"Save me!"
Pidgeot was already far away. The sensation of falling grew stronger, and wind roared in Ye Qing's ears. He grasped at the air with both hands, but the plea for help caught on his lips, refusing to come out.
Was I really going to die like this? I don't want to die! Think of something, think!
The thought filled his mind, and his gaze swept past his Poké Ball.
"Bro, save me!"
Clinging to his last shred of hope, Ye Qing released Chimchar.
"Ooh!"
Chimchar shrieked, startled the moment he emerged. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, grabbing Ye Qing with his left hand while his right clawed wildly at anything that might slow their fall.
Pidgeot hadn't been flying very high, only a dozen meters or so. Ye Qing now realized that he and Chimchar had reached the treetops-and that these trees were their only chance of survival.
"Now, Chimchar! Use Fury Swipes!"
Ye Qing curled into a ball, doing his best to protect his vital areas.
Chimchar clung tightly to Ye Qing's arm with his left hand. His right hand and both feet blurred into a flurry of afterimages, clawing at the branches to slow their descent.
Leaves flew from the towering tree, six or seven meters tall, while broken twigs and torn foliage scattered everywhere.
"Ooh-wah!!!"
Chimchar spotted an opening and clenched his left fist. Blazing flames wrapped around it, and a moment later, he slammed it into the trunk!
The powerful Fire Punch drove straight into the wood. His flaming fist slid down the trunk, leaving a trail of scorch marks!
"Ooh-wah!!!"
Fierce flames erupted from Chimchar's eyes and rear. His burning arm scraped against the trunk, sending waves of agonizing pain through his nerves.
With Fire Punch slowing them down, however, their fall gradually lost speed. Finally, Ye Qing landed with a thud on a branch as thick as a thigh.
Chimchar pulled his arm out of the blackened trunk. He tried to take a couple of steps, but staggered instead, his eyes rolling back as he passed out.
Boom!
While Ye Qing and Chimchar lay unconscious, battles broke out across the forest. Violent explosions and searing flames lit up the pitch-black woods.
Ye Qing's eyelashes fluttered as he lay unconscious. He could feel waves of heat washing over his face, and the air was thick with choking smoke from burning wood.
"Cough, cough!"
A violent coughing fit brought Ye Qing groggily back to consciousness.
"Chimchar!"
Ye Qing patted Chimchar, who lay unconscious beside him. When he realized he couldn't wake him anytime soon, he had no choice but to recall him.
Lying on the branch, Ye Qing looked down and found himself still more than three meters above the ground. At some point, an explosion had blasted a large hole at the base of the tree, and fierce flames were climbing the trunk.
Although the tree was desperately secreting a special resin to extinguish the fire, a blaze of this magnitude was far beyond its ability to put out.
Ye Qing pushed off the trunk with his foot, then rolled the instant he hit the ground, shedding most of the impact.
Such a difficult maneuver wasn't easy, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for Ye Qing.
During his first two years of high school, aside from studying Pokémon theory, he had spent all his time learning various wilderness survival skills. After all, how could anyone become an outstanding Trainer merely by directing Pokémon in battle?
Had the Pokémon League already engaged Team R?
Ye Qing frowned at the explosions and beastly roars coming from every direction.
"Forget it. I'd better get out of here first. Which way was Pidgeot flying earlier? Hmm... I should go this way."
Suppressing his worries, Ye Qing picked up a twig and sketched on the ground. Once he had worked out a rough route, he cautiously made his escape.
Inside a villa in Shanhai City's wealthy district, two people, one older and one younger, were arguing incessantly in the living room.
Wang Yao clutched his head and pleaded, "Dad, you're a department head, aren't you? Please help me! Ye Qing only ended up in danger because of me!"
Opposite him stood a middle-aged man who bore some resemblance to him and carried an imposing air of authority. "How many times do I have to tell you? The Pokémon League and Team R are fighting right now, and an order has been issued forbidding anyone from entering Jinxi Forest! Besides, Ye Qing's mother is an old acquaintance of your mother's. Do you think I'd refuse to help if I could?"
Just then, a woman came out of the kitchen and said unhappily, "Yougang, can't you speak nicely to our son? What's all this shouting for?"
Wang Yougang ignored his wife. Looking at Wang Yao's tear- and snot-streaked face, he snapped in exasperation, "You're too old to be crying like this! Can't you be a little more mature and independent?"
Wang Yao wiped away his tears and protested, "I'm already independent enough!"
Wang Yougang gave a short laugh at his son's words. "I have no idea what you mean by independent. Spending my money and repeatedly going against what I say? When the day comes that you no longer use my money or anything I've given you, then you'll have the right to talk to me about independence and maturity!"
Wang Yao clenched his fists and stood up. "Then are you going to save him or not?"
"It's not that I won't save him. I can't! Besides, I've already put in a word. They'll keep an eye out for Ye Qing as best they can while carrying out their mission."
With that, Wang Yougang shook out his newspaper and stopped looking at his son.
"Fine! Then I'll save him myself!"
Wang Yao gave an angry snort, turned, and started running outside.
"Enough of this defiance! Lock him in his room!"
The moment Wang Yougang finished speaking, the eyes of the Jynx by the doorway glowed. An instant later, Wang Yao's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.
Someone's there?
Ye Qing parted the bushes and used the firelight to examine a clearing several dozen meters away.
The entire patch of ground looked as though someone had plowed it from end to end. Churned-up turf and broken branches lay everywhere.
Were they fighting among themselves?
The two figures facing off against each other wore identical uniforms emblazoned with an R, leaving Ye Qing puzzled.
The one with his back to Ye Qing leaned against a Magneton and said weakly, "I never would have thought you were a mole the Pokémon League planted among us!"
The other man wore a Bat Mask. Mounted on an Arcanine, he pressed a hand over the bleeding wound in his chest and managed a strained smile. "I thought I'd hidden it well enough. I never expected you to find me out."
"Don't forget, I was the one who recruited you! Are you after Mewtwo?"
"My objective? You'll find out once you're dead."
"You might be the one who dies!"
Neither of them spoke quietly. Even from over twenty meters away, Ye Qing could hear every word. Looking at their Pokémon, he couldn't help checking their information.
Pokémon: Magneton (Level 33) Potential: D- Status: Severely injured Gender: None Type: Electric/Steel Ability: Sturdy Held item: None Egg moves: None Basic moves: Tackle, Thunder Shock, Magnet Bomb, Thunder Wave, Light Screen, Flash Cannon Tutored moves: Electroweb TMs: Thunderbolt, Double Team, Explosion Notes: Large gatherings of Magneton can trigger electromagnetic storms. The three Magnemite that make up its body can also briefly separate over short distances to evade attacks.
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