Chen Xi'er nodded. After putting away the simple design drawing, she looked at Su Yu and spoke decisively. She would arrange for a construction team to come over as soon as possible, and everything—from fencing to basic facilities—should be completed within about a week. All she needed from Su Yu was a list of the fruit trees he wanted planted; once she had that, she could have the trees transplanted in one go, saving him the trouble of running around himself. As for the mountain, she made it clear that her side would handle the lower area first, while Su Yu could focus on communicating with the Pokémon living in the back mountain so things could proceed smoothly and efficiently.
Su Yu nodded without hesitation. After a brief moment of thought, he smiled and said that it wouldn't be a problem at all. In fact, he planned to take care of it today. He even casually mentioned that he was quite familiar with a Beedrill living in the back mountain—after all, he had already taken plenty of honey from it before. As long as they talked things through properly, there wouldn't be any issues. His confidence was unmistakable.
Chen Xi'er was momentarily stunned. Familiar with Beedrill? Those Pokémon were famously aggressive. Still, seeing how relaxed Su Yu looked, she swallowed the questions on the tip of her tongue. Maybe his relationship with those Beedrill really was as good as he said. Deciding not to overthink it, she turned her attention to making calls and arranging the necessary work.
Seeing that the children were happily playing with Chen Xi'er's Pokémon and everything was under control, Su Yu waved at Pichu. "Let's go," he said calmly. "Time to deal with the Pokémon in the back mountain." It was a perfect opportunity to train this little guy as well.
Pichu, who had been playing nearby, perked up at the call and quickly scrambled onto Su Yu's shoulder. After a brief wave to Chen Xi'er, Su Yu headed straight toward the back mountain, disappearing into the forested path.
Once inside the woods, Su Yu's objective was clear. He intended to speak with the leaders of the various Pokémon groups living there, starting with the Beedrill he knew best. If that Beedrill agreed to cooperate, it could also help him understand how many Pokémon factions were present on the mountain. Along the way, Su Yu deliberately gave Pichu no direct commands, allowing it to fight any weak Pokémon it encountered on its own.
Naturally, Pichu was furious about this. From its perspective, its Trainer was being outrageously irresponsible. Shouldn't a Trainer give instructions during battle? Instead, it was being thrown into fights with no guidance at all.
Su Yu, however, explained this with complete seriousness. A mature Pokémon, he said, needed to learn how to fight independently. On a real battlefield, situations changed too quickly, and even a Trainer might not be able to react in time. Relying entirely on commands was pointless. Pokémon were far stronger than humans—once they reached a certain level, their combat awareness mattered far more than shouted instructions. A Trainer's primary role was to protect themselves, not micromanage every move. Only inexperienced Trainers tried to command everything.
Hearing this reasoning didn't comfort Pichu in the slightest. It complained bitterly, pointing out that Su Yu hadn't even told it where the enemies were. Su Yu merely gestured at the forest around them. Everywhere it looked, he said, was an opponent. Only by defeating all the Pokémon here could Pichu take its first true step forward. If it couldn't handle this, how could it ever dream of becoming the strongest in the world?
Pichu was speechless. Promises of becoming number one sounded nice, but they didn't make fighting any less exhausting. Still, when Su Yu added that he would step in if things truly got dangerous, Pichu reluctantly accepted its fate. With a glare in Su Yu's direction, it charged toward the nearest Catterpie, deciding to start with the weakest targets.
Electric sparks crackled through the bushes as Pichu unleashed Thunder Shock after Thunder Shock, stunning several Catterpie in quick succession. Before long, however, a Butterfree appeared, forcing Pichu into a real fight. Su Yu stopped walking and simply watched, offering no instructions, allowing Pichu to handle everything on its own. Against these relatively weak Pokémon, Pichu managed, though not without taking some scratches.
When the fight ended, Su Yu calmly found some healing herbs nearby and applied them to Pichu's wounds. He told it to remember what these herbs looked like, as well as which tree fruits could help with recovery. In the future, if it was injured, it should learn to find and treat itself. If things were too serious, then they could go to a Pokémon Center.
At that moment, Pichu stared at him in disbelief. Fight alone, heal alone—what exactly was its Trainer for? The frustration finally reached a breaking point. A brilliant white light suddenly erupted from Pichu's body, enveloping it completely. In the next instant, its form changed, growing larger and stronger.
When the light faded, Pikachu stood there, panting slightly. Its injuries had vanished, and its power felt entirely different.
So angry… it evolved.