Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

After a while...

”Chirp...?” (Huff... huff...)

Torchic panted heavily, its little chest rising and falling as it stared in confusion at the trainer who always managed to stay just a step ahead of it.

It had already used Quick Attack five times. Each time, it thought it was finally going to catch up. But no just a tiny bit short. Always just a little bit short...

The most recent time, it had felt like it was close enough to touch its trainer’s leg. But then, in a single stride, he surged ahead again.

Why?

Why was it always just barely out of reach?

Torchic couldn’t understand.

Was it... because it wasn’t trying hard enough?

Just then, the voice of its trainer rang out from ahead.

”Running out of steam already? Don’t you want your grilled skewers later? What about that delicious cake... and the berry salad? If you push a little more, maybe you’ll overtake me!”

And that made it realize something.

Of course! It must be that it hadn’t tried hard enough!

Clenching its beak, Torchic felt a surge of energy rise from deep within. Its speed suddenly soared again...

”Whoa... this is Speed Boost?”

Watching Torchic break through its limits once more and rush forward with renewed strength, Lin Feng swallowed hard.

It was just a little Torchic, yet its speed now seemed faster than even a Pidgey using Quick Attack in mid-air.

But it wasn’t a problem.

Because Lin Feng had realized that he was still even faster and more importantly, running alongside Torchic still hadn’t pushed him to his physical limits.

In other words, even he didn’t know where the limit of his body lay.

After running for a bit longer, and confirming that Torchic had fully exhausted its potential for now, Lin Feng came to a stop and walked over to its side, planning to give it a small nudge of encouragement for tomorrow.

But unexpectedly

”Chirp!”

”Chirp chirp!” (Tomorrow! Tomorrow I’ll definitely beat you!)

Laughing, Lin Feng held out an energy cube, coaxing Torchic to stand up. ”Hehe... then you better keep working hard. Let’s head home and eat, alright?”

The moment it heard that, Torchic’s eyes lit up and the heavy weight it had been carrying in its heart slowly lifted.

This trainer... really wouldn’t abandon it using some excuse...

Back at the farm, Snivy had already arrived with Alolan Vulpix. She stood quietly under the Dragonfire Fruit Tree, gazing at the budding flowers in a daze.

When she saw Lin Feng return with Torchic, she finally spoke.

”Vine vine?” (It’s blooming?)

”Yup. Should be bearing fruit in a few days,” Lin Feng replied.

He knew Snivy had been keeping track because he’d promised her a surprise once the tree bore fruit.

But today...

She ended up giving him a surprise first.

[Pokémon: Snivy]

[Gender: Female]

[Ability: Contrary]

[Potential: Gold Tier]

[IVs: HP (27+2), Atk (22+1), Sp. Atk (27+2), Def (26+1), Sp. Def (24+2), Speed (31+3)]

[Level: 31–35]

[Moves: Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Glare...]

[Friendship: 99 (You are her emotional anchor)]

[Joy Level: 40 (Feeling somewhat happy)]

Just yesterday, she was still at level 29. But now, she’d broken through to gym-tier strength.

It seemed like that massive cake yesterday really did the trick.

”You’ve gotten a bit taller again.”

He measured with his hand and realized that Snivy was nearly up to his chest now. Lin Feng let out a sigh of admiration.

Looking at her now, the wooden house that once belonged to Scyther would definitely be too small for her final evolved form, Serperior.

”Vine vine...”

Snivy said nothing more, simply gazing at Lin Feng as if to remind him that it was feeding time.

With a warm smile, Lin Feng nodded and began feeding each Pokémon an energy cube. Then he handed out green dumplings to the Miltank herd to help them with milk production.

[Grade B+ Moomoo Milk – Fresh milk produced by elite-level Miltank. Long-term use by young Pokémon can strengthen the body and provide most of the nutrients needed for growth.]

”Your milk is getting sweeter too, huh...”

As he noticed the noticeably more fragrant milk, Lin Feng couldn’t help but compliment them.

”Moo?” (Really? Really?)

”Moo~” (Is it? I just feel like milking’s gotten more comfortable~)

”Uh...”

Lin Feng fell silent.

The bonuses from his God-tier Breeder profession didn’t just apply to energy cube crafting or cooking. They extended into various related sub-skills as well.

For example... milking. And massage.

Massage was mainly useful with Alolan Vulpix. Just a few minutes of gentle pressing would have the little thing cooing in bliss... then fast asleep shortly after.

As for the other Pokémon he hadn’t really tried it on them yet.

But clearly, it was worth exploring more side-professions like this in the future.

”Brother Feng? Brother Feng?”

Just as Lin Feng finished milking and was calculating how much the upgraded milk might sell for, Qin Shu walked in from outside.

”What is it?”

She carefully avoided the planting beds and came over. ”It’s like this these past two days, there’ve been Spearow swarming around the outskirts of Prosper Valley. They keep swooping down and stealing the crop. None of the locals have strong enough Pokémon, so the village chief asked if you could help.”

”Spearow?”

Lin Feng’s expression turned a little strange.

He suddenly remembered that when he last drove off the Spearow flock, he’d only told them to ”stay out of Pidgey’s territory.”

But he never said they couldn’t go near human settlements.

So...

After losing their original grounds, they started raiding the town early?

Lin Feng nodded. ”Alright. I’ll head over in a bit.”

After all, the farmers had worked for months and were just about to harvest. He couldn’t let their efforts go to waste.

Qin Shu nodded and returned to the breeding house.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng stroked his chin in thought.

He had originally considered planting Prosper Grain too it was great for brewing rice wine.

But he gave up on the idea because the process was tedious and complicated.

As for the families in Wutong Town who still grew Prosper Grain each year, they usually saved a small portion for themselves and sold the rest.

Which meant... he could probably buy some from the townsfolk instead.

”Bi-diao!”

Right at that moment, a sharp cry sliced through the sky.

Looking up, Lin Feng spotted an orange-red blur streaking toward him.

Behind it followed a flock of about twenty smaller figures.

Then, in a blink, a ripple of psychic energy shimmered in the air Gardevoir had silently appeared by his side.

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