Back at home, Indeedee was taking care of the two Elder Dragon eggs.
She brought over a Dragoncore and placed it beside the Velkhana egg.
Within Bai Chen's natural vision, thin strands of life energy were steadily being drawn out of the Dragoncore.
Bai Chen walked closer.
After observing, he discovered that naturally born Elder Dragon eggs and the system-issued eggs were fundamentally different.
The first difference was size.
System-issued eggs were only about the size of a basketball, while naturally born Elder Dragon eggs stood roughly half a meter tall—nearly twice the volume.
The second difference lay in the incubation method.
System-issued monster eggs could accelerate their hatching by absorbing life energy, but naturally born Elder Dragon eggs could not.
"This probably isn't due to differences in Elder Dragon species," Bai Chen muttered. "But that's fine—this way, Velkhana can hatch faster."
Back when Nergigante hatched, Bai Chen had needed an entire month.
Now that conditions were better, the process should be much quicker.
The Valstrax egg was already close to hatching. Bai Chen estimated that it would emerge in about half a month.
After packing his belongings, Bai Chen went to find the Commander and informed him that he would be leaving for a while.
The reason he gave was that he needed to train Kirin to properly control its power, preventing it from unconsciously releasing natural disasters.
Hearing this, the Commander immediately expressed full support.
"If you can truly teach Elder Dragons to control when they release disasters, that would benefit the entire world," the Commander said encouragingly.
"Go. If you need any support, please don't hesitate to come back anytime. I'll do everything I can to help."
After bidding farewell to the Commander, Bai Chen set off for the Forest Village, where he met Elder Yoomlana.
During this period, the Ancient Wyverians had been training as knights while also helping cultivate Ballfruit.
The knight training had largely concluded.
Among the thirteen people Bai Chen selected, the three Wyverian children had yet to complete their final hunting trial.
The other ten—chosen personally by Indeedee—had all lived up to expectations and completed every trial Bai Chen set for them.
As promised, Bai Chen granted these individuals Indeedee's emotional ability.
They could now communicate with their companion beasts through emotion, and even synchronize emotionally with them.
Although Bai Chen still didn't fully understand what emotional synchronization was capable of, one thing was certain:
These ten now possessed genuine potential to become true Riders.
Aside from being unable to use Bond Techniques, emotional skills could fully substitute the functions of a Bond Stone.
Meanwhile, the male and female Rathalos, as well as the Nargacuga that Bai Chen had previously helped capture, had all found new owners.
As for Ballfruit cultivation, progress was still bleak.
Yoomlana had distributed the seeds across several other villages for planting.
They were already on their second batch, yet the survival rate remained at zero.
On this return trip, Bai Chen would need to bring back more new seeds—otherwise, the Ancient Wyverians simply wouldn't have enough material to experiment with.
After settling matters with the Ancient Wyverians, Bai Chen bade farewell to Yoomlana and explained that he would be leaving for a period of secluded training.
"When my training is complete, I'll return. I'll be taking my leave for now."
Bai Chen waved goodbye to Yoomlana, then had Cosmog use Teleport to send him to the beach where he had once hunted Lagiacrus.
Glancing at the final ten-minute countdown, Bai Chen recalled Little Nebula into its ball.
"Thanks for everything."
He checked his backpack.
Both eggs were perfectly secure and would not be damaged by the return transfer.
Bai Chen quietly waited for the countdown to end.
This time, he had a great many things to take care of after returning.
The Alola region could be considered temporarily settled.
Based on his experience and estimates, the appearance of Necrozma would likely be months—or even a year—away.
The Galar region was even further off.
As a Gym Leader, Bea had only just begun her journey in the World Championships, and Galar's main storyline unfolded after Necrozma.
In terms of Pokémon timeline order:
Alola was Generation VII,
Galar was Generation VIII,
And Paldea—the next—was Generation IX.
Each generation corresponded to a distinct battle system:
Generation VII's Z-Moves,
Generation VIII's Dynamax,
and Generation IX's Terastalization.
This time, Bai Chen's goal was the representative system of Generation VI—Mega Evolution.
"Exclusive Z-Moves are still too unclear for now.
Dynamax can currently only be used by Gravios.
