Hu Tao: I was at the research institute and saw the Hisuian Goodra that appeared in the promotional video... [Pokédex Image]
Ningguang: That's amazing. A Dragon-type Pseudo-Legendary at the level of the Heavenly King. Hu Tao, isn't this the dream you and your Gible share—the ultimate pursuit for a Trainer?
Hu Tao: ...Yes. Rolling around on the ground, it may take a long time for the Gible to evolve into a Garchomp. Raising it to the level of a Heavenly King is something I don't even dare to think about in the short term! But Pokémon of this level are kept freely in his compound by Manager Hiroshi! Why do I feel like my life's dream is just a Tuesday for the Manager?
Hu Tao: ...I'm disillusioned! Destroy it all!
Jean: I'm scratching my head thinking about it differently. Your Gible got a very good personal trainer, didn't he?
Looking away from the group chat interface, Hu Tao sighed and looked up at the Heavenly King Goodra.
Her Gible was actually being very well-behaved, standing in front of the massive sticky dragon and listening carefully to the "little" cries and gurgles of the mentor. The Hisuian Goodra was very gentle, lecturing for a few minutes like a responsible big sister.
"Gible~!"
The Gible's voice became increasingly defensive. He waved his little paws, trying to justify his lack of progress. Then, Goodra retreated a few meters and cast a contemptuous, side-eye look at him.
"Goo... ra!" (That's all you've got?)
Gible took a deep breath, a trace of nervousness appearing on his round face.
"Goo!" Goodra urged.
"GIBLE!!"
Suddenly, the Gible jumped high. His small body had amazing explosive power; the height of his jump almost cleared the three-story main building of the research institute.
High in the air, a rumbling, massive movement stirred the atmosphere. A meteorite began falling from the sky. This was obviously Draco Meteor, a high-level Dragon-type move!
However, before the meteorite could gain momentum, the Gible lost his focus and "plopped" back down. The meteorite exploded into harmless, brilliant fireworks in mid-air.
"Gible, you're really something!" Hu Tao muttered. He doesn't work hard at ordinary times, and he's a total klutz during training!
Goodra was also disappointed. The little guy had promised arrogantly that he would learn it, but now he was pretending to be unconscious on the ground.
Bang!
A swing of the tail—Iron Tail!
The dragon's tail immediately knocked the clever Gible dozens of meters away. This time, the little guy was truly struck by the "pointer."
"Eh?" Hu Tao hurriedly chased after him. Being beaten severely by a Heavenly King-level teacher made her worry the little guy might actually kick the bucket.
Fortunately, Goodra mastered her strength perfectly. Gible just had stars in his eyes. His body was covered in minor scratches from the flight, but they were easily treated.
"GIBLE~!!"
In Hu Tao's stunned eyes, her Pokémon staggered to his feet. In his eyes, which usually played it safe by being cute, there was now only pure perseverance. He roared at the Goodra as she turned away.
It seemed to be saying: Damn it! Don't underestimate me! You damn auntie! Obasan! Just wait! I'll learn Draco Meteor right now!
Goodra stopped and tilted her head. A dangerous look flashed in her usually gentle eyes.
Uh-huh!
She instantly disappeared. The next second, when she reappeared, the Gible was knocked away again, and this time with even more force.
The wind of the impact blew past. Hu Tao grabbed her hat to avoid losing it. She quickly checked her Pokédex and found that Gible's status was "Seriously Injured," but not dead. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"OK! Goodra, thank you! He deserves to be beaten like this! I was too gentle before; this little guy is in his rebellious phase!" Hu Tao clapped heartlessly, laughing.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Hu Tao's expression froze as a prompt popped up on her screen:
[System: Gible is evolving...]
Hu Tao: Holy grass?
Xiangling: Holy grass and holy grass?!
Hiroshi: ...
They followed the deep groove in the dirt where Gible had plowed into the earth. The little guy was lying in a pit dozens of meters away. He had a bruised nose and a swollen face, but he was trying to raise his head to show his spirit to Goodra.
"Gible!"
