"Auntie Xue, thank you so much, Xiao Yu."
Lin Yu: "It's nothing! I still haven't properly thanked you for setting me up with my teacher!"
After hanging up,
Lin Yu thought it over.
The plan made perfect sense.
Charmeleon, Kirlia, and Frogadier were all stuck at a bottleneck —
all three were Elite Peak, Level 29,
and had been trapped there for a while.
Especially Charmeleon.
They desperately needed real combat experience.
With their teamwork, the three could even fight against Advanced Gym-tier Pokémon in the Secret Realms.
Besides, Riolu had never been in a real battle.
And harsh environments like the Frost Realm
required permission from the affiliated Gym Leader to enter.
This was the perfect chance.
Once they finished training here, the Provincial High School Tournament should be starting.
It would be held in Water Metropolis.
Despite the name, the city was surrounded by a giant lake on all sides — that's how it got its name.
Many qualified contestants had already left early.
The next morning.
Lin Yu first opened this week's Entry.
[Blue Entry (Child of Frost):
Maintains constant body temperature in icy terrain; raises friendliness with Ice-type Pokémon. Bound Entry.]
Wow.
[Wish Come True] was getting more and more overpowered.
It was a Bound Entry — once equipped to a Pokémon or person, it couldn't be removed.
Similar to the [Child of Water] he'd gotten before.
Too bad it needed 100 fulfilled wishes to upgrade again.
He then went to the Frost Gym as promised.
The New Year holiday vibe was still strong, and the Gym was completely empty.
"Xiao Yu~!"
As soon as Lin Yu walked in, Xue Nai, who'd been waiting by the door, lit up with joy.
She hurried to her mother behind her: "Mom, I'm off!"
"Girls grow up so fast… and leave their mothers behind."
Auntie Xue shook her head, watching her daughter rush out excitedly.
"Good morning, Senior."
The weather had turned cold, and they were heading to the Frost Realm,
so Xue Nai wasn't wearing her usual girly skirts.
Instead, she had on snow boots, a fluffy pink jacket, and white pants.
Less energetic, but twice as cute.
"Do I look weird?"
Xue Nai frowned. Her mom had insisted the Frost Realm was freezing
and bundled her up like a little dumpling.
Lin Yu chuckled. "You look good no matter what you wear, Senior."
"Heehee~ You're such a sweet talker!"
Being praised by the boy she liked made her heart flutter.
Xue Nai smiled brightly, her mood soaring.
Frost Realm.
Even standing at the entrance,
Lin Yu could feel the sharp temperature difference between the two worlds.
He watched Xue Nai hand the entry pass to the two enforcement officers at the gate.
But instead of going in right away, she turned to Lin Yu.
"Xiao Yu… can I hold your hand?"
"Huh?"
Lin Yu blinked in confusion.
"We need to be touching to teleport to the same spot inside the Realm."
Xue Nai blushed a little.
There were other ways, but she wasn't about to say that.
The officers beside them rolled their eyes.
These lovebirds, showing off right in front of them.
"Need to touch to go to the same place" — please!
Lin Yu didn't think twice. Secret Realms really did have rules like this. He held out his hand
and let her take it.
It was soft, delicate, and warm.
Lin Yu had held Ye Qingxue's hand when they were little, but back then he'd only thought girls had tiny, cute hands.
Now he realized… a teenage girl's hand really was nice to hold.
In the blink of an eye,
the world shifted.
The Frost Realm was a towering snow-capped mountain, surrounded by a vast snowfield.
The mountain peak was Froslass's territory.
They had teleported right to the foot of the mountain.
Lin Yu gently let go of Xue Nai's hand.
Whoosh~
A bitter wind howled through the air.
Xue Nai hugged her jacket tight. Her mom had been right — it was freezing.
She usually stayed inside the Frost Gym,
where the temperature stayed below 10°C,
and she could still wear skirts.
But here, even in a thick jacket, the cold wind nipped at her neck.
"Xiao Yu, aren't you cold?"
She looked worriedly at Lin Yu, who only wore a thin hoodie.
"I'm fine."
With [Child of Frost] equipped, Lin Yu felt no cold at all.
"No, you must not have brought warm clothes. Here, you can wear mine—"
"I'm really not cold, Senior, honest!"
Lin Yu laughed helplessly. He couldn't exactly explain the Entry.
Instead, he held out his hand for her to touch. "See? My hand's warm. I'm tough!"
Suddenly, Lin Yu's expression changed. He quickly summoned Charmeleon.
"Smoo~!"
He turned — it was a Smoochum, peering at them cautiously.
"Smoo!"
As soon as it saw the huge Charmeleon, it panicked and scurried away.
"Xiao Yu, you squeezed too hard…"
A quiet yelp pulled Lin Yu back to his senses.
He'd tensed up at the sight of the Jynx-line Pokémon and squeezed her hand tight.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Senior…"
Lin Yu quickly let go.
"It's okay. Your Charmeleon's getting stronger and stronger~"
Xue Nai greeted the imposing Charmeleon happily.
"Charmeleon, I'm counting on you to protect us! My Braixen isn't here, you know."
Charmeleon puffed out its chest, as if saying "Leave it to me!"
Lin Yu asked curiously, "Where's Braixen?"
"Mom took her to a volcano Secret Realm in the capital for training."
Lin Yu didn't ask further.
As a Gym Leader, Auntie Xue naturally had connections.
Their goal this time was clearly Xue Nai's Alolan Vulpix.
"Come out, Vulpix!"
A pure-white Alolan Vulpix with ice-blue eyes appeared in the snow.
Lin Yu instinctively used his Inspection Eye.
[Pokémon: Alolan Vulpix]
[Ability: Snow Cloak]
[Gender: Female]
[Talent: Master-tier]
[Level: 21]
[Moves: Powder Snow, Ice Shard, Disable, Icy Wind, Confuse Ray, Tail Whip, Mist, Ice Beam...]
"Xiao Yu, we're heading to the top of this mountain. Sorry to trouble you."
Lin Yu was surprised — this Vulpix had Master-tier talent!
"Got it!"
Before he could even finish speaking,
a warning flared from his Aura Sense and [Child of Frost].
A Jynx with long golden hair appeared before them,
with a Smoochum right beside her.