After parting ways with Professor Laventon, Xu Li strolled through the streets of Jubilife Village, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the busy figures of the Jubilife villagers by the roadside.
As he passed three merchants carrying heavily laden backpacks, with a caravan vehicle parked behind them, the merchant in the middle called out to Xu Li:
"Hey there, young man, would you like to take a look at our goods? We have many rare items from the Hisui region here!"
Hearing this, Xu Li looked at them and stopped.
The merchants were wearing white and blue uniforms, with ginkgo leaf symbols on their chests and on the merchant vehicle. Was this Hisui's Ginkgo Guild? Xu Li hadn't noticed it when he just walked past.
"My name is Ginn. Young man, seeing the Poké Ball on your waist, you must be a formidable person. Our goods are very useful for battles in the wild and for raising Pokémon. Feel free to take a look."
With that, Ginn took out a menu and handed it to Xu Li.
Xu Li looked at the prices on the menu and then remembered that he didn't have any Hisui currency. He looked up and said:
"Can I sell some items to you?"
"Of course, what items would you like to sell?"
Xu Li pretended to take out items he had picked up from the space-time distortion from his small bag.
"Wow, Star Pieces, various colored Shards, and even Comet Shards! These are very valuable for collection, we can buy them at a high price, please do sell them to us!"
Ginn's eyes lit up when he saw Xu Li pull out so many shards; these were all luxuries in Hisui.
At this moment, another merchant who had been observing silently suddenly spoke:
"So many shards, young man, have you entered a space-time distortion? I hear many ferocious Pokémon appear there."
"My name is Wang Luo, I am a traveling merchant from the Ginkgo Guild. What should I call you, young man? It's a pleasure to meet you."
Wang Luo? What does he want now? Xu Li turned to look at this merchant, who resembled Zhu Lan, and politely nodded, replying, "Xu Li, nice to meet you."
Wang Luo flicked his hair and continued, "A merchant's nature is to personally confirm rare people, things, and objects! How about it? Shall we have our Pokémon compete?"
Inviting a battle upon first meeting? A bit crazy.
Xu Li didn't want to interact with Wang Luo.
Regardless, Wang Luo's ultimate goal was to trick others into helping him collect stone slabs to control Arceus.
Thinking this, Xu Li said, "That's a good idea, but I refuse! My Pokémon need rest."
With that, he took the money exchanged from Ginn's hand and continued browsing the items on the menu.
"Boss Ginn, I want to buy this Peat Block, the Max Revive set, the Gigaton Ball set, and the Feather Ball set."
"Alright, that will be 29,500 yuan."
Spending two-thirds of his money at once, Xu Li took the Peat Block, three Max Revives, twenty Gigaton Balls, and Feather Balls, thanked the boss, and turned to leave.
Seeing Xu Li walk down the street, Ginn joked to Wang Luo, "Hahaha, Wang Luo, it's rare for you to get such a cold shoulder."
Wang Luo covered his eyes with his hand, feigning dejection, and replied, "Haha, yes, that young man is a bit cold…"
But Ginn didn't see that Wang Luo's covered eye faintly glowed with a dark light, carrying a hint of curiosity.
—
After purchasing items at the Ginkgo Guild, Xu Li continued to buy some common ingredients at the corner market and returned to his guest room in Jubilife Village for an afternoon nap.
Xu Li's cooking wasn't great, but it was edible, and with Growlithe, making a fire was very convenient.
Soon, Xu Li made two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, along with berries and energy cubes, and had lunch with his Pokémon.
After lunch, Axew and Growlithe huddled together, discussing battle techniques.
In the few days since Growlithe was captured by Xu Li, he had been convinced by Axew's rich battle techniques. Now, he was tirelessly discussing battle techniques with Axew, and even after just fighting, his eyes were still a bit excited.
Xu Li was studying the berry mixer for energy cubes he had obtained. Fortunately, there was an instruction manual, and Xu Li barely understood the theoretical use of the berry mixer. He was now practicing it step by step.
With the large number of berries gifted by the Spheal tribe, Xu Li could now explore to his heart's content.
And Paras? Paras was still focused on eating energy cubes.
Why were there so many energy cubes? Of course, they were the product of Xu Li's not-so-failed experiments. Although the taste wasn't as good as the energy cubes produced by the system, Paras accepted them without refusal, eating until the two mushrooms on his back trembled.
---
At 3 PM, Xu Li prepared to go out to find Professor Laventon.
