“Huh? Slowpoke?”
Wang Luo rubbed his eyes, making sure he hadn’t seen wrong. Although Slowpoke was slow to react and not very suitable as a starter Pokémon, it did possess Psychic-type attributes. Its evolved forms, Slowbro and Slowking, were both powerful Water-type and Psychic-type Pokémon.
“How could such a Pokémon be in an ordinary breeding house?”
The sales assistant seemed accustomed to such expressions and explained with a smile, “This Slowpoke was sent from the Binhe City Research Institute. It was originally used by a professor for a Psychic-type research project, but this Slowpoke was simply too slow. It wasn’t just slow to react; it completely ignored commands. So, it was sent to the breeding house to see if anyone could get this Slowpoke to obey.”
So that was it. After Wang Luo’s doubts were answered, he turned his attention to the Poliwag. That was his target for today.
Psychic-type was indeed good, but with a Slowpoke, he probably wouldn’t even pass the college entrance exam. That would be game over.
Look at this Poliwag, playing in the water so skillfully. Its mastery of Water-type energy must be good. That one over there also seems good; it’s a size bigger than its companions, and its physical condition is excellent.
Wang Luo, overwhelmed by choices, was a bit conflicted. Suddenly, he thought of using his Psychic abilities to sense the personality and thoughts of each Poliwag, to see if he could choose the one most suitable for himself.
Wang Luo focused his mind and emitted his limited Psychic-type energy.
Halfway through the Psychic diffusion, Wang Luo’s body trembled. He slowly turned his head towards the Slowpoke that looked even dumber than an ordinary Slowpoke, his eyes and mouth wide open as if he had seen a ghost.
What the heck?
Fearing he had misjudged, Wang Luo quickly extended his remaining Psychic ability.
That’s right, Wang Luo confirmed his thought. From that adorable, slightly dim-witted Slowpoke, which was even more sluggish and dull than a typical Slowpoke, waves of Psychic energy were emanating. Compared to that Slowpoke, his own Psychic ability was like a star next to a bright moon.
Under Wang Luo’s Psychic perception, an indescribable tranquility and profundity emanated from this Slowpoke.
This Slowpoke appeared to be spacing out, but it was actually using Calm Mind, and it was doing so constantly, which was a bit terrifying.
Calm Mind in the game is a unique enhancing skill for Psychic-type Pokémon. Its main effect is to calm the mind, thereby increasing its Special Attack and Special Defense stats by 1 stage each.
In the real world, in addition to increasing a Pokémon’s Special Attack and Special Defense, daily Calm Mind also increases a Pokémon’s mental strength.
Thinking of this, Wang Luo’s eyes instantly lit up. It seemed he had found a treasure.
At this moment, the little person inside Wang Luo’s heart put his hands on his hips, laughed up to the sky, and shouted, “This beast is fated with me.”
Meanwhile, the sales assistant Miss was still diligently introducing to Wang Luo, “The Water-type Pokémon here are all descendants of well-qualified Pokémon, especially that Poliwag over there…”
“Cough… cough!”
“Um… I want this Slowpoke,” Wang Luo said, trying to suppress his excitement, but his uncontrollable smile betrayed his current mood.
The sales assistant Miss observed Wang Luo’s expression 360 degrees and realized that this handsome young man in front of her didn’t seem to be joking.
Out of goodwill towards a handsome guy, the sales assistant earnestly advised, “Handsome young man, listen to your elder sister’s advice. It’s better to choose another Pokémon. Although this Slowpoke has good attributes, it’s too dull to train. The last high school student who wanted to buy it got a mixed double beating from his parents.”
Wang Luo shook his head and insisted on this one.
“Alright, I hope you won’t regret it later.”
The Miss had no choice but to prepare to take him to complete the procedures.
“A very handsome young man, but his brain might not be very good,” the Miss secretly sighed in pity.
“By the way, beautiful Miss.”
Wang Luo shamelessly put on a charming smile.
“Can I get a discount?”
Face? How much is a face worth?
The sales assistant…
In the end, under the influence of Wang Luo’s handsome appearance… Well, actually, it was because the sales assistant Miss felt sorry for him. Wang Luo ultimately spent 30,000 alliance currency to obtain his first Pokémon.
