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"Ah, little bear, wait for me!"

A woman's voice, urgent yet composed, broke the tranquility of the forest.

A simply dressed young girl was seen following closely behind a fluffy bear cub.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a simple low ponytail. Her light blue T-shirt, which was slightly faded from washing, and her dark trousers, though old, were very neat.

She carried a worn-out canvas bag over her shoulder, which swayed gently with her steps.

The bear cub had just accepted a regular energy cube that she carefully offered. After chewing it a few times, it looked at her with its round eyes, stretched out its little paw and beckoned towards the depths of the forest, signaling her to follow. Then it turned and trotted off.

Without hesitation, the young girl Zhao Yan quickly followed.

Her eyes were clear and her steps were light, but she didn't realize that she had crossed the safety boundary set by the eco-park for newlyweds.

Not far away, behind a sturdy oak tree, a middle-aged man wearing a light green park uniform with a "Safety Observer" badge on his chest frowned.

On the tablet in his hand, the dot representing Zhao Yan's location had turned a warning orange.

He sighed, preparing to emerge from his hiding place to approach and warn the girl against going too far—

A hand gently rested on his shoulder, stopping him from moving.

"Let's take a look first."

The voice was calm, yet carried a composure that commanded respect.

Safety officer Xiao Wang froze, whirled around, and saw the person who had appeared behind him. His eyes widened instantly, and he instinctively stood at attention: "Mr. Lin! What are you doing here...?"

"Shh." Lin Dao put his index finger to his lips, but his eyes remained fixed on the receding figures of Zhao Yan and Xiong Baobao. "This is interesting. Let's follow them and keep our distance."

Xiao Wang nodded quickly, suppressing his excitement and doubts, turned off the tablet's warning sound, and silently followed behind Lin Dao.

Lin Dao originally came to this relatively secluded forest area by following the guidance of Growlithe and the location markers of the three mischievous little guys on Arceus's phone, in order to find the "missing" Pikachu, Bagon, and Kangaskhan.

Finding them is not difficult.

Not far to the left, in a clearing in the woods, three little guys were huddled around a mushroom, seemingly engaged in some kind of friendly "sparring" or game.

Pikachu nimbly dodged the tiny spores sprayed out by the mushroom, while the baby dragon puffed out its cheeks and tried to help by blowing away the spores with its weak dragon breath, and the little kangaroo clapped its hands and made a cheerful sound.

Seeing that the children were having fun, Lin Dao did not immediately show himself.

When he habitually scanned the mushroom, Lin Dao obtained some interesting information:

Mushrooms

Level: 18

property: grass

Characteristics: Spores

Moves mastered: Tackle, Paralysis Powder, Slam, Solar Beam (basic understanding)...

Physical condition: Healthy and full of fighting spirit.

Special Note: Due to its companion being captured by researchers, it developed a strong desire to go out and train; recently, it has been training independently under the guidance of several older Pokémon.

Combining his covert observation with Pikachu's chattering (which Lin Dao could now roughly understand), Lin Dao quickly pieced together the situation.

This mushroom is very ambitious, wants to become stronger, and also wants to see the outside world, but looks down on most rookie trainers who live in a greenhouse environment, lack experience, and have clear goals.

The elderly Pokémon who had settled down in the area, lived a stable life, and were compassionate spontaneously organized themselves to help.

They secretly observe newcomers entering this area. After initial screening, "examiners" like the bear cub will appear and test these selected newcomers in various ways (most commonly through battles).

Previously, a few lucky individuals seemed to have been guided here to participate in the "test," but they failed due to either improper command, greed (attempting to "catch" both the examiner's Pokémon and the Pokémon being tested), or a failure to truly understand the core need of Mushroom to pursue "mutual growth" rather than "being protected."

Interestingly, the newcomers who had gone through the trials seemed to have pretty good character.

Due to the Pokémon's request for "secrecy," the special nature of this place has never been publicized.

By now, Pikachu had clearly become quite familiar with Shroomish, enthusiastically patting its little chest and gesturing towards the Forest Road, then pointing at Shroomish, as if to say, "How about hanging out with my trainer? He's really awesome!"

Lin Dao smiled helplessly and decided to show himself.

He emerged from his hiding place, and Pikachu immediately darted over with a cheerful "Pika!" and skillfully jumped onto his shoulder.

Baby Dragon and Little Kangaskhan also swarmed around.

He crouched down and gently asked Mushroom about her wishes.

Mushroom looked at Lin Dao in front of him, then at Pikachu winking at him from his shoulder, and at the clear-eyed Pokémon and Kangaskhan beside him.

It hesitated for a moment, then finally shook its head and let out a series of low but clear chirps: "Goo-woo...goo-goo-goo, goo-goo."

It acknowledged that Lin Dao was very strong, extremely strong, so strong that it couldn't even muster the thought of challenging him.

But it is precisely this power that makes it feel an invisible distance and pressure.

What it wants is a partner who can grow from weakness to strength together, face storms together, and share the joy of growth, not a mentor or protector who is already standing on the mountaintop and can only be looked up to.

Moreover, although Lin Dao's aura made it feel very safe, there was also a kind of pressure that made it uncomfortable (Lin Dao suspected that it was the invisible influence of long-term contact with the gene wedge).

"Pikachu!" Upon hearing this, Pikachu immediately pouted, tugged at Lin Dao's collar with a hint of dissatisfaction, and then barked at Mushroom a few times, as if to say, "How can you be so ungrateful! Following Lin Dao means you'll eat well, drink well, and get stronger super fast!"

Lin Dao gently patted Pikachu's head, signaling it to stop fooling around.

He completely understood what Mushroom was thinking.

For a heart that longs to fly on its own wings, an overly strong shelter can sometimes be a gentle constraint.

"I understand." Lin Dao nodded to the mushroom, respecting its choice.

"Then, do you need me to take a look at the newcomers who entered this area today and see if there are any suitable candidates? I can just observe without interfering."

Mushroom blinked its round eyes, seemingly considering the suggestion.

At this moment, the circled bear, which had been hiding behind a nearby rock, came out, growled a few times, and pointed in another direction of the forest.

Lin Dao roughly understood that their "test" seemed to have selected a new person and was underway.

Pikachu immediately perked up, tugging at Lin Dao's trouser leg with its little paws and looking at him with bright eyes, its meaning couldn't be clearer: Go see! Go help Mushroom!

Unable to resist the little guy's pleading, and also deeply interested in this spontaneously formed "choosing a master ritual" full of Pokémon's subjective initiative, Lin Dao decided to observe it secretly.

So when Lin Dao noticed that a security guard was about to stop them, he showed himself to avoid interrupting the guard's good intentions.