Judging a Pokémon by Its Looks

Ye Lan's mouth twitched at the sight.

Was Ludicolo planning to give him a Magikarp before he left?

Gyarados was certainly good, but he couldn't catch one anyway!

Ye Lan waited there for over half an hour. Just as he began to think Ludicolo had forgotten about him and was ready to leave, Ludicolo broke through the surface again and appeared before him.

"Ludiloo~"

Despite the reluctance in Ludicolo's eyes, it still offered him the stone in its hands. Ye Lan had to admit he was genuinely moved.

"I'm such a bastard! How could I dismiss a Pokémon just because of its looks? Boo-hoo!"

Seeing Ye Lan practically drowning in tears and snot suddenly put Servine on alert.

A snake's sixth sense was always sharp.

Servine had the strange feeling that its trainer had almost stopped being its trainer!

That sounded like a tongue twister, but Servine firmly believed it!

And so, a trace of wariness entered Servine's gaze as it looked at Ludicolo, and it edged a little closer to Ye Lan.

"Are you really giving this to me?"

"Ludiloo~"

Watching Ludicolo pat its chest in assurance made Ye Lan even more touched.

The reason was simple: what Ludicolo held was an exceptionally high-quality Water Stone!

Compared with this Water Stone's luster, the one the Principal had given him was downright trash!

Ye Lan had originally wondered how a wild Ludicolo could be here. After all, Lombre needed a Water Stone to evolve into Ludicolo.

He had assumed this Ludicolo might have been abandoned, never imagining it had found its own lucky opportunity.

"Aren't you going to save it for one of your own?"

This Water Stone was far better than the one the Principal had awarded him. Its market price would be around two and a half million.

If he spent that on the ingredients he'd treated them to yesterday, he'd need trucks upon trucks to haul them all.

"Ludiloo, ludiloo~" Ludicolo shook its head, indicating that they had plenty of stones like this and Ye Lan needn't worry.

Hearing that, Ye Lan once again felt just how innocent Pokémon were.

This Ludicolo group had clearly discovered a Water Stone deposit, giving them a steady supply, and had given him the best stone from it.

"I'll accept your gift, but you have to promise me something. Don't tell any other humans you have lots of Water Stones. Many of them are greedy."

Ye Lan patted Ludicolo's head and put the Water Stone into his backpack. After giving it a few more reminders, he headed toward the outskirts of the Wilderness Zone with Servine.

"Ludicolo just kept nodding. I wonder if it actually understood."

An Evolution stone deposit was a goose that laid golden eggs. The wealth it could generate was unimaginable.

But Ye Lan had no desire to claim it.

For one thing, he didn't want to disturb these little creatures' peaceful lives. For another, this wasn't something his current strength would allow him to hold on to.

Even a Gym Leader-level trainer couldn't keep control of such a resource. Perhaps only someone at the Elite Four's level could truly secure it.

"I never thought Ludicolo could be so cute. Servine, what do you think about us catching a Lotad as a companion someday?"

"Servine!"

"Huh? Why not? You don't like Lotad?"

"Servine, servine!"

No means no! Why do you need so many reasons?

Servine turned its head away, refusing to pay any more attention to the bewildered Ye Lan.

"Young man, wait!"

Hearing a voice behind him, Ye Lan turned to see a middle-aged man running toward him with a Pokémon resembling a white ball in his arms.

"Hello, young man. I'm the Forest Ranger responsible for the eastern part of the Qinghe Wilderness Area. My surname is Lei."

Uncle Lei reached out to shake Ye Lan's hand. Although Ye Lan still didn't understand what was happening, he politely returned the handshake.

"Hello, Uncle Lei. I'm Ye Lan, a senior in high school. Is there something you need me for?" As he spoke, Ye Lan felt rather guilty.

Did what I did last night interfere with the Pokémon's normal lives? The Wilderness Zone's regulations didn't say feeding Pokémon was prohibited!

Seeing Ye Lan's somewhat uneasy expression, Uncle Lei laughed and held up the Pokémon in his arms. "Ye Lan, do you recognize this Pokémon?"

"That's... a Cottonee?"

In Uncle Lei's hands, a Pokémon resembling white cotton candy stared steadily at Ye Lan. When it saw him looking its way, it even waved its little green, leaflike hands at him.

"Cotton~" The moment she made a sound, she hurriedly covered her mouth with both little hands, afraid of making another noise.

"Hahaha! You do recognize her. This Cottonee isn't my Pokémon. We just gradually got to know each other because I've been stationed in the forest for so long."

"I was wondering whether you'd be interested in catching her. To tell you the truth, this little one took a liking to you the moment you entered the Wilderness Zone. When she saw you were leaving today, I brought her over and hurried after you."

By then, however, Ye Lan could barely take in anything Uncle Lei was saying. Cottonee's information had already appeared before his eyes:

Name: Cottonee

Sex: Female

Type: Grass/Fairy

Ability: Prankster. Effect: Increases the priority of status moves by 1 (such as Protect, Substitute, Charm, etc.)

Known moves: Leech Seed, Charm, Cotton Spore, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf

Egg moves: Worry Seed, Nature Power, Fake Tears

Tier: Early intermediate

Evolution progress: 52%

"What a great movepool! All these moves are must-learns!"

If Ye Lan had to describe Cottonee's moves in a single word, it would be dirty. They were just so damn dirty!

In the games from his previous life, Cottonee's evolved form, Whimsicott, had been jokingly nicknamed "Annoying Cotton."

Its assortment of status moves paired with Prankster was already incredibly annoying. More terrifying still, it had the coveted Fairy type.

With over half the pseudo-legendaries being Dragon-types, its presence was all the more valuable.

Reality wasn't a game, though. Fairy-type Pokémon had extremely strong resistance to Dragon-type moves, but if the gap in strength was too great, complete immunity was impossible.

This Cottonee fit Ye Lan's plans for his team very well. However, Fairy-type Pokémon were generally precious, and a Forest Ranger he'd only just met was offering her to him out of the blue. He couldn't help wondering why.

Uncle Lei noticed Ye Lan's silence and seemed to guess what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "I'm getting old. I don't have that ambition anymore, and I really enjoy working as a Forest Ranger."

"Besides, this little one isn't my Pokémon. Since she likes you so much, I think this can only be a good thing."

As he spoke, Uncle Lei looked at Servine beside him and continued, "If you've raised a starter Pokémon this well, I'm sure your family is quite well-off. She won't suffer with you."

"Uh..." Hearing that, Servine and Ye Lan exchanged a look, and the atmosphere grew a little awkward.

With Uncle Lei having said so much, Ye Lan didn't decline again. He bent down to look at Cottonee.

"Little one, are you really willing to come with me? Let's be clear first: if you leave with me, it'll be hard work. You'll have to train and battle, you know."

Ye Lan was very happy with this Cottonee, but if she couldn't accept training and battling, he would understand and respect that.

Wild Pokémon were different from those hatched from Pokémon Eggs. Their surroundings could make some Pokémon afraid of battling.

If that was the case, Ye Lan could only give up.