The sun was about to set, and smoke curled up from the small house halfway up the mountain.
Chen Kai, Xiao Mei, and Miraidon were continuously apologizing to Boltund:
“We are so sorry, Boltund! I will definitely remember to switch shifts with you next time.”
“Mei Mei Mei.” (Sorry, Boltund)
“Gao Wu” (Sorry)
Boltund was eating and didn’t want to bother with them.
They had agreed that after Chen Kai, Xiao Mei, and Miraidon finished their meal, it would be Boltund’s turn to eat, but it almost fainted from hunger waiting. In the end, Chen Dafu arrived.
Bai Lijuan said angrily, “I told you to herd the Wooloo, but either the person runs off, or they get injured and hospitalized. You shouldn’t herd them anymore.”
Seeing the atmosphere was off, Chen Dafu interjected, “Speaking of which, we made an unexpected fortune today!”
Chen Kai seized the opportunity and quickly asked, “Dad, what unexpected fortune?”
“By selling Wooloo, our family earned over 10,000 yuan, and the most important thing is!” Chen Dafu paused dramatically.
“Our family ranch gets a discount on rent every year!”
“That’s amazing!”
Chen Dafu gave himself a thumbs-up, boasting, “Of course! Your dad has connections in Europe! Most people in the country can’t get Wooloo!”
Bai Lijuan watched the father and son sing and harmonize, and found it hard to get angry. She said helplessly, “Since you made some extra money, I’ll go to the county town tomorrow to buy some things. Xiao Kai, don’t run around aimlessly; come with me.”
Chen Kai replied reluctantly, “Oh.”
It seemed the exploration of Area Zero would be delayed for another day.
He turned to look at Miraidon, only to see Miraidon devouring its food, completely oblivious.
Early the next morning, the sky was still dim, with only a faint hint of white in the east.
Miraidon, carrying Chen Kai and Bai Lijuan, had already passed through Zi Ning Town and was heading to the county town.
Zi Ning Town was not far from the county town; there were only two small hills between them.
After crossing the small hills, Qu County could be seen. The county town was not large; its biggest feature was probably the Qu River flowing through it.
Secondly, the county town was located at the bottom of the Sichuan Basin. When Chen Kai and Miraidon crossed the small hills, they saw no more continuous rolling mountains ahead. The sun had fully emerged, and they felt their eyes brighten, with the world opening up before them.
Bai Lijuan sighed, “It’s so convenient having Miraidon in our family. Waiting for the bus in town is too slow; I’ve been wanting to buy a car.”
All morning, Chen Kai accompanied Bai Lijuan shopping at the mall. Fortunately, she bought a lot, and the goods could be delivered to the village.
Chen Kai couldn't help but be surprised. This Pokémon world was indeed different; in a small county town, the department store looked ancient, but there were several brand new large buildings.
‘Qu County Pokémon Association,’ ‘Qu County Pokémon Breeding Association,’ ‘Lihua Building,’ ‘Bowen Building’…
According to Bai Lijuan, those were all related to Pokémon. For example, the Lihua Building was for customizing clothes for Pokémon.
After lunch, Bai Lijuan came to the Bowen Building and gave Chen Kai 2,000 yuan as pocket money.
“Xiao Kai, you’re about to become a Pokémon Trainer, so you also need to look into choosing some items for Xiao Mei and Miraidon to help them grow. You’ll get more pocket money when school starts.”
Chen Kai patted his chest and promised, “Mom, I promise to train Xiao Mei and Miraidon well! Come on, Xiao Mei, Miraidon, whatever you like, I’ll buy it for you!”
Xiao Mei: (◦ ˙ ▽ ˙ ◦)
Bai Lijuan watched Chen Kai, who was running ahead into the building, and couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile, her eyes full of her younger self.
“I must have been like that too, fearless, full of confidence… Life always delivers painful blows.”
When Bai Lijuan walked into the building, she saw Chen Kai looking stunned.
“Hahahahaha, stunned, aren’t you? Raising Pokémon is very, very expensive!”
