Pokémon: Starting with a Bound Entry System

Chapter 130: The "Fever" of the Tree of Life

Outside the capital, a red silhouette streaked across the sky like a rocket.

"Woohoo, taking off!"

"How does it feel, Latias?"

Hikaru sat on Latias's back, reveling in the exhilarating sensation of the wind rushing past.

He was testing the effects of the [Dragon Knight] trait on Latias's speed.

It definitely wasn't because he wanted to experience flying.

"It feels... faster, I think?"

Latias's soft voice reached him.

"Alright, let's head back."

"Okay!"

Latias's figure shimmered and vanished into the distance.

---

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Hikaru avoided going out as much as possible, spending most of his time training in the practice room.

Even when he did venture out, he used the [Transforming Mask] to remain incognito.

Being too famous had its downsides.

He had already gained considerable notoriety from the provincial league, but now, after unveiling Latias, he anticipated even more scrutiny.

Some would undoubtedly search for information on Latias and Latios, hoping to capture one for themselves. This would likely lead to a tourism boom for Alto Mare, though whether anyone could actually catch a Latias or Latios was another matter entirely.

Similarly, Hikaru had heard that his hometown, Mizuki City, was experiencing a massive surge in visitors.

In effect, Hikaru had single-handedly boosted the economies of two cities.

---

In the past few days, Hikaru had also officially received his title of Senior Researcher.

The recognition came after his research paper was reviewed and endorsed by several master researchers, who praised its feasibility.

As part of Professor Rowan's request, Hikaru began documenting the process by which Misty's Magikarp had evolved into Gyarados. This earned him a complex look from the professor, who eventually said:

"Your ideas are… unconventional, to say the least."

But his theories inspired her nonetheless.

The idea that Magikarp evolves into Gyarados because of an emotional trigger—rage, specifically—sparked a new line of thought:

If rage was key for Magikarp's evolution, what about Feebas?

The transformation from Feebas to Milotic was a stark contrast: ugliness to beauty.

The researchers quickly honed in on the idea that emotional extremes played a critical role in Pokémon evolution.

However, it would take time for these research findings to yield tangible results.

---

Another major development was the energy cube.

While Hikaru's current recipes sufficed for most of his Pokémon, they weren't quite adequate for Latias.

Latias, having previously been a Champion-level Pokémon, required high-quality sustenance to accelerate its recovery.

When Hikaru sought advice from Professor Rowan, she found herself momentarily speechless.

At sixteen, she had been grappling with basic training concepts. Now here was a teenager asking her about crafting Master-level Energy Cubes!

Still, she shared her knowledge generously, and Hikaru gained valuable insights into energy cube production.

---

Then there was the matter of the league rewards.

As the champion, Hikaru received a cash prize of 10 million credits, along with the opportunity to select a pseudo-legendary Pokémon and the resources needed to nurture it.

If he chose to convert the resources into cash, they would be worth approximately 30 million credits.

Including the pseudo-legendary, the rewards from this single tournament brought Hikaru's total windfall to over 100 million credits.

This was life-changing wealth.

Additionally, Hikaru's Senior Researcher title granted him the privilege of keeping two extra Pokémon.

The pseudo-legendaries offered for selection were:

Beldum

Dratini

Gible

Among these, the latter two were still in their egg stages, while Beldum required some time before it would be ready.

Hikaru was torn.

He wanted all three but could only choose one.

Ultimately, he settled on Gible.

While Dragonite and Metagross were excellent choices, Gible offered something unique.

Metagross, with its Psychic typing, overlapped too much with Gardevoir and Latias.

As for Dragonite, Hikaru felt it might conflict with Charizard in terms of future trait compatibility.

Besides, after seeing countless Dragonites and Metagrosses recently, their mystique had somewhat diminished for him.

Garchomp, however, was still a novelty.

"So, Gible it is."

---

Back in the present, Hikaru noticed something unusual.

"Where's Latias been lately?"

Without Latias, he found it challenging to continue crafting stories for his Pokémon.

Using the [Emotion Master] trait, Hikaru had discovered that storytelling was an excellent way to maximize the benefits of the [Joy Conversion] trait.

This method even outperformed his usual practice of petting Gardevoir.

That said, he had observed diminishing returns when repeatedly using the same method to elicit joy from his Pokémon.

Storytelling, on the other hand, remained consistently effective.

It even reached new heights during pivotal plot points, earning Hikaru a record-high number of Trait Coins.

Who would've thought helping Magikarp evolve into Gyarados would yield such serendipitous benefits?

---

Meanwhile, deep within the Qinling Mountains, amidst dense forests and thick mists, a pink crescent-shaped Pokémon materialized.

It was Mew, the guardian of the Tree of Life.

Mew looked troubled.

As the Tree of Life's symbiotic protector, its duty was to prevent humans from entering the sacred site.

To this end, it had set up numerous illusions and barriers, including fabrications of the Regi Trio—Regice, Regirock, and Registeel.

But lately, Mew had been neglecting its duties, too preoccupied with visiting Hikaru to hear his stories.

This lapse allowed a group of human explorers to infiltrate the Tree of Life, causing considerable disruption.

In response, the Tree of Life activated its defense mechanism, producing a massive number of Mew clones to counter the intruders.

The Tree of Life, being a sentient entity, had essentially induced a "fever" as it generated an overwhelming amount of white blood cell-like clones to combat the perceived threat.

Now, Mew faced a critical choice: how to restore balance to the Tree of Life before the situation spiraled further out of control...

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