Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension: Section 7

But when he woke up the next day and saw the Popularity Points on the System panel skyrocket to '67850,' he instantly felt the money had been incredibly well spent!

"Woohoo, we're taking off!"

Roy excitedly rolled over and sprang out of his blankets, startling Riolu, who had been curled up asleep by his feet. Its fur stood on end all over!

"Cha!!??"

"Sorry, sorry."

Roy apologetically patted its head and immediately earned Riolu's forgiveness.

The little dog had never held a grudge.

After licking the back of Roy's hand a few times, Riolu stretched and followed Roy into the bathroom.

Roy scanned the sink counter but didn't see it, so he instinctively shouted, "Mom, where did you put the stuff I bought for Riolu yesterday?"

"It's in the cabinet. Are you blind or something?" Mom Luo's nagging yet energetic voice rang out. "I'm warning you, if you're absentminded yourself, don't lead Riolu astray too!"

"Got it, got it." Roy lamented that his family status had dropped by one, then took a bag from the cabinet. It contained a toothbrush set.

After unpacking and rinsing it, Roy handed the toothbrush and toothpaste to Riolu.

"Come on, Riolu. Watch closely. This is how you brush your teeth."

Riolu was smart and learned immediately. It raised its little paw, gripped the toothpaste, and brushed alongside Roy.

Once both their mouths were full of foam, they drank water together, tilted their heads back, made gurgling sounds, then spat it out together.

There were no classes during the week between the entrance ceremony and the Newcomer Representative Battle, giving students ample time to prepare.

This system was actually a little unfair to freshmen without family connections or backing.

They had not learned any training knowledge at school yet, but they already had to compete against second-generation Trainers. It was too difficult...

But fairness had never existed in the Trainer profession to begin with.

Roy grabbed some homemade soy milk and fried dough sticks, said goodbye to his parents, and headed out with Riolu.

He finished breakfast on the bus and arrived at his destination.

—Pokémon Center.

Chapter 8: Exclusive Energy Cubes

Just like in the anime and games, the Pokémon Center was a department under the Pokémon League. It provided medical care, lodging, food, beauty services, massages, training, battles, and other services to assist Trainers and Pokémon.

Almost every city had Pokémon Centers.

The more economically developed a city was, the more Pokémon Centers it had.

In a top-tier city like Shenghai, nearly thirty Pokémon Centers had been established.

Pokémon had long become deeply intertwined with human society.

Even those who were not Trainers and could not own Poké Balls generally kept Pokémon at home.

People working in fire services mostly kept Water-type Pokémon at home. Those who ran flower shops or vegetable stores mostly kept Grass-type Pokémon.

Not to mention Brother Qiangdong's Machamp delivery workers. One rancher who had once specialized in raising Miltank had now successfully started a business, becoming a highly popular domestic dairy producer and building a household-name brand.

Whether in terms of physical strength or moves, Pokémon were a major help in human work.

Although Roy's parents were not Trainers and could not own Poké Balls, they had kept several Pokémon at home before, all work partners assigned by their company... So Roy had also visited Pokémon Centers several times in his memories.

"Hello, welcome."

A beautiful nurse in a white uniform greeted Roy with a smile.

Those clothes were so big and so white...

Unfortunately, she was not Nurse Joy.

"May I ask if you're a Trainer?"

"Yes." Roy took out his phone, scanned the QR code at the counter, and entered his information.

"A new Trainer, I see." The pretty nurse smiled warmly. "Trainers can use the basic services of this Pokémon Center for free... However, more advanced facilities still require payment. We hope you understand."

Roy nodded to show that he understood.

The annual donation of one hundred thousand to the Pokémon League was not just for a certificate. Free access to Pokémon Centers around the world was one of a Trainer's privileges.

Back when Roy came here before, even getting a cup of water cost money...

"Get me a Training Room."

"Certainly, one basic Training Room." The nurse tapped a few times on her computer and handed Roy a room card. "Second floor, turn right, Room 208. If you need food, just press the pager, though we only provide the most basic Pokémon food."

Following her directions, Roy arrived at Room 208. It was around a hundred square meters, and the floor tiles and walls were made of special alloy with excellent heat and cold resistance... A novice Trainer's Pokémon could use their moves freely here.

There were also fitness machines such as dumbbells, barbells, treadmills, lat pulldown machines, seated shoulder presses, and more.

Roy threw out his Poké Ball and curiously examined the various equipment in the room together with Riolu.

"I heard that high-end Training Rooms not only have more advanced equipment, but also provide all kinds of premium Pokémon supplements, as well as dedicated sparring partners..."

