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

Chapter 85 The West Lion Sea People Want to Slack Off

The story begins with the recent discovery that Gardevoir and its trainer are spending more time playing together.

Seeing that Gardevoir often sticks to Leaffall like a sticker since it got a job, and that Primarina's little snacks for helping to wash guests' hair with Singing Water Bubbles suddenly lost their appeal.

It doesn't want any material reward; it just wants its trainer to play with it.

So today, West Lion Seaman decided to go on strike and spend the whole day with Leafy.

"Is this your excuse for not going to work?"

"Hey~ (Let's play)."

Primarin ignored Ye Luo's words and pounced on him, rubbing against his cheek like many Pokémon that have a close relationship with their trainers.

The 60-square-meter Gardevoir hair salon, as a commercial rental property, has a ceiling height that is significantly higher than that of ordinary residential buildings.

Using a 5-meter-high interior for an entire floor of decoration is a bit wasteful. Within the scope permitted by building regulations, commercial shops can increase the height of their interiors to create multiple floors according to their actual needs.

So the 60-square-meter shop is actually divided into two floors, doubling the usable area. Of course, these are all renovations that comply with regulations.

Although the upper space is only 2 meters high, Gardevoir can't even stretch out its arms when it comes up. It is mainly used to store some tools and supplies, as well as for resting.

In the middle is a low, round table that was found at a secondhand market, covered with several round rugs of different colors. A sofa is placed diagonally by the window, along with some low wooden stools piled in the corner.

The second floor is also simply decorated. It was not originally intended to be open to customers but rather to be used as a lounge or storage room. Therefore, instead of continuing the elaborate decorations of the first floor, a few potted plants were simply placed to embellish the main color scheme of natural wood.

When there are no guests with reservations, Pokémon can come upstairs to rest instead of sitting on the first floor. As soon as the doorbell rings, the bell on the table on the second floor will also ring, and they can come downstairs. However, this place cannot be used entirely as a bedroom. There is no kitchen, only a simple toilet, and not even a washing area.

A washroom isn't something you can just build whenever you want. You need pre-installed pipes, and you have to get it inspected by the official agency of the commercial street. Plus, commercial and residential water and electricity prices are different, so Ye Luo decided to keep everything simple.

According to Lena, in the early stages of starting a business, you should save money wherever possible, and you can take a shower when you get back to Wangyue Miao Hotel.

The store has air conditioning to keep the temperature constant, so it's unlikely that the Pokémon will feel hot.

The Siberian Sea Serpent nuzzled Ye Luo's cheek and tilted its head in confusion. Ye Luo sat up.

The West Lion Hairman rested its neck on Ye Luo's lap again, its eyes shining as it stared blankly.

"You're not going to work anymore?"

Ugh~ (I don't want to go to work)

West Lion Seaman uttered the same soul-searching statement as every office worker, lying on Ye Luo's lap like a salted fish unwilling to go to work.

It's actually quite happy to work, using its singing to enchant customers, and the bubbles it creates while singing also help wash their hair without it having to do anything itself.

But the trainer needs to be nearby; what's the point of just one Pokémon singing downstairs?

Today, Primarina was being temperamental, so Ye Luo took out a comb from her bag and combed its blue hair to soothe the Pokémon's emotions.

The texture of the West Lionhead's hair is very unique. It looks like hair strands but is actually made of water. When combed, it will deform like hair, but upon closer inspection, there is not a single strand.

It's like a shape mimicking hair, and it feels very smooth to the touch. Even Ye Luo can't tell whether it's a solid or a liquid.

Although we don't know the material of its hair, we can still understand the idea behind the West Lion Seaman.

Ye Luo roughly knew why he didn't want to go to work: because there were too few listeners.

The Shetland Sheepdog usually sings when it wants to, but only when it's in a good mood. Now, customers need to have their hair washed before styling, which is like making it sing its job, and the Shetland Sheepdog isn't too happy about that.

If you treat a hobby that you could have pursued freely as a daily task, it's normal to lose motivation.

"Hey~ (Come down and join us)."

"Unfortunately, this is not a good approach."

If Ye Luo appears in the store and shows up with Sissi Seaman, it will be immediately revealed that the store is owned by the Kanto Champion.

While it can attract excessive exposure and traffic, this celebrity effect can actually negatively impact the normal operation of the store.

Ye Luo originally intended this method as a last resort.

If the store doesn't do well at first and has no customers, he has no choice but to admit that it was opened by the champion himself to increase exposure and attract customers' attention.

Just like many Olympic stars who eventually become brand ambassadors for stores.

However, such a marketing strategy doesn't seem necessary now. Gardevoir's stylists are so skilled that they can make enough to cover their costs by providing boutique services to a small number of customers every day.

Ye Luo was naturally happy to stay behind the scenes and make money quietly, so there was no need for him to stand out.

"La~ (feeding me cookies)."

Just like Ye Luo, who didn't want to show his face, Primarina also seemed to be giving up, just like its trainer.

But if Nishino doesn't work hard, how will Ichiro live a better life?

Someone has to work hard for a better life, right?

There are only two employees downstairs, Gardevoir and Laya, but it's unlikely that Laya can replace Primarina in her work, as she eats the snacks for the customers very quickly.

