Pokémon: Master System.

Chapter 276 Team Zero

Dragon-themed Secret Realm.

In Long Fan's office, because of Lü Tinghe's presence today, Long Fan specially took out a can of fine green tea from his drawer to entertain Lü Tinghe.

"Junior brother, come and try some of my treasured tea." Long Fan greeted his junior brother with a smile, while turning to look at Xia Yu beside him.

"Xiaoyu, let me introduce you." Long Fan said to Xia Yu, "This is my junior brother, Lü Tinghe. You should call him 'Uncle-Master'."

Junior brother? Xia Yu thought to himself when he heard Long Fan’s words, “No wonder Lü Guanjun supported me in the meeting room just now. So that’s how we are.”

Sure enough, that's how the world is. With connections, everything is easy; without connections, you can't even take a step.

Just like at the meeting, what's the use of Duan Hongzhi's strong opposition? The people in the meeting room are all my men. What can you do against me?

Xia Yu thought arrogantly to himself.

But how come Lu Tinghe, my junior brother, has already won the championship, while Master is only now becoming the chief of the Four Heavenly Kings? You're not good enough, Master.

"Hello, Uncle-Master." Xia Yu's gaze darted back and forth between Lü Tinghe and Long Fan. He was also very curious as to how Lü Tinghe, a champion of the Fighting type, and Long Fan, were still fellow disciples: "Uncle-Master is really amazing. You are a champion at such a young age. You are much better than my master."

"You brat, you think I'm your master?" Long Fan heard the teasing in Xia Yu's tone and couldn't help but laugh and scold him.

Although Lü Tinghe became champion earlier than him, Long Fan was not in a hurry at all. He specialized in the Dragon type, which has a long growth cycle, unlike the Fighting type, which grows quickly and has high potential.

Dragon-type Pokémon are mostly late bloomers; as they grow older and time passes, their strength only increases.

It's almost a certainty that Long Fan will become the champion in the next competition; the only question is which region he will be the champion in.

Lu Tinghe then said with a smile, "My senior brother and I are from the same school. Our master's ace Pokémon is Kommo-o, and we each got one. It's just that your master is a Dragon-type trainer, while I am a Fighting-type trainer."

“Fighting-type Pokémon are easier to train than Dragon-type ones. As long as you put in the hard work and are willing to endure hardship, their strength will increase very quickly, which will allow them to become champions faster than you can.” Lu Tinghe said to Xia Yu with a smile, “However, the longer it goes on, the stronger the Dragon-type Pokémon will become. It’s only a matter of time before my senior brother becomes champion.”

"Xiaoyu, there are two things I need to tell you today," Long Fan said with a smile. "Let's start with the first thing, which is about the Charizard Special Operations Team we talked about last time."

“Junior brother, why don’t you tell us?” Long Fan glanced at Lü Tinghe and asked.

"You, as the master, should do it," Lü Tinghe said with a smile, standing aside and gesturing for Long Fan to speak.

“Okay.” Long Fan didn’t refuse, his face serious: “The establishment of Charizard Special Operations Team Zero is a decision recently made by the Pokémon Association.”

"Team Zero is still in the planning stages. The Pokémon Association is currently selecting suitable reserve members nationwide."

"The selected team members are mainly young people, with an age limit of 18-22 years old. In the initial stage, 100 reserve team members will be selected."

"Many people are fighting tooth and nail to get into the reserve team."

"Becoming a reserve member is just the first hurdle. Next, there will be training and assessment. In the end, 90% of the reserve members will be eliminated, leaving only 10 official positions."

"Only by becoming a formal member can one be considered to have truly entered Team Zero."

"Regarding the selection of reserve team members, each champion has three nomination slots, and the remaining slots are recommended by the Pokémon Association."

“Junior brother has three spots, and this time I shamelessly asked him for a recommendation spot for you.” Long Fan paused here before continuing with a serious expression, “You should also thank your Uncle-Master Lü, otherwise you might not have been able to enter Team Zero.”

Although he still didn't understand what the Zero Team did, Xia Yu still said to Lü Tinghe, "Thank you, Uncle Lü."

At this point, Long Fan continued, "You are only a prospective member now. To become a full member, you will need to undergo training and assessment. Competing with the best trainer of the past five years is not an easy task."

