After the first part of the recording, Xu Ming realized that he didn't seem to understand Mu Li very well, this brother who shared a dormitory with him.
In a sense, the bond between the four of them even surpassed that with their own relatives and friends, but this did not stop Xu Ming from feeling that he didn't understand Mu Li.
However, it wasn't just Mu Li; his understanding of the other three also seemed to be limited to school. Once they left school, their connection seemed to become less close.
This is the limitation of campus friendships.
During school, everyone gathered together because of the school, but once the constraints of school were lost, and everyone scattered into society, these feelings would fade with time.
Some people would even never meet again after graduation, living only in memories.
For Xu Ming, who had only graduated less than a month ago, this was too early. He just felt that Mu Li seemed to be hiding many secrets.
Just like his Pokémon and the house he currently lived in, anyone with a discerning eye could see the value of these things. Whether it was the Togekiss or the house, their selling price was already enough for an ordinary person to live a happy life.
But for Mu Li, they seemed to be insignificant things. He even preferred to stay in that small rural village. If it weren't for a sudden dream of becoming a singer, Mu Li would probably still be lying in the countryside, sunbathing.
After a short break, the second part of the recording began.
This time, the production team directly put Mu Li's segment at the very beginning.
The scene started with Mu Li tidying up clothes. Everyone saw the clothes thrown on the ground, and then a pair of small purple chubby hands emerged from the shadow, pulling all the clothes into the shadow.
“What was that just now?” Yang Jing's eyes widened.
“It should be a Gengar,” Shi Hongyi, Shi Yu's cousin, was the first to recognize the Pokémon hidden in the shadow.
Gengar belongs to Ghost-type Pokémon, and people are not very fond of this type of Pokémon. After all, many people, especially the older generation, find Ghost-type Pokémon a bit taboo, leading to many rumors.
The most famous rumor is that Ghost-type Pokémon absorb human vitality for their own use, so prolonged association with Ghost-type Pokémon would lead to an early death.
Later research proved this rumor to be true, but most Ghost-type Pokémon do not engage in such vitality absorption. Only a very small number of Ghost-type Pokémon with deep resentment would attack humans.
Such research, on the contrary, made people's aversion to Ghost-type Pokémon increase even further. Most of the time, only Pokémon Trainers would accept Ghost-type Pokémon for tactical needs.
In addition, most Ghost-type Pokémon are very mischievous, enjoying playing tricks and scaring people. Some people who have been Astonished have spread bad rumors about Ghost-type Pokémon everywhere, which has led to a sharp decline in the reputation of Ghost-type Pokémon.
Even in the eyes of the previous generation, people who had Ghost-type Pokémon were almost equivalent to those with tattoos.
When a person develops a prejudice against something, they often do not bother to understand the full picture of that thing.
For most people, they even believed that Ghost-type Pokémon could only live in the dark, and sunlight was the bane of these Pokémon.
In fact, most Ghost-type Pokémon just dislike sunlight, because prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause them to become weak all over, which is why Gengar likes to hide in the shadows.
Most people's understanding of Ghost-type Pokémon is limited to this, let alone things like Dimensional Space. Except for experts who specialize in Pokémon ecology, most people have never even heard of it.
So when Mu Li's Gengar used Dimensional Space to store the clothes, most people were very surprised, but despite the surprise, everyone's prejudice against Gengar clearly deepened.
And at the recording site, the three parents who originally had a fairly good impression of Mu Li saw their impression of him plummet.
Xin Fei Yu also took the opportunity to ask, “I wonder what everyone thinks of Ghost-type Pokémon?”
“Actually, there are good Pokémon and bad Pokémon, even among Ghost-types, so I don't think it's a big deal,” Deng Hongye, Ai Jing's father, replied as if nothing had happened.
“Oh? So if Ai Jing were to date Mu Li, would you agree?” Xin Fei Yu probed.
“Of course not,” Deng Hongye directly denied. “Mu Li is a good kid, but the Pokémon he raises are too dangerous. Bewear and that Ghost Pokémon just now—what if they had a child? Children are not like adults; they can get hurt accidentally. I would not allow such a danger to exist in my Family.”
“But Mu Li also said that his Bewear wouldn't hurt anyone,” Xu Ming explained.
“That's what he says, but what if someone gets hurt?” Deng Hongye shook his head and said, “By the time someone actually gets hurt, it'll be too late to regret. Anyway, I won't use my grandchild to conduct this experiment.”
“According to you, then other Pokémon are also dangerous?” Xu Ming said with some indignation.
“I'm not rejecting all Pokémon,” Deng Hongye explained. “You can raise some docile Pokémon, like Squirtle, Psyduck, or Oddish.”
“I also agree with Dad Deng's idea,” Zhou Yan, Mu Si's mother, said. “These Pokémon are really too dangerous. By the time someone actually gets hurt, regret will be useless.”
Hearing the older generation's views on Pokémon, Xu Ming and the others didn't know how to explain.
Even Xin Fei Yu and Yang Jing, who had never met Mu Li, could feel that the relationship between Mu Li and his Pokémon was truly harmonious, even the somewhat irritable Ninetales they had seen before and the legendary extremely dangerous Bewear were the same.
