Chapter Forty-Six: Certificate of Junior Breeder

Thanks to Cheng Cheng’s persistent efforts, the breeding house finally began to show signs of improvement. Although there still weren’t many customers coming in to buy Pokémon, online sales were going well. In just over twenty days, Cheng Cheng had sold more than twenty eggs and ten Pokémon. This was already a considerable achievement.

Today was an especially exciting day for Cheng Cheng, as his results for the Junior Pokémon Breeder assessment were about to be released.

When he opened the email sent by the school, Cheng Cheng knew he had passed and become a Junior Pokémon Breeder, for inside was his official certificate.

There was also an additional sheet in the email: his grades. As expected, he scored above 90 in all four chosen subjects. His best mark was in Pokémon Battles, with an impressive 96, while the lowest was in Pokémon Language, just scraping a 90, mainly because he hadn’t performed as well in the theory section. The other subjects averaged in the 60s and 70s.

Cheng Cheng had successfully passed the assessment and officially became a Junior Pokémon Breeder. The first thing he did upon receiving the certificate was to share the news with Aunt Meixuzi, who was delighted for him. Cheng Cheng then used the communicator to get in touch with Muzi.

His previous attempts to contact her had all failed, but this time, Cheng Cheng finally got through.

“Muzi? How have you been lately?”

“I’m great! I’ve returned to Dragon Village. Life here suits me perfectly.”

“I see. By the way, did you receive the school’s email? I’ve already gotten mine—I’ve officially become a Junior Pokémon Breeder. How about you?”

“I got mine too! I scored above seventy in every subject, and most of them were in the eighties.”

“That’s great. I actually took the second path, with all four subjects scoring above ninety.”

“That’s impressive, Cheng Cheng. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”

“Oh,” Cheng Cheng replied.

He wasn’t sure what else to say, and then Muzi simply ended the call.

Cheng Cheng felt as though a wall had sprung up between him and Muzi, leaving him a little uncomfortable. Still, he didn’t dwell on it—he would see her again someday, and if all else failed, he could just visit her in Unova.

“Ding. Congratulations to the host for completing the task: Attend the Pokémon Breeder School and become a Junior Breeder. You have been awarded 1,000 Achievement Points.”

Hearing the system’s prompt reminded Cheng Cheng of his mission to become a Junior Pokémon Breeder. He had spent almost all his achievement points raising his Pokémon, and hadn’t expected to receive another 1,000 points. Now he’d be able to continue training his Pokémon for a while longer.

Recently, aside from taking care of his Pokémon and managing the breeding house, Cheng Cheng had also been putting his Pokémon through special training.

He purchased several potions to improve their rank, and managed to acquire a few Technical Machines. But since TMs were extremely expensive, he only bought one, which contained the move Protect.

Though it was only one TM, Cheng Cheng managed to teach all his Pokémon this move. Psychic-type Pokémon were especially adept at mimicking new techniques; as long as one Pokémon demonstrated, the others learned it quickly.

At this moment, Cheng Cheng was in the backyard, having his Pokémon practice battling, when the system’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Ding. Calculating Task Five…”

Hearing this, Cheng Cheng suddenly remembered that a month had already passed—it was time for the first stage of Task Five to be settled.

“First settlement: The breeding house’s reputation was originally 47, and is now 409. Reputation increased by 362. Congratulations, host, you have been awarded 362 achievement points.

Ding. Please note: One third of the time for Task Four has passed, but there is still a significant gap to the goal. Please work faster.”

Over a month had passed for Task Four, yet he’d only sold a little over thirty Pokémon—still two thirds to go. Clearly, he would have to find ways to sell more in the coming month or so, otherwise he might not finish in time. Still, the reputation of his breeding house was growing, and Cheng Cheng believed he would succeed.

As for Task Five, he hadn’t expected his reputation to increase by over three hundred points. Given another month, it might break a thousand for the first time, and he would once again earn the right to visit the Psychic-type Pokémon sanctuary.

“Ding. Special task issued: Successfully capture the Pokémon from space—Deoxys. Time: one month. Reward: none.”

