It Loved You More Than It Loved Itself

Hu Yang had naturally had no problems with the first two tests.

There were only a little over twenty applicants, so the examiners finished their evaluations quickly.

As expected, whether it was the written test, practical assessment, or interview, Hu Yang had been the undisputed first place.

Having passed the assessment, the recruitment fair no longer had anything to do with him.

Led by one of the school's teachers, Hu Yang arrived at the faculty dormitories.

Looking at his first little home in this world, Hu Yang finally let out a small sigh of relief.

"Your schedule won't be ready until tomorrow, so rest here for today," the teacher said kindly.

Hu Yang nodded and saw the other man pull a booklet from his pocket. "Oh, right, this is for you. It contains our school's basic rules. Familiarize yourself with them in advance."

Hu Yang naturally had no objection. "Okay."

With that, the teacher left.

The room was not large, but compared to the student dorms from his previous life, it could already be called luxurious.

It had a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Though small, it was more than enough for someone living alone.

Hu Yang felt somewhat emotional. Compared to this, what kind of dog kennels had his university dorms been back then?

After briefly familiarizing himself with the room's layout, he went to the kitchen to boil a kettle of water. While waiting, he released Cramorant from its Master Ball.

He rubbed its head. Though he knew it could not understand him, Hu Yang still asked, "Are you hungry? Want something to eat?"

Cramorant tilted its head.

Hu Yang had already thrown that dead fish into the trash. He only had a few Berries left on him, so after thinking it over, he fed all of them to Cramorant.

Only after seeing that Cramorant knew how to eat on its own did he finally pick up the booklet and begin reading it.

In this world, children who reached the age of ten qualified to receive a starter Pokémon from their local Pokémon Professor.

The Pokémon League would provide three Pokémon to the local Pokémon Professor for them to choose from.

But not everyone could receive this treatment.

Powerful families had no need for such qualifications, because they would provide their younger generations with Pokémon even rarer than the Starter Trio.

Aside from direct descendants of the Pokémon League, most children who could receive Pokémon from Professors came from well-off, wealthy families that never had to worry about food or clothing, like Ash and the others from the anime.

As for ordinary civilians and those below them, they did not receive such treatment. Perhaps the Pokémon League was afraid they could not afford to raise them?

But that did not mean commoners could not become Trainers. The Pokémon League would not give them starter Pokémon, but they could find their own ways to obtain one.

It was realistic, but that did not hinder people's love for Pokémon and their desire to become Trainers.

Before they set out on their journeys, however, the Pokémon League would provide children between the ages of seven and ten with three years of schooling, teaching them basic knowledge about Pokémon and Trainers, as well as regular academic subjects.

Three years later, those who wanted to become Trainers could graduate directly and begin traveling.

Those who had no interest in it, or no longer wanted to travel midway through, could choose to enter higher-level schools and study subjects such as physics, mathematics, and languages.

Petalburg Pokémon Elementary School was such a place.

After casually flipping through the booklet, Hu Yang gained a rough understanding of this world.

Meanwhile, in the teaching building's office.

Principal Kiriyama sat behind his desk, looking through the applicants' test papers. Of the more than twenty applicants, only Hu Yang had received perfect scores on every section.

He nodded in satisfaction. At that moment, a teacher responsible for registering new staff entered from outside and handed him a form.

Principal Kiriyama took one look and was greatly surprised. "He's only ten?"

Because Hu Yang had previously told others that he was already twelve, Principal Kiriyama did not know his real age. Now that he saw his personal information, he was genuinely startled.

The teacher hesitated. "Principal, isn't this age a little inappropriate?"

Recalling Hu Yang's performance earlier, Principal Kiriyama said, "That child is smarter than some adults."

Some children who lost their parents did indeed mature early and become sensitive and wary of the outside world.

Not to mention a child who had lived in seclusion with his parents in the forest since childhood and had never entered the human world.

The reason he had claimed to be twelve was probably because he feared people would refuse to offer him work due to his age.

On careful thought, that explanation was quite reasonable.

At that moment, Principal Kiriyama really wanted to know what Hu Yang's scholar parents had taught him during their secluded life.

Principal Kiriyama sighed. He had no intention of asking for the specific reason. "Forget it. Let's first see how well he can teach. If there are no problems, then he's the one. Go back to your work."

The teacher acknowledged the order and turned to leave the principal's office.

Hu Yang knew nothing about what had happened here.

That evening, an enthusiastic teacher came to invite him to dinner.

Hu Yang looked at the sleeping Cramorant. After thinking for a moment, he did not disturb it.

"Does the school cafeteria provide food for teachers' Pokémon?" Hu Yang asked.

"It does, but it's only ordinary food that fills their stomachs," the male teacher answered. Following Hu Yang's gaze to Cramorant, he looked quite surprised. "I've never seen a Pokémon like that. Are you its Trainer?"

Hu Yang made up a story. "It came from Galar. It was the Pokémon my parents left me."

This male teacher had also heard about what had happened to Hu Yang. Looking around seventeen or eighteen, he felt embarrassed for bringing up such a painful subject. "Sorry."

Hu Yang felt numb. Keeping a straight face, he said, "I understand. The dead cannot come back to life."

The male teacher warmly slung an arm around his shoulders. "That's the spirit! It's good that you can move on. Come on, I'll take you to eat! Oh, right, my name is Nishida Gang. You can call me Brother Gang!"

Hu Yang said, "Okay, Little Gang."

This man reminded him strongly of his ridiculous college roommates from his previous life. Coupled with his cheerful and outgoing personality, Nishida Gang introduced Hu Yang to many of the school's other teachers over the course of a single dinner.

Before dinner could turn into a welcome ceremony, Hu Yang hurriedly left the cafeteria with a bag of packed Pokémon food.

By the time he returned to the dormitory, the sky outside had already darkened.

With a click, bright incandescent light immediately illuminated the entire room.

But the spot where Cramorant had been sleeping was already empty.

Hu Yang's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly recalled how Cramorant had gone out to catch fish in the morning back in the forest. Only then did he relax slightly.

Still, he did not dare relax completely.

He was worried about what would happen if Cramorant was attacked outside.

He was not worried about Cramorant. He was worried about its opponent and himself.

If Cramorant's counterattack affected innocent people or damaged something expensive, even selling him might not be enough to pay for it!

Fortunately, Cramorant did not leave him worried for long.

Very soon, it flew back from the night with a fish in its beak and landed on the desk.

Seeing this, Hu Yang finally let out the breath he had been holding.

Holding the packed food, he sat down in a chair, opened the bag, and pushed the lunch box over. "Eat up!"

Cramorant tilted its head, then spat out the barely living fish in its beak and nudged it toward Hu Yang with its bill.

"You're going to raise me?" Hu Yang laughed.

Cramorant still wore the same foolishly blank expression and did not answer.

Under the warm light, Hu Yang suddenly felt a little moved.

He thought of Cramorant's evaluation from his cheat ability: You are its most beloved Trainer. It loves you more than it loves itself.

Even though it could not understand human language, it had never forgotten to love its Trainer.

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