Chapter 59: Larvitar, Join the Team!

"Holy shit, ouch—"

Xia Chi looked at the deep bite marks on his forearm—the affectionate souvenir left by Larvitar's sharp teeth—and rolled his eyes in pain.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. After taking a light bite and confirming that this was indeed the person who had been staring at her just moments before, Larvitar took the initiative to rest her head against Xia Chi's palm and rubbed against it affectionately.

"This little one really likes you."

The young female staff member said in surprise, "Generally speaking, unless it's a breeder who interacts with it constantly, anyone who gets close gets chased and bitten."

"Is that so..."

Xia Chi gently stroked Larvitar's rough, hardened shell, which was still marred by blood crusts, and said softly, "As it happens, I really like this little one too."

It's not just Pokémon like Ralts that can distinguish between human benevolence and malice.

Sensing Xia Chi's inner thoughts, Larvitar grew even more affectionate in her interactions with him.

When Xia Chi grew tired of squatting and tried to stand up, she even bit onto his sleeve to keep him from leaving.

Looking at the torn cuff and the aggrieved-looking Larvitar, Xia Chi laughed despite himself. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Stepping outside Larvitar's room, Xia Chi asked in his mind, "Brother System, can this Larvitar's illness be cured with that All-Purpose Healing Capsule?"

[It might be cured, but a complete recovery is highly unlikely.]

Xia Chi: "......"

Brother System, you've started playing tennis between your left and right brain hemispheres too, haven't you?

He asked patiently, "What does that mean? Can you speak more clearly?"

[The root cause of this disease lies in the excessively high energy activity within the Pokémon's body, which is extremely difficult to control. Because the Pokémon's physical body cannot withstand the impact of active energy, the All-Purpose Capsule can only heal its already riddled body; it cannot alter the genetic makeup that causes such high energy activity.]

Understood—it treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

Xia Chi asked, "In other words, even after being cured, Larvitar's body will gradually return to this state because of the impact of the energy inside her?"

The system replied with something that sounded entirely out of left field.

[Once the Pokémon is treated, her physique will become comparable to that of a normal individual, determined by her innate potential.]

Xia Chi fell into deep thought.

Because of this congenital condition, Larvitar's body had already been ravaged like a ship riddled with countless holes.

Whenever energy exceeding her capacity to digest entered her body, her special genetic makeup would convert it into an uncontrollable state, continuing to ravage her frame.

Therefore, the current Larvitar could only ingest the bare minimum energy required to sustain life.

Yet the All-Purpose Capsule could completely repair this body and even make up for the physical growth stunted by the disease.

At the very least, she was going from a heavily worn, second-hand mining GPU straight to a brand-new, factory-fresh flagship graphics card.

This undoubtedly added countless possibilities to Larvitar's future.

After pondering for a long while, Xia Chi asked, "If I can control the energy Larvitar ingests, keeping it always within the tolerance threshold of her new body, and then slowly build up her physical strength using this relatively controllable energy in an upward spiral—is that feasible?"

[Provided that your premise holds true.]

Xia Chi clicked his tongue lightly.

Useless nonsense. You really know how to cover all your bases, Director System.

Regardless, as long as there was hope, it was worth a shot.

Larvitar was naturally the type of Pokémon that needed to ingest a massive amount of energy to grow and evolve.

According to the Pokémon Pokédex from his past life, she needed to consume an entire mountain just to evolve into Pupitar.

Even if there was some exaggeration in that statement, it was enough to show how long Larvitar's growth cycle was.

During that time, he would have more than enough opportunity to find a permanent solution to this congenital illness.

So, trading a possibility for a healthy, bright future for Larvitar—

And gaining a deeply promising partner for himself—was it worth it?

This hardly seemed like a choice that required much hesitation.

Let's do it!

At this thought, Xia Chi turned to the staff member beside him and asked, "If I want this Larvitar, is a budget of one million enough?"

The young woman asked in surprise, "Are you sure? Who knows how long she has left to live..."

Based on the current assessment by the base hospital, Larvitar's riddled body might not even hold out for another half a year.

Out of a sense of responsibility regarding Xia Chi's one-million-credit budget, the young woman decided to consult her supervisor.

Then Xia Chi faintly heard phrases drifting over from the phone like, "You managed to close a deal on this kind of case? You're getting your full bonus this month!"

When she returned to speak with him, the responsible young woman still hesitated slightly. "My supervisor approved it, but don't you think you should reconsider carefully..."

"No need to reconsider. Thank you for your advice, but please rest assured," Xia Chi said with a rising smile. "This choice is the best possible outcome for me, for Larvitar, and for your breeding base as well."

Once Xia Chi finished signing the contract with the staff member, he was handed the Poké Ball containing that Larvitar.

And thus, a world where no one was hurt had been achieved.

Perhaps feeling that they had gotten the better end of the deal, the base even threw in enough breeding supplies to last Larvitar a full half-year, along with a bunch of miscellaneous gear.

As for why it was only half a year...

Probably because they figured Larvitar only had half a year left, and giving away any more would just be a waste.

Xia Chi didn't care about that. He packed up Larvitar's Poké Ball and the complimentary items and headed straight home.

——————

"Meow-dee?"

"Meow-yoo~"

As soon as Xia Chi walked through his front door, he was greeted by his two Pokémon.

They both knew where Xia Chi had gone today and naturally understood that a new partner would be coming home with him.

Floragato padded over to Xia Chi, sniffing him up and down to make sure she didn't pick up the scent of any other feline before finally being satisfied.

Before releasing Larvitar, Xia Chi instructed them, "The new partner is very fragile, so don't scare her, you hear me? Misdreavus, I'm looking especially at you."

"Meow-dee?"

"Meow-yoo?"

Floragato and Misdreavus exchanged a puzzled look.

Fragile?

Why would Xia Chi capture a fragile Pokémon?

Under the curious gazes of his two Pokémon, Xia Chi released Larvitar from her Poké Ball.

"Garu?"

Though her eyesight was so poor it was comparable to a blind gamer, Larvitar could still sense the change in her environment through her senses of smell and hearing.

Since Floragato and Misdreavus both deliberately reined in their presences, Larvitar sensed no threat and immediately channeled her inner Siberian Husky, starting to barge around blindly.

Seeing her sharp teeth about to sink into the sofa, Xia Chi quickly motioned for Floragato to drag her back.

The apartment was rented, and the sofa didn't belong to him; if she chewed it up, he'd probably have to pay a hefty compensation.

Floragato understood and nodded. The pink flowerbud on her chest whipped out a vine like a lightning-fast yo-yo.

After wrapping around Larvitar's body twice, the vine retracted, successfully reeling the little husky back in.

Larvitar could only flail her stubby little legs helplessly, letting out muffled cries of protest in mid-air.

Yet she wasn't discouraged. The moment she hit the floor, she sniffed out a scent and waddled over to Misdreavus, opening her mouth for a bite.

Since Larvitar struck first, Misdreavus had every reason to retaliate. It pulled a funny face to scare the fearless little dragon.

Unfortunately, the severely nearsighted little one remained completely unfazed, stubbornly gnawing away at Misdreavus.

Well, in truth, it was no different from biting empty air.

Larvitar's energy-free nibbles probably counted as a Normal-type move, which had no effect on the Ghost-type Misdreavus.