The experience at the Rainbow Star Mall could at most be considered a meager diversion from a monotonous life, offering no significance to Xia Hunao, who was dedicated to cultivating a Froakie.
As for cultivating a Froakie, Xia Hunao was completely at a loss.
Froakie, perfect stats, boosted Special Attack, reduced Physical Attack, with its Hidden Ability theoretically capable of activating Protean. Who wouldn't want such a froggy?
Question: How should such a froggy be raised?
Answer: Maximize Special Attack, maximize Speed, and allocate the remaining six points to HP.
However, the trouble lay precisely in this answer. Although Xia Hunao had a system that could help him avoid many pitfalls of investing in other EVs, one rule remained unchanged: EVs could only be gained by winning battles.
In the game, gaining EVs by defeating a Pokémon was a simple matter, especially once one's level was high enough. One-hit KOs were no joke. But this was less effective for Xia Hunao and Froakie, who was only level one. Froakie's only attacking move was Pound.
In the game, as long as one was willing to use items, it wasn't impossible to defeat a Pokémon a level or two higher. But Bug-type Pokémon on Lingyao Star had a characteristic: if you can't beat them, run away!
Xia Hunao would always set out with high aspirations to train EVs, but he never succeeded in gaining even a single EV. Every Pokémon he targeted would flee faster than any other.
Of course, in terms of pure speed, Froakie was still a bit faster than Caterpie, which provided speed EVs. But everyone knew Caterpie's evolution line, ultimately evolving into the hive-dwelling Beedrill. So, as soon as Xia Hunao severely injured a wild Caterpie, the Caterpie would use its move to call for backup. Before Xia Hunao could finish off the Caterpie, Beedrill would arrive, and then it would be Xia Hunao's turn to run for his life.
Xia Hunao hadn't considered other ways to increase EVs. But as the system told him, increasing EVs, in a sense, was about unlocking potential. Unlocking potential wasn't that easy.
Lying on the bed with Froakie, Xia Hunao glanced at Froakie, who was still level one and hadn't reached level two. To his surprise, he noticed that Froakie's EV panel showed two points in Speed.
"This shouldn't be. If there are two points in Speed, then at least one Pokémon should have been defeated. With such an achievement, it should have reached level two by now. Why is it still hovering at level one?"
Xia Hunao was baffled. After much research, he finally remembered the system's reminder that EVs could be increased through training. He hadn't thought of it because the training system in XY had put too much pressure on him, making it impossible to even select it!
Xia Hunao sprang up from his lying position, and Froakie, seeing Xia Hunao move, also flipped over, its eyes fixed on its trainer.
After standing up, Xia Hunao suddenly realized something: how should he train to increase Speed? Provoke Beedrill and then run desperately with Froakie? That was too absurd. He'd probably collapse after running for a short while. To train Froakie's speed this way would likely train his own legs into shape first.
With no good ideas, Xia Hunao listlessly tossed the Poké Ball containing Froakie. Froakie's eyes were fixed on the Poké Ball, and then it suddenly jumped up as if to snatch it. Xia Hunao, however, quickly withdrew his hand, causing Froakie to miss.
Froakie zipped past Xia Hunao's hand and landed on the ground. However, Froakie didn't seem upset; instead, it turned around excitedly and chirped twice.
Although he couldn't understand what Froakie was saying, he could vaguely grasp the meaning.
"Want to do it two more times?"
Froakie chirped affirmatively. Xia Hunao's eyes lit up, and he immediately returned Froakie to its Poké Ball.
After recalling Froakie, Xia Hunao decisively called Zhang Hong: "Are you free?"
Zhang Hong, who was at home fawning over the little princess Fennekin, hadn't expected Xia Hunao to call. Upon answering, he asked, "Hello, boss, shouldn't you be having a romantic phone call with Yu-jie at this time? Why are you looking for me?"
"Training, I need to strengthen Froakie. You know what I mean?"
"Special training? Great! Count me in."
"Do you have a place?"
"Yes, wait, I'll be right over to pick you up."
...
Before long, Xia Hunao heard the sound of a car horn from downstairs. Peeking out the window, he saw a luxurious blue minivan parked below, drawing countless gazes.
"Heh, this kid. He's usually so low-key, why is he suddenly so flashy?"
Xia Hunao casually packed his things and went downstairs. He saw Zhang Hong sitting in the back seat, waving at him. Xia Hunao smiled and got into the car from the rear door. "I say, this is different from before. You used to walk or take the bus when you came over. Why are you suddenly riding in such a fancy car?"
