Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

The manager's words startled Xia Chen, and he suddenly realized something.

The missing coin... a money-grubbing ghost?

After a moment's thought, Xia Chen said to Mingyi, who was feeding the Earth King, "Mingyi, Sylveon, you two keep eating. I'm going over there. Gardevoir and Zoroark, come with me."

Although she didn't know why Xia Chen wanted to go, Mingyi nodded and said, "I understand, you can go."

"Sana~"

"Suo..."

Gardevoir and Zoroark stood up and followed Xia Chen toward the noisy area.

…………

"Sir, it's not that our restaurant is short of four hundred yuan; we just need your cooperation..."

"I told you, I have an urgent matter to attend to later, and I don't have time for you to investigate baseless rumors!"

Both men are civilized and haven't reached the point of fighting yet, but anyone could sense that the tension in the air was growing stronger.

At this crucial moment, a third person got involved.

"Excuse me, I'm someone who's eating over there."

Xia Chen pointed to his table and introduced himself.

The manager looked apologetic and immediately said, "Sir, I'm so sorry to have disturbed your and your elf's meal. We promise to resolve this issue as soon as possible."

Xia Chen shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I'm just interested in these strange things. If you don't mind, how about I help you out?"

He pointed to Gardevoir and Zoroark behind him, "As you can see, I am a trainer with decent skills, and the power of Pokémon might be of some help."

This isn't boasting; being an elite-level trainer is a level of skill that most ordinary people can never reach in their entire lives.

Because simply accumulating resources is an extremely costly endeavor.

The manager nodded and said, "You must have heard what happened over there. According to this gentleman, the four hundred yuan coins suddenly disappeared. However, he was facing away from the security camera when he made the payment, and now we are at an impasse."

Xia Chen nodded in understanding and added, "And your store has never had anything like this before, and you've also confirmed that the restaurant robot isn't malfunctioning?"

The manager nodded reluctantly, indicating his agreement.

"Is it possible that the customer paid, and the machine did indeed only receive two thousand in banknotes, but the four coins were stolen during the transaction?"

The manager frowned, puzzled, and said, "But the transaction time is very short. Who has the ability to succeed without anyone noticing?"

Xia Chen smiled slightly: "Elves, it's easy to deceive a human and a robot with just simple hypnosis or energy illusions, right?"

The backpacker calmed down and joined the discussion, saying, "I did feel a bit dazed at the time, but during that period, I didn't see a single elf, except for my Mastiff Godfather."

"As long as it's small enough to hide its body, and the Pokémon also needs to be interested in coins..."

Meeting the two's approving gazes, Xia Chen paused slightly before finally stating his final conclusion, "For example, a money-grabbing spirit."

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on their faces, Xia Chen understood that they probably believed his deduction to be almost entirely true.

"As you should know, the Money-Stealing Spirit likes to steal coins and is extremely agile. If it stays here, your business will probably suffer. Perfect timing, I'm thinking of taming a Money-Stealing Spirit. How about we cooperate?"

Without much thought, the manager nodded in agreement with Xia Chen's proposal.

…………

Since the restaurant manager believed Xia Chen's deduction, the backpacker was naturally cleared of suspicion.

After all, it's unrealistic for someone who can afford to dine at such a high-end restaurant to skip out on a bill of 400 yuan.

In comparison, the possibility that the money-stealing spirit stole the four coins is clearly more plausible and more likely.

Because he had urgent business to attend to, he did not participate in the capture of the money-grabbing spirit and left in advance.

"Thank you for getting me out of that situation. My name is Piper, and I'm a student at Orange Academy. How about we exchange contact information? We can get in touch later."

"That's what the backpacker, or rather Pipa, said before he left."

Xia Chen did not refuse his kindness and left his Pogaman behind.

Interestingly, he also owns a Rotom phone that hasn't been released yet.

This made Xia Chen doubt the credibility of the exaggerated claims Clavel made when he gave him the Rotom phone.

Of course, it's more likely that this guy named Piper is no ordinary person either.

In short, after exchanging contact information, Piper hurriedly left with his mastiff godfather.

Xia Chen was thus able to work with the restaurant manager to catch the coin thief.

"After stealing coins, the Money-Stealing Spirit usually puts them into its treasure chest, and its most valuable treasure chest is definitely hidden in its habitat. So it should be either going back to put the coins away or on its way to steal more coins."

The manager nodded in agreement with Xia Chen's analysis.

