Sneasel

"Come on, Sneasel, could you stop jumping out like that?" Xiao Ran turned around and looked helplessly at the dark blue little cat nestled in Ye Ling's arms.

"Sneasel~~~" Sneasel let out a contented cry, paying no attention whatsoever to Xiao Ran's warning.

This Sneasel was the Pokémon assigned to Ye Ling back when she was in the Hall Organization. After Ye Ling was rescued, Sneasel had come to live at Xiao Ