Thud—thud—thud!
Heavy footsteps drew closer and closer.
With that strange, biting cold rolling in—both the Seven Sages and Jin Peng halted their fighting.
All eyes fixed on the direction the footsteps came from.
Only—unlike Jin Peng's grave expression,
the Seven Sages' eyes burned with excitement.
Because they knew.
Their Leader was finally getting serious.
"So the Leader's finally going to send out that Pokémon?"
Luo De felt an inexplicable thrill.
Truthfully, the moment the frost began forming, he'd already had a rough guess.
Now all he needed was confirmation.
But unlike Luo De, Jie Ke shot Jin Peng a disdainful glance, sneering to himself.
"Heh. A Dragon-type Elite Four?"
"Wait until you see a real dragon. Then you'll learn what Dragon types truly are."
Then his gaze flicked to Dragonite and Hydreigon.
"Pseudo-legendary? Pseudo is all you'll ever be—never reaching the level of a god."
Dragonite and Hydreigon, with their sharp senses, naturally felt that look.
But they didn't care what a small fry thought.
Five of them together couldn't even beat their Trainer—what right did they have to be taken seriously?
And that was with their Trainer not even at his strongest.
If Salamence and Aerodactyl were here, these people would drop even faster.
Right now—that unknown, mysterious Pokémon was the true enemy they had to face.
At this moment, Jin Peng also felt the Dragon Mastery inside him stir.
That sensation only surfaced when he encountered a dragon Pokémon that was both extraordinarily powerful—and exceptionally rare.
"So their trump card is a Dragon-type?"
Jin Peng murmured, more to himself than anyone.
And soon, his suspicion was confirmed the moment Kyurem appeared.
The dragon pressure rolling over them made every Pokémon—along with Jin Peng himself—feel their breath tighten.
"S-so strong…"
Only facing Kyurem head-on did Jin Peng truly understand how terrifying its strength was.
And Gyarados—its red scales trembled uncontrollably.
A nameless fear rose from the pit of its stomach.
As a Pokémon only recently captured from the wild, Gyarados's instincts were even sharper than Dragonite's and the others'.
If Jin Peng and Dragonite weren't here, it might already have followed its blood and dropped to the ground in submission.
After all—for wild Pokémon, bowing to a stronger one wasn't shameful.
"Ah…"
With a quiet sigh, Yang Yong stepped out from behind Kyurem and walked forward at an unhurried pace.
"Elite Four Jin. Never thought we'd end up crossing blades."
Jin Peng narrowed his eyes. "Yang Yong."
The Seven Sages' leader finally showed his face.
This wasn't Jin Peng's first time meeting him, either.
They'd spoken a few times before.
Half-acquainted, at best.
Jin Peng glanced at Kyurem, then said, "So this is why you're working with Team Galactic."
The Seven Sages as a whole weren't as strong as Team Galactic.
But with a Pokémon like this—at the top end of combat power, they really did have the right to sit at the table and talk.
At the mention of Kyurem, pride flickered across Yang Yong's face.
"Of course."
"Without Kyurem, how could I have revealed myself this early?"
Under Yang Yong's leadership, the Seven Sages had always presented themselves like a religious organization.
They drew the League's attention, but never enough to be taken truly seriously.
Because there were countless groups like that in Dragon Country—at least a thousand.
Shaolin and Wudang were even among the most famous examples.
Compared to those, the Seven Sages barely registered.
Who would've thought a forgettable group like that—would possess a Pokémon this terrifying?
Jin Peng pressed on. "I don't understand. What's your goal in destroying the dike?"
"Is it just to cause trouble for Dragon Country? Or were you ordered by foreign forces?"
That question mattered greatly to Jin Peng.
If this was only the Seven Sages and Team Galactic acting on their own, Dragon Country could still handle it.
But if outside forces were involved, then the meaning of the incident changed completely.
Yang Yong could only spread his hands, regret in his expression.
"Sorry, Elite Four Jin. It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's that I truly don't know. I'm helping Team Galactic because they offered me something I couldn't refuse. That's all."
"If you want answers, go ask Team Galactic."
"Then—"
Jin Peng tried to continue.
But Yang Yong cut him off immediately. "Enough, Elite Four Jin. I know you're stalling for time."
"I don't care—but I'm not interested in chatting any longer."
As he spoke, Yang Yong's expression hardened.
"Kyurem. Freeze them."
He gave the order and launched the attack at once.
The next second—a breath of frost blasted from Kyurem's mouth.
