And then, by the way, let them train a bit. Next year is the Olympics.”
“Lugia probably won’t do it; it was beaten for no reason and is currently throwing a tantrum at the bottom of the sea,” Mu Li complained.
“You arrange it yourself, anyway,” Ling Fei said casually. “If not, then let your little fatty go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the little fatty extended a small chubby hand from the shadows and made a peace sign.
“Alright then.” Mu Li already had an idea in mind. “We’ll go battle at sea after dinner tonight. I’ll bring Brother Zhang and the others along later and let them mock me for being an ‘air force’ again.”
He Lin couldn't help but laugh, “Not going to keep it a secret anymore?”
“Hey, it’s something they’ll find out sooner or later anyway,” Mu Li waved his hand. “I just didn’t expect them not to have guessed it by now.”
“These three kids are indeed a bit silly,” Huang Xiaochu also couldn't help but complain.
Not long after, the fishing team also returned.
Without Mu Li, fishing seemed to go very smoothly.
The fish caught today were not only enough for everyone to eat but also had a portion left over to sell.
“No! This must be an accident!” Mu Li expressed his unwillingness to believe this fact.
After dinner, the main event officially began.