"Swipe your card~"
When Lily heard that the price was 250,000 yuan with no room for negotiation, she still looked at the little fire lizard with a bright smile.
In her opinion, the price wasn't high at all.
After all, this was a creature that could breathe fire.
Hey—!
Yes, Lily had already subconsciously classified Charmander as a dragon.
Anyway, hadn't the boss said it himself? Judging purely by appearance, once Charmander fully grew up, it could be considered a Western dragon.
Right?
"Why is it more expensive than my Squirtle?"
After finishing the payment, Emma asked Ren curiously.
She really didn't understand how he had set the prices.
"There are many factors that affect a Pokémon's price," Ren said as he packed the energy cubes for Lily and explained calmly.
"If their individual talent is the same, then strength and rarity become the deciding factors."
"If we're only talking about rarity and growth potential, Ms. Emma, your Squirtle is actually on the same level as this Charmander."
"But Charmander has two possible Mega Evolutions in its future growth path, so its price is naturally higher."
"And frankly speaking," Ren added politely,
"since our shop has just opened, we're currently running a large promotional discount. All three Pokémon sold to you were offered at reduced prices."
He placed the packed energy cubes into bags and pushed them toward Emma and Jason.
"This is an energy cube—a highly nutritious food designed for Pokémon. It helps them grow faster."
"These two boxes are included for free with the purchase."
Ren smiled at them.
"The boss is really generous," Lily said.
"By the way, boss, can I also buy the Pokedex that Emma is using?"
She glanced curiously at the energy cubes before asking.
That Pokedex was obviously extremely useful.
"Of course," Ren replied with a smile.
"We have five hundred Pokedex in stock. Does Mr. Jason need one as well?"
"Give me one too," Jason nodded.
"And I'll take ten boxes of energy cubes to start with."
After opening one box earlier, he'd discovered that Vulpix really liked them.
"Much appreciated."
Ren handed an Pokedex to both of them, then neatly packed ten boxes of energy cubes for Jason.
"I'm done shopping," Lily said, blinking as she watched Charmander hug an energy cube with its tiny paws and chew happily.
"Boss, I still have a lot of questions I want to ask you."
"There are no other customers right now, and I have plenty of time," Ren said with a warm smile.
"What would you like to know?"
He already knew the three of them must be full of doubts.
"For example—attributes, characteristics, and unique moves," Lily said after thinking for a moment.
"What exactly are those?"
"Is that also what Ms. Emma and this gentleman want to ask?" Ren glanced at Emma and Jason.
Both of them nodded.
"Pokémon is my collective name for these magical creatures," Ren began gently.
"Some live on grasslands, some in the ocean, some in the Gobi, and others in the desert."
"Pokémon also possess different attributes. You can think of these as the elements they control."
"Because of that, they can use power and unique moves corresponding to their attributes."
"Fire. Lightning. Water. Earth. Rock. And more."
"Of course, this is only a rough explanation," he continued.
"In reality, aside from their main attributes, Pokémon can also learn moves of other attributes as they grow."
His voice was calm and clear, patiently explaining everything.
These three were the very first Trainers in this world.
Well—except that Jason wasn't exactly clueless.
"Ah… this…"
Jason was stunned.
A pet that could wield elemental power?
Damn it—wasn't this basically the same as the magical beasts from isekai anime?
That was insanely cool.
"This… doesn't really sound like a pet anymore, does it?" Emma said in shock.
This was clearly a form of supernatural power.
And something like that could really be called a pet?
"That depends on how you define a pet," Ren replied, neither agreeing nor denying it.
"Pets are companions—friends that accompany humans."
"Pokémon are the same, just more special than traditional pets."
"Yes… that makes sense…"
Emma lowered her head and looked at Squirtle, who was happily spinning in circles while chasing its own tail.
"What about characteristics?" Lily asked eagerly, her interest growing stronger by the second.
"Characteristics are the individual traits of each Pokémon," Ren explained.
"Even Pokémon of the same species can have different characteristics."
"For example, your Charmander possesses a very rare characteristic among its kind—Solar Power."
"Under sunny weather, Solar Power greatly increases Charmander's special attack, but it also continuously consumes physical stamina each turn."
"Meanwhile, the most common characteristic among Charmander is Blaze—when its stamina is critically low, the power of its Fire-type moves increases dramatically."
Ren finished explaining.
"Then my Charmander is super special!"
Lily's eyes lit up, her smile radiant.
As expected—this was her red little lizard.
"Hmm…"
Emma blinked.
Her Squirtle had the characteristic Torrent, which seemed very similar to Blaze.
The difference was simply water versus fire.
"But attributes, moves, characteristics…"
Jason frowned slightly.
Although it all sounded strange, he could accept it.
Still, something felt off.
"These things all feel like they exist for one purpose…" he said slowly.
"Fighting."
Take his Vulpix, for example.
Its characteristic was Flash Fire. According to the Pokedex, when hit by a Fire-type move, it wouldn't take damage—instead, its attack power would increase.
Wasn't that clearly designed for battle?
"You're absolutely right," Ren said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"And that's why," he continued calmly,
"I'll be launching a new activity in the future."
He looked at the three of them and spoke slowly:
"Pokémon battles."