Chapter 138: Poke Ball and Home

Zhu Suihan asked with curiosity, "Tell me about it."

【I learned a move called Hex. Its effect is to deal damage to the enemy through a continuous string of attacks.】

Mewtwo condensed a few wisps of ghostly fire in its palm: 【And when the enemy is suffering from a status condition, the attack's effectiveness is significantly boosted. It is very much in the style of Ghost-type moves.】

Zhu Suihan caught on immediately: "You mean, by stacking negative status conditions, you use this move at the crucial moment to settle the match with a single definitive blow?"

【Mhm, that's also what you taught me.】

Mewtwo nodded: 【Assuming that negative status conditions are latent injuries—bombs hidden within the body that will detonate at an unknown moment—then the move Hex is the fuse.】

【Through this method, you can deal an even greater blow to the enemy. Aren't you a Chansey? This inspiration actually came from your profession.】

【However, because the causes of negative status conditions vary, this requires the user to have an extremely high level of mastery over Hex.】

Zhu Suihan looked thoughtful: "Different bombs also require different ways of detonating them."

【Correct.】

Mewtwo dispersed the ghostly fire in its hand: 【After detonating the bombs inside the opponent's body, the opponent will inevitably reveal an opening, giving us the opportunity for a one-hit KO.】

Tandemaus's eyes lit up: "Mylu!"

Using heaven and earth as a chessboard, treating the opponent as a chess piece, pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and ultimately grasping everything about the enemy in the palm of one's hand!

This was the path of a supreme overlord!

Lapras thoroughly agreed with this combat style, because what she loved most was when her Trainer and little friends told her where to strike and how much force to use.

She didn't like battling, and she liked thinking about complicated, messy things even less.

Oh well, Longlong was practically retired already; being a little lazy was totally fine, right~?

Zhu Suihan rubbed his chin: "Where is the nearest poacher squad?"

【Nearby, not too far away. They are currently exchanging fire with Team Rocket operatives.】

"Let's add another prerequisite: poachers who haven't been discovered yet."

【To the northwest. The distance is a bit far, but that's not a problem for me.】

Zhu Suihan clapped his hands: "Let's use them for our experiment. Lance, you are not to interfere."

The red-haired Dragon Master silently mounted his Dragonite and followed right behind that family, feeling a sudden sliver of sympathy for those law-breaking villains for the very first time.

Anyone capable of fighting while burdened with multiple status conditions must have suffered injuries to some degree prior to this, and their willpower in battle alone deserved to be praised as that of a warrior.

If that Hex landed, Lance estimated that the colors plastered all over the enemy Pokémon would be downright kaleidoscopic.

Of all the things they could have done, why did they have to become poachers?

Well, look at them now—they ran right into such an outlaw. A battle style like that was practically guaranteed to drive someone into a state of self-contained depression.

"I'm going to sue you!"

"Officer Jenny, I want to sue that guy! The one with the white hair!"

"I demand to exercise my legitimate rights! I'm going to sue him!!"

Zhu Suihan was chewing on a Pokéblock while feeding Lapras with his hands. Mewtwo and the Tinkatink perched on his head were also snacking away on their own treats.

Lance, standing nearby, had instantly achieved enlightenment and transformed into a wooden pillar, adhering strictly to the principle of "hear no evil, see no evil, I know nothing."

Jenny looked puzzled: "You want to sue him?"

"Yes! During a Pokémon battle, he caused unimaginable psychological trauma to my partners! This is abuse, not a battle!"

The poacher was practically fuming: "In short, he is definitely not a good person! I want to hire a lawyer!"

"You want to sue me?"

Zhu Suihan patted Lapras's cheek before turning around.

"You have terrible luck, who else could you possibly blame?"

A single sentence nearly choked the ranting poacher to death, his face flushing crimson as he entered a state of maximum overheating.

Jenny looked at Lance: "What on earth is going on here?"

Lance's mouth twitched: "To put it simply, during the battle, Suihan's Pokémon seemed divinely blessed—every single move they used triggered a status condition."

"My friend used Ice Beam as their second-to-last move to freeze the target, turning a moving target into a stationary one."

"Because of that, his partner used a signature move called Hex to settle the match with a single blow."

Jenny: "......"

Every move they used triggered a status condition, and then they followed up with Hex?

And on top of that, it successfully triggered the Frozen status at the end, drastically increasing the move's hit rate?

The dashing and heroic older officer cast a sympathetic look at the poacher.

"In that case, you can't sue him. This is a normal occurrence during battles. Even though the probability of it happening is extremely small, you happened to run into it, so you can't blame anyone else."

"Just like the name of the move suggests, misfortune never comes alone for you."

The overheated poacher opened his mouth, rolled his eyes backward, and tipped over backward, successfully passing out from pure anger.

Zhu Suihan calmly took a sip of fruit wine: "What did I say? Misfortune never comes alone—he got arrested and then fainted from anger himself. Let's hope he's okay."

Lance sighed: "Poachers usually have pretty good physical constitutions, but after what you just said, I suddenly feel like his health is very likely about to run into serious trouble."

Let's hope nothing bad happens to him.

He felt more and more like an accomplice now.

"Since everyone's pretty much locked up, can I go back to the academy now?"

Zhu Suihan scratched his head: "There doesn't seem to be anything fun around here. I'd rather go back and tinker with my syringe."

He had farmed enough experience points, and after leaving Viridian Forest, aside from being besieged by reporters from various TV stations, there didn't seem to be much else going on.

At the very least, outsiders without entry permits couldn't just waltz into Chansey Academy.

He wanted to return to the academy for some peace and quiet.

"There's nothing else, but I have to go back with you as well. I need to escort you safely back to the academy."

Lance rubbed his brow and sighed: "Orders from the League. Anyway, I have to see you physically walk through the gates of Chansey Academy."

