"Click, click, click..."
This time, Groudon didn't use Levitate to lift itself off the ground. As the God of the Land, when it had to battle, it preferred the feel of solid ground beneath it.
"Hmm..."
A roar rang out, as if from the distant past.
Ancient, and filled with boundless majesty.
In the core region of the Spirit Primal Forest,
atop a huge parasol tree,
a Pokémon with fiery red feathers and brilliantly golden tail feathers suddenly raised its head and looked toward the place where Groudon was.
"Raaah..."
The Pokémon spread its wings.
When had that guy come to the Spirit Primal Forest?
As the thought crossed its mind, the Pokémon took flight. At that moment, every Flying-type Pokémon in the core region of the Spirit Primal Forest turned its gaze toward the parasol tree where it had been perched.
"Caw..."
"Beep!"
"Woo..."
The phoenix took flight, and a hundred birds sang in chorus.
Meanwhile, back with Groudon,
this was Su Yi's first time seeing Groudon's size in the outside world.
Its body was as enormous as a mountain.
No wonder... it couldn't fly!
Fortunately, its Levitate Ability hadn't changed with its size. Levitate was still Levitate, and as long as Groudon wanted to, it could still float.
"This... This..."
Zhang Mu was completely dumbstruck, unable to say a word.
A body as huge as a towering mountain, seemingly cast from indestructible rock, with a fiery red color like molten lava—who wouldn't recognize it? This was the legendary Super Ancient Pokémon, Groudon!
They said it had created the land!
Good heavens!
"Damn!"
Zhang Mu cursed outright, forgetting all the decorum expected of the Zhang Family head.
You idiot! You fool!
What kind of being had you brought down on our family?!
Why had a Super Ancient Pokémon like Groudon shown up when they came looking for him?!
"Caw..."
Earlier, Groudon had kept its aura in check, so the Champion-rank Braviary hadn't been bothered.
Now that Groudon had unleashed its full power, the Champion-rank Braviary was so oppressed it could barely breathe.
As he felt the Wild Pokémon fleeing in a panic, Su Yi experienced firsthand what the pressure of a Super Ancient Pokémon was like.
An absolute superior!
"R-Respected Pokémon, we... we meant no offense. We'll leave at once..."
Zhang Zhen took a deep breath, then bowed his head and spoke in a trembling voice, his heart pounding.
Some people feared death less as they aged, having come to terms with it.
But others feared death more and more!
Zhang Zhen was one of those who feared it!
At long last, four of his Pokémon had reached Champion rank, and he himself hadn't yet officially become a Champion. And now, he'd provoked Groudon.
Groudon lifted its head slightly. As it did, the sunlight in the sky seemed to grow even more dazzling!
Zhang Zhen and the Zhang Family members were scared out of their wits!
Oh no! Groudon was about to attack!
"Run!!!!"
The cry was filled with despair and boundless terror!
Zhang Zhen immediately sent out all four of his Pokémon that had reached Champion rank!
"Rampardos! Mismagius, Bronzong, Hippowdon, Braviary! Stop it! Hold it back!!!!"
Zhang Zhen placed all his hopes on his four old companions.
The four Champion-rank Pokémon were terrified beneath Groudon's oppressive aura, but they still managed to use their moves.
"Pew!"
Groudon's Solar Beam!
With a deafening roar like a missile launch, all four Champion-rank Pokémon used their moves at once. The result was utterly one-sided; they couldn't hold it back for even half a second!
One blow was all it took to knock them out of the battle!
As for these Pokémon,
they weren't the ones at fault.
No matter how wicked the Zhang Family was, Pokémon obeyed their Trainers.
Without the Zhang Family's orders, these kind-hearted Pokémon wouldn't have done anything bad on their own.
At most, some Pokémon could be a little mischievous.
That was why Su Yi had already given Groudon instructions.
Just make the Pokémon lose their stamina; only deal with the Zhang Family members.
So, although Groudon's Solar Beam looked devastating, it had only knocked those Pokémon out of the battle.
