Chapter 84. Encountering the Hippo King Again

“Xiao Zhi, Xiao Mao, I’ll only see you off to here!”
“Cheng Cheng, you must come find me again in the future.”
“Of course, I’ll definitely come if I have the time.”

At that moment, Cheng Cheng was bidding farewell to Xiao Mao and Xiao Zhi at the Viridian City airport. He was about to board the airship and leave. For the past few days, Cheng Cheng had been staying at Professor Oak’s place. He’d thought the members of Team Rocket might come looking for him, but in reality, no one showed up. From the current situation, there were only two possibilities: either they didn’t take him seriously, or they simply hadn’t managed to find him.

Soon, Cheng Cheng boarded the airship and set off for Verdanturf Town.

When he returned to Verdanturf, Cheng Cheng took a long, restful sleep. Upon waking, some time had passed and he realized it was already afternoon. As for how long he had slept, Cheng Cheng didn’t bother to care.

Feeling his empty stomach, he went to the kitchen to prepare some food. After eating, Cheng Cheng turned on his computer to check the latest updates about the Daycare on the website.

Recently, all the online activities for the Daycare had been managed by Ali and Lily. Cheng Cheng noticed that the number of views had already reached several thousand, and the number of Pokémon sold was quite impressive.

His ecological park was now beginning to take shape, boasting over a hundred Psychic-type Pokémon of various sizes. While a hundred might not seem like a lot, considering Cheng Cheng could only raise Psychic-types, it was already quite an achievement for his park to have gathered so many.

Cheng Cheng exchanged for a book on Pokémon breeding from the online store and handed it to Ali.

He asked Ali to study it and help breed any Pokémon that started forming pairs.

Only with a larger base of Pokémon could his Daycare truly flourish. This time, Cheng Cheng’s journey to Kanto wasn’t just to research Fairy-types with Daluo; at Professor Oak’s place, he’d also found a new channel. Introduced by Professor Oak, this channel allowed him to purchase fifty Psychic-type Pokémon and two hundred Pokémon eggs every year—a considerable number.

Cheng Cheng believed that with such a large foundational group of Psychic-types, his Daycare would only grow stronger.

Noticing that only Lily and Ali were working, Cheng Cheng realized it was a bit too much, especially for Ali, who had to take care of a hundred Pokémon’s meals—a demanding task.

He posted another recruitment ad online, deciding to hire two more employees: one to care for the eggs, and another to help Ali look after the Pokémon.

Once everything was arranged, Cheng Cheng headed out. This time, he needed to buy some food, as he was about to visit Slowking. Slowpoke had grown a lot, and it was time for it to return, evolve into Slowking, and undergo the inheritance ritual.

Cheng Cheng was actually quite reluctant to let Slowpoke go, but since it was Slowpoke’s wish, he couldn’t refuse.

Early next morning, Cheng Cheng packed everything and set off toward the Slowpoke community.

Returning to the Verdanturf Forest, Cheng Cheng was enveloped by a familiar atmosphere. Here, he had caught many adorable Pokémon, encountered the Treecko clan, befriended Sceptile, and also met Slowking and Slowpoke.

Verdanturf Forest was his very first place of adventure. It was here that Cheng Cheng experienced much growth, so returning now filled him with joy.

As he walked into the forest, Cheng Cheng found it both familiar and somewhat changed. Many things were different now; some Pokémon groups had migrated elsewhere, altering the landscape. He wasn’t even sure if the Treecko clan was still around.

After half a day’s journey, Cheng Cheng arrived at the area where the Treecko lived. He could clearly see a few Pokémon hiding in the trees—most likely Treecko.

He continued onward, noticing more and more Treecko around him. Without stopping, he pressed forward.

Soon, a Sceptile blocked his path.

“Sceptile, long time no see.”
Cheng Cheng recognized this was the same Sceptile he’d met before.

“Shaa!”

Cheng Cheng and Sceptile embraced.

Next, several Grass-type Pokémon from behind Sceptile gathered around, and Cheng Cheng sensed a familiar presence among them—it was the Grovyle from years past.

Following Sceptile, Cheng Cheng entered their community. He saw many unfamiliar faces—newly born Treecko and recently evolved Grovyle.

He also spotted another Sceptile; perhaps one of the Grovyle from before had evolved. With two Sceptile, their clan would surely be even safer.

