In the Northland Bank.
When Tartaglia received the notification that he had been banned, he was so angry that he almost smashed his high-end Pokédex.
"Damn it! It was Ningguang who was the first to show off her wealth! Why did you catch me and ban me? Just aiming for me, right?"
With his chest heaving in fury, Tartaglia vowed: "I, Tartaglia, will become a group administrator one day. I'm going to make all the guys I don't like go silent!"
At this time, the bank manager Andrei entered the room cautiously.
"Lord Harbinger... The Eighth Executive Officer has arrived in Liyue."
The corner of Tartaglia's mouth curled up. "Very good. La Signora has come to a Liyue that has undergone drastic changes, hasn't she? This magnificent Pokémon Era has probably frightened her. Madam, let me tell you—the times have changed!"
He looked at the Poké Ball on his desk. "And I, Tartaglia, will take my Alolan Vulpix and defeat all of you Harbingers who are ranked in front of me!"
...
Wangshu Inn.
After successfully hatching her initial Pokémon, the Partner Cap Pikachu, Lumine and Paimon left their guest room and prepared to cross the Guili Plains to head straight for Liyue Port.
Lumine packed her things and closed the door. The little electric rat, Pikachu, sat on her shoulder skillfully, its chubby paws pointing toward the blue sky and white clouds outside.
"Pika, pi-pika~!" (Let's set out on the road to becoming a Pokémon Master!)
Lumine was stunned for a moment, but she understood the ambitious cry of the "Pika-God." A subtle emotional seed was growing in her heart. Originally, in Teyvat, she felt like a foreigner, a traveler with no sense of belonging, simply wandering to find her brother.
But in this moment, touched by Pikachu's energy, she felt a new identity: "Trainer?..."
She went down the elevator that had been recently repaired by the Wangshu Inn staff. What neither Lumine nor Paimon noticed was that from the very top of the inn, a pair of hidden eyes was observing them—especially the newly hatched Pikachu.
In Liyue, legends say the towering Wangshu Inn inherits a mysterious mission.
"Pokémon..." a suspicious, cold voice whispered from high above.
Suddenly, the hidden observer shifted his gaze to the dock below. The pier was in chaos. Screams erupted as the crowd fled in all directions.
"Here we go again..."
Xiao, the Vigilant Yaksha, released his invisibility and stepped onto the observation deck with a look of helplessness. Since a week ago, after the huge spatial vortex appeared, the waters northwest of Wangshu Inn had become perilous.
Water-type Pokémon had spread all over the marshlands of Dihua Islet. If Xiao knew the term "Invasive Species," he would have used it to describe this expansion.
Among them, Magikarp were the most numerous. Consequently, there were at least hundreds of their evolved form, Gyarados, in the surrounding swamps. In recent days, more than a dozen Gyarados had attacked merchant ships. Xiao knew these creatures possessed ferocious personalities; once they went into a rage, they destroyed everything in sight. To him, they were no different from demons that needed to be cleansed.
"Hm?!"
Xiao watched a beam of light erupt from the water nearby. His expression changed. "This Gyarados... is more powerful than the ones I have cleared."
It was an Overlord!
At this time, Lumine and Paimon reached the ground and were nearly swept away by the fleeing crowd. A female guard with a sword rushed toward the pier against the flow of people: "Our escort boat is still on the shore! If those water beasts damage it, we're ruined! Stop it even at the cost of your lives!"
Lumine and Paimon looked at each other. The Pikachu on Lumine's shoulder stared intensely at the Hyper Beam approaching the pier.
"Pika! Pika pika!" (Let me handle it!)
It jumped off Lumine's shoulder. Whoosh! It moved at an incredible speed.
At the pier, the guard Huangshi was pulling out her sword when the Pikachu flashed in front of her.
BOOM!
10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!
At the moment the Pika-God used its Z-Move, Lumine felt a stone accessory in her pocket grow searingly hot. It was a prop found among the eggshells earlier—the Pikashunium Z. Lumine had placed it on a makeshift wristband, and now the crystal gem resonated with Pikachu.
A gargantuan lightning beam emerged, colliding with the Overlord Gyarados and its Hyper Beam. The blazing light was so intense that even Xiao on the observation deck had to shield his eyes.
After a few seconds, the thunder dissipated. On the rough water surface, electric sparks danced everywhere. The guard opened her mouth in shock as the ten-meter-long Overlord Gyarados, literally cooked by the electricity, slowly surfaced belly-up.
After performing a move far beyond its "baby" status, the Hat Pikachu looked drunken and dizzy, spinning in circles before falling unconscious. Lumine rushed forward and scooped it into her arms.
Paimon patted her chest with lingering fear, staring at the massive fainted beast. "One... instant kill?"
Beep.
Paimon looked through Lumine's Pokédex and realized it had recorded the explosive scene. She quickly uploaded it to the Group Chat:
Paimon: (Video: Pika-God - Look at my power, I am invincible!)
All members of the Group Chat: "???" "Is this a hack?" "Impossible!"