Feebas's Ambition

Although Xia Chen's house was a little old, it was fairly spacious, at least for the two Pokémon currently living there.

The oversized aquarium specially purchased for Feebas stood between the living room and dining room, serving perfectly as a divider.

When Feebas was bored, he could watch TV with Eevee. However, he had absolutely no control over the remote; whatever Eevee watched, he watched.

But Cloud Marsh Lake was not Bikini Bottom. There definitely was no such thing as television there, and life had been exceedingly dull. So even though the TV was currently airing political news, Feebas watched with great interest.

He was absorbing knowledge about human society when he suddenly realized that Eevee was blocking his view.

Feebas blankly looked at Eevee, having no idea why she had suddenly come over to find him.

However, judging by her less-than-friendly gaze, Feebas knew this conversation probably would not be easy.

"Eevee—since you've come to this home, you need to know its rules. Other than Xia Chen, I'm the biggest here. So from now on, you have to call me Boss Lady, understand?"

Feebas felt that although this Eevee looked cute, she did not seem very smart.

How was a fish supposed to talk?

Spit bubbles to form those words?

Feebas's blank and foolish silence angered Eevee. What was with this guy?!

Did he not understand Pokémon language?

Or could he not speak Pokémon language?

Eevee had just been about to tap the glass to warn him when she suddenly realized that Feebas seemed unable to speak?

Pretending nothing had happened, Eevee gently lowered the paw she had just raised and continued, "Eevee—(You can call me Boss Lady later, but you need to understand our positions. Starting today, you're my little brother, got it?)"

In her previous life's timeline, this Feebas had never appeared. As a reborn person, Eevee could not help feeling uneasy. She wanted to keep this uncertain factor under control.

"Eevee—(If you agree, spit out a string of bubbles.)"

Yet what answered Eevee was not a string of bubbles, but Feebas's stubborn gaze.

I, Feebas, acknowledged and chose Xia Chen, not you, Eevee. You want me to be your little brother?

Why should I?

The more insecure a Pokémon was, the stronger its self-esteem often became. Feebas was exactly like that.

What was especially remarkable was that Feebas had now obtained a one-of-a-kind Dragon-Raising System.

Feebas, who possessed boundless confidence in his future self, was currently in a very strange state of mind. If it had to be compared to something—

[Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river] was perhaps the truest portrayal of him at this moment.

As everyone knew, those who rose from humble beginnings were the protagonists in most literary and artistic works.

Though Feebas did not understand this trope, he vaguely developed the same idea, and naturally felt somewhat unconvinced by Eevee.

Didn't you just meet Xia Chen a little earlier than I did? What are you so proud of?

You want me to be your little brother? Keep dreaming!

He leisurely turned and swam away. Rather than waste time arguing with Eevee, he might as well study the system. That was the root of his path to becoming stronger.

After the system had rattled off a whole bunch of things yesterday, he had not understood most of it, but he had already grasped the most important parts.

According to the system's growth plan, aquatic Pokémon had to go through multiple stages in order to transform into Dragons.

Under the correction of this world's laws, he still had to evolve into Milotic before he could continue evolving.

It seemed that Milotic's corresponding Dragon transformation stage was... [Flood Dragon]?

During the first stage—his current Feebas form—he needed to establish a solid foundation and work hard to raise his body's affinity for Water-type and Dragon-type Infinity Energy.

According to the system's description, the Mysterious Water and White Jade Orb in the novice gift pack were important items for increasing the strength of those two types.

According to the system, once he had completely digested the two items inside his body, he would have the foundation to enter the next Dragon transformation stage.

Ever since obtaining those two items last night, Feebas had been trying to absorb them according to the method provided by the system.

He really could sense some kind of energy moving through his body, but... it could only be described as negligible.

As for the two pearls, their size had not changed in the slightest.

It felt as insignificant as scooping a bowl of water from Cloud Marsh Lake.

But Feebas was not discouraged in the least. Those who had experienced darkness would try to follow even the faintest glimmer of light out of the abyss.

I, Feebas, have had enough of being bullied by every fish I met!

I will evolve into a Dragon, one step at a time! I'll become a divine Dragon that no one dares bully!

[Ding~ Sensing a change in the host's mindset, the achievement [Dragon in the Deep] has been unlocked. Buff acquired: Infinity Energy absorption speed increased by 200%!]

Feebas was a little confused. How had he unlocked an achievement just like that?

Forget it. No matter how he looked at it, it was not a bad thing.

After a breakfast with an inexplicably strange atmosphere, Xia Chen returned to his room to edit videos.

He had spent two whole days at Ethereal Mountain and had filmed more than enough material. If he did not make a video out of it, it would be a complete waste.

Unfortunately, Wang Fang's shameless money had corrupted him, and he had promised not to reveal that Mankey had attacked and abducted tourists.

Otherwise, with the latter half included, this video could have been edited into something even more exciting than a movie.

Still, leaving it out was not necessarily a bad thing. Including it might instead give people with ulterior motives something to exploit.

They might say things like, "He staged it on purpose just to get famous," and so on.

School was about to start, and he still bore the responsibility of raising Eevee and Feebas. If something that stupid really happened, just thinking about it gave him a headache.

It was better to peacefully be a food-and-Eevee-vlog content creator.

Since most of this video consisted of first-person footage recorded by the camera on Eevee's head, Xia Chen put a great deal of thought and time into it. It was nearly noon by the time he finished this project.

Looking at the video, whose style was vastly different from the current mainstream Pokémon outdoor vlogs, Xia Chen nodded in satisfaction.

After naming it "Outdoor Adventure with Eevee 01: Ethereal Mountain Pear-Picking Festival," Xia Chen immediately clicked publish.

Alola Region, Aether Paradise.

This was an artificial island built by the Aether Foundation, a renowned tech giant in the Alola Region. It was their main base for research activities and also a refuge for many injured Pokémon.

At the same time, it was where the Aether Foundation's owner, Lusamine, and her family lived.

Inside a luxurious manor at the center of the island, an exquisite young girl with light golden hair nervously and slowly raised her hand, trying to touch the gentle and adorable Popplio before her.

Something nearly everyone in this world could do seemed to be separated from this girl by an insurmountable chasm.

"Pop!"

Popplio encouraged the girl, wanting her to take the final step.

But the fear spreading from the depths of her heart ultimately prevailed, and the blonde girl finally withdrew her trembling hand.

"Miss, you got one centimeter closer than yesterday."

Beside her, an elderly man with a head full of white hair but a perfectly upright posture comforted the girl, whose expression was complicated.

The girl gently shook her head. "Grandpa Butler, you don't need to comfort me."

After saying that, she turned and walked into her room, leaving him standing there with a soft sigh.

He gently stroked Popplio and muttered to himself, "Miss will soon be sixteen and able to have her first Pokémon, but she still cannot overcome her fear of Pokémon. Sigh..."