The immense power of Xia Huanao's "Star-Crossed Pokémon: A Nonsensical Adventure" and Mewtwo's "Supreme Mental Destruction Wave" was undeniable, regardless of their specific destructive capabilities. The sheer spectacle of their clash gave more than one onlooker the fleeting illusion that their life had reached its peak.
Fortunately, the colossal display of power was as brief as it was grand, vanishing in an instant. Mewtwo swooped down from the sky, appearing before Xia Huanao. "How is it that you seem to have made no progress at all?"
Xia Huanao clicked his tongue. "Tsk, Meng Jie, you're so blunt. We only met a few days ago, how much progress could you expect from me in such a short time?"
"That's true," Mewtwo conceded.
The others nearby crowded around. "Boss Xia, what's going on?"
After considerable effort, Xia Huanao managed to explain the situation to everyone. He glanced at the sky. "Alright, alright, I've tested everyone's courage. You all seem fine. Go back to sleep. Oh, and Cai Rou, stay behind."
Xia Huanao's request for Cai Rou to stay put again made Li Han's heart tighten. He couldn't help but overthink things and asked, "Boss Xia, do you have another secret weapon to teach? Can I learn too?"
Xia Huanao scratched his temple. "Sure, if you're not afraid you won't be able to grasp it, you can follow along."
Upon hearing this, Li Han immediately sat down next to Cai Rou. "Then it's settled. If I don't understand, Xiao Rou can teach me."
Seeing Li Han also remain, the other team members stayed as well. If there was going to be special training, it wouldn't be fair to exclude Cai Rou and her husband.
The more people who stayed, the happier Xia Huanao became. "Good, good, excellent progress."
As he spoke, Xia Huanao reached out to grab at the air, but his hand met nothing. He blinked in surprise. "Damn, I missed? That's impossible."
While he was pondering this, a small pink shadow deftly tapped him on the head from behind. "Heehee, you think you can catch me that easily? I'm growing too, you know."
With that, the shadow behind Xia Huanao vanished again. This time, however, Xia Huanao was prepared. He sprang up, making a forceful grab, and successfully caught something soft.
"Ah, stop it! If you pull that hard, you'll break my tail," a pouting Mew lamented, emerging and rubbing her tail tenderly, refusing to look at Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao soothed Mew. "Alright, alright, don't be angry. Let me introduce you. This cute girl is Cai Rou, the one I told you about. The others are just along for the ride."
He then held Mew close and handed her to Cai Rou. "Cai Rou, listen carefully to Teacher Mew's lessons. I worked hard to invite her."
Cai Rou nodded as she took Mew. "Then I'll trouble Teacher Mew."
There was a good reason for Mew to teach Cai Rou. Their commonality was their vast array of moves. Cai Rou's Eevee had four evolutionary paths, each with its own moveset, while Mew was universally recognized as the Pokémon with the most moves, seemingly knowing every single one. Even exclusive moves could be learned by Mew through transformations. The pairing of this master and disciple was truly a "match made in heaven."
However, as Xia Huanao had warned, if you weren't afraid of not understanding, then you could follow along. Within the entire team, besides Cai Rou, there was no one else who truly needed to learn how to select from a multitude of moves for an individual Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Xia Huanao and Mewtwo sat facing each other. Mewtwo glanced at Gengar and said to Xia Huanao, "Let me train Gengar. I want to see his limits."
Xia Huanao turned to look at Gengar. Gengar extended his hand, drawing a Tai Chi circle and using Dark Pulse to withstand the pressure of Mewtwo's Psychic Wave. Regardless of the aspect of progress, time seemed to fly. In the blink of an eye, daylight had broken within the secret realm.
Xia Huanao waved goodbye to Mewtwo and Mew, leading his team out of the secret realm. Outside, two helicopters waited. Xia Huanao boarded one and addressed his team. "Alright, everyone's first mission is officially over. Go back and rest for a few days. But be aware, don't go too wild. Missions could come up at any time. That's all for now. See you on the tenth."
With that, Xia Huanao closed the helicopter door and departed. The remaining team members boarded the other helicopter, following closely behind. On the flight, they chatted idly. Someone asked, "Did Boss Xia really give us a vacation?"
Li Han checked his watch. "What time is it? It's already the fourth. The college entrance exams are in a few days. Boss Xia has to accompany his girlfriend for her exams, right?"
