As the sun set, painting the sky in hues of orange, Shinichi Miki sat on a park bench with Ralts on his lap, tenderly wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Ralts!"
Ralts stubbornly clenched her fists, insisting she was okay.
Seeing her dirty, exhausted, yet determined face made Shinichi's heart ache.
For over a decade, since childhood, she had been cherished, held in his hands, and adored.
"Maybe we should just forget it. We could buy some powerful Pokémon instead, and then—"
"Ralts!!"
Before Shinichi could finish, Ralts interrupted him.
Bathed in the orange twilight, Ralts looked at him with a complex gaze.
She shook her head earnestly, waving her little fists as if to prove her capability. Her whole body trembled slightly, as if aware of her own perceived inadequacy and afraid that Shinichi might abandon her.
"It's not that I don't want you; I just don't want you to suffer or struggle," Shinichi quickly explained.
Ralts shook her head again, like a stubborn, rebellious little girl—yet exceptionally serious and solemn.
Under the gaze of those red eyes, Shinichi fell silent for a moment before nodding seriously. "I understand. I'm sorry, Ralts. Let's work hard together."
From the shadows cast by the distant setting sun, the yellow Pokémon watched them, tilting its head in thought.
Shinichi took a transparent crystal box from his backpack. Inside, thirty-six Pokéblocks were neatly arranged.
Each was only the size of a fingernail, but when the box opened, the scent of the psychic energy infused within instantly captivated the yellow Pokémon from afar.
These were the highest-grade, non-satiating Psychic-type Pokéblocks. Each one was a fatal temptation for Psychic-type Pokémon—and of course, exorbitantly priced.
They were also delicate and hard to preserve, losing their potency if stored in anything other than crystal containers.
Just as Ralts reached out to take one, an urgent shout came from nearby.
"Make way, make way! Sorry, sorry!"
A girl in blue clothes ran past like the wind, inevitably knocking the box from Shinichi's hands.
The Pokéblocks scattered all over the ground.
"Pika pika!"
The Pikachu running with the girl turned its head and called out twice, seemingly apologizing.
The Pokéblocks rolling on the ground were covered in dust. Sitting on the bench, struck by this unexpected misfortune, Shinichi was momentarily stunned.
"Never mind, I'll buy more." He sighed, picked up the dirty Pokéblocks from the ground, threw them into a nearby trash bin, patted his clothes, and left with Ralts.
He considered chasing after the girl to make her pay, but thinking about how tired Ralts was—and that they were just snacks he could repurchase—he let it go.
Ralts pouted.
She thought that person was so rude!
After they left, the yellow Pokémon hiding in the shadows used Teleport to appear in front of the trash bin.
If Shinichi were there, he would have recognized it as an Abra—though a very dirty one.
The Abra used Confusion to levitate the contents of the bin.
Among the debris, including broken wooden boards with residual ice chips, it picked out the discarded Pokéblocks.
Not minding the dust, it placed several cubes into its mouth.
Instantly, the blocks melted into a blue liquid that dispersed throughout its body.
Its eyes widened in astonishment.
How could such an amazing thing exist in the world?
"Low on stock?" Shinichi asked, frowning.
"Yes, the demand for this grade of Pokéblock isn't very high in Rockridge City. They're quite expensive, so generally, few people choose them," the front desk clerk patiently explained.
She added, "Also, the Catch Safari Zone in the suburbs has officially opened, and some stock was allocated there as a promotional attraction."
The Catch Safari Zone was typically developed in the outskirts of cities, in newly secured hazardous areas.
It used a special 'Safari Ball' to temporarily catch wild Pokémon. These Safari Balls could be reused repeatedly. Their restraining power wasn't strong; Pokémon caught by these balls could even be caught again repeatedly.
By removing dangerous Pokémon and leaving behind gentle, non-threatening ones, the repeated catching process aimed to achieve domestication.
"That genius invention…" Shinichi recalled his astonishment as a child upon learning that such a ball existed in this world.
And the inventor had truly shocked him.
The notorious leader of Team Rocket — Giovanni.
A person who shouldn't exist in this world.
After swiping his card, Shinichi left the store with three boxes of Pokéblocks.
Enough to last about a month.
As night had fallen, he returned to the Pokémon Center to rest.
"Goodnight, Ralts."
Shinichi lay on the bed next to Ralts, who was already drowsy and on the verge of passing out.
"Ral…"
In the blink of an eye, Ralts was fast asleep.
She was truly exhausted from the day's training.
The next day, around noon, Ralts woke from her sleep.
When she opened her eyes, she found Shinichi sitting on the bed, looking at his phone.
"Awake?"
Hearing movement behind him, Shinichi turned around.
Ralts crawled out from under the covers and waved her fists.
It seemed like she was saying it was time for today's training.
"No training today. We're going for some practical battle experience," Shinichi said with a smile.
"Ralts?"
Ralts tilted her head, confused.
"This is the place."
Standing at the ticket office of the Safari Zone, Shinichi spoke to the puzzled Ralts in his arms.
Last night, he had thought it over. After a full day of training, Ralts could now barely use Ice Punch. It might be better to test it in practical combat.
The Catch Safari Zone was mostly filled with harmless Pokémon like Oddish, making it perfectly suitable.
Queuing up to enter the ticket office, he looked at the exchange board displayed in the center.
The Pokéblocks he wanted were listed there, exchangeable with Safari Zone points. You earned points by turning in the Pokémon you caught here.
"Hello, the ticket is one thousand Pokédollars. You get twelve Safari Balls. If you catch Pokémon with all of them, you can get points worth roughly ten thousand Pokédollars."
The ticket officer explained.
It was incredibly generous, almost like a welfare program.
After swiping his card, he left under the ticket officer's somewhat incredulous gaze at his account balance.
The twelve shrunken Safari Balls were strung together like a large green bracelet.
Entering the Safari Zone, a cool breeze greeted them. In the distance were tall hills.
"Today, we'll get some practical experience," Shinichi said to Ralts.
Hearing this, Ralts's eyes sharpened with determination.
They hadn't walked far when a leisurely Oddish jumped out from the grass.
"Go, Ralts!"
"Ralts!"
Ralts jumped down from his embrace and used the only move she could currently execute.
Her fist, coated in frost, punched the Oddish.
The Oddish was sent flying backward, spinning in confusion before its eyes swirled into spirals.
At that moment, the long-vanished progress bar reappeared in Shinichi's vision. The 100% bar decreased to 99%.
Faint golden particles flew into Ralts's body.
"Holy crap, it's active! I've got a cheat!"
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: 失渝光
Raw:宝可梦:我的冠军老婆沙奈朵