A narrow natural passage.
The rock walls on both sides were almost pressed together, leaving only a crevice wide enough for one person to pass through.
The rock walls were covered with thick vines, upon which small, pale purple flowers bloomed, emitting a faint, ghostly glow.
From within that crevice, the scent of flowers became even more distinct.
There was also an indescribable, fresh, and sweet aroma.
The Bulbasaur and Ivysaur ahead crawled into the crevice one after another.
Roy stood before the crevice and probed inside with his Aura.
His perception was blocked by a vast and gentle energy.
This energy was not aggressive; instead, it carried a sense of invitation.
Roy took a deep breath.
He turned sideways and squeezed into the crevice.
The rock walls were cold and rough, brushing against his clothes.
He walked for about twenty steps.
The crevice suddenly widened.
He walked a few more steps.
The path ahead suddenly opened up.
Roy stepped out of the crevice and onto a soft, thick carpet of grass.
He looked up.
His eyes widened slightly.
Before him lay a garden that was exaggeratedly vast.
The ground was covered in flowers of various colors—red, purple, blue, white—spreading out like a colorful carpet under the moonlight.
Ponds of various sizes were scattered among the flower beds, the water reflecting the moonlight and shimmering with silvery ripples.
The air was filled with a warm, moist fragrance that, when inhaled, made one feel a little lighter.
The Bulbasaur and Ivysaur that had entered earlier were quietly gathered in the central area of the garden, forming a circle.
Their bodies swayed gently, and the seeds and buds on their backs were glowing.
Pulsing on and off.
Synchronized with the energy frequency of the entire garden.
Roy's gaze passed over them and landed in the very center of the garden.
There was a tree there.
A tree that was ridiculously large.
The trunk was so thick that ten people couldn't wrap their arms around it, and the canopy spread out like a giant green cloud.
Countless vines hung from the branches, with pale golden flowers blooming at their tips.
And at the very top of the canopy, there was a ball of soft green light.
At the source of the light, one could vaguely see a massive silhouette.
The source of that summoning ripple was right there.
Roy narrowed his eyes and probed in that direction with his Aura.
The next second.
A dull thud came from behind him.
Roy turned around sharply.
The narrow crevice had been blocked off by a thick wooden wall rising from the ground.
"Oh, well, now I've truly entered someone else's territory."
Roy's tone wasn't nervous at all; instead, it carried a hint of teasing.
Since he was already here.
He couldn't expect them to open the door and welcome him as a guest.
He turned around, about to walk forward.
Suddenly.
The Poké Ball containing Venusaur at his waist shook violently.
Immediately after, a force pushed outward from inside the Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball broke free from the belt's buckle and rose into the air.
Roy understood immediately.
Within this territory, the Psychic shield on that Poké Ball was being frantically compressed.
The grass-type energy surging from all directions was like a tide, squeezing the shield until it creaked.
Roy looked at the trembling Poké Ball floating in mid-air and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Oh, my. In someone else's territory, he really is a god."
He reached out and plucked the Poké Ball from the air.
He released the Confusion at his fingertips.
The Psychic shield instantly dissipated.
"Fine. You were going to come out anyway."
He pressed the release button on the Poké Ball.
A white light exploded.
Venusaur's massive body landed on the grass.
Its four thick feet stepped onto the soft, thick carpet of petals, emitting a dull thud.
The moment it landed, its first reaction was to freeze.
Venusaur opened its eyes wide, slowly turning its head to take in everything around it.
What is this place?
Underfoot was a sea of flowers covering the entire ground.
In the distance were ponds reflecting the moonlight.
The air was filled with a floral scent so thick it was almost tangible.
And what shocked it the most were the densely packed figures all around.
Bulbasaur.
Ivysaur.
They were gathered quietly not far away, forming a loose circle, their bodies swaying gently, the seeds and buds on their backs flashing with green light.
The frequency of that light was exactly the same as the summoning ripple it had felt earlier at the Pokémon Center.
Venusaur stood there blankly, not knowing how to react for a moment.
It had lived this long, but it had never seen so many of its own kind.
The feeling was very strange.
It was like a person walking their whole life, only to suddenly walk into a city filled entirely with their own kin.
Familiar, yet strange.
While it was stunned, a warm current surged up from the soles of its feet.
Venusaur's body trembled slightly.
It sensed a grass-type energy in the surrounding air so vast it was indescribable.
That energy seeped from the grass under its feet into its body, flowed up through its meridians, and finally converged into the giant flower on its back.
A layer of faint green light rose from the stamen, resonating with the surrounding environment.
Comfortable.
Every cell in its body was cheering.
