Although the northern wildfires and the southern floods were both ant to support the earthquake in Chengdu—to scatter Dragon Country's Pokémon League relief forces—between the two, if the southern flooding succeeded, the negative emotions it generated would surpass even Chengdu's quake.
However—based on Cyrus's understanding of Dragon Country's League, the Seven Sages' chances of success weren't high.
Of course, that didn't an it was impossible.
After all, the Seven Sages still held a trump card of their own.
It just depended on whether they were willing to use it.
"Leader," Pluto suddenly suggested, "should we notify Saturn and have Landorus move again to trigger another earthquake?"
If they triggered another quake, their rate of harvesting negative emotions would jump even higher.
Cyrus shook his head.
"Not for now."
"League personnel are already on-site in Chengdu."
"And according to Saturn's report, the one who arrived is Dragon Country's Psychic-type Elite Four, Su Xiaxuan. If Landorus acts now, it'll be hard to avoid her search."
Among the four Elite Four, Su Xiaxuan might not be the strongest in raw power—but she was absolutely the most troubleso.
And an earthquake of that magnitude—even for Landorus—wasn't sothing it could toss out casually.
For now, neither the north nor the south had sent back news yet. Better to hold steady and respond as things develop.
Since the leader had decided, Pluto didn't say more.
He simply watched the chain continuing to form, silent, his thoughts unreadable.
...
Yunlong Dam.
As more and more support teams poured into the Secret Realms, the number of Secret Realms began to shrink.
The dam's water level was still rising, but it was barely within a controllable range.
"Leader, at the League's current pace, they'll probably discover Secret Realm 19 soon."
"Should we leave so traces in advance?"
A Seven Sages mber ca to Yang Yong and asked.
They hadn't expected the League to send Elite Four Tier powerhouses to scout first.
With that, the speed at which Secret Realms were exposed would far exceed their projections.
Yang Yong looked at the thunderclouds crackling with lightning inside the Secret Realm and asked, "Which Elite Four did the League send?"
The mber answered, "Two in total: Dragon-type Elite Four Jin Peng, and Bug-type Elite Four Lin Feng."
"Besides those two… there's one more."
As he spoke, the mber's gaze drifted toward Lie Ke standing beside Yang Yong.
Lie Ke blinked.
"One more?"
"From that look on your face… does this have sothing to do with ?"
The mber fell silent for a mont before saying slowly, "Besides the two Elite Four, Guo Yi ca as well."
The instant the words left his mouth, Lie Ke's expression turned icy.
But what ca next made Lie Ke's body go rigid.
"I heard… I heard he also brought the Bug Master's Beedrill."
"What?"
Lie Ke couldn't hold back a shout.
The mont he recalled that terrifying Beedrill, his heart still clenched.
One versus five.
It was the nightmare that had never left him.
Seeing Lie Ke's reaction, Yang Yong frowned.
He hadn't expected that Beedrill to have left such deep damage on Lie Ke.
He looked like a startled bird, spooked by the re sound of wings.
"Enough," Yang Yong said. "I understand. Proceed according to the original plan."
Lie Ke was still trapped in fear, and Yang Yong cut him off before it spread any further.
"Yes," the mber said, bowing to Yang Yong before leaving to prepare.
"Lie Ke," Yang Yong said, patting his shoulder, "victory and defeat are both part of war. Don't take it so hard."
Lie Ke had been with him for years. Yang Yong genuinely wanted to help him out of it.
However—a mont later, Lie Ke spoke abruptly.
"Leader… your plan still needs soone to act as bait, doesn't it?"
"Let do it."
In Lie Ke's eyes, hatred flickered like fla.
At his age, sotis pride mattered even more than strength.
And Lie Ke's pride had been shattered to pieces the day he fought Guo Yi.
How could he not repay that humiliation?
"Th—" Yang Yong hesitated.
Their plan did require soone to operate Thundurus as bait and draw the Pokémon League's attention.
But that bait might very well be a one-way trip.
Yang Yong had originally intended to pick a disposable subordinate for the role.
As for Lie Ke… honestly, Yang Yong couldn't bear to.
The Seven Sages weren't like Team Galactic, with deep coffers and endless manpower.
Team Galactic had multiple Elite Four Tier powerhouses—losing one, while painful, was still survivable.
But the Seven Sages didn't have that kind of foundation to burn.
Yet when Yang Yong opened his mouth to persuade him—the sheer finality in Lie Ke's gaze turned a bellyful of words into a single sigh.
"Lie Ke, you need to think this through."
"Thundurus is indeed stronger than that Beedrill."
