Welcome aboard!

Chapter 88 Welcome aboard!

An investigator's vacation.

Zeki plans to first use the spaceship to travel around different regions of the Pokémon world.

This was something he had decided long ago. As for his first goal, it was to go to Kanto to find Xiao Lan—at least he couldn't let her foolishly barge into the Masked Base and deliver herself to his doorstep.

Although they've only been away from the Masked Army base for two months, given Xiao Lan's personality, she probably won't come looking for them so soon. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

Before achieving this first goal, some prior preparations are naturally required.

In the Sinnoh League, in the open space before the spaceship docked, Sawaki finally met the veteran craftsman who had modified his spaceship last time.

He was quite old, with white hair and many wrinkles, and wore a light kimono, but he was surprisingly strong and powerful when he grabbed the large iron hammer—the clanging sound of hammering could still be heard from inside the spaceship.

Beside it was a long-tailed monster hand, with two tails that had hands, each holding a number of tools.

"Um-"

Having just undergone some repairs, the craftsman who disembarked from the spaceship pondered for a moment, then said, "I've already reinforced your spaceship quite a bit, but I heard you'd like some new features? Could you tell me your ideas?"

Ze Shu: "Is self-driving possible?"

While the spaceship does feel great to fly, if no one is in the captain's cabin to operate it, the spaceship can only travel in one straight line. This is indeed inconvenient.

"No," the old craftsman shook his head. "How could such a thing exist? If you want someone to fly your spaceship, just hire someone. Do you have any other requirements?"

"I see—" Ze Shu said with some disappointment.

But he didn't want to hire someone he didn't know, since it was someone who controlled the boat—but maybe a Pokémon could drive it?

"For the remaining requirements, just optimize the spaceship's spaceship space. I need a larger warehouse. Also, the travel speed isn't fast enough, and the total power storage isn't enough. And if possible, leave some 'turret openings' around the spaceship so that Pokémon moves can be launched from inside the spaceship."

"And one more thing—add a convenient, deployable standard battleground or training range to the outer layer."

He wanted to get all his thoughts out at once.

The old craftsman: "...—

Looking at his aged body, Ichizawa's tone grew increasingly cautious. He feared that the craftsman might suddenly collapse in his spaceship after a long day's work.

"Am I asking for too much?"

"No!" the old craftsman exclaimed, puffing out his beard and glaring. "There are far too many!"

"I've never heard so many demands in all my years of working!"

Despite his anger, the old craftsman still agreed.

And just three days later.

Ze Shu, however, received news that all the new features had already been installed on the spaceship. Ze Shu was astonished by this efficiency.

He truly deserves to be called the best craftsman in the league!

The old craftsman was exhausted—after hearing about this, he asked the alliance for a two-week vacation.

Celebrate the city.

The spaceship's speed is about 1.2 times faster than before the modification—Ze Shu could feel it clearly. It used to take three days to get here from the Alliance headquarters, but now it only takes a little over two and a half days.

The space inside the spaceship has also been optimized, with two guest rooms connected together for storing less important items such as berries and Pokémon food.

Upon arriving in Zhuqing City again, Ze Shu headed straight for the Global Trade Center. After all, supplies needed to be stockpiled before the spaceship departed.

When he first came here, he was short of money and had to frequently go to the "Free Trade Market" next door to find some cheaper products.

But now, he's rich!

Upon hearing the trainer say that he could buy whatever he wanted, Six-Tails took the lead and ran to the dairy product shelf, turning his head with an expectant look: "Ooooh~~"

Ze Shu stepped forward: "MoMo Milk?"

A waiter explained, "This is Mumu milk imported from Mumu Ranch. It's incredibly nutritious and has a sweeter taste. It's very beneficial for the growth of this adorable Pokémon."

He didn't recognize Vulpix, so he could only call it a cute Pokémon.

Ze Shu glanced at the expiration date, which was one month: "Then let's start with five boxes."

In addition to these, this global trade center also offers many other regional specialties—such as dark gray rice crackers,

Angry Buns, Blaze Rice Crackers, and the Sinnoh region's specialty, Forest Sheep Bag.

