Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension 16

"Here, put it on."

Roy handed the Weighted Bracelet back to Riolu.

A magical item truly lived up to its name. Unless he wore it on his wrist, Roy could not feel its weight at all. It weighed no more than an ordinary leather bracelet.

"Cha!"

Riolu answered excitedly, put on the Weighted Bracelet, and could not bear to put it down.

Clearly, Riolu understood that his rapid and efficient growth in strength was inseparable from these magical items.

And Roy had given him all of them, deepening Riolu's admiration for him.

Roy smiled and rubbed Riolu's head, falling into thought.

After putting the Weighted Bracelet on Riolu a week ago, he had forbidden him from taking it off. Even after training ended, he had to keep it on.

Eating, sleeping, and playing were no exceptions.

Anyone who had watched "Dragon Ball" or "Naruto" knew just how effective weight training could be...

During Riolu's first battle with Lin Shixian at the Pokémon Center, he had remained under the bracelet's weight the entire time.

It was no exaggeration to say that Riolu's physical abilities had been suppressed by two full tiers back then.

Maintaining the weight during battle provided considerable training benefits.

It could also cause opponents to misjudge Riolu's physical capabilities.

If Lin Shixian had not misjudged him, even if he still lost, he would not have lost so miserably.

The purpose of a trump card was to catch the enemy off guard.

This was Roy's trump card.

The reason he had Riolu remove the bracelet this time, aside from not wanting any surprises, was most importantly—

"Riolu has to gain real combat experience at full strength."

If Riolu did not know just how strong he was when fighting at full power, then when he truly used his trump card, he might have trouble adjusting.

Victory and defeat could be decided in an instant.

That slight discomfort could very well determine the battle.

This match against Lin Shixian was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

There were no spectators in the preliminaries. Any information others received would not be firsthand, but written reports from other people in the group...

In other words, they knew Riolu was strong, but they did not know exactly how strong he was. Roy's trump card would still work next time.

"Riolu's Overall Evaluation is D+ under normal conditions."

"Once the weight is removed, his Overall Evaluation becomes C-." Roy was somewhat puzzled. "I tested him according to some online standards. At full strength, Riolu's physical abilities have already reached C-level..."

"It seems the reason lies in his moves."

Roy made his guess.

"Since it's an Overall Evaluation, every aspect naturally has to meet the standard. Physical ability alone is too one-sided."

"Riolu knows too few moves, and that has affected his overall rating."

Seeing that his Popularity Points had risen to over 145,000 in a single day, Roy decided to splurge in the shop. He converted it all into points and prepared to strengthen Riolu in one go.

"A TM can let a Pokémon instantly learn a move... Damn, they're expensive!"

Roy's teeth ached when he saw the prices.

TMs were even more expensive than magical items.

Still, it was understandable. TMs took effect instantly and taught moves instantly. Moreover, once redeemed, they could be used repeatedly on multiple Pokémon.

The latter worked slowly and relied more on persistence.

But Roy had not expected them to be this expensive.

Like Trainer skills, Pokémon moves were divided into Proficient Level, Master Level, and Transcendent Level.

Even Proficient Level Quick Attack, a basic move, cost 50,000.

Roy dared to take a look at the price of an ultimate move and instantly wanted to curse.

Draco Meteor (Proficient Level), a destructive Dragon-type move. Price: 5,000,000. Master Level and Transcendent Level prices increased tenfold at each level.

Roy cupped his hands toward the empty air.

"Sorry to bother you. I'll be leaving."

Roy closed the ultimate move section and focused on finding the move that would benefit Riolu the most.

After a while, his eyes lit up as he found an exceptionally suitable move.

Agility (Proficient Level): A Psychic-type status move. It temporarily enhanced the body with Inner Focus, greatly increasing the user's speed. Price: 120,000.

Roy had been complaining about the prices earlier, but now he bought it without hesitation.

