First Arrival in Jindu

"You don't need to worry about that. You'll only be assigned to the intermediate division for one-on-one battles. However, you might run into experienced trainers using new Pokémon in matches. I believe you can handle it."

Ye Lan nodded at her words. His growth period had indeed been rather short, but when it came to command and tactics, he was still full of confidence.

"Go home at noon today and discuss it with your parents. You can leave this afternoon. If you want, you can even stay there until the provincial tournament begins."

"After all, the provincial tournament will be held in Jindu." After thinking for a moment, Liu Yan added this.

"This..."

For a moment, Ye Lan seemed to freeze up, unable to say anything.

If possible, of course he wanted to stay until the provincial tournament began.

But if he left like this, wouldn't he lose out on the 10,000 reward for placing first in the weekly assessment?!

No one was competing for his position anyway, but if he was not even there and still kept the first-place reward, that would indeed be unfair to those behind him.

Seeing Ye Lan's hesitant expression, Liu Yan, who was usually cool and aloof, unexpectedly rolled her eyes prettily. "Enough. Do you think the principal and I don't know you by now?"

"Your bonus will be sent to you separately. As for the others, don't worry. The school has spent the big money already; it won't begrudge this little bit."

Only then did Ye Lan finally relax.

The closer Snivy got to evolving, the greater its appetite became. Recently, it had even needed two nutritious meals a day!

As a result, Ye Lan's already precarious little savings were on the verge of hitting rock bottom.

Originally, counting the 50,000 bonus from the first assessment, Snivy's meals alone would not have drained Ye Lan dry.

The problem was that the energy in that low-grade Leaf Stone had been completely depleted. Ye Lan could not afford another Leaf Stone, so he could only buy large quantities of berries and herbs containing Grass-type energy at low prices.

He could not win with quality, so he could only rely on quantity.

After a week of that, Ye Lan only had 40,000 yuan left.

Once he got to Jindu, prices would already be high as it was the provincial capital. Without the school cafeteria's discounts, Snivy's meals alone would be enough to make Ye Lan suffer.

"This letter is for the manager of the Jindu Battle Arena. He was my classmate in university, and he can help arrange many things for you."

As she spoke, Liu Yan patted Ye Lan on the shoulder and continued, "Don't embarrass me in front of my old friend when you get there. Though it's not like I ever taught you much..."

Before the assessment for the regular classes had even ended, Ye Lan returned to his dorm, packed the essentials, slung on his backpack, and headed for the school gate.

"Yo, Little Ye, where are you off to this time?"

Since Ye Lan was the senior student who passed through the school gates most often, he had gradually become familiar with Old Wang, the gatekeeper.

"I'm heading to Jindu. I might not be coming back to school for quite a while, so remember to miss me, Old Wang!"

Watching Ye Lan wave as his figure gradually vanished from sight, Old Wang could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.

"That kid's clearly a flood dragon coiled up in this little place. Once he reaches the great rivers and seas, he'll turn into a true dragon!"

The school gate was the best place to overhear all sorts of news. Old Wang not only saw Ye Lan often, but also frequently heard teachers and students discussing him.

"If my useless grandson could have even half of Little Ye's ability in the future, the Wang family ancestors would probably explode out of their graves!"

Sitting on the high-speed train, Ye Lan looked at the 23 sunlight points he had accumulated over the past week on the system panel and pondered the most profitable option at this stage.

Before boarding, Ye Lan had first gone to Lin Yan's home to visit Lin Yan's mother, then returned home to explain the situation to his own parents.

After returning home last time, Ye Lan had told his parents about Lin Yan's family situation. He had only said that Lin Yan had gone out to train, without mentioning his own suspicions.

After a week of spending time together, Ye Lan's mother had become quite close with Mother Lin. They practically went grocery shopping and out together all the time.

Ye Lan had considered this in advance.

No one knew when Lin Yan would return. Sooner or later, Ye Lan himself would attend university and travel, and having his parents look after her put his mind at ease.

