Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

An eerie silence fell over the scene.

The five companions stared wide-eyed at the fading blue light and their trainer lying on the ground coughing violently.

Gustav slowly walked up to Zhang Jianying, his imposing figure casting a shadow that completely enveloped him.

Seeing Zhang Jianying's disheveled appearance as he propped himself up with trembling arms, the legendary trainer's ever-present expression remained unchanged, but deep in his eyes, he finally stopped hiding his satisfaction.

"Hmm, not bad."

He spoke calmly, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears, "At least Lucario and I didn't waste our efforts."

Gustav crouched down, looking Zhang Jianying straight in the eye: "Did you feel it? Like a drowning person frantically waving their arms, barely managing to grab onto a piece of driftwood?"

Zhang Jianying coughed and nodded, sensing the faint but real residual energy within his body. His voice was filled with excitement: "I can feel it! That's my waveguide?"

"It's just the prototype of your waveguide."

Gustav corrected him bluntly, "It's as rough as an unpolished stone! You're far from truly mastering it. Just now, you only managed to touch it by sheer luck, driven by your instinctive survival instinct and that foolish belief in protecting others!"

"but!"

Gustav's voice suddenly rose, "Remember that feeling perfectly! That's the purpose of all your future training!"

At that moment, Zhang Jianying felt her trouser leg being gently tugged.

Looking down, he saw the baby dragon tugging at his trouser leg with its claws, its scarlet eyes fixed on him, letting out a howl.

He suddenly had a different feeling than usual. Zhang Jianying seemed to be able to vaguely sense the little guy's worry, as if it was asking him how badly he was hurt.

On the other side, Kirlia maintained a cool and aloof demeanor in front of the Baby Dragon, but the slight tilt of its head revealed its concern.

Torterra silently moved forward half a step, using its shell as a backrest. Gastly excitedly circled Lucario, flicking its tongue back and forth, trying to imitate the Aura Strike technique, only to be disdainfully pushed away by Lucario.

Watching this scene, Gustav continued his explanation: "Waveguide is the power of the mind! What truly ignites the waveguide and makes it work for you is the pure will within your heart, the belief of anyone willing to give their soul for it!"

He tapped Zhang Jianying's chest with his thick fingers: "From today onwards, your primary task is to recreate that state and try to use this dormant power!"

"This is much harder than you imagine. In the beginning, you may experience countless failures, and even doubt whether it's an illusion. But every failed attempt is building a bridge between you and the waveguide!"

"Lucario will help you."

Gustav looked at his old partner, "It will guide you, allowing you to perceive the flow of the waveguide more clearly. At the same time, it will use just the right amount of 'pressure' to force you to learn how to mobilize this power in a near-real-world environment!"

Zhang Jianying spat out a mouthful of blood, a look of excitement spreading across his face. He had personally touched that door!

"I understand, Master. I'll grasp that feeling!"

"Just grasping the feeling isn't enough."

Gustav shouted sternly, "Aura, in the future, will be the bridge connecting you and your Pokémon! It will be your eye of the heart, allowing you to gain the upper hand in chaotic battles!"

His gaze swept over the Pokémon clutching the Everstone: "For a little guy with a traumatized heart and chaotic energy, a trainer who can provide comfort and support through aura is more effective than any external factor!"

As Baby Dragon listened to Gustav's words and felt the completely different warmth emanating from Zhang Jianying, it looked down at the Everstone in its arms, its scarlet pupils flashing with an unusual light.

Gustav's gaze shifted to Potpot, which had somehow climbed onto the turtle's back in the woods again.

As soon as Hu Hu's beady eyes met his gaze, she instinctively wanted to shrink back into her shell.

Gustav's voice remained flat, but it had lost some of its sternness. "I heard you're a friend of the Forest Tortoise, skilled in brewing, and dislike fighting."

Hu Hu nodded blankly.

"I don't like fighting, that's fine, and I don't like forcing others to fight either."

Zhang Jianying: ...

Master, would you like to take a look at me? Don't you feel any remorse saying these things?

Gustav's words startled Potpot.

"There is more than one path in Pokémon. It is a trainer's dereliction of duty to force a soul that abhors fighting to take up arms."

He walked up to the forest tortoise and looked at the pot-shaped tortoise: "Your value lies not in how strong you can be, but in the unique brewing workshop inside your shell."

As he spoke, Gustav took out several exquisite wooden boxes from his bag and opened them one by one.

In an instant, a variety of exotic fruit aromas filled the air, some fresh, some mellow, some with a faint floral scent, and some containing a rich, energetic aroma.

"These are... Phoenix Pear Fruit, Candlewood Fruit, Dragonfire Fruit, and Mist Lotus Fruit?"

Zhang Jianying identified several rare tree fruits, which were the core ingredients for making top-tier energy cubes.

"Hmm, you do have some knowledge."

Gustav glanced at him, then said to the pot, "These will be your ingredients from now on. I want you to use them to explore new possibilities and brew unique drinks. This is your training."

Shushu's beady eyes widened instantly as she looked at the rare berries that were rarely seen in Professor Oak's backyard, her eyes shining with an unprecedented brilliance!

It cautiously extended its paw and touched a dragonfire fruit that radiated warm energy, then excitedly hissed.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Jianying curiously opened her eyes to the data, wanting to see the specific situation of the pot:

【Teapot】

Gender: Male

[Attribute: Bug + Rock]

【Characteristic: Contrarian】

[Age: 10 months]

[Status: Excited]

[Skills: Power Split, Defense Split, Sticky Web, Power Trick, Stomach Acid, Rock Slide, Sleep, Shell Smash]

[Inherited Skills: Slapping, Pressure Point Strikes, Fighting to the Death, Relentless Pursuit]

Zhang Jianying gasped, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Good heavens! Whether Huhu liked fighting or not was another matter, but if all these skills were learned through leveling up, its energy level must be quite high.

And this combination of moves... is filthy (crossed out).

If you were to engage in a Pokémon battle, it would be easy to bring a smile to your opponent's face; whether that smile would actually transfer to you is another matter entirely...

"To brew something that satisfies me."

Gustav said to the pot, "There are even better materials for you later."

"Sizzle!"

The tortoise excitedly emerged completely from its shell, its tiny paws patting its plastron with a loud thud. A nearby forest tortoise nuzzled it with its head in satisfaction.

Gustav turned his gaze back to Zhang Jianying, his eyes hardening once more: "As for the rest of you..."

His voice echoed across the empty ruins plaza: "His awakening of his waveguide was merely laying a foundation for you. From now on, there will be no warmth, no room for complacency!"

Gustav grinned: "I will completely shatter your existing habits! Then, I will forge all your characteristics into something uniquely yours!"

Zhang Jianying took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the persistent dull pain in his chest.

He felt the faint yet incredibly resilient waveguide light within his body, and looking at his comrades with burning eyes, a surge of pride mixed with responsibility and high morale welled up within him.

He took a step forward, his steps still somewhat unsteady, but his spine was ramrod straight, and his voice echoed clearly in the square:

"We're...ready!"

Gustav patted Lucario on the shoulder: "Good fighting spirit. Now, it's time to begin the hellish forging..."