[Name: Clouddown Bird]
[Attribute: Water]
[Talents: Perception: Able to sense the emotional fluctuations of surrounding lifeforms / Good Mood: When in a positive emotional state, gradually recovers stamina.]
[Species Tier: Low Commander Tier]
[Species Moves: Rest, Act Cute, Return, Water Cannon…]
[Description: A bird-type Pet Beast evolved from the Ugly Waterfowl. As long as it stays by a Beast Tamer's side, it feels happiness. It can convey its emotions through the three plume feathers atop its head.]
Compared to the Mysticfeather Peacock, an evolution like the Clouddown Bird clearly lacked combat power.
Rather than a combat-oriented Pet Beast, it was more suitable as a companion-type Pet Beast—cute in appearance and extremely clingy, capable of providing strong emotional value.
In the Beast Taming world, those truly qualified to become Beast Tamers and compete everywhere were ultimately a minority.
Pet Beasts outside of combat still had a substantial market.
Its only drawback was that it had to evolve from the Ugly Waterfowl.
After completing the Pet Beast Compendium entry for the Clouddown Bird, Jiang Xing finally shifted his attention to Chickie.
Soon, he established a new entry for it as well.
...
[Name: Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling]
[Attribute: Water, Phoenix]
[Talent: Ultimate Color: When present, transforms the surrounding environment into an "Ink Realm."
(The Ink Realm is a special environment and does not replace weather. Within this environment, Water- and Phoenix-type moves are enhanced, while all other attributes—except Time, Space, and Dragon—have their power reduced by one-third.)]
[Species Tier: High Commander Tier]
[Species Moves: Phoenix Grace, Seduction, Wing Slash, Return, Water Pulse…]
[Description: A Phoenix-type Pet Beast born from variegated plumage, an ultimate dark phoenix that has absorbed all colors. At the moment it appears, even the world itself loses its color.]
...
A half-human-tall phoenix could indeed be considered a large bird.
But compared to a true phoenix, it was still far too small.
Thus, the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling, like the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, could not be considered a "mature phoenix." It was likewise still in its juvenile stage.
Even so, this juvenile Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling already displayed remarkable potential.
Its talent, Ultimate Color, was even more appealing to Beast Tamers than the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's Unceasing Heart—
The Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's ability to keep getting back up was undeniably terrifying, practically an unkillable cockroach. But no matter what, it was still just "one Pet Beast."
In wild environments and high-level competitions, battles were often team-based.
In 3v3, 6v6, or even full-team formats, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling's deterrence would be greatly reduced.
If it were the only one left, even if it could keep getting back up, it would merely survive one or two more rounds of focused fire.
The Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling, however, was different.
In a one-on-one fight, it was far from possessing the same level of dominance as the dragon.
Not just the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling—even many well-talented combat Pet Beasts with favorable attribute matchups could endure the environmental effect and defeat it head-on.
But in team battles, the situation would undergo a complete transformation!
With Water and Phoenix attributes strengthened while all others were weakened, as the core of a Water-type team, it could effectively double the team's overall strength!
Moreover, the Ink Realm was a special environment that did not conflict with weather effects.
Just like in an ink painting, there could still be rain, blazing sun, or sandstorms…
It could stack with weather setters like Rain Dance, further raising the ceiling of rain teams and massively enhancing the overall strength of Water-type Pet Beasts.
This kind of strategic value was something even the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling could not match.
'Born from the Garment of a Hundred Birds, having absorbed all the colors of the world, possessing an overbearing, ultimate beauty.'
'Yet not aloof or arrogant—instead, only able to unleash its full power when surrounded by the "hundred birds."'
'Heh… you little phoenix…'
Jiang Xing sighed with emotion, scratching the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling under the chin like teasing a cat.
Just like many researchers and doctors had their own philosophies, as his research progressed, the bold idea he had once formed upon seeing the Ugly Waterfowl's moves—that "all Pet Beasts possess the potential to evolve"—began to extend even further—
The collision of two worlds gave birth to the wondrous beings known as Pet Beasts—and at the same time, granted them limitless evolutionary potential.