Moreover, according to the explanation from the waiter next to him, they are said to have the same effect as Ze Shu in the game, such as restoring health and curing confusion, so they can be considered strategic resources.

Zeshu bought a whole box of them all, to give to the Pokémon on his spaceship as snacks.

The Vulpix was overjoyed, rubbing its cute cheek against his face repeatedly, saying, "Ooh-ming~".

It knows that its trainer loves it the most!

Wiping the cool drool that Liuwei had rubbed against his face, Ze Shu smiled and said, "Keep craving it. You'll turn into a fat white fox by then."

Six-Tails tilted its head: "Ominous—"

Fat fox?

If it turns into a fat fox, will the trainer still want it?

Ze Shu replied decisively, "Of course."

Six-Tails perked up: "Ooh-ming!"

So be fat!

Ze Shu:

Glaceon and Froslass exchanged a glance.

Glaceon hesitated for a moment: "Eevee?"

Snow Fairy shook her head repeatedly: "Mihoo~"

2

It definitely doesn't want to become the fat, pointed pile in the 'nightmare'!

Next came stockpiling tree fruits, including two boxes each of various berries that could resolve status ailments: Berry Berry and Peach Berry. Although he had bought quite a few before, you can never have too many of these things.

But then, in the fruit section, he saw a prop for sale—a fruit mixer.

The waiter explained in a timely manner: "These are tools used to create Energy Cubes. The most basic Energy Cubes have the ability to improve various aspects of a Pokémon's physique, such as improving the condition of its fur and its overall robustness. Advanced Energy Cubes have even more incredible uses."

Ze Shu: "Buy it."

Although he could buy Energy Cubes directly, nothing compares to the sense of accomplishment he gets from specially crafting Energy Cubes for his own Pokémon.

He said confidently, "Little Six-Tailed Fox, how about I make you delicious energy cubes from now on?"

Secretly munching on a dark gray rice cake, the Six-Tails, its mouth stuffed full, nodded hurriedly, "Ooo-oo-oo!"

They spent the entire afternoon browsing the "Global Trade Center," filling Ze Shu's spatial belt to the brim. Afterward, they went to the "Free Trade Center" next door.

The same shouts rang out incessantly: "Good fishing rods, powerful fishing rods, bait balls!" The fisherman's shop was still so close to the entrance.

"I'd like to buy some bait and some fishing gear," Ze Shu said, stepping forward.

"Bait and fish—oh!" Upon seeing Ze Shu, the fisherman's eyes widened. "It's...it's you!"

He clearly recognized Ze Shu, the man who had rescued him when he faced the threat of the raiding party, but had taken his 50 yen fishing rod. Now, coming to buy fishing gear—wasn't that to use with his stolen rod?

That was his most prized fishing rod!

"Aren't you going to do business with me?"

"Do it, do it." The fisherman hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"These, these—" But Ze Shu didn't hold back at all, pointing to the fish, fish baskets, and even large landing nets in the shop and buying them all.

It wasn't until Zeshu bought a huge amount of everything he needed for fishing and turned to leave that he realized what was happening.

The fisherman hesitated, seemingly afraid of the scene where Yu Zeshu had frozen the two team members, and dared not speak at all, never mentioning the "large root fishing rod" from beginning to end.

After leaving for a while, walking on the street, I sensed that the fisherman hadn't chased after me yet.

Ze Shu gave a helpless twitch of his lips: "Are you really going to give this to me for free? Oh well. Liu Wei, give this to that guy. And tell him I bought the fishing rod."

The fishing rod wasn't stolen from a Pokémon hunter or some evil organization, so he couldn't just take it by force; he still had to pay for it.

Six-Tailed Fox declared confidently, "Ominous!"

Watching Ze Shu's departing figure, the fisherman was filled with regret, scratching his head: "Why didn't I say anything?!"

But then, he saw a chubby white fox come up to him with a note in its mouth, raise its little head and make a "whoosh whoosh" sound, making no clear meaning, before hopping away.

"It's that person's Pokémon."

