In the days that followed, the Pokémon Center was busier than ever.
Su Bai and Zhou Xiaofei found themselves juggling two nonstop streams—on one hand, the endless flow of customers, and on the other, Haicheng residents coming in to collect Berry seeds.
In less than three days, all kinds of Berries were being planted en masse across the city.
From time to time, Su Bai would also give public lectures, teaching how to craft Pokéblocks—though the process was still theoretical for now.
Why?
Because the key ingredient for Pokéblocks was Berries—and until the Berry harvest matured, large-scale production simply wasn't possible yet.
Luckily, the seeds from the system were clearly genetically optimized.
They grew at astonishing speed.
Planted on Day 1 and properly watered and fertilized, you'd see sprouts that same night.
By Day 2, the seedlings would break through the soil.
And by Day 3, they'd already be as tall as a seven- or eight-year-old child!
Even Su Bai's backyard had Berry trees now, carefully tended by Zhou Xiaofei.
The kid knew just how rare and precious this peaceful life was, and whatever task he took on, he did it with all his heart.
After watering a Berry tree nearly as tall as himself, Zhou Xiaofei turned to Su Bai and said politely,
"Boss Bro, the Berries are all taken care of! I'm heading off to train my Magikarp now!"
Because the Center was so hectic during the day, Su Bai never forced Zhou Xiaofei to work.
Still, the well-mannered boy always waited until the shop closed before heading to the training facilities.
He was a well-behaved child, but the fire in his eyes… that excitement just couldn't be hidden.
He didn't care one bit whether Magikarp was known as the weakest Pokémon.
What mattered was that this Magikarp belonged to Zhou Xiaofei.
And that was more than enough.
Su Bai smiled and nodded. "Go ahead."
Diancie chimed in cheerfully, "Go for it, Xiaofei!"
Meloetta also raised her arms with a bright smile. "Melo~ Melo~!"
Pokémon—especially gentle Mythical Pokémon like Diancie and Meloetta—could sense the emotions of humans.
They were naturally drawn to kind-hearted and sincere souls.
There were many legends in the Pokémon world of Mythicals rescuing humans, driven by nothing more than pure-hearted instinct.
And Zhou Xiaofei, with his innocent spirit and burning determination, was exactly the kind of human they loved the most.
In this case, the saying "Good things happen to good people" was absolutely true.
"Thank you, Sister Diancie! Thank you, Sister Meloetta! I'll give it my best!"
Zhou Xiaofei waved back at them, beaming brightly.
Then he turned to the fish tank in the corner and waved to his Magikarp.
The dopey-eyed Pokémon gave a blink… then suddenly leapt out of the tank.
With its usual awkward, twisting motion, it splashed some elemental water into the air and followed after its trainer.
Its clumsy little hop made Su Bai chuckle out loud.
Honestly, the first time he'd seen Magikarp "swimming" mid-air using elemental water, Su Bai had been legitimately shocked.
Because in his mind, Magikarp was the poster child for useless—a flopping fish that could barely manage a Splash.
In the games, it learned Tackle at level 15, but real-world training was far more complicated.
In both the games and this world, Magikarp sat firmly at the bottom of the food chain.
Even in the wild, other Pokémon rarely bothered hunting it—it was all bones, hard scales, and barely any meat.
Su Bai took a sip of fresh Berry juice, handed to him by Meloetta.
As the owner of the Pokémon Center, he could use anything in the store freely—so long as it wasn't a gift or giveaway.
And thanks to the system, Berry supplies were literally endless.
If anyone else saw how he used such premium ingredients so casually, they might drop dead from cardiac arrest.
Even rich kids like Zhang Qun or Ding Yue probably wouldn't dare indulge like this.
After taking a sip, Su Bai scrunched his eyebrows into a squiggle.
"Ugh. Oran Berries are still way too sour. Gotta switch to something sweeter next time."
Still shaking off the taste, he turned to the monitor and flipped on the surveillance feed.
Zhou Xiaofei's image appeared onscreen.
He and Su Bai had led similar childhoods, and their personalities weren't all that different either.
At first glance, Zhou Xiaofei didn't seem like the competitive type—but deep down, he was tenacious as hell.