Cheng Cheng’s jaw dropped in astonishment at this mission. Capture Deoxys? Was he even capable of that? He didn’t even know where Deoxys was. Even if he encountered it, he’d be no match for it, let alone capture it. And as for the reward—“none”? After thinking it over, Cheng Cheng realized that if he really could catch Deoxys, the reward hardly mattered.

“System, I don’t even know where to find Deoxys. How am I supposed to capture it?”

“Ding. Deoxys is currently in the Sinnoh region. Once you arrive, you will be able to sense its location.”

“Sinnoh? Isn’t that where Ash is currently traveling? But I remember Deoxys should be found in Hoenn—did it move to Sinnoh?”

Since the system said so, Cheng Cheng didn’t think too much about it. With only a month, there wasn’t much time—he had to hurry.

“Ding. Now releasing a new task.”

The system suddenly issued another mission.

“Couldn’t you just give me all the tasks at once? You keep startling me,” Cheng Cheng muttered.

“Task: Embark on a journey. Since you aim to become a Psychic-type Pokémon Breeder Master, traveling is essential. The host must journey for a period of time—the duration is up to you. The system will evaluate the quality of your journey; the higher your score, the more achievement points you will earn.”

Another travel mission, and identical to the previous one. Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected to receive it again—it seemed he would have to travel in Sinnoh for a while.

He wondered if he might run into Pikachu or Ash there; Ash should have been traveling in Sinnoh for some time now, so there was a good chance they could meet.

Cheng Cheng returned upstairs and checked for flights to Sinnoh. There were none available today; the earliest was three days later.

He would have to wait. In the meantime, he needed to put his Pokémon through another round of intensive training. With his current strength, he wasn’t sure he could subdue Deoxys even if he met it. Still, even just seeing Deoxys would be remarkable.

In the following three days, Cheng Cheng intensified his Pokémon’s training, making their control over moves even more precise.

Three days later, Cheng Cheng boarded a plane to Sinnoh. After five or six hours, he arrived in Wetland City.

Upon arrival, he didn’t sense anything unusual.

“System, are you there?”

“How can I help you, host?”

“Didn’t you say that once I reached Sinnoh, I’d be able to sense Deoxys’s location? Why don’t I feel anything?”

“Your psychic sensing range is still limited and can’t cover all of Sinnoh. However, you can use Deoxys’s aura to sense its location.”

“Sense its aura? How? I don’t even know what Deoxys’s aura feels like.”

“The system will provide for this.

Ding. Congratulations, host, you have obtained a fragment of a cosmic meteorite.”

What was this?

Holding the meteorite fragment, Cheng Cheng felt the psychic energy within.

“This is a companion meteorite of Deoxys. It contains Deoxys’s aura. The host can use psychic abilities to sense Deoxys’s location.”

Cheng Cheng closed his eyes, channeling his psychic power into the meteorite, familiarizing himself with Deoxys’s aura.

Once accustomed to it, he spread his psychic sense outward and immediately picked up a faint wave of Deoxys’s energy in one direction. It was very weak—Deoxys seemed to be far away.

That had to be the direction. Without pausing to rest, Cheng Cheng hurried off.

Along the way, he stopped at a Pokémon Center for the night and organized his gear.

The next morning, he set out again, constantly attuning himself to Deoxys’s aura. It was growing stronger, so he knew he was on the right path—and Deoxys wasn’t moving away.

According to the system, he had to find Deoxys within a month, or he might lose his chance.

By lunchtime, Cheng Cheng released his Pokémon to feed them. Because this was a long journey, he only brought his strongest teammates to minimize supplies.

He handed out food to his Pokémon and took out some rations for himself. He wasn’t accustomed to eating such plain fare, but in order to travel quickly, he didn’t have time to prepare fresh meals.

After eating, Cheng Cheng hit the road again. As he used his psychic sense, he suddenly detected another kind of power nearby.

Focusing, he realized it wasn’t psychic energy—something else. He’d sensed this kind of power from someone before. Could it be that person again?

Cheng Cheng hurried toward the source of that wave, and soon saw several very familiar faces.