Link's tactics couldn't overcome the gap in strength between the two Digimon.
But he maintained a good attitude; at least this time he saw a glimmer of hope for victory, right?
Since this defeat was due to Minoru's Falconmon's exhaustion and mispositioning, he could simply switch it with Floramon next time.
So he clicked "Restart" again.
Good news: this time, Falconmon didn't make a mispositioning mistake while fighting two opponents.
Bad news: Falconmon was utterly defeated by the boss, Dokugumon.
Seeing this, Link hesitated, speechless with frustration.
He couldn't win; he really couldn't win!
Perhaps... it wasn't a tactical issue?
Link analyzed the situation carefully and realized the problem. A Rookie Digimon fighting an Adult Digimon was obviously incredibly difficult, but couldn't they just evolve?
At the end of the previous cycle, Takuma, in a desperate situation, unleashed his power, evolving Agumon into something called Great Horned Beast.
This meant that he couldn't just focus on the Digimon; he also had to pay attention to the humans who partnered with them.
In the DM worldview, the strength of a Digimon depends on "data quality."
Unwavering faith, pure emotion, and tenacious willpower possess unimaginable power. When human emotions are infused into a Digimon, special phenomena such as evolution and enhancement occur.
In short, whether it's a breakdown or an outburst of virtue, as long as the emotional fluctuations are intense enough, they can amplify the Digimon's power.
Currently, the Chosen Children, trapped in a desperate situation and isolated, are all in a state of mental instability.
Based on the information he obtained from these five simulations:
Takuma Momotsuka is full of passion and has few flaws overall.
Minoru Hinata admires heroes but lacks confidence due to his own cowardice.
Aoi Shibuya is gentle, kind, and maternal, but has been kidnapped. Ryo Tominaga is cowardly, withdrawn, foul-mouthed, lazy, desperate, and prone to stress; he has virtually no redeeming qualities and is currently numb like a walking corpse.
Link himself didn't think there was anything wrong with him, but he didn't know what was going on with the other guy.
Of his four teammates, only Takuma seemed relatively normal; the others all had some psychological issues. How could they possibly survive a desperate situation with such a bunch of insects? It was simply unsolvable!
He racked his brains and decided to start with Takuma, who had already shown the potential to evolve to the Champion stage.
If he could motivate Takuma to evolve Agumon, that would be enough to deal with the spider-mon and buy time to calm the other three down.
Unfortunately, the three simulations for the day were already over, and it was past nine o'clock; Fennekin was already dozing off.
Sigh, some things just can't be rushed.
"Fennekin, goodnight."
Link turned off the lights and the TV, carried Fennekin to bed, and practiced the mental training methods taught by the Calyrex King, quickly falling asleep.
Before going to sleep, he glanced at Fennekin, confirming once again that his experiences weren't a dream.
Actually, Link also vaguely knew that his mental state wasn't very stable—he was very worried that his experiences over the past two days were just a hallucination.
After all, it's absurd that someone living on the sixth floor would be thrown into the air and killed by a truck. Are they really that desperate for sales?
Besides, this world is just too wonderful, making him afraid that one day he'll wake up to find himself facing that same boring and lonely world again.
So, Link spent the entire day studying frantically, forcing himself to forget the things that frightened him.
He had to live each day to the fullest, he had to cram in all the knowledge to help his Fennekin grow, he had to become stronger so he wouldn't become a weakness for his Pokémon.
Link secretly thought that he still didn't have enough time. If only he could even use his sleep and dream time…
When he awoke again, he found the ceiling above him had changed, becoming completely unfamiliar.
Confused, he got up and discovered the fire fox was gone, and he found himself in a fairytale-style room.
The room contained a bed, a magnificent treasure chest, bookshelves, and a huge red book, all very whimsical.
Through the window, he could see a crystal-clear pond outside, and a small field of star peaches in the distance.
It was a dream, Link instantly concluded, and he got out of bed to approach the treasure chest and bookshelves.
The huge red book's cover read "Friends' Sketchpad," and inside was a cartoonish fire fox drawn like in a child's drawing diary. Below, the word "Focus" was written, and that was it.
He closed the book, put it back, and then curiously opened the treasure chest, finding it empty.
He then stepped outside the room and witnessed an even more fantastical scene.
Not only was the room's decor fairytale-like, but even the exterior of the room resembled a candy house.
To the right of the room were two rows of fields, each planted with three star peach trees. The ripe fruit emitted a complex and peculiar fragrance, spreading throughout the island on the breeze.
Link instinctively picked one, but couldn't bring himself to eat it, so he carried it with him.
Besides that…he took a few steps to the edge of the island, where he saw an endless expanse of azure sky.
This was a floating island!
Below, the abyss was unfathomable, with no land or landmarks in sight.
Not intending to test for any invisible walls, he instinctively took two steps back.
Looking around, he discovered that besides the empty sky, there wasn't nothing. A semi-transparent rainbow stretched outwards from his floating island, all the way to a gigantic floating island.
What a bizarre dream.
Link vaguely remembered something, but wasn't entirely sure.
He carefully probed the rainbow and found that it, as expected, possessed a solid form, seemingly quite sturdy.
With nothing to do on the Sky Island and enjoying a rare lucid dream, Link decided to cross the Rainbow Bridge and head towards the giant Sky Island that resembled a continent in the distance.
Time and space seemed to have mutated; the journey to the main island took less time than expected.
Upon arriving on the main island, Link saw a treehouse with a natural feel.
A wooden clock displayed the current time, and nearby were tables, chairs, picnic blankets, and shelves.
Squirtle, Galarian Ponyta, Alola Exeggutor, Pancham… all sorts of Pokémon from different regions had gathered here, harmoniously enjoying delicious desserts and drinks in front of the treehouse, creating a lively scene.
Link even spotted Lugia, a legendary Pokémon, among the guests.
He instinctively looked at the sign in front of the treehouse, which read "Pokémon Cafe" in characters he recognized.
An Eevee wearing a hat and scarf was busily moving between each table, carrying pancakes that looked like Eevee.
Seeing this, Link immediately realized what strange thing had happened to him.
This is no ordinary dream.
This is the Pokémon Dream World (PDW), a dream world constructed by countless Pokémon!
"Welcome! Young human!"
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(End of Chapter)