Would You Be My Trainer?

"It's nothing serious. She was probably scratched a few times by some Rattata, and the low temperature this morning gave her a chill. This Eevee was born not long ago, so her resistance is still weak. Chansey, Heal Pulse."

After carefully examining her, Marnie finished her diagnosis and had the Chansey beside her use a Pokémon move.

"Lucky~"

The pink, egg-shaped Pokémon stretched out its two little arms and gathered energy. A wave of pink Psychic powers, brimming with the breath of life, washed over Eevee.

The already shallow scratches on Eevee's body healed at an unbelievable speed.

This was one of the reasons Xia Chen considered this world rather utopian. With treatment methods far beyond the medical standards of his previous life, there would be far less suffering in this world.

And for some unknown reason, all Pokémon seemed to have two lives.

In Pokémon Battles, no matter how terrifying the Pokémon move that struck them was, they would at most be knocked unconscious.

Even if a Champion-level Pokémon attacked some Shorts-wearing kid's Caterpie by the roadside, it was the same.

This was also the moral foundation that made Pokémon Battles in this real world acceptable to everyone—

As long as you did not do something as immoral as finishing them off, Pokémon would not face mortal danger in battle.

Eevee's injuries healed quickly. After one Heal Pulse, she had already fully recovered.

Yet Eevee still sprawled in Xia Chen's arms, pawing at him without the slightest intention of leaving.

"She seems to like you a lot. Why don't you just accept it? No, I mean, why don't you catch her? You'll be a senior soon, and you don't even have a starter Pokémon. This Eevee is a pretty good fit, and didn't you say before that you wanted to raise an Eevee?"

Xia Chen was her last customer that morning. Marnie stretched lazily, failing to notice that her lovely figure was displayed in full view before the young man.

Xia Chen gave a light cough and tilted his head up slightly, as if seriously considering Marnie's suggestion.

"Vee!"

Eevee cried out energetically, her tone and expression full of eagerness. She was practically throwing a fastball straight down the middle—

[I'm willing!]

Eevee had made her stance clear. All that remained was the trainer's answer.

Xia Chen pondered it carefully for a moment.

He had wanted a Pokémon, and their compatibility seemed to be a perfect match.

Other than her inexplicable dependence on him, everything was nearly perfect.

And looking at it another way, dependence was not a bad thing. At the very least, it meant she would have a good relationship with her trainer, didn't it?

Combined with that flutter in his heart when he had first seen her, perhaps it had been the mutual understanding that came from meeting one's starter Pokémon for the first time?

Besides, the money saved from buying a Pokémon could be used for Eevee's training expenses. No matter how he looked at it, there was nothing but benefits.

Since that was the case—

Xia Chen lowered his head and gazed at Eevee, asking seriously, "Eevee, would you be my Pokémon?"

"Vee!"

Clearly, the question was merely a formality. Eevee's long ears trembled excitedly and happily, while her little head bobbed up and down like a pestle pounding garlic.

Though he had expected this answer, Xia Chen still let out a relieved breath.

He smiled faintly and lifted Eevee high in his arms.

"Then please take care of me from now on!"

"Vee!"

Eevee did not particularly like staying inside a Poké Ball. After going in once to confirm her ownership, she did not want to go back.

Xia Chen did not mind such a small matter. Eevee was tiny and fluffy, not heavy to carry and comfortable to hold, and it could deepen their bond as well.

Thus, with his starter Pokémon in his arms, Xia Chen got back on track and continued toward the market.

In theory, after catching a Pokémon, he definitely needed to register at the Trainer Association and complete many other procedures.

But food came before everything else. If he went any later, all the good ingredients would be bought up. Xia Chen had to properly prepare Eevee's first meal.

There would be four mouths to feed at lunch today: Xia Chen, Eevee, Marnie, and her Snivy. However, Snivy and Eevee probably did not eat much, so four dishes and a soup should be enough.

Aside from braised sea cucumber with scallions, he could ask Eevee what she thought of the other dishes.

With that in mind, Xia Chen brought Eevee to a grocery store in the market.

Pointing at the various seasonings on the shelves, he asked, "Sour, sweet, salty, spicy—which do you like?"

Generally speaking, Pokémon all had their own taste preferences, and Berries, their primary source of energy, came in all sorts of flavors as well.

Most Eevee liked sweet food, but there were always exceptions, just like how some people from Sichuan and Hunan did not eat spicy food.

Eevee nimbly jumped onto the shelf. With her fluffy tail, she first pointed at the salt, then at a seasoning used to enhance umami.

Xia Chen's eyes lit up. A salty, savory flavor?

Unexpectedly, it matched his own preferences. That could not have been better.

He suddenly remembered a joke from his previous life: sometimes, whether a married couple's tastes matched was more important than whether their values did.

The same was more or less true for a trainer and starter Pokémon. Although there were things like Pokéblocks, Xia Chen preferred letting his Pokémon eat food he made himself.

Though there had been no such setting in the games, Xia Chen felt this was an important way to improve intimacy.

Now that he knew Eevee's tastes, Xia Chen finalized the lunch menu.

He would make delicious and nutritious Pineapple Berry Sweet-and-Sour Pork for Snivy, who liked sweet-and-sour flavors, and Liechi Berry chicken, Marnie's favorite.

For Eevee, salted bamboo shoot and pork soup would be excellent. Finally, he would make Tamato Berry egg soup, and that would be everything!

Having made up his mind, Xia Chen took Eevee around the market.

Xia Chen increasingly felt that catching Eevee had been the right decision. She fit with him as though—

Everything had always been meant to be this way.

When he picked out fresh ingredients, Eevee used her keener-than-human sense of smell to help him tell them apart.

When he bargained with vendors, Eevee ran to their legs and used Charm to improve Xia Chen's chances of getting a better price.

Even when carrying the groceries tired him out, Eevee would thoughtfully crawl beneath the plastic bags and use her little head to support the heavy contents, easing Xia Chen's burden.

After only a little over half an hour spent going to the market and returning home, Xia Chen had completely fallen for this adorable, considerate little one.

He even had the feeling of, What did I ever do to deserve finding such an unbelievably precious little cutie?

As a result, Xia Chen felt even more motivated to make this loving lunch.

After arranging the ingredients, Xia Chen looked at the table piled high with food and rubbed his chin with one hand.

It seemed none of these dishes had appeared in a video before. Why not... film them all?

Four dishes were enough for him to pad out—ah, no, enough for him to make four videos.

Even if he did not want to update so frequently, he would feel better keeping them in reserve.

Although Xia Chen had only started making videos during winter break, the growth in views on his cooking videos had been absurdly high.

That was normal. His videos combined the best parts of cooking tutorials from numerous master chefs in his previous life.

More importantly, these dishes had either never appeared in this world before, or had never been made as exquisitely as his.

And no matter the world, eating was always one of the most important things in life.

It was only natural that Xia Chen had become popular so quickly.

If Marnie, his camerawoman, were not so terrible at filming, Xia Chen felt he could become one of Pixiv's top 100 creators by the end of the year.