Chapter 67: The Pokémon Training Program

What was going on? Why had the Symbolic Bird’s rank increased so much? Cheng Cheng distinctly remembered that he hadn’t been cultivating it much lately, so how had it grown so rapidly?

Cheng Cheng checked the Symbolic Bird’s data again and found no issues, but he did notice the four words: “Unknown Energy.” Could it be that this “Unknown Energy” was the reason for the bird’s swift advancement?

“System, what is the Symbolic Bird’s unknown energy?”

“The system version is outdated and cannot determine the energy’s nature.”

“Outdated version?” Cheng Cheng was speechless at the system’s reply. Why don’t you just update yourself, then?

“So the Symbolic Bird is leveling up so quickly because of this energy?”

“Perhaps.”

“…”

Forget it, Cheng Cheng decided not to press the system further. He would try to learn more on his own, or just wait for the next system update.

He continued to review the data of his other Pokémon.

——————

Pokémon: Spoink
Type: Psychic
Level: 21
Rank: Deep Yellow
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Thick Fat
…
Held Item: None
Moves: Splash, Tackle, Psywave, Odor Sleuth, Confuse Ray, Magic Coat, Light Screen, Mirror Coat.
Learned Move: Protect.

Spoink’s rank was still quite low, so it looked like he needed to focus on training it going forward.

——————

Pokémon: Mr. Mime
Type: Psychic, Fairy
Level: 40
Rank: Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Soundproof
Hidden Ability: Technician
…
Held Item: None
Moves: Confusion, Barrier, Pound, Light Screen, Mirror Coat, Double Slap, Hypnosis, Yoga Pose.
Learned Moves: Protect, Psyshock.

——————

Pokémon: Lunatone
Type: Psychic, Rock
Level: 48
Rank: Green
Rarity: Epic
Ability: Levitate
…
Moves: Tackle, Harden, Confusion, Rock Throw, Hypnosis, Psywave, Moonlight, Psychic, Wake-Up Slap, Future Sight, Explosion.
Learned Moves: Protect, Psyshock, Stone Edge.

After looking through all his Pokémon’s data, Cheng Cheng noticed that they had all grown considerably, especially those who had been traveling with him. It seemed that in the coming days, he should focus on training his other Pokémon as well.

Recently, he had not only raised their ranks, but also taught them a new move, “Psyshock.” Lunatone even learned an additional move, “Stone Edge.”

After spending some time with his Pokémon, Cheng Cheng returned to his room on the second floor. He decided to write a training plan, and for the next stretch of time he would cultivate his Pokémon according to this plan.

Step one, the name—let’s call it the “Pokémon Super Training Plan.”

Step two, the schedule—he couldn’t confirm the timing yet, so he decided to check on that first.

Cheng Cheng took out his communicator and contacted Professor Oak.

“Professor Oak, long time no see.”

“Cheng Cheng! How’s your journey been?”

“I’m back home now, and I plan to focus on training my Pokémon for a while. So I wanted to ask when your research will begin.”

Professor Oak pondered for a moment.

“It’ll be a while yet. I won’t need your help for the preliminary phase, so you can come later. About a month from now—I’ll reach out to you then.”

“All right, thank you, Professor Oak.”

Cheng Cheng ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief. Since he had a month, he could put together a comprehensive plan.

Calculating the days, he realized that a month from now would be just in time for the Sinnoh League’s Lily of the Valley Conference—the timing was perfect.

Step two, timing: one month.

Step three, participating Pokémon: all those bonded with him.

Step four, the goal: none in particular, just getting stronger.

Step five, the specific plan.
…

Cheng Cheng drafted an extensive plan, detailing exactly what each Pokémon should do on each day.

Step six, location.

After finishing the entire plan, he suddenly remembered something: plans never keep up with changes. He recalled some of his previous plans; most had fizzled out soon after starting, for various trivial reasons. The rest had been blocked at the very doorstep.

Though it felt like a new beginning, Cheng Cheng believed he would likely break this plan too, and in the end, his Pokémon might grow better on their own.

With that thought, he erased everything, clearing out all the content—a whole lot of effort wasted.

After thinking it over, he decided that, since detailed plans were prone to failure, he’d just make something simple!

Step one, name: Pokémon Training Plan.

Step two, total duration: one month.

Step three, participating Pokémon: all Psychic types.

Step four, goal: grow as strong as possible.

Step five, specific plan: none.

Step six, training location: random.

Cheng Cheng wrote out this simple plan, reviewed it a few times, and felt very satisfied with it. This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about not completing the plan.

