After a tiring day of classes, Chen Kai returned home to hear Chen Ma say that Xiao Mei and Dipplin had run off to fight, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
It used to be Chen Ma hearing from his teachers that Chen Kai had run off to fight...
But it was good that they won, and only suffered minor superficial injuries. He heard they even protected an orchard, so there was no problem!
An old man from the neighboring village even came specifically with his Butterfree to thank Dipplin, saying that a group of Spearow, affected by Pinsir’s relocation some time ago, had been causing trouble around Zining Mountain for several days. Because they could fly, they were hard to catch, and the villagers had been headaches for days!
Now that Xiao Mei and Dipplin had taught them a lesson, things should be more stable!
And Xiao Mei surprisingly pulled out a treasure for Chen Kai to see. Although it was a bit worn and even had a broken tip, Chen Kai recognized it at first glance as a Quick Claw!
This was a good item. Xiao Mei indicated that it had pulled it off the largest bird.
Chen Kai gave Xiao Mei a thumbs up!
Chen Kai went to check on Big Boss. Blue Star indeed recovers quickly from superficial wounds. Big Boss had already recovered; it was just a bit mentally fatigued. Another sleep would completely fix it.
However, Second Boss brought up something: it wanted to plant fruit trees near the house and needed some seeds.
Chen Kai waved his hand: “How slow is it to plant with seeds? We’ll just go directly to Area Zero and dig up whichever tree we like.”
Second Boss nodded, indicating it was fine.
Miraidon suddenly realized: “Wait, you say that so casually, but in the end, I’m the one who has to carry these trees?”
Chen Kai pulled Miraidon aside: “If we pull up a few more trees, Dipplin and the others won’t eat many berries. When we have extra berries, we can sell them! It’s much more convenient than running all the way to Area Zero to pick them.
We’ll split the money we sell fifty-fifty.”
“Seventy-thirty. I get seventy, you get thirty!” Miraidon said.
Chen Kai was momentarily speechless, organizing his thoughts: “No, how did you learn to bargain?”
“Then you carry them back yourself.”
Chen Kai smiled: “Let’s not talk about that. All the money from the sold berries will be yours. How about that?”
Miraidon then beamed with joy: “That’s more like it. I’ll share some of the food I buy with you then.”
The next day, Saturday, Chen Kai slept in. Only then did he set off for Area Zero.
He even specifically bought a box of Dahongpao tea in town. A box only cost a few hundred yuan, so it was probably not authentic, but Chen Kai didn’t understand tea anyway.
Iron Leaves was very happy to receive it; it hadn’t had new tea in decades! If it hadn’t been in constant slumber, the Astronomical Observatory’s tea would have been long gone.
Then Chen Kai continued past the Astronomical Observatory to explore further.
Iron Leaves, in a good mood, pointed out to Chen Kai that there were its companions in two locations in Area Zero. If he ran into trouble near those places, he could seek them out first.
Iron Leaves’ companions? Chen Kai mostly guessed it.
Looking at the map, the locations Iron Leaves pointed to were roughly in 'Cheng City' and Yibin.
They formed a triangle with Iron Leaves, surrounding the basin of Sichuan Province.
Treecko was coming to Area Zero for the first time, especially after Chen Kai used the 'Iron Bundle brand' thruster, sitting on Miraidon's back, and flying for a while with Treecko.
It stimulated the little Treecko, who shouted with enjoyment!
The little Treecko drank Moomoo Milk every day and grew ten centimeters taller in just a few days!
No wonder old people always say children grow fast.
In the past few days, Chun Jie, who was far away in Kyoto, was very pleased to hear that Chen Kai’s initial Pokemon was Treecko. She felt that Chen Kai had taken a big step forward on the path of a Grass-type trainer!
Only Chen Kai knew that if his three Pokemon had a connection, it could only be Dragon-type, but to others, it seemed like he was following the Grass-type path, which was very strange…
Chun Jie’s Snivy also hatched from an egg back then. She recommended that before Treecko reaches its beginner phase, its main diet should ideally be Moomoo Milk for better nutrition, so it can grow taller and stronger in the future!
On the other side, Ye Gai sent Chen Kai a Treecko training guide via Green Bubble, while also reminding Chen Kai that he should later add some support Pokemon.
As a Grass-type Gym Leader, he recommended Hoppip, Cottonee, or Foongus; all three are good support Pokemon.
Hoppip excels because their population is widely distributed. Chen Kai occasionally encountered wild Hoppip on Zining Mountain.
Chen Kai hadn't seen Foongus or Cottonee around Qu County; perhaps they were deep in the mountains?
Otherwise, he could only spend money to buy them. Buying eggs was fine, but Chen Kai still felt a bit uncomfortable directly buying Pokemon.
Treecko is still young now, so Chen Kai is not considering training new Pokemon for the time being.
Troublesome matters, he’ll leave them for his future self to consider and decide!
For now, let’s head along the Qu River!
The sunlight spilled onto the wide river surface, as if paving the river with a layer of Broken Gold , sparkling and shimmering with a charming glow. The river water was crystal clear, allowing one to clearly see the sand, stones, and swaying aquatic plants at the bottom. In this lively river, lived a group of free and unrestrained Water-type Pokemon.
But at this moment, a Horsea near the bank was desperately fleeing for its life!
“Big Boss, Syrup Bomb!”
“Mii!”
Big Boss poked its head out of its fruit shell and spat out a large blob of red syrup.
The syrup broke the river surface, and although some of it was dispersed by the current, most of it shot straight towards Horsea.
Horsea felt a chill down its back, turned its head, and the syrup landed right on its face!
It was stuck by the syrup and began to sink to the bottom of the water.
Chen Kai gave another instruction: “Big Boss, try Dragon Pulse again!”
“Mii!” (Okay!)
Chen Kai already knew that Dipplin could use Dragon Pulse, and Second Boss had also taught the technique. Big Boss had already practiced it quite a bit.
Although it had tried over a dozen times without success, Chen Kai believed that with more practice in real combat, it would eventually succeed!
Big Boss opened its mouth wide, and a thick purple wave of light shot out, carrying a large amount of Dragon-type energy forward.
This wave of light broke through the water, veered off slightly, and exploded on the riverbed, causing the river water to instantly surge several meters high from the explosion.
“Oh! It worked!” Chen Kai exclaimed, clenching his fist happily.
Miraidon commented: “Hmm! It condensed over three times the energy, so I guess it counts as a success. It’s a bit wasteful, but once it succeeds, you can practice more slowly afterwards.”
Just as Miraidon said, Big Boss’s Dragon Pulse completely lacked the ‘dragon’s’ imposing presence, resembling more of a ‘Dragon Bombardment.’
But it was a success after all. Chen Kai patted Big Boss’s head: “Well done!”
Big Boss was also very happy. Its big eyes smiled like a crescent moon.
With the full assistance of Second Boss and Miraidon, it was the first time it had learned a new move in a single day!
Chen Kai clapped his hands and concluded: “Then let’s solidify Dragon Pulse these next few days, and then, riding this momentum, hurry home and practice Dragon Voice Encouragement!”
The Horsea that was blown onto the bank: Are you sick, bro? I’ve run this far, there are so many Pokemon in the river, and you always pick on me?
This was the same Horsea that Chen Kai and Xiao Mei had battled once before (Chapter 24), but Chen Kai had changed now; he was no longer someone who only cared about killing and not burying.
He sprayed Horsea with Potion, gave it some snacks that Pokemon liked, and then sent it back into the river.