Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

After sending Snivy off to practice the double-layered form of Leaf Tornado on its own, Lin Feng pulled a folding chair out of his storage Pokéball and sat down, scrolling through his phone.

He wasn't slacking off. He was searching for vendors who would buy his harvested crops.

Of the harvest from his plantation, Lin Feng planned to keep a small portion for himself. He would combine it with the Pecha and Oran berries from this year to produce Antidote Energy Cubes and Stamina Energy Cubes. Those were easier to store and could also serve as products for his breeding facility. He also wanted to gift some to Grandpa Qin.

The rest, he intended to sell off entirely.

As for sales channels…

Lin Feng wasn't worried. His parents, back in the day, had visited plenty of places that purchased vegetables and agricultural products.

Among those, the most famous was the Bellsprout Fruits and Vegetables General Market.

But when he searched online, he found the name had changed it was now Victreebel Food Co.

Looks like…

Over the past ten years, the company had "evolved," too.

"All right… this is the one."

Victreebel Food Co. - Boss's Office

In the boss's office of Victreebel Food Co., Charles Chen was looking rather troubled. His newly listed company had already encountered its first major obstacle.

That obstacle was competition from "rival businesses."

Strictly speaking, they weren't even in the same business. The competition came from a large supermarket chain whose operations only partially overlapped with Victreebel's.

However…

The competitor was none other than Wangwang Co., the biggest retail company in Wutong City.

Even when Victreebel was still just a fruit and vegetable supermarket, Wangwang had already begun squeezing them out. After Victreebel went public, the pressure had become outright aggressive.

First, Wangwang slashed prices dramatically in the produce sections of its supermarkets.

Then, it started paying premium prices to intercept supplies right at the source, cutting off Victreebel's purchasing channels.

As a result, the various produce markets and stores under Victreebel's banner couldn't sell their products, nor could they source fresh raw materials.

Left unchecked, the company would eventually go under.

So right now, the problem was clear.

They urgently needed a stable supplier.

"Still brooding over the supermarket situation?"

As Charles Chen massaged his temples, a woman in a yellow floral dress entered the office. She was a striking beauty, with an elegant figure and a high ponytail, her face full of vibrant charm.

Charles Chen sighed as he looked at his wife. He shook his head, though ultimately couldn't keep the truth from her.

An older husband with a younger wife, plus a daughter still in high school… It was a stage of life that required endless energy. And though Charles Chen was only in his early forties, his hair was already falling out in clumps.

"There's no helping it. Wangwang Supermarket is hitting us too hard. Without reliable supply channels, our company might get crushed right after going public."

He finally admitted the reality to his wife.

"Then why don't we just go back to running a small supermarket?" his wife suggested gently. "Yue'er doesn't have to get a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. We could choose one of the regular starters instead."

"If we pick a pseudo-legendary, it'll take a fortune to raise it properly. And if something goes wrong down the road, and we can't keep up with the costs, it would be a waste of such a rare Pokémon."

She looked at her husband's troubled face and tried to comfort him.

"I know what you're saying… but think of our child…"

Charles Chen trailed off into a sigh.

How could their small, local business in Wutong Town ever compete financially with a national chain?

The only possible way to win was by offering produce so superior in quality that it crushed the competition.

And to grow produce of that caliber…

They would need the expertise of a professional Pokémon Breeder.

Not just any breeder, but one who specialized in agricultural cultivation.

But Pokémon Breeders were rare enough already, let alone those with specialized knowledge of farming and crop cultivation.

"Sigh… If it comes to it…"

Charles Chen was on the verge of giving up, feeling that maybe he was just chasing fantasies. He was about to abandon the idea completely when the phone on his desk suddenly rang.

"Rotom, incoming call from the Purchasing Department. Do you want to answer?"

"The Purchasing Department?"

Charles Chen blinked, then immediately picked up his Rotom-brand desk phone. "It's me. What's going on?"

"What? A new supplier? And the sample produce looks good? They're in… Okay, understood."

He hung up the phone, but despite hearing news about a potential new supplier, his expression still hadn't brightened.

"What's wrong? Didn't they say there's a new supplier? Shouldn't that be good news?" his wife asked, noticing his lack of enthusiasm.

Charles Chen gave a bitter smile. "Yes, there's a new supplier…

But it's that plantation in Wutong Town. You know the one that used to belong to Old Lin's family. Word is, it's been taken over by his son now…"

"Think about it a kid running things. How much produce could he possibly grow? And who knows if the quality is even any good."

His wife blinked in surprise. "Little Feng, that kid? He didn't go to high school and instead took over the family plantation?"