Chapter Fifteen: Daily Care of Pokémon
“Welcome! How can I help you today?”
“I’d like to buy a Pokémon.”
“Are you looking for a Pokémon that’s already hatched, or would you prefer an unhatched Pokémon egg?”
“A hatched Pokémon would be better, but if there aren’t any, an egg is fine too.”
“Boss, someone wants to buy a Pokémon!” The shop assistant called out loudly, her voice ringing through the air.
Soon after, the sound of footsteps echoed from upstairs, and a man descended.
“Hello, I’m the owner of this breeding house. You’re looking to purchase a Pokémon, right? Please, follow me.”
The speaker was Cheng Cheng. Ever since receiving a warning from Officer Junsha, Cheng Cheng had been spending all his time at the breeding house. He’d recently managed to hire both a female and a male assistant. With their arrival, much of his workload had eased, and he usually stayed upstairs when there wasn’t much to do.
“All the Pokémon we sell at the Psychic Breeding House are of the Psychic type. Since our business has just started, our selection is still quite limited.”
“This way, please.”
Cheng Cheng led the customer to the backyard and called out, “Everyone, gather up!”
Soon, eight or nine Pokémon assembled in the yard. Among them, a Chingling and a Ralts had been hatched by Cheng Cheng himself.
“These are all the Pokémon we currently have available. Take a look and see if any interest you.”
The customer walked over to inspect them more closely but ended up shaking his head.
“I’m not interested in these Pokémon. Do you have any others?”
“Sorry, these are all we have for now. As for eggs, we only have Ralts and Chingling.”
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Take care. Please visit again!”
Once more, Cheng Cheng failed to make a sale. He sighed softly. The Pokémon noticed his disappointment and felt downcast themselves, blaming their own shortcomings for failing to win the buyer’s favor.
“It’s all right, don’t worry. If no one buys you, that just means I get to spend more time with you!” Cheng Cheng patted their heads, offering comfort.
Business had been poor lately, but since Officer Junsha’s visit, more people had learned about his shop. Otherwise, he might not have sold a single Pokémon.
Back inside, the shop assistant, Xiao Li, saw Cheng Cheng return alone and knew the deal had fallen through.
“Boss, the customer didn’t buy anything?”
“No, he didn’t like the Pokémon we have.”
“Boss, why don’t you bring in other types of Pokémon? Psychic types are rare, and not many people want them. If this keeps up, we might not sell any at all!”
Xiao Li was the assistant Cheng Cheng had hired to help with sales, while A Li was responsible for taking care of the Pokémon.
After several rounds of tests, Cheng Cheng had finally managed to, well, recruit them both.
“My dream is to become a master breeder of Psychic-type Pokémon. That’s why our breeding house only sells Psychic Pokémon and Psychic eggs.”
“Oh, all right.”
Cheng Cheng smiled faintly, unconcerned with Xiao Li’s mood.
Instead of heading back upstairs, Cheng Cheng sat at the counter, resting his head on one hand, his eyes unfocused.
“So boring... Life was much more exciting back in the forest. Even though it was dangerous, that kind of thrilling, passionate existence is something I truly yearn for.”
“Wait, I could organize battles between my Pokémon! It would help them grow stronger and pass the time.”
With this thought, Cheng Cheng returned to the backyard, bringing out his seven bonded Pokémon.
They all gathered around him, hopping and skipping with joy.
Cheng Cheng glanced at his current team. Realizing Chingling’s level was a bit too high, he let it train alone. Chingling still wasn’t in great shape, so he assigned it some simple exercises. As for Abra, he decided it was best left inside its Poké Ball.
“All right, first match: Spoink versus Gothita!”
Pokémon: Spoink
Type: Psychic
Level: 13
Grade: Pale Yellow
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Thick Fat
HP: 24/60
Attack: 10/25
Defense: 12/35
Special Attack: 24/70
Special Defense: 26/80
Speed: 22/60
Total: 118/330
Held Item: None
Moves: Splash, Tackle, Psywave, Odor Sleuth, Psybeam
Pokémon: Gothita
Type: Psychic
Level: 14
Grade: Pale Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Frisk
Hidden Ability: Shadow Tag
...
Moves: Pound, Confusion, Tickly, Fake Tears
“You two—no playing around this time. Take it seriously, all right?”
“Gothi~!”
“Boon~!”
“Gothita, use Pound on Spoink!”
“Gothi~!”
Gothita charged at Spoink, this time much faster than before—impressive speed for its size.
“Spoink, bounce away to dodge!”
Gothita kept swinging, and Spoink kept leaping to avoid the blows.
