Chapter 14: Chapter 14: You Want to Help Them
The images on the Pokédex flashed by rapidly, and Xiangling's frown deepened. Finally, it stopped on a small, emerald-green creature.
Li Pan leaned over to take a look, and his expression immediately turned strange. He instinctively glanced at Guoba, hesitating to speak.
"Guoba?"
Guoba frowned, sensing something was off, and looked at Xiangling with disbelief.
No way…
The silence made Xiangling nervous.
"Boss Li, how is the Pokémon I drew?"
Li Pan's expression was complicated.
"Miss Xiangling, how should I put this… This Pokémon has great potential, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that it happens to be one of the Pokémon you've been wanting the most."
"The one I've been wanting… Boss Li, are you saying…?!"
At first, Xiangling didn't quite understand, but the next moment, her eyes widened in excitement as she stared at the small green creature on the Pokédex.
"Yes, exactly what you're thinking. This Pokémon is called Grookey, one of the starter Pokémon from the Galar region. It can use a special stick to play music, and this music has the power to invigorate plants."
With that, Li Pan walked into the shop and soon returned, leading a small green monkey.
"Here, this is Grookey."
[Grookey]
Type: Grass
Level: 5
Ability: Grassy Surge (When it enters the battlefield, it creates a Grassy Terrain.)
The Chimp Pokémon. When it strikes with its special stick, the power to invigorate plants spreads as sound waves.
Moves: Scratch, Growl
The voice of the Pokédex echoed in the empty shop.
The little Grookey clung to Li Pan's leg and stuck out its tongue at Guoba. But Guoba, now completely burned out, couldn't even be bothered to respond.
That was six months' worth of spicy meat buns…
At the same time, Ningguang, Keqing, and Xiangling's eyes focused on Grookey's feet. On the marble floor, a few blades of grass had inexplicably sprouted.
This discovery left them in disbelief. They could clearly see that the marble floor had no gaps, so there shouldn't have been any grass seeds left behind. Yet, a layer of short grass had grown out of nowhere.
"Is this the Grassy Surge ability? Truly a miraculous creature," Ningguang said with a complex expression.
"That's great! Boss Li, I'll take Grookey. How much Mora?"
Xiangling had also noticed the anomaly at Grookey's feet, but she didn't think as deeply as Ningguang and Keqing. She just thought that with Grookey by her side, she'd never run out of fresh ingredients again.
"That'll be 530,000 Mora. Here's your Poké Ball and Pokédex. Please take good care of them."
Li Pan rubbed his hands together and smiled.
"Alright, the Mora will be delivered shortly."
Xiangling happily took the Pokédex and Grookey's Poké Ball and was about to leave.
"Miss Xiangling, please wait a moment."
Just as she was about to leave, Ningguang called out to her.
"What is it, Lady Ningguang?" Xiangling turned back, looking at Ningguang with confusion.
"Hehe, it's nothing. I just have something I'd like your help with."
Ningguang's eyes gleamed as she stared at Grookey, who was hiding behind Xiangling. This was a treasure indeed.
"Just say the word, Lady Ningguang. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely help."
Xiangling puffed out her chest (which didn't exist) and spoke proudly.
She wasn't stupid.
She knew that Ningguang was only asking for her help because of Grookey.
Seeing Xiangling's expression, Ningguang covered her mouth and chuckled.
After laughing, she put on a serious face and said to Xiangling, "Miss Xiangling, you must be aware of the flood in Qingce Village that caused a poor harvest, right?"
Xiangling nodded. "Yes, that's why I couldn't buy Jueyun Chilis, which is why I followed Landorus here."
Ningguang nodded in understanding. "I'd like you to take Grookey to Qingce Village and try to save as much of the crops as possible. As you know, Qingce Village is Liyue's granary. If something happens to Qingce Village, Liyue might have to tighten its belt for the next six months. Of course, Miss Xiangling, I'm not asking you to help for free. After the job is done, you can pick any two items from my collection in the Jade Chamber."
Ningguang's casual words made Keqing's eyes widen.
Others might not know, but she certainly did.
The items in the Jade Chamber were all things Ningguang considered valuable, and her standards were incredibly high.
As a result, every item in the Jade Chamber was a priceless treasure.
Normally, Ningguang was very protective of these treasures, and it was difficult for outsiders to even get a glimpse of them. Now, she was actually allowing Xiangling to pick two items. But at the same time, Keqing understood why Ningguang was doing this. If something happened to Qingce Village, countless people in Liyue would starve.
Xiangling thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head.
"No, no, Lady Ningguang, I don't need your treasures. But I'll still go to Qingce Village."
Hearing this, Ningguang became intrigued.
"Oh? Someone who doesn't want money right in front of them? Can you tell me why?"
Xiangling thought carefully, then smiled at Ningguang.
"If I had to say, it's probably because going hungry is really uncomfortable. I don't want so many people to feel that way."
Ningguang was stunned. By the time she recovered, Xiangling had already left Pokémon Home with Grookey in her arms.
Regaining her composure, Ningguang smiled. "Let's go too. Boss Li, the Mora will be here soon."
With that, she and Keqing left the shop.
"Hmm… I sold two more today. Feels good."
After everyone had left, Li Pan stretched and lay down on a rocking chair, covering his face with a palm fan as if to sleep.
"You want to help Qingce Village."
At that moment, Landorus floated over, speaking in a tone that left no room for doubt.
"Don't joke around. What do they have to do with me? I just want to make money."
Li Pan's posture didn't change, and his voice was muffled by the fan covering his face.
Landorus, however, was all smiles. It pointed to its eyes.
"I've lived a long time, probably since the first farmland in the world was cultivated. Over the years, I've seen many people and understood many people. By now, I rarely misjudge anyone. You want to help them."
"Don't make claims without evidence. Empiricism kills. Alright, stop bothering me. I'm going to sleep."
Li Pan's posture still didn't change.
Landorus raised an eyebrow and pointed at the fan covering Li Pan's face.
"You never used to cover your face with that old fan when you slept."
With that, it reached out and took the fan off Li Pan's face.
Beneath it, Li Pan gave it a helpless look.
This old guy is so annoying.