Divine Plan? But I'm a Pokémon trainer.

Chapter 320 Body Swap Play
Having regained his senses, the Money-Seeking Spirit desperately held onto the last gold coin he had left.

"This one was originally mine, I can't give it to you!"

Seeing this, Talebagos laughed and said, "We're adventurers, not bandits, right, Kobayashi?"

Link fell silent.

Ultimately, adventurers and bandits are often equated, or rather, adventurers' bottom line is even lower than that of bandits.

Talebagos repeated, "Kobayashi?"

Of course, the Budding Adventurers are clearly among those with higher moral standards.

"Well, you can keep it yourself. Pokémon coins are useless to us."

Upon hearing this, the Money-Seeking Spirit looked at the frozen assets. It couldn't take these things away in a short time.
Moreover, this is in an incredible maze; if you die outside, you will lose everything you have.

For now, the only option is to evolve as much as possible.

The thought of suddenly receiving so many gold coins for free made the Money-Grubber laugh out loud.

"Ahahaha!"

So happy?

Link was a little confused. Was it true that the coins used by the Money Spirit for evolution weren't limited to special coins like the Padia Coin, but rather any kind of coin would be fine...?

He and Talebagos stopped paying attention to the Money Spirit and began taking stock of the items summoned by the Attraction Jade.

"A number of tree fruits, seeds, jade, and stones; a small amount of various colored gummy candies; two skill machines; one connection box; two large donuts; five treasure chests... It's so comfortable to bring enough supplies to go through the maze at once."

"It sounds like you've been here many times before," Turtle remarked.

Isn't this your first time here too?

Then it looked at the gummy candies and donuts on the ground. They smelled good and looked delicious, but something still seemed off.

Just to be safe, let it taste it and see if it's poisonous.

"薅Chi~"

"The effect of the donut you just ate was... um."

In the game, eating a large donut increases experience points, but that effect is unlikely to occur in reality.

Link shook his head, thinking there was no way he could get such a bargain.

"I think I've gotten stronger?"

"what!?"

Seeing the other person's incredulous expression, Talebagos nodded in bewilderment.

I have indeed become stronger. The total amount of controllable attribute energy within my body has increased slightly. Although it's not very useful, it's still a small improvement.

This shattered Link's worldview: "Sigh, even gummy candies that boost attributes have appeared. It seems that things that directly make you stronger aren't impossible."

It's still a bit hard to accept.

Is becoming stronger and leveling up really that easy?
Awakening Candy, Gummy Candy, Experience Food—if all you need to do is eat and invest resources to become super strong, then raising Pokémon becomes like a pay-to-win mobile game or a legendary browser game. What would be the point of trainers and all the effort they put into training then...?

"Anyway, I'll try it first."

As a result, after Link ate it, he didn't feel that his strength, energy, or any other ability had changed in the slightest.

"?"

He looked at the turtle in confusion, "When did you learn to lie?"
No, there's no point in lying about this. It's very likely that the item's effect works on Talebagos but not on him.

"I really have gotten stronger, just a little bit."

"Hmm, could it be that it made the Taijing power that you couldn't control before become something you could control?"

Talebagos seemed to be thinking about this. That was roughly the case, but he hadn't mastered it yet; it was just that the left and right hemispheres of his brain were no longer fighting each other.

Link then figured out the true effect of the donut item—to make the uncontrollable energy in a Pokémon's body controllable, and even potentially to turn a Pokémon's "effort" into tangible "effort values".

Since he already trains in this area all the time, the big donuts didn't have any effect.

It doesn't even allow people to improve their control over energy to the level of a Fiery Fox.

"Then it's actually not very useful anymore, so why do I feel it's such a pity?"

Talebages quipped, "Maybe that's just how humans are."

Link shrugged. Although he complained that eating it could level up like a browser game, it was still a good thing to get stronger while lying down, since all he liked was fighting.

In any case, these items are all valuable, and one of them, a seed that can increase the speed of training Pokémon moves, is even more valuable to plant in the Dream Realm.

After Link and Talebagos finished their inventory, the three Pokémon who had been having a great time in the other room also dealt with the Pokémon that had been brought over by the Jade Stone.

"Kobayashi, we're done!"

"Ahhhh!!!"