Roy muttered, deeply feeling that Trainers could not get anywhere without money or resources.

Fortunately, he had the system, as well as a full sixty thousand Popularity Points.

"Cha." Riolu looked at Roy impatiently. It had not eaten breakfast yet and was a little hungry.

"Hold on."

Roy opened the shop interface and exchanged for an item he had already picked out.

—Riolu Special Custom Energy Cube x10

—Points -5000, remaining Points: 65900.

In just one morning, his Points had risen by quite a bit.

"One Energy Cube costs 500 Points. That's really expensive..." Roy felt a little pained. Unlike the Aura Power Seed, Energy Cubes were consumables!

If he wanted to give Riolu the best treatment, he would have to spend on them every day.

Energy Cubes did not exist in this world.

Only a hundred years had passed since Pokémon descended into this world, and the Pokémon League had officially cataloged only a little over six hundred Pokémon. It was nowhere near as developed as the Pokémon anime and games.

Roy did not know how advanced Energy Cubes were, but he could see the ingredients contained in this tiny cube.

"Oran Berry... I remember one of those costs twenty thousand, right?"

Roy searched it on his phone and discovered that he had remembered wrong. One Oran Berry cost thirty thousand...

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Roy secretly clicked his tongue. Looking at it that way, those 500 Points had absolutely been worth it.

"From an investment standpoint, the five thousand I spent hiring online commenters was something even Warren Buffett couldn't have done better..."

Grinning, Roy held the Energy Cube out in front of Riolu.

"Come on, eat."

"Cha?"

Riolu curiously sniffed the never-before-seen food and ate it without the slightest wariness.

Instantly, a sweet and stimulating flavor flooded its mouth, while the fragrance rushed straight to its head. The unprecedented pleasure made Riolu let out a long cry.

That tiny cube made Riolu feel half-full. More than that, every cell in its body seemed to come alive.

Seeing Riolu's astonishment, Roy smiled and explained, "This is called an Energy Cube. It's made by mixing and blending Berries according to a certain recipe. One cube contains as much energy as a bowl of Pokémon feed, and it can improve all aspects of your condition—make your fur shinier, strengthen your body..."

"This is something only I have, so don't tell anyone about it."

Hearing Roy's reminder, Riolu solemnly nodded. Its tail wagged happily as it ate another Energy Cube.

Seeing how cost-effective the items exchanged through the system were, Roy quickly exchanged several items he had long wanted.

Weighted Bracelet (applies gravitational pressure to the entire body, lowering all attributes but greatly improving growth potential and enhancing training effects), Points deducted: 20000

Correction Scarf (forcibly corrects improper exercise posture when detected, improving training efficiency), Points deducted: 10000

Willpower Bell (a magical item that rings to ignite fighting spirit; frequent use within a certain period lowers its effect), Points deducted: 10000

After spending forty thousand in one go, Roy immediately closed the System panel so he would not be unable to resist buying even more.

The remaining Points were Riolu's food budget for the coming period, and he also needed them for emergencies. He could not spend them recklessly.

"Riolu, let's start with three hours of physical training."

After personally helping Riolu put on the Weighted Bracelet and Correction Scarf, Roy smiled. "I'll train with you too."

Aside from a very small number of psychics, it was difficult for Trainers to become as strong as Pokémon... Especially in this world where Pokémon were overly powerful. Even if Kanto Fighting Heavenly King Koga from the anime came here, he would probably tremble in fear.

Even so, Trainers still had to become stronger. At the very least, they could not hold their Pokémon back.

In competitive battles, there was no need to worry about a Trainer's safety. But in the "unsafe zones" outside cities, some feral wild Pokémon would ambush Trainers. That was one of the reasons for the Trainer death rate.

Roy was actually a somewhat lazy person. After doing around fifty sit-ups, he was already starting to want to give up.

But after looking at Riolu, who was still training hard, he smiled, sighed, and shook the Willpower Bell.

"This is youth!"

As if he heard Might Guy whispering in his ear, Roy was instantly filled with burning fighting spirit.

"Just do it!"

Three hours later.

Roy panted like a dog from exhaustion, but he still insisted on not collapsing.

He knew enough common sense to know that he could not lie down immediately after high-intensity exercise.

Riolu, on the other hand, was exhausted but still full of energy. After popping another Energy Cube, it indicated that it could keep going... Riolu's training volume over those three hours had been at least three times Roy's.

Was this really the stamina of a juvenile Pokémon?

Some Pokémon in the anime that had evolved to their third stage probably were not much stronger physically, even without counting their moves.