The fisherman picked up the slip of paper that Six-Tail had thrown down; it was a Union check with a sum of five hundred thousand on it.

"This—" His hand trembled, almost dropping the check, tears welling in his eyes, "...Almighty Arceus!"

I wandered around the free trade market for a while, but there wasn't much to see.

The uncle selling Magikarp was still shouting as loudly as ever, but Magikarp still stared with dead fish eyes. And Zeki didn't encounter the Ditto wearing sunglasses again, so he shook his head and left.

Back on the spaceship, Ze Shu went straight to the second floor, to the converted storage room.

The spaceship now has four levels. Roughly speaking, the first level can be divided into the following functional areas from top to bottom: the deck and captain's cabin, Ze Shu's room, the deployable standard battleground, and the fully intelligent electronic observation and scanning station.

The second floor consists of various empty rooms. There are about a dozen, some of which have been converted into shallow storage rooms.

There are also rooms for Lillian and Psyduck.

The remaining rooms await the arrival of subsequent crew members, or await conversion into functional rooms such as 'medical room', 'bar', and 'kitchen'.

The third floor: a deep storage room containing items that are not easy to move, and a lot of empty space.

It seems that part of the space has been converted into a research laboratory by Hunter J, but it's unclear what results she has achieved. Sawaki doesn't have many ideas about this floor yet, so he hasn't touched it.

Fourth floor: Prisons for detaining criminals, power distribution room, waste disposal system, water treatment center—

Currently, the spaceship is indeed relatively empty, with only Psyduck and Sheep present—wait,

The five crew members—if you add the pink, yellow, and blue mushrooms on Psyduck's body—are all included.

The items purchased in Zhuqing City were stored in the converted shallow storage room on the second floor. Zeshu asked the Psyduck that was following him blankly, "Are you sure you want to come with me?"

Psyduck, confused: "Quack?"

Empyreon's phantom appeared, and it said aggrievedly, "Can't we just follow Zeki? Empyreon, let me tell you... we have many functions! Uxie lets you ask any questions you want. Azelf can strengthen your will, similar to... similar to a stimulant!"

"And what about you?"

"I...I—" Upon hearing Ze Shu's words, Emrido's eyes darted around, then it seemed to realize something.

He clenched his little fist proudly, "I can help you keep those two guys, Yukshi and Arknom, in check. Whoever misbehaves..."

"Imryl will beat it up for you!"

A yellow phantom appeared on Psyduck's body.

Yukshi: "Idiot. Only Arknom needs to be beaten up."

Emrido: "Then let's focus on beating Azelf! We'll make sure it obeys Zeki!"

Ze Shu: "...—".

He remembered that when Yuxie suggested they capture Azelf together at Lake of Ambition, Esprit had hesitated. But now, he wanted to beat Azelf without any hesitation. Had he awakened something?

He shook his head, and after putting all the purchased items into the storage area, he returned to the deck.

Evening has arrived.

The deck, suspended in the air, was bathed in the dim, yellowish light, appearing a brownish-yellow hue. Looking westward, one could still see the afterglow of the setting sun on the sea horizon.

The Six-Tails couldn't wait any longer. Its small body perched on the round table in the center of the deck, looking at Ze Shu with anticipation: "Ominous~~"

Because Zeshu said he would use the newly bought "tree fruit mixer" to make delicious energy cubes for it.

The berry mixer is a complex-looking device with a speedometer; the energy cubes are made at high speeds.

It also has both manual and automatic modes.

"Food made for your own Pokémon has to be handmade to truly shine!"

Ze Shu said this.

But it received a proud response from the Six-Tails, who jumped up and down: "Ooh-hoo!"

It is looking forward to it.

Next, Zeju studied the instruction manual: "You need to cut up the tree fruit before use, and pouring it in seems like a very simple process!"

He then picked up the list of various energy cube configurations that came with the machine and found one that could increase the smoothness of Pokémon fur to start experimenting:

Passion fruit, jujube, and blackberry.

Take out the tree fruit, chop it, blend it, and put it into the machine. Start operating the machine using the manual handle.

