Jieshi Mystery Realm

The next day, Shu Tong slept in his room for the entire day. Even when his grandmother came to call him to eat, he fobbed her off.

By the time he woke up, it was already evening again.

Shu Tong quickly cleaned up the aftermath. Only the last can of Nine-Flavor Rehmannia Pill remained. He put it in his backpack and disposed of all the empty cans.

During dinner, Shu Tong was still somewhat drowsy. It was only after drinking a bottle of Weedle's Moomoo Milk that he felt much better.

Weedle drank half a jin of liquor with Grandpa and was about to go out and make a drunken scene again, but Shu Tong ruthlessly recalled it into its Poké Ball.

"I'm not going to indulge your nonsense today."

After dinner, Shu Tong took a bath. His entire body felt refreshed, as if he had been reborn.

After bathing, Shu Tong lay on the bed and let out a long breath. He muttered, "It's been a long time since I felt this comfortable."

Still carrying questions about Perish Song.

Shu Tong opened Alakazam Search.

There was unexpectedly no introduction for "Perish Song," which left Shu Tong puzzled. Was it classified information that had been sealed away, or had this move never existed in the first place?

In any case, there were far too many things in this world worth exploring.

Having finally recovered, Shu Tong could now take a proper look at his Weedle.

If Life Energy had been an unexpected surprise, then all of its individual talents rising to superior grade was undoubtedly the result of more than ten days of hard work, combined with last night's reckless stunt, which had absorbed every last scrap of energy from the entire Superior Poison Barb.

Weedle now held an advantage in terms of individual talent. At least so far, Shu Tong had yet to see a Pokémon with every attribute at superior grade.

That included two Professional Trainers, as well as the granddaughter of the Thunderclap Dojo's head.

Moreover, when the Mystery Realm invasion came in two months, Weedle would already have the ability to protect itself. This time, it had completely escaped the tragedy of dying an untimely death.

This counted as Weedle taking its first step toward defying fate and changing its destiny.

Shu Tong turned on the television. He remembered that today should be the livestream of the National College Students' Individual Championship semifinals.

"Nidoking, Horn Charge Barrage."

On the screen, a massive purple figure lowered its sharp horn and charged valiantly toward its opponent. Every step made the ground shake and the mountains tremble.

"Typhlosion, Flamethrower."

A scorching stream of fire swept forward. Even through the screen, one could feel its searing heat, while the surrounding air warped with distortion.

Yet Nidoking showed no sign of halting its attack. A faint, veil-like glow appeared around its body.

The battle had reached its final critical moment. Everyone inside and outside the arena had their hearts in their throats.

Even the commentator outside the arena was beginning to stumble over his words. "It's appeared! Contestant Shen Haoran from the Su Province Jiangnan University team—his Nidoking is famous throughout the country! At this crucial moment, Moonlight Blessing has appeared again! Can Nidoking use it to break through contestant Chai Da's Typhlosion from the Ancient Capital Jiaotong University team? Let's wait and see!"

Moonlight Blessing?

Shu Tong had heard an unfamiliar term.

But he was in no hurry. Shen Haoran's page on the Unown Live-Streaming Platform would surely have an introduction later.

Sure enough, Nidoking charged into the Flamethrower without showing the slightest sign of being burned. Instead, it grew faster and faster, completely suppressing Typhlosion in momentum.

Once Typhlosion was forced into close range, it was completely outmatched by Nidoking in strength. Horn Collision Rush surged forth with the force of ten thousand galloping horses, and with an Earthquake accompanying every step beneath its feet, Typhlosion was beaten back again and again.

Nidoking's close-combat combo secret technique had pushed Close Combat to the absolute limit. Shu Tong had no idea which dojo's inheritance it came from.

Roar.

Typhlosion was pinned beneath Nidoking's foot and had completely lost its ability to fight. Nidoking let out a victorious roar.

After winning, Shen Haoran waved to the audience. The stands erupted with noise, showing just how popular he was.

Shen Haoran and Chai Da both walked to the center of the field and shook hands in respect.

"Your Nidoking is indeed strong. I admit defeat wholeheartedly. But Jiangnan University can't be held up by you alone, Shen Haoran. Anyway, good luck in the finals. Qi Tianze from Magic City University has clearly displayed much greater strength in this tournament than last time," Chai Da said.

Shen Haoran smiled. "As long as I have no regrets, that's enough. There's no need to be too obsessed with winning or losing."

Chai Da and Shen Haoran exchanged smiles. Both understood perfectly well. If we could really win, how could we not care?

Next came the interview segment.

Because he had devoted himself entirely to special training some time ago, Shu Tong had not watched the national university team tournament. He had only learned the results from the news. Jiangnan University, where Shen Haoran studied, had stopped in the top eight. Just as Chai Da had said, their teammates had not been strong enough, so they had narrowly lost to Jingxiang United University. The champions were still Magic City University.

The television screen now switched to Shen Haoran's interview.

"First of all, congratulations to Shen Haoran for successfully advancing to the finals. If you can win the championship, then with your points, it would be equivalent to obtaining the qualifications of a Fourth-Rank Professional Trainer ahead of schedule. So, how confident are you about the upcoming finals?"

Reporters always liked asking such sensitive questions to draw traffic.

"My opponent in the finals is Qi Tianze. As long as I give it everything I have and bring out the results of our usual special training, that will be enough," Shen Haoran answered tactfully.

There was nothing interesting after that, so Shu Tong turned off the television.

Shu Tong then logged onto the Unown Live-Streaming Platform, which he had barely used. There was even a fan support group for Shen Haoran there.

Shen Haoran had been Su Province's top scorer last year, a Third-Rank Professional Trainer, and the son of the head of Jinling's Qinhuai Dojo. He had entered Jiangnan University, Su Province's top Pokémon academy, to continue his studies.

Last year, he had entered the top eight of the National Freshman League and earned the right to enter the national-level Jieshi Mystery Realm.

Within the Jieshi Mystery Realm, Shen Haoran had obtained a Top-Grade Moon Stone. His Nidorino had evolved into Nidoking there, awakening a new ability, Moonlight Blessing, which could not only help Nidoking withstand damage but also restore a certain amount of stamina.

With this Nidoking, Shen Haoran's strength had risen to a whole new level.

As for Qi Tianze, Shen Haoran's opponent in the finals, he was even more blessed by the protagonist's halo. He had actually obtained Charizard's Mega Evolution Stone in the Jieshi Mystery Realm.

On top of that, Qi Tianze's father was the chairman of Haishu Group in Demon Capital, as well as a sponsor of the National Alliance. He had easily obtained a Mega Evolution Key Stone from National Alliance headquarters. Qi Tianze could now be said to be invincible among his peers.

Because of this, Shu Tong watched a video of Qi Tianze's Charizard undergoing Mega Evolution.

"So it's Mega Charizard Y, with Fire and Flying dual types. Does that mean Mega Charizard X, with Fire and Dragon dual types, hasn't been discovered yet?"

Shu Tong's heart suddenly began to stir. Although these people were powerful to begin with, the reason they had soared even higher was all because of the Jieshi Mystery Realm.

I recommend an excellent Pokémon novel, Pokémon: I'm Just a Collector. Not only can it satisfy your fantasies about the original Pokémon world, but it is also incredibly immersive and greatly makes up for the regrets left by the anime.