Entering the Galaxy Team headquarters, there was a large red carpet on the ground with the Galaxy Team emblem, a grand staircase on both sides, and rooms in front.
As soon as Xu Li entered the headquarters, a Galaxy Team service member came to inquire.
"Sir, may I help you?"
Xu Li replied, "I'm looking for Professor Laventon."
"Alright, Professor Laventon has given instructions. Please follow me."
Saying this, she led Xu Li to the door of Professor Laventon's office. Xu Li knocked on the door and entered.
Inside the room, there was a large fish tank, a tree landscape, and a stove. The Hisui starters Xu Li had recalled were quietly living in their respective habitats.
Oshawott in the fish tank saw Xu Li arrive and turned his Head away, but couldn't help but watch Xu Li from the corner of his eye.
Xu Li watched Oshawott's movements, suppressing a laugh, and raised his hand to greet Oshawott.
Professor Laventon, who was working at his desk, looked up and saw Xu Li, exclaiming with surprise:
"Xu Li, you're finally here! If you hadn't come, I would have gone to find you."
Saying this, he picked up a badge from the table and handed it to Xu Li, eagerly showing off as if claiming credit:
"I've discussed it with Magamu. This is the Galaxy Team Investigator Badge, which means you can use the Galaxy Team's ranch and other facilities."
"Don't rush to refuse. This doesn't mean you're a member of the Galaxy Team; it's just proof of facility usage. Well, you could say you're an unofficial investigator, mainly to help me complete the Pokédex. You don't need to participate in internal Galaxy Team affairs."
"In Jubilife Village, I will be fully responsible for you. Others have no right to do anything to you, and the Pokédex and anything else only need to be handed over to me."
"I've also arranged housing. Someone will take you to another house later; that will be your house, Xu Li."
"I've also decided that if you're willing, you can choose one of the three Pokémon you recalled for research at the training ground. I believe, Xu Li, you will make that child live better, and they only need to cooperate with research occasionally."
"Good!"
Xu Li nodded, saying nothing. This treatment was very generous for the strength he had displayed. He stepped forward and hugged Professor Laventon.
"Come, let's start by connecting the Pokédex data."
Next, Xu Li reported in detail to Professor Laventon the information needed for the Pokédex, regarding the living habits, communal habits, personalities, moves, and most importantly, the abilities of various Pokémon.
Professor Laventon exclaimed, "Ability?! I've never heard of it."
Xu Li continued, "Every Pokémon has at least one Ability, most have two. For example, Growlithe, have you noticed that some Growlithe are not damaged by Fire-type moves, while others are? This clearly proves that Growlithe has at least two different Abilities."
"I've observed that Growlithe should have three Abilities: Intimidate, which makes opponents flinch and dare not attack; Flash Fire, which prevents damage from Fire-type moves; and a hidden Ability, which is relatively rare on Growlithe compared to the other two, called Rock Head, which prevents recoil damage from moves."
"I think every Pokémon should have an Ability. This is a huge project. Obtaining this information requires continuous observation and interaction with Pokémon to summarize."
When Xu Li arrived in Hisui and encountered his first Pokémon, he knew that this Hisui was not like the game where there were no Abilities; here, Pokémon indeed had Abilities.
Perhaps the 'Trainers' of Hisui had sensed the existence of Abilities, but they had not yet systematically categorized them.
Telling Professor Laventon about the existence of Abilities had almost no impact on Xu Li and allowed him to complete the [Release of the First Pokédex] mission.
For Professor Laventon, it was a new, undiscovered research topic.
Because the [Release of the First Pokédex] mission was originally very simple, even if he did nothing, it would naturally be completed once Professor Laventon released the incomplete first version of the Pokédex.
If it were completed that way, the reward would certainly not be great; to release a Pokédex, it had to be a complete one.
Professor Laventon was extremely excited to learn about this new information on Abilities. He excitedly waved his fist, muttering:
"Yes, Ability, Ability, it's true, I should have known earlier. Some Ponyta are also immune to Fire-type attacks; I suppose that's Flash Fire as well."
Professor Laventon excitedly grabbed Xu Li's hand and discussed the possibilities of various Abilities with him.
Even though Xu Li knew most Pokémon's Abilities, he couldn't just blurt them all out to Professor Laventon. He could only vaguely mention some conjectures about Pokémon Abilities, but even that made Professor Laventon clap his hands in admiration.
Thus, the discussion continued until 6 PM, stopping only when a staff member came to Professor Laventon's office to deliver meals, and Xu Li snagged a free dinner.
