Pokémon: Master System.

"Tell me quickly, how did you two meet?" Xia Yu continued to press.

“That goes back a long time…” Charlotte said.

Wei Yeqin's childhood was filled with tragedy and suffering. His father died of heart disease when he was six years old. His mother suffered a stroke due to the huge blow and followed his father. After the death of his parents, he was left with no one to rely on but his maternal grandmother.

His elderly grandmother barely managed to raise him by collecting recyclables and doing needlework. Wei Yeqin, who was sensible from a young age, did not let his grandmother down. He studied hard, achieved excellent grades, and always ranked at the top of his class in every exam. This earned him a reduction in most of his tuition fees, and he finally lived up to expectations and was admitted to a prestigious university when he turned eighteen.

He originally thought his life would be happy from now on, but on the same day he received his admission notice, his maternal grandmother was in a car accident on her way to the county to sell scrap metal and died on the spot. From then on, Wei Yeqin was all alone and had no relatives in the world.

Having lost all his relatives, Wei Yeqin studied even harder in university. He experienced all the hardships of life and had a grand ambition in his heart. Since he could not fulfill his filial duties, he would fulfill his loyalty. Having found his purpose in life, Wei Yeqin worked hard to improve himself.

While others were playing, he was studying; while others were dating, he was studying. He almost always ranked first in his major in every exam.

At the age of 22, Wei Yeqin, who had just graduated from university, resolutely chose to join the army. It was at this time that he met a girl who was also joining the army. She was a girl with short hair and a heroic demeanor, a girl who wanted to travel all over the beautiful land of the motherland.

A girl who always clamors to be a chivalrous hero who serves her country with loyalty and righteousness, a girl determined to sweep away all injustices in the world, to act bravely for justice, and to disregard both fortune and misfortune.

The two like-minded people quickly fell in love. After three years of dating, they got engaged at the age of twenty-five. His girlfriend gave him a Pokémon egg, which was his first and only Pokémon.

But misfortune always seems to strike at the thinnest part, and just as misfortune seems to target the unfortunate, only a month after their engagement, his fiancée tragically died in a car accident while trying to save a child.

This accident was a huge blow to Wei Yeqin. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would always remember his girlfriend's voice and smile. But in order to fulfill his and his girlfriend's common dream, he insisted on completing his military service. Two years later, at the age of 27, he was discharged from the army.

After being discharged from the military, he vowed never to marry and took his girlfriend's wish to fight injustice and uphold justice as his lifelong goal. From then on, he traveled around during the day with his backpack and carried his Lucario, a gift from his girlfriend, to fight injustice every night.

Wei Yeqin carried his girlfriend's photo and traveled through cities, staying in each city for only three months. He was a chivalrous hero, helping those in need whenever he saw injustice, just as he sang.

My worldly ties are not yet severed, so I must accumulate good deeds and virtues to seek liberation from this mortal world. I will travel all over the country, cross mountains and rivers, and witness the turbulent world. When I encounter injustice, I will draw my sword to right it, and act bravely for what is right, regardless of whether it brings me good fortune or misfortune.

A year later, when Wei Yeqin was twenty-eight years old, Xia Luo met Wei Yeqin.

At the time, Charlotte was just eighteen years old. He didn't do well in school and couldn't get into university. He could have relied on his father Xia Yong's connections to go to an ordinary university, but the ambitious Charlotte chose to drop out and become a wandering trainer to gain experience.

At eighteen, Xia Luo was in the prime of his life, full of youthful vigor. He met many people on his journey and suffered many deceptions and losses, until he met Wei Yeqin, as well as Lao Er and Lao San.

Young people are always full of passion and ambition. Xia Luo, along with the second and third brothers, were moved by Wei Yeqin's experiences and decided to become sworn brothers with him, to do what they could to change the world, to uphold justice, to drink and sing together, and to travel all over the beautiful land.

However, as time went by, Xia Luo and the second and third brothers all had family and friends. Unlike Wei Yeqin, they were all alone and without any ties. Therefore, after traveling together for six years, Xia Luo and the second and third brothers left one after another.

Only Wei Yeqin and his Lucario remained, persisting in their ideals. The reason that Lucario was so powerful was entirely because Wei Yeqin had only trained Lucario for decades, just as he had only loved one person and only done one thing in his life.

“Xiaoyu.” Charlotte said, as if recalling the glorious past: “Yeqin, he is the person I admire most in my life. With his prestigious university degree and the powerful strength of his Lucario, he could have easily become one of the top people in society. However, he chose to take a difficult path for the sake of his beliefs. I think that is why he was able to raise his Lucario to be so powerful.”

In a world where almost everyone is pursuing fame and fortune, people like Wei Yeqin are extremely rare.

"I never imagined you had such an experience, brother. I admire you greatly," Xia Yu said. Wei Yeqin's story had deeply inspired him, but he was even more surprised by Wei Yeqin's training of Lucario.

