On the drive back to her villa, Emma glanced at Squirtle, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
Then she froze.
The little Water-type turtle had already fallen asleep, his head tilted to the side. Just like in the cartoons she used to watch as a child, a big, round sleep bubble puffed gently from his nose.
His expression was completely relaxed, and there was even a faint trace of drool at the corner of his mouth. It was obvious that Squirtle was having a wonderful dream.
"Hehe~ How can there be such a cute little guy?"
Emma gazed at the sleeping Squirtle with affection, her fair and delicate face lighting up with a smile.
After thinking for a moment, she took out her phone, switched it to video mode, and carefully poked Squirtle's cheek with her finger.
Pop—
The sleep bubble burst.
Startled, Squirtle woke up instantly. Since Emma had already unbuckled his seat belt, he slipped forward and landed clumsily on the seat cushion.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
Squirtle lifted his little bald head in panic, looked around in confusion, and when he saw Emma, he let out a pitiful cry. He jumped straight into her arms and rubbed against her desperately, clearly frightened by what had just happened.
"Alright, alright, don't be scared. Don't be scared."
Emma's heart completely melted at Squirtle's childish, aggrieved cry. She gently stroked his head and softly comforted him.
Oh my god…
How could there be such a cute little turtle?
Emma lowered her head and looked at Squirtle, who was still acting spoiled in her arms. Her girlish heart felt so full it was about to overflow. She couldn't resist uploading the short video she had just recorded to her social feed.
This was the first time she had ever felt such a strong urge to share something—and to show it off.
The little turtle has officially joined the family. So cute it's illegal. From now on, he'll live happily with me, right?
After adding the caption and hitting send, Emma happily rubbed Squirtle's smooth little head again.
It felt amazing.
Less than ten seconds later, her phone started buzzing nonstop.
Emma opened the replies and glanced through them.
"Wow~ Is this a turtle or a sea turtle? I've never seen one like this before. It's so cute!"
"That thing looks pretty big. Emma, where did you buy it?"
"It looks adorable when it sleeps, and its cry is so soft. I really want one!"
"Huh? Didn't you say you were going to raise a cat? But this turtle is seriously cute."
…
"Hmph~ Cats aren't nearly as awesome as my little turtle."
Emma lifted her chin proudly. Her Squirtle wasn't just cute—he was a super turtle who could shoot water!
"Come on, little turtle. Let's go home~"
"Squirtle~"
Holding Squirtle in her arms, Emma got out of the car, instructed the servant to carry the energy cubes, and walked toward the villa.
---
"Does the next stage really require total revenue to reach one hundred million?"
Inside the Pokémon Home Pet Shop, Ren couldn't help rubbing his temples as he looked at the system's main mission.
One hundred million…
Easy to say—but also incredibly hard.
Still, there was no rush. The first Pokémon had already been sold. With that done, could the second one really be that far away?
Hopefully that rich young lady would introduce a few customers to him.
"Ren, this is the tea Diancie prepared. Please try it."
A gentle, melodious voice rang out as Diancie hopped over, holding a teacup and handing it to Ren.
Despite jumping lightly like that, not a single drop of tea spilled from the cup.
"Thank you. But Diancie, you can watch some TV and rest. I can handle this myself."
Ren smiled warmly at her.
She really lived up to her title as the princess of the Diamond Domain. After spending some time together, Ren discovered that Diancie was exceptionally polite and well-mannered, like a true noble lady. She was obedient, thoughtful, and her beauty was simply dazzling.
"What is television?"
Diancie tilted her head in confusion, her ruby-like eyes filled with curiosity.
"It's a kind of human device. It's great for passing the time and relieving boredom. I'll show you."
A short while later, Ren looked at Diancie, who was now sitting properly and seriously watching cartoons on the animation channel, and couldn't help laughing.
"If I can upgrade the system to level two, promoting Pokémon will become much easier."
Ren stepped outside the shop, lit a cigarette, and looked at the towering buildings in the distance, lost in thought.
At the moment, the system was only level one, so Pokémon could only be sold through a pet shop model. But once the system leveled up, there would definitely be more ways to promote them.
When Pokémon became popular enough, he could even organize city tournaments—then national competitions, and eventually world championships.
Let people see the true charm of Pokémon battles.
Just thinking about it made Ren feel fired up.
Completely fired up.
But when he turned around and looked at the empty pet shop—where he was the only human—Ren pressed a hand to his forehead.
This was way too difficult.
Wait.
Ren walked back into the shop and glanced at Diancie, who was obediently watching TV. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
"Diancie?"
The look in Ren's eyes was far too obvious. Diancie turned her head, blinking in confusion.
"Ahem… Diancie."
"Yes, Ren? Do you need Diancie's help with something?"
"Well… do you want how to be filmed?"
"…?"
Diancie was completely confused.