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

The burning insect asked, not without resentment in its heart.

[I'm sorry, I can't show myself. Even if I just send you a message in my mind, that guy might find out.]

Light's apology was very sincere, and Burning Worm immediately felt much better.

"So what's going on? Is it because the light we're shining is too strong?"

To prevent similar dangers from occurring again in the future, the burning insect inquired about the reason.

[No, I can block the gaze of light from above, but I can't block the perception of emotions. Dark matter feeds on negative energy like despair and fear; it must have sensed the unusually positive emotions here and came specifically to investigate.]

In a world filled with darkness, it is indeed illogical for positive emotions to outweigh negative ones.

The burning insect said worriedly, "What should we do then? If this continues, won't it become increasingly dangerous?"

Light was silent for a moment, then replied: [There's nothing I can do; all I can do is warn you before it notices...]

The Burning Bug, already on the pirate ship, felt somewhat helpless and could only tell itself that it could not let its guard down in the future.

------

The ultimate space adventure of the Burning Bugs is thrilling and exciting, but Xia Chen's life has been moving at a very slow pace lately.

Meditation is a real time-killer; you can easily spend half a day just by closing and opening your eyes.

Even while sleeping, he subconsciously engages in shallow meditation, spending almost two-thirds of his day in meditation.

Time seemed to lose its meaning in this kind of life. When the first snow fell in Zhijiang in early winter, Xia Chen suddenly realized that it was already the end of December 2025.

The first snowfall wasn't heavy; it wasn't enough to blanket the entire Yuanling Island in a silvery white, let alone create a snow-covered landscape. It was far from enough to accumulate into a snowpack.

For the wild elves, this is more like a reminder to start preparing for winter.

Although Xia Chen promised that the wild elves could come to the elf center to collect "relief food" at any time, and he did keep his word, the survival instinct made the elves work as hard as they had in previous winters.

Preparing hay, building new nests, stockpiling tree fruit... Everywhere on the island, wherever there are wild elves, there is a lively scene.

Many of the elves who have become familiar with Xia Chen have come to build nests near his house. If this winter is really tough, they can come over and beg for food. Xia Chen, this old landlord, still has plenty of food left over.

For the Burning Insects and Azure Blade Demons, this was the first snowfall they had ever seen since they were born.

The former is naturally an age restriction, and the latter... his hometown is in the hot desert of the Parthian region, where it is hot all year round and snow is nowhere to be seen.

The two fire-type Pokémon were not bothered by the salt-like raindrops falling from the sky. On the contrary, they even ventured out of the ecological park, where the temperature was still in summer, to experience true nature.

Fire-type Pokémon are not afraid of the cold, at least those that have reached a certain level of strength. The reason they like to stay in high-temperature environments is instinctive—that way they don't need to release energy to maintain their body temperature.

In short, it's perfectly fine to occasionally go out and experience winter.

The Burning Bug, which is only a little over a month old, already has amateur-level strength. Its growth rate is comparable to that of the Sticky Bug back then.

After spending more than a month together, Xia Chen and Burning Worm grew closer, but the distance between Burning Worm and the other Pokémon did not disappear.

Xia Chen, who was observing from the sidelines, knew that this was a problem with the Burning Bug itself, and the root of the problem most likely stemmed from her dream.

Normally, after a period of initial growth, the sleep time of elves will only get shorter and shorter, but the opposite is true for the Burning Bug.

Her sleep time has been increasing, and these days it's been close to twelve hours, as if a Snorlax lives inside her.

The burning insects in their sleeping state also exhibited some abnormal behavior, such as continuously emitting a strange light from their bodies, which would sometimes suddenly dim for a long time.

At that moment, Burning Bug's expression clearly showed a hint of surprise and fear.

Only Xia Chen, who had always been by his side, knew about this. He had asked the Burning Worm directly about the reason, but the latter hesitated and did not seem to be giving a serious answer.

Fortunately, in its non-dormant state, the Burning Bug is no different from a regular Pokémon, so Xia Chen left it alone for the time being.

…………

Perhaps because the temperature wasn't low enough, the first snowfall only lasted a short while.

Before the burning insects could even properly appreciate the weather with the snowflakes blooming, the snow had cleared and the sky was bright in no time.

Seeing that there was no snow to play in today, Duolongqi lost interest and was about to turn around and go home when he suddenly looked up at the sky and saw a strange cloud drifting from afar.

The reason it is considered strange is that the shape of the cloud resembles a dragon, and it drifts over much faster than clouds in the natural environment, seemingly with a downward tendency.

Seeing this unusual scene, Duolongqi quickly ran to Xia Chen's side and prompted him to look up.

Xia Chen looked up with curiosity and was stunned by this supernatural scene.

This thing...could it be one of a tornado cloud or a land cloud?

With Gu Leton in charge of Yuanling Island, Xia Chen wasn't afraid of any legendary elf coming to cause trouble.

So he wasn't too worried, and waited for the cloud, which was clearly moving towards Yuanling Island, to land.

The "cloud" flew extremely fast; just five minutes after it was spotted by Dorgon, it was already within arm's reach.

According to the theory of "near objects appear larger and far objects appear smaller", what appears to be a short distance is actually tens of kilometers long. To arrive at such a fast speed, the speed is almost the same as that of an airplane.

This seems to corroborate the conjecture that a legendary spirit lurks within the clouds.

As the clouds descended and the true form of the spirit within was revealed, Xia Chen's face showed an expression of surprise and joy—

Because it wasn't one of the three cloud gods as imagined, but rather Milotic, who had been training in the sky with Rayquaza for more than two months!

"Fuwoo—"

Before the dragon arrives, its sound is already near.