The appearance of Arcanine immediately scared away the Moneygrub, who was trying to pry coins out of the ice, and it hid behind Link.

Arcanine: Head tilt.jpg
"You've worked hard. Take a break and then continue uphill."

"I'll wander around this floor for a bit, and come back to you when I find the stairs to the top."

Before the words were even finished, it dashed off in a flurry, clearly preferring to wander through the maze rather than rest.

After Arcanine left, Money Spirit slowly ran out.

That dog was so big, it was terrifying!

"How many Pokémon Coins do you need to collect to evolve?" Link asked the MoneyGrubber curiously. "999?"

Once special coins are no longer needed, the difficulty of obtaining 999 coins drops dramatically.

But to be honest, even the Money-Grubber didn't know: "It has to be filled to the brim."

It pointed to a treasure chest not far away that had originally become a belt, but had degenerated and was now scattered to the side.

The treasure chest of the Money-Seeking Spirit doesn't look very big; it might not even be able to hold 999 coins.

Realizing this, he retrieved the treasure chest and put a gold coin inside.

Sure enough, as soon as the gold coins were put into the treasure chest, it immediately shrank proportionally to the size of a grain of sand.

It's quite difficult to fill the treasure chest completely...

So the Money-Gathering Spirit collected all the coins in the room and stuffed them into the treasure chest.

Even so, they were unable to cover the bottom of the treasure chest with a layer.

Talebagos suddenly realized, "No wonder it was still so focused on collecting gold coins after being forced to evolve by the enemy's evolution orb. It turns out it's still far from having enough gold coins."

"Yeah, I'm so unlucky!"

The Money Spirit complained with a headache, "When I lost my mind before, I had to hide the treasure chest in a secluded corner and walk around to collect gold coins to bring back. Before I evolved, I was no match for those powerful elves. Even though the items in the maze would regenerate periodically, it was still difficult to collect many gold coins."

Not to mention, Gengar often plays pranks on it, stealing its coins while it's out!
In another world, they can manipulate humans to collect the money they need, but in this world, few elves in the labyrinth are weak enough to be controlled by money-grubbing spirits.

If it hadn't happened to meet Link and his friends, the Money-Grubber would have had to collect gold coins on the first level of the Sky Staircase for who knows how many more years before it could evolve. Therefore, it made a decision: "Let me come with you! All the gold coins along the way are mine, and I'll join your adventure team after I evolve!"

Upon hearing this, Link and Talebagos exchanged a glance. It sounded pretty good... if they really were a legitimate adventurer's group.

"Even if you go to another world with us later?" Turtle pressed.

"What the hell?"

Suo Cailing couldn't understand it for a moment.

Just then, two more elves with fierce-looking faces entered the room.

"We're done fighting, what do we do with the dropped items?"

The Money-Gathering Spirit: "Aaaaaah!!!"

It began to regret submitting its application to join the team. Turtle and Manaphy looked quite cute, but the rest were all villains...

……

"Kobayashi, are you saying you've mastered Manaphy's exclusive 'Courage Filling' and 'Mind Swap' techniques?"

After learning what had happened to the trainer during their battle, Incineroar was somewhat surprised that the other side could actually master Manaphy's signature move.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Dragonite didn't bother to think too much about it. "Talibagos has finally mustered up the courage. When are we going to have a match?"

The turtle immediately hissed, "I'm not fighting you! Besides, the effect has worn off, and I've never enjoyed battling before."

Dragonite sighed and turned his head away helplessly.

It's such a shame that Talebagos is so strong yet doesn't fight.

The survival pressure in ancient times didn't seem that great, so how come there are such timid creatures... Well, it's because the trainer brought the turtle back from prehistoric times to the modern era.

The Talebago people, as recorded in official history, have essentially become extinct.

"Biological evolution is for better adaptation to the environment and survival, not for becoming stronger. Even if Talebagos doesn't like fighting, it's just a matter of personal preference."

Link paused for a moment, then returned to the previous topic: "It's not just 'Courage Filling' and 'Mind Swap,' I also possess 'Fireflies' and 'Supporting Power.'"

Incidentally, there are also "interchangeable features" and "relay".

