Xia Huanao stared at the words "confirmed death" on the computer screen, silent. After an unknown amount of time, he closed the laptop and, with a spirit of "fearlessness," climbed into bed to sleep.
...
In the early morning, Xia Huanao got out of bed and looked at himself standing there intact. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I'm still alive. So, for me, Arceus's death isn't the absolute worst thing that could happen."
As he spoke, Xia Huanao released his Pokémon. Froakie and the others were in good condition, not missing any limbs, suffering from memory loss, or experiencing mental confusion. Xia Huanao breathed another sigh of relief: "Good, Froakie and them are fine too. This way, the severity of the situation might drop another notch."
After a friendly interaction with Froakie and the others, Xia Huanao opened the window and looked out. People's lives were still as hectic as ever, which confirmed to Xia Huanao that the world had not been destroyed.
Taking his Pokémon to the dining room, Xia Huanao casually prepared some breakfast. As everyone ate, Xia Huanao discussed the issue with the system: "System, Arceus's death doesn't seem to have any impact on me?"
The system thought for a moment: "If we follow the theory of parallel worlds, from the time you fell asleep last night to now, at least ten parallel worlds would have diverged."
Xia Huanao ate his breakfast with keen interest: "Mhm, System, continue. It's quite interesting."
"First, because of Arceus's death, the world was destroyed, and you didn't wake up. Second, you woke up, but you were incomplete, but at least you woke up. Third, you were fine, but the Pokémon were in trouble..."
Watching the system enumerate possibilities, the breakfast in Xia Huanao's mouth tasted increasingly bland: "If you keep listing them like this, there's hardly any point in me living."
The system looked at Xia Huanao's contorted expression: "No, this is the best outcome among many parallel worlds. The other outcomes are not very good. I can't help it."
Xia Huanao thought about it, and it was true. His own life remaining unchanged was the best change.
He had intended to turn on the television to watch the morning news but was startled by the report playing on the screen.
After consultations among various parties, Arceus's body was dissected and subsequently divided for scientific research. However, due to the differing scientific values of each part, the major forces present appeared to be on the verge of a large-scale brawl. Finally, the Lixing Nation proposed a solution: using battles to determine selection rights, though the battle results would not be made public.
Looking at this news report, Xia Huanao put down his breakfast: "What were they thinking, dissecting Arceus? While I'm curious about Arceus's exact structure, it still feels utterly absurd."
"Honestly, I don't think they could dissect Arceus," the system offered its opinion, which Xia Huanao readily agreed with: "Indeed. After all, this is Arceus. The fact that it was brought down from the sky by rockets from the Duhe Nation already sounds like a ghost story. If they dissected Arceus, wouldn't that be like filming a sequel to a ghost story?"
After finishing breakfast, Xia Huanao took his Pokémon and left the house. Since the situation hadn't escalated to the point where he needed to step in to mend the sky, he would continue living his life as usual.
Xia Huanao arrived at their secret base. He skillfully opened the door and walked in. As soon as he entered the basement door, he saw Donphan lying there, seemingly lost in thought. However, he doubted the Pokémon was thinking of anything significant.
Xia Huanao waved his hand: "Donphan!"
The Rhydon turned its head. After a moment of recognition, it remembered this was its previous trainer and ran over gleefully, rubbing its horn against Xia Huanao's hand.
Xia Huanao squatted down and stroked Donphan's horn: "Good boy, good boy. You haven't caused any trouble for Zhang Hong or your new owner, have you?"
Donphan nodded. Xia Huanao said, "Go play now, I need to train with everyone."
Donphan happily returned to its spot and lay down, while Xia Huanao and Froakie headed to his designated training area.
In the training area stood a large iron cage. Inside the cage were several tennis ball launching machines, which Xia Huanao had specially asked Zhang Hong to modify. With the flip of a switch, they could launch tennis balls from different directions at varying speeds and angles.
Xia Huanao and Froakie entered the cage: "Froakie, tennis balls will be flying out from all around. Your task is to dodge them all with me, understand?"
Froakie nodded. The two of them then began their training. Yes, Xia Huanao trained alongside them. In his words, this was to cultivate their synchronization for an easier entry into the Bond Evolution state. In other words, "cheating" starts from childhood.
However, as the training began, the scene became somewhat unusual. Froakie was small and quick, so dodging the tennis balls flying from all directions was no problem. But it was different for Xia Huanao. His athletic ability had always been mediocre. While he could dodge some of the earlier shots, he started to struggle as the speed increased. Coupled with his unfortunate luck...
