[Pokémon: Kirlia]
[Ability: Telepathy]
[Gender: Female]
[Talent: Elite Four-tier]
[Level: 23]
[Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Protect, Psyblade, Teleport, Hypnosis...]
[Equipped Entries: Psyblade, Combat Leech, Mind Focus (Fixed), Final Whisper.]
Lin Yu checked Kirlia's status screen.
All three of his Pokémon had hit a level bottleneck — they desperately needed real combat to grow stronger.
"The provincial high-school tournament isn't until March next year."
So where could he find meaningful battles?
The answer was obvious:
Secret Realms.
Lin Yu opened the Shuimu City Secret Realm Map app.
Though Shuimu was only a prefecture-level city, it was surrounded by dozens of Secret Realms. Most were ranked E or D, but a handful were C and B-class.
Two B-class realms stood out:
One was the Frost Secret Realm, ruled by a Lord-tier Froslass. Lord-class Pokémon were fiercely territorial — challenging it without the strength to win was suicide.
The other was the Volcano Secret Realm, lorded over by a Charizard. Rumor had it the Flame Gym's own Charizard had originated here, and it maintained peaceful relations with humans.
Lin Yu decided to start with C-class realms, filtering by the strongest wild Pokémon listed:
"Late-Gym Krookodile? Total thug — nope."
"Mid-Gym Torterra…"
"Late-Gym…"
He finally shortlisted three:
A mountain realm home to Torterra
A lake realm where a Psyduck with barely any Water-type power but extraordinary Psychic talent resided
A forest realm ruled by a Mid-Gym Pidgeot
Of the three, Pidgeot was the only real threat.
It was ruthlessly territorial, while the others had clear flaws:
Torterra was glacially slow; Psyduck, despite reaching Early-Gym Psychic power, was dim-witted and hadn't even evolved.
Pidgeot, however, was fast, powerful, and could fly.
Without his [Teleport] Entry, Lin Yu never would have risked provoking it.
Thanks to [Combat Leech], his Pokémon grew fastest in real battle — especially against strong opponents.
That was Lin Yu's hard-earned lesson:
Intense, all-out fights unlocked the full potential of Combat Leech.
After careful thought, he fixed on Torterra.
According to the app, it could charge energy attacks at blistering speed with devastating power — but its movement was cripplingly slow.
Perfect for Frogadier and Kirlia to practice evasive maneuvers.
Psyduck's dull mind made it ideal for Kirlia to clash Psychic powers and sharpen her own.
And Pidgeot?
It was perfect in every way. Even in photos, its streamlined muscles, glinting talons and beak, glossy feathers, and sharp, domineering eyes screamed strength.
Worse, it was a prodigy — as a Pidgeotto, it had dethroned the forest's previous ruler, a Fearow.
"Decided!"
A Trainer's journey begins now!
Lin Yu felt a strange thrill, as if he were setting off on a proper adventure.
Torterra Secret Realm
The mountains were steep and rugged.
"Thirty thousand yuan per entry for a C-class realm… and you need to be a Provisional Professional Trainer?"
Lin Yu counted his blessings again.
If he hadn't discovered the Gyarados realm on his own, he'd be paying this price for every visit too.
Pre-explored realms were nothing like new ones — treasures were far scarcer.
Even with his Aura Sense, Lin Yu had to search carefully to find anything valuable.
But earning back the entry fee was child's play.
He quickly found a chunk of Hard Sand — a treasure for Rock and Ground-type Pokémon.
It hardened their skin and defenses, perfect for Pokémon like Onix and Aggron.
This piece weighed over three jin.
At the market rate of ten thousand yuan per hundred grams, it would sell for around 150,000 yuan!
"Nice — already made back the ticket."
With his Aura Sense and Inspection Eye guiding him, Lin Yu soon located the realm's apex predator:
a Mid-Gym Torterra.
It stood over three meters tall, with a massive, flat, ankylosaur-like shell, a tall lush tree growing from its back, and jagged rock spikes covering its body.
It was fast asleep.
The fiery aura radiating from Charmeleon woke it instantly.
"Kirlia, Protect!"
Lin Yu had Kirlia shield him first, to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Far away, on the steep mountainside, an Arcanine — the Realm Guardian — sniffed the air furiously, held on a leash by an Enforcement Officer.
"Arf! Arf!"
The Arcanine barked sharply.
Even without it, the officer could feel the violent energy surging through the air — a massive battle was underway nearby.
"That direction… that's Torterra's territory?!"
The officer's face paled.
This realm had two Mid-Gym powerhouses:
Torterra, and a Scyther.
Scyther was bloodthirsty; Torterra craved peace.
They were like spear and shield, locked in endless rivalry.
Gym-class battles were nothing like Elite-class fights.
It was a night-and-day difference.
They could tear up the earth effortlessly — Torterra alone could split mountains and shatter stone.
Normally, human-led Gym-class battles required energy shield barriers.
"Let's go, Arcanine!"
He leaped onto the Pokémon's back and raced toward the chaos.
When he arrived…
"Wha—?!"
The officer gaped.
A kid? This young?
And he was commanding three Elite-stage Pokémon, fighting a Mid-Gym beast to a standstill?!
"Kirlia, Double Team! Frogadier, use Double Team, then Dark Pulse!"
Lin Yu smiled as he watched Torterra begin charging another energy sphere.
Gym-class Torterra truly had monstrous stamina.
Frogadier's Water-type attacks barely seemed to chip its health.
But the pale, cold flame burning across its body was slowly draining its life away.
That was Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
Unlike ordinary flames, which died out quickly, this fire clung like a leech once it latched on.
Torterra's energy sphere charged far slower than before…
but it was still devastatingly powerful.
The raging sphere shattered the Double Team illusions and exploded behind the two Pokémon.
BOOM!
Rocks and dirt flew, tall trees were torn from the ground. When the dust cleared…
Lin Yu laughed.
Just useless, helpless rage.