"You're lying on my hair"

Although there was plenty of noise online, it had little impact overall.

Which type of Pokémon a Gym used was up to its Gym Leader in the first place.

A Gym's main responsibility was to assess rookie Trainers. As long as it took that duty seriously, there generally wasn't a problem.

Besides, that Flying-type Trainer was only the acting Gym Leader for now. The old Gym Leader still handled the duties most of the time, so at most, the newcomer had added more uncertainty to Gym battles.

Flying or Ground made little difference to Xin Mu. Meownei's moveset was legal in the game; she couldn't learn moves like Precipice Blade, at least, but Aerial Ace was well within her repertoire.

Yes, she could "fly."

With the TMs in the game, Meownei had learned every move available to her. In this world, though, Skill Machines were much harder to obtain.

Rather than TMs, they were more like systematic training programs, unlike the discs in the game that could be used simply by placing them over a Pokémon's head.

Even with those resources, learning still took time.

It was precisely her extensive movepool and unnerfed Protean Ability that let Meownei maintain an advantage in most type matchups.

"Meownei, we've got plenty of time lately. How about we try challenging a Gym tomorrow?"

"Meow? (An opponent like that Pikachu?)"

"They should be stronger, and we'd have to beat three Pokémon to win. Or should we wait until I catch another Pokémon?"

"Meow~ Meow meow! (I don't need teammates. I can sweep their whole team myself! We've still got plenty of things we haven't used!)"

Of course, Xin Mu had additional battle systems at his disposal. Of the four special battle systems currently in existence, Meownei had mastered all but Mega Evolution. She even had a complete set of Z-Moves.

At this stage, however, Z-Moves were a little awkward to use. Mainly, using them in real life required the Trainer to perform an embarrassing dance alongside their Pokémon.

Meownei knew the movements herself. The problem was that Xin Mu didn't, so he would have to practice them from scratch.

Dynamax wouldn't be a problem if the venue was suitable. Even if Meownei disliked going into a Poké Ball, he could simply do what they did with Pikachu and use the Dynamax Band to toss her high into the air.

He would just need to train beforehand to pull that off.

Xin Mu could lift something weighing thirty kilograms, but throwing it any distance was another matter.

The most convenient option was Terastallization, which had appeared in the Paldea region.

The various facilities built into the game could even recharge the Tera Orb.

"All right, let's give it a try tomorrow."

"Meow~ (There's a group message.)"

[@everyone, the final campus recruitment event will be held...]

After a quick glance at the group chat message, Xin Mu swiped it aside. Those jobs were all things like real estate sales, online course sales, or warehouse keeping, primarily intended to boost the employment rate.

Xin Mu still had plenty of equipment he hadn't extracted from the game. Although there were quite a few small items, there were even more large ones. Without a spacious place, he wouldn't be able to bring them out.

"Gym apprentice... Too bad beating the Gym Leader doesn't let you take over right away. Otherwise, it'd be pretty good."

Jobs that came with plenty of space to use were mostly closely connected to Pokémon, and being a Gym apprentice was one of them.

Some Gyms were passed down through families, while others handed the Gym Leader position to a prized student. That was another route to promotion, though it took a lot of time.

Such positions weren't decided purely by strength, either. Other factors had to be considered.

A professor's assistant was much the same, provided he found a professor with genuine expertise, like Professor Oak. Funding and space would be a given, but he would be very busy.

But that position...

For one thing, his academic qualifications weren't good enough to get him anywhere near it. Even if his good relationship with Ash meant Ash was willing to introduce him, Xin Mu knew exactly what he was capable of.

Discussing some game data was fine, but systematic research was beyond him.

"Ranger. Must be a Trainer... Maybe this could work?"

Rangers here were very different from ordinary forest wardens. Their duties included forest fire prevention, ecological inspections, and guarding against Pokémon hunters, among plenty of other things.

Since the work involved some danger, applicants had to be Pokémon Trainers. A powerful Pokémon was a special kind of "weapon" in its own right.

As for what qualified someone as a Pokémon hunter, that also depended on their methods.

The League didn't interfere with individuals who caught Pokémon using ordinary methods and Poké Balls.

But catching Pokémon in protected areas where capture was forbidden, or using various weapons to capture or harm Pokémon on a large scale instead of conventional methods, was not allowed.

Not to mention that some people weren't trying to catch Pokémon at all, but simply hunted them for materials. There were also issues involving ordinary animals.

Normally, rookie Rangers graduated from specialized Ranger schools, but the profession also recruited from the general public.

Private accommodation (there's nobody nearby; you're doing the work alone).

Beautiful surroundings (near a protected area, with hardly anyone living there).

Stable employment (don't even think about quitting before you find a replacement).

In certain respects, these conditions suited Xin Mu quite well. There was just a little less freedom.

"If I found a Pokémon that knew Future Sight and bought a lottery ticket... Forget it. With the draw happening later, the lottery center might have a Mega Alakazam of its own."

He spent the whole trip planning his career. He hadn't found many suitable choices, but he had ruled out a great many.

After getting home, Xin Mu began another round of training, just like most Trainers.

Only, the one being trained wasn't Meownei, but Xin Mu himself.

Xin Mu stopped a little after eight. Doing it at a reasonable hour was fine, but continuing too late would disturb the neighbors. Besides, this was about his limit.

While replenishing his energy with Pokéblocks, Xin Mu also brought out some water from the Therapeutic Hot Spring.

There wasn't enough room to unfold the entire hot spring, but extracting a portion of it was still possible. It was just enough to effectively ease his physical fatigue and prevent lingering injuries.

Of course, relief was only relief. Its effect meant he wouldn't have to worry about aching all over the next day, but any stamina he expended was still spent.

After putting everything away and washing up, Xin Mu had only intended to close his eyes for a short rest, but he fell straight asleep.

He slept deeply. Meownei nudged him a few times, and when he didn't wake up, she simply adjusted him into a proper sleeping position before naturally lying down on the other side of the double bed.

She didn't curl up, either, and even left her belly exposed-a sign that she felt completely safe in her current surroundings and wasn't worried about danger.

Xin Mu slept well that night, except that around dawn, he felt something digging into his neck. Still overwhelmed by sleepiness, he didn't want to open his eyes at all.

In the end, he shifted several times without any improvement, until a flower bud appeared beside his face.

"Meow~ (Are you awake? You're lying on my flower stem.)"