You’re not actors hired by Eve, are you?

Seeing Eevee’s leap, Kirito couldn’t help but feel speechless.

What a gluttonous little thing.

And greedy, too!

“Bui-bui~”

Eevee dashed over to the trio of Runaway Brothers, whispering secretively with them about something only they knew. The three nodded frequently.

“Bui~”

Eevee returned to Kirito, lifting its head with a hint of a sly smile at the corner of its mouth.

“Are you ready, Eevee?” Kirito asked.

“Bui!”

Eevee stood firm on all fours, brimming with energy.

“Alright, which of you is going to face Eevee first?”

“Da-chu~”

Sentret hopped forward twice. As the leader among the three brothers, it was more than happy to oblige in this kind of sparring.

These past few days, Kirito had fed the trio some special Pokémon food; it was about time they paid him back.

“Alright, Sentret will go first. Eevee, use Tackle!”

Through his scanning lens, Kirito could clearly see each Pokémon’s stats on the data panel.

Eevee’s ability was Adaptability, boosting damage when using moves of the same type.

“Bui!”

Eevee took the battle seriously, charging straight at Sentret.

“Da-chu~”

Sentret braced itself, ready for Eevee’s attack.

Bang!

Eevee’s little head thudded harmlessly against Sentret’s belly.

“Da-chu…”

Sentret dramatically flopped backwards, shutting its eyes and pretending to have lost its fighting ability.

Kirito could only stare in disbelief.

Eevee’s Tackle had barely bumped into Sentret!

How could Sentret possibly be knocked out by that?

“Sentret, stop faking!” Kirito called out.

Sentret peeked open one eye, and seeing Eevee waving its paw, promptly lay back down.

“Really! Next!”

Kirito was at a loss for words. This guy was a born actor!

“Bo~”

Little Rattata, all fired up, moved in front of Eevee.

“Bui~”

Before Kirito could even give the order, Eevee landed a Tackle that sent Rattata tumbling back.

Rattata flopped down, eyes squeezed shut, pretending to be knocked out as well.

Next up was Caterpie. The scene repeated itself, right down to the dreadful acting.

“You three weren’t recruited by Eevee as extras, were you?” Kirito was utterly exasperated.

He’d just “defeated” three actors in a row, yet the system mission still wasn’t complete.

However, Kirito noticed something odd on the data panel: Eevee’s level had risen to five.

The last time it leveled up was after it had thrashed two Magikarp.

This time, it leveled up after defeating three actors.

Why did Eevee seem to level up so quickly?

Kirito couldn’t figure it out.

And not only had Eevee reached level five, it had learned Sand Attack as well.

“Bui~”

Eevee sauntered up to Kirito, laying on the charm in hopes of a reward.

“No! When you can defeat an opponent fair and square, I’ll buy you four Milcery’s Handmade Cream Ice Creams.”

Kirito made the promise—but only if Eevee won on its own merit, not by staging a show.

“Bui~” Eevee looked wronged, but Kirito was resolute this time and wouldn’t give in so easily.

…

Back inside the shop, Kirito saw Electabuzz standing guard beside the Pokémon Egg Incubator.

“At least Electabuzz is reliable!”

“Beep-beep?”

Electabuzz perked up when Kirito entered, approaching him eagerly.

“This is for you, Electabuzz.”

Kirito took out the magnet he’d bought earlier that day.

It resembled the horseshoe magnets attached to both sides of Magnemite.

“Beep-beep?”

Electabuzz accepted the magnet, gripping it in its hands and immediately sensing a powerful magnetic force.

A surge of electricity coursed into the magnet, and in response, energy flowed back into Electabuzz.

After repeatedly channeling electricity through it, the feedback seemed to grow even stronger.

“Beep-beep!”

Electabuzz joyfully held the magnet high; it was clearly delighted with this new gift.

Kirito led Electabuzz out into the yard.

“Electabuzz, let’s see your Thunderbolt now.”

Kirito wanted to know just how much stronger Electabuzz’s Electric moves were with the magnet’s boost.

“Beep-beep!”

Electabuzz began conducting electricity from the two antennae on its head.

With the magnet’s support, the Thunderbolt it unleashed lit up the night.

Several passersby couldn’t help but pause and look.

“Electabuzz, that magnet’s really amping up your Electric moves!”

Kirito was delighted.

All of Electabuzz’s stored energy had just been drained—the powerful Thunderbolt just now was all thanks to the magnet’s amplification.

A magnet could boost Electric moves’ power by around twenty percent.

If you added in stored energy, Kirito couldn’t even imagine the result.

With this, he was determined to win the Rookie King Tournament!

“Bui~”

As Electabuzz’s number one cheerleader, Eevee had already started waving two tiny fans, dancing around excitedly.

The trio of Runaway Actors cheered for Electabuzz as well.

“Karu-karu…”

“Karu-karu!”

The two Magikarp, seeing Electabuzz training so hard and growing so strong, were moved to tears and redoubled their Splashing efforts.

…

The next day.

Early in the morning, Yun Zishan arrived at Kirito’s shop.

He’d been so excited the night before that he hadn’t fallen asleep until four or five in the morning, and after only a couple hours, he woke again from a dream.

Having finally become a Pokémon Trainer, he was simply too thrilled.

He had to witness his Pokémon egg hatch with his own eyes.

Kirito understood completely.

“Have you had breakfast? Want to join me?” Kirito was preparing sandwiches and milk; he needed to head out soon.

“No thanks, I’ve already had rice balls on the way over.”

Yun Zishan sat glued to the egg incubator, eyes never leaving it.

“Bui~”

Eevee wandered over to the table, rubbing groggily at its eyes. A whole night’s sleep just wasn’t enough. After finishing its food, it planned to nap again.

“Is that your Pokémon, Kirito?” Yun Zishan’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Eevee.

From their earlier conversation, he’d learned that Kirito, like him, was a recent high school graduate—a rookie trainer.

He was quite envious that Kirito already owned Pokémon.

“That’s right. Not just Eevee—I also have an Electabuzz.”

Kirito, biting into his sandwich, gestured toward the yard.

Through the small door, Yun Zishan spotted an Electabuzz in the yard.

At the moment, Electabuzz was working on its arm strength.

Though it was an Electric-type, Electabuzz never neglected its arm training.

Kirito knew well that Electabuzz could learn Thunder Punch and some Fighting moves.

He’d even browsed the [Skill Section] of the system shop to check out several Fighting moves.

The one most suitable for Electabuzz was Brick Break.

Unfortunately, it cost ninety thousand points to exchange.

But if he managed it, Kirito’s Day Care could launch a second skill-teaching program.

So, Kirito was planning to seek out some rookie trainers for battles, earn enough points, and exchange for Brick Break.

…To be continued