Since he was idle anyway.
Now that the reliable Iron Bundle was back, Chen Kai continued to wander around Area Zero, preparing to test the waters in a Tera Crystal Pit.
The gloomy sky of last night, by today in Area Zero, was as clear as if it had been washed, a pure blue without a trace of impurity.
Chen Kai and Xiao Mei sat together on Miraidon’s back, gliding through the sky.
The wind brushed against his face, feeling very comfortable, and Xiao Mei happily called out:
"Dragon~!"
Miraidon asked, "Where are we going?"
"I don't know either. Let's just wander aimlessly for now and look for a Tera Crystal Pit. If we really can't find one, then we'll go to the two marked locations."
Just like that, Miraidon glided all the way towards the Berry region.
While observing his surroundings, Chen Kai chatted with Iron Hands in its Poké Ball: "Speaking of which, there's a strange kind of Pokemon in Area Zero, the kind that's extremely wild?"
Unlike Iron Bundle's taciturn nature, Iron Hands was quite willing to chat with Chen Kai, and now that it had been punished, it was much more obedient, so Chen Kai was also happy to chat with it.
Iron Hands immediately understood Chen Kai's meaning upon hearing this: "You mean them, right?"
"Them?" Chen Kai didn't quite understand what Iron Hands was referring to.
"They're those savage, primitive creatures that are basically impossible to communicate with. As soon as they see you, they'll come right at you to fight. 'Number 1532' was really disgusted by them, haha," Iron Hands said, laughing loudly.
Chen Kai was even more confused: "Who is 'Number 1532' again?"
Iron Hands thought for a moment and explained: "'Number 1532' is somewhat similar to your world's Donphan. Next time you encounter Tieban Ye Daren, you might encounter it."
"Oh! Is that the one that looks a bit like 'Number 1532', but its type is Ground/Fighting?" Chen Kai pressed.
Iron Hands seemed to recall something amusing: "Right, right, right! We always laughingly say that's its ancestor, and 'Number 1532' always gets so angry it wants to hit us, haha."
The taciturn Iron Bundle even interjected at this moment: "But indeed, I think it might be its ancestor."
It seems it also thought it looked similar.
With that explanation, Chen Kai understood. That 'Number 1532' was the Paradox Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet—Iron Treads.
So, the disgusting, savage, primitive creatures that Iron Hands and its companions referred to were another type of Paradox Pokemon, Great Tusk, from the original parallel timeline.
"So, where are they all now?" Chen Kai asked.
Iron Hands said, "Most of those Pokemon were captured by people from our world. Even if there are any left now, they're probably in the remote areas of Area Zero, in the surrounding mountains."
"However, there's one thing I need to tell you: among those savage Pokemon, three are especially fierce. Even people from our world couldn't deal with them in a short time, so they still live freely in Area Zero."
Iron Bundle also added, "Unless Tieban Ye Daren makes a move, we can't defeat them, so it's best you don't provoke them."
Chen Kai asked curiously, "Which three? And you need to tell me where they are so I can try to stay far away."
Iron Hands didn't know how to describe them for a moment and could only roughly gesture: "Anyway, they're three creatures that look like dinosaurs. I've only seen them from afar once."
"I don't know about the distant ones, but the one Tieban Ye Daren is responsible for watching is in a lake not far from the Astronomical Observatory."
Chen Kai roughly knew which three they were, but he still asked one last question: "Is the area around that lake full of bamboo?"
"Yes!" Iron Hands confirmed.
Then he definitely knew. The lake Iron Hands was referring to was the place where he and Big Boss had stolen the spicy seasoning.
So, the mist over the lake at that time wasn't ordinary fog at all, but 'steam'!
Chen Kai couldn't help but feel a chill, relieved that he hadn't just gone in to take it then.
Iron Leaves and Iron Boulder, while perhaps a bit aloof, could at least communicate.
Listening to Iron Hands, that Paradox Pokemon that looked like Suicune—Walking Wake—would probably directly kill Chen Kai the moment he stepped into its territory.
It was a good thing he had met Big Boss then. It seemed he needed to stay far away from that lake in the future.
As they chatted, Chen Kai roughly learned that Iron Hands and Iron Bundle were subordinates of Iron Leaves.
While 'Number 669' Iron Thorns and 'Number 1532' Iron Treads were subordinates of Iron Boulder.
'Number 2323' Iron Jugulis and 'Number 3010' Iron Moth were subordinates of Iron Crown.
"So, you two are the weakest then?" Chen Kai teased.
Iron Hands retorted indignantly, "The number is just the factory production time, not a strength index."
