Feebas That Knows Rain Dance

Lao Ban said, "Why not hear what my family has to offer first?"

She truly admired Lu Li. He came from a humble background, yet his talent was astonishing. Though she still did not know how gifted he was as a Trainer, the talents he had displayed as a Planter and Breeder alone were enough for her family to spend heavily to recruit him.

Lu Li nodded without refusing.

Lao Ban said, "Personal guidance from a Gym-level Breeder, one Aron Pokémon Egg, and three million League Credits a year, or an equivalent Pokémon Secret Treasure."

Hiss—

Lu Li sucked in a sharp breath.

It was not that they were offering too little, but far too much.

A Gym-level Breeder held a status nearly equal to that of a Gym Leader-level Trainer, perhaps even slightly higher.

Receiving guidance from such a person was practically the same as taking a Gym Leader-level Trainer as one's master.

As for Aron, there was no need to say more. In terms of Pokémon rarity, Aron was definitely in the second tier. Only Pseudo-Legendaries were rarer.

The final three million League Credits seemed insignificant by comparison.

If he had not broken through to the Qi Refining Stage, Lu Li would have agreed to Lao Ban without hesitation. But now...

"Sorry, Lao Ban. I would rather become a free Trainer," Lu Li refused.

Seeing Lu Li reject her again, Lao Ban sighed.

She knew the terms offered by her family had failed to move Lu Li, but this was already the best offer the family could make.

As for this talk about being a free Trainer?

Lao Ban did not believe a word of it. What free Trainer? Her offer simply had not been good enough.

"Fine, I won't try to persuade you any further. But the doors of the Jin Family will always be open to you." After saying that, Lao Ban picked up her cup and drank on her own.

Lu Li nodded with a smile, then turned and left Lao Ban's office.

After leaving the school, Lu Li bought two Poké Balls from a Pokémon Shop near the campus.

One Poké Ball cost five hundred League Credits. Lu Li did not plan to buy too many ordinary Poké Balls, since he only wanted to study them.

After years of systematic study, he had already localized the Artifact Refiner among the Hundred Immortal Cultivation Arts a little. If he was lucky, it would not be long before he could try refining Poké Balls himself.

When he returned to the Small Courtyard, Feebas, having heard him arrive, expressed its joy by using Splash in the Water Tank.

After setting his backpack inside, Lu Li casually called out, "Xiao Mei, give us another round of Rain Dance."

A light drizzle fell steadily for a full four minutes.

Ever since Feebas learned Rain Dance, he no longer needed to water the plants in the courtyard.

Sitting on the steps by the door, Lu Li frowned as he considered what to choose for his true starter Pokémon.

Feebas did not count as his starter Pokémon. A Trainer's Pokémon needed only one thing: combat power, sufficiently powerful combat power.

After six years of cultivation, Feebas had reached the Experienced-level, but it possessed little combat strength. After all, among its moves, Tackle was the only one that could be considered damaging.

But Feebas's body was what it was. Coupled with terrain restrictions, it could not even defeat a Novice-level Weedle on land.

That was Feebas's awkward position right now.

In this world, Feebas's evolved form, Milotic, was known by nearly everyone. Yet aside from those with family backing, almost no commoners were willing to raise Feebas.

Even the lowest-grade Blue Pokéblocks were not something ordinary families could afford to use for long, let alone Prism Scales.

A Milotic could only produce three scales every sixty years, and those were Milotic's Inverse Scales. Those things also took sixty years to recover.

Normally, a powerful Milotic could not shed three Inverse Scales at once, so Prism Scales started at over a million.

There was also the issue of aptitude. Not every Feebas could evolve using a Prism Scale. Otherwise, Milotic would not be so rare.

A Pokémon known as the ugliest Pokémon had to become beautiful to evolve. Arceus was truly making things difficult for Feebas on purpose.

For his first starter Pokémon, Lu Li first considered Bug-type Pokémon, such as Beedrill and Butterfree.

Bug-type Pokémon evolved quickly and grew quickly. Their weaknesses were their lower potential ceiling and shorter lifespans compared with normal Pokémon.

Still, that was only the most reluctant choice. If possible, Lu Li hoped to catch a Pokémon that could till land.

Among the Hundred Immortal Cultivation Arts was a profession called Spiritual Farmer, which had a Farming Spell specifically for working the land called the Soil Nourishment Art.

Its general effect was to nourish the soil with Spiritual Power, accelerating the growth of Spiritual Plants planted in it.

Judging from the combination of Feebas's Rain Dance and the Spirit Rain Technique, tilling land should be able to overlap with the Soil Nourishment Art.

When the time came, a Pokémon capable of Special Tilling together with Feebas's special Rain Dance would make becoming a Farm Tycoon in the future far from difficult.

But all that would have to wait until tomorrow.

With that thought in mind, Lu Li got up and entered the kitchen. Next was Meal Time, and after eating, he still had to cultivate that night.

Though his 18-Type Super Mixed Spiritual Root gave him no hope of immortality, years of habit had made him accustomed to Meditating and Cultivating at night.

After dinner, Lu Li fed Feebas two Energy Blocks, then sat cross-legged beside the Water Tank to cultivate.

Over the years, his Small Treasury had only shrunk and never grown, and Feebas deserved most of the credit for that. It could not be helped—Energy Blocks were ridiculously expensive.

One ordinary Energy Block cost as much as two chickens. That was also why the threshold for becoming a Trainer was so high.

After finishing the Energy Blocks, Feebas quietly watched Lu Li meditate. I really want to evolve soon. Then I'll be able to help my Trainer.

Early the next morning.

Just as the sun rose, Lu Li withdrew from his cultivation.

He habitually got up to cook, fed Feebas, and finally told Feebas to use another round of Rain Dance before digging a hiking backpack out of his bedroom.

The wilderness of this world was not safe, at least not for ordinary people.

All kinds of Wild Pokémon inhabited the wild. Going beyond the city without some measure of strength was practically no different from seeking death.

"Xiao Mei, you..."

Before Lu Li could finish, Feebas tapped the edge of the Water Tank and gently blew out several bubbles.

Seeing that Feebas wanted to accompany him into the wild, Lu Li shook his head and refused. "No! The Indigo Berries are almost ripe. You need to guard the house at this time, or someone might steal from us."

Hearing that, Feebas looked gloomily at the Indigo Berries in the courtyard, then sank dejectedly to the bottom of the Water Tank.

It both loved and hated the Berries and herbs in the courtyard. On one hand, they were its hope of evolving. On the other, they were a burden holding it back from going on adventures with its Trainer.

Lu Li smiled at the sight, then slung the hiking backpack over his shoulders and left the courtyard.

The technology of the Pokémon world was rather strange. Compared with the world before his transmigration, weapons technology here was far behind, but all kinds of everyday technology were highly advanced.

Lu Li casually hailed a maglev sedan by the roadside.

After getting in, Lu Li said, "Driver, take me to Jinji Village."

Jinji Village was one of the villages farthest from Qingfeng City. It was nearly abandoned, mainly because it was too close to the Qingfeng Mountains, where Wild Pokémon frequently injured people.

Upon hearing that, the Driver could not help turning to glance at Lu Li before asking curiously, "Kid, are you a Trainer?"

Lu Li shook his head. "No. My hometown is over there. I'm going back to visit my grandpa and grandma."