-051- The Birth of the Harpo Ensemble

After achieving ten consecutive victories, Eevee lazily sprawled at Tong Si’s side.

“Want to rest?” Tong Si asked.

“Boo-yee~” Eevee shook its head, indicating its opponents were too weak and it didn’t want to battle anymore.

“Alright, then I’ll leave the next matches to Electabuzz!” With that, Tong Si sent out Electabuzz.

“Beep beep!” Electabuzz entered the arena, radiating an inexplicable sense of pressure.

The rookie trainers present felt a chill of fear. None of them had expected Tong Si to raise such an overpowering Electabuzz in such a short time, let alone possess an Eevee of such formidable strength.

Even if Eevee entered the Rookie King Tournament, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Comparing themselves to Tong Si was truly infuriating!

Next, a new wave of rookies eager to learn the art of Pokémon battling challenged Tong Si, gifting him another surge of points.

In the end, Electabuzz achieved twenty-two consecutive wins, maintaining a record of one hundred straight victories at the Golden Club. Eevee, meanwhile, held a ten-win streak.

Tong Si set a new record of one hundred and ten consecutive victories.

Along with his triumphs, Tong Si was rewarded with three hundred and twenty thousand points.

After these battles, Electabuzz’s level rose to twenty. Eevee, after its ten victories, advanced to level sixteen.

Soon after, Tong Si brought Electabuzz and Eevee to the Electric Room.

As usual, Electabuzz absorbed a burst of electrical energy.

Eevee played nearby with the electricity. Ever since it gained the Volt Absorb ability, it no longer feared electromagnetic forces; in fact, it found the tingling sensation rather enjoyable.

But unlike Electabuzz, Eevee couldn’t absorb large amounts of electricity to enhance its moves.

Its Thunder Shock remained lackluster in power, which troubled Tong Si greatly.

If only Eevee had learned more Electric-type moves when it was a Jolteon.

With this in mind, Tong Si went to the club’s shop and purchased three evolution stones.

Thunder Stone, Water Stone, Fire Stone.

These stones were priced at several hundred thousand League coins each in the market, but with Tong Si’s black club card, he paid only half price.

Having become acquainted with Zhang Shanji, he even received a friendly discount.

Altogether, the three stones cost him one hundred and fifty thousand League coins—a genuine friendship price.

This time, when Eevee saw the three stones, it stayed far away.

It had no desire to evolve into that clumsy, unattractive Jolteon form again.

…

Back at JOJO Breeding House, Tong Si checked his phone and saw that the video he had filmed of Eevee hadn’t received many likes.

“Is it because the dance wasn’t good enough?” Tong Si frowned, unsure where things had gone wrong, since the view count was also low.

“No matter, I’ll film another.”

Eevee had learned two trendy dances recently: “Shadow Flow Master” and “New Treasure Island.”

The next day, Tong Si found the video still lacked popularity.

“Perhaps Eevee isn’t popular enough? Maybe people just don’t like Eevee?” Tong Si learned from Song Xin that Electabuzz’s videos were performing exceptionally well, with both views and likes in the millions.

“Maybe I should try again!” Tong Si thought and had Eevee dance to “I Dried Out My Silence~ Regret Was Impulsive~”

The video was titled “Oilfield Eevee.”

Sure enough, this time, both views and likes increased significantly.

But popularity remained modest—just over twenty thousand views and a little more than a hundred likes.

“It seems gaining some popularity for Eevee before entering the Grand Festival will be quite difficult,” Tong Si scratched his head.

After learning about this world’s Grand Festival, Tong Si realized it wasn’t just the on-site judges and audience voting; there was even an online voting segment.

Online voting required competing for Pokémon’s internet popularity.

Most Coordinators filmed short videos of their Pokémon and uploaded them to attract fans.

Two more days passed. Tong Si filmed four or five videos, but none gained much traction.

Meanwhile, the two Lotad eggs in the incubator finally hatched.

Tong Si placed two more Lotad eggs into the incubator.

Business at Tong Si’s place had been quite good lately.

Aside from the two Lotad eggs he reserved, the remaining eleven Lotad eggs and three Wooper eggs sold out instantly.

Only the Altaria egg with gym-level potential remained unsold on the shelf.

Tong Si had assumed the Altaria egg would be easiest to sell, given its quality and low price.

However, most customers came from modest backgrounds.

Shelling out eighty thousand League coins for a single Pokémon egg was a major decision for them.

For the vast majority of families, eighty thousand League coins was no small sum.

So the Altaria egg sat lonely on the shelf.

Tong Si had no plans to restock Pokémon eggs for now.

He was preparing to close JOJO Breeding House for a short trip.

Earlier, Jiang Tao had invited Tong Si to explore Leafy Forest, but Tong Si had been busy.

Now, he finally had the time.

Tong Si intended to hatch the two Lotad eggs, then set out for Leafy Forest to capture his third Pokémon.

Another week passed; the short videos Tong Si posted still struggled for attention.

The two Lotad eggs finally hatched.

“Ha-bo~”

“Ha-bo…”

“Ha-bo…”

Now that there were five Lotad in the yard, Tong Si was awakened every morning by their “Ha-bo” cries.

To be honest, these five Lotad were even more bothersome than two Magikarp.

Magikarp only competed endlessly in Splash, but the five Lotad liked to chorus their “Ha-bo.”

Tong Si even considered teaching his Lotad choir the Round move—their combined power would surely be impressive.

“Tong Si…” Early in the morning, Jiang Tao arrived at JOJO Breeding House.

“You’re up early?” Jiang Tao hadn’t expected Tong Si to be an early riser.

“It’s the Lotad choir in the pond—they wake me up every day.” Dark circles under Tong Si’s eyes were particularly prominent.

“Lotad choir? Sounds fun. I have to check it out.” Jiang Tao was fascinated by Tong Si’s little yard.

In that modest courtyard, eleven wild Pokémon lived.

Jiang Tao’s villa was huge, but not a single wild Pokémon would stay.

Luckily, his family owned a mine, and the villa’s backyard pond was stocked with Water-type Pokémon.

Otherwise, Jiang Tao might spend every day at Tong Si’s place.

“Tong Si, your Lotad look quite healthy. And this Barboach—always loosening the soil for you.”

After wandering around the yard, Jiang Tao couldn’t help but admire Tong Si.

He had organized the small courtyard beautifully.

Barboach handled soil loosening, Lotad purified the water, Magikarp splashed tirelessly for drainage.

Red scales occasionally shed along the shore.

Lotad produced lotus seeds regularly.

Tong Si’s industrial chain was, without doubt, sustainable!

… (To be continued)