Chapter 11: Talent, Entei
Charmander blinked its big blue eyes, looking around in confusion, until its gaze finally locked onto Lin Mo's face.
It tilted its head, as if trying to recognize him.
Lin Mo's heart hammered. His throat felt blocked, and his eyes reddened instantly.
He slowly raised a trembling hand, wanting to touch Charmander, yet afraid, afraid this was just a dream.
Charmander stared at his outstretched finger. Without hesitation, it shuffled forward on its short legs and rubbed its cheek against him on its own initiative.
Warmth spread from Lin Mo's fingertip, and the last trace of doubt in his heart shattered.
"You're back… you're really back…" His voice came out hoarse.
More than 3 years of worry and longing burst free in that moment.
He suddenly bent down and carefully pulled Charmander into his arms, pressing his face against its side. His shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Charmander lifted its short front claws and hugged him back as best it could, making soft "wuu wuu" sounds from its throat that carried a faint sob.
The flame on its tail flickered violently with its emotions.
After a long while, Lin Mo finally managed to steady himself.
He straightened up, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and revealed a tear streaked but dazzling smile.
He gently rubbed Charmander's head. "Alright, alright… it's okay now…" he whispered, comforting Charmander, and also comforting himself.
"We won't be separated again this time. I will protect you. We both have to live well, and live for a long, long time."
Charmander nodded hard, and with a whoosh, the flame on its tail shot higher for a moment, brimming with spirit.
Only after his emotions calmed did Lin Mo finally check his partner's condition properly.
He focused his mind, the same way he checked his own status, and directed his attention toward Charmander in his arms.
A transparent panel appeared in his vision, similar in style to his own, but with completely different content.
[Spirit: Charmander]
[Talent: Entei]
[Spirit Power: Lv10]
[Mastered Spirit Abilities: Scratch, Growl, Spark, Smokescreen, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Rush, Flare Blitz, Metal Claw]
Lin Mo understood immediately.
Just as he had guessed, after following him to Douluo Star, Charmander had been affected by the rules of this world and transformed into his Martial Soul.
Perhaps because of the sudden destruction back in his previous life, when Lin Mo first underwent Spirit Awakening, Charmander could only exist in an egg form. Only when Lin Mo reached Rank 10 Spirit Power could it finally hatch.
In terms of existence, it was somewhat like Yu Xiaogang's Luo San Pao. Both were extremely special external Beast Martial Souls.
Charmander's Spirit Power was the same as Lin Mo's, also Rank 10.
That did not surprise him. Their Spirit Power was shared.
But the two words in the talent column, "Entei," made Lin Mo's heart skip.
The name itself carried weight. After combining it with the information transmitted by the panel, Lin Mo quickly understood what it meant.
Simply put, it could fuse different types of flame and turn their power into its own.
Right now, Charmander only carried one flame within its body, its innate "Blaze."
In the original Pokémon world, Blaze was an ability. Lin Mo knew it well. When Charmander's stamina dropped to a certain point, its fire type moves would become much stronger.
In this world, that ability seemed to have been merged into the initial flame of the "Entei" talent.
If Entei could absorb more flames in the future, would that mean Charmander could gain the buffs from multiple abilities?
"Entei… capable of fusing ten thousand fires…" Lin Mo murmured. His eyes grew brighter by the second.
The potential was terrifying, vast beyond doubt.
On the Douluo Continent, there was no shortage of fire attribute Spirit Beasts with powerful flames. If he could obtain Spirit Rings from them in the future, or absorb other special flames, how far could Charmander's Entei talent grow?
Lin Mo's gaze then dropped to the long list of mastered Spirit abilities.
Scratch, Growl, Spark, Smokescreen, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Rush, Flare Blitz, Metal Claw…
He stared at the row and could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.
"Good grief… it mastered 8 skills at once? Douluo Continent isn't a formal Pokémon match. There's no 4 skill limit here…"
This was absolutely a good thing.
Charmander's starting toolkit was far richer than that of ordinary Spirit Masters at the early stage.
Close range, Scratch and Metal Claw.
Long range, Spark and Dragon Pulse.
Interference, Growl and Smokescreen.
Explosive dash, Dragon Rush and Flare Blitz.
Range, burst, control, disruption, it covered almost everything.
And in the future, as Spirit Rings were added, Charmander would still be able to awaken new Spirit abilities.
Based on what Lin Mo had read in Nuoding Academy's library over the past 6 months, Charmander's appearance and traits could roughly place it in the "Earth Dragon" category, similar to Spirit Beasts like the White Armored Earth Dragon.
But Lin Mo knew the truth.
Charmander's bloodline potential and real combat power were far above those ordinary Earth Dragon Spirit Beasts.
Just the Entei talent and those 8 starting Spirit abilities were enough to crush the vast majority of Spirit Beasts of the same rank.
Lin Mo's excitement after Charmander hatched was beyond words.
It was not only the return of a partner who had shared life and death with him, filling the hollow place in his heart. It was also a direct leap in his strength.
His main body Martial Soul was his trump card. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never reveal it.
Before he found the correct cultivation method for a main body Martial Soul, and before he found the path to secondary awakening, exposing twin spirits, especially such a top tier main body Martial Soul, was far too dangerous.
But now everything was different.
With Charmander hatched, he could openly display powerful talent and combat strength.
Innate Rank 6 Spirit Power, plus what looked like a trash egg Martial Soul, yet it hatched into such a strong Beast Spirit.
Those facts alone were enough to explain why he had decent innate Spirit Power, and enough to let him go far on the Spirit Master path.
People would marvel at the uniqueness and power of his Martial Soul. Their attention would lock onto Charmander.
Who would suspect he carried an even stronger second Martial Soul, hidden in the dark?
Charmander's appearance gave him the perfect explanation for his old "good talent, trash Martial Soul" problem.
"Partner…" Lin Mo gently patted Charmander's head, smiling from the heart. "From now on, I'm counting on you to hold the line."
Charmander lifted its head, as if it understood.
"Wuu ao!"
Its tail flame burned fiercely, brimming with confidence.
It raised a front claw, and a faint metallic sheen flashed across it, as if saying, leave it to me.
Feeling that surging fighting spirit from Charmander, heat rose in Lin Mo's chest.
Only now could this third life truly be considered in his own hands.
And the goal of becoming a god, of attaining immortality, no longer felt so distant.
.....
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