Where it passed, everything turned to ice.
"Not good!"
Seeing Kyurem move, Jin Peng's expression tightened to an unprecedented severity.
"Dragonite, Hydreigon, Charizard—[FLAMETHROWER]!"
"Flygon, Haxorus—[DRAGON BREATH]!"
"Gyarados—[DRAGON RAGE]!"
Fwoom!
Three streams of scorching flame erupted at once, merging midair into a fire pillar nearly three meters wide.
But—even though the blaze was terrifying, and the typing favored them—the instant the two forces met, the fire was forced back, inch by inch, by the cold.
Seeing that, the other three Pokémon didn't dare hesitate.
Rolling dragon breath poured in, propping up the flame.
And finally, with Gyarados's Dragon Rage added on top, the mottled energy detonated in a violent burst.
Kyurem's attack was stopped at last.
Yet—instead of relief, Jin Peng's expression only grew heavier.
After that clash, he felt Kyurem's terror even more vividly.
Just one exchange—and he'd needed every one of his Pokémon responding together.
If this turned into a real fight, he wasn't Kyurem's match at all.
What do I do?
I didn't think the Seven Sages' trump card would be this brutal.
Even if Lin arrived, it might not be enough to stop this Pokémon.
For the first time in a long while, Jin Peng didn't know what to do.
But what Jin Peng didn't know—was that the breath just now had only been Kyurem's raw frost.
It didn't even count as a move.
"ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"
A dragon's roar shook heaven and earth.
Kyurem stepped forward.
Endless cold gathered in its mouth.
The next second—an Ice Beam swept across the ground.
Where it passed, ice pillars more than a meter tall erupted in its wake.
This—was Kyurem's power. The strongest dragon of ice.
"S-so… incredible!"
Even Luo De, Jie Ke, and the other founders of the Seven Sages stared, stunned.
Then joy flooded their faces.
Because until now, everything they knew about Kyurem had come from the written records in the Secret Realm.
They'd had a rough sense of its strength, sure—but without seeing it, they'd never truly felt secure.
But now—they could finally breathe easy.
With a Pokémon like this as their trump card, so what if they fell out with the League?
If Dragon Country became unlivable, they had the power to find some small nation and rule there.
Jin Peng saw Kyurem attack again and hurriedly ordered his Pokémon to block.
But this time—even burning, scorching flames froze the instant they brushed that beam.
"Damn!"
Watching that polar-white light sweep closer without slowing, Jin Peng's heart sank.
"Dragonite!"
Without hesitation, he unleashed all of his Dragon Mastery at once, pouring it into Dragonite.
In that moment—Dragonite stepped into Champion Tier.
Its wings beat.
A violent gale surged forth.
Fanned by the wind, the fire's power swelled—but even then, it still couldn't stop Kyurem's advance.
"It's over…"
Just as despair was about to swallow Jin Peng, his reinforcements finally arrived.
"Heracross, Beedrill, Drapion, Galvantula, Crustle, Ninjask—help, now!"
Seeing Jin Peng in danger, Lin Feng released all of his Pokémon at once.
Finally—with Lin Feng's team joining the fight, Kyurem's attack was halted.
"Jin Peng, are you okay?"
Lin Feng stepped in and steadied the swaying Jin Peng.
To block Kyurem's attack, Jin Peng had forced all of his Dragon Mastery out in a single burst.
Now his limbs felt weak.
Only after a short while could he barely stand again.
"I'm fine, Lin. But this time… we're in real trouble."
"That Kyurem isn't weaker than Teacher Guo's Beedrill—if anything, it's stronger."
"I know," Lin Feng said, nodding. "I could feel it even before we clashed."
From that brief exchange alone, he already understood how strong it was.
"So what now?"
"Guo Yi went into the Secret Realm to save people. With just us, we might not be able to stop this Pokémon."
Lin Feng felt a headache coming on.
If Guo Yi were here, even if his Beedrill couldn't match Kyurem—as long as it could hold for a moment, and with their Pokémon supporting… they could still keep Kyurem pinned.
But right now—their Pokémon couldn't withstand even a single direct hit from it.
Which meant—the League's numerical advantage didn't matter anymore.
"Yeah."
"I never expected their trump card to be this terrifying."
Jin Peng's face looked awful. He couldn't help thinking: if only Guo Yi were here.
And the moment that thought crossed his mind—
Jin Peng suddenly remembered what Guo Yi had told him back then.
---
T/N: ninetales time to aurafarm
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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