A Harmonious Talk and Heading Towards Mt. Moon

."

"So that's about everything. If you think there's no problem with it, we can settle it."

After giving a detailed explanation, Brock's mouth was dry. He drank half a bottle of milk before recovering.

"Brock, not only is this your first time handling a Gym Battle, it's also your first time negotiating an investment like this with someone like me, isn't it?"

Tetsuya smiled. He did not answer Brock's words, but asked about something else instead.

"Ahaha, yeah." Brock scratched his head. "Is it that obvious?"

"What To Say." Tetsuya set down his cutlery. "To be honest, this is my first time negotiating something like this too. Although I felt like Miss Joy and the others gave me this kind of investment before, that was very straightforward—just an upgrade in treatment, that's all. We never talked it through like this."

"But I keep feeling like you being this direct isn't quite right. Normally, shouldn't something like this involve me making conditions, you considering them, rejecting them, changing the conditions, and then both sides reaching a consensus?"

"That's not impossible either. Then how about we void what I just said, and you start over?"

"No need. I think it's very reasonable, very well thought out. I have no objections." Tetsuya quickly waved his hands.

The two looked at each other, and both laughed.

Brock continued, "What I said above was official business. Basically, a verbal agreement is enough. Later, I'll have someone send the specific details to your wristwatch. You can just take a look."

"Then what's the personal matter?" Tetsuya looked at Brock.

"The personal matter is that I want to ask you for a favor. Help me draft a breeding plan for my Geodude. Of course, I'll pay the fee as usual." Brock narrowed his eyes, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"No problem, but it'll have to wait a few days." Tetsuya agreed very readily.

"There's no rush. You can handle your own business first. Five days from now, just go directly to the Front Desk of the Pewter Gym and say you're looking for me."

"Okay, got it." Tetsuya glanced at his wristwatch. "Then I still have things to do, so I'll head off first."

"Mm, goodbye." "Goodbye."

Brock watched Tetsuya leave with the same narrowed-eyed expression, then slowly stood up as well.

He recalled the conversation he had had with his father that morning.

"So you've decided to let him be responsible for raising your Geodude?" Not a trace of emotion could be seen on Brock's face.

"Yes." "You're certain?" "Very certain."

Brock fell silent for a moment.

"Then do it. You're still young."

Brock narrowed his eyes. Yes, he was still young. He could afford to take a gamble.

His intuition told him that what Tetsuya had shown was definitely not everything.

If it succeeded, then just like his father back then, he would also be able to become strong very smoothly and very quickly.

As for failure, it was nothing more than one Pokemon and A Period Of Time. He could afford the loss.

I hope you don't disappoint me, Brock thought, leaving the Pokemon Center.

On this side, after Tetsuya retrieved his Pokemon from Miss Joy, he walked toward the Bounty Hunter Center, still thinking nonstop along the way.

Why would Brock suddenly ask me to draft a breeding plan for his Geodude? What is he Doing What? A test?

No, if it were a test, he could just find any Gym Pokemon and have me do it. He'd still be able to see the results.

If it isn't a test, then isn't this condition a little too good?

Tetsuya could not quite figure it out.

As for the possibility that Brock could not find anyone to draft a plan, no normal person would think that.

The son of a Gym Leader, the future Gym heir, and a highly talented Breeder himself—you were saying he could not find someone to draft a plan for his own Pokemon?

Even if he could not invite a Breeding Master, he could invite anyone else with ease. Besides, for Geodude's initial breeding plan, Brock himself was already capable enough.

He could not figure it out. He really could not figure it out.

Even by the time he walked into the Bounty Hunter Center and began preparing to accept missions, he still had not understood the meaning behind Brock's action.

If he could not figure it out, then he would stop thinking about it. He was just a commoner. There was nothing about him worth others scheming over, and he had not exposed Combusken's aptitude or Zero.

It was not some major matter anyway. Judging from the situation, it was Brock's own idea.

He should accept missions and make money first.

Tetsuya swiped through the screen, scanning past several missions in a row. He casually selected a C-rank Mission and was just about to leave.

"Remaining number of C-rank Missions available to accept: two."

Am I not a C-rank bounty hunter? How can I accept three missions of the same rank?

He looked at the backend. Behind his personal information were a few words: C-rank (authority raised by one level).

Was this another benefit of High-Level Treatment? Not bad at all.

Tetsuya sighed with emotion. The Joy Family really was involved in every aspect. This treatment upgrade was truly powerful.

He accepted the two decent C-rank Missions he had filtered out again, then headed toward Mt. Moon.

Mt. Moon, the place where meteors had fallen. It was said that Clefairy lived inside.

Because of years of mining and the use of various Pokémon's digging moves, the internal structure had become extremely complicated, with paths crisscrossing everywhere. Trainers often got lost inside.

Even so, for the sake of Moon Stones, fossils, and the many varieties of Pokémon such as Clefairy, Nidorino, and Nidorina, large numbers of trainers still kept venturing deeper one after another.

Tetsuya carried a flashlight as he walked through the dark, damp cave.

This was his third hour inside Mt. Moon, and he had long since left the official route provided by the League.

He had Combusken once again deal with a Geodude he had accidentally stepped on.

This Pokémon, whose entire body was made of rock, had basically no valuable materials on it.

Yet it just loved lying around in caves, and in the darkness, if one was not careful, one would step on it thinking it was an ordinary rock.

He seemed to have stepped on about seven or eight of them along the way already, Tetsuya calculated boredly.

But there probably would not be any more farther down. He opened the environmental monitoring function built into his Explorer Suit; the humidity here was already outside the range Geodude liked.

Still, he was probably very close to his target.

He took out the Drone from his backpack and carefully controlled it to fly deeper in.

The Night Vision Camera swept continuously over every corner, while man and Pokémon trailed far behind it.

Very soon, as the distance deepened, the Drone picked up the target.

After having the Drone automatically attach itself to the stone wall above, Tetsuya directed Combusken to keep moving closer.

"Use the weakest possible Flamethrower on those two Paras. Don't burn them straight to ash."

Combusken nodded, then carefully spat a mouthful of fire toward the corner of the cave.

The firelight illuminated the dim, damp cavern, revealing the exposed roots of a large tree in the corner.

Around it, two Paras and one Parasect were sucking on the roots.

This was precisely the target of this mission.

After the two Paras were struck by the flames, they immediately lost their Combat Capability.

"Not bad. I ran into the targets for two missions together on the first try. I thought I wouldn't be able to find Parasect at the start."

Tetsuya felt that his luck really had improved lately, and casually activated the Gas Mask on his Explorer Suit.

He commanded, "Don't get close to that Parasect. Use Growl to provoke it first and make it release Spore."

Combusken nodded, then let out a loud cry, causing Parasect to tremble and retreat several steps at first.

After that, Parasect seemed to be completely enraged, and the mushroom on its back wildly sprayed out spores.

Looking at the spores dancing through the air, Tetsuya felt his head ache a little for a moment.

Begging for investments, favorites, recommendations, and Monthly Passes!!!

Begging for everything!!

Thanks to book friend 20210602074340545 for the tip of 100 Qidian Coins.

Thanks to Exeggcute's Love Wound for the tip of 500 Qidian Coins.

(The third Pokémon is coming soon. You can take a guess. The fourth Pokémon might have to wait until the chapters after release.)