"Haunter, can your shadow space handle this?" Su Feng glanced down at his own shadow.
In response, Haunter's chubby hand emerged from the darkness and gave a thumbs-up.
"Then these Flame Coins are all yours," Su Feng said with a resigned sigh.
Haunter melted into the shadow beneath the mountain of Flame Coins, slowly engulfing them like quicksand. Still, Su Feng had no intention of hoarding the coins—he planned to spend them all here if possible.
Seeming to read his mind, Magmortar suggested, "Grrr. (If you want to bulk-purchase items, I can send word out.)"
"Please do," Su Feng nodded after a moment's thought. "I'm looking for evolution stones or held items for Pokémon. Flame Coins aren't an issue."
Magmortar rumbled in approval. In this town, a single Flame Coin could buy a day's worth of food, and Su Feng's stash of 1,400 coins made him a veritable tycoon.
"Grrr. (Braixen.)"
"Yip! (Yes, Magmortar?)"
"Grrr. (Spread the word: I'm trading Flame Coins for rare stones or held items.)"
"Yip! (On it!)"
"Wait," Su Feng interrupted, grabbing a handful of coins from the shadow and tossing them to Braixen. "These are tips for the Pokémon helping with the promotion."
Braixen glanced at Magmortar for approval. Once the fire-type nodded, the fox eagerly pocketed the coins. "Yip! (Thank you, human!)
Su Feng waved it off. He knew the old adage: If you want the horse to run, feed it first. While 20-odd coins wouldn't change the world, they'd certainly motivate the helpers.
[Live Chat Reactions]
[Whoa, this Pokémon town is wild!]
[They've built their own society!]
[Nah, they're just copying humans. Creativity takes more than mimicry.]
[Are there Pokémon smarter than us?]
[If so, we'd be their pets by now lol.]
"Actually, some Pokémon are smarter than humans," Su Feng interjected, seizing the teachable moment. "Take Alakazam—its IQ supposedly hits 5,000. It never forgets anything it sees or experiences. Then there's Metagross, whose computational speed rivals a supercomputer. Your fancy 4090 GPU? Dust in the wind. Others like Oranguru and Slowking are natural strategists, leading their groups with genius-level intellect."
He paused, then added with a grin, "Of course, those stats might be exaggerated. But their intelligence? Absolutely real."
[5000 IQ? That's OP!]
[Can Metagross run Crysis?]
[Ask it to review-bomb Three Kingdoms Killer for me!]
[Y'all wasting a supercomputer on petty stuff?]
[Can Metagross draw… ahem… NSFW art?]
[YES!]
[Support!]
[+1!]
Su Feng: "…"
Never underestimate the power of horny, he mused, shaking his head. Turning back to the bustling marketplace, he snapped photos while narrating for his stream. First up: Moltres, the fiery benefactor.
He pinned an image of the legendary bird to the直播 screen. "Meet Moltres—Fire/Flying type, the Flame Pokémon. As you can see, its crimson-gold plumage radiates nobility. Its crest, tail, and wingtips blaze with eternal fire. Moltres is said to control flames themselves; a single wingbeat ignites its feathers. Legends claim it heals by diving into volcanic magma, reborn like a phoenix."
He added sternly, "Don't go hunting Moltres. Just because it's chill with me doesn't mean it'll play nice with others."
[But I wanna meet ittttt!]
[What's so special about you, huh?]
Su Feng smirked, adopting a mock-grandiose tone: "Behold! The world's first Pokémon Trainer and Breeder! CEO of Mareep Wool Sweaters™ and Moomoo Milk™! The one, the only—Su Feng!"
[Cringe.]
[Moltres is majestic AF. Proper god-tier.]
[Obviously. It's a deity, not your neighborhood Pidgey.]
[If it controls fire, do other Fire-types just kneel?]
[Duh. Try flexing on a literal flame god.]
[Why's no one acknowledging his lame flex? Poor guy.]
Su Feng: "…"
Salvation came as a Cyndaquil waddled up, clutching a jagged rock embedded with four crimson crystals.
"Squeak! (Human! Trade for Flame Coins?)" it chirped, tilting its head adorably.
Su Feng crouched, playing along. "What've you got there?"
The Cyndaquil proudly presented the stone. "Squeak-squeak? (How many coins for this?)
Picking up the warm rock, recognition dawned. "A Heat Rock! Extends Sunny Day's duration when held. Fifty Flame Coins. Deal?"