Chapter Twenty-Five: Return to the Breeding House
“What, you’re leaving?” Ash was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected Cheng Cheng to depart so soon.
“Yes, I’ve been away for quite some time already. It’s about time I head back and take a look.”
“I see… Still, I really hate to see you go.”
“Pikachu~”
“Alright, there’ll be other times for us to meet again.”
“Well, okay then. By the way, will you come to watch the upcoming Caiyou Conference?”
“Of course, Ash. I’ll definitely come to watch you then, so do your best.”
“You have to work hard too, Pikachu.”
“Pika~”
Cheng Cheng reached over and patted Pikachu on the head.
“That’s enough for now. We’ll see each other again.”
“Goodbye, safe travels.”
Waving farewell to Ash and his friends, Cheng Cheng boarded the ship bound for Sootopolis City, ready to return to the breeding house.
He didn’t choose any other route but retraced his original path. The reason was simple—he was afraid of getting lost.
Without Ash and his group, the journey went much faster, and Cheng Cheng quickly returned to Fortree City. As he had expected, he got lost in the forest of Fortree City again.
Although he had been here several times, all the trees in the dense forest looked exactly the same, making it impossible to tell them apart.
Fortunately, he had brought along the map he’d drawn before. After a bit of wandering, he managed to get back to the breeding house.
By the time Cheng Cheng arrived, it was already evening. The breeding house had long since closed, and Ali and Lily had finished work and gone home. Cheng Cheng headed up to the second floor.
He made himself a simple meal, took a shower, and began tallying the gains from his journey.
First, he’d completed two tasks and earned 1,000 achievement points. There was also another task, which he could now finish.
“System, end Task Three.”
“Ding. Task Three completed. Now calculating the scores for this task:
Completion: 84 points
Adventurousness: 92 points
Diversity: 77 points
Participation: 50 points
Growth: 81 points
Significance: 63 points
Total: 447 points
Congratulations, host, you have received 447 achievement points.”
After seeing the data reported by the system, Cheng Cheng understood the scoring and reward system for journey tasks.
Each journey task was evaluated in six areas, each with a maximum of 100 points. The sum of these was the total achievement points awarded for completing the task.
This time, he’d done well in both completion and growth, and the adventurousness was as high as 92, likely due to the appearances of Groudon and Kyogre.
However, participation was pitifully low, only 50. It seemed that, during this journey with Ash, he hadn’t involved himself in many events. He decided he would take a more active role in the future.
“System, begin recycling the Pokémon.”
“Ding. Recycling Pokémon will begin now.
Compiling and tallying the Pokémon you’ve obtained this time:
Deep crimson, rare, two
Light orange, common, three
Light orange, rare, five
Orange, common, two
Orange, rare, seven
Deep orange, common, six
Deep orange, rare, two
Light yellow, common, ten
Light yellow, rare, eight
Yellow, common, three
Yellow, rare, ten
Deep yellow, common, nine
Deep yellow, rare, seven
Light green, common, fifteen
Light green, rare, twelve
Green, common, eight
Green, rare, ten
Deep green, common, one
Deep green, rare, three
Light cyan, rare, one
Total: 32,224,000
You have received 3,222,400 League Coins.”
Seeing so many League Coins made Cheng Cheng happy. Thanks to traveling with Ash and his friends this time, he hadn’t gone on a catching spree; these Pokémon were all water-types he’d fished up while traveling by ship, plus a few he’d caught while passing through the forest on his way back. He hadn’t expected the total to be so high in the end.
Cheng Cheng then summoned his profile page:
Cheng Cheng
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Achievement Points: 1,947
Psychic Power Level: Seed
Bound Pokémon: Chimecho, Ralts, Abra, Gothita, Natu, Spoink, Slowpoke, Mr. Mime, Lunatone.
With 1,947 achievement points now, he decided to purchase rank boosters. The price varied depending on the rank. Chimecho required a yellow rank booster, which only cost 500 achievement points, so he bought two.
He gave one to Chimecho. As the Pokémon that had been with him the longest, it deserved to be strengthened first. Chimecho was originally at yellow rank; after using the booster, it would reach deep yellow. The booster needed some time for Chimecho to absorb, so he let it start using it right away.
The other booster he set aside for Spoink, whose rank was the lowest among his Pokémon—just light yellow. This would raise Spoink to yellow rank.
However, Spoink was currently in the backyard. All the Pokémon Cheng Cheng hadn’t brought with him were left to roam freely in the backyard, so he decided to give Spoink the booster tomorrow.
After sorting everything out, Cheng Cheng began his meditation. He meditated nearly every night to train his psychic abilities. The seed in his mind seemed to have grown larger, but still showed no sign of sprouting. He wasn’t sure if it ever would.
Time passed quickly during his cultivation, and before he knew it, it was already the next morning.
Cheng Cheng pushed open the window and breathed in the fresh air of Fortree City’s morning. Although he’d seen the ocean every morning while traveling by sea, he still preferred the forest.
After breakfast, he went down to the first floor of the breeding house.
“Boss, you’re back?”
“Yes, I came back last night. Did you receive the Pokémon I teleported back and the berries I sent?”
“Yes, everything arrived. Here’s the account statement for the recent period.”
Cheng Cheng looked over the record book. In the past ten days or so, they had sold five Pokémon eggs and three Pokémon—a rather poor performance.
“By the way, where’s Ali?”
“Ali is preparing Pokémon food in the backyard. Aside from your Pokémon, there are only two Natu left out there.”
“Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
When Cheng Cheng arrived in the backyard, Ali was feeding the Pokémon.
“Everyone, I’m back!”
His Pokémon heard him and all came running over.
“Have you all been good while I was away?”
“Gothita~”
“Duu~”
“Ali, did the Pokémon cause any trouble recently?”
“There was a little, but it’s all sorted out now.”
“Trouble? You weren’t behaving?”
“Duu~ Duu~”
“Thank you for all your hard work.”
“No problem—it’s fun being with them.”
“Alright, everyone, come meet your new friend!”
“Come on out, everyone!”
Cheng Cheng released the Pokémon he’d brought with him, including Lunatone.
“This is your new friend, Lunatone. Be sure to get along with each other from now on.”
The reunion of old friends and the addition of new ones was a joyous occasion, and everyone began to play together.
“Boss, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this Pokémon before.”
“It’s quite rare—found only in certain special places,” Cheng Cheng said, keeping some details to himself.
“By the way, Ali, these are the Pokémon I caught. They’re all at a certain level; keep them in the backyard, and if anyone wants to buy one, that’s fine. Also, remember to submit their data to the League for approval.”
“Of course, no problem.”
Ever since Officer Jenny had come by last time, Cheng Cheng had registered all wild Pokémon he caught with the League.
“Alright, everyone, you’re free to move around. Spoink, come here for a moment.”
He recalled Spoink into its Poké Ball and returned to the second floor.
“Spoink, do you want to become stronger?”
“Duu~ Duu~”
“This medicine will make you strong. After using it and resting for a while, you’ll become much stronger.”
He gave Spoink the booster and returned it to its Poké Ball, placing it together with Chimecho’s. Neither would be usable for a while.
Cheng Cheng had planned to rest for a few days, but at that moment, the system issued a new task.