Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension

From birth onward, only those who donated 100,000 yuan to the Pokémon League every year until they turned eighteen and entered university, and who had a clean background, could enroll in a school with a Pokémon Major and obtain Trainer qualification.

Money was the first hurdle for anyone who wanted to become a Trainer.

Roy's family was not particularly wealthy, but they had some money. His parents loved him dearly, and for the sake of their only son's future, they donated 100,000 yuan every year.

Today, Roy would officially enroll at Sheng Hai University, which offered Pokémon courses.

Early in the morning, Roy rode his bicycle to Sheng Hai University.

The red light at the school intersection lit up. Roy stopped at the crosswalk and stared at the Caterpie sprawled across the traffic light.

Roy took out some bread, tore off a crumb, and fed it to Caterpie. He also rubbed its head and joked with a smile,

"Good morning, Rayquaza."

"Wuu~"

Green-haired Rayquaza cub Caterpie nuzzled Roy's hand and sucked the bread crumb into its mouth in tiny bites, as though a god were accepting an offering from one of its subjects.

Beep... beep!

Contact with Pokémon detected. System activated. Game begins.

Pokémon Assistant at your service.

The attributes and Popularity Points of Pokémon owned by the player will be displayed in data form.

Popularity Points can be converted into exclusive points to exchange for various items for that Pokémon. Items include, but are not limited to, Energy Cubes, TMs, Evolution Stones, Held Items, Training Equipment, Illusion Training, Mega Stones, Gigantamax...

Shop Panel activated.

Trainer Panel activated. Complimentary trait: 'Pokémon Affinity.'

Loading complete. Enjoy the game.

"..."

Roy stared blankly at the nearly transparent System panel before him. After a full ten seconds, he pressed his palms together and solemnly bowed to the deity atop the traffic light.

Five minutes later, Roy entered Sheng Hai University. After locking up his bicycle, he headed to Classroom 201.

It was still early, and there were not many people in the classroom. After finding his seat, Roy took out his phone and began reviewing information about the Pokémon Major.

Pokémon Academy was divided into two tracks: the Trainer Major and the Breeder Major.

The school would not assign students to a track right away. Instead, it would be determined by examinations.

On the first day of enrollment, the school would allow new students to enter its exclusive Pokémon Breeding Garden and choose their starter Pokémon.

A week after receiving their Pokémon, a freshman examination would be held.

For those applying to the Trainer Major, the examination took the form of freshman battles.

For those applying to the Breeder Major, the examination took the form of a written test.

The school would allocate majors, advanced classes, instructors, and other educational resources based on examination results.

The better one performed, the more resources one could receive. It was a complete meritocracy.

Hiding one's strength, pretending to be weak before striking back? That did not exist here. Pretending to be a pig could easily turn one into a real pig.

The vast majority of famous Trainers rose to prominence before the age of twenty, drawing attention and expectations while enjoying a greater allocation of educational resources.

Take the renowned Lin Wuya, for example. During university, he won the Academy Cup three years in a row. He did not even attend his final senior year, graduating early to challenge the realm of Professional-level Trainers.

More and more people gradually filled the classroom. The outgoing students had already begun chatting, and quite a few struck up conversations with Roy. He responded politely to all of them.

Just then, a girl entered the classroom, drawing everyone's attention.

She had straight, silky black hair, clear eyes, delicately sized lips, and refined, beautiful features.

She wore a white shirt beneath a beige knit cardigan. Her black pleated skirt and black stockings were separated by an absolute domain.

She was unquestionably beautiful.

The beauty swept her gaze around the classroom, then stopped on Roy and walked toward him.

Without the slightest hesitation, the girl sat down beside him.

"I heard you stood Mu Tianyang up yesterday?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense." Roy put down his phone and said seriously, "I did spend five minutes hanging out with him. I only left because something came up."

The girl neither agreed nor disagreed, merely humming in acknowledgment.

Her name was Mu Xixi.

Yes, the younger sister of Roy's future brother-in-law.

Because of Mu Tianyang, Roy and she could be considered childhood friends. However, with a year between them, their relationship was neither particularly close nor particularly distant.

The reason Mu Xixi was sitting in this classroom now was that her high school grades had been so outstanding that she had skipped a grade to enter university. This was the first time they had been in the same class.

Having grown up with such a beautiful and excellent girl, it would have been impossible for Roy not to have feelings for her. Yesterday, he had wanted Mu Tianyang to set the two of them up.

But now, his mind was filled with becoming a Trainer. Women and romance were no longer his top priority.