“Spoink, use Psywave on Gothita!”
“Boon~!”
Spoink unleashed Psywave, hitting Gothita squarely. Gothita looked dazed.
“Snap out of it, Gothita!”
Gothita struggled, trying to break free from Psywave’s confusion.
“Now! Spoink, use Tackle!”
Spoink compressed its tail and shot forward, slamming into Gothita and knocking it away.
The impact snapped Gothita out of its daze, but it was too exhausted to continue fighting.
“This round goes to Spoink!”
“Boon~!” Spoink bounced happily around Cheng Cheng.
“Gothi~!”
Gothita, dejected, slumped against Cheng Cheng’s leg.
“There, there, it’s all right, Gothita. We’ll work harder next time!”
After tending to Gothita’s feelings, Cheng Cheng announced the next match.
“The next match: Slowpoke versus Ralts!”
Pokémon: Ralts
Type: Psychic, Fairy
Level: 16
Grade: Pale Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Synchronize
Special Trait: Telepathy
Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, Lucky Chant
Pokémon: Slowpoke
Type: Water, Psychic
Level: 20
Grade: Blue
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Oblivious
Hidden Ability: Regenerator
Moves: Curse, Growl, Water Gun, Confusion, Bind
“Ralts, we’ll attack first.”
“All right, Ralts, use Lucky Chant!”
Ralts began with Lucky Chant, seizing the initiative.
“Slowpoke, use Water Gun!”
A jet of water shot toward Ralts.
“Ralts, Double Team!”
Ralts split into three images, and the Water Gun missed.
“Slowpoke, again—aim at all three Ralts!”
Slowpoke fired another Water Gun, dispersing the duplicates.
Ralts, using Confusion, levitated out of the way.
Ralts enhanced itself with Confusion, floating higher and dodging Slowpoke’s attack.
“Slowpoke, use Confusion on Ralts!”
Cheng Cheng waited for Slowpoke to act, but nothing happened.
“Slowpoke, again, use Confusion!”
What was going on? Why wasn’t Slowpoke obeying?
Cheng Cheng stopped the match and hurried over.
“Slowpoke, can you use Confusion?”
Slowpoke looked as spaced-out as ever, and Cheng Cheng couldn’t tell if it was responding.
“It’s all right, you did your best today, Slowpoke.”
“And you too, Ralts. Keep up the good work.”
“All right, everyone, that’s enough battles for today. I’ll be making dinner for you myself tonight!”
“Gothi~! Boon~! Ling-ling~!”
The Pokémon cheered, excited to have Cheng Cheng cook for them. Lately, A Li had handled most of their meals.
Cheng Cheng returned to the kitchen and found A Li preparing ingredients for the Pokémon’s food.
“A Li, I’ll take care of dinner today.”
“All right, I’ll be your assistant.”
A Li placed the Pokémon flour on the counter.
“What flavors are you planning to make?”
“Let’s do several batches with Apicot, Mago, and Leppa berries. And today, let’s add a batch with Tamato and Durin berries. I promised the Pokémon something special.”
“I haven’t tried those last two recipes before. I’ll make notes of the flavors and which Pokémon like them.”
“Good. I’ll start kneading the dough; help me puree these berries.”
With A Li’s help, Cheng Cheng soon had all the Pokémon meals ready.
They carried the food to the backyard and served it to the Pokémon.
The first three types were quickly chosen, but the last two were left untouched.
“Chingling, try the Durin berry mix!”
“Ling-ling~!”
Chingling took a bite, then shook its head gently, indicating it didn’t like the flavor.
“How about the Tamato berry one?”
After tasting the Tamato berry meal, Chingling shook its head even more vigorously, its bell chiming melodiously.
“I see, you don’t like either? Abra, your turn.”
Cheng Cheng had all the Pokémon try the new flavors. He found that Spoink liked the Tamato berry food, but none of the Psychic types cared for the Durin berry variety. Perhaps Psychic Pokémon generally dislike that fruit, or maybe Cheng Cheng simply hadn’t caught one who does.
Once they’d finished eating, Cheng Cheng handed the dishes to A Li, who washed up, and they both called it a day.
Cheng Cheng went upstairs, ate dinner made by Aunt Meixuzi, then got ready to shower and sleep.
In the past, he would have simply gone to bed. Now, though, he needed to train his psychic ability.
Following the method taught to him by Slowking, he concentrated as much as possible, taking out the bent spoon that Abra carried for his psychic training. Originally, Abra had refused to lend it, but after Cheng Cheng offered three servings of Pokémon food as a trade, Abra happily agreed.
Thus began another night of psychic training for Cheng Cheng.