"Actually, there was something really silly we did back then. We were all pretty immature back then." Charlotte suddenly laughed as if she had thought of something. "So we each gave ourselves a nickname. Wei Yeqin was called Lucario Hero, and I was called Blaziken Hero. That's because our signature Pokémon back then were Lucario and Blaziken."

"The second brother's signature Pokémon is Krillin, so he's called Krillin Hero. His family is quite wealthy; they live in Shanghai, and I heard he's now a famous musician working at an opera house."

"What about the third brother?" Xia Yu asked.

“The third one is called Ladybug Man,” Charlotte said with a smile.

"I know, his signature Pokémon must be Ladybug." Xia Yu's mind raced, and he immediately thought of Ladybug.

Ladybug is a Pokémon with almost no highlights. Basically, if you read a hundred Pokémon fanfictions, you won't find a single story about catching Ladybug. Of course, Kryptonite is treated similarly to Ladybug.

"No. His signature Pokémon is actually Sagamite." Charlotte smiled at Xia Yu, knowing that Xia Yu would think of Ladybug.

"Then why is he called Ladybug Hero?" Xia Yu asked, puzzled.

"Because the third brother especially liked rescuing fallen women. Every time he arrived in a city, he would immediately use his money to rescue those women. He left his legend in almost every city." Charlotte's smile widened as she recalled the past. In the past, the third brother was often laughed at by everyone because of his ladybug. So all three of them were named after their signature Pokémon, except for the third brother, Ladybug, who was famous for his unique hobby.

"So what is your third brother doing now?" Xia Yu couldn't help but ask.

"The third brother's family is very powerful. It seems that they are now their own bosses, investing in Shanya City, Qiongzhou Province, and their business is quite large."

…………

Chapter 29 Late Night Visit

Three days after returning to Starlight City, Xia Yu's life gradually returned to normal. He spent his days training Pokémon and studying, and he would also have a thrilling battle with his best friend Wu Yaozu.

For the first two days, Wu Yaozu won both of their battles. This was because he had a Rockruff with elite-level combat power that was on the verge of evolution. Although Treecko and Nombat had high aptitude, Nombat was only at the common level and Treecko was only at the rare level, which was much weaker than Rockruff.

After each failure, Nompton would cling to Xia Yu for comfort, while Treecko would take the initiative to ask for more training. It had an indomitable spirit in its bones, and the belief in becoming stronger was deeply ingrained in it, so Treecko always demanded a lot of itself, being self-disciplined and hardworking.

In today's battle, Xia Yu finally defeated Wu Yaozu. He first defeated Wu Yaozu's Charmander with Nombat, then Rockruff defeated Nombat, and finally Treecko defeated Rockruff by a narrow margin.

Although it was just a friendly sparring match, the victory made Xia Yu and Treecko very happy, especially Treecko, whose proudly held head and raised tail betrayed its joy.

In contrast to the joyful atmosphere on Xia Yu's side, Wu Yaozu was utterly shocked. He looked at the Wood Guardian in disbelief, finding it hard to accept his defeat.

"What exactly is the quality of your Wood Gecko?" Wu Yaozu looked at Xia Yu with a complicated expression. The Wood Gecko's progress was too fast, almost changing every day.

"Guess," Xia Yu said with a smile, looking at Fatty Wu. "Anyway, it should be more talented than your Rock Dog."

“I think he’s at least a near-King level,” Wu Yaozu said confidently.

Xia Yu smiled without saying a word. This was pure contempt. Treecko was now at the level of a near-champion. Even Pokémon at the level of a near-elite leader were not qualified to join Xia Yu's team. The passive skill of Master's Style was no joke.

However, Xia Yu did not deny it. He knew the necessity of hiding his strength. If people knew that Treecko was a Pokémon with near-champion potential, Elite 1 trainers would probably come knocking on his door immediately, trying every means to take away Xia Yu's Treecko.

Wealth is not exposed.

"Alright, Fatty Wu, school starts the day after tomorrow. You still have one more chance to get revenge tomorrow," Xia Yu said, changing the subject and patting Wu Yaozu on the shoulder.

The two-month summer vacation is coming to an end. So much has happened in these two months that Xia Yu has almost forgotten that she is still a senior high school student.

"You just wait, Xia Yu. I'm going to prepare my secret weapon tonight, and I'll definitely beat you tomorrow." Wu Yaozu said fiercely. Just over half a month ago, he had mocked Xia Yu for being a newbie in PvP, but today Xia Yu had defeated him. He couldn't accept this fact at all and felt humiliated.

After saying that, Wu Yaozu left. He probably won't be able to sleep well tonight. He will definitely rack his brains to devise tactics in order to win the battle against Xia Yu tomorrow.

