December 20th, Monday.
A young man stood at the entrance of a secret realm, feeling the heat radiating from it. "As expected of a fire-type secret realm, the heat is palpable just standing at the entrance."
This person was, of course, Xia Hunao. He had left not long after having dinner with Shen Yu and Zhang Hong that day. Although both Shen Yu and Zhang Hong had hoped Xia Hunao would stay in Jinghai City for a couple more days, Xia Hunao felt he hadn't been able to focus on training his Pokémon lately, constantly being interrupted by various trivial matters. This didn't align with his plans, so he once again embarked on his journey.
However, before he left, Xia Hunao had promised Shen Yu that he would definitely return to Jinghai City during the winter and summer breaks. He would spend quality time with her then.
As for Zhang Hong, he was much easier to deal with. Xia Hunao simply told him he was going to apply for a patent for the berry genius and they would split the profits from selling the goods. Without any further hesitation, Zhang Hong saw Xia Hunao off at the train station.
Let's turn our attention back to the fire-type secret realm. Xia Hunao standing outside the fire-type secret realm was indeed quite eye-catching, and one of the negative side effects of attracting attention was that anyone could come and criticize you.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Such a little kid dares to explore a secret realm. Are you even an adult? Did you sneak out of school?"
A ruffian, dressed in slippers, with a toothpick in his mouth and brightly dyed hair, was leering at Xia Hunao while putting his arm around a girl.
Xia Hunao ignored him and went to the staff member managing the secret realm, presented his trainer's license, and entered the realm.
This action greatly displeased the colorful-haired ruffian, who, pulling the girl beside him, followed Xia Hunao into the secret realm.
This was Xia Hunao's first time entering a secret realm. He had expected that the interior of a fire-type secret realm would be a harsh environment with very high temperatures, where one would break into a sweat after just a few steps. However, to his surprise, the climate inside the secret realm was mild, with the sun shining brightly. Instead of the volcanic terrain he had imagined, it was a forest.
Xia Hunao approached a large tree and asked, "System, what's going on?"
The system explained, "Although secret realms are places where powerful items and the environment of Lingyao Star interact, the energy levels are different. Lingyao Star is a world created by Arceus, a power of the world tier, but Arceus's plates are merely powers of the item tier that Arceus played with when it was bored. Powers of the item tier cannot fundamentally change the world tier out of nothing. Therefore, this place is a forest with a large storage of fire-type energy."
Xia Hunao didn't understand this. What was fire-type energy storage?
The system gave him an example: "Have you ever played with a water gun? The amount of water a water gun can hold is its energy storage, and the amount of water it can shoot out at once is its release amount."
Having a rough understanding, Xia Hunao cleared a path through the woods. "Are there really only fire-type Pokémon here?"
"No, it's just that fire-type Pokémon are more numerous, accounting for about eighty to ninety percent."
Xia Hunao continued to wander through the forest. "I remember there are fire-type and bug-type Pokémon, why haven't I encountered any?"
The system retorted, "Do you really want to encounter fire-bug type Pokémon? That thing is just Larvesta. You have to go to a volcano; you won't encounter it in a forest."
Xia Hunao casually broke off a thick branch and used it to beat the nearby bushes as he walked. "Never mind then, it's too hot near the volcano."
"What are you doing? Flushing out prey? Do you really want to capture a snake-like Pokémon?"
Xia Hunao shook his head. "I'm not interested in that kind of Pokémon. I prefer Pokémon with entertaining effects and those that are very cool."
The system asked, "Then what are you doing here?"
"I've never played like this before. What's wrong with letting me have some fun?"
As it turned out, no matter how old a boy was, he had little resistance to things he could play with. Xia Hunao was already having a blast with the branch in his hand.
As the branch swept through a patch of grass, Xia Hunao heard a sound from within the bushes: "Huh? Something's there!"
The system announced, "A Fletchling jumped out of the bushes. Battle begins!"
Xia Hunao ignored it, walked over to the Fletchling, and crouched down. "How did this Fletchling get here? Did it fall from a tree?"
"It's possible. What do you want to do?"
"Of course, I want to heal it."
Xia Hunao took out bandages and began to wrap it clumsily. Fortunately, with the system's help, he didn't turn the Fletchling into a mummy.
"Next, I just need to put it back in its nest, right?"
"Yes, the wildness of wild Pokémon makes their recovery faster. It will be fine after resting in the nest for a while. By the way, how will you get up there?"
Xia Hunao thought for a moment, then released Froakie. "Froakie, can you climb trees?"
Froakie was taken aback. Forcing a frog to climb a tree, you're really not doing anything humanly possible.