The others realized. "That's true. Boss Xia's girlfriend is so beautiful; it would be a problem if any conflict arose between them."
While they were chattering, Xia Huanao's helicopter, after taking off, didn't head towards Jinghai City but flew directly north. Xia Huanao pulled out his notebook and communicated with Mu Zhishui on the screen. "How's it going, Zhishui? Have you figured out that thing yet?"
Mu Zhishui nodded. "More or less. At least I've figured out how you and Zhang Hong created this thing. But to make the kind of thing you want, it will probably take a considerable amount of time."
Xia Huanao sighed. "I knew it. This is different from the one you gave Cai Rou. That one could be slightly larger, and there's a limit to the number of Eevee's evolutions. But this is different. Integrating over a dozen things into such a small CD, while ensuring balance between all attributes, is very difficult."
"Yes, to this day, I haven't managed to balance a second attribute within the Electric-type CD you created. On the other hand, I've successfully created CDs for the other attributes. It cost me a lot of money. What do you want to do?"
Xia Huanao rubbed his nose. "For the funds, just ask Zhang Hong directly. I created the Awakener in the first place to make money for myself."
"Alright, then I won't chat anymore. I still have experiments to do. When can you come over?"
Xia Huanao glanced out the window. "Where is this place? I don't know. Never mind, I'm already on my way. It should only take a few hours at most. See you then."
After ending the video call with Mu Zhishui, Xia Huanao lay back on the helicopter seat, closing his eyes to rest. As soon as he did, he heard footsteps in the cabin. Xia Huanao blinked in surprise. "What's going on? Besides me and the pilot, is there a third person in this plane?"
He opened his eyes and saw Su Xiaojiu squatting beside him, resting her chin on her hand and looking at him. Xia Huanao was startled. "It's you! Why are you here too?"
Su Xiaojiu sat next to Xia Huanao. "Well, Sister Zhishui saw I was too bored in the lab, so she let me come out for some fresh air."
"I see. That's good. It's a long journey, and I can't exactly chat with the pilot. It'll be nice to have you to talk to and pass the time."
Xia Huanao's words made sense. With a pretty girl by his side, even the most tedious time would feel like it passed quickly.
It seemed like mere moments before Xia Huanao's helicopter landed outside Mu Zhishui's laboratory. Xia Huanao jumped off the helicopter. "Xiao Jiu, since Zhishui has given you time off, I won't delay you any longer. Goodbye."
Su Xiaojiu giggled. "Okay, I'll go find my boyfriend then. See you!"
After they parted ways, Xia Huanao stepped into the laboratory and followed the signs to Mu Zhishui's lab. However, as soon as he opened the lab door, he was hit by a pungent odor that made him stumble back several steps. "Whoa, what's that smell?"
Holding his nose, Xia Huanao saw a figure wearing a gas mask approaching. They made eye contact, and Xia Huanao didn't recognize the person in front of him until they spoke. "No way, you're really well-prepared, Zhishui."
Mu Zhishui pulled Xia Huanao away from the lab before removing her gas mask. Xia Huanao asked, "Good heavens, what kind of experimental accident was this?"
Mu Zhishui blushed. "My experiment had a slight mishap. When I was trying to balance the Poison attribute into the Electric-type CD, it wasn't successful. The Electric-type energy stimulated the Poison-type energy, and then... I was just ventilating."
Xia Huanao frowned upon hearing this. Poison-type energy? Did he just inhale poison by smelling it? Xia Huanao's face grew paler. Mu Zhishui comforted him. "Don't worry. Although it's Poison-type energy, the energy in the CD only stimulates attribute conversion; the actual energy content isn't very high. The toxicity isn't that great, it just smells a bit unpleasant."
Xia Huanao breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. But why did you think of adding Poison-type energy to an Electric-type CD?"
Mu Zhishui looked at the tablet in her hand. "Because the energy of the Poison attribute and the Electric attribute don't conflict, and there are no type disadvantages. So, I thought this combination would be easier to succeed."
As she said this, the tablet in Mu Zhishui's hand beeped twice. Mu Zhishui nodded. "Alright, the ventilation in the lab is finished. We can go back in."
Xia Huanao followed Mu Zhishui towards the laboratory. "If I remember correctly, your lab is quite large, but it ventilates very quickly. Where did you get that ventilation fan?"
"That's a secret. Come on, let's go."