After healing up, Diamond Ape left the arena, his heart broken.
Watching Diamond Ape's lonely back as he departed, Clefable sighed.
She had to be honest. Otherwise, it would only hurt Diamond Ape even more.
Sighing, she suddenly felt a pat on her back and jolted in surprise. Turning around, she saw Wang Shóu, who had returned unnoticed, greeting her.
"Yo, Clefable. How are you doing? Is Diamond Ape all healed up?"
Seeing that it was Wang Shóu, Clefable relaxed.
"Yes, Diamond Ape's injuries are completely healed," she said. But thinking of Diamond Ape's lonely back as he left, Clefable helplessly shook her head. "Though it may take some time for his mental health to recover..."
"Oh? Did losing to Tyranitar have more of an impact on his mind than expected?"
Clefable shook her head. "No... it's a bit complicated." She then explained what had happened a few minutes ago.
"Oh, that's... not, pfft, very good. Hahaha!" Wang Shóu tried to speak tactfully but couldn't help laughing loudly.
"Wang Shóu! Don't make fun of him. It must have taken a lot of courage for Diamond Ape to confess!"
Clefable chided, unhappy with Wang Shóu's wanton laughter.
"Hahaha... Alright, alright. I promise I won't do that again," Wang Shóu said, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Good. I'm glad you understood." Satisfied with Wang Shóu's response, Clefable left the arena, intending to get food from Basculegion since she was hungry.
Now, Wang Shóu was left alone in the arena.
"Honestly, it's quite weird. Clefable is younger than me, yet she feels more mature," Wang Shóu thought, watching Clefable's back grow smaller in the distance.
"Still, it's a good thing. Anyway..."
Looking at the damaged arena around him, with rubble scattered everywhere, he sighed. "I'll have to call Tyranitar to fix the arena again..."
Grumbling somewhat, Wang Shóu couldn't help but feel a little proud.
After five years, the tournament had been a resounding success!
Now, spirit beasts from all over the inner region came together to participate in and watch the tournament.
Initially, Wang Shóu had been a bit worried that the spectacle might attract some Fierce Beasts from the core region, but fortunately, that hadn't happened.
"System, bring up my status panel. It's been a while since I checked it."
[Affirmative]
A blue panel immediately appeared in front of Wang Shóu, and he quickly scanned it for changes.
After five years of fighting in the tournament, Wang Shóu had undergone an earth-shaking transformation!
[Name: Wang Shóu]
[Race: Pikachu]
[Held Item: Light Ball]
[Ability: Lightning Rod]
[Type: Electric]
[Level: 79 (99,000 years old)]
[Pokémon: Charizard (76), Clefable (71), Corviknight (72), Basculegion (70), Tyranitar (68)]
(For those too lazy to check the auxiliary chapters, Charizard is 88,500 years old, Clefable is 71,000 years old, Corviknight is 74,500 years old, Basculegion is 67,500 years old, and Tyranitar is 60,500 years old.)
Meanwhile, Xiong Yong and Zhuzhu hadn't slacked off either and had become much more powerful.
Xiong Yong had reached 50,000 years old and could now fight against 80,000-year-old spirit beasts.
As for Zhuzhu, she had reached 55,000 years old. After engaging in numerous battles, she had become more experienced and calm in combat.
But Wang Shóu's power growth wasn't his most fruitful gain. Upon reaching levels 60 and 70, he had unlocked several powerful privileges:
[Pokémon Candy], [Terastallize], [Dynamax], [Z-Move], and [Pokémon Creation].
[Pokémon Candy] is a special food, created with Pokémon berries, specifically catering toward Pokémon.
It has several powerful effects, which is very useful for Pokémon such as raiseing Pokémon's stat. And it also can quickly restore energy and heal injuries.
However, he needs to gather specific types of berries and follow the formula to create Pokémon Candy, which he tends to fail sometimes.
As for [Terastallize], it is a unique phenomenon from the Paldea region, originating from a Legendary Pokémon, Terapagos.
Terastallize allows the Pokémon to transform to change their type according to their Tera Type!
And if a Pokémon uses a move that corresponds to its Tera Type, the move will receive a STAB bonus.
For example, Pikachu's Tera type is ground so if Pikachu uses a ground-type move, the move will receive a STAB bonus!
And if the Pokémon's Tera Type is the same as its original type, the STAB bonus of that move type will receive an even bigger boost!
Then for [Dynamax], it originated from a Legendary Pokemon, Eternatsu who came from space.
It is a temporary transformation that massively increases Pokémon's size to hundreds of meters, effectively doubling Pokémon's health.
