Choosing a Primary Type

At that moment, he suddenly understood. For the first time, he truly saw this world for what it was. He charged toward Ye Ling like a madman. He could not let anyone take away the girl he had raised like his own daughter since childhood. He feared death, but he feared a life worse than death even more.

But he had barely made it a meter before someone grabbed him and dragged him back.

"Kid! Where do you think you're going? Do you want to die?" Xiao Ran still remembered those words and that vicious expression with perfect clarity. In the time that delay cost him, Ye Ling had already been taken to the vehicle.

"No! Let her go! Let her go!" Xiao Ran fought and struggled, but all it earned him was a burst of laughter. The assassins were not even in a hurry to put him in the vehicle. Instead, they watched his desperate struggles with interest.

Despair was the surest path to a breakdown, and they did not mind teaching the child before them that lesson early.

His repeated struggles accomplished nothing, but Xiao Ran never gave up. The sight of blood seemed to send him into a frenzy. At that moment, he had only one thought: save her, no matter the cost.

He did not know whether the affection he had once felt for her as a daughter had changed, nor did he know just how powerful the enemies before him were. But he knew he could not let anything happen to her, even if it cost him this second life he had only lived for eleven years.

The Power of the Moon he had gained through Awakening at birth surged wildly through his body. A faint pink gradually tinted his eyes, and finally, a dazzling light blazed from Xiao Ran. The assassin holding him was instantly sent flying by that immense power. The light reached into the heavens, illuminating the entire night sky.

"Unfortunately, I drove off the Hall and brought the patrol officers, but I couldn't save her. Maybe things would be different now if I had." Xiao Ran sighed inwardly. That had been his first time using an ability belonging to Pokémon, and the first time he had learned just how powerful the strength he wielded truly was.

The instant the light appeared, the Hall's people realized something was wrong. A light that illuminated the night sky like that was enough to draw everyone's attention. They did not even have time to gather their things before fleeing with the children they had already captured. Before leaving, they even made sure to kill those who were still alive. Fortunately, Dazzling Gleam had cleared the other assassins from Xiao Ran's surroundings, allowing him to escape death and become one of the summer camp's few survivors.

But after releasing the Power of the Moon, Qin Ming was utterly drained. He could only lie helplessly on the ground, watching the vehicle carrying Ye Ling disappear before his eyes. He could even hear her tearful cries.

By the time he was revived, his father and Ye Ling's father had rushed back, along with all ten members of their team.

"Kid! You're safe now!" Those were the first words Ye Ling's father said to him.

Then came questions about what had happened. Ye Ling's father said nothing, merely listening quietly from the side. When the questioning ended, Xiao Ran anxiously urged them to rescue Ye Ling and even tried to climb out of bed to go himself. That was when her father stopped him.

"Kid, you're still young. Once you grow up, you'll have plenty of chances to protect her. For now, leave it to us adults!" Those were the second words he said to Xiao Ran, and also his last. Although Xiao Ran had not agreed at the time, he took those words as a lifelong promise.

Two months later, one of the Hall's bases was discovered. Ignoring headquarters' orders to proceed cautiously, the team their fathers belonged to infiltrated the base and engaged in a fierce battle. In the end, they successfully destroyed it and rescued many of the captive children, including Ye Ling, who had been taken two months earlier. The price was the lives of two Investigators and nearly half the team's Pokémon. One of the fallen Investigators was Ye Ling's father, Ye Fan.

A cool sensation reached him through his fingers, abruptly pulling Xiao Ran back from his wandering thoughts. His blood-red eyes gradually cleared. He took a deep breath and gave the girl beside him a somewhat pale smile.

"I'm fine now," Xiao Ran said quietly.

"Mm." Ye Ling answered softly and released his right hand. This was not the first time something like this had happened, and she was his salvation.

"Speaking of which, have you decided which type you want to specialize in?" Once he had collected himself, Xiao Ran asked.

People had only so much time and energy. The methods used to raise different Pokémon varied enormously, and even Pokémon of the same species could often turn out completely different depending on how they were raised. As such, students in the Pokémon department generally chose one type to study in depth, especially those aiming to become Pokémon Trainers.

Pokémon Trainers were different from Pokémon Breeders. Pokémon Breeders focused more on raising Pokémon, so they needed an extremely broad knowledge base and an understanding of the medicinal properties of different materials. Pokémon Trainers, on the other hand, sought to bring out a Pokémon's combat strength to its fullest. Their work involved delving deeper into its fighting potential, which required a profound understanding of its moves, typing, and other characteristics.

