Looks Are Justice

"Brother Baishi, do you happen to have any Tangela Pokémon Eggs at the Breeding House?"

As they walked, Fang Yuan suddenly asked. Of all the Pokémon suited to the training plan he had devised, Tangela was the best fit—something he had not expected.

"Tangela?"

Baishi paused slightly at Fang Yuan's question. Thinking back, he remembered that neither the pamphlet distributed by the Breeding House nor the introduction on the Official Website had gone into detail about Tangela. First, there were relatively few of them; second, they were mainly found in the south.

Tangela was obscure and not even particularly attractive. Why was this kid named Fang Yuan interested in it?

Baishi could not make sense of it.

"Um... I don't think we have any here. But if you place an order now, I think we can have one delivered within a week," Baishi answered after thinking it over.

"It's fine... Then let's look at the other Pokémon Eggs first." Fang Yuan relaxed. It was better that they did not have one; it saved him from agonizing over the choice. He really did not like Tangela that much.

Other than Tangela, what Pokémon should he choose? Fang Yuan had been considering that all the way here. Without Tangela, Bellsprout or Oddish would be acceptable alternatives.

However, Fang Yuan had other ideas as well.

Although he had spent quite a bit of effort over the past half month devising a training plan for Grass-type Pokémon, Fang Yuan was a little uneasy.

He was not confident in that plan.

He had zero training experience and was a complete rookie. Raising Pokémon in reality definitely could not be as simplistic as "grinding monsters and leveling up"; he needed to be more rigorous. Rather than immediately testing his theories on his first Pokémon, Fang Yuan wanted to wait until he had accumulated enough experience and scientifically verified the method before putting it into practice.

So, besides Grass-type Pokémon, Fang Yuan had considered others as well.

He had initially narrowed it down to three categories.

First were Grass-type Pokémon suited to the training plan he had conceived: Tangela, Oddish, Bellsprout, and the like.

Second were Bug-type Pokémon that could use Psychic Power after evolving: Caterpie, Venonat, Wurmple, and so on.

These Bug-type Pokémon were also very easy to raise, and their growth cycles were short. Within a year, they could naturally evolve and gain a certain degree of strength.

And Psychic Power... was a rare ability.

However, Bug-type Pokémon such as Butterfree, Venomoth, and Dustox rarely seemed to master Psychic Power in reality. Unlike in games, where they could learn moves simply by leveling up, this was a risk. If those Pokémon could not use Psychic Power, their advantages would not be significant. Fang Yuan was equally unsure whether he could train Psychic Power into them.

Baishi led the three of them back and forth through the spacious building, carefully introducing one Pokémon after another and offering suitable recommendations.

"This is a Nidoran♂ Pokémon Egg..."

"This is a Meowth Pokémon Egg..."

"This is an Eevee Pokémon Egg..."

"Eevee is a Normal-type Pokémon, and the Normal-type is also known as the type with the greatest adaptability."

"Furthermore, Eevee is one of the Pokémon we highly recommend. Its temperament is gentle, it is easy to raise, and it has evolution branches of four types: Electric, Water, Fire, and Grass. Its strength also increases dramatically after evolution. If you are considering battle results on the college entrance exam, choosing it gives you the best chance of passing."

"We also sell compatible Evolution Stones here. You can use one once Eevee enters its growth stage. If you purchase one together with a Pokémon Egg now, you can enjoy a five percent discount." Baishi introduced it with a smile.

"Eevee..."

Fang Yuan stared without blinking, paying no attention to the discount. This was the third category of Pokémon he had picked out.

As far as he knew, Eevee had at least eight evolution branches.

At present, the Pokémon League had announced 702 Pokémon species. Glaceon, Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon—Eevee's evolutions through other methods—were not among those 702 species... Fang Yuan had confirmed this after looking up a great deal of information online.

Pokémon had only integrated into modern society for a few decades. It was not strange that their secrets had not yet been fully explored.

Eevee's evolution branches were not the only examples.

For instance, Politoed and Slowking had likewise yet to be discovered.

Slowbro's method of evolution remained a mystery to this day.

How Feebas evolved into Milotic had not been announced either.

The things humanity did not know were the secrets of those Ordinary Pokémon. On the contrary, people had obtained quite a bit of information about Legendary Pokémon from murals in Secret Realm ruins.

Eevee was not actually expensive. Because of its gentle temperament and unsuitability for battle, it had always been regarded as a pet by the public. What was expensive were the Evolution Stones.

Even the lowest-quality Evolution Stones cost several times more than Eevee itself.

Eevee could reproduce, but Evolution Stones were nonrenewable resources. They were extremely scarce and could only be produced in Secret Realms. The monopoly problem was serious, and every stone had been driven to a sky-high price. Situations like in anime, where they were casually given away, would at least never happen to ordinary people like Fang Yuan.

This Breeding House was clearly also in the Evolution Stone business. Eevee and Evolution Stones were undoubtedly sold as a bundle. Most families with sufficient financial means might already have been tempted.

But if everyone's understanding of Eevee stopped at the level of needing Evolution Stones to become stronger, then Fang Yuan could say with certainty that Eevee was absolutely one of the most severely underestimated Pokémon!

Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon required other Evolution Conditions but not Evolution Stones, and their potential was no less than that of Eevee's other evolution branches.

Perhaps because Fang Yuan had stood before Eevee's Pokémon Egg for longer than he had before any other egg, Father Fang and Mother Fang exchanged looks.

"What do you think of Eevee?" Father Fang asked.

"It's very good. You could say it's the best choice, but..." Fang Yuan pondered. Compared with Grass-type and Bug-type Pokémon, Eevee was indeed more reliable: easy to raise, gentle in temperament, highly adaptable, and enormously promising. It was severely underestimated... as if it had been specially left behind for some lucky person to snatch up.

"Then that settles it. You don't need to worry about anything else. Our family can still afford an Evolution Stone." Father Fang patted Fang Yuan on the shoulder.

Fang Yuan raised his head in a daze. That was not what he meant... Forget it, he could not explain it clearly. If he chose Eevee, he definitely would not let it evolve down the Fire, Electric, Water, Ice, or Grass branches. That would be far too extravagant.

But Fang Yuan had a feeling things would not go so smoothly. Besides, explaining why he had chosen Eevee to his parents would be troublesome...

He simply could not tell them directly that Eevee had other evolution branches.

The problem had become the classic choice between three options.

Before coming to the Breeding House, Fang Yuan had never made up his mind. But now that he was here, he could not hesitate any longer.

"I want to take another look around."

Fang Yuan asked Mr. Baishi to lead him through the place once more, especially to take another look at the Pokémon Eggs from those three categories.

The Bug-type Pokémon Eggs, the Grass-type Pokémon Eggs...

And Eevee's Pokémon Egg, white with brown markings, its patterns as harmonious and comforting as clouds.

When choosing, Fang Yuan had originally thought he would be rational. Yet he discovered that the greatest factor tipping his heart in the end was actually appearance.

Whether it was the appearance of the Pokémon Egg or the appearance of the Pokémon after hatching, Eevee was more capable of moving Fang Yuan's heart...

Looks are Justice after all...

Looking at Eevee's Pokémon Egg, Fang Yuan spoke his final decision:

"That one."