Leaving the shop, Xiao Zuo found Jenny at the police station and asked her where he could find Electric-type Pokemon.
"Electric-type Pokemon, you ask? Hmm, besides the power station, the only one I know of is the farm owner to the north who has an Ampharos. I don't think I can help you with anything else."
Jenny explained. Xiao Zuo asked this because he wanted Meowth to learn Electric-type moves first.
Electric-type moves are very powerful, and they deal considerable damage to other types, except for Rock, Ground, and Steel types.
If Meowth learned an Electric-type move, it would be a huge trump card, catching enemies off guard.
"Thank you, Jenny."
After thanking Jenny, Xiao Zuo walked towards the power station, hoping that the Electric-type Pokemon there could help him.
"Let's go, Meowth," Xiao Zuo called back to Meowth to set off, but when he turned around, he saw Meowth playing with a round object in his hand.
"What is this?" Xiao Zuo picked up the stone-like object to examine it. It felt very light in his hand, and he sensed it was not simple.
He looked at it, still unsure what it was, but it felt familiar. He knew it was definitely not a simple item, so he decided to pocket it for later.
On the way to the power station, Xiao Zuo noticed many new Trainers preparing their equipment and then setting off one after another.
This year's new Trainers were starting their journeys again. Xiao Zuo was still quite envious, but he didn't have time to worry about them now. Improving himself was the most important thing.
Arriving at the power station, "Hello, is anyone here?" Xiao Zuo knocked on the door and asked.
"Hello, I am the power station manager, Dahe. How can I help you?"
A man wearing a yellow hat and an insulated suit walked out from inside the power station.
"Hello, I'm looking for an Electric-type Pokemon to help my Pokemon with special training."
Xiao Zuo finished speaking, picked up Meowth, and showed him to Dahe. "Oh, you want to battle an Electric-type Pokemon, do you? I only have a Magnemite here. It's used to prevent sudden power outages and cannot be used for battles. I'm really sorry."
Dahe refused Xiao Zuo's request.
"Alright, thank you," Xiao Zuo said, disappointed, and prepared to leave with Meowth.
As they were about to leave, Meowth suddenly jumped down from Xiao Zuo and ran into the grass next to the power station, starting to rummage around.
"Meowth? What are you looking for?"
Xiao Zuo looked at Meowth's unusual behavior, puzzled, and walked over to see.
Meowth walked out, holding a yellow spray in his mouth, and placed it in front of Xiao Zuo.
Xiao Zuo picked it up, but couldn't name it.
"This is Paralyze Heal. It's used to cure Pokemon that are paralyzed."
Just then, Dahe walked over and answered after seeing the item in Xiao Zuo's hand.
"Paralyze Heal?" Xiao Zuo was puzzled. Why would there be Paralyze Heal here?
"It must have been dropped by a Trainer passing by. After all, you're not the only one who comes here looking to battle Electric-type Pokemon. It's normal to have Paralyze Heal ready when battling Electric-type Pokemon," Dahe replied.
Xiao Zuo suddenly remembered that Meowth's ability included the Pickup ability.
That means he would pick up items on the road while walking, including tools, pokemon balls, medicines, and sitrus berries—anything was possible.
"So that's it. So Meowth's ability is Pickup."
Xiao Zuo understood why Meowth knew the Paralyze Heal was in the grass.
Suddenly, Xiao Zuo had an idea: if he made good use of this ability, couldn't he save a lot of money?
After speaking, Xiao Zuo quickly said goodbye to Dahe and ran towards the shop; he needed to confirm something.
Soon, Xiao Zuo arrived at the shop. As soon as he entered, Xiao Zuo went to the counter, took out the Paralyze Heal, and asked the clerk.
"Hello, do you buy back medicine here?" Xiao Zuo asked expectantly.
The clerk glanced at Xiao Zuo, then smiled and replied.
"Hello, of course, you can. Please show me the item."
After speaking, Xiao Zuo gave the medicine to the clerk, who, after inspecting it, said.
"Hello, customer. This Paralyze Heal is fine. The selling price of medicine in our shop is 300 yuan, and our buy-back price can only be 270 yuan. Is that acceptable to you?"
Xiao Zuo confirmed that the things Meowth found were definitely valuable, just like in the game, Pokemon with the Pickup ability would pick up items at any time.
"Could you also tell me what this is and how much it's worth?"
After speaking, Xiao Zuo took out the stone Meowth had been playing with earlier. The stone was entirely white, irregularly shaped, but incredibly light, almost weightless.
The clerk took the stone to examine it, then said with a hint of excitement.
"This is a Float Stone, a miraculous item. Because the quality of your piece is average, its value will be greatly discounted. I can offer you 40,000 yuan."
The clerk was still very excited after speaking, as Pokemon items were very rare in such a small town, and their value was relatively high.
Xiao Zuo was shocked; he hadn't expected something Meowth casually found to be so valuable.
Without hesitation, he immediately sold both items, receiving 40,270 yuan. The clerk gave Xiao Zuo a card, which was universally accepted by the Alliance; any place that accepted Alliance currency could use the money on this card. Because in this world, there was no place that didn't accept Alliance currency.
