Finally, Gengar also extended a hand and shook Xiao Zhi's.
Li Qingfeng reminded, "Xiao Zhi, quickly get a poké ball."
As if waking from a dream, Xiao Zhi took an empty poké ball from his backpack with his other hand and placed it in front of Gengar: "Gengar, be my partner."
Gengar looked at the poké ball on the ground, finally pressed the button in the middle, and transformed into a red light, entering the ball.
Heartfelt capture!
"Whose poké ball should I send back to Professor Oak's Laboratory later?" Xiao Zhi watched Gengar's poké ball disappear and walked ahead to the Pokémon Center.
The other three also needed to heal their Pokémon, especially Xiao Mao's Kadabra, which had been knocked out by Koffing during their battle and was now on its last legs.
"How about we exploit a bug later? Send Pikachu's poké ball back?"
Li Qingfeng suddenly spoke up. He thought that since Pikachu never entered a poké ball later anyway, they might as well send its ball to Professor Da Mu. Plus, Xiao Zhi had exploited this bug before during league matches, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Xiao Zhi nodded. This seemed feasible, but he wondered what Professor Da Mu would say.
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, while handing Pikachu and other Pokémon to Nurse Joy for treatment, Xiao Zhi dialed Professor Da Mu's number.
Professor Da Mu's face appeared on the screen, and when he saw Xiao Mao was also there, he said in surprise, "Are you two traveling together?"
Xiao Zhi shook his head, "No, Xiao Mao and I met again in Kuye City. Oh, by the way, Professor Da Mu, how is my Gengar?"
"Gengar~" (I'm here~)
Gengar floated onto the screen and greeted Xiao Zhi.
Professor Da Mu nodded, "You are currently carrying more than six Pokémon. If you want to take Gengar, you'll have to exchange one Pokémon."
(To be fair, there's an episode in 'Journeys' where Gouhao captured a seventh Pokémon after already carrying six. Its poké ball wasn't sent away and it was even released on the spot, which is a bit outrageous.)
Xiao Zhi took out Pikachu's poké ball and looked at Professor Da Mu with shining eyes: "Professor Da Mu, can I put Pikachu's poké ball with you and get Gengar's poké ball back?"
"This..." Professor Da Mu hesitated, but then Xiao Zhi took out a rainbow wing.
After a "PY transaction"...
"Yay, come out, Gengar!" Xiao Zhi got Gengar's poké ball as he wished.
A plump Gengar emerged from the poké ball and burrowed into Xiao Zhi's shadow.
Professor Da Mu, standing by, sighed with emotion, seemingly recalling his own Trainer days: "Gengar, huh... I didn't expect you, Xiao Zhi, to be able to capture such a powerful Pokémon before getting your fourth badge. Where do you plan to go next?"
Xiao Mao was the first to speak, "Yes. Grandpa, I want to take the St. Anne."
Professor Da Mu pondered the timing; the St. Anne was indeed in Kuye City right now. Professor Da Mu wasn't so rigid; young people, it's okay to occasionally treat themselves to a luxury.
"I'm so envious... I want to take the St. Anne too..." Xiao Zhi was quite envious. He knew about the St. Anne; it was a luxury cruise ship, basically a place only for the wealthy.
Professor Da Mu naturally heard Xiao Zhi's words. He said with a smile, "Xiao Zhi, if you and your companions want to go, then go. I'll pay. I can still afford this money."
"Yay, Professor Da Mu is the best!" Xiao Zhi cheered, and Xiao Gang and Xiao Xia also said awkwardly, "Then we'll trouble you!"
Before they left, Professor Da Mu said to Xiao Zhi, "I will apply to the League for you to lift the Pokémon carrying limit."
...
...
Once the four retrieved their poké balls, they started walking towards the St. Anne's ticket office.
During this time, after careful consideration, Li Qingfeng approached Xiao Zhi: "Xiao Zhi, I think there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it, Li Dage?" Xiao Zhi was in an excellent mood now. Having captured Gengar, he wanted to sing loudly:
Oh, so high, life has already reached its peak~
Sigh, this kid... still the original, unadulterated version.
Li Qingfeng smiled. Xiao Zhi being like this was normal; if he had captured such a strong Pokémon, he would definitely show off too. But he still said in a serious tone:
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, I still hope you can use Gengar less. A Trainer's rank is reflected by their badges, and this Gengar's strength is too high for you to fully command right now."
"The most important point is that Charmander and the others are still developing and growing. I don't want you to neglect their training because of this."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhi quickly promised, "Li Dage, don't worry. With your supervision, I will absolutely not do such a thing. I treat the growth of all my Pokémon equally!"
With these words, Li Qingfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. If this incident truly caused Xiao Zhi's growth to slow down, then he might as well commit seppuku.
However, to be fair, there's basically no chance of Xiao Zhi's Gengar becoming rebellious.
Readers who have watched 'Journeys' will find that Gengar is actually a Pokémon that listens particularly well to its Trainer, and it's also a Pokémon with a naturally very docile nature.
Li Qingfeng said this to prevent Xiao Zhi from becoming overly reliant on Gengar, with no other intentions.
As the four walked along the road, they suddenly heard a "bang." Looking around, it turned out to be the sound of firecrackers.
Two people dressed in spicy girl student uniforms walked over. Xiao Zhi looked at the two, feeling that they looked somewhat familiar.
"My goodness, their recovery is astonishing." Li Qingfeng sighed, not expecting Team Rocket, who had just been sent flying not long ago, to now act as if nothing happened and give gifts to Xiao Zhi, Xiao Gang, Xiao Xia, and Xiao Mao.
Kojiro said in a falsetto, "Ta-da~ You are the 11451st lucky customer! Since 1+1-4+5+1 equals 4, we will give you 4 tickets for the St. Anne~"
How annoying! They won the lottery even though Professor Da Mu was willing to reimburse them. (not)
The four looked at each other, somewhat confused about the current situation. Why were the number of tickets given out based on addition and subtraction?
Confusion aside, since they won, of course it meant saving money! And a lot of money at that!
Thinking of this, the four took the tickets from Team Rocket Trio and swaggered up the stairs leading to the St. Anne.
"Hehehe~ Today is a good day~" Xiao Zhi was so happy he started singing.
He had captured a powerful Pokémon and obtained tickets for a luxury cruise ship that only wealthy people could go to. It was truly awesome.
Xiao Xia saw this situation and couldn't help but sigh, "Why is this kid's luck always so good? First a starter, then a powerful Gengar."
"But thanks to Xiao Zhi, we get to ride the St. Anne, don't we?" Xiao Gang smiled. Even if they hadn't won, the two of them could have still gone through Professor Da Mu's reimbursement.
Xiao Mao looked at Xiao Zhi, seemingly pondering something internally.