The evolution of a Pet Beast is the process of realizing that potential.
And talents, attributes, and the like are extensions and sublimations of various elements within that process—such as a Pet Beast's thoughts, emotions, will, and personality.
This was Jiang Xing's view, and also his philosophy.
The Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling, the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, and even the Undead Guardian Hound and the Crimson Flame Guardian Hound—all served as proof of this concept.
…
After completing the Pet Beast Compendium, the research topic of [Ugly Waterfowl Evolution Forms] was far from concluded.
On the contrary, everything had only just begun.
Jiang Xing needed to raise more Ugly Waterfowl and determine the precise conditions for the three evolution forms—not some vague notion like "max out resources and training."
Only after fully analyzing them could the project truly be considered complete.
During this process, he would gain far more in terms of knowledge—not just the forms themselves.
However, Ugly Waterfowl were scarce, solitary, and reclusive, making them difficult to find.
Senior Li had already swept through once before, so finding more now would require significantly more effort and time—it wasn't something that could be done quickly.
Jiang Xing could only post a commission for now, then return to his study to reorganize the data he had already recorded on the Ugly Waterfowl.
Although all of them had been raised under the same resource-intensive training approach, individual differences—such as comprehension, personality, and motivation—meant that each Ugly Waterfowl had developed slightly differently.
Their conditions during the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix assembly had also varied greatly.
By comparing pre-evolution data with post-evolution results, Jiang Xing could glimpse the whole from a part and make some preliminary deductions, which would aid his future research.
Just as Jiang Xing accepted the honey coffee brought over by the Honey Attendant and prepared to dive into work—the system finally made its belated appearance.
...
[You have successfully raised a special-colored Milotic with Champion potential. You have exceeded the task requirements and received rewards.]
[Name: Technical Machine (Attract)]
[Move Effect: Releases charm, causing the target to fall into an infatuated state. Only effective on the opposite sex.]
…
[Name: Five-Color Scarf (Blueprint)]
[Effect: Based on the blueprint, five differently colored gorgeous scarves can be crafted. Pokémon carrying these scarves will appear more glamorous than usual.]
...
"Shiny Gyarados, Shiny Milotic—come here."
"Mu?"
"Screech?"
As a self-proclaimed "shiny researcher," Jiang Xing thoroughly roughed up the two Shiny Pet Beasts before turning his attention back to the rewards themselves.
This time, the Technical Machine reward was utter garbage.
After all, it could only infatuate the opposite sex—what kind of 'Attract' was that?
Since when was charm something so inconvenient?
Whether in terms of ease of use or practical effect, the Seduction move was far superior to Attract. There was no need for a Technical Machine at all.
However, there was also a benefit.
Once Jiang Xing confirmed that this Technical Machine held little value, he could have his research Pet Beasts dismantle it, analyze its internal structure, and attempt reverse engineering…
Even if it failed, he wouldn't feel the slightest regret.
The other reward, however, brought a hint of excitement to Jiang Xing.
The Five-Color Scarf was a specialized held item used in Pokémon Contests.
Among them, the blue scarf's effect was to make the Pokémon holding it more beautiful.
Now that he had the blueprint, Jiang Xing could not only attempt to craft such beauty-enhancing items, but also study the underlying principles behind how they increased "Beauty," thereby gaining insight into the very essence of that attribute!
Once he fully understood these mechanisms, his grasp of "Beauty," "Coolness," and other aspects of "Contest stats" would skyrocket!
If he reached a certain level, it might even be possible for him to break free from the scarf itself and create "Contest items" unique to the Beast Taming world.
And perhaps…
Jiang Xing could consult Dr. Amru and Master Jian.
Using the principles behind the Five-Color Scarf, he could create a true Garment of a Hundred Birds—one that could genuinely help the Ugly Waterfowl evolve more easily into the Abyssal Water Phoenix Fledgling!
This was the true purpose of the system's "item blueprint" reward—not something meant for mass-production profit on an assembly line.
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