"However, don't put too much pressure on yourself. With your abilities and status in the scientific community, as long as you don't make any outrageous mistakes and you work steadily, you will definitely become a full member."

"Master, you still haven't told us what the Zero Team does?" Hearing this, Xia Yu finally couldn't help but ask.

"What's the rush?" Long Fan said with a smile, "We haven't gotten to this point yet."

"The reason I strongly recommend you join the Charizard Zero Team is because the Zero Team wields immense power." Long Fan's expression suddenly turned serious: "You've also heard that in recent years, corruption within the Pokémon Association has become increasingly serious, especially among Elite Four level trainers who control a secret realm and Gym Leaders in underdeveloped areas. They wield enormous power, which has fueled their ambitions and led them to collude with various underground organizations."

"The recent attack by the Dawn Society on the Dragon-type Secret Realm and the theft of pseudo-legendary Pokémon eggs made the Pokémon Association realize the seriousness of the problem."

"Therefore, at the beginning of the year, the Pokémon Association held a meeting and discussed and approved the issue of establishing Team Zero."

"The purpose of establishing Team Zero is to investigate corruption and bribery among personnel within the Pokémon Association."

"Team Zero was further divided into two sub-teams. One sub-team was mainly responsible for investigating corruption and bribery among local gym leaders and Elite Four-level trainers who guarded secret realms and wilderness areas."

"The second team is responsible for investigating cases of collusion between members of the Pokémon Association and underground organizations, such as the Dawn Society."

Xia Yu listened intently. It sounded like the Zero Team had ridiculously much power. No wonder his master valued it so much.

And what Master just said about Team Zero focusing on investigating those Elite Four level trainers guarding the secret realms—isn't that Master himself?

My master has been guarding the Dragon System Secret Realm in the capital for many years, so he is obviously a key target for observation. Could it be that my master is strongly recommending me to join Team Zero, just to leave himself a way out?

However, I, Xia Yu, am upright, honest, and selfless. How could I bend the law for personal gain because of the bond between master and disciple?

Of course, if it were Teacher Long who came forward, I would definitely give him face.

However, Mr. Long, you don't want your father to be investigated either, do you?

Just as Xia Yu was lost in thought, Long Fan slapped Xia Yu on the shoulder: "What are you thinking about, so engrossed in your thoughts?"

"N-nothing. Master, please continue."

…………

Chapter 277 News of Roger's Death

The Charizard Special Operations Team, Team Zero, is undoubtedly a major step forward for Pokémon in its pursuit of change.

The Pokémon Association's high hopes for Team Zero can be seen from the fact that Team Zero only accepts young people aged 18-22.

This has led to everyone wanting to join Team Zero and become a full member.

“Every official member of Team Zero must have the strength of a Gym Leader. After all, when investigating Gym Leaders and Elite Four Trainers, one must have some means of self-preservation.”

"Of course, the team's initial investigation did not include the Four Heavenly Kings and the champion. With your current strength, you are not qualified."

After listening to Long Fan's introduction, Xia Yu also developed a strong interest in Team Zero. Joining such a powerful department would be entirely beneficial for him.

"Just keep this to yourself, and don't spread it around." After finishing talking about Team Zero, Long Fan also instructed, "The establishment of Team Zero has not yet been announced, so you must keep it a secret."

"Mm." Xia Yu nodded.

"By the way, you've already met the captain of Team Zero, it's Feng Kuangyin. He's the captain of the Fire-Breathing Dragon Special Operations Team, and also the captain of Team Zero." Long Fan then mentioned Feng Kuangyin: "Captain Feng, his strength is extremely powerful, much stronger than the average Four Heavenly Kings, probably ranking as the top or second-best among the Four Heavenly Kings. He's also a strong contender for the next championship."

At this moment, Lü Tinghe, who was standing to the side, suddenly interjected, "Feng Kuangyin, you can trust him. Duan Hongzhi, Feng Kuangyin, and I have always had a good personal relationship, and we are considered to be on the same side. Both Duan Hongzhi and Feng Kuangyin are incorruptible and fair, and they cannot tolerate the slightest injustice. You can ask Feng Kuangyin for help with official matters, but don't ask him for help with personal matters."

