"No, no, no."
"Rex Lapis... has no Pokémon yet?"
As Zhongli listened to Hiroshi's retelling, he seemed to see Venti taunting him with a drunken, smug look on his face. There were some signs of twitching in Zhongli's usually calm and stoic face.
After Hiroshi finished speaking, he spread his hands.
"These are Barbatos's exact words."
Zhongli: ...
For a moment, Zhongli's face twitched slightly, and he said in a low, gravelly voice:
"This is indeed... something that old friend, the alcoholic bard, would say!"
Hiss.
I feel like I can hear some murderous intent in the air.
Venti is in danger!
Hiroshi had a thought, and a blank Pokédex that had been prepared in his inventory flew through the bamboo curtain to the next room.
"After registering and authenticating, you can connect with your old friends."
Battle line?
It probably means tit-for-tat!
Zhongli understood this, and under Hiroshi's guidance, he quickly became familiar with how to operate the Pokédex.
[START]
[WHO AM I?]
Spin... Spin... Beep!
[Kubfu] (The Wushu Pokémon)
A small, bear-like Pokémon appeared on the Pokédex screen. It wore a white headband and had a focused, martial artist's expression.
"Holy grass!!"
Hiroshi was stunned.
Zhongli looked up calmly. "Are you surprised?"
Of course I'm so surprised!
Hiroshi took a deep breath.
"The racial potential of Pokémon can be roughly divided into Ordinary, Pseudo-Legendary, and Legendary."
"Look up. This is a Legendary Pokémon."
"They are Mythical Beasts!"
"The evolved form of the Kubfu you drew is Urshifu (Single Strike Style or Rapid Strike Style)... well, it is a Sub-Legendary God form!"
Damn it.
If I hadn't drawn Meloetta, Hiroshi would be sore with jealousy.
Kubfu... Urshifu... that's the ceiling of the pure Fighting type. Its personality is like a human with a pure martial arts heart. Over time, it keeps practicing and perfecting its craft.
Its rarity and preciousness mean that it can be promoted to a Legendary Pokémon not only after it evolves. It is one.
It is also an extremely rare Pokémon even among Legendaries because it evolves.
The probability of drawing it is probably the same as drawing a real Sub-Legendary God directly. That's almost zero.
However, when this Kubfu reaches its limit, it will be a Sub-Legendary God.
Hiroshi glanced at the System's quotation on his interface.
[Price: ???]
That's right.
The System didn't indicate a number, so it just put a question mark on it.
Fuck!!
What do you mean?
Because after evolving into Urshifu, it must be a Fighting God, so this Kubfu is priceless?
Zhongli also became interested. "Mythical Beast form?"
"Is the Pokémon in your store that swept across the Underground World with spiritual power also a Mythical Beast?"
Hiroshi rolled his eyes. After dragging Zhongli into the Customer Group Chat, he sent him the private chat list containing the short video of his previous battle with Aether (Sora) and the Abyss Order.
"See for yourself. This is the power of a First-Class God (True Legendary)."
After Zhongli clicked on it, he looked at the picture on his Pokédex in surprise. After a long while, watching the moonlight subjugate an army, he sighed.
"The power of the New Moon?"
"The Authority of Sweet Dreams?"
Hiroshi nodded. "The upper limit of your Kubfu is Sub-Legendary God. It belongs to a divine bloodline and has the power to fight gods, so... it is priceless!"
Zhongli nodded with a solemn expression. After watching the video and roughly understanding the power of the Divine Beast, he also felt that a Pokémon that could grow into a Sub-Legendary God was indeed priceless.
You know, although Morax is called the Prime of the Adepti...
The Adepti and Yakshas in Liyue are actually a bit weak compared to True Gods.
I am afraid that even the low-level Sub-Legendary Gods such as Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos are superior in raw elemental output compared to some Adepti.
They are Pseudo-Third-Level Gods, dependents, and have not yet mastered complete power.
Zhongli inexplicably thought of Azhdaha, the Dragon King who had followed him in battles in the past.
"So about Erosion (Wear and Tear)..."
Hiroshi looked at him strangely.
"Why do you subconsciously think that Pokémon will suffer from Erosion? In the Pokémon world, there is no such concept for Legendaries. It is not a native species to your Teyvat! They operate under different laws."
Zhongli's expression was shocked.
Even the old Emperor's mind spun countless times at this moment.
The God of Contracts, who had always been calm and stoic, now had a fire of hope growing in his chest.
"Manager Hiroshi... what do I need to pay?"
Zhongli heard that Hiroshi had not quoted a price for a long time and realized that "Priceless" meant he couldn't pay with Mora.
Hiroshi: ...
The System's quotation is always a suggestion.
Anyway, except for Business Tasks, there is no requirement for whether the Pokémon Home store's revenue is a loss or a profit.
Just right!
Hiroshi nodded secretly.
"Old Man, I want to exchange for a piece of land in Liyue."
Crack the earth and be made a King?
Zhongli narrowed his eyes slightly. It's not impossible.
Hiroshi continued: "...I want to use this land to create and guide a Pokémon Ecological Zone."
"Regarding the Ecological Zone, you can understand it as a small, self-contained Pokémon nature reserve. From the bacterial scavengers at the bottom to the air, to the ozone layer... and even the possibility of topographical change."
Zhongli was silent.
How could he refuse to agree?
However, considering Hiroshi's special status, if he is not in Liyue, he could go to Mondstadt, Inazuma, or several other countries.
Because this must represent a certain attitude.
This is...
Embracing the New Era!
Zhongli's amber eyes flashed, revealing a wisdom that could see into the future.
At the same time, the old Emperor, who was determined to retire, was very happy to see this era where people's power became more and more powerful and diverse.
"Very well. What do you want to do?"
Hearing this...
Hiroshi knew it was safe.
"Very simple——"
Uh-huh.
He suddenly disappeared in front of the tea table in Heyu Tea House.
The next moment, Hiroshi appeared in the sky above Liyue Harbor, hovering near the Jade Chamber.
Zhongli stepped forward on invisible stone platforms and was also suspended there.
Hiroshi took out a map of Liyue that he had prepared long ago and drew a border between Mt. Aocang, Qingyun Peak, and Jueyun Karst.
Then, another boundary was drawn near Qingce Village to the north.
This is one left and one right.
The top is to the border of the Liyue map, and the bottom is close to the line between Dihua Marsh and Wangshu Inn.
"Create and introduce Ecological Zones here."
"There are no major geographical landmarks or towns here; it is mostly a desolate no-man's land or Adepti territory."
"There are mountains, jungles, inland seas, and broken islands."
Zhongli looked at the circle drawn by Hiroshi and nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing Zhongli nodding, Hiroshi raised the corners of his mouth.
"So, Rex Lapis, let's see——"
He quietly used the [Ecological Zone Advent Card] (Golden Legend) in his inventory.
Hearing the words...
Zhongli looked at the area pointed to by Hiroshi.
Suddenly, the old Emperor's pupils shrank. He saw clouds and mists suddenly change in the sky, and a huge black shadow covered the specially divided area.
Kaka!
Thunder and lightning flashed.
An infinite black hole vortex opened in the sky, pouring out a new world.