Chapter 341: Thunderstorm!
Watching Latias soar skyward, Bai Yuecheng chuckled,
"Heh, this kid's kinda fun. Wonder if I'll get the chance to fight him someday."
Then he frowned a little.
"But seriously, why didn't he agree to team up with us? If we joined forces, with his Aura abilities, we could've swept the whole prelims and collected every secret treasure effortlessly!"
Pan Shanyu shot him a look and explained calmly,
"You said it yourself—if we teamed up, we could take most of the treasures. But did you ever consider… more people means more ways to split the loot?"
"Also, what about his current teammates? If we joined them, our combined strength would be too much. They'd just be baggage."
Realization dawned on Bai Yuecheng.
"Huh… never thought about it that way. So this Lin Yu guy's got loyalty, huh? Wait… aren't all his teammates girls—"
Before he could finish, the only girl in their team, Chen Chen, interrupted,
"Let's go. Stop overthinking. We've got our own secret treasures to hunt, and don't forget—we each have to eliminate at least one opponent. Each team needs to knock out seven in total to pass."
"What about this guy?" Bai Yuecheng pointed to the still-mumbling Yamamoto Nika, who was lying crumpled on the ground, not quite recovered from his earlier humiliation.
"We'll wait until the League's transport Pokémon arrives to pick him up before we move on."
---
Outside – Hikaru's Livestream
When viewers saw Hikaru head straight for a hidden treasure without any hesitation, the chat was stunned.
[So fast?! Did he know the treasure was already there or what?]
[What the hell? Is he some kind of insider? How else could he find that secret so precisely?]
[Nah, you're clueless. That's the power of Aura. I once trained under Aura King Ryougetsu—Aura can scan the surrounding environment!]
[Damn, you trained with Ryougetsu? Jealous!]
[+1 Jealous!]
[+10086 Jealous!]
When Hikaru met up with Pan Shanyu's squad and they all took off again...
Some sharp-eyed viewers—who had been watching both Hikaru's and Yamamoto's streams—noticed something.
[Wait a second, isn't that the direction where Yamamoto Nika was hiding?]
[Holy crap, it is!]
[Aura power is insane! He actually found him?!]
[Look, they've landed…]
[Wait—he shattered his shield? That fast?!]
In an instant, both Hikaru's and Yamamoto's livestreams went dead silent.
For two whole seconds.
[Damn, I thought Hikaru would at least beat the guy up a bit for show.]
[So decisive. I love it. Villains always die from talking too much—Hikaru's the real deal!]
[Clean. Yamamoto hid his Pokémon to 'stay stealthy,' and boom—Aura boy says nope.]
[That kick though… even watching it hurts.]
[Baka! This is inhumane! You Huaguo trainers are dishonorable!]
---
Back on the Orange Archipelago
Beneath the clear blue sky and across the sparkling ocean...
On Latias's back, Sakura hesitated.
"Big bro… wasn't that all a little too easy?"
All the hype, and the issue was over in just a few minutes?
Hikaru rubbed his head as he scanned nearby islands using his Aura.
"It was kinda fake, yeah…"
But seeing the girl's worried look, he chuckled, ruffled her hair gently,
"What're you worrying about? If the sky falls, the tall folks will hold it up. Our upperclassmen aren't weak, y'know."
"Oh…"
Sakura replied softly, and surprisingly, didn't resist the headpat.
Then Hikaru turned to the two upperclasswomen behind him.
"Senpai, should we focus on eliminating opponents first, or searching for treasures?"
The sea breeze rolled by. Out here over the ocean, the weather was just perfect.
Hearing his question, Hu Yan'er rolled her eyes.
"Why ask us? Isn't it obvious who's our team leader right now?"
Ye Mingshuang nodded with a light laugh.
"Yeah, you call the shots."
"Ahem…"
Hikaru hadn't expected to have this much say in a temporary team.
But now that both senpai were onboard, he didn't hesitate.
"Alright, then—let's knock out our elimination targets first. It's still early in the prelims, and weaker teams are easier to handle now than later. Stronger ones will survive longer."
"Fine by me, just lead the way!" Hu Yan'er grinned.
Honestly, it felt nice not having to think—just follow a smart, reliable leader.
"Alright…"
Hikaru gave a helpless smile, then closed his eyes as his Aura burst forth in all directions.
Like a 3D radar, the surroundings were instantly mapped into his mind.
When it came to choosing opponents to eliminate, the rule was simple:
Weaker is better.
And preferably not from their own university.
As Latias flew through the skies…
Hikaru gently patted her side, and the dragon halted mid-air.
He glanced down at a medium-sized island below.
There, three teams were in the middle of a fierce battle.
Two teams ganging up on one.
Clear sign of an illegal alliance!
"You found something?" Sakura asked curiously.
BOOM!
Just as she spoke, a deafening explosion echoed from below.
A massive surge of energy erupted, flattening the nearby trees.
Every Master-level Pokémon clash brought devastating environmental damage.
Luckily, this world's ecosystems recovered quickly. Unless it was rare fruit trees, like the orange berries, new ones would sprout in just a few years.
Hikaru nodded.
"Yeah… looks like some familiar faces, too."
"Then let's crash the party!" Hu Yan'er's eyes sparkled.
But just then…
Dark clouds began forming rapidly overhead.
Thunder cracked, electric snakes slithering through the sky.
A lightning-based move was about to be unleashed—!
---
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