A Money-Burning Profession

Hu Yang looked over Budew's information and began trying to formulate a suitable training plan for it.

"Budew, Base Stats of 280, already knows Stun Spore, Absorb, Seed Bomb..." Recalling the information in his mind, Hu Yang pondered. "Not bad. At the very least, it's much stronger than Magikarp."

Speaking of Base Stats...

In this world, different species of Pokémon all had different Base Stats.

But whether in games or reality, differences in Base Stats could not directly affect a battle.

Base Stats determined the upper limit of a Pokémon's life level, as well as the gap between species.

What truly affected battle was the training a Trainer gave it, as well as the Trainer's command ability.

There were ready examples proving this, both in the games and in the world he now inhabited.

Generally speaking, a Pokémon's Base Stats would not change.

But there were exceptions, such as Mega Evolution.

After Mega Evolution, a Pokémon's Base Stats would change because it had broken through the limits of its life level, evolving into a higher form of life and undergoing a transformation. However, it was worth noting that this state was not permanent.

Besides that, some Pokémon's Base Stats could also change due to certain fortunate encounters.

Hu Yang recalled the Giant Dragonite in the waters near Bill's Lighthouse in the anime, as well as the Ancient Gengar, Ancient Alakazam, and Ancient Jigglypuff that had appeared in Kanto.

Had they broken through the limits of their original Base Stats?

But those three were currently in Kanto, far beyond his reach for now.

After recalling the plot involving those three Super-Ancient Era Pokémon, Hu Yang's thoughts returned to himself.

His current start might be considered fairly ordinary for most Trainers.

But for him, it could already be called a perfect start.

Besides, even if someone gave him a pseudo-legendary Larvitar right now, he could not afford to raise it!

The resources needed to raise Larvitar were far greater than those needed for Budew.

Even without supplementary nutritious food, Budew could survive on nature alone.

But Larvitar... that thing needed to eat rocks to grow!

If it wanted to evolve into Tyranitar and reach its perfect state, ordinary rocks were nowhere near enough. It needed rocks containing large amounts of rare minerals to grow healthily.

Although Budew could grow through Synthesis and Water-type energy alone, Hu Yang had no intention of letting it do that.

If he was going to do this, he would do it right. He would do everything he could to provide Budew with the best resources and help it grow into the finest Budew possible.

"Foods Grass-type Pokémon like..." Hu Yang sat at the desk beside the window, seriously looking through the nutrition books he had borrowed from the library.

Budew, meanwhile, lounged lazily on the sunlit windowsill, its flower bud gently swaying in the warm sunlight.

The temperature was pleasant today. Even Cramorant was not making a fuss about going out, instead standing in a patch of sunlight like Budew and spacing out.

The room was filled with peaceful tranquility.

"Found it!" Hu Yang flipped to the middle of the book and looked at the marked information on the page.

Monthly nutritional diet required for Grass-type Pokémon growth
(Note: The ingredients listed in this diet are essential ingredients)

Standard Quality (priced at around 200 Poké Dollars or less)

Recipe: Two Apricorns + three Big Roots, or one Tiny Mushroom + four Apricorns

Medium Quality (priced between 200 and 500 Poké Dollars)

Recipe: Three Apricorns + two Big Roots + one Balm Mushroom

High Quality (priced at around 1,000 Poké Dollars)

Recipe: One Golden Berry + two Big Roots + one Balm Mushroom

Perfect Quality (usually priced above 2,000 Poké Dollars)

Recipe: Three Pinap Berries + three Big Roots + Bubble Rock + one Golden Berry

Looking at those prices, Hu Yang felt terrible.

But after seeing that even Larvitar's standard-quality food cost 3,000 Poké Dollars, he realized just how economical Grass-type Pokémon were.

Damn, being a Trainer really was a money-burning profession!

How could ordinary civilian Trainers possibly afford this kind of food for their Pokémon?

The gap between them and noble Trainers was instantly laid bare.

At that moment, Hu Yang shed tears of regret. Why had he not added a Poké Dollar modification function to the Modifier back then?!

Fortunately, what was listed above was the nutritional diet one Pokémon needed for a month of growth.

Rare ingredients like Golden Berries contained extremely abundant energy. A Pokémon usually needed an entire month to fully digest their nutrients.

Unless someone had more money than they could spend, eating them every day was not recommended. Pokémon could not use up the excess energy, and it would simply go to waste.

That meant he only needed to buy them once a month.

But it was still incredibly expensive!

The minimum monthly expense for one Pokémon was 2,000 Poké Dollars. For six, that would be 12,000... Hu Yang did not even dare think about that number right now!

Looking at the wages he had just received in his pocket, well, it seemed he would have to go back to living frugally!

Looking at Budew's carefree appearance on the balcony, Hu Yang silently prayed in his heart:

Baby, you'd better work hard and make my investment worthwhile!

With the mindset of either not buying at all or buying the best, Hu Yang set aside 3,000 Poké Dollars as Budew's growth fund, kept 1,000 for his daily expenses, and saved the rest.

Since he had no classes today, Hu Yang took Cramorant and Budew on a trip to the Department Store in downtown Petalburg City.

The Department Store in this world sold everything. From Evolution Stones for Pokémon to clothes and toilet seats, there was nothing they could not provide as long as you could think of it.

Hu Yang had plenty of time, and since it was his first time visiting the Department Store, he did not take the elevator. Instead, he rode the escalators upward, sightseeing floor by floor.

Perhaps because there were so many Trainers traveling outside in this world, the Department Store's best-selling item was portable tents.

"High-tech?" Hu Yang touched one of the tents and felt its material. It really was light, and it took up very little space.

No wonder Trainers in the anime could so often casually pull a tent from their backpacks while out in the wilderness.

And here he had thought those backpacks were some kind of Doraemon four-dimensional pocket...

Goods for ordinary people vanished after the sixth floor. Above that were items Trainers could use.

For example, basic Poké Balls, spray-type Potions, and all sorts of strange Pokémon items.

The Macho Brace developed by Devon Corporation, the Soothe Bell that could calm Pokémon, special spray that could drive away wild Pokémon, the Light Ball that could boost the power of Electric-type moves...

However, none of those items were cheap, and Hu Yang had no use for them for the time being. After casually looking around, he continued upward.