"Tyranitar?" Lin Hao gasped.
"It's me, Master."
"How many times have I told you not to call me Master!" Lin Hao scowled.
"Understood, Overlord."
"Overlord, my ass!"
"Ground Tremor." Before Lin Hao could finish, the ground split open, spraying dirt everywhere.
A green behemoth over two meters tall burst through the ground, its body covered in hard, armor-like skin. It stood in front of Lin Hao, completely engulfing him in its shadow. Gyarados forced itself to stop.
Its fang-filled mouth was still open, but it couldn't bring itself to bite down. "Roar?" Gyarados rumbled, tilting its head.
Tyranitar turned its head and glanced at Lin Hao. "Master, I'll crush it."
"Don't call me Master! And hold back!" Lin Hao lowered his voice. "I'm just an ordinary person. Are you trying to put me in tomorrow's headlines?"
"Understood. One ten-thousandth of my strength." Tyranitar turned around. It didn't even use a move, merely raising its right claw and swiping forward.
Bang! The wind from its fist blasted through the air. Gyarados didn't even have time to scream before its body hurtled backward into the distant sky.
With a whoosh, it soared through the canopy and shot straight into the clouds. Two seconds later, it had vanished from sight.
"..." Lin Hao said nothing.
"..." May, lying on the ground nearby, also shut her mouth. The forest fell silent.
"You call that one ten-thousandth?" Lin Hao pointed at the sky, his finger trembling uncontrollably.
"It was too light." Tyranitar scratched the armor on its head.
"You nearly flattened the mountain up ahead!"
"That mountain wasn't very symmetrical anyway," Tyranitar muttered.
Lin Hao covered his face. "Get back into the system space, now!"
"As you command, ordinary-person Master." Green light flashed, and Tyranitar vanished without a trace. Only the deep crater in the ground proved what had just happened.
Ho-Oh's voice shot straight into his ears. "Master! It was showing off! It did that on purpose!" Ho-Oh shouted.
"Shut up."
"Let me handle it next time! I can burn Gyarados to ash without damaging the mountain, guaranteed!"
"You shut up too!" Lin Hao pressed his fingers against his forehead.
Rapid footsteps sounded behind him. May stumbled over at a run and grabbed his collar. "Lin Hao!"
"I'm here."
"What was that just now?!" May's voice cracked.
"What was what?" Lin Hao played dumb.
"That green thing! The one towering into the sky! The monster that slapped Gyarados away!" May stared him in the eyes.
"Oh, that." Lin Hao didn't even blink. "That was a mutated Caterpie."
"Bullshit!" May swore. "Since when does a Caterpie have armor?!"
"Maybe it ate the wrong Berry. Indigestion caused some bone overgrowth."
"Lin Hao, I'm an Investigator. Do you think I'm three?" May stamped her foot.
"That was a wild Pokémon passing by." Lin Hao spread his hands. "You saw it yourself. It stepped in to help, then left after the fight."
"It clearly came out of your shadow!"
"Light refraction. That was a blind spot."
"It even looked at you!"
"It thought I was handsome. What's wrong with taking another look?" Lin Hao spread both hands, his expression unchanged.
May's shoulders heaved. She reached for the Pokédex in her pocket. "I'm checking the records. I'm reporting this to the League!"
Just then, the Communicator in Lin Hao's pocket rang. It was Professor Oak. He pressed the answer button. "Lin Hao, are you all right?" Professor Oak spoke rapidly.
"I'm fine, Professor."
"The monitoring station just sent an alert. There was a magnitude-nine earthquake reading in central Viridian Forest! And an extremely high-energy burst!"
"Was there?" Lin Hao looked at the deep crater beneath his feet.
"Whatever you do, don't go any deeper. Those energy fluctuations aren't normal. I'm afraid it might be the legendary Tyranitar!" Professor Oak warned.
"Don't worry, Professor. I'm just an ordinary person. If there's danger, I'll definitely run faster than anyone." Lin Hao spun his story without a blush or a skipped heartbeat.
After ending the call, Lin Hao turned to May. "Hear that? The professor said it was a wild Tyranitar."
"But why would it save you?" May refused to let it go.
"I'm wondering that too. Maybe it has a habit of protecting the weak." Lin Hao shrugged.
May stared at him, breathing unevenly. Her mouth hung open, but for a long while, she couldn't get a word out. No matter how absurd things got, he could always brush them off with a casual remark. "Just how many more secrets are you hiding?" May asked, lowering her head.
"All I have is a handsome face and a heart that wants to take it easy." Lin Hao let out a breath.
As the two stood at an impasse, a faint whimper came from nearby. "Char..."
Lin Hao strode over. Charmander was still lying beneath the tree. While protecting Lin Hao earlier, it had been knocked to the ground by Gyarados's tail. He crouched and scooped Charmander up.
"Pika." Pikachu jumped down too and stood beside him, watching.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Lin Hao stroked Charmander's head. Charmander struggled to stand, but its legs were trembling. "Don't push yourself." He took out a bottle of Potion and sprayed its back. "That's enough. Rest."
Charmander lowered its head and looked at its claws. It stared at them, a low rumble rising in its throat. When danger struck earlier, not only had it failed to protect Lin Hao.
It had needed another Pokémon to come to the rescue. It stared at its trembling claws, forcing a low growl from its throat. "Char!" Charmander suddenly threw back its head and cried out.
"What's wrong?" Lin Hao stopped talking.
Charmander pushed Lin Hao's hand away and forced itself to stand. It trembled nonstop. White light burst from within Charmander, flooding the forest with brilliance.
May stood rooted to the spot a few steps away. "This is..."
"What's happening to Charmander?" Lin Hao turned his head.
Before you continue