Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

The detached, world-weary look in his eyes was no longer there at the beginning; instead, there was a feigned calmness mixed with curiosity and bewilderment.

Although this is what a newly tamed young elf should look like, the difference before and after still made Xia Chen feel a little strange.

I'm going back to Zhijiang this time to build a small island, and I won't be leaving for a while, so it's a good opportunity to get to know him better.

Xia Chen thought to himself.

To celebrate Goodra's successful evolution and his safe return with his Pokémon, Xia Chen decided to host a big dinner that evening.

He invited his two assistants, Yan Shu and Christina, who had stayed in Zhijiang, as well as Jiang Qian, who had returned from Padiya last month, to his home for dinner.

In fact, Xia Chen's relationship with them was not only that of friends, but also that of superior and subordinate.

So even though they specifically emphasized not to talk about work at the dinner table, the three of them still couldn't help but chat about some work-related things.

"The commercial development of the secret plant is progressing smoothly. By the time I returned to Donghuang, the seasoning made from the earliest discovered salty secret plant had entered the trial production stage, and the other flavors have also made progress. As for the energy cubes, there hasn't been much growth due to the shift in work focus. I'll send you the specific data after I finish eating."

Jiang Qian briefly described the company's recent developments.

Xia Chen had no choice but to smile wryly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Jiang. Let's eat first."

Seeing that even the second-in-command was acting this way, the junior assistant Yan Shu and the newbie Christa dared not slack off.

Yan Shu put down his chopsticks and reported earnestly, "The construction of the island is also proceeding in an orderly manner. Water, electricity and internet have been connected. Buildings like the Pokémon Center and Gym are large in scale and have a long construction period. However, your residence is expected to be completed before the end of the year. With Grass-type Pokémon like Bellossom and Miss Dixie that can purify the air, you don't need to worry about health issues and can move in at any time."

Since Christina has only been here for less than a month, her workload is much lighter.

She shrugged and said, "The ecological planning work on the island is relatively easy. It's not difficult to communicate with the wild elves, and most of them are willing to cooperate, except for one heterochromatic bear."

Xia Chen knew about this holdout, the circled bear guarding the island's secrets, but hadn't they already reached an agreement last time?

He frowned and asked, "What, is it dissatisfied?"

"There's one area that they just won't let us in," Chris said helplessly.

Xia Chen squinted and nodded, "I understand. I'll meet it with it myself when we get to the island."

…………

After lunch, the three of them left to continue working for their boss.

Xia Chen, having just returned from Hoenn, wasn't in a hurry to inspect the island he'd been longing for; after all, the island was there and wouldn't run away.

He went to Azure Flame Blade Demon's room, intending to chat with him and improve their relationship.

As soon as he finished eating, he rushed back to his room, I don't know what he was in such a hurry for.

Xia Chen knocked on the door twice out of curiosity, only to find that the door was not locked, but ajar.

A moral dilemma was presented to him—should he secretly spy on what the Azure Flame Blade Demon was doing in the room, or should he obtain its permission before entering?

Out of consideration for the elf's privacy, Xia Chen chose the latter.

But things didn't go as planned. After knocking on the door several times, there was no response from inside, so Xia Chen had no choice but to choose another option.

He pushed open the door and found the room to be very hot and filled with smoke, as if something was burning.

Is Azure Flame Blade Demon making something to eat by itself?

The cook, Xia Chen, immediately put himself in Xia Chen's shoes and considered this possibility.

But didn't we just eat? Or did he think his cooking wasn't good enough, so he came back and cooked for himself?

Xia Chen couldn't stand it anymore. You can question my character, but you can't insult my cooking skills!

He walked through the wisps of smoke, quite unconvinced, ready to see what this guy was making that was more tempting than his own cooking.

To his astonishment, the source of the smoke in the room was not kitchen utensils such as pots and pans, but a dark, unidentified cauldron made of an unknown material.

Meanwhile, Azure Flame Blade Demon sat before the black cauldron, circulating its chilling, ghostly flames, completely absorbed in refining pills.

For a moment, Xia Chen thought he had traveled to some fantasy world. Touching the round Poké Ball in his hand, he confirmed that he was still in the Pokémon world.

So, the problem isn't with me, but with refining pills in a world where pills don't even exist. The problem lies with Azure Flame Blade Demon!

In other words, the reason why Nianmei'er was able to evolve so quickly is most likely related to the pills refined by Cangyan Rengui.

After a simple process of elimination, Xia Chen discovered the truth.

However, he felt no joy in discovering the truth, because for his own elf, it seemed abnormal if there were no problems.

So Xia Chen quickly accepted the fact that Cangyan Blade Ghost could refine pills—what else could he do but accept it? Could he lie to himself that he was actually just making mud pills?

But where did all these random skills come from? Is it Arceus's twisted sense of humor?

This was a question that Xia Chen couldn't understand at this stage, so he buried his doubts in his heart and began to observe the alchemy process of the Azure Flame Blade Ghost.

…………

He was so focused that he didn't notice Xia Chen standing behind him for a long time.

The flame in his hand flickered, sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, never maintaining a continuous state for even a minute.

Xia Chen pondered for a moment. The difficulty of refining pills seemed to be much higher than cooking or making energy cubes. No wonder the Azure Flame Blade Ghost was completely unaware of his arrival.

He was afraid of disturbing the Azure Flame Blade Demon, so he just stood quietly behind him and watched without saying a word.

The alchemy process lasted for nearly half an hour. Finally, when the intensity of the strange fragrance in the room reached its peak, the white flame quietly went out, and the Azure Flame Blade Ghost opened its eyes.

