Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

"Yes, but not entirely. It's a fragment of something called [Gardedor Mega Stone]."

Gardevoir didn't hide anything from Xia Chen, answering him crisply and directly.

"This is extremely important; try to get all the fragments!"

Xia Chen's tone was serious. Gardevoir nodded and replied, "Sagara (I know that one.)"

"By the way, if you come across something called a [Key Stone], it would be best to get your hands on it as well; that's just as important!"

Xia Chen added.

"Sanai (Okay, I'll keep an eye on it.)"

After agreeing to the trainer's request, Gardevoir couldn't contain its curiosity and asked, "What exactly is Mega Evolution?"

Xia Chen stroked his chin and began to speak slowly.

…………

"I'm not sure about its origin and principle. What I do know is that Mega Evolution is a phenomenon that can greatly increase the strength of a specific Pokémon in a short period of time."

Gardevoir grasped two key words: "Gardevoir? (Specific Pokémon? Within a short period of time?)"

Xia Chen nodded and explained, "Not all Pokémon can undergo Mega Evolution. As you should know, Mega Evolution requires two things: a Mega Stone and a Key Stone. However, some Pokémon don't have Mega Stones..."

"As for why I say 'in a short period of time,' it's because super evolution isn't permanent like ordinary evolution. As for the length of the evolution period, I can't be sure yet."

Gardevoir nodded repeatedly, thinking to herself that it was good she had chosen to tell Xia Chen about this, as she felt she had learned more from him than from the system.

She suddenly thought of a question, "Does Sanae (the other companions in the family have Mega Stones?)"

Xia Chen shook his head helplessly and replied, "As far as I know, there aren't any."

Gardevoir's lips curled into a slight smile, secretly pleased, but she said aloud, "Gardevoir... (Oh, that's such a pity...)"

Only when the trainer and the Pokémon are in perfect harmony can Mega Evolution be achieved... From now on, only I can accomplish this!

Thinking of this, Gardevoir's motivation to collect Mega Stone fragments increased even more.

"Saina~ (Thank you for your explanation, I'm going to continue training now~)"

After saying hello, Gardevoir returned briskly to the training room to meditate.

Gardevoir drifted away, but Xia Chen was still reeling from the shock this message had brought him.

…………

As a transmigrator, Xia Chen can guarantee that no one in this world understands super evolution better than him.

Before meeting Eevee, his life goal was to start his journey as a Pokémon scholar by evolving Sylveon.

Super evolution is one of the ultimate goals he envisioned.

Although the actual development later deviated from the expected trajectory, and he could achieve his initial dream without discovering Mega Evolution, it was undoubtedly an exciting thing to personally discover Mega Evolution, something that could change the entire Pokémon world.

In the past, the emergence of the [Super Evolution] system had a significant impact on both games and anime.

Xia Chen felt the same way in this world.

Compared to Mega Evolution, Xia Chen's previous discoveries were merely minor incidents, and the evolution or new forms of individual Pokémon could only have a certain impact on this world.

Things like Mega Evolution or Z-Moves can absolutely change the nature of Pokémon battles.

If he could be crowned the "Father of Mega Evolution," then even without great strength, the name Xia Chen would be enough to be engraved on the monument of Pokémon history.

Having come into this world, and having already achieved his initial dream, Xia Chen felt it would be a great disservice to Arceus for not pursuing anything further or leaving anything behind.

Now that the dawn of super-evolution has appeared, the excitement in his heart is naturally hard to calm.

However, no matter how excited he was, he couldn't change the course of Gardevoir's actions.

All Xia Chen can do now is be patient and wait.

The future cannot be decided now; right now, it's more important to solve the iron rut in the scorching desert.

------

After a brief one-day rest in Bottle City, Xia Chen and Pipa entered the Red Desert to search for the last Pokémon, Iron Tracks.

Generally speaking, the guardian spirit will not stray too far from the area in order to protect the secret plant that is very important to it.

Online information about iron tracks all points in one direction: the deepest part of the Honghong Desert, a place known by explorers as the "forbidden zone of life."

Places designated as forbidden zones for life are either characterized by extremely harsh natural conditions or by powerful, hostile entities within them.

Unfortunately, this forbidden zone for life in the scorching desert has both characteristics.

An endless desert environment consisting only of yellow sand and rocks is only the least harsh environmental condition.

The sandstorms that occur almost daily and can sweep across entire areas are nothing compared to this.

The widespread and highly concealed quicksand traps, along with the unreasonable iron tracks left by the creature that rolls and charges at anyone it sees, even elves, are the most important reasons why this place is called a forbidden zone for life.

