"Who discovered this?" Fugen asked, looking at Hinoa.
"I did, Village Chief," Zhang said, stepping out from behind her.
"I didn't expect it to be you," the elder said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "If what you say is true, then you have done the village a great service. Once this matter is resolved, you will be well rewarded." The culture of the Monster Hunter world was straightforward: meritorious deeds were rewarded. Hunters were never expected to work for free.
"Then I thank you in advance, Village Chief," Zhang replied with a smile. He was naturally happy to hear about a reward.
"You're welcome. You've earned it," Fugen said with a wave of his hand. He then turned back to Hinoa. "Hinoa, don't wander off for the next few days. Stay in the village in case of a monster attack." She was a Champion-tier hunter, a powerful asset, and he valued her strength greatly.
"Alright. I'm going to speak with the Guild. You two can talk amongst yourselves." Fugen got up and strode away.
"Zhang," Hinoa said, a hint of apology in her voice, "because of the Magnamalo and Bazelgeuse situation, the Guild will have a lot of work for me, so I won't be able to talk for long. I'll come find you when this is all over."
"Go on. I won't cause any trouble. Business is more important," he said, gently tapping her on the forehead before leaving with a smile.
"Jerk," she muttered, her face slightly flushed as she watched him go. She then turned and left as well.
Zhang didn't head home right away. Instead, he went to see Hamon.
"Uncle Hamon, are you home?" he called out, walking into the smithy.
"I'm here," the old blacksmith replied, emerging from the back room. "Well now, looking to forge some new equipment?"
"That's right. I hunted a Rathian and want to craft a new set," Zhang nodded, pulling a large pile of Rathian materials from his backpack.
"That's an interesting backpack you've got. It can hold quite a lot," Hamon noted, looking at it with curiosity.
"It's from my hometown. It may look small, but the space inside is quite large," Zhang explained.
"I know. Space technology," Hamon nodded. "The Guild headquarters has a similar backpack, I believe, but it's prohibitively expensive. Are you still wanting a Long Sword?" he asked, sorting through the materials.
"Yes, please."
"Come pick it up this afternoon."
"Alright. Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Hamon." Zhang nodded and turned to leave.
"A Rathian... he's growing fast. To think he can already hunt a Rathian," Hamon mused, watching him go. "What a monster. The young people these days... truly incredible." He shook his head and sighed.
Early the next morning, Zhang traversed back to the Pokémon world. He planned to challenge his first Gym. Defeating the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and becoming the Champion was his dream. As for hunting the Nargacuga, he would put that on hold. The Magnamalo and the Bazelgeuse were far beyond his ability to handle, and he wasn't needed to help defend the village; Fugen and Hamon, with their sub-legendary strength, had it covered. He was still a rookie. It was best to stick to his motto: lay low and develop safely.
"First, I'll look up information on the first Gym," he decided. He wasn't like Ash Ketchum; he wouldn't charge in recklessly. He pulled out his phone and began his research.
Pewter Gym
Description: Located in the mountains, it is the first Gym that trainers in the Daxia region can challenge. Challengers typically face the Gym's disciples, whose Pokémon are generally around the elite tier.
Recommended Types: Water, Grass, Steel, Ground, Fighting.
"Similar to what I've seen before," he nodded, then proceeded to buy a plane ticket. The Daxia region was vast, not a small island nation like Neon. Relying on a Pokémon to fly would exhaust it. Of course, a Champion-tier flying Pokémon was another matter.
After buying his ticket, he rode his Pidgeot to the airport. Looking down at the houses that were now just small black dots on the ground, he sighed. "It's been over two years. I finally have a little bit of strength to control my own destiny. Freedom, power... it feels good. One day, I will stand at the very top of this world, in the spotlight." He raised his hand, as if to grasp the sun itself.
In the square outside the airport, he and his Pidgeot landed. Compared to his school, there were far more Pokémon here. He even saw a pseudo-legendary, a Garchomp.
"I didn't expect to see a pseudo-legendary, and its final form at that. That's a rare sight," he thought, surprised. Pseudo-legendaries were incredibly expensive, and the cost of raising one was ten, even dozens of times that of a normal Pokémon. Only the truly wealthy could afford them.
"Huh? Cynthia!"
Suddenly, he noticed the blonde girl standing next to the Garchomp. He recognized her immediately. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, around his age. She was beautiful, no less so than Hinoa or Minoto, and she possessed a captivating, queenly aura.
"Which one should I buy?" Cynthia was staring at a display of desserts, a conflicted expression on her face.
"Buy this one. It's the best," he said, walking up beside her and pointing to a cream-filled black tea pastry.
"Okay, thanks." She nodded, her decision finally made. After buying the dessert, she turned back to him. "Thank you. Are you a trainer, too?" she asked, noticing the Pidgeot behind him.
"That's right. I'm on my way to challenge the Pewter Gym. What about you?" he replied with a smile.
"I'm a trainer as well, a traveling trainer from the Unova region. I'm also planning to challenge the Pewter Gym," she said, sipping a milk tea.
"The Unova region?" A flash of surprise crossed his face. He remembered that in the games, Cynthia was the Champion of the Sinnoh region, which was based on Hokkaido in Neon. But reality was clearly different. With her long blonde hair, she couldn't be from Neon.
"Welcome to Daxia. My name is Zhang. What's your name?" he asked.
"My name is Cynthia," she replied.
"By the way, you're planning on taking a plane, right? What time is your flight? Maybe we're on the same one," he asked, pulling out his ticket.
"I'm on the 9 o'clock flight, same as you," she said, a competitive glint in her eyes. "It seems we're fated to meet. Are you interested in a battle?"
From his Pidgeot, she sensed a special aura, that of a top predator. She could tell that the young man before her was no ordinary trainer. She wanted to test her theory. Challenging the strong to become stronger that was the Cynthia he knew from the games, the Champion of Sinnoh.