Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension

In fact, many people born into ordinary families chose the path of a Breeder.

People like Roy, who chose the Trainer path, were all rather inclined to gamble.

As the school gate came into view, Mu Xixi tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate earlobe, and suddenly asked,

"Have you decided what you'll choose for your second Pokémon?"

"I'm planning to choose one from the Starter Pokémon of the various regions," Roy admitted.

There were no pseudo-legendary Pokémon in the official Pokémon Breeding Houses.

So-called pseudo-legendaries were Pokémon universally recognized as possessing potential and talent second only to Legendary Pokémon.

Such Pokémon were far too precious. They could not be found outside, and even their habitats were unknown.

The pseudo-legendary Pokémon known to humanity had basically all come from famous Professional-level Trainers.

If pseudo-legendary Pokémon belonged to the first tier in terms of talent and potential, then Starter Pokémon undoubtedly belonged to the second tier.

Roy's thinking was clear. If he was choosing, he would choose the best one in the Breeding House.

As for which Starter Pokémon specifically, he would have to see them with his own eyes before deciding.

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the entrance of Sheng Hai University and searched the class assignment board for their names.

Without any surprise, Roy had been assigned to the key class of the Trainer Major, Freshman Class 1.

The moment he entered the classroom, he drew everyone's attention.

"The Chief Recommended Student is here too."

"Obviously. This is a key class, so all the recommended students will be assigned here."

"Roy, Huo Qing, Lin Shixian, Yang Dong... That means Xiao Bin is the only recommended student who hasn't shown up yet."

"Hahaha, if I were him, I'd be so ashamed I'd want to die. How could he possibly come to school?"

The students in Class 1 whispered among themselves. Intimidated by Roy's aura as an academic ace, no one dared approach him to strike up a conversation.

But the moment Xiao Bin was mentioned, they instantly got excited.

After the entrance test ended, footage of the finals had been uploaded online and received a huge number of views.

Yet the biggest star of the video was not Roy or Riolu, but Xiao Bin.

Some bold soul had actually clipped together Xiao Bin's "arithmetic progression laughter" and his expression and movements when he said, "I'll end this battle in an instant," turning them into a meme video and uploading it to Bilibili.

As Laughing Bro, Xiao Bin had become famous across all of Bilibili.

Even his personal Weibo account had been dug up.

The comments below were all things like, "Can you perform that again? I'll end the match in an instant, hahahaha..."

In a corner of the classroom, Lin Shixian, Huo Qing, Yang Dong, and Meng Duoduo sat together in unspoken agreement, exchanging knowing looks.

Xiao Bin, we understand you.

The four of them dearly wished they could sit down for a heartfelt talk with Xiao Bin and have him take the lead in forming an Avengers Alliance against Roy.

Unfortunately, Xiao Bin never appeared, even after the class bell rang.

The first university class was Pokémon Ecology.

The instructor was someone Roy knew: Professor Xing.

"A hundred years ago, a mysterious alternate dimension descended upon Earth. At first, there was only a single spatial passage leading into that alternate dimension. But as time passed, it slowly merged with Earth, and the magical creatures known as Pokémon became fully integrated into our world."

"Not only did Pokémon live in that alternate dimension, but it also contained ruins left behind by a certain civilization. Through research, we discovered that civilization had been created by humans from another world and bore great similarities to our own."

"We call these alternate dimensions 'Spirit Realms'..."

"Spirit Realms that have completely merged with us are safe zones. Even ordinary people can enter them freely. Spirit Realms that have not yet fully merged, however, are unsafe zones. Apart from Trainers who have received permission, no one may enter."

"Even today, Pokémon are still descending into our world. Humanity remains far from understanding the full picture of Pokémon."

"Just last month, a new Spirit Realm descended. After researchers deciphered its writing, we confirmed the name this Spirit Realm had in its original world and named it the Alola Spirit Realm—"

Roy, who had been bent over his notes, froze.

Alola?

Alola.

In the Pokémon anime Roy had watched in his previous life, that was the name of an island region.

And after deciphering the writing, the former name of this Spirit Realm was also Alola?

Was that a coincidence?

Roy frowned and raised his hand to ask a question.

After receiving Professor Xing's permission, he asked, "Professor, where is the Alola Spirit Realm located geographically?"

The question had nothing to do with the course, but top students had privileges.

Professor Xing stroked his beard and smiled kindly. "The passage to the Alola Spirit Realm is near the Hawaiian Islands. It is currently being jointly developed by the five permanent members of the Pokémon League. I've heard it is a highly unusual foreign realm..."

The moment he heard that the passage was near Hawaii, Roy knew it was not a coincidence.

To confirm it further, he continued asking,

"Unusual?"

