However, Poliwhirl and Poliwrath, being Water-type Pokémon, moved relatively slowly on land once they left the water, and there was also some distance between them and Zhao Feng.
The Advanced level Poliwrath, filled with indignation, continuously sprayed several Water Guns in the direction Zhao Feng had fled. The water splashed onto the empty ground nearby, but Zhao Feng's figure had long since vanished without a trace.
Zhao Feng sprinted through the dense grass, feeling that he had left his pursuers far behind. Only then did he stop, panting heavily, and pulled out the Poké Ball containing Poliwag from his pocket.
He impatiently pressed the button, and a red light flashed as Poliwag appeared before him.
Upon closer inspection, this Poliwag was small and looked very young, clearly having been born recently, probably only a few days ago. It was precisely for this reason that Zhao Feng was able to catch it relatively easily.
Zhao Feng focused his mind and checked Poliwag's detailed information through the system.
It showed that this Poliwag was currently only a Newborn level. But to his pleasant surprise, its aptitude was quite good, with individual values reaching 108, only 4 points shy of the 112 individual values corresponding to blue aptitude.
Zhao Feng searched carefully by the lake again, and his luck was pretty good; he found several Tree Berries hidden behind a bush.
The Tree Berries had bright, vibrant skins, indicating their superior quality.
He was overjoyed and carefully picked the Tree Berries, putting them into his bag, thinking that these Tree Berries might also fetch some money in the black market.
After a busy period, he felt he had a good harvest and decided to go to the black market to sell Pokémon.
This time, Zhao Feng specifically chose a different shop. Upon entering, an old man with white hair was sitting behind the counter, meticulously wiping a Poké Ball in his hand.
Zhao Feng took a deep breath, walked forward, and first took out the Poké Ball containing Raticate.
The old man took the ball, placed it in a device on the table, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
“Although this Raticate is Intermediate level strength, anyone with an eye can tell it was carefully trained by someone else. Selling it again will lead to many after-sales troubles. I can give you at most 12,000,” the old man said unhurriedly, adjusting his reading glasses.
Zhao Feng felt a little disappointed, but he also knew the old man was right, so he nodded silently.
Next, he took out the Poké Ball containing Poliwag.
The old man's eyes lit up the moment he saw Poliwag. “This little fellow just hatched, didn't he? But his aptitude is truly excellent. My granddaughter needs a starter Pokémon, so I won't haggle with you. 25,000, that's a sincere price.”
Zhao Feng was overjoyed to hear this; the price far exceeded his expectations. After a brief consideration, he decisively agreed to the transaction.
With the transaction complete, Zhao Feng's pocket instantly swelled, and his heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
After leaving the old man's shop, he wandered among the black market stalls, his eyes scanning like a searchlight.
Suddenly, at an inconspicuous small stall, he discovered a stone emitting a faint glow. Upon closer inspection, it was a damaged Everstone! Although the stone was damaged, he knew it was perfectly sufficient to prevent Weedle's evolution.
“Boss, how much for this Everstone?” Zhao Feng asked eagerly. The stall owner, a lean middle-aged man, glanced at Zhao Feng, held up two fingers, and wiggled them: “20,000, no bargaining.”
Zhao Feng frowned upon hearing this and began to persistently haggle: “Boss, look at how broken this stone is, it's not worth 20,000. How about this, I'll buy some training materials from you as well, and you give me a discount.”
After a fierce round of bargaining, the stall owner finally relented: “Alright, seeing your sincerity, 18,000.” Zhao Feng gritted his teeth and agreed.
After paying, Zhao Feng carefully selected 50 grams of Silver Powder at the stall. According to the Weedle training manual, applying Silver Powder to Weedle's mouth has a chance to teach Weedle the Bug Bite skill.
While purchasing the Silver Powder, Zhao Feng learned from the stall owner that if one collected a pound of Silver Powder, it could be used as a Pokémon item.
However, according to the stall owner, even if a pound was gathered, the Silver Powder's amplification effect was extremely limited, only providing a slight boost to a Pokémon's abilities, almost imperceptible in actual combat.
Zhao Feng secretly pondered that his current resources were limited, and every penny had to be spent wisely. Such a useless item was not worth investing a large amount of money to purchase.
Moreover, a Pokémon can only wear one Pokémon item, and Weedle was already wearing an Everstone.
After much consideration, he abandoned the idea of buying a pound of Silver Powder and only bought the 50 grams as originally planned to help Weedle learn the Bug Bite skill.
The Bug Bite skill has a power of 60, plus the Bug-type STAB bonus, making it a powerful skill for Weedle at this stage.
Although the Silver Powder was ridiculously expensive, 20 yuan per gram, Zhao Feng still gritted his teeth and bought it for Weedle's growth.
After all the commotion, Zhao Feng carefully calculated his money and found that he had about 21,000 left.
Holding this not-insignificant sum of savings, an unprecedented sense of confidence surged within Zhao Feng, and the long-suppressed frustration instantly dissipated, giving way to a bit of boldness.
He made a snap decision to bid farewell to his dilapidated, chipped-edged “Tetanus Blade.”
At the weapon stall in the black market, Zhao Feng immediately took a liking to a short sword.