Terastalization merely changes a Pokémon's type—it doesn't seem that useful yet.
Mega Evolution, on the other hand, is the most promising."
Mega Evolution had stricter requirements than Z-Moves or Dynamax.
A Pokémon needed its corresponding Mega Stone to evolve.
To put it bluntly, without system assistance, Bai Chen would have no way of finding the correct stones for his monsters.
However, nothing was absolute.
Bai Chen knew of one possible method—
The Legendary Meteorite, the stone that allowed Rayquaza to Mega Evolve.
This ancient, energy-filled monolith was believed to be the origin of Mega Evolution itself, emitting the same wave patterns as Mega Stones.
If he could obtain that Legendary Meteorite, there was a strong chance he could enable Mega Evolution for Nergigante and the others.
Besides investigating Mega Evolution, Bai Chen also planned to participate in the Pokémon World Championships.
Before leaving the previous world, Bea had invited him to compete, and he had already completed registration.
Compared to wild Pokémon, trained Pokémon give more experience.
And unlike hunting in the wild, battling Trainers won't earn criticism from others."
Additionally, Bai Chen hoped to capture a Water-type Legendary Pokémon to shore up his team's elemental weaknesses.
"Legendary Pokémon aren't easy to capture. I'll just have to leave it to fate."
As these thoughts passed through his mind, the countdown reached its final second.
Teleportation began.
When Bai Chen opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the Pokémon world.
Once his phone regained signal, it erupted with a barrage of notification sounds.
Just as he was about to check them, a video call came through.
It was Lillie.
After answering, Bai Chen saw her visibly relax.
"Mr. Bai, you're back? Where are you right now? I'll send a plane to pick you up."
On the screen, Lillie was dressed in a white work outfit, clearly busy with official duties.
"You really timed that well. I only got back a few seconds ago."
Bai Chen replied with a smile.
"I don't even know exactly where I am yet—let me check the map."
He lifted his helmet visor and glanced at the map, surprise flashing across his face.
"Oh? Looks like I was sent straight to the Kalos region."
Kalos was the main stage of Generation VI—and the birthplace of Mega Evolution.
Bai Chen couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
"Looks like the system finally did something right. I was planning to come here anyway."
"Kalos, then? Understood. I'll send a private jet to get you," Lillie said.
Bai Chen quickly stopped her.
"No need. It's not that far. I'll have Little Nebula teleport me back later."
He estimated the distance—
With Indeedee deploying a Psychic Terrain, teleporting from Kalos back to Alola was feasible.
As for Galar, Alola could serve as a relay point.
"Alright then. I'll have James and the others prepare dinner."
Bai Chen glanced at the position of the sun.
"I'll be home around seven in the evening. See you then."
"Mhm, See you later."
Lillie nodded and ended the call.
After disconnecting, Bai Chen finally checked the rest of his messages.
He didn't have many contacts.
At the top of the list—aside from Lillie's everyday updates—were two messages from Bea.
The first had been sent twenty-seven days ago:
[Master, I checked with the World Championship officials. Trainers are not allowed to enter the battlefield themselves.]
That wasn't surprising.
Bai Chen had expected it—
For a world-class tournament, breaking rules for an extraordinary human wasn't worth the uncertainty.
He skipped past that message and opened the second, sent sixteen days ago:
[Master, I'm heading to the Kalos region for training. If possible, I'd like to have a Pokémon battle with you.]
After reading it, Bai Chen immediately called Bea.
"I remember the Fighting-type Gym Leader in Kalos is Bea's close friend.
If I can connect with them, it'll be good support."
The call rang for a long time with no answer.
Seeing that it wouldn't connect, Bai Chen didn't try again.
"She's probably training. She'll call back once she sees it."
Putting Bea aside, Bai Chen opened the satellite map to check his location.
Since he would be exploring Kalos next, he needed to register at a local hotel—
That way, teleporting back later would be easier.
The nearest city was called Laverre City.
Bai Chen thought for a moment.
"Laverre… if I remember correctly, there's a Fairy-type Gym there.
Wonder how strong the Gym Leader is. Maybe I'll challenge it."
He opened navigation.
At his waist, a Poké Ball opened, and Nergigante emerged.
"Roar."
