"Trying to escape?"
Lian watched as the long-haired man hastily recalled his Pokemon, feeling somewhat speechless. Was he already giving up without finishing the battle?
Lian wanted to chase after him, but in the next moment, Kentra unexpectedly vanished, leaving the Dream World entirely.
"Wow, just straight-up left?"
Rushing over, Lian confirmed that the opponent had indeed abruptly exited the Dream World. It couldn't be an instant teleportation, as only Psychic-type Pokemon possess such abilities.
"Could it be that the Dream World is now locatable?" Lian speculated. With this thought, he decided to inspect the ground, and sure enough, he spotted something intriguing.
Amidst the grass, there lay a glowing green feather—the Lunar Feather. The opponent wouldn't carelessly abandon such an item; instead, it was likely used to pinpoint coordinates, allowing them to directly arrive at this location in reality.
Lian's knowledge of this came from Professor Evergreen, who briefly mentioned the limited uses of the Lunar Feather, hinting at its additional purposes beyond mere navigation.
With the opponent fleeing, Lian couldn't seize the Lunar Feather, but it wasn't entirely fruitless. Clearly, they assumed Lian would not discover the Lunar Feather, mistaking him for merely a Charmeleon.
Lian swiftly plucked out the Lunar Feather, ensuring that if his opponent re-entered the Dream World, they would return to their previous location and not trace him here.
However, as soon as Lian touched the Lunar Feather, it suddenly burst into flames and vanished within seconds.
"What's happening?" Lian stared at his empty claws, bewildered by the spontaneous combustion of the Lunar Feather.
He suspected it might be due to the system's influence. Since it was gone now, he shrugged it off; anyway, it wouldn't have been useful for him, nor could he take it outside, so no real loss.
"Still, I should check the system space first, just in case there are any changes," Lian muttered to himself.
Then, turning towards Zapdos, he said, "I need to leave now, but I'll be back tomorrow."
Zapdos seemed reluctant, having enjoyed their time battling together. It wished they could continue fighting side by side. Before it could express its thoughts, Lian disappeared, returning to the system space.
Feeling dejected, Zapdos flew away to seek more battles with other Pokemon, aiming to strengthen itself further.
Upon arriving in the system space, Lian hurriedly checked his combat data, eager to see if there were any notable updates.
Indeed, there were changes.
Lian glanced at the Dream World's attributes panel and noticed that his level had increased from 23 to 24. As levels go higher, advancement becomes more challenging. Jumping up by one level instantly was not typical growth but likely due to the Lunar Feather.
It seemed the system utilized the energy of the Lunar Feather to expedite Lian's upgrade. In essence, leveling up in the Dream World felt more like restoring his original strength.
The Dream World suppresses the power of incoming Pokemon, while defeating them accelerates the recovery of one's true capabilities.
Unlike the real world, where combat directly enhances strength, progress in the Dream World is swift because it primarily involves gradually regaining inherent abilities. However, any actual growth gained through battles does reflect back into reality.
What remains unclear is how Zapdos' progression will be affected. Currently, Zapdos undoubtedly possesses great power, but upon entering the Dream World, it started as quite weak. Once Zapdos leaves the Dream World, its level and strength might revert to what they were before, with only the additional growth from the Dream World being added to its previous state.
Of course, it's also possible that Zapdos may retain its current level upon exiting the Dream World, as technically, there was no suppression on Zapdos. It started at its weakest state, so there wasn't any need for recovering lost power.
In this case, the growth achieved within the Dream World might genuinely reflect an increase in strength, maintaining the same level even in the real world.
Lian couldn't be certain yet, but one day he would find out. If this is indeed true, leveling up initial Pokemon through the Dream World could potentially be significantly easier compared to doing so in the real world.
Having understood the Lunar Feather's effect, Lian checked his current level, still at 38, with Special Attack ability points reaching 1,691, nearly breaking past 1,700.
For a regular Charizard, achieving such a Special Attack value typically requires being around levels 50-60, and often after consuming special attack-enhancing potions and undergoing specific training.
Without any specialized training, relying solely on natural level progression, a Charizard would need at least level 75 to match Lian's current Special Attack capability.
Feeling satisfied, Lian exited the system space.
***
As dawn approached, Lian woke up, emerged from the Poké Ball, and began to eat breakfast.
Since evolving into a Charizard, his appetite had significantly increased, making a few energy cubes insufficient. Consequently, Kalia purchased large quantities of Pokémon food, which added to their expenses.
Raising Pokémon is indeed costly, with costs escalating as they progress, especially for those with massive appetites. It's no exaggeration to call them "gold-swallowing beasts."
After finishing a satisfying meal, Lian looked at Kalia, knowing that over the next few days, they should focus on intensive training for the double battle competition coming up in a week. This primarily involves improving coordination between Pokémon.
For instance, combining moves like Fire Pledge and Grass Pledge creates the Fire Sea move, well-suited for Lian and Grovyle.
Another example is blending two Fire-type moves to form an even stronger Fire-type attack. This type of cooperation is common among Pokémon sharing the same elemental attribute, as their energies naturally harmonize.
Beyond these, numerous other move combinations exist, depending on whether Trainers can discover effective synergies between different Pokémon's moves and attributes.
The essence of double battles lies in the mutual coordination between Pokémon; otherwise, if each fights independently, it loses its purpose.
After finishing breakfast, Lian returned to his Poké Ball, and Kalia left the hotel. Considering the time, Sean should have received her message by now, although there hadn't been a reply yet.
As Kalia approached the Pokémon Center entrance, she unexpectedly spotted Sean's figure.
"Sean?" Kalia softly called out, sounding uncertain.
Sean turned around, eyes brightening upon seeing Kalia. He exclaimed, "I knew you'd come to the Pokémon Center, and I was right."
"You could have just replied with a meeting location; what if I had other commitments and didn't make it here? You would've waited for ages," Kalia pointed out. However, the Pokémon Center is typically where Trainers gather, so Sean waiting there wasn't unusual.
"No worries, I managed to catch you after all." Sean smiled, then eagerly asked, "So, did you really obtain a Toxic Orb? You're not joking, right?"
"Why would I joke about it? I found four Toxic Orbs at the ruins of a Legendary Pokémon site. Your Pokémon Academy surely isn't short on funds; do you think anyone needs them?" Kalia whispered quietly.
"F-four...four orbs..." Sean nearly shouted, quickly covering his mouth, astonishment evident in his eyes. It wasn't that he lacked experience, but Toxic Orbs are incredibly rare, let alone finding four at once.