Urban Pokémon [31]

"Teacher, you're here."

The moment Su Qingxue saw Guo Yi arrive, her face broke into a bright, radiant smile.

After spending this time together, she'd come to realize that her teacher was like a hidden treasure.

No matter what questions she asked, he always answered with confidence and ease.

Even if her questions had nothing to do with Pokémon, he could still speak knowledgeably, as if there was nothing he didn't understand.

So, by now, Su Qingxue had completely, wholeheartedly decided that Guo Yi would be her teacher for life.

As for her earlier thoughts about using the power of Viridian and finding another mentor—those ideas had long since faded away without a trace.

Of course, it wasn't just Su Qingxue.

Nidorina was also very much looking forward to Guo Yi's arrival.

Because his arrival meant only one thing: it was time to eat.

"Nido, nido!"

Nidorina bounced happily over to Guo Yi, gazing at him with a look of eager anticipation—or more accurately, at the Pokéblocks in Guo Yi's hand.

After all the battles she'd just fought, and with her recent evolution, Nidorina's stomach was rumbling with hunger. She desperately needed to recharge.

"You little thing, look how impatient you are!"

"Eat slowly!"

Guo Yi chuckled, then set the Pokéblocks down in front of Nidorina.

Nidorina wasted no time, immediately wolfing them down.

While Nidorina ate, Guo Yi activated his [Data Eye] to check her current status.

[Nidorina (Poison)]

[Gender: ♀]

[Level: lv25 (Excellent)]

[Ability: Hustle]

[Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Bite (frequently used)]

[Tutored Moves: Hone Claws, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam]

[Egg Move: Iron Tail]

[Held Item: Eviolite (When held by a Pokémon that can still evolve, Defense and Special Defense are increased by 50%.)]

[Potential: Elite Four Tier]

"Mm."

"From here on, as long as Nidorina is steadily trained, she'll be just fine."

"It's about time to prepare a second Pokémon for Qingxue."

Guo Yi had already considered giving Su Qingxue a second Pokémon to raise.

But he'd never quite settled on which one it should be.

Since Su Qingxue was adapting to the Giovanni template, giving her a Ground- or Rock-type Pokémon would best let her tap into her potential.

So, originally, Guo Yi had narrowed it down to two: Aggron or Tyranitar.

Aggron, with its Steel/Rock typing, Aggron had great resistances. Only Fighting, Ground, and Water-type moves could deal more than double damage to it.

And with a sky-high base Defense stat of 180, Aggron was the undisputed wall among tanks.

In the team Guo Yi was planning for Su Qingxue's future, Nidoqueen—with [Sheer Force] paired with the [Life Orb]—would be the centerpiece of offense.

Whether attacking from a distance or fighting up close, she'd be the star.

So bringing in a tank like Aggron would naturally be indispensable.

Not to mention, Aggron was also one of the Pokémon capable of [Mega Evolution].

Once [Mega Evolved], Mega Aggron would become pure Steel-type, and with the addition of the [Filter] ability, its tankiness would reach new heights.

[Filter]: When a Pokémon with this ability is hit by a super-effective move, damage is reduced by 25%.

As for Tyranitar—well, that almost went without saying.

Just the fact that it's a pseudo-legendary speaks volumes.

Of course, the main reason to train Tyranitar was to set up a [Sandstorm] team.

[Sandstorm] weather is a paradise for Ground- and Rock-type Pokémon.

Once Su Qingxue's team was fully formed, with or without sand, her battle power would be worlds apart.

That's why Tyranitar's future value to her team was immeasurable.

The only issue: both of these Pokémon required a hefty investment of resources to raise.

Given Guo Yi's current stock of [Mentor Points], he'd only be able to pick one for the time being.

The other would have to wait.

Originally, Guo Yi had planned to ask Su Qingxue for her own opinion—see which one she'd prefer to train first.

However...

Just a short while ago, the [Opportunity] panel popped up with a prompt, sparing Guo Yi from any more hesitation.

[Breaking News: In a certain secret realm, a uniquely gifted Weedle is about to face a lightning trial. After surviving, its potential will soar to the level of Champion. This is an opportunity you cannot miss!]

[Price: 1,000 Mentor Points]

The appearance of this opportunity—seems like fate is giving me a sign!

But then again, it makes sense. To have Giovanni's template, but not his signature Pokémon? That'd be hard to justify.

Guo Yi couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Honestly, even though Su Qingxue was modeled after Giovanni, Guo Yi hadn't originally intended for her to train a Beedrill.

The reason?

Simple—there was no real need.

In the original story, why did Giovanni ever catch a Beedrill, and make it his strongest mainstay? Guo Yi had no idea.

But right now, Su Qingxue had so many better choices. Why cling to Beedrill?

Even though the system's Giovanni-training guide included a complete Beedrill-raising manual, the resources needed would be enough to bring any pseudo-legendary up to the same standard.

Given that, wouldn't it make more sense to pick a pseudo-legendary?

Wouldn't that be so much better?

And yet...

This sudden message—the mention of "Champion Potential"—made Guo Yi change his mind on the spot.

The reason raising a Beedrill usually required so many resources was simple:

You needed to pour an enormous amount into boosting its potential.

In fact, among ordinary trainers, Beedrill was actually pretty popular.

Their short growth cycle made them a solid choice.

In the wild, a Weedle could evolve into a Beedrill in just one or two weeks.

And once it evolved, Beedrill could display decent combat power.

At least in lower-risk secret realms, it could protect its trainer quite well.

But because they grew so quickly, The entire Beedrill species tended to have low potential.

Most wild Weedle were at "Excellent" or "Advanced" potential at best.

A rare "Elite" Weedle would be the pinnacle of their kind in the wild.

Anything above that—finding one would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But now, a Weedle with Champion potential was right in front of Guo Yi.

How could he possibly let it go?

After all, Champion potential, even among pseudo-legendaries, that was incredibly rare.

"Teacher, what are you thinking about?"

"Is there something wrong with Nidoran?"

Su Qingxue noticed her teacher staring off at Nidoran and asked, puzzled.

Guo Yi snapped back to himself and quickly shook his head.

"It's nothing—I was just thinking about your second Pokémon."

"Here, you've been training all morning. Eat your lunch first."

"We'll talk more in a bit."

Su Qingxue nodded, then took the insulated lunch box from Guo Yi and quietly enjoyed her meal.