Pokémon: I have no choice but to do this old thing?

As the morning light streamed through the woods, several early-rising caterpillars fluttered their wings and took flight from the branches, preparing to peck at the equally early-rising green caterpillars in the forest...

Zhang Jianying smiled foolishly in his sleep.

In the bizarre and fantastical dream—

He dreamt that he had become a short, gray-blue cat, swaying comically as the floor shook violently.

A brown mouse nearby was watching the blue cat with a smug look on its face, laughing so hard it was rolling around on the ground.

The dream shifted to a lively scene of several children shouting and yelling around a television. "Hey Jian, look! Tom's in trouble again, haha!" someone shouted in the dream...

He woke up groggily from the grassy field vibrating at an alarming pace, looked at the grassy turtle engrossed in its prank with a resentful expression, and yawned.

"Brother Turtle, I asked you to add a vibration mode, not to use 'earthquake' on me."

Zhang Jianying rubbed his back, which felt like it was about to fall apart from the shock, and patted the warm shell of the grass turtle helplessly. "You just shook me into Tom the cat. My little body isn't as resilient as its."

The Turtwig blinked its round eyes innocently, its gaze filled with the cunning of someone who had successfully pulled off a prank, while the tender leaves above its head swayed gently with its question: "What's Talking Tom? A Pokémon I've never seen before?"

But it quickly put the question out of its mind—with its trainer and the big sister around, it didn't need to bother thinking about such things. "Turtle, I don't need to use my brain anymore! I can just shoot wherever I'm told!"

It lazily shook its shell, photosynthesizing in the warm morning sun. Thanks to the restoration work on the pasture last night, the white marks on its shell had faded considerably.

"Using my brain is tiring, I'd better take a nap. Sigh~ I don't need my brain, I just want to play!" The grass turtle thought to itself and then lay down on the ground, deciding to be a happy salted fish.

Kirlia floated gracefully to his side, its sky-blue hair gleaming softly in the morning light. It used its psychic powers to deliver a perfectly warm breakfast and carefully smoothed the trainer's messy hair.

As an emotional Pokémon, it captured the trainer's joyful mood in the dream, as well as the warmth brought by that affectionate address. It hesitated for a moment, then tentatively whispered through telepathy:

"Um... Ah Jian? Good morning."

Zhang Jianying took the breakfast, paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly: "The way you address me... it's quite nostalgic."

A warm and accepting resonance emanated from the trainer. Its eyes flickered, the initial cautious probing finally transforming into reassurance. The telepathic voice also brightened: "Hurry up and eat breakfast, Sword."

"It's all over," Zhang Jianying sighed deliberately after taking a bite of breakfast. "I guess I can be called the most useless trainer in history. The way you take care of me is really demotivating."

Kirlian watched him tenderly from the side, gently shook her head, and handed him a cup of warm Moo Moo Milk.

Zhang Jianying gave a thumbs up: "That's great. It's really nice to live like this, where you can have everything done for you." Kirullian's eyes softened with a smile as she pushed the Moo Moo Milk closer to him.

He was deeply moved when he suddenly noticed the tortoise beside him winking at their heartwarming interaction. Kirlia followed the trainer's gaze and also noticed the tortoise.

"Waaah—"

The grass turtle let out a deliberately drawn-out cry, feigning sadness, and said, "It's supposed to be a movie for three, but the turtle doesn't even deserve a name. It's alright, turtle, I'm just a heartless salted fish."

Listening to the quirky words of the tortoise, sensing its languid and teasing mood, a faint blush rose to its cheeks. It gently pursed its lips, and the glow of its psychic powers flowed softly around it, but instead of tapping the tortoise's shell with its telekinesis as a "warning" as usual, it did not do so.

She simply tilted her head slightly, her sky-blue hair falling down, half-concealing her blushing eyes that flashed with a hint of shyness. Then, using her telekinesis, she gently pushed a fresh tree fruit in front of the grass turtle's nose. Her telepathic voice, tinged with embarrassment, echoed in the minds of the other two: "Good morning to you too... Turtle, hurry up and eat."

The grass turtle's "sadness" was instantly dispelled by the delicious aroma. It smacked its lips into the berry, and the tender leaves above its head swayed happily, as if to say, "Okay, for the sake of breakfast, turtle didn't see anything!"

