Age of Elves: I started flashing with my handheld.

Upon entering the Pokémon Shop, Nanfeng prepared to spend all his money on Poké Balls, as four or five Poké Balls were clearly not enough.

"I remember the initial capital was three thousand yuan." Nanfeng remembered that the protagonist would start with 3000 yuan. The price of Poké Balls in the game was the same as in reality, 200 yuan each. That was enough to buy fifteen Poké Balls. Surely every Zigzagoon wouldn't be that hard to catch. It should be enough.

Open the store interface; the amount is displayed in the upper right corner.

[Possessions: 2125.3]

Why are there still zeros and wholes?

And...why does it look so vaguely familiar?

Nanfeng silently took out his phone and checked his bank card balance.

Agricultural Bank of China balance: 2125.3 yuan

So, the money in the game and my own money are interchangeable?!

Nanfeng's old face stiffened. Suddenly, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

The good thing is that the money I get from defeating trainers can be used directly without having to buy things from the Pokémon shop and then sell them in the real world.

The sad thing is that I just used four Poké Balls to catch a useless Zigzagoon, which cost me 800 coins!

My blood pressure is about to exceed the limit!

The Poké Balls were originally a gift from Professor Birch, and even though I bought them with in-game currency, it didn't really feel like much of a difference.

But now they're actually throwing cash at it.

Nanfeng felt her heart bleeding.

In the end, I spent 2000 yuan to buy 10 Poké Balls, and the Pokémon Shop also gave me a "commemorative ball" as a gift.

The commemorative ball has the same catching power as a regular Poké Ball; you could say it's just a regular Poké Ball with a different skin.

However, this is a special offer from the in-game shop, and it doesn't exist in real life.

With the Poké Ball in hand, South Wind returned to Route 101.

Keep brushing!

It turns out that using four Poké Balls to catch Zigzagoon was an extremely rare occurrence.

In half an hour, Nanfeng fought about twenty battles, visited the Pokémon Center three times, and leveled up his Torchic to LV6. He also caught seven Zigzagoons with eight Poké Balls. Four of the Zigzagoons had the Pick-Up ability.

Five snake-striped bears have formed a team! The scrap-collecting squad is officially established!

Nanfeng spent another 10 minutes exploring Route 101, engaging in more than ten battles, and the five Zigzag Bears collected a total of five items.

Two Orange Berries, a bottle of healing medicine, a dose of antidote, and a Poké Ball.

Orange berries are tree fruits, one of the raw materials for healing potions, and can also be used as food for Pokémon. They sell for 100 at the shop.

The price of the healing potion in the store is 300, but you can only sell it to the store for half price, only 150.

The antidote costs 100 in the shop, but you can sell it to the shop for 50.

The Poké Ball costs 200 in the shop, but you can sell it to the shop for 100.

Strictly speaking, if I earned 500 yuan in ten minutes, that would be 3,000 yuan in an hour!

If you work 10 hours a day, that's 30,000 yuan, and 900,000 yuan a month! If you work hard, earning a million a month is not a dream!

Nanfeng's spirits were lifted!

This isn't a garbage-collecting team, it's a gold-collecting team!

4. First match

A garbage-collecting team was established.

Then there's no need for me to stay on Route 101 anymore.

Return to Malfoy Town and go to the Pokémon Center to heal Torchic and the five Zigzagoons. Head left, and Nanfeng will guide the player onto Route 102.

The main storyline of the Pokémon games has always been about defeating the eight Gym Leaders in your region, then challenging the Pokémon League, and finally defeating the Elite Four and the Champion in one fell swoop to become the new Champion of the region.

The protagonist's current task is to challenge the gym.

However, the gym in the city that you arrive at after crossing Route 102 is not the first gym that South Wind will challenge. It is the gym opened by the protagonist's father, who will look down on the protagonist's low strength and make the protagonist obtain four gym badges before challenging him.

Therefore, the gym that Nanfeng was going to challenge for the first time was actually the second gym, the one in Rustboro City, which was guarded by the gym leader "Cuckoo".

That's a rock-type gym.

For the Fire-type Pokémon Torchic, that was an absolute nightmare.

Therefore, in addition to leveling up Torchic and evolving it into a Powerpuff with Fighting-type moves along the way, Nanfeng also plans to look for suitable Grass-type and Water-type Pokémon to train.

This would give them a better chance of defeating Du Juan.

Are there any good Grass-type and Water-type Pokémon on Route 102? (Nanfeng Zhuomo)

Just a few steps from Route 102, a child wearing shorts and a blue hat suddenly stopped the protagonist.

Big brother, let's have a game!

[Would you accept the challenge from the boy in shorts and the tree?]

An unexpected "accept/reject" option appeared. In all previous Pokémon games, players were forced into battle if an NPC saw them!

That's why there's a meme that goes something like, "When trainers make eye contact, a battle is inevitable."

Nanfeng accepted without hesitation.

Of course we have to accept it.

How could I refuse someone giving me money?

As soon as Nanfeng clicked "accept," the handheld console in his hand disappeared, and the surrounding scenery changed. He appeared in a forest at night, with light rain falling from the sky and gusts of cold wind blowing around him from time to time. He could hear rustling sounds coming from the nearby bushes, and the only source of light was the street lamp at the entrance of the ancient town of Gumei.

Not far away, a boy in shorts was throwing a Poké Ball.

"I'm counting on you, Serpent Bear!"

The Poké Ball opened in mid-air, and a Zigzagoon landed on the ground.

"Whoosh!" The shorts-wearing boy and the tree's snake-patterned bear were just as energetic as ever, even at night.

