Wang Yao

Biodata

Background / History

Wang Yao comes from a well-connected family: his father, Wang Yougang, directs the Alliance Public Security Bureau, while his mother heads the Pokémon Center. His family and Ye Qing's mother have known one another since childhood. The Wangs live in a detached villa with several Pokémon roaming freely in its yard 5 6 16 30.

He and Ye Qing are childhood friends and classmates. Before Ye Qing's sudden academic improvement, the pair occupied the bottom two positions in their class for two years. Wang Yao receives his Pokémon-keeping permit alongside his classmates and subsequently begins training a Treecko given to him by his girlfriend 2 6 33 50.

His early ambition is to travel in search of undersea treasures, ancient tombs, and unusual Pokémon. When Zhao Xinran explains the requirements for early graduation, he eagerly asks about taking the Professional Trainer assessment ahead of schedule, although she warns that his strength is insufficient at that point 136.

His involvement with supernatural events gradually changes his direction. After witnessing the tragedy of the Ghost Girl and Zhang Ziren, he resolves to abandon his frivolous approach to romance. During a later tomb expedition, his consciousness experiences ten years in a village's memory-world, where he falls in love with and marries Yingzi. Her subsequent death leaves him consumed by grief and a desire for revenge against Luo Moyun 319 471 475 484 485.

Seeking the power to avenge Yingzi without continually depending on Ye Qing, Wang Yao studies genetics and joins Team R as an evolution researcher. He eventually recognizes both the impossibility of turning Caterpie into Rayquaza and the organization's intention to use him against Ye Qing, prompting his escape. His pursuit of Luo Moyun culminates in the Imperial Capital confrontation, a severe injury from Raikou, and a months-long coma. After awakening and reuniting with Yingzi, he resumes life in Alto Mare and eventually becomes a Gym Leader 496 559 560 666 737 738 801 802 1041.

Appearance

• Exceptionally handsome and popular with girls; his looks are explicitly linked to his reputation for benefiting financially from girlfriends 1.
• His father, Wang Yougang, bears a noticeable resemblance to him 16.
• Becomes pale and thin after his encounter with the mysterious girl who commissions him to deliver a letter 114.
• During his flight from Team R, he is described wearing tattered clothing and, on one occasion, being covered in blood 681 707.
• Appears pale and gaunt during his prolonged hospitalization 788.

Personality

Wang Yao is initially outgoing, boastful, and flirtatious. He frequently changes girlfriends—Ye Qing counts three in a single month—and enjoys the cars and gifts his relationships provide. His behavior can also be domineering: he threatens to replace an unnamed wealthy girlfriend when she answers his question with one of her own 2 6 40.

His loyalty to Ye Qing is much stronger than his early romantic attachments. After the Jinxi Forest disaster, he blames himself for endangering his friend, cries while pleading for help, and attempts to return to the forest despite his father's refusal. He later ends his relationship with Sun Xiaowei because he believes her family's rescuers failed to save Ye Qing 16 40.

Although frightened by dangerous Pokémon and doubtful of his own academic ability, Wang Yao can act decisively under pressure. He joins the battle against Fearow, helps bluff Zhang Qiang's group into retreating, and publicly challenges an unfair arrangement for Ye Qing's examination. He is also indiscreet: Ye Qing considers him the school's biggest blabbermouth and deliberately withholds his Feebas-catching plan from him 11 31 34 50.

His romantic experience gives him considerable social confidence and attentiveness on dates. He carries practical supplies such as bandages, tissues, gum, and an umbrella, and takes pride in anticipating a girlfriend's needs. Ye Qing later acknowledges his perceptiveness about Zhang Siyu and Zhao Ziran's relationship by invoking his “Love Sage” nickname 149 523.

The Ghost Girl's devotion to Zhang Ziren makes Wang Yao reassess his conduct. He slaps himself and resolves to find a similarly sincere love; afterward, Ye Qing notices that he is no longer constantly pursuing women 319 324.

