Departing on a Journey, Trainer Market!

Wrapped in the surging tide of fatherly love, Su Hao enjoyed treatment fit for an emperor.

He had clearly said he was fine, but Su Hao's father silenced him with the argument that he would be leaving to travel in a few days and needed to recover properly before then.

Comfortably tended to as he lay in bed, Carbink and Incineroar refused to sleep in their own little beds no matter what he said today.

Surrounded by his two Pokémon, the somewhat exhausted Su Hao quickly fell asleep.

In his dream, an incomparably majestic, androgynous voice whose gender could not be distinguished kept questioning Su Hao.

What is your truth------?

What is your truth------?

What is your truth------?

He wanted to open his mouth and answer, but he could never control his body.

Ever since returning from the Spiral Secret Realm, he had always felt a voice constantly speaking in his mind after falling asleep at night.

Yet whenever he woke up, his memories of the dream would become hazy.

Su Hao's father had taken him to the hospital for an examination. His injuries had healed well, and there were no other issues.

Time passed quickly. The Gym Challenge application Su Hao's father had submitted had already been approved, and Su Hao was about to set off.

Before he left, Su Hao's father was just like any ordinary parent, preparing all sorts of things for Su Hao out of fear that he might go hungry or cold during his journey.

Su Hao's mother, far away in the Imperial City, had even gotten him a Space Backpack that had not yet hit the market.

The Space Backpack was filled with all kinds of wilderness supplies and changes of clothes.

After bidding farewell to Su Hao's father, Li Hua, and Jiang Chengcheng, who had come to see him off at the train station, Su Hao boarded the train bound for Haiqing Province.

On the train, the scenery along the way left both Carbink and Incineroar dazzled.

The train ticket Su Hao's father had bought for him was first class, with enough room to let Carbink and Incineroar out.

"Sir, if you need anything else, feel free to call for me at any time." The exquisitely made-up attendant set down a steaming drink for Su Hao before tactfully withdrawing.

"Alright." Su Hao nodded.

Because Pokémon existed in the wilderness, every train was equipped with Trainers in case particularly aggressive Pokémon attacked the train.

Wild Pokémon also often came by looking for handouts along the way. Once they received the food specially prepared on the train for Pokémon that blocked the tracks, they would usually leave.

The train made frequent stops on its way to Haiqing Province, finally arriving at a city within the province—Baohe City—on the third day.

As the border between Haiqing Province and other provinces, Baohe City was not like the other cities in Haiqing Province that lay against the sea.

Aside from its air being somewhat more humid than inland areas, Baohe City was no different from an inland city.

As he walked down the streets, most of the buildings lining the road were constructed from materials with excellent moisture resistance.

According to the guide Li Hua had sent him on his phone, Baohe City was highly developed commercially as the junction between coastal and inland regions, and it had several Trainer Markets.

Besides stores run by branded merchants, the Trainer Markets also had many independent vendors setting up stalls on the ground.

"Come take a look, come take a look! Berries picked fresh this morning, sweet as can be!"

"When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut! Grandpa and Grandma were so happy that they gave me my favorite Skitty Brand Cat Ears, Skitty Brand Cat Ears~ More care, more love!"

"Yellow Earth, black earth—use Tauros Brand Fertilizer for fertilizing!"

"Success is not about seeing far ahead. Not taking a fall is success. I am Luo Hu. The 8848 Titanium Rotom Phone: invisible dialing, encrypted calls, reminders when you forget it, alarms when you lose it. Exclusive Dutch Imported Calfskin, titanium alloy craftsmanship, automatically explodes when separated from its user by ten meters!"

After passing through the wildly chaotic stalls, Su Hao arrived before a cart that had been tidied until it looked bright and spotless.

The cart was filled with all sorts of little trinkets, including quite a few Pokémon Items.

"Wel↑come←to→my↓shop~! What can I get for you?" Though the cart owner was selling things from a stall, he wore a suit. However, the suit on his short frame looked distinctly out of place.

"I'll take a look first." Su Hao turned his gaze toward the neatly arranged items on the cart.

There were Poké Balls, all kinds of herbs, and Berries on the cart. Su Hao did not linger over these common items.

Looking at the items before him, Su Hao activated the System's inspection function.

[Water Stone (A Water Stone of intermediate quality, capable of evolving certain Pokémon)]

[Soft Sand (Provides a 10% boost to Ground-type Pokémon)]

[Light Clay (High-quality Light Clay. When used by a Pokémon, it can extend the duration of Light Screen, Reflect, and Aurora Veil. It can also be used to improve comprehension of Dual Screens moves.)]

[Beautiful Scale (A scale dropped by a rare wild Milotic)]

For him, most items could be purchased through the System Mall, even including the Key Stone required for Mega Evolution, the Z-Ring, Dynamax Band, and Tera Orb.

However, the System Currency he could obtain was limited. Unless something was urgently needed, it would naturally be best if he could solve the matter with money.

Su Hao was rather interested in the Light Clay and Beautiful Scale. Light Clay was not expensive in the System, costing only five thousand System Currency, while the Beautiful Scale cost a full ten thousand.

Since he had come across them, and the cart owner had clearly marked prices, the two items were both priced close to market value.

"Please wrap up the Light Clay and this scale for me. And give me six more Luxury Balls!"

"Ver↑y←well→sir↓, the Light Clay and six Luxury Balls come to 200,000 Shenzhou Coin!"

"As for this scale, sir, you truly have a good eye! I personally obtained this Beautiful Scale in the wilderness, and its quality is absolutely no worse than the Beautiful Scales produced by Mina Company!"

"The Beautiful Scale is 200,000 Shenzhou Coin! I wish you success in evolving the Milotic you desire!"

Su Hao nodded, swiped his card, took his things, and left.

Before he departed, Su Hao's father had specifically transferred a large sum of money into his account. Together with the New Year's money he had saved since childhood, he almost had enough to buy a Pseudo-Legendary egg!

Though he did not know whether he would encounter a destined Feebas, it was always better to be prepared.

After wandering around the market some more and purchasing plenty of Berries for making Energy Cubes, he had the merchant deliver them to his reserved hotel and left the Trainer Market.

After spending a day wandering around Baohe City's commercial district and buying many supplies, Su Hao returned to the Mawile Hotel he had booked in advance.

The Berries he had purchased at the market that morning had already been arranged neatly in his room. After opening the packaging, he sorted them and placed the Berries into the System Backpack.

The System Backpack had a preservation function. No matter how long the Berries stayed inside, they would not spoil.