Sceptile stepped aside, and Oliver gave it a slight nod in return.
For a Pokémon that had once pushed him to the brink of death, Oliver felt no lingering resentment. Back then, he had already defeated it with Milotic's strength. Now, it was clear that Celebi had taken Sceptile under its wing—it was an ally. There was no reason to deliberately stir up trouble.
As Oliver ventured deeper into the forest, the scenery changed dramatically.
A clear pool of water lay ahead, its surface shimmering with faint green light. Flowers bloomed all along the shore, their fragrance filling the air. Life thrived everywhere. Above the pool, Celebi drifted back and forth, glowing softly.
"You're finally here!"
The moment it spotted Oliver, Celebi zipped straight toward him.
"Easy," Oliver said, pulling out a map. "Tell me where that secret realm is going to descend first. Otherwise, I won't even know where to start looking."
Celebi replied, "Based on my perception, it should appear roughly 500 kilometers northeast of this secret realm."
Oliver let out a quiet sigh of relief. Five hundred kilometers wasn't too far. He checked the map—and quickly realized the location was near Chang'an City.
"Can you be more precise?" Oliver asked. "If I just rush over there blindly, it'll be hard to find."
Celebi didn't answer right away. Instead, it closed its eyes.
The green motes of light orbiting its body gathered once more and surged into Oliver, just like the first time Celebi had blessed him—only this time, it lasted noticeably longer.
Slowly, a pale green leaf-shaped mark appeared on the back of Oliver's right hand, glowing faintly.
Ding! Celebi's Blessing has been upgraded.
As the system notification sounded, Celebi stopped channeling its power and opened its eyes.
"To help you locate the secret realm more easily, I've strengthened the blessing on you ahead of time," Celebi explained.
"You now possess the ability to heal Pokémon. When you approach the point where the secret realm merges with this world, the mark on your hand will react and guide you."
Oliver immediately felt the change.
His perception of nature had grown far stronger. Whether it was because he was in the forest or not, it felt as if the trees and flowers had become his eyes—everything within ten meters of him was vividly clear from a strange, omnidirectional perspective.
At the same time, a warm current flowed gently through his body.
"This must be the power used to heal Pokémon…" Oliver murmured.
He gave it a name in his heart—Viridian Force.
Name: Oliver
Age: 18
Trainer Rank: Advanced
Pokémon:
Milotic (Advanced, High-tier)
Ralts (Beginner, High-tier)
Special Ability: Viridian Force
Seeing the amazement on Oliver's face, Celebi puffed up proudly.
"Well? Pretty impressive, right?"
"It really is," Oliver replied sincerely.
Then, suddenly, his tone shifted.
"Since you're already this amazing, why not help my Ralts improve its aptitude too?"
"Helping someone means helping them all the way, right? Besides, the stronger I get, the better I can help you."
A red flash of light appeared as Oliver released Ralts.
"Ral~"
Ralts looked around curiously, then noticed Celebi floating above its head.
"I'm running around for your sake here," Oliver added calmly.
"The least you could do is put in a bit more effort."
Celebi froze.
Isn't this a bit much?!
It had already improved Milotic's aptitude and blessed Oliver twice!
But… Oliver now held the upper hand. Celebi could only complain inwardly.
It's fine… just a bit of life energy. I'll recover after resting for a month… no big deal…
With clear reluctance, Celebi said, "Alright. But only this once."
"Deal, deal," Oliver replied instantly.
Only once for you, Oliver thought.
But there's still another Celebi that hasn't descended yet—saving its life should earn me a proper reward.
Celebi began circulating its life energy again, channeling it toward Ralts.
"Ral~"
Ralts didn't understand what kind of deal had just been made. It only found the drifting green lights fun, running around as they chased after it but never quite caught up.
Celebi's face darkened.
"Tell it to stop moving."
Oliver quickly stopped Ralts. "Don't move—this is good stuff!"
As more and more green light fused into Ralts' body, a brilliant white glow suddenly burst forth.
"So it really is evolving…" Oliver murmured.
He had suspected this for some time.
Evolution was a leap in life level itself—it naturally altered a Pokémon's base potential. Celebi and Ralts shared the Psychic attribute, but Celebi existed on a Legendary level. Ralts, stuck at the peak of Beginner tier, was already at a bottleneck.
With Celebi forcibly enhancing its aptitude using life energy, triggering evolution was only natural.
When the light faded, Ralts was gone.
In its place stood Kirlia.
Pokémon: Kirlia
Level: Intermediate, Early-stage
Aptitude: Champion-tier
Ability: Synchronize
Moves:
Teleport
Confusion
Hypnosis
Draining Kiss
Psybeam
Evaluation:
Exceptional talent, graceful bearing—a future Psychic Queen is rapidly taking shape.
If Ralts had been a Psychic girl, then Kirlia was now a Psychic maiden, already showing hints of a queenly presence.
"Kirli!"
After evolving, Kirlia became noticeably calmer, no longer as lively as before.
Suddenly, it began to dance on the grass.
The movements were elegant and fluid—leaping, spinning, its skirt fluttering lightly in the air. This was Kirlia's way of expressing gratitude to both Celebi and its Trainer.
After a long while, the dance came to an end.
Kirlia bowed gently.
A single dance… yet it can hardly convey my thanks.
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