Chapter 158: Going Out to Play, A Field Picnic

"Let's go out and play, shall we?"

"I need to work on the materials for Mega Evolution."

"Look who's talking. I only just became an Intermediate Breeder, and you're already aiming to be an Advanced Breeder."

"Oh come on, it'll still take a while to actually figure out Mega Evolution. By then, you might already be an Advanced Breeder yourself."

"As if it's that easy."

"Well, how about you join the Mega Evolution research as well?"

"No way, I want to pass the exam on my own."

"Fine, you're the greatest, happy now?"

"Hmph. Keep me company outside."

"Where to?"

"That's for you to decide, of course. It has to be somewhere interesting, though."

"Alright, let me think."

"Oh, I just thought of a place."

"Where?"

"We'll get there together."

"Alright, let's set off."

Muko was extremely thrilled.

Cheng Cheng calculated the time and realized it was just about right. Then another thought crossed his mind, and it really was quite interesting.

Cheng Cheng opened the system store and purchased an item. Following that, Cheng Cheng and Muko set off together.

The destination this time was quite a distance away, and the journey would likely take a few days. However, since they were traveling together, walking was naturally the best choice.

Cheng Cheng and Muko arrived at the Fletchling Meadow. It had to be said that this place was exceptionally well-suited for a picnic. The verdant grass, the gentle breeze, and Bird-type Pokémon visible everywhere. The remarkably comfortable scenery made the two of them feel extremely relaxed.

"Muko, what do you think of this place?"

"Of course it's wonderful! I really want to just sit here all day."

"Then let's stay here for a day and head to Viridian City tomorrow."

"Great! Let's have a picnic then."

Cheng Cheng and Muko took out their food, placed it on the open ground, and began to eat. At the same time, they needed to pitch their tents first, since they would be sleeping here tonight.

After finishing the preparations for tonight's rest, the next item on the agenda was having unbridled fun.

"Everyone, come on out."

Cheng Cheng and Muko released all of their Pokémon. Everyone was delighted upon seeing the surrounding environment.

"Since the Pokémon are out too, why don't we play a game?"

"What game?"

"Volleyball."

Cheng Cheng pulled a deflated ball from his backpack and inflated it.

"We'll split into two teams, with each team divided into three groups taking turns to compete."

"Alright, then I'll be in a group with my Pokémon. But Cheng Cheng, you have to handicap two of your Pokémon to us."

"No problem, let's have Grumpig and Gothitelle join you."

Muko hadn't expected Cheng Cheng to assign those two to her; she had assumed Cheng Cheng would hand over Slowpoke and Alakazam, those two notorious teammates who always dragged others down.

And so, Cheng Cheng's side consisted of Cheng Cheng himself and his eight Pokémon, while Muko's side had Muko and her eight Pokémon. Both sides were divided into three groups respectively, and the first round of the match began.

For the first round, Cheng Cheng and Muko naturally had to play first. Cheng Cheng brought Xatu and Alakazam, while Muko brought Sliggoo and Altaria.

"Then we'll serve first."

Cheng Cheng tossed the ball into the air and hit it across. On the other side, Altaria caught the ball directly and batted it back with a flap of its wings. I must say, this game was extremely advantageous for Flying-type Pokémon.

After the ball was batted back, Xatu intercepted it, sent it flying up into the sky, and Cheng Cheng jumped up to smash it over.

Muko leaped into the air and directly spiked the ball back.

Alakazam immediately used Psychic to block the ball. However, Pokémon were not allowed to use moves.

"Alakazam, you can't use moves! You can only hit it back with your physical body."

Because Alakazam violated the rule by using a move, Cheng Cheng lost this point.

"Alright, the second point is ours."

Muko served the ball, and Cheng Cheng caught it and hit it back. Then Altaria flapped its wings and returned the ball. This time, Alakazam used its head to nudge the ball upward, and Xatu followed up with a smash, driving the ball straight into the ground. Cheng Cheng scored a point.

In this fashion, the two sides continued their battle. Ultimately, with the assistance of her teammates, Muko successfully claimed victory.

"Alright, now let's move on to the second round."

The Pokémon on Muko's side for this round were Gothitelle, Grumpig, and Dragonite. Meanwhile, Cheng Cheng fielded Chimecho, Lunatone, and Mr. Mime.

In this match, with Gothitelle and Grumpig throwing the game on purpose, Cheng Cheng's side won this round.

"Sigh, I knew it would turn out like this. If I'd known, I wouldn't have let those two come over."

Muko had been slightly worried that Gothitelle and Grumpig would choose to help Cheng Cheng, and to her dismay, that was exactly what happened.

"Alright, let's decide the winner in our final match."

"Of course, no problem."

For the final round, Cheng Cheng fielded Sigilyph, Slowpoke, and Gardevoir. Muko's side sent out Trapinch, Charizard, Beartic, and Charizard. The combined strength of Charizard and Beartic was truly formidable, and Gardevoir and Sigilyph struggled to cope, quickly dropping a point.