His relationship with Yingzi brings a much more severe transformation. Within the memory-world, his greatest fear is forgetting his identity and companions, leading him to carve reminders into his own body. After Yingzi dies, he becomes withdrawn, refuses to explain his suffering even to his mother, and channels his grief into study and revenge. Although he outwardly claims that Luo Moyun's powerful family makes retaliation impossible, his hatred continues to grow 471 484 485 486 496.

Despite joining Team R, he insists that he will never harm his family or friends, even at the cost of his life. He angrily rejects an offer to exchange information about Ye Qing for help killing Luo Moyun, and later prefers death to being recaptured and used as leverage against his friend 560 607 668.

After awakening and meeting Yingzi again, he becomes more accepting of their unusual circumstances. He regards even occasional meetings across time as a gift and hopes to live quietly with her rather than pursue personal greatness. His familiar joking manner also returns, including his boast that he is a refined gentleman immediately after swearing 802 990.

Pokémon

Power Progression

Abilities & Skills

Pokémon Handling

• Trains alongside Treecko and commands it in a coordinated battle with Chimchar and Torchic 6 11.
• Rides Rapidash and brings it to a controlled stop before collecting Ye Qing 30.
• Recognizes several possible types from the appearance of Ye Qing's Pokémon Egg and notices its damaged shell 6.
• Commands Grovyle's Energy Ball during school sparring and Leaf Blade in combat against Team R 82 119.
• Redirects his newly evolved Gyarados's anger by exploiting its interest in Gardevoir, promising a relationship that he has no authority to arrange 119.
• Coordinates Butterfree's powders and silk with Walrein's movement to create a wind-assisted escape across the snow 667.
• Organizes a large, specialized force for the Raikou ambush, combining defensive setup, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Explosion, Earthquake, Clear Smog, Disable, Frenzy Plant, and a planned Fissure trap 713 714.
• His ordinary Trainer ability remains limited relative to Ye Qing's. Sceptile's growth is repeatedly attributed to its own discipline, and Wang Yao initially doubts that he is strong enough to run a Gym 459 666 990.

Quick Thinking and Advocacy

• Distracts the mountain security guard while Sun Xiaowei calls for help 14.
• Supports Ye Qing's recording bluff by displaying a powered-off phone, successfully concealing that they have no evidence 31.
• Identifies the conflict of interest in allowing Vice Principal Zhang Zhihong to set questions for a contest involving his own son, persuading the school to appoint Zhao Xinran instead 34.
• When abducted by the Ghost Girl, deliberately leads her toward Black Rock Mountain rather than immediately taking her to the Public Security Bureau, hoping to buy time and avoid endangering its occupants 311.
• Orders a comprehensive search of personnel at the Shanhai City Research Institute, allowing Gardevoir to identify an infiltrator before Aerodactyl's research data can be stolen 340.
• Uses his detailed knowledge of Shanhai City's streets and hidden paths to remain concealed while Team R pursues him 732.

Academic Knowledge

• Recommends Grass-type Pokémon as affordable first partners because they are comparatively easy to raise 2.
• Knows the academy's six-tier dormitory system and explains its differences in space and training facilities to Ye Qing 31.
• Struggles with written examinations. After copying from Ye Qing during the placement test, he ranks 153rd—an improvement he celebrates as finally becoming an average student 32 33.
• Later studies genetics and related subjects intensively, obtaining difficult-to-acquire materials as part of his attempt to create a Rayquaza from Caterpie 496.
• His accumulated research knowledge eventually allows him to recognize that Caterpie cannot evolve into Rayquaza; even Team R's creation of Mewtwo does not establish that such a transformation is possible 666.

Evolution Research and Equipment

• Proposes using machines to trigger premature evolution by provoking extreme emotions. He acknowledges that Pokémon evolved through this method may possess comparatively hollow strength, but argues that it could rapidly increase Team R's fighting power 578.
• At the Antarctic base, supervises work on two approaches: drugs that stimulate physiological responses such as adrenaline release, and modified Poké Balls that use electromagnetic waves to influence Pokémon's brains 607.
• Obtains documents about Xerneas through Meng Wutong, with Executive Jiang Zimo expressing support for his research needs 607.
• Steals a defective Dark Ball whose technology can forcibly subdue captured Pokémon through painful interference with their brainwaves. Its power enhancement consumes the Pokémon's life force, and its damaged condition makes its control temporary and increasingly dangerous 689 707 716.
• Commands assistants in Team R's research organization; he later privately recalls having managed dozens of people 607 870.

