Yan Bao

After several days of careful care, Litleo had made it through his most vulnerable period.

Now, he was playing outside the cave all by himself.

The little guy sometimes chased his own tail and sometimes rolled around in the grass, full of youthful energy.

Watching leaves drift down from the tree, he tried to pounce on them, but unfortunately missed and ended up face-planting into the dirt.

But he did not give up. After every miss, he launched another "attack" on the leaves with even greater enthusiasm.

After several attempts, he finally succeeded. Litleo was overjoyed and howled at the bird Pokémon in the sky, as if mimicking the roar a grown-up Pyroar would make. He wanted to frighten the Flying-type Pokémon he could not catch, but his immature voice had no intimidation behind it. It merely drew a fleeting glance from the bird Pokémon before they went back to what they had been doing.

Litleo's cheerful mood instantly vanished. Watching the Pokémon in the sky ignore him, he bared his teeth in anger, seemingly determined not to rest until he knocked them down.

"Yan Bao, why did you sneak out again?" Yan Yang's voice rang out just then. The moment Litleo heard him, his frown turned into a smile, and he sprinted over before leaping into his arms.

Yan Bao was the name Yan Yang had given Litleo. Although he felt he was terrible at naming things, he still thought it would be better to give his Pokémon a name. Not only would it distinguish him from other Pokémon of the same species, it could also strengthen their bond. Why not?

Yan Yang picked Yan Bao up and stood, stroking the fur on his head. Yan Bao let out a contented coo, seemingly enjoying his Trainer's touch as well.

"Honestly, don't run around everywhere next time! Even though there aren't any bad people or bad Pokémon nearby, you still need to be more careful. Don't make me search for you half the day again like last time."

Yan Yang tried hard to put on a stern expression, hoping to scare Yan Bao and teach him a lesson. But it was rather difficult for a five-year-old to look stern. His serious face was not serious at all—in fact, it was a little funny.

Naturally, Yan Bao was not afraid. His face practically said, I'm not listening, I'm not listening.

Yan Yang looked helpless. "I seriously can't deal with you. You're cute, so you get away with everything."

Yan Bao was quite adorable right now. Once he grew up, he would surely become a majestic, imposing lion.

But if Yan Yang still called him Yan Bao then, it would feel a little strange. He wondered whether Yan Bao would still like being called that when the time came.

Come to think of it, Litleo did not really look like a lion right now. He looked more like a little bear. Those round, pudgy ears were just too bear-like.

Yan Yang silently checked his information. Understanding the condition of one's own Pokémon was extremely important.

Litleo (Yan Bao)

Gender: Male

Type: Fire / Normal

Level: 3

Ability: Rivalry (Power increases when the opponent is the same gender, decreases when the opponent is a different gender, and remains unchanged against opponents of unknown gender)

Item: Flame Scarf

Moves: Tackle, Leer, Yawn, Entrainment, Flare Blitz

Status: Extremely healthy

Evaluation: A little lion brimming with potential, a good baby worth having.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

Yan Yang now roughly understood his Pokémon's situation, and he was actually quite surprised.

He already knew Flare Blitz, a high-powered Fire-type move, at such a young age? Still, even if he could use it, its power was probably not that great. Maybe it was about as strong as someone else's Flame Wheel? After all, he was only a level 3 Pokémon. There was no way he could adapt to the stamina drain caused by such a powerful move.

The move was probably inherited. Yan Yang had not played Pokémon games all that much before and was more of a casual observer, so he did not know many of the specific details. He was just an ordinary player who explored as he went, never looking up guides and leaving everything to fate.

He only used Pokémon he liked and had never cared about strength.

Now, he would have to explore things bit by bit as well. For Yan Bao to become better and stronger, most Pokémon treated growing stronger as their lifelong goal. This was especially true for a Pokémon like Pyroar, one classified as a monarch Pokémon.

But it was not time for that yet. Yan Bao was still little, and playing was his main priority for now. Yan Yang was not the kind of parent who made a child learn this and that from an early age. He was exceptionally democratic and free-spirited.

"Come on, Yan Bao. I'll take you out to play with my friends." Yan Yang held Yan Bao up, took a deep breath, then took off running at high speed. Litleo got a little scared and clung tightly to him.

Only after they had gone far away did Entei slowly emerge from the cave. He stared blankly in the direction they had left, as though weighing something in his heart.

Meanwhile, Yan Yang and Yan Bao had already found the other Pokémon. However, they looked somewhat angry and seemed reluctant to pay them any attention.

That was understandable. Yan Yang had turned down their invitations to play many times, so it was only natural for them to be a little upset. If they had no temper at all, that would have been stranger.

Yan Yang apologized first. "Sorry, everyone. I've been busy taking care of Yan Bao lately and haven't come to see you for a long time. I really didn't mean to neglect you. Can you forgive me?"

Yan Yang puffed out his cheeks and put on a pitiful expression. He understood these Pokémon far too well and wanted to use this method to calm them down.

The Pokémon were not unreasonable, and they had been companions for a long time. Seeing Yan Yang like this, their anger naturally faded. It had never been a very big deal to begin with.

Quite a few Pokémon looked curiously at the Litleo in Yan Yang's arms. So this was the one Yan Yang had been busy caring for lately? Why had they never seen a Pokémon like this before? Still, he did look rather cute.

Many of the Pokémon had already started thinking of Yan Bao as their little brother.

Seeing so many Pokémon staring at him, Litleo grew nervous and uneasily burrowed deeper into Yan Yang's arms.

Yan Yang patted his head and softly comforted him before introducing him to everyone.

"This is the newest member of our family, and also my good partner—Yan Bao. Yan Bao, these are all my friends. Don't be afraid. They're all very kind Pokémon and won't do anything to you."

Litleo slowly got used to all the eyes on him. He trusted his Trainer and bravely took a step forward.

Sentret was the first to come forward and greet him. The two Pokémon touched paws, marking the beginning of their friendship.

Once there was a first, there came a second and a third. Slowly, every Pokémon welcomed Yan Bao's arrival.

Litleo gradually became bolder as well, and before long, he had blended in with everyone. He had done it even faster than Yan Yang had back then. Perhaps Yan Bao was a natural social butterfly.

Seeing Litleo make so many friends so quickly, Yan Yang's lips curled up slightly, his mood soaring. This was good—if anything happened while they were out in the future, he would have companions to help him.

No matter where one was, making many good friends was always important.

All the Pokémon liked this little brother in front of them and took good care of him. Whenever they played games, they yielded to him, praising him from time to time. It filled Litleo with pride, giving him the illusion that he was invincible.

He, Yan Bao, was a born king. Someday, he would definitely be the strongest.

With that confident look, perhaps he really would grow into a powerful Pokémon capable of looking down on all others.