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The next morning, sunlight shone through the thin mist onto the ecological park, casting a soft, warm hue over the farewell.

After confirming that there was still enough time, Lin Dao, Shen Yu'er, and several zookeepers carefully comforted and guided the Pokémon that were going to New Edge City onto a specially modified, comfortable and spacious transport vehicle.

Although the little guys were a little uneasy about leaving their homeland, most of them calmed down when they saw the familiar forest path, Pikachu, and Growlithe, and listened to the zookeeper's gentle reassurances. They curiously looked around their temporary "mobile new home".

The mother kangaroo led her baby kangaroo and the now quite robust baby dragon to stand together, watching the scene with gentle eyes.

Once all the Pokémon were settled, the transport convoy, accompanied by the zookeepers, set off for Newland City.

After finishing his work, Lin Dao walked up to them, took out a Poké Ball, and found that their size was so large that even Lin Dao's custom-made hovercar, with an interior space far exceeding that of an ordinary sedan, could not accommodate them.

"Please bear with it for a moment, go inside and rest in your Poké Balls. We'll let you out when we reach a more spacious area."

Lin explained in a gentle voice.

Kangaskhan nodded understandingly, gently patted the curious little Kangaskhan peeking out of its pouch with its large hand, and then touched the Poké Ball in Lin Dao's hand first.

A flash of red light, and the enormous yet gentle figure and the little Kangaskhan disappeared. The Bellatrix followed suit and was recalled into its Poké Ball.

After placing the Poké Ball on his belt, Lin Dao, along with Growlithe and Pikachu, boarded the hovercar that was waiting nearby with Shen Yu'er.

Shen Yu'er had already planned her route; her destination was Chengdu Railway Station.

Just as the hovercar was about to leave the park, a long, drawn-out dragon roar, filled with complex emotions, pierced through the clouds and came from high above.

Looking out the car window, Lin Dao saw atop a distant mountain peak where the enormous, blood-red figure of the Flying Dragon stood proudly, letting out a long farewell cry in the direction they had left.

The roar contained instructions, reluctance, and even more so, a firm belief in the future.

Lin Dao silently withdrew his gaze, the sense of responsibility and commitment in his heart becoming increasingly clear.

He turned to look inside the car—in the back seat, two fluffy foam squirrels were playing a "you pat, I pat" game with Pikachu, while the Snivy, whose expression always carried a hint of arrogance and scrutiny, sat elegantly in the empty seat next to Shen Yu'er, its emerald green body standing straight, gazing thoughtfully through the car window at the rapidly receding scenery that was gradually being stained with traces of human civilization.

"Why did they come along too?" Lin Dao looked at Shen Yu'er with some surprise.

He recalled that last night, neither the snail nor the foam squirrel had explicitly stated that they wanted to leave the ecozone.

Shen Yu'er turned to the side and explained to the vine snakes beside her, "Yes, I've communicated with them."

"The snail said that life in the ecozone was 'too boring' for it," she said, a helpless yet fond smile appearing on her lips.

"It said it 'doesn't want to go back to Xinyuan City for the time being,' and wants to take this opportunity to 'go out and see a bigger world' with us."

"As for these two foam squirrels..."

She pointed to the little guy who was laughing "plop plop" as Pikachu amused him.

"They always follow the Sniffer Snakes to the lead; wherever their leader goes, they follow."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao looked at the vine snake.

The haughty grass snake Pokémon noticed his gaze, turned its head, met his eyes for a second with its emerald eyes, then slightly raised its chin and turned back to look at the scenery, as if to say, "I have my own plans."

Shen Yu'er then added, her tone carrying an expectation she herself was unaware of.

"Furthermore, I think Snivy... is actually quite intelligent and has a lot of opinions."

"It should be quite fun having them along the way."

Lin Dao could tell that after a day of interaction, Shen Yu'er had genuinely fallen in love with this unconventional vine snake.

He had a slight thought and decided to help.

"Snivy," Lin Dao said, his voice calm but earnest.

"Snivy, for the rest of our journey, we will enter a human-inhabited city and take a large mode of transportation called 'high-speed rail' to another distant metropolis—the capital."

He paused briefly to observe the Snivy's reaction, and the snake indeed stopped looking out the window, turned its little head, and looked at him intently.

"In cities, especially on public transport, the situation is much more complex than in forests and eco-regions."

Lin Dao continued to explain, and took out Growlithe and Pikachu's Poké Balls as examples.

"Not everyone can immediately and amicably accept Pokémon appearing around them at will."

"To avoid unnecessary trouble and conflict, and for your own safety and comfort, we usually require you to temporarily enter your Poké Balls to rest when we enter urban areas or take public transportation."

He took out Growlithe's Poké Ball, first recalling the quietly lying Growlithe, and then demonstrated.

Then he took out Pikachu's Poké Ball and gestured to the playful Pikachu, "Pikachu, come here. Remember to come back before we enter the station later."

"Pika?" Pikachu stopped chasing the foam squirrel, looked at the ball in Lin Dao's hand, then at the city skyline getting closer and closer outside the window, and nodded knowingly: "Pika pika!" (Got it!)

Snivy listened quietly, its tawny eyes darting between the forest path, the Poké Ball, and the city view outside the window.

The two foam squirrels also stopped playing and snuggled up to the Snivy, looking somewhat uneasily at the ball in Lin Dao's hand, and then looking up at their trusted leader.

"So, if you decide to continue traveling with us," Lin Dao continued, his gaze falling on the Snivy.

"You will need to choose a 'temporary guardian,' or rather, a partner."

"When you need to enter the city or take public transportation, this partner will put you into a Poké Ball and be responsible for your safety and itinerary while in the city."

He clearly presented the choice to the Snivy.

Should they part ways here and return to their free ecological zone? Or should they choose to follow, but accept the temporary "management" of their human partners?

The carriage quieted down, with only the low hum of the hovercraft's power system breaking the silence.

Shen Yu'er seemed to sense something, and her fingers on her knees curled slightly, showing a rare hint of tension.

The Snivy fell silent.

It looked at Lin Dao, then at Shen Yu'er, and finally its gaze fell on the Poké Ball belonging to Pikachu at Lin Dao's waist.

It seems to be making a serious weighing of the options.

Freedom is important, but curiosity about the unknown world and the desire for adventure also burn within it.

The two foam squirrels were completely at a loss, just staring at the sniffer snake, waiting for it to make a decision.

The hovercar smoothly glided toward the comprehensive inspection station on the outskirts of Chengdu.

Lin Dao gently patted Pikachu, and Pikachu understood, jumped over, touched the Poké Ball in Lin Dao's hand, turned into red light, and was put into the Poké Ball.

Only Lin Dao, Shen Yu'er, and three Pokémon that have not yet been caught remain inside the car.

As the checkpoint drew closer, uniformed staff and flashing indicator lights came into view.

The snail finally moved.

It glided lightly off the seat, came to Shen Yu'er's seat, raised its head, stretched out its emerald green vine whip, and gently tapped her arm under Shen Yu'er's nervous gaze.

Then it turned to look at the two foam squirrels and made two short, clear calls.

The foam squirrels immediately understood their leader's choice. They jumped off their seats and ran to Shen Yu'er's feet, tilting their little heads up, their round eyes filled with anticipation and a little nervousness.

Shen Yu'er was stunned. Then, a huge surprise welled up in her heart like a warm current, making her cheeks slightly flushed.

This was the first time she had experienced being chosen by a Pokémon. Even though it might just be a "temporary partner," the feeling of being trusted was incredibly real.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her excitement, and turned to look at Lin Dao, her eyes filled with questioning and a hint of helplessness.