"Alright, you can go play now."
Watching Eevee quickly befriend Mankey with its strong social skills, Gu Yuan gently nudged Mankey forward, letting it get closer to Charmeleon and the others.
Taking this chance, Gu Yuan opened his system panel to check Mankey's information.
Pokémon: Mankey
Gender: Male
Ability: Defiant
Rank: Newborn
Level-up Moves: Scratch, Leer, Focus Energy, Covet, Fury Swipes, Low Kick
TM Moves: None
Egg Moves: Curse, Pursuit
Mankey evolves into Primeape, but that's not the end.
When it evolves into Primeape, it can naturally learn Rage Fist.
In the games, Primeape evolves into Annihilape after using Rage Fist twenty times.
But reality is not the game. Gu Yuan had never seen an Annihilape. That meant Primeape needed more than just using Rage Fist twenty times. It also had to raise its mastery of the move to a certain level.
That was the hardest part. A Fighting-type Pokémon naturally learning a Ghost-type move was already unusual. Training that Ghost-type move to a high level made it even harder.
Gu Yuan guessed it might need to be raised all the way to Expert level.
The effect of Rage Fist was indeed powerful, but Primeape itself wasn't considered especially strong.
To raise a Primeape only for one move, and in the end not even bring out the move's full power, that was probably why no Annihilape had appeared in this world.
But for Gu Yuan, that was not a problem.
With enough points, he could brute force his way to raising Rage Fist's mastery.
All he needed was to stockpile enough points, and the world's first Annihilape would be born.
Even more, this Mankey had inherited the rare Curse move. That could greatly help it later when mastering Rage Fist.
While the Pokémon played, Gu Yuan sorted through the other resources he had received.
The most important were the TMs.
For Charmeleon, he had Flame Charge, Fire Punch, and Sunny Day.
The one that pleased him most was Flame Charge. After use, it could also raise Charmeleon's Speed by one stage.
A Speed boost not only made a Pokémon faster, but also let it execute moves more quickly.
Eevee's TMs were Charm, Fake Tears, and Shadow Ball.
Charm and Fake Tears were useful for support or solo battles, while Shadow Ball boosted Eevee's offensive capabilities.
Kadabra was already set. It had the essentials: Calm Mind, Light Screen, Double Team, and Safeguard, along with Psychic. These strengthened its defenses while keeping its power sharp.
Next, Gu Yuan wanted Mankey to grow familiar with the team, and also wanted Charmeleon and the others to master their new moves. So he decided to stay longer in Lakeside Town.
Life settled into a routine. Every day was filled with studying and training.
Even so, Gu Yuan didn't forget about his two little cuties, Eevee and Mankey.
Especially Mankey. Its Defiant ability shaped its personality.
When Charmeleon and the others trained, Mankey often looked at Gu Yuan with eager eyes, silently asking why it wasn't allowed to join.
Gu Yuan could only comfort it gently, giving Mankey simple tasks instead.
There was no choice. Mankey was still at Newborn Rank.
At this stage, what it needed most was to grow. Harsh training or battles would only harm its development later.
***
While Gu Yuan lived a fulfilling life, Officer Jenny grew exhausted.
Ever since coming to Lakeside Town, she had wanted to achieve something big.
But Lakeside Town was very safe. There was almost no crime. No strong or rare Pokémon lived nearby, so there were no poachers either.
The town was also remote, so even Team Rocket had no reason to target it.
For people seeking a peaceful retirement, this place was perfect.
But for this ambitious Officer Jenny, it was the worst place possible.
Now that a wanted criminal might pass through, she refused to let the chance go. She was determined to catch him herself and prove how foolish it was to station her here.
What she didn't know was that she had been sent here exactly because of her personality.
As a police officer, having drive was good, but only to a point.
This Jenny was too driven. She often overlooked details, ruining or missing valuable leads.
So she was stationed here to temper her nature.
But clearly, it hadn't worked.
After finishing another patrol, Jenny returned to the station, disappointed.
Even after so many searches, she had found no clues. It seemed the criminal hadn't come through Lakeside Town after all.
She forgot one thing. If she really wanted to know whether strangers had arrived, she could have checked the guest lists of the hotels and the Pokémon Center.
From there, she could investigate their information and see if they were real. That might have led to something.
Perhaps her coworkers wanted to remind her of this, but she ignored it, focused only on proving herself by bringing the criminal to justice.
She also didn't notice, as she walked back into the station, that a pair of eyes was watching her from the shadows.
"It looks like this town really is safe. Even the police station only has a handful of officers. Should I call this a gift from the heavens?"
The owner of the eyes spoke in a slightly crazed tone.
Glancing toward the Pokémon Center, a plan slowly formed in his mind.
The next morning, Jenny was back to her usual energetic self, patrolling the town.
Inside the police station, the other officers watched her head out again. They didn't need to guess. They knew she would return empty-handed.
They exchanged looks and decided to help. If they could find a lead, at least it might cheer her up.
After all, Jenny was a kind and good person. They wanted to support her growth.
So they divided their work and began checking the town's inns.
Leaving his room, Gu Yuan smiled and nodded as he passed Mason in the hall. Then he headed toward the training room, while Mason walked straight out of the Pokémon Center.