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

A month passed quietly in the training camp next to the ancient ruins of Tianguan Mountain.

As the first rays of sunlight shone into the valley, Zhang Jianying had already completed his weighted cross-country run for the day.

At this moment, although he was still panting, at least he was no longer lying on the ground like a dried-out salted fish as before.

He untied the weights on his legs, feeling the slight soreness and solid strength in his muscles, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Not bad, it's finally starting to look like something."

Master Gustav appeared behind him at some point, still with that expressionless look, but his eyes seemed to have lost some of their initial sternness. "His ability to withstand blows has also improved a lot. At least now, when he gets beaten up... cough, in actual combat training, he won't easily lose his fighting ability."

Zhang Jianying looked distressed, recalling the experience of being "kindly instructed" in fighting techniques by Lucario and Gustav over the past month, and felt as if his bones were aching all over.

However, the effect is significant. He can now at least see the movement trajectories of Gustav and Lucario and perform some effective blocking and dodging.

Consequently, the wave-guiding power, which was originally intermittent, seemed to have become somewhat more stable under this high pressure. Although it was still weak, it was at least able to barely sense the emotional fluctuations of the companions around him.

And he had been holding his breath, preparing to repay those scoundrels in the shadows for all the suffering he had endured in the future.

In the center of the camp, there was the advanced energy cube making equipment and a stack of recipes that Gustav had brought.

When Zhang Jianying first heard the master explain the principle of this new type of energy cube, his expression became quite interesting.

"By extracting the essence of each attribute and supplementing it with special fruits and minerals, we create easily absorbed concentrated cubes. Long-term consumption can comprehensively enhance a Pokémon's physical attributes and energy limits..."

Gustav explained when he took out the equipment.

……

Back to the present, Gustav, who was standing to the side, tossed him a bag of specially made energy cubes that emitted an enticing aroma.

"Today's portion."

Master Gustav spoke succinctly, his gaze sweeping across the entire camp as he looked at the Pokémon training. His usually stern lips softened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Spending time with these energetic little guys made him feel that his heart, hardened by the years and responsibilities, had become younger and more active.

Zhang Jianying took the energy cube, and that subtle sense of familiarity welled up in his heart again. The formula and principle seemed to be a scientific pay-to-win version of condensing various attribute enhancers and mixing them into a high-level energy cube.

The adage "If you want to get stronger, you have to spend money" is indeed true in any world...

Zhang Jianying was preparing to distribute the items when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Gastly causing its usual mischief.

After thinking it over, he decided to hold back for the time being. After all, although it was tough on Guigui, it made the trainers happy. Wasn't this a kind of relief in the boring training? Zhang Jianying stroked his chin and chuckled.

In a corner of the camp, Kirlia is undergoing training to coordinate her psychic powers and fairy energy.

At its fingertips, pink fairy energy intertwined with blue superpower aura, forming a sharp, blade-like energy thread. Under the Iron Warrior's guidance over the past month, its energy control had become increasingly refined, and its aggression had significantly increased.

Just then, Gastly roared excitedly, "Hehehe—behold my Ultimate form!!"

A solid, purple energy giant rose from the ground, about three or four meters tall.

However, before Gastly could be smug for long, Kirlia frowned slightly, seemingly feeling that the noise was interfering with its training.

It didn't even turn around; it simply raised its hand gracefully, and the sharp energy thread, as if it had a life of its own, precisely wrapped around the joint of the giant energy shadow and made a light stroke.

With a "pop," like a punctured balloon, the "Gundam" that Gastly had painstakingly condensed instantly disintegrated, turning into countless purple specks of light scattered across the sky.

"Woohoo! (*｀▽´*)!"

The baby dragon, which was struggling with the energy blockage nearby, saw Gastly's failure and let out a gloating growl, even spitting out a few sparks to add to the fun.

Kirlia's cool gaze swept over the baby dragons, as if she felt the need to treat them all equally.

With a mere thought, an invisible force pressed down, "planting" the still-smiling baby dragon into the ground, leaving only its blue head struggling angrily outside.

"Heh! Big Sister, you attacked me from behind!"

Gastly watched helplessly as its masterpiece, which it had painstakingly maintained for ten seconds, crumbled in an instant.