Professor Laventon reluctantly let go of Xu Li's hand, still unsatisfied, and said, "It's getting late indeed. Let's discuss this again next time!"
Then, Professor Laventon took out three ancient Poké Balls from under the desk and said to Xu Li, "Oh, right, these three children—Cyndaquil, Rowlet, and Oshawott—choose the one you like."
Hearing Professor Laventon's words, Cyndaquil and Rowlet had no reaction, but Oshawott in the fish tank instantly perked up.
He wanted to watch how Xu Li chose, but also didn't want to show it, so he could only turn his body sideways and tightly watch Xu Li from the corner of his eye.
Xu Li had already made up his mind. Without hesitation, he directly took Oshawott's Poké Ball and walked towards the fish tank in the corner of the room.
Seeing Oshawott, whose body was a bit uncoordinated, knowing Xu Li chose him and was very happy but still wanted to maintain his composure, Xu Li found it amusing. He reached into the fish tank and stroked Oshawott's smooth Head, saying:
"Oshawott, be my Pokémon. I will take good care of you."
At the same time, he extended the Poké Ball, stopping it within Oshawott's reach.
"Meow~"
Oshawott's small hand instantly moved impatiently, then stopped abruptly, and two seconds later touched the Poké Ball, turning into white light and being absorbed by the Poké Ball.
Xu Li saw these small actions and chuckled to himself, *Little tsundere.*
He released Oshawott. Seeing Oshawott standing on the floor, looking a bit bewildered and unsure what to do, Xu Li squatted down and said, "Here, a welcome gift."
Saying this, Xu Li took out the Shell Bell he had obtained from the Walrein King from his backpack and handed it to Oshawott.
Oshawott looked at the Shell Bell in front of him, clearly very fond of it, his eyes sparkling. After taking the Shell Bell, he eagerly took out the scalchop from his chest and replaced it.
He looked left and right, admiring his new scalchop.
Finally, he held his original scalchop in both hands, looking a bit embarrassed, his cheeks slightly flushed, but still wanting to give it to Xu Li.
"Meow~ Meow~"
"Okay, I'll keep it safe. Thank you, Oshawott."
Xu Li took the scalchop Oshawott handed him and put it into the lowest layer of his system backpack, next to Spheal's Poké Ball.
Professor Laventon, standing by, chuckled, "Hahaha, it seems you two get along very well."
Xu Li stroked the dark blue horn on Oshawott's Head and replied with a smile, "Yes, I really like this child."
Professor Laventon patted his Head, pointed to the blackboard behind him, which was covered with yellow papers, and said, "Oh, right, could you take a look at these requests? If there are any requests along your way, could you help complete them? I'll pay you extra."
Xu Li stepped forward and looked at the requests on the blackboard. Soon, he picked out two request papers and handed them to Professor Laventon.
Professor Laventon looked at the requests in his hand and introduced, "Oh~ they're both requests from Obsidian Fieldlands. Let's see. 'Strange Ponyta Sighting Report.' This was discovered by Yaoyou of the Investigation Team. The report says a strange Ponyta with blue flames, different from ordinary Ponyta, appeared in Horseshoe Plains. But Yaoyou tried to catch it several times and failed. Yaoyou described this Ponyta often appearing at the central pond in Horseshoe Plains to drink water, but it's very vigilant and escapes very quickly."
"Oh, right, there's a Rapidash Head in Horseshoe Plains. It's the king of that plain, but it only likes to run around the plain and doesn't care about other things. As long as you don't provoke it, it won't notice you."
"The other is a 'Red Fireball Sighting Report.' This is a report from villager Huanxi. He found a red fireball on a tree in Tailwind Path at dusk and was very scared, so he ran back. A red fireball on a tree, hmm~ what a strange phenomenon. Then I'll leave it to you, Xu Li, to investigate. I'll prepare the reward."
Xu Li naturally knew why these two missions existed: one was a Shinny Ponyta, and the other was a Chimchar climbing on a tree. Both were good Pokémon, and he could try to catch them.
Taking the requests Professor Laventon handed back, Xu Li nodded and said, "These two requests it is. When I go out to train next, I'll go to Obsidian Fieldlands, and if I encounter these two requests, I'll pay special attention."
Professor Laventon replied with a smile, "Good! Then I'll leave it to you. If you encounter other Pokémon, you can also try to catch them as much as possible. I'm very, very short on Pokémon here."
"It's getting late. I'll have someone take you, Xu Li, to your new house. Get some good rest."