For This Family, I, Eevee, Have Truly Worried Myself Sick

"August 17th, sunny."

"Fourteenth day since I picked up Eevee. The Dragon Gem Yulong Tao lost to me finally sold. I never expected this secondhand thing to fetch fifty thousand. As expected of the spoiled young master of the Dragon Tamer Family."

"Uncle finally sent the money a few days ago, but last month's videos generally only got two or three hundred thousand views, so it wasn't much. Brock brought me a huge wave of traffic this month. The future looks promising!"

"My followers have already surpassed two hundred thousand. Although the views for each video haven't matched that one episode, they're nearly double what they used to be. But if I keep filming this, the viewers will eventually get tired of it, and I'll run out of material sooner or later. I need to find a new direction."

"Eevee's training has also gone very smoothly. She has learned Work Up and Echoed Voice, and her performance on the training machine has improved greatly. It's just that there hasn't been any progress with Baby-Doll Eyes. It's probably because she doesn't have enough Fairy-type energy."

"I checked the price of Fairy Gems. Even the cheapest ones start at two hundred thousand. Damn it, are these gems made of gold? I'll remember this. One day, I'm going to start my own company. Not looking anymore. This is infuriating!"

"Just kidding. Once I get paid next month, I have to get one no matter what. Eevee must not suffer! Seriously, being a Trainer is no job for humans."

Xia Chen put away his journal and leaned back in his chair, staring blankly ahead.

Being a Trainer really was a bottomless pit. No matter how much money he made, it was never enough.

In just the past half month, he had already spent over a hundred thousand on Eevee. Aside from the Fairy Gem, there would not be any major expenses afterward.

But he still had to keep training her in the future, not to mention that he would definitely have to raise other Pokémon someday.

As the saying went, "Increase income and reduce expenditure." Cutting expenses was clearly impossible, so he had to find a way to increase his income. Making videos alone was simply too slow.

He thought back to the paths to wealth taken by those transmigrator predecessors.

Making games?

He did not have the startup capital or the technical skills.

Copying songs and movies?

Forget it. He had melodies and images in his head, but turning them into reality was another matter altogether.

Writing novels?

Never mind. It was time-consuming and exhausting, and there was no guarantee anyone would even read them.

After racking his brains without result, Xia Chen gave up on himself and opened the Psyduck Encyclopedia to search for [how to make money quickly].

The first result was an ad for a legendary game.

The second was an ad for short videos.

The third was an ad for mobile part-time jobs.

Forget it. As expected, none of it was reliable.

Xia Chen flopped onto the bed behind his computer desk in a Ge You slouch, turning into a salted fish that had lost all its dreams.

Meanwhile, Eevee stared at the still-lit computer screen and fell into thought.

During their adventures together in her previous life, she and Xia Chen had found many places hiding good things. What was the least dangerous place closest to home again?

The next day was sunny and cloudless, another perfect day for training.

A new day, a new beginning. Xia Chen opened his eyes, cast aside last night's gloomy mood, and stretched by the window.

The sound of the television came from the living room, and Xia Chen was not surprised.

Clearly, it was neither because they had forgotten to turn off the TV last night nor because a thief had broken in. Eevee had turned it on.

For some reason, little Eevee had recently developed a habit of watching the news every morning. Whenever he went out, she watched with rapt attention, as though she could actually understand it.

Xia Chen did not stop her. Watching the news was a little strange, but it was still better than becoming addicted to games or developing bad habits like sniffing burnt catnip, right?

Leaving Eevee in the living room to watch TV, Xia Chen went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Today's meal was relatively simple: a sandwich filled with meat, eggs, and Berries.

Naturally, Eevee's honeyed Moomoo Milk and Pokéblocks were indispensable as well.

Breakfast lacked much of the bustle of daily life, so Xia Chen could vaguely hear the news from the living room.

"Diantha's film Xerneas has surpassed one hundred million in global box office revenue on its opening day. The film is adapted from the Fairy Aura Incident that broke out in Kalos last year."

"[Gym Difficulty] has become a hot topic recently. Many Trainers have complained that the Gym assessments in the Donghuang Region have grown harder with every passing year, but the Flying Flame Gym Leader of Funan City stated that Trainers from the Donghuang Region were too uncompetitive in the World Championships."

"Now for a local story. With August upon us, Misty Mountain's annual Pear-Picking Festival has begun. Citizens are welcome to come and enjoy themselves, and this year offers a variety of rich and exciting activities."

"Vee~"

Xia Chen had been distractedly listening to the news when Eevee's soft, sweet voice reached his ears again.

Looking down, he saw Eevee tugging on his pant leg, gazing up at him with big, watery eyes.

"Tell me. What do you want?"

After living together for half a month, Xia Chen had gained a basic understanding of Eevee. The moment he saw that expression and heard that tone, he knew she was asking him for something.

"Vee—"

Eevee tugged him toward the outside, calling in the direction of the television.

The TV was still advertising the Pear-Picking Festival. Xia Chen suddenly understood. "You want to go to that Pear-Picking Festival?"

"Vee!" Little Eevee nodded happily and looked at Xia Chen expectantly.

Thinking it over carefully, Xia Chen realized that ever since picking up Eevee, the most he had done was take her for a walk around Battle Park. He really had not taken her out to have fun much.

The intensity of their training was comparable to a 996 schedule from his previous life. If this kept up, he would probably end up hanging from a streetlamp sooner or later.

Besides, the ancients said that learning should be combined with enjoyment, and work should be balanced with rest. Proper relaxation was absolutely necessary.

With that thought, Xia Chen stopped hesitating and nodded decisively. "All right. After breakfast, I'll buy the tickets online."

"Vee~"

Watching the little fellow cheer with delight, Xia Chen smiled faintly.

What he did not notice was that after he turned away, a triumphant smile appeared on Eevee's face.

Xia Chen had originally wanted to invite Marnie and Snivy along, but unfortunately, Marnie's busy father had run off somewhere again, leaving Marnie, the barefoot doctor, to watch the clinic.

In the end, Xia Chen bought tickets only for himself and Eevee, one human and one Pokémon, for a thousand yuan.

The price was high for a reason. The "pears" at this Pear-Picking Festival were not merely the relatively common Pineapple Berries. There were also more potent Golden Pineapple Berries, as well as the extremely rare Pear Berries.

If they got lucky enough to pick even one, they would immediately earn back the ticket price.

But Xia Chen was not thinking that far ahead. This was a massive event open to the entire city and even nearby urban areas, and outstanding Pokémon were everywhere.

They could fly through the sky, burrow into the ground, and dive beneath the water.

As a pair of rookie partners, he and Eevee would be fine simply enjoying the natural scenery.

Picking a few Pineapple Berries now and then would be nice too. Made into Pokéblocks, they could improve a Pokémon's stamina and help Eevee nourish her body.

The Pear-Picking Festival lasted for a week, and more than half the time had already passed. Only tickets for the final day remained on sale.

Well then. Although Xia Chen had never fantasized about earning back the ticket price with Pear Berries, or even making a fortune, he had not expected to be so unlucky that he could only pick what others had left behind.

At this rate, there probably would not even be many Pineapple Berries left.

(There will be another update tonight.

The good news is that this book made it onto a trial recommendation. The bad news is that compared with the other books from the same period, this one was released later and has too few words, putting it at a disadvantage in the competition. There's no helping it; I can only make up for it by updating more.

So starting these next few days, on top of the two daily updates, there will be extra updates from time to time. Since the author is being so sincere, could everyone please vote? If you have no votes, following along is fine too. Many thanks!)