System Update

After awakening all the Amaura and Aurorus, Yuga received the system's reward to open a new sub-Ecopark.

According to the system, this final Sub-Ecopark was also a special type of Sub-Ecopark.

Yuga had become quite skilled in opening new sub-Ecopark, so soon enough, another light gate appeared in the main Ecopark.

However, just after Yuga finished opening the new sub-Ecopark, he heard the system's notification in his mind. Once the main quest for opening the Sub-Ecopark was completed, the system would begin updating. This was the second time the system had updated in the seven years it had been with him.

After the notification sound disappeared, the system fell silent. The system didn't mention how long the update would last, so Yuga could only wait patiently.

It was perfect timing, though, since he could now explore the newly opened Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark and see what was inside.

With that thought, Yuga stepped through the new light gate.

As soon as he entered, a rush of cold air greeted him, causing him to shiver involuntarily. Glancing around, the first thing Yuga did was take out a blanket from his system backpack and wrap it around himself.

Hoenn was still warm right now, so Yuga had only worn a short-sleeved shirt when he came in.

The main feature of the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark was the snow-capped mountain beneath Yuga's feet, with the light gate's entrance located at the mountain's summit.

However, the summit wasn't sharp or steep; in the center, it formed a crater-like depression. This aspect was particularly similar to the Volcano Sub-Ecopark, except that the Volcano sub-Ecopark's summit was a magma pool, while the Snow Mountain sub-garden's summit was a forest of ice pillars.

The ice pillar forest was filled with numerous thick ice columns, each emitting an intense cold. It was clear at first glance that these weren't ordinary ice formations.

Since the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark was another special Sub-Ecopark, the special aspect likely lay within these ice pillars.

Despite the many ice pillars, they didn't feel crowded. There was enough space between each pillar that even large Pokémon like Aurorus could move around without any problem.

At the center of the ice pillar forest was a clearing, and in the middle of that clearing lay a massive ice rock. This was the same type of ice rock Yuga had encountered when capturing Glaceon, the kind that allowed Eevee to evolve into Glaceon.

Of course, the ice rock's purpose wasn't limited to Eevee's evolution; its mere presence could assist ice-type Pokémon in absorbing ice-type energy.

This particular ice rock was much larger than the one Yuga had encountered before. Shaped irregularly like a rectangular prism, it wasn't especially tall—just over a meter high—but it stretched more than twenty meters long and over ten meters wide.

In addition, the edges of the ice rock were covered in ice-blue grass. Like the ice pillars, these grasses radiated an extraordinary cold, clearly not ordinary plants. However, Yuga couldn't identify the type of grass, nor could he determine their purpose.

The summit's crater had only one exit, and when Yuga stepped out, he could immediately see the ground far below.

The first thing that caught his eye upon leaving the crater was a long stone staircase covered in snow, extending all the way to the foot of the mountain. Even though the snow mountain was steep in some places, the staircase made ascending and descending easy.

Aside from the summit crater, the rest of the snow mountain was covered in low-growing fruit trees, such as Chesto Berry and Aspear Berry, which were well-suited to cold environments.

At the base of the snow mountain lay a small ice lake, its surface smooth like a mirror but not frozen. The lake's edges were lined with the same grass found near the ice rock, glowing faintly blue and looking rather beautiful. Some of the grass had even bloomed with small white flowers, swaying elegantly in the breeze, adding a touch of charm to the scene.

A bit further away was an oval-shaped ice field, though it was barren, covered only in a blanket of white snow.

After getting a general understanding of the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark, Yuga led the Amaura and Aurorus into their new home.

As soon as the Amaura and Aurorus entered the forest of ice pillars, they displayed expressions of enjoyment. The abundant ice-type energy in the area made them feel extremely comfortable.

The lively young Amaura started running around in the ice pillar forest, and before Yuga could stop them, they began eating the blue grass they encountered.

Yuga wasn't sure if these grasses were safe to eat. What if something went wrong after they ate them?

However, after observing for a while, Yuga noticed that the Amaura who had eaten the grass remained energetic and lively, which put his mind at ease. After all, if the grass were dangerous, the system likely wouldn't have allowed it to grow there in the first place.

After introducing the Amaura and Aurorus to the features of the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark, and weighing the pros and cons, they ultimately decided to live on the ice field at the base of the mountain.

In terms of environment, the ice pillar forest was definitely superior, but the Aurorus were large and clumsy, and living on the mountain summit presented several inconveniences, such as the difficulty of going down to drink water. The flat ice field, which was closer to the ice lake, was much more suitable for them.

After settling the Amaura and Aurorus in their new home, Yuga turned his attention to handling the ice-type Pokémon he had captured at the Santalune Plateau.

Before returning, Yuga had already instructed Audino to prepare enough Innovation Potion, including portions for Sneasel and Stoutland family.