It was like soaking in a hot spring; its whole body felt warm.
But soon, Venusaur's expression became complicated.
It turned its head and let out a few low cries to Roy beside it.
Roy's Aura translated it simultaneously.
"This grass-type energy is extremely abundant. I can feel it nourishing my body, which is very comfortable. But... I cannot control it."
There was a trace of Confusion and unease in its voice.
It was like a child suddenly walking into a treasury, with gold and silver jewelry all over the floor, but unable to pick up a single piece.
Roy nodded after hearing this.
"Mhm, that's normal."
He cast his gaze toward the huge ancient tree in the distance, his tone calm.
"Because this power shares the same origin as you, but it is not yours."
grass-type energy is essentially the same.
But every thread and strand of energy in this territory carries the mark of that Venusaur Leader.
Like the water in a river, you can drink it, you can use it to irrigate, but you cannot control the flow of the entire river.
"Don't be anxious, just watch for a while."
Roy patted Venusaur's front leg.
Venusaur let out a low cry and quieted down.
But one could still feel its body involuntarily absorbing the surrounding energy.
That was the instinctive reaction of a grass-type Pokémon; it couldn't be suppressed even if it tried.
At this moment, the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur in front moved.
As if drawn by something, they lined up in a loose procession and surrounded the huge ancient tree.
One after another.
Their steps were wobbly, their eyes reflecting green light, still in that sleepwalking state.
They formed a large circle.
Then they stopped.
All of them facing the trunk of that ancient tree.
At the base of the trunk, there was a hollow.
Large and deep.
It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.
Roy's Aura probed in that direction.
The next second.
His pupils constricted slightly.
Inside the hollow, a life energy so vast it was suffocating was moving outward.
Steady, heavy, each step landing on the pulse of the earth.
"It's here."
Roy said in a low voice.
Venusaur felt it too, its body instinctively tensing up.
The darkness inside the hollow was stirred.
A massive foot stepped out from the darkness.
Dark green skin.
Thick claws.
When it stepped on the grass, the ground shook slightly.
Immediately after, the entire body walked out of the hollow.
Roy's eyes narrowed.
That Venusaur Leader was even larger than he had imagined.
Its size was nearly half again as big as a normal Venusaur.
The giant flower on its back was even more exaggerated, with petals spanning over two meters in diameter, and a ball of dark green energy floating in the stamen, like a beating heart.
With every step it took, a circle of new flowers would bloom on the grass beneath its feet.
With every breath it took, a layer of green light particles would appear in the surrounding air.
Those light particles drifted away, landing on the surrounding Bulbasaur and Ivysaur, and were absorbed into their bodies.
The Aura was overwhelming.
Just standing and watching from a distance, one could feel a sense of oppression washing over them.
Venusaur beside him lowered its head and let out a low cry from its throat.
Not because of fear.
But because of the instinctive reaction of awe that arose when facing the strongest of its kind.
The Venusaur Leader stood before the hollow and slowly raised its massive head.
Its eyes were dark green, like two emeralds embedded in its eye sockets.
It opened its mouth and let out a low cry.
The sound was not loud, but it had immense penetrating power.
Like an invisible ripple, it spread outward from it as the center.
The surrounding Bulbasaur and Ivysaur responded simultaneously.
They raised their heads, and the seeds and buds on their backs began to glow.
Not the flickering on-and-off from before.
But a continuous, increasingly bright green light.
The giant flower on the Venusaur Leader's back also lit up.
The ball of dark green energy in the stamen exploded, turning into countless tiny light particles, showering down like rain onto the surrounding Bulbasaur and Ivysaur.
The ceremony began.
Roy saw the ceremony that Joy had mentioned with his own eyes.
The Bulbasaur bathed in the green light particles began to undergo changes in their bodies.
Their bodies were expanding.
Their limbs were lengthening.
The seeds on their backs cracked open, and tender green leaves emerged from within.
Evolution.
One after another.
Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur.
And those individuals that were already Ivysaur had the buds on their backs slowly blooming, their bodies growing further, moving toward the direction of Venusaur.
The whole process was quiet yet shocking.
No pain.
No struggle.
Every Pokémon had a serene expression on its face, as if it were having a beautiful dream.
The green light flowed between them.
Flowing out from the Venusaur Leader, into the bodies of these lower-ranked kin, and then flowing out again, forming an endless energy cycle throughout the entire garden.
This incredible ceremony lasted for about ten minutes.
When the last trace of green light dissipated into the air, the Ivysaur and Venusaur that had completed their evolution slowly opened their eyes.
They looked at their brand new bodies and let out low cries of surprise.
Then they all turned in unison toward the Venusaur Leader and lowered their heads.
