The confrontation involving Xia Henao ultimately concluded with him suffering a crushing defeat. However, this time was better than before, as he didn't encounter another powerful blow that would plunge him back into his previous state of dazed confusion.
Although the Yu family disciples saw Xia Henao lose the battle, his silent duel with Yu Linglong was eye-opening for everyone. Yu Linglong gave a simple lesson to the Yu family members, then approached Xia Henao and asked, "What happened? Things were going fine in the middle. Why did you suddenly lose focus?"
Xia Henao shrugged. "I don't know either. I just remember feeling quite anxious at the time, and then I felt my connection with Guagua was severed."
Xia Henao shook his head after speaking. "Forget it, I won't think about it. Even if I don't know what happened, my coordination with Guagua doesn't really require telepathy, right Guagua?"
Guagua, sitting on the ground, nodded, but its mood was clearly a bit low. Xia Henao pulled Guagua up. "I'm going to take Guagua for a walk. You don't need to worry about me."
With that, Xia Henao walked out with Guagua, hands clasped behind his back. Though he didn't say it aloud, Xia Henao felt a deep sense of discomfort.
Walking on the street, Xia Henao still couldn't figure it out. If his emotions had significant fluctuations, at most the connection with Guagua would have issues, but there was no reason for it to be completely cut off.
"System, give me an explanation."
"An explanation for what? While it's true that you can always ask the system for help, the system really can't solve this problem this time."
Xia Henao stopped in his tracks. "System, I didn't ask you to solve the problem, I just need you to tell me where the problem lies."
The system pointed to a nearby bus stop. "Host, go and sit at the bus stop for a while. This is quite a long story, and we need to take our time discussing it."
Xia Henao, pulling Guagua along, stumbled onto a bench at the bus stop. The system began to explain, "Your telepathic connection with Guagua was suddenly interrupted, right? This is because you were about to enter a more powerful state."
"You mean, a Bond Transformation?"
The system displayed a few images. "Look here. This top image shows the manifestation of your telepathic connection with Guagua. In this state, Guagua can fully understand your thoughts and execute them according to your intentions. This kind of non-verbal communication is very useful during battles."
Xia Henao nodded. That was true, especially for Pokémon like Guagua with extensive tactical reserves. This type of coordination saved a lot of time.
The system then pointed to the image below. "And look at this. This is the manifestation when you and Guagua engage in Bond Transformation. The five senses are shared, and in this state, the mental stimulation you receive will be particularly intense."
Xia Henao nodded again. "You're right. If the mental stimulation is too strong, telepathy will be cut off. So, you need to deactivate telepathy before entering Bond Transformation."
The system negated. "No, although that is one reason, it's not the primary one. The main reason is that if the mental stimulation is linked with the state of telepathy, your brain might have to process multiple pieces of information simultaneously, including Guagua's five senses, plus the burden of your telepathic connection. This all requires intense concentration. This kind of overloaded operation will fry the CPU."
"So, it's my body's self-protection mechanism that severed my telepathy to prevent me from becoming an idiot?"
"Yes. It's not as simple as one plus one equals two. The combined load of these two things could easily exceed ten, perhaps even a hundred. Even a Metagross with four brains wouldn't dare to try it casually."
At this point, Xia Henao clearly understood what he needed to do: choose between telepathy and Bond Evolution. Xia Henao ultimately chose Bond Evolution. After all, it was a tangible difference in base stats. Did he expect telepathy to bridge a gap of a hundred base stat points? Furthermore, many of Xia Henao's Guagua's techniques could only be used in its transformed state. For instance, Guagua's Shuriken Barrage was something Xia Henao had tried, and he couldn't execute it at all without transforming, and even with transformation, it was sometimes difficult.
With these thoughts, Xia Henao stood up, determined. "Go to the..."
Shen Yu added some strength. "I'm not joking, I'm telling the truth."
Xia Henao's arm instantly began to falter, and he quickly pleaded for mercy. "Alright, alright, I'll explain."
With that, Xia Henao began to explain to Shen Yu that he needed to cultivate rapport with Princess Diancie recently, and therefore couldn't indulge her as much. Although Xia Henao's words were not inherently wrong, his phrasing was too ambiguous, making it difficult for Shen Yu to accept.
Looking at Xia Henao, who was practicing mental communication with Diancie, Shen Yu tilted her head. "Should I try it too?"
Although Xia Henao was practicing mental communication with Diancie, Xia Henao, who always kept his eyes and ears open, didn't miss what Shen Yu was saying. "Xiao Yu, you can try communicating with Fennekin. After all, Fennekin has a Psychic-type attribute when fully evolved. Even in its current Fennekin form, communication will be a bit easier."
Shen Yu wiggled Fennekin's little paw. "Really? But speaking of which, Xia Xia, you can still hear what I'm saying while communicating now."
Xia Henao placed Diancie's hands in his own. "Of course. Mental communication isn't like being autistic. Even in my previous dazed state, I could vaguely perceive some external circumstances. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to maintain basic physiological functions. If there's anything I remember most vividly, it's the scene when you bathed me a few days ago."
The moment Xia Henao said the word "bathed," Shen Yu immediately recalled the night that made her heart race to 120 bpm. She dared not recall that event casually, yet Xia Henao brought it up. Not only that, but Xia Henao continued to tease her. "Xiao Yu, I had two battles this afternoon. After practicing later, I want to take a bath."
Shen Yu was already feeling very shy, and with Xia Henao saying that, she became so angry that she flung the Fennekin in her arms. Fennekin was stunned for a moment before taking flight. By the time it reacted, it had already hit Xia Henao's head.
Xia Henao grabbed Fennekin by the nape of its neck and held her down. "I say, Xiao Yu, what's the point of this? Even if you're unhappy, you can't use Fennekin as a tool to vent your anger. Little Fennekin is so innocent, right Guagua."
Guagua stood aside with a look of aloofness, but its gaze involuntarily drifted towards Fennekin. Xia Henao handed Fennekin to Guagua. "Xiao Yu, could you please go and run a bath for me? I really want to take a bath, I don't mean anything else."
Shen Yu huffed, stood up, and went to the bathroom. Xia Henao, holding Diancie's hands, played with her casually for a while. "Alright, little one, play by yourself for a bit. I need to go take a bath."
About ten minutes later, Xia Henao's voice came from the bathroom. "Xiao Yu, where did you put the towel?"
Shen Yu knelt outside Xia Henao's bed. "Guess. Figure it out yourself."
Xia Henao was deep in thought in the bathroom. Diancie, sitting next to Shen Yu, startled and then stood up. Shen Yu asked her, "What's wrong, Diancie? Rotom, translate what Diancie is saying."
"Diancie said she just heard Master calling for her to catch Fennekin and bring it in, as he wants to use Fennekin's fur to dry himself."
Upon hearing this, Fennekin shivered and leaped into Shen Yu's arms. Shen Yu, holding Fennekin, looked furious. "Xia Henao, do you know you're courting death?"
With that, Shen Yu grabbed a towel and rushed into the bathroom...