Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension

"Professor, if we don't find a suitable Pokémon, does that mean we won't get a starter Pokémon?"

"Not quite." Professor Xing smiled. "If you fail to choose a suitable Pokémon, you'll be assigned one by the school... Don't worry, they're all healthy children with potential. You just won't get to choose their species or temperament."

"I must remind you: rarer Pokémon aren't necessarily better. What matters more is whether they suit your own circumstances. There was a senior in your previous year who chose a Munchlax, only to find that he simply couldn't afford to raise it. His family was eaten into bankruptcy; they filed for bankruptcy protection and lost his Trainer qualification as well."

"There was also a much-hyped genius one year who chose an arrogant Charmander. Their personalities were too alike, and they constantly argued and clashed. In the end, he couldn't even pass the final exam at the end of the year."

"Compared to rarity, compatibility between a Pokémon and its Trainer is far more important."

Just as Professor Xing finished his patient instruction, the garden gates slowly opened with a boom.

Roy and Mu Xixi entered the garden together.

The garden was utterly different from the city outside. It was as though they had stepped straight into a primeval forest, greenery stretching everywhere they looked.

Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Spearow, and all manner of bird Pokémon swept through the sky above the forest.

Between the branches, the leaping silhouettes of several monkey Pokémon could faintly be seen.

"Do you have a target Pokémon?" Mu Xixi asked.

Someone had long since compiled a list of the Pokémon inside the Pokémon Breeding Garden on the school forum. Anyone interested could easily look it up.

One hour was nowhere near enough time to explore the entire garden, so most people headed directly for a specific area with a goal in mind.

Choosing a Pokémon was a mutual choice, but simple-minded Pokémon were easily moved by material things.

For example...

"My target is Vulpix." Mu Xixi took out a box of Pokémon food from her bag. Inside were chunks of Sunfire Fruit.

Sunfire Fruit was one of the favorite foods of Fire-type Pokémon, including Vulpix, and it was extremely expensive.

This single box cost no less than ten thousand yuan at market price.

"Senior Lin Qing's Ninetales offspring?" Roy guessed.

"Mm."

"Then your chances are high."

Roy rubbed his chin. Senior Lin Qing was an extremely famous graduate of Sheng Hai University. Not only was she a Professional Trainer, she had also been fortunate enough to participate in the Elite Four ranking competition. Many people had their sights set on the offspring of her Pokémon.

There were highly reliable rumors that Senior Lin Qing's Ninetales, along with several of its Vulpix offspring, were all absolute suckers for good looks.

It was no exaggeration to say that, in terms of appearance alone, Roy had never seen a prettier girl than Mu Xixi in all his life.

Out of ten for looks, Roy gave her a nine. He deducted one point because she was well-endowed, but not quite enough.

So, combined with the Sunfire Fruit, he thought Mu Xixi had an extremely high chance of success.

"My original target was Vulpix too..." Roy said.

"Original?" Mu Xixi frowned. "There aren't many Pokémon in the garden better than Senior Lin Qing's Vulpix, are there?"

In terms of potential and rarity, Vulpix was naturally not the best Pokémon in the garden.

But Vulpix was the most suitable.

Pokémon with higher potential and rarity than Vulpix would basically never take a newbie Trainer seriously.

And if their potential and rarity were lower than Vulpix's, then they might as well choose Vulpix.

The girl looked at her childhood friend. Even she had to admit that Roy was handsome and bright-looking. Even she occasionally found herself staring at him in a daze, let alone a mere Vulpix.

Out of ten for looks, Mu Xixi gave him a nine. She deducted one point because he was far too unassertive with her.

"You should go to the Vulpix habitat and make your choice first, in case someone else picks them all before you." Roy said. He would not shamelessly ask the girl to come with him. A starter Pokémon was a life-changing matter. "I'll go give it a try first. If it doesn't work out, I'll head to the Vulpix area."

What if all the Vulpix had already been chosen by the time he got there?

Then that was simply a risk Roy had to bear.

"This guy is treating the Vulpix I want as a backup..."

Mu Xixi watched Roy's departing figure with irritation. Then she suddenly realized something and hurriedly took out her phone to bring up the map.

"The area in that direction... Could his target be..."

"Child of the Heavenly Kings."

Sheng Hai University was one of the top ten prestigious universities in the country. Every year, quite a few of its graduates became Professional Trainers.

