Chapter Thirteen: Going Home

“Let me tell you a story,” he said.

“Many years ago, a trainer arrived here. He accepted the request of the previous Slowking, who asked him to take care of a Slowpoke. With the help of that young man, the Slowpoke grew and became strong. When it decided to evolve, it returned here and became a Slowking. That Slowking is me.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, just as you guessed. I need you to accompany a little one on a journey, help it grow, just as I once was helped.”

Hearing Slowking’s request, Cheng Cheng couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. Although Slowpoke would return here to inherit the throne after evolving into Slowking, establishing a deep friendship with the next Slowking seemed promising.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll take the Slowpoke away and never come back?”

“I trust you, and I trust my judgment. Though you’re quite different from my trainer, I believe you will take good care of it.”

“All right. Rest assured, I’ll look after it, help it grow, and when it evolves into Slowking, I’ll bring it back.”

“No need to wait for its evolution. Once it’s grown enough, bring it back and we’ll host the evolution ceremony ourselves.”

“Very well. I accept.”

Cheng Cheng was surprised to hear that they would hold the ceremony themselves—it implied they possessed the King’s Proof. Yet, with such a powerful Slowking present, no one would dare have sinister intentions.

“To thank you, I’ll give you something,” Slowking said, taking the necklace from its neck and handing it to Cheng Cheng.

“What is this?”

“This is a Mind Stone. The previous Slowking gave it to my trainer as a token of gratitude, and then passed it to me. Today, I give it to you as my thanks.”

“Thank you, but what does it do? Isn’t it only useful for Pokémon?”

“The Mind Stone indeed enhances the abilities of psychic-type Pokémon, but it can also help people accelerate their learning of psychic powers.”

“Learning psychic powers!” Cheng Cheng was astonished. He knew that in the Pokémon world, some people could use psychic abilities, but he hadn’t expected to encounter it so soon.

“But how can I learn psychic powers?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I’ll plant a seed of intent within your mind. This seed will let you access psychic abilities, but you must practice continually to help them grow.”

Hearing this, Cheng Cheng was overjoyed. He hadn’t imagined he would start learning psychic powers so soon, and began envisioning all he could do with them.

The rain grew heavier, and the Pokémon frolicked in the downpour, especially the water-types, who were visibly delighted. The scene resembled a rain-soaked carnival.

The rain lasted all day, and by early next morning, the clouds dispersed, leaving the sky clear and a beautiful rainbow arching high above.

Slowking’s psychic force had lasted the entire night, and Cheng Cheng was even more amazed by its power.

“Cheng Cheng, how did you sleep last night?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“No problem. Just remember to take good care of Slowpoke for me.”

“Now, I’ll plant a seed of intent in your mind. Let’s wait for it to sprout and blossom.”

Slowking approached Cheng Cheng, placed a finger on his brow, and the gem on its head began to glow.

Cheng Cheng felt something enter his mind—a sudden coolness spreading through his brain.

After a moment, Slowking withdrew its finger. Cheng Cheng was dazed, and it took a few minutes before he came to himself.

“I hope you’ll nurture this seed well.”

“I will.”

Slowking gestured, and a Slowpoke ambled over.

“Cheng Cheng, this will be your partner from now on.”

Cheng Cheng examined the Slowpoke—it had impressive stats.

Pokémon: Slowpoke
Type: Water, Psychic
Level: 20
Rank: Blue
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Oblivious

Hidden Ability: Regenerator
HP: 40/90
Attack: 31/65
Defense: 37/65
Speed: 5/15
Special Attack: 10/40
Special Defense: 9/40
Total: 132/315
Held Item: None
Moves: Curse, Growl, Water Gun, Confusion, Bind.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you!” Cheng Cheng patted Slowpoke’s head, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

“Cheng Cheng, it’s time for you to depart.”

“Oh, yes. Then I’ll take my leave and visit you again.”

“You’re always welcome back.”

“Let’s go, everyone.”

Cheng Cheng recalled all his Pokémon, including the newly acquired Slowpoke, into their Poké Balls, then boarded the Tentacruel that had brought him here yesterday, heading back to the shore.

“Goodbye, everyone!” Cheng Cheng waved farewell to Slowking, Slowbro, Slowpoke, and the other Pokémon on the central island, as well as those at the shore and in the water.

Following Slowking’s directions, Cheng Cheng made his way out of the forest in half a day, finally returning to the home he had longed for.

