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

Fortunately, Guleton knew the way, and after flying around for a long time, they finally returned to the middle level of Sector Zero.

Because of the sunlight and vegetation, Xia Chen inexplicably felt as if he had returned from the underworld to the world of the living...

Judging from the light intensity, it should be close to evening outside. Xia Chen and Gu Leton discussed it and decided to go to the top floor first, then have dinner and rest, and then go find trouble with Milton tomorrow.

The passageway between the upper and middle levels is much more noticeable and spacious, located right in the center; you can find it by following the light source.

But as the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," and the giant pit alone could occupy one-fifth of the entire continent of Padia. After flying for a long time, Xia Chen finally passed through the thick, heavy clouds.

He landed on a random spot and looked up. Xia Chen could vaguely see the starry night sky.

This is the upper level of Zone Zero, which connects to the outside world.

…………

Because of its isolation from the world, Zone Zero is a paradise almost untouched by human influence.

Xia Chen easily found a suitable place to set up camp for the night.

Clean water, abundant fruit trees, and flat grasslands make this a perfect habitat, and of course, the same is true for the wild spirits here.

Logically speaking, such a feng shui treasure land should be occupied by one or even a group of powerful elves, but Xia Chen secretly observed for a long time and did not see any elves appear. He couldn't help but feel a little wary.

There's a high probability there's a Pokémon here, and it's likely an old coin-type Pokémon.

However, he wasn't too worried. All the leaders of the Paradoxes, Guleton, were here. Who would dare to challenge him?

After letting the elves, who hadn't been out all afternoon, out for some fresh air, Xia Chen began setting up camp and preparing dinner.

Before long, wisps of smoke began to rise from this place, which was almost untouched by humans, and the earth, full of natural charm, was imbued with the scent of cooking fires.

While cooking, Xia Chen suddenly turned to look at Milton beside him and asked, "By the way, since you can sense Milton's location, can Milton sense you too?"

He didn't believe that Milton had calculated that Milton was on the upper level; it was more likely that there was some kind of mysterious connection between these two arch-enemies.

Beef simmered in the iron pot, its aroma wafting out from the cracks in the lid with the rising steam.

So Leighton sniffed and replied, "It won't do anything if it doesn't take the initiative, but it doesn't matter. We're going to find it anyway, so whether it takes the initiative or not doesn't matter... By the way, put extra spice in mine."

As Xia Chen handed Gu Leton the secret spicy seasoning, he muttered, "How can it not be important? What if we get ambushed tonight?"

Therefore, Leighton replied confidently, "Don't worry, that arrogant guy wouldn't do such a thing... Do you want me to help add some fuel? The fire on this stove seems too small."

Xia Chen pushed away Gu Leton's eyes, who was staring intently at the stove, speechless. "Don't you understand the concept of slow cooking? If you're hungry, just go find some tree fruit to eat."

The lizard shrugged in displeasure, flicked its tail, and went to lie down to the side.

There are very few ordinary elves in Zone Zero. It's unclear whether they couldn't get in or were unable to defeat the later Paradoxical species, leading to their extinction.

It's rumored that most Paradoxical beings are rather violent and warlike, and this isn't impossible.

Normally, when Xia Chen cooks outdoors, the enticing aroma attracts many spirits that aren't afraid of humans to come and freeload, but today he didn't see a single one.

But this is not bad either; at least it's much quieter now.

While waiting for the beef stew to be ready, Xia Chen idly looked around.

…………

Inside the tent, Gardevoir's slender figure was illuminated by the dim light, seemingly tidying up bedding or something similar.

Xia Chen figured that what Doronchi and Zoroark were talking about was most likely related to Doronmesia, who was still in a half-soul state.

The burning insect, on its first trip, was very curious about the outside world and slowly crawled along the tracks that looked like those left by its winged limbs on the grass.

The Azure Flame Blade Ghost was nowhere to be found; it was probably searching nearby for any trees, fruits, or plants different from those in the outside world, which it could use as materials for its alchemy.

A dark shadow hovered in the sky; perhaps it was Milotic flying overhead, keeping watch. Ever since it learned to fly, it has loved being in the air...

wrong!

Xia Chen suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The shadow is wrong.

Upon catching a glimpse of the dark, almost irregularly shaped sphere, Xia Chen felt a sudden sense of unease; this could absolutely not be Milotic.

Looking back, Milotic was comfortably soaking in the river beside them, making the dark figure in the sky seem highly suspicious.

Could it be Millerton?

Xia Chen quickly used his telepathy to respond to Milton's telepathic message, "Is that Milton in the sky?"

Gu Leton, who was in a relaxed state, was startled and became a little nervous because of Xia Chen. He glanced at the dark figure and replied irritably, "Just an ordinary paradoxical species. Look how scared you are."

Xia Chen, observing Gu Leton's reaction, muttered to himself, "You weren't much better just now either..."

But no matter what, it's good that it wasn't Millerton who launched a sneak attack.

Although most Paradoxical Species are extremely powerful, Xia Chen is definitely not intimidated at all.

"Milanos, go and bring that charlatan down from the sky!"

A clear sound of water rang out, and a graceful dragon leaped out of the water, flying straight toward the dark shadow in the sky.

Xia Chen looked up at the two figures approaching, and then turned to say, "Gu Leton, keep an eye on things."

It's unclear what the Paradox Pokémon's exact strength is, so letting Milotic face it alone is somewhat risky.

However, things progressed more smoothly than Xia Chen had imagined. Without Guleton's intervention, and after only two rounds of fighting, Milotic brought the shadow elf back to the ground.

