"It's alright, Sylveon. Even if I can't hold you while we travel from now on, I promise that whenever I have the chance, I'll hold you close."
Gu Yuan gently stroked Sylveon's fur as he spoke.
Ever since realizing that Gu Yuan could no longer carry it after evolving, Sylveon's joy had turned into sadness.
"How about this, then? I promise I'll keep training my body. Once I grow a bit stronger, I'll be able to hold you like before."
The thought came to Gu Yuan suddenly, and he quickly made the promise.
Hearing his words, Sylveon's ears twitched. It turned its head toward Gu Yuan.
"Vee?"
Really?
"Of course, I promise!"
Looking at the feelers wrapped around his arm, Gu Yuan declared with determination.
At that moment, he slightly regretted telling Sylveon about its new special ability after evolving.
But he quickly shook off the thought, afraid Sylveon might notice.
"Vee!" Alright.
"Vee vee!" You have to grow stronger soon, so you can carry me again!
"Okay, okay, I promise."
Seeing Sylveon cheer up, Gu Yuan finally sighed with relief.
Only then did he open the system to check Sylveon's information.
Pokémon: Sylveon
Gender: Female
Ability: Pixilate
Rank: Intermediate Rank
Level-up Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping Hand, Covet, Growl, Swift, Quick Attack, Disarming Voice, Take Down, Double-Edge, Bite, Copycat, Sand Attack, Baton Pass, Light Screen, Draining Kiss
TM Moves: Charm, Baby-Doll Eyes, Shadow Ball
Egg Moves: Yawn, Wish
After evolving, Sylveon had learned several new moves, which meant it had plenty of training ahead. Soon, it would probably forget its sadness about evolving.
The biggest change, however, was its new Ability, the very reason Gu Yuan had chosen for Eevee to evolve into Sylveon.
Eevee's Hidden Ability had been Anticipation. After evolving, it became Pixilate.
Pixilate turns Normal-type moves into Fairy-type moves and increases their power by 20%.
With Sylveon's natural Fairy typing on top of that, its moves would become even stronger.
Most importantly, Sylveon was now a Dragon-type slayer. With its typing and Ability, countless Dragon Pokémon would find it a nightmare opponent in the future.
After cheering Sylveon up, Gu Yuan became the "bad guy" and started its training.
First, Sylveon had to get used to its new body. Then it needed to practice its newly learned moves.
Gu Yuan didn't demand great results right away. He only wanted Sylveon to use them effectively in battle.
Since Sylveon was training, Charizard and the others naturally joined in.
Standing on the grass, Ditto suddenly felt a little useless.
Indeed, as Gu Yuan had promised, he wouldn't make it fight or train except when using its Transform ability.
But after leaving the wild, Ditto felt a bit too idle.
It shook its head and dismissed the thought.
It had finally earned a peaceful life. Wasn't that exactly what it wanted?
Training and battles could go to the wind!
With that thought, Ditto lay flat on the grass like a lazy fish.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuan was thinking about lunch.
To celebrate Sylveon's evolution, he decided to make a big meal.
After some thought, he chose to roast a bit of everything and make a full barbecue feast.
Once he started cooking, the smell of roasted food spread in every direction.
Charizard and Kadabra were fine, but Sylveon and Mankey couldn't resist the aroma.
"Alright, you can all rest for a bit. The food will be ready soon."
Gu Yuan shook his head helplessly and didn't push them to continue training.
Smoke from the fire rose into the air and caught the attention of a nearby Pokémon poacher named Takenaka.
Without hesitation, Takenaka moved toward the source of the smoke.
Hiding in the bushes, he could clearly see Gu Yuan and his Pokémon by the fire.
"Kadabra and Ditto both are incredibly rare Pokémon! And there's one I've never seen before. Looks like I've struck gold today!"
As he watched Gu Yuan and the others enjoying their meal, his excitement grew.
Meanwhile, Mankey grumbled silently.
You ignore me now, but once I evolve into an Annihilape, you won't be able to look down on me!
"Get ready, Dodrio and Raticate. Take down Kadabra first, but don't kill it."
"Now! Go!"
Whispering his command, Takenaka could already picture Gu Yuan's terrified expression.
That's how it worked in the wild: drop your guard, and anything could happen.
And this time, the lesson's cost would be Gu Yuan's life and his Pokémon.
Dodrio dashed forward at incredible speed. Its three heads readied a Tri Attack, prepared to disable Kadabra in one blow.
It had done this countless times before; it was easy work.
But just as Dodrio was about to strike, the Kadabra ahead of it turned into Takenaka himself.
There was no time to think. Dodrio was forced to cancel its Tri Attack, the awkward motion leaving it reeling.
The next moment, a dragon's roar filled its ears. Flames engulfed its vision.
Under the fiery blast, Dodrio was thrown backward, and an Air Slash followed close behind.
Charizard, wreathed in Dragon-type energy, launched Dragon Rush toward Raticate.
Sensing danger, Raticate countered with Take Down, but it couldn't withstand the impact and was sent flying.
Charizard flapped its wings again, using Air Slash, leaving an X-shaped wound across Raticate's belly.
In truth, Gu Yuan had already sensed Takenaka's approach.
To be safe, he had returned Charizard to its Poké Ball earlier.
Now, with Kadabra, Ditto, and newly evolved Sylveon around him, he knew such rare Pokémon would tempt any hunter.
So he decided to teach them a lesson, to show that some Trainers were not to be trifled with.
The price, of course, would be the hunter's Pokémon.