Iron Bundle mercilessly added, "But you are currently the weakest."
Iron Hands let out a soft "Tsk" and said nothing more.
As for the other Iron Valiant from the future, they didn't mention it, and Chen Kai guessed it might not exist in Area Zero?
Just as Chen Kai was about to ask again, he saw a pink pillar of light emanating from the distant forest.
Chen Kai pointed at the pillar of light and said, "Found it, Miraidon, let's go over there!"
Once Miraidon stopped steadily, Chen Kai took out his detector to check.
Iron Hands spoke first: "This one should be new, so the level won't be too high."
The instrument detected only a 2-star Tera concentration, which meant the Pokemon inside was only at Normal Class (Level 20).
"How do you know?" Chen Kai asked.
"Generally, the closer to the Astronomical Observatory the crystal is, the lower the concentration. I don't know why, it's just always been like that," Iron Hands couldn't explain it clearly either.
"Alright, let's test the waters first!" Chen Kai placed his palm directly on the crystal.
He felt a slight dizziness, like when he came from Blue Star to Area Zero.
When he stood firm, he found himself in a space of about a hundred cubic meters, not very large, and in the very center was a giant Spoink.
This Spoink felt over two meters tall, its entire body like a gem, emitting a pink glow, and on its head's pearl, it had a Tera Jewel.
However, this Tera Jewel wasn't a giant eye; instead, it was a huge pink heart with wings.
Chen Kai weakly complained in his heart: It's quite abstract to have a gem growing on a pearl...
Upon seeing Chen Kai, the intruder, Spoink unceremoniously controlled its tail to Bounce, leaping and crashing towards Chen Kai.
Chen Kai threw out three Poké Balls to counter: "Go, Xiao Mei, Hydrapple, Treecko!"
Originally, it should have been four people, each commanding one Pokemon to battle.
But now, Chen Kai only had three Pokemon he could command.
And since no one else was fighting with him, he had to battle alone.
"Xiao Mei, Thunderbolt.
Big Boss, Syrup Bomb.
Treecko, Super Drain!"
Spoink had Terastallized into a Fairy type, making it immune to Dragon-type attacks, so Chen Kai naturally wouldn't command Big Boss to use Random Light.
And Spoink, seeing the three Pokemon appear out of nowhere, changed its move, remaining still in place, and a purple Psychic-type light beam condensed from the pearl on its head.
The light beam had a wide range, simultaneously enveloping all three of Chen Kai's Pokemon. Psybeam shouldn't have been able to achieve this extent, but prolonged exposure to Taijing Energy had long made this Spoink unique.
Its Psybeam could attack four targets at once.
Fortunately, Chen Kai had retreated quite far back, otherwise he would have been attacked too.
Wherever the Psybeam passed, faint ripples formed.
However, its power was limited to this; it couldn't cause large-scale destruction. For Xiao Mei and Hydrapple, it was more like a magnificent and gentle magic show occasionally displayed by nature.
For Treecko, the damage was still a bit painful, but manageable.
At the same time, Xiao Mei and the others' attacks intersected and hit Spoink.
A normal Normal Class (Level 20) Spoink, after taking an attack of Thunderbolt's power from Xiao Mei, would essentially pass out.
However, Spoink, nurtured by Taijing Energy, although crying out from the shock, didn't even have a single scorch mark on its body.
Syrup Bomb only caused it a little pain, leaving no mark on its gem-like body.
Chen Kai estimated, "The Pokemon inside the Tera Crystal Pit sure are meaty!
But that's all it is! Xiao Mei, Big Boss, Treecko, Encore!"
Xiao Mei raised its hand with great spirit and said:
"Dragon~!" (Leave it to me!)
Spoink was still a child and had never been treated like this; it was rolling around in pain.
But it was met with another round of attacks.
A mere two-star Spoink naturally couldn't withstand two rounds of attacks from Xiao Mei and its companions.
Xiao Mei's Thunderbolt hit it first, and cracks began to appear on Spoink's body, tiny fissures spreading like a spiderweb.
Syrup Bomb hit again, and the shimmering pink layer around Spoink flickered a few times, its light gradually dimming, like a candle about to burn out.
With Treecko's final Super Drain, it drained Spoink's last bit of strength.
"Crack, crack," crisp sounds continuously came, and the pink crystal peeled off in pieces, falling to the ground, turning into specks of pink starlight, dissipating into the air.
Although Spoink's tail kept bouncing, it had already fainted.
As it fainted, this space began to gradually shatter, but it still left enough time for Chen Kai to throw out a Poké Ball.