There were a total of 32 Glaceon. Two of them originally had green potential, and after using Innovation Potion, the number of green-potential Glaceon increased to eight. Overall, the success rate of potential evolution wasn't very high.

However, there weren't many Pokémon in the group with red or orange potential to begin with. After using the potion, only three remained with orange potential, while the rest had yellow potential.

After careful consideration, Yuga decided to place the eight green-potential Pokémon in the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark and send the rest to the new Ecopark.

Although the new Ecopark didn't have a natural ice-type environment, one could be artificially created.

Yuga designated a small area in the new Ecopark and moved the large ice fragments that had originally encased the Amaura and Aurorus into this space. These ice chunks were valuable, and it would be wasteful to discard them.

The ice was already difficult to melt, but Yuga also placed Never-Melt Ice block—taller than a person—among the other ice pieces, ensuring that the ice would be resistant to high temperatures. The Glaceon were quite fond of Yuga's arrangement; it was certainly an improvement over their previous living conditions.

The eight green-potential Glaceon settled directly in the ice pillar forest. They especially liked the massive ice rock in the center and enjoyed sleeping on it.

Yuga entrusted them with the care of more than ten Cubchoo eggs, and the Glaceon took their responsibility seriously, looking after the eggs with great attention.

Afterward, Yuga visited the Volcano Sub-Ecopark to ask the Glaceon there if they wanted to move to the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark. However, these Glaceon had grown up alongside the other Eeveelutions and shared deep bonds with them, so they didn't want to separate, and they declined.

Yuga didn't force them. He left them the largest unmeltable ice block and stopped asking further. As long as they had the Never-Melt Ice, they would be comfortable no matter where they lived.

Next, Yuga dealt with the Stoutland family's relocation.

In the Stoutland family, both Stoutland and Furfrou were green-potential, while their children had yellow potential.

After using Innovation Potion, one Lillipup, one Furfrou, and the only Herdier in the family successfully evolved to green potential. Only one Lillipup and one Furfrou remained unchanged. This success rate was much higher than that of Glaceon.

After being together for so long and having deep bonds, Yuga didn't have the heart to separate the Stoutland family, so he let them all move into the Sub-Ecopark together.

Since they were already accustomed to the climate of the Santalune Plateau and had thick fur, the Stoutland family also moved into the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark.

As long as they had enough food, the low temperatures were not a problem for them. They chose to live by the ice lake, where the water was plentiful, and food was abundant, thanks to the many fruit trees growing at the foot of the snow mountain.

Next up was Sneasel.

Sneasel's luck wasn't bad either. A dose of Innovation Potion successfully turned it into a green-potential Pokémon, and Yuga happily led it into the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark to live with the Glaceon in the forest of ice pillars.

After all this work, it was already getting late, so Yuga decided to leave the remaining tasks for tomorrow.

The next morning, as Yuga was enjoying the breakfast carefully prepared by Audino, a Miltank hurriedly rushed over, saying that Sneasel and the Glaceon had gotten into a fight.

By the time Yuga arrived, the fight was already over. Since the Glaceon outnumbered Sneasel, it had taken quite a beating.

After inquiring further, Yuga found out that both Sneasel and the Glaceon were fond of the ice rock in the center of the forest and liked to sleep on it.

However, wild Pokémon have a strong sense of territory. Since Sneasel and the Glaceon had only recently been captured by Yuga, their territorial instincts hadn't fully adapted. The saying "there's no room for others to sleep beside your throne" seemed to apply here, leading to a fight between Sneasel and the Glaceon.

With no other choice, Yuga measured the area around the ice rock and then said to them, "How about you each take half? No one crosses the line, okay?"

"Sneasel, Sneasel!!!"

Sneasel immediately expressed its dissatisfaction, waving its arms around in protest, essentially saying, "Why is their territory bigger than mine? That's unfair!"

Yuga hadn't expected this little guy to be so domineering. It wanted to claim half of the ice rock for itself when there were eight Glaceon!

Naturally, the Glaceon weren't happy with Sneasel's complaints. The leader of the group began hurling insults at Sneasel, and Yuga felt a headache coming on.

Despite their elegant appearance, Glaceon also have a variety of personalities. Not all of them are cold and gentle. The leader, in particular, had no problem hurling sharp insults at Sneasel, leaving the latter flustered and red-faced. If Yuga hadn't been holding Sneasel back, it would have jumped up to scratch the Glaceon by now.

After much negotiation, Yuga finally managed to split the ice rock between Sneasel and the Glaceon. However, Sneasel was still upset with the Glaceon and followed Yuga out of the Snow Mountain Sub-Ecopark once he left.

Yuga didn't stop it and simply instructed Sneasel not to run off while he hurried off to handle other matters.

The coffin of the original owner of Aegislash was still in Yuga's system backpack, and he needed to deal with it as soon as possible.

