"Alright, it's time for us to leave. Everyone, return to your Poké Balls for now."
Arriving at the spot where he first entered the dimension, Gu Yuan checked the time and prepared to recall Charizard and the others.
Nodding, the team lined up to return. Among them, Moltres and Roaring Moon were undoubtedly the most excited. For them, when they emerged again, they would be in a brand-new world, and more importantly, the shackles on their strength would finally be shattered!
After recalling everyone, Gu Yuan took out the key he used to enter the dimension and began to wait patiently. After an unknown amount of time, Gu Yuan, who was in the middle of meditation, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
An invisible force began to gather. Gradually, a tiny black dot appeared before him, expanding rapidly into a black hole—just like the one he saw when entering, complete with blue light shimmering around the edges.
In the next second, the key in his hand glowed brilliantly, pulling him back into the void of the black hole. After passing through the familiar multicolored tunnel, Gu Yuan stepped out to find himself back in the Pokémon world, surrounded by the same precision instruments as before.
"Follow me. You need to report the results of your exploration first to help us prepare for future entries. Also, you need to return that key to me," Chika said, stepping forward once Gu Yuan had caught his breath.
"Alright."
Handing over the key, Gu Yuan followed Chika out of the room. Once they reached the office, Chika began recording the details. When he learned that Gu Yuan had actually captured that Moltres and encountered an unbelievable Pokémon, even Chika couldn't help but feel surprised. He immediately uploaded the information to Agatha.
After the recording session ended, Gu Yuan didn't rush to leave. Instead, he waited. As expected, a call from Agatha came through shortly after. Gu Yuan repeated what he had told Chika and waited for her response.
"I really didn't expect such wondrous existences to be in that dimension. It just goes to show how incredible your luck is, kid."
"Don't worry about it; since you caught it, it's your Pokémon now. However, I suggest you take it for a check-up and record its data. I'm sure it will be of great benefit to the League's research. For this, you should go find that fellow Oak. I imagine he can give you plenty of useful advice."
Agatha's voice crackled over the phone.
"Understood. I'll make Professor Oak's Laboratory my next destination."
"As long as you have a plan. I looked into your actions in Neon Town; those people haven't paid much attention to it. From the current situation, it's likely as I thought—most people feel that continuing to provoke you isn't worth the cost, and the three leading families don't want to force them to continue."
"But don't get happy too soon. They are just waiting for you to take the initiative so they can give those people a sense of crisis, thereby fully utilizing their strength to deal with you. So, what you need to do is exactly what I said before: keep improving your strength. When the time comes for you to act, you must deal them a heavy blow in the shortest time possible!"
"Yes, I understand. I won't slack off. Once I reach Elite Rank strength, I will definitely make them pay a heavy price."
"It's good that you have that determination. You just got back from the dimension, so go get some rest. Contact me if anything comes up."
"Will do."
Hanging up the phone, Gu Yuan stretched lazily. Instead of staying there to rest, he informed Chika and left immediately. After all, Moltres and Roaring Moon had just come out of the dimension and were dying to see the outside world.
"Come on out! This is the forest of the outside world. When we have the chance later, I'll show you what modern cities look like."
Once he was far from the League's outpost, Gu Yuan found a random forest and released Moltres and Roaring Moon. Looking at the environment, both were filled with curiosity. Roaring Moon, in particular, looked like a curious child. Moltres was a bit better since it had lived outside originally before being sucked into that dimension.
Most importantly, both of them could feel that the force restricting their growth had vanished. Their strength could finally increase again!
"I knew you wouldn't be able to sit still. Let's go; let's see what powerful Pokémon are in this forest."
Noticing the longing in their eyes, Gu Yuan shook his head helplessly and prepared to head toward the center of the forest to find strong opponents. This was the perfect time to use a few battles to build rapport with his two new teammates and observe any weaknesses they might have.
With Alakazam's Teleport handling the travel, Gu Yuan quickly reached the heart of the forest. An Ursaring, who was peacefully enjoying its afternoon, suddenly sensed a crisis. Opening its eyes, it saw Gu Yuan's group appearing nearby.
Seeing its territory invaded, the Ursaring was about to defend its land. However, before it could even let out a roar, it choked the sound back down. There was no other choice—there were seven opponents in front of it who possessed the same level of strength as itself! This fact alone was enough to make the Ursaring become very well-behaved.
"Which of you two wants to go first?"
As soon as Gu Yuan spoke, Moltres and Roaring Moon began competing for the spot. Ultimately, Gu Yuan had to pick one at random to go first, allowing the other to take the lead on the next Pokémon they encountered.
After stretching its body a bit, Roaring Moon flew into the air. However, it didn't attack immediately; instead, it waited for Gu Yuan's command.
"This is our first battle together. You can fight as you like; I will only step in to remind you at critical moments. But I have one requirement: in the short term, you can only use Outrage once."
Looking at the patiently waiting Roaring Moon, Gu Yuan was satisfied and didn't place too many harsh restrictions on it.
"Fine!"
With a quick reply, Roaring Moon charged out. Having finally met a new opponent, it couldn't suppress the fighting spirit surging within it. Seeing Roaring Moon take the initiative, the Ursaring naturally wouldn't back down. No matter how many opponents there were or how strong they were, the Ursaring could not allow itself to run without a fight.
With a loud roar, the Ursaring lunged forward to clash with Roaring Moon.