Kommo-o

In the early morning, golden sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains onto the Pokémon Egg on the table, adding a hint of holiness to its white shell patterned with purple markings.

"Lu Ze! Didn't you say you were coming to the shop with us? Why aren't you up yet?!"

Lu Ma's booming voice shattered the sacred atmosphere and jolted Lu Ze awake from his pleasant dream.

"I'm up, Mom."

Lu Ze replied as he rubbed his still half-closed eyes.

"Mm, hurry up and eat. Otherwise, your mom will be late again."

Lu Ze got dressed and went out to wash up, grumbling inwardly, As if you've ever arrived early.

After the family finished breakfast in a fairly warm atmosphere, they headed out together.

On the way, Lu Ba asked curiously, "Son, the National College Entrance Examination is coming up. Is there a university you want to attend?"

"Yeah. If I'm going, I might as well go for the best. Sui Yan wants me to get into Shangqing University with him."

"Upper Capital..."

Lu Ba sighed, a nostalgic look appearing in his eyes. Lu Ze, walking ahead, failed to notice and continued speaking.

"The only question is whether I can pass the Written Trial. I'll see if I can work hard over the next few months and raise my Written Trial scores. The Martial Trial shouldn't be a problem, but the odds of being admitted exceptionally through the Martial Trial alone are too low."

After hearing Lu Ba's words, Lu Ze quietly pondered to himself.

If everything goes smoothly, the Pokémon Secret Realm will open in a month and a half. The gains from there should be enough to take Zubat to the next level. If it can evolve into Golbat, my chances will be even better. I just don't know how good my commanding skills are. Still, I was consistently in the top five on the Pokémon Showdown ladder in my previous life. There shouldn't be much of a problem, right?

"Son, are your grades high enough to meet Shangqing's admission requirements?"

"The Written Trial is hard to say, but I should qualify through the Martial Trial!"

Seeing Lu Ze's confidence, Lu Ba and Lu Ma could only choose to trust their son. If necessary, they would give him some extra tutoring over the next three months.

"But is one Pokémon enough? If you can't keep up after getting into Shangqing, things will be even harder. Even the weakest students admitted to Shangqing start school with two Pokémon."

Lu Ba asked worriedly. He was afraid that if Lu Ze truly got into Shangqing but fell behind because of Pokémon training, the blow would damage his confidence.

"Huh? Dad, how do you know so much about that?" Lu Ze turned around and asked suspiciously.

"You didn't know?"

Lu Ma seemed even more surprised than Lu Ze.

"What am I supposed to know? Mom, stop being mysterious."

"Your dad and I met at Shangqing, fell in love there, and got married afterward. Your dad was even exceptionally admitted through the Martial Trial back then. You seriously didn't know?"

"How was I supposed to know? You never told me."

Lu Ze said gloomily. He truly had not known that his parents were both outstanding Shangqing graduates.

"Huh? We never told him?"

Lu Ma turned to Lu Ba in confusion.

"Honey, it seems no one really told him."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Amid Lu Ba and Lu Ma's laughter and Lu Ze's frustration, the three of them and Eevee soon arrived at the Day Care. Looking at the busy delivery workers, attendants, and high school seniors at the entrance, Lu Ma sighed.

"Another busy day!"

After they entered, Lu Ze handed Lu Ma the formula he had already written out. It included not only nutritional Energy Cubes, but also B-grade physique-enhancing Energy Cubes that accelerated nutrient absorption and B-grade Energy Cubes that refined bodily energy.

Most Energy Cubes on the market were around C or C+ grade. B-grade ones were rarely sold, while B+ grade and above were generally family treasures. Finished products were seldom circulated outside, as they were mostly kept for personal use.

The formulas Lu Ze had given Lu Ma this time were all B-grade. It would not be an exaggeration to say that, whether in quality, appearance, or nutritional value, they were better than the B-grade Energy Cubes on the market. Their ingredients also leaned more toward common Berries.

Once the first batch of Energy Cubes sold and built a reputation, the headquarters might really start sourcing from Lu Ma.

"Focus on raising your Pokémon, son. I'll give you a card later. Your dad and I put some money in it for you, and from now on, I'll transfer all the profits from these Energy Cubes into that card. If you want to get into Shangqing, try your best to train up a second fighting force before the National College Entrance Examination. Mom believes in you. Good luck!"

Lu Ma rarely spoke to Lu Ze so seriously. Beside her, Lu Ba also said with a solemn expression.

"Since you want to get into Shangqing, your Written Trial results can't be too poor either. I'll find you some past National College Entrance Examination papers. You can't fall behind in the Martial Trial, but you can't do too badly in the Written Trial either. I'll call Kommo-o out in a moment. You command it, I'll command Umbreon, and we'll have a battle. Let me see how good your commanding ability is."