In front of Chen Kai was a display counter, with only an empty frame holding a packet of silver-white powder in the middle. Below it, a sign had a few words written on it:
Item: Silver Powder
Quality: Medium
Price: 100,000
“The items inside special buildings are guaranteed in quality; they are sold to experienced Pokémon Trainers. I never brought you here when we were in the capital, so this time I’m just taking you to see what’s out there. Later, I’ll take you to the commercial street; that area is more suitable for you now.”
Chen Kai nodded. Even if he sold himself, he couldn’t afford it.
Walking further inside, there were ‘Everstone,’ ‘Sharp Beak,’ ‘Soothe Bell’…
The deeper they went, the more expensive things became. Xiao Mei even lingered in front of an ‘Electric Seed.’
The 800,000 price tag below it deterred them.
“This Seed isn’t even enough to stick in Xiao Mei’s teeth, and it’s 800,000!” Chen Kai complained.
A beautiful sales assistant next to the ‘Electric Seed’ explained, “Yes, although it looks small, it contains a large amount of pure Electric-type energy. Anything related to Pokémon’s energy will not be cheap!”
Seeing that the blow was sufficient, Bai Lijuan comforted her son, “Xiao Kai, you see them as very expensive now, but you also have a chance to obtain these items that contain a lot of energy!”
“As long as you study hard, there are many scholarships from schools and national subsidies. When your mother was young, I also received many awards at school.”
As she spoke, she released Chimecho, and with a slight flick of her finger, Chen Kai saw that Chimecho was actually wearing a Soothe Bell.
Chen Kai exclaimed, “Mom, I just saw a Soothe Bell for 600,000!”
“Hmph, that was a low-quality Soothe Bell. Mine is high-quality. Over a million!” Bai Lijuan couldn’t help but feel proud.
“Ring!”
Chimecho also twirled proudly.
Chen Kai became even more excited: “Holy cow! Our family isn’t actually super rich, are we? Both of you are billionaires, and this has all been a test for me?”
Bai Lijuan tapped him, “What are you thinking? I won this with Chimecho in a university competition.”
“I brought you here today to tell you to study hard, train your Pokémon well, and get into a Pokémon-specialized university. Only then will you be able to afford what’s sold here today.”
“Don’t be like when we were in the capital, always messing around.”
Chen Kai nodded in agreement: “Okay.”
He listened to the different words from his parents in this different world and found it novel.
His parents on Earth told him to study hard, do more practice tests, and solve more problems.
It was truly amazing that parents in the Pokémon world told their children to train Pokémon well.
After touring the building and broadening his horizons, Bai Lijuan took him to a small alley.
The alley was not wide, and its length seemed very long, stretching out of sight. There were quite a lot of people coming and going.
It was somewhat similar to the streets where antiques were sold on Earth.
The shops inside were decorated in an antique style, and the owners had sharp eyes, giving off a feeling that they would rip off customers.
“You can browse around here for a bit; I’m going to pick something up.” Bai Lijuan left, showing her back.
Chen Kai leaned close to Miraidon and quietly asked, “Miraidon, can you sense the hidden energy inside the items?”
Chen Kai thought: This is such a standard novel plot development, finding treasures at a street stall. Since I’ve transmigrated, maybe I can find something good!
Miraidon thought for a moment: “Not sure, but I can try.”
“Alright, then pick the treasure with the deepest hidden energy!”
After wandering around, they chose a shop where the owner looked honest and simple.
After another round in the shop, Miraidon transmitted: “This stone contains a large amount of Fire-type energy inside.”
Chen Kai looked in the direction and saw an ordinary granite stone.
“Hmm, that’s the one. Boss, how much is this stone?”
The boss didn’t even lift his head and replied, “50,000.”
“How much?”
“50,000.”
“No, boss, this is just a stone. It costs 50,000? Make it cheaper, how about 500?”
After hearing Chen Kai’s bargaining, the boss raised his head: “Are you here to cause trouble? This is volcanic rock; professional instruments have detected a large amount of Fire-type energy inside. You’re offering me 500?”
“Are you buying or not? If not, get out.”
Chen Kai’s old face flushed, and he stammered for a long time: “I… I didn’t know, I thought it was just an ordinary stone.”
