"Please take good care of this little one. It won't let you down."
Ren carefully handed over the Pokédex, Energy Cubes, and the New Trainer's Manual to the young man standing in front of the counter, smiling gently.
Some people found Bug-type Pokémon unpleasant, but tastes differed from person to person. Otherwise, the world wouldn't be filled with so many different hobbies and obsessions.
At the very least, the boy in front of him clearly liked Caterpie.
"Thank you, boss! I'll definitely raise Caterpie well and help it break out of its cocoon and become a butterfly!"
The boy grinned brightly as he teased the green Caterpie resting on his shoulder.
Not only would it evolve into Butterfree—
it might even turn into a dragon one day.
Even though the shop owner had said that was just a rumor, something unconfirmed… having hope was better than nothing, right?
"I believe in you. Good luck."
Ren watched the energetic boy leave the shop, not forgetting to add him to the Pokémon Home group chat.
Worth mentioning—right after joining, the kid enthusiastically changed his nickname to:
"Future Dragon Caterpie!"
Ren shook his head helplessly.
That so-called rumor about Caterpie evolving into Rayquaza had just been something he mentioned casually. Who knew the kid would take it so seriously?
Still, business was business.
Even if Caterpie only sold for 50,000 yuan, it was still profit—and Ren was in a good mood.
"Looks like it's almost time for dinner."
He glanced outside. The sky had already darkened, and it was just past seven in the evening.
After the Ruan siblings left earlier, four more customers had come by.
One only wanted to check in—pets weren't allowed at home.
Two were excited at first, then quietly left after hearing the prices.
The last was the Caterpie boy, around fifteen or sixteen years old. His family background seemed decent—his father had even handed him a card without hesitation.
The traffic boost from the video platform was working surprisingly well.
"Mana~ Mana~"
Manaphy floated over and gently rested against Ren's shoulder, her voice soft and clingy.
She was hungry.
"Alright, alright. I'll make dinner for you."
Ren pinched Manaphy's soft cheek and turned toward the kitchen.
Energy Cubes were nutritious, but eating them all the time got boring. A proper meal now and then was better. Energy Cubes could stay as snacks.
"Mana~"
Manaphy spun happily in midair, while Diancie hopped into the kitchen as well.
"Ren, I'll help wash the vegetables."
"Thanks."
Ren tied on his apron, smiling.
---
"The creator you follow has uploaded a new video."
A notification popped up on the screen.
Luna immediately opened the app and tapped into her subscriptions.
The uploader was Pokémon Home.
'Pokémon Battle — Part Two: The Goddess vs. the Campus Beauty!'
"Pfft—what kind of title is that?"
Luna laughed. It was ridiculously dramatic.
Still, she tapped the video without hesitation.
The view count was already exploding.
The moment the video started, two stunning girls appeared on screen. Luna instantly recognized one of them—it was the girl whose Charmander had been overwhelmed by a Vulpix in the previous video.
This time, though, she wasn't using Charmander.
Instead, a Trapinch stood proudly in front of her.
"So cute…"
Luna looked at the Squirtle facing Trapinch with open envy.
Hands on hips, chin raised—it was clearly confident. Overconfident, even. And yet… adorable.
The battle unfolded rapidly.
Despite Squirtle's sturdy defense, Trapinch used terrain and positioning to its advantage, eventually forcing a clean victory.
"Wait—can you even fight like that?"
Luna nearly spat out her drink.
The follow-up banter between the two trainers was even more entertaining.
Tactics, trash talk, dramatic one-liners—everything was there.
And then came the second battle.
Two boys appeared on screen.
One of them was clearly the same trainer who had previously dominated with Vulpix.
This time, though, his opponent sent out Larvitar.
"A small dinosaur Pokémon… and another fox."
Luna's eyes lit up instantly.
The battle was brutally simple.
After Dragon Dance was used twice, Larvitar crushed its opponent head-on, completely overwhelming the fox Pokémon.
The power gap was unmistakable.
Then came the off-battle arguing—loud, chaotic, and strangely hilarious.
Luna stared at the screen, stunned.
"This shop…"
She scrolled to the end of the video, where the store introduction appeared again.
All those Pokémon—
all of them were bought from the same place.
She wasn't from magic City, but from another city entirely. Even so, the idea of that shop lodged itself firmly in her mind.
Real Pokémon.
Real battles.
No CGI.
She wanted to see it for herself.
Luna scrolled down to the comments, smiling as she read through the chaos.
This shop…
She was definitely going to visit it.