Lost in the Mountains, Trouble Brews

Flames wrapped around the little wings, transforming them as they spread wide.

They grew brilliant and powerful, like a Pegasus's wings. They looked magnificent.

Ito Hei had no time to get excited. "Faster!" he shouted.

"We need to reach Liu Xin quickly, or he'll be in danger."

Whoosh!

Rapidash surged forward so fast it nearly threw Ito Hei off.

The Lighthouse Guardians stared in envy. "Beautiful! A winged Rapidash—you might be the first, don't you think?"

"And that speed is ridiculous."

A journey that should have taken three or four minutes was cut in half.

When they arrived, they were dumbfounded.

What had happened? Could someone explain?

Hippowdon was leading a group of Pokémon in a furious assault on Onix, while Onix kept taunting them.

If Onix could talk, it would have turned into a Zu'an champion and talked the entire field into submission.

How did that make any sense?

This was not how the script was supposed to go. Liu Xin and his Pokémon should have been at death's door.

At the very least, they should have been backed into a corner.

Instead, they were laughing and carrying on. How did that make sense?

Was this normal?

Sen Anxiang ignored all that and called out, "Liu Xin! We're here to help! Are you okay?"

Help had arrived.

Liu Xin's eyes widened. He let out a long breath. "You got here faster than I expected."

"I've worn them down enough. Let's do this."

Worn them down enough?

Did he hear himself?

The Lighthouse Guardians' mouths twitched. The gap in fighting strength was enormous.

How had Liu Xin managed it?

There was no time to worry about that. First, they needed to deal with the Treasure Hoarders.

Charizard landed, and the pressure of its higher level made Hippowdon cower at once.

Hippowdon might have been level forty and able to bully a rookie like Liu Xin, but against a level-fifty Charizard, it was the one about to get pummeled.

The tables had turned.

In less than three minutes, every enemy had been dealt with.

As for the two from Team Rocket, they had slipped away long ago.

"Pathetically weak. I didn't expect anyone in the Treasure Hoarders to be this easy to beat."

"I feel like any wild Pokémon would be stronger than your Hippowdon."

In truth, Hippowdon was not entirely to blame.

Onix deserved most of the credit for its defeat.

When Hippowdon used Crunch on Charizard, it broke its own front teeth and promptly lost most of its fighting strength.

Hippowdon's owner roared, "Just you wait, Liu Xin!"

"The Treasure Hoarders will hunt you without end, until you're dead!"

Sen Anxiang sent out Krabby and began treating Liu Xin.

After absorbing the treasure, its healing move worked quite well. The small wounds on his body closed quickly.

Liu Xin's Pokémon were taken back to the lighthouse for treatment.

Only when they were completely safe did they set out again.

This time, nothing unexpected happened. They encountered neither the Treasure Hoarders nor the two from Team Rocket.

"I have to say, your Rapidash looks pretty cool."

"Those wings are on a whole different level from mine."

Liu Xin glanced at his Pokémon Egg. It had grown a pair of wings, but otherwise showed no signs of change.

Rapidash was unbearably proud now, showing off its fiery-red wings every day.

Ito Hei had grown smug right along with it.

Sen Anxiang had other things on her mind. "Where are we now?" she asked quietly.

Where were they?

That question struck at the heart of the problem. Liu Xin and Ito Hei finally took out their equipment to check.

But the signal was too weak. They could not tell which way was which, much less make sense of the map.

"Does anyone know how to read a map?"

No one did. They even asked the Pokémon.

Great. The three of them were lost.

Lost amid the misty mountain paths. Just perfect.

Three days later.

Liu Xin and Ito Hei were still trying every method they could think of to find their location, while Sen Anxiang trained her Pokémon nearby for the Pokémon Contest.

"All right, all right. Come back now."

"Keep this up and you'll tear down the whole mountain."

Liu Xin recalled his Pokémon. They were causing far too much trouble.

Looking at the pitted ground, Liu Xin felt a little embarrassed. It was all their handiwork.

"One, two! One, two, three!"

"One, two! One, two, three!"

A chorus of voices chanted in unison. A group came running toward them, their figures growing clearer through the mist.

People. Living people!

Liu Xin and Ito Hei exchanged an excited look.

Dressed in matching tracksuits, the group stopped before the three of them.

The man in front frowned. "Did you do this?"

Remembering how Liu Xin had sold him out before, Ito Hei immediately pointed at him. "He made all these holes. It had nothing to do with me."

"So if there's a problem, take it up with him."

Liu Xin stared at him. What a great teammate. He'd sold me out without a second thought.

The leader checked again. "It was you?"

"You made all these holes by yourself?"

He had done it, so he would own up to it.

Liu Xin took a deep breath. "Yes, it was me!"

"This isn't your land, is it? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

The leader immediately said, "That's him. Seize him and take him back for questioning."

Huh!?

What was going on? Why were they arresting me?

Ito Hei seemed to realize something was wrong. He immediately sent out his Pokémon and demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"

"He may have made the holes, but you can't just arrest him without getting the facts straight."

Sen Anxiang stepped forward too, fuming. "Exactly! I can't stand people who act without giving a reason."

"I hope you'll talk to us properly."

Someone in the group tried to reason with the leader in a low voice. "Captain, maybe this young man didn't do it. We shouldn't accuse someone unfairly."

"And you two, please calm down. Something bad happened at our academy."

Academy?

Could it be Pokémon Academy, between South China City and Vermilion City?

These people were students there? No wonder they carried themselves with such an air of privilege.

Ignoring the warning, the leader sent out his Pokémon. "Weepinbell, bring that boy here."

It was the evolved form of Bellsprout. Its head had grown larger, along with its mouth.

Its roots had shrunk into a brown hook on its back.

It still had two leaves, though they now grew on either side of its yellow body.

It had round black eyes and three dark-yellow spots on its forehead.

Weepinbell.

The moment it appeared, it shot out a vine toward Liu Xin.

"I wanted to talk this over calmly, but you keep ignoring me."

"Do you think I'm a pushover? Phanpy, teach him a lesson!"