Relationships

• Ye Qing — Childhood friend and closest companion. Wang Yao lends him his phone, shares meals with him, helps arrange his rescue, and chooses a dormitory room next to his 2 15 40 50. Their bond remains central throughout Wang Yao's research, defection, and recovery: he refuses to betray Ye Qing, while Ye Qing treats his feud as his own, cares for him in hospital, helps reunite him with Yingzi, and arranges his later Gym role 485 486 560 607 668 788 801 990.
• Wang Yougang — Father. Their conflict over rescuing Ye Qing exposes Wang Yao's financial dependence on his family; Wang Yougang has Jynx knock him unconscious when he attempts to leave for the forbidden forest 16. His later arrest on embezzlement allegations intensifies Wang Yao's determination to confront Luo Moyun. He is subsequently reunited with his hospitalized son and is present during efforts to awaken him 733 746 788 801.
• Aunt Wang — Mother and head of the Pokémon Center. Wang Yao asks her to examine Ye Qing's cracked Egg, leading to treatment by her Blissey 6. He brings her to Ye Qing's home for protection during the Ghost Festival crisis. She is devastated by his abduction, his refusal to discuss Yingzi's death, and his later coma, during which she remains closely involved in his care 301 310 486 766 788.
• Sun Xiaowei — Former girlfriend and companion on the Jinxi Forest trip. They escape together and obtain help, but Wang Yao later breaks up with her over Ye Qing's fall from Pidgeot 10 14 15 40.
• Su Yiqin — Sun Xiaowei's best friend. Wang Yao invites her camping partly to introduce her to Ye Qing as a potential romantic match 9 10 11. She later joins the dinner celebrating Ye Qing's Professional Trainer qualification 150.
• Zhang Qiang — Antagonistic schoolmate. Wang Yao confronts his bullying and opposes his father's involvement in the public academic contest 30 32 34. He remains unafraid of Zhang Qiang's status because of his own father's Public Security Bureau position 127.
• Zhao Xinran — Temporary homeroom teacher. Wang Yao supports her defense of Ye Qing and nominates her to set impartial contest questions 32 34. She later warns him not to underestimate the Professional Trainer assessment and, after their graduation and her further studies abroad, greets him as a Gym Leader 136 1041.
• Zhang Wenwen — Girlfriend during the Professional Trainer assessment period. She angrily questions him about his dealings with other women and the Pokéblocks he provides, but Ye Qing helps persuade her that she has misunderstood the situation. She joins their celebratory dinner afterward 147 148 149 150.
• Yingzi / Wang Yanying — His wife within the village memory-world and his enduring romantic partner. His consciousness spends ten years there, and he regards their shared life as genuine regardless of whether its setting was an illusion. Her apparent destruction by Luo Moyun's Metagross drives his revenge 471 475 484 485. Ye Qing later brings Wang Yanying, connected to him through events a thousand years earlier, to his hospital bedside. Following his awakening, they reunite and accept a relationship involving periodic meetings across time 788 801 802 935.
• Luo Moyun — Mortal enemy responsible for Yingzi's death. Wang Yao initially conceals his plans because Luo Moyun's family connections make retaliation dangerous to everyone close to him. Later provocations and the persecution of his parents culminate in his attack on Luo Moyun, whose death Ye Qing confirms after Wang Yao awakens 475 485 517 733 736 801.
• Su Qi — Team R recruiter and later pursuer. She secretly recruits Wang Yao by exploiting his revenge motive and interest in Mewtwo's creation. After his defection, he exposes her identity as a senior Team R executive to Ye Qing; she later attempts to seize him in Alto Mare 559 560 867 935 936.
• Giovanni — Team R leader who orders Wang Yao's secret recruitment partly as a means of drawing Ye Qing into the organization. His later operation manipulates the conflict between Wang Yao and Luo Moyun 558 734.
• Meng Wutong — Team R operative who delivers Xerneas research documents and tests his loyalty by offering revenge in exchange for information about Ye Qing. His immediate refusal establishes the strength of that loyalty; she also warns him about Luo Moyun's connections within Team R 607.
• Li Hu — Team R member who becomes a crucial ally. He lets Wang Yao escape, gives him Fletchinder, and stays behind to delay pursuit. Wang Yao later worries about his safety when Ye Qing mentions meeting him. Li Hu again intervenes when Su Qi attempts to capture Wang Yao in Alto Mare 668 802 936.
• Luo Jiujiu — Companion during the ancient-tomb expedition. She travels with Ye Qing and Wang Yao and is present when he becomes trapped in the bridal chamber's memory-world 459 465 470 471.
• Professor Qian — Takes an interest in Wang Yao, which Wang Yao believes is due to Ye Qing's help. He visits Wang Yao during his hospitalization after Yingzi's death 486 560.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Jinxi Forest Trip and Rescue