Although he didn't understand the habits of the Money-Gathering Spirit, since this guest's purpose was to subdue it, his analysis must be correct, so he nodded and that was that.

Xia Chen continued, "So, we have plenty of time to prepare before the Money-Gathering Spirit returns. The plan is simple: I will use a lot of coins to pay in a moment, and when the Money-Gathering Spirit comes forward, I will activate the Trick Space, so it won't be able to escape."

The manager nodded in realization. It was entrapment, simple yet effective.

that is...

"I've heard that advanced moves like Trick Room require Pokémon at least at the Gym Leader level to learn. Where can I find one right now?"

The manager was somewhat worried, as a Gym Leader-level Pokémon was extremely rare, one in a thousand.

Even though his restaurant serves hundreds of Pokémon every day, he only sees a few a month.

Xia Chen smiled slightly and took the hand of Gardevoir standing behind him.

"My Gardevoir will."

The restaurant manager was dumbfounded. This boy, who looked to be under twenty years old, actually had the strength of a dojo master.

Xia Chen shrugged and did not answer.

…………

Gardevoir certainly doesn't have a Gym Leader level, but that doesn't contradict the fact that she knows Trick Room.

If a creature can meditate and master superpowers, what can't its own Pokémon do?

Gardevoir has mastered the Trick Room move for a long time, but it doesn't fit well with its team, so it hasn't been trained much.

This is the perfect tool for capturing such a fast-moving creature with a knack for escaping.

Xia Chen didn't know how fast the Money-Gathering Spirit was, but as long as it was faster than Fairy Cloth and Sticky Treasure, that would be enough.

Although it's a bit shameful to outnumber someone, it's all for the sake of research.

Back at the dining table, Gardevoir and Xia Chen each released their mental energy to monitor the entire restaurant.

Before long, a small figure filled with a ghostly aura appeared in the corner of the restaurant.

Xia Chen and Gardevoir exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

The fish have arrived.

My grades are so bad, I'm offering a reward to motivate myself.

Since the fanfiction adjustment plan was released, the performance has been declining, with yesterday's new favorites even dropping to double digits...

Aside from the first couple of days after the book's release, this is practically the lowest price ever...

I gradually came to understand one thing: the most terrifying thing is not the direct impact of declining grades on income, but the despair of not seeing a path to improvement in grades.

In the past, there was hope. The more updates you made, the better your performance would be, you would get recommendations, and then your average subscriptions would increase.

A virtuous circle.

Now... no matter how many updates I get, good recommendations are basically out of my reach.

Even the intelligent recommendation feature that used to be present in every book has been drastically cut, directly severing its vital artery.

As a result, my enjoyment and motivation for writing have declined sharply recently, affecting not only the quantity but also the quality.

So I decided to set up a bounty to give myself some excitement and motivation.

My typing speed is limited. On top of the daily update of 5000 words, I will add 2000 words for every 150 monthly votes or 150 yuan reward.

As of this month.

Let's talk about it next month, because I don't know if I'll have paid off my debts by then.

I'm terrified I won't be able to pay it all back, but at the same time, I hope I will...

That's all for now. Happy reading!

Chapter 247 The Godly Rich System is at your service~ (7.2k words, 1/2 bonus chapter for monthly votes)

"Hello, I am the Oliva Elf Restaurant self-service robot. Your total consumption for this meal is 25238 Elf Coins. Please select your payment method."

An emotionless, mechanical voice emanated from the robot.

"Cash payment."

As he spoke, Xia Chen took out several banknotes and dozens of coins from his wallet, the clinking sound of which was quite crisp.

At the same time, he uses his superpowers to monitor the movements of the money-grabbing spirit.

Unsurprisingly, a tiny sprite in the corner became excited the moment it saw the coin in Xia Chen's hand, its mental state fluctuating wildly in an instant.

Its body moved closer, seemingly out of its own control.

Tempted by so many coins, the current money-grubbing spirit has no brains.

Besides, it's not afraid of traps.

Having traveled all over the country for so many years, the Money Spirit might not even be as strong as a Radamanthys in the sewers, but when it comes to escaping, that's something it honed through countless near-defeats.

He stole hundreds of coins and was caught red-handed many times, but each time he managed to escape.

This time, we won't fail either!

With that thought in mind, the Money-Seeking Spirit silently and rapidly approached its target.

Not only is the escape speed fast, but the money-grabbing spirit itself is also very fast.