Chapter 36: The Special Poké Ball

Chapter 36: The Special Poké Ball

Within the darkness of the Poké Ball, Lu Yun curled up, the corners of his mouth occasionally twisting into a peculiar smile, as if lost in a pleasant dream.

No one knew how much time had passed before his tightly closed eyes quivered twice. The black-and-pink tail swayed gently, trailing streaks of yellow electricity through the pitch-black space.

“Awoo~”

A soft moan echoed as Lu Yun half-opened his eyes and stretched lazily. In his previous life, he had been accustomed to picking up his phone and browsing for a while upon waking in the morning. This habit had persisted in this life, even though he had reincarnated into a Pokémon—the only difference was that the object of his attention had shifted from a phone to the system.

With a dazed look, Lu Yun focused his consciousness on the lower right of his vision, where a semi-transparent Poké Ball icon hovered.

“Swish!”

A faint, crisp sound rang in his mind as the Poké Ball icon suddenly expanded into a rectangular data panel, dominating most of his field of vision.

Lu Yun glanced at it.

Species: Fleece Lamb
Level: 24 (73/100)
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Thunder Wave, Hidden Power (Dragon), Thunder Shock, Cotton Spore, Charge, Thunder Punch, Magnet Rise, Double-Edge
Assessment: A Fleece Lamb with exceptional potential

At this point, he had already reached level 24. In fact, according to his original plan, he should have easily surpassed level 25, given the high-intensity battles within the Battle Tower. However, circumstances had changed.

Those trainers who had been so eager to challenge him gradually lost confidence after witnessing their companions fall one after another and ceased their attempts. As a result, the room where Lu Yun waited grew quieter and quieter. Towards the end of the Battle Tower event, an entire day might pass without a single battle.

This left Lu Yun somewhat helpless. On the one hand, experience was crucial to him. He could have held back a little in battle, ensuring that challengers lost less miserably and thus maintained their enthusiasm. On the other hand, he was still a newcomer within the organization, having only participated in one mission so far, with few opportunities to prove himself.

He had long since planned to showcase his strength and potential during this mission. For the sake of his future prospects, he had no choice but to bid a reluctant farewell to all that tempting experience so close at hand.

Although he had lost out on a fair amount of potential experience, Lu Yun was still quite satisfied with his mission.

Firstly, he had gained substantial combat experience through numerous real battles against diverse opponents, gradually mastering many move combinations he’d previously only imagined. This would be invaluable for future battles and his development strategy.

Secondly, he felt that his impressive performance in such an official event must have earned him significant favor with his superiors, making his future advancement within the organization much smoother.

After all, “Dark Star” was no fool. They would naturally allocate extra resources to nurture Pokémon of such high potential under their command.

A gentle hum vibrated through the Poké Ball, dazzling white light flickering at the top.

Lu Yun frowned slightly.

“Does this mean there’s another mission already?”

During his special training with Case, he’d learned a bit about the organization. In an elite-focused group like “Dark Star,” the nurturing of Pokémon was taken even more seriously than in other organizations. Especially for the high-quality Pokémon stored at headquarters, “Dark Star” could be said to provide meticulous care.

Usually, there was ample time for rest and reflection between missions. Lu Yun had already confirmed this after his first assignment. This sudden exception left him puzzled.

“Could the organization be facing some kind of emergency?” he wondered. “But surely it wouldn’t be my turn…”

As he pondered, a strong suction force pulled him from above.

Bang!

He landed with a thud. Steadying himself, Lu Yun shook his head and swiftly scanned his surroundings to assess the situation.

Instead of a brutal battlefield as he’d imagined, he found himself in an ordinary, unremarkable little room.

Standing before him was a young man in a white lab coat, currently smiling at him with narrowed eyes. In his left hand, he held the classic red-and-white Poké Ball that Lu Yun had just emerged from. In his right hand, he held a strange Poké Ball that Lu Yun had never seen before.

Its design resembled the Ultra Balls from his previous life’s games, though the sphere had a greater proportion of yellow, with the usual gray replaced by deep black. On the button at its front, a tiny lightning bolt emblem was printed.

“What’s this…?”

Before Lu Yun could make sense of it, the young researcher in front of him suddenly tossed the odd Poké Ball toward him. The throw was a little weak and imprecise, striking only Lu Yun’s tail.

But a Poké Ball was a Poké Ball. With a crisp “click,” an eerie, black mist-like energy burst forth, instantly enveloping his body. The electricity Lu Yun had subconsciously released in his nervousness sparkled vividly within the dark mist, like thunderclouds brewing a storm in the sky—a unique and striking beauty.

Lu Yun offered no resistance, having noticed the “Dark Star” emblem on the staff member’s clothing moments before.

Hiss…

After sealing Lu Yun, the strange black mist twined back into the Poké Ball like a serpent swallowing its prey, slowly retreating.

Seeing how smoothly things had gone, the young man let out a sigh of relief. He carefully stored the Poké Ball, took out his phone, dialed a number with practiced ease, and held it to his ear.

Beep!

“Hello? Sister Ya, the task is complete.”

“Mm-hmm… yes! The Thunder Stone has already been processed and placed inside the Poké Ball.”

A languid female voice murmured faintly from the phone. When the brief call ended, the young man’s gaze drifted toward the Poké Ball in his pocket, his eyes tinged with envy.

He wondered just how influential this Fleece Lamb must be, to warrant the personal attention of the combat division chief’s own secretary, and to merit the use of the research department’s latest custom-made Electric-type Poké Ball.

There weren’t many of these in stock at the research department, as they were extremely costly to produce, and each one could generally only be attuned to a single type.

Still, you got what you paid for. The benefits such a Poké Ball provided to the Pokémon inside were countless—restoring vitality, condensing energy, even enhancing potential. Its many powerful features made it highly coveted within the organization, typically reserved for those at the very top.

…

Unlike the dizzying disorientation of previous transfers, this time Lu Yun simply felt a momentary darkness and a gentle vibration around his body before arriving inside the Poké Ball.

As he slowly opened his eyes and took in the scene before him, Lu Yun couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.