Although Ye Luo had instructed that snacks and cookies could be provided to guests while they were resting, and had also said that "Laya could also take some snacks to eat," there was no record of her eating the cookies on the guests' plates in front of them.

Which store offers this service where I put cookies on the table and eat them in front of you?

Although the customers have not complained about this incident so far, and instead think that the owner of the store is cute when he eats, and have just let it go with the mindset of treating him as a mascot or watching a mukbang, Ye Luo's heart is bleeding.

Why? Because if you include Raya and Meloeta, the cookie stock upstairs is like having mice in the house. Every time Ye Luo opens the cabinet door, he finds that the cookies that were just filled in the morning have only some crumbs left at the bottom. He has to go to the nearby Curly Cookie Fairy Tale Shop to restock every day.

A box of cookies costs 1620 Alliance Coins, and five boxes were eaten up in one morning, four and a half of which were eaten by Raya and Meloetta.

Ye Luo picked up one of the few maple syrup cookies on the table and placed it in front of the West Lionhead's mouth, where it ate it in one bite and gently licked his finger as a sign of friendliness.

"Would it be better to reduce the cost of snacks if we made them ourselves? But we don't have an oven right now."

An oven and ingredients are another cost, and some ingredients are not suitable for room temperature storage, so a refrigerator is needed.

In total, it involves several large items, which may not be cheaper than buying them directly.

Ye Luo doesn't plan to serve cheap cookies to customers. Maintaining the store's style is key to keeping the brand's prices up. If the service can't be lowered, buying a little bit each time will allow the two Pokémon to spend less.

Another issue is the payment method. Most Pokémon do not accept payment in the form of League Coins, and they will not accept them even if you offer them.

To motivate Pokémon, Leaf Fall needs to provide them with what they need, and after much thought, it turns out that Pokémon need two things.

They eat delicious food and their trainers play with them.

Just like how Primarina is clinging to him now, hugging Leaffall and demanding interaction, each Pokémon wants to play with them in a different way.

Gardevoir enjoys spending quiet meditation time with its trainer.

The West Lion Sea Ren liked it when Ye Luo played with it. Ye Luo thought for a moment and took out a harmonica from its pocket.

"How about you perform?"

"Okay!"

West Lion Seaman immediately became interested, but this time Ye Luo had a new trick up his sleeve. He took out his Arceus phone and opened the points redemption function.

He had painstakingly saved up 250 points over the past month, intending to exchange them for something more expensive. Now, he's chosen 250...

An item that earns points.

"Wandering Sound Trace Necklace and Bracelet, click to buy, -250 Trainer Points".

Note: Hailante's fantastical craftsmanship is inspired by the deepest ocean currents.

No two leaves are the same, nor are any two crystal clusters of deep ocean currents. Necklaces and bracelets made from the same crystal cluster can produce sound resonance, allowing you to hear the voice of your friends even from a great distance.

How to use: Simply inject sound into the gemstone to activate it.

Words of wisdom: Sounds leave traces, words are recorded with gems, we all live in an ocean called existence, and are never alone.

Effect: Pokémon gain a slight boost when using sound-based moves.

Ye Luozan's points were reduced to zero again. A flash appeared in her bag, and she found an extra item.

Inside a seemingly simple wooden box was a set of ornaments.

A rose gold pendant with an aquamarine-shaped crystal cluster set at the end and wavy patterns along the edges, making it a very exquisite piece.

To match, there is a rose gold bracelet, also set with a similarly polished gemstone.

"Based on the description above, it should be a uniquely shaped communicator, so how do you use it?"

Ye Luo put the bracelet on her wrist and casually hung the necklace around Primarin's neck. Primarin looked at the exquisite pendant her trainer had given her with great interest, picked it up with her forepaws, and couldn't help but sing happily.

"La~S".

"Um?"

Just as the Primarina put the pendant to its mouth and made a sound, the bracelet on Ye Luo's wrist sparkled, spreading out pale blue and gold ripples, and the Primarina's cry emanated from it.

Ye Luo stood in the corner and asked the Lionhead Sea Serpent to sing softly. She noticed that the pendant around its neck and the gemstone on its bracelet were shining as if in resonance.

No matter where he stood to test it, the clarity of the sound remained unchanged, as if a Sissihairen were singing right next to him.

If the sound stops for a moment, the light on the bracelet will stop and it will no longer transmit sound, unless one party puts the gem on it to their mouth and injects "sound traces" by speaking.

The action of putting your mouth to your lips to speak seems to be similar to the activation function of a walkie-talkie.

Ye Luo picked up the harmonica and played it gently. The sound, along with the vibration of the harmonica, could also activate the Unrestrained Sound Trace Bracelet on her wrist, and the melodious harmonica music would float around the West Lion Sea Ren.

"Wow! (surprised)!"

"That way we can work and play together at the same time. When Sissihai Ren sings downstairs, he just needs to sing to the pendant, and we'll play together."

"Okay~ (Alright)."

It's a bit like a paper cup telephone game; even if you're not physically present, it's still fun to play along.

west Shi Hai Ren happily ran downstairs and started singing for the guests.