Zhang Hong scratched his head. "Didn't you say you wanted to do special training?"
"You trust me that much?"
"Of course. Your parents are high-level researchers. As their child, you can't be too bad either."
Xia Hunao was bewildered by Zhang Hong's statement: "What? My parents are high-level researchers? How come I don't know anything about this?"
Zhang Hong, seeing Xia Hunao seemingly discovering a new world, was speechless for a while. It wasn't until the car had driven quite far that he responded, "You don't know anything?"
Xia Hunao nodded. "Yeah, I only just realized they're away from home all the time because they might have special research missions."
Let these two remain silent for a while. Xia Hunao needed to calm himself about his parents' new identities, while Zhang Hong needed to figure out how to maintain this relationship. After all, he wasn't really close to Xia Hunao because of the special status of Xia Tian Jue and his wife.
...
The two continued driving around and arrived near a villa complex. Zhang Hong pushed open the car door and said to Xia Hunao, "How is it, impressive, isn't it!"
Hearing this extremely arrogant tone, Xia Hunao grinned. "Is the property yours?"
Zhang Hong's voice immediately dropped to a whisper, "Well, it will be sooner or later. Come, come, follow me."
The two walked into the not-so-small villa, one after the other. Before Xia Hunao could even take a good look around, Zhang Hong led him downstairs.
"You know, there's over a hundred square meters of empty space in the basement of this villa. I still haven't figured out what to do with it. Let's turn it into a training ground, and you can help plan it."
Xia Hunao had no plans for such a large space. He was used to being poor. Even though he hung out with the rich second-generation Zhang Hong every day, he hadn't improved much.
Although Zhang Hong had somehow acquired a whiteboard, the two of them lay on the ground, working for a long time without getting anywhere.
The two boys, lacking artistic talent, knelt on the ground, scratching their heads. "What's the point of us agonizing over this? Why don't we find someone trustworthy and capable to handle this matter?"
Xia Hunao released Froakie. Lying weakly on the ground, he said, "Froakie, put some foam on my face."
Froakie rubbed some foam from around its neck and smeared it on Xia Hunao's face. Feeling the coolness on his face, Xia Hunao felt much more comfortable.
"Uh, Zhang Hong, regardless of anything else, I think ventilation facilities like air conditioning are a must."
Seeing Xia Hunao so comfortable, Zhang Hong said to Froakie, "Give, give me some too."
Froakie didn't hold back, and a large clump of foam flew over, smearing all over Zhang Hong's face.
Zhang Hong yelled, "Ah, so comfortable."
Rubbing the foam that Froakie had thrown at him, Zhang Hong sighed, "We definitely need to add a shower too. It's too uncomfortable not to be able to shower."
Xia Hunao tilted his head. "What are you talking about? This is a villa. Can't you find a bathroom in your villa?"
Zhang Hong replied with certainty, "Why do you think I brought you down directly? This is a bare-shell villa. Forget about a bathroom, there's not even any decoration."
"Holy crap, is this something a human would do? Why leave such a large villa undecorated? Is it a haunted house?"
Zhang Hong chuckled. "Although this house is mine, my dad said I can't arbitrarily renovate it before I graduate from high school."
Hearing this, Xia Hunao became interested. "Oh? High school graduation? Why not college entrance exams? Could it be that your dad doesn't think you'll get into college?"
Zhang Hong shook his head. "It's not my dad, it's my mom who doesn't believe..."
"Oh, Aunt Ou, then it's understandable. Aunt Ou has a really good eye for people..."
Because of this comment, Zhang Hong and Xia Hunao started bickering. Froakie and Fennekin, watching the scene, didn't know what to do. Normally, Pokémon should protect their trainers when they are in danger, but from the observation of Froakie and Fennekin, these two fought almost every day. Forget it, they'd play their own games.
Thus, Fennekin and Froakie left the basement and went on an adventure in the empty rooms.
Xia Hunao and Zhang Hong, who were making a fuss and sweating profusely, reignited their earlier heat, their bodies drenched in sweat.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Xia Hunao asked Zhang Hong, "I say, it's one thing that it's not decorated and there's no bathroom, but surely there's at least a faucet, right?"
Zhang Hong pointed to the light bulb above their heads. "See that? That thing is the only finished decoration in the entire villa."
Looking at the incandescent bulb hanging from the ceiling, which swayed with the slightest breeze, Xia Hunao felt like he was being mocked. Did that thing even count as finished decoration?