"I'm hungry too," Bai Chen said calmly.
"Don't rush—once we reach Laverre City, we'll head home for dinner."
Using telekinesis, Bai Chen set off toward Laverre City.
About two minutes after he left, four heads slowly peeked out from behind a rock.
Two humans and two Pokémon—
The pair wore outfits emblazoned with a large red 'R'.
They were members of Team Rocket.
Their Pokémon were a Meowth and a blue Wobbuffet.
The woman, with long wine-red hair, was Jessie.
Staring at Bai Chen's retreating figure, she whispered,
"Was that a Pokémon?"
"Sure looked like one," replied James, with his blue-purple hair.
Between them, Meowth spoke in human language:
"That guy ain't a Pokémon, meow… but Meowth's instincts say he's dangerous."
Wobbuffet: "Sonaansu!"
"Not a Pokémon?" Jessie frowned.
"Then that thing on his shoulder has to be one, right?"
James' eyes gleamed.
"A Pokémon we've never seen before. If we catch it and present it to the Boss, we'll definitely earn his praise!"
Jessie was instantly fired up.
"Promotion and a raise are right in front of us!"
Wobbuffet: "Sonaansu!"
Among the four, only Meowth looked worried.
"Better not, meow… That Pokémon gives off a really bad vibe. We're totally gonna get beaten up."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jessie snapped.
"Our targets have always been powerful Pokémon!"
With that, Jessie and James each grabbed Meowth by an arm.
"Let's go make preparations."
Meowth struggled helplessly, sighing in despair.
"We're definitely gonna get beaten up, meow…"
—
Meanwhile, Bai Chen reached Laverre City after nearly an hour of travel.
The city's style was complex—a blend of French elegance and Japanese aesthetics—
yet surprisingly harmonious.
A river flowed straight through the city center.
As soon as Bai Chen arrived, he felt strange looks from passersby.
A man clad in heavy armor with three massive blades on his back was bound to attract attention.
Bai Chen had long since grown accustomed to such gazes.
He checked the time.
"It's only four in the afternoon. I'll challenge the Gym first."
Following the map, Bai Chen headed straight for the Gym.
Standing at the entrance of Laverre Gym, he looked up at the towering ancient tree.
"Seeing this tree really brings back memories."
The entire Gym had been built around it.
The architecture carried strong Japanese influences.
The staff coming and going wore short-sleeved kimono-style outfits.
Bai Chen recalled,
"If I remember right, the Fairy-type Gym Leader here is Valerie—a fashion designer."
He pushed open the Gym doors.
Inside, the bustling staff subconsciously turned toward the entrance—
and froze the instant they saw Bai Chen.
"Where did this weirdo come from?"
"Walking around in armor… Is this some kind of cosplay?"
Bai Chen walked straight to the counter.
The receptionist, a brown-haired woman named Mami, instinctively took two steps back.
"Is it just me…? Why does it feel so hot?"
Bai Chen spoke through his visor.
"Excuse me. Is it possible to challenge the Gym right now?"
"Oh—so you're a challenger. Please wait a moment while I ask Miss Valerie."
"Much appreciated."
As Mami left, Bai Chen noticed a group of young women gathering several meters away.
They stared curiously at his armor and the enormous blades on his back.
One girl asked eagerly,
"Are your armor and swords real?"
Before Bai Chen could answer, another girl chimed in,
"Of course not. If they were real, they'd weigh hundreds of pounds. Who would wear something like that outside?"
Bai Chen fell silent.
Hundreds of pounds?
Sorry—one of my swords weighs half a ton.
Knowing explanation was pointless, he simply ignored them.
The girls continued chattering, analyzing the armor's design instead.
"It's so rough-looking. A lot of areas could be refined."
"But that molten-rock aesthetic needs to be rough to work."
Thankfully, no one tried to touch the Zorah Magdaros armor.
Someone waved a hand.
"Why does it feel so hot?"
Once one person mentioned it, others noticed too.
"Yeah, it really is hot."
Their gazes returned to Bai Chen.
"Is that heat coming from the armor?"
Just as someone was about to step closer to investigate, Mami returned.
She addressed Bai Chen.
"Please follow me. Miss Valerie has agreed to your Gym challenge."
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