Though Mu Zhishui told Shen Yu that she would come to Xuedian City tomorrow to research the egg, Shen Yu never expected that the very next morning, just as dawn was breaking in Xuedian City, while Shen Yu was still groggy and half-asleep, the sound of helicopter rotors whirring through the sky would echo above.
Shen Yu rubbed her eyes, "Ugh, so noisy."
She pulled back the curtains and looked outside. At the main gate, Mu Zhishui, clad in a white lab coat, had just disembarked from the aircraft and was nodding as she looked at the Yangyang Ranch's signboard.
Mu Qingqing, who had to wake up early to herd the Pokémon out of the ranch, had just finished her work. Hearing the helicopter, she rode over on a Rapidash. "Hey, who are you?"
Mu Zhishui peered into the ranch. "I'm Shen Yu's friend. Is she here?"
"Sister Zhishui, long time no see."
Shen Yu trotted out of the ranch, hugging Mu Zhishui tightly. "Sister Zhishui, I didn't expect you to arrive so early."
Mu Zhishui smiled. "If it hadn't been for the darkness, which might have made flying a bit dangerous, I would have come even earlier. It couldn't be helped; what you said on the phone was too intriguing."
Listening to Shen Yu and Mu Zhishui chat, Mu Qingqing interjected, "Alright, it's not a good idea to chat at the entrance. Let's eat first. It would be a shame not to try Xuedian-style breakfast."
...
After breakfast, the group arrived at the Pokémon Center in Xuedian City. Researcher Wang was also very excited to see Mu Zhishui. Although Mu Zhishui was young, her level of Pokémon research was already quite advanced.
"Researcher Mu, you're here for this egg too? If I'd known you knew her, we would have solved the problem with this egg long ago."
After a thorough period of research, coupled with the intelligence provided by the external remote reconnaissance drone, Xing Chuanao, Mu Zhishui arrived at her own conclusions. However, these conclusions were so astonishing that Mu Zhishui decided to keep them to herself for the time being.
After retrieving the Pokémon egg, Mu Zhishui briefly toured Yangyang Ranch, offering some constructive suggestions. Then, the three of them returned to their respective lives.
Let's focus on Shen Yu. After leaving Xuedian City, she flew erratically, ending up at the seaside. The helicopter refueled a few times, essentially traveling from the easternmost point of the Minglong Kingdom all the way to the westernmost. Shen Yu looked at the beach below. "It's been a long time since I've been here."
The helicopter landed slowly, and Shen Yu leaped out, looking around before running towards a nearby guesthouse.
Arriving at the guesthouse entrance, Shen Yu tilted her head, looking at the sign. "Milotic Inn. Wasn't this originally a Kyogre Inn? When did it change its name?"
"It changed long ago, ever since Feebas evolved into Milotic. Kyogre isn't pretty at all; Milotic is much better."
Shen Yu turned around. Xiao Yu'er, holding a large shell, was looking at her from behind. "Long time no see, Sister Shen Yu."
Shen Yu crouched down. "Long time no see, Xiao Yu'er. What are you doing here?"
Xiao Yu'er gently patted the pearl oyster. "Sunbathing with Shellder."
Shen Yu was taken aback. "Sunbathing? Who told you to do that?"
Xiao Yu'er thought for a moment. "A big brother passed by a few days ago and told me that if I want Shellder to produce a large pearl, I need to let it sunbathe more."
Shen Yu listened, and then...
Shen Yu's curiosity was piqued, but she also knew that curiosity could kill her. She hurriedly turned to go back into the ship's cabin. However, whatever was in the distance was moving with unusual speed, approaching in a vast, overwhelming wave.
As the distance closed, Shen Yu felt an immense sense of pressure. Gripping the ship's railing, she finally saw what was rapidly approaching: the ocean!
With the approach of this massive oceanic mass, Shen Yu finally understood what a cross-section of the ocean looked like. But that wasn't the main concern now. Two colossal plates were colliding at such high speeds that earthquakes were a certainty, and so were tsunamis. Shen Yu, drifting on the sea, would undoubtedly be obliterated by the towering waves.
She started her yacht, intending to move towards the coastline. However, the movement of the enormous oceanic plates was too swift. Before Shen Yu could steer the yacht very far, the Minglong Kingdom's tectonic plate and the oceanic plate collided. Immediately, surging, immense waves surged from the point of impact towards the coastline and the ocean.
Humanity, in the face of nature's divine power, was ultimately pathetically insignificant. Shen Yu had pushed the yacht to its limit, but she still tragically lost the chase against the waves. The giant wave instantly engulfed the small yacht and continued its advance towards the coastline with immense force.
With such a monumental event occurring at sea, it was impossible for the Minglong Kingdom to be unaware. In the conference room of the Pokémon League headquarters, everyone was in a frenzy, staring at the various reports. These unfortunate tectonic plates seemed to have conspired to reshape Lingyao Star today.
This put the Minglong Kingdom in a particularly disadvantageous position. The Minglong Kingdom had a vast landmass and, consequently, an unusually long border. In times like these, a longer border meant encountering more disasters.
After a lengthy meeting, Malanchi, who sat at the head of the table, made the decisive call: all Trainers in the League were to be dispatched for disaster relief. The utmost priority was to ensure the welfare of the Trainers to the greatest extent possible after Lingyao Star's integration was complete.
While the Minglong Kingdom was urgently enacting various contingency plans, Shen Yu and the unfortunate speedboat, having been swallowed by the sea, were spinning and tumbling within the vortex. Although Shen Yu initially retained some consciousness and thought of survival, she soon lost consciousness under the force of the currents. Just as she lost consciousness, a massive dark silhouette rapidly approached Shen Yu from the deep sea.