Ze Shu was extremely serious and held his breath.

The fruit and tree hybrid was also running exceptionally smoothly; Six-Tails looked on expectantly: "Ooh-hoo!"

Glaceon and Froslass also curiously gathered around—indeed, a serious trainer is the coolest!

Psyduck was still standing there by the table, covering its head, seemingly lost in thought: "Quack?"

Only Li Yang was still admiring the scenery.

Soon, about ten minutes later, with a "ding", the tree fruit mixer struggled to spit out several energy cubes mixed with various blue colors.

"Alright!" Ze Shu picked up the Energy Cube and held it to Vulpix's mouth. "This Energy Cube was painstakingly made by a trainer!"

"Ooming!"

The Six-Tails had been looking forward to this for a long time. Without hesitation, it swallowed all the energy cubes that Zeki handed over in one gulp.

"How is it?" Ze Shu asked expectantly.

As the Six-Tailed Fox savored the energy cube, its expression gradually worsened. It opened its mouth wide in a look of utter disbelief, then, with a bitter expression, vomited up the azure energy cube: "Ooh!!"

Ze Shu was taken aback: "—Is it really that bad?"

Six-Tails, its eyes brimming with tears, cried out in utter distress, "Ouming! Ouming!!!"

It's both astringent and bitter!

The trainer wants to harm it!! The trainer doesn't want it to get fat, so it doesn't give it good food!!

"But I followed the recipe exactly." Ze Shu gently stroked Liuwei's soft chin, comforting her. "Let me try again. Don't worry, little Liuwei, I'm sure I can make something delicious for you."

"Ominous!!"

We did it right away.

Zeshu replicated it again, and soon, with a "ding," another energy cube was produced from the berry mixer and sent to Liuwei's mouth: "Try it again, this is something I made with great care."

Liuwei, still suspicious, swallowed it whole.

puff~

The energy cubes were ejected high into the air.

Six-Tails, tears welling in its eyes, cried out, "Ooh!!"

Ze Shu looked serious, but he wasn't convinced: "Don't rush me. I'm sure I can make energy cubes that will satisfy you and taste really good!"

He carefully picked up the instruction manual, compared it with the fruit formula, and even took out his phone to refer to online tutorials, and began to study diligently.

As they studied, they learned that the dim light gradually dimmed, followed by the faint starlight, and then the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon.

A long night.

The berries were constantly being consumed in the Snow Maiden's transport room, while the berry mixer was also continuously producing them.

The sound of six tails popping incessantly filled the air.

What ultimately made Ze Shu stop making them wasn't that he successfully produced 'edible' energy cubes, but rather...

Its daybreak.

The spaceship, which was originally designed to travel in a straight line, even missed its destination.

The Iceborne was initially worried, but it quickly got used to it, lying down beside its trainer and dozing off. Only the Psyduck stood up all night, watching the Berry Mixer constantly spewing out Energy Cubes, its eyes filled with curiosity and confusion: "Quack?"

A small wooden round table on the deck.

Its six fluffy, cotton-like tails lay limp on the table. After tasting food all night, it let out a silent whimper: "Chirp—"

Ze Shu fell into self-doubt: "Could it be that I'm really not suited to making energy cubes?"

Why is this energy block so difficult? He followed the "tutorial" exactly!

They clearly changed their label from "very delicious" to "edible," so why are they still not satisfied?

Psyduck: "Quack?"

It had been curious all night, so it went up to the ground, picked up an energy cube, put it in its mouth, and chewed it blankly, but without any adverse reaction.

Ze Shu noticed this, and Wen Shi's eyes widened: "Could it be—"

But then Memrigold's cries rang out: "It's so bitter! It's killing me with bitterness! Psyduck, please stop eating! Stop! Please stop, Memrigold, please don't eat anymore—"

But Psyduck remained unmoved: "Quack?"

Its simple belief is that wasting food is shameful!

He then continued to put all the energy cubes that Ze Shu had made on the table and the ground into his mouth, chewing them without any emotion as if he couldn't taste anything.