Its eyes darted around, and still with its wicked intentions, it drifted near Kirlia and "whistled" in a seductive tone, even though everyone could hear its whisper.

"Heh heh heh~ Big sister, why so serious~ How about some more of Juju's special 'happy water'? Guaranteed to spark inspiration and double the training effect!"

It still remembers how precious the "dark history" it recorded last time was as a "talisman".

A barely perceptible blush instantly rose on Kirlia's fair cheeks as memories of that drunken night flooded back, making her both ashamed and angry.

It glared fiercely at Gastly, and the surrounding psychic field instantly became dangerous.

Although Kirlia did retain a lingering curiosity about that strange taste, the sense of freedom in that slightly tipsy state that seemed to break free from all constraints was completely different from its usual elegant composure, carrying a dangerous allure.

But the thought of possibly losing control again, especially the possibility of being recorded by that little purple rascal again... immediately extinguished that little flame.

Seeing that things were not going well, Gastly made a quick escape, hiding behind Zhang Jianying with a "whoosh," hooking the trainer's shoulder with its misty claws, pulling him aside, and sneakily taking out its Pokédex.

It quickly showed the encrypted folder containing footage of Kirlia getting drunk, which it had desperately preserved, and winked at the trainer, urging them to keep it a secret.

Zhang Jianying looked at Ghost's "taking credit" yet cowardly appearance and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He patted Gastly's foggy head, feeling a tingling, icy sensation on his fingertips.

Lowering his voice, he said, "Alright, alright, I got it... Let's find a chance to delete it, bro. Keeping this thing around is too dangerous!"

He was genuinely afraid that one day the truth would come out, and Kirullian would be furious and destroy the Idea King.

While Zhang Jianying and Gastly were whispering to each other, on the other side, the baby dragon planted in the ground struggled to pull itself out.

Watching Kirlia's fierce reaction to Gastly's suggestion, and recalling Kirlia's completely different behavior after getting drunk last time, as well as the trainer's subsequent vigilance against the liquid, a "genius" idea took shape in its simple and straightforward little head:

Is that guy afraid to drink it because he's worried about losing control and embarrassing himself? If I drink it and am fine, doesn't that prove I'm better than him?!

The desire to win instantly overwhelmed everything else.

The baby dragon, with its short legs, strode confidently to the pot-shaped bottle that was sunbathing on the turtle's back in the forest. Pointing to the enticing aroma but unknown alcohol content of the "original liquor" inside the bottle's shell, it whispered, "ψ(｀∇´)ψ Aww, give me a cup too."

Before the forest turtle could react to what its little sister wanted to make, it saw the little pot blink its beady eyes.

Hu Hu seemed a little surprised, but still slowly poured a small cup for Baby Dragon and looked at it expectantly, while Dou Dou's eyes were filled with schadenfreude.

Zhang Jianying had just reached a "confidentiality agreement" with Gastly when he turned around and witnessed this scene that terrified him: "Wait! Darling Dragon—!"

However, it was too late. To prove its "power," the baby dragon imitated Kirlia from its memory, tilting its head back and drinking the small cup of undiluted liquid in one gulp!

After another moment of silence…

"Woohoooo ...

Baby Dragon's eyes instantly turned into the shape of mosquito coils, and its originally scarlet pupils now resembled burning flames.

It felt as if a volcano had been ignited inside its body, and the restless energy brought by the dragon-type energy and the flying skin was completely out of control and boiling under the catalysis of the juice puree!

It began to rampage through the camp like an out-of-control cannonball, spewing out chaotic dragon breath and kicking wildly with its short legs, using a drunken version of the "Make a Scene" skill.

Holy crap!

While trying to calm him down, Zhang Jianying felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the stone shattered under the precious dragon head hammer.

If it gets hit, with its hard head and current momentum, it might really have to report to the Pokémon Center ahead of time!

In a pinch, the forest tortoise is still the most reliable!

It growled, "Ugh! Boss, come up here quickly."

The turtle's limbs were slightly heavy, and its whole body shimmered with an earthy yellow luster.

Seeing the baby dragon rushing towards him drunk, Zhang Jianying leaped onto the broad shell of the forest tortoise.

The next moment, the ground beneath their feet softened like flowing water, and the Torterra carried its trainer steadily into the ground, leaving only a hole that quickly closed, perfectly avoiding the Beast Dragon's "Death Charge".