• Organizes a camping trip with Ye Qing, Sun Xiaowei, and Su Yiqin, then leads them onto undeveloped mountain trails despite a warning sign 9 10.
• Initially urges retreat from a level-17 Fearow, but commits Treecko to the group's counterattack once escape proves impractical 11.
• Flees with Sun Xiaowei when hundreds of Spearow attack, becoming separated from Ye Qing and Su Yiqin. The pair reaches an area with phone reception and arranges rescue 12 14.
• Returns aboard Brother Xu's Pidgeot. During the subsequent aerial ambush, he tries to catch the falling Ye Qing, but Machamp restrains him against Pidgeot's back 15.
• After nearly two sleepless days, receives Ye Qing's call and collects him on Rapidash. He provides a place to wash and clean clothes rather than letting Ye Qing alarm his parents by returning home injured and barely dressed 29 30.

Bullying Incident and Placement Examination

• Helps Ye Qing intervene when Zhang Qiang's group assaults Wang Shuang and his girlfriend with Pokémon. Their false claim to have recorded the attack forces the bullies to leave 30 31.
• Copies from Ye Qing in the dormitory placement examination and places 153rd, while Ye Qing earns first place with 110 points 32 33.
• Rallies classmates behind Ye Qing when the result is challenged and secures Zhao Xinran's appointment as question-setter for the public contest 34.
• Swaps rooms with another student to obtain room 605 beside Ye Qing's room 606 40.

Exposing Chimchar's Misbehavior

• Follows Ye Qing out of class and is sent ahead to inspect Chimchar in the Volcanic Zone 46.
• Films Chimchar receiving food and massages from other Pokémon. The footage exposes Chimchar's staged training routine and leads Ye Qing to confine him to his Poké Ball for the rest of the day 47.

Early Battles and the Evolution Kick

• Is rescued alongside Chen Sisi when Mewtwo transports them and Ye Qing to a rooftop after the Team R incident. He breaks down in relief, and Ye Qing comforts the survivors and calls an ambulance 69.
• Participates in school battles while Treecko approaches evolution, then trains the evolved Grovyle against Ye Qing's Monferno 76 82.
• Takes Ye Qing's story about James's “Evolution Kick” seriously and resolves to obtain a Magikarp during the island training trip 84.
• Later raises a level-10 Magikarp but initially hesitates to kick it because abusing Pokémon is illegal 105.
• Accompanies Ye Qing to Black Rock Mountain, where they encounter Team R attacking a forest ranger. Under mortal pressure, he kicks Magikarp into the battle, eventually provoking its evolution into Gyarados 116 117 118 119.
• Survives the battle as Grovyle and Monferno cut down the fleeing attackers. Once the fighting ends, he shakes uncontrollably, recognizing that this was his first life-or-death fight against other humans 119.

