Chapter Seven: The Grand Shopping Spree
Because he had completed the formalities in the afternoon, Cheng Cheng went shopping the next day.
He organized a list of items he needed to buy. Thanks to the recent renovations, some necessities had already been taken care of. After calculating, he realized he still needed to purchase machines and raw materials for making Pokémon food and energy cubes; then, some Pokémon devices and Poké Balls; but most importantly, he needed to buy some Psychic-type Pokémon eggs. This last point was what truly troubled him.
Among all the Pokémon types, Psychic-types were relatively rare. Cheng Cheng didn’t have any reliable channels to begin with, and now he needed to buy a considerable number of Psychic-type eggs, which was proving quite difficult.
“Chimecho, we’re going shopping,” he called.
“Chime!” The little Pokémon sounded delighted.
Cheng Cheng’s destination was the city center of Verdanturf. His residence was only a few hundred meters from the center, so he decided to walk.
Along the way, he saw many trainers and Pokémon. With its Flying-type Gym, Verdanturf City attracted numerous trainers, so opening a breeding house here meant he would never have to worry about business.
Soon, Cheng Cheng arrived at a large supermarket—the biggest in Verdanturf. Its vast selection was exactly why he’d chosen it.
He entered, Chimecho floating by his side, and was immediately energized by the dazzling array of goods; his urge to shop surged.
He approached one of the counters.
“Hello, is there anything I can help you with?” a pretty young woman asked.
“I’d like to buy thirty regular Poké Balls and thirty Pokémon devices,” he replied.
“Alright, each regular ball is three hundred League Coins, each device is five hundred, so that’s a total of twenty-four thousand League Coins.”
“I also need machines for making Pokémon food and energy cubes.”
“Of course, please follow me.”
She led him upstairs, where a variety of large machines were on display.
“What kind are you looking for?” she asked.
“One basic energy cube maker, one intermediate energy cube maker, and a high-quality Pokémon food processor.”
“Very well. The basic energy cube maker is five hundred thousand, the intermediate is eight hundred thousand, and the food processor is five hundred thousand.”
Cheng Cheng did some quick calculations: he had originally received 1.5 million for acquiring Pokémon, plus his own 200,000, totaling 1.7 million. After renovating the house, he was left with 1.1 million. He realized he simply couldn’t afford all these machines, especially since there were other items he still needed.
“I’ll skip the intermediate energy cube maker then,” he said.
“That brings it to a total of one million.”
“I also need some raw materials.” He handed her a list and picked up a few other small essentials, then left his phone number and address for delivery.
He had wanted to buy some Pokémon eggs too, but found himself completely out of money. He’d thought a million would be plenty, but it was far from enough. Resigned, he decided to take what he’d bought home to install, and leave the eggs for another day.
He had to admit, this supermarket’s delivery service was incredibly fast. No sooner had he returned to the breeding house than the goods arrived.
“Hello, are you Mr. Cheng Cheng?”
“I am.”
“These are the items you purchased. Please check them and sign here.”
After a quick inspection, he signed for the delivery.
He placed the Poké Balls in the counter drawer, the devices and raw materials for food processing in a large box in the back room, and then carefully installed the two machines according to their manuals.
“Phew, finally done,” he sighed. It had taken him a full hour to set up both machines.
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have completed the mission and earned 1,000 Achievement Points.”
“The mission’s done? Oh, right—the task was only to prepare the devices needed to raise Pokémon, not to actually have any eggs!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have earned Achievement Points and unlocked the Achievement Points Lottery page.”
“Open it.”
The system displayed the lottery page: each draw cost 100 points, and with 1,000 points, Cheng Cheng could try ten draws at once. Without hesitation, he chose the ten-draw option.
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have received a Water Stone.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a Psychic-type Pokémon egg.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a bottle of Moomoo Milk.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received an ordinary stone.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a recipe for basic Psychic-type energy cubes.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a Pecha Berry.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a bottle of Moomoo Milk.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a Psychic-type Pokémon egg.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a Psychic-type Pokémon egg.”
“Congratulations, host, you have received a Bulbasaur.”
“Ding! Because the host is not permitted to obtain non-Psychic-type Pokémon, Bulbasaur has been automatically converted into Pokémon Exchange Fragments.”
“Pokémon fragments? System, what’s going on? Didn’t you just erase any non-Psychic Pokémon I got before?”
“Ding! Non-Psychic-type Pokémon obtained through the lottery are now converted into Pokémon Exchange Fragments. The first time, the erasure was to make an impression on the host, so you’d remember not to use non-Psychic Pokémon.”
“I…” Cheng Cheng felt as if a hundred Arceus had trampled his heart.
“Do all Pokémon break down into just one fragment?” he asked after composing himself.
“No. Different rarities yield different numbers of fragments: common Pokémon give one, rare Pokémon give five, epic Pokémon give ten, and legendary Pokémon give one hundred. The system also adjusts based on the Pokémon’s level.”
“So I lost at least a hundred fragments last time?”
“That won’t do! System, you must compensate me, or I’m quitting!”
“Ding! Please do not threaten the system. The system is very pitiful too. Boohoo…”
“Ding! Due to the host’s strong dissatisfaction, fifty Pokémon Exchange Fragments have been issued as compensation.”
“That’s only half!”
“Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it—how could I not?”
Cheng Cheng’s mood instantly improved; he hadn’t expected the system to actually compensate him.
“System, what can I exchange fragments for?”
“For every twenty fragments, you can exchange for one Psychic-type Pokémon. The grade and level of the Pokémon received are random.”
“I see. Then I’ll make an exchange.”
“Pokémon fragment exchange in progress…”
“Ding! The host has received a Chingling.”
“One more exchange.”
“Pokémon fragment exchange in progress…”
“Ding! Congratulations, host, you have received a Gothita.”
“A Gothita, huh?”
Pokémon: Chingling
Type: Psychic
Level: 10
Rank: Yellow
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Levitate
Carried Item: None
Moves: Wrap, Growl, Astonish
Pokémon: Gothita
Type: Psychic
Level: 12
Rank: Pale Green
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Frisk
Hidden Ability: Shadow Tag
HP: 18/45
Attack: 9/30
Defense: 11/50
Special Attack: 15/55
Special Defense: 19/65
Speed: 15/45
Total: 87/290
Carried Item: None
Moves: Pound, Confusion, Tickle, Fake Tears
“This Gothita isn’t bad at all. I’ll use it as my own partner. As for the Chingling, since it’s the same yellow rank as Chimecho, I’ll sell it.”
He then checked the other three Pokémon eggs he’d received. All three were identical.
Pokémon Egg
Pokémon: Ralts
Type: Psychic
Rank: Yellow
Rarity: Rare
“Since that’s the case, I’ll sell these too. Looks like the system had this all planned out.”
Cheng Cheng didn’t care if it was the system’s arrangement. As long as he had three Pokémon eggs and a Chingling for sale, with a little more effort to acquire some additional eggs, he could officially begin operations at the breeding house.