Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension

After Riolu had eaten and drunk its fill, Roy finally took out another Poké Ball.

"Come out, Squirtle!"

Roy's hand trembled slightly as he threw the Poké Ball.

Pokémon classified as Starter Pokémon were the ones best suited to serve as newbie Trainers' starter Pokémon in their respective regions.

They had tremendous potential at every stage and were always popular picks in competitions of all levels.

Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle.

Since the spirit realms where these three Pokémon lived were all within Dragon Country's borders, they were also known as Dragon Country's Starter Pokémon.

In many Pokémon adventure movies in Dragon Country, the protagonist's starter Pokémon was one of the Starter Pokémon. Influenced by the big screen, many children in this world dreamed of receiving a Starter Pokémon when they grew up. Roy was no exception...

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

Only after growing up did he learn that Starter Pokémon really were as the rumors said—perfect as starter Pokémon to accompany someone for life...

But they only played with people who had money and power.

Through his own efforts, along with a little help from the system, Roy had finally obtained Squirtle, one of the Starter Pokémon, fulfilling his childhood dream.

Even though he had heard this Squirtle was a little dim-witted, it did nothing to lessen Roy's excitement.

White light flashed, and Squirtle's figure—the sight that countless children dreamed of—appeared.

Squirtle's skin was light blue like clear water. Its body was wrapped in a shell, brown on the back and pale yellow underneath.

Its round eyes looked at Roy with lively spirit. It extended its thick, short arms and waved its little claws at him.

"Squirtle!"

Its voice was energetic and carried a trace of cleverness.

"Squirtle, I'm Roy. From now on, I'm your Trainer. This is Riolu, my first Pokémon and your senior." Roy smiled as he introduced them, carefully examining Squirtle's body.

Among Pokémon of the same species, unless they had lived together for a long time or were color-variant Shiny Pokémon, it was difficult for human eyes to tell the difference.

But this Squirtle was different...

Compared with others of its kind, it was just the tiniest bit rounder.

Its head was round, its shell was round, its eyes were round, and even its hands were chubby. One look was enough to tell it was a real genius.

Meanwhile, upon hearing its Trainer's introduction, Squirtle turned to look at Riolu, its senior. It was filled with solemn respect and immediately gave a military salute.

But its arms were too short to raise over its head, so it could only bring one up to its mouth.

"Squirtle, Squirtle! (Hello, Senior! I'm Squirtle!)"

"...Riu."

Riolu hesitated for a moment before copying it with a salute of its own.

Watching the two little ones interact so amicably, Roy smiled and patted the dog's head and the turtle... Squirtle's head.

Just then, an odd sound came from Squirtle's shell.

Gurgle!

"Squirtle~~~"

Squirtle's little face reddened. It rubbed its stomach, its eyes full of expectation as it looked at Roy.

For some reason, Roy suddenly thought of the extremely popular "goofy blushing.jpg" meme from his previous life.

An idea came to him.

Perhaps this Squirtle could be used to...

A rough plan formed in Roy's mind, and he smiled. "Wait a moment."

He opened the System panel and, with practiced ease, entered the store's Energy Cube section.

Until now, Roy had only treated Energy Cubes as "compressed biscuits." One was enough to meet energy requirements—simple, convenient, and time-saving.

But now that he understood how precious Energy Cubes were, Roy carefully read their description.

Energy Cubes could not only meet the body's energy needs; depending on their ingredients and formulas, they could also provide all sorts of boosts to Pokémon—improving speed, increasing attribute affinity, raising beauty, and more...

If a Pokémon only ate an Energy Cube once, the effects would be weak.

Only through long-term consumption would the boosts become noticeable.

There were hundreds of Energy Cube formulas, making things extremely unfriendly for anyone with decision paralysis.

Fortunately, the system would analyze a Pokémon's talents and traits, then offer "specially tailored" Energy Cubes.

For example, the Energy Cubes specially tailored for Riolu could, with long-term consumption, improve its physical agility, its muscles' instantaneous explosive power, and its affinity for Psychic energy.

They perfectly matched Riolu's style and traits.

The Energy Cubes specially tailored for Squirtle, meanwhile, provided water-type energy affinity, ice-type energy affinity, and stamina recovery.