Lately, Gengar, Mismagius, Absol, and Dragonite had been traveling with Yuga everywhere, and Roserade had been busy training with Florges. Yuga's Pokémon hadn't had the chance to train in the Distortion World for a while, so the cooldown for the Reverse Mirror had long since passed.

Since Aegislash was also a Ghost-type Pokémon, Yuga had it personally take its master's coffin to the Distortion World. In addition, Yuga sent Gengar, Mismagius, Dragonite, and Mimikyu into the Distortion World as well.

Once the matter with Aegislash was settled, Yuga's system finally reacted again, and when he opened it, he saw that the update had been completed.

Compared to before, the updated system interface looked much simpler.

At the top of the square interface, five icons were neatly arranged: Host, Shop, Backpack, Tasks, and Achievements. Not only had the system interface been rearranged, but the Tasks and Achievements icons were new additions.

Previously, the system would issue tasks randomly, with only a brief notification, and there wasn't a dedicated screen for them. As for achievements, they were mentioned even less. Now, after the update, everything seemed much more organized.

Yuga clicked on the Host tab, and the Host icon immediately enlarged, occupying the entire blank space at the bottom of the system interface.

...

[ Host ]: Yuga Kiyomizu

[ Age ]: 23

[ Gender ]: Male

[ Pokémon ]:

• Florges, Absol, Chimecho, Vivillon, Dragonite, Charizard, Lapras.

• Roserade, Bellossom, Venusaur, Breloom, Torterra, Sawsbuck, Serperior.

• Gengar, Mismagius, Cosmoem, Mimikyu

Decidueye, Abomasnow, Bagon.

[ Special Abilities ]:

• Celebi's Blessing (Intermediate)

• Ghost King (Beginner)

[ Skills ]:

• Pokéblock Crafting (Intermediate)

• Pokémon Breeding (Intermediate)

[ Title ]:

• Owner of YoYo Day Care

• Gym Leader of Verdanturf Gym

• Disciple of Grass-type Master

• Hall of Fame Trainer of Hoenn League

...

In general, Yuga's personal data hadn't changed much. The only significant change was that the system had now assigned levels to his special abilities. To his surprise, Celebi's Blessing was only at the intermediate level, and his Ghost-type ability was still beginner.

Both of these energies could be strengthened through training, and Yuga hadn't slacked off over the years. How were they still at these levels? Had all his training been for nothing?

It seemed he needed to double down on his efforts! Yuga silently made up his mind, wondering what level his master was at. He was curious.

After checking his personal data, Yuga clicked on the icon representing the Trainer's Shop.

The Trainer's Shop had also changed. Berries and Poké Balls were no longer items that required refreshing to purchase; they had become fixed items in the shop, each with a clear price tag. In general, the prices were about the same as those sold outside.

In the Poké Ball section, besides the standard Poké Balls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls, there were also rarer ones like Moon Balls, Friend Balls, and Dive Balls, though these were much more expensive than the typical Poké Balls.

Even the exclusive Poké Ball that the system had once given Yuga as a reward was now clearly priced at 100,000 each, with no purchase limit. Although Yuga wasn't short on money, he had to admit it was a bit pricey.

Still, the high cost made sense. These Poké Balls not only provided comfortable living conditions for Pokémon but also absorbed free-floating elemental energy from the air, based on the Pokémon's type, to aid in their training.

However, Yuga was a bit disappointed to see that there was no Master Ball available.

Aside from the fixed items, Yuga noticed a blank slot on the far left with the words "Click to Refresh" written in it. He clicked on it, and the slot immediately changed from blank to "A Bag of Dragon Scales (Normal)," with the slot color changing from white to green.

This meant the bag of dragon scales was a green-tier item.

Yuga clicked "Claim," and sure enough, a bag of dragon scales appeared in his backpack. He grabbed a handful and examined them. They seemed to be scales from a Druddigon, and their quality was quite good, suitable for crafting Dragon-type Pokéblocks.

Although the Berries and Poké Balls had become unlimited fixed items, the number of daily refresh slots had decreased from nine to one, and it could still only be refreshed once per day. Yuga wasn't sure if this had reduced the chances of finding a gold-tier item.

Of course, the system's response was that it hadn't, but who knew for sure? In the past seven years, Yuga had only found one gold-tier item, so even if the chances were lowered, it wouldn't matter much to him. After all, 99% equals 0%, no problem there.

The changes to the Trainer's Shop didn't affect Yuga much, so he didn't dwell on it and closed the tab.

He quickly checked the system backpack, but it remained the same as before. After a brief look, he closed the enlarged backpack icon, which shrank back to the top of the interface.

Finally, there were the Task and Achievement icons. Unlike the previous blue icons, these two were red and even emitted a faint glow.

Seeing this, Yuga guessed that there were tasks and achievements waiting to be claimed, which was usually the case in games.

Yuga clicked on the Task icon first, and as expected, two tasks had already been issued: one main task and one side task.