Through the observation hole reserved underground, Zhang Jianying and the forest turtle could clearly see the situation on the ground.

Despite the drunken dragon's antics, the teapot that had just played the prank remained nonchalant.

Before the forest tortoise sank into the ground, it slowly climbed down the forest tortoise's back, and several tough, sticky webs, as if they had a life of their own, precisely wrapped around the baby dragon's body.

It effectively limited the baby dragon's rampage, forcing it to stumble and fall in place.

Kirlia, though still wearing a look of utter disdain that said "this idiot is hopeless," pursed her lips and raised her hand as she looked at Baby Dragon's dazed, drunken state.

An extremely soft, almost imperceptible pale blue aura of superpower slowly enveloped Baby Dragon.

Kirullian tried to calm the raging, chaotic energy within it, trying to sort out the energy nodes that had become even more disordered due to alcohol and emotions.

With Shuttle's restraints and Kirlia's continued and patient soothing, the baby dragon's rampage gradually subsided, and its indistinct whimpers turned into pitiful moans.

Finally, as if it had exhausted all its strength, its body went limp and it collapsed into the sticky net of the pot, falling into a deep sleep, even snoring contentedly.

Kirlia looked down at the troublesome creature and sighed softly. When it looked up, it met the gaze of Zhang Jianying, who was peeking out from underground.

The trainer gave her a thumbs up, and she immediately turned her face away, but the tips of her ears turned slightly red because the trainer had discovered her "tsundere" behavior.

Gustav, who had witnessed everything from afar, did not utter a word to stop or instruct.

Gustav crossed his arms and whispered to the silent Lucario beside him, "See? Chaos, but also full of possibilities. This unpredictable nature is sometimes the most difficult weapon to control."

He shook his head slightly, a hint of amusement in his voice that he himself didn't realize, "Being with these kids makes us feel younger."

Lucario remained silent, but upon closer inspection, one could see that it had slightly turned its body to the side, cleverly concealing a sparse area on its tail that looked as if it had been singed by a small flame behind its back.

That was the work of Gastly when it mischievously launched Will-O-Wisp during a training break.

Lucario predicted all the trajectories using its waveguide, but it failed to predict that Gastly would slip.

This caused a slight deviation in the trajectory of Gastly's Will-o'-the-Wisp...

Lucario recalled the scene from that day and began to doubt the meaning of life. It seemed that Haunter's pranks always managed to bypass its and Kirlia's precognitive abilities in some way that defied common sense.

As night fell, the campfire was lit again.

The now-conscious Baby Dragon stood beside Zhang Jianying, blankly clutching the Everstone, completely unable to remember what it had done.

Kirlia meditated quietly, as if the daytime commotion had nothing to do with it. The Forest Turtle sat steadily, its pot slowly brewing new juice on its back.

At that moment, Gastly excitedly emerged from the shadows, followed by Nightbringer, who seemed like a silent guardian spirit.

"Hehehe! Boss, boss! Look what good stuff I brought back from the spirit world!"

Gastly, as if presenting a treasure, pulled out several pieces of shimmering dark stones and some rare, eerie but energetic berries from its shadow storage space.

Then, it proudly displayed its new skill: "Boss, look at my shadow space, it's really stable now! Want to jump in and try it out? Guaranteed to be exciting!"

Gastly's General Mist Claws sliced ​​open a shadowy crevice, from which emanated a chilling, eerie aura.

Zhang Jianying barely managed to sense Gastly's thoughts using his waveguide. Looking at the rift that seemed to lead to an unknown abyss, his lips twitched, and he decisively shook his head: "Thanks, Ghost, but I think it's fine to just stand outside and admire it."

He didn't want to experience that kind of thrill firsthand. What if he went in and couldn't get out, or got stuck inside? That would be a real problem, and he wasn't sure if he could be reborn.

Night Demon stood silently to the side, the runes on its abdomen flickering slightly, seemingly equally curious about Gastly's bold idea of ​​inviting living people into the shadow space.

Looking at the camp that had returned to tranquility after the chaos, and feeling the unbreakable bond between his companions, Zhang Jianying felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Gustav sat on the other side of the camp, quietly preparing the next phase of their training plan.