A mysterious youth released a Gyarados, which immediately roared upon appearing, clearly indicating it had a fiery temper.
Xia Huna whispered to the system, "System, what are the stats of this Gyarados?"
The system scanned the Gyarados and replied, "Don't even bother asking. Knowing the details will only make your heart ache."
Xia Huna scratched his head, "What? It's that strong?"
The system poured him a cup of tea in his mind, "I won't say much, but the three of you combined wouldn't be able to defeat this Gyarados."
Xia Huna understood that "the three of you" referred to Xiao Meng, Samurott, and Charizard present. Even if Samurott and Charizard were a bit lower level, Xiao Meng was almost level seventy. Was this Gyarados truly that formidable?
"This Gyarados is level eighty-three. Do you think that's formidable?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Huna instantly relaxed. Level eighty-three! In a game like Pokémon, with its level-based system, a difference of ten-plus levels could drastically alter the outcome. Especially when Samurott and Charizard hadn't even passed level fifty.
Xia Huna asked the youth, "How do we fight? How about you pick one, and I'll take the other?"
The mysterious youth crossed his arms, "I don't mind. Why don't you pick first?"
From a training perspective, Xia Huna intended to defeat both. After all, both Charizard and Samurott had a base Special Attack stat of three, and with Xiao Meng around, gaining experience for Froakie shouldn't be a problem. However, fighting two at once would be much more troublesome.
"How about this, I'll handle Samurott, and you deal with Charizard. Let's finish quickly and help me out."
To be honest, there was no need to describe this battle in detail. A level sixty Xiao Meng, an eighty-level Gyarados, and Froakie, sent out by Xia Huna to make up the numbers, made it a complete stomp. Before long, the two useless individuals from Lixing Country were defeated and lying on the ground.
Xia Huna leaned against a tree and asked, "What should we do with this bunch of disorganized riff-raff?"
The mysterious youth produced a rope from somewhere and tied up the people. "Wait a moment, I've contacted the police station. We'll leave after they've dealt with them."
Before they had to wait long, a middle-aged man in police uniform arrived in a patrol car. As soon as he got out, he declared, "I received a report of a brawl and illegal assembly in the forest. Everyone, come with me."
Xia Huna looked at the mysterious youth. "Did you report to the scriptures and this is what came out?"
The mysterious youth tossed him a badge. "See for yourself."
The middle-aged man tore the badge without even looking. "Still trying to pass off fake credentials? Get down, hands behind your head!"
The mysterious youth looked at Xia Huna. "Do you understand now? This definitely wasn't who I called. Do you think I would call someone this brainless?"
Xia Huna nodded. Someone who could produce an eighty-three-level Gyarados must have an extraordinary background. Someone with such a background wouldn't call such individuals from the police station.
Just as the middle-aged man was about to apprehend Xia Huna and the others, several more police cars arrived from a distance, surrounding them.
The mysterious youth finally breathed a sigh of relief. "See? These are the people I called."
...
An hour later, Xia Huna and the mysterious youth stood in an office. Facing them, a stern-looking middle-aged man was reviewing a report.
"You two did a good job this time. You managed to lure out quite a few of these individuals. They're becoming more and more arrogant."
Xia Huna didn't quite understand what he was talking about. The person sitting behind the desk continued, "You two can go down now. Xiao Du, you can explain it to him."
Xia Huna looked at the mysterious youth beside him. "Xiao Du? Could it be that you're the legendary Seven-Layered Creator Savior, the Dragon Warrior Watano? Am I in the wrong anime..."
The two left the office and stepped outside. As they walked, Xiao Du explained the entire incident to Xia Huna.
The Pokémon League of Lixing Country had always been at odds with the rest of the world, wanting Lixing Country to be the sole dominant power. Thus, they were always causing trouble in various matters every year. Although they had achieved little, they never tired of it. This incident was no different. After Xia Huna published his new type-effectiveness chart, Lixing Country began to instigate Frost Country to have Xia Huna "return to his ancestral roots."
However, this matter was immediately rebuked by the official authorities of Minglong Country and blocked. Therefore, Xia Huna hadn't heard about it.
Having one plan fail, Lixing Country came up with another. They sent people to directly abduct Xia Huna. As long as he left Minglong Country, there would be endless room for manipulation.
The driver who had taken Xia Huna away yesterday had no connection to Lixing Country. He belonged to another group whose main objective was to target trainers, steal their Pokémon, and sell them at a high price on the black market.
