Chapter 103: A New Home (Two Chapters Combined)

“No need for you to do anything special,” Hu Yang said. “I’m just taking you all to a place.”

The seal on the proclamation chamber did not require sacrificing any Pokémon’s life; it could be lifted simply by placing them in order within the key hall, thus unlocking the triple holy pillars.

The ancient thornfish moved sluggishly, blowing bubbles underwater, their demeanor remarkably like a group of turtles that had lived for a thousand years.

Hearing this, the thornfish exchanged murmurs underwater, then looked toward Slowking.

Slowking said, “They’re asking if they get to eat such delicious food every day?”

Hu Yang blinked. He nodded, “Yes.”

At that moment, the water surface became as lively as a bustling morning market at half past eight.

A strange light gleamed in the dull eyes of the ancient thornfish.

They leapt out of the water, splashing a great deal.

Seeing this, a bead of sweat trickled down Slowking’s temple.

Hu Yang asked, “What are they doing?”

Slowking replied, “They all want to come with us…”

Hu Yang was momentarily stunned.

To lift the seal on the proclamation chamber, only one ancient thornfish was needed.

In other words, taking just one would suffice; he didn’t need so many.

Besides, he already had a group of Slowpokes with him. Adding a bunch of ancient thornfish would turn his journey into a family affair—no trainer travels dragging a parade like him. Between the ancient thornfish and the Slowpokes, they could almost form an army!

But as soon as Hu Yang voiced this thought, the ancient thornfish immediately quieted down, looking at each other and then at Slowking, their expressions underwater filled with disappointment.

Hu Yang sighed. “Fine, take them all.”

After all, ancient thornfish only needed to feed on microorganisms to survive—easier to care for than Slowpokes.

There were sixteen ancient thornfish living in this underground water vein.

Hu Yang pulled from his backpack the Poké Balls he’d bought at the department store before setting out and began capturing them one by one.

Soon, the underground water vein was empty.

Whether more ancient thornfish would swim here from the depths of the sea in the future was uncertain, but for now, none would come.

The ancient thornfish, like turtles, moved slowly.

Ancient Rose Town lay far from the sea; if they were to swim here, it would take months.

No need to wait.

With the thornfish packed up, there was no reason to linger in this underground passage.

Before anyone discovered the secret passage, Hu Yang slung his backpack over his shoulder and left, leading Slowking behind.

To be precise, he left Ancient Rose Town and headed toward his next destination—Unshaped Town.

Staring at the many Poké Balls in his backpack, Hu Yang suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Excluding Roserade and Aggron, just the number of Slowpokes and ancient thornfish alone totaled thirty-three.

If he brought them all along, preparing food alone would exhaust him.

Moreover, Gengar had yet to master using Thunderbolt’s full power to cook rice with an electric cooker.

Slowpokes couldn’t always catch food on command.

In places without water, they still depended on Hu Yang to provide sustenance.

This meant the burden of feeding a family of forty rested entirely on his shoulders.

Just thinking about it was overwhelming.

He absolutely needed to find a place to live!

As Unshaped Town appeared in his sight, Hu Yang took a deep breath.

He had originally planned to inquire about a new home when he reached Kaina City, but the emergence of the ancient thornfish had disrupted those plans.

…

The distance between Unshaped Town and Ancient Rose Town wasn’t far.

In just three hours, Hu Yang arrived at this town known as “the town untouched by any color.”

Unlike the tiny town in the games with only three buildings, the real Unshaped Town was a large coastal town filled with skyscrapers, lighthouses, and ports for docking ships.

The harbor connected extensively; besides Kaina City and Yin Yu City, it also had steamships traveling to the Kanto region.

In addition to ships, there was a train station here.

Thanks to convenient transportation and an excellent location, Unshaped Town had become the first town trainers from other regions visited in the Hoenn region.

In the anime, Ash traveled back and forth to Kanto from here.

Nestled by the mountains and sea, the air was fresh and the transit convenient.

Hu Yang planned to buy his first home in this world here.

Because if he didn’t, he’d be worn to death on the road.

Cooking all day was pure torture.

In this light, the anime’s setting of traveling with six Pokémon was very sensible.

During his school days, Hu Yang had researched the customs and culture of this world.

The easiest way to buy a house was to call the Machamp Real Estate Company.

Yes, Machamp Real Estate.

In Pokémon Sapphire, the protagonist Yuki’s truck belonged to this company’s moving division.

Because Machamps were so strong, they often worked with humans on construction sites and moving jobs.

In Hoenn, many large cities had branches of this real estate company.

Unshaped Town was no exception.

As Hu Yang entered the building with his backpack, a neatly dressed staff member approached immediately.

“Hello, welcome to Machamp Real Estate Company. How can I help you today?”

The staff hesitated slightly upon seeing Hu Yang’s age but maintained professional composure and finished her greeting.

Hu Yang glanced at the real estate models displayed in the lobby and said simply, “I want to buy a house.”

He still had over a million in currency, enough to buy a fine home in a big city.

Thanks to the presence of Pokémon, productivity here was highly advanced; house prices were far lower than in Hu Yang’s previous life.

The staff, surprised at his youth, quickly returned to normal and led him to the model display area, asking, “What kind of house are you looking for?”

Hu Yang pictured Professor Oak’s courtyard and replied, “A place with a large yard for many Pokémon, by a river. The living space doesn’t need to be luxurious.”

