SWNOVELXO Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Courier Dragonite
"Are you the Lin Feng who just won first place in the Junior Cup?"
Inside Wangwang Supermarket, under the bright fluorescent lights, a young woman in a red uniform was peering curiously at Lin Feng.
"Hm?"
Lin Feng glanced at the clerk, somewhat surprised. The tournament had only just ended, and someone already recognized him.
Was it because he was just too handsome?
A moment later, the young woman's eyes shifted to the Servine beside Lin Feng. Her eyes practically sparkled. "I knew it! That's a Servine, right? It's so cool and handsome!"
Lin Feng: ???
Just let the world end already.
He was exhausted.
"Servi…?"
Servine immediately darted behind Lin Feng, unwilling to be stared at so intently.
Lin Feng gave an awkward smile, then quickly led Servine away from the area.
This time, his purpose for coming was to buy some berry saplings and then make a stop at the Pokémon League to see if he could apply for a Rotom.
After all the buzz he'd created today, Lin Feng could already predict that plenty of customers would be visiting his breeding house over the next few days.
Relying solely on the few Oran and Pecha trees growing at home simply wouldn't be enough to produce sufficient Stamina Energy Cubes and Antidote Energy Cubes.
On top of that…
He needed to buy some Lum Berry tree saplings for making Beauty Maintenance Energy Cubes.
And also some Haban Berry tree saplings for producing Ability Unlock Energy Cubes.
Having a variety of Energy Cubes with different effects was the cornerstone of running a proper breeding house.
But in the end, the core of any shop was the breeder's own skill.
"These berry saplings are insanely expensive…"
Lin Feng sucked in a sharp breath as he stared at the small saplings in their pots.
No wonder breeding specialists who focused on berry cultivation were becoming scarce.
Even the most basic Oran Berry sapling cost fifteen hundred yuan each.
And it wasn't guaranteed that a sapling would grow into a healthy tree. It took huge amounts of time and care to nurture them properly, not to mention the precise climate control required.
To make matters worse, some of the rarer berry saplings weren't even stocked in supermarkets.
In the end…
Lin Feng bought fifteen Oran Berry saplings and fifteen Lum Berry saplings.
He also picked up some extra Lum Berries and Oran Berries, altogether spending forty-eight thousand yuan.
Good grief. More than half of his eighty-eight thousand shopping card was gone in one trip.
By the time he left Wangwang Supermarket, the sky over Wutong City was already dark.
With Servine at his side, he made his way to the Donghua League's local Pokémon branch in Wutong City. After explaining his request, a staff member quickly led him to the section of the League responsible for maintaining Rotom.
Unlike other regional leagues, the Donghua League had specific requirements for whether a Trainer could take a Rotom on a journey.
Namely…
The Trainer had to graduate from being classified as a rookie and become a full-fledged official Trainer.
Only then were they eligible to receive a Rotom.
Technically speaking, Lin Feng was still considered a rookie Trainer.
However, since he also operated an official breeding business, he was deemed qualified to own a Rotom.
"Roto? Roto…"
Lin Feng looked around. Every Rotom seemed pretty much the same.
Eventually, he picked a bright red one who floated over to greet him proactively. He paid 250,000 yuan and stored it in a Poké Ball.
Then, swaying slightly under the weight of his purchases, he headed out of the city.
He didn't call a cab or wait for a bus. Instead, he followed the road out of town, walking toward Wutong Town.
Luckily, in the July night, the sky was as clear as water. The moonlight shone like a misty glow over the highway. The summer croaking of frogs echoed from the fields, leaving one to wonder if perhaps some of those frogs were actually Froakie calling out.
"Servi…?" (Are we really going to walk all the way home like this?)
Servine seemed puzzled. Usually, she never questioned Lin Feng's decisions.
But tonight, she genuinely couldn't figure out why Lin Feng insisted on walking home.
Lin Feng flashed her a gentle smile.
"You'd better go back into your Poké Ball for now. I'll call you out again once we're home."
Before Servine could protest any further, he aimed the Poké Ball at her and recalled her in a beam of red light.
A while later, once he'd put enough distance between himself and the city as well as the town, Lin Feng looked up into the night sky. Beyond the glimmering stars, a dark shape flashed swiftly overhead.
That dark shape radiated the exact same aura that Lin Feng had sensed from the flaming trail across Wutong City's sky earlier that afternoon.
"Could it be… someone sent by Chi Heng?"
Lin Feng muttered under his breath. But a moment later, he realized he was probably overthinking it.
After all, how could the manager of a Wangwang Supermarket branch in Wutong City possibly afford to keep a Dragonite?
[Pokémon: Dragonite]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Multiscale]
[Potential: Red Tier]
[IVs: HP (24), Attack (30), Special Attack (25), Defense (25), Special Defense (25), Speed (24)]
[Level: 69]
[Moves: Roost, Extreme Speed, Hurricane, Thunder Wave, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Dragon Tail, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Rush, Safeguard, Dragon Dance, Hyper Beam…]
[Friendship: 20 (She's quite pleased with how you performed at the Junior Cup.)]
[Happiness: 40 (I'm a cheerful courier~)]
The dark shape flashed across the sky once more, this time swooping steadily lower, until finally a soft gust of wind heralded its landing in front of Lin Feng.
It was a towering creature, standing well over three meters tall, with a gentle, somewhat dopey expression.
Two short antennae sprouted from its head, and its earthy yellow body supported tiny, almost comically small wings.
Without question, this was a Dragonite.
A leather messenger bag was slung across its waist.
"Awoo~." (Hello, human!)
Lin Feng blinked in surprise, then responded, "Hello?"
"Woo woo~" (I'm a courier. I'm gathering opinions from young Trainers.)
From the satchel at its waist, Dragonite carefully pulled out an envelope and a pen with its stout claws.
"Woo woo~" (Please answer the question written inside.)
Puzzled, Lin Feng accepted the envelope.
He opened it to find a single sheet of white paper printed neatly with block letters.
"What do you believe is the purpose of Pokémon existence?"
That was the only question written there.
At the same time, the instant he tore open the envelope, a faint pulse of psychic energy brushed lightly against his body.
Lin Feng stiffened, though he didn't panic.
His unique Viridian Constitution gave him confidence in facing any Pokémon.
He concentrated for a moment.
The psychic energy posed no threat at all.
Its sole function was to record his current location.
Combined with the strange question and this courier Dragonite that felt oddly familiar…
A sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Could this be… a test devised by that artificial deity Pokémon to gauge humanity?
If that was true, he needed to answer very carefully.
Staring at the paper in his hand, Lin Feng fell into deep thought.