Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game.

"What are you going to do with the Money-Gathering Spirit? Raise it to be your next main Pokémon?"

Inside the room, Mingyi asked curiously.

Xia Chen shook his head slightly and replied, "It's only for Pokémon research for now. As for our main Pokémon, we'll see. Let's capture this guy first."

Although the Moneypick is now in Xia Chen's Poké Ball, it doesn't mean he has successfully captured it.

The Poké Ball doesn't have a brainwashing effect, and if the Pokémon doesn't want to, it can escape at any time.

In the anime, Ash's Froakie and Sneasel both escaped from their original trainers' Poké Balls.

It's incredibly easy for a money-gathering spirit to run away, so Xia Chen decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with it.

"Alright, you chat with it for now, I'm going to take a shower."

Mingyi stretched, revealing a full figure that didn't look like that of an eighteen-year-old girl at all.

"Well, you go."

Xia Chen replied casually, his mind already racing with ideas on how to persuade Suocailing to become his spirit.

Mingyi glanced sideways at Xia Chen's reaction, looking slightly dejected.

Sometimes I really can't figure out what's going on in his head.

…………

The sound of splashing water, suggestive and intimate, came from the bathroom, but Xia Chen, without a care in the world, tossed out a Poké Ball.

A flash of white light appeared, and Gardevoir's pure white skirt fluttered as she appeared in the room.

"Gardedoll, please open Trick Room again."

Although the money-seeking spirit should be in poor condition at this time, we still need to guard against the possibility of it escaping.

"Sana~"

Gardevoir responded, and soon after, strange energy ripples suddenly appeared in the space, and an invisible barrier appeared in this space, completing the construction of the Trick Space.

Xia Chen then summoned Googlos as an anchor to exchange speed with the Moneypick before throwing out the still-warm Poké Ball.

A flash of white light appeared, and the unconscious coin-carrying figure appeared in the magic space before them.

Seeing the money-grubbing spirit still clutching those five coins even after being knocked unconscious, Xia Chen shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

What a miser!

"Gardedoll, use Healing Pulse on it."

It's no exaggeration to say that the Money-Grubber race is weak. In the restaurant, it was knocked down by Goool and then tugged at by Sylveon's silk, rendering it unable to fight.

Xia Chen felt that if this guy were put into a game, his base stats would be at most 300, and with a small portion of that going to speed, his durability would be incredibly low.

Healed by pink super-powerful energy particles, the Money-Seeking Spirit slowly awoke.

"Chirp!"

The newly awakened Suocailing was clearly in a state of stress, letting out a loud, intense cry.

Xia Chen ignored it and let it figure out its current situation on its own.

After a two-second pause, it realized that it was now a prisoner.

Its body instincts made the Money-Seeking Spirit want to run away, but soon it found itself back in that strange space.

Feeling utterly helpless with nowhere to turn, the Money-Seeking Spirit was deeply frustrated. It looked up at Xia Chen, hesitated for a long time, and finally reluctantly handed over the five coins it was holding tightly in its hand.

Although its name is "Money-Seeking Spirit," it still knows whether money or life is more important.

"Chirp! (Don't kill me, I'll give you all the coins!)"

Xia Chen understood what the money-grubbing spirit meant from its fearful tone. He chuckled, "Foolish! Even if I kill you, the coins will still be mine!"

The money-seeking spirit was stunned. It seemed that was indeed the case.

Wait, is this human really planning to kill me?

It's just 500, it shouldn't be that serious, right?

It's hard to say. What if this human had been robbed of a lot of money by other money-grubbing spirits before, and is now taking out their anger on themselves?

It's not impossible.

…………

Just as Suo Cailing was feeling uneasy, Xia Chen coughed and continued, "You should know that you have stolen too many coins in this city and committed many evils. The crimes you have committed are not limited to stealing these five coins from me."

"Now, I can give you a chance to atone for your sins and start anew, which is to work for me for a year!"

Xia Chen's true intentions were revealed, and the now-calm Suocailing gradually understood the human's true purpose.

