After reaching an agreement with Gardevoir, Elias finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At first, he had been worried that Gardevoir might sense something was off and refuse.
But now, it was clear—Gardevoir was as considerate and obedient as ever, agreeing with a simple nod, without even asking a question.
Elias felt a surge of emotion at her trust.
Afterward, he and Gardevoir moved to another floating island.
Finding a relatively secluded spot, well hidden from sight, Elias settled Gardevoir down and prepared to begin his third simulation.
"System, don't mess up this time. Start the simulation, now."
Elias lowered his voice in warning to the system.
[Definitely, definitely!]
The chastised system agreed eagerly, showing not a hint of resentment.
Clearly, she had a very clear understanding of her own capabilities.
Without delay, she quickly tapped the simulation button at Elias's request.
[Extracting abilities—]
[Power of Viridian (Gold): A mysterious power that can heal Pokémon and read their thoughts.]
[Housekeeping Mastery (Blue): From cleaning to caretaking, no one knows better than you how to look after people and Pokémon.]
[Power of Emrit (Purple): Blessed by the Emotion Pokémon, most beings will develop positive feelings toward you. (In specific emotional domains, unexpected effects may occur.)]
[Poké Ball Artisan (White): The balls you craft are flawlessly round and shiny.]
[Ghost-type Affinity (Purple): Ghost-type Pokémon can unleash power beyond their limits in your hands.]
[Fighting-type Trainer (Blue): Fighting-type Pokémon trained by you will reach exceptional levels of technique.]
A flash of white light—six abilities appeared on the interface.
Compared to last time, although there weren't as many top-quality options, these were much more targeted.
"Amplify emotions, Viridian power..."
"And with the permanent buff upgrade increasing affinity even further..."
"System, are you trying to turn me into some kind of Pokémon heartthrob?"
Looking at the list full of skills that boosted Pokémon affinity, Elias was a little speechless.
He could already imagine himself being swarmed by countless Pokémon during this simulation.
[Host, this is actually a good thing.]
[Having high natural affinity makes it much easier to bond with Pokémon—and to attract your destined partners.]
The system rubbed her hands together eagerly.
Truthfully, she was quite pleased with this round's draws.
"Fine."
Elias didn't have any major objections—higher affinity was never a bad thing.
Studying the six abilities carefully, after a moment, he slowly said:
"I'll pick [Power of Emrit], [Power of Viridian]... and [Ghost-type Affinity]."
That was his decision.
In truth, among the six abilities, what Elias needed most was the purple-grade [Power of Emrit].
After all, just the ability to amplify emotions alone was practically a cheat code.
The others—even the golden [Power of Viridian]—were more like support skills by comparison.
[Got it!]
The system approved his selection without argument.
[Abilities confirmed. Generating simulation environment. Please wait...]
The mechanical voice echoed in his mind as Elias's consciousness began to fade.
His vision wobbled, the shaking growing stronger by the second.
Gardevoir, standing beside him, quickly noticed the change.
Recalling his earlier instructions, she gently reached out to support Elias, cradling him to prevent him from collapsing.
At that moment, Elias's vision blurred into nothingness, and his consciousness fully sank into the simulation space.
Watching Elias, seemingly fallen into a deep sleep, Gardevoir pressed her lips together.
As she had guessed, this wasn't just an ordinary nap.
Still, even having confirmed that, Gardevoir's heart felt... light.
In fact, she even smiled softly, her face full of warmth.
She believed in him.
She believed that, just like in Azalea Town, Elias could easily disappear into light before her very eyes if he wanted to.
Yet he hadn't.
Instead, he had entrusted his entire body to her care—without hesitation, even at the risk of exposing his secrets.
It was a clear sign.
A sign that Elias trusted her more deeply than before.
The thought made Gardevoir's heart soar.
And besides, right now... they were alone together in the Distortion World.
For hundreds of miles around, there wasn't a single living soul—those usual "eyesores" were nowhere to be found.
In such perfect conditions, if she didn't make the most of it and enjoy some exclusive time with Elias, Gardevoir felt it would be a terrible waste.
Smiling to herself, she tightened her arms around him a little more, gently adjusting him into a more comfortable position.
Meanwhile, inside the simulation space—
---
[Environment generated successfully.]
[Fated Pokémon determined—Normal-type: Hisuian Zoroark.]
[Age 0: You are born into a small family of the Pearl Clan, deep within the pure-white tundra.]
[But perhaps fate was unkind—on the very next day after your birth, the tundra was struck by a once-in-a-century blizzard.]
[The clan was scattered. Your parents... did not survive the deadly cold.]
[Yet somehow, you—a fragile newborn—miraculously retained a sliver of life, buried beneath the heavy snowdrifts, clinging to breath by a thread.]
Elias: ...
He was used to starting out as an orphan by now—but compared to being abandoned in some random forest, this time felt even worse.
Hisuian region—that was Sinnoh, hundreds of years ago.
Back then, it had been an undisputed wilderness, where traces of human civilization were few and far between.
Even human and Pokémon relations were still tentative, a fragile truce at best.
Under these conditions, buried alive in the tundra's endless snow...
He might as well be declared dead already.
[Host, sorry... you were just really unlucky this time. Might have to restart.]
Even the system seemed at a loss, trying to offer a soft apology.
And yet—
[Just as your short, unremarkable life seemed about to end, a slender hand reached down and lifted you from the snow.]
---
"A baby?"
Staring at the "object" in her hands, Wusi covered her mouth in shock.
She had heard about the blizzard and had come to investigate out of curiosity.
Never had she expected to find a half-frozen infant half-buried along the way.
How on earth had he survived in such extreme cold?
---
T/N: ill end the update for here today hehehe (patreon related t/n)