Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

Not only have their strength been greatly improved, but some Pokémon have even been able to break through a small or large stage.

They are also more sensitive to flight energy and airflow, and know how to use airflow more efficiently for flight.

Su Hao himself was somewhat tempted by the effects of the Thousand Winds Secret Realm, but the real choice lay with Warrior Eagle.

He felt that Pokémon's own opinions also needed to be considered.

The Warrior Eagle's massive, jet-black body stood in the yard. As Su Hao groomed its feathers, he told it everything he knew without reservation, waiting for its answer.

The warrior eagle folded its wings, and its usually sharp eyes now held a thoughtful expression.

Ever since he fought to a draw with that slightly weaker Charizard... no, he lost to it, Warrior Eagle has been pondering what his problem is.

The psychological trauma he suffered as a child did not affect his flying ability, but it did become a thick wall, preventing him from being as brave as his race name suggests.

His current situation is that he dares not try various risky but efficient and powerful flying techniques.

He is confident that his moves are as powerful as any Pokémon's, as well as his physical constitution. The only thing that hinders him is his flying skills, preventing him from truly soaring through the skies and dominating the world.

The same applies to being toyed with by Charizard; often, his powerful mental abilities allow him to observe and change the course of events by altering the flight method.

But the Warrior Eagle dared not, for he feared that he might one day lose his balance and crash.

Perhaps... this is the chance to change things.

Completely master the power of the wind within this Thousand Winds Secret Realm and become a true warrior of the sky.

The warrior eagle opened its eyes, its gaze piercing, its enormous wingspan unfurled, radiating intense spiritual energy, and a battle cry, imbued with a desire to change its own will, emanated from its beak.

"Wow—!"

The battle cry startled Milotic, who was resting in the pool not far away; Diancie, who was watching TV on a deck chair; Incineroar, who was exercising his muscles; and Draco and Draco Messia, who were playing hide-and-seek with their younger brother.

As Su Hao silently preened his feathers, he saw the performance of the Warrior Eagle and understood everything.

He couldn't help but shed a tear of crocodile relief, and said with emotion, "It seems you've made a decision."

"Looking forward to your transformation, Warrior Eagle."

Led by Diancie and Milotic, the Pokémon gathered around to cheer on Brave Eagle.

Diancie and Milotic offered words of encouragement, Incineroar invited Brave Eagle to work out with him before setting off, and Doronchi and Doronmesia asked Brave Eagle to play hide-and-seek together later.

This is home.

.................

The next day, in the capital.

As luck would have it, both the Thousand Winds Secret Realm and Su Hao's plane bound for the German Union were in the capital.

This was Su Hao's first time in the capital. Having made his decision, he contacted Su Qing directly, and the Thousand Winds Secret Realm qualification, which originally required five working days for approval, was approved that very night.

In this world, connections still work.

Perhaps, if Su Hao pointed at Rattata and said it was Psyduck, people would believe him.

It took Su Hao a whole day to travel by express train to reach the distant capital.

As night deepens, it happens to be drizzling in the capital.

The light rain pattered on the ground, and the wet ground was pattered by pedestrians with umbrellas, creating a suffocating, oppressive feeling.

Su Hao arrived in the capital ahead of time, while Miao Yin will arrive tomorrow.

It is said that he also brought another person with him, who, like Su Hao, was going to the German League to capture new Pokémon.

I don't know if it's because of the rain, or if the weather in the capital is just like this, but the temperature is unusually low even though it's almost the height of summer.

Su Hao had no choice but to take out a rain jacket from his backpack and put it on. Although he was not afraid of this level of cold, it was really strange for him to be the only one walking on the street in short sleeves.

Looking around, all he could see were hurried passersby. Sure enough, the pace of life in the capital was different from the slow pace that Su Hao had become accustomed to in Yangcheng.

"Hmm... Let's find a place to fill our stomachs first, and then find a place to stay."

------------

The inspiration for Thousand Winds Secret Realm comes from the Sky Island in Kingdom Tears, hehe.

2013, *X/Y*

Chapter 250 Light Rain

Su Hao got off the bus at an old-style building complex in the capital. Compared to the more central and modern cities, the atmosphere here was more vibrant with everyday life.

Li Hua had also gone to the Dragon's Lair in the capital for trials. Half a month had passed, and like Jiang Chengcheng, neither of them had contacted Su Hao yet, and they didn't know how he was doing.

Although Su Hao was wearing a rain jacket, he was worried that his backpack would get wet, so he looked around and bought one from a little girl at the station entrance who was selling umbrellas.

Not far away, there is a small shop that, though small, looks fairly tidy.

After thinking it over, Su Hao, with the mindset of just grabbing a quick hot meal, ran into the shop with an umbrella.

"Welcome! The menu is right next to you. Please feel free to order any of the ingredients you like."

"Meow~"

The receptionist was a middle-aged woman wearing an apron. Next to her squatted a cat with long, brush-like eyelashes, its limbs sprawled on the ground, lazily resting.

Perhaps because it was past lunchtime, the restaurant was almost empty. Su Hao casually found a table and sat down, then asked directly, "Madam, is this your first time in the capital? Do you have any local specialties you'd recommend?"