It was none other than the ancient paradoxical species of the Dream Demon—Winged Hair.

This was the second Paradoxical Pokémon that Xia Chen had come into close contact with. The first was Iron Tracks, the treasure lord of the Red Desert. He couldn't help but take a closer look at this Pokémon, which was rumored to be quite warlike and ferocious.

The Winged Hair looks like a giant dream monster, except that its head hair extends into several wing-like organs, which is probably why it is named as such.

Compared to the Misdreavus of this world, Vibrating Winged has an additional Fairy type besides Ghost, just like Mimikyu.

The creature in front of me was trembling with fear in its eyes, and it didn't look at all like the ferocious creature in the rumors. On the contrary, it was kind of cute.

Xia Chen wasn't too surprised. Racial characteristics are one aspect, but the individual differences of each Pokémon are also an important factor influencing its personality.

He had seen the diligent absentee king, the dejected warrior eagle, and the timid flapping-winged one, which was only somewhat reasonable.

…………

"What are you doing sneaking around in the sky? Are you trying to ambush me?"

Xia Chen began the interrogation.

Looking at this villain who had preemptively accused the other, Zhenyi almost cried. It timidly said, "Nonsense... (This is where I live...)"

Xia Chen coughed awkwardly, pretending not to understand, and said righteously, "Still making excuses? Quickly confess your purpose!"

Even Xianbu couldn't stand it anymore. After giving Xia Chen a disapproving look, she began to soothe the widowed boy who had been usurped.

"Bu Yi~ (Sorry, we meant no harm. We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. As an apology, let's treat you to dinner~)"

The timid Zhenyi didn't respond. It really couldn't understand why the attitudes of these people were so different, and for a moment it was stunned and didn't know what to say.

Gardevoir nudged Xia Chen's waist, urging him to say something. The latter coughed lightly, his expression softening. "Sorry, I was just teasing you because you're so adorable."

Xia Chen spoke these words to please the elf very naturally and smoothly. The fear on Zhen Yifa's face obviously decreased a lot, and instead, it was tinged with a slight blush of shyness.

Xianbu glanced at Xia Chen and muttered something like, "What a terrible trainer."

To be honest, after this set of tactics that sounded a lot like PUA (Pick-Up Artist) maneuvers, Zhenyi was clearly not as scared as he was at the beginning.

Xia Chen subtly extended his waveguide power to test its strength and was surprised to find that it also had the strength of a gymnastics dojo.

Among ordinary wild Pokémon, this is practically the ceiling of strength that one can reach in a lifetime. If placed outside, which one wouldn't be a dominant overlord?

But in Zone Zero, he was just a trembling little weakling?

Xia Chen didn't know whether Zhen Yifa's timidity stemmed from his personality or his lack of strength, so it was difficult to judge.

In short, he decided to have a good chat with the elf during dinner, firstly to get more information, and secondly to make up for taking over its home.

As for whether Zhenyi is willing to make a vow?

Xia Chen was confident that no elf could resist the temptation of the food he had personally prepared.

With his fellow Ghost-type Pokémon, Saifuhao, accompanying Zhenyifa, Xia Chen returned to the stove to cook, all the while keeping an eye on Zhenyifa's condition.

…………

"Diplomatic Ambassador" Sai Fuhao did not disappoint Xia Chen's expectations. In just over half an hour, he had become friends with the aloof and timid Zhen Yifa.

Dinner began in a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere.

Xia Chen himself had already bred several Ghost-type Pokémon and was very clear about the taste preferences of Ghost-type Pokémon.

As expected, the dishes specially placed in front of Zhenyi were very much to its liking. Although it was a little timid at first, as the atmosphere became more and more harmonious, a smile slowly began to appear on its face.

Xia Chen seized the opportunity and struck up a conversation at the right moment, "Have you always been an elf here?"

By this time, Zhenyi had clearly lowered his guard, and replied while eating, "Yes, that's how it's been since we came up from over there."

Xia Chen nodded thoughtfully. That should be the bottom level of Zone Zero.

He then tentatively asked, "Is that a dark place covered in shimmering flowers? Did all of you elves come up from there?"

Zhenyi nodded in response, "Yes, we all came to this world through that passage."

Xia Chen's expression brightened. The crucial information had arrived: there was a [passage] at the bottom connecting this place to the original world of the Paradoxical Species, which was most likely the existence that Orin referred to as the time machine.

He pressed further, "What was your original world like? And why did you come to this world through the passage?"

"No... (The original world... was pretty much the same as this one, which is why we came here later. As for why we came to this world...)"

A look of confusion suddenly appeared on Zhenyi's face. "Mmm... (It seems to be, a call from some voice...)"

Needless to say, it must be the third god of the Padawan civilization. And if we think about it further, the formation of the Padawan crater must also be closely related to it.

Xia Chen then asked some more questions about the voice, but Zhenyifa naturally knew nothing about it. Xia Chen didn't press it further and stopped asking.

There was no entertainment or training equipment in the wild. After dinner and some meditation, Xia Chen returned to his tent early to rest and prepare for the big battle the next day.

Outside the tent, it was quiet again, with only the campfire still warm and occasionally making soft popping sounds. It flew up to a tall tree and stared blankly at the tent with its dim yellow light, lost in thought.

…………

The next morning.

When Xia Chen came out of the tent, he didn't see Zhenyi anywhere and didn't know where he had gone.

He didn't pay attention and took out the automatic stove to start making breakfast, preparing an extra portion for Zhenyi, whom he didn't know if he would ever see again.