After a brief debate, the topic finally ended with Iono saying, “Whatever, just call me Iono.” The two then got down to business and began discussing the breeding data for Sprigatito.
Iono: “By the way, Brassius and Geeta have both raised Meowscarada.
Which one do you want?” Xia Chi’s heart leaped.
*Is there really such a good deal?* Brassius was the Grass-type Gym Leader of the Paldea region, and his deep understanding of the Grass-type Pokemon Sprigatito went without saying.
Geeta was the Top Champion of the Paldea League, and her immense strength was unquestionable.
Though he hadn’t seen her use a Meowscarada in the games, and he didn’t know if it just warmed the bench in her lineup.
Then again, regardless, a Champion’s breeding insights were not something Xia Chi was in any position to turn his nose up at.
But which of the two should he choose?
Brassius specialized in the Grass type, while Geeta was overall more powerful.
Both had their advantages.
Xia Chi, who had been constantly faced with binary choices over the past two days, found his decision paralysis acting up again.
Wait, Iono wasn’t a rigid system.
Why couldn’t he just ask for both?
Thinking this, Xia Chi replied: “How about this: help me compile both sets of Sprigatito breeding data, and also prepare a few high-quality Miracle Seeds to package and send over.” As Lu Xun once said, if you want to open a window, you must first demand to open a door.
But Xia Chi’s demand wasn’t just asking to open a door; he was practically asking for the moon.
He expected her to reply with a blunt question mark.
To his surprise, Iono’s reply was: “Sure!” Xia Chi tactically leaned back.
Wait, she accepted such an absurd demand?
*Miss Iono, you don’t actually have an “M” streak, do you?* As Xia Chi muttered to himself, the next message popped up on the screen.
“But you have to agree to two conditions.” Xia Chi wasn’t surprised.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
He wanted the Sprigatito breeding data, and Iono wanted two favors in return.
It was only natural.
He had no intention of refusing.
Social interactions were all about give and take, after all.
Relationships grew closer through this kind of back-and-forth.
You couldn’t expect to never take a loss and always take advantage of others, right?
Who would want to play with you then?
And besides…
Who could refuse the friendship of a beautiful Gym Leader and popular streamer?
In any case, Xia Chi certainly couldn’t.
Though he thought this, he still replied: “Don’t push it.
Two conditions are too many.
One at most.
At worst, I don’t want the Miracle Seeds, and I’ll trade one favor for the two sets of breeding data.” *Old Shui’s Interpersonal Relations Class, Lesson Two: Dark Psychology.* *Never let the other person read your mind too easily.* The early stages of building a relationship often defined its overall framework.
Although Xia Chi was far inferior to Iono in both streaming fame and trainer strength, he still wanted to build a healthier, more equal relationship.
After all, he wasn’t used to being on the bottom.
On the other end, Iono replied: “Don’t worry, the conditions won’t be too much.
Just two!
And I can send you a Miracle Seed harvested from the Viridian Forest!” In the games, a Miracle Seed was an item that boosted the power of Grass-type moves when held by a Pokemon.
In reality, it was the perfect cultivation item for the growth of Grass-type Pokemon.
Miracle Seeds generally grew in remote, uninhabited wilderness areas.
Although the people of Donghuang, whose farming DNA was baked into their bones, had developed artificial cultivation techniques for Miracle Seeds, their efficacy fell far short of wild, natural ones.
Among them, Miracle Seeds produced in the Viridian Forest were of the highest quality, with a market price that often reached tens of thousands of yuan.
*Miss Iono is really being too generous.* Actually, if the money was right, being Miss Iono’s Growlithe wasn’t…
No!
Xia Chi, who had almost succumbed to the power of money, grit his teeth and replied: “Tell me the conditions first.
I’ll consider them.” Iono: “First, you have to set aside one day every month to play games with me!” Oh, so she meant a gaming companion.
For a second, he thought she meant…
a *companion* companion.
This request was indeed not unreasonable.
It was essentially Xia Chi working as a part-time skilled gaming companion.
At once a month, that was only twelve days a year.
It was easily a daily wage of over ten thousand yuan.
As for how long this “contract” would last, Xia Chi didn’t think about it.
In his view, Iono was just looking for some novelty for the time being.
Maybe she would get bored in a few months and stop asking him to play.
If he pressed for a specific duration, it would make him look like he was overthinking things.
So Xia Chi replied: “Sure, that’s fine.
What’s the second condition?” Iono: “I haven’t thought of it yet.
I’ll save it for later!
[Bellibolt puffing its belly.gif]” Xia Chi refused: “No way.
How is that any different from you asking for two hundred more conditions later?” Iono: “Don’t worry!
I promise it won’t be anything that makes things difficult for you.” Iono: “If you think it’s unfair when the time comes, we can negotiate or you can just refuse outright.” Since Iono had put it that way, Xia Chi felt that if he still didn’t accept, he would be acting truly ungrateful.
So he replied: “Okay, let’s do that then.” Iono: “It’s a deal!” Iono: “I’ll ask for the breeding data tomorrow.
I’ll send the Miracle Seed to you via Dragonite Express in a bit!” This Dragonite Express wasn’t clickbait; it was a company run by the Dragon Clan of the Kanto region that genuinely used Dragonite to deliver packages.
Xia Chi had only heard of it before but had never used it.
The cost of this service alone was incredibly extravagant.
Consuming half a box of high-grade Poke Blocks worth over a thousand yuan every hundred kilometers—who could afford that kind of burn rate?
Their clientele consisted strictly of wealthy people like Iono who had money to burn.
After providing his address to Iono, the two said their goodbyes on Piplup.
Xia Chi washed up and went to bed.
He had caught his ideal starter Pokemon, his streaming career was booming, and Iono had even sent him a massive gift.
After such a fulfilling day, Xia Chi slept exceptionally soundly that night.
The next morning, he was awakened by a tapping sound on his window.
Xia Chi was still groggy, but the sudden realization that he lived on the fourth floor instantly jolted him awake.
*Oh no, is it a ghost?!* Just as he was about to call Sprigatito to prepare for a fight, he sat up and saw a chubby, adorable orange face.
(Dragonite Courier) It was a Dragonite.
*Holy crap, that fast?* Xia Chi was stunned.
It had only been a dozen or so hours, and the package had already been delivered from Paldea to Donghuang?
This showed that while Dragonite’s speed might not be as exaggerated as the Pokedex’s claim of “circling the globe in sixteen hours,” it wasn’t far off.
Of course, the price of Dragonite Express was also exorbitant.
Setting aside the efficiency, just seeing an adorable Dragonite fluttering its tiny wings—which were completely disproportionate to its chubby body—to hand you a package…
That kind of psychological satisfaction alone was worth the ticket price.
One could only say that behind the Dragon Clan’s business concept, which perfectly targeted the psychology of wealthy women like Iono, there had to be a master strategist at work.