Lu Ye was at the traditional medicine shop, observing several types of medicinal preparations in the display cases.

Unlike the traditional medicine store in Celestic Town he had visited before, the Kalos traditional medicine shop was noticeably brighter, more spacious, and had a more modern atmosphere.

"These traditional medicines can only be purchased with a prescription. While they work quickly, they significantly reduce a Pokémon's friendship level," the salesperson explained.

"No problem, my Pokémon actually gain friendship when they take traditional medicine," Lu Ye said casually.

The salesperson froze for a moment, seeing that the customer didn't seem to be joking, and looked increasingly bewildered.

Are you here from a competitor to sabotage our business?

"Togepriii~" Togepi stood by the glass display case, examining the herbs illuminated by the interior lighting.

Lu Ye picked up Togepi, feeling somewhat disappointed.

The quality of the Revival Herb at the Kalos traditional medicine shop wasn't as good as what Blastoise grew himself.

There was however a medicinal powder called Full Heal Powder that could cure status conditions, which Teacher Lu was seeing for the first time.

"They say it tastes extremely bitter... but Blastoise actually prefers bitter flavors."

Lu Ye fell into deep thought.

Red could load "Mt. Silver hot spring" water into Blastoise's cannon barrels.

So if I pour Full Heal Powder into Blastoise's cannon barrels and combine it with "Revitalitea," wouldn't that both cure status conditions and restore health?

As a close-combat mage, it's quite reasonable for Blastoise to moonlight as a cleric!

Full Heal Powder is made from crushed Berry powder, so the raw materials weren't a problem for Teacher Lu.

Lu Ye bought three packs of Full Heal Powder, planning to have Rotom analyze the formula and try grinding it himself later.

The traditional medicine shop also handled prescriptions, but there would be a long wait.

Lu Ye glanced back outside where Blastoise was sunbathing, steadily maintaining its position outside the shop as "rear guard."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an elderly man beside Blastoise.

Lu Ye didn't pay much attention at first, but then suddenly came to his senses and muttered in surprise:

"That old man... does he look somewhat familiar?"

**

Master Fu leaned on his gardening shears with hands behind his back, basking in the sun while chatting with Blastoise:

"This old man enjoys reading and farming, you see. Reading is like sowing seeds in the field of the mind, while farming makes flowers and plants bloom. Every day when I wake up and see the plants growing taller, it makes me particularly happy."

"Blas!"

Blastoise thought about its experience growing Revival Herbs and nodded with deep understanding.

"Oh? You understand me, that's wonderful."

Master Fu adopted the talkative manner of an elderly person, hands behind his back as he said with a smile:

"Physical health is the most important thing. This old man loves tea most of all - a good cup of tea after gardening is especially beneficial for the body."

"Blas!" Blastoise nodded toward Master Fu and pointed to the cannon barrels on its back.

"This is..." Master Fu was slightly taken aback.

"Blas..."

Blastoise's hand retracted into its shell, pulling out a thermos it carried with it, then poured a cup of steaming hot water into it, blowing away the rising steam.

Master Fu's mouth hung open.

He recognized that move - it was the Water-type move 'Scald.'

But was Blastoise using 'Scald' to brew tea?

Leaning closer to look into Blastoise's thermos, Master Fu caught the bitter yet fragrant tea aroma and tentatively asked:

"Is this... tea brewed from Revival Herb?"

"Blas!" Blastoise nodded vigorously, looking like it had found a kindred spirit.

"Could this old man have a taste?"

A Pokémon in this world that not only loved tea but could brew it itself.

Master Fu couldn't contain his curiosity.

Moreover, this "Revitalitea" was something he was seeing for the first time!

Master Fu pulled out a tea packet from his trouser pocket, happily unfolding it as he said: "This old man can also let you taste some treasured tea leaves."

Along with the tea packet, Master Fu's Plant Badge that he always carried with him came out, which he was about to put back in his pocket.

"Blas!" Blastoise noticed Master Fu's badge, recalling Haunter's instructions to the group.

After confirming it wasn't a micro bomb, Blastoise reached out to stop him and made a request to Master Fu.

"You don't want the tea leaves, but want this old man's badge?"

