I haven't decided on a name for my Pokémon trainer yet.

The flames and ice were locked in a stalemate, and finally exploded violently due to the clash of energies, with scattered flames and broken ice fragments mixed with melted water flying everywhere.

Ye Feng quickly hid behind a tree to avoid being hit.

After a long while, the flying ice finally stopped, and Ye Feng poked his head out to look ahead.

The battle area was filled with thick white mist, obscuring the view inside.

"Gardedor, how are you?" Ye Feng shouted.

"Buzz!" A burst of psychic power erupted, instantly dispersing the white mist. Gardevoir, panting heavily, stood firmly in place, still in its Mega Evolution state.

Ye Feng breathed a sigh of relief; he had narrowly escaped the attack from absolute zero.

With a cry, Articuno flapped its wings and landed unsteadily opposite Gardevoir, panting heavily. Clearly, the full-force Absolute Zero attack had drained its remaining strength.

Articuno glanced at Gardevoir, who was severely exhausted but unharmed, and a hint of helplessness flashed in its eyes. It had lost after all.

With a human-like sigh, Articuno folded its wings and strolled over to Ye Feng.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to fight anymore?" Ye Feng asked, puzzled.

Articuno nodded, its eyes sparkling, flew to the top of a tree, picked up a Poké Ball, and placed it in Ye Feng's hand.

This Poké Ball was the one used when catching Articuno, but Articuno wasn't convinced, so Ye Feng gave the Poké Ball to it, agreeing to take it back after officially defeating it.

At this moment, Articuno handed the Poké Ball to Ye Feng, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Ye Feng laughed happily, holding up the Poké Ball and saying, "From now on, we're officially partners, Articuno."

The Poké Ball shot out a beam of red light and captured the Articuno, which was nodding slightly.

Chapter 412 The Changes in the Small Village

Suining City, Sichuan Province.

Not far from the small village where Yao Tianjun lived, several people were gathered here, led by a middle-aged man.

These people looked solemn, their eyes revealing deep anxiety and tension, and all their gazes were focused on one spot.

In front of them, there was a square opening in the ground. The heavy stone slabs had been moved to one side, and a long staircase extended down.

An elderly man, dressed in thick clothes and hunched over, slowly walked up the steps with the help of a young man.

"Tianjun, leave it to me. You go and warm up too." The middle-aged man stepped forward, nodded to Yao Tianjun, and helped the old man to a soft chair. He then took a thick blanket from someone and draped it over the shivering old man.

The people nearby immediately brought over a small heater and plugged it in to warm the elderly man.

"Elder, how is the situation?" the middle-aged man asked anxiously.

The elder held a cup of hot water, feeling the warmth emanating from it, and took a deep breath, feeling less cold.

"Too much time has passed, the power of the Life Jewel has begun to decline, the seal has loosened, and the power of that spirit has begun to leak out," the elder said worriedly.

If you look closely, you can see that the old man's head of white hair is covered with frost, as if he had come out of an extremely cold place.

"How could this be?" The middle-aged man was incredulous, and the people around him were also startled, starting to discuss among themselves.

"I don't know either." The elder shook his head, slightly raised his head to look at the sky, and a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.

The exact date is impossible to trace. In the elder's memory, there is only the responsibility entrusted to him by the previous elder: to guard the seal established here using the power of the Life Jewel.

As for what lies beneath the seal, he had no idea; the previous elder hadn't told him either.

The responsibility of guarding the seal has been passed down from generation to generation, and this small village exists for the sake of this seal.

The elder remembered that once the seal suddenly loosened. Although he repaired it in time with the Life Jade, a power still leaked out from inside the seal.

That force was incredibly powerful and incredibly cold, turning the entire underground area into an icebox in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the seal was repaired in time; otherwise, this entire forest would have turned into a frozen wasteland, countless elves would have suffered, and this small village might have ceased to exist.

Recently, the power of the Life Jewel has begun to decline for unknown reasons. Although the seal is still intact, icy energy is constantly seeping out from it, and now the underground has completely turned into an icebox with a frighteningly low temperature.

“I remember our ancestors said that the Life Jewel was formed by fusing the stone tablets of Arceus. Logically speaking, it should not weaken no matter how much time passes, but now… how could this be?” The middle-aged man in the lead asked with a grim expression.

Since it's sealed away, it's very likely not a benevolent being.

But if even the Jade of Life can no longer seal what lies beneath, the power that leaks out is so terrifying that it's unimaginable what kind of disaster it would bring if it escaped.

"Alas." The elder sighed deeply. "Perhaps it's because too much time has passed that even the power of the gods has begun to fade? After all, this seal has existed for who knows how long."

The elder suddenly shuddered, took a sip of hot water with trembling hands, and after a long while, he spoke: "In ancient legends, the world was once in danger of destruction because of a meteorite from outer space. Arceus went into space to shatter the meteorite, but in doing so, he lost all the stone tablets."

Wise ancestors spent countless hours retrieving all the stone tablets for Arceus.

To thank humanity for their help, Arceus created the Life Stone from five stone tablets representing the elements of electricity, grass, water, earth, and dragon, and lent it to humankind. The ancestors used the power of the Life Stone to restore life to the land that had suffered from a meteorite calamity.

