Accepting a mission

At his Trainer's command, Poliwag immediately aimed a Water Gun at the tree trunk ahead. A torrent of water shot out and struck it squarely.

With a crack, the tree trunk snapped under Poliwag's attack.

Zhang Cheng was very pleased with the power of this Water Gun.

Poliwag had been practicing Water Gun for four days now. As its power and his proficiency steadily improved, the move could now deal considerable damage, giving him a basic capacity to battle.

"Great job, Poliwag. You've done really well in training these past few days. Next, I'm planning to take on some missions at the League center. Think you can handle them?" Zhang Cheng asked Poliwag.

Poliwag nodded to assure his Trainer that he could.

Zhang Cheng opened the system to check Poliwag's current condition. Poliwag's information appeared in his mind:

Name: Poliwag (Level 2)

Gender: Male

Potential: B+

Type: Water

Held item: None

Basic moves: Water Sport, Water Gun

Egg moves: Bubble Beam, Mind Reader, Endeavor

Ability: Swift Swim (Doubles Speed in rain or heavy rain.) Note: Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon, is distinguished by the spiral pattern on his belly.

Note: Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon, is distinguished by the spiral pattern on his belly.

After this period of training, Poliwag had gained a level.

Pokémon started at level one when they were born. There were two ways for them to level up. One was training: improving the power of their moves and their proficiency would raise their Level.

The other was battling. Winning battles accumulated battle experience, and battling could also improve move proficiency.

Both methods could raise their Level, but the latter was certainly more effective.

After all, if a Pokémon had only trained and lacked battle experience, even a higher Level would not guarantee victory. An opponent with more battle experience could defeat them despite being at a lower Level.

The best way to raise Pokémon was to train them regularly, improve their move proficiency, then put those skills to use in actual battles to build battle experience.

Pokémon grew quickly before level five, so Poliwag had already gained a level over these ten or so days of training and developed some basic combat capability.

Zhang Cheng felt it was time to take on a few simple missions, earn some Pokémon Coins, and learn more about the world outside.

Between training sessions, Zhang Cheng had also learned a little about the missions issued by the Pokémon League.

The missions issued by the Pokémon League were divided, from highest to lowest, into Bronze Rank, Silver, Gold Rank, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and King tiers.

Missions above Diamond tier were not made public. Trainers needed the corresponding rank before they had permission to view and accept them.

Most of these missions were posted through the Pokémon League on behalf of other Trainers or businesses that needed something done.

Trainers who needed training resources could accept missions through the League center and earn the corresponding rewards to raise their Pokémon.

With his current strength, Zhang Cheng could only accept Bronze Rank missions. These missions were generally very simple, and almost any Trainer with a Pokémon could take them on.

Most such missions took place in towns and cities, where there was no danger.

Slightly higher-Level missions required venturing into the wilderness. Wild Pokémon were not as docile as those in towns, and danger could arise at any moment out there.

Zhang Cheng called a taxi and took Poliwag to the Pokémon League.

The Pokémon League stood in the central district of Jiangcheng City and was one of its landmarks. Trainers had to visit its Mission Hall to accept missions and turn them in.

The number of people passing through each day was staggering. After arriving at the Pokémon League, Zhang Cheng followed a staff member to the Mission Hall.

The Mission Hall contained many automated terminals. Placing a Trainer ID card on one of them opened the mission selection interface.

Zhang Cheng opened the mission center and selected the Bronze Rank category without hesitation, browsing for a suitable mission.

Mission 1: Hongshan Square will soon host an event and needs twenty trainers to maintain order and ensure that it runs smoothly. No Pokémon level requirement. Duration: three days. Reward: 9,000 Pokémon Coins.

Mission 2: The Nanting Training Ground needs ten trainers to conduct practical Pokémon battle training with its novice trainers. Pokémon level requirement: levels 2–5. Duration: two days. Reward: 4,000 Pokémon Coins.

Mission 3: The Tunkou Development Zone currently needs three security officers to maintain order around its development project. Pokémon level requirement: level 5 or above. Duration: seven days. Reward: 30,000 Pokémon Coins.

These were the only three decent Bronze Rank missions available at the moment, so Zhang Cheng planned to choose one of them.

The first and third missions were essentially security work, maintaining order with a Pokémon at his side, and both paid very well.

The second involved sparring with other Trainers' Pokémon. It paid less than the other two, but those battles would also help his Pokémon gain battle experience.

After weighing everything, Zhang Cheng decided to accept the second mission.

Although the pay was low, it would provide valuable battle experience.

The Pokémon Food he had bought last time would still feed Poliwag for another ten days, so he was not in any immediate need of Pokémon Coins to buy food.

Compared with earning Pokémon Coins, Zhang Cheng felt that improving his Pokémon's strength was more important.

Once Poliwag grew stronger, he could accept Silver-tier missions, which paid far more than Bronze Rank ones.

Considering all these factors, the second mission was the best choice. After accepting it, Zhang Cheng headed home.

He went to the bathroom and filled a large basin with hot water, intending to give Poliwag a thorough bath.

After the bath, Zhang Cheng gave Poliwag a full-body massage using the techniques he had learned.

Poliwag seemed to enjoy it too, lying in his trainer's arms and making contented sounds.

As he massaged Poliwag, Zhang Cheng thought about tomorrow's mission.

The trainers sparring with him tomorrow would surely have only recently obtained their Pokémon as well, so their Pokémon should be close in level.

Poliwag's only attack at present was Water Gun. Water Sport was a support move that was only particularly effective against Fire-types.

Facing a Pokémon with a type advantage could be troublesome, but regardless, his Pokémon would certainly improve through battling.

Zhang Cheng believed that after this period of training, Poliwag had developed enough strength to hold his own against Pokémon of the same level.

"Poliwag, we'll be battling other Trainers tomorrow. Feeling confident?" Zhang Cheng asked, stroking him affectionately.

"Poli! Poli! Poli!"

Poliwag cried out excitedly, and Zhang Cheng understood what it wanted to express from its movements.

Looks like Poliwag is full of confidence.

"Give it your best tomorrow and try to win our first battle. Once we finish the mission, I'll buy you some high-quality Pokéblocks," Zhang Cheng encouraged him.

At the mention of Pokéblocks, Poliwag immediately began bouncing around happily. It seemed Pokémon simply could not resist the lure of Pokéblocks.

After finishing Poliwag's massage, Zhang Cheng quickly washed up, then drifted off to sleep with him.