Rowan was naturally curious about what this grayish app could actually do in the new world.
However, this wasn't a gaming helmet—just an ordinary phone. After opening it, all it did was switch to a new interface.
Kitchen, Medicine Workbench, Special Training Area, Healing Hot Spring...
One by one, simple little icons appeared on the screen. Rowan tried tapping a few, but was only met with a string of red characters.
[Insufficient space, cannot launch]
Rowan wasn't unfamiliar with these icons. In game mode, they were the places used for cooking, training stats, and restoring HP.
Recalling the size of some of these structures in the game, Rowan figured he'd probably need a whole football field just to deploy them all.
"Where's my warehouse?! At least bring the warehouse over!"
After searching all over and still not finding the warehouse interface, Rowan felt like he had once again lost his chance to get rich while slacking off. Otherwise, just reselling the Nuggets would have been enough.
The currently usable functions included the map feature. Everywhere Rowan had walked today was already lit up, and it looked much more useful than traditional map apps.
Besides that, there was also Nekomi's status panel, marked with a MAX level. The seemingly endless move slots showed that Nekomi hadn't been nerfed.
There were moves like Flower Trick that could be automatically learned as levels increased.
In addition, there were also special moves that required help from NPCs or Technical Machine to learn, including Leech Seed, inherited from its parents.
Rowan then tried a few more things. Although it couldn't be launched fully, some of the smaller machines inside could be pulled out individually.
To avoid releasing something that couldn't be put back in, Rowan carefully chose one and finally pulled out a treadmill from the Special Training Area—a place in the game for training a Pokémon's speed and stamina.
But once it was pulled out, the treadmill disappeared from the phone interface, and couldn't be put back in at all.
"This place is way too small. Looks like I'll need to buy some land first if I want to pull more things out."
Those repeated 'insufficient space' warnings seemed to be hinting that Rowan needed to acquire some land. The good news was that land resources here were more abundant, and private ownership was permitted.
"Well, even though I can't use the storage items, with this thing...it'll be much easier to train other Pokémon in the future. Nekomi, want to jog your memory a little?"
"Meow?"
Nekomi recognized the treadmill—it was the very one she used back for training when she was still a Sprigatito.
Now, though, these equipment could no longer enhance her stats.
At this point, Nekomi had already reached the limits of the Meowscarada species. The only things she could still improve were battle experience and combat techniques; the rest were basically in maintenance mode.
Once Rowan had some new Pokémon, he planned to let them try out the equipment too. Maybe it would make training twice as effective with half the effort.
If it worked well enough, he could even consider opening a Pokémon Day Care. Suddenly, the path ahead felt wide open.
But none of this could be done right now—at the very least, Rowan wasn't about to casually borrow someone else's Pokémon for testing, as that would likely cause a whole lot of trouble.
Nekomi, meanwhile, fiddled with the buttons on the treadmill and then pulled Rowan up onto it with her.
Back when she was a Sprigatito, Rowan's in-game character used to run alongside her. Rowan didn't refuse—but the moment he stepped on, he realized something was off.
The treadmill was set to its lowest speed, but the rate at which it drained his stamina definitely wasn't what you'd call a light jog.
He wasn't some elite runner, but he wasn't that out of shape either—there's no way ten meters in and he was already tired... unless this training device worked on him, too.
It might look like a treadmill and function like one, but its effects were completely different.
The treadmill had only been running for two minutes, yet Rowan felt like his stamina had been completely drained.
Lying on his bed, he picked up his phone and reopened the interface. This time, he found the stat sheet of his own in-game character, aside from Nekomi's.
Given the current situation, it was more accurate to say—it was his own stat sheet now.
There were no precise numbers, but the stamina and speed bars had each ticked up ever so slightly.
This machine, originally designed in the game solely for training Pokémon's physical abilities, now seemed to classify him as part of the Pokémon as well.
Then again, in the Pokémon world, humans could arguably be seen as a special type of Pokémon themselves—in theory, there wasn't even reproductive isolation.
After all, the Pokémon world truly has psychics, aura wielders, and all kinds of other individuals with special abilities.
These abilities weren't originally human; they belonged to Psychic-types or certain Aura Pokémon. So how did humans end up inheriting them...?
Please refer to the Trainer officially announcing their relationship with Gardevoir. [TN: Chapter 1]
The remaining people's physical strength had long since surpassed that of ordinary humans.
"Alright, at this rate, I might as well become a Super Rookie." [*This word is a fan-created word in China, so it doesn't have an English equivalent translation. Super Rookie is a nickname given to people like Ash Ketchum because of their incredible strength and constitution.]
Of course, this thing wouldn't turn him into a superhuman—the training device was designed based on each species' upper limits.
If that weren't the case, then Nekomi's current stats wouldn't just be the peak of a Meowscarda—but rather some absurd Pokémon with base stats surpassing even Eternatus.
But the chance to reach the limits of humanity—especially the limits of humanity in the Pokémon world...
Compared to external possessions, good health is irreplaceable. After graduation, finding a spacious enough place had naturally become part of Rowan's plans.
"This thing has to be used gradually… it's effective, but the stamina drain is insane..."
The hunger gnawing at his stomach made Rowan sit up again. He finished off the lunch he had just bought and cleared out the snacks in his fridge, then started poking around with the rest of the functions.
This physical enhancement machine could be used right away, unlike the others.
Some required special materials to function, and others needed a compatible Pokémon to operate.
Examples included a stove that only Fire-types could power, or Medicine Workbench that required assistance from Grass-types.
Now, these materials can't just be farmed by defeating monsters—many of them had to be bought, which brought him right back to the core problem: money.
"The stuff I can use right now… there's the Pokéblock Kit, I guess, but who do I even sell those to...?"
The Pokéblock Kit was used to make Pokéblocks—a special energy block processed from Berries as raw materials.
Different recipes yielded different effects; some could fully satisfy a Snorlax with just one block, while others could make a Pokémon's scales shinier.
To Pokémon, Pokéblocks were like fruity calcium tablets—used to replenish missing nutrients.
You could say that all kinds of Trainers needed them—especially Breeders and Coordinators. However, the League's store sold them too, and skilled Breeders and Coordinators usually made their own.
Even if Rowan's craftsmanship produced excellent results, cracking into the market would still be a hassle.
Pokéblocks sold by some random stranger couldn't compare to the official store's products. After thinking it through, the only person who could reliably open up a sales channel right now... was Ash.
More precisely, not Ash himself, but Professor Oak behind him, along with Brock and Misty by his side.