Ze Shu was deeply moved: "Duck God! You are my Duck God!"

At this moment, Psyduck's dorky body, bathed in the morning light, is so dazzling!

True sand forest.

The spaceship overshot its mark while Zeki was making the energy cube, so Zeki had to fly back from the sea outside Masago Town.

Despite the "Lake Heartbeat Explosion" and "Darkrai's Nightmare" incidents, this place still thrives. From above, the treetops tremble and the lake gently sways. Pokémon must be living comfortably here.

Walking through the woods, I watched as a tank skunk, its stench filling the air, excitedly rampaged across the road. All the nearby Pokémon fled at the stench, some even letting out a gurgling sound before collapsing to the ground, completely overwhelmed by the stench.

Ze Shu retracted his previous thought.

But his eyes held a hint of surprise: "Look at the wounds on that tank skunk—"

If he remembered correctly, this Tank Skunk belonged to one of the Pokémon hunters involved in the "Lake Heartbeat Bombing." It was said that after being abandoned, it suffered from depression and was then sent to the Yamanashi Research Institute.

I didn't expect you to be free of depression now? Did Dr. Yamanashi release you into this sand forest?

But why is it farting so early in the morning?!

Ze Shu shook his head. Perhaps he should tell Dr. Yamanashi about this? As for now, he found a place without any odor and took out a white whistle—a white glass whistle.

A gentle whistle is blown, and a tender note drifts through the air: "Chirp~"

The Ice Eevee's rhomboid ears twitched slightly at his feet, its eyes narrowed happily, and it rubbed against Ze Shu's leg: "Eevee!"

It likes the whistle.

Because this whistle is the sound it makes when it meets Ze Shu.

Not long after.

In the woods, many small Pokémon were attracted, but they were all too timid to approach. Only one small, gray Pokémon hopped and skipped forward.

It's a foam squirrel.

Its face lit up with surprise, and its big ears twitched: "Hey—squeak!"

He had an expression that said, "You finally decided to come find me."

The sound of the white glass whistle is the signal for Ze Shu and the foam squirrel to meet as agreed.

"Long time no see," Ze Shu smiled. "Where are they?"

"Hey!" The foam squirrel wagged its tail, signaling for the others to gather.

Soon, a tearful Sudokoyaki, two Budew from the Budew family, and a Pachirisu gnawing on a berry appeared before Zephyr. These were all Pokémon he had rescued from Pokémon hunters after his initial arrival in Sinnoh.

After rubbing the area thoroughly, Ze Shu smiled and said, "I've come here to invite you to join my crew."

Actually, he mainly came to invite Bubble Squirrel. But since his ship had enough space to hold dozens of Pokémon, it would be even better if other Pokémon could come.

He explained in detail the various aspects of the spaceship, as well as its potential drawbacks, such as the high altitude and the instability of the destination.

As soon as Ze Shu finished speaking, the foam squirrel put its hands on its hips and exclaimed, "Hey, hey!"

Then it will reluctantly help Ze Shu clean up!

After all, without it, Ze Shu would have lived a very difficult life!

The two shy buds, huddled together, hesitated for a moment, but they still slowly shook their heads. After all, they had a clan in this sand forest, and they also had a mother, so they couldn't easily leave this place.

"It's okay." Feeling the two little ones rubbing against him shyly, Ze Shu laughed. "Maybe I'll build a manor or something around here in the future, and then I'll invite you to come and play."

Patchlitz shook his head too: "Pfft—"

It made many friends in this forest and was reluctant to leave it.

Ze Shu rubbed it and stuffed some more tree fruit into its mouth: "What a pity."

But the strange fellow looked left and right, tears welling up in his eyes, and quietly ran to the foot of the swamp tree, mustering his courage: "Pfft..."

"Pfft pfft~"

It also wants to go on the ship with Zeshu! It likes Zeshu too!

While waiting for Zeki's answer, Bonzai was so nervous that tears streamed down his face. He looked at Zeki anxiously and said, "Pfft~"

Ze Shu's large hand covered down:

"Of course, welcome aboard!"