In the early morning, sunlight spread across the land like a golden veil, and Pidgey chirped a cheerful melody. Wen Qi rose energetically, pushed open the window, and took a deep breath of the fresh, pleasant air.
A new day had begun. Wen Qi finished his breakfast early, prepared with care by Bellossom. He first arranged matters with Wen Hua and the others regarding Miltank and Mareep. Starting today, Wen Qi felt it was better to let them live outside rather than staying in the small world all the time. However, he would still provide them with plenty of pasture grass from the small world to ensure their rapid growth.
Before leaving this time, Wen Qi left the Sandslash couple with Wen Hua and the others for assistance. Torterra, having experienced multiple battles in the forest, stayed behind to guard the farm. Bellossom remained at home to handle everyone's meals. Before departing, Wen Qi specifically went to Pidgeot to give instructions: if any issues arose, they could go to the villa to find Torterra or Bellossom. Bellossom and the others would help handle matters; if they couldn't resolve something, they could wait until he returned.
He also asked Wen Hua to contact a carpenter in the village to build some treehouses for Pidgey—about a hundred of them, to be prepared in advance. After handling these trivial tasks, Wen Qi mounted his Gogoat and set off for the city.
The place where Wen Qi lived was actually Chunhua City, a third-tier small city in the southwestern region of the Yanhuang Alliance. Although the city wasn't large in scale, its geographical location was quite advantageous. The surrounding cities were all first- or second-tier major cities, and Chunhua, as a third-tier small city, happened to be sandwiched in between, situated on a key transportation route. Therefore, despite its small size, Chunhua City's black market was quite substantial. Since the surrounding big cities had stricter management, many people flocked here, making the black market increasingly prosperous.
The authorities were well aware that the black market was difficult to eradicate completely, so they could only strengthen oversight. Beneath the city's general merchandise market lay the black market. Above it was the market, filled with a dazzling array of goods and bustling with people, making it convenient and inconspicuous. However, the crowds also meant that one could easily find out where the black market was with a little inquiry.
Wen Qi had heard about it by chance from others before, but at that time, he was still weak and dared not venture there. Now, with Gogoat and Scizor for protection, safety was essentially not an issue. Wen Qi rode Gogoat at full speed, and since the city wasn't far, he soon arrived in Chunhua City. However, once in the city, he put Gogoat away—city regulations prohibited riding mounts without a license.
Wen Qi decided he should first go to the police station to get a license; otherwise, without Gogoat, walking around would be too troublesome. Thinking about it, getting a riding Pokémon license was relatively easy. First, he needed to be familiar with traffic rules, which was a piece of cake for Wen Qi, given his photographic memory—he had already memorized the rules online before coming to the city. Second, the riding Pokémon couldn't be too large; massive Pokémon like Tyranitar or Copperajah were not allowed. Finally, there was a test to see if the trainer could command the Pokémon well, which was the most critical point. There was also an unwritten rule: the gentler the Pokémon, the easier it was to pass.
Wen Qi felt it was best to get the license first, as it would be quick to obtain. He took a taxi to the police station and saw a prominent sign at the entrance. Following the directions for the license test, he headed straight to the backyard of the station. At the registration office, he paid the fee and asked when he could take the test. The officer replied, "If you think you're ready, you can go to that classroom over there to take the test on your own. Someone inside will set up the computer exam for you."
The officer wasn't surprised to encounter someone wanting to test immediately after registering, as many people studied at home before coming to register and got their licenses on the spot. Wen Qi entered the exam room and saw people coming and going. There were no invigilators, but he noticed surveillance cameras installed around the room, along with four Butterfree. Wen Qi guessed these Butterfree had the Compound Eyes ability, making it nearly impossible to hide any small movements. Besides, the traffic rules weren't complicated, so there was no need to cheat, and the supervision wasn't overly strict.
As soon as Wen Qi sat down, someone came over to explain the operation. Looking at the computer screen, the questions were mostly ones he had seen before. He finished answering quickly, submitted, and the computer showed a pass. Wen Qi left the room to prepare for the next steps. The subsequent checks were also a breeze. From registration to obtaining the license, it took only about an hour—remarkably fast.
Leaving the police station, Wen Qi released Gogoat, instantly drawing many gazes. Gogoat was a relatively rare Pokémon, not only an excellent mount but also quite powerful, beloved by many. Many people longed to have a Gogoat as their ride. Seeing that Gogoat had attracted attention, Wen Qi didn't want any trouble and quickly mounted it to leave. The onlookers, seeing him depart, dispersed.
What Wen Qi didn't know was that when he released Gogoat, he was spotted by Zhou Zhiwen, the captain of the first search team returning to the station. Zhou Zhiwen hadn't paid much attention at first, but when Gogoat started moving, the aura it emitted told him it was an elite Pokémon. This piqued his interest, as he noticed that Gogoat's owner was a very young person. A young person was fine, and having a powerful Pokémon was fine, but a young person with a powerful Pokémon intrigued Zhou Zhiwen. Judging by Wen Qi's attire, Zhou Zhiwen knew he wasn't from one of the city's major families, as he was familiar with their profiles and had never seen Wen Qi before. Seeing such an outstanding young man who wasn't from those families, Zhou Zhiwen felt an urge to recruit him into the team.
But Wen Qi was already far away, and Zhou Zhiwen knew he couldn't rush things. He decided to check Wen Qi's information back at the station first. Meanwhile, Wen Qi rode Gogoat through the city, feeling exceptionally cheerful, completely unaware that he had caught someone's attention.
He went to the Pokémon Association to register the Sandshrew, Poliwag, and Flaaffy he had previously caught under his name, then bought a bunch of Poké Balls. Since most of his Pokémon lived in the small world, ordinary Poké Balls sufficed—they didn't reside in the balls anyway. After finishing up, he also visited the Pokémon Center to give his newly caught Pokémon a thorough check-up.