Two Plans

"There's a train to Jubilife City tomorrow. I need to get a good rest today." Lin Jiu arrived in Veilstone City, used a card with 50,000 Pokedollar to buy a few sets of clothes, and after a thorough cleaning, finally looked presentable.

He spent some money to stay in a guesthouse for the night and planned to head to Jubilife City the next day. After dinner, Lin Jiu checked the mission information.

[Main Mission: Expel the Twin Gods]

Difficulty Level: LV.10 (First Tier Limit)

Mission Brief: A "time-space rift" has appeared over Poplar Town, and the two Pokémon gods "Dialga" and "Palkia" have both appeared!

Mission Information: Use any means to expel the twin gods of time and space appearing in Poplar Town.

Mission Deadline: 26 natural days.

Mission Reward: Full activation of the Hunter identity. Title [Pioneer].

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Time was running out! Although he had a preliminary plan, Lin Jiu still felt uncertain and could only choose to go all out. His current strength was still too weak, and even dealing with the lowest-level Bug-type Pokémon in this world took some effort.

If it weren't for his luck in obtaining [Hunt], he probably wouldn't have even made it out of that forest. To kill a Kricketune, he had to exchange injuries for opportunities and aim at its not-fully-healed wounds.

Lin Jiu sighed. Life was not easy, so he decided to open a treasure chest for some luck. He placed the treasure chest he had painstakingly obtained by killing Kricketune in front of him.

He rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and chose to open the chest. It shone! Even brighter than the previous time with [Hunt].

[You opened a treasure chest (Green) and obtained the following items]

[200,000 Pokedollar (usable only in this world)]

[Skill Scroll (Green)]

[Sticky Web (Green) x2]

[Paradise Coins x400]

Lin Jiu casually tossed the Pokedollar into the storage space and then looked at the items in front of him. The green glow on the Skill Scroll was much brighter than the other items.

He examined the items in front of him.

[Sticky Web]

Origin: Pokémon, Sinnoh Region, Bug-buzz Forest

Quality: Green

Type: Consumable Item

Effect: A sticky web made from the silk of Bug-type Pokémon, which can effectively slow down any creature that steps on it.

Rating: 15 (Green rating 10-30)

Description: Did you think this was for cosplaying Spider-Man? It's actually for catching fish!

Trade Price: 200 Paradise Coins.

[Skill: Focus Energy]

Origin: Pokémon

Quality: Green · Special (Note: This type of skill is unique to this world.)

Type: Skill Scroll (Active)

Learning Requirements: Intelligence 7 points, Stamina 6 points.

Effect: Adjusts breathing, increases concentration, enhances observation ability, improves dynamic vision by 5%, makes it easier to spot enemy weaknesses, and increases critical hit chance by 10%. (This skill consumes stamina; the longer it lasts, the greater the stamina consumption!)

Rating: 30 (Green item extreme rating!)

Introduction: This simple skill possesses potential far beyond what its quality suggests!

Trade Price: 2700 Paradise Coins.

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Lin Jiu raised an eyebrow at the [Focus Energy] skill scroll and even under the pressure of his current mission, he showed a hint of joy. The surprise brought by this skill scroll was much greater than that of [Hunt].

Though [Hunt] was considered a rare find among green weapons, with low usage requirements and decent additional attributes, Lin Jiu was not someone like Su Xiao who had trained in swordsmanship for three years out of revenge. Even an ordinary kitchen knife in Su Xiao's hands would be more useful than [Hunt] in Lin Jiu's hands.

However, the [Focus Energy] skill scroll was different. Although it was an actively used skill, it was more of a technique-oriented ability. This meant that Lin Jiu finally had a combat skill and no longer had to hack blindly.

But one problem lay before Lin Jiu: outside the Reincarnation Paradise, he couldn't immediately master this skill. Helpless, he tried asking the Paradise. Unexpectedly, it responded.

[Considering the difficulty of the Hunter Assessment Task far exceeds your current level, you are granted one opportunity to learn a skill. Do you wish to spend 500 Paradise Coins to learn it? Yes/No!]

"Yes!" 

Lin Jiu chose to learn without hesitation. The skill scroll in his hand flashed and disappeared. Meanwhile, Lin Jiu's mind was filled with new knowledge on how to use a certain breathing technique to enhance concentration.

Lin Jiu tried following the instructions, and adjusting his breathing. A cooling sensation emerged in his mind, making the objects around him appear more three-dimensional.

After about seven minutes, Lin Jiu exited this state and tiredly lay down on the bed. He tested himself and found that one point of stamina could support the skill for about a minute, meaning his maximum focus state could last for seven minutes.

But this wasn't the limit of the duration. When holding [Hunt], the effect of the additional attribute "Morning Light" could extend the duration, provided the weather was suitable.