The Ghost Girl's Letter and the Ghost Festival

• Meets a mysterious girl holding Drifloon in a secluded alley. She demands that he deliver a letter to Zhang Ziren within ten days, pays him with a Dusk Stone, and disappears through a black vortex 113.
• Becomes pale and anxious afterward. He does not tell his parents because his father is away on a mission and he does not want to worry his mother; Ye Qing helps him investigate the recipient 114 116.
• During the Ghost Festival crisis, asks to shelter his mother at Ye Qing's house. They arrive by Teleport with Blissey, Meganium, and Clefable to support the defenders 301.
• Commands Sceptile during the defense of the villa, but the Ghost Girl abducts him and confines him inside Cofagrigus 305 310.
• Once released from the bandages, learns that she wants him to lead her to Zhang Ziren. He deliberately takes her toward Black Rock Mountain to stall rather than expose the Public Security Bureau to immediate danger 311.
• Witnesses the conclusion of the Ghost Girl and Zhang Ziren's tragic relationship. Deeply affected, he condemns his own past treatment of love and resolves to change 319.
• Later helps protect the Shanhai City Research Institute by ordering a personnel search that exposes a researcher attempting to steal Aerodactyl's data 340.

Ancient Tomb Expedition and Yingzi

• Joins an expedition involving Ye Qing, Luo Jiujiu, and Luo Moyun. At this point, his team includes a level-42 Sceptile, level-35 Gyarados, Castform, and an Everstone-holding Caterpie 457 459.
• In the fog-filled cave, is deceived by a female ghost until Gengar drives it away. He subsequently discovers Sceptile and Blissey circling helplessly behind a Ghostly Wall 465.
• Enters an abnormal bridal chamber and is isolated from the others when its doors close. His consciousness enters the body of his childhood self in an inaccessible village 471.
• Attempts to preserve his identity by carving reminders of Ye Qing and his Pokémon into a willow tree and then his own body, but eventually forgets his former life 471.
• Grows close to Yingzi over the years and marries her. Although only about ten minutes pass outside, he experiences ten years within the memory-world 471 484.
• After the illusion collapses, witnesses Yingzi's soul fading following Metagross's attacks. He tries unsuccessfully to embrace her and sings part of their song at her request 475.
• Explains his experience to Ye Qing but remains emotionally devastated. On learning the extent of Luo Moyun's family protection, he claims revenge is impossible while privately retaining his hatred 484 485.
• Remains withdrawn in hospital despite visits from his mother, Ye Qing, and Professor Qian. Later begins intensive study of genetics, believing that creating Rayquaza from Caterpie is his only route to revenge 486 496.
• In Alto Mare, conceals his grief more successfully but tells Ye Qing that distinguishing reality from illusion no longer changes what Yingzi means to him 507.

Team R Recruitment and Evolution Research

• Giovanni orders Su Qi to recruit him secretly, recognizing both his feud with Luo Moyun and his closeness to Ye Qing 558.
• Accepts Su Qi's offer after she invokes Team R's creation of Mewtwo and shows footage of Ye Qing surrounded by Unown. Receives a ring and instructions to keep the meeting secret 559.
• Sets an explicit condition that he will not harm family or friends. He withholds the recruitment from Ye Qing partly because he suspects the ring may permit surveillance and partly because he wants to help his friend rather than remain dependent on him 560.
• Develops research into emotion-induced evolution, proposing machinery that could reproduce the stimulus behind his own Magikarp's transformation 578.
• At Team R's Antarctic base, supervises assistants investigating chemical and electromagnetic methods. Meng Wutong brings him Xerneas documents and tests whether revenge can persuade him to betray Ye Qing; he refuses immediately 607.
• Gradually realizes that the Rayquaza project is impossible and that Team R chiefly values him as leverage over Ye Qing. The base's restrictive management and the assistants assigned to monitor him reinforce his decision to escape 666.

