Good grief. You've seen whales that can shoot water, sure — but have you ever seen a turtle that can shoot water?
At least Emily Thompson hadn't.
"Amazing! Wow!"
Once she snapped out of her shock, Emily looked at Squirtle with even more affection. Not only was he incredibly cute, he had such a cool special ability!
Even though the stream of water wasn't huge, it was magical enough.
"Jenny~"
Seeming to understand that Emily was praising him, Squirtle squinted his big eyes into happy little slits, lifted his chin slightly, and let out a proud little cry.
The pride in his voice was so human-like that both Emily and the shopkeeper could clearly hear it.
"Wow — he's way too smart!"
Emily's clear eyes were practically turning into hearts. This turtle was arrogant and adorable at the same time!
"Looks like you really like him," Ethan Brooks said with a warm smile. He knew it — who could resist a smart, cute Pokémon?
"Yes! I love him so much!" Emily declared confidently. "Ethan, I want this little turtle!"
Even though he was a turtle and nothing like the cats or dogs she had imagined when she walked into a pet store, Emily was completely sure.
This was her ideal pet!
And he was the one she had drawn from that Pokédex thing. It really was fate!
"Great! It's our greatest honor to satisfy our customers," Ethan replied, his smile widening. "This Squirtle is excellent quality, so the price is $200,000. Would you like to pay by card?"
Emily started to answer without thinking, "Sure, card is fine—" but the moment the words left her mouth, something felt wrong.
"Wait… how much did you just say?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars."
The store fell silent.
Emily stared at Ethan with a stiff expression. Ethan blinked innocently.
After making sure she hadn't misheard, Emily slapped her own cheek lightly and took a deep breath.
"Are you out of your mind? You're selling this water turtle for $200,000?!"
She pointed at the innocent-looking Squirtle in her arms and stared at Ethan in disbelief.
This was ridiculous!
"You actually have the nerve to charge that much? Doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"
Emily wasn't short on money — $200,000 was nothing to her family. But she hated feeling like she was being ripped off.
She had done her research before coming to buy a pet. A regular pet tortoise costing $200,000? That was insane.
"Miss, I have to correct you — his name is Squirtle, not 'water turtle,'" Ethan said calmly, still smiling. "And do you really think $200,000 is expensive?"
Emily paused and glanced down at Squirtle, who was looking up at her with big, hopeful, watery eyes.
"Squirtle is an extremely intelligent creature. He can understand your words, your emotions, and respond to you," Ethan emphasized again.
"In other words, Pokémon like him have almost no low-intelligence individuals. Especially the rarer ones — their intelligence can rival a human's."
"And please believe me, this is already a special discount. The store just opened, and this is our new-customer promotional price."
"Squirtle won't just be a pet — he'll be your best friend every day. And in the future, you'll discover even more amazing things about him. I can promise you that."
Ethan spoke with sincere confidence. His mission was to spread Pokémon throughout the world, and he truly believed he could do it. People would eventually see how wonderful these magical creatures were.
Emily felt torn inside. She really liked Squirtle a lot, and she could easily afford the price, but she still felt like she was being taken advantage of. The thought of being ripped off by a merchant made her feel sulky and aggrieved.
"Jenny~"
The soft, crisp cry sounded beside her ear. Emily looked into Squirtle's big, adorable eyes and finally sighed.
*Fine… $200,000 it is.*
"Okay, swipe the card," she pouted.
She comforted herself: high-end pet dogs could cost tens or even hundreds of thousands too. Squirtle was definitely not any worse than them. And she had never seen a turtle like him anywhere else — he was practically a rare species!
She should cherish him.
"Wait a second!" Emily suddenly asked, "Handsome, isn't he a nationally protected animal?"
It wasn't that she couldn't keep protected animals, but if he was, she would need proper paperwork and permits.
"No, you can rest assured," Ethan replied with a smile as he returned to the front desk to prepare her paperwork. "He's not a protected animal at all."
In fact, Squirtle had never even existed in this world before.
"And let me remind you — Squirtle isn't an animal. He's a Pokémon."
After Emily finished swiping her card, Ethan handed her two small gift bags and explained, "These are the first two boxes of energy cubes that come with your purchase. Water-type Pokémon love them. Since Squirtle is still young, these two boxes should last him about half a month."
Curious, Emily opened one of the bags. Two elegant wooden boxes came into view.
*Energy cubes?* Another term she had never heard before…
She opened one box. Inside were dozens of small, bright blue square cubes. She took one out, sniffed it, and a pleasant, fresh fragrance filled her nose. When she gently squeezed it, the cube felt soft and jelly-like.
Squirtle was staring intently at the cube in her hand, eyes wide.
"They're made from special tree fruits," Ethan laughed. "You can try one too — they taste really good."
Emily thought about it, then popped the cube into her mouth. It was sweet and delicious.
"Jenny~!"
Squirtle looked like he was about to drool.
"Pfft — here you go."
Emily couldn't help laughing at his greedy little face. She grabbed a handful and held them out to him.
Even though he clearly wanted them badly, Squirtle stayed obedient and didn't jump up. He waited politely.
Emily watched him happily squint his eyes and chew the energy cubes, and a big, warm "auntie smile" spread across her face.
*So… cute—*