However, all concepts are relative. What are life-threatening zones for ordinary people and elves are nothing compared to Guleton.

A sandstorm struck just as Xia Chen and Pipa entered the "forbidden zone of life".

Natural sandstorms are far more terrifying than any moves a Pokémon might use on the battlefield, unless that Pokémon's power reaches the legendary level.

Amidst the raging dust storm, a spirit calmly soars through the air, its leisurely movements making the surrounding sandstorm seem like an illusion.

This elf is naturally the Guleton that carries Xia Chen and Pipa.

Despite the transparent barrier erected by Guleton, Pipa, sitting in the back, was still frightened by the sandstorm that seemed to devour the sky and the earth, and subconsciously put his arm around Xia Chen's waist, who was sitting in front of him.

Xia Chen didn't have time to pay attention to him because he needed to concentrate on releasing his waveguide power to search for the iron tracks.

Of course, it would be best if we could find the secret plant directly.

However, instead of finding the iron tracks and the secret plant, the power of the waveguide detected something strange.

It seemed to be an elf running in a sorry state, and a group of people riding on its back chasing after it...

…………

Elf Poachers?

In the wild, chasing each other—these classic scenes seem to have no other explanation.

Xia Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He wasn't surprised by the elf poacher he encountered; as long as one is constantly traveling in the wild, encountering poachers is a high-probability event.

Come to think of it, the last time Xia Chen encountered poachers was more than a year ago, when he was traveling in the Carlos region.

Based on mathematical expectation, it's about time for the second collision.

So his surprise wasn't due to the event itself, but rather the location where it happened.

This place is known as a no-man's land, and it was during a sandstorm.

The elves could be said to have fled to this place in desperation, seeking a glimmer of hope, but are the elf poachers insane?

How dare you force your way into a place like this?

How rare must this elf be for them to do this?

Xia Chen became curious about this question and patted Gu Leton beneath him, saying, "Come on, Gu Leton, let's go take a look."

If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world.

If it were the old Xia Chen, he definitely wouldn't have bothered with such trivial matters, but with Gu Leton and Deochis protecting him, he had more free time.

Nothing else really mattered to him; his main concern was finding out who the elf poachers were that would risk their lives to hunt them down.

……

"Huff...huff..."

The rough sand and gravel, accompanied by the howling wind, lashed against Tan Xiaoshi's small body. Every step seemed to be the limit for Tan Xiaoshi, whose physical condition was extremely poor.

But he couldn't stop; the poachers behind him were closing in, and he had no choice but to move forward.

Even though he knew that ahead might be a quicksand trap that could engulf everything around him.

As for stopping and letting those elf poachers capture him in order to survive?

Tan Xiaoshi never considered it.

The idea that "it's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death," which is believed by most people and elves in this world, does not apply to Charcoal Servant.

Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile.

Death is not scary for Tan Xiaoshi; what is scary is living a life devoid of dignity.

Being captured by Pokémon poachers and then sold to some clueless trainer whom he would never approve of, he sees as living a life devoid of dignity.

Tan Xiaoshi thought that by voluntarily venturing into this place known as the "death zone," the poachers would give up.

But he underestimated the determination of that group of people, or rather, he underestimated his own worth.

They followed without hesitation.

After traveling through the sandstorm for a while, Tan Xiaoshi finally understood the reason why they dared to chase after him.

Those elven poachers were so powerful that even when the riding elves got stuck in the quicksand, they were able to break free.

Despite being intimately familiar with the terrain, Tan Xiaoshi was unable to shake them off. Instead, his physical condition had been pushed to its limit during the long chase, and he was on the verge of collapse.

He seemed to already see what was about to happen to him—he would collapse from exhaustion, then be captured by the Pokémon poachers who were right behind him with Poké Balls, unable to struggle.

No, this must never happen!

Chapter 303 So what if I was reincarnated as a human? I'll show you some real skills in this other world!

Deep in the scorching desert, in an area known as the "forbidden zone of life," lie countless quicksand traps.

For weak elves, these quicksand traps are as terrifying as black holes. Anyone who steps into the area around them will be drawn in by the powerful suction force and then swallowed up.

Beneath this yellow sand lies countless bones.

However, these skeletons do not include elite-level or higher elves. After all, as long as the escape speed is fast enough, even the Earth's own gravity cannot restrain them, let alone a quicksand vortex.

The elves ridden by the elf poachers chasing Charcoal Servant in the sandstorm of the "Forbidden Zone of Life" at this moment have clearly reached this level of strength.

While their movement in the sand cannot be described as effortless, whenever their legs sink into the mud, a burst of powerful energy erupts from their feet, helping them escape the quicksand.