Zapdos!
Among all the Legendary Pokémon, this was the one most frequently glimpsed by ordinary people.
As for the top-tier Legendaries—
Putting aside their extreme rarity…
Even if you did encounter one, returning alive would still be questionable.
Thus, the popularity of trios like the Legendary Birds and Legendary Beasts among ordinary trainers even exceeded that of the top Legendaries!
And right now, seeing Zapdos appear before their eyes, the audience could scarcely contain their excitement.
Of course—
It wasn't just the spectators inside the Pokémon Battle Arena who felt this way. Those outside the arena were equally electrified.
They were deeply regretting not having bought overpriced tickets from scalpers earlier.
Watching live, compared to staring at a big-screen broadcast—the visual experience was on a totally different level.
...
"Screeeech—!"
Soaring through the sky above, Zapdos gazed down imperiously upon Charizard, like a god casting judgment from on high.
Its eyes brimmed with disdain.
He hadn't even reached Champion-tier.
An opponent of this level simply wasn't worth Zapdos's consideration.
"Roar—!"
Zapdos's contemptuous gaze immediately wounded Charizard's pride deeply.
Since reaching Elite Four-tier, Charizard had never experienced such blatant disdain!
Whoosh—!
Without even waiting for the referee's signal, a scorching Flamethrower surged forth from Charizard's mouth.
Yet—facing Charizard's attack, Zapdos maintained its indifferent expression.
Without Champion-level strength, you're not even worthy of fighting me.
With just a slight flutter of Zapdos's wings, a bolt of lightning as thick as a man's arm crashed down from the storm clouds above.
In everyone else's eyes, Charizard's seemingly unstoppable flames—
Were instantly shattered under the mighty bolt of thunder!
Not only that, but the lightning, after obliterating the flames, continued straight toward Charizard without losing any momentum.
Charizard's pupils constricted sharply, hurriedly flapping its wings.
Only barely—dangerously—did he manage to dodge this strike.
"Charizard, use [Overheat!]"
"Even if we lose, let's lose with dignity!"
At that moment—Lie Ke finally recovered from his fear of Zapdos.
Victory was already beyond his grasp; all he wished now was to salvage his last shred of dignity!
Feeling its trainer's final resolve—
Charizard once again spread its wings and soared upward. Even amidst the thundering storm above, it charged fearlessly.
[Overheat]: Attacks the opponent with full force. Due to recoil, greatly lowers the user's Special Attack afterward.
Dazzling, crimson-orange flames once again lit up the night sky.
As a Charizard—though lacking the Dragon-type, he still possessed a dragon's pride.
To preserve his dignity, Charizard courageously overcame his inner fear and charged forward bravely, facing death without hesitation.
Facing this strike—Zapdos's expression finally shed some of its earlier disdain.
But that was all.
An ant was still an ant!
Without attaining Champion-level, no matter how fiercely it struggled, it couldn't make even the smallest splash.
"Screeeech—!"
This time—
Zapdos finally acted.
Boundless electric energy surged across its body. In response, the fading thunderclouds surged once more, more violent than ever.
The bolts of lightning churned within the clouds like great thunder-dragons, endlessly building their power.
In the next moment…
Under Zapdos's command, dozens of lightning bolts simultaneously struck down from the sky!
[Thunder]!
One of Electric-type's ultimate moves.
However—ordinary Electric-type Pokémon could only summon a single bolt when using Thunder.
Thus, unless under rainstorm conditions, Thunder's accuracy wasn't reliable.
Yet, when unleashed by Zapdos—
It transformed into dozens of bolts, forming a cage of thunder, relentlessly descending to suppress Charizard.
Despite desperately beating its wings, trying to escape—
Charizard found every direction sealed by dense bolts of lightning, leaving no space to evade.
No choice left.
Charizard could only withstand it head-on!
One bolt—
He winced slightly in pain.
Two bolts—
His momentum weakened visibly.
