Chapter 45: Poké Ball!

In the end, the entire flock of Murkrow provided Qian Lin with three pieces of jade. Combined with the one from the Honchkrow, he now had four in total.

Reality would not follow the rules of a video game where a few pieces of jade could craft a single Pokéball. Based on the material consumption from his memory, these four pieces of jade were enough to make at least eight Pokéballs. Of course, Qian Lin would not use them all; he intended to leave a few for the Pokémon Research Institute.

He could analyze the composition of the jade and see if it could be replicated. If so, the mass production of Pokéballs would no longer be just a dream.

That night, after bidding farewell to the Persian and the Honchkrow, Qian Lin drove the car—which had almost been blown up by the Honchkrow—back to the Twelve Villages Camp. He then couldn't wait to take the materials from the car and craft his very first Pokéball using the jade.

Swablu leaned sleepily against Qian Lin's chest, while Growlithe sat loyally by his side.

The camp lights in the wilderness were somewhat bright, even brighter than the starry sky above. The three shadows under the glow of the lights clung tightly to one another, so close that not even the sprawling, brilliant stars could separate them.

Early the next morning, with dark circles under his eyes resembling a giant panda, Qian Lin stood in front of the drone clutching four red-and-white Pokéballs, each about the size of a bottle cap. His face radiated the euphoric, hyper-energetic spirit characteristic of someone who had pulled an all-nighter cultivating immortality, and his hands trembled as he showed off to the viewers.

"This is the supreme masterpiece of the Pokémon world! The Pokéball!" Qian Lin had the expression of someone who had overdone immortal cultivation, his face full of excitement. "Before the birth of the Pokéball, Pokémon were called 'demon beasts.' Due to the lack of means to capture them, only a handful of humans with special abilities could use unique techniques to store and contain Pokémon."

"It wasn't until the Pokéball was born that demon beasts transformed into Pokémon that humans could carry around with them—short for Pocket Monsters, or Pokémon, monsters you can carry in your pocket. The name Pokémon originates from right here."

Qian Lin looked at the four Pokéballs in his hands as if gazing at precious treasures: "Pocket Monster, Elven Sprite, magical creature... Ultimately, it was decided to name them Pokémon. And the Pokéball is the milestone that inaugurated the Pokémon era."

Growlithe, with the sleepy Swablu resting on its head, looked at Qian Lin with a face full of confusion.

In Growlithe's memory, weren't things like Pokéballs something you could buy just about anywhere? Why was his master so excited?

He still didn't fully grasp that the world he was currently in was different from the one he remembered.

Still, it didn't matter.

[Can a ball this small fit an entire Pokémon? You've got to be kidding me...]

[Anyway, I feel like Qian Lin has completely lost his mind. No matter how magical Pokémon are, there's no way they could be sucked into a ball that small.]

[I actually have quite a bit of faith in Qian Lin's professionalism, except when it comes to Pokéballs.]

[Right, right, right, everything you say is correct. So can you hurry up and go to sleep now?]

[Cultivating immortality? Why sleep? Aren't you going to demonstrate how to use the Pokéball for us?]

[I've learned so much more knowledge again. Yay! My chances of surviving in the wilderness in the future just went up.]

[What use does this kind of knowledge have for wilderness survival?]

[Uh, about that...]

Most people clearly didn't believe that a ball this small could contain such a large Pokémon. Rather than believing a tiny ball could hold a Pokémon, they would sooner believe Qian Lin was the First Emperor of Qin.

Seeing these comments, the corners of Qian Lin's mouth curved upward. He picked up one of the four Pokéballs and placed it in the palm of his hand: "Hah, watch closely, mortals! Get ready to have your jaws drop!"

With that, he gently touched the button on the Pokéball. Accompanied by a sound resembling escaping steam, the Pokéball—initially only the size of a bottle cap—suddenly expanded to the size of a fist, held firmly in Qian Lin's grip.

Before the chat barrage could even register its shock, Qian Lin raised his hand and threw the Pokéball forward: "Become my partner!"

The red-and-white Pokéball traced an arc through the air, tapping gently against Swablu's head. Amidst Swablu's sudden, bewildered awakening, the Pokéball popped open, shooting out a beam of blue light. Trapped in confusion, Swablu was enveloped by the blue light and instantly pulled inside the Pokéball.

The steampunk-styled Pokéball bounced a couple of times on the ground, the button flashing with a red light, before emitting a puff of steam and falling still.

A perfect capture.

The chat barrage suddenly went silent.

Growlithe lowered its head to look at the Pokéball on the ground, tilting its head in puzzlement as to why this ball looked somewhat different from the ones in its memories.

Qian Lin walked forward with a confident smile and picked up Swablu's Pokéball from the ground: "Oops, I was actually aiming for Growlithe. How did Swablu end up getting caught instead~?"

His tone was utterly punchable.

Under normal circumstances, the chat would undoubtedly have erupted into a wave of sarcastic remarks, but right now, not a single person cared about that. Everyone stared in shock at the fist-sized red-and-white ball in Qian Lin's hand, their brains trembling.

[Holy crap! It went in? It actually went in?!]

[That thing got bigger! Did you guys see it get bigger?!]

[Swablu is at least twice the size of that Pokéball! How did it fit inside? Can Growlithe go in too? But Growlithe is more than ten times bigger than the Pokéball!]

[This is unscientific! This is unscientific! This is unscientific!]

[Brother! My dear brother! Give me a Pokéball! No, sell me a Pokéball! I'll pay a million! I'm begging you!]

[A million? I'll multiply it by ten! Sell it to me, sell it to me!]

[A lucky draw! I don't have money, but I support a lucky draw!]

Seeing the frantic state of the chat, the smile on Qian Lin's face diminished slightly. He looked at the Pokéball in his hand and explained, "I know you're all in a rush, but don't rush just yet. Pokéballs will be sold, but not right now."

[What the hell?]

Qian Lin smiled. "Did you really think the goal of establishing the Pokémon Research Institute was just to study Pokémon?"

[Could it be...]

[Don't tell me... mass production?]

At that moment, the hands of every single viewer were trembling. They found it hard to believe—something like a Pokéball was actually expected to be mass-produced?

Qian Lin took out the second Pokéball and pointed it at Growlithe: "I said before that the Pokéball is a milestone that changed the world, much like the birth of the internet. Now, almost everyone can surf the web without any barriers."

"And the Pokéball will become the second internet." Qian Lin gently pressed the Pokéball against Growlithe's head. Accompanied by a joyful low bark from Growlithe, a blue light pulled Growlithe inside. "I have already handed over the technology for manufacturing Pokéballs to the Pokémon Research Institute, and they are working around the clock to research the technology."

"The Pokéball I manufactured just now is actually a simplified version." Qian Lin held up the Pokéballs of Swablu and Growlithe in front of his eyes. "What the Pokémon Research Institute is attempting to manufacture is a Pokéball upgraded through countless years of research in another world. Its stability, safety, and adaptability will all be much higher."

"And... the price will be very low." Hearing this, Qian Lin chuckled. "So you don't need to be in a hurry at all. Even if you got a Pokéball right now, you wouldn't be able to catch Pokémon, and you might even put yourselves in danger. Since that's the case, why not wait a little longer? Wait until you've learned about most of the Pokémon, or until I've completed most of the Pokémon Photodex—until you possess the knowledge and ability to guarantee your own safety..."

"I'll be waiting for you in the wilderness."