novelnext Chapter 400: Arcanine’s Secret Crush
Chapter 400: Arcanine’s Secret Crush
March 12Time passed very differently when people were busy compared to when they were idle.
Fortunately, everyone had gradually found something meaningful to do.
The holiday excitement and spending frenzy from the New Year season had finally begun to fade. Most people had already returned to school, work, or set off on their own journeys.
Qin Shu was one of them.
She had also begun her journey during this period.
As a result, the number of customers visiting the ranch slowly stabilized.
Compared to last year, business was still booming, but at least things had become much easier for Eldegoss.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Pidgeot.
This year, the poor birds were working themselves to exhaustion.
The demand for delivery services had skyrocketed.
Every day, one or two Pidgeot could be seen soaring into the sky carrying storage spheres.
Since many deliveries now involved long-distance travel, Lin Feng had installed tracking devices on every Pidgeot to prevent them from getting lost.
Today was another bright and sunny day.
Growlithe faithfully guarded the entrance as usual, flashing its signature cheerful grin at every customer who approached.
Some customers found its expression adorable and would occasionally break off pieces of the Pokéblocks they had just purchased to feed it.
Growlithe never turned food down. It ate everything happily, and when people rubbed its head, it never resisted.
Because of that, many customers nodded approvingly.
"Now that's a good dog."
"What a good boy…"
Watching this, Lin Feng found the whole scene pretty amusing.
Speaking of which, Officer Jenny patrolled the Blue Stone Path every day with her majestic Arcanine by her side.
The town had become somewhat chaotic lately.
Trainers from all over had come to challenge the gym, and residents from Sunshade City also passed through frequently.
Naturally, security had become much stricter.
Whenever Officer Jenny's Arcanine appeared, Lin Feng's own Growlithe would immediately run over and trail behind it, pretending to patrol too while glancing around seriously.
In reality, though, it was more than a full head shorter than the other Arcanine.
Still, after thinking about it carefully, Lin Feng realized Growlithe was already more than ready to evolve.
Looking at the Growlithe, now around level twenty-one to twenty-three, he felt the timing was right.
He rubbed the head of the now much heavier Growlithe. At this point, it weighed even more than Alolan Ninetales when carried.
Then he asked softly,
"You can evolve now. Do you want to?"
"Woof! Woof!"
The moment Growlithe saw Lin Feng walk out, it had already become excited, flopping onto the ground while wagging its tail wildly.
But when it heard it could finally evolve, its tail began spinning so fast it looked like a propeller.
It had wanted this for a very long time.
Because it thought the other Arcanine in town was incredibly beautiful…
It once overheard that Arcanine say its duty was to help its trainer protect the town, and that it had no interest in playing with "little kids."
Ever since then, Growlithe had constantly wondered when it could become an Arcanine too.
If that happened, it could protect the town alongside her!
It had even once asked Lin Feng directly about evolving, but at the time, Lin Feng told it that it was still too young and needed to grow more first.
Now, at last, the day had come.
It was impossible to let Growlithe evolve naturally right at the storefront.
So after bringing it into the room, Lin Feng took out a Fire Stone and gently pressed it against Growlithe's forehead.
A familiar white glow immediately appeared.
Growlithe's body began stretching and expanding.
Truthfully, even before evolving, Growlithe had already been only slightly smaller than Alolan Ninetales.
But once evolution began, its body swelled rapidly, almost as if it had been fed golden fertilizer.
As the white light faded, Arcanine's true form finally emerged.
Tiger-like stripes covered its body. Thick, luxurious fur framed its neck and chest. Its sharp eyes and black nose gave it a regal appearance, while the exposed fangs at the corners of its mouth made it look incredibly imposing.
"Woof? Woof?"
Its bark had changed too.
Gone was the clear puppy-like sound from before. Now its voice had become deep and powerful.
Standing nearly two meters tall and weighing over three hundred pounds, it looked almost like a legendary Pokémon.