Master Fu carefully assessed Blastoise's strength, then took out a Poké Ball and released his partner Victreebel.

Despite being a Grass-type that should counter Water-types, Victreebel actually trembled upon seeing Blastoise and hid behind Master Fu.

"It seems you have a rather remarkable Trainer."

Master Fu recalled Victreebel and said cheerfully: "This old man doesn't mind giving you the badge!"

Aside from Gym challenges, a Gym Leader's recognition was another way to obtain badges.

Not only was Blastoise exceptionally powerful, it also shared common interests with Master Fu.

"Blas...ヾ(⌐■_■)"

Blastoise accepted the badge and gave a slight nod.

The two stood by the roadside basking in the sun, holding their thermoses and blowing away the steam.

A picture of tranquil times.

Master Fu hunched over, smiling as he said: "What a wonderful day."

Blastoise: "Blas..."

Suddenly, an exclamation of surprise came from the traditional medicine shop behind them!

"Sir, what's wrong?" the salesperson inquired.

Lu Ye felt chest tightness, wiped his face and said:

"Nothing... probably."

[Ding! Mission progress updated!]

[Badge Collection: (6/8)]

Now I understand why that old man looked so familiar...

That was Kalos's Grass-type Gym Leader, the tea-loving Master Fu!

Looking outside at Blastoise and Master Fu chatting happily, Lu Ye's expression was complicated.

You can chat all you want, but how did you even manage to get a badge out of it?

And now getting badges remotely counts toward mission progress... I suspect this Berry stall is scheming against me again!

[?]

As his strength increased, Gym Leaders actually became more willing to give him badges...

Only one week had passed since accepting the mission, and he already had six of Kalos's badges.

Lu Ye actually wished he could be like Ash, losing to Gym Leaders in challenges and logically giving up on badges -

But his ability simply wouldn't allow it!

"The remaining two badges belong to Fairy-type Leader Mallow and Psychic-type Leader Olympia."

Lu Ye's expression was complicated as he looked up at the sky:

"I've already met Mallow once, so the Fairy Badge is probably already on its way."

"It seems I can only pin my hopes on Madam Olympia..."

Olympia was a psychic with prophetic abilities.

Compared to a certain psychic whose ability was "Speed Reading" and could only be used for overtime work, prophetic abilities were undoubtedly more broken.

In Pokémon XY, Olympia prophesied that Ash and Greninja would reach the top of the Kalos League.

Looking at the results, this prophetic ability seemed more like a curse.

Lu Ye cleared his throat lightly, walked out of the shop, and greeted Master Fu.

"Oh, you're Blastoise's Trainer..."

Master Fu squinted as he looked Lu Ye over, showing slight surprise before asking quietly: "Teacher Lu?"

"You flatter me."

"Hahaha, I've played your game 'Plants vs. Zombies' - quite interesting!"

Lu Ye invited Master Fu to visit the café, but Master Fu still had important business at the traditional medicine shop.

After some casual conversation, he looked at the "Plant Badge" that Blastoise had handed him.

Teacher Lu sighed softly.

The bad news was that he only needed two more badges.

The good news was... this should be the last badge before heading to Unova.

Returning to the café.

Little Penguin had already returned to the delivery company to continue making runs.

Darkrai slowly emerged from the shadows, crossing its arms and saying coldly:

"When do we depart?"

Logically speaking, Legendary Pokémon weren't common vegetables - it shouldn't be possible to encounter them every time during operations with Lu Ye.

Moreover, given its own strength, even if it had to fight one of the Temporal-Spatial Twin Dragons alone, Darkrai was confident it could retreat unscathed.

"As for Legendary Pokémon being able to fuse... that would be too unrealistic!" Darkrai thought to itself.

"We'll set off tomorrow."

Lu Ye had recovered from the shock of obtaining the badge and rubbed his temples.

To investigate 'N's whereabouts, Interpol alone wouldn't be enough.

When it came to tracking, Teacher Lu actually knew three absolute 'elite' agents.

No matter which movie version the twerp was in, Team Rocket could always successfully track them down - quite remarkable indeed.

Confirming that the other party still had phone credit, Lu Ye called the trio and said:

"Musashi, James, Meowth - you have a new mission!"