After being tipped a few Pokéblocks, Dragonite happily flapped its little wings and flew away.
Xia Chi opened the tightly wrapped parcel and took out the emerald-green Mystery Seed.
The moment he opened the box, the Miracle Seed's rich, natural fragrance drew Sprigatito over.
It gently sniffed the distinctive scent wafting through the air, its eyes filled with nothing but desire for the Mystery Seed.
Grass-type Pokémon simply couldn't resist the allure of a Mystery Seed.
Looking at it another way, though, that showed just how difficult it was to find a wild Mystery Seed before a Grass-type Pokémon did.
Xia Chi stroked the fluffy little cat's head and smiled. "I got it just for you, Sprigatito. You're getting an extra treat today."
The finest ingredients often needed only the simplest preparation.
For a top-tier training resource like a Mystery Seed, eating it raw was all it took. Any processing was unnecessary and would only cause nutrients to be lost.
With Xia Chi's permission, Sprigatito stopped holding back and swallowed the Mystery Seed in one gulp.
There was no brilliant golden light or dramatic, instantaneous transformation that cleansed its body down to the bone.
For a Pokémon at Sprigatito's stage, fully absorbing the energy in one small Miracle Seed would take at least half a month.
During that time, it only needed to eat and train as usual.
Watching Sprigatito chew away, Xia Chi felt an inexplicable pang.
Tens of thousands of yuan, gone in a few chews...
After breakfast, Xia Chi got ready to head to class.
Before leaving, he asked Sprigatito, "Are you coming to class with me again today?"
Yesterday, he had needed to visit the Pokémon Center to register in the morning, so he had brought it along to class afterward.
Today, he asked before leaving, respecting his Pokémon's wishes.
That was also something Xia Chi had promised Sprigatito before catching it: plenty of space and freedom.
Sprigatito thought for a moment, then shook its head. "Meow~"
It wasn't that it didn't want to stay with Xia Chi.
Rather, Sprigatito had learned yesterday that Xia Chi planned to enter the Shanghai Pokémon Cup.
It had wanted to enter that tournament for a long time, though its Trainer back then hadn't been Xia Chi.
Whether to help Xia Chi win the championship or to prove itself, Sprigatito wanted to do well in the tournament.
That made the time between now and the tournament especially precious, and Sprigatito wanted to make good use of it.
Xia Chi already had to stream to make money and keep up with his studies. Asking him to find time to train with it too would put too much strain on him.
So what should I do?
Sprigatito suddenly remembered those nasty Mankey that had ganged up to bully it not long ago.
They'd make pretty good training partners.
Xia Chi had no idea what Sprigatito was really thinking. He simply figured, If the kid doesn't want to go to school, let it be.
Taking his textbooks and reminding Sprigatito about electrical safety in the dorm, Xia Chi headed out to class.
Sprigatito lay by the window, watching Xia Chi's retreating figure downstairs until he was far away. Then it pushed the window open and stepped onto the outer ledge.
It raised a paw to gently close the window, then hopped down along the outdoor air-conditioning units, following a familiar route to the ground.
Of course, it wasn't following Xia Chi to class. Instead, it ran toward the other end of the road.
That was where Sprigatito had wandered after being abandoned.
Good news put a spring in a person's step.
Today, Xia Chi even found his Boring and Tasteless Pokémon Mythology History class interesting.
He had intended to take advantage of his good mood and perform well in class, earning a few extra participation points.
To his surprise, Teacher Zhou didn't appreciate it at all. He never once gave Xia Chi a friendly look, leaving him thoroughly puzzled.
Chen Zhenze, sitting beside him, was as excited as ever.
First, he talked about what Iono had said in her stream after Xia Chi had gone offline last night.
Then he said he had actually spotted a Dragonite delivering a parcel on campus that morning, and wondered which rich guy had ordered the full Dragonite service.
Xia Chi listened beside him, secretly enjoying himself while keeping his achievements under wraps.
Now he understood the thrill those power-fantasy protagonists got from showing off while pretending to be nobodies.
Just as Xia Chi was listening to Chen Zhenze explain how Dragonite Express had only a few dozen employees yet brought in an enormous annual revenue, a bewildering notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Your Pokémon Sprigatito (lv.13) has defeated Mankey (lv.15). Gained 0.2 Fear!]
Huh?
What just happened?
A question mark slowly formed in Xia Chi's mind.
Shouldn't Sprigatito be resting in the dorm right now?
Did a Mankey get into the dorm?
Xia Chi hadn't installed a camera in his dorm, so he had no idea what was happening there.
Should I skip class and go check?
Xia Chi looked up at Teacher Zhou, who kept glancing his way from the podium.
He knew that if he really did that, he could probably kiss his participation grade goodbye.
While he hesitated, the system sounded again.
[Your Pokémon Sprigatito (lv.13) has defeated Mankey (lv.16). Gained 0.3 Fear!]
Another Mankey broke into the dorm?
After thinking it over carefully, Xia Chi decided that was very unlikely.
For one thing, the dorm manager's Pidgeot was constantly patrolling the area around the dorms.
More importantly, what would a Mankey gain by going to all the trouble of climbing the building and sneaking into his room?
Those Pokémon might be hotheaded and brainless, but they weren't habitual thieves.
Just to fight Sprigatito?
Looks like the Mankey didn't come in. Sprigatito went out.
So instead of coming to class with me, Sprigatito went off to fight monsters and grind levels?
No wonder it had such a strange expression when I asked whether it wanted to come along.
Having deduced the most likely explanation, Xia Chi wore an odd expression.
Well, damn. Did I catch a starter Pokémon that trains itself in auto-idle mode?
Meanwhile, somewhere on Shanghai University's campus.
Sprigatito stood with its paws planted on two defeated Mankey, surveying its surroundings with disdain.
Not far away, the remaining Mankey in the little group screeched angrily.
But the wariness on their faces exposed the fear beneath their bluster.
Farther away, Caterpie and Oddish had gathered in little groups to watch. Seeing Sprigatito stage its own "Return of the Dragon King" left them utterly stunned.
It had faced the Mankey troop, the arrogant rulers of this resource-poor patch of land, and fought two at once.
Sprigatito, which they had casually kicked around like a stray cat just a few days ago, had won?
At the center of it all, Sprigatito felt little satisfaction from revenge. Mostly, it was deeply confused.
It had fought these Mankey before, the ones that took pleasure in bullying other Pokémon.
But whenever they shamelessly ganged up on it, it could barely hold out for a little over half a minute before having to retreat.
Yet after just a few days, I've completely turned the tables?
Not only had it quickly taken down the two Mankey closest to it, but it barely seemed to have spent any stamina or lost any of its fighting edge.
Sprigatito even felt as though it could take care of the remaining three Mankey in one go.
Was I really this strong?
Before you continue