However, Chen Kai had no plans to catch Spoink.
So he just waited for a while, and the space completely shattered, forcibly sending Chen Kai and his Pokemon back to their original spot in Area Zero.
Spoink had disappeared somewhere. Chen Kai had never thought about where Pokemon from inside a Tera Crystal Pit went before, but since he was fine, they probably weren't in any trouble either.
After Chen Kai exited the Tera Crystal Pit, the crystal in front of him directly shattered, also turning into specks of starlight and dissipating before him.
However, a gust of wind blew this starlight onto Chen Kai, and Chen Kai himself began to glow.
Chen Kai looked at his hands and asked in alarm, "What, what's happening to me?"
Miraidon said, "Something's wrong, your energy suddenly surged!
Xiao Kai, quickly find a way to expel the excess energy from your body!"
"Huh? Expel it? How?" Chen Kai was completely bewildered.
But Miraidon didn't know how to teach him either.
Iron Bundle anxiously jumped out of its Poké Ball.
"Try to gather the energy in your palm, like you're charging a crystal orb."
Chen Kai did as told, then asked, "And then?"
Iron Bundle thought for a moment, then gritted its teeth: "Your energy isn't that much, just give it to me."
Saying that, Iron Bundle held Chen Kai's hand with its wing.
The energy began to surge towards Iron Bundle, and in less than two seconds, it was all transferred to Iron Bundle.
Chen Kai let out a sigh of relief. He looked at Iron Bundle, whose eyes were tightly furrowed, and asked worriedly:
"Are you okay, Iron Bundle?"
Iron Bundle didn't respond, but instead let out a long breath:
"Hoo—"
In an instant, a white gas spewed from its mouth. This gas was not ordinary water vapor, but carried extreme cold.
The mist rapidly condensed in the air, transforming into countless tiny ice crystals, shimmering with crystalline light, like brilliant stars in the night sky.
Chen Kai shivered slightly from the cold. He asked nervously, "Wh-what happened?"
"The energy just now gave me a boost," Iron Bundle said.
Chen Kai pressed, "You mean, you leveled up?"
Iron Bundle nodded: "Yes."
Chen Kai's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he thanked it, "Thanks, Iron Bundle, I thought something big had happened just now."
Iron Bundle said seriously, "It was a big deal!"
"Huh? What big deal?"
"The energy you just transferred to me was very pure; I can absorb it directly! And the amount was quite good, equivalent to almost half a month of my effort."
"So?"
"Next time, you can try transferring this energy to your Pokemon."
"Okay, then next time, could you please say it all at once?" Chen Kai said, rubbing his forehead.
In that one minute, his mood was like a roller coaster, going up and down.
Iron Bundle nodded: "Okay, I'll try my best next time."
Just then, Treecko made a sound to alert Chen Kai:
"Chamo!" (There's something here.)
Chen Kai followed Treecko's pointing finger and saw a few items left on the ground where the crystal had dissipated.
Three slightly green feathers. Chen Kai guessed they were Swift Feathers.
In the game, winning a Tera Crystal Pit battle rewards Exp. Candies and some items.
Things like the Tera Shards Chen Kai had been longing for could only be obtained by defeating Pokemon inside a Tera Crystal Pit.
Unfortunately, this Spoink was too low-star; in the game, it wouldn't drop Tera Shards.
And the energy just now was probably another form of Exp. Candies.
He needed to find a 3-star or higher one to try. Without Iron Bundle and Iron Hands' help, Chen Kai might struggle to fight a 4-star one by himself now.
Speaking of which, 5-star or higher Tera Crystal Pits in the game might drop legendary seasonings, but the Pokemon inside start at Level 75, and their HP is multiplied by 20 or more. How could he possibly fight that?
Only when Miraidon fully recovered could he possibly fight 5-star or higher ones.
But then again, since Miraidon had already recovered, why would he still need seasoning?
Scratching his head, Chen Kai decided not to think about it anymore.
Thus, Chen Kai continued to hover in the sky, and after a long time, he encountered another 1-star Tera Crystal Pit, inside which was a Terastallized Fire-type Venonat.
It dropped two Genius Feathers.
Xiao Mei, Hydrapple, and Treecko all tried to absorb the powder from the shattered crystal, and they happily reported that their strength had increased!
Especially Treecko, it seemed to have learned Quick Guard and was about to evolve.
Chen Kai tried to keep some of the powder, but it seemed to have no physical form; it was more in an energy state.
Miraidon also tried to absorb some, but it had no effect.