Pokémon: I just became a Gym Leader, and Cynthia proposed to me.

To restore calm to the bottom of the giant pit as soon as possible, Li Shuwen used his Aura to scan the surroundings, searching for the berserk Pokémon.

After finding his target, Li Shuwen raised his hand and released Xiong's apprentice and Lugia.

"There's a berserk Pokémon ahead, you two go."

Just as the bear apprentice and Lugia had steadied themselves, a figure shot out from the crevice in the rock.

It's a scorpion locust.

Its entire body is covered in black carapace, with purple patterns dancing on the surface.

With blood-red eyes and long, powerful limbs, it resembled an enraged cricket warrior.

Without pausing for a moment after landing, it charged straight at the bear apprentice.

"Apprentice Xiong, break the rocks!" Li Shuwen ordered.

The bear apprentice's right palm glowed with a white light as he slashed at the Fiery Leg Locust.

The Fiery-Legged Locust suddenly sprang up, leaping three meters into the air to avoid the falling rocks.

He flipped his body in mid-air and kicked out with his right foot, which spun around and struck Xiong's apprentice squarely in the chest.

The bear apprentice was kicked away and rolled several times on the ground.

"Little Lugia, Air Blade!" Li Shuwen's voice was steady.

Little Lugia flapped its wings, and countless wind blades shot out from its wingtips, like a large white net covering the Fiery Leg Locust.

The Fierce-Legged Locust opened its mouth, and a jet-black beam of evil energy shot out from it.

The beam of light swept across the wind blades, detonating them one by one.

Amidst the smoke and dust of the explosion, the figure of the Fiery-Legged Locust burst forth, its feet glowing with a dark light.

Hell Thrust, a kick landed squarely on Lugia's stomach.

Little Lugia was kicked away, its wings folded, and it nearly crashed into the rock wall.

The bear apprentice got up, used the Swallow Return technique, and his body drew an arc in the air as he rushed towards the Fierce Leg Locust.

The Fiery-Legged Locust leaped away again, spinning in the air, and delivered a back kick to the bear apprentice's back.

The bear apprentice was sent flying again, this time falling even harder and sliding several meters on the ground before coming to a stop.

Cynthia stood to the side, watching the incredibly agile Locust, and sighed:

"This Fiery Leg Locust is quite formidable, and it even bears a resemblance to the Salted Egg Superman from tokusatsu shows."

"Isn't Salted Egg Superman just a protagonist character created by imitating the Fierce Leg Locust?"

Li Shuwen's lips twitched.

"Your statement is truly going against the natural order."

The image of Salted Egg Superman predates that of Fierce Leg Locust by several decades, but according to the timeline of Arceus' creation of the world, it might actually be the other way around.

The bear apprentice got up from the ground, his eyes turning sharp.

His right fist flashed with a burst of yellow light.

Explosive Fist!

He threw a punch at the Fiery Leg Locust.

The scorpion-legged locust moved at high speed, leaving a trail of afterimages on the ground.

The explosive punch passed through the afterimage.

The Fiery-Legged Locust appeared above the bear apprentice's head, its right foot glowing with an earthy-yellow light.

Downward kick.

He stepped on the bear apprentice's head.

The bear apprentice's head was hit hard, his body swayed, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

His eyes were unfocused, and his head was buzzing.

A resolute glint flashed in Little Lugia's eyes.

A powerful force erupted from his body, and white light surged from within.

The divine bird struck fiercely, and thick white wind swirled around Lugia's body.

Little Lugia swooped down at high speed, like a white shooting star.

The Fiery Leg Locust had just landed and hadn't even gotten its footing when it was head-on hit by Lugia.

The Fiery-Legged Locust was knocked away, its body crashing against the rock wall, sending shards of rock flying everywhere.

The bear apprentice sat on the ground, his mind still reeling.

But that downward kick just now seemed to have flipped a switch in its brain.

The bear apprentice stood up unsteadily, and a white light slowly shone from his fist.

He stepped forward and threw out his right fist.

Follow with the left fist, then the right fist.

Punch after punch, relentlessly, like flowing water.