He took half an hour to bathe, then sat on his bed to tally the gains from this journey.

This time, Cheng Cheng had caught eleven psychic-type Pokémon: three Ralts, two Natu, one Spoink, one Abra, two Chingling, one Chimecho, and the Slowpoke entrusted to him by Slowking.

“Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the task and earning 500 achievement points. Your total achievement points are now 1000. Would you like to perform a ten-draw?”

“No, I won’t.”

After painstakingly accumulating 1000 achievement points, Cheng Cheng needed to buy a gene repair potion to fix the genetic defects in his previous Pokémon eggs.

“Ding, now beginning recovery of Pokémon:
Red, Normal: 2
Deep Red, Normal: 5
Deep Red, Rare: 1
Light Orange, Normal: 2
Orange, Normal: 2
Orange, Rare: 2
Deep Orange, Normal: 3
Light Yellow, Normal: 7
Light Yellow, Rare: 4
Yellow, Normal: 7
Yellow, Rare: 3
Deep Yellow, Normal: 5
Deep Yellow, Rare: 4
Light Green, Normal: 2
Light Green, Rare: 1
Green, Normal: 1
Total: 3,384,000
Congratulations, host receives: 338,400.”

This time, excluding the psychic-types, Cheng Cheng had earned over three hundred thousand. It should have been over three million, but that didn’t matter. With this sum, he could buy more Pokémon, though he still owed Aunt Mei Xuzi twenty thousand. However, the newly caught psychic-types weren’t eggs, and required daily food, which was proving troublesome.

He realized it was difficult to care for so many Pokémon alone, especially since he often needed to go out, leaving the breeding house unattended for days. So, Cheng Cheng decided to hire one or two employees to help.

He took out his computer, logged onto the League’s official website, and posted a job listing:

Job 1: Sales Staff, duties include selling Pokémon, age 15–30, salary 10,000 League coins per month plus 2% commission (female preferred).
Job 2: Store Staff, duties include preparing Pokémon food, feeding, and cleaning, age 20–35, salary 20,000 League coins per month (male preferred).
Contact: …
Location: Psychic Breeding House, Yinyu City.

After posting the job information online, Cheng Cheng closed his computer and simply waited for applicants.

He headed into the backyard, released the caught Pokémon to help them adapt to their new surroundings, enlisting Chimecho and some veterans to assist.

Seeing the new Pokémon quickly settle into their new life, Cheng Cheng felt relieved.

Returning to the inner room of the breeding house, he took out the problem Pokémon eggs purchased earlier, then bought eight vials of gene reagent from the system shop, each costing 100 achievement points, leaving him with only 200.

He separated the eggs into eight wooden basins, added some water, and poured the gene reagent into each. After three hours, he took out one of the eggs.

Pokémon Egg
Species: Natu
Type: Psychic, Flying
Rank: Yellow
Rarity: Rare

This egg was perfectly normal now.

He checked another:

Pokémon Egg (Deceased)
Species: Natu
Type: Psychic, Flying
Rank: Deep Yellow
Rarity: Rare

Deceased? What happened?

“System, why is this egg dead? I need an explanation.”

“Repairing Pokémon genes is a very difficult task. The gene repair agent you purchased has only a 30% success rate. If repair fails, the Pokémon inside will die.”

“Thirty percent? Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Well, I didn’t ask,” Cheng Cheng preempted the system’s reply.

Only thirty percent success! Cheng Cheng felt a pang of regret—not only had he lost 100 achievement points, but also a deep yellow Natu. A deep yellow Natu was worth 240,000 League coins!

He anxiously checked the data on the remaining six eggs, and found only two had survived. However, to his delight, one had reached light green rank—starter Pokémon rarely reach that level. The other was deep yellow, which was still decent. Cheng Cheng felt reassured, since the eggs had cost just 8,000 League coins and 800 achievement points.

He took the three healthy eggs to the front of the shop and placed them on the rack previously used for Natu eggs, labeling their prices:

Natu, Yellow, 30,000
Natu, Deep Yellow, 50,000
Natu, Light Green, 100,000

“Ding.”

“What is it, system? Another task?”

“Ding, the system will now undergo an upgrade. Please arrange your time accordingly.”

Upgrade? Whatever. Now he could finally relax.

After tidying up the breeding house, Cheng Cheng went upstairs to rest.