After the earth regained its vitality, the Jewel of Life should have been returned to Arceus, but for some reason it appeared here and is sealing something. The reason for this is neither recorded nor legendary; no one knows.

But without a doubt, what is sealed below must be an extremely evil being, and possibly possesses the power to destroy the world; otherwise, there would be no need to use the power of the Life Jewel to seal it.

After hearing the elder's words, everyone nodded slightly.

For some reason, this legend has not been passed down to the outside world; only the people in this small village know it.

Why did the elder suddenly bring this up?

“Originally, this matter should not be spoken of casually, but the situation is not optimistic now, and there is no longer any need to keep it a secret,” the elder said.

"This is a secret known only to the elders. In fact, this Life Jewel is not complete."

"The original Life Gem had the power of five attributes: electricity, grass, water, ground, and dragon. But this one lacks the grass attribute and only has the power of the other four attributes," the elder said slowly.

The middle-aged man's pupils contracted slightly, and he exchanged glances with the others, all of whom saw disbelief in each other's eyes.

Lacking the Grass attribute? The Life Gem is incomplete?

"Perhaps in the missing legends, the Jewel of Life suffered some damage, or perhaps Arceus reclaimed the grass-attribute stone tablet. In any case, because the Jewel of Life is incomplete, and the seal has endured for an unknown amount of time, it can no longer suppress the being beneath it," the elder said in a heavy tone.

In fact, when the seal was loosened last time, a small fragment fell off the Jade of Life, and that fragment is now worn by Yao Tianjun.

"This..." The group looked at each other, but for a moment they didn't know what to say. They could only see shock and worry on each other's faces.

"Elder, what should we do?" the middle-aged man asked.

The elder remained silent and began to ponder.

Everyone waited patiently.

It's unclear how much time passed, but just as everyone was about to fall asleep, the elder suddenly raised his head and looked at Yao Tianjun, who was wrapped in a thick blanket.

"Tianjun, how well do you know about that child from before?" the elder asked.

Yao Tianjun was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized who the elder was referring to, and quickly replied, "Elder, although I didn't have the opportunity to follow Ye Feng as you suggested, judging from outside opinions, he is a trustworthy person."

Then, he briefly explained Ye Feng's series of achievements, as well as his reputation and evaluation among trainers, to the elder.

Captain of the Imperial University team, senior trainer, PhD in Pokémon studies, Energy Cube, Fairy type, Mega Evolution, Z-Moves... and so on.

The elder looked slightly surprised. Although he was already white-haired and his knowledge might not be as great as Yao Tianjun's, who was studying outside, he could still guess that such achievements were made by a young man who was not even 20 years old. What kind of genius was this person?

"He's...an outstanding child." The elder's lips trembled. He thought for a long time but couldn't think of any words to describe Ye Feng. In the end, he could only utter the word "outstanding."

"Therefore, I think Ye Feng is a trustworthy person," Yao Tianjun concluded.

The elder nodded gently and fell into deep thought.

The jade fragments on Yao Tianjun's body seemed to react to Ye Feng for some reason. The elders felt that Ye Feng might have some connection with the Life Jade.

The opportunity to repair the precious jade may lie with him.

The elders believed that such an outstanding young man, even if he had some shortcomings, should not have any major problems.

"Go and contact this child, and invite him to visit the village," the elder said slowly.

Chapter 413: Eevee's New Evolutionary Form

Meanwhile, at the Little Saw Crocodile Research Institute.

Guo Pengfei's laboratory.

A uniquely shaped device stood in the center of the room, with countless data cables extending from it and connecting to Ye Feng's eight sprites.

The instrument's large screen was divided into eight areas, each with a statistics table and an image of a spirit, corresponding to Ye Feng's eight spirits.

"How is it?" Ye Feng peeked out and looked around, but the data was too complicated and he didn't quite understand it.

“Hmm,” Guo Pengfei pushed up his non-existent glasses and said with a deep expression, “Judging from the data, the elves are in very good physical condition.”

"The energy is stable, and the results of various data comparisons far surpass those of similar Pokémon... Ah, except for Articuno, which cannot be compared because there is no sample available. Judging purely from the results, there is no problem."

When Ye Feng released the Pokémon, Guo Pengfei was genuinely startled by Articuno.

Among Ye Feng's Pokémon, Gardevoir and Gengar are considered relatively rare. However, no matter how rare they are, with a large number of trainers, it's not that no one owns them, it's just that it's very difficult to encounter them.

But Articuno is different; it's a legendary Pokémon! Seeing and touching it in person is a first for me!

Where exactly did they find and subdue their own leader?

"Okay, thank you for your help!" Ye Feng smiled and patted Guo Pengfei on the shoulder.

"It's nothing." Guo Pengfei shook his head nonchalantly. Data on Master-level Pokémon is very rare. This time, he collected data on five at once (the near-legendary level has not yet been officially ranked and is only circulating among Master-level trainers, so Articuno's current apparent level is still Master-level). This will greatly benefit his research.

"Alright, then I won't bother you anymore."