The light of evolution became more dazzling than the scorching sun.
The round, fat Gible suddenly grew taller. His height increased to nearly two meters. The original baby fat transformed into a strong, muscular body.
Hu Tao squatted at the edge of the pit, recording the evolution and uploading it to the group chat. She waved at the Gabite at the bottom:
"Don't be in a daze! Get up! The pain of growing up is just like this!"
"GABITE!!" (It hurts so much! Stop screaming and let me rest!)
Watching this, Hiroshi looked weird. The owner had an eccentric personality, and her Pokémon's temper was gradually being distorted. Normally, shouldn't the Master and Pokémon embrace after evolution?
Hu Tao: [Mora Red Envelope]!
Hu Tao: Congratulations, everyone! The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's Gible has evolved for the first time! [Video.AVI]
Ganyu received Mora.
Beidou received Mora.
Yoimiya received Mora.
Klee: Hehehe, Klee received the most Mora!
Bennett: During the daily patrol of the Department of Environmental Protection, I randomly picked the one with the worst luck... 396 Mora... As expected of me!
Diluc: Hu Tao, you beat me to it. My Growlithe only needs a day or two to evolve.
Hu Tao: This Director is the holder of all the records in this group!
The first Dragon-type Pseudo-Legendary!
The first Pokémon to cost tens of millions of Mora!
The first evolved starter!
Xiangling: What should I do? I have a headache. In the future, every time I see Hu Tao, she'll introduce herself as: "The person standing before you is the holder of these records..."
Keqing: That is very possible!
Xingqiu: (Sighs)
Chongyun: ...My ears hurt already!
Hu Tao: Manager Hiroshi, are there any rewards for such an excellent record? I have made outstanding and indelible contributions to the popularity and influence of our Pokémon!
Hiroshi: [Image: Old man on the subway looking at his mobile phone.JPG]
Witnessing the "beating-pain-flow" results... Hiroshi suddenly slapped his forehead.
"In fact, the Pokémon Home store has a prop that assists cultivation and evolution."
"It's called Rare Candy."
Just as Hu Tao was about to ask more, Hiroshi teleported back to the store in Liyue, copying the information into the chat.
Hiroshi: Due to Hu Tao's Gible encountering an evolutionary bottleneck, I am launching new products: Rare Candy (Common), Rare Candy (Elite), and Rare Candy (Master).
Common: For levels below 40.
Elite: For levels 40–69.
Master: For levels 70–79.
Effect: Increases the Pokémon's level by +1. Use these when facing a breakthrough bottleneck or a level plateau.
Hu Tao's face darkened as she looked at the new products. She looked at Hiroshi, who had just tossed her a Rare Candy as a gift. Her eyes were full of resentment.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" she screamed. "If you told me earlier, he didn't have to get beaten half to death!"
Not far away, the Gabite, having regained some energy, was grinning and provoking Goodra.
"GABITE!" (The tides turn! Don't bully a poor shark!)
Goodra tilted her head, turned around, and swept her tail. Gabite flew out again.
Hu Tao stared with a black line on her forehead. "You really do have a death wish, don't you? You do this every day!" She walked over and gave the Gabite a punch to the chest.
Hiroshi couldn't watch anymore. He coughed. "That Rare Candy is your record reward. These are limited edition and only sold to specific customers."
"Ordinary Rare Candies cost 10 million Mora..."
He announced this in the group chat to shut up the rich women like Jean and Ningguang before they tried to buy them as snacks.
Ningguang: Huh? Disappointed. I was about to buy a hundred of each level just to stock up.
Jean: A hundred? Well... that quantity is indeed necessary. In the future, these will definitely skyrocket on the black market!
Tartaglia: You two are truly wise. I wanted to buy a massive batch too. Even though I plan to train my Alolan Vulpix step-by-step without items... as we all know, the Fatui aren't short of money. What's wrong with hoarding? It's just a simple, unpretentious, and dull way of showing spirit!
[System: Tartaglia has been banned by Administrator Mona for 12 hours.]
Reason: "Restrain your rich-person face around me!"