"You tamed it, sure... but just look at yourself now."
Su Bai looked at Pei Jingguo—now white-haired and wrinkled—and hesitated.
A young man had walked into the Pokémon Center, handsome and full of life. Now, he looked like he'd come out of a haunted house.
At this rate, people might think Su Bai's shop was cursed.
The others nodded silently, sharing the same thought.
Especially the younger girls—Liu Yunlan, Murong Nan, and Ding Yue—who stared wide-eyed in horror.
"There's a risk of that just from taming a Pokémon?!"
Liu Yunlan instinctively buried her face in Growlithe's warm, fluffy neck, trembling.
"Good thing my Growlithe would never do something like that!"
Watching their reactions, Pei Jingguo simply chuckled.
"This is nothing," he said calmly. "I can feel Honedge's sincerity—it's truly acknowledged me now."
As he spoke, Honedge suddenly slipped from his grip.
The sword gently brushed its blade against Pei Jingguo's face, showing rare gentleness.
Just as Pei Jingguo was about to shrug off his looks and deliver a brave speech—
The blue ribbon lashed out again, wrapping around his arm.
"Again?!"
The group paled in shock.
He already looked like an old man! If this continued, would he be sucked dry entirely?
Even Su Bai was getting ready to intervene.
But then—Pei Jingguo felt something strange.
Instead of draining life, the ribbon was returning it.
The stolen vitality now flowed back into him.
Wrinkles vanished from his face.
His snow-white hair darkened once more, turning pitch black.
When Honedge finally released his arm, Pei Jingguo had returned to his original youthful self.
Except—one subtle change.
A single silver streak of hair remained among the black.
"This… This is real?!"
Wang Tao stared, slack-jawed.
"Honedge can do that? Could old folks tame one and reverse their age?!"
"And Pei Jingguo... he looks even better now. What the hell?!"
"I know Pokémon are magical—but this is way beyond magical!"
Su Bai's eyes finally lit with understanding.
Honedge's test had been just that—a test. Nothing more.
Now that it had acknowledged Pei Jingguo as its trainer, of course it wouldn't let him remain aged.
Still, Wang Tao's thoughts were far too optimistic.
Su Bai shook his head and said,
"Don't get the wrong idea. Honedge is special, sure, but not that miraculous."
"Based on my understanding of this world—and of Pokémon—what just happened was likely just a restoration."
"A return to how things were. Nothing more."
"Immortality? Eternal youth? You might as well keep dreaming."
"And even if Honedge could restore youth, who would it drain for that? Innocents? Wild beasts? Death monsters have no vitality worth taking…"
His words doused the spark in Liu Yunlan's eyes.
Right.
Even if such a miracle were possible, would she really feed Honedge other people?
That'd be straight-up cult behavior.
If Pokémon had that kind of power, they'd be hated more than the monsters themselves.
"Uuuugh…"
Liu Yunlan groaned incoherently and buried her face deeper into Growlithe's scarf.
Beside her, Monferno gently patted her back.
Su Bai shot her a glance, then turned to Pei Jingguo.
"This Honedge is a special individual. It's maxed out in talent."
"If you train it well—once it evolves into Aegislash—it'll become a true tactical ace."
"Not only will it have both offense and defense, but it'll be extremely versatile."
"For someone like you, this is probably the ideal partner. Your luck really is something else."
In this world, base stats were just a reference.
Aegislash had a total base stat of 500—not as high as starter Pokémon.
But that didn't make it weaker.
Even on paper, Aegislash could shift between Blade Forme (Attack 150 / Sp. Atk 150) and Shield Forme (Defense 150 / Sp. Def 150).
An all-rounder in the truest sense.
In reality, with proper form-switching, it was almost like having quadruple stats all at once.
That was no joke.
Compared to everything the others had caught today—including Zhang Qun's pseudo-legendary—Pei Jingguo's Honedge might now be the strongest Pokémon among them.
"But… precisely because this Pokémon is so special…"
Su Bai turned to Pei Jingguo, smiling as he extended a hand.
"It comes with a special price."
"That'll be three million."
After all, this was a max-IV Pokémon. Of course the price would be steep.
But even Su Bai felt that three million for such a rare Honedge was practically a bargain.
The system's pricing wasn't random.
It took everything into account—species, base stats, ability, nature, growth potential…
And not just anyone had the right to buy it.
But Pei Jingguo nodded and paid without hesitation.
Cha-ching! Three million received.
Su Bai nodded in satisfaction, glancing around the room.
"Looks like no one else will be entering the Pokémon House today."
"We should probably wrap it up here."
"The new Battle Hall is on the left side of the lobby. I've left Rotom in charge."
"If you want to train or spar, just swipe your card with Rotom."
A few of them had caught new Pokémon today, and the regulars often battled each other for practice.
Though Su Bai enjoyed watching Pokémon battles, time wasn't on his side today.
Half the shop was already darkening with dusk.
He had an appointment with Zhu Jianyuan, the city lord, to discuss renovation progress.
He couldn't miss it.
The Pokémon Center was protected by system rules. Su Bai wasn't worried about troublemakers.
Still, just in case, he had Ditto transform into his likeness before leaving.
With Ditto and Rotom on duty, they could handle anything that came up.
"Alright… time to head to the City Lord's manor. Zhu should be waiting."
Su Bai opened the door—
—and his expression instantly shifted as he reached down with lightning reflexes.
He caught a small, stumbling figure that had almost fallen backward from the sudden motion.
"T-Thank you…"
The figure looked up, revealing a child no older than eight or nine.
Su Bai smiled, letting go and brushing off the kid's collar.
"What are you doing out here alone? If you want to go in, just go. The Pokémon Center won't bite."
"And where are your parents?"
Kids being curious about Pokémon Centers was perfectly normal.
And who said kids couldn't be Trainers?
In anime and manga, some kids were already powerhouses…
But then the boy's next words stopped the smile on Su Bai's face cold.
"I… I don't have a mom or dad… and I don't have any money…"
The boy's voice was small, awkward.
"I just wanted to look from the outside…"