Chapter 28: Hidden Trait

Tang Yi opened the mental supplement, inserted the straw, and brought it close to his nose for another sniff. There was a faint fruity aroma; the doctor had said it was brewed from wild fruits.

“But it feels like fruit juice,” Tang Yi murmured out of pure curiosity.

“Why don’t you try a sip first?” Raluluas was helpless in the face of Tang Yi’s childlike curiosity, blurting it out without thinking, and immediately regretting it.

But it was too late.

Tang Yi indeed took the straw, sucked a tiny bit, just a little, then smacked his lips and said, “It’s a bit astringent, not as fragrant as it smells.”

Truth be told, Tang Yi was simply curious about what the berries from the old Pokémon games actually tasted like.

Once his curiosity was satisfied, Tang Yi naturally lost interest in competing with Raluluas for the supplement.

“Here, you can have it. There’s plenty of time left, so drink it slowly.”

As Tang Yi handed over the supplement, Raluluas' big eyes peeking from behind her hair stared fixedly at the straw that Tang Yi had just used—she didn’t know whether to accept it or not, and was terribly conflicted.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Yi thought Raluluas was worried about the taste and reassured her, “Don’t worry, I was just joking earlier. Honestly, it tastes pretty decent, and besides, it’s good for your mental recovery.”

You did that on purpose!

Definitely on purpose!

Raluluas pressed her lips together, torn apart with indecision.

After a long while, she finally took the supplement from Tang Yi with a look as if she were facing her doom, closed her eyes, and gulped it down in one go.

Cough, cough!

Raluluas choked, and Tang Yi quickly patted her back, only to find that even her ears were flushed red. He worriedly brushed her hair aside, placed his hand on her forehead, and found she wasn’t feverish.

“I—I’m fine. Just need to rest a bit,” Raluluas said, shifting slightly to the side of her seat to put a little distance between herself and Tang Yi, feeling much better.

“Alright then.”

Watching Raluluas rapidly approach the end of her growth phase, Tang Yi noted that the girl now stood tall and graceful, looking sixteen or seventeen years old. It was normal for her to start keeping her thoughts to herself and not wanting to share everything with her trainer.

Tang Yi consoled himself with a sigh.

“By the way, during that last battle, did you somehow sense my thoughts?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Raluluas blinked her innocent red eyes.

Tang Yi was helpless. Even as she grew older, the girl’s habit of always apologizing hadn’t changed. He said, “Next time, don’t apologize right away. You didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, without your ability, our teamwork wouldn’t have been so good, and we wouldn’t have won. I need to understand your ability better.”

Qin Donghai and his Squirtle were indeed strong; their victory was a bit lucky. If Qin Donghai had paid more attention to Raluluas beforehand, the outcome might have been different.

Raluluas lowered her head and answered softly, “I didn’t know what was happening at the time. I suddenly sensed you feeling guilty and blaming yourself, thinking you were forcing me to train and fight. I—I felt kind of happy.”

Huh? My guilt makes you happy?

Tang Yi couldn’t quite grasp the girl’s thoughts, but he was excited—just as he suspected, Raluluas possessed a hidden ability: Mind Link!

In this world, Pokémon had abilities as well. Most Raluluas had abilities like Copy or Synchronize; Synchronize transferred negative statuses like paralysis or poison to other Pokémon within a certain range, while Copy temporarily replicated another Pokémon’s ability.

Both were useful in battle, but Tang Yi had tested them before and Raluluas had never shown signs of either.

Now, he could finally confirm she truly had a hidden ability.

Thinking back to the time when he chose her egg, he felt secretly fortunate he had picked the most ordinary egg without any inherited skills—otherwise, he would have missed out on this girl.

Hidden abilities were extremely rare, possessed by only a handful of Pokémon.

Tang Yi remembered that in his previous life’s Pokémon games, Mind Link was a hidden ability used in double battles, allowing the Pokémon to avoid damage from allies’ area attacks.

But in this real world, Mind Link actually let her sense others’ thoughts.

So far, Raluluas had only briefly experienced it during the recent battle.

Tang Yi asked curiously, “Can you sense what I’m thinking right now?”

Raluluas replied in a huff, “You’re definitely thinking something bad.”

Tang Yi was startled: “You can sense that? Your ability is a bit terrifying!”

The girl was speechless: “I—I was just guessing! Hmph! I have no idea what you’re thinking right now!”

Tang Yi laughed heartily. Why did teasing Raluluas always bring him so much joy?

It seemed her hidden ability couldn’t be used at will and might have limitations, such as target, range, duration, and so on.

“No rush, we have several matches today—let’s take our time figuring it out.” Tang Yi stood, stretched, and checked the time; the next match was approaching.

Raluluas finished her supplement, got up, tossed the empty bottle into the trash, and detected the ease in Tang Yi’s tone. She couldn’t help but worry, “I don’t even know if I’ll be able to use that ability again next time. Are you really that confident in me?”

The last battle’s outcome was pure coincidence; neither Tang Yi nor Raluluas knew how it happened.

Raluluas was anxious that Tang Yi’s high expectations might lead to disappointment.

“Uh, not really confident…”

“Then why are you so relaxed?”

“Because we’ve already achieved our goal of winning one match. Now we aim for the championship—let’s just see how far we can go.”

Raluluas was amused and curious; she remembered Tang Yi joking on the school bus with classmates, and felt he was teasing her again.

Suddenly, Tang Yi’s voice dropped, growing serious and earnest: “Raluluas, I’m not joking. Winning a match—especially against such a strong opponent—makes me proud of you. My baseline goal is already reached. No matter what happens next, I can accept it. So, please don’t put any more pressure on yourself.”

The trainer’s focused, sincere gaze made Raluluas turn her face away, shy but also slightly moved.

This guy had seen through the pressure she hid deep inside.

Raluluas had thought she concealed it well.