He took a light sniff of the aroma filling the air, a satisfied look appearing in his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Crunch. (Finally, I've refined a top-grade Dragon Power Pill)."

Were you refining pills just now?

The sudden sound behind him startled Azure Flame Blade Ghost. He turned around abruptly and found it was his own trainer.

Xia Chen pointed to the door and explained, "I wanted to chat with you, but the door wasn't closed, so I came in."

Azure Flame Blade Demon then realized that he had gotten so used to having only himself and Noodle Dragon at home that he had even forgotten to lock the door while refining pills.

Fortunately, Xia Chen didn't disturb her, otherwise this would have been a complete failure.

Wait a minute, Azure Flame Blade Demon suddenly discovered a blind spot that he had just overlooked.

"Karuru? (How do you know about this called alchemy?)"

These are precious memories left to me by my other consciousness before it left. How could he know?

Xia Chen smiled. "I probably know more than you think. Was this something another being taught you? Give him my regards."

If he wasn't mistaken, the Azure Flame Blade Demon's body should contain an old man from some fantasy world, which would explain why the Azure Flame Blade Demon behaved so strangely before and after his departure.

That's when the old man will take over the body!

In fact, Xia Chen's guess was already pretty close to the truth, but the reality was even more outrageous than he had imagined.

But within the Azure Flame Blade Ghost Ear, Xia Chen's words meant that he knew almost everything—the existence of Yao Chen's soul, the origin of the strange fire and alchemy, and even more things that he himself did not know.

The eulogy, "Give my regards to him," suggests that he and his other consciousness knew each other before his original consciousness awakened, and that they even had some kind of communication!

Seeing that Cangyan Rengui remained silent for a long time, Xia Chen assumed that he was communicating with the "old man" and quickly said, "Don't be nervous. I know him too, so I won't interfere with his guidance to you. Just don't hide things from me in the future. I will support you. And if you need anything, I can help you, just like when he was here."

…………

Xia Chen interacts with each of his various spirits in different ways; if he had to make a comparison, he felt it was similar to being in a romantic relationship.

Sylveon, Gardevoir, and Milotic are like childhood friends who have been raised to the point of obsession; they wouldn't leave even if you tried to chase them away.

Duolongqi Nianmei Longsai and the wealthy couple are mutually in love and are likely to spend their lives together.

But as for Deoxys, Guleton, and Azure Blade Demon, while it can't be called a fleeting romance, Xia Chen always felt that they would leave one day.

Therefore, when they are together, he gives them the greatest freedom.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Azure Flame Blade Demon started to let his thoughts wander again, following Xia Chen's words.

Does "support" or "help" refer to the materials needed for medicine making?

Just like when he was there. Sure enough, before Yao Chen's consciousness dissipated, what decision did the two of them make?

For example, entrusting himself to Xia Chen after his consciousness faded?

In fact, after his true consciousness awakened, his feelings for Xia Chen were very complicated.

He possessed all his memories from the time Xia Chen rescued him, when Yao Chen's consciousness took control of his body, but those memories were more like those of an observer as a third party.

He witnessed the charcoal servant, whose consciousness was tinged with the dust of medicine, agree to become Xia Chen's partner, and also observed everything that happened afterward.

But none of those were his own experiences, so he was very grateful to Xia Chen for saving his life back then, but to say that he truly considered him his trainer was a bit of a stretch.

After all, it was Yao Chen who promised Xia Chen, so what does it have to do with me, Cangyan Rengui?

Now that Xia Chen has returned and talked to him, he has finally been able to let go of some of his inner turmoil.

After a long silence, Azure Flame Blade Demon said, "Karu. (I understand. From now on, I won't hide those things from you.)"

Xia Chen smiled slightly and nodded gently.

It's quite a coincidence that the human and the ghost, who are completely on different wavelengths, managed to reach a reasonably satisfactory consensus.

"Karuru—(By the way, these are Dragon Power Pills I refined. They can increase the power of elves after consumption. There are seven in this batch. You can take them and distribute them among the elves as a belated greeting gift.)"

No sooner had the tension between them been resolved than Azure Flame Blade Demon presented them with a valuable gift.

Xia Chen accepted the gifts on behalf of the elves without hesitation.

Milotic went to train with Rayquaza, so seven pieces were just right.

Otherwise, it becomes the classic problem of how to fairly divide seven apples among eight children.

Dragon Power Pill. It sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it right now. The power-boosting effect seems to be related to attack. Although it might not be useful for characters like Gardevoir and Saifuru, it can't hurt.

Thinking this, Xia Chen took the seven dark red pills from Cangyan Rengui's hand, turned around and went out.

…………

The existence of elixirs in the world of elves is already a very strange thing, but what's even more absurd is that these things are quite effective.

Although Xia Chen was already used to it, he still silently complained in his heart for a long time.

During Xia Chen's absence, it wasn't just the evolved Goody Dragon whose strength skyrocketed; Azure Flame Blade Demon also experienced a similar surge, though not as dramatic, but it had still reached the elite level.

To further improve, the accumulation of time is essential.

Speaking of accumulation, Doronchi has accumulated enough time.

His energy level had actually met the conditions for evolution long ago, but the resurrection of Doronmesia's sister still required Milton's "help," which was the biggest obstacle to evolution.

Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to be Milton. Legendary Pokémon like Groudon and Rayquaza have this ability. It's just that one of them uses Milton as its energy source, and if the other one is asymmetrical, Xia Chen will be in trouble.