Even from a great distance, Milotic, soaring through the air, let out a joyful dragon roar, as if expressing its longing for Xia Chen and its companions whom it had not seen for a long time.

The dragon's roar was clear and long, almost echoing throughout the entire Yuanling Island. The elves, who were originally staying at home playing or training, heard the long-lost sound and ran out to welcome their long-absent traveler.

Only the Burning Bug, who had never seen Milotic since birth, looked on with a curious expression, seemingly confused. Xia Chen picked up the nearly meter-long bug and explained with a smile, "That's Milotic, our partner. It was away training for a while and only just returned."

The burning insect nodded thoughtfully, showing no other emotion.

Aside from Xia Chen, whom she met at birth, and Volcarona, her blood relative, whom she currently trusts unconditionally, all other Pokémon are insignificant to Burning Bug.

Milotic, which has just returned, also belongs to this category.

…………

While the Burning Worm was being introduced, Milotic had already landed on the wet ground where the fine snow had not yet melted.

His gaze was radiant and his presence commanding.

Perhaps because it had been a long time since they last met, Xia Chen felt that Milotic's appearance had changed quite a bit.

Not only is it larger and longer, but its scales also have a more jade-like luster, just like a piece of fine jade that has been carefully carved and polished to finally reveal its unparalleled brilliance.

Dragon scales have always been an important indicator of the quality and strength of many dragon-type Pokémon. Dratini and Dragonair usually molt at least ten times during their growth process. The more times they molt, the better for their subsequent growth.

Milotic rarely sheds its skin and scales, and unknowingly, it has transformed from a body covered in fish and snake scales into the beautiful dragon scales it has today.

Even Guleton, who is usually very narcissistic about his appearance, couldn't help but look at Milotic with admiration.

Of course, that's not the only change.

The horn-like protrusions that all Milotic have on their heads are now even more rugged and conspicuous, truly resembling dragon horns that have evolved.

Far from appearing out of place, it actually adds a touch of divine handsomeness to Milotic's already beautiful but not particularly imposing appearance.

His two long eyebrows transformed into ribbon-like dragon whiskers, resembling the long, golden strands on Super Rayquaza's head—elegant and dashing.

Milotic was already one of the three most handsome members of Xia Chen's team, comparable to Sylveon and Gardevoir. Now, he can be said to have surpassed the other two and taken the lead.

It seems only Sylveon and Gardevoir, after their Mega Evolutions, can truly compete...

This isn't cultivation at all; did Liekong take him to get plastic surgery?

Xia Chen suppressed the strange thoughts that welled up in his mind, gently stroked Milotic's proudly drooping head, and smiled, "You've come back just in time. We were just about to go back for lunch. You must be starving after flying all the way back from Hoenn. Oh right, I didn't expect you to come back. I didn't make enough food. I'll go get some more of your favorite fish..."

Listening to Xia Chen's rambling and incessant chatter, Milos smiled slightly, feeling a warmth in his heart.

The feeling of home, it's been so long...

…………

It wasn't just Milotic's appearance that changed, but also his appetite.

After eating more than ten large black bass weighing several tens of kilograms each, Minas elegantly rinsed his mouth with water and stopped eating.

Xia Chen looked distressed. "Did that guy Lie Kong Zuo mistreat you? He doesn't give you any food. Oh... I don't think there's any food in the ozone layer."

Milotic nodded, a rare look of grievance on its face.

"Don't worry, once you get back, you'll have plenty of food. There's no shortage of fish on this island."

After comforting Perfect Nasus, Xia Chen suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, where's Rayquaza? Didn't it come with us?"

Milotic shook its head. "Fuwoo—(It said that Rayquazas have a strong sense of territory, and it didn't want to cause trouble, so it's not coming over.)"

Xia Chen nodded in realization, recalling what Rayquaza had told him: the one living in the Eastern Region was a Shiny Rayquaza with a rather volatile personality; it was Rayquaza that had transformed Deoxys into its Crystal Core form.

In short, it chickened out.

But this caused a chain reaction. If Rayquaza couldn't come, would they still have to go to the Padia region to cause trouble for Milton?

Although I could take a detour to the Hoenn region to actively look for Rayquaza, what if there's a Rayquaza in the Padilla region as well?

Xia Chen glanced at Gu Leton and noticed that it was pondering something, probably thinking of the same thing.

Never mind, I'll discuss it with them later.

Ignoring that, Xia Chen continued to inquire about the time Milos spent in the ozone layer, what it ate, how it slept, whether it was cold, and so on, nagging like an old woman.

Milos patiently answered each question.

Xia Chen then realized how much suffering Minas had endured in that godforsaken place, the ozone layer. But as the saying goes, no pain, no gain.

Milnas stated that it gained far more than it lost.

Xia Chen smiled and nodded. Milotic's strength had changed just as much as its appearance; before leaving, it was only at the level of a one-star gym leader.

Judging from his aura after his return, he clearly already possesses the strength of a three-star Dojo level, meaning he is only a tiny gap away from the Elite King level.

The changes in two months, while not comparable to two years for other Pokémon, are generally much greater than what a typical Pokémon would make in a year.

Besides Mega Evolved Sylveon and Gardevoir, there's also the eternal Godly Ragnarok, who still holds the title of the team's strongest player.

Although he had made great progress, Xia Chen still asked, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "So, Lie Kongzuo taught you how to add the finishing touch to a dragon painting?"

Minas Tun paused for a moment, then shook his head slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and replied, "Fuwoo—(No, it says only Rayquazas can learn this.)"

Xia Chen curled his lip in disdain. "Only your Liekongzu clan would do that?"