In his room.
Li Wei opened the [Metagross Breeding Manual].pdf that Steven had sent him.
The first page contained Steven's insights on Metagross.
The Metagross evolutionary line was highly sensitive to magnetic forces, so training should focus on controlling magnetism...
With its supercomputer brain, Metagross was particularly suited to Double Battles or group battles and could adapt to complex combat situations.
Metagross was a Pokémon with an exceptional capacity for learning.
Developing its ability to battle independently and learn was recommended...
Metagross had greater physical capabilities, but in Steven's humble opinion, care should still be taken to balance its mental and physical strengths.
Humble opinion? Steven really was modest.
Li Wei wholeheartedly agreed with that point.
Even if Metagross's Inner Focus was somewhat weaker, he could easily make up for it with Tamato Berries and the like.
The table of contents on the second page was divided into diet, Abilities, habits, key points for move training, countermeasures for weaknesses, tactics...
Steven also provided different breeding plans for Metagross depending on whether its Ability was Clear Body or Light Metal.
The manual even covered the changes that came with Mega Metagross.
In short, it was an extraordinarily comprehensive guide.
Some of the Steel-type breeding knowledge in it also applied to Lucario.
If Steven's [Metagross Breeding Manual] were released to the public, people would probably fight tooth and nail over it.
After carefully reading through the manual, Li Wei clearly understood the focus of Steven's breeding approach.
He just had to let Metagross figure things out on its own and exercise its ability to learn.
Whenever Metagross made a mistake, Li Wei only needed to offer timely guidance or wait for it to realize the mistake itself.
Li Wei printed the document out, planning to give it to Metagross when he returned that evening.
"Son, come give me a hand!"
His dad knocked on Li Wei's door, spatula in hand.
"Coming!"
That evening.
Once the Pokémon boarding there had been returned to their Poké Balls, the welcome dinner began.
With so many people attending, Li Wei and good old Leon opted for the relatively simple choice of hot pot, placing a divided pot in the middle of the round table.
Li Wei prepared both the clear broth and the fiery-hot broth.
Li Wei stir-fried a batch of extra-spicy hot pot base.
There was beef, lamb, and fish aplenty, along with the indispensable vegetables.
Elder Uncle and Elder Aunt joined them too.
Leon greeted everyone with a cheerful smile. "No formalities here. Just dig in and get to know each other."
One after another, the employees came over to introduce themselves to Li Wei, drinks in hand.
"Hello, young boss. I'm Xiao Rou."
Xiao Rou had a wonderfully sweet smile, her eyes curving into crescents that immediately put people at ease.
The moment Wen Hui first saw Xiao Rou, she decided to put her in charge of greeting customers at the front desk.
If Li Wei could see her skills, her affinity would probably be at Master level too.
Looking at Xiao Rou's face, customers would have a hard time staying angry.
"Hello."
Li Wei clinked glasses with her, then took another sip.
"Brother Wei, I'm Shiyin. I'm here as an apprentice to learn about Pokémon Breeding."
Shiyin wore her hair in twin ponytails and was quite young, probably only twelve or thirteen.
Li Wei vaguely remembered her. Mizuki seemed to be the one mentoring her.
"Make sure you learn well from your big sister Mizuki."
Mizuki was twenty-five that year, and Li Wei usually called her big sister Mizuki.
"I will!"
Shiyin bowed respectfully, whipping Li Wei hard with her twin ponytails...
"Ah, I'm sorry!"
Realizing what she had done, Shiyin flushed from her neck to the tips of her ears.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
The introductions to Li Wei also gave the new and existing employees a chance to get acquainted and chat.
"Brother Wei, I'm Luo Ye. I'm in charge of tending the Berries."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're older than me, aren't you?"
"Young boss, I'm Satomi. I'm in charge of managing the warehouse."
The welcome dinner came to a successful close.
Back in his room, Li Wei let Metagross out of its Luxury Ball.
If Li Wei's doorway wasn't remodeled, he would have to keep doing this.
Fortunately, Li Wei's room was spacious enough for both Metagross and Arcanine to sleep there without any trouble.
After all, Leon and the others had taken Arcanine into account when renovating the house.
Li Wei placed the printed [Metagross Breeding Manual] on the desk.
"Can you read?"
"Kang Jin!"
(It says, who do you think you're looking down on?)
Lucario was a competent translator, conveying even the tone.
"This is your training manual. Study it yourself."
A huge question mark seemed to appear over Metagross's head as it looked at the thick manual.
"Lucario, you can read it too. It has training methods for Steel-type moves."
"Awoooo~~~"
Arcanine suddenly began howling up a storm.
(It says, what about yours truly?)
Li Wei replied awkwardly, "Uh... I'll see if I can pull some strings and get something for you. Just hang tight for now."
As if something had occurred to him, Li Wei suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Oh, right. A breeding instructor is coming tomorrow. I'll ask for you."
"Awoooo!!!"
(It says, I'm counting on you!)
Neither Li Wei nor the howling Arcanine disturbed Metagross.
At that moment, Metagross was completely absorbed in reading the breeding manual, although it was turning the pages rather quickly.
Metagross's dark red eyes gleamed.
"Kang Jin! Kang Jin!"
(It says, so that's how it works! I learned something!)
Metagross was like a warrior who had just left the beginner village, eagerly soaking up the experience passed down by a veteran.
Watching Metagross's exceptional ability to learn independently, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.
During the day, Li Wei had to handle matters at the Pokémon Day Care and occasionally shoot videos. At night, he still had to study Pokémon Breeding...
He was so busy that he no longer even had time to play games.
The better Metagross could learn on its own, the less he had to worry.
Maybe I should just have Metagross help me train Pokémon from now on...
Early the next morning.
Lucario and the others now handled their morning training on their own.
Li Wei sat beside the cordoned-off fishpond, considering how to restore Feebas's confidence.
If the Feebas task had a difficulty rating, it would definitely be legendary.
At the slightest disturbance, Feebas slipped into a crevice in the artificial rockery.
Judging by the ripples on the water's surface, Li Wei suspected Feebas was trembling.
The main problem was that Feebas refused to communicate, leaving Li Wei with no idea where to begin.
Li Wei had no intention of giving up.
"Do I really have to ask Yellow?"
If he asked Yellow, she should be able to read Feebas's memories.
Then Li Wei could address the root of the problem.
"Feebas, can we talk? How about coming out for a little sunshine?"
From the crevice in the rockery, Feebas watched Li Wei with blinking eyes.
Li Wei took out some Moomoo Milk.
"Is there anything you like?"
"You keep hiding in that crevice. Do you prefer dark places, or do narrow spaces make you feel safe?"
"I won't hurt you. Why don't you try coming out?"
Li Wei tried to connect with Feebas as a friend would, and before he knew it, it was nine o'clock.
A handsome visitor arrived.
Before you continue