The moment Wen Qi saw this prompt, his heart stirred.
He looked closely and saw that it was just a Pokémon that looked like a fuzzball.
He then carefully examined the fuzzball's information through the system:
Pokémon: Venonat Level: 15 Type: Bug + Poison Ability: Run Away (Enables sure escape from wild Pokémon) Potential: Deep Green Moves: Tackle (Beginner), Mean Look (Beginner), Supersonic (Proficient), Confusion (Proficient), Poison Powder (Proficient), Stun Spore (Proficient), Sleep Powder (Proficient), Psybeam (Proficient), Psychic (Proficient)
Seeing the Venonat's high potential and its many proficient Psychic-type moves, Wen Qi couldn't help but drool.
Although most Bug-type Pokémon have short lifespans and are relatively weak in combat, this particular Venonat stood out as exceptionally impressive.
Bug-type Pokémon may have short lives, but their growth rate is incredibly fast.
Coupled with Wen Qi's ability to accelerate growth in his small world, the nurturing methods provided by the system, and his support with energy cubes, he could quickly evolve the Venonat and strengthen his own power.
Even though Wen Qi was only a初级 Psychic, he believed he could train and grow alongside the Venonat.
Judging by its moves, the Venonat's Psychic talent was far from low.
With that thought, Wen Qi immediately found an employee and asked about the Venonat's background and price.
The employee told him that this Venonat had come from an egg brought back by a bounty hunter from the wild. It had originally been placed in the egg-gambling area but had hatched on its own.
Since it was just a Bug-type Pokémon, not many people had chosen it.
The employee also mentioned that the Venonat didn't eat much, so they hadn't paid it much attention.
After all, Bug-type Pokémon were numerous, and most had low potential. If they checked every single one's potential, they wouldn't even recoup the appraisal fees.
Only rare Bug-type Pokémon like Scyther, Heracross, or Pinsir received special attention regarding their potential.
These Bug-types were strong, and even with slightly lower potential, they were still popular.
After hearing the employee's explanation, Wen Qi was secretly thrilled.
He felt incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon such an outstanding Venonat here.
So he said to the employee:
"I think this Venonat is pretty cute—all fluffy and adorable. I'd like to buy it. How much would it cost?"
Although the employee was curious why Wen Qi would choose such a seemingly weak Pokémon, especially since he already had a Turtwig, one of the starter trio, he didn't ask further and simply told Wen Qi the price was only 50,000.
Wen Qi paid without hesitation and took the Poké Ball containing the Venonat from the employee.
He walked gently toward the tree, moving with great care.
He knew that most Bug-type Pokémon were timid, and this Venonat had the Run Away ability, making it very fast.
Although he could have just captured it directly with the Poké Ball, Wen Qi wanted to communicate with the Venonat first.
He approached the Venonat's location, holding a初级 perfect Bug-type energy cube.
Using his常磐之力, he began to communicate with the Venonat:
"Hello, Venonat! I'm your future trainer, Wen Qi. Nice to meet you for the first time."
As he spoke, he offered the energy cube.
The Venonat had been leisurely enjoying the view from the tree when it suddenly heard Wen Qi's voice.
Seeing a stranger approaching, its first instinct was to flee.
But then it felt that this human seemed so comfortable and warm, radiating a scent it liked.
And the energy cube in his hand looked and smelled delicious!
The Venonat hadn't been treated well by the employees here; it usually only ate ordinary food and occasionally got low-quality energy cubes. It couldn't resist the temptation of the treat before it.
Thinking that this person might become its trainer and probably wouldn't hurt it, the Venonat mustered its courage, jumped down from the tree, and came before Wen Qi.
It looked at the unfamiliar human and the enticing energy cube, drooling unconsciously.
Seeing this, Wen Qi found it both amusing and a little heartbreaking. He could tell the Venonat hadn't been eating well, so he directly handed over the energy cube.
The Venonat took it eagerly and began munching happily.
Watching it eat with such joy, Wen Qi said:
"Is it good? If you come with me, there'll be plenty of energy cubes! I know you're amazing. Want to go out and explore the world with me?"
The Venonat thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Wen Qi immediately took out the Poké Ball and captured the Venonat.
He happily said to Turtwig:
"We've got another partner! Aren't you happy, Turtwig?"
Although Turtwig was a bit worried about losing its status, the thought of having a little buddy to play with made it smile too.
But what Turtwig didn't know was that the Venonat was already higher level than it and had powerful moves.
Coupled with the Bug-type's rapid growth, Turtwig's dream of being the boss might be hard to achieve anytime soon.
Still, for Wen Qi, these were minor details.
He was overjoyed to have captured the Venonat, feeling he had gained another strong ally.
Afterward, Wen Qi continued browsing the store but found no other surprises.
He saw some Pokémon with orange potential, but they were all cute, pet-like species.
He guessed these were probably meant as pets, since for aspiring trainers, the first Pokémon was usually chosen with at least yellow potential for a better foundation.
Unless there was no other choice, few would pick an orange-potential Pokémon as their starter.
Seeing no bargains left, Wen Qi headed to the egg-gambling area of the nursery.
It was crowded there, as not every family could afford to buy a Pokémon for their child.
A normal yellow-potential Pokémon cost at least 100,000 to 200,000, but here, an egg only cost 10,000.
So many people came to try their luck, hoping to find a hidden gem.
Rumors had spread about someone finding a green-potential Pokémon here, though no one knew if it was true.
But even so, just finding a yellow-potential one would be a huge win.
Standing among the crowd, Wen Qi observed the eggs with anticipation.
He wondered if he'd be lucky enough to find a Pokémon with immense potential.
But he also knew that egg-gambling came with risks.
Still, for him, as long as there was even a slight chance, he was willing to try.
After all, in this world full of unknowns and miracles, who could say for sure?
Wen Qi quietly watched the people around him, each holding various tools as they focused intently on observing.
But Wen Qi didn't need such hassle. With a simple activation of his system, he could see the Pokémon's potential at a glance.
Most of the eggs before him were red or orange, with a few yellow-potential ones scattered among them.
However, these eggs didn't interest Wen Qi, and he didn't reach for any.
Although he could sell them, they'd need official potential testing, which seemed too troublesome.
So he decided to pass.
As he wandered, he still couldn't find an egg that satisfied him.
Just as he was about to end his treasure hunt, his peripheral vision caught an ordinary egg in the corner.
Without hesitation, he walked over, picked up the egg, found an employee, and completed the payment, all without drawing any attention.
When he left the store, the egg was already in his backpack.
Though it looked normal on the surface, he had secretly placed it into his small world.
Inside, he was already ecstatic. Through the system's scan, he discovered that this egg was actually a cyan-potential Rhyhorn egg.
In this world, Rhyhorn was unpopular among trainers due to its type weaknesses, especially being quadruple-weak to Water and Grass.
However, a cyan-potential Pokémon was extremely rare.
Even a cyan-potential Caterpie would spark a frenzy of competition.
After all, cyan potential signified a Pokémon's Champion-level potential. Even a seemingly weak Caterpie would be sought after and adored.