Wang Tao was caught completely off guard by the question.
He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and pointed at himself in disbelief.
"S-Senior? Are… are you talking about me?"
Zhang Qun nodded seriously.
"Yes, Senior!"
"I saw how you trained your Turtwig step by step! I even witnessed its evolution with my own eyes!"
"That's why I made up my mind to follow you!"
"Could you teach me too?"
"Money's not an issue!"
He waved the shimmering golden credit card in his hand.
"How about 30,000 yuan a day? No? Then… 50,000 works too!"
"Hsssssssssss—"
Wang Tao gasped sharply.
50,000 yuan a day?!
Sure, he'd made 700,000 in just three days…
But that was by practically strip-mining every low-level mission he could find!
Unless he moved to a new city, there was no way he'd find enough tasks to keep farming like that.
He'd already wiped out most of the weak monsters in the surrounding area.
Still, Wang Tao wasn't the type to be blinded by money. His first reaction was to turn and look at Su Bai.
Su Bai lowered his head, thought for a moment, then said calmly:
"Wang Tao's method might not actually work for you."
"And there's something important I need to make clear—"
"Pseudo-legendaries… aren't as easy to raise as you think."
"In fact, having a pseudo-legend as your first Pokémon might not be a good thing at all."
Zhang Qun froze in place.
Everyone else turned to stare at Su Bai—their unofficial Pokémon authority.
Murong Nan couldn't hold back her doubt.
"But Su Bai… it's a pseudo-legendary!"
"Most people can't even dream of getting one, and you're saying it might be bad?!"
Seriously, that was a pseudo-legend we're talking about!
Grotle was already so strong—how much stronger must a pseudo-legend be?
Unfazed, Su Bai calmly sipped his tea, lightly tapping Meloetta on the head.
"Technically speaking, Meloetta is also considered a pseudo-legendary, at least by stat standards."
"Though I prefer to call her a mythical Pokémon."
The whole store fell silent.
Liu Yunlan's eyes widened.
"Meloetta is a pseudo-legendary?!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Sure, she'd been drawn to the shop because of Meloetta in the first place.
But once they learned Meloetta wasn't for sale, and with Jigglypuff stealing the spotlight…
They just assumed Meloetta was a rare—but not particularly strong—Pokémon.
Maybe worth 600,000 tops, not more expensive than the starter Pokémon they had.
But now… to learn it was a pseudo-legendary?!
That cute, tiny creature… compared to Gible?! The gap was unreal!
Faced with their stunned expressions, Su Bai spread his hands.
"You never asked."
"And I'm not saying this to show off."
He continued seriously:
"There are actually two types of pseudo-legendaries."
"First, you have ones like Meloetta—Pokémon born with high base stats, capable of becoming pseudo-legendaries through effort alone."
"They're often mythical Pokémon—rarer than traditional pseudo-legends."
"The second type… is what Gible belongs to."
Zhang Qun's expression tensed.
This was 80 million yuan, after all!
And to be honest, money wasn't even the real issue. If Gible couldn't be properly trained, he might never get a second shot at owning another Pokémon.
His dad was just a regular man who had built a business empire in the Awakened World—a serious investor who didn't believe in wasting resources.
He wouldn't spend another cent on a project with no future.
Liu Yunlan, almost speaking for Zhang Qun, looked ready to tear Su Bai's lips open just to get the answer faster.
"Stop stalling and just tell us already!"
"What's wrong with Gible?!"
Su Bai chuckled.
"Relax. I never said Gible wasn't strong."
"In fact, unlike Meloetta who doesn't evolve, Gible has three evolutionary stages—just like your starter Pokémon."
"Each stage has different base stats."
"And nearly all pseudo-legendaries start out quite weak."
"In the beginning, their learnable moves are extremely limited."
"Training them takes significantly more effort."
"For instance, Gible right now only knows Tackle."
"So unless you're an experienced trainer, raising a pseudo-legend can be a real challenge."
"They're the very definition of late bloomers."
Su Bai sipped his tea leisurely as he finished explaining.
Honestly, Gible wasn't even the worst.
Its base stat total was still around 300.
Take Dreepy, for example—Dragapult's baby form. It only had 270 base stats!
Even something as common as Fletchling—a basic bird Pokémon—had a stat total of 278, higher than Dreepy!
And that's not just trivia. In the real world, even though base stats are only a vague guideline, they still serve as a crucial reference.
Pseudo-legendaries always required far more experience to evolve than ordinary Pokémon.
In the games, Dragonite and Tyranitar evolve at level 55, Dragapult at level 60, and Hydreigon even more insane—level 64.
Goodra needed both level 50 and rainy weather just to evolve.
In other words, if you were expecting a pseudo-legend to carry your team from the start… you were in for a brutal grind.
And if training them was that hard in games?
In real life, it'd be even harder.
Big rewards demand big effort.
Raising a three-stage pseudo-legendary? Always going to be a long, hard road.
Zhang Qun looked dazed.
He felt like a guy who had never owned a pet… and then suddenly bought a high-maintenance, high-class show cat.
Beautiful, sure. But delicate as glass.
"T-Then what should I do…?"
He hugged the heavy little Gible tightly, face full of anxiety.
His awakening potential was just average, and his family desperately needed a strong Awakened fighter.
That was why he'd gone all in on a powerful Pokémon.
If he messed up training Gible, the consequences would be devastating.
Su Bai smiled and pointed toward Wang Tao.
"Actually, I have a suggestion."
"You, Wang Tao, Liu Yunlan, and Murong Nan—form a team."
"Wang Tao already wiped out most of the low-level missions, but Grotle's defense makes him an excellent tank."
"With a tank like him, you guys could start taking on mid-level missions together."
Before his reincarnation, Su Bai had been an avid gamer.
Now, managing the shop and helping customers grow felt like running a simulation management game.
The more customers showed up and got stronger…
The more interesting his shop became.
He was all in—giving these first customers his full support.
Besides, if they started doing missions?
They'd need more potions, more items…
Even after that huge 80-million-yuan transaction, who wouldn't want to make a little more?