Just then, a system notification suddenly popped up, startling the pensive Ye Lan.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the achievement: Leaving the Beginner Village! Limited-time privilege obtained: Draw twice from the Lucky Wheel and receive one extra draw for free!]

"?"

"There are achievements too? But this reward..."

Ye Lan's mouth twitched. He suspected this damn system had made up an achievement reward on the spot just to scam him out of the few sunlight points he had left!

But since it was two draws for one free, not drawing would feel like a huge loss. This was an open scheme that no gamer in the Huaxia League could resist!

"Damn it!"

Ye Lan closed his eyes and directly chose to draw twice in a row.

The next moment, two beams of white light flashed, nearly blinding him.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Big Black Rabbit Milk Candy ×1, Moomoo Milk ×1]

Seeing that he had drawn a serving of Moomoo Milk, Ye Lan's expression finally eased somewhat.

Big Black Rabbit Milk Candy probably no longer had such a noticeable effect on Snivy at this stage. It could only be used as an after-meal sweet.

Moomoo Milk, on the other hand, was always badly needed. At least it saved him several hundred yuan, right?!

Ye Lan's financial situation had reached the point where he was stretched thin.

Originally, Ye Lan had wanted to experience riding a Flying-type Pokémon to Jindu, but upon seeing the exorbitant price, he was promptly persuaded to take the high-speed train instead.

"One day, I absolutely have to catch a Tropius. If that doesn't work, a Shaymin would do too!"

In Ye Lan's memory, even counting Mythical and Legendary Pokémon, there seemed to be no more than five Grass- and Flying-type Pokémon combined.

Looking at his last remaining draw, Ye Lan decided to go all the way. Gritting his teeth, he chose to draw again.

The familiar slot machine sound played. Before long, a dazzling blue light burst forth, jolting the already resigned Ye Lan back to attention.

Blue! It's blue! I hit the pity, everyone!

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Tranquil Heart Sachet!]

Name: Tranquil Heart Sachet

Quality: Blue

Effect: When worn, allows Pokémon to rapidly recover stamina outside battle and increases training efficiency.

Restriction: Accelerates bodily energy consumption and is only effective from low-level to intermediate-level.

Description: It took this long just to get the first blue? You really are cursed with bad luck, huh? (contempt)]

Upon seeing the restriction, Ye Lan's mood immediately soured. Faster energy consumption meant Snivy's appetite would increase again.

Wallet: Don't come any closer!

As for that final description, Ye Lan smiled disdainfully.

I drew a blue item with a system-granted draw. I'm obviously lucky as hell, okay?!

The high-speed train soon arrived at the station. The moment Ye Lan stepped out, the sight outside seized his attention.

He merely glanced at the futuristic buildings before losing interest.

What truly drew Ye Lan's attention was that, at a glance, he spotted several trainers accompanied by starter Pokémon. Among them was a Venusaur that Ye Lan liked very much!

"What a sturdy build, what a color on that flower bud, what sharp eyes! This Venusaur has been raised exceptionally well!"

Ye Lan shed his lazy demeanor and excitedly released Snivy.

The moment Snivy appeared, it first let out a yawn. Then, its gaze naturally settled on that Venusaur!

"Snivy!"

So strong! Snivy's eyes shone. It was the first time it had seen such a powerful Grass-type Pokémon, and it could not gauge the depths of its strength at all.

"That presence is far stronger than Teacher Liu Yan's Swellow! Could that be a Gym Leader-level trainer?"

"Little brother, you can tell you're not from around here. That's the ace Venusaur of Mr. Huang Tianyun, the leader of our Jindu Grass-type Gym!"

Hearing the passerby's explanation, Ye Lan nodded inwardly. As expected of Jindu. There were probably quite a few Gym-level powerhouses here, unlike Mianzhou, where professional trainers were one in ten thousand.

He hailed a taxi at random and headed toward the Jindu Battle Arena.

"I'm already getting excited. I wonder what kind of trainers we'll get to battle. What do you think, Snivy?"

"Snivy!" Even the normally tsundere Snivy was unusually excited.