A golden light blazed!
[Gold Entry (Joy Conversion):
Grant joy to a Pokémon to convert it into Entry Coins! Note: Only valid for your own Pokémon. Higher Pokémon power = more Joy Points earned.]
Lin Yu: "???"
What did that mean?
Grant joy to his Pokémon and get Entry Coins in return?
[Kirlia feels joyful from your touch. Gained 1 Joy Point (convertible to 1 Entry Coin).]
Was this the wish fulfilled by the [Encounter] Entry?
Lin Yu glanced at Kirlia.
It was a little banged up but clearly thrilled.
He began gently massaging Kirlia's shoulders.
[Kirlia feels joyful from your touch. Gained 1 Joy Point (convertible to 1 Entry Coin).]
Kirlia stared at Lin Yu curiously. He was being extra affectionate today.
It loved it~
Lin Yu didn't overthink it. He pampered each of his Pokémon in turn.
By the end, he'd earned over 60 Joy Points!
That meant 60 Entry Coins!
At this rate, he could hit 6,000 coins in just 100 days.
This Entry was more than worthy of being gold-rarity.
"Rest up. Tomorrow we challenge Pidgeot again!"
Lin Yu decided to stay in this Secret Realm for the next few days.
"Kirl~" (Yay~)
"Charr!"
"Frog!"
For the next few days, Lin Yu hunted Pidgeot down like glue, challenging it to battle every single day.
Pidgeot was utterly fed up.
Every time it was about to finish them off, the human would Teleport away.
Then he'd return fully healed and challenge it again.
It was being used as a living training dummy!
Under this intense daily combat,
on December 4th:
Charmeleon reached Level 27.
Frogadier reached Level 24.
Kirlia reached Level 26.
With their power soaring,
Pidgeot could no longer bear the harassment.
On that day,
it stared breathlessly at the three Pokémon slowly closing in. Its once-gorgeous feathers were messy and ruffled, as if worn ragged.
Its energy was completely drained.
It landed, tucked its wings in, and bowed its proud head.
In its mind, all these repeated battles meant one thing: the human wanted to catch it.
"Great job, everyone!"
Seeing the exhausted Pidgeot, Lin Yu knew their training in this realm was complete.
"Charr!"
The three Pokémon had grown tougher and more resolute over these days.
"Pidgeot, thanks for everything~ If we have time, we'll come play again!"
Lin Yu set down several Flying-type Energy Cubes beside it.
He really had bothered the poor bird nonstop.
Pidgeot was a good guardian — it had to protect the Pidgey and Pidgeotto in the forest…
"Pidge…?"
Pidgeot stared in utter confusion.
It had prepared to submit, and this was its reward?
It watched the human leave with his Pokémon, laughing and chatting. A strange glint appeared in its eyes.
It wanted to follow.
But the Pidgey and Pidgeotto of this realm still needed its protection — the Spearow flock was still fighting them for territory.
A new month meant a new monthly Entry.
And Entry Coins were pouring in faster than ever. Even though the three Pokémon now only gave around 40 coins per day,
in just over ten days, his total hit 500+.
He gave this month's Entry to Kirlia.
[Purple Entry (Illusory):
Exclusive to Psychic-type Pokémon. Become intangible for 3 seconds. No attacks can land during this time! Cooldown: 24h.]
Three seconds of invulnerability!
Kirlia's Entry slots had been lacking, and the shop had just refreshed a Fixed Entry Slot.
He equipped it immediately.
[Pokémon: Kirlia]
[Ability: Telepathy]
[Gender: Female]
[Talent: Elite Four-tier]
[Level: 26]
[Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Protect, Psyblade, Teleport, Hypnosis...]
[Equipped Entries: Psyblade, Combat Leech, Mind Focus (Fixed), Final Whisper, Illusory (Fixed).]
"Huh… it's snowing?"
When he'd entered the realm, it was still autumn.
When he came out, winter had arrived.
Lin Yu's excited mood dimmed a little.
In this world, he had no family.
"Kirl?" (Why are you sad? You have us.)
Kirlia floated over and patted Lin Yu's shoulder.
"Yeah… I've got you guys with me."
Lin Yu patted Kirlia back.
Back in Shuimu City,
Lin Yu washed thoroughly first, scrubbing off the wild, rugged aura from days in the realm.
Then he turned on his phone — it had died days ago in the Secret Realm.
Ding…
Hundreds of messages flooded in.
First was Ye Qingxue from the capital. She'd sent a photo of herself in a swimsuit, standing beside a Dragonair on a beach.
Soft sand, delicate bare feet, a shy, hesitant expression…
It was stunning.
The message was three days old.
"Big brother! My inheritance went perfectly! My Dragonair is Mid-Gym tier now! Hurry up and catch up~"
Lin Yu replied with a single word: "Okay."
He sighed inwardly. Connections really meant everything.
She had family backing, and her Dragonair was from Dragon Island — double privilege.
1+1 was far greater than 2.
Next were messages from Xue Nai, asking where he'd been.
At first she'd been calm, but as he left her on read longer, her messages grew more and more frequent.
She was worried about him.
Lin Yu quickly explained he'd been in a Secret Realm with no signal.
[Xue Nai]: Fine, fine. Just tell me next time! I get worried.
She attached an angry emoji of her Alolan Vulpix.
[Lin Yu]: Got it!
After replying to Lao Qin and Coach Luo Xing, Lin Yu summed up his gains from the expedition.
First: treasures.
He'd been too focused on battling to collect many,
but they were still worth around one million yuan.
Second: power.
All three Pokémon had improved dramatically.
He'd also learned the truth about wild Pokémon:
they weren't brainless fools like in some fanfiction, helpless without a Trainer.
On the contrary, wild Pokémon were far more aggressive.
They usually unleashed their strongest moves immediately, aiming to crush opponents in one strike.