Pokémon: Arcanine
Gender: Male
Ability: Flash Fire
Potential: Gold
Stats:
HP (27), Attack (20), Special Attack (30), Defense (24), Special Defense (27), Speed (27)
Strength: Level 29
Moves: Leer, Ember, Howl, Bite, Flame Wheel, Morning Sun, Flamethrower, Extreme Speed, Agility, Flare Blitz, Fire Fang…
Affection: 95
Happiness: 75
(Now I can finally go see Ah Hua!)
Lin Feng had just finished reading the status panel and was still wondering who "Ah Hua" was when the newly evolved Arcanine flashed him a dazzling grin.
It was clearly asking to go outside.
When Growlithe had still been small, Lin Feng restricted its movement range to keep it from wandering into the wilderness. That meant it could only play within the town.
Because of that, even after evolving into Arcanine, it still subconsciously felt it needed permission before going out.
[Go on, go on. You don't need to ask me anymore when you want to head outside. Just don't set anyone's property on fire.]
Lin Feng patted its head reassuringly.
The instant he finished speaking, Arcanine dashed away at incredible speed.
"So fast…"
Watching the rapidly disappearing figure, Lin Feng could not help muttering in amazement.
In town, the only Pokémon it really played with was Officer Jenny's Arcanine.
But that Arcanine always seemed rather indifferent toward his Growlithe.
Now that it had evolved…
Could it be rushing over to proudly show off its new form?
The thought flashed through Lin Feng's mind.
Then suddenly, he paused.
Show off?
Wasn't that something usually done between rivals of the same gender?
Like when everyone was single, but suddenly your friend found a beautiful, gentle girlfriend and started bragging in front of you.
That was showing off.
But Officer Jenny's Arcanine was female.
Wait…
Could it be…
My Arcanine likes her?
Lin Feng immediately shook his head.
No way.
His Arcanine was only a few months old. How could it already understand romantic feelings?
This was probably because of the conversation he had with Feng Yang yesterday.
Recently, Feng Yang had stopped trying to arrange blind dates for him and had instead started trying to arrange matches for Pokémon.
He even asked whether Dragonite was male or female because he wanted it to meet Ji Yan's Charizard.
Lin Feng's answer at the time had been simple:
"As for Pokémon relationships, let them decide for themselves. If Dragonite wants to go, then it can go. If it doesn't, leave it alone."
Then he actually asked Dragonite.
Dragonite refused.
Well… nothing else to say there.
Lin Feng stopped overthinking things.
But this time, his guess turned out to be completely correct.
Ever since evolving, Arcanine never returned to the entrance again.
Only by dinnertime did Lin Feng realize Arcanine still had not come home, so he decided to go look for it.
At first, it would have been fine if he had not checked.
But once he did…
He saw his Arcanine sitting faithfully outside the police station, tongue hanging out as it stared at Officer Jenny's Arcanine with sparkling eyes.
And this time, Lin Feng finally noticed the nameplate hanging from Officer Jenny's Arcanine's collar.
It read:
Ah Hua.
Inside the police station, Officer Jenny looked rather helpless after seeing Lin Feng arrive.
"Mr. Lin, your Arcanine has been circling around mine all day talking nonstop…"
The moment he heard that, Lin Feng instantly felt awkward.
He looked at his own lovestruck Arcanine.
Then he looked at Officer Jenny's Arcanine, whose expression mirrored its trainer's helplessness.
No way…
Was his Arcanine actually becoming a simp?
Lin Feng suddenly felt alarm bells ringing in his head.
Still…
Ever since joining Officer Jenny, that Arcanine had undergone strict training.
Though smaller in size, when the night wind blew through her fur and she sat there with sharp, heroic eyes, she truly radiated dignity.
Perhaps, in his Arcanine's eyes, this older sister was both beautiful and incredibly cool.
But honestly…
If he liked her, then he liked her.
Lin Feng fully supported his Arcanine's feelings.
"Sorry about that. My Arcanine was born not too long ago and hasn't received much formal training yet, so he's a little energetic."
Then he carefully added,
"But he really seems to admire his senior."
At the same time, he quietly used Appraisal Eye on Officer Jenny's Arcanine.