After Wu Yaozu left, Xia Yu assigned training tasks to Buzzbat and Treecko, and then returned to his room to prepare for his studies.

Before studying, Xia Yu opened his post seeking to buy various rare stones. Unfortunately, since he found an evolution key stone, he had not encountered anything good. But Xia Yu was not discouraged; acquiring stones was a long process.

After closing the post, Charlotte picked up her books and began to study diligently. With only a year left until the college entrance exam, her studies were quite demanding. Fortunately, Charlotte had the foundation from her previous life; otherwise, it would have been difficult to balance raising Pokémon and studying at the same time.

As night fell, the old man, reeking of alcohol, returned home with a smile on his face. His worries from the previous days were gone, and his voice was louder, showing that he was in a very good mood.

Many significant events have indeed occurred in the past three days, with the most explosive news concerning Wei Yeqin.

Three days ago, Wei Yeqin went to Xidu City alone to visit the Zhao family.

The Zhao family is the same family as Zhao Shan, who had a conflict with Xia Luo. They are also the family that has been the most ruthless in threatening the Xia family, using various means to try to buy the Xia family's preemptive right to purchase their shares.

…………

Rewinding to the night three days prior, Wei Yeqin, having just dropped Charlotte off at home, took Lucario on a four-hour walk to Tiandu City and visited the Zhao family late at night.

Upon arriving at the Zhao family's gate, Wei Yeqin and Lucario ate some dry rations. Then, they sat cross-legged in front of the Zhao family's gate, motionless with their eyes closed, as if in deep meditation, silently recovering their strength.

This strange behavior immediately attracted the attention of many people. Everyone who saw the wine gourd at Wei Yeqin's waist thought that he was drunk and causing trouble.

"This man drank some horse urine and, not knowing his own limitations, actually came to cause trouble in front of the Zhao family's door."

"That's right, and he even brought such a rare Lucario. Look at this Lucario, it's all dirty and looks very ordinary."

"The Zhao family will probably send people over soon; there's bound to be a good show."

Just as the onlookers expected, the Zhao family soon sent someone out as well; a security guard in uniform walked out of the Zhao family's mansion.

"Where did this drunkard come from? Get out of here." As he spoke, the security guard tried to shove Wei Yeqin away, but Wei Yeqin was extremely strong and simply reached out and firmly gripped the security guard's wrist.

"Please pass on a message for me: I, Wei, am visiting the Zhao family on behalf of Xia Luo, the former head of the Crimson Lotus Dojo." Wei Yeqin suddenly opened his eyes and asked in a booming voice.

The security guard was completely unable to break free from Wei Yeqin's grip on his wrist; he hadn't expected the man to be so strong.

"I can't pass on your message either; you need to make an appointment in advance," the security guard said. "I'm just a security guard."

Wei Yeqin didn't make things difficult for the security guard. He knew that life was hard for people at the bottom of society, so he simply let go of the security guard's hand and looked up at the sky.

Immediately following behind Wei Yeqin, Lucario looked up at the sky and suddenly unleashed an astonishing burst of Dragon-type energy, creating a monstrous surge. Lucario raised its hands and released a Dragon Pulse directly into the sky. The surging Dragon-type energy shot into the heavens, instantly illuminating the night sky of Tian Du City.

Everyone nearby faintly heard the dragon's roar, which stirred up waves of air that made everyone's clothes flutter wildly. At the same time, all the dragon-type Pokémon in the vicinity were suddenly awakened and looked up at the sky.

As soon as the dragon-type energy in the sky dissipated, Wei Yeqin suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly towards the Zhao family mansion: "I, Wei, on behalf of former Red Lotus City Gym Leader Xia Luo, pay my respects to the Zhao family!"

The voice was loud and jarring, especially in the quiet night. At that moment, everyone knew that something big was going to happen tonight, and they all pulled out their phones to record.

"This is the Lucario you were talking about, the one with mediocre talent?"

"These are at least Champion-level Lucarios, okay?"

"Bullshit. I went to the Elite Four ranking battle three years ago, and I think this Lucario was stronger than the Elite Four Pokémon."

"Holy crap, could this Lucario be a near-champion level?"

…………

The dragon's energy fluctuations had clearly alerted the Zhao family, and Zhao Xuesong, the current head of the Zhao family and a Champion-level trainer, rushed over upon hearing the news.

Zhao Xuesong was around forty years old, in the prime of his life. He frowned and looked at Wei Yeqin and Lucario behind him with a serious expression.

"who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. What is important is that I am here for Charlotte, the former head of the Crimson Lotus Gym," Wei Yeqin replied with a smile.

"So you're here to stand up for Xia Luo?" Zhao Xuesong said coldly, looking at Wei Yeqin.

"Yes."

"Then let's go to the Dragon-type Gym in Tiandu City. It's not convenient to fight here. I accept your challenge!"