Chapter 236: System, Activate!

"Alright, that's enough." BeiLiLa raised her hand to stop the battle, a smile on her face, "This match ends in a draw."

Huo La heard that, spread his hands cheerfully, "Fine, a tie is a tie! Come back, Cyndaquil."

The Cyndaquil looked longingly at the opposing Oshawott, then twisted its small body, hopped back to Huo La, deftly scrambled up his pant leg onto his shoulder, and nudged his cheek with its tiny head, emitting a soft chirp.

The Oshawott on the other side wagged its fluffy tail, obediently returned to Xiao Zhao's feet, rubbing its wet nose against her back of the hand, as if begging for praise.

"You two just got your partners, and to have a battle like this on the first try is already impressive." BeiLiLa stepped forward, her gaze on the two Pokemon, her tone serious, "From now on their training and nurturing will depend on you. I can teach the Pokemon some new moves, but—"

She deliberately elongated her tone, raising an eyebrow at Huo La.

"Huh? It costs money?" Huo La immediately squinted exaggeratedly, his face showing "shock."

BeiLiLa, irritated, raised her hand and lightly tapped his forehead, "You brat, I knew you'd say that. Fine, considering it's your first time getting partners, I'll teach you one move as a congratulatory gift, no charge."

"I knew Aunt Bei loves me the most!" Huo La instantly put on a flattering smile, and the Cyndaquil on his shoulder chirped twice, as if agreeing.

"Let me be clear, just this once!" BeiLiLa set her face, emphasizing, "If you want to learn moves later, the cost will be whatever it is, no negotiation."

"Got it, got it, got it!" Huo La nodded like a chick pecking grain, fearing she might backtrack, quickly spoke first, "Then I want to teach Cyndaquil the move 'Flame Fang'! A close‑range attack, perfect for its current state."

"Flame Fang?" BeiLiLa pondered briefly, looked at the Cyndaquil on his shoulder, saw the little guy shaking its head excitedly, and nodded, "Fine, this move suits its current stage of learning; it'll master it in a moment."

Having said that, she turned her gaze to Xiao Zhao beside her, asking gently, "Xiao Zhao, what about you? Which move do you want to teach Oshawott?"

Xiao Zhao lowered her head to glance at the Oshawott at her feet, then looked up at Huo La, her eyes showing a mix of hesitation and anticipation, "Huo La, do you have any good suggestions?"

"Huh? Ask me?" Huo La froze for a moment, then recalled the battle scene, inhaled deeply, and said seriously, "I saw the Oshawott's shell fall to the ground; the shell itself is its weapon. How about teaching it 'Shell Blade'? It can boost its attack and maximize its advantage, perfect for it."

"Shell Blade?" BeiLiLa repeated the move name, looking down at the shell on Oshawott's belly, a hint of approval in her eyes, "Indeed a good idea. This move makes the shell razor‑sharp, useful for both offense and defense, very suitable for Oshawott."

"Since Aunt Bei and Huo La both think it's good, let's learn Shell Blade!" Xiao Zhao immediately decided, her tone full of joy.

The Oshawott seemed to understand, happily wagging its tail and hopping in place twice.

"Alright!" BeiLiLa replied briskly, "Leave the two of them here; after you finish learning the move, come fetch them."

When retrieving the Cyndaquil, the setting sun had already sunk behind the hills behind Zhuqing Village, the orange‑red afterglow coating the Cabin's windows with a warm golden rim.

Huo La cradled the Cyndaquil back to his little Cabin, skillfully adding two pieces of dry firewood, making the fire burn brighter.

With the Cyndaquil beside him, the little creature occasionally spat out a small puff of warm sparks, and the room, which had been chilly after nightfall, indeed became much warmer than usual.

He sat on the grass mat beside the fire, gently patting the Cyndaquil's fluffy head with his palm repeatedly.

The little creature comfortably squinted, emitting a soft purring sound, curled at his leg like a warm little fluff ball.

The flames leapt, casting Huo La's cheeks in flickering light.

He stared at the dancing firelight, momentarily falling into a daze again.

At that moment, "Beep… System initializing…"

A cold, mechanical yet oddly familiar electronic tone rang in his ear without warning.

Huo La's hand on the Cyndaquil froze abruptly; the soft fur still tingled his fingertips, but his mind felt struck by a thunderbolt, instantly blank.

He almost held his breath, slowly raising his eyes to the space before him—the system interface that had lain dormant for three whole years, forever gray and dim, now gradually illuminated in the void, its pale blue glow soft yet striking, the icons' patterns becoming clearer bit by bit.

"System startup complete, scanning Host environment…"

"Detected Host detached from original Time and Space, querying current world…"

"World determination: Hisui Region, Sinnoh ancient Time and Space."

"Assessing return to original Time and Space probability… 1%… 5%… 12%…"

"Detected residual Spacetime Energy fluctuations, captured traces of Dialga and Palkia! Return probability rises to 37%!"

Lines of pale blue text flickered rapidly across the interface, Huo La's heartbeat quickened, his clenched palms even sweating.

Three years, a full three years, never expected the system to suddenly react again!

Just as he was so excited he almost stood up, the system's System Prompt Sound rang again, this time with a noticeable lag:

"【Task Released: Return Path】"

Task Type: Mainline Return Quest

Task Content: Seek the traces of the Time‑Space Dual Gods, find a way to return to the original Time and Space

Task Time Limit: No limit

Task Reward: …

The text abruptly stopped here, and the light on the interface dimmed slightly.

"System Energy insufficient, unable to load full system module… retaining minimal functions: Pokemon basic information view, task progress tracking."

"Energy Recovery Progress: 1%. Unlocking further functions requires absorbing Spacetime Energy…"

The System Prompt Sound vanished completely, Huo La stared blankly at the line "Energy Recovery Progress 1%", feeling not a hint of disappointment but an indescribable exhilaration.

As long as it can start, as long as there's a task guide! As long as we can return!

He looked down at the Cyndaquil on his leg; the little creature seemed to sense his emotional shift, lifted its head to nuzzle his palm, emitting a soft chirp.

Huo La inhaled deeply, reached out to rub the Cyndaquil's fluffy head, the warmth at his fingertips soothing his inner restlessness a bit.

He stood up, hurried to the old backpack in the corner, crouched and rummaged for a moment, pulling out a Pokeball.

He pressed the Pokeball's central button with a slight pressure from his fingertip.

No red light flickered, no familiar hum; the Pokeball lay as quiet as a cold stone, unresponsive.

Huo La's gaze dimmed a bit; unwilling to give up, he pressed a few more times, with the same result.

"So it still doesn't work…" he murmured softly, his fingertips rubbing the Pokeball's icy shell, a wave of indescribable loss rising inside him.

He had originally thought that since the system could restart, his Pokemon should also recover.

But now it seems the system's awakening only solved the "direction guidance" issue, yet failed to break the Pokeball's restriction.