My Dad Said He'd Saved Up a Lot of Money for My Dowry! (Today's Fifth Update)

Inside Battle Arena No. 7 of the Newbie Battle Hall.

"Both Pokémon detected in position. Beep beep—battle start!!"

"Tepig, use Ember!"

"Espurr, Disarming Voice!"

Their commands rang out at the same time, but their Pokémon moved at different speeds.

Tepig first kicked repeatedly against the ground with his hind legs. Then, his rosy pig snout twitched continuously, and the temperature around his mouth gradually began to rise.

However, just as Tepig gathered Fire Type energy, a calm yet strangely captivating sound echoed across the arena.

It was Espurr's Disarming Voice.

[Disarming Voice: Fairy Type offensive move. Emits a captivating cry that deals mental damage to the opponent.]

"Te!!"

The sudden sonic attack directly interrupted Tepig's Stockpile. The calm yet bizarre sound waves rang in his ears like a demonic melody, throwing his thoughts into disarray.

"Now, Espurr, use Confusion!"

Following the principle of kicking someone while they were down, Song Xiaomeng immediately shouted.

"Meow!!"

Espurr's purple eyes trembled slightly. As a tiny gap opened between her two large ears, vast Psychic Type energy surged forth, transforming into tangible yet invisible psychic force that completely enveloped Tepig.

At this point, the outcome of the match was already obvious.

Her level had already been higher to begin with, and now her opponent had lost the initiative and was restrained by Confusion. There was no way he could keep fighting.

But Tepig's Trainer refused to give up. He still shouted things like, "Hang in there! Pull yourself together! You can do it, Tepig! Use Endure!"

If he had possessed an encouraging Yanhuang Language Trait, perhaps those words might have done some good.

But unfortunately, he did not.

"Beep—Tepig has lost the ability to battle. The winner is the blue side, Miss Song Xiaomeng!"

The electronic referee's cold voice mercilessly shattered the chubby boy's final hopes.

Song Xiaomeng emerged from the small corridor with Espurr in her arms and jogged over to Mu Yun. Raising her brows, she bragged smugly, "So? Wasn't your big sister's command amazing?"

"I only saw an Espurr crushing her opponent with levels," Mu Yun said honestly.

"What crushing with levels? We're both Normal Level. Whose level is higher than whose?" Song Xiaomeng frowned and grumbled unhappily, "Is it really that hard to admit I'm awesome?"

Only then did Mu Yun remember that this world's Pokémon level classifications consisted only of broad, vague tiers. Other than him, no one knew the more specific subdivisions.

The current globally recognized tier system was said to have been measured and established with a machine called an Energy Detector.

As for exactly how it measured things, Mu Yun had no idea.

Because the machines were expensive and scarce, only provincial Trainer Associations had them. Ordinary people rarely even got to see one.

Even Song Xiaomeng, who had earned her Two-Star Professional Level certificate last year, had never seen the legendary Energy Detector.

"Yes, yes, yes, Sister Xiaomeng is the best. Espurr is this amazing entirely because of Sister Xiaomeng's efforts," Mu Yun said in an exaggerated tone.

"That's more like it."

Song Xiaomeng patted Mu Yun's arm in satisfaction, then smoothed her bangs and casually said, "By the way, which match are you in? Once you're done, want to practice with me?"

"Let me tell you, opportunities to battle a Psychic Type Trainer are rare. Even if other people paid me to battle them, I might not agree."

Song Xiaomeng was not just being narcissistic.

Psychic Type, Ghost Type, Fairy Type, Dragon Type, and Poison Type Trainers were publicly recognized as rare.

The first four were rare because Pokémon of those types were rare to begin with. There was nothing to be done about that.

As for the last one, many powerful Poison Type Trainers were wanted criminals. As a result, people's fixed impression of Trainers who specialized in Poison Types was that they were ruthless and vicious, so they were unpopular.

On top of that, many newcomers lacked experience. When dealing with Poison Type Pokémon, they could easily poison themselves if they were not careful, so few people chose that path.

"I'm in the twelfth match. Once I'm done, I'll have to trouble you, Sister Xiaomeng. I've never battled a Psychic Type Pokémon before," Mu Yun said with a smile.

"Hehe, don't worry, don't worry. We're close, aren't we? Even if your big sister helped no one else, she'd definitely help you!"

Seeing Mu Yun "ask" her for help, Song Xiaomeng was in high spirits. She chuckled, pounded her chest, and wore an expression that said, "Leave it to me."