"But don't forget—Guo Yi also has a Zapdos."
"Two against one… I can't promise the odds. And if Guo Yi pins you down, you may lose any chance of escape."
If Lie Ke couldn't take Guo Yi down fast and got dragged into a stalemate, then once League reinforcents arrived, he wouldn't be able to leave even if he wanted to.
Even knowing it might not change anything, Yang Yong still had to make the stakes clear.
Lie Ke fell silent for a mont.
Yang Yong said nothing more, simply waiting for him to choose.
"Hah…"
With a long exhale, Lie Ke made his decision.
"Leader. I'm willing to try."
In the end, he chose to gamble—using Thundurus's power to reclaim his confidence and his face.
Seeing that, Yang Yong didn't argue further.
"Then the task of drawing the League's attention is yours."
"The mont you engage Guo Yi, we begin our operation imdiately."
Whether Lie Ke defeated Guo Yi or not, their plan wouldn't change.
If anything, Lie Ke's choice could buy them more ti.
"Don't worry, Leader!"
"With Thundurus's help, I can defeat Guo Yi."
Lie Ke spoke with complete confidence.
After that, Yang Yong left the device for controlling Thundurus with Lie Ke, then led his people out of the Secret Realm.
Not long after they departed, a fully ard Corps squad entered the Secret Realm.
To speed up exploration, Elite Four Jin Peng had issued a mobilization order to nearby Gyms,
sending Gym-led teams to scout the Secret Realms together.
Rumble—!
The mont they stepped in, deafening thunder rolled across the sky.
At the sa ti, the oppressive atmosphere inside the Secret Realm made the team leader, Gym Leader Gan Yun, uneasy.
Gan Yun was the Gym Leader of Qingyuan City.
Qingyuan City was a large town several hundred kiloters east of Yunlong Dam.
When Jin Peng's mobilization order went out, Gan Yun was among the first Gym Leaders to arrive at Yunlong Dam.
And Gym Leaders like them weren't allowed to leave their assigned towns without orders.
Rules existed for a reason.
As the highest combat power stationed in a town under the League, a Gym Leader couldn't simply wander off—if sothing happened, they'd be held accountable.
"This Secret Realm isn't simple," Gan Yun said.
"Everyone, stay sharp."
As he warned them, he pulled two Poké Balls from his waist.
Bathed in red light, two Pokémon with pseudo-Elite Four strength erged.
Swampert and Flygon.
The two strongest Pokémon Gan Yun had.
Swampert—a four-legged Pokémon, primarily blue, with black fins and a white belly.
Swampert was also one of the starter lines capable of ga Evolution.
Aside from Legendary Pokémon, with ga Evolution, Swampert ranked comfortably in the top three among Water-types.
In the wild, Swampert used its fins to sense subtle changes in wave sounds and sea winds, allowing it to predict storms.
It also had the power to tow large ships, easily dragging rocks over a ton.
It was a perfect helper at sea.
Its arms were as hard as stone—one swing of its thick forearms could smash opponents and pulverize massive boulders.
Flygon, anwhile, was known as the spirit of the desert.
In the sandstorms Flygon stirred up, you could hear sothing like a beautiful woman's singing mixed with wingbeats—hence the na "desert spirit."
Those who were bewitched by the sound, minds stolen away—would eventually be swallowed by the sandstorm, becoming Flygon's food.
So in the desert, you didn't just guard against harsh conditions—you also had to watch for that seductive voice from hell.
In weather like this torrential rain, besides Water-types, Electric-types were another threat you had to be wary of.
And the Ground typing on Gan Yun's two Pokémon made them well-suited to handle Electric-types.
Unfortunately...
ga Evolution still hadn't been discovered and announced to the world.
Otherwise, in a rain-soaked environnt like this, it would've been Swampert's stage.
"Understood!"
At Gan Yun's warning, the mbers around him released their Pokémon as well, readying themselves.
However—they hadn't even gone a few steps.
A bolt of lightning suddenly speared down from the sky.
"Swampert!"
Gan Yun's pupils shrank. He shouted on instinct.
"Swamp!"
In an instant, Swampert lunged forward, throwing its body between the bolt and the team, taking the strike head-on.
For a mont, everyone thought it was fine—but then Swampert, hit by lightning, let out a howl of pain.
"Swamp!"
When the lightning finally dispersed, Swampert was scorched black, eyes dull, collapsed on the ground.
A Pokémon with absolute type advantage against Electric—and it still couldn't withstand a single hit.
In an instant, everyone froze in shock.
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