Pokémon: Just won the championship, the newbie growth system is here!

The fog and snow simply won't melt away.

Even with modern mobile phone location navigation, one wouldn't get lost, but the surrounding forest was still shrouded in mist.

A campfire was lit in the snow, and Ye Luo sat on a rock, setting up a wire mesh frame and a teapot over the fire to boil water.

Adding spearmint leaves to a kettle can have a calming effect.

Ye Luo prefers pure flavors; she doesn't like food with too many added flavors. Hot water with a hint of mint is just right.

Raya sat opposite him, resting her hands on her knees, staring blankly at the swaying campfire. Her gaze inadvertently drifted to the side, and she muttered a complaint.

"The leaf has fallen, but it's still here."

Behind the trees twenty meters away, a pair of eyes were watching them intently; Brimwyn was secretly observing from a distance.

"Brimwyn probably wants to gain some affection from other creatures, so that it will follow us at least until we leave the White Mist Forest or find a new target."

Ye Luo didn't care much; it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Since they released it not long ago, the Brimwyn has been secretly following them.

They didn't get close; they just stood there watching from about twenty meters away.

Twenty meters or so seems to be the best viewing distance for Brimwyn, allowing him to capture people's emotions from a distance.

Brimwyn felt good about the warm atmosphere between the two.

"I always feel uncomfortable being stared at by it."

Raya felt a little uncomfortable, as she occasionally felt mental energy fluctuations that resembled tentacles.

"Didn't Meloetta feel anything?"

Meloeta shook her head, while Ye Luo remained completely unaffected.

However, Brimwyn wanted to absorb some of the emotional fluctuations from the human side, but the problem was that the veil of mental energy that Meloetta created on the side acted like a protective shield, and her mental energy couldn't penetrate it at all.

However, from a distance, the two of them were having a cozy camping trip, and the scenery was quite nice.

"Why do I feel like I'm the only one who got hurt?"

"You're not hurt, are you? The tea is ready. Take it to warm your hands and let it cool down a bit before drinking it."

"Okay, thank you."

Ye Luo handed Raya a cup of tea. They looked like a couple camping in the wild, and might be mistaken for a real couple.

However, Raya was completely confused; what did "couple" mean?

She didn't understand many words in human society, so she held the warm teacup and asked.

"Ye Luo, what does 'couple' mean to you humans?"

This sounds like an alien asking a human what emotions are; it seems like it would be too complicated to explain.

Ye Luo simply opened the Poké Ball and summoned Gardevoir.

Gardevoir, opening its eyes from meditation, saw Raya and, somewhat puzzled, asked it telepathically.

"Latias, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be a postman?"

"It's been a long time since I've seen Gardevoir. I'm on vacation, so I came to visit Ye Luo."

Gardevoir's eyes flashed red for a moment upon hearing this, but it quickly suppressed it, blinked, and looked into the distance, its crimson eyes radiating anger.

Sensing Brimwyn's anger, Gardevoir trembled in fright and looked towards the distant trees with a puzzled expression.

Her emotions quickly calmed down, and Brimwyn tentatively peeked out, only to find that she could only see Ye Luo and Raya by the campfire.

A sharp psychic force came from behind. Gardevoir had already teleported behind it and released psychic pressure to question it.

Why are you following us?

"call!!"

Brimwyn is no match for Gardevoir, and Gardevoir doesn't choose to run away from trouble like Raya does to avoid conflict.

It's a pure fighter; if it encounters a Pokémon it disagrees with, it'll beat it up first.

"Whoosh (illusionary ray)!"

Sensing hostility, Brimwyn immediately launched an attack with Psychic Beam, which was directly slapped away by Gardevoir, who then countered with Nightshade.

The shadow beneath Gardevoir's feet rapidly extended in all directions, enveloping the surroundings and plunging Brimwyn into complete darkness.

From Brimwyn's perspective, Gardevoir emanated dark psychic waves, and within the dark fluctuations, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared like ghostly shadows. Gardevoir pressed down on him with terrifying psychic power.

[May you die soon.]

"call!"

Brimwyn let out a scream and fell backward.

What she had just seen was nothing but a terrifying illusion, and Brimwyn was so frightened that she fainted.

Gardevoir used Teleport to return and sit down next to the fallen leaves, indicating that it was safe.

[This eccentric Pokémon has been following us. I've already taught it a lesson, Leaffall. What's its background?]