After paying at the front desk, the breeding house also verified Wang Luo’s identity information. After all, every Pokémon must be bound to an individual to prevent humans from abandoning Pokémon at will and for fairness.
After all, the college entrance exam was in a year, and it was necessary to ensure that every candidate’s initial Pokémon was no more than one month old. Otherwise, wealthy families could directly prepare a Pokémon nurtured for several years in advance, and then others wouldn’t stand a chance.
The moment he received the Poké Ball containing Slowpoke, Wang Luo really wanted to shout like the foolish Ash in the anime, “I caught a Pokemon!”
Ultimately, there were too many people around, and he felt too embarrassed.
After leaving the breeding house, Wang Luo planned to buy some Pokémon food and energy cubes. For Pokémon to be well-nurtured, resources are essential. Even the Graveler and Lombre at home usually need to buy Pokémon food. If the Pokémon were really made to eat rocks and live by sunbathing, they probably wouldn’t even be able to evolve.
And for Wang Luo, who wanted to become a Trainer, he not only needed to provide daily consumption Pokémon food but also energy cubes to restore Pokémon’s energy after training. For newborn Pokémon, moomoo milk was also an excellent nutritional supplement.
Since buying the Pokémon only cost 30,000 alliance currency, Wang Luo decided to be a bit more generous with Pokémon resources. He went directly into the tallest Pokémon department store on the street. He didn’t even look at the ordinary goods on the first floor and went straight to the second floor—that’s how generous he was.
So, three minutes after Wang Luo entered the second floor of the department store, he slinked back down to the first floor.
Wang Luo rubbed his nose. Heaven knew how expensive the goods on the second floor were. The cheapest move-learning items were 9,999, and the cheapest ite was 99,999. As for rare berries, Wang Luo didn’t even dare to look, fearing he couldn’t afford them even if he spent all his money.
Masking his embarrassment, Wang Luo walked towards the Pokémon food counter.
“Hello, what do you need?”
Wang Luo looked at the single-type Pokémon food displayed on the counter, as well as customized mixed-type Pokémon food. Most eye-catching were the dazzling energy cubes, which were simply works of art.
Wang Luo thought for a moment. Slowpoke was still in its newborn stage, so 2-3 basic energy cubes per day would be enough for training needs. For Pokémon food, he would choose a Psychic and Water-type mixed Pokémon food, and one bottle of moomoo milk per day was also needed.
“Please give me a bag of Psychic and Water-type Pokémon food, 50 basic Psychic-type energy cubes and 50 Water-type energy cubes, and 30 bottles of moomoo milk.”
This should be enough for about a month’s supply for Slowpoke. He would adjust later based on Slowpoke’s training progress.
“Alright, sir, please wait a moment.”
The attendant’s face lit up. It was the time when high school students received their initial Pokémon, and also the busiest time for the counter. But there weren’t many like Wang Luo who were willing to spend money on their Pokémon, so he would get a considerable commission.
“One bag of Pokémon food is 500 alliance currency, basic energy cubes are 20 alliance currency each, totaling 2,000 alliance currency. moomoo milk is 50 alliance currency per bottle, totaling 1,500 alliance currency. All together, that’s 4,000 alliance currency.”
Wang Luo’s heart still twinged when he heard that number. He knew that raising Pokémon was not easy, but now he had a concrete feeling of it.
This was only the first month. He could imagine that more resources would definitely be needed later. Wang Luo could already foresee that his remaining money wouldn’t last long.
“Card payment.”
He reluctantly swiped his card. The boss next to him even gave him ten basic energy cubes for free because his purchase exceeded 3,000. Wang Luo asked for five Water-type and five Rock-type ones. He had to bring something back for the two heroes at home after coming out.
Wang Luo, carrying large and small bags, left this sad place, although he would have to return in a month.
After a shopping spree, it was already noon. Wang Luo found a nearby restaurant and had a bowl of beef noodles.
Although Pokémon have integrated into human society, there are still ordinary animals, which are protected and raised to provide food for humans.
After eating, Wang Luo took the bus home. He couldn’t wait to have a good emotional exchange with his Pokémon.