Pokémon: Arcanine
Gender: Female
Ability: Intimidate
Potential: Purple
Stats:
HP (24), Attack (20), Special Attack (23), Defense (24), Special Defense (21), Speed (28)
Strength: Level 32-35
Moves: Leer, Flame Wheel, Flamethrower, Extreme Speed, Fire Fang…
Just over a year old.
And honestly… not that large.
Officer Jenny stepped out of the station.
To Lin Feng's surprise, she gave him a formal salute first.
Then she walked over and patted her Arcanine's head.
"It's not really a problem. This child spends most of her time working with me, so she rarely gets chances to play."
Hearing that, Lin Feng quickly nodded.
"Right, right. I understand. I'll teach him properly from now on."
Although that was what he said outwardly…
Deep down, he felt like this relationship might actually have potential.
Officer Jenny clearly was not against it.
The only thing left now was to properly train his Arcanine.
When chasing girls… no, female Pokémon…
You could not just sit there panting with your tongue hanging out while staring stupidly at them.
[Alright, let's go home and eat dinner!]
Lin Feng dragged away the somewhat reluctant Arcanine and headed back home.
…
"So you really do like Officer Jenny's Arcanine?"
On the way home, seeing the foolish grin still plastered across Arcanine's face, Lin Feng was already almost certain his guess had been correct.
Still, he asked anyway.
"Woof? Woof?"
Arcanine barked twice, paused, then tilted its head blankly. Its tail drooped slightly as it looked at Lin Feng helplessly.
[It's fine, it's fine. If you like her, then you like her…]
Lin Feng crouched down and first affirmed its feelings.
Then he pinched the cheeks of this newly evolved Arcanine.
Clearly, the poor guy had no idea what to do after meeting the first female Pokémon he truly liked.
Lin Feng wanted to give advice.
But then he suddenly realized…
He had never even been in a relationship himself.
In the end, he could only awkwardly force out a few words.
"It's perfectly normal to like beautiful members of the opposite sex. But whether you can actually be together depends on what you do. If you want her to like you too, you can't just follow her around all day asking to play. She's a working Arcanine. She has responsibilities. If you keep interrupting her work every day, she'll eventually get annoyed with you."
"Woof?! Woof?!"
Arcanine immediately panicked.
No wonder Ah Hua never wanted to play with him.
Before, he thought it was because he had been too small and had not evolved yet.
But even after evolving, her attitude still had not changed.
So that was the reason!
"Woof? Woof?"
Its tail immediately started wagging again as it looked at Lin Feng with sparkling eyes.
Since Trainer knew the problem…
Then Trainer definitely knew the solution too.
Although Lin Feng suddenly felt like a dog teaching another dog how to flirt, he still straightened up under Arcanine's expectant gaze.
[Here's the secret. If you want someone to like you, you need to share things with them. You need to grow together. You need to show them the things that make you shine!]
[Let me teach you. For example, when you eat something delicious, do you think about her? If you do, bring her some next time. Also, Ah Hua works with Officer Jenny, which means she has duties. What does Officer Jenny do every day?]
[She patrols the town and protects people from danger. She also trains with obstacle courses every day. You can train too. Improve yourself. Show her your heroic side and let her see a different version of you!]
After finishing his long speech in one breath, Lin Feng suddenly felt strangely unstoppable.
Meanwhile, Arcanine's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Looking into those hopeful eyes, Lin Feng suddenly remembered something.
There was still a special mutated flower growing in his garden.
Even after late autumn, winter, and early spring, it had never withered.
It was called the Sevenfold Morning Glory.
Its effect was simple:
It made the wearer more attractive to the opposite sex.
However, once picked, the flower would slowly wither away.
Honestly…
It sounded perfect for Arcanine right now.
But Lin Feng had no intention of giving it to him yet.
When it came to pursuing happiness, sincerity should always come first.
Whether human or Pokémon.
Love was like a flower.
It worked best as icing on the cake, not as a shortcut to force feelings.
"Alright, enough for today. Let's head home for dinner."
"Woof! Woof!"
Lin Feng patted Arcanine's head.
Arcanine barked happily, wagging his tail as the two of them walked home together beneath the soft moonlight.
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