Dragonite had a specially made energy lollipop for Dragon-type Pokémon in its mouth.
Feeling a shadow fall over it, the chonky dragon slowly opened one eye.
"Wuu?"
Caleb smiled at it, then grabbed Dragonite's chubby little paw and pressed it onto the gacha button in the center of the panel. The next second, the gaudy big wheel began spinning rapidly...
Dragonite: "…"
It let out a soft sigh, watching the scene with a resigned expression. It didn't pull its paw back, allowing Caleb to manipulate it as he wished.
The pointer gradually slowed down and finally stopped on an area that shimmered with a rainbow-like multicolored radiance.
The wheel suddenly lit up with a golden light, and a shower of virtual ribbons and colorful fireworks exploded above it:
*Ding!*
[Congratulations on obtaining the special item;
- Enhancement Stone: Can enhance a Trainer skill to its maximum level...
Caleb looked at the colorful stone that had suddenly appeared in his inventory. Trainer skills... he currently only had the Viridian Power.
So, there was nothing else to consider. He directly selected the Viridian Power.
'Enhance!'
The colorful stone instantly burst into dazzling, brilliant light. It seeped from the inventory panel into reality, and then slowly merged into his body.
Caleb's consciousness was abruptly pulled from reality into a pitch-black space. Before he could react, the darkness around him began to shatter, spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spreading out.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
Strands of bright light seeped through those fissures...
Caleb's consciousness seemed to transform into a wisp of wind, weaving through the vast world with that light.
He saw flat land become towering mountains, bitter seawater surging upward, tides ebbing and flowing, countless lives beginning to gestate and be born within.
He saw the sea dry up, becoming a landmass covered in lush and vibrant vegetation.
He saw a Caterpie break free from its cocoon, emerging from its Metapod, stretching its wings, and flying toward the blue sky.
He saw the sun and moon alternate each other, a desert Tyranitar standing on the horizon gazing at the fading sunset.
Wailmer pods leaped from the sea as the first rays of dawn broke, countless Tauros ran across the endless grasslands, Fearows soared beneath the clouds.
*Snap!*
As if something invisible had shattered.
An even purer, more vigorous warm current of vitality spread from it to every part of Caleb's body.
At this moment, he clearly felt that the Viridian Power he commanded had become different. But before he could examine it closely, he felt a powerful shaking. Amidst this shaking, his consciousness abruptly returned to reality.
"Wuu?"
Dragonite looked at its Trainer with concern, gently touching his forehead with its claw.
Caleb was stunned for a moment. It took him a while to fully snap out of that strange state. He grabbed Dragonite's claw and said softly, "I'm fine."
"Growl!"
Something rubbed against his calf.
He looked down and saw a fluffy black head butting around anxiously.
It was Deino...
Though it couldn't see, its perception was extremely sharp. It had detected the anomaly almost the instant Dragonite and the others' emotions changed.
Only then did Caleb notice that Mimikyu and Lucario, who had been watching TV and playing in the living room, had somehow all gathered here.
"Bii!"
Celebi, the first to notice the change in Caleb, deftly perched on his shoulder as usual. It could sense that the scent of nature on him had become even stronger.
Caleb felt that Celebi now greatly resembled a cat addicted to catnip, and he was the unfortunate catnip plant.
Looking at his worried Pokémon companions before him, he reassured them, "I'm really fine."
Dragonite, Mimikyu, and Lucario observed him carefully. Only after confirming he was truly alright did they quietly sigh in relief.
Caleb picked up the Deino that was butting around like a little calf on the floor and turned to look at Gardevoir, who was quietly staying in a corner, asking, "Gardevoir, what just happened?"
Gardevoir replied, "Master, you stood there in the same pose for one hour and twenty-four minutes."
Caleb was taken aback, 'One hour and twenty-four minutes... That long? It felt like only a moment to me.'
He comfortingly rubbed Deino's head, then opened the panel to look at the information he hadn't noticed earlier:
[Enhancement successful! The Viridian Power has been upgraded! New abilities unlocked!]
[Viridian Power (MAX): A miraculous power gifted by nature to its chosen one.]
[Basic Abilities: Heal Pokémon's injuries, communicate with Pokémon, sense Pokémon's inner thoughts.]
[Advanced Abilities:
1. Enhanced Healing: Healing time greatly reduced, Viridian aura consumption decreased...
2. Enhanced Perception: Can sense the inner thoughts of Pokémon around the player and communicate with them. This ability does not require physical contact with the Pokémon...
3. Purification: Can cure any negative status condition of Pokémon, such as Burn, Sleep, Poison, etc...
4. Mass Healing: Mobilize the power of nature to restore the hp of designated allied Pokémon within an area.]
After reading this, Caleb, who was now a walking and talking Pokémon Center, grabbed Dragonite and gave it a loud kiss, "Shiny Dragonite, forever the best!"
Dragonite looked utterly bewildered, having no idea what was going on.
"Gardevoir, prepare some extra snacks for Dragonite tonight!" Caleb ordered.
"As you wish." Gardevoir nodded and turned toward the kitchen.
...
This Instance run had been quite relaxing for Caleb personally...
Aside from the sudden appearances of Cynthia and Lily, one could say everything had gone according to his plan.
Even if Cynthia hadn't appeared that day, Caleb still had Lance, Lorelei, and Bruno as his backup cards...
He took a shower and changed into clean clothes. By the time he returned to his room, Deino had already fallen asleep, curled up on a soft blanket.
This little dragon had now left its infant stage behind, its body and bones were fully developed. Caleb felt it was time to give it some special training.
From the time he entered the Infinite World until now, he had captured a total of five Pokémon: Mimikyu, Lucario, Dragonite, Deino, and Celebi.
He was still one Pokémon short of a standard full team.
Realistically speaking, only Mimikyu, Dragonite, and Lucario were battle-ready.
Back in Celestic Town, Caleb had tested Celebi's strength with Cynthia. Overall, it wasn't as powerful as one might imagine. Most of the moves it knew were support-type moves. Like Heal Bell, Baton Pass, Heal Block, Healing Wish, and so on...
Therefore, he temporarily assigned the tiny Pokémon to a support role.
Setting aside the training plan for Celebi for now, the most important thing at the moment was to ask Deino for its thoughts...