As soon as the Fierce Leg Locust regained its footing, it was surrounded by a barrage of punches.

The Fiery-Legged Locust tried to leap away, but the Bear Apprentice's fists followed relentlessly.

No matter which direction it jumps in, there's a fist waiting there.

A flicker of surprise crossed Cynthia's eyes:

"Originally, Xiong's apprentice was only good at one-hit attacks, but now he has also learned to use combo attacks."

"Shuwen, you teach so well."

Li Shuwen did not answer, but watched as his apprentice Xiong's boxing skills became more and more fluid, a smile appearing on his lips.

The Fiery-Legged Locust was forced into a corner of the rock face, with nowhere to retreat.

The bear apprentice's fists lit up with white light at the same time, and then he threw out two punches simultaneously, one hitting the Fiery Leg Locust in the chest and the other in the abdomen.

The Fiery-Legged Locust's body was blasted away and crashed into the rock wall.

Then it slowly slid down, closed its eyes, and fell into a coma.

Li Shuwen stepped forward, squatted down next to the Fiery Leg Locust, and placed his hand on its carapace.

The pearl ring and the diamond ring lit up simultaneously, and pink and blue light flowed into the body of the Fiery Leg Locust, gradually drawing away the lurking Lac elements.

The body of the Fierce-Legged Locust trembled slightly, and the purple patterns gradually faded in the light.

As the last wisp of Lac element was absorbed by the ring, its breathing became steady, and the black on its shell returned to its original deep green.

Li Shuwen stood up and said:

"Let's go, let's continue deeper into the search for other berserk Pokémon."

The two made a fire and rested by a river.

The river water shimmered with a faint blue light, and the rocks on the riverbank were covered with glowing moss.

Li Shuwen is cooking a pot of soup, while Cynthia is checking the Pokémon for their injuries.

A figure emerged from the darkness on the opposite bank of the river.

She was a young woman with dark skin, wearing a well-tailored black coat, with several Poké Balls hanging from her waist.

Her steps were steady, and her eyes were sharp.

Although he was travel-worn, he exuded an aura that should not be underestimated.

She saw the two people by the fire, stopped, and bowed slightly.

"Are you two Mr. Li Shuwen, the Midas Touch master, and Ms. Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion?"

"I am the headmaster of the Orange Academy of the Padia Alliance, Yeci."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both here."

Cynthia put down the ointment she was holding and stood up.

"It's us. Miss Yeci, are you also here to explore the Paddy Caverns?"

Li Shuwen spoke up, "You're lucky. The soup's just finished cooking, why don't you have some?"

Ye Ci smiled. "I won't stand on ceremony, get a bigger bowl!"

Ye Ci sat down by the fire and accepted the hot soup that Li Shuwen handed him.

He took a sip and exhaled a long breath.

"I came here because the situation inside the Padia Crater has been under the Alliance's surveillance, and recently the Alliance's expedition team discovered something amiss."

"The depths of the giant crater are shrouded in white mist, making it easy to lose one's way, and the Pokémon that has malfunctioned is extremely aggressive."

"Ordinary research teams can't handle these powerful and ferocious Pokémon, so I have to go myself."

"But after coming in, I found that although the environment had indeed become much harsher, the ferocious Pokémon that the research team had mentioned were very rare."

Cynthia nodded and said, "Most of the berserk Pokémon have already been dealt with by Shuwen and me."

Ye Ci looked at the two of them, a hint of gratitude flashing in her eyes.

"Thank you both very much. As expected of the Midas Touch and the Sinnoh Champion, your strength is indeed formidable."

"If it were just me alone, it would probably be quite difficult to handle."

Cynthia put down her bowl, a glint of eager anticipation flashing in her eyes.

"Judging from what Miss Ye Ci is saying, you must be quite skilled, right? If you don't mind, would you like to have a spar with me?"

Ye Ci paused for a moment, "Me?"

Ye Ci's lips curled up slightly. "Of course. It would be an honor to fight against Miss Cynthia."

She thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have a three-on-three battle. After all, we're in a giant pit, so we need to maintain a certain level of fighting strength."

Cynthia smiled slightly and said, "No problem."