For instance, about fifty seconds into the training, Xia Huanao saw a tennis ball flying towards him. He quickly turned to dodge, and the ball whizzed past his nose. At the same time, another ball directly hit his eye... Fortunately, the training had only started for fifty seconds, and the tennis balls weren't moving too fast. Otherwise, Xia Huanao reckoned he might have gone to meet Arceus.
Seemingly having learned his lesson, Xia Huanao found a helmet from somewhere and put it on before re-entering the cage to train with Froakie. This time, he didn't have to worry about being hit in the head by a flying tennis ball and dying prematurely. But a motorcycle helmet is different from a roller-skating helmet. Motorcycle helmets are heavy. He could already barely dodge, and now it was even harder.
The second special training session lasted less than two minutes. Xia Huanao walked out, leaning against the wall, his head throbbing from the rapid impacts. The number of times the helmet had been hit had caused Xia Huanao's head to buzz.
The system couldn't watch anymore: "Oh dear, Host, I think we should just give up. With your current training method, I suspect you'll need to find some powder to transform before you achieve Bond Evolution..."
Xia Huanao sat down on a chair: "You're right, but is there no faster way?"
"Then you go ahead. I'll look for some quick ways to alleviate the aftereffects here and try them on you."
With the system's promise, Xia Huanao "righteously" stood back in front of the training equipment.
Although Xia Huanao made no progress during the day's special training, Froakie's training speed was truly remarkable, advancing by leaps and bounds. By the end of the day's special training, Froakie could not only easily dodge all sorts of flying tennis balls but could also sometimes leap up and use the tennis balls for aerial momentum, which would undoubtedly be eye-catching in Pokémon Showcases.
Seeing Froakie's rapid progress, Xia Huanao was quite perplexed: "We're both living beings, why is the gap so huge?"
The system chuckled: "Are you really comparing yourself to Froakie? Can you two even be compared? It has a base stat of thirty-one, what's your base stat? If I had to give you a number, I estimate it wouldn't even exceed ten."
Hurt by the system's words, Xia Huanao took Froakie and left the secret base, heading home. As they walked down the street, the system said to him, "You know, I've actually researched something that will allow you to keep up with Froakie's progress."
Xia Huanao was surprised: "There really is something? Where did you get it?"
The system presented a very long prescription: "Ta-da! This is the Marrow-Cleansing Fluid I concocted in one day. By soaking in it, you can enhance your physical fitness, allowing you to keep up with Froakie's training speed."
Xia Huanao looked at the system's expression: "You know, right now, you look exactly like a snake oil salesman."
The system pouted: "So I should sell you a 'Great Strength Pill' instead, right? Treat an illness if you're sick, strengthen your body if you're not, my darling. Why bother with Marrow-Cleansing Fluid?"
Xia Huanao shook his head: "But this Marrow-Cleansing Fluid doesn't seem to belong to this world's technological tree."
The system shook its head: "This is something that really can exist. I suspect the Yu family has something similar. Otherwise, how could they cultivate Pokémon with completely developed levels so quickly?"
The system added: "I'm just using a name that might make you uncomfortable. Isn't it to accommodate your hometown sentiment? I could also change the name to Gene Modification Potion Type A, what do you think?"
Xia Huanao quickly refused: "I think 'Marrow-Cleansing Fluid' is a pretty good name, no need to change it."
Xia Huanao glanced at the prescription provided by the system: "System, are you playing with me? Look at this prescription, *Gastrodia elata*, *Gastrodia elata*, still *Gastrodia elata*. Do you have a thing for this ingredient?"
The system seemed wronged: "This is indeed a required ingredient in the prescription! Because it's so important, I repeated it three times. Don't you people say that important things should be said three times?"
"I can understand your intention, but this *Gastrodia elata* easily reminds me of the brainwashing advertisements from my previous life."
The system thought for a moment and then projected an advertisement into Xia Huanao's mind: "Enhance your physique..."
"Stop! Don't try to stimulate me with that. That damned advertisement is too much. Most people really can't handle it. I don't want to remember that. Let's go buy the medicine now."
Xia Huanao took out his phone. Guided by the phone and the system, they navigated through bustling streets and narrow alleys, finally arriving in front of an ancient-style traditional Chinese medicine shop. Looking at the shop's sign, Xia Huanao read aloud: "Yu Ming Tang? Is there anything special about this Chinese medicine shop?"
The system nodded: "Of course. This is the Yu family's Chinese medicine shop. Not only is there a wide variety of medicinal herbs, but they also won't overcharge you."
Hearing this, Xia Huanao laughed: "Whether there are medicinal herbs or not is unimportant. It's great that they won't overcharge me!"
System: Are you sure you didn't mix that up?