“Just now in the conference room, Lao Duan didn’t mean to target you or make things difficult for you.” Lu Tinghe spoke up for Duan Hongzhi at this time: “That’s just his personality. He has a strong sense of justice. Although his words are a bit harsh, he’s not a bad person.”

"I understand." Xia Yu nodded, suddenly realizing that the waters of Team Zero were deeper than he had imagined.

Each of the seven champions has three nomination slots, so it's highly likely that the ten people who ultimately pass the assessment will each have one slot, with the remaining three being recommended by the Pokémon Association. This maintains a balance in terms of the number of nominees.

The relationships among the seven champions are varied; some are good, while others are tense. For example, Xia Yu took Lü Tinghe's recommendation spot, so whether Xia Yu liked it or not, he, Long Fan, and Lü Tinghe were naturally grouped into one faction.

Since he has enjoyed the benefits brought by Long Fan, Lü Tinghe and others, he must also bear certain responsibilities and obligations, which is unavoidable.

In the ten-man Zero Team, Lü Tinghe's allies naturally became his friends, and Lü Tinghe's enemies became his enemies.

…………

"Speaking of Captain Feng, you went to the Tiandu Plateau wilderness area for training a while ago, you should have met Roger, do you remember?" Lu Tinghe suddenly changed the subject, abruptly bringing up Roger.

Xia Yu's heart sank when he heard Lü Tinghe's words. When the Tiandu Plateau wilderness area was mentioned, he immediately thought of Xie Tianming and Gao Yanxin, whom he had planted in the poaching organization.

Recently, Xie Tianming suddenly lost contact with him and there has been no news of him for a long time.

This made Xia Yu feel that something was wrong. He really wanted to go to the wilderness area to see what had happened, but because he couldn't leave due to the High School Cup and didn't have a suitable reason, he had been putting it off until now.

Could it be that Gao Yanxin's affair has been exposed?

Xia Yu shook his head. This wasn't a big deal, and judging from Lü Tinghe's reaction, he probably wasn't talking about this.

"I know, what's wrong?" Xia Yu asked calmly, keeping his expression composed.

“Roger is dead.” Lü Tinghe’s voice was somber.

"What?" Xia Yu was shocked, his eyes revealing disbelief.

Roger is dead? Roger is actually dead? How could Roger die?

Roger had several Pokémon with Elite Four-level strength, yet he died.

"How did Captain Roger die?" Xia Yu couldn't help but ask. "Who could have killed him?"

Speaking of Captain Roger's death, both Long Fan and Lü Tinghe had dark clouds on their faces: "Some time ago, Captain Roger disappeared after encountering poachers during a patrol. His whereabouts are unknown. Only another member of the patrol team who was with him returned to the patrol team to report the news and survived."

"Roger's disappearance is a big deal. We searched for a long time but couldn't find any trace of him."

"Later, we received an anonymous video report that clearly recorded Roger's death, where he was shot. The informant also sent us information about the killer, who was none other than Kong Yixuan, the vice president of the Dawn Society."

Xia Yu could hardly believe his ears: "Dawn would be so bold? They actually dared to kill Captain Roger?"

"This is the first time such a situation has occurred. We did not expect the Dawn Society to be so bold. At present, this matter is only circulating among the association's senior members, which has further strengthened the association's determination to crack down on underground organizations such as the Dawn Society."

"Just so you know about this. The association's higher-ups have decided to take action against the Dawn Society." As Lu Tinghe said this, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Roger's death, and his tone became stern: "The Dawn Society will pay the price. Blood debts will be repaid in blood. The Dawn Society is far too arrogant now."

…………

Roger's death silenced the three of them until, after a moment, Long Fan spoke up with one last thing: "Let's talk about one last thing. Xia Yu, do you still plan to participate in the national finals?"

"Of course," Xia Yu replied. Wasn't that obvious? He naturally wanted to continue participating in the upcoming national competition; his mission rewards were related to his final ranking.

Moreover, he even announced his Mega Evolution in advance. Was it all just to win a provincial championship?

“With your strength and Mega Evolution, winning the championship shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Long Fan said. “But you still need to put in some effort. The Pokémon Association hasn’t decided on this year’s champion reward yet. I heard it’s pretty good. I’ll let you know when I have the exact details.”