Class meeting

"We're all right, but Onix might be pretty badly hurt!" Xiao Ran answered as he checked on Jiang Cheng and Shen Yue.

"That's a relief. Onix is a Rock type, so as long as there's enough ore, treating it shouldn't be too difficult. We failed in our duties this time, and I'm very sorry." The woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then picked up a red bead from the floor and tossed it to Xiao Ran.

"This formed from Dusclops's eye after it dissipated. It's filled with soul energy and is extremely beneficial to Ghost-type Pokémon. Consider it your spoils," the woman continued.

"Thank you, Aunt Su!" Xiao Ran didn't refuse. Although she had been the one to kill Dusclops, the bead was hush money. His life had been in danger, yet she hadn't appeared immediately. That was a serious dereliction of duty, and if the Alliance found out, she would certainly be punished.

"You're welcome. We were held up just now, too. Your Uncle Chen is still pursuing them. He should be back shortly." Seeing Xiao Ran accept the bead, the woman smiled, her tone considerably more relaxed.

Su Menghua, thirty-two, was a Gym Leader Class Flying-type Pokémon Trainer and an Alliance employee. Her primary duty was to protect Ye Ling's life.

Working alongside her was a man named Chen Kaiding, also thirty-two, a Gym Leader Class Electric-type Pokémon Trainer primarily responsible for protecting Xiao Ran's life. Assigning two Gym Leader Class Pokémon Trainers to ensure Xiao Ran and Ye Ling could grow showed just how much importance Nancheng placed on the Awakened.

In fact, Xiao Ran and Ye Ling had faced quite a few assassination attempts over the years. Most had simply been dealt with in secret by their protectors and never come to light. They had never encountered an incident as serious as this one.

Under the nourishing effects of the power of the moon, Jiang Cheng and Shen Yue soon recovered. The brief control imposed by Mean Look hadn't caused much mental damage. Even without treatment, they would have recovered naturally after a while.

"What happened?" Jiang Cheng asked everyone once he had regained his strength.

"Rai!" Barely had Jiang Cheng finished speaking when a Raichu burst through the doorway, followed closely by a burly man.

"How did it go?" Su Menghua asked when she saw him, but he could only shake his head helplessly.

"I couldn't catch up. That Kadabra was incredibly fast, and it could use Teleport, too. There was nothing I could do!"

"A Peak Elite Class Kadabra and an Elite Class Dusclops. Whoever ordered this attack really went all out," Xiao Ran said with a slightly mocking smile.

Ghost-type, Psychic-type, Dragon-type... These were currently the three rarest types in the world. Even university freshmen were advised against raising them. Not only were the Pokémon scarce, but the cost of raising them was astronomical.

A bag of Fire-type Pokémon food cost only a few hundred, while a bag of Ghost-type Pokémon food cost over a thousand—nearly ten times as much. That wasn't even considering voracious eaters like Dragon-types. A bag could feed an ordinary Pokémon for a week, but a Dragon-type might eat three or four bags in a single meal.

In other words, the people behind this assassination attempt had truly invested heavily. The resources needed to raise a Peak Elite Class Kadabra were enough to develop a Peak Elite Class Grass-type or Bug-type Pokémon Trainer with a full team of Pokémon. The rare Dusclops was much the same. Factoring in the rarity of these two Pokémon, this attack amounted to risking the loss of two Pokémon Trainers with Gym Leader Class potential.

And how many Gym Leader Class Pokémon Trainers were there? All of Nancheng had only a dozen or so. Aside from the two publicly known Gym Leaders and one resident teacher at each major university, almost all the rest were captain-level Alliance Investigators. Losing two rare Pokémon approaching Gym Leader Class would hurt for a long time, no matter which organization was behind it.

"It's the Hall!" Ye Ling suddenly said, pointing at a corner of the wall. A symbol resembling a crown, sketched in simple lines, had been carved there. It was one of the marks the Hall used to communicate.

"Are you sure?" Chen Kaiding's expression grew grave. If this really was the Hall, the problem was far more serious. The Hall was nothing like an ordinary spy ring or criminal organization. It posed an enormous threat and ranked among the world's top ten cult organizations.

"There's no mistake. That's the Hall's mark. Looks like they've held a grudge against me over what happened in the Sweet Spring Lake Secret Realm. They're here for revenge!" Xiao Ran said with a faint smile. Dangerous as they were, given a little more time, he and his companions would kill however many came. He had been worrying about how to find members of that organization anyway.

"We'll take you back first, then I'll report this immediately," Su Menghua said, leading them swiftly out of the Golden Summit Department Store. The appropriate personnel would naturally handle the incident here. The Awakened were given the highest priority in every city.

When they returned to the dorm, the temporary cleaners had already finished cleaning every room. Their efficiency was impressive. After confirming that everyone was unharmed, Su Menghua and Chen Kaiding left, taking Jiang Cheng's Onix with them to the Pokémon Center for treatment. The other Pokémon had only minor injuries and were in no serious danger.

