Chapter 28: The Kricketune Knight

"Brother, who is he?" As Wei Yeqin walked away, Xia Yu could no longer contain his curiosity and asked.

"Him? His name is Wei Yeqin. He is a great man, one whom your brother admires the most." Xia Luo sat on the sofa, his expression distant, as if lost in memory.

Great.

It was a familiar yet foreign word; few people were truly worthy of such a description.

"Tell me, how did you two meet?" Xia Yu pressed further.

"That goes back a long way..." Xia Luo began.

Wei Yeqin’s childhood was filled with tragedy and hardship. When he was six, his father passed away from a heart attack, and his mother, unable to bear such a devastating blow, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and followed his father shortly after. Orphaned and alone, he had no choice but to rely on his grandmother.

His elderly grandmother supported him by picking up scrap metal and doing needlework. Sensible from a young age, Wei Yeqin did not let her sacrifices go to waste. He studied diligently, consistently ranking at the top of his class, which earned him exemptions from most of his tuition fees. Finally, at eighteen, he lived up to expectations and was admitted to a prestigious university.

He had hoped that his life would finally change for the better, but on the very day he received his acceptance letter, his grandmother was killed in a car accident while trying to sell scrap metal in the county seat. From that moment on, Wei Yeqin was truly alone, with no family left in the world.

Having lost everyone, Wei Yeqin studied even harder in college. He tasted the bitterness of the world and harbored a grand ambition: since he could no longer show filial piety to his parents, he would show absolute loyalty to his ideals. With his life's purpose found, he strove to improve himself.

While others were playing, he was studying. While others were dating, he was studying. He topped his major in almost every examination.

At twenty-two, freshly graduated, Wei Yeqin resolutely chose to enlist in the military. It was then that he met a girl who had also joined the army—a girl with short hair, a heroic spirit, and a dream to travel across the vast and beautiful lands of their motherland.

She was a girl who always shouted about roaming the world with nothing but a sword, acting as a hero to serve her country. She was a girl who vowed to sweep away injustice wherever she found it, acting with courage and never counting the cost, be it fortune or misfortune.

Like-minded, the two soon fell in love. After three years of dating, they got engaged at twenty-five, and his girlfriend gifted him a Pokémon egg. It was his first and only Pokémon.

But misfortune often strikes the vulnerable. Just one month after their engagement, his fiancée was killed in a car accident while heroically saving a child.

This tragedy was a crushing blow to Wei Yeqin. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could still hear her voice and see her smile. However, to fulfill the ideals they had shared, he finished his military service and retired two years later at the age of twenty-seven.

After leaving the army, he swore never to marry. He took his girlfriend’s wish to fight injustice as his life’s mission. From that day on, he traveled with his pack by day, and every night, he would roam with the Lucario his girlfriend had given him, acting as a vigilante.

Carrying a photo of his girlfriend, Wei Yeqin walked through city after city, staying in each for only three months, upholding justice and helping those in need, just as he had often sung.

"With worldly ties unsevered, one must accumulate virtue to eventually find peace. Walking across the land, crossing mountains and rivers, witnessing the churning dust of the world, I draw my sword against injustice, acting with courage regardless of the outcome."

A year later, when Wei Yeqin was twenty-eight, Xia Luo met him.

At that time, Xia Luo was just eighteen. He wasn't a good student and couldn't get into a university. He could have relied on his father, Xia Yong, to get into an average school, but his stubborn pride led him to drop out and become a wandering trainer.

Eighteen-year-old Xia Luo was in his prime, full of youthful vigor. He met many people on his journey, was deceived many times, and suffered many setbacks, until he encountered Wei Yeqin, along with "Second" and "Third."

Young people are always full of passion and ambition. Xia Luo, Second, and Third were all moved by Wei Yeqin’s story. They decided to swear brotherhood with him, vowing to do what they could to change the world, to act as heroes, to drink and sing together, and to traverse the vast lands together.

However, as time passed, Xia Luo, Second, and Third had families and friends; they were not as unburdened as Wei Yeqin. After traveling together for six years, they eventually moved on one by one.

Only Wei Yeqin and his Lucario remained, persisting in their ideals. The reason that Lucario was so incredibly powerful was simply that for decades, Wei Yeqin had focused on raising only that one Pokémon—just as he had only ever loved one person and dedicated his life to one cause.

"Xiao Yu," Xia Luo said, reminiscing about the rugged years of his youth, "Yeqin is the person I have admired most in my entire life. With his degree from a prestigious university and the immense strength of that Lucario, he could have easily been among the elite of society. Yet, for the sake of his beliefs, he chose a difficult path. I think that is exactly why he was able to raise his Lucario to such heights."

In an era where almost everyone chases fame and fortune, people like Wei Yeqin are truly rare.

"I never imagined you had such an experience, Brother. I'm truly impressed," Xia Yu said. Wei Yeqin’s story was deeply inspiring, though he was even more amazed by the dedication behind the Lucario's training.

"Actually, there was something incredibly silly we did back then—we were all quite 'chuunibyou' in those days," Xia Luo said, suddenly laughing. "We each gave ourselves a nickname. Wei Yeqin was called 'Lucario Man,' and I was 'Blaziken Man,' because our signature Pokémon were Lucario and Blaziken."

"Second's signature Pokémon was Kricketune, so he was 'Kricketune Man.' His family was quite wealthy, based in Shanghai. I heard he’s a famous musician now, working at the opera house."

"What about Third?" Xia Yu asked.

"Third was called 'Ladybug Man'," Xia Luo said with a smile.

"I know, his signature Pokémon must be Ledian," Xia Yu thought, immediately picturing the Pokémon.

Ledian was a Pokémon with almost no standout qualities. You could read a hundred Pokémon fan-fiction novels and never see anyone catch a Ledian. Kricketune and Ledian were treated much the same.

"No. His signature Pokémon was actually Samurott," Xia Luo said, looking at Xia Yu with a knowing smile; he had expected Xia Yu to guess Ledian.

"Then why was he called 'Ladybug Man'?" Xia Yu asked, confused.

"Because Third had a peculiar habit of 'saving' women in distress. Every time he arrived in a new city, the first thing he would do was use his money to help those women. His legend was left behind in almost every city," Xia Luo said. Recalling the past, his smile grew broader. They used to tease Third constantly about his 'ladybug' antics. While the others were named after their signature Pokémon, only Third was named after his unique hobby.

"So, what is this 'Third' doing now?" Xia Yu couldn't help but ask.

"Third's family is very influential. It seems he’s a boss himself now, doing investments in Shanya, Hainan Province. His business is quite substantial."