"Oh, is this your first time here? Then you must try the douzhi (fermented mung bean juice)!"

"Soybean juice?" Su Hao, a man from Sichuan, tilted his head and asked in confusion.

What is this? Soy milk?

The proprietress enthusiastically introduced, "It's a traditional Beijing snack made from mung beans. The weather is a bit chilly tonight, so a sip of hot mung bean juice can warm your stomach."

Su Hao was also curious about what douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) tasted like. He ordered from the menu one by one: "Then I'll have a bowl of douzhi, ten jiaoquan (fried dough rings), and two shaobing (baked flatbread) with meat filling!"

"Okay, just a moment!"

The proprietress quickly ran into the open kitchen to prepare food for Su Hao. Bored, Su Hao tried to strike up a conversation: "Proprietress, when do you think this rain will stop?"

Although Su Hao doesn't dislike rain, this kind of weather does affect his travel.

"Hmm...that's hard to say."

Even though the proprietress was wearing a mask, Su Hao could tell that she looked hesitant and embarrassed.

"What's so strange about this rain?" Su Hao asked curiously.

"It's not that strange, it's just that it's been raining a lot lately, sometimes for a day or two at a time, so a lot of the food that needs to be dried outdoors can't be processed."

The proprietress kept moving her hands, carrying over a bowl of milky white drink, golden fried dough rings, and two meat-filled sesame flatbreads.

"Try it and see. Some people might not like it. If you don't like it, I'll get you another one."

Su Hao nodded and tentatively tasted the fermented mung bean juice.

The proprietress sat at another table, stroking Miao Miao's chin curiously, and asked, "How is it?"

"Hmm... the bean flavor isn't very strong, but the sourness is quite pronounced. It's very fragrant and mellow, I think it's alright."

As Su Hao spoke, he picked up a piece of fried dough ring, dipped it in soy milk, and started eating.

This food is a bit strange, it's like another version of soy milk and fried dough sticks?

"That's good."

The proprietress, having been roused by Su Hao's earlier remark, sighed softly after responding to him: "The rain isn't too frequent, but compared to last year, these occasional drizzles are more depressing."

"The League also sent out a Pokémon that is said to be able to change the weather, and successfully changed the weather."

"But the rain was quite persistent; it would start raining again soon after it was dispersed. However, since it didn't cause any damage, it was difficult to keep releasing large-scale weather effects, so in the end, we just let the weather continue to rain."

The landlady's complaining tone bothered Su Hao. The environment in the capital didn't seem like it would be rainy, and there was still some time before the rainy season.

What the hell is going on?

The casual conversation was just that – casual conversation. Su Hao quickly finished his dinner, said goodbye to the landlady, and hailed a taxi to find a hotel for the night.

Although Pokémon Center certified trainers can get a discount on hotel rooms, most of the rooms are shared, so Su Hao thought it best to spend some money and stay in a hotel instead.

..............

The next morning, a light drizzle was still falling, so Su Hao, who had originally planned to go out for a walk and see the local customs of the capital, could only travel by car.

After leaving the hotel, Su Hao hailed a taxi pulled by Pokémon.

"Master, please go to the Winged Dojo in the suburbs."

"Alright! You're so young, are you going to challenge a dojo?"

Su Hao shook his head and climbed directly into the rain-proof carriage: "No, I have other things to take care of."

Before entering the carriage, he glanced curiously at the Pokémon pulling it...

He could understand using other Pokémon like Dodrio, Ken, and Tauros to pull the cart, but using Camerupt to pull the cart on a rainy day seemed a bit...

Camerupt typically lives near volcanoes or in deserts. There is a desert just outside the capital city, so it's reasonable for this Pokémon to appear there.

The fire-breathing camel's travel speed wasn't too slow. Su Hao was in the old city outside the capital, and it only took him about half an hour to successfully reach the Winged Dojo on the outskirts of the capital.

The Winged Gym is an open-plan building. During the day, the dome is opened to allow flying Pokémon to come and go. Outside the gym is a lush green lawn where many trainers of similar or older age to Su Hao train.

After paying and getting out of the car, Su Hao looked at the Winged Dojo, which was about the size of a medium-sized shopping mall, and commented, "Hmm... the size is so-so."

The eighteen-attribute dojos he visited were all large-scale complexes funded by the alliance.

The size of the Winged Dojo is indeed so-so, but that's to be expected.

After all, the original eighteen dojos have been abolished in a sense, and their responsibilities have been divided among new dojos like the Wing Dojo.

It seems like Su Hao's father, Su Xu, was dismissed by the alliance, but Su Hao, who knows the inside story, knows that this is actually a disguised promotion.

From now on, Su Xu will only be responsible for playing high-level games and will not need to waste time dealing with other challenges. He will also have more free time and can take a long vacation to go into seclusion.

It can be seen as a kind of liberation of the upper-level combat forces by the alliance, allowing them to focus on improving themselves or teaching the younger generation.

The closer you get to the gates of the Winged Gym, the more Flying-type Pokémon fly overhead.

Pidgey, Rowlet, Swellow, Wild Puff, Jumpluff, Caterpie, Magikarp, Gyarados...

It seems like some strange Pokémon have been mixed in, but strictly speaking, their evolved forms or current forms do have the Flying type.