Pokémon: Just won the championship, the newbie growth system is here!

The next day, at 6:50 a.m., at the Moonlit Cat Inn.

Ye Luo woke up in bed. Having gotten used to this biological clock, he could be woken up even without an alarm clock.

Meloeta was sleeping on his chest again, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth onto his shirt.

"..."

Most likely, she was dreaming of eating delicious food. Ye Luo used her right hand to pick up Meloetta and place her on the pillow beside the bed.

As for the left hand, it forms a C shape, and under the arm, an Eevee is curled up into a ball and making a purring sound.

Ye Luo had booked a double room, and the other bed was for Latias, but it was now empty.

Latias had rolled off the bed due to his terrible sleeping posture and was now fast asleep on the floor in a bizarre upside-down position.

Ye Luo wondered if this posture would twist her neck.

The double room is a bit cramped to accommodate a trainer and their Pokémon.

West Lion Hairen was lying on the balcony, gently shaking his head and humming a little tune, looking out at the city morning from the fifth floor, waiting for the sunrise.

Remembering that after strolling around the streets last night, Ye Luo and the others successfully met up with Gardevoir and Raya. Afterwards, they stayed at the nearby Mochizuki Inn and booked a room key for a week.

You can stay in Goldenrod City for a while longer. It has all the necessities you need, and it's much bigger than Cerulean City. You won't be able to see everything in a short time.

Gardevoir sat on the edge of Leaffall's bed. It hardly ever slept, spending its nights using the move "Meditation," which was essentially a form of sleep for it.

Therefore, Gardevoir is not picky about space; as long as there is a place to stand or sit, it can close its eyes and fall asleep directly.

The slightest rustling in the surroundings could break her meditative state. Gardevoir slowly opened her eyes, looked at Ye Luo, and said with a smile.

[Good morning.]

"Good morning, Gardevoir."

While casually tossing her shirt into the single washing machine in the bathroom and brushing her teeth in front of the mirror, Gardevoir quietly followed her into the bathroom.

Ye Luo had a toothbrush in her mouth.

"What's the matter?"

[fine.]

Gardevoir smiled and stood behind Ye Luo, its reflection in the mirror towering half a head above the trainer.

Ye Luo was a little confused, wondering what Gardevoir was trying to do, so he continued brushing his teeth.

A pair of red eyes stared at her from behind. Gardevoir used her psychic powers to pick up a comb and began to comb Ye Luo's hair with great interest.

Ye Luo complained.

"There's no point in a guy combing his hair, is there?"

[It might increase my favorability rating.]

As we all know, trainers can increase a Pokémon's friendship by grooming it. So, Gardevoir, could you do the same for it?

Gardevoir, who rarely has the opportunity to experiment with her trainer's hairstyle, asked playfully through telepathy.

[Have you noticed that your relationship has become closer?]

Ye Luo rinsed her mouth and answered frankly.

"no."

[Strange, it should work.]

Gardevoir then carefully combed Ye Luo's almost unkempt hair.

Occasionally, Gardevoir would show its mischievous side, and soon it stopped being so focused on combing its hair and started curiously rubbing its trainer's hair.

The hairstyle that had finally been combed a little neater was ruffled back by Gardevoir, and I don't understand what the point of doing that is.

Gardevoir, on the other hand, seemed quite interested, finding it very pleasant to ruffle his hair.

[Hmph, how about this?]

Using his mental power, he lifted all of Ye Luo's hair, creating a slicked-back hairstyle reminiscent of one seen in a fashion magazine, styled with hairspray.

Ye Luo thought that this was too formal and rigid. If he wore a suit, it would look like he was going to work in a big company.

[What is that? It sounds interesting.]

Gardevoir, having read Ye Luo's thoughts, smiled gently, unaware of what he meant.

Seeing her trainer transformed into this form, Gardevoir couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Afterwards, I used my telekinesis to create several more looks, some of which I had seen in fashion magazines.