As Zhang Jianying watched this scene in the morning light, he took a deep breath facing the rising sun. This feeling was truly wonderful.

After setting up camp, the three-person team continued towards Lucky City. The closer they got to the city, the smoother the roads became. Occasionally, they would encounter other trainers traveling with their Pokémon, casting curious glances at the three of them, mainly focusing on Kirlia's unique color and Turtwig's much larger size than its kind.

The tortoise, who had never left the forest before, was initially a little reserved, but with Kirlia's explanation and reassurance, it quickly accepted it and began to curiously observe the scenery along the way.

"Look over there," Zhang Jianying pointed to the park beside the road.

A dragon was directing the meows across the road with its glowing tail, the warm yellow glow creating a particularly cozy atmosphere. A little further away, a group of Aipoms were playing in the fruit trees, occasionally picking berries to share with passing Pokémon. One mischievous Aipom tossed an Orange Berry to a Turtwig, which it hurriedly caught.

The grass turtle was mesmerized; it had never seen such a commotion, so different from the noise in the forest.

The moment it stepped into Lucky City, Turtwig was completely overwhelmed by the sight before it. Towering buildings, a constant flow of people, all sorts of Pokémon... it unconsciously moved closer to its trainer.

"Relax, Turtle." Zhang Jianying patted it reassuringly. "We'll go to the Pokémon Center first for you two to get a check-up."

Kirlia timely deployed its psychic barrier, filtering out the excessive noise of the city. Sensing its companion's slight unease, it gently stroked Turtwig's carapace with its telekinesis, conveying a sense of reassurance…

The Pokémon Center in Celestial City was more modern than I had imagined. Nurse Joy gave a professional smile after examining the two Pokémon.

"The grass turtle's shell is recovering well," she said, gently tapping it. "However, these old injuries require regular care. We have a special shell care product here, which, combined with a weekly mineral diet, can help the shell grow and heal better."

She took out a bottle of bright green care solution, and the grass turtle, smelling the fresh herbal scent, shook its leaves expectantly.

"As for Kirlia..." Nurse Joy turned to the little girl floating in the air, "Your talent is very special, but your energy output is not very stable. I suggest you go to the Pokémon Center for energy conditioning every three to five days. This will help you avoid problems when using powerful moves in the future."

"They are healthy in all other aspects, especially their physical fitness, which is far superior to that of their peers. You have raised them very well."

Zhang Jianying sighed deeply. "If I said I was the one being taken care of, would you believe me?"

Kirlia smiled slightly and gently took the trainer's hand. Turtwig also sighed and nudged Zhang Jianying's leg, as if to say, "Life is tough, even Turtwig sighs." Nurse Joy watched the interaction between the Pokémon and the trainer with a smile, while Blissey beside her let out a kind "Lucky, Lucky" laugh.

After purchasing the items recommended by Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center, she conveniently pointed them in the right direction to experience the newly introduced "Power Cubes." Following Nurse Joy's directions, they arrived at the Power Cube shop, where colorful crystals shimmered alluringly under the lights.

"Welcome to experience the latest technology in the Johto region!" the enthusiastic staff member introduced. "The Power Cubes are specially formulated according to the Pokémon's type and individual differences... We have samples suitable for various Pokémon here, you can bring them to try them out."

The Turtwig cautiously tasted the Grass-type Energy Cube sample, then its eyes lit up. The leaf-shaped mark on its back glowed slightly, clearly indicating its satisfaction with this special food. According to Kirlia, consuming the Energy Cube would undoubtedly further enhance its Grass-type moves.

Kirlia, on the other hand, has a particular fondness for sweet and sour Psychic-type Energy Cubes. It gracefully uses its psychic powers to lift a pale purple Energy Cube, and after savoring it, the psychic glow becomes even more solid.

"Consuming the same type of energy cubes over a long period can increase the power of skills of the corresponding attribute and also improve physical condition," the shop assistant said, observing the reactions of the two Pokémon.

Hearing this, Turtwig and Kirlia both looked at their trainer, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. Zhang Jianying, seeing the little one's expression, gritted his teeth: "Buy it! Two months' worth."