"Alright then, let's leave it at that. We'll set off whenever you have everything arranged."

Zhu Suihan looked at Mewtwo: "Flying back to the Chansey Academy in the Johto Region from here, is that going to be a problem?"

【Easy.】

Zhu Suihan had Team Rocket operatives arrange a quiet room for him, then took out the Master Ball from its glass case and began modifying it.

【What are you doing?】

"Modifying a ball for you. But to be honest, I think this Master Ball matches your style quite well, at least color-wise."

Zhu Suihan set his tools aside: "However, those two lumps on the upper half look a bit ugly to be honest. I'm going to remove them for you."

After taking it apart, Zhu Suihan pondered for a moment, then tossed aside all the unnecessary internal parts and had Tinkatink smash them to pieces.

Strictly speaking, the Master Ball was a type of ball that went against the core philosophy of Pokéballs.

Those two bumps on the top half weren't deliberately styled that way to look cool; they were there to accommodate the excess parts inside.

And those redundant parts were actually the key mechanism that made the Master Ball "guaranteed to capture."

Zhu Suihan didn't care about the internal operating principles; in his eyes, those were all unnecessary researches, so there was no need to waste time or mental energy on them.

He could be a one-ball master, but he couldn't be a one-ball master *like that*.

Achieving a critical-capture on the very first throw was something reserved for companions like Tinkatink and Lapras, and the condition for that first-throw capture was a deep bond and mutual recognition.

As for that other kind of "one-ball catch," Zhu Suihan was actually tempted to let certain people experience what the "one-ball" of a Heavy Ball felt like.

As for those leftover components, they would serve as good strength-training material for Tinkatink's cream-batting skills.

"Removing all those useless pieces of junk makes it look much better, doesn't it?"

The "M" representing the Master Ball had vanished, and the two protruding lumps were gone as well. It now looked like an ordinary Pokéball, purple on top and white on the bottom—or rather, a Premier Ball with a custom skin.

Pulling out the remaining tool set, Zhu Suihan looked at the various attribute-based resources ground into powder inside the apparatus, and then looked back at Mewtwo.

"I've added attribute resources centered around the Psychic-type, while resources of other types were thrown in just as minor toppings. At least this way, you won't feel so uncomfortable when you're inside the ball."

【I know. Actually, psychic-type resources alone would have been enough.】

"No, how can we be sloppy about something like this? It has to follow a proper methodology."

Zhu Suihan said: "You are a Pokémon born from a mix of half-technology and half-legend; using this ball for you is fitting enough."

The machine stopped running, and Zhu Suihan firmly locked the Pokéball in place, applying the finely ground materials onto its surface.

Mewtwo looked at the two little ones: 【Are your Pokéballs all made this way?】

Seeing Lapras and Tinkatink nod, Mewtwo shifted its gaze back to Zhu Suihan, watching him manufacture a Pokéball with a look of utter earnestness.

Ancient craftsmanship and modern knowledge were melted into one by the white-haired youth, forging a Pokéball that possessed both traditional aesthetics and cyberpunk vibes simultaneously.

"Done."

Compared to the dark purple of the Master Ball, the color of this newly minted Pokéball was slightly lighter, its tone much warmer and gentler.

As Zhu Suihan flicked his wrist, the Pokéball, which originally possessed a cold luster, now emitted a jade-like glow, resembling a pendant that had been fondled and polished by hand for many years.

"Ball classification: Counter-Attack Ball."

This time, no prompt for an increase in research points appeared. Perhaps due to Zhu Suihan's relentless self-driven grinding, making Pokéballs no longer awarded points.

Having counter-attacked for over twenty years without success, only to finally find a utopia and then get arrested in a theatrical movie—Mewtwo could only be described as the most tragic workaholic of all time.

Zhu Suihan spread his palm and aimed the front of the Counter-Attack Ball at Mewtwo.

"Counter-Attack Ball, Mewtwo."

【Is this... my home from now on?】

Zhu Suihan shook his head: "This isn't a home; this is proof of our bond. At best, it's like a wedding ring."

Mewtwo's hand, reaching out toward the Pokéball, inevitably paused: 【Huh?】

The two little ones let out a burst of muffled laughter.

Zhu Suihan laughed heartily: "I just gave you an easy-to-understand version, don't worry about it."

Mewtwo entered the ball, then emerged once more, stretching its shoulders slightly.

【It's very comfortable, and it gives me a sense of peace. Thank you.】

"No need to thank me. If you really want to say something, just tell me you love me."

Mewtwo fell silent for a moment: 【I still need time to adapt.】

The intern investigator—who had to shoulder heavy responsibilities right from his internship—"escorted" Zhu Suihan back to Chansey Academy.

Upon receiving the other party's invitation to "go out on a trip together again when you have time," Lance felt a sudden urge to engage in a physical hand-to-hand combat match with Zhu Suihan.

According to normal social etiquette, Zhu Suihan needed to be invited to his clan's Dragon Festival.

But from a personal and emotional standpoint, he didn't really want to invite this guy. He had a lingering feeling that inviting him would bring a massive, terrifying disaster to his clan, and perhaps to the entirety of Blackthorn City.

"Sigh, I'll just take it one step at a time."

Lance turned back to glance at Chansey Academy one last time, suddenly appreciating just how heavy and reliable the name Chansey truly was.

At least it could keep that white-haired menace locked inside to study in peace!

Zhu Suihan was unaware of Lance's true thoughts. He led the three little ones back to the dormitory area in a normal manner, also considering it a way for Mewtwo to get familiar with the route.

"We're here, Mewtwo."

Zhu Suihan walked into the courtyard and opened the front door.

"This is what a real home is."

"Welcome home."

(End of this chapter)