"Ugh... That damned Hall. Can't they give it a rest?" Jiang Cheng grumbled.

"Stop complaining and get some rest while you can. We still have a class meeting tonight." Xiao Ran checked each Pokémon's injuries in turn. Aside from Charmander, who needed some time to recuperate, the others were essentially fine. They had simply used too much energy and needed to replenish it.

Energy was always conserved. Fighting and using powerful moves consumed the energy inside a Pokémon's body, so after a battle, they needed to eat large amounts to make up for that expenditure. This was especially true for Weavile, who had just evolved.

After finishing his examination, Xiao Ran returned to his room and took the Pokémon Cookies and Miltank milk he always carried from his bag to feed the Pokémon. At the same time, he checked Weavile's data.

Thanks to five years of careful nurturing, Weavile was in excellent physical condition. Its size already exceeded the average for its species, and its claws, limbs, repertoire of moves, and other aspects were all outstanding.

A single evolution had raised Weavile's strength straight from early Entry Class to late Entry Class. It seemed that if Ye Ling worked hard, she might have an Elite Class Weavile before the semester ended.

"These are Dark-type Pokéblocks. Niu-Niu, you need to replenish a lot of energy. Evolving so abruptly used up far too much. Lingling, you should also use your power of darkness to help regulate its energy so it doesn't end up with any hidden injuries."

Ye Ling nodded and released black energy from her hands, slowly tending to the damage Weavile's body had suffered from its abrupt evolution and intense battle.

This was one of the greatest advantages of being Awakened. Their awakened energy could help Pokémon of the same type regulate the energy circulating within their bodies, improve their physical condition, and even absorb energy faster. This was also one reason the Pokémon of the Awakened often grew so quickly.

By the time Xiao Ran finished caring for all the Pokémon, he hadn't even had a chance to look at his newly purchased Berry blender before a reminder from their new homeroom teacher arrived in the class group chat.

"Class meeting at seven tonight, room 302 in Building E. Anyone who dares arrive late will receive some special attention from your homeroom teacher!" At those words, even Jiang Cheng had to get up from the couch. Arriving late to the first class meeting on the first day of university would practically be asking for death.

After an entire afternoon of chaos followed by caring for the Pokémon back at the dorm, Xiao Ran only had time for a hurried shower before the others dragged him out...

All four were in the same class—Trainer Class 1. It was supposedly a class for geniuses, and nearly everyone admitted had either achieved high scores or received special admission. In other words, the class consisted of Awakened like Xiao Ran and Ye Ling, Gym-recommended students like Shen Yue, or, at the very least, top performers in the entrance examinations. Jiang Cheng clearly belonged to the last category.

Although his written exam results weren't as outstanding as Xiao Ran's, his entrance battle examination had been quite impressive. Simply defeating the examiner would only have earned him bonus points, placing him in Class 2 at best. However, several commands he gave during the match had been highly unexpected, earning him a place in Class 1.

Of course, Shen Yue and the others thought the more likely reason he got into Class 1 was that his father had donated an entire dormitory building to Nanjing University after learning he had been admitted to Pokémon University. Apparently, they were already choosing a site for it...

When they reached the classroom just before the meeting started, it was already almost full, with seats available only in the back few rows. A youthful girl with gentle features, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans, stood at the front, smiling at everyone below. The sudden entrance of Xiao Ran and his companions drew her gaze.

"Hmm, ten seconds until seven. You're certainly punctual. Go find some empty seats!" the girl said with a smile, yet Xiao Ran and the others distinctly felt the temperature around them drop a few degrees.

"Uh, sorry!" Xiao Ran said with an awkward smile. He didn't know who she was, but since she was standing at the front, she was probably a classmate.

"It's fine. You're really good-looking. May I ask your name?" the girl asked with a smile.

"Uh, I'm Xiao Ran!"

"Oh! The famous school beauty of Second High! I've heard of you!" At Xiao Ran's name, the girl seemed to remember something amusing and smiled at him.

"Hahaha, that's right! He's Second High's school beauty. Absolutely gorgeous!" Shen Yue responded with a laugh.

"Of course! Our Xiao Ran charms both men and women. He's received countless love letters!" Jiang Cheng added another jab. Ye Ling said nothing, but the atmosphere around her had unmistakably become more cheerful.

"You talk too much. Hurry up and find a seat. Our homeroom teacher will be here any moment!" Xiao Ran snapped, glaring at him before pulling Ye Ling along and quickly finding seats in the back row.

Once they were seated, the girl at the front checked the number of students in the classroom, composed herself, and began, "Hello, everyone. My name is Qiu Yuxuan. I'm an Elite Class Water-type Pokémon Trainer, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next four years of university."

"..." Xiao Ran and the others froze, then felt the faintly sympathetic gazes of their still-unfamiliar classmates settle on them.