Moved by the enthusiastic Pokémon, Cheng Cheng decided to have lunch in Sceptile’s territory. He asked the Grovyle to gather a variety of berries, which he then skillfully prepared into delicious Pokémon food.

He distributed the meal among the Pokémon, who all ate happily.

Afterward, with the Treecko clan bidding him farewell, Cheng Cheng set off toward Slowking’s lake.

Though Cheng Cheng couldn’t recall the precise route, Slowpoke could sense its old home. Under Slowpoke’s guidance, they soon reached a vast lake.

The scenery was just as Cheng Cheng remembered. Many Pokémon lounged along the shore, resting and drinking, while on the island in the center, numerous Slowpoke were fishing with their tails.

As Cheng Cheng approached the water’s edge, a giant Tentacruel surfaced before him—this must have been the same one that ferried him across last time.

He climbed onto Tentacruel’s back, which carried him to the island. Slowpoke slid into the water and swam over, though at a leisurely pace.

Upon arrival, Cheng Cheng saw many Slowbro lined up in two rows, as if to welcome them.

He made his way forward, stopping beneath the massive central tree. There, a Slowking stood before him.

“Oh, Cheng Cheng, it’s been a long time.”
Slowking didn’t use telepathy but spoke directly. Cheng Cheng glanced at Slowking’s combat power.

Pokémon: Slowking
...
Combat Power: 12,802 (17,089)
...

Cheng Cheng was amazed once more. Although Slowking’s strength was slightly less than Sakaki’s Beedrill, its true outburst of power surpassed Beedrill’s. However, the system didn’t indicate what triggered Slowking’s full power.

“Come, sit down. Let’s have a chat.”

Cheng Cheng walked over and sat across from Slowking. Slowpoke had also come ashore and now sprawled beside him.

Slowpoke’s return sparked a chorus of calls from the other Slowpoke and Slowbro, all seemingly welcoming it back. Slowpoke and Slowking exchanged greetings.

“Cheng Cheng, tell me about your travels together.”

Cheng Cheng recounted their experiences in detail while Slowking listened attentively.

“I must apologize—I didn’t spend as much time with Slowpoke as I should have.”

“It’s all right. I can see that Slowpoke has grown a lot. If you poured all your attention into just one Pokémon, it wouldn’t be fair to the others, and it wouldn’t help its own development either. The progress it’s made is already remarkable.

“All right, since you’ve just arrived, let’s hold a celebration tonight to welcome Slowpoke’s return!”

Cheng Cheng and the Pokémon prepared food together, and soon the celebration began. Not only the Slowpoke clan but many other Pokémon joined in, reminiscent of the previous rain-calling ritual.

Looking up at the clear sky, Cheng Cheng thought, “Surely it won’t rain this time?”

Indeed, he was right—there wasn’t a single drop of rain. As dusk fell, the Slowpoke formed a circle around the great tree, chanting rhythmically and dancing with their tails and hands. Cheng Cheng joined in; though he couldn’t dance, he imitated their movements and played along, feeling a bit silly but having fun.

The Slowpoke celebration lasted a long time, with Cheng Cheng’s Slowpoke as the guest of honor. When he grew tired, he simply lay down and fell asleep. Here, he felt completely safe, with no need to worry about his security. Sleeping peacefully in the wild was a rare and wonderful sensation. Lying on the ground in direct contact with the earth, he felt utterly free, a profound comfort that let him sleep soundly.

The next morning, the Slowpoke had prepared many berries. Cheng Cheng picked a few that tasted pleasant and ate them. Then Slowking spoke, letting Cheng Cheng know the real test was about to begin.

“As my successor, you must now pass three trials. The first is to demonstrate your psychic power. We have four special stone spheres here. Only when you can lift all of them with your mind will you have passed. Once you succeed, I’ll reveal the second trial.”

These words were, of course, addressed to Slowpoke. Cheng Cheng felt a little worried; he hadn’t trained Slowpoke much in its psychic abilities and wasn’t sure how it would perform.

Cheng Cheng and Slowpoke went behind the big tree, where four stone spheres were arranged on the ground. Several Slowbro lounged nearby, seemingly as guardians, but Cheng Cheng knew they were only sleeping there.

“These are the stones. Your task is to lift them all.”

“Good luck.”
Cheng Cheng patted Slowpoke on the head to encourage it.

Slowpoke crawled forward a few steps, facing the four stones. The first trial was about to begin.