The name Long Xu was known to everyone; he was renowned even worldwide.
At the age of 26, he led his team to win the World Championship.
By 29, he successfully challenged the former Dragon-type Elite Four, becoming the only trainer in Xia Country's history to achieve this before turning 30.
At 36, he had defeated all Elite Four members except for Xia Lingdi, the Fairy-type Elite Four, who admitted that if it weren't for Dragon-type moves being ineffective against Fairy-types, she wouldn't have stood a chance against Long Xu, thus earning him the title of the strongest Elite Four member.
A figure so legendary was actually coming to Yundu City?
"Su Wen? Su Wen? Su Huzi! Are you even listening to me?" Chen You yelled Su Wen's childhood nickname, pulling him back from his shock.
Irritated, Su Wen replied, "If you can't speak, then shut up! I am listening!"
Seeing that Su Wen responded, Chen You quickly changed the topic, "Do you know why Long Xu is coming to Yundu City?"
"Isn't it obvious? Besides the suddenly opened Mystery Dungeon, what else could attract Long Xu here?" Su Wen retorted. "How did you find out Long Xu was coming?"
Chen You looked confused, "Mystery Dungeon? What Mystery Dungeon? Long Xu is coming to Yundu City because it's all over the forum! The elusive Long Xu suddenly showing up has his fangirls going crazy."
Su Wen noticed something wasn't right. "You're not in Yundu City? Where are you?"
If Chen You were in Yundu City, it would be impossible for him not to know about such a significant event regarding the Mystery Dungeon.
Chen You stammered, "Uh... I have something else to do; I'll hang up now!"
Faced with Chen You's evasive behavior, Su Wen had no time to ponder what he was up to and quickly opened the Trainer Forum. Sure enough, it was filled with news about Long Xu.
After scrolling for a while, Su Wen discovered the incident started when one of Long Xu's fans spotted him riding on Dragonite. That fan abandoned their task to pursue Long Xu, and although they lost his trail in the end, it was inferred that he had entered Yundu City.
When this fan posted on the forum, an army of Long Xu's supporters set out, analyzing all sorts of clues. Finally, when a trainer at the Pokémon Center uploaded a clandestine photo of Long Xu, it was settled.
Ugh, these obsessive fans are terrifying… Su Wen sighed.
Putting away his phone, Su Wen didn't dwell too much on Long Xu. His father would eventually encounter him, and by then, he could just ask his dad. If there was something even his father didn't know, it wouldn't help to think about it further.
As for Chen You, being all mysterious, he would see where he ran off to when school started.
Su Wen stretched, feeling well-rested. He casually picked a Sitrus Berry from the tree, wiped it on his clothes, took a bite, and rounded up Charmander once more.
"Charmander, let's train!"
.....
Meanwhile, the Pokémon Center in Yundu City was in an uproar. Long Xu's fans had surrounded the entire center, blocking access, and even some were scouting from the air.
"Hubby, I love you!"
"Long Xu, please give me an autograph!"
"Long Xu, my darling, Mommy loves you!" "You're a guy, you know?!"
....
Behind the tall windows on the third floor of the Pokémon Center, a handsome young boy leaned against the railing. "Wow, Xu Shu, you really don't skip a single age group from 18 to 88, do you?"
Behind him, Long Xu, seated on a sofa with a cup of fragrant tea in his hand, nearly choked. He set the cup down and helplessly said, "Long Ming, you're getting too familiar."
Wang Qing, sitting opposite Long Xu, couldn't interject and had to pretend to be deaf.
"Wang Qing," Long Xu turned to him with a smile, "when can we enter the Mystery Dungeon?"
Wang Qing quickly replied, "Everything is ready; as long as you, Dragon King,…" he trailed off, glancing out the window to signal.
Long Xu understood Wang Qing's meaning. Fans like these were the most annoying; they couldn't be chased away and couldn't be handled like criminals.
Sighing in exasperation, Long Xu asked, "Is there a back door here?"