Points were like money. If they were not spent, they lost their meaning.

Rather than being a miser who could not bear to spend on this or that, the right path was to spend money where it mattered most and maximize the returns.

And Roy felt that Agility was currently the most suitable move for Riolu.

He had taken Professor Xing's advice to Mu Xixi about "Vulpix evolving into Ninetales" to heart.

If a Pokémon did not become familiar with a certain attribute while young, then even if it gained that attribute after evolving, it would feel somewhat unaccustomed to it and learn it very inefficiently.

It was like a human child. If they did not learn a language when they were young, it would be very difficult to learn it as adults.

When Riolu evolved into Lucario, he would change from a single Fighting-type into a Fighting- and Steel-type.

He would not gain the Psychic-type.

But Lucario was rather special. Perhaps because Aura Power involved the mental realm, the number of Psychic moves Lucario could master was no fewer than Steel-type moves—perhaps even quite a few more...

As a result, in the games and anime from Roy's previous life, many people focused on developing Fighting- and Psychic-type Lucario rather than Fighting- and Steel-type Lucario. There were even builds that learned almost no Steel-type moves.

Before evolving, Riolu would not naturally awaken Psychic moves through normal growth.

To lay the groundwork for after his evolution, Psychic moves were undoubtedly the best choice.

Furthermore, Agility's speed-enhancing effect perfectly suited Riolu's battle style of overwhelming opponents with speed and unleashing close-range barrages.

A perfect choice!

With a whoosh, a disc case appeared in Roy's hand.

He opened the case and saw a very simple disc, black and white like the paired fish of a taiji symbol.

How do I use this...?

Guessing was no substitute for trying. Roy called over Riolu, who was excitedly rolling around the house, and handed him the disc.

"Cha?"

Riolu tilted his head, accepted the disc, and looked at it.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Nothing happened.

Just as Roy thought he had used it incorrectly, he suddenly noticed the disc begin spinning on its own. The black and white fish swam as though yin and yang were merging, while Riolu's eyes gradually became blank and unfocused.

Is this hypnosis?

Roy watched Riolu worriedly.

The room fell silent, presenting a scene of beast and man, a mysterious disc, and hypnosis.

After a while, Riolu suddenly snapped awake and looked dazedly at Roy.

Then, Riolu's beastly eyes faintly lit up. A wave of azure light surged forth, rippling over his body like flowing water.

"Cha!"

Riolu looked at his two paws, seemingly unable to believe what had happened to him.

"So this is Agility..." Roy clicked his tongue in amazement. This move had already surpassed the scope of basic moves and was rarely seen in daily life.

At least, he had never seen it in reality in this life.

"Come on, Riolu. Let's go to the Pokémon Center and test it out."

Roy grabbed his jacket and put it on. Riolu answered excitedly, leaping up with his tail wagging nonstop.

By the time the two returned from their trip to the Pokémon Center, it was already nearly midnight.

Roy took a shower. When he came out, he saw Riolu lying at the foot of the bed, his belly exposed without a care in the world as he let out faint snores.

His limbs twitched from time to time, as if he were dreaming.

Roy smiled faintly, feeling as though he had somehow gained a child despite being so young.

He turned off the light, closed his eyes, and softly said, "Good night."

Sleep instantly overwhelmed him. In his haze, Roy seemed to hear a responding "Cha~."

The next day.

Sheng Hai University's annual entrance assessment was about to begin.

Aside from students, parents, relatives, and media reporters had also come to the campus.

At universities in Shenghai and across the country, entrance assessments were generally held on the same day. Today was the exceptionally lively opening-day competition.

Even so, as one of the region's foremost key universities, Sheng Hai University ranked very highly.

Although it was far inferior to the two dominant institutions, Jing University and Jinghua University, it still firmly ranked among the nation's top fifteen.

Sheng Hai University's entrance assessment also had another name.

—The Sheng Hai New Star Cup!