They targeted Xia Huna because he was unlucky. He was targeted as soon as he left school. Due to his youthful appearance, the second group B mistook him for a new high school trainer visiting Liuling University for an academic exchange, as Liuling University always welcomed high school visitors.
Xia Huna, being cautious, managed to trick the driver from group B into taking him to the research institute. They believed that any Pokémon taken away by the research institute must be extraordinary, so they waited until today to abduct Xia Huna.
However, yesterday when Xia Huna spoke to the guards at the entrance, this unlucky group B was put under surveillance. Neither Xia Huna, an honorary researcher, nor the research institute on Qingyin Mountain, were something any criminal group should covet.
After investigation, the police quickly identified group B. However, they hoped Xia Huna would cooperate in a sting operation to locate group B's hideout.
This was why Xia Huna believed he had arranged for people.
As for the unlucky group B, Lixing Country wanted to forcibly abduct Xia Huna but couldn't use their own people. So, they came up with a plan that heavily relied on a sense of individual heroism:
They hired a group from Minglong Country to abduct Xia Huna, and then Lixing Country's secret agents would smuggle Xia Huna out.
However, due to a series of coincidences, things unfolded as they did today.
Xia Huna was abducted by the taxi driver as soon as he left. The driver was delighted that Xia Huna had fallen into their trap, while Xia Huna, intending to capture them all, remained outwardly calm. But to be honest, when a knife was pressed against his side, Xia Huna was quite scared. It would be troublesome to die before achieving his mission.
He was taken to a hideout. Originally, according to the Lixing Country individuals, Scarface Kid could have tricked Xia Huna away. Even if he couldn't, the other two could have forcibly taken him.
Unexpectedly, this foolish group went all out and captured about eight or nine people, including Scarface Kid and Xia Huna. This caught the people from Lixing Country off guard. However, they quickly devised a solution: just take them all.
Scarface Kid's agitation was effective, but Xia Huna didn't fail to notice some flaws. After all, the exaggerated facial expressions and body language were as ridiculous as the TV shows Xia Huna had watched in his past life.
As for how he knew their objective, it was because Xiao Du secretly slipped him a badge while fighting those two men in black.
Xia Huna was initially suspicious, but upon seeing the Minglong Country Pokémon League badge, he somewhat lowered his guard. During the fight, the two deliberately held back, secretly discussing everything clearly. To consult with Xia Huna, Xiao Du even had his Pokémon take a deliberate hit, sending him flying.
As for the middle-aged man's claim of catching a big fish, it was because the net could have been cast once Xia Huna was in place. The reason Xia Huna waited there for so long without anyone coming to rescue him was because he was being held back by this big fish. The middle-aged man they encountered when they were about to leave was also sent by this big fish.
...
After explaining all this, Xia Huna sighed, "What is all this? I just went out for a walk and encountered something like this."
Shortly after they left, Xiao Du received a phone call and brought Xia Huna back to the same office.
The middle-aged man was still sitting behind his desk. "Little Xia, I need to ask for your opinion on something."
Xia Huna nodded. "Please, go ahead."
"Do you know that because your honorary researcher status was previously announced, many countries are now studying you, or rather, targeting you?"
Xia Huna found it hard to believe, but still nodded. "So, what you're saying is...?"
"I hope that if you have the opportunity, you will gain more public attention. Do you understand what I mean?"
Xia Huna thought for a moment. "You mean, turn me into a target, so that all those strange forces will target me, and then we can deal with them all?"
The middle-aged man nodded. "Exactly. The more attention you get, and the younger you are, the more they will target you. This is indeed the best opportunity for us."
Seeing Xia Huna's hesitation, the middle-aged man said, "Don't worry, I'll have people protect you from the shadows. What do you think of Xiao Du?"
Hearing the middle-aged man agree to send someone to protect him, Xia Huna thought about his Audino in hand. Theoretically, with his and Xiao Du's current theoretical capabilities, self-protection shouldn't be a major issue. Unless they encountered an incredibly absurd lineup, their lives shouldn't be in danger.
Xia Huna nodded. "Alright, in that case, I agree. It's my way of contributing something."
The middle-aged man smiled knowingly. "On behalf of the Minglong Country Pokémon League, thank you. Xiao Du, you will be responsible for protecting Xia Huna from now on. I will arrange your identity."
...
After taking on another task he didn't know how to describe, Xia Huna and Xiao Du left the Liuling Police Station. Xia Huna extended his hand. "Let's get acquainted, classmate Xiao Du."