Chapter Seventy: News from the Breeding House

It was another sunny day—or so it seemed. Yesterday, Cheng Cheng had two teams of Pokémon undergo battle training. Today, it was time to train the final two groups.

Having learned his lesson from the day before, he went out early to buy breakfast. After eating, as usual, he prepared Pokéblocks for the Pokémon. This time, he followed the recipe provided by the system to the letter, and the results were clear: the Pokémon all loved them.

Once everyone was well-fed and satisfied, it was time for training to begin.

The first battle was between Slowpoke and Chimecho. In terms of combat ability, Chimecho was better matched against Lunatone, but its signature moves weren’t particularly effective on Lunatone, so Cheng Cheng decided to have it battle Slowpoke instead.

“All right, are you both ready?”

“Chime—!”

“And you, Slowpoke?”

Cheng Cheng glanced at Slowpoke, but it was sprawled motionless on the ground. Never mind, asking you is pointless.

“Well then, let’s officially begin the battle. This will be a one-on-one between Chimecho and Slowpoke. Both sides, please prepare. The battle begins now.”

“Chime—!”

Chimecho was the first to act, unleashing a Psywave, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on Slowpoke.

Slowpoke slowly lifted its head and fired a powerful Water Gun.

Chimecho evaded swiftly.

Slowpoke continued to use Water Gun, while Chimecho kept dodging. The whole scene looked less like a battle and more like an endless cycle of one spitting water and the other dodging, neither side making real progress.

After five full minutes of this, Slowpoke finally stopped using Water Gun, as if preparing to launch a different move.

But then Slowpoke suddenly turned around and dashed off toward the riverbank—apparently, it had run out of water.

Cheng Cheng winced. What kind of Pokémon had he ended up with?

“Chimecho, stop it!”

He issued the command, and Chimecho used Psychic to immobilize Slowpoke. Slowpoke’s head turned back with a heavy, ponderous motion, and Chimecho’s body stiffened—it seemed Slowpoke had retaliated with a powerful Psychic.

Cheng Cheng could feel the surge of psychic energy; he hadn’t expected Slowpoke’s Psychic to be so formidable.

Chimecho’s psychic grip was broken, and Slowpoke hopped quickly into the river. After replenishing its water, Slowpoke climbed back onto the bank and immediately resumed its Water Gun assault on Chimecho.

Then, with a swift change of technique, Slowpoke summoned a massive column of water—a far more powerful Water Pulse. Chimecho responded just in time, using Protect to shield itself from the attack.

Slowpoke’s enormous head lifted again, preparing another Psychic. Chimecho was hit once more, and this time it was badly hurt.

“Chime—!”

A soothing green wave emanated from Chimecho as it used Heal Bell.

At that moment, Slowpoke used Curse, lowering Chimecho’s attack and defense. Chimecho continued to heal.

Immediately after, another Water Gun blasted out, hitting Chimecho directly and knocking it out of the battle.

“Chimecho is unable to battle. The winner is Slowpoke.”

Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected the seemingly dopey Slowpoke to make such clever use of the environment. Even though it had run to the river mid-battle, being able to use the terrain to its advantage was a sign of intelligence.

Chimecho looked crestfallen, not expecting to lose so quickly.

“It’s all right, Chimecho, don’t worry. Have faith in yourself—you’ll defeat it next time.”

“Chime—”

His words seemed to help, but Cheng Cheng knew it would be difficult for Chimecho to overcome Slowpoke any time soon. If Slowpoke evolved into Slowking in the future, Chimecho’s chances would be even slimmer.

Still, since Chimecho was his very first Pokémon, Cheng Cheng was determined to make it strong. He would work on raising its rank soon.

“All right, everyone, take a break. If you want to continue training, go ahead.”

Cheng Cheng returned to the breeding house and recorded the results of this battle to better improve his Pokémon’s training.

With some free time, he used the computer at the counter to log in to the League’s official website and check his breeding house’s store page.

Browsing the recent activity, he was surprised to find that over a hundred people had visited his site in the past two days, and some had even left comments.

However, nearly all the comments discussed the battle between Chimecho and Kirlia. As for Cheng Cheng himself and the breeding house, no one mentioned them at all.

He read through the comments. Some said the battle wasn’t exciting enough and was rather dull. Others remarked on how cute Chimecho and Kirlia were—one person even said he was a big fan.

