"Old Chen, which way are we going?"
After leaving the Diamond Kingdom, Steven looked at the vast forest surrounding them, completely unsure where they were supposed to search for Xerneas.
Cynthia, Diantha, and Diancie all turned their attention toward Chen Shi.
The corner of Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
His right shoulder shook slightly.
Understanding immediately, Mew closed its eyes and sensed the surroundings before giving him directions.
[Keep heading right.]
[You can pretend you're just wandering around.]
"Heh."
Chen Shi sneered inwardly.
Pretend to wander around?
At the end of the day, Mew was simply wary of Zygarde and afraid it might come out to stop them.
Putting on an indifferent expression, Chen Shi casually said,
"No idea."
"Let's just wander around for now."
Then he started walking to the right.
Steven, Cynthia, and Diantha exchanged glances.
Although they found Chen Shi's sudden change in attitude somewhat strange, they trusted him completely.
Without hesitation, they followed.
Only Diancie remained standing there in confusion.
Weren't they supposed to be searching for Lord Xerneas?
How had it suddenly turned into casual sightseeing?
But seeing the group already walking away, she could only hurry after them.
Since they had spent quite a bit of time in the Diamond Kingdom, it was already approaching afternoon by the time they left.
After walking for a while, Chen Shi even stopped to eat.
Once the meal was over, he continued leading the group through the forest.
On the surface, they appeared to be wandering aimlessly.
In reality, Mew was constantly providing directions.
And with each passing hour, they drew closer and closer to Xerneas's resting place.
During the journey, they encountered several powerful Pokémon.
Oddly enough, these Pokémon attacked the moment they saw them.
In the end, all of them were subdued by Jirachi.
Regarding this, Diantha offered an explanation.
"The Pokémon of the Winding Woods are like this."
"They're extremely hostile toward outsiders."
"They usually attack as soon as they encounter strangers."
Eventually, after dealing with too many attacks, Chen Shi grew annoyed.
He simply had Jirachi release a trace of its aura.
Once the Mythical Pokémon's presence spread through the forest, no Pokémon dared approach them anymore.
As evening approached, Mew finally informed Chen Shi that they were close to Xerneas's resting place.
Just as Chen Shi was preparing to speed things up and find the giant tree that Xerneas had become—
So he could collect his reward from Mew as quickly as possible—
A sharp sound suddenly cut through the air.
Something pierced through the silence like an arrow.
Jirachi, nestled in Chen Shi's arms, suddenly cried out.
"Ah! Danger!"
A tremendous wave of psychic power erupted outward.
Chen Shi hadn't even processed what was happening.
His vision blurred.
Then—
He froze.
A cold point of light had stopped directly in front of his forehead.
It gleamed with a chilling sharpness.
From within Chen Shi's shadow, Dragapult suddenly burst forth.
Its narrow eyes burned with fury.
"Baruuya!!"
The reason it remained hidden in Chen Shi's shadow wasn't only because it disliked Poké Balls.
It was also there to protect him.
And now—
A Beedrill had nearly harmed Chen Shi right in front of it.
How could Dragapult not be furious?
It was angry at Beedrill.
And even angrier at itself.
"......"
Once he recovered from the shock, Chen Shi quickly retreated several steps.
Only then did he get a clear look at the attacker.
A gigantic Beedrill had been frozen in midair by Jirachi's psychic power.
Its spear-like stinger was still thrust forward.
"This..."
Cynthia and the others quickly backed away as well, staring at the sudden attacker in alarm.
"Are you alright?"
Cynthia stepped beside Chen Shi and asked with concern.
Chen Shi nodded.
"I'm fine."
Then he narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the Beedrill.
Its body was nearly two meters tall.
Almost twice the size of an ordinary Beedrill.
Even its wings were different, glowing faintly with a pale green light.
Chen Shi immediately scanned it with the system.
Pokémon: Beedrill
Level: 81 (Champion-Level, Early Stage)
Potential: Legendary
Ability: Sniper
Gender: Male
Moves: Fury Attack, Bug Bite, Fury Cutter, Twinneedle, Pursuit, Focus Energy, Venoshock, Toxic Spikes, Pin Missile, Poison Jab, Agility, Fell Stinger, X-Scissor, Swords Dance, Acrobatics
After seeing the data, Chen Shi's pupils contracted.
Shock filled his heart.
A Champion-level Beedrill?
And one with Legendary potential?
That was insane.
This was Beedrill.
One of the lowest-tier Pokémon species in the world.
Most Trainers with even moderate strength wouldn't bother catching one.
Its potential ceiling was simply too low.
Yet this Beedrill had somehow reached Champion level in the wild.
Without some extraordinary opportunity, Chen Shi would never have believed it.
But that wasn't the main issue.
The real question was—
Why had it attacked him?
Was it simply another case of the forest Pokémon rejecting outsiders?
Thinking this, Chen Shi stepped forward.
"Why did you attack me?"
Even while restrained by Jirachi's psychic power, the Beedrill showed no fear.
It simply answered coldly.
"Beee."
(Leave this place.)
Chen Shi's expression turned cold.
"You nearly killed me."
"And now you're telling me to leave?"
"Have you not realized your situation?"
"Beee."
(I wasn't trying to kill you.)
(I only wanted to teach you a lesson.)
The Beedrill's gaze remained calm.
"Regardless."
"You still attacked me."
"And right now, you're in my hands."
Chen Shi replied expressionlessly.
He couldn't determine whether the Beedrill was telling the truth.
However—
He hadn't sensed any killing intent earlier.
And he hadn't actually been injured.
Otherwise, given Chen Shi's personality, this Beedrill would already be buried.
As expected, the Beedrill fell silent.
Chen Shi continued.
"You possess incredible strength."
"And your potential is exceptional."
"To be honest, I don't believe a wild Beedrill should be capable of reaching this level."
"Unless you encountered some special opportunity."
He paused.
Then continued.
"Let me guess."
"You don't want us moving forward because something important lies ahead."
"Perhaps it's the opportunity that made you stronger."
"Or perhaps it's something you're protecting."
"Am I right?"
The Beedrill remained silent.
Chen Shi sneered.
"Jirachi."
"Bring him with us."
"We're moving forward."
"Okay!"
Jirachi nodded cheerfully.
The group continued onward.
Meanwhile, a thought had already formed in Chen Shi's mind.
The reason this extraordinary Beedrill had become so powerful...
Was likely connected to Xerneas.
And the thing it was protecting—
Was probably Xerneas itself.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon → [email protected]/lucarioTL (replace @ with a)