--Squirtle Specially Tailored · Energy Cubes x10

--Points -5000, Remaining Points: 2,445,000.

"Here, eat up."

Squirtle tilted its head as it looked at the two dark blue Energy Cubes in Roy's hand, a wronged expression appearing on its face.

That's all I get to eat?

"Squirtle?"

"Eat one first and you'll understand."

Roy smiled.

Squirtle half-believingly picked up an Energy Cube and swallowed it.

In an instant, its taste buds exploded. An incomparably wonderful flavor swept through its nerves, leaving Squirtle utterly intoxicated.

After the taste faded, Squirtle wore a satisfied expression and gave a thumbs-up in front of its shell.

Pretty good!

Lunchtime ended.

Riolu and Squirtle got along very well.

So far, aside from being a little goofy in its behavior, Squirtle was normal in every other respect.

There was only one cultural class in the afternoon, World History. Roy listened absentmindedly, constantly thinking about how to train Squirtle.

Riolu's Lightning Body Tempering method was obviously unsuitable for Squirtle.

First, Squirtle could not use Electric-type moves.

Second, even if it forcibly learned an Electric-type move, the terrible compatibility between a Water-type Pokémon and Electric attribute energy meant that channeling lightning into its body would first damage Squirtle's cells.

Moreover, judging from the boosts of Squirtle's specially tailored Energy Cubes, it clearly was not meant to rely on physical qualities. Its talent lay in energy control and endurance.

A mage—or rather, a turret—might be Squirtle's true calling.

Besides its training method, Roy also had to consider how Squirtle could become popular.

...Everything Squirtle consumed right now was paid for with Points converted from Riolu's Popularity Points.

He could not possibly have every Pokémon depend on Riolu, their big brother, to support them, could he?

That would eventually throw the Point balance out of whack.

In the end, every Pokémon had to generate its own Popularity Points. That was the path to sustainable development!

...Riolu had become popular because of the controversy surrounding "Child of the Heavenly Kings, Champion potential," as well as its stunning performance in the New Star Cup.

The circumstances were different, so that approach could not work for Squirtle. Besides, there were no competitions to enter anytime soon.

Roy had no inspiration for Squirtle's training method yet, but he already had a rough idea of how it could become popular.

Roy opened his phone's photo album. The newest photo was unmistakably a picture of Squirtle eating with an intoxicated expression.

That expression would have been fine on another Pokémon, but paired with Squirtle's round head and goofy face, the photo possessed an irresistibly bizarre charm that stirred an uncontrollable urge within anyone who saw it...

It was the impulse to "long-press image, add sticker."

That was right.

To earn Points, Roy decided to have Squirtle debut as—a meme!

September's heat had yet to fade. Several Pidgey lay listlessly on tree branches.

After finishing all his classes for the day, Roy walked to Sheng Hai University's parking lot without shedding a drop of sweat. A faint layer of Aura Power covered his body, insulating him from the outside heat and cold.

Professor Xing sat in a car. Upon seeing Roy, he immediately rolled down the window and waved at him from far away.

Seeing that, Roy silently withdrew his Aura Power, got into the car, and headed toward the official Pokémon Breeding House.

For the time being, Roy had no plans to reveal to the outside world that he could wield Aura Power.

It was not because he was deliberately hiding his abilities. There was simply no need.

Coming from an ordinary family yet reaching the position of Chief Recommended Student, he was already the brightest star in the crowd. Even if he performed a little better, the benefits the school offered had already reached their limit. There was no room for improvement.

Besides, everyone currently believed that the Aura Sphere in the finals was proof of Riolu's exceptional Aura aptitude...

That was the source of Popularity Points for Riolu's "Champion potential" persona.

As his Pokémon's manager and Trainer, Roy would not do anything that caused its persona to collapse.

Hiding Aura Power has another advantage. I can pull some dirty tricks in battle. For example, I could shout for it to dodge and mislead the opponent, while actually using Aura Power to tell my Pokémon the real tactic, then hit them with a Ghost Hand...

Ever since he started playing tactics, Roy's heart had been getting dirtier and dirtier.

"We're almost there!"