"What major are you planning to apply for?" Mu Xixi asked as she took out her phone.

"Trainer."

"...Trainer?" Mu Xixi paused and turned to look at Roy with surprise. "Weren't you originally planning to apply for the Breeder Major?"

Roy froze slightly, remembering that he had indeed mentioned it to his best friend Mu Tianyang a month ago. He had not expected the girl to know as well.

Since when was Mu Tianyang such a gossip?

"The me from the day before yesterday wasn't the me from yesterday, and the me from yesterday isn't the me from today." Roy spoke nonsense off the cuff, but it carried another meaning. "People change."

Mu Xixi blinked. She had no intention of persuading him, only saying softly,

"Being a Trainer is dangerous."

It was true.

The profession of Trainer was both noble and dangerous.

An outstanding Trainer could not possibly be cultivated through training and simulated battles alone.

Even while they were still in school, students enrolled in the Trainer Major had to intern in the unsafe zones outside the city during every semester's final examinations.

The school would assign personnel to protect every budding Trainer. Even so, the annual death rate among university students in the Trainer Major was nearly ten percent.

Once one became a Professional Trainer, the death rate rose even more sharply.

Seeing no change in Roy's expression, the girl let out an almost imperceptible sigh and casually said, "My aspiration is still the Breeder Major."

"That's great. We'll make a good match, then." Roy smiled.

Pokémon Breeders were also a type of Trainer, except their focus was not combat, but breeding.

In that sense, the Trainer Major's full name was actually 'Pokémon Battle Trainer.'

Pokémon Breeders held no low status. In terms of civilian life that combined Pokémon and technology, Breeders could shine even more brilliantly.

For example, Brother Qiangdong had relied on breeding Machamp in bulk to achieve nationwide logistics coverage, delivering even to remote wilderness areas.

There was also a saying online: behind every successful Trainer was a Breeder silently supporting them.

Just then, a middle-aged teacher entered the classroom, interrupting their conversation.

"Hello, everyone. I am Professor Xing, responsible for guiding new students."

After delivering a speech that sounded like he was reciting a script, Professor Xing began taking attendance.

Three minutes later, after confirming that everyone had arrived, Professor Xing said, "Students, I will now take you to Sheng Hai University's Pokémon Breeding Garden, where you will choose your starter Pokémon."

The moment he said this, the entire classroom became lively. Even someone as quiet as Mu Xixi could not help showing anticipation in her eyes.

"You will have one hour to move around inside the garden."

"After one hour, whether or not you have obtained a starter Pokémon, you must leave the Pokémon Breeding Garden. Anyone who violates this rule may be forcibly expelled from the university."

"Does anyone have any objections?"

"..."

Silence filled the room.

Sheng Hai University's rules were nothing new. Anyone who knew even a little about them would have no objections.

Pokémon Breeding Gardens were operated by practically every Pokémon University.

Within the gardens lived the Pokémon of the school's professors, counselors, and graduates from previous years, along with their offspring.

With the consent of their original owners, freshmen had the right to choose their own starter Pokémon from among those offspring.

However, this selection was not as simple as picking whichever Pokémon caught one's eye.

If the Pokémon you liked did not take a liking to you, you could not forcibly take it away.

Generally speaking, the rarer and stronger a Pokémon was, the higher its standards would be.

After all, these Pokémon's parents had Trainers of their own, many of whom were Professional-level Trainers. Influenced by what they saw and heard, the Pokémon naturally had their own standards for judging Trainers.

Choosing each other, growing together, accomplishing each other—this was the relationship between a Trainer and a Pokémon.

"Very good." Professor Xing nodded. "Students, line up in order according to your student numbers and follow behind me."

The university students were well-mannered, and no disturbance arose. Roy and Mu Xixi stood near the front of the line. Following behind Professor Xing for around five minutes, they arrived outside an enormous greenhouse garden.

At the garden entrance, several upperclassmen and upperclasswomen smiled as they handed Poké Balls to the freshmen.

Roy curiously picked up the red-and-white Poké Ball and studied it closely.

This was the first time in both his lives that he had touched a Poké Ball.

In this world, only those with Trainer qualification could legally possess Poké Balls.

Aside from that, privately possessing, manufacturing, or selling Poké Balls was illegal. Those whose offenses were serious could even receive the death penalty.

Target: Child of the Heavenly Kings

"Three classes enter at a time. Remember, you only have one hour. Whether or not you choose a satisfactory Pokémon, you must leave afterward."

As the Pokémon Breeding Garden was about to open, Professor Xing reminded them once again.

At that moment, someone in the class raised a hand to ask a question.