"I didn't expect happiness to come so suddenly."
Xiao Zuo sighed, if things went as he imagined, and Meowth was lucky, he might get rich because of Meowth, and his financial problems would be solved.
Xiao Zuo didn't get overly excited. Instead, he first bought his mother a new set of clothes and new shoes at the shop, and a beautiful dress and shoes for his younger sister.
He also bought himself a set of outdoor sportswear and sports shoes, a large amount of food, and new household items.
There was also food for Meowth; he bought a large amount of Pokemon food, spending several thousand yuan in total.
Then, carrying large and small bags, he walked home, constantly observing Meowth along the way. As soon as Meowth discovered something, he would immediately stop and go search for it.
Along the way, he picked up another pokemon ball and two sitrus berries, which was a small harvest.
After arriving home, he gave the new clothes to his sister, Xiao Yan, who jumped up and down with joy. Then she felt too dirty and went to the river to fetch water to boil and wash herself clean before changing into her new clothes and new shoes. The little girl was so happy, she couldn't contain herself.
Seeing his sister so happy, Xiao Zuo felt even more uneasy. This was the age his sister should be attending school, yet she was suffering here. He had to succeed and ensure his mother and sister lived a good life.
Next, he looked at the pokemon ball in his hand. This was the one Meowth had picked up, and it could be used normally.
Xiao Zuo wondered if he should catch a new Pokemon.
Or should he wait until Meowth became stronger before catching a Pokemon with better aptitude?
If he were to go out, and his mother was also working outside, leaving his sister alone at home would be too dangerous. Should he catch a Pokemon to Protect her?
While he was pondering, his mother suddenly returned. His mother happily told Xiao Zuo.
"Xiao Zuo, Mama found a good job! Our town is opening a breeding center. Because there are many new Trainers in our town this year, the Alliance is building a breeding center here and is currently hiring. Mama applied and was accepted! Mama has a stable job now!" his mother said happily.
He hadn't expected it; good things kept happening one after another. He had a way to solve his money problems, and his mother now had a stable job. This way, his mother and sister would be secure after he left home.
Later, his mother found out that Xiao Zuo had bought her new clothes. Although she said she was happy, Xiao Zuo could tell that his mother was definitely not pleased inside.
She thought Xiao Zuo had used the money from selling the ring for these purchases. Xiao Zuo didn't plan to explain; he would secretly return the ring on the day he left, so his mother could rest assured.
In the following days, Xiao Zuo took Meowth to wander around the entire city, sometimes even going into the forest. As this year's new Trainers had started their journeys, Trainers would occasionally appear in the forest.
During this time, Xiao Zuo and Meowth had a huge haul. Xiao Zuo alone collected five pokemon balls.
Among them was also a Great Ball, and a large pile of sitrus berries, along with many other various items.
Although most were defective, they all had value. Converting these into money yielded over ten thousand yuan.
The clerk was bewildered; he hadn't expected this kid to be a professional junk collector. How did he gather so many things?
After getting the money, Xiao Zuo first went to register as a Trainer and took a simple Pokemon exam, which involved basic type matchups and danger assessment, and he passed.
Xiao Zuo received an electronic card that read: Name: Yuèxià Xiao Zuo, Gender: Male, Age: 15, Lin Yuan Town Junior Trainer.
According to the Alliance's evaluation levels, Trainers are tiered. Newcomers are all Junior Trainers (Levels 1-19), followed by Intermediate Trainers (Levels 20-39), Advanced Trainers (Levels 40-49), Elite Trainers (Levels 50-59), Quasi-Heavenly King Trainers (Levels 60-69), Heavenly King Trainers (Levels 70-79), Champion Trainers (Levels 80-89), and Master (Level 90). The higher one goes, the more difficult it becomes. Currently, the highest level in the Alliance is Master.
The Alliance would update constantly; as long as a Trainer's level was reached, this electronic card would automatically update.
As for how it was monitored, Xiao Zuo roughly guessed.
pokemon balls, pokemon balls are all manufactured and sold by the Alliance, and they must have monitoring devices inside.
Unless one hasn't joined the Alliance, once one becomes an Alliance Trainer, one will be monitored.
This is where it differs from the anime. After becoming a Trainer, Xiao Zuo also learned that:
Pokemon's levels do not increase simply by training for a long time.
In the early stage, levels will increase due to the Pokemon's natural growth.
In the middle stage, levels will increase through battles and training.
In the later stage, ordinary battles will not increase experience at all, nor is there a fixed experience value like in games.
In reality, experience is very difficult to gain, such as with pseudo-legendary Pokemon.
As for being called pseudo-legendary, it's because they can only evolve into their final form when they reach Level 60, and less than one-tenth of Trainers in the Pokemon World can reach Level 60.
Therefore, Trainers who can possess the final evolved forms of pseudo-legendary Pokemon are never weak.
Weaker individuals cannot control such powerful Pokemon. If a Trainer's level is insufficient, the Pokemon will not obey a Trainer whose level is lower than its own.