However, there's not much that can be done with a guy's hair, and the Gardevoir reflected in the mirror shows a rare cheerful side.

Gardevoir seems to be having a lot of fun styling herself; these hairstyles are almost identical to those in magazines.

After all, Gardevoir doesn't need hairspray; it can be fixed directly with telekinesis. But it seems that if you spray on another layer of mousse foam, the styling will be almost perfect.

Gardevoir even used Thunder Punch to give Ye Luo a perm, making the ends of her hair slightly curled and creating a fluffy, breathable style. Ye Luo gave off a lazy, sea salt vibe, and Gardevoir covered her mouth, her heart fluttering.

Seeing how enthusiastically it was getting its hair done, Ye Luo joked.

"Why not just open a hair salon for Gardevoir? They could have trainers getting their hair done every day."

[No way.]

Gardevoir stuck out its tongue at the mirror; it had no interest in messing with other people's hairstyles.

Ye Luo thought it was a good idea. Gardevoir has its own aesthetic sense and can quickly create shapes with psychic powers. If they opened a shop, it might become a huge hit.

He happened to see a shop near the hotel with a "Prime Location for Rent" sign on the door. He bought it and let Gardevoir try running it. It seemed to be doing well.

Ye Luo is not short of money right now, but he wants to make his Pokémon happy. If he wants, doing some things for them that they don't usually have the chance to do is also a good option.

Letting Pokémon be self-sufficient might allow them to find a different kind of happiness.

Just as Latias found satisfaction in his job as a postman.

[......]

Gardevoir listened to Leaffall's thoughts telepathically, blinking and pondering for a moment.

[Hmm...it's not like we can't give it a try.]

Seeing that things were going well, Ye Luo made the suggestion.

"I'll go downstairs and take a look later."

Gardevoir nodded in agreement; it would be a small step.

After having breakfast, before Raya woke up, Ye Luo went to the streets near the hotel.

Across the street, in an empty shop, there was a notice posted.

"Prime shop for rent, call XXXX-466501"

Ye Luo immediately dialed the number, and the call was quickly answered.

"Hello, I heard you have shops for rent on 6th Street, and I'd like to inquire about them."

After asking around on the other end of the phone, I got the price.

"Doing business is not easy these days. You have two options: short-term rental for six months or long-term rental for one to three years."

Short-term rentals must last at least six months, with a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent paid in advance. Due to its prime location in the city, the price is relatively high; a 60-square-meter shop costs 60 Union Coins per month.

This is a rather outrageous amount, but considering that the monthly income of office workers in Golden City is between 20 and 30 Alliance Coins, and the monthly rent is 60 Alliance Coins.

That's still quite outrageous.

What does 60 mean? It's equivalent to the price of 20 ancient gold coins. For a six-month short-term rental, you need to pay for four months upfront, totaling 240 million Alliance Coins.

Although gold is a fairly stable equivalent in this world, it is not that scarce.

However, this amount was just a drop in the ocean for Ye Luo.

"That's what I say, but it seems like I don't have that much financial freedom."

The journey doesn't cost much money. If you only rely on the expenses during the trip, the gold coins that Sai Fuhao throws out are more than enough to exchange for money. If you don't have money, you can just sleep at the Elf Center and get freebies.

But when it comes to starting a business, he doesn't have that much money. As he previously calculated, four months' rent is equivalent to one-fifth of Ye Luo's total assets.

But this sacrifice is nothing compared to opening a shop for Gardevoir.

Is opening a shop for Pokémon a loss? As long as they can get satisfaction and happiness from it, I think it's worth spending more money.

At worst, he can just freeload at the Pokémon Center and get freebies. Besides, he has the "Path of the Legendary Trainer" system on his phone where he can exchange points for berries, so he won't starve.

Ye Luo decided to try and fail first, contacted the other party to complete the compliance procedures, and rented this 60-square-meter shop.