Although Song Xiaomeng was nowhere near as naturally gifted as Chi Duoduo, there was still a slight ripple when she pounded her chest.

"Ah, I really worry for your future children," Mu Yun sighed and muttered.

"What did you say?"

Song Xiaomeng, immersed in her joy, had not heard Mu Yun's mutter clearly. She leaned over with a smiling face and asked directly.

Perhaps because she had gone through several Pokémon battles, faint beads of sweat glimmered along Song Xiaomeng's neck. As she drew closer, a subtle scent of feminine hormones mixed with shower gel slipped into his nose.

Citrus-scented. Pretty sweet.

"Nothing. I said you shouldn't underestimate me," Mu Yun said, tilting his head back to avoid the alluring view from above.

Only at close range did he realize that although Song Xiaomeng did not look particularly curvy, she actually had something there. Probably about one-fifth of a Chi Duoduo. Her children should not starve.

"Tch, do you think training Pokémon is like doing homework? Let me tell you, no matter how smart you are, if the Pokémon itself lacks talent in battle, it'll be hard for it to achieve anything great."

"Although this may not sound nice, in most cases, Pokémon with lower potential won't have much talent for battle either."

The moment she finished speaking, Song Xiaomeng regretted it. After all, she knew Mu Yun's family circumstances perfectly well. There was no way he could obtain a high-quality Pokémon Egg.

Wasn't she basically talking about him?

She raised her head and carefully watched Mu Yun's expression. Only when she saw that he was not angry did she breathe a sigh of relief and gently pat her chest.

Naturally, Mu Yun was not angry. What Song Xiaomeng had said was already a widely accepted fact in the Pokémon world. Besides, his Starter Pokémon's potential was not low either.

Elite Level was already very high, okay?

"Nothing is absolute. Maybe someday, a real phoenix will emerge from a chicken coop," Mu Yun said with a shrug, his expression calm.

Perhaps because she felt she had said something wrong earlier, Song Xiaomeng did not refute him. She merely tilted her head slightly, as if something had occurred to her. Her gaze wandered as she wrapped a lock of hair near her ear around her pale fingers, seemingly casually saying,

"My dad said that although buying Little Sun cost a lot of money a few years ago, he's saved up quite a bit more for my dowry since then. He wants to find a live-in son-in-law."

Little Sun was the name of her Totem Level Espeon.

Without waiting for Mu Yun to respond, Song Xiaomeng quickly complained to herself, "Do you think Old Song went crazy from missing me because I've been away at school for so long? He actually can't bear to let me marry out and wants to keep me at home. Hahahaha."

Mu Yun glanced at Song Xiaomeng, whose cheeks had reddened as she avoided looking at him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Maybe. After all, Uncle Song is pretty lonely by himself."

"What do you mean, lonely? Aunt Zhu is with him every day, helping him wash clothes and cook. She even works for him and teaches his students. How is he lonely? He's practically getting fat as a ball!"

Whether because she had not heard what she wanted to hear or simply because she thought Aunt Zhu worked too hard, Song Xiaomeng pouted, her dissatisfaction written all over her face.

"It can't be helped. Aunt Zhu is so gentle. If it were me, I'd get all fair and plump under her care too," Mu Yun said with a laugh.

"No!"

Song Xiaomeng suddenly shouted, startling Mu Yun. He looked at her in confusion. "What can't?"

"Nothing. Anyway, Aunt Zhu is already tired enough taking care of my dad. Sorry for the trouble, Xiao Yun, but you should be more diligent yourself, or..."

"Brother Yun, you're here. Isn't it your turn yet?"

Just as Song Xiaomeng was about to say something, a lovely voice with a cool tone and a hint of delight sounded from the entrance to Battle Arena No. 7.

The speaker wore simple white clothes and had a fresh, elegant face. At a glance, it was obvious she was the kind of girl who was the dream crush of countless high school boys.

Sure enough, the moment "she" appeared, many of the boys in the waiting area stared straight at her, their little movements coming one after another.

Some touched their hair, some touched their noses, some reached for... In an instant, everyone seemed to become busy.

"!"

Song Xiaomeng's internal alarm bells immediately blared.

She had not even had time to look carefully at the newcomer's appearance, yet that fleeting glance was enough for her to see that the newcomer was exceptionally beautiful and had an outstanding temperament!

Oh no. While I wasn't around, Xiao Yun couldn't have...