Antarctic Escape and the Capture of Raikou

• Uses fieldwork as an opportunity to obtain an Ice-type partner, defeating and capturing Walrein with Sceptile 666 667.
• Escapes pursuit using the newly evolved Butterfree's powders and silk in combination with Walrein's speed 667.
• Confronted by Li Hu near the sea, declares that he would rather die than become a burden to Ye Qing. Li Hu lets him go, gives him Fletchinder, and remains behind to delay the pursuers 668.
• Survives the freezing crossing with Fletchinder's Flame Body and takes refuge in a cave. Later reaches an island with Gyarados's help and remains under pursuit for two months before Talonflame's evolution enables an aerial escape 668 678 681.
• Retains a defective Dark Ball stolen from Team R and decides to use it to capture Raikou as the power needed to kill Luo Moyun 689 707.
• Spends nearly all his valuables feeding and building rapport with a newly captured force of Gengar, Onix, Tangrowth, and Golem 707 713.
• Ambushes Raikou in a confined cave, sacrificing members of the force and employing repeated explosions and coordinated trapping tactics to create an opening 713 714.
• Successfully controls Raikou with the Dark Ball and uses it to escape Jiang Zimo's encirclement. Recognizing that the Ball is cracking and consuming Raikou's life force, he resolves to reserve its remaining use for confronting Luo Moyun 716.

Imperial Capital Confrontation and Coma

• Returns to Shanhai City while evading Team R and attempts to visit his father. Li Yong stops him and reveals Wang Yougang's arrest on embezzlement allegations, restrictions on his mother, and the rumored involvement of the Luo Family 732 733.
• Confirms the arrest in the news and sends Ye Qing a warning before leaving. Ye Qing returns to find the Wang family home sealed 733.
• Infiltrates the Imperial Capital's exclusive villa district, unaware that Team R has deliberately facilitated his approach as part of a plan against both him and Luo Moyun 734.
• Seizes Luo Moyun, who admits that Team R told him to act against Wang Yao's parents. Wang Yao cripples him and uses him as a hostage while Raikou holds off the Luo Family's forces 736 737.
• Attempts to reach the district gate with Sceptile dragging Luo Moyun beside him, but Cynthia, the Dragon Tamer, Zapdos, and League forces complete the encirclement 737.
• Loses control when the defective Dark Ball finally shatters. Raikou immediately attacks him; he instinctively holds Luo Moyun in front of himself but is struck by the electricity and collapses 737 738.
• Ye Qing arrives moments too late to prevent the injury and rushes to his side. Wang Yao subsequently remains unconscious for months, sustained by intravenous nutrition and cared for by his parents 738 746 766 801.
• Ye Qing later confirms to him that Luo Moyun died and that his revenge was accomplished 801.

Reunion Across Time and Recovery

• Ye Qing brings Wang Yanying to the hospital and explains her connection to Wang Yao through events a thousand years earlier. Her voice causes movement in his fingers and a detectable brain-wave fluctuation, but does not awaken him 788.
• Ye Qing has Darkrai create a nightmare involving Yingzi's death. The shock finally awakens Wang Yao, while Gardevoir helps calm him before allowing the reunion 800 801.
• Learns that Raikou injured him after the Imperial Capital battle and that he has been unconscious for months. He then eagerly asks to see Yingzi 801.
• Reunites with her and is examined by doctors, who find that he is no longer in serious danger 802.
• Accepts that Yingzi cannot remain permanently in the present and treats their situation as a long-distance relationship, hoping Celebi will permit occasional meetings. He also expresses a wish to retire to an uninhabited island with her 802.
• Remains in Alto Mare to recover, explaining that his killing of Luo Moyun prevents him from freely traveling elsewhere 802.

Su Qi's Exposure and Later Gym Role

• Identifies Su Qi as a senior Team R executive and warns Ye Qing that she may use the tournament to gain an Elite Four position and greater power in Dragon Country 867.
• Is later confronted by her on the Alto Mare coast after seeing Yingzi off. Sceptile attempts to attack but is restrained by Alakazam 935.
• Refuses to submit to capture and prepares a desperate fight with his remaining Pokémon. Li Hu intervenes with Zoroark and Mega Beedrill, but Su Qi's team overwhelms them until Blaziken blocks Metagross's Meteor Mash and carries both men to safety 936.
• Ye Qing later offers him a position commanding Mythical Pokémon at a dedicated Gym, dismissing his concern that his own strength is inadequate 990.
• By Zhao Xinran's return visit, he is explicitly recognized as “Gym Leader Wang Yao.” He remains close to Ye Qing, greeting their former teacher beside him with an arm around his shoulders 1041.

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