However, the next two points were both lost because of Slowpoke—or rather, lost because of Slowpoke's Water Gun. When the ball headed toward Slowpoke, it unleashed a Water Gun attack right on the spot. The powerful jet of water blew the ball far away, and Gardevoir barely managed to retrieve it using telekinesis. However, Cheng Cheng's side was penalized a point for using a move.

After Cheng Cheng warned Slowpoke not to use moves to catch the ball, Slowpoke simply headbutted the ball, sending it crashing into Cheng Cheng's own court.

She should have just sent out Gardevoir and Sigilyph alone; Slowpoke was completely counterproductive.

The final round of the match was naturally won by Muko's team. In the end, Muko's side emerged victorious, and her Pokémon were all ecstatic. Meanwhile, Cheng Cheng's side had two Pokémon that were also very happy: Slowpoke and Alakazam. Cheng Cheng decided to cut their rations for tonight.

Gradually, the game completely devolved into a Pokémon battle. Once the Pokémon started using their abilities, the ball never touched the ground again.

Cheng Cheng had to admire the durability of the ball, which actually managed to survive a full hour under the bombardment of the Pokémon's moves. After the ball was destroyed, Slowpoke went back to its previous routine. It condensed a water sphere, and then had Beartic freeze it into an ice ball. Following that, the Pokémon began batting the ice ball around.

Sigilyph had already woken up yesterday. After its deep slumber, Sigilyph hadn't undergone any major changes, and the system data didn't show anything out of the ordinary. Since it wasn't a bad thing, Cheng Cheng didn't pursue the matter further.

Although the ice ball was hard, it was also very fragile. Before long, it was beaten to a pulp. But that didn't matter; creating things like ice balls was a breeze. Suddenly inspired, they decided to create a giant ice ball.

This ice ball was massive, towering at least ten meters high. Fortunately, the surroundings were completely flat; if there had been a slope nearby, once a giant ice ball like this started rolling, the destruction it caused would have been incalculable.

Seeing this ice ball, Cheng Cheng suddenly thought of another idea: they could turn this ice ball into a sculpture.

No sooner said than done, Cheng Cheng let the Pokémon give full rein to their imagination and began carving away at it. Things certainly weren't that simple, and having sixteen Pokémon carving simultaneously still sparked quite a few disputes. However, under the mediation of Cheng Cheng and Muko, the Pokémon finally began meticulously polishing this sculpture.

What did the final sculpture look like? Cheng Cheng couldn't quite describe it clearly either. Still, it could be considered a piece of art, seeing as it was crafted through the concerted efforts of the Pokémon.

Cheng Cheng took out his camera and snapped a photo of the sculpture. He had all the Pokémon gather around the sculpture for a group photo as well. This was a wonderful keepsake that would turn into a fantastic memory.

However, it wasn't winter, and as time passed, the ice sculpture gradually melted. While they could have used Beartic's power to keep the ice sculpture intact for a very long time, Cheng Cheng chose not to. Witnessing the melting of the ice sculpture would also give the Pokémon plenty to ponder and experience.

After an afternoon of play came the time for a truly delicious dinner. Cheng Cheng and Muko prepared the food for the Pokémon and distributed it to them. Even though Slowpoke's portion had been reduced, it was still more than what the other Pokémon received. Even Dragonite and Charizard were given slightly less than Slowpoke. Slowpoke truly was a bottomless pit.

Once the Pokémon's dinner was ready, Cheng Cheng prepared the meal for himself and Muko. Sitting together on the grass, eating their food while watching the sunset, was an exquisitely sublime enjoyment.

They had no other activities planned for the evening, so they simply lay down on the grass to gaze at the starry sky. Across this vast meadow, the starry sky was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a pity that no shooting stars streaked across, or tonight would have been even more magical.

After a night of rest, daytime arrived. Cheng Cheng and Muko ate breakfast, packed up their belongings, and continued on their journey toward their destination.

The two of them quickly arrived in Viridian City. Cheng Cheng replenished some supplies in the city, and arriving in Viridian City also awakened Muko's shopping desires.

As the largest city in the vicinity, Viridian City naturally boasted a wide variety of specialty goods. During her last visit to the Kanto Region Expo, Muko hadn't bought many Kanto-specific items, so this time she decided to shop to her heart's content.

Cheng Cheng didn't object and purchased a few items himself. Although Cheng Cheng had visited the Kanto region several times, he hadn't actually bought many things to take back.

Muko mailed a package back to Saffron City, while Cheng Cheng sent one back to his breeding house, along with a carefully selected gift for Aunt Meixuzi.

Afterwards, the two rested at the Pokémon Center for the night and set off again bright and early the next morning.

After spending another day on the road, Cheng Cheng and Muko finally arrived at their destination.

Looking at the mountain path before her, Muko looked slightly puzzled.

"Is this the destination you were telling me about?"

"Yep."

"Is there something special about this mountain?"

"There is indeed something special about this mountain, but I can only tell you after we climb up. Let's get moving; we need to reach the destination before dark, after all."