Su Bai could've easily walked over to watch in person, but he didn't want to make the kid nervous.
Water-Type Training Ground.
Zhou Xiaofei gently placed Magikarp in the simulated beach zone.
He rolled up his pants, careful not to get wet in the clothes Su Bai had bought for him.
"Alright, Magikarp!"
Once everything was ready, he looked invigorated as he declared,
"Let's begin today's training!"
In response, Magikarp blinked blankly… and then used Splash.
"Excellent! Very spirited!"
Zhou Xiaofei patted its head, pleased.
"Last time, we figured out how to swim through the air by forming water beneath you."
"Today, we're going to learn how to change the direction of your Splash!"
With only this so-called "weakest" Pokémon at his side, Zhou Xiaofei had become meticulously observant.
And by comparing his Magikarp with the others occasionally appearing in the Center...
He discovered something that thrilled him to his core:
His Magikarp could Splash twice as high as the others!
An absolute prodigy among fish!
That meant his Magikarp had both greater strength and speed than average.
To confirm his theory, Zhou Xiaofei even asked to borrow a bit of his pay in advance to buy a pinewood board.
He suspended the board above Magikarp and had it use Splash.
The result?
Magikarp slammed right into the board and punched a hole straight through it!
He was ecstatic.
This meant Magikarp had real power—it just couldn't harness it properly.
Splash only made it jump up and down… but if he could change the direction, that raw force might actually become a viable attack!
So, he began carefully training Magikarp.
"Alright, Magikarp, swing your tail! Put that power to good use!"
On the sandy shore, Zhou Xiaofei rigged up another pine board and awkwardly mimicked Magikarp's flopping stance to demonstrate tail propulsion.
Of course, humans don't have tails.
So Magikarp simply stared at him, eyes vacant, and Splash'ed a stream of water straight into his trainer's face.
At the counter, Su Bai burst out laughing.
Not out of mockery—on the contrary, he genuinely admired Zhou Xiaofei's drive.
But… come on.
That derpy Magikarp expression was priceless.
"If only I were more of a training expert myself," Su Bai sighed, taking another sip of juice.
"All my Pokémon came with maxed-out stats like cheat codes. Full loyalty, perfect attributes..."
He never needed to train them step-by-step, so he had no real experience with hands-on development.
If Zhou Xiaofei had a starter Pokémon, Su Bai could probably help out.
But Magikarp?
He was honestly out of his depth.
Diancie put her hands on her hips and pouted.
"Master, you can't make fun of Xiaofei!"
She could clearly sense the bond between the boy and his Magikarp.
"They're both trying so hard!"
"I'm not laughing at him, I promise," Su Bai said, smiling as he patted her head.
"I know Xiaofei is working hard."
He took another slow sip of juice, eyes fixed on the screen.
Say what you will, Zhou Xiaofei's unwavering perseverance was truly admirable.
Magikarp was always described in Pokédex entries as slow and weak.
It had next to no development potential, even in its own world.
Evolution into Gyarados was almost urban legend status.
Even in the actual Pokémon world, very few Trainers had the patience to raise one.
But Zhou Xiaofei?
He trained it with genuine joy.
Su Bai couldn't help but be moved as he watched this stubborn boy and his equally stubborn partner go at it together.
"This… this is youth," he murmured.
"Working hard for something you love—that's exactly what I did when I was younger."
He might not dream of being a magic-wielding archmage anymore, but that same passion now lived on in Zhou Xiaofei.
In a way, the kid really was like a mini version of Su Bai...
But then, something caught Su Bai's attention.
Wait a minute.
That Magikarp…
Was its tail angle actually changing?
In the monitor, Magikarp's deadpan stare remained the same, but its body twisted slightly, tail swinging back...
Building up power…
And in the next second—
"PFFFFFT—!"
Su Bai spit juice everywhere.
Staring wide-eyed at the screen, he saw the pinewood board explode as Magikarp shot upward like a rocket.
It punched clean through the board with incredible speed, then twisted midair, landing on the sand as it began gathering water to flip over.
Su Bai was speechless.
Eyes still glued to the monitor, he whispered in disbelief:
"Could it be… that Zhou Xiaofei's actually a genius?"