The knife had a unique shape, similar to the Gurkha knife he was familiar with in his previous life. Its blade shimmered with a cold gleam, and its edge was incredibly sharp. A light swing could cut through the air, producing a “hissing” sound.
The stall owner's asking price was quite high, but Zhao Feng, relying on his eloquent tongue honed from his experiences in the black market, managed to acquire it for only 1,500 after some bargaining.
Having acquired a handy weapon, Zhao Feng immediately went on to purchase several sets of simple but durable casual clothes for himself.
The clothes were made of thick fabric and had subdued colors, perfectly suiting his need to remain inconspicuous in his daily life.
Next, he chose a large-capacity backpack, and considering he might be roughing it outdoors in the future, Zhao Feng also bought a lightweight tent. The tent material was waterproof and windproof, sufficient to shelter him from the elements in the wild.
Food was, of course, essential. He selected some long-lasting, high-calorie compressed rations, as well as a few cans of nutritious preserved food.
In addition, Zhao Feng knew that injuries were common in the wild, so he carefully selected various Potions.
To deal with wild Pokémon that he might encounter at any time, he specifically bought a Pokémon repellent spray. The scent emitted by this spray could make most Pokémon keep their distance.
Thinking that using Tree Berries as bait had been quite effective today, he bought some special bait. These baits emitted unique scents that could attract different types of Pokémon.
After a major shopping spree, Zhao Feng's wallet quickly slimmed down.
Once all the supplies were purchased, he left himself 15,000 in funds. After everything was settled, Zhao Feng dared not linger for a moment longer, carrying his heavy backpack, and quickly left the chaotic black market.
Returning to the abandoned house, Zhao Feng carefully took out the hard-won Everstone and gently placed it in front of Weedle.
Weedle curiously wiggled its horn, examining the stone that emitted a strange glow. Zhao Feng softly said, “Little one, this will be very important to you from now on.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Everstone transformed into a brilliant white light and slowly merged into Weedle's body.
(Here, the item directly integrating into the Pokémon's body is to limit a Pokémon to only carrying one item, otherwise, a Pokémon carrying many items and having infinitely stacking power boosts would be too overpowered.)
(Except for Mega Evolution ite or Z-Crystals or Tree Berries, which can be carried externally and do not occupy an item slot, but a Pokémon can only use one system, for example, after Mega Evolving, it cannot use Z-Moves.)
Zhao Feng decided to test the effect. He softly gave the command: “Weedle, try to stimulate the feeling of evolution.”
Weedle tried as commanded, and a faint, ethereal light of evolution shimmered around its body, but after only a few flashes, it dimmed under the influence of the Everstone.
Zhao Feng then had Weedle try to remove the Everstone. Weedle struggled a bit, and the Everstone reappeared in front of it in the form of white light.
After several repeated tests, Weedle could easily make the Everstone enter and exit its body, and only then did Zhao Feng completely relax.
Next was the critical moment for training the Bug Bite skill.
Zhao Feng took out the small packet of Silver Powder and, following the method in the training manual, gently applied it to Weedle's mouthparts.
“Now we'll start normal training, Weedle, feel the Bug-type energy on your mouth.” Zhao Feng squatted down, his gaze fixed on Weedle, his expression full of anticipation and encouragement.
Weedle's mouth emitted a green glow, but it was very faint, flickering a few times before disappearing.
Seeing that it hadn't succeeded, Weedle lowered its head in disappointment.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Feng immediately hurried forward, gently picked up Weedle, and said softly, “You've already done very well. Mastering a new skill is never that easy. Look, you've already successfully made Bug-type energy appear on your mouth!”
Zhao Feng said, gently stroking Weedle's back with his finger, trying to soothe its disheartened mood.
“As long as we keep at it, keep practicing, next time, this green glow will definitely be brighter and last longer, and then you'll be able to easily use Bug Bite!”
Weedle looked up, its black, bean-like eyes gazing at Zhao Feng, a hint of frustration still lingering in them.
“Come on, let's try again.” Zhao Feng placed Weedle back on the ground, squatted beside it, and looked at it with a determined gaze, “Following that feeling from before, calm down and feel the Bug-type energy within your body, slowly guiding it to gather at your mouth. I believe you can do it!”
Weedle took a deep breath, closed its eyes again, and fully immersed itself in sensing the Bug-type energy.
Its body trembled slightly as it tried to mobilize the Bug-type energy at the corners of its mouth.
After a while, the faint green glow reappeared on Weedle's mouth. This time, the green glow lasted a little longer than before, and although it still flickered, the light was noticeably brighter than last time.
Encouraged by Zhao Feng, Weedle tried a few more times. Each time, it tried its best to mobilize the Bug-type energy within its body, but the green glow gathered at its mouth never transformed into a true Bug Bite skill.
However, compared to the beginning, the progress was already significant—the green glow no longer flickered faintly but could steadily envelop the entire mouthparts.
When the last attempt failed, Weedle collapsed to the ground, its abdomen heaving violently, clearly having pushed its stamina to the limit.
“Don't worry, that's enough training for today.” Zhao Feng picked up Weedle.
Charmander let out a “woof” and came over, gently patting Weedle's back, cheering on its companion.
Weedle stirred, gently rubbed Zhao Feng's palm with its mouthparts, and its previously lowered head stubbornly lifted again.