The next day, because of his experiment with Focus Energy, Lin Jiu was exhausted and almost overslept, nearly missing today's train. While running to the train station, Lin Jiu could vaguely feel his body becoming lighter than before.

He somewhat understood the potential mentioned in the skill description. Focus Energy had the potential to evolve into a skill for regular self-training. However, this wasn't something Lin Jiu needed to worry about right now!

Catching the train and finding a seat, Lin Jiu felt relieved that only places related to Pokémon, like Pokémon Centers and Gyms, required identity verification. As long as he avoided such places, he wouldn't be exposed.

On the train, Lin Jiu checked his personal information.

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Contractor Number 13014 (To protect the Hunter, this is a false number, and no means can lock onto the Hunter)

Name: Lin Jiu (Hunter)

Level: LV.1 (First Tier). (Every 10 levels constitute a tier. Leveling up grants no attribute bonuses, serving as Hunter's permission within the Paradise, corresponding to world difficulty, mission difficulty, etc.)

Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully quantified and changes according to injury severity)

Mana: 70 (Intelligence × 10, current mana recovery rate, 3.2 points per hour)

Strength: 5 (Related to attack power, carrying capacity, etc.)

Agility: 5 (Related to movement, attack speed, etc.)

Stamina: 7 (Related to health, defense, abnormal resistance, etc.)

Intelligence: 7 (Related to spell damage, mana, perception, etc.)

Charisma: 7 (Related to social interactions, summoning, etc.)

Luck: 1 (Related to item drops, crafting, etc. This attribute is very difficult to improve, so the Hunter should cherish any improvement opportunities)

Note: The standard attribute for an adult male is 5 points, with Luck being 1 point.

Skill 1: Focus Energy Lv.1

Reforging Talent: Soul Condensation. Each time an opponent is defeated, a small amount of their soul power is obtained (repeatable). The maximum limit in each world is fixed!

Weapon: Hunt

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"Next stop, Celestic Town! Passengers alighting, please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark."

Due to the existence of the Pokémon, the world's technology is often overlooked. However, both civilian and military technologies are highly advanced. Many Legendary Pokémon have experienced the fear of being dominated by human technology.

It didn't take long for the train to travel from Oreburgh City to Celestic Town. Lin Jiu immediately headed to the eastern area of Celestic Town, where two statues stood tall—Dialga and Palkia. Behind these statues is the Celestic Museum, where the Adamant Orb is stored.

Lin Jiu had devised two plans. The mission required him to personally drive away Dialga and Palkia. One plan involved him placing the sound disc into the Space-Time Towers, playing a tune to calm both Pokémon.

The second plan, which he was currently executing, he called the "Red Chain" plan. He learned from Cyrus to use the power of the Lustrous Orb and the Adamant Orb to drive the Red Chain, physically calming the two Pokémon.

In the anime, Team Galactic's actions seemed complicated because they needed to summon the two gods of time and space first. Using the Spear Key to open the Spear Pillar at Mt. Coronet, and capturing the three Legendary Pokémon representing knowledge, willpower, and emotion, were all preparations for summoning Dialga and Palkia.

However, for Lin Jiu, these two were already present and fighting fiercely, so there was no need for these preliminary steps. He could directly proceed to the final physical calming step.

The three items required to complete the Red Chain plan varied in difficulty to obtain. Although the two orbs were crucial for historical and legendary research, few people were aware of their importance.

Hence, the Adamant Orb was displayed in the Celestic Museum for people to witness, while the Lustrous Orb was stored in the Sinnoh Research Lab. The former was the easiest for Lin Jiu to acquire among the three items, while the latter was more troublesome.

The most difficult to obtain was the key item, the Red Chain, which was likely still in the Fuego Ironworks, Team Galactic's secret research base, in a semi-finished state.

If caught stealing the Lustrous Orb from the Sinnoh Research Lab, Lin Jiu might still persuade Cynthia to take him to Celestic Town, giving him a slight chance to complete the mission. However, if caught stealing the Red Chain, the probability of death was extremely high.

Lin Jiu didn't want to expose himself in either scenario. Some might think that persuading Champion Cynthia to act together could increase the mission's success rate. But that would require Lin Jiu to be a good person!

Lin Jiu didn't consider himself a bad person, but others wouldn't think so. To Cynthia and Ash, even harming Pokémon was a grave sin, let alone killing them. Lin Jiu had killed many Pokémon, and at least Psychic-type Pokémon could sense the malice in him.

Even if Lin Jiu bore no malice at that time, he had already been tainted by blood. Even non-Psychic-type Pokémon would instinctively reject him. This is why Pokémon are considered the most incredible beings in this world!