Dragonite was confused. What did that mean?
"That means... I'm the trainer who can raise Special Attack by 6 stages in two turns and then either transfer the stat levels to you or use 'Support Power' myself."

Incineroar scratched its head: "But the three of us are physical attackers."

Link: "..."

It seems there is such a thing.

Strictly speaking, Dog, Tiger, and Fatty are all dual-wielders, but they do prefer physical attacks.

Of course, the same applies to the Water Wave Dolphin, the Dark Tail Fish, and the Evil Pon.

In the team, only Fire Fox and Taleborg can truly benefit from Link's full buff.

"No, but this 'mind swap' has another function."

"What's its purpose?" asked the treasure hunter, who had successfully merged into the pile of treasure along with the sword sheath.

The sword sheath sighed, "As the name suggests, it's about exchanging souls."

Link nodded, "That's right."

"The real power of this move lies in switching the soul and body for a period of time. In short, it's about letting Tiger use Dog's body and letting Dog use Tiger's body."

"I won't change!" "How about we give it a try?"

Incineroar and Arcanine, who had returned from scouting, each offered different insights.

They've never experienced body swapping before.

"That sounds interesting." Leaning against the pile of coins, the Dragonite quickly realized the practical value of this move. "It can catch the opponent off guard in battle, and it can also be used to train by experiencing the bodies of other Pokémon in daily life."

Just as Talebag was about to try switching bodies, he stopped abruptly: "Huh? More workouts?"

"Yeah, we were already using 'role-playing' and 'ability swapping' to train other Pokémon's abilities, right? Now that we can swap bodies, it's even more convenient. For example, Incineroar can use Arcanine's body to further experience 'Flash Fire,' and I can... um... what Pokémon's body is stronger than Dragonite's?"

Upon closer reflection, Dragonite realized that he didn't need to switch bodies for training.

Garchomp and similar Pokémon could be traded with Flygon to learn how to use "Dragon Dance".

"You should go back to the Hakkar stage and start training again. Make sure you remember the 'Mysterious Scales' ability."

"Miracle Scales" increases defense when under abnormal status conditions, which isn't a particularly outstanding ability, but Dragonair will develop "Multiscales" after evolving into Dragonite.

Regaining the abilities from childhood might prove useful in a future battle.

"Thinking about it this way, 'mind swapping' actually works?"

Even the Blazing Roaring Tiger had to admit this, and its resistance did not diminish in the slightest.

Arcanine couldn't contain itself any longer: "Let's give it a try! How about we give it a go?"

"Just this once, I won't switch them up again."

At Arcanine's insistence, Incineroar reluctantly agreed.

So how do we exchange them?
As the elves pondered this, they quickly realized a blind spot—the life form of Talebagos was too unique.

Where exactly do the souls and minds of energy life forms exist? Is it really possible to exchange bodies? Will accidents happen after the exchange, such as assimilation of the soul that was exchanged?
Talebagos is not quite sure.

"It's not a big problem. Let's leave it for now. You can test it with Dream tonight. I think it's definitely not affected by the power of the Taijing."

"That's the only way." Turtle sighed, secretly looking forward to swapping bodies with Dream in the Dream Realm tonight.

After all, Mew has the genes of all Pokémon, so exchanging bodies with it would be the same as having the bodies of all Pokémon.

A moment later, the elves each decided which body they wanted to exchange.

"Heart Swap!"

As Link unleashed his full power, a bright pink light shone forth, and within that light, the elves exchanged their hearts.

Dragonite temporarily acquired Arcanine's body, wanting to experience what true "Godspeed" felt like.

Arcanine wanted to switch bodies with its trainer but was refused, so it had to enter Incineroar's body to experience the feeling of standing.

Meanwhile, Incineroar entered Dragonite's body to test its flight using its unique scale structure.

On the other hand, to Link's surprise, the Moneygrub and the unique Ghost-type Pokémon, Sword Sheath, had also swapped bodies.

One turned into a tiny gingerbread man, while the other entered the ancient sword.

"What's going on here? How much is this sword worth?"

"I have legs and can walk by myself?"

Talebagos exclaimed in surprise, "Even Ghost-type Pokémon can 'swap minds'?!"

"That's true. I don't see any side effects. Let's take turns trying it out."

(End of this chapter)