In such a short time, the four Beldums had each leveled up by twenty levels!
This showed that Chansey had perfectly inherited Ace's training philosophy: push them as hard as possible.
Ace recalled the four Beldums into their Poké Balls and then spent twenty Mission Points to heal their hidden injuries.
Looking at the list of nearly a hundred repair items for each Beldum displayed by the system, Ace felt that the twenty levels of experience were truly forged through hard work.
After the Beldums were restored, Ace called his other Pokémon over and healed them one by one.
He was then spammed with the notifications of various minor injuries and hidden ailments being repaired. Even Chansey, the strongest of them all, had minor hairline fractures and other hidden injuries.
However, among all his Pokémon, Ace noticed that Lapras only had two issues to fix: a simple muscle strain and a torn tendon.
"It looks like you're following in Crobat's footsteps."
Ace released all his Pokémon and reached out to stroke Lapras's head.
The fact that Lapras's injuries were the most minor didn't mean it wasn't training hard. It meant that Lapras had essentially reached the limits of its potential. There was no room left for it to improve.
If not for Ace, Lapras would have likely reached its peak.
But with Ace, there was a path for it to continue getting stronger!
He opened the system store and quickly spent five hundred Mission Points to purchase an Energy Core he had been eyeing for a while.
"Frozen Energy Core: Can enhance the ice quality within an Ice-type Pokémon and improve its comprehension of Ice-type moves. The specific effects depend on the potential of the Pokémon."
A transparent, spherical block of ice, radiating a chilling aura, appeared in Ace's hand. Under the envious gazes of his other Pokémon, Ace held it out to Lapras.
"Whether you can become stronger or not is up to you. I don't need to tell you what failure means."
Lapras nodded, its gaze firm.
Ace had already made it clear to his Pokémon what the Energy Cores meant.
He would only give them an Energy Core after they had completely exhausted their potential and could no longer get stronger.
If they successfully fused with the Energy Core, they would continue to get stronger, soaring to new heights.
If they failed, they would be reset. Ace's five hundred Mission Points would be wasted, and the Pokémon, unable to get stronger, would be gradually phased out of his main team.
None of the Pokémon on Ace's team could accept such a result.
Therefore, Lapras was willing to take the gamble, even if it meant risking its life, to continue getting stronger.
After all, if it weren't for its trainer, it would likely be dead by now.
Lapras thought to itself, then opened its mouth, bit the ice block, and chewed it for a moment before swallowing the crushed ice and cold water.
"Everyone, get back!"
Instantly, a warning bell went off in Ace's mind, and he instinctively shouted at all the other Pokémon.
They didn't need Ace's reminder. They had already sensed something was wrong and quickly retreated, stopping only when they reached the yard.
The next moment, everything in their sight was frozen. The small living spaces Ace had spent so many Poké Dollars to build were completely encased in ice.
"It failed... No, not yet!"
A pillar of ice shot into the sky before Ace's eyes. At its center, Lapras was frozen solid.
Its motionless body made it look like it had died.
But according to the system's analysis, Lapras had neither failed nor succeeded. It was in the process of fusing with the Frozen Energy Core!
Compared to Crobat's fusion with the Virulent Energy Core, Lapras's was clearly more dramatic.
"From here on out, whether it succeeds or fails is up to Lapras's fate."
Ace sighed softly and walked out into the yard. He looked at the completely frozen structures outside the yard and reached out to touch the ice.
"Crack!"
The next moment, the structures instantly turned to ice shards and collapsed, bringing a slight coolness to the hot summer day.
"System, I want to rebuild the house structure."
"Understood."
The system responded, quickly bringing up a large number of house designs.
Ace scrolled through them and quickly chose a style.
"Do you want to select this house style? The price is 100,000 Poké Dollars."
"Confirm. How long will it take?"
"Ten hours. Please evacuate the premises and ensure there are no outside disturbances during construction."
"Okay, begin."
Ace nodded. After the Poké Dollars were deducted, he had all his Pokémon leave the yard.
As the Pokémon retreated, the original building began to expand, instantly growing outward.
The regular three-story building was instantly transformed into a large, two-story villa.
The orchard to the left of the villa was also included in the renovation. A large number of wire fences and cables quickly appeared, protecting the entire orchard.
The area to the right of the villa quickly sank and was then filled back in, and soon a very standard Pokémon battle arena appeared. The arena also had a lot of fitness equipment, though most of it was not for humans but for Pokémon.
The original yard was also continuously expanding. The Tree of Life that had been in the orchard was moved to the part of the yard near the orchard. At the same time, the small living spaces that had been frozen and shattered reappeared in their designated places throughout the yard.
Once everything was finished, a large villa covering four hundred square meters and a giant yard covering seven hundred square meters appeared before Ace and his Pokémon.
Next was the interior decoration, which the system would handle. Ace had nothing to worry about.
They all gathered around the pillar of ice. At this moment, cracks began to spread across the ice.
This meant that the absorption of the Energy Core was nearing its end. Whether it would succeed or not would be decided in this final moment.
"Crack! Crack! Crack..."
Gradually, the sound of cracking ice began to fill the air. Starting from the top, the ice pillar slowly turned into ice shards and scattered into the surroundings.
And Lapras, which had been motionless inside the ice pillar, suddenly opened its eyes!
The next moment, a loud cry rang out, and the crumbling ice pillar instantly shattered completely. Lapras fell from mid-air!
"Ninetales..."
Ace was about to have Ninetales use its psychic powers to catch Lapras, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
A sheet of ice appeared below Lapras in mid-air, spinning rapidly to the ground. Lapras then spiraled down like it was on a slide.
As it neared the ground, a large number of ice crystals appeared around Lapras, which gradually slowed its descent before it landed safely on the ground.
The ice sheet turned into ice shards, which then quickly gathered around Lapras, condensing into ice crystals. Lapras stood comfortably on the crystalline ground.
It had successfully fused with the Frozen Energy Core!