Bai Xiyue tenderly picked up Butterfree.
Her eyes had turned red.
Butterfree wore a guilty little expression.
"Keh keh."
Bai Xiyue looked at Qin Feng. "Hey, Butterfree's hurt this badly. What do we do?"
Qin Feng said, "Uh!!!"
"Just have Changpu treat the injuries in a bit."
From Bai Xiyue's sharp gaze, Qin Feng could tell.
She was a little upset that he had hit too hard.
But since she had proposed the battle herself, she couldn't very well lash out.
Otherwise, she might get labeled as someone who loved playing despite being terrible at it.
That was completely at odds with Bai Xiyue's style.
"Don't worry too much. These are things Pokémon have to go through. Getting injured in battle is perfectly normal."
"You could also say that only by facing adversity can they better awaken their fighting spirit, learn moves, and evolve."
Hearing Qin Feng say that made Bai Xiyue feel a little better.
But it still hurt, as though someone else had beaten up her own child.
How frustrating!
So she absolutely had to get revenge!
Egg Yolk's ears drooped as the Pokémon walked over to Butterfree.
み(｡◕ˇ_ˇ◕｡)♡
"Pika~"
Then Egg Yolk turned to look at Qin Feng.
"Pikachu~"
Did I hit too hard?
Qin Feng shook his head.
Bai Xiyue recalled Butterfree into the Poké Ball, then scooped Egg Yolk into her arms.
"Pikachu, don't blame yourself. Butterfree and I will work hard and try to beat you next time!"
Egg Yolk happily buried a little head against Bai Xiyue's chest.
"Pikachu~"
After leaving Butterfree with Changpu, Bai Xiyue left.
Suddenly!
Tong Jingcheng walked in with Psyduck.
"Psyduck."
Qin Feng looked at the man and the duck.
"Need something?"
Tong Jingcheng sat down beside Qin Feng and said:
"Something seems off about this Psyduck!"
"No matter what I say, Psyduck doesn't seem to understand."
"I've seen other influencers' Pokémon-Squirtle, Growlithe, Rattata, Vulpix... They're all strong and smart!"
Qin Feng: ...
That really was a difficult question to answer.
Although Psyduck was also very powerful.
But...
Psyduck really was dumb!
"Could we try looking at this from another angle?" Qin Feng said.
Tong Jingcheng: ???
"Haven't you noticed how adorably dopey Psyduck is?"
"Plenty of people love that sort of thing, don't they?"
"Go with the adorably dopey approach. With Psyduck's abilities, I'm sure you'll win over countless fans!"
Hearing Qin Feng's words, Tong Jingcheng felt as though he had been sweet-talked.
Yet somehow, it also made sense!
That night.
Yangming Garden, 58 Yangming Street, Jiangning.
Qin Zhengjun turned off the television, and as he passed his daughter Qin Yao's bedroom door.
He suddenly heard voices coming from inside.
He stopped and instinctively leaned closer to the door.
"Charmander, are the energy blocks tasty?"
"Char~"
"Aww, you're so cute!"
Qin Zhengjun frowned.
This clearly didn't sound like a phone call. Were two people talking inside?
What was Charmander?
A pet?
But when had she gotten a pet?
He hadn't seen her bring any pets home.
Just then, Zheng Yujie came out of the bathroom, drying her hair after her shower.
She spotted Qin Zhengjun eavesdropping outside their daughter's bedroom.
"Qin, what are you listening in on?"
Qin Zhengjun gestured to his wife to keep quiet.
Zheng Yujie grew puzzled too.
Was their daughter talking to someone on the phone?
A teenage romance?
Then Qin Yao's giggles sounded from inside again.
"Charmander, I love you so much!"
At those words, the hairs on Qin Zhengjun and his wife's bodies stood on end.
Was Charmander someone's nickname?
Or a pet name?
Was she really dating someone?
As an elementary school language arts teacher, Zheng Yujie.
Couldn't stand by any longer!
Knock, knock, knock!
"Yaoyao, open the door. Mom needs to talk to you!"
Hearing the knocking, Qin Yao hurriedly called, "Okay!"
Then she recalled Charmander into the Poké Ball.
As the door opened, Qin Zhengjun and his wife looked straight past Qin Yao.
Their pupils contracted as they began searching for the suspect!
"Mom, Dad, what major case are you trying to crack instead of sleeping this late at night?"
Qin Yao's room wasn't big, only a little over ten square meters.
There was a desk, a wardrobe, and some stuffed dolls.
If she wanted to hide a kitten or puppy, the wardrobe was the only place with enough room.
Zheng Yujie ignored Qin Yao.
She yanked open the wardrobe door.
But...
It was completely empty. There was nothing inside.
"Yaoyao, tell me honestly. Were you just talking to someone on the phone?"
At her mother's question, Qin Yao immediately understood what was going on.
She vigorously shook her little head.
Zheng Yujie looked at Qin Zhengjun. "Could you have misheard?"
Qin Zhengjun answered quietly, "Didn't you hear it too?"
Were we both hearing things?
Zheng Yujie shook her head.
"Hurry up and go to bed. It's late, and you have school tomorrow."
Qin Yao said, "Okay," then lay down on the bed and pulled up her covers.
With a click, the light went out.
Then came a bang as the door shut.
The room became pitch-black.
A few seconds passed.
Qin Yao threw back the covers and flicked the Poké Ball in her hand.
Charmander appeared in front of her.
By the light of the flame on Charmander's tail.
Qin Yao made a shushing gesture.
"We can't be too loud, or they'll find out!"
Just then.
There was a click.
The bedroom light came on.
Qin Zhengjun and his wife stood with their arms crossed, staring fixedly at the pair.
...(⊙＿⊙;)... Huh?
Qin Yao froze.
Had she actually fallen for their trick?
But when Qin Zhengjun and his wife got a clear look at Charmander.
Zheng Yujie was so frightened that her feet left the floor.
She clung to Qin Zhengjun.
"Where did you get this red-skinned lizard!!!"
At this point, Qin Yao realized she couldn't hide it anymore.
So she explained everything, from how she had gotten her Pokémon to how Pokémon had recently taken the world by storm.
Qin Zhengjun and his wife were educated people, and although they found it unbelievable.
Since it was already widely accepted, they didn't say much more.
They reminded Qin Yao not to let the little fellow set the house on fire.
They also warned her to prioritize her studies and not get carried away playing!
But before leaving, Zheng Yujie asked for the address of the Pokémon Home.
It seemed she had been drawn in too.
She probably wanted to buy one herself.
After Qin Zhengjun and his wife left.
Qin Yao immediately reported what had happened to her older brother.
"Bro, Mom and Dad found out!"
Qin Feng, who was editing a video in his dorm room at the time, suddenly froze.
Qin Feng: "Then what did you tell them?"
Qin Yao: "I said you gave it to me! But I didn't tell them the price."
"I also showed them some short videos, so they didn't ask too many questions."
Qin Feng: "All right. Don't say too much, or they'll worry."
Qin Yao: "But Mom asked for the Pokémon Home's address. She seemed pretty interested, like she wanted to buy one?"
Qin Feng immediately felt cold sweat break out across his forehead.
The video Qin Feng was editing was of his battle with Bai Xiyue earlier that day.
That was because the Pokémon Home's battle arena recorded every battle.
It allowed trainers to watch and gain further insights.
This was also the first time a Pokémon battle would appear in the public eye.
It also signaled that, from this moment onward, Pokémon would shed their image as merely cute pets in the public's mind.
[Ding] [Sales target mission completed]
Before you continue