Engagement

As for the rights to develop, mine, and research the Secret Realm, those still had to wait on negotiations among the higher-ups. Nothing would be settled anytime soon. During this period, Xiao Ran also called his maternal grandfather and learned that the Secret Realm's appearance in Nancheng was no coincidence.

It turned out that there had been a surge in Secret Realms appearing around the world that year. Accounting for discoveries and destruction, the annual increase had always held steady at around ten, but this year, fifteen new Secret Realms had already emerged worldwide by midyear. That was anything but normal.

Still, this was not something Xiao Ran could worry about at present. Meanwhile, thanks to his pointers, the research into Dynamax Ore was progressing smoothly. The preliminary preparations were complete, and work could begin as soon as the Alliance issued its approval.

The Pokémon's breeding and training plans are all organized. Now I can give that other matter some serious thought. Setting down his notebook, Xiao Ran watched the two Pokémon training on their own in the lake.

The appearance of Dynamax Torkoal and Giant Tentacruel meant he could not ignore another kind of giant Pokémon—Totem Pokémon. They originated from the Alola Region, but so far, none had been found in the Alola Great Secret Realm.

Giant Tentacruel was the result of a mutation. That path is too unpredictable to pursue, so the focus should still be on Dynamax and Totem Pokémon, Xiao Ran reasoned, working through each possibility.

Dynamax has already been discovered. As long as we can unravel the secrets within Dynamax Ore, we should be able to harness its power. Totem Pokémon, meanwhile, should draw their power from Z-Crystals. That energy should be more stable than Dynamax energy, so why haven't any been found in the Alola Great Secret Realm?

Also, can a Totem Pokémon undergo Dynamax? That's another research topic. The games' version restrictions made it impossible to test, but this is reality. If the powers of Z-Crystals, Mega Evolution, and Dynamax Ore could be combined, just how terrifying would the result be?

At that thought, excitement and alarm surged through Xiao Ran. None of those three powers was simple. Even Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, which had already been discovered, required strength at least at the peak of Gym Leader Class.

That was also why Shen Lang's Charizard still could not Mega Evolve. It was not because their Bond was insufficient or because they could not find an Evolution Stone. Rather, neither Charizard nor Shen Lang was physically fit enough to withstand the influx of such immense power.

This was not a game where simply holding a Z-Crystal let you use it. Energy was conserved, and tremendous power often required vast amounts of energy to sustain it. When that energy suddenly flooded a human or Pokémon's body, how much strain would the body have to endure? If a rookie Pokémon Trainer dared to use a Z-Move, that power might blast him into oblivion.

Being a Pokémon Trainer was not as simple as people imagined. Otherwise, the games in his previous life would not have distinguished between Pokémon Trainers and Pokémon Breeders. Pokémon Trainers needed to train not only their Pokémon, but themselves as well.

Looks like I need to prepare a training plan for myself too. I also need to put refining my power of the moon on the agenda. Xiao Ran frowned at the thought and continued writing in his notebook.

If he only wanted to be an ordinary Pokémon Trainer, a healthy body would have been enough. But who was he? He was someone determined to reach Master Class. He had to find a way to master these formidable powers, which meant he needed physical fitness far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Furthermore, awakening did not mean an Awakened could rest easy. These powers needed to be refined and strengthened. Left unattended, they might even dissipate again. However, this refinement was unsuitable for children. If naturally born Awakened whose bodies had not fully developed refined their powers excessively, they could easily suffer unpredictable physical mutations. After all, this was a mysterious energy from another world.

According to the Alliance's research, the best time to refine elemental energy was after the age of sixteen. At that age, the body had largely taken shape but had not yet finished developing, allowing the refinement of elemental abilities to better shape it. Youth and a mind free of distractions also made refining elemental energy most effective.

"Why does it feel like I've had an endless list of things to do ever since I received my starter Pokémon?" Xiao Ran rubbed his brow, his head aching.

Preparing food, organizing breeding plans, training Pokémon, planning for the future, exercising himself... Suddenly, he felt there were nowhere near enough hours in the day. If only a day could last forty-eight hours!

Yet that was not even the most frightening part. The most frightening part was his mother's scrutinizing gaze.

"Mom? Do we really need to rush this much? Have you asked Lingling what she thinks?" Xiao Ran asked helplessly while keeping an eye on Popplio's training.