As if in worship.
Roy watched this scene, his fingers tightening slightly.
Indeed, in this territory, this Venusaur Leader was a god.
It was the faith of all grass-type Pokémon.
Just at this moment.
The Venusaur Leader suddenly raised its head.
Its gaze passed over the kin who were worshiping, over the sea of flowers and the ponds, and locked straight onto the distance.
Locked onto Roy and the Venusaur beside him.
When that gaze landed on him, Roy felt a distinct sense of oppression.
Not an attack.
Just a simple gaze.
But the gaze of an Elite Four Level Pokémon itself carried a weight that made it hard to breathe.
The Venusaur Leader opened its mouth and let out a few low cries.
The sound was very low, the frequency very special.
Roy's Aura instantly captured this ripple.
He began to frantically adjust the frequency.
Adjusting the frequency of his Aura to match the consciousness wavelength of the other party.
Communicating with an Elite Four Level Pokémon was not an easy task.
The other party's consciousness was like a deep sea, deep and vast, and an ordinary person could never reach the bottom.
A few seconds later.
The frequency matched.
The meaning of that low cry, translated through his Aura, was clearly transmitted into Roy's mind.
"Outsider human, bring your partner and come forward."
It was an invitation, but also a command.
Roy could hear the unquestionable tone.
Venusaur heard it too.
It turned its head to look at Roy.
There was inquiry in its eyes, but more so trust.
Roy nodded.
"Let's go, let's go up."
He took a step forward.
Venusaur followed beside him, its four thick legs stepping on the sea of flowers, making dull footsteps.
They passed through those Ivysaur and Venusaur that had just completed their evolution.
Those Pokémon gave way, one after another, observing them with curious gazes.
To be precise, they were observing the Venusaur beside Roy.
This kin that did not belong to this territory, did not obey the Leader's summons, yet dared to stand here.
They drew closer.
When they were about ten meters away from the Venusaur Leader, Roy stopped.
At this distance, he could feel the Aura on the other party more clearly.
Elite Four Level.
The real deal, Elite Four Level.
Just standing there without moving, the surrounding space seemed to be pressed and stagnated by its presence.
The grass-type energy in the air was as thick as water; every breath one took, one could inhale a large mouthful.
Roy calculated quickly in his mind.
The mission requirements stated that Venusaur must be the main participant, with a maximum of three Pokémon in battle.
Hold out for thirty minutes.
Originally, he thought that with Zapdos holding the line, lasting thirty minutes shouldn't be a problem.
But now, seeing this Venusaur Leader with his own eyes, he understood one thing.
It was indeed a bit precarious.
The gap between Elite Four Level and Gym-level could not be measured by simple level numbers.
That was a qualitative leap.
But there was no change in expression on Roy's face.
He quickly re-deduced his tactics in his mind.
He still had Psychic and Aura, which could provide support and prediction.
Although there was a large level gap for Venusaur, as long as the tactics were arranged properly, relying on typing and coordination, lasting thirty minutes was still possible.
It was difficult, but not impossible.
While he was going over tactics in his mind, the Venusaur Leader's gaze had already fallen on Venusaur.
Two Venusaur.
One big and one small.
One old and one young.
Standing face to face.
The Venusaur Leader looked at Roy's Venusaur, and a trace of approval flashed in its eyes.
It opened its mouth.
A low voice came through the frequency of Aura.
"You are a good individual."
The Venusaur Leader's voice was heavy and slow, every word sounding as if it were coming from deep within the earth.
"Your body contains powerful strength, and your potential is among the top tier of our kind."
"But."
It paused.
Those emerald-like eyes swept over the giant flower on Venusaur's back.
"The power within you is not yet smooth enough."
"It is like a blocked river, only able to flow in a limited space, yet never able to find the direction to truly break through."
The Venusaur Leader took a step forward.
The ground shook slightly.
"You lack a true guide."
Its voice carried an irresistible temptation.
"Stay."
"Stay in this garden and help more of our kin strengthen and evolve."
"The grass-type energy here can nourish your body, and the kin here can become your partners."
"In the future, I can personally teach you power, help you clear the blockages in your body, and make your power more consolidated and stronger."
It raised its massive head, its voice gaining a sense of solemnity.
"Helping you ascend to that incredible peak."
"This is the supreme honor."
As soon as these words came out, the surrounding Ivysaur and Venusaur let out low cries.
Their eyes shone with envy.
Being personally guided by the Leader was something all kin in this territory dreamed of.
Venusaur stood there.
It didn't answer immediately.
It lowered its head, was silent for a few seconds, and shook its head.
The movement was small, but very firm.