Chapter 64 Building Closer Relationships, Using Rare Candy
In the garden, the oppressive atmosphere at the dinner table dissipated, and Xia Mu let out a long sigh of relief. Sonia, who was beside him, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Eating with the older generation, it was fine as long as nothing was discussed, but once certain things came up, a strange pressure would be felt.
Clearly, it wasn't just Xia Mu who felt this; Sonia felt it to some extent as well.
The two understood each other implicitly, but neither said it out loud.
Xia Mu began preparing food for his Pokémon, some ordinary Pokémon dishes, plus some Pokéblocks.
He did many things personally, naturally to increase their friendship levels.
Currently, the friendship levels of Arcanine, Lucario, and Red Gyarados had reached a point where it was difficult to increase them further.
Xia Mu's main target wasn't them, but Beedrill and Gardevoir.
Beedrill's friendship level was still 10 points away from 200.
He didn't know if doubling his efforts today could overcome this hurdle.
Time was running out; if he couldn't reach it by then, he wouldn't be able to meet the requirements for Mega Evolution.
If evolution isn't possible, even if Xia Mu has enough Rare Candies, he doesn't want to use them on Beedrill.
Then there's increasing his friendship with Gardevoir.
While there's no rush, strengthening it in every aspect of life is naturally best.
Up to now, it's only increased from 15 points yesterday to 28 points—a pitifully small increase.
According to the system's information, a friendship level below 50 points means there's absolutely no trust.
Gaining the affection of a wounded Pokémon is ten times, even dozens of times, harder than gaining the affection of a legendary Pokémon.
Sonia has been observing Xia Mu's behavior.
She would sometimes sit on the stone bench in the courtyard, lost in thought, and then be drawn to Xia Mu every now and then, leaning closer to investigate him.
During their conversation, the topic turned to the special Pokéblocks from the system shop. Xia Mu had no choice but to say he made them himself.
Although he lied, it wouldn't matter if they pressed him further, because the system shop did indeed sell machines and methods for making Pokéblocks.
Sonia was quite shocked, never expecting Xia Mu to be so versatile.
She could clearly see that the Pokéblocks Xia Mu made were of high quality, and that Pokémon that consumed them experienced noticeable recovery effects.
Regular Pokéblocks were already available on the market.
Even though they weren't yet available in the Kanto region, Johto region, Orange Islands, and some surrounding areas, many trainers were gradually adopting Pokéblocks, finding them convenient and as a nutritious food officially promoted by the Pokémon Contest.
Although it wasn't prevalent in the Galar region, Sonia knew a lot: many trainers wouldn't feed their Pokémon random foods to maintain their perfect physique and coat color, making Pokéblocks the best choice.
This further strengthened their relationship.
As the lunch break ended, the Gym Challenge resumed at 1 PM.
Having learned from the morning's experience, not only was Xia Mu more focused, but the challengers were also noticeably more skilled than in the morning.
The morning's battles had eliminated all the lower-level trainers.
While their strength was mostly between levels 30 and 40, there were indeed trainers with Pokémon exceeding level 40—these were the true elites.
Some came to obtain badges, but most were drawn by Xia Mu's strength.
Xia Mu showed no mercy to these trainers.
In short, he didn't give away a single badge by the end of the day.
This also conveyed a second message: if you can't even beat me, the acting Gym Leader, to challenge the strongest Pokémon Trainer is a pipe dream.
Xia Mu's reputation was firmly established.
In short, it was like a bomb suddenly appearing in a crowd, letting everyone know how terrifying he was, and also allowing them to recognize their own limitations.
Xia Mu, however, didn't seem too bothered by it.
He didn't need vanity to satisfy himself.
Blaine's evaluation of his performance was: "Calm and composed, handling matters with propriety, his future achievements are bound to be significant; becoming a mere Gym Leader is far from his limit. "
Professor Magnolia was more tactful, but also highly valued Xia Mu, so she gave him the advice to stay true to himself and never let anything blind him.
Xia Mu naturally kept the old man's words in mind.
In the eyes of the two elders, this marked the beginning of Xia Mu's rise.
...
Night fell.
Xia Mu and his Pokémon soaked in the hot spring, relieving the day's fatigue.
Actually, the Pokémon were already accustomed to high-intensity battles, so today's low-level, overwhelming battle was effortless for them.
Moreover, they took turns, and Gardevoir, although new, helped share some of the pressure.
The improvements weren't entirely satisfactory, but the levels did increase somewhat.
Arcanine leveled up 2 levels, reaching level 59.
Lucario leveled up 2 levels, reaching level 57.
Red Gyarados leveled up 3 levels, reaching level 54.
Beedrill leveled up 3 levels, reaching level 56.
Gardevoir leveled up 2 levels, reaching level 47.
It's worth mentioning that friendship levels increased much faster during battles.
This is because the Aura Power creates a connection between the Pokémon and their friends, especially Beedrill, which is only 2 points away from reaching 200.
[I wonder if the ten-day deadline is tomorrow or the day after?] Calculating the time in his mind, Xia Mu looked back at Arcanine swimming in the hot spring.
After a moment's thought, he immediately bought a Rare Candy from the system shop, spending 1 million League Coins.
Since becoming wealthy, he stopped calculating his expenses; after all, with eight figures, it's impossible to keep track of every hundred or thousand spent.
In short, just finding suitable trainers for Ali to battle was quite expensive.
Now, with the purchase of another Rare Candy, his balance was only 96,497,000 League Coins.
[This is the Rare Candy.]
Xia Mu carefully examined the Rare Candy in his hand, even wanting to try it to see how it tasted.
Of course, he wouldn't try it; after all, it cost 1 million League Coins, and it would be a waste to waste it.
"Arcanine, come here for a second." He called to Arcanine.
Arcanine swam over at the sound of his voice.
Xia Mu quickly tore off the blue wrapper and stuffed the candy into Arcanine's mouth.
He had originally intended to lick the wrapper to see how it tasted, but after the candy was removed, the wrapper vanished without a trace.
He wondered if the system shop had sensed his intentions and thus forcibly reclaimed it.
Read 50+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
Daily updates...
~o(*￣︶￣*)o
(End of Chapter)