Three bolts—
His body became covered with scorch marks!
Even a Charizard couldn't ignore the scorching pain inflicted by countless streams of lightning!
Yet—
The thunderous barrage hadn't ended.
Four bolts, five, six…
Until innumerable bolts completely submerged Charizard.
"Roar—!"
With a cry filled with unwillingness, Charizard fell powerlessly from the sky.
"We… lost!"
Lie Ke collapsed weakly onto the ground, legs numb beneath him.
Completely shut out!
Ever since his debut, he'd never suffered such utter humiliation.
And his opponent was even a young girl barely out of the cradle!
Even a former Elite Four like Lie Ke couldn't immediately accept such an outcome.
Although the two Pokémon she used weren't originally Su Qingxue's, Lie Ke could already foresee tomorrow's sensational headlines:
"Famous retired Elite Four defeated by rookie girl!"
"Elite Four trainer completely swept!"
"Fall of a retired Elite Four!"
From now on—Lie Ke's reputation would utterly collapse!
Observing Lie Ke's miserable state, Su Qingxue felt no sympathy.
Had she lost this battle, her father's lifelong legacy would have crumbled completely.
Her fate would also have been unimaginably tragic.
Thus—she harbored absolutely no mercy towards her enemies.
With Zapdos recalled to its Poké Ball, the storm clouds overhead slowly began to dissipate.
By defeating Lie Ke—Su Qingxue's mission here could finally be considered complete.
As for what came next, that was now her mother's responsibility.
Just as she was about to turn and leave—
Host Yao Bin suddenly urged his Braviary to fly over.
"Miss Su, wait a moment!"
Su Qingxue paused her steps, casting him a puzzled glance.
"Is there something else?"
Yao Bin quickly jumped down from Braviary, walking over to stand respectfully before her.
Earlier, he'd hovered above them purely for the convenience of commentary.
But now, he didn't dare remain there a second longer.
Holding the microphone nervously, Yao Bin asked the question everyone present was burning to know:
"If I may ask, is Mr. Guo's teacher the rumored 'Bug Master' who recently took the internet by storm?"
Though everyone present had immediately guessed the answer the moment Zapdos appeared—
They still wished to hear confirmation directly from Su Qingxue herself.
Thus—even the way they addressed Guo Yi had shifted respectfully from his full name to "Mr. Guo."
If previously Lie Ke's appearance had only somewhat raised the Pokémon Battle Arena's profile—then this 'Bug Master' was an existence nobody could dare disrespect.
Defeating the Legendary Pokémon Zapdos with just a Beedrill—
Such an unprecedented feat—had never occurred before, anywhere in the world.
Even now, the internet was still filled with doubts about the authenticity of that video showing Beedrill's fierce battle against Zapdos.
Among them, skepticism from the netizens of Eagle Country was the strongest.
Their national Champion had publicly declared:
If such a powerful Beedrill truly existed, the throne of the world's strongest Pokémon nation would have already changed hands!
One could easily see just how immense the impact of that event had been.
Facing Yao Bin's question, Su Qingxue considered for a moment, then nodded slightly in confirmation.
"Exactly as you all suspect."
"Other than him, who else could possibly command a Beedrill and Zapdos this powerful?"
From the moment her teacher handed Beedrill and Zapdos to her, Su Qingxue clearly understood her teacher's intentions.
Thus, she had no reason to conceal the truth.
Having said this—
Su Qingxue turned decisively, leaving without hesitation.
She still needed to hurry back and return the Pokémon to her teacher.
...
"Come on!"
"Xiao Yue, Bai Cai, hurry and follow!"
In the VIP box—Shu Xinni stared anxiously at Su Qingxue's departing figure, urgently urging her two best friends to catch up.
Just then, Leng Yue gently held her back:
"Xinni, why the rush?"
"It's not as if Guo Yi's going to run away."
