The moment Su Yu said he wasn't angry, the group of children immediately lit up with joy.
Xiaoqing looked at him with hopeful eyes and spoke carefully.
"Brother Su Yu… can you tame this Pichu?"
"You have Poké Balls, right?"
"Let it become your Pokémon."
"Then it can play with us in the future."
She made her request earnestly.
It was precisely because she liked Pichu so much that she had knocked it out with a stone and carried it back. She hoped Su Yu would use a Poké Ball to capture it properly.
Su Yu fell silent for a moment.
His gaze unconsciously drifted to the Poké Balls at his waist.
In his possession were six Ultra Balls given to him by Professor Wang. One was reserved for the Pokémon egg, leaving him with five usable ones.
He glanced at the unconscious Pichu lying on the ground.
After a brief moment of thought, Su Yu nodded.
"Alright."
"I'll take it in."
Whether Pichu had good potential or not didn't really matter. At worst, it could stay around as a pet.
With that thought, Su Yu took out a Poké Ball and threw it with the smooth motion of someone who had practiced countless times.
Bang!
The Poké Ball struck Pichu on the head just as it was beginning to wake up, knocking it out cold once more.
Truly pitiful.
The Poké Ball burst open, turning Pichu into a beam of red light that was drawn inside. The ball shook briefly before stopping.
Click.
There was no resistance at all.
Pichu was captured effortlessly.
The children immediately erupted into cheers.
"That's amazing!"
"So cool!"
Watching a Pokémon being captured with their own eyes was an unforgettable experience for kids. It was the same kind of excitement as watching a giant excavator dig through the ground—pure, simple joy.
Su Yu understood that feeling perfectly.
Xiaoqing picked up the Poké Ball and ran over, holding it out with both hands.
"Brother Su Yu, here!"
"The Poké Ball!"
She was visibly thrilled. After all, this Pokémon had been captured with her help.
Su Yu smiled.
"Alright."
He gently rubbed her head before taking the Poké Ball from her.
After storing Pichu away, Su Yu spoke again.
"You guys should head back first."
"Take the berries back and wash them."
"I'll be back soon."
"And remember—don't wander around or provoke wild Pokémon."
"If anyone gets hurt, I won't buy you snacks anymore."
Threatening children was something Su Yu was exceptionally good at.
The moment they heard this, the kids stiffened and nodded frantically.
Carrying the baskets of fruit, they quickly headed back toward the orphanage.
Su Yu, meanwhile, turned and walked deeper into the back mountain.
He still needed to collect honey.
With a bamboo basket on his back, Su Yu moved steadily through the forest. Since the orphanage was located near the outskirts, Pokémon activity in the area was extremely high.
Just after leaving the orchard, he encountered Caterpie, Weedle, and other Bug-type Pokémon. Butterfree fluttered lazily among the trees.
These Pokémon weren't afraid of humans at all. After giving Su Yu a brief glance, they went back to feeding—chewing leaves or absorbing tree sap.
Pokémon living near orchards were accustomed to human presence.
In the past, the old headmaster would even leave fruit out for them.
Of course, that meant the orchard barely turned a profit. Like a public cafeteria, Pokémon would constantly come by to steal food.
The old headmaster didn't mind much, as long as the orphanage could keep running.
If it were up to Su Yu, however, he would handle things differently.
He'd assign a Growlithe or a Grass-type Pokémon to manage the orchard.
Actually…
That newly captured Pichu could work too.
Thinking of this, Su Yu took out Pichu's Poké Ball and checked it briefly. Sensing that it was still unconscious, he put it away again.
I'll talk to it later.
For now, business came first.
Su Yu slowly released his Psychic power, extending his mental perception throughout the back mountain.
Before long, the terrain and environment unfolded clearly within his mind.
Some Pokémon with sharp instincts began to stir uneasily.
After locating his target, Su Yu vanished.
Teleport.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared deeper in the mountains.
Before him stood a nest filled with Beedrill and Kakuna.
Without hesitation, Su Yu spoke calmly.
"I'll be borrowing some honey."
His Psychic power surged outward.
The Beedrill immediately sensed danger and entered a combat stance—but before they could act, Su Yu's mental force slammed into them.
One by one, the Beedrill and Kakuna collapsed, dropping to the ground like dumplings.
All of them were instantly knocked unconscious.
Su Yu smiled faintly.
Only then did he begin collecting the honey and other materials from the nest.
The Pokémon here weren't particularly strong—most were mid- or high-level at best.
As for Su Yu's Psychic abilities, he believed that if he went all out, they might reach Champion level.
In other words, he was essentially a Champion-tier humanoid Pokémon.
Of course, he had no real way to confirm that. He had never actually seen a Champion in action.
The Psychic power he'd just used was likely around Gym Leader level, which explained why the Beedrill were dealt with so easily.
Still, Su Yu had always positioned himself as a Champion-level Psychic.
Otherwise, why would his mindset be so… confident?
As for raising Pokémon, Su Yu had a simple philosophy:
If you can't even beat me, don't think about going outside.
Stay home and train properly.
After all, although the Dragon Kingdom officially had only four Elite Four members, everyone knew they were Champions in all but name.
That was Su Yu's goal.
Only when his Pokémon could compete with him would he consider challenging Gyms.
Maybe he'd even enter a tournament and win some prizes.
…
After gathering everything he needed, Su Yu was about to leave when something caught his eye.
Three stones lay hidden within the nest.
"Leaf Stones?"
He froze.
Each stone was etched with natural leaf-like patterns.
Su Yu hadn't expected to find Evolution Stones here.
Even the cheapest Leaf Stone sold for several thousand. High-quality ones could fetch hundreds of thousands.
The three stones before him weren't top-tier, but they were still worth tens of thousands altogether.
"Did I just pick up tens of thousands for free?"
"Perfect timing."
Su Yu smiled.
He was short on money right now, and this was an unexpected windfall.
Could it be that my luck stat is finally activating?
With that thought, Su Yu calmly collected the Leaf Stones and prepared to leave.