A Friendly Mission

The peaceful days of training flew by, and before he knew it, a week had passed.

After the first two days of near-secluded training, Xia Yan and Weedle began "entertaining customers" again on the third day. Ahem, taking commissions again.

After all, life had to go on. There was no need to worry about Weedle's Energy Cubes for the time being, but he would eventually have to raise a second Pokémon. Earning more was never a bad thing.

Kenji remained the most frequent visitor during that time.

His visits did not affect Xia Yan and Weedle's training, but Kenji did not leave empty-handed either. He brought Bulbasaur along to train with them, and gradually, he finally began to look a little like a proper Pokémon Trainer.

Although he was always the one getting crushed whenever he battled Xia Yan, both his battle commands and Bulbasaur's performance had started to look decent. Occasionally, they could even give Weedle a few surprises.

At the same time, Weedle's progress was visible to the naked eye.

It had shed its shell twice in succession. One shedding had strengthened its body, while the other had enhanced its toxicity, yet it had never had the chance to truly settle down and turn those changes into its own strength.

This training gave it an excellent opportunity to consolidate its gains. It clearly recognized the changes in itself, grew familiar with them, and gradually transformed them into genuine improvements in strength.

Now, even from its appearance alone, one could clearly sense the Sturdy muscles hidden beneath Weedle's carapace. Its small dark-purple eyes also brimmed with confidence.

It was training that had brought improvement to both its body and spirit.

Its strength had improved noticeably as well.

Although its evaluation still placed it at Outstanding Level, it had only barely reached that level before. Now, it had firmly gained a foothold there and was advancing toward a higher tier.

During that time, Xia Yan also used the opportunity to learn more knowledge related to Pokémon, with a particular focus on the knowledge of Pokémon breeders.

Continuing to buy Energy Cubes was not a long-term solution.

It was fine while he only had one Weedle. Even if he caught a second Pokémon next, he could probably still barely afford it, but he could not remain limited to just one or two Pokémon forever.

Once he had more Pokémon in the future, their food would become a major problem.

If he could make Energy Cubes himself, he could save many resources and use them elsewhere to raise his Pokémon. He might even be able to make some money from it.

However, this was not something that could be accomplished overnight. There was no rushing it, and it might not even succeed, but trying would not hurt.

No matter what, he had learned quite a bit about Pokémon breeding.

The club manager's office.

Manager Loto summoned Xia Yan again.

Looking at the man seated behind the desk, dressed in an impeccably neat suit with slicked-back, gleaming hair, it seemed that the manager had dressed this way from beginning to end.

Loto lightly brushed a golden feather pen across a document a few times before handing it to Xia Yan.

"There's a mission here. Take a look. If there's no problem, it's yours," Loto said flatly. His gaze swept over Xia Yan before lingering for a few seconds on Weedle resting on his shoulder.

Xia Yan accepted the document and flipped through it briefly.

His brows slowly furrowed.

"What is it?"

He closed the pages, rolled the document up, and held it in his palm. "Nothing. I'll take the mission."

Loto nodded in satisfaction. "Do it well. There won't be a shortage of missions in the future, provided you can continue staying with the club."

"Mm." He answered softly through his nose and turned to leave the office.

After they left, Weedle on his shoulder gently rubbed against his cheek. "Wuu?"

Weedle, who understood Xia Yan well, keenly sensed his hesitation.

"It's nothing. I just think this mission is too friendly." Xia Yan tightened his grip on the rolled-up document, his fingertips feeling the tension in the paper.

"Wuu?"

Weedle found that even stranger. Wasn't a friendly mission the best kind?

Complete it easily, return to hand it in, earn money, and then buy even more delicious food.

It was happy.

Xia Yan paid no mind to Weedle's delight and simply reviewed the mission's details.

This mission required him to travel to a forest outside Goldenrod City and capture a Tangela. The reward was fifty thousand Poké Dollars. Since it also included the Pokémon's original value, the pay was relatively high.

Tangela was a pure Grass-type Pokémon. It was not especially numerous, but its single Grass-type attribute was unpopular, and it was not particularly attractive either, so its price was not high.

Moreover, a pure Grass-type Tangela was doubly disadvantaged against Weedle, a Bug-type and Poison-type Pokémon. Choosing him for this mission truly made sense.

Looking at it that way, there did not seem to be any problem.

But he could not forget who had issued this mission.

Team Rocket!

Since when had Team Rocket become so friendly?

A mission that was not too difficult, along with such generous pay—anyone would be tempted.

Yet upon careful consideration, there really was not the slightest flaw to be found. A reasonable target Pokémon, a reasonable reward, a reasonable person for the mission. Everything was reasonable.

But when someone was too suspicious, something overly reasonable began to seem unreasonable.

Still, he genuinely could not think of any issue.

Was I overthinking it? Does Team Rocket value Weedle's and my potential, so they want to cultivate me through this method? Xia Yan thought with some self-mockery.

It seemed there was no other explanation besides that.

"Wait."

He suddenly froze as a figure flashed through his mind.

A broad, confident smile, the attire of a friend of justice, and that distinctive cloak.

It was Lance.

"Because of Lance?" His dark eyes flickered.

It was not impossible.

After a while, he finally let out a long breath. "Forget it. It's all the same. Getting the money is what matters."

He returned to his room, sorted out his equipment and Weedle's food, changed into a set of light clothing, and boarded another vehicle out of Goldenrod City.

Weedle should have about another week, perhaps a little longer, before it evolved. Making the most of that remaining time to raise Weedle's limits further was what mattered.

Besides, after Weedle evolved into Kakuna, it would need a considerable amount of resources to accumulate strength. He had to earn this money no matter what.

With a pack on his back, he was merely a passerby. Once he set down his burdens, he would find his hometown.

Xia Yan carried the pack in his heart at all times. To this world, perhaps he was still only a passerby for now.

Leaving Goldenrod City once more, he entered an area where wild Pokémon were active alone.

This mission only provided a general area, without an exact location. Unlike the Slums, where someone could offer useful information, he had already prepared himself for an extended period of wilderness survival.

He passed through the initial safe zone without incident and entered a forest classified as moderately dangerous.

This place.

Was rarely visited by people.

Dense grass more than a meter tall filled the area. Xia Yan bent over and plunged straight into it.

His destination was still some distance away. According to the map, this patch of grass covered a vast area. Going around it would certainly be safer, but it would undoubtedly waste more time.

Entering directly meant that the dense grass would inevitably obstruct his vision, greatly increasing the danger, but Xia Yan did it anyway.

Weedle's improved strength, along with the vigilance it had displayed throughout their many adventures together, was the source of Xia Yan's confidence.

Of course, that also meant they were bound to encounter attacks from wild Pokémon.

Just like now.

The rustling in the surrounding grass grew louder and louder. Weedle did not even need to warn him for him to know that a Pokémon had caught the scent of their "delicious" presence and was rapidly approaching.

Xia Yan stopped walking and waited for the expected attack to come.

Suddenly, just as the rustling around them ceased, a powerfully built Rattata burst from the grass to Xia Yan's left. Its pair of enormous incisors, glinting with a sharp cold light beneath the sun, aimed for Xia Yan's neck, while its narrow, cunning eyes were filled with greed for its prey.

Clearly, Rattata had regarded the soft-skinned human Xia Yan as the finest prey.

Second update!