Human, consider this your reward. From this moment on, we are even.
Also... please look after my little brother. He didn't grow up by our parents' side, so his temper can be a bit willful.
I leave him in your hands.
The Hydreigon let out a pair of low rumbles toward Feng Che.
Communicating through the Power of Viridian, Feng Che realized the beast had known about his younger sibling all along. Time and again, he had watched his mother gaze up at the moon, weeping in silence.
The young Hydreigon cast one final glance at the Deino before taking flight, leading his mother away into the distance.
"Continue with the trial," Victor said after a moment's hesitation, his voice measured and slow. "If Du Long gives you any trouble, you can come to me for help."
With that, Victor mounted his Hydreigon and took to the sky.
Feng Che, I pulled the current state of the Dragon Clan straight from Victor's memories, Mewtwo spoke telepathically, a faint trace of amusement in his tone.
The Dragon Clan is currently divided into three factions.
The first is the Patriarch's faction, led by Drayden.
The second is the Council of Elders, headed by the Second Elder.
The third is the neutral faction, led by Victor.
Originally, Victor's side was the strongest. Zinzolin, the Dragon Sage of Team Plasma, is actually Victor's older brother.
Yet for reasons undisclosed, Zinzolin defected to Team Plasma. Drayden and the Second Elder joined hands to banish him from the clan.
From that day forward, Victor's faction declined, barely clinging to survival between the grinding gears of Drayden and the Second Elder.
Victor held back from arresting Du Long just now because he knew the Second Elder's protection would ensure the boy walked away scot-free.
Worse, the Second Elder's faction would have seized the pretext to strike back.
The Second Elder commands a formidable host of seasoned warriors. Today, his faction is strong enough to rival the Patriarch's line.
Victor refused to be the spark that ignited a civil war within the clan.
Mewtwo laid out the details clearly before adding, I also unearthed another intriguing piece of news from his mind.
Zinzolin's Kommo-o recently broke through to Champion rank.
Humans, Mewtwo mused, truly relished playing the pig to eat the tiger, burying their true strength deep beneath the surface.
"The Dragon Clan of Unova is an utter mess. It's high time someone whipped them into shape," Feng Che remarked, his normally placid eyes glinting with calculating amusement as he rolled the Dragon Blood Stone between his fingers. "Bringing such a colossal force under my heel will speed up my conquest of Unova considerably."
He pocketed the stone. "Let's move, Naganadel. We still have more Dragon Blood Stones to collect."
Three days slipped by. Feng Che returned to the vibrant sea of flowers, where many of the returning examinees had already gathered.
The moment his feet touched the grass, a venomous glare locked onto him. He turned to find Du Long glaring daggers in his direction. Du Long raised a thumb and dragged it slowly across his throat.
"Hah. An unruly brat who has yet to take a proper beating from reality," Feng Che sneered coldly.
When the appraisal officially began, Feng Che submitted his harvest. To no one's surprise, he claimed first place.
Drayden's eyelids twitched as he stared at the mountain of Dragon Blood Stones Feng Che had brought in. Did this kid scour every last inch of the Dragon's Den?
A creeping sense of foreboding settled into Drayden's chest.
Just then, Victor approached alongside an old man riding atop a Drampa.
The elder was small and withered, little more than skin and bones. Wisps of sickly yellow hair clung sparsely to his scalp like wild weeds shivering in the breeze. He looked thoroughly drained of vitality, yet his golden eyes burned with the brilliance of sacred lamps. In his gnarled grip, he leaned on a walking cane topped with the grotesque, bleached skull of a Dragon-type Pokémon.
The Drampa beneath him bore teal scales accented with pale green. Silky white tufts adorned its crown, chin, belly, and tail, lending it the appearance of an ancient hermit, framed by yellow brows and soft pink eyes. Its cranium was unusually massive, as though it had awakened a secondary typing; a faint spark of blue psychic energy flickered through its gaze.
"Second Elder," Drayden addressed the frail man.
The Second Elder merely flicked his eyelids in response. He belonged to Drayden's grandfather's generation, holding immense seniority within the clan. Drayden swallowed the slight without a word.
Having acknowledged the Patriarch, the elder closed his eyes as if resting, but the tip of his cane tapped out a steady, rhythmic cadence against the earth.
Feng Che recognized the rhythm instantly. Morse code—the old man was issuing orders right under their noses.
This Second Elder is quite the character. He hides his cards well, Mewtwo chimed in, surprise tinting his mental voice. That Drampa has actually reached Champion rank. The Dragon Clan runs deep—everyone seems to harbor Champion-level power.
"Nothing unusual about that," Feng Che replied silently. "They're all sly old foxes; keeping an ace hidden is second nature. I expect they'll rig the brackets to pit me against Du Long. Thankfully, Champion-grade dragons are exceedingly rare. If Du Long actually pulled out a Champion-rank Pokémon, only Gengar could hold the line, which would severely complicate things for me."
Confident as he was in taking the crown, he had to guard against the Second Elder's underhanded tricks.
Do not worry, Feng Che. I will monitor the Second Elder's every move throughout the match. I won't let him sabotage your plans.
Mewtwo intended to keep the entire arena blanketed under his psychic scrutiny.
"Good. I'm counting on you." Feng Che gave a subtle nod.
Drayden stepped forward, his booming voice cutting through the chatter. "The eight candidates who passed the trial have been determined. Next, we will proceed with the drawing of lots. To ensure absolute fairness, this stage of the competition will utilize a randomized deployment system. Everyone, place your Poké Balls into this device."
Drayden produced an apparatus that resembled a pistol; pulling the trigger would automatically deploy a Pokémon.
"Once loaded, the device will randomly shuffle and release your Pokémon," Drayden explained. "The format is a three-on-three single battle, but each participant must load six Poké Balls into the chamber. Whether victory favors you will depend on your luck."
The devices were distributed among the eight contenders. Feng Che turned the squirt-gun-like contraption over in his hands, inspecting it closely.
"Mewtwo, is this rigged?" Feng Che asked inwardly, his suspicions flaring.
Completely, Mewtwo confirmed. It contains an internal scanner that reads every Poké Ball inside. There are six individual release mechanisms wired to a remote receiver. They can dictate precisely which Pokémon comes out.
Feng Che's lips curved into a cold, dangerous smile.
"Fine. If they want to play dirty, they can't blame me for returning the favor. Mewtwo, when the time comes, use your psychic power to override the trigger and release the exact Pokémon I want. Let's see them shoot themselves in the foot."