"Dratini, open your mouth."
"Wu."
Chu Xin held a translucent, golden Pokéblock in his hand and tossed it into Dratini's mouth.
This was an exceptionally high-quality Pokéblock that could fetch an astronomical price on the market. Having a rich dad really was nice.
Ever since Aier had told him that his family owned a company that produced Pokéblocks, Chu Xin had immediately called his newfound dad. Chu Lian had then shipped over a huge supply of Pokéblocks and told Aier to call if they needed more.
Now Chu Xin had no worries about running out of Pokéblocks. Dratini ate high-quality Pokéblocks for all three meals every day, along with the nutritious meals Aier prepared. After a month, he seemed to have gotten much chubbier.
Dratini was now two months old and had passed his newborn stage. Newly hatched Pokémon were at their weakest, and to help them grow properly, baby Pokémon could not undergo any training. But now that Dratini was past that stage, it was time to start training.
Once Dratini had finished all the Pokéblocks, Chu Xin stroked his smooth forehead. He had to admit that Dratini's skin felt amazing. No wonder even their shed skin could fetch astronomical prices.
"Xiao Wu, do you want to become the greatest Pokémon?"
Dratini stared at Chu Xin with wide, innocent eyes.
"Wu?" (What's that?)
"Becoming the greatest Pokémon means being the strongest Pokémon in the world."
"Wu." (No.)
Dratini took a bite of the Berry beside him and lay contentedly on the sofa. How could becoming the strongest Pokémon compare to lounging around like this?
Chu Xin looked at Dratini helplessly. The extravagant life of the rich hadn't corrupted him, but it had corrupted this young Pokémon instead. This wouldn't do. How was he supposed to become Champion at this rate?
I have to think of something.
Chu Xin looked thoughtfully at the Berry beside Dratini's mouth.
"Hey, Xiao Wu, do you really not want to become the greatest Pokémon?"
Dratini nodded and casually took another bite of the Berry beside him.
Lounging around is the best!
"All right, Xiao Wu. If you don't want to, that's fine. What a shame, though. The greatest Pokémon gets to eat every Berry in the world and the very best Pokéblocks."
Dratini: (・∀・*)?!
It's working!
Chu Xin sighed and licked his lips as though savoring the memory.
"Those Pokéblocks taste unbelievably good. Just smelling them makes your mouth water. I really want to eat some!"
Dratini: w(ﾟДﾟ)w
"Wu!!" (I want to become the greatest Pokémon and eat the tastiest Pokéblocks!)
Dratini wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and looked at Chu Xin with determination, fire blazing in his eyes.
He's fired up!
He hadn't expected food to have such a powerful pull on Dratini. It was practically true damage combined with a weak-point strike!
Still, getting Dratini's fighting spirit going was a great start. The road to becoming Champion was a long one. As his first Pokémon, Dratini would be the core of his team. How could his star player slack off?
As for the lie he had told to fire Xiao Wu up, surely he would understand Chu Xin's good intentions once he grew up.
Ah, now I suddenly understand how hard it is to be a parent.
Since Xiao Wu had decided to become the greatest Pokémon, Chu Xin began training Dratini, quite "reluctantly."
For that purpose, Chu Xin had even prepared a suitable training area especially for Xiao Wu.
On the sports field inside the Manor, Chu Xin looked excitedly at Dratini, Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, let's start training."
"Wu!" (I'm ready.)
Xiao Wu looked at Chu Xin with determination. To eat the tastiest Pokéblocks, he was willing to train.
"Good, that's the spirit. But first, let me find out what moves you know. Xiao Wu, use every move you can once."
In his unevolved form, Dratini had a base stat total of 300, which wasn't particularly impressive among starter Pokémon. This also had to do with Dratini's special characteristics. This form was merely laying the groundwork for his future evolutions.
Still, as a Dragon-type Pokémon, Dratini was a powerful Pokémon, capable of using the formidable Dragon Rage when danger struck.
But Chu Xin didn't know whether Xiao Wu knew Dragon Rage.
Under Chu Xin's instructions, Xiao Wu soon used every move he knew.
At two months old, Xiao Wu had mastered the following moves:
Bind, which could leave an opponent trapped.
Leer, which lowered an opponent's Defense and had a chance of frightening them.
Twister, which whipped up a tornado to attack and had a chance of making the opponent flinch.
Leer and Bind were moves Dratini could learn from birth, while Twister was a move they could learn as they grew. Chu Xin hadn't set his expectations too high for Xiao Wu, a baby Dratini, but Xiao Wu soon gave him a huge surprise.
Xiao Wu actually knew Extreme Speed. As energy appeared around Xiao Wu's body and he raced across the sports field at incredible speed, delight spread across Chu Xin's face.
Extreme Speed was normally a Dragonite move, but Dratini could also inherit it. It seemed one of Xiao Wu's parents was a Dragonite. Otherwise, he wouldn't have learned Extreme Speed.
"Wu!" Xiao Wu raised his head and looked proudly at Chu Xin.
"Amazing! Xiao Wu, you're incredible!"
Chu Xin showered Xiao Wu with praise. Of course children needed plenty of praise. That was how you motivated them.
It was already impressive that Xiao Wu could do this much.
Next, Chu Xin arranged some fitness training for Xiao Wu and began running laps with him around the sports field. Although Dratini, who lived in water, had strong objections to training on land, Chu Xin made a point of running alongside Xiao Wu to help him settle into the exercise.
Xiao Wu had been feeling discouraged, but when he saw Chu Xin running with him, he abandoned his thoughts of giving up and resolved to work hard, wriggling his body along as he ran.
The Manor's sports field wasn't large, but the two kept running for more than ten laps. In the end, Chu Xin collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
"Wu~" (Are you okay?)
"I'm fine. No, d-don't worry about me. I overestimated my stamina."
Aier watched Chu Xin working hard on the sports field from a distance and shook her head helplessly. Beside her, Garchomp munched on Pokéblocks and looked disdainfully at Chu Xin and Xiao Wu out on the field.
"Rawr~"
"You don't have much faith in the young master and his Pokémon either?"
Garchomp nodded.
Aier looked helplessly at Chu Xin lying on the sports field.
"It's fine. I'll keep an eye on them. At least the young master is getting some exercise."
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