In this class-rigid world, ordinary people had almost only one path if they wanted to rise above their station: become Pokémon Trainers.
Thus, many parents who hoped their children would achieve greatness spared no effort to help them become Trainers. Though the road was difficult, it was indeed the only hope for commoners.
On the second-floor corridor of the Gymnasium, Dou Guomin, the dean of discipline, sighed. "The quality of this year's students is much higher than before."
Jin Cuilian beside him nodded. As the head teacher of First High School's advanced class, she was the one who could most directly feel this change.
The registration for Rookie Trainers had only just begun, yet she had already seen relatively rare Pokémon like Eevee and Nidoran.
Nidoking, Nidoran's final evolution, was a powerful Pokémon with a base stat total exceeding five hundred. More importantly, Nidoking had exceptionally broad type coverage.
As for Eevee, there was even less to say. It was a Pokémon even rarer than Nidoran.
Dou Guomin asked curiously, "What Pokémon will our little genius from First High School have? I truly didn't expect him to choose the path of a Pokémon Trainer."
"He refused sponsorship from the Jin Family. As for his starter Pokémon... honestly, I don't know either." Jin Cuilian shook her head, then looked curiously at Lu Li in the queue as well.
"Jin Huang! Starter Pokémon: Aron!" the teacher in charge of registration announced in a booming voice.
Whenever the duty teacher registering students encountered a relatively uncommon Pokémon, they would announce it aloud as well.
"Tsk." Dou Guomin glanced at Jin Cuilian and said in surprise, "You invested that heavily? Aren't you worried about your son's talent for training?"
Aron!
Even though Jin Cuilian was from a branch of the Jin Family, obtaining an Aron was no simple matter. After all, she had no ability to obtain a second Aron, and more importantly, Jin Huang was not her only son.
Jin Cuilian explained calmly, "Jin Yin has already decided to pursue the path of a Pokémon Breeder."
Dou Guomin nodded upon hearing that. This was someone else's family matter, after all. He had only asked because he was surprised.
Lu Li, standing among the crowd, had long known that Jin Huang's starter Pokémon was Aron, so he was not particularly surprised.
Although there were quite a few Rookie Trainers registering today, most of them had Bug-type Pokémon. Even the relatively easy-to-raise Grass-type Pokémon were scarce.
Never underestimate the wisdom of the poor. In order to get ahead, commoner Trainers had long compiled a set of Pokémon breeding guidelines best suited to commoner Trainers.
That was precisely why most of the Rookie Trainers registering today had Bug-type Pokémon.
Bug-type Pokémon possessed one advantage no other type had: they grew quickly. Therefore, the vast majority of Trainers born into commoner families chose Pokémon like Weedle, which could grow rapidly, as their pioneering starter.
It was equivalent to sacrificing the future of one's first Pokémon in exchange for letting the Trainer go farther, but that future was, in truth, easy to see the end of.
Ninety-nine percent of commoners worldwide advanced using this strategy, yet the number who truly reached Heavenly King level could be counted on both hands.
Soon, it was Lu Li's turn in the line.
Lu Li released Tropius from its Poké Ball.
When the registration teacher saw the Tropius at Lu Li's side, he too looked astonished.
Tropius was a remarkably rare Pokémon. This was not because Tropius was particularly strong, but because wild Tropius were protected as Level One Pokémon by the League.
Wild Tropius were often key Pokémon in maintaining the stability of a region's ecosystem, so the League prohibited Trainers from capturing Tropius in the wild.
That was also why, despite being an economically useful Pokémon, Tropius had never been raised on a large scale by Pokémon Farms.
Lu Li was something of a notable figure at First High School, and the registration teacher clearly knew of his talent. He sighed sincerely, "This Pokémon suits you quite well."
Lu Li merely smiled and stroked Tropius's back. "Xiao Lu truly is the partner best suited for me."
"Lu Li! Starter Pokémon: Tropius!"
The duty teacher's booming voice echoed through the Gymnasium once more.
Dou Guomin stared in surprise at the Tropius beside Lu Li.
"As expected of a genius Breeder. This Tropius has been raised exceptionally well." Dou Guomin smiled with great satisfaction.
Just from Tropius's appearance, it was obvious that it had developed well, at the very least without any signs of malnutrition. For a Trainer from a commoner background, that was especially rare and valuable.
Jin Cuilian murmured softly, "No wonder this child refused the Jin Family's sponsorship. So he had already figured out the path he wanted to take in the future."
Tropius might not count as a powerful Pokémon in battle, but its value for money was undoubtedly the highest among all starter Pokémon.
As an Intermediate Breeder, Dou Guomin sighed. "I wonder how pure the Dragon-type bloodline within this Tropius is. If this Tropius's father was a dragon, then this Pokémon would truly be perfect."
Jin Huang, who was waiting nearby, said excitedly, "It's actually Tropius! You really are worthy of being this great one's formidable rival!"
Lu Li smiled in response. "Your Aron isn't bad either. It'll become a steel war machine in the future."
At that, the corners of Jin Huang's mouth lifted slightly. He then said smugly, "This time, you might not be able to keep first place!"
Jin Huang and Lu Li did not actually have a very good relationship. After all, Lu Li was the sort of "other people's child" whom Jin Huang's mother had often used to compare him against at Home.
For that very reason, Jin Huang had made surpassing Lu Li his goal throughout their three years of high school. The result, however, was that Jin Huang had spent three years as the eternal runner-up.
Still, the rivalry between youths carried no schemes or conspiracies. Thus, Lu Li and Jin Huang had always remained somewhere between rivals and friends.
They could be called friends, but neither had formed a deep bond with the other. They could be called enemies, but they were really only competitors, and even that competitive relationship was something Jin Huang believed in unilaterally.
Soon, all the students' starter Pokémon had been registered.
Next came the much-anticipated part: the leaders' speeches.
Standing on the second-floor corridor, Dou Guomin addressed the students below. "First, congratulations to all of you on becoming Rookie Trainers. Your Trainer licenses will be issued in one week. Next, on behalf of the school..."
Dou Guomin's speech lasted for more than half an hour, mostly covering applications for Trainer licenses and graduation certificates.
Then came the most important announcement: one week later, the school would hold a Rookie Trainer competition, with the top three receiving ten thousand League Credits.
Dou Guomin also mysteriously hinted that there would be a mysterious surprise at that time.
Although Lu Li was somewhat looking forward to this so-called mysterious surprise, what interested him more was the ten thousand League Credits.
He had already been poor before becoming a Trainer, and now that he had become one, he was even poorer.
If he did not find a way to increase his income soon, Lu Li felt that he would become the most embarrassing Cultivator and transmigrator.
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