The staff considered which houses met these criteria, then pointed to the upper left of the town map.

“How about this area?”

She pulled out several photos.

The house depicted was a villa with a yard, a river flowing through the backyard, and a meadow behind.

It was nice, but the yard was too small and located in the city center.

Hu Yang thought for a moment and said, “I don’t need such a big villa. I’d prefer something in the suburbs with a large space to move around.”

That was a tough requirement.

The staff frowned, “We don’t have houses like that for sale…”

She paused, then suddenly seemed to remember something.

“But there is a place you might want to see.”

Hu Yang asked, “What is it?”

“Wait here!” The staff hurried to the office and soon returned with some blueprints and photos.

“This is it,” she said. “It’s an ecological park whose owner recently moved and sold it to us.”

“It’s located in the forest outside the town. I think it should meet your needs.”

Hu Yang took the photos.

They showed a large area enclosed by a hemispherical transparent glass dome.

Inside was a babbling brook, surrounded by grass and trees.

The glass dome connected to an ordinary residence, with two coconut trees planted at the entrance, looking beautiful under the blue sky and white clouds.

“This ecological park was designed by the master architect Mr. Fujino. During the day, sunlight filters through the glass dome, illuminating the park. At night, you can see the beautiful starry sky from inside.”

“For Pokémon, it’s like a true natural environment. We’ve also installed a temperature control system to keep it warm year-round.”

Seeing the ecological park, even Hu Yang couldn’t help but brighten up.

Ah, a dream garden, just as he imagined!

“What’s the price?” he asked, pleased.

“Three million five hundred thousand league coins,” the staff smiled.

Hu Yang’s expression froze.

He only had just over one million; that was too much.

He thought for a moment and asked, “Do you accept gold bars or coins as payment?”

The staff blinked in confusion.

Hu Yang felt a little disappointed.

If not, he’d have to find a place to sell some of the treasures he’d taken from pirates.

The staff hesitated, “You mean…?”

Hu Yang casually pulled a fist-sized golden orb from his pocket.

Although productivity was advanced here, luxury items like gold and diamonds remained expensive.

Rich ladies liked to compete over them; evolution stones were no substitute for a diamond.

Seeing such a large golden orb casually pulled out, the staff gasped.

But soon, she wondered if it might be fake.

“That’s possible,” she said. “But we need to appraise the value of the jewel you provided.”

Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, “Sure.”

They went to a room where Hu Yang released Gengar, who produced a heap of various jewels and diamond ornaments from its body.

The treasures piled into a small mountain on the floor.

The staff’s eyes went wide.

Is this person a robber?

Hu Yang asked seriously, “Is this enough?”

He wasn’t trying to show off like protagonists in online stories; he was genuinely concerned.

If he didn’t sort out the house, he would truly become a soulless cooking machine.

“We need to appraise them,” the staff swallowed nervously and called in a jeweler.

The jeweler, a slightly stout middle-aged man, entered and immediately brightened upon seeing the pile.

He picked up the large round jewel on top and exclaimed, “My goodness! Isn’t this the Crimson Jewel that sank with the Royal Annu twenty-five years ago? How did it end up here?!”

Hu Yang replied succinctly, “Found in a shipwreck underwater.”

The jeweler envied him, “You’re so lucky! If the wealthy ladies find out about this, it could sell for tens of millions.”

Its value lay in its historic significance and uniqueness.

Hu Yang said nothing.

Buy it to show off to other rich ladies, huh?

He didn’t understand the world of the wealthy.

The staff asked puzzled, “But how do you know it’s real?”

The jeweler inspected the jewel, “Because there’s only one in the world with this color and texture!”

The book documenting lost treasures had its photo.

The jeweler looked at Hu Yang eagerly and asked, “How much do you want for it? I’ll take it!”

Hu Yang’s brow twitched. “Twenty million?”

That price was steep.

But with proper marketing, he might recoup the cost with interest.

The jeweler nodded, “Deal!”

Hu Yang expressionlessly gathered the surplus gold and jewels with Gengar.

He didn’t care whether he made a profit or loss.

He had many treasures like this.

And since he didn’t need them, trading for something more valuable made sense.

The deal completed, Hu Yang paid the real estate staff with the proceeds.

The staff was stunned.

They witnessed the transaction and then saw Hu Yang pay for the house.

He hadn’t lost money this time; he’d gained over ten million.

After the deal, on the way to the ecological park, Hu Yang felt dazed.

But soon, the excitement of his new home dispelled the haze.

He took out the key and opened the ecological park’s gate.

Though the rooms were empty, Hu Yang couldn’t help but thrill to the sight.

This was his first true home in this world.

Every brick and tile, every plant and tree, belonged to him.

“Everyone, come out!”

Passing through the living room’s automatic door, Hu Yang entered the ecological park.

He looked at the green trees and flowing river, then took out all his Pokémon’s Poké Balls.

As each ball emitted a flash of white light, Roserade, Gengar, Aggron, Slowking, Ralts, Noctowl, and Magikarp appeared before him.

“This will be our new home from now on,” he said to the Pokémon.

Noctowl responded with a slow “Hoot.”

Roserade looked around happily; it liked this place!

Magikarp flopped embarrassingly on the ground.

Ralts stood by, curiously observing everything.

Aggron was pleased too; the area was large—finally, it could run freely on grass like before.