Xia Hunao pointed to a sizable nest on the tree. "Froakie, use the branches to jump up, and then use your bubbles to take Fletchling home."
Froakie looked at the nest on the tree, then pushed off with its legs. Its body moved nimbly through the branches, and it soon reached the nest. It skillfully strung bubbles together to wrap the Fletchling, and then Froakie began to carefully carry the Fletchling back to the nest.
Xia Hunao watched the Fletchling ascend. "Hey, System, if there's a Fletchling here, it means..."
"There's a Talonflame."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a red streak shot down from the sky, targeting Xia Hunao's head. Xia Hunao quickly ducked, covering his head with both hands.
Talonflame swooped past Xia Hunao's head, stopped abruptly in mid-air, and turned to peck at him. Xia Hunao hurriedly released Rotom for emergency.
"Rotom, use..."
Since he didn't plan on having Rotom fight often, Xia Hunao temporarily forgot Rotom's moves. It was only when the system reminded him that he remembered: "Rotom, use Disarming Voice."
Rotom's Disarming Voice successfully halted Talonflame's assault. At this moment, Froakie had also completed its task of rescuing Fletchling and jumped down from the tree, landing beside Xia Hunao.
"Talonflame, we didn't intend to harm Fletchling. We just wanted to save it."
Xia Hunao's explanation seemed to have an effect. Talonflame flapped its wings and flew to the nest. Upon seeing Fletchling in the nest, it flew down and circled Xia Hunao a couple of times.
Xia Hunao petted its feathers, bid farewell to Talonflame, and continued to wander through the forest.
"Host, do you have any specific goals?"
Xia Hunao asked, "What goals?"
"Catching Pokémon, aren't you really just here to train Froakie?"
"Otherwise, do you have any fire-type Pokémon recommendations for me?"
The system pulled up all Pokémon with a hint of fire attribute. "There must be one you like among so many Pokémon."
Xia Hunao studied them for a long time and finally replied, "If I must choose from fire-types, then only the starters are left. I'm not very interested in other Pokémon."
It wasn't that starter Pokémon couldn't be encountered in secret realms, but the probability was extremely low. With Xia Hunao's luck, it was almost certain he wouldn't see any starters.
Xia Hunao continued to wander through the forest. "No, why haven't I encountered any water sources? Even a fire-type secret realm should have some water, right?"
Saying this with a parched throat, Xia Hunao plopped down on the ground. "I can't, I need to rest for a bit. I can't take it anymore."
Xia Hunao leaned against a large tree. Just then, three monkeys leaped down from the tree and approached Xia Hunao, looking at this primate that was similar to them but made different sounds instead of chattering.
"Oh, it's the three monkeys. You're here in this secret realm too. Good morning."
The three monkeys seemed very interested in this monkey, Xia Hunao, who didn't chatter but made other sounds. They sat down beside him.
Xia Hunao gently stroked the head of the Panpour. "Do you know where there's water?"
Seeing that Panpour didn't understand him, Xia Hunao cupped his hands and made a gesture of splashing water on his face. "Water, where is it?"
This time, Panpour seemed to understand and led Xia Hunao to find water. The other two monkeys also followed Xia Hunao.
As the four of them walked, Xia Hunao finally heard the sound of water. He quickened his pace and finally saw a small river in the middle of the forest.
Xia Hunao excitedly crouched down and rubbed Panpour's head. "Thank you for helping me find water. Here, have this."
Saying that, he opened his backpack and took out a Sitrus Berry, handing it to Panpour. Panpour happily took the Sitrus Berry and jumped in front of Simisear and Simisage to show off, only to be beaten up by them. Even the Sitrus Berry was snatched away.
Meanwhile, Xia Hunao was drinking water with his two Pokémon. He had deliberately not brought Xiaomeng on this trip to the secret realm because he felt that if he brought Xiaomeng, he would rely on her strength.
He had been feeling smug about his resolve, but upon arriving, he discovered that one's own Pokémon were not allowed in the secret realm. Xiaomeng was Hu Jing's Pokémon, and although she was currently taking care of Xia Hunao, Xia Hunao was not allowed to use her in secret realms or competitions. This made Xia Hunao feel a little disappointed.
Back to the point, after drinking his fill by the river, Xia Hunao lay on the ground contentedly. "Burp, I'm full. What should I do if I don't want to move?"
"Then rest for a while. You almost drank the river dry. Was it necessary?"
"Nonsense, with such delicious water, you expect me not to drink a lot?"
After resting by the river for about ten minutes, Xia Hunao waved goodbye to the three monkeys and the river with delicious water, and continued his journey in the secret realm.