A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

As the smoke from the explosion slowly dissipated, only a huge, charred crater with glassy edges and a glaring "Z"-shaped mark remained in the area.

The massive body of the Thunder Drum was nowhere to be seen—clearly, it had been retrieved by Zhang Leiyuan at the last moment using a Poké Ball, preventing even more terrible consequences.

The only Pokémon left in front of Zhang Leiyuan were the panting, battered Giant Electric Seagull and the determined yet exhausted Alolan Raichu.

The sea breeze seemed to have stopped.

Arthur Kirkland wore a mocking sneer, while Kim Hyun-woo and Kim Jae-hoon were filled with shock and lingering fear.

Everything remained calm and undisturbed, as if it had only done something insignificant.

Zhang Leiyuan's gaze swept over his remaining companions, then turned to the menacing enemy. There was no fear in his eyes, but rather a calm acceptance of a hero's impending doom.

He silently took out a slightly creased pack of cigarettes from the inner pocket of his combat uniform, pulled one out, and skillfully put it in his mouth.

"My wife has been telling me to quit smoking for a long time..." he murmured softly, his voice hoarse yet carrying a strange calm.

"Then let's make an exception for ourselves today."

"Snapped!"

A flame leaped up, igniting the tobacco. He took a deep drag, slowly exhaling the grayish-white smoke, his gaze sweeping over the approaching enemy.

Looking due west—that's the direction of China, the land he protects, and the direction of his home.

His gaze drifted into the distance, and he murmured to himself, "I wonder... if Xiao Heng will ever receive... the birthday present I prepared for him... He'll be eighteen soon..."

Just then, Wanxiang's cold voice rang out again, breaking the brief silence and definitively announcing the end.

"Zhang Guanjun, your sacrifice... will be a great help to humanity's 'new era'. On your way."

The Zygarde 10% form, which was suspended in the air, moved again.

Its dark green hexagonal cell structure emitted an even brighter light, as if in resonance.

Even more astonishingly, countless green points of light appeared in the vast sea below, as if summoned, transforming into fine streams of energy.

Transcending space, it flowed into its body like a hundred rivers converging into the sea! Its power surged once more!

"Thousands of arrows fired!"

Following the command of the All-Seeing Eye, Zygarde 10% form unleashed an astonishing amount of Ground-type energy!

The next moment, countless hexagonal, solid, sharp-edged energy cursors shimmering with a ghostly green light appeared out of thin air like a torrential downpour!

Thousand Arrows Barrage, a Ground-type physical attack move with 90 power, is one of Zygarde's four signature moves and the only Ground-type move that can directly attack Flying-type Pokémon without relying on its ability or status.

A barrage of attacks rained down on Zhang Leiyuan and the Electric Petrified Seagull and Alola Reichu in front of him! The trajectory was treacherous, sealing off all escape routes!

"Alolan Reichu! Electric Petrify!"

"Power Up - Maximum Power!"

Zhang Leiyuan roared an order to make a final stand!

"Bilibili—!"

"Ray—Chu!"

Alola Reichu's Electric Sac and Electric Petal simultaneously erupted with unprecedentedly intense electric light, fully harnessing all the remaining power of the Electric Terrain beneath its feet!

The raging lightning shot into the sky like a waterfall flowing backwards, attempting to stop the destructive green torrent!

However, all of this seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Zygarde's signature move!

*Chirp—la la la!*

The green cursor, imbued with the power of the laws of the earth, was like a red-hot iron meeting ice and snow, instantly tearing apart and annihilating the raging electric barrier!

The moment they made contact, the defenses built up by the rising electricity completely collapsed!

The next moment, an endless stream of green cursors mercilessly swallowed up the figures of Electric Petrify and Alola Reichu!

"Bilibili...!!"

“Ray…Chu…”

Two short, painful cries were drowned out by the explosion. As the light faded, the two Pokémon lay on the scorched ground, unable to battle.

The remaining thousands of arrows fired simultaneously, without the slightest pause, like homing missiles, continuing to shoot towards their final target—Zhang Leiyuan, who stood there alone, having lost the protection of all his Pokémon!

Looking at the approaching light of destruction, Zhang Leiyuan showed no fear on his face, only a deep-seated calmness and a barely perceptible longing for his family.

He didn't even glance at the attack again, but continued to look at the sky, a faint smell of smoke still lingering on his lips.

However, at this critical moment——

"Roar--!!!!!"

A heart-wrenching dragon roar, filled with endless anxiety and rage, resounded from the distant horizon!

A crimson figure streaked through the air at a speed exceeding all limits!