"Yes."

Professor Xing took a sip of tea. He did not mind sharing a little internal League information with his students.

"Before a Spirit Realm fully merges with Earth, the Pokémon inside the alternate dimension remain in a berserk state and attack all humans unconditionally. To prevent Pokémon from escaping through the passage and harming nearby residents, the Pokémon League dispatches Professional-level Trainers to guard the area."

"The alert is only lifted once the Spirit Realm has fully merged with Earth."

"And in this Alola Spirit Realm, we discovered an ecological phenomenon never seen before."

"Among the Pokémon in the Alola Spirit Realm, there occasionally appear creatures of incomparably massive size, covered in special energy fields. Not only are these Pokémon immensely powerful and exceptionally violent, but they can also command Pokémon weaker than themselves."

The more Roy listened, the stronger his sense of déjà vu became. He blurted out, "Overlord Pokémon?"

"Yes, Overlord Pokémon." Professor Xing gave him a surprised look. "The Pokémon League only settled on that name yesterday. You're remarkably well-informed."

"..." Roy fell silent.

By this point, he could be completely certain that this Alola Spirit Realm was very likely the Alola region from the Pokémon World of the past.

Could the other Spirit Realms have once belonged to that world as well?

Why had the Pokémon World shattered into separate alternate dimensions, drifted here, and merged with Earth?

If that was the case, then the Pokémon World had likely already been destroyed.

What had destroyed it? Had Team Rocket succeeded? Had Meowth finally developed Big Ivan and blown up the entire world?

And why had the Pokémon descending into this world become so much stronger?

Roy had more and more questions, and the thought sent chills down his spine.

Just then, the dismissal bell rang. Professor Xing had no intention of dragging out class. He briskly picked up his briefcase and waved Roy over.

"Come on. Follow me to the principal's office. We need to discuss your trip to the Pokémon Breeding House."

It was finally happening.

Roy perked up and tossed the matter of the Alola Spirit Realm to the back of his mind.

Whatever. If the sky fell, the Champion and Elite Four would hold it up. He could worry about the truth behind these matters after he had grown stronger.

Under everyone's envious gazes, Roy followed him out.

The moment Roy entered the principal's office, he saw an elderly man in his fifties sitting before a tea table, slowly brewing tea.

When Principal Fang saw Roy arrive, he gestured for him to sit, personally poured him a cup of hot tea, and said kindly,

"Little Luo, is there anything you're not used to about classes?"

"No."

"That's good." Principal Fang smiled slightly and said earnestly, "If you have any requests regarding the school, don't keep them bottled up. As long as they are reasonable and compliant, the school will consider them..."

The older people got, the more they cared about saving face.

Thanks to the appearance of a dark horse like Roy, Principal Fang had received no shortage of envy and jealousy from old friends at other schools over the past two days. Even the association had specially commended him, leaving him secretly delighted.

"When can I go to the Breeding House to choose a Pokémon Egg?"

Caught off guard by Roy's bluntness, Principal Fang shook his head with a laugh. "You can go after school today. Everything has already been arranged with the Breeding House, and a car will pick you up. However... before that, I have something to ask of you."

"What is it?" Roy asked in confusion.

"Do you know about my past?" Principal Fang asked instead of answering.

Roy nodded. The principal's history surfaced in his mind.

Principal Fang had once been a very famous Professional-level Trainer, from the same generation as Elite Four Xiao Rong.

Back then, Principal Fang and Elite Four Xiao had participated in the Elite Four ranking competition together. Both obtained the right to challenge for an Elite Four position.

Unfortunately, Xiao Rong succeeded in his challenge on the first try and claimed an Elite Four position.

Principal Fang, however, challenged continuously for seven full years. Every year, he fell just short of the Elite Four seat. As he grew older, it became increasingly difficult, and he eventually retired in disappointment, returning to his alma mater to teach and nurture students before gradually rising to the position of principal.

"Everyone has dreams, and every life has its own brilliance." Principal Fang looked wistful. "I have no real regrets about my life, but I do have many lingering regrets... I let down the expectations of many people, especially my old partners."

"I once promised them that we would reach an Elite Four position together, but in the end, I never got to see the view from up there..."

Roy listened silently and watched Principal Fang take a Poké Ball and a Trainer Pokémon registration form from his waist.

"What are these?"

"My starter Pokémon was Squirtle, one of the Starter Pokémon. It was my best friend and the Pokémon I was proudest of, my ace Pokémon. It stayed with me for over forty years. Heh, even longer than my wife. But some time ago... it, it met with an accident!"

As he said this, Principal Fang closed his eyes in pain.

"Principal, my condolences," Roy comforted him.