There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [71]

"Want to trade the TMs for Brick Break and Ice Punch?" Lu Cheng typed. "Both are Fighting-type moves."

Seeing the message from the user with the ID "Has Ninetales Won the Championship Today," Gao Lu's eyes lit up. She quickly replied, "Of course! Are you looking to trade both?"

"You have two Double Team TMs?"

"Yes, if you're willing, I'll trade both Double Team TMs for your two moves!"

Lu Cheng was a bit surprised. The other party actually had two Double Team TMs. Considering how rare TMs were in the market and that Trainers needed to win a lottery to obtain Zhongxing Group's limited purchase quota, this was quite unusual. Of course, the person might hold a special title, granting them random TMs as a yearly bonus, much like how senior nutritionists like Zhao Dachun received one TM per year as a reward from the association. What TM they got was purely luck-based.

Given that the other person might have a special status, Lu Cheng decided to be cautious. "Do both Double Team TMs have the Zhongxing verification code?"

To prevent the illegal production of TMs, Zhongxing Group engraved a unique verification code on each TM they issued. Of course, some people would go to the black market to buy pirated TMs at a cheaper price, though using these came with risks. Under the Pokémon Intellectual Property Protection Act, buying or selling counterfeit TMs was punishable just as harshly as pirating TMs. As for Lu Cheng's TMs, both had been materialized from his system and naturally came with anti-piracy codes.

"Of course!" Gao Lu responded. "You'd be hard-pressed to find counterfeit TMs worth 3 Protect units; the cost-benefit ratio is just too low!"

Lu Cheng had been curious about what the 3 Protect unit system was, so he typed, "What exactly is a Protect unit? This is my first time trading TMs."

Gao Lu didn't expect the other party to be a newbie like herself, so she happily repeated the explanation her father had once given her: "Due to the rarity of TMs, sometimes even having money isn't enough to buy one, so an unused Protect TM has become a sort of currency equivalent."

"Some Trainers don't accept cash for TMs—they only accept Protect TMs."

"A single Protect TM is usually priced around 150,000 to 200,000 PokéDollars, so when we say 3 Protect, we mean about 500,000 to 600,000. You can use that for comparison."

"For Trainers, sometimes money isn't enough to get you what you need!"

Lu Cheng finally understood. According to Gao Lu's explanation, his Brick Break and Ice Punch TMs were valued at 3 Protect, making them equal in value to the Double Team TM. This system facilitated easier TM exchanges between Trainers.

"If you're free, we should meet up in person to make the trade," Gao Lu typed. "We're both in Jiangcheng, and shipping something like this is too risky."

"Don't worry, I won't leak your personal info!"

Lu Cheng considered this for a moment. It made sense. For such a valuable exchange, an in-person meeting was much safer.

"Alright, let's set a time and meet in person!"

---

Sunday. Thunderbolt Park.

Lu Cheng stared at the giant Electrode on the park's sign and couldn't believe that this was the place they had agreed to meet.

There are so many people... Lu Cheng thought to himself as he weaved through the crowds of parents holding kids. Maybe they picked such a busy place to keep a low profile?

While he was deep in thought, a girl spotted him, noticing his Ninetales jacket. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly ran over.

"Hey, you're the one I'm trading with, right?"

The girl in front of him wore a painter's cap, her short hair falling neatly to her neck. She was dressed in a blue-and-white T-shirt with a short-sleeved denim jacket over it, and her athletic, sun-tanned legs were exposed from beneath her shorts.

Lu Cheng was momentarily stunned by how youthful and vibrant she looked. "You're... 'Fit Deer'?"

"Calling someone by their online name in person is kinda embarrassing, don't you think?" She scratched her cheek with a shy grin, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. "Just call me Gao Lu!"

Lu Cheng nodded, pulling out two USB drives, one brown and one blue, from his backpack. "Here are Brick Break and Ice Punch. We'll swap them directly, right?"

"Exactly!" Gao Lu also retrieved two gray USB drives from her sports fanny pack and smiled. "My dad never has any luck getting Fighting-type moves. You're a lifesaver!"

"It's really no trouble," Lu Cheng said with a smile. "The Double Team TM is important to me."

"Oh, by the way, what do you do?" Gao Lu asked, curious. "You're pretty lucky to have pulled two offensive move TMs."

"Brick Break TMs can sell for 4 Protect units when the market's good!"

Lu Cheng just chuckled, brushing off the question. "My family got lucky."

"Fair enough," Gao Lu said with a helpless smile. "I don't like it when people ask about my family either."

"Anyway, I owe you one for this trade!" Gao Lu beamed. "Finding a 3 Protect TM trade for something worth 4 isn't an everyday opportunity!"

Though Brick Break could sometimes fetch 4 Protect units on the market, it wasn't a common occurrence, and Double Team was just as rare.

Lu Cheng had no intention of getting hung up on the details, so he smiled and said, "No worries, we both get what we need. Who knows, maybe we'll work together again sometime."

Gazing at Lu Cheng's face, Gao Lu suddenly seemed a bit dazed.

"What's up?" Lu Cheng asked curiously.

"Did you... participate in the U20 Tournament?" Gao Lu propped her chin on her hand, looking like she was desperately trying to remember something.

"Yeah," Lu Cheng replied openly, considering the local Jiangcheng TV station was still replaying his battle videos. "I'm one of the final four." He grinned.

"Ah!" Gao Lu suddenly let out a loud yelp, her face turning beet red. Under Lu Cheng's confused gaze, she stammered, "Th-this TM... is it too late for me to not sell it?"

Is she joking? Lu Cheng thought.

"Huh?" Without hesitation, Lu Cheng stuffed the two USB drives back into his backpack. "No way, we've already completed the trade!"

My brother is his rival! Teaching him a new move before the match would be like digging a pit for my own brother!

"Alright..." Gao Lu's face fell, and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. It's true—backing out now is impossible...

"Hey, what's with you?" Lu Cheng chuckled at her expression. "First you want to trade, then you don't. What do you actually want?"

Clutching the two USB drives tightly, Gao Lu hesitated, trying to explain, "Because I'm Gao—"

"You're what?"

"Never mind." Gao Lu swallowed her words, nearly blurting out that she was Gao Chi's sister. Instead, she weakly waved her hand and forced a miserable smile. "I just have one request."

Taken aback by her sudden shift in mood, Lu Cheng quickly asked, "What's the request?"

"Please don't tell anyone you got the Double Team TM from me!" Gao Lu clasped her hands together, her eyes pleading with Lu Cheng. "If word gets out, I'll be doomed!"

"Not 'might be'—definitely doomed!"