Mission Complete

Zhang Cheng got up early, washed up, and woke Pidgey and Poliwag, who were still fast asleep.

With their new companion Pidgey joining them on orchard duty today, the two Pokémon could take turns guarding the fruit trees.

This would give them much more time to train. Back when he only had Poliwag, Zhang Cheng had not dared to put Poliwag through intense training, worried that exhausting Poliwag would leave them in trouble if other Pokémon came to steal Pecha Berries.

Now he no longer had to worry about that. That morning, Zhang Cheng assigned Poliwag to guard the fruit trees first and took Pidgey off for some preliminary training.

Since he had only just caught Pidgey, Zhang Cheng needed to assess Pidgey's proficiency with each move before drawing up a training plan.

The moves Pidgey currently knew were Tackle, Sand Attack, and Steel Wing.

Zhang Cheng wanted to see how powerful Pidgey's moves were first. "Pidgey, use each of the moves you know once, at full power."

"Pidgey! Pidgey!"

Pidgey was thrilled to hear the Trainer's instructions and was determined to show off that impressive strength. This was one very proud Pidgey.

Pidgey flew into the air, a silvery sheen flashing across both wings, then charged straight at a fruit tree's trunk with Steel Wing.

Steel Wing struck the trunk precisely, shaving a piece of bark off the Pecha Berry tree.

Zhang Cheng was very pleased with the power of Pidgey's Steel Wing.

For Pidgey to have already mastered an Egg Move while still in the Infant Stage showed a remarkable aptitude.

"Great job, Pidgey. Now use Tackle." Zhang Cheng encouraged Pidgey while directing the next move.

Pidgey followed up with Tackle. Its power was considerably weaker than Steel Wing, and Pidgey's proficiency with it was much lower as well.

It seemed this Pidgey preferred flashy moves that dealt heavy damage.

Steel Wing was powerful and looked incredibly cool in action, so naturally, Pidgey loved it. As for a clumsy way of attacking like Tackle, Pidgey was not particularly fond of it.

Even after their brief time together, Zhang Cheng had gained some understanding of Pidgey's personality.

Zhang Cheng then had Pidgey use Sand Attack once. Moves like Sand Attack and Water Sport were generally easy for Pokémon to master.

There was no need to spend too much time training such moves. Being able to use them properly and achieve the intended effect was enough.

For Pidgey's upcoming training, Zhang Cheng planned to focus on Steel Wing and speed.

Steel Wing would serve as Pidgey's main means of attack for some time to come. Speed was naturally the greatest advantage of Flying-type Pokémon, and Zhang Cheng wanted his Pokémon to make the most of that advantage.

The morning quickly passed as he trained with Pidgey. After lunch, Zhang Cheng had Pidgey rest nearby and guard the orchard.

Then he put Poliwag through specialized training in each move. After practicing over the past several days, Poliwag had become highly proficient with Water Gun and Bubble Beam.

The main move that needed practice now was Endeavor, which could turn the tide at a critical moment.

Endeavor could also be used in combination with Pidgey's Quick Attack. In future three-on-three Pokémon matches, Poliwag could unleash Endeavor just before being knocked out.

Then, when Pidgey took the field afterward, the priority effect of Quick Attack could be used to finish off the opposing Pokémon.

Quick Attack guaranteed that the user attacked first, giving it a tremendous advantage against a Pokémon whose HP was almost depleted.

In fact, this combination of moves had first appeared with Raticate. Raticate could learn both Endeavor and Quick Attack, allowing the two moves to be used when its HP was nearly depleted.

In that situation, even an opponent that could launch moves faster would be helpless, because Quick Attack had priority.

However, Zhang Cheng had no plans to raise a Raticate. Raticate was not particularly strong early on, and its evolutionary line only evolved once. It had no Mega Evolution either, so Zhang Cheng had ruled it out.

After the day's training ended, Zhang Cheng returned to their lodgings and thoroughly cleaned Poliwag and Pidgey. Then he gave Pidgey a full-body massage using the same techniques he had used on Poliwag before.

Even the proud Pidgey could not resist Zhang Cheng's skilled massage and gradually grew fond of the feeling.

The next three days of guard duty passed uneventfully. Pidgey and Poliwag took turns resting and training, and they also battled quite a few wild Pokémon during that time.

Through several days of training and battles, Pidgey successfully reached level four. After these ten days of training and battling, Poliwag also reached level six on the final day.

Watching his two Pokémon grow made Zhang Cheng happy from the bottom of his heart.

Toward evening, after handing over his guard duties for the final day, Zhang Cheng took his Pokémon back to their lodgings to rest.

Tomorrow, he could collect his mission reward from the orchard's finance department. Forty thousand Pokémon Coins was a huge sum for Zhang Cheng at this point.

Zhang Cheng had already planned out how he would spend those forty thousand Pokémon Coins.

He would first spend ten thousand Pokémon Coins on food for both Pokémon for the remaining month of summer vacation. Of the remaining twenty thousand, he would spend ten thousand on Flying-type and Water-type Pokéblocks and keep the last ten thousand for any future needs.

Once his Pokémon's food needs were taken care of, Zhang Cheng would have to start saving money. Buying Technical Machines for them later would cost a substantial amount.

There were also Held Items for his Pokémon, as well as Evolution Stones that Pokémon he caught in the future might need. Every aspect required Pokémon Coins.

Thinking about all this gave Zhang Cheng a bit of a headache. There was still a long road ahead, and earning money would be a formidable, ongoing task.

Early the next morning, Zhang Cheng went to the finance office at Shennong Orchard and collected his payment of forty thousand Pokémon Coins.

Besides the forty thousand Pokémon Coins, the orchard also gave him ten Pecha Berries. As expected of the largest orchard in Jiangcheng, even its temporary workers were treated very well.

The ten-day mission was over, and this trip to the orchard had been a complete success.

Not only had he earned a generous sum of Pokémon Coins, but a new companion had joined them as well.

On the way home, Zhang Cheng followed the budget he had made yesterday and bought twenty thousand Pokémon dollars' worth of Pokémon Food and ten thousand worth of Pokéblocks, putting the remaining ten thousand Pokémon Coins into savings.

With the mission complete, Zhang Cheng felt much more relaxed. Once he got home, he enjoyed a long sleep with his Pokémon.

It was not until noon the following day that Zhang Cheng groggily woke up. After waking, he found Pidgey and Poliwag chatting with each other.

And so a new day began. Today, Zhang Cheng planned to let everyone take a proper day off.

They had all worked hard lately, and it was time for a good rest. Once that rest was over, however, hellish training awaited them.

Pidgey and Poliwag were still chattering beside the bed, completely unaware of how serious the situation was.