Water Mount Pokémon

After sleeping for twelve hours at the Mawile Hotel, Su Hao, brimming with energy, headed out for food with Incineroar and Carbink perched on Tiger Cub's shoulder.

He arrived at a Breakfast Market, where crowds bustled through the lively streets.

Breakfast stalls where people and Pokémon worked together were everywhere.

A Torkoal beneath an iron wok spewed fire to help the stall owner stir-fry, controlling its flames with exquisite precision.

An Alcremie produced incomparably sweet cream, working with an elderly woman at a dessert stall to make pastries.

There was even a Vigoroth using Psychic-type powers to spin a cast-iron griddle at high speed, making Jianbing.

Vigoroth's movements were highly practiced. Once the pancake was cooked, Ingredients already positioned in midair were neatly layered onto it before it was folded and bagged.

Seeing how skilled Vigoroth was, Su Hao guessed it was an old hand. He decided to buy three servings to try.

"Boss, three Jianbing, please. Add eggs, ham, and tenderloin!"

"Sure thing. Can you handle spicy food?" the owner asked while busy preparing the sauces.

"Yes!"

Five minutes later, three steaming-hot Jianbing were ready. Vigoroth used Psychic-type powers to place the bagged Jianbing into Su Hao's hands.

The moment he received them, Incineroar and Carbink, who had been eyeing them hungrily, immediately took their own portions and began eating.

After evolving, Incineroar walked on two legs, naturally freeing up its forelimbs to hold things.

Carbink, meanwhile, used its still-unfamiliar Psychic-type powers to float the Jianbing in front of its mouth.

Seeing the two Pokémon dig in, Su Hao turned his gaze to the freshly made Jianbing in his hands.

The golden pancake wrapped around a generous filling, and its rich fragrance was mouthwatering at a glance.

When he took a bite, the first thing he tasted was the slightly spicy sweet bean sauce, followed by the rich textures of egg, crispy cracker, ham, and tenderloin.

After the first bite, Su Hao could not stop. He quickly finished the whole thing in his hand.

Carbink and Incineroar had already finished theirs and stared at Su Hao eagerly. Clearly, they were still not full.

"Let's try some other things. I heard the seafood in coastal cities is delicious," Su Hao persuaded them.

Jianbing was delicious, but they could try plenty of other foods too!

Hearing that, Carbink and Incineroar gave up on getting another serving and began looking forward to the next dish.

And so, one person and two Pokémon began sweeping through Shuizhou City's local food scene.

After leaving the market with their stomachs stuffed full, Su Hao took Carbink and Incineroar toward the Guardian Deity Monument in the center of Shuizhou City.

According to the information Su Hao had found, this world held, to varying degrees, legends left behind by Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon.

Yet in modern times, no Tier 1 Legendary had ever shown itself again. Pokémon League personnel had searched every Secret Realm where those Legendary Pokémon had once lived, but found nothing.

Although the Tier 1 Legendaries had all vanished, Tier 2 Legendaries and some Mythical Pokémon still remained. Their activity could still be seen throughout the world.

The Divine Land Alliance worshipped three Tier 2 Legendaries: Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. The three were also known as the Legendary Beasts.

The neighboring Sakura Nation Alliance worshipped the Zarude tribe of Mythical Pokémon, while the Divine Land Alliance's old rival, the USA Alliance, worshipped The Forces of Nature: Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus.

Then there was the Maozi Country Alliance, which worshipped the three Swords of Justice—Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion—and so on. Only a few small Pokémon Leagues lacked the protection of Legendary Pokémon.

Beyond these Legendary Pokémon, there were also ones like Latios and Latias, who protected certain regions without establishing contact with any national Pokémon League.

Compared with other cities, Shuizhou City had an additional way to travel: its waterways.

The city's waterways extended in every direction and could reach most places. Su Hao did not choose to take a boat. Instead, he wanted to experience a coastal city specialty—Water Mount Pokémon.

He arrived at a shop that specifically rented out Water Mount Pokémon.

Inside, he saw a young woman who did not look much like the owner sitting there playing games. She was probably helping her parents watch the shop.

"Hello, do you still have Water Mount Pokémon available for rent?" Su Hao asked.

"Hm? What did you say?"

Why was this girl, so young, already a little hard of hearing? Seeing that she had not caught what he said, Su Hao repeated his request.

This time, the girl heard him clearly. She sprang to her feet with a swish and said, "Yes, yes, yes! Our main business is renting out Water-type Pokémon! All our mount Pokémon have undergone professional training and are exceptionally obedient!"

The moment she saw a customer, the girl immediately began her sales pitch, speaking with impressive fluency.

"Our shop has two kinds of Water Mount Pokémon to choose from: Lapras and Sharpedo."

"Lapras is gentle and very suitable for riding, but it is not especially fast. Sharpedo, on the other hand, is more ferocious by nature, but after our shop's training, it will not attack customers. At the same time, Sharpedo swims much faster."

"You look like a Trainer, sir. Both Pokémon also have a certain amount of Combat Power, making them perfect for riding out to sea to catch Pokémon~"

Su Hao considered it for a moment. He also wanted to take a look out at sea and see whether there were any Pokémon fated to join him.

"Sharpedo, then. I'll rent it for three days."

"Certainly! Please show your identification. We'll register it through the Pokémon League system!"

As part of a mature industry chain, rental mount Pokémon businesses naturally kept records for possible situations.

First, renters had to be registered through the Pokémon League system before they could rent a mount Pokémon.

After passing iris verification and paying the rental fee, Su Hao received the Poké Ball containing Sharpedo from the girl.

When he reached the waterway, Su Hao released Sharpedo from its Poké Ball.

Pokémon: [Sharpedo]

Type: [Water-type + Dark]

Gender: [♂]

Ability: [Rough Skin]

Level: [30]

Item: [None]

Moves: [Omitted]

A Sharpedo with the aura of an Elite Level Pokémon appeared in the waterway.

Sharpedo resembled a shark, its body bright blue and white. Its upper fins had two notches, while its lower fin had one.

It had red eyes and black gills along its sides. Its most distinctive features were the yellow four-pointed star patterns on its head and tail.

This Sharpedo's Ability was Rough Skin. Even a human would have their skin split and bleed from touching its shark skin, so it wore a specially made riding harness.

Su Hao took a generic Water-type Energy Cube from his pocket and fed it to Sharpedo in the water.

Sharpedo's small red eyes lit up. Ordinary customers at most fed it Pokémon food; customers who gave it Energy Cubes were rare. It had to seize this opportunity!

"Kaka~" Sharpedo invited Su Hao to climb aboard.

Su Hao did not stand on ceremony. After returning Carbink and Incineroar to their Luxury Balls, he climbed directly onto Sharpedo's back.

Sharpedo's body sank slightly beneath the water's surface. Once it sensed that Su Hao was seated firmly, it decided to swim more slowly. It had to take good care of this generous customer.

"You can swim faster."

A strange voice suddenly sounded in Sharpedo's mind. It looked all around, but could not find whoever had spoken.

"I'm on your back."

The voice came from Su Hao, who was using Wave Power to communicate with Sharpedo through Telepathy. Naturally, Sharpedo could not find the speaker.

Realizing that the human before it could communicate with it directly, Sharpedo followed Su Hao's requested speed and shot forward like a torpedo.