But prejudice is prejudice, and it's not that easy to change. There are simply too many people like Deng Hongye and Zhou Yan. Similar incidents appear in various news media every year.
For example, parents giving away or even selling their children's Pokémon because the children are too addicted to Pokémon battles.
Seeing that his words were being echoed, Deng Hongye became more and more enthusiastic: “Let me tell you, someone with A Li's conditions isn't very popular in the dating market.”
“How so?” Yang Jing asked.
“A Li's advantage is his good external conditions, and his Family left him such a large house, but his other conditions are not very good,” Deng Hongye began to analyze. “First, there's the Family issue. How can his parents be abroad all year round? When they have children, they can't always let the woman's parents raise them, right?”
“Then there's the financial issue. He raises so many Pokémon; how much money does that cost each year? He can earn money now, but what about later? When he can't earn anymore, these Pokémon will become a burden.”
“And the children's education issue. He's a singer, flying around all the time. In the end, won't the children still have to be taken care of by the woman?”
“Besides, he's currently living in his parents' house, and his own home is in the countryside. He can't possibly get married and then go live in the countryside, can he? Or live with his parents? How inconvenient would that be!”
...
Seeing the topic getting more and more out of hand, Xin Fei Yu directly interrupted Deng Hongye, telling everyone to continue watching the video. Deng Hongye, however, seemed to be somewhat unsatisfied.
Soon, everyone saw the scene where Mu Li met Xu Yunyi, and they also saw the two highly controversial scenes from online previously: one was Gardevoir using Psychic to help clean a vase, and the other was using Teleportation to transport flowers.
Upon seeing this scene, Deng Hongye spoke again: “This Pokémon seems very useful! It can not only help with cleaning but also pick up deliveries and such. I wonder if it's expensive?”
Not only Deng Hongye, but Zhou Yan, who was beside him, also shared the same view.
However, Luo Yushu, Jin Zhong's mother, said, “Pokémon are not tools. If you're only raising them for cleaning or something, you might as well buy a dishwasher.”
Deng Hongye argued, “I also spend money to raise Pokémon, so if a Pokémon becomes a member of the Family, shouldn't it take on some of the household chores?”
“You...” Luo Yushu was momentarily speechless. She seemed quite angry but didn't know how to explain to Deng Hongye.
Not to mention Luo Yushu, the young people present could not understand Deng Hongye's way of thinking. It seemed that in his mind, Pokémon were merely tools, not living beings.
“Don't worry, you don't need to consider whether it's expensive or not, because Pokémon like Gardevoir won't listen to you,” Chichi's words were utterly merciless.
This made Deng Hongye a bit anxious: “How can you say that? How do you know this Pokémon won't listen to me?”
Chichi sneered, “Almost all Psychic Pokémon have a strong ability to perceive human intentions. They can directly sense what purpose humans have in approaching them. For people like you who want to use them as tools, they will flee immediately.”
Deng Hongye was clearly unconvinced: “Can't I just buy one that's already trained?”
“I'm sorry, you can't buy one,” Chichi said with a sneer. “By the same logic, when they sense your intentions towards them, they will run away immediately, even if they are bound by a Poké Ball.”
Deng Hongye's face turned red, wanting to retort but not knowing what to say.
“Moreover, do you know the price of a Pokémon like Gardevoir?” Chichi chuckled. “Gardevoir is an extremely rare Pokémon. Not only are the trading conditions extremely strict, but the trading price is also astonishing.”
“Oh?” Xin Fei Yu said with some curiosity, “We haven't looked into that aspect yet. Brother Chichi, would you mind giving us some information?”
Chichi smiled and said, “Actually, this is not a secret. Pokémon of Gardevoir's rarity are almost exclusively traded at high-level auctions.”
“As is well known, Gardevoir's initial form is Kirlia, and its middle form is Kirlia. The trading price of Kirlia and Kirlia with ordinary potential is basically several millions and above. Here, 'ordinary potential' refers to their potential being around Superior Level.”
“Once their potential reaches Gym Level or even Heavenly King Level, the price virtually has no ceiling. It just depends on who has more liquid capital. If you encounter a rich boss competing, even hundreds of millions are not difficult.”
“As for the Gardevoir Family of different colors, there's no need to say much about the price; it simply cannot be measured by money.”
Chichi continued, “And money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that such transactions usually require the Gardevoir Family to make their own judgment. If the Gardevoir Family doesn't approve of you, then I'm sorry, no matter how much money you have, you won't be able to buy a Kirlia.”
Deng Hongye was no longer concerned about blushing. He was now dizzy from the millions and hundreds of millions of dollars.
In his understanding, he probably never imagined that the price of a Pokémon could reach hundreds of millions.
But Chichi clearly had no intention of letting him off, and directly brought up the previous topic: “Didn't you say that A Li's prospects in the dating market weren't good?”
Deng Hongye stubbornly said, “Was I wrong?”
Chichi sneered, “You look down on him, isn't it because you think he has no money? The house in Modu belongs to his parents, and he raises a bunch of Pokémon at home. Well, you better listen up.”