Hatred was not sothing Lin Feng could control. That belonged to Salance. What he could do, however, was guide it make sure that rage didn't consu everything and everyone indiscriminately.
Just like the story he'd once told Salance before:
If hatred was never resolved, if grudges never t their end, then vengeance would stretch on forever without aning, without rcy, without peace.
Salance raised its head sharply, eyes glinting. (So you an I can go after those people?)
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "Of course. I won't stop you from seeking your revenge."
Hatred was a personal thing. Retribution was a choice.
If Lin Feng were in Salance's place captured, restrained, his blood drawn day after day in the na of human research then freed only to find himself stronger he would probably feel the sa way.
After all, even in the stories, there were champions who rose from suffering, who carried their scars as proof of survival.
So no, he wouldn't stop Salance.
(Good!) The dragon's voice thundered with satisfaction. Its expression softened slightly as it looked at Lin Feng, and for the first ti, there was no hostility in its eyes.
This human, it thought, wasn't so bad after all. He fed it daily, treated its wounds, and now he wasn't even stopping it from taking revenge.
It spread its wings, ready to take off.
"Wait!" Lin Feng raised his hand quickly. "Hold on. Don't just fly off like that hear out first."
Salance froze mid-motion, its wings still trembling with eagerness. But since wtwo was watching from nearby, it restrained itself and waited.
"What exactly do you plan to do?" Lin Feng asked.
(Avenge myself!) ca the imdiate answer.
Lin Feng pressed a hand against its scaled wing. "And with what strength? Think about it. The people who caught you once could easily do it again. They had numbers, resources, and coordination. Why would they give you a fair one-on-one fight now?"
The dragon hesitated. The truth cut deep.
Its strength had recovered but back then, it had been this strong too. And it was still captured.
The realization sank in slowly.
"See?" Lin Feng said gently. "You understand. It's not about not fighting it's about fighting right. Grow stronger first, then decide how to face them."
Salance lowered its head slightly. Its mood dropped a little, but the words made sense.
Lin Feng noticed the dip in its energy reading and patted its neck. "In the anti, stay in the training grounds. Focus on your growth. Once you're ready, no one will be able to touch you."
(...Alright.)
The dragon nodded earnestly. Dragon-types lived long lives. Salance was still in its pri it had ti, plenty of ti.
And besides, it could feel it: here, under Lin Feng's care, its power grew faster than it ever had before.
At that thought, a new light burned in its eyes purpose. Its entire face lifted with renewed determination, as if reborn.
Watching this, Lin Feng couldn't help but smile warmly. His patient guidance had paid off. The dragon had finally found balance.
Later that day, after Salance's mood and affection had risen once more, Lin Feng returned to his garden.
Inside his newly built kitchen, he opened a storage capsule and took out a small glass bottle. Inside floated a jagged piece of black stone, soaked in a silvery fluid.
It was the Shadowstone, sothing w had brought to him two days ago.
At first, Lin Feng had assud it was the sa stone Darkrai had given to Feng Yang. But w explained otherwise this one, it said, had been taken directly from Darkrai itself.
That had been a relief.
At least w hadn't stolen from a friend.
But before Lin Feng could breathe easy, w had produced another item: a single fiery feather.
It shimred with living fla.
"This," w said proudly, "is from the Moltres under Feng Yang's care."
Lin Feng had gone completely still. His expression froze like stone.
A piece from Darkrai, and a feather from Moltres.
Only w, he thought wearily, could manage that.
When the shock faded, he couldn't help but laugh. "Did you at least ask before taking these?"
w shook its tiny head innocently.
"That's not good," Lin Feng said, tapping its forehead lightly. "You can't just take things without asking. That's stealing."
w's tail flicked lazily. (But they have plenty! These are just little pieces. I like collecting strange things.)
Lin Feng sighed, half amused, half exasperated.
In truth, w wasn't entirely wrong. Moltres shed feathers during molting seasons. The feathers it lost naturally would regrow soon enough. And as for the Shadowstone Darkrai's energy was vast, and it could form fragnts of darkness without noticing.
Still, a lesson was a lesson.
"Alright, let give you an example," Lin Feng said patiently. "Imagine you're the guardian of the Tree of Life. It's your ho, your root. Now, on that tree grows sothing valuable sothing humans see as treasure. It regenerates on its own, just like those feathers or stones.
But then, a human climbs up and takes it without your permission. Even if it grows back later, how would you feel?"
w blinked, tilting its head.
The ntion of the Tree of Life made it fall silent. For it, that wasn't just a taphor the Tree truly was its anchor, its heart. If it vanished, w would vanish too, and the world's balance would collapse.
After a long pause, it shook its head. (I wouldn't like that. The Tree is important.)
"Exactly," Lin Feng said softly. "It's the sa idea. Even if sothing regrows, taking it without asking still hurts the one it belongs to."
He smiled, gently ruffling the fur between w's ears. The little creature looked thoughtful, its tail curling slowly.
There was no need to scold it. Pokémon like w ancient, mysterious beings had lived for countless centuries. Lessons like these had to be learned through patience, not punishnt.
Later, Lin Feng turned his gaze back to the bottle holding the Shadowstone. The dark gem glead faintly, rippling within the water.
At first, he'd thought about returning it. But w had said sothing important: Darkrai's energy existed in multiple places at once, scattered like shadows across the world. Finding the exact one it ca from would be nearly impossible.
Besides, he'd noticed sothing fascinating. Whether subrged or exposed, the Shadowstone constantly released dark energy.
When left in the open air, that energy spread outward, seeping into the surroundings. If left unchecked, it could easily blanket the entire town in a ghostly miasma.
Even with wtwo and w around, the thought of that was unsettling.
But when the stone was subrged, its energy dissolved into the liquid instead harmlessly dispersing, gentler and stable.
That gave Lin Feng an idea.
If the water absorbed the dark energy, perhaps it could be used for sothing constructive instead of dangerous.
He jotted notes into his research log as the readings flickered across the Insight Eye:
Observation: When water is infused with the aura of a Shadowstone, it transforms into a potent dium capable of carrying Dark-type energy.
Hypothesis: Using this water in cooking might induce unique reactions in food.
Result (Predicted): als prepared with Shadowstone-infused water may subtly attract Dark-type Pokémon.
Side Effect: May cause nightmares or negative emotions in those who consu it. These effects can be neutralized by incorporating counterbalancing elental energies.
Lin Feng looked up from his notes, smiling faintly. "So it's not just dangerous it's useful, too."
He swirled the bottle lightly. The black mist inside shimred, curling like ink in the water.
"Maybe I should try using it as a seasoning," he mused, half-joking. "A 'Shadowstone sauce' might just beco a hit if it doesn't give nightmares first."
w floated beside him, eyes curious. (You're really going to eat that?)
Lin Feng chuckled. "Of course not right away. First, I'll test it on sothing safer."
He placed the bottle carefully on the counter, the dark glow reflecting in his eyes.
There was power here mysterious, dangerous, but not evil. Just misunderstood, like many of the Pokémon he had t.
As the room filled with the faint hum of energy, Lin Feng couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation.
Who knew? Maybe this strange experint would lead to sothing greater.
Sothing that would, once again, bridge the line between humans and Pokémon not through force, but through understanding.
And perhaps even through cooking.
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