"The back door is open!" Someone shouted, causing the crowd to surge toward the back door.
However, they didn't see Long Xu; only a middle-aged man in janitorial clothing awkwardly pushing a dirty cart stood helplessly amidst the throng.
"Tch~" The crowd dispersed, scattering in various directions to stake out positions.
After the janitor turned the corner and casually dumped his cart of tools in a trash pile, he left.
This caused a few followers trailing behind to shake their heads, not even considering searching the cart, and they turned back to rush to the Pokémon Center.
After six or seven minutes, two figures stumbled out from under the cart's cover.
"Wait, why do I have to crawl out of the trash?" Long Ming complained, patting his clothes in disgust.
Long Xu, wearing a mask, ran his eyes around the area before giving Long Ming a light pat on the head. "If it weren't to find you a starter Pokémon, would I need to crawl out of a garbage truck?"
Long Ming smiled awkwardly, "Yes, yes, Xu Shu is the best. Are you sure there's a Bagon in the Mystery Dungeon?"
Bagon was the pre-evolution of Salamence, and Long Ming only wanted a Bagon as his starter Pokémon, sneering at all other Pokémon, even Legendary ones.
So once he learned that Bagon was roaming in Yundu City and that a Mystery Dungeon had appeared, Long Xu volunteered to come to Yundu City to suppress the Mystery Dungeon.
Long Xu chuckled, "Don't worry. If there's no Bagon here, I'll post a mission on the international market to find you a suitable one."
In the arena, the cold, resolute, and taciturn Long Xu surprisingly had such a gentle side, which would only send his fans into a frenzy.
After a short while, a vehicle arranged by Wang Qing arrived in front of Long Xu as planned. To stay discreet, Long Xu had no intention of using Dragonite to quickly transport him and Long Ming to the Mystery Dungeon.
Just as Long Xu was on his way to the Mystery Dungeon, Su Chuan and the others finally encountered trouble.
....
"This Salamence is even more fearsome than a few years ago." A gym leader beside Su Chuan looked nervously at the Salamence surrounded by numerous wild Pokémon in the distance.
After a small team discovered this Salamence, many gym leader-level trainers quickly gathered. The Salamence's red wings were a deeper shade of crimson, and its body appeared even stronger than before. If it weren't for the scar over its left eye, they might have thought they were mistaken.
A gym leader with considerable strength suggested testing the waters and sent in Gallade to face it, even planning a surprise attack.
Unexpectedly, in just one exchange, the Gallade was incapacitated. Had Su Chuan not intervened and used Slaking to hold off the Salamence, it might have been a disaster for Gallade.
"It's because of its Intimidate ability," Su Chuan sighed, shaking his head. This gym leader had not only underestimated the Salamence but had also overestimated his Gallade.
The Intimidate ability suppressed surrounding wild Pokémon, leading to a drop in their physical attack power, and since Gallade was already fragile, it was knocked out in an instant.
Even Slaking was only barely managing to suppress the Salamence, thanks to the assistance of nearby wild Pokémon.
"It's likely we can't deal with this Salamence now. Although Chansey is constantly healing Slaking, dragging this out won't help us; we should retreat." A trainer suggested.
Furrowing his brows, Su Chuan replied, "It's difficult. This Salamence is very tenacious; it won't let us escape easily."
Just as everyone was at a loss, their earpieces crackled to life: "Please hold on for another half an hour; Dragon King Long Xu is on his way to the Mystery Dungeon."
Who?
Everyone thought they had misheard until the communication repeated. Instantly, all the trainers were fired up.
"Damn, Dragon King Long Xu is coming? Hold on, hold on! In half an hour, we'll teach this Salamence a good lesson!" The trainers were rolling up their sleeves, imagining the scene of the Salamence being pinned to the ground.
Su Chuan exhaled lightly. As the temporary leader, his pressure had been substantial, and hearing this news relieved some of that weight.
However, Su Chuan still reminded them, "Everyone stay vigilant to prevent counterattacks from the Salamence!"