"So you brought Vulpix here to receive a gift from Articuno?"
Lin Yu stared at the senior, stunned.
He could barely believe that Articuno — one of the Legendary Birds — was hidden inside this small Class‑B Secret Realm.
According to Xue Nai,
Articuno had been saved by her mother twenty years before and had given her a single feather.
It promised that
when it molted,
whoever held the feather could come to receive its shed plumage
and undergo a true rebirth.
Seeing Xue Nai pull out the feather so trustingly, Lin Yu's heart warmed.
The senior really believed in him!
She'd brought out something so precious without hesitation.
"Alright — I swear I'll help Vulpix complete its transformation!"
By now, the two had climbed past the halfway point of the snow mountain.
"Mhm! Thank you, Xiao Yu!"
Xue Nai looked into his clear, determined eyes and tucked the ice‑crystal feather back into her bag.
Through all the battles along the way,
Vulpix had grown more experienced by the minute and was now Level 22.
Riolu had gained even more.
With [Combat Leech] equipped, it had shot up to Level 12.
Lin Yu planned to feed Riolu a Growth Berry once it reached Level 17.
That way, it would quickly hit Elite tier
and become a proper fighting force.
Also, they'd left in such a hurry
that Lin Yu hadn't checked the Entry Shop yet.
He pulled it up now — and a new item had appeared.
[Soothe Bell]:
Strengthens the bond between Trainer and Pokémon.
Cost: 50 Entry Coins.
This was perfect for Riolu's early growth.
Lin Yu bought it without hesitation and equipped it to Riolu.
Another new item had refreshed:
[Entry Slot Expansion ×5]
Price: 25 Entry Coins.
Lin Yu bought that too, no second thoughts.
As he unlocked more and more Entries, the default four slots per Pokémon were becoming way too few.
This item couldn't have come at a better time.
The two rested for a moment.
Riolu stood guard using its Aura power —
it was also training its Aura control.
The other Pokémon ate Energy Cubes.
BOOM! RUMBLE!!!
It was like the world itself was tearing apart.
The ground shook violently.
Charmeleon quickly activated [Fairy Wings] and lifted Lin Yu and Riolu into the air.
Kirlia used Telekinesis to support Xue Nai and Vulpix.
"KYAAAAH—!"
A deafening cry cut through the wind.
The snow mountain erupted like a volcano, snow and ice blasting into the sky and blotting out everything.
All they could see was white.
"Kirl!"
Through the snow mist, a massive divine bird loomed.
"Articuno!"
There was no doubt — the figure in the sky was Articuno.
But in the next second,
Articuno snapped, enraged beyond measure. It flapped its wings once.
Snow and ice filled the heavens!
Blizzard!
In an instant, a gale tore through the air for hundreds of li around.
One single move
could affect an area hundreds of miles wide!
"Charmeleon, this won't hold! Blast Flamethrower downward! Melt through the glacier!"
Lin Yu shouted urgently as the Blizzard closed in.
He didn't dare gamble.
He couldn't count on Kirlia's Protect to block a Blizzard from a divine Articuno.
[Pokémon: Articuno]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Gender: ?]
[Talent: Third‑Class Deity]
[Level: 95]
[Moves: Gust, Mist, Powder Snow, Light Screen, Ice Shard, Agility, Ancient Power, Tailwind, Freeze‑Dry, Roost, Blizzard, Sheer Cold...]
[Description: Once slumbering peacefully, Articuno was targeted for forced capture. A Legendary may not be disgraced — the humiliation has driven it nearly mad!]
Dozens of moves filled the list, leaving Lin Yu stunned.
Level 95 — that was on par with a human Champion or even Guild Master.
It truly deserved to be called a god.
But now someone had angered it, and its raging fury was about to be unleashed.
Lin Yu wanted to call out to Articuno, but they were too far away.
"CHAAAAAR!!!"
Charmeleon's flames exploded outward at full power.
Right before the Blizzard hit, the ground caved in — a cave melted open.
They all dove inside.
But disaster struck again.
The cave hadn't just collapsed from Charmeleon's flames —
it hid an underground undercurrent.
A violent surge of water came rushing through.
Lin Yu panicked: "Senior!"
He thought fast, using Aura to recall Charmeleon and Riolu, then sent out Frogadier.
"Xiao Yu!"
A massive wave crashed into Xue Nai from behind.
The last thing she saw was
Kirlia using Protect to shield Vulpix. But she was too far away — Kirlia couldn't reach her in time.
"Frogadier!"
...
"Hah… hah…"
The undercurrent raged on.
Lin Yu had no idea where he'd ended up.
But guided by his Aura Sense and Frogadier, he finally reached a dark, rocky shore.
Several ice statues stood lifelike nearby —
humans and Mightyena, their faces frozen in terror. They were long dead.
No time to think. Lin Yu immediately turned to Xue Nai.
Her thick jacket was soaked through, silver hair stuck wet to her face.
Her normally rosy, delicate cheeks were deathly pale.
He'd quickly equipped her with [Child of Water] and [Immunity] right after the crash.
[Child of Water]:
Can breathe underwater. Raises affinity with Water‑type Pokémon.
[Purple Entry (Immunity):
Negate all damage from a fatal attack. Single‑use, re‑equippable. (2/3 uses left)]
Immunity had already burned one charge.
That meant she'd truly been on the edge of death.
But right now, she had to get out of her wet clothes and into dry ones.
Unfortunately, during the flood,
Xue Nai's bag had been swept away.
"Sigh… whatever it takes."
In this freezing cold,
staying in soaking‑wet clothes
would kill her.
"I'm sorry, Senior."
Lin Yu pulled his own clothes from his system space and began unbuttoning her drenched jacket...
(omitted)
[Sub‑Profession: Expert] had given Lin Yu more than just Pokémon‑breeding knowledge.
He summoned Charmeleon to brew a pot of cold‑repelling herbal soup, then carefully held her hand.
The effect of [Child of Frost] let him radiate warmth to her.
With Charmeleon acting as a living heater nearby,
it wasn't long before Xue Nai slowly opened her eyes.
In that short time, Lin Yu also checked the identities of the ice statues.
Crystal Syndicate...
An organization similar to Team Magma.
After Pokémon Secret Realms appeared,
certain groups had turned to risking everything to seize the power of Pokémon,
hoping to build their own twisted ideal world.
But the real shock was the pile of feathers nearby.
[Original Plume of Articuno]:
SS‑Class Secret Treasure.
When absorbed by an Ice‑type Pokémon, it drastically raises talent.
Water‑types can learn Ice‑type moves after absorbing it!
This was clearly where Articuno came to molt!
And there wasn't just one feather.
It seemed Articuno had deliberately saved all the original feathers it had shed over the years.
Stacked together, there were more than a dozen!
"Xiao Yu..."