"How was it?"
Ruo Xi breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Gui Ling and Yveltal emerge from the gradually dissipating Haze, and quickly went to meet them.
"It's fine, we sort of know how it came to Earth, and..."
Gui Ling took out a Master Ball, shook it in his hand, and looked at Ruo Xi with a mischievous smile.
"It really is a Pokémon from beyond the universe, but it's incredibly strong."
"You caught it?!"
"Not sure yet, since it's a Pokémon from beyond the universe, I don't know if a Poké Ball can restrict its thoughts?"
"I remember an old woman who was always thinking about her granddaughter? The one named Ba'er Meng, right?"
"Oh, right..."
Gui Ling sighed, took out the data he found in the laboratory wreckage, and handed it to Yveltal.
"Huh? Wait a minute? Yveltal, how long did our bond evolution last?"
"Two hours?"
"That's an hour longer than usual! And neither of us feels any discomfort!"
Gui Ling and Yveltal's demeanor changed instantly. They high-fived each other, then immediately ran towards the small house nearby.
"Then let's both keep going and see where our limit is!"
"Exactly! But for now, let's give this girl's belongings to that old woman."
Ruo Zhe sighed as he watched their backs, then turned back to attend to the injured.
"Why are these two acting like children?"
...
"That's how it happened. As for these belongings, there are many Poké Balls among them, which are probably your old friends who have been with you for many years."
"They...they are my Poké Balls! Thank you...thank you all..."
Ba'er Lingze tremblingly took the video tapes and Poké Balls, clutching them to her chest like treasures, her body trembling slightly.
"My little Meng..."
Gui Ling and Yveltal exchanged glances, then quietly left the room and closed the door.
"Let that old lady have some peace."
"What do you plan to do with that monster?"
Gui Ling took out the purple Master Ball and slowly walked towards the outskirts of the village.
"No rush. First, let's go somewhere secluded for a confrontation. At least we need to determine its current status."
In the forest not yet covered by the Haze, nearly a hundred Pokémon formed a circle. Gui Ling summoned all of his Pokémon, then slowly pulled out the Master Ball.
"Come out!"
As the Master Ball opened, a huge red vertical eye appeared from a pile of Haze. The monster simply scanned its surroundings and sneered.
"You've made thorough preparations, haven't you? I thought you'd keep me sealed in here forever."
"I'm not that cowardly."
Then Gui Ling drew his tang katana, and the Pokémon also prepared for an attack.
"So what do you mean now?"
The monster chuckled, and slowly pulled out three crystal balls from within the Haze.
"How about I make a deal with you?"
"What?"
"I know your little ball can seal me back in. How about I exchange three people's souls for my freedom?"
Among these three Poké Balls, two belonged to the boys from the survivor group who lost their hearts and brains, and one was Ba'er Meng from the laboratory.
The crystal balls showed their dying moments, repeating endlessly...
"How about it? Three for one, it's not a loss ~"
"Oh, and then what?"
"Huh?"
"Aren't they all dead? What's the use of souls?"
"Huh? It's not you?"
"Besides, I'm not some good person, why should I help others?"
"You..."
"Stop talking nonsense, are you surrendering or not?!"
Gui Ling's triple-whammy question completely stumped the monster. The monster, who had been so sure of victory, now widened its eyes, looked at the crystal balls, and then at the indifferent Gui Ling.
"You..."
"Then never mind, you can just stay in the Poké Ball."
"Hey, wait, wait! Let's talk nicely ~ What do you want like this? Or do you have anyone you want revenge on, or something like that? I'll help you achieve it, and you let me go, how about that?"
"Sorry, I don't have any revenge targets, and there's nothing I want."
Seeing Gui Ling about to press the button in the middle of the Poké Ball, the monster had no choice but to use its exclusive skill to freeze Gui Ling and began to read Gui Ling's memory.
But what surprised the monster was that there were not only Gui Ling's memories here, but also Yveltal's memories.
...
"Just now? It felt like a momentary daze?"
After probing Gui Ling's memory, the monster's mind quickly spun, coming up with one last solution.
"Don't you just want to capture powerful... Pokémon?"
"You also have the ability to read memories?"
"Yes, I can take you to find powerful Pokémon, and you let me go, how about that?"
"But I'm quite interested in you now. Why should I let a duck I've already caught fly away?"
"But I'm a monster, not some Pokémon, let alone a species from your world."
"Precisely because of that, I can't let you go out and harm others again."
"Why don't you just say you want me to obey you and be done with it?"
"Oh."
"Alright, deal."
"Ah, it's that simple? Didn't you just say something about setting you free earlier?"
"Mm, just as you said, there's no way to escape anyway."
"Oh... why does it feel like something is off?"
Gui Ling scratched his head, then looked at the squinting monster and pondered for a moment.
"What's your name?"
"Name? Uh... none."
"Shall I give you one?"
"Please do."
"You're skilled at confusing enemies with illusions. How about I call you Huan Da?"
"Mm."
"Alright then, I'll call you out again when I have time."
After recalling Huan Da into the Poké Ball, Gui Ling shouted towards the nearby bushes.
"Ruo Xi, are you done watching?"
"Mm, your reaction time is strong. Do you have anywhere you want to go next?"
"I don't know, let's report to the Eight Masters Tournament first."
"I briefly looked at that video tape. The creatures inside feel quite curious. For now, I'll follow wherever you go. After I finish organizing the data, I'll take you to a good place."
"Alright."
...
"At least... there's still a path to take now."
Huan Da, who had re-entered the Poké Ball, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Using his Teleport power within the Haze, he reached the end of the Poké Ball and stared intently at the weakest point with his intimidating blood-red eyes.
"It's not too late to break out once my energy recovers. For now, I'll bide my time."
Huan Da then pulled out the souls of the three people, sneered, and directly dispelled the illusion.
As the crystal balls shattered, the three souls were also released, but in Huan Da's eyes, countless crystal balls seemed to be still reflected.
"Next is to wait... patiently wait... The souls trapped within will continuously provide me with fear value until I recover my strength..."