Bankrupt?? And Twenty Days Later

Tetsuya stared blankly ahead, unable to believe the result he had calculated.

Refusing to accept it, he used the calculator to run the numbers again. After all, even a genius's brain could make mistakes.

But the numbers on the calculator clearly told Tetsuya that he had not calculated wrong.

If he did not take on missions, he would likely go bankrupt after training Torchic to the Elite Level.

Since he had no idea how many resources a Pokémon with Champion Potential actually needed, Tetsuya had based his revised plan on calculations made by himself and Zero.

Using a seven-to-eight-month timeline to reach the Elite Level, Tetsuya first compiled a simple spreadsheet based on the resources required for a Fire-type Pokémon with Elite Potential, listing the necessary training materials and their prices.

He then gathered some data on Pokémon with Quasi-Elite Four and Champion Potential and listed those out in the same way.

After estimating a rough range, Tetsuya added a multiplier of two, which he considered an extremely generous overestimate.

After all, even Pidgeot had only cost around 2.3 million so far.

Tetsuya also knew that if he invested heavily from the start, the time needed to reach the same level of strength would be greatly reduced.

Still, based on the data, spending another one or two million would be enough to train one to the Elite Level in about eight months.

So Tetsuya had thought that simply doubling Torchic's training expenses would be enough. Eight million should have been more than sufficient.

Who could have expected that after Torchic was actually born, he had still vastly underestimated the training expenses required by its potential?

Normally, for a young Fire-type Pokémon, the mixed ratio of Spicy Cherry Berries to Choco Berries should be ten to one.

Considering Torchic's exceptional potential, Tetsuya had gritted his teeth and doubled the proportion of Choco Berries. That was already the ratio normally used when training Elite Level Pokémon.

Yet Zero determined that even a five-to-one ratio was not enough for the newly born Torchic. It needed to be three to one.

At this rate, before it even reached the Elite Level, Torchic might need a one-to-one Choco Berry ratio to improve the quality and quantity of energy in its body.

Not to mention that the amounts of various other advanced materials would also need to increase.

Just thinking about it made Tetsuya's teeth ache.

He had originally thought he would have just under three million left in savings for emergencies, but that clearly would not work.

As for taking on missions before Torchic reached the Elite Level?

Tetsuya felt it was better to play it safe. If something went wrong, he would not even have anywhere to cry about it.

Tetsuya looked at the sleeping Torchic and smiled helplessly.

It was his Pokémon. Even if he had to cry and scream, he still had to raise it properly. Besides, investment would definitely bring returns.

"Chamo!"

Torchic woke up after only sleeping for a short while.

It waddled shakily toward its trainer.

Torchic kept chirping at its caretaker. "Chamo, chamo! Chamo!"

Oh, right. People in this world all possessed a strange ability: they could roughly understand what Pokémon were saying. Although Tetsuya was a Transmigrator, he had this ability too.

Tetsuya scooped Torchic up. "You're hungry, right? I prepared something for you a long time ago."

Tetsuya carried Torchic to the Dining Table and took out its specially prepared food bowl. A huge Blaziken emblem was printed on the bottom.

He poured 200 milliliters of Mareep Milk into it, then added a serving of Nutrient Potion. Beside it, he placed a Compound Vitamin Tablet and several spicy Energy Cubes.

This was Torchic's lunch menu during its Young Stage. Dinner was the same, while breakfast did not include the Compound Vitamin Tablet or Energy Cubes.

Torchic sniffed here and licked there. After tasting it, it happily began eating.

Watching Torchic wolf down its food, Tetsuya could only think, That's all money, Little Guy.

In less than ten minutes, Torchic had finished the meal.

Tetsuya looked at the little thing, which had not changed at all, and seriously wondered where all that food had gone. Torchic was still tiny, yet what it had just eaten was nearly as large as its entire body.

"Cha! Chamo!"

Full and satisfied, Torchic hopped off the Dining Table and skillfully waddled toward its bed, ready to rest.

"Wait, wait." Tetsuya hurriedly stopped Torchic.

This Little Guy was simply far too adorable.

Tetsuya smiled helplessly and walked toward Torchic with an empty Luxury Ball in hand.

Crouching down, Tetsuya looked seriously at Torchic. "Little Guy, do you want to become my Pokémon? If you do, press this button in the middle."

As he spoke, he held the Luxury Ball out in front of Torchic.

Torchic tilted its head and pressed the button without hesitation.

A Red Light flashed, and Torchic was drawn into the Luxury Ball without the slightest struggle.

Less than half a minute later, another Red Light flashed.

"Chamo! Cha! Chamo!"

Torchic ran out excitedly, chirping away.

"Oh? So you're very satisfied with the environment inside?"

Tetsuya asked with a smile.

"Cha!" Torchic nodded happily, then ran toward its bed again on its little legs.

"Chamo!" Torchic pointed at the bed and called out to Tetsuya.

"Alright, I'll put it inside for you." Tetsuya understood what Torchic meant and picked up his wristwatch to operate it.

Torchic's bed was quickly stored away.

This was also Silph Co.'s Black Technology. Tetsuya had no idea how it worked.

Normally, such items could not be stored inside a Poke Ball, but a whole line of Silph Co. products could be linked together to store them inside.

This was probably one of the capitalists' biggest methods of making money.

After seeing Tetsuya store its bed away, Torchic excitedly ran back to his side.

Smiling, Tetsuya put Torchic back into its Poke Ball.

Aside from eating, young Pokémon spent most of their days sleeping and digesting energy.

Their daily exercise time only took up a small portion of the day. A little activity before and after meals was generally enough.

After putting away Torchic's Poke Ball, Tetsuya went to the Back Garden and called out to Pidgeot.

Torchic did not need training for the time being, but Pidgeot's training could not stop.

Tetsuya and Pidgeot resumed their tedious day-after-day training.

Twenty days later.

Morning mist filled the air as Tetsuya stood with Torchic in the carefully arranged Back Garden.

The Back Garden had already changed completely. Tetsuya had transplanted several Berry Trees to the very edge.

In the middle stood several strange devices resembling tennis ball launchers. Beside them were small wooden posts slightly taller than Torchic, with various props scattered throughout the area.

After twenty days of frenzied spending, Torchic had successfully passed its Young Stage and could begin training.

Torchic had now grown to 0.6 meters tall and weighed 4.5 kilograms. Compared to the average height and weight of its kind, 0.4 meters and 2.5 kilograms, Tetsuya's Torchic could practically be called a burly fellow.

It had also naturally learned Ember and Quick Attack as it grew.

Torchic's lively nature meant it often relied on those skills to tear apart the house like a husky.

Of course, that did not mean Torchic's combat ability was up to standard. Looking at its chubby body and innocent eyes, anyone could tell that any Pokémon with battle experience could handle it.

"Alright then, Torchic. We're officially starting your training from now on!"

Tetsuya cheered up and spoke seriously to Torchic.

Try not to pad the word count using Zero's Panel.

P.S. It says 2,000 words, but it'll actually be around 2,100 or 2,200!

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