Shu Xinni pouted slightly and retorted:
"Who said I'm going to find Guo Yi?"
"Since Su Qingxue has Beedrill and Zapdos, it means my idol—the Bug Master—is right here in Shanghai!"
"If we follow now, we might just get to see him!"
"Hurry up! Or we'll lose her!"
As she spoke—Shu Xinni dashed out impatiently.
Bai Cai and Leng Yue exchanged helpless glances, then hurriedly followed.
Both of them were similarly curious about this mysterious "Bug Master."
...
But elsewhere—Ye Qing, who should have been delighted, wore an expression of mild displeasure instead.
"Xiaoxue actually hid this from me!"
"She made me worry for nothing!"
Of course, Ye Qing was immensely pleased by the battle's outcome.
But recalling how her dear daughter had kept such a huge secret from her left Ye Qing feeling strangely uncomfortable.
Tang Rong, standing beside her, chuckled softly:
"What, feeling jealous of Teacher Guo?"
"I think Xiaoxue probably kept quiet because Teacher Guo told her to."
"Still, this time Teacher Guo completely revealed his identity just to support your Azure Dragon Society."
After today—Guo Yi would likely become the most sought-after figure at Shanghai Pokémon University.
And naturally—the Azure Dragon Society would similarly rise to new heights.
Though the wager hadn't explicitly mentioned what would happen to the Flying Eagle Gang upon Lie Ke's defeat—anyone with eyes could see:
The Flying Eagle Gang was already at death's door!
In stark contrast to the cheerful mood of the Azure Dragon Society, the atmosphere surrounding the Flying Eagle Gang was thick with gloom and silence.
"We lost…"
"Teacher actually lost!"
Ling Yun still hadn't managed to shake off the shock of his teacher suffering such a crushing defeat.
Even though the truth was right in front of him—Ling Yun still couldn't, wouldn't, believe it.
Lie Ke's defeat inevitably meant the end of the Flying Eagle Gang.
Ling Si, standing beside him, was equally silent, saying nothing.
Right now, he had no idea what he could possibly say.
Scold Lie Ke?
He didn't dare.
And even if he did, what exactly could he scold him for?
Blame him for negligence? Or mock him for overestimating himself?
Lie Ke had even released his ace, Charizard, yet it still ended with an instant kill.
What else could Ling Si possibly say?
Ling Si's heart was filled only with unwillingness and resentment.
If it hadn't been for Guo Yi's sudden appearance, the Azure Dragon Society would've long since been crushed by his hands.
Since Guo Yi's explosive rise in popularity a few days prior, Ling Si had finally understood how Ye Qing's Nidoqueen had suddenly grown so strong.
It was all thanks to Guo Yi's help.
Without Guo Yi's intervention, how could Ye Qing possibly have stood a chance against him earlier?
But now, saying anything was utterly useless.
The critical issue now was—how would the Flying Eagle Gang survive from this point on?
Just then—the VIP room's door suddenly swung open.
Su La entered, supporting Lie Ke by the arm.
Lie Ke, however, had no intention of lingering; he left only a cold, blunt message:
"If you want to survive, disband the Flying Eagle Gang."
Ignoring Ling Si and Ling Yun's stricken expressions entirely, Lie Ke promptly left with Su La.
As of now—the Flying Eagle Gang had lost all value.
If he continued supporting it, it would only provoke greater conflict with Guo Yi.
Thus, Lie Ke decisively abandoned it.
Watching the organization he'd painstakingly built over many years discarded just like that—
Ling Si's heart surged with fury.
If it hadn't been for Lie Ke and Su La, even with their clashes against the Azure Dragon Society, it would never have escalated to this miserable point.
Disband?
On what grounds?!
I refuse to believe that without Lie Ke, our Flying Eagle Gang has no path to survival!
Ling Si raged silently in his heart.
The Flying Eagle Gang represented the fruit of his entire life's labor—
How could he possibly abandon it so easily?!