“Brother, Dad’s coming home today.” Hearing his younger sister Xia Chuchu, Adrian Sterling continued eating calmly.
Only after swallowing his food did he respond.
“So?” “Then let him take you out today.” Their father, Xia Qianli, was the President of the Liujin Province Trainer Association, the Gym Leader of a National Steel-type Gym, an early-stage Quasi-Champion Trainer, and ranked 36th on the Elite Leaderboard.
His schedule was so demanding that he sometimes couldn’t return home even once a month.
Their grandfather, Xia Wudao, was no different.
As the Vice President of the Xia Kingdom Trainer Association and the nation’s Steel-Type Elite, the responsibilities on his shoulders were even greater.
Apart from the day Adrian officially became a Trainer—a special occasion for which his grandfather had personally returned—Xia Wudao hadn’t been home since.
Neither Adrian nor Xia Chuchu found their father’s long absences unusual anymore.
They had simply grown accustomed to it.
— “I’m going to hang out with Liu Ruyan.” Xia Chuchu shook her head.
“She invited me to the Eastern Suburb Pokémon Park today.” Adrian looked at her curiously.
“Aren’t you two supposed to be rivals?” “If you’re always competing, why do you keep going out together?” Xia Chuchu rolled her eyes.
“Brother…” “You really don’t understand girls at all.” She set down her bowl and chopsticks before looking at him with obvious disdain.
“If you stay like this…” “You’ll never get a girlfriend.” Adrian shrugged.
“Hmph.” “Romance would only slow down my journey to becoming a Champion.” Love?
Not interested.
With his family’s status alone, all he had to do was snap his fingers and countless girls would come running.
Even without that…
His appearance alone was more than enough to attract plenty of admirers.
— After lunch, Xia Chuchu grabbed her small backpack and happily skipped toward the front door.
“Be home before eight tonight.” Adrian called after her.
“I know, you big dummy!” She stuck out her tongue before disappearing outside.
— Meanwhile…
Adrian continued eating.
Ever since receiving Physique +1 from the System, his appetite had increased dramatically.
Because of that, Gardevoir had started preparing much larger meals every day.
Xia Chuchu often teased him by calling him a “bottomless rice bucket.” Naturally…
She earned a gentle scolding from Gardevoir every single time.
To Gardevoir…
Seeing Adrian eat so much simply meant he was growing healthy and strong.
Unlike Xia Chuchu…
Who barely finished half a bowl of rice and hardly touched her vegetables.
Most of the food ended up in Adrian’s stomach.
— After finishing lunch, Adrian smiled.
“Gardevoir.” “How about making grilled Slowpoke tail tonight?” “Gardevoir.” Gardevoir nodded happily.
— Although many countries in the Pokémon world prohibited eating Pokémon…
Advances in Pokémon ecology had gradually changed public opinion.
Scientists discovered that certain Pokémon could safely provide renewable food without suffering lasting harm.
For example…
Krabby naturally regrew its pincers after they fell off.
Magikarp and several other species were raised on specialized farms.
Farfetch’d and Miltank were also commonly bred for food production.
One of the most famous delicacies was Slowpoke Tail.
Slowpoke possessed remarkable regenerative abilities.
Its tail naturally detached over time without causing pain and quickly regenerated.
Whether grilled, steamed, fried, or boiled…
Slowpoke Tail was considered a premium ingredient.
Even without seasoning, it possessed a naturally sweet flavor.
Today, Slowpoke farming had become a well-established industry.
Even so…
A single high-quality Slowpoke Tail still sold for around ₹5,000–₹6,000 worth of Daxia Coins, with premium-quality tails commanding even higher prices.
Other edible Pokémon products included: – Crawdaunt pincers, which naturally regrew after molting.
– The fruit growing beneath Tropius’s neck.
– The cream produced by Alcremie.
— Among all edible Pokémon…
One species occupied a rather unique position.
Magikarp.
Many countries officially encouraged their citizens to eat Magikarp.
Not because it tasted good…
Quite the opposite.
Magikarp meat was notoriously poor.
Most of its body consisted of bones and scales.
Only two narrow strips of meat along its spine were edible, and even those were extremely tough.
The reason governments promoted eating Magikarp was simple.
Its reproductive ability was absurd.
Magikarp matured in only six months.
As long as food was available…
It could lay eggs every month.
Combined with its incredible toughness and ability to survive almost anywhere—even polluted waterways—it reproduced at an alarming rate.
Today…
Even the smallest streams and drainage canals were packed with Magikarp.
Their exploding population squeezed out other Water-type Pokémon and often blocked waterways, disrupting river traffic.
Every year, the Xia Kingdom spent enormous sums dealing with the problem.
Many methods had been attempted.
Poisons.
Engineered viruses.
Large-scale fishing.
Unfortunately…
Magikarp’s unbelievable vitality allowed it to survive while many other Water-type Pokémon died instead, creating severe ecological problems.
At present…
The most effective solution was simply to capture them and release them into the open ocean.
The sea was vast enough to accommodate virtually unlimited numbers of Magikarp.
The second solution was…
Eating them.
Sadly…
No matter how skilled the chef, Magikarp simply wasn’t very tasty.
In fact, the ingredients needed to make it delicious usually cost more than the fish itself.
And not every household employed a master chef.
— That afternoon, Gardevoir left to buy groceries.
Meanwhile, Adrian relaxed on the sofa and opened the Trainer App.
The app offered an impressive range of features.
Users could: – Chat with other Trainers.
– Buy and sell items.
– Accept or post missions.
– Share battle experiences.
– Publish Pokémon training guides.
Many experienced Trainers also uploaded detailed analyses of specific Pokémon or elemental types.
Most of these guides required payment.
For countless civilian Trainers…
Completing missions through the Trainer App was one of the few ways to earn enough resources to survive the difficult early stages of their journey.
— Adrian browsed through several Steel-type guides.
Steel-Type Training Techniques A Complete Analysis of Steelix’s Moves Recommended Diets for Steel-Type Pokémon The Effects of Different Minerals on Aggron Although the Xia Family’s knowledge of Steel-type Pokémon surpassed that of ninety-nine percent of the world…
Geniuses could appear anywhere.
There were always independent researchers…
Creative innovators…
And even morally questionable experimenters…
Who occasionally produced fascinating ideas.
Not every theory proved useful.
But many inspired entirely new directions of research.
— One particular post caught Adrian’s attention.
Recommended Diet for Aron: Reducing Damage from Ground-Type Moves Curious, he opened it.
The introduction was free to read.
However…
The full guide required payment.
The author had set the price personally.
100,000 Daxia Coins.
Adrian nodded thoughtfully.
“Not too expensive.” The free preview already contained several interesting concepts.
Without hesitation…
He purchased the complete guide.
Give me more motivation!