Most veteran Pokémon Trainers therefore specialized in a particular type. For one thing, Pokémon of the same type often shared similarities in how they were raised, greatly reducing both the difficulty and the cost. For another, Pokémon Trainers only needed to study that type's moves and fighting styles in depth, making it easier to reach the pinnacle and achieve breakthroughs.

"Dark-type!" Ye Ling answered without hesitation. Xiao Ran had already expected that answer.

He did not know what Ye Ling had endured during the two months the Hall held her captive, but by the time she was rescued, she had already undergone Awakening. The ability she awakened, however, was the Power of Darkness, a power that led into the dark.

The Power of Darkness did not have as broad a scope as the Power of the Moon. It only affected Poison-, Ghost-, and Dark-types, though an ability that covered three types at once was still exceedingly rare.

In fact, despite both Xiao Ran and Ye Ling being Awakened, the chances of an ordinary person awakening a special ability were extremely, extremely low.

According to statistics, the number of Awakened people still alive throughout China was no more than four digits, and the worldwide total was fewer than five thousand. This was a world ten times larger than the Earth he had once known, with a population far greater than that of his previous life. Yet out of tens of billions of people, fewer than five thousand could wield Hidden Power. That alone showed how rare Awakened people were.

The emergence of every Awakened person drew attention. Xiao Ran and Ye Ling had even been under protection throughout all their years living in Nancheng.

"Then you'll need to be careful. You'd better raise some Pokémon of other types as cover, too. The British House isn't exactly easy to reason with." Xiao Ran raised an eyebrow slightly as he offered the warning.

People in this world had yet to fully understand Pokémon. The League recognized only fifteen types; Dark, Steel, and Fairy had not yet been included. However, according to his grandfather, a Senior Researcher, those types had not gone undiscovered. They simply had not been announced to the public because of certain unknown forces obstructing the process.

Dark-types were a particular issue. Many Researchers studying them had mysteriously disappeared, and the British House seemed to lurk behind those incidents. They were a famous family of psychic ability users in Western Europe, and publicly announcing Dark-types would undoubtedly be a provocation and a declaration of war against them. In that respect, China's Dragon Tamer Clan was much more open-minded. At the very least, Fairy-types were no secret among China's upper ranks.

Fortunately, after all these years, even the British House seemed to be losing its ability to suppress the matter. According to his grandfather, the Senior Researcher, if everything went smoothly, information on the New Three Types should be released within the next two years. When that happened, the entire Pokémon world would undergo a tremendous upheaval.

"Mm! Ghost-types." Ye Ling nodded. Though she was reserved, she understood the seriousness of the matter. After what she had experienced in childhood, she understood the darkness of this world even better than Xiao Ran did.

Besides, Ghost-types really did make a good cover. With her Power of Darkness, she could be considered the finest source of nourishment for them. The trouble was that Ghost-type Pokémon were extremely rare, and finding and catching them would not be easy.

"Raising Ghost-types can be dangerous! But with your Power of Darkness, there shouldn't be any major problems as long as you're careful. Looks like I'll need to prepare another set of materials for you," Xiao Ran said softly.

He had helped his mother raise and research Pokémon since childhood, and his knowledge of them had long since grown beyond the memories of his previous life. According to his mother, if the research on the New Three Types could be published, he would already qualify to try becoming a top-level Pokémon Breeder—a height many people could never reach in their entire lives.

"Which type are you planning to choose?" Ye Ling suddenly asked. Xiao Ran and his family had always been the ones helping her. Now, she suddenly wanted to know what choice the boy before her would make at this crucial moment in his life.

"Huh? Me?" A trace of surprise appeared on Xiao Ran's face. After all these years, this was the first time he had sensed curiosity and anticipation from her.

"Mm!" Ye Ling nodded. The air around her grew a little colder, yet to Xiao Ran, the girl in her school uniform looked a little cuter.

She's finally showing a little more life! Xiao Ran thought. He had long since settled on his answer to Ye Ling's question.

"If you intend to sink into darkness forever, then I'll be that ray of light within it—an undying lighthouse on the far shore, guiding the lost back home."

Those absurdly sentimental words brought a rare flicker of embarrassment to Ye Ling's face. Still, those close to Xiao Ran generally knew about his dream, and he seemed to possess enough talent to follow that path, difficult as it was.

But if it's him, maybe he can do it?

Ye Ling thought uncertainly. She turned to look at the boy beside her, feeling an indescribable sense of peace, just as she had all these years.

Even though she had undergone Awakening and gained a power utterly different from his, even after that tragedy all those years ago, he was still the most important person in her life.