Seeing that Jiang Cheng's family was holding an Engagement banquet, Xiao Ran's mother had excitedly gone over to join the festivities. She declared that they should hold Xiao Ran and Ye Ling's Engagement celebration at the same time. For this, she even planned to bring over his maternal grandfather, who was living at a research institute out of town.

"Shouldn't you be the one asking her that? You're the one getting Engagement, not me. All I'm responsible for is getting the Engagement celebration ready. If the guest of honor doesn't show up, don't bother coming home," his mother declared imperiously as she bustled about with bags of every size in her arms.

"I..." Xiao Ran was instantly at a loss for words. All he could do was vent his frustration on Popplio. "Popplio, I told you to practice Sing, not yell at the top of your lungs!"

"Arf?"

Popplio had a decent talent for vocal techniques. Born knowing Disarming Voice, Popplio picked up sound-based moves quickly. However, this little one was naturally mischievous and would start fooling around the moment no one was watching. Perfectly good singing practice would turn into tuneless caterwauling in an instant, leaving Xiao Ran with the impression that Popplio was practicing Screech ahead of schedule.

After reminding Popplio to practice properly, Xiao Ran thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and headed toward Ye Ling. Unlike Popplio, who was simply practicing sound-based moves, Froakie was working on throwing accuracy.

"Ten throws, forty percent accuracy. Keep going!" As soon as he approached, he heard Ye Ling's cool, stern voice.

A basket of Marbles sat beside Froakie, while various bottles and jars had been set up more than ten meters away. Froakie's task was to throw as many Marbles from the basket as possible within five seconds, hitting as many of the distant bottles as possible.

Unlike Popplio, this Froakie had little talent for Water-type moves, so neither Xiao Ran nor Ye Ling had made them the focus of training. Instead, they concentrated more on physical moves such as Pound and Quick Attack. In particular, the recently learned Dark-type move Fling had become the top priority in Froakie's training.

In the games of his previous life, Fling's effect was to quickly throw the user's held item. But this was not a game. Anything within reach could become a projectile, even a pebble or a leaf, making the move's practical applications completely different.

Moreover, Froakie's final evolution, Greninja, had a special move called Water Shuriken. Combining the Water-type Water Shuriken with the Dark-type Fling was bound to produce some unexpected effects. That was why Fling had been included in the training plan as an important move on the same level as Quick Attack.

"Lingling, how's training going?" Xiao Ran asked with a smile when Froakie paused.

"Still not good enough. The accuracy is too low." Ye Ling calmly shook her head. Although she had not turned around, she had clearly known he was approaching.

"There's no shortcut for that. It just takes practice. I'll go find you some shuriken tomorrow. We can't keep using Marbles forever. Eventually, we'll need to use shuriken," Xiao Ran said helplessly.

Fling was like a Pokémon Trainer throwing a Poké Ball. Simply learning the move was not enough. Accuracy could only be developed by getting a feel for it through constant practice. Even they had spent a full six years practicing Poké Ball throwing in PE class, and reportedly, students were still tested on that skill in university PE classes.

"Mm!" Ye Ling nodded, then turned around. "Did you need something?"

Normally, when Xiao Ran came looking for her, it was almost always mealtime. After all, both their training schedules were packed. But it clearly was not time to eat yet.

"Uh, well..." Ye Ling's question left Xiao Ran feeling awkward. He scratched his head sheepishly, his face faintly red. "Mom's been preparing our Engagement celebration lately, so I wanted to ask what you thought."

At his words, Ye Ling paused briefly, an almost imperceptible blush rising to her cheeks. Yet despite being the girl in this situation, she clearly had no intention of avoiding the question. Instead, she looked at him seriously and asked, "Did Auntie Xiao send you to ask?"

"No! I wanted to ask you myself!" Well aware of how lethal a question like that could be, Xiao Ran jolted to attention. All his embarrassment vanished at once. "I like you. I've liked you since we were little. I want to be with you forever!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ran's face, which had just gone pale, flushed again, even redder than before. After hearing his words, Ye Ling also showed a rare flash of shyness. She lowered her head and turned away, placing the Marbles Froakie had retrieved back into the basket. A "yes" so soft it was almost inaudible drifted to Xiao Ran's ears on the breeze.

"Hehe!" Hearing her answer, Xiao Ran scratched his head with a goofy grin. "Well, I'll head back over there. I'll come get you when it's time to eat."

With that, Xiao Ran excitedly ran back to his own training area. Only when his footsteps faded away did Ye Ling, who had been pretending to tidy up, turn around again, a faint smile appearing on her cool face.