The clerk then recommended, "How about you participate in our celebratory cup beginner tournament, sponsored by headquarters? The champion will receive a six-month supply of customized energy cubes!"

"A beginner's tournament?" Zhang Jianying asked, puzzled.

Seeing that the customer seemed interested, the clerk explained, "Yes, it's mainly a competition for beginners. The requirements are that you are a trainer with two Pokémon or three or fewer badges. You can register at the Pokémon Center."

Seeing the two little ones eagerly watching him, Zhang Jianying quickly decided to sign up for the competition.

To prepare for the Celebration Cup, they rented a training area at the Municipal Training Grounds. Judging from the results, the two Pokémon's recent efforts have paid off, and their progress has been even smoother with the support of a Specialist Energy Cube:

The power of Turtwig's Grass-type moves has been significantly improved. Razor Leaf's blades are more durable and sharper, and even Kirlia's Psychic can no longer tear them apart as easily as before. The strength and accuracy of Seed Bomb are also completely different from before, with a wider and more accurate blast radius.

Kirlia has also made rapid progress. Not only has her psychic materialization become more sophisticated, allowing her to simultaneously control more materialized psychic energy to attack different targets, but her special future vision has also stabilized at around three seconds, no longer unreliable. Furthermore, it's no longer limited to activation only in dangerous situations; currently, it can be used consistently as long as attention is focused.

Zhang Jianying was scribbling in his training notes. "Hmm... there's not much to say about Turtwig. Its immense vitality gives it a strong advantage. Even when facing a type it's weak to, it can calmly stay on the field and counter-attack using the moves it learns after evolving. Combined with the unreasonable recovery effect of Grassy Terrain, it can both attack and tank. Its development direction is probably to be incredibly tanky while still being able to deliver a fatal blow to the opponent, plus its size, which far exceeds that of its kind..."

He grew more and more excited as he thought about it: "If you can control your opponent while using skills to enhance yourself... look at that, now that's what you call a hexagonal warrior!"

"Kirlian's situation is more troublesome." He then turned his attention to the development path of his other companion. "It seems that her precognitive ability could be developed in a direction similar to Observation Haki? Unfortunately, compared to the common Grass-type, Kirlian's Psychic + Fairy attribute development is indeed difficult to determine."

"For now, we can only train it as a magic turret. It seems like it's time to visit the dojo and learn some experience."

"Speaking of which, these energy cubes are definitely worth the money," Zhang Jianying said, recording the training data and nodding in satisfaction. Then, he clutched his chest in distress, "But these things are just too expensive..."

He touched his deflated purse, remembering a certain unknown "money-giving boy" who had once contributed a considerable sum of money to his account. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming longing for the Dark Star organization and hoped they would quickly send a similar member to solve his immediate problem...

Meanwhile, one of the "money-giving boys" in the Alliance prison sneezed. "Strange, who's been talking about me behind my back?"

"What are you daydreaming about? Get back to work!" The prison guard knocked on the bars and spat. "You scum, you can't even behave in prison. You'll never get out of here." He then looked at the man with disgust. "I really don't understand why the Alliance abolished the death penalty."

As night fell, the city of Lucky City was brightly lit. They chose to spend the night at the Pokémon Center, since it not only offered registration services but also provided professional Pokémon care.

Nurse Joy personally performed shell care on Turtwig and energy conditioning on Kirlia. After the treatments, both Pokémon looked radiant.

"Good luck in tomorrow's game!" Miss Joy encouraged gently, while Lucky Egg waved its little hand in support.

Lying on the bed at the Pokémon Center, Zhang Jianying looked at his companions beside him. Turtwig unconsciously unfolded a faint Grassy Terrain in his dream, filling the room with the fresh scent of grass and trees. Kirlia gently tucked the blankets around her trainer with her psychic powers, the glow of her psychic abilities flowing softly in the night.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Zhuqing City flickered. In this unfamiliar city, they were about to face new challenges.

Looking out at the night view, Zhang Jianying murmured to himself, "Being able to witness your growth is my greatest reward."

"Goodnight, Swordsman," Kirlia whispered.

Zhang Jianying, still half-asleep, smiled and said, "Goodnight..."

Starlight streamed into the room, twinkling gently above this cozy little family.