He was lusting after his own body!

The astute money-seeking spirit glanced at Xia Chen, realizing that this guy had been spouting nonsense all this time in order to subdue him.

So what else is there to be afraid of?

Suo Cailing completely relaxed.

Those who are favored are fearless. If this human wants to subdue me, will he still hurt me?

Obviously impossible!

Thinking of this, Suo Cailing calmly placed the five coins on the ground, then leisurely leaned against them, looking like a lazy bum.

Subjugate?

There's no way they can be tamed in this lifetime. Rattata from the sewers speaks so nicely, and Grimer, though it smells terrible, is also very kind.

I absolutely love living there!

According to Rattata, who was abandoned by a human trainer, becoming a human means losing your freedom. You can no longer go out to steal coins, and more importantly, you have to do those pointless training sessions and battles.

Why should someone with such a small body suffer like that?

Tu

Looking at the money-gathering spirit, who seemed completely indifferent, Xia Chen shook his head helplessly.

This guy is pretty clever; it seems Plan A (coercion) failed.

So, Plan B will be implemented!

Xia Chen appealed to his emotions, saying, "Alright, to tell you the truth, my purpose in subduing you is to study the evolution of your Money-Gathering Spirit clan. You wouldn't want your Money-Gathering Spirits to remain in this situation where they can only run away, would you?"

"If you successfully evolve, you will be the first money-grabbing spirit in the world to complete the evolution!"

evolution?

Can our Money-Gathering Spirit evolve?

Xia Chen's second set of arguments made Suo Cailing somewhat interested.

A competitive nature is ingrained in the bones of all elves; if given the chance, who wouldn't want to become stronger?

But not everything in this world goes as the elves wish. The limitations of the Looting Spirits' race are there, and no matter how hard they try, the ceiling is only so high.

Since that's the case, why not just start setting up shop?

But if there really was a chance to evolve, who would want to live the life of a mouse that lives in the sewers and steals coins every day?

Looking into Xia Chen's sincere eyes, Suo Cailing was somewhat moved.

Or, why not become this human's spirit?

…………

No, there's something wrong with what this human is saying!

The money-seeking spirit suddenly awoke.

Even we, the Money-Seeking Spirit, don't know we can evolve. How did he find out?

He's just making empty promises!

Suocailing recalled the story shared by the little Rattata who had been abandoned by its human trainer.

It said that its former trainer used to say things like, "When I become a champion, I'll give you the best energy cubes and the most expensive Pokémon items every day!"

Later, Rada learned that the champion was a one-of-a-kind among tens of millions of trainers in a region.

That's an achievement that guy who spends all his time running around in the wild in shorts could never accomplish in his lifetime.

Humans are creatures adept at creating imagination!

Little Rada concluded in this way.

Returning to the present, Suo Cailing couldn't help but weigh Xia Chen's words.

What do you mean by becoming the first evolved Money-Gathering Spirit? That's just like becoming a champion – only an idiot would believe that!

The money-seeking spirit was certainly not stupid, so it stopped itself from nodding.

He then sneered, "Giggle! (This sounds like a great suggestion, but I refuse!)"

Xia Chen was both amused and exasperated. This guy was just too wary.

Although I'm a little unsure about the evolutionary path, what I'm saying is true.

There was no other way but to use the last resort.

"I didn't originally intend to go to such extremes."

Xia Chen sighed softly and said slowly, "I didn't want our relationship to become so dirty, but since you're so unyielding..."

Dirty? What's dirty?

To Suo Cailing's astonishment, Xia Chen slowly raised five fingers.

"Once you become my elf, I'll give you five hundred-yuan coins every day, and many more amazing things you can't even imagine. How about it?"

Money-stealing Spirit: "!"

Upon hearing the word "coin," the Money-Seeking Spirit immediately sprang up from its lying position, and the two antenna-like tentacles on its head instantly stood up.

Without a doubt, this condition directly hits the Acquirer's weak spot.

Evolution and the future are all abstract concepts; only the coin is real!