[Brain Parking Spot: The author's brain is parked here!]
[Author's Note: The early chapters may feel a bit slow, since the story focuses heavily on daily life and nurturing Pokémon.]
Lin Feng's Pokémon college entrance exam results were half good, half bad.
Which meant that just ten minutes ago, he'd been facing one of the biggest choices of his life:
Should he become a Breeder, or abandon the Pokémon Nursery his parents left him to pursue life as a Trainer?
It was a serious dilemma.
But right now, he wasn't struggling with it anymore.
[Ding! Detected that Host has transmigrated for eighteen years. Anti-addiction restrictions lifted. Pokémon Joy System activated. Make Pokémon feel joy, and receive corresponding rewards.]
[Host is immediately granted: Divine-grade Viridian Force, Divine-grade Breeder Skills, and master-level proficiency in related side professions!]
[Additional compensation granted: Appraisal Eye skill, and True Newcomer Physique skill.]
[Divine-grade Viridian Force: Grants the power to sense, heal, and soothe Pokémon's emotions.]
[Divine-grade Breeder: Allows one to work miracles, maximizing the use of even the simplest materials. Food prepared possesses special culinary effects.]
[Appraisal Eye: Can analyze the essence of any object, displaying it as data before the host's eyes.]
[True Newcomer Physique: Greatly enhances physical abilities, reduces damage from Pokémon attacks by 99.99…%, and shares part of these physical benefits with bonded Pokémon.]
That was what had just happened to Lin Feng.
He'd transmigrated into this parallel Pokémon world eighteen years ago.
And for eighteen long years,
he'd completely given up hope that he'd ever get a system.
He never imagined that it had simply arrived… a little late.
Wutong Town, a small settlement under Wutong City's jurisdiction.
This was where Lin Feng lived.
Morning sunlight streamed gently through the window, casting soft, flickering beams.
His home was a cabin entirely built from trees, and right above the front door hung a sign with bold, sharp characters that read "Neighbor's Nursery."
Lin Feng still remembered how those characters had been carved into the wood by his father's Scyther using Fury Cutter.
Now, though, the sign was covered in dust.
Ten years ago, his parents disappeared while exploring a Pokémon wilderness zone.
At the time, Lin Feng was only eight years old, when the League delivered the news that his parents were gone.
Originally, the League had planned to send him to an orphanage.
But Lin Feng, with the soul of someone who'd crossed worlds, refused that fate. Instead, he immediately sold the Pokémon eggs from the nursery to the League at a fair price, earning his first bit of money.
That money lasted him until he turned eighteen, and he still had plenty left enough to choose his starter Pokémon and take the first step toward becoming a Trainer.
However-
if he chose that path, there'd be no reason to keep the nursery running anymore.
But it was, after all, his parents' life's work in this world. Letting it go completely wasn't so easy for Lin Feng.
Now that his system had finally arrived, there was no need for any more hesitation.
He would become a Breeder!
"Making Pokémon happy to earn rewards?"
Lin Feng felt a surge of excitement.
The way to earn rewards seemed perfect for running a nursery.
Feeling the new flood of divine-level breeding knowledge and the Appraisal Eye's data overlay in his mind,
he couldn't help thinking how incredibly strong he'd become.
"All right then. Time to clean up and reopen the nursery…"
Of course, "cleaning up" was mostly just a matter of sweeping and tidying.
"And after that… time to try making some Pokémon happy?"
Lin Feng stood up and stepped outside.
Before him lay a wide path paved in bluestone, and further along the road stretched emerald-green rice paddies.
Beside the fields, an elderly man was working the land with a Sandshrew, seemingly planting seeds.
This was Wutong Town a place close to the city, yet still living in self-sufficiency.
"Has my vision improved thanks to the True Newcomer Physique?"
Even from several hundred meters away, Lin Feng could clearly see the scales on the Sandshrew's body.
He walked over. "Out working so early, Grandpa Qin?"
The old man, known as Grandpa Qin, wore a yellow-and-white vest that was a bit worn and had a smudge of soil on his face from his labor.
When he wiped at it, the dirt only spread further, leaving a larger patch across his cheek.
"Ah? Lin Feng, my boy. Well, the season's right. I'm getting ready to plant some Spicy Tamato Berries. You know how this little fellow here just loves his spicy food!"
The old man gave the Sandshrew beside him a gentle nudge with his foot, eyes twinkling kindly.
"Screee-chuu…"
Sandshrew responded with an honest, goofy grin.
"Is that so? Haha. Grandpa Qin, could I ask you for a favor?"
"Of course, Lin. What do you need?"
"I'd like to borrow Sandshrew for a bit, to plow the plot of land behind my house and clear out the rocks."
Now that he'd decided to inherit the family nursery,
it made sense to restore the farmland behind the house and start growing essential berries and herbs for Pokémon care.
Grandpa Qin blinked in surprise. "So, you're not planning to go to university after all?"
Lin Feng replied, "No, I've decided against it. These days, going to university often just means traveling around. Besides, I still don't have a single Pokémon of my own yet, so I'd be starting quite late."
"I'd rather become a good Breeder. And my Intermediate Breeder's License just arrived a while back!"
"I think it's wonderful to give Pokémon a place to relax and recover outside of battles."
Grandpa Qin listened and nodded with a gentle smile. "Every young person has their own path in life."
"Still, if you're opening a nursery, don't limit yourself to Wutong Town. Someday, you'll need to head to Wutong City or even bigger places. When you're young, you have to go see the world you can't stay cooped up in this tiny town."
"Whenever you need this little guy, just drop by my place."
"Thanks so much, Grandpa Qin."
Lin Feng looked down at Sandshrew. "I'll treat you to some Spicy Tamato Noodles afterward, all right?"
Sandshrew's eyes immediately sparkled.
As if to say, Really?
( o ω o ) "Screeechuu?"
"You little glutton, come help out,"
Grandpa Qin laughed, lightly kicking Sandshrew again before heading off with it to keep working the fields.
Lin Feng chuckled but his smile froze as he suddenly heard a mechanical voice in his mind:
[Congratulations, Host. Sandshrew's Joy increased from 50% to 60%. Rewarding Host with 5 bags of Golden Fertilizer (accelerates ordinary crops' growth rate by ten times!), 1 Rare Candy (slightly boosts a Pokémon's energy levels!), and Ground Sand (consumed by Ground-type Pokémon to enhance the hardness of their scales).]
Staring at Sandshrew, whose eyes had narrowed in delight, Lin Feng felt dumbfounded.
"So… that's considered making a Pokémon feel joy?"
"And… aren't these rewards a bit… too generous?"