Chapter Fifty-One: Assistance, Gifts, and an Unexpected Encounter

[Name: Toxic Wyvern Bird Species: Toxic Wyvern Bird (Female) Type: Poison, Flying Ability: Throat Pouch (Stores various plants in its throat pouch to provide different effects for its signature moves.
Scattering Walnut: Increased power, spreads and explodes, easily causes dizziness.
Poison Vine Grass: Poison spreads, leaving toxic zones on the battlefield.
Cotton Spore Grass: Becomes a status move, creates poisonous smoke with a wider range.
Others: Slightly increases power.)
Moves: Poison Spray (signature move, power 70, Poison-type, physical move, gains different effects according to ability), Poison Smoke (signature move, Poison-type, status move, emits poison smoke from the tip of the tail), Wing Attack, Lick, Slam, etc.]

Su Yi was a bit surprised—the Toxic Wyvern Bird didn't have the Dragon type.

But that was actually good. His current team already had a Dragon/Flying type that was four times weak to Ice, and Dragon/Dark and Dragon/Fighting types four times weak to Fairy. At last, he finally had a companion beast that could counter Fairy types.

Su Yi immediately turned and told Sonia about the Toxic Wyvern Bird’s typing and its preference for slightly astringent nuts.

“Is that so? It seems you’ve done your research on this kind of Pokémon.” Sonia nodded, then communicated with the shop assistant and started picking out Pokémon food.

Watching Sonia’s professional demeanor, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel relieved.

A little bored, Nessa noticed the feline following behind Su Yi and, curious, squatted down to examine the cat dressed in leather gear.

“What kind of Pokémon is this?” Nessa wondered aloud.

To her surprise, the cat twitched its ears, turned around, waved a paw, and said, “My name is Dewgrass, and I’m a Felyne!”

“Huh? You can talk?” Nessa said in astonishment.

“Is it strange to talk, meow?” the cat asked in confusion.

“Rather than strange, I’d say it’s pretty impressive,” Nessa replied, intrigued.

“I’m very impressive, meow!” the cat declared proudly, paws on hips.

“Hehehe, can I pet you?” Nessa asked with a gentle laugh, gazing at the adorable feline.

Dewgrass scratched its ear, then held out its paw. “You can pet my paw pads, meow, but only Su Yi can touch my head!”

“Thank you.” Nessa reached out and gently stroked the cat’s soft, squishy paw pads, smiling.

“All right, let your Pokémon baby have a taste test,” Sonia said, bringing over samples of the selected Pokémon food.

Su Yi patted the slightly droopy little Toxic Wyvern Bird in his arms and coaxed, “Come on, little one, here’s your food.”

“Waa?” The little Toxic Wyvern Bird poked its head out, sniffed the gel-like food, then unrolled its long tongue to scoop up a bit and popped it into its mouth.

“Waa!” Its eyes lit up, and it leaned forward eagerly, uncoiling its tongue and eating its fill.

“It seems the little one really likes it,” Sonia said with a smile.

“Thank you, Sonia. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do,” Su Yi said gratefully.

“It’s nothing, just putting my knowledge to use,” Sonia replied modestly, waving a hand.

“Sir, your items are packed,” the shop assistant said, handing over the bagged Pokémon food.

Su Yi reached for his pocket. “How much is it...”

The shop assistant smiled. “No need, that lady has already paid.”

Su Yi froze, then looked at Sonia in surprise. “Wait, you helped me, but how could I let you pay too!”

Sonia smiled. “You’re a friend of Leon’s, and besides, it’s just a small amount.”

Su Yi sighed inwardly. In the Pokémon world, kind people are always so kind. Even though he hadn't done much for others, people like Leon and Sonia had helped him multiple times.

“In that case, let me give you this as a gift,” Su Yi said, without hesitation, stuffing a deep, oceanic pearl about the size of a fist into Sonia’s hand.

“Eh?! Such a big pearl? That’s too valuable!” As someone with an eye for fashion, Sonia could tell this pearl was worth far more than the usual big pearls or round pearls.

Su Yi waved his hand. “It’s not about the value—it's a token of thanks.”

“But…” Sonia still didn’t feel she’d done anything worthy of such a gift.

“Just take it! Otherwise, I’ll be upset!”

“All right! Thank you for your help. I’ll treat you to a great meal sometime! I won’t bother you two on your shopping trip any longer!” Su Yi waved at Nessa and Sonia, not giving Sonia a chance to refuse, grabbed the Pokémon food, and turned to leave.

“Meow!” Dewgrass waved at Sonia and Nessa, then followed Su Yi.

“What an interesting person. Is he really Leon’s junior?” Nessa asked curiously.

Sonia carefully put away the deep pearl, which seemed to contain the essence of the ocean. “It was only recently—Leon seems to hold Su Yi in high regard.”

“In high regard?”

...

As the sun set, the little Toxic Wyvern Bird, after eating its fill, soon fell asleep. Su Yi returned it to its Poké Ball.

Indeed, the hatching of the Toxic Wyvern Bird confirmed Su Yi’s theory: monster eggs placed into the [Companion Beast] system would hatch into young monsters with Pokémon traits, and could be captured with an ordinary Poké Ball.

With these matters settled, Su Yi walked with Dewgrass through the city streets beneath the sunset.

The atmosphere of the gym challenge was still strong; highlights from the matches played in a loop on the billboards, interspersed with advertisements to increase revenue.

No surprise there—Chairman Rose, a titan who controlled Galar’s energy, transport, and construction industries, took every opportunity to boost the economy.

It had to be said—he truly had an eye for talent, having discovered the champion Leon.

“Oh? The gathering is still on.” Su Yi noticed the event was still lively, even more dazzling and bustling now that night had fallen.

“Let’s take a look.”

Not that he was hoping to run into Nessa again and pick up a few more collectible cards.

Su Yi strolled leisurely, sampling snacks as he browsed.

“Hm?” Amid the stalls, he spotted a familiar figure—familiar, at least, from the game.

At an unattended booth, a pink-haired young woman with eccentric attire lay bored across the table, stacks of CDs and idol merchandise spread before her.

“Oh? Young man, care to have a look?” she said, lifting her head and greeting him without much expectation.

Su Yi picked up a CD and looked at the title: “Smitten by Klara Like a Fool.”

Ah… this was… a bit cringeworthy, the kind that made you want to curl up with embarrassment.

“Pfft!” Clearly, she’d seen that reaction many times before. Klara slumped back down.

“Ahem.” Su Yi tried to ease the awkwardness. “Miss Klara, I heard you want to become a Poison-type Gym Leader?”

Klara looked up in surprise. “Eh? You know about that? Are you my fan?”

After all, this immature ambition was something she’d only hinted at on her social media. She never expected to meet a fan of hers here, especially as an indie idol who’d only ever sold eight CDs.

“Hmm… let’s say I am.” To keep the conversation going, Su Yi told a little white lie.

“Hahaha, you have great taste!” Klara’s mood immediately improved.

“Let’s get to the point, Miss Klara. Do you really intend to become a Poison-type Gym Leader?” Su Yi asked seriously.

Klara asked in return, “Why? Do you have a way to make me a Poison-type Gym Leader?”

“Have you heard of Master Mustard’s Dojo?” Su Yi smiled.