For Dratini, Wen Qi could only say one thing: "So expensive, and so slow to grow!" Although he had only recently captured Dratini, it was quite fond of him and clung to him closely. The reason Dratini was so attached to Wen Qi wasn’t just because he had saved it—more importantly, the Dragon-type energy cubes he provided were incredibly delicious. Dratini had no idea why, every time it ate, its owner wore a pained expression like he was constipated. It wondered, could it be that the owner thought it ate too little and grew too slowly, hoping it would eat more and grow up faster? If Wen Qi knew what Dratini was thinking, he’d want to smack it to death with a slipper. For most Pokémon, three meals a day were generally enough, but this little Dratini, despite its small size, had an astonishing appetite, eating five or six meals a day. And every meal consisted of intermediate perfect Dragon-type energy cubes, with it eating an especially large amount each time. Even though Wen Qi could make energy cubes himself and the Dragon Island in his small world provided some Dragon-type resources, there were still materials he had to buy. This month’s expenses basically canceled out the earnings from Miltank; the profits from Miltank were almost entirely spent on Dratini. No wonder so few people raised dragons—Dragon-type resources were not only hard to come by but also expensive. If he didn’t have the small world or the skill to make energy cubes, raising a dragon for a month would probably cost one to two million. And that was only at lower levels; once it got stronger, spending ten to twenty million a month would be normal. No wonder many people could afford to buy a pseudo-legendary but couldn’t afford to raise one. To successfully raise a pseudo-legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, if you didn’t have a fortune, don’t even think about it. But since he had already captured it, Wen Qi had to keep raising it even if he was crying inside. He seriously suspected now whether Dratini’s parents had abandoned it at sea because they couldn’t afford to raise it anymore. However, over this past month, with the energy replenishment from the Dragon Island in the small world and his energy cubes, Dratini’s potential had recovered to cyan. Wen Qi felt he had hit the jackpot—a pseudo-legendary with cyan potential was worth at least five or six hundred million. That meant he had essentially picked up five or six hundred million for free. This month, Wen Qi hadn’t trained Dratini much, focusing mainly on letting it recover. But before Dratini evolved, he didn’t plan to train it; instead, he would prioritize physical conditioning. Although Dratini ate a lot this month, its level only increased by three—a growth rate so slow it was frustrating. And that was with the boost from the space; without it, gaining one or two levels would have been impressive. They say that a Dratini raised from a young age might still be a Dratini ten years later. While this saying was a bit exaggerated, it truly reflected how painfully slow the growth of Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries was. Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries were mostly late bloomers. Wild Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries typically took forty to fifty years to evolve into their final forms; human-raised ones were faster, but still took about ten years. But pseudo-legendaries had their advantages—a gym-level pseudo-legendary could live four to five hundred years, an elite-level one seven to eight hundred, and a champion-level one over a thousand years. Dragon-type Pokémon were not only powerful but also long-lived, truly fitting the saying, "One dragon lasts three generations; the person dies, but the dragon remains." Having a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary could ensure a family’s prosperity for several hundred years, as long as the descendants didn’t act recklessly or cause trouble. The catch was that this pseudo-legendary didn’t leave after its trainer died. Many pseudo-legendaries—and even ordinary long-lived Pokémon—wouldn’t obey commands from other family members after their trainer’s death. At best, they’d stay in the family and do nothing. If well-fed and cared for, they might occasionally listen to orders. At worst, they’d just stay in the family, disobedient, serving only as a deterrent. The worst-case scenario was that the Pokémon would simply run away after the trainer died. Nowadays, in most cases, when a trainer died, the Pokémon left on its own, with only a few staying with the family. Ordinary Pokémon didn’t like being commanded by others, let alone the proud pseudo-legendary Dragon clan—they were even less likely to obey. So, families where a pseudo-legendary stayed after its trainer’s death were extremely rare, and those where it followed orders were even rarer. Unless it was a major family with its own secret realm. In that case, after the trainer died, those Pokémon were generally willing to train in the secret realm because it benefited their growth. With such a vested interest, the Pokémon would more or less listen. Wen Qi didn’t want to spend ten years raising Dratini. Even if he succeeded after ten years, his other Pokémon would have long reached elite or even champion level. Once Dratini evolved later, he would use Dragon-type essence to speed up its growth. Pokémon: Dratini Level: 28 Type: Dragon Ability: Shed Skin (By shedding its skin, it sometimes cures status conditions) Potential: Cyan Moves: Wrap (Proficient), Leer (Proficient), Twister (Proficient), Thunder Wave (Proficient), Dragon Tail (Proficient), Agility (Proficient), Slam (Proficient), Dragon Breath (Proficient), Dragon Pulse (Proficient), Dragon Dance (Proficient), Blizzard (Proficient), Outrage (Beginner), Protect (Proficient) In terms of moves, except for the Dragon-type ultimate Outrage, which was hard to train and still at beginner level, all others were proficient. This little one was also hardworking, though it loved to play. But at least its potential had recovered, which was decent. Just two more levels until evolution, probably about another month. Then it would need serious training; Dragonair was already quite powerful in combat. Wen Qi hadn’t really trained the three Miltank; they were around level 20, and their growth would likely slow further. Anyway, he didn’t need them for battle—just good milk production. The two newborn Miltank, just a month old, were growing relatively fast. In the past few days, they had started living with the other three outside. Though still young, they had begun producing milk slowly. Because they were small and low-level, probably around level seven or eight, their daily milk output was only about ten liters—quite low. It would likely increase as they grew bigger. The four Mareep were still at the same strength; they didn’t want to improve, spending each day eating grass, sleeping, and playing, living a very comfortable life. Wen Qi raised them only for their wool; Flaaffy was just an exception. This month, he had sheared them twice, earning less than twenty thousand from all four. It seemed raising sheep wasn’t as profitable as raising cows, though cows were more expensive. Actually, Wen Qi had considered buying an Everstone for Mareep, so he wouldn’t lose the ability to shear wool after it evolved. But he felt that would be unfair to them. Every Pokémon had the right to evolve, and he shouldn’t take that away. Fortunately, Mareep barely trained now, so evolution was still a ways off—no rush for now. Even if it evolved, the loss wouldn’t be a big deal.