“I’m buying it. I was just looking first.”
Chen Kai was on the verge of tears. Everyone else who transmigrated had golden fingers and cheats, constantly showing off, but why was he so miserable?
But then again, it wasn’t ancient times; how could modern technology not detect energy fluctuations?
Under the boss’s intense gaze, Chen Kai bought three Candy containing a small amount of Electric-type energy.
Each Candy cost 500, and the boss said they were made by simmering Thunder Grass from Thunder Valley.
After paying off his credit card, he had no money left.
After paying, the boss said with a smile, “Welcome back next time.”
Walking out of the shop, he fed one Candy each to Xiao Mei and Miraidon.
After they happily ate them, Miraidon tilted its head and said, puzzled, “It’s quite sweet, but it doesn’t feel as rich in Electric-type energy as I imagined.”
Chen Kai said helplessly, “It’s a small amount of Electric-type energy, so maybe that’s how it is.”
“Let’s go, let’s go back to Mom first.”
After a quick stroll, Chen Kai found Bai Lijuan in front of a street stall.
The stall owner had shifty eyes, was not tall, and had buck teeth, making him look even more like a mouse.
The mouse-like boss handed Bai Lijuan two boxes: “I got the goods you ordered for you. It was too much trouble, and then you added another order at the last minute, it was really difficult.”
Bai Lijuan responded with a smile: “Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Li. Next time you come to Zining Mountain, I’ll have Dafu treat you to drinks.”
“Mom, what are you doing?” Chen Kai asked, walking over.
Seeing it was her son, Bai Lijuan handed the two boxes to Chen Kai: “A gift I bought for you. You’re officially a Pokémon Trainer now, so I hope you work hard!”
Chen Kai chuckled: “Thank you, Mom.”
Opening the box, inside was a yellow sphere and half a scale.
Bai Lijuan explained, “This is a Light Ball, mostly used to increase the battle power of specific Electric-type Pokémon. Long-term wear can also boost Xiao Mei’s electricity.”
“The other is a Dragon Scale from a Gym-level Druddigon. Although it’s only half a scale, it’s still rich in Dragon-type energy. See if it can help Miraidon recover from its injuries.”
Even if Chen Kai wasn’t a Pokémon, he could feel the energy in these two items.
“Oh! Thank you, Mom.”
Both items had strings attached. Chen Kai quickly put them on Xiao Mei and Miraidon.
Miraidon didn’t feel much after putting it on. But Xiao Mei excitedly cried out:
“Mei!” (I feel full of power!)
Current flickered on Xiao Mei’s wool, making crackling sounds.
Chen Kai exclaimed, “Wow! Mom, this effect looks really powerful. It must have cost a lot of money, much more effective than the Candy I bought.”
Bai Lijuan replied, “Xiao Mei is only in her beginner stage; this orb can even replenish electricity for Superior-stage Pokémon.”
“The Candy you mentioned, was it Electric Grass Candy? Those only cost a few tens of yuan, certainly not comparable to this orb.”
Chen Kai’s jaw dropped in surprise, “Ah! The one I bought cost 500 yuan per piece?!”
Bai Lijuan asked, “Where did you buy it?”
Chen Kai pointed to a shop: “That shop over there, the boss is chubby.”
Mr. Li glanced in the direction indicated and said, “That’s probably Liu Pang. That’s how he is, he gauges his customers. 500 a piece is too much; don’t panic, young man, I’ll take you back for a refund.”
Hearing Mr. Li say he would take him back for a refund, Chen Kai awkwardly scratched his head and took out the last remaining Candy: “But I’ve already let the Pokémon eat two of them.”
Bai Lijuan scolded, “You didn’t let Miraidon eat one too, did you? It’s not Electric-type; if you give it Candy with Electric-type energy, what if it gets sick?”
Chen Kai thought: Miraidon is actually Electric-type, but explaining it was too troublesome, so he just lowered his head and took the scolding.
Mr. Li quickly smoothed things over: “Oh, Bai sister, the child doesn’t know any better. He’ll learn next time.”
Bai Lijuan shook her head helplessly: “Sigh… Just consider it a lesson learned.”