"I... this..." Nanfeng was dumbfounded. How did he end up directly in the game?

This had never happened before in previous battles.

I glanced at my outfit: windmill shoes, hat, and jacket.

Isn't this the main character's outfit?!

"Could it be that when the protagonist battles against trainers, I will personally control the protagonist to fight?" Nanfeng guessed.

"Big brother, hurry up and send out your spirit!" Kazuki urged.

Although I don't know what's going on, all I can do right now is to engage in battle.

Nanfeng reached for his waist, where six Poké Balls hung quietly. He took out the first one and threw it forward.

A burst of silver light erupts, and the Torchic makes its dazzling debut.

"Chirp chirp! (≧▽≦)ゞ" the turkey chirped excitedly, even in the rain.

"Big brother, I'll go first!" Kazuki launched his attack without any hesitation.

"Serpent Bear, use Tackle!"

The serpentine bear immediately started running quickly across the grass, moving at great speed, and crashed headfirst into the turkey.

Nanfeng took a deep breath. This was his first real Pokémon battle in both his lives. He raised his hand and shouted, "Torchic, watch its movements carefully, dodge, and then use Ember!"

"Chirp! ヽ(#`Д′)?" Torchic stared intently at Zigzagoon, and just as it was about to strike, it easily dodged to the side, a ball of flame bursting from its mouth as it evaded the attack.

The granular sparks, like the Gatling gun's "thump thump thump" effect in anime, bombarded the snake-patterned bear continuously, instantly blasting it away.

There's no instant kill; Torchic's level is similar to Zigzagoon's, and rainy weather weakens the power of Fire-type moves.

However, it doesn't matter.

"One more time, Spark!"

"Stand up, snake-striped bear!" shouted the shorts-wearing boy and the tree.

Unfortunately, the amazing skill of "standing up" is not something that just anyone can use.

Before the snake-patterned bear could even get up and dodge, it was engulfed by the second burst of sparks.

[Defeat the Serpent Bear LV4 and gain 80 experience points]

When the defeat notification appeared, Nanfeng returned to his apartment, sat in front of his computer, and held his handheld console in his hand.

Just like before.

It felt as if... I had just experienced a dream.

"Feels pretty good!" Nanfeng muttered to himself with a slight upturn of his lips.

If you only improve your strength through turn-based battles in a handheld console, you'll only improve the Pokémon's strength, without any improvement in your actual combat in the real world.

Now, when battling trainers in the game, being able to control the protagonist in such realistic battles is definitely a very beneficial experience for me.

To command a champion-level Pokémon, the trainer must also be at a champion-level.

Looking down, a notification appeared on the handheld console.

[Defeat the shorts-wearing boy and the tree, and win a prize of 80.]

[The boy in shorts and the tree: Waaaaah, I lost, but I won't give up! Next time I'll definitely beat you!]

Next time? You wouldn't be able to beat me even in your next life.

Torchic is a 5V Pokémon, and as its level increases, the distance between it and Zigzagoon will only grow larger!

However, the bonus was a bit low, only 80.

It's not even as good as the trash my snake-patterned bear picks up from the ground.

Open the sprite panel, and the two snake bears will have items they are carrying, which is a sign that they have picked up something.

Unload the items: a Poké Ball and a bottle of insect repellent spray.

The insect repellent spray prevents you from encountering Pokémon for a certain number of steps after application. It sells for 350 in the shop, so you can sell it to the shop for 175, plus a 100 Poké Ball.

Earning 355 yuan per match, that's great.

Keep going, and you'll find that there are definitely more trainers than just Shorts Boy and Tree on Route 102.

5. Casey or Ralts?

It took two hours for the south wind to cross Highway 102.

There weren't many trainers along the way, only four including the shorts-wearing boy and Tree, none of whom were particularly strong. However, one shorts-wearing boy named "Yong" caused Nanfeng some trouble.

In addition to his LV4 Serpent Bear, Yong also has a LV4 Unyielding Swallow.

The Taillow, with its flight advantage, put Torchic under pressure for the first time. Fortunately, Taillow was only LV4 and only knew the Flying-type move "Peck". When it launched a "Peck" attack, Torchic seized the opportunity and used "Ember" to knock it down. Before it could fly again, Torchic followed up with another "Ember" to end the battle.

At the same time, Torchic's level reached LV7, and it learned "Gathering Energy," which increases the probability of a critical hit.

However, Nanfeng turned back halfway to the Pokémon Center in Gumei Town. Reluctant to use healing items, he could only run back.

"If only I could catch a Pokémon that can teleport," Nanfeng mused. In the game, teleportation, when used outside of battle, can send the protagonist directly back to the Pokémon Center where they were last healed.

Speaking of teleportation, Nanfeng thought of a Pokémon, Abra. There happens to be a place to catch Abra near Rustboro City.

When you arrive in Las Nova City, you can farm one as a trump card to deal with the Fighting-type Gym.

Somewhat disappointingly, Nanfeng didn't see any Pokémon he particularly wanted to catch on Route 102.

In addition to the three Pokémon that appeared on Route 101, Nanfeng encountered two more Pokémon on Route 102.

One is called Lobelia, and the other is called Acorn. The final evolution of the former is Ludicolo, and the final evolution of the latter is Tengu.

Both Pokémon are pretty good, and their types are quite effective against the first Rock Gym.

But it's only good; it's still somewhat inferior to the starter Pokémon and pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Moreover, Nanfeng doesn't particularly like the final evolutions of the two Pokémon, Ludicolo and Strider.

So let's put it aside for now. If we really can't beat the Corsair Gym, we can come back here later to train a Lotad or a Berry with good IVs.