Just a moment before that devastating green torrent was about to engulf everything—

"dad--!!!!"

A heart-wrenching, almost blood-soaked scream, like the mournful cry of a dying cub, suddenly rang out from afar!

The despair and terror in the voice were so intense that they even temporarily overwhelmed the roar of energy!

Zhang Leiyuan, who was about to close his eyes and calmly face the end, suddenly shuddered!

That deep-seated composure shattered like ice, and an expression of disbelief mixed with immense panic instantly filled his blood-stained face!

With extreme difficulty, using the last ounce of strength he had left, he suddenly turned his head.

His neck bones even made a faint cracking sound as if the movement had exhausted his last bit of life.

His gaze pierced through the billowing smoke, through the relentlessly closing enemy, and across the distance between life and death, precisely and firmly locking onto the figure of the boy riding a fire-breathing dragon, charging madly towards them—his son, Zhang Heng.

Time seemed to be infinitely stretched and frozen at this moment.

Zhang Leiyuan's eyes, which had been glazed over from exhaustion, suddenly lit up with a complex light that defied description the moment he saw Zhang Heng.

There was shock in his voice—"Xiao Heng? What are you doing here?!"

There was panic in the air—"Don't look! Don't come any closer! It's dangerous, get out of there!"

There was an endless sense of reluctance and longing within it—"My child... I haven't seen you become a champion yet... I haven't..."

There was a deep, almost overflowing, love within it—"My child... Daddy's here..."

Ultimately, all these surging emotions melted into an ultimate, tender, farewell-like comfort.

He seemed to be trying hard to force a smile, a smile like the one he used to coax him when he was a child, a smile with a touch of roguishness but utterly reliable, as if to tell him something.

"I'm sorry, Dad can only stay with you this far..."

However, the excruciating pain and the rapid loss of life only allowed his lips to twitch very slightly, with a tremor.

The inability to form a smile is more heartbreaking than any cry.

A tear, mingled with blood and dust, finally slid down his resolute eye, disappearing instantly into the thick smoke and energy storm.

Just one glance. Only that one look at each other.

Zhang Heng, standing in the distance, seemed to understand every word in his father's eyes.

That final tenderness, like a red-hot dagger, pierced through all his strength and pretense, shattering his heart into pieces.

"No...no...don't—!!!"

Zhang Heng's cries changed tone, from previous terror and despair to a complete, heart-wrenching plea and rejection.

He frantically reached out, as if trying to pull his father back from the brink of destruction across the vast distance.

However, reality is cruel enough to leave no room for compromise.

Just as Zhang Heng's fingertips reached futilely towards his father's direction—

"Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!!!"

That endless torrent of green destruction completely and utterly engulfed Zhang Leiyuan's figure, and also buried the last trace of his father in Zhang Heng's sight.

The flashes of the explosion reflected in Zhang Heng's pupils, which had suddenly shrunk to their limit, and also reflected the utterly shattered, childlike bewilderment and disbelief on his face.

The world before his eyes had completely lost its color and sound.

The newly crowned champion of East China, Zhang Leiyuan, has fallen from grace.

The dominant fire-breathing dragon, carrying Zhang Heng, finally arrived above this infernal sea area.

He stared blankly at the spot where his father had disappeared, at the billowing smoke and the collapsed island, his mind a complete blank.

Tears, without warning, burst forth like a broken string of pearls, flowing uncontrollably down his young yet sorrowful cheeks.

One drop, two drops... dripped onto the Charizard's back, which was still blazing hot but seemed to instantly turn cold.

"Woo... Roar..."

The dominant Charizard let out a low, mournful cry, its enormous eyes filled with endless sorrow and rage.

Images from the past flooded Zhang Heng's mind like a tidal wave. Perhaps those memories didn't belong to him, but at this moment, Zhang Heng was immersed in them, unable to extricate himself.

When he was a child, his father would carry him on his shoulders, point to a map of China, and proudly say, "Xiao Heng, Dad, I'm going to be a champion someday!"

In terms of medical education, the father personally taught Pokémon how to treat various external injuries and learn advanced medical knowledge, his eyes stern yet full of encouragement.

On the battlefield, the father commanded with unwavering resolve, as Mega Charizard X battled fiercely against a formidable foe. His towering figure stood like an unyielding monument...

All of this... is gone...

"Ah... Ahh ...

A suppressed cry and roar, seemingly originating from the deepest, most broken part of his soul, finally erupted from Zhang Heng's throat, echoing over the sea where his loved ones were buried, so mournful it was heartbreaking.

His body trembled violently, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood seeped out between his fingers, but he was completely unaware of it.