As for the Pokémon below Champion rank, few of them could even move under Groudon's overwhelming pressure.
"How could this be!!!"
Zhang Zhen and Zhang Mu stared in disbelief, their eyes bloodshot.
Zhang Kuang had been scared senseless long ago...
What awaited them was a foot dropping from the sky...
"CRASH!!"
Groudon casually brought down one foot. Its power was far more terrifying than that of a magnitude-ten earthquake!
The earth truly split, and mountains crumbled!
"Who was it?!"
Even as they died, Zhang Zhen, Zhang Mu, and Zhang Kuang never knew that Su Yi was the one who had plotted all this.
Zhang Zhen knew about Su Yi!
But he'd never taken Su Yi seriously.
Two top scorers? Until your talent became actual strength, Zhang Zhen thought, killing Su Yi would take no more than a word from him.
Even with the Pokémon League protecting him, Su Yi had hindered Zhang Zhen's grandson Zhang Kuang's growth and humiliated the Zhang Family. When Zhang Kuang told him about Su Yi, Zhang Zhen knew that this person named Su Yi could never be of use to the Zhang Family.
When powerful factions found someone talented, their first thought was to recruit them.
If recruitment failed, then a domineering family like the Zhangs—one that schemed to keep other families from surpassing them—would next eliminate anyone who posed a threat and refused to serve them!
If Su Yi couldn't be of use to them, they'd eliminate him!
They only needed to hire someone through the black market. No one would have any evidence proving that the Zhang Family had done it!
They'd even planned out what would happen to Su Yi.
But they hadn't expected Su Yi to send them on their way first!
As for Murong Qianjin and the Murong Family mentioned earlier, that would all be taken care of. Don't rush.
Also, someone asked why Ampharos couldn't just kill Murong Qianjin. Come on, guys, it was the college entrance exam! To complete Main Quest 1, Su Yi had to become the exam's top scorer!
With that kind of status, any stain would be blown out of proportion by people with ulterior motives!
You couldn't expect Su Yi to kill the others too, could you?
Kill people who hadn't provoked him? Those bodyguards had only battled him once. Su Yi wasn't a lunatic. At the end of the day, he was just an ordinary person with his own selfish desires...
The Zhang Family was finished!
Su Yi had already shown them mercy by not having Groudon deal with their Pokémon.
Given the Zhang Family's ways, they wouldn't have let him off.
If they hadn't been too busy lately with that appointment, they probably would have acted against him already.
Strike first and gain the upper hand; wait, and you'll suffer!
Since they were bound to become enemies, Su Yi didn't mind being ruthless for once!
Besides, this incident involved the Super Ancient Pokémon Groudon. No one would ever suspect him!
"Groudon didn't gain any experience from beating those Pokémon..."
It was his first time doing something like this, and Su Yi couldn't help pursing his lips, feeling a little unsettled. He could only distract himself.
"Return, Groudon!"
After that stomp from Groudon...
Su Yi didn't even need to spend time checking what had happened.
But earlier, Groudon's Solar Beam had only knocked the four Pokémon out of the battle, so the rest of its power had blasted into other parts of the Spirit Primal Forest.
It had caused a huge explosion, and the flames had spread to the towering trees.
Su Yi was suddenly frantic with worry. This was the last thing he wanted to see!
He recalled Groudon and was about to head over there when a cry rang out from deeper within the middle region.
The sky was dazzling with every color, as if a rainbow had paved a path through it, and clouds gathered like auspicious omens.
A red Pokémon with a crown-like crest on its head soared through the sky.
"Wind King is here... Good. No need to worry about the fire."
Su Yi quickly left the middle region and returned to the outer region.
Then he hurried out of the Spirit Primal Forest.
The Pokémon League was probably going to be in an uproar next...
Fortunately, he'd been extremely careful throughout. There was no way anyone could have discovered him.
He'd bought everything from underground vendors, in places without even a single security camera.
His appearance and voice had both been disguised, and he hadn't used his real name. The sellers didn't even know he'd been the one who bought the items.
They hadn't even seen his face.
Before you continue