With everything done, Cheng Cheng decided to get some sleep and rest well. Traveling with Ash and his friends had been exhausting, especially in the wild, where he stayed alert at all times. The frequent use of psychic powers had also left him mentally fatigued, so he decided to sleep it off.

He slept right through until the next day. When he woke, he realized an entire day had passed—leaving him bewildered.

He quickly got up, washed his face with cold water, opened the fridge, picked out the simplest foods, prepared them, and devoured everything in no time. After that, he headed straight for the nature reserve.

He had just finished his plan yesterday, and now the very first day had almost ended in failure!

Arriving at the reserve, Cheng Cheng found that Ali had already fed the Pokémon, which made things much easier.

Which Pokémon should he train first today? Scanning the area, his eyes landed on his target: Spoink.

For Spoink, Cheng Cheng decided to focus on raising its rank first. He spent some achievement points at the shop to buy a yellow rank booster and gave it to Spoink, who promptly went into hibernation.

Cheng Cheng returned Spoink to its Poké Ball, thus completing his first training goal.

After finishing the first objective, Cheng Cheng decided to celebrate—maybe stroll around town or do some shopping.

Just as he was about to leave, the system’s voice suddenly spoke up.

“Host, have a little self-respect.”

“How am I shameless? I’ve finished the first task, so naturally I should reward myself. Anyway, there’s plenty of time—I’ll train at my own pace.”

“Ding! Now issuing new tasks.
To make the host a top-tier Pokémon breeder, the following two tasks are assigned:
Task One: Increase the reputation of the host and the breeding center.
Since your goal is to become a top Psychic-type breeder, you need enough popularity to support it.
Duration: one month.
Reward: based on the amount of reputation gained.
Penalty: If the host’s reputation does not increase by at least 100, or the breeding center’s reputation by at least 500 within one month, the host will receive a random punishment.”

“System, what is this? Why are there punishments now?”

The system ignored Cheng Cheng and continued.

“Task Two: Train the Pokémon bonded to the host.
Training period: one month.
Objective: increase combat power by 50%.
Reward for success: a mysterious item.
Punishment for failure: one of the host’s bonded Pokémon will be randomly erased.”

At this, Cheng Cheng was truly angry. This kind of punishment was far too much!

“System, what do you mean by this? These tasks are outrageous!”

“All tasks issued by the system are for the host’s benefit.”

“Nonsense, I don’t believe you. I only see you issuing arbitrary tasks with such cruel penalties. Increase the Pokémon’s combat power by 50%—are you crazy or am I? And that punishment—directly erasing a Pokémon?
System, don’t forget, I’m a breeder, not a trainer. My goal is to help Pokémon grow stronger, to better understand and protect them, not to harm them.”

At that moment, Cheng Cheng suddenly recalled what that Xatu in Twinleaf Town had said—he really had lost something recently, namely his original intention.

His goal had always been to become a Pokémon breeder, and the most basic responsibility of a breeder was to cultivate Pokémon. Cheng Cheng realized that, lately, he had spent little time actually training his Pokémon, and most of his days had been taken up with traveling and adventures with Ash and the others. This truly went against his initial goal.

After Cheng Cheng finished speaking, the system was silent for a long time. Eventually, it spoke slowly:

“These two tasks are optional; the host may choose to accept or reject them. The choice is yours.”

After hearing this, Cheng Cheng gradually calmed down. Though the system’s behavior was sometimes odd, it really had helped him better understand his Pokémon and find joy in being with them.

“System, I’ll accept both tasks, but I don’t want the rewards, and the punishments must be canceled.”

“No problem. Rewards remain, punishments are removed. But please note, host, do your best to improve your Pokémon’s abilities. And remember, no matter what happens, the system will never do anything to harm the host.”

This time, Cheng Cheng did not argue further, but quietly accepted both tasks. Upon reviewing the tasks again, he realized they would be quite challenging—he wouldn’t be able to relax in the days ahead.

“System, about this combat power—how will I know how much it’s improved?”

“No need to worry, host. The system is about to update, and the new version will include combat power data. The update will take one day, during which the system will be unavailable. The system will also record the Pokémon’s current combat power as the baseline for the task.”

With that, the system fell completely silent.

...

(Did everyone think the system was being too harsh? Don’t worry, it’ll get even worse later. Also, the host now understands what Xatu meant by something “lost,” but the rest of the “crimson” prophecy has yet to be revealed. If you want to know what happens next, please keep reading.)