I Spread Pokemon All Over the World

Chapter 18: Big-headed Ants? My cutie pie!

“What is this?”

“It looks like an ant, but its eyes are like stars…”

Looking at the Pokémon on the screen, Chu Kelian’s face slightly wrinkled, and Bai Qianqian leaned in curiously.

“It’s not that good-looking…”

“Boss, can you take a look at mine?”

When in doubt, ask the boss. Chu Kelian called out to Guxin, who seemed to be lost in thought.

“Let me see.”

Guxin returned to reality, taking the Pokédex from Chu Kelian’s hand. After glancing at it, he was momentarily stunned.

“This is Trapinch, a Ground-type Pokémon.”

Guxin glanced at Chu Kelian with a curious look. She truly had good luck.

“Ground-type? Can I redraw?”

Chu Kelian’s frown deepened. She wanted a Dragon-type Pokémon. Besides, Trapinch’s appearance seemed somewhat cute but didn’t match her aesthetics.

Chu Kelian pursed her lips. No thanks, she wanted to redraw.

“Well, of course you can. After all, it’s the customer’s right, and I won’t stop you.”

Guxin shook his head. “However, as a responsible shop owner, I must remind you that Trapinch has high potential, and its evolved form is a Dragon-type.”

Guxin reminded Chu Kelian. He wasn’t so low as to exploit the information gap between his customers and their lack of familiarity with Pokémon to make money.

“That Trapinch will evolve into a Dragon-type?”

Chu Kelian was momentarily puzzled, but her eyes soon lit up. Her previous dilemma and frustration vanished instantly.

Bai Qianqian and Lin Sheng were also astonished.

Another Dragon-type?

“Yes, during a Pokémon’s growth, there is a process called evolution. After evolving, a Pokémon’s abilities will greatly increase, and even its appearance, attributes, and abilities may change.”

“And Trapinch, when evolved, will become a Dragon-type Pokémon.”

Guxin explained in detail. The final evolution of Trapinch was Flygon, a mighty Dragon-type Pokémon. While it might not be on par with Legendary or Mythical Pokémon, Flygon’s strength ranked among the top in the hierarchy of Pokémon.

“Well, which one is more powerful in the end, this Trapinch or my Charmander?”

Chu Kelian listened with great interest. She bet she had never been this attentive, even in school.

Bai Qianqian and Lin Sheng were also surprised.

Another Dragon-type?

“Well, if we’re only comparing the strength of their final evolutions, the two are quite similar.”

“But if we consider Charmander’s ability to undergo Mega Evolution with a Mega Stone, in terms of the strength of the Pokémon themselves, Charmander might be slightly stronger… I think?”

Guxin pondered with his chin in hand, glancing at Chu Kelian’s Charmander in her arms.

Indeed, Flygon and Charizard were hard to compare in terms of strength since their combat styles and strengths were utterly different. While Flygon had a type advantage against Charizard due to being a Ground and Dragon-type against Charizard’s Fire and Flying type, Charizard was her Charmander’s father.

Furthermore, Charizard had two Mega Evolutions and even Gigantamax forms. Charmander had a slight edge when considering strategic significance, training value, potential, and overall gameplay.

“But the strength of Pokémon, apart from their innate talents and species, relies more on the trainer’s nurturing.”

“Comparing Pokémon’s battle prowess outside the context of their trainers is a bit of a rogue behavior. A Pokémon in the hands of different trainers may present two entirely different appearances.”

“Young lady, do you understand what I mean?”

Guxin spoke earnestly to Chu Kelian. He wasn’t against people seeking stronger Pokémon. Pursuing strength was, after all, a natural inclination. Why not have Pokémon with higher base stats and greater strength? However, he didn’t want people to pursue only powerful Pokémon mindlessly. While it wasn’t necessarily wrong, it was too goal-oriented. Moreover, a Pokémon’s strength wasn’t solely determined by its base stats.

“There are no weak Pokémon, only weak trainers. I hope you three remember this.”

“Each Pokémon is a sentient, living, and thinking creature. Often, a Pokémon’s inability to shine is simply due to the trainer’s incompetence, nothing more.”

Guxin’s voice lowered as he spoke. He realized his words might sound overly romantic, but that was what he wanted to convey; his words all slightly moved Chu Kelian, Bai Qianqian, and Lin Sheng.

“But I believe that you three will become very famous trainers in the future because you’re my first batch of customers.”

The topic became too heavy, so Guxin smiled and teased them, deftly shifting the direction of the conversation. He was, after all, just a shop owner. He could only guide as much as possible. It would likely arouse customers’ dissatisfaction if he made it too high-minded. Although Chu Kelian, Bai Qianqian, and Lin Sheng seemed to have good values, they were still customers. They took Guxin’s words to heart.

“Of course! Boss, when you hold that competition in the future, I will win the championship!”

Chu Kelian raised her chin proudly, her voice lively and energetic. She still exuded that enigmatic self-confidence.

“I’m looking forward to that, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold the competition in the short term. Of course, I’ll need you three to introduce more customers to me.”

“I hope more people will learn about caring for Pokémon through my business.”

Guxin couldn’t help but chuckle, but he didn’t want to dampen this young lady’s enthusiasm. He diverted the topic with a smile.

“Rest assured, Boss. We’ll help you with plenty of promotion.”

“Yeah, that’s right. When we get back, I’ll post on my social media. They’re either playing games or doing nothing all day, never doing anything productive.”

“…”

Lin Sheng was about to speak but closed his mouth when he heard Chu Kelian’s disdainful words. What’s wrong with playing games? What did they do to deserve this scorn?

However, Lin Sheng also decided that he would help promote Pokémon Home when he got back. The boss was right; to hold a Pokémon competition, they needed a sufficient number of trainers. Otherwise, would they compete for first, second, and third place? Wasn’t that just ridiculous? Moreover, with more people owning Pokémon, there would be more opportunities for battles and strategy. That would undoubtedly be more interesting.

“Boss, Boss, give me the Trapinch now! I want to see what my little big-headed ant looks like.”

Impatiently, Chu Kelian urged Guxin. Now that she knew Trapinch would evolve into a Dragon-type, her anticipation for the little big-headed ant was mounting. Yes, this Trapinch would be her little sweetheart in the future.