Among those Professional Trainers, many famous figures had emerged.

A Trainer's peak generally came between the ages of twenty and forty. Once they grew old, they usually retired.

Taking twenty years as a generation, Sheng Hai University had produced three Elite Four-level Trainers in this generation. One of them was even the current Fighting-type Elite Four.

That Fighting Heavenly King had graduated from Sheng Hai University. Two years ago, his ace Pokémon had left behind a Pokémon Egg at its alma mater.

After that Pokémon hatched, it drew enormous attention. Many students who considered themselves geniuses, including upperclassmen, had set their sights on it and hoped to become its Trainer.

Yet without exception, they had all failed.

That Pokémon seemed to have unique standards for choosing a Trainer. It was utterly unmoved by praise or scorn, never gave Trainers a pleasant expression, and was exceptionally aloof.

Today, it had been ranked second on the list of "Pokémon Least Suitable for Freshmen." Basically no newbie Trainer would come to choose him.

The Growlithe leading the way through the garden stopped and turned to beg Roy for food.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Roy took out some food and fed it, smiling as he patted the dog Pokémon's head. After Growlithe finished its snack and left, he looked toward his target Pokémon.

Like the departing Growlithe, that Pokémon also had the appearance of a canine.

Its body was blue, while its legs and lower torso were black. It stood upright on two legs.

Noticing Roy, it opened its eyes. Its crimson gaze turned toward him, revealing a humanlike flicker of surprise.

—Riolu.

Not many people knew this Pokémon. It was far less famous than its evolved form, Lucario.

There were no Pokémon series anime or games in this world. The first time Roy had seen Lucario was in the movie Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

Because there had once been a convention of "one Legendary Pokémon per movie," Roy had briefly regarded Lucario as a Legendary Pokémon.

Roy took a deep breath. Slightly nervous, he walked over to Riolu, crouched down in front of it, and held out his hand.

"Hello, Riolu. My name is Roy."

"..."

Riolu remained silent. It did not react immediately, instead studying Roy intently.

According to the rumors, the vast majority of Trainers stopped right here. After giving them a once-over, Riolu would not even bother acknowledging them and would turn away without giving them the slightest face.

"Cha~"

Roy grasped Riolu's hand. Hearing its greeting, he let out a breath of relief.

He had made the right gamble.

His original target had been Vulpix, but he had suddenly changed his mind because of the system he had awakened that morning.

The system had granted him the Trainer ability, Pokémon Affinity.

As everyone knew, canine Pokémon, like ordinary dogs, had an instinct to guard their food.

But when Roy had fed Growlithe just now, he had tested the ability and discovered that Growlithe was extremely affectionate toward him. It had shown no food-guarding behavior at all.

If the ability could even correct innate instincts to a certain degree, then it gave him absolute confidence.

It was precisely because of Pokémon Affinity that Roy had dared to seek out Riolu.

As he touched Riolu, a pale-blue panel appeared before Roy's eyes.

Pokémon: Riolu

Gender: Male

Type: Fighting

Ability: Inner Focus

Moves: Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Endure, Counter, Rock Smash, Thunder Punch

Overall Evaluation: D-rank

Popularity Points: 12549

Have You Heard of Aura?

"D-rank, huh."

Roy was slightly surprised.

For every student aspiring to become a Trainer, Pokémon rankings were something they had to understand.

E-, E, E+, D-... A, A+.

From lowest to highest, those were the rankings used to evaluate a Pokémon's strength.

An untrained Pokémon barely two years old possessing a D-rank evaluation was indirect proof of this Riolu's potential.

Many first-year university students only barely reached D+ by the time their final assessments were over.

Of course, A+ was far from the peak.

Once a Pokémon reached A+, it had merely crossed the threshold into Professional-level.

To obtain Trainer qualification, all one needed was money. Roy had just enrolled and could already be considered a Trainer.

But Roy could only be considered an ordinary Trainer right now.

Ordinary Trainers and Professional-level Trainers belonged to two completely different worlds.

For one thing, ordinary Trainers had to pay all expenses out of pocket. But once someone became a Professional-level Trainer, the state would fund the training of all their registered main Pokémon, and they would gain access to many precious resources unavailable for private purchase.

Countless public laws and policies made the same thing clear: Professional-level Trainers were privileged, truly among society's elite.