Early the next morning, a heart-wrenching scream rang out from the Chen family villa.
"Gaia!!!"
"Gengar!!!"
"How many times have I told you not to lick me first thing in the morning?
I'm so numb!"
"Hehehe, gengar~"
Gengar clutched its belly, laughing, then immediately flew out of the room, leaving its handiwork behind without taking any credit.
Only Chen Shi remained, lying on the bed with lifeless eyes.
This damn familiar feeling!
Ever since he was little, whenever Chen Shi slept in, Gengar would reward him with a Lick.
Could you imagine how that felt?
You would be sleeping soundly when a powerful wave of paralysis suddenly hit, forcibly booting you up.
Who could handle that?
"Vee~"
Leafeon rubbed its sleepy eyes, unsure what was happening.
Why was there so much screaming first thing in the morning?
Meanwhile, Togepi was still sleeping soundly. Not even that racket had woken the little one. Impressive, really.
Chen Shi sighed, growing irritated at the sight of the egg sleeping peacefully beside him.
He scooped it up and shook it hard, letting it experience a forced reboot too.
"Toge~ togeprii?"
Togepi stared blankly at Chen Shi, its little expression seeming to ask, "What's going on?"
Chen Shi was about to scold it, but when he remembered that the little one needed friendship to evolve, he couldn't get the words out.
He could only force a smile and say, "Nothing. It's just getting late, so it's time to get up."
"You can have an ice cream today."
"Togeprii~ prii~"
Little stars immediately appeared in Togepi's eyes, and drool spilled shamelessly from the corner of its mouth.
Chen Shi rolled his eyes at it, got dressed, washed up, and went downstairs.
In the living room on the first floor, Gardevoir was doing housework while Florges brought the breakfast Grandma had made to the table.
Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen were already eating breakfast.
"Morning, Florges. You too, Gardevoir."
"Flor~"
"Garde~"
A smile immediately appeared on Grandma Chen's face when she saw her grandson come downstairs.
"Shi, come have breakfast."
"Okay!"
Chen Shi sat down, picked up a sandwich, and started eating.
Then Grandpa Chen said, "I had a brief talk with Mu Jin yesterday."
"He agreed to our terms, but you'll need to give them the exact location."
"They'll have to survey the site before they can determine its value."
Chen Shi paused briefly, described Big Root Valley's exact location to his grandpa, then added:
"Some of the Pokémon there are pretty strong. Remember to mention that, Grandpa, so they don't run into danger and end up blaming us."
Grandpa Chen readily agreed.
Something else suddenly occurred to Chen Shi. "Grandpa, there's also a Togepi egg in there. Could you ask the Stone family to bring it back for me?"
Chen Shi was referring to Misty's Togepi from the original story.
That Togepi had been brought out of Big Root Valley. Right now, it should still be an egg buried down there.
The old man looked at his grandson in confusion. "Don't you already have a Togepi?
Why do you want another one?"
Togepi, which had just come downstairs, was stunned when it heard that.
My Trainer wants another Togepi? Does that mean he doesn't want me anymore?
At the thought of being abandoned, the little one plopped onto the floor and began bawling.
As Leafeon walked past, it gave Togepi a disdainful glance, not bothering with the little drama queen.
Chen Shi glanced at Togepi and said expressionlessly, "Keep acting and you won't get any ice cream today."
Togepi immediately stopped crying.
It walked over to Chen Shi as though nothing had happened and even gave him a playful wink.
Chen Shi lifted it onto the table, set the Pokémon Food Grandma had prepared in front of it, then explained to Grandpa:
"I want it as a gift for someone, not to raise myself."
Grandpa Chen nodded in agreement without asking whom his grandson intended to give it to.
Besides, it wasn't a big deal. Togepi weren't particularly valued as Pokémon, so presumably the Stone family wouldn't mind handing over an egg.
"Grandpa, is there anything on the farm I can help with right now?"
Grandpa Chen said unhurriedly, "There isn't much work to do on the farm this time of year."
"The Berries have only just set fruit and aren't ripe yet. We finished collecting the Threefold Honey yesterday, and the medicinal herb garden on Back Mountain doesn't need much tending either."
"As for milking Miltank, your grandma and I take care of that while we're at it. We don't need your help."
Chen Shi was dumbfounded. Why was this nothing like he had imagined?
Grandpa Chen gave his grandson an amused look. "From now on, train your own Pokémon in the mornings, and study Breeder knowledge with me in the afternoons."
"It's time I passed on some of the family's important skills to you."
Chen Shi's eyes lit up. He knew what Grandpa meant.
As a League-certified Top-level Breeder, Grandpa specialized in making all kinds of potions.
His greatest specialties were the Revival Potion, which treated Pokémon's injuries, and the Potential Potion, which increased their potential when they evolved.
The Potential Potion in particular would send people scrambling to get their hands on every bottle offered.
It was also the foundation of the Chen family's livelihood.
Grandma, meanwhile, specialized in tailoring all kinds of Pokéblocks and food to individual Pokémon.
The Pokéblocks Chen Shi's Dreepy and Swampert usually ate were custom-made by Grandma.
He had been eager to learn his grandparents' specialties for a long time. Unfortunately, Grandpa had previously said he wasn't skilled enough to learn them yet.
Chen Shi knew his own limits, so he had never brought it up again.
Now that Grandpa had offered on his own, Chen Shi was naturally overjoyed.
"All right, look at that silly face of yours."
Seeing his grandson grinning away, Grandpa Chen teased him with a laugh.
Chen Shi scratched his head and said with a grin, "Then I'll go check on Dreepy and Swampert on Back Mountain."
Grandpa Chen gave his assent and continued leisurely sipping his porridge.
Seeing this, Grandma Chen picked up a Space Backpack beside her and handed it to Chen Shi.
"These are the new Pokéblocks I made for Dreepy. Take them over while you're at it."
"Thanks, Grandma." Chen Shi accepted it with a smile and headed out with Leafeon and Togepi.
At the summit of Back Mountain, behind the Chen family home, was a large pond, surrounded by all kinds of rare medicinal herbs.
In a large tree nearby, Sceptile was leaning against the trunk, dozing.
Chen Shi walked over and said, "Sceptile, could you help me train Leafeon? Sorry for the trouble."
As he spoke, Chen Shi pointed to the bewildered Leafeon beside him.
"Vee?"
Sceptile opened its eyes, glanced at Leafeon, and nodded slightly.
The next moment, Sceptile jumped down from the tree. In a flash, both Sceptile and Leafeon vanished.
The corner of Chen Shi's mouth twitched. Would it kill you not to show off?
"Toge~ togeprii~"
Togepi tugged at Chen Shi's hand, seemingly asking where Leafeon had gone.
After all, the two little ones had been together since birth and had never been separated.
Seeing Leafeon disappear still left Togepi worried.
Chen Shi rubbed its head and explained, "Leafeon went off to train with that fellow just now.
You don't need to worry about its safety.
You need to work hard too, little one. You don't want Leafeon leaving you further and further behind, do you?"
Togepi thought for a moment, then clenched its little fists and nodded firmly.
"Togeprii!"
Sceptile
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