The girl and her Fletchinder hugged each other in joy after their victory. Around them, the crowd cheered while other Pokémon nearby grew restless, eager for their own battles.
At that moment, Mewtwo no longer cared why Lin Feng's Viridian Aura was so powerful.
Borrowing the power of this aura, it probed the emotions of all the humans and Pokémon around them, as though searching for a trace of hatred or any Pokémon unwilling to be "controlled."
Yet after scanning the entire crowd, the only emotion it found was mild disappointment from the defeated Chespin. But even that quickly vanished as Chespin was comforted by its Trainer and rekindled its fighting spirit.
Such warmth and natural affection were things Mewtwo had never witnessed back when it fought under Team Rocket's orders.
Back then, all they cared about was sending it to subdue other Pokémon and plunder their resources.
A look of confusion crossed Mewtwo's face.
Could it be… it had misunderstood all along?
"Guys, look! I found someone. That's Lin Feng, the owner of the breeding shop!"
As the match ended and the crowd began to disperse, someone suddenly shouted from within the throng.
In the blink of an eye, everyone turned toward Lin Feng and surrounded him.
"No way! I heard this guy's a top-tier Breeder. The energy cubes from his shop are the real deal — not only delicious but more effective than the ones sold by the Pokémon League, and cheaper too!"
"Exactly! After my Pokémon tried them, they can't get enough. Even training sessions they used to hate, they're now eager to do…"
"Hey, Lin Feng, were you watching the battles here because you wanted to have a match of your own?"
Faced with the enthusiastic crowd, Lin Feng quickly waved his hands. "No, no, I'm not here to battle."
He knew all too well that if he accepted even one match in front of so many people, there would be an endless line of challengers afterward.
"That's really a pity," said the girl who'd just battled with Fletchinder. She'd noticed the Pidgey perched on Lin Feng's shoulder and had been hoping to challenge him herself.
Seeing Lin Feng decline, the other young Trainers quickly lost interest and began organizing another battle among themselves instead.
Watching them, Lin Feng found himself struck by a new idea.
Maybe he could build a small Pokémon battle arena here.
After all, the more people gathered, the greater the reputation and the more resources consumed — which meant more sales for his energy cubes.
Ultimately, there were many ways to make Pokémon happy, and good food was only one of them.
Leaving the crowd, Lin Feng playfully nudged Pidgey, sending it fluttering back up to its pine tree perch. Then he turned toward where Mewtwo had been standing moments before.
The flamboyantly pink-haired teenager was gone.
Instead, a pale white envelope drifted gently from the sky, landing squarely in Lin Feng's hand.
The instant he touched it, a translucent humanoid shape rose from the envelope's surface. This time, it wasn't the disguised human form Mewtwo often assumed, but its true appearance.
Clenching its fists, the illusory Mewtwo spoke in a voice filled with solemn authority:
"You were right. I did have too many biases about how humans and Pokémon coexist."
"So, I've decided to go experience more relationships between people and Pokémon for myself."
"And I'm going to create a game — a challenge of sorts — choosing special Trainers among humans to complete this trial…"
"This envelope holds a fragment of my psychic power. If you ever need help, simply tear it apart, and I will come to you immediately."
Mewtwo's image paused, lingering as if waiting for Lin Feng to say something.
"That's actually pretty good to hear." Lin Feng smiled upon hearing Mewtwo's last sentence.
After a moment's thought, he added softly:
"Go ahead and play whatever game you like. That's your own choice. When you first arrived in this town, you were filled with so much anger toward humans. I only hope that, if you ever find yourself consumed by hatred for humanity again, you'll remember this little town."
"And of course, if you ever miss the food here, you're always welcome back. I'll cook for you anytime."
As Lin Feng's words fell silent, Mewtwo's illusory figure hovered there in stillness for a moment before dissolving into pure energy and vanishing.
Meanwhile, far above Wutong Town, hidden amidst drifting clouds, Mewtwo gazed down at the quiet settlement in a daze.
"He already saw through my disguise?" it murmured to itself.
It stood there in contemplation for a long time, then reached for a Poké Ball at its waist.
"Ah well. This town really is… beautiful."
With that, it released a Goodra, which floated in the air beside it.
"Use Rain Dance on the town below."
"Goo… draa…"
Three days later…
July 24th.
Over the past few days, Wutong Town had enjoyed much cooler weather. If you stepped into the grass growing beside the stone-paved paths, you could still feel the damp chill lingering in the soil.
All of this was thanks to a dark cloud that had gathered overhead three days ago, seemingly from out of nowhere.
In the span of a few moments, rain had poured down in dense sheets, forming a curtain of water that swiftly refilled the town's only river.
For Wutong Town, which hadn't seen a drop of rain in over a month, this was nothing short of a blessing.
In the plantation near the breeding house…
Two plots of land close to Lin Feng's shop were thriving. The Cheri Berries were blazing red like blood, each one as big as an apple, their branches propped up with wooden stakes to keep them from collapsing under the weight.
A newly planted patch of Radishes was poking pale white shoots out of the soil.
And the watermelons… In just three days, they'd already swelled to the size of basketballs, their striped rinds gleaming under the sun. Another day or two, and they'd be ready to eat.
The pasture grass had sprouted a lush second crop, its reflection rippling across the water in the irrigation pool, creating a scene as picturesque as a painting.
The entire plantation, except for the reservoir and rice paddies, brimmed with vibrant life and greenery.
Yet Lin Feng wore a rather gloomy expression as he and Snivy harvested the ripe vegetables, one by one placing them into storage Poké Balls.
As he worked, he sighed to himself.
"I knew it. I should've kept Mewtwo around to help with the labor."
After experiencing how easy it was to harvest crops using a Psychic-type Pokémon, he found it painfully hard to accept going back to manual labor.
About half an hour later…
Lin Feng wiped sweat from his brow and watched as Snivy retracted its vines. He thought for a moment. It had been three or four days now, so the energy from Snivy's evolution should have stabilized.
Pulling out his only mid-level Rare Candy, he offered it to the Pokémon. "Here, have some candy."
"Snivy?"
Snivy accepted the candy with its vine but looked puzzled.
Didn't its Trainer tell it that the candy had no more effect?
"This one's new."
Lin Feng gave a quick explanation, then waved up at Pidgey in the sky and tossed a basic Rare Candy its way. Pidgey caught it precisely in its beak and chirped happily.
Good…
Pidgey needed to grow stronger if it wanted to reclaim its territory. Besides leveling up, it also needed practice mastering its moves.
That would take some time.
After all, Lin Feng planned to explore the wilderness near his home sooner or later anyway.
Ring ring ring~
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Lin Feng picked up and answered, "Hello?"
"Hello? Is this Mr. Lin Feng? The starter Pokémon eggs you reserved at WoWo Supermarket are ready for you to pick out…"
Lin Feng's eyes lit up instantly.
It looked like his plantation was about to gain a few more helpful new recruits…
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