"Alright. I won't let either of you down."

Lu Ze was somewhat moved. Even though the world's background had changed, his parents were still his parents. They would still do everything they could to help him achieve his dreams.

"Alright, you father and son go get busy. I'll handle the Energy Cube matter."

Lu Ma gave Lu Ba a meaningful look. After he nodded, he said,

"Alright, go ahead."

After watching Lu Ma leave the backyard, Lu Ba turned to Lu Ze.

"Son, want your old man to accompany you to pick another Pokémon? Your mom transferred in a new batch from the headquarters today. They're still in the warehouse and haven't gone on sale yet. Want to take a look and see if there's one you like?"

"Sure."

Lu Ze and Lu Ba took a look around the warehouse together. Lu Ze told Lu Ba that none of them caught his eye, so he would not choose a second Pokémon for now.

Lu Ba said it was fine. There were so many Pokémon Stores across the city that they could visit them one by one that afternoon. The sooner they decided, the sooner they could rest easy.

Among the batch of Pokémon Eggs Lu Ma had transferred from headquarters, the best were a Purple Aptitude Surskit and a Purple Aptitude Phantump. Neither Pokémon met Lu Ze's requirements, so he chose neither.

The two walked into Kommo-o's training room, and Lu Ba called inside.

"Kommo-o, come out and see who's here."

The door to the training room opened, and a tall, muscular Kommo-o stepped out.

Aside from occasionally clinging to Lu Ba and asking him to take it out for battles, Lu Ba's Kommo-o spent most of its time silently training in the training room. Yes, that was right—it was a single shut-in dragon.

When Kommo-o saw Lu Ze beside Lu Ba, it happily hugged him. After all, it had watched Lu Ze grow up, though it had been quite a while since they last met.

At the same time, Lu Ze hugged Kommo-o tightly. From the moment Kommo-o stepped out, Lu Ze had seen its information. He had to admit, this hardworking shut-in dragon was truly strong.

Pokémon: Kommo-o

Gender: Male

Attributes: Dragon type, Fighting type

Ability: Soundproof (by blocking sound, it was immune to sound-based moves)

Aptitude: Red Aptitude

Basic Moves: Clanging Scales, Belly Drum, Dragon Claw, War Cry, Dragon Dance, Outrage, Close Combat, Boomburst, Clangorous Soulblaze, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Giga Impact, Brick Break, Swords Dance, Scale Shot...

Egg Moves: Hyper Beam, Draco Meteor, Superpower, Hyper Voice

This was also the first Red Aptitude Pokémon Lu Ze had seen. Its list of moves was incredibly extensive.

"Alright, Kommo-o. How about letting Lu Ze command you today for a battle against Umbreon and me?"

Kommo-o looked at Lu Ze, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then let's go find Umbreon."

The two men and the dragon headed toward the Mimic Forest behind the Day Care. As soon as they entered, they saw Umbreon snuggled together with Espeon.

Information on the two Pokémon appeared before Lu Ze's eyes as well.

Pokémon: Umbreon

Gender: Male

Attribute: Dark type

Ability: Inner Focus (through mental training, it would not Flinch from an opponent's attacks)

Aptitude: Red Aptitude

Basic Moves: Snarl, Swift, Baby-Doll Eyes, Pursuit, Moonlight, Dark Pulse, Hyper Beam, Payback, Crunch, Shadow Ball, Foul Play, Throat Chop, Work Up.

Egg Moves: Wish, Stored Power, Curse, Detect, Yawn

Pokémon: Espeon

Gender: Female

Attribute: Psychic type

Ability: Synchronize (passed its Poisoning, Paralysis, or Burn status to its opponent)

Aptitude: Purple Aptitude

Basic Moves: Charm, Take Down, Covet, Helping Hand, Psyshock, Psybeam, Swift, Psychic, Psych Up, Morning Sun, Future Sight, Hyper Beam, Rest, Weather Ball, Shadow Ball, Psychic Fangs

Egg Moves: Flail, Yawn, Detect

After seeing the two Pokémon's information, Lu Ze glanced at Lu Ba and could not help thinking to himself.

Why didn't I notice before? Other than Espeon being more ordinary, Dad's other two Pokémon are nothing like what he said—Pokémon that an ordinary family could raise. Aside from TMs, their moves include some that were clearly taught by other people. And an ordinary family couldn't afford so many TMs at all. Could it be that I'm secretly a second-generation rich kid too?

Seeing the two Pokémon snuggled together, Lu Ba smiled and said to Umbreon,

"Umbreon, I'll command you later, and Lu Ze will command Kommo-o. Let's have a battle."

Umbreon looked up at Lu Ze, then at the shut-in dragon whose eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and nodded in agreement.