"The white witch who enjoys savoring the emotions of love."

Ye Luo felt that he had summarized everything comprehensively in one sentence, but Gardevoir had already given the other party a good beating before knowing this information.

"Gardevoir, you're my savior!!"

Raya finally breathed a sigh of relief and happily hugged Gardevoir, but just as she was about to get close, her body was frozen in place by psychic power.

Don't come near me.

"Gurgle, Gardevoir's mental strength is still so strong. Gardevoir always maintains such a strong sense of distance."

[Of course, I don't really like interacting with people or Pokémon.]

Gardevoir sat close to Leaffall, its red eyes gleaming. By nature, it preferred an independent environment.

Gardevoir took out a berry from her bag and helped prepare dinner.

Ye Luo took a sip of tea.

"What should we do with that Brimwyn?"

[If I leave it alone, it'll wake up soon. If it stays there, I'll go and give it another good scolding.]

"Ugh, Leaf Fall, Gardevoir is still as violent as ever."

Gardevoir glared at Raya, making her tremble in fear.

[Have you been living in human society for too long? Pokémon should solve problems the Pokémon way, through battle—that's common sense.]

Gardevoir's philosophy is to fight if things don't go its way, but that's not the case with Laya.

Latias can turn invisible and fly fast, so it can just run away when it encounters danger. On the contrary, she has never quite understood why Ye Luo's Gardevoir is so violent.

"Gardevoir can use Instant Transmission to escape, so there's no need to fight."

Ye Luo held the warm teacup in her hands and said.

"Environment and talent shape people's personalities. Raya probably doesn't know Gardevoir's past. You can ask it if you're interested."

I don't want to say.

Gardevoir sat down beside the fallen leaves, indicating that it wouldn't talk about this topic even if asked, as it would upset Gardevoir.

But seeing Raya's curious gaze, Gardevoir couldn't resist and closed her eyes to speak.

[You, Ye Luo, can tell us.]

"Hmm? Okay."

Ye Luo took a sip of tea, pondered for a moment, and then said.

"It's a very simple reason; Gardevoir didn't actually know Teleport before."

"Can't teleport?! How is that possible?"

Raya seemed very surprised, but Gardevoir didn't react much, or rather, she didn't care, and casually put the rice into the pot.

"Ralts wasn't born with Instant Teleportation, otherwise how could someone so slow have avoided danger?"

Gardevoir is indeed very strong, but before it evolved, Ralts was a very weak Pokémon with fragile mental strength.

They have a strong sense of their surroundings, and teleportation is their only way to avoid danger, so they are very difficult to see in the wild.

I'm just slow.

Gardevoir made a casual remark, but the memory still dampened its spirits, causing it to unconsciously lean closer to the fallen leaves, seeking some comfort.

Ye Luo patted Gardevoir's head and said.

"That's the truth. Ralts, who hasn't learned Instant Transmission, has chosen to rely on Destiny Bond to fight to the death with her opponent."

They prefer direct combat to running away, a survival strategy they developed from a young age.

Although she had known Gardevoir for a long time, this was the first time Raya had heard of such an experience, since Gardevoir wouldn't tell her, and it could only be described through Leaf's words.

"Does Gardevoir always keep its heart closed off like this?"

As a fellow Psychic-type Pokémon, Latias had always felt this way: telepathic communication with Gardevoir was like having a wall between them, as if the voice couldn't reach it, or rather, there was no echo of the heart, as silent as a still ocean.

This was completely different from the noisy Meloietta that she felt.

Gardevoir, however, didn't seem to care much about it.

[It doesn't matter, my trainer will understand anyway.]

"That's true, fallen leaves are very easy to get close to."

Raya and Gardevoir agree that Ye Luo likes their own Pokémon.

Gardevoir blinked and looked at Raya with a teasing smile.

[However, I don't acknowledge your strength; you're too weak for a legendary Pokémon.]

"Huh? Nobody says legendary Pokémon have to be really strong."

[This is a common view.]

Raya was still unconvinced and retorted.

"Besides, I'm just not good at fighting, but I'm pretty good at support and healing."

Gardevoir disagreed, saying that weakness is weakness.

Seeing the sparks of struggle fly between Raya and Gardevoir as their eyes met, Ye Luo was already used to it. Meloetta asked.

[Ye Luo, is dinner not ready yet?]

Ye Luo handed it a cookie, looked at the rice cooking in the pot, took a sip of tea, and said.

"It should be soon."