Pokémon's move will also turn into Max Moves, a much more powerful version with the power to change the terrain.
However, the duration of Dynamax is limited and Pokémon will eventually revert back to its original form after being exhausted.
Lastly, [Z-Move]. It originates from a Legendary Pokemon, Necrozma the God of Light. It is not a transformation but rather a special type of move.
Z-Move allows Pokémon to call on the power of nature, boosting their move to the extreme.
But Pokémon must have a Z-Crystal from one of the 18 types that correspond to the same type of move that Pokémon is using.
For example, if Charizard held a Fire Z-Crystal, then Charizard's fire-type move would only be boosted.
It is an extremely powerful move that can reverse the battle but can only be used once per battle.
As for the last privilege, [Pokémon Creation], this is the most important function given by the system so far.
Wang Shóu glances meaningfully into the far distance, where Tyranitar, Corviknight, Basculegion, Clefairy, and Charizard can be faintly seen.
They are all interacting with the spirit beasts in their own way. However, what's special is the unique glint in their eyes—something they didn't have before.
This is the power of [Pokémon Creation]. It can directly give his Pokémon an intelligent soul!
When he learned what it could truly do, he was extremely surprised.
Creating the physical body of a Pokémon is one thing, but directly creating an intelligent soul trespasses on the domain of God!
And no, not the Douluo Gods—they aren't qualified. Only the Creation God, according to his knowledge, is capable of this feat.
To emphasize just how powerful the Creation God was, he possessed a power called Creation Saint Energy. It is said to be the most powerful energy in existence.
What's truly special about it is that it is composed of five powerful energies. Life, Destruction, Kindness, Evil, and Asura.
The origin of these energies isn't simple. They come from five God-Kings who ruled the Douluo Divine Realm after the Dragon God's fall:
Goddess of Life, God of Destruction, Goddess of Kindness, God of Evil, and lastly, Asura God.
The Dragon God, considered the most powerful being in the Douluo Dalu series, only wielded Creation Energy, which comprises Life, Destruction, Kindness, and Evil.
Thus, the Dragon God can be considered a Semi-Creation God and is therefore inferior to the Creation God.
This speaks volumes about how powerful the Creation God truly is.
And now Wang Shóu's system is capable of the same feat as the Creation God.
'I'm honestly starting to suspect this system came from Arceus. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.'
Because Arceus is different from the Creation God.
When the legend said Arceus shaped the Pokémon universe using 1,000 arms, people misunderstood that the 1,000 arms were Unown. But that's wrong.
The "arms" actually represent Arceus's clones, each tasked with creating their respective universes.
And if people look at Arceus from a different perspective, they'll notice Arceus is shaped oddly like a hand.
The "1,000 arms" shouldn't be taken literally. Because the legend is using the number 1,000 to convey the idea that there can be infinite Arceus's "arms".
So, Arceus didn't just create a Pokémon universe—Arceus created the Pokémon Multiverse.
In simple terms, Arceus is countless times more powerful than the Creation God, who shamefully died due to creating too much.
'Still... I wonder why Arceus granted me this system?'
After pondering for a few seconds, Wang Shóu simply gives up. 'Oh well, no use trying to speculate on the mind of a God.'
'Or... I can ask someone who might know. Namely... the system!'
Shifting his attention to his system, Wang Shóu casually asks. "Hey, system, do you happen to know what purpose Arceus had in giving me you?"
[...]
A few minutes pass before the system finally responds.
[When you become a God, you will know everything. But rest assured, Arceus does not—and will never—intend to harm you.]
Hearing this, Wang Shóu feels at ease. While not hearing the full answer is a bit disappointing, he's relieved to know Arceus doesn't have malicious intentions. "I see. Thanks, system."
[No problem, Wang Shóu.]
'Now, the only thing I can do is become stronger until no one can harm me or my companions.'
Reaffirming his goal, Wang Shóu quickly leaves the arena to join his companions.
---
A few days later...
A majestic white tiger is peacefully sleeping atop a huge boulder.
The white tiger has a Chinese character on his forehead, representing "king."
It is the same 90,000 years old white tiger from seven years ago, who Wang Shóu saw, when he was trying to get Scarlet Blood Fruits!
Not far from the white tiger, a yellow rodent is hiding in the bushes, smiling evilly.
"Hehehe. After five years, it's time for my revenge!"
Of course, Wang Shóu wasn't that petty. Well... yes, he did hold some resentment for almost being put in life-threatening danger by the white tiger, but that wasn't his entire purpose.
Wang Shóu intended to challenge the overlord of the inner region and take this opportunity to raise his level to 80 and become a 100,000 years old spirit beast!