That comment made Cheng Cheng’s eyes light up. It seemed that showcasing Pokémon battles could indeed highlight their charm, making it easier to sell Pokémon and draw more viewers, thus boosting his reputation.

Given this, Cheng Cheng decided he would regularly post battle videos from now on.

He continued to review his shop’s sales and traffic records. Already, two people had pre-ordered Pokémon. Clearly, these videos were effective. He resolved to post another that afternoon, especially since there would be a battle between Lunatone and Mr. Mime, which promised to be very exciting. This would surely attract more attention.

That afternoon, when Ah Li arrived for work, Cheng Cheng immediately had him bring the camera to the backyard. This time, he wanted to film a freestyle battle between Lunatone and Mr. Mime. He was sure it would be a spectacular match.

Once everything was ready, Ah Li started filming. Cheng Cheng didn’t start with footage of the battle itself; instead, he introduced the participants.

“Hello, everyone, this is the Psychic Breeding House. I’m Cheng Cheng, the owner. Today, I’m bringing you a battle between Chimecho and Mr. Mime. Let’s welcome them to the field!”

Lunatone and Mr. Mime appeared on the battlefield, and Cheng Cheng continued his introduction.

“Take a look—this is Lunatone, a very rare Psychic- and Rock-type Pokémon. It’s said to come from outer space—a truly rare specimen. Today, you all get to see it in action.

“And here we have Mr. Mime, a Psychic-type Pokémon that is also quite rare, mostly found in the Kanto region. Today, it’s here to meet you all as well.

“I wonder if you’ll like them?

“All right, enough from me. Let’s begin the battle. This will be a freestyle match between Mr. Mime and Lunatone. As the owner, I won’t be giving them instructions—so how this battle unfolds is entirely up to them.”

“Both sides, please take your positions. Battle start.”

As soon as Cheng Cheng finished speaking, the two Pokémon prepared to attack, but simultaneously received a telepathic message from him:

[Today, you must use your most dazzling moves and put on a truly spectacular show, understand? And make the battle last so everyone can appreciate your strength.]

Though Cheng Cheng didn’t interfere directly, he communicated his wishes through psychic power.

Lunatone and Mr. Mime had no choice but to follow his instructions.

Lunatone began with a Stone Edge attack. Mr. Mime used Psychic to block all the stones and sent them back at Lunatone.

Lunatone quickly used Protect to block the counterattack.

Then Lunatone used Rock Slide; huge boulders rained down on Mr. Mime, who responded with Protect, though the stones trapped it inside.

Lunatone immediately followed up with a Dazzling Gleam, a powerful beam of light that struck Mr. Mime and knocked it free, though Mr. Mime wasn’t seriously hurt.

Mr. Mime used Barrier to shield itself and escaped the trap. Then it quickly set up multiple invisible barriers around itself.

Lunatone launched another Stone Edge, this time enhanced with psychic energy. The sharp stones attacked Mr. Mime from all directions, but were blocked by the barriers. It was clear Mr. Mime had protected itself perfectly.

Not convinced, Lunatone used Dazzling Gleam again. The beam shattered the barriers and nearly struck Mr. Mime.

Mr. Mime quickly used Protect; Lunatone’s attack was thwarted.

This time, rather than unleash another powerful move, Lunatone charged forward and used Tackle.

Mr. Mime seized the opportunity and responded with a flurry of Double Slap attacks. Although Lunatone landed its tackle, it was struck by Mr. Mime’s rapid slaps and knocked into the air.

Recovering midair, Lunatone unleashed another Rock Slide. Massive stones crashed down on Mr. Mime, knocking it out of the battle.

“Mr. Mime is unable to battle. The winner is Lunatone!”

Cheng Cheng then turned to the camera.

“All right, everyone, that’s the end of today’s battle. I hope you enjoyed it. I’m Cheng Cheng, and this is the Psychic Breeding House.”

He finished with a bit of advertising before ending the recording.

“Great work, both of you.”

Once the filming was over, both Pokémon collapsed on the ground, exhausted. They hadn’t expected this to be even more tiring than normal battles—not only did they have to use impressive moves, but they couldn’t knock each other out too quickly, and had to prolong the fight. Such demands were not something ordinary Pokémon could handle; only Lunatone and Mr. Mime could manage it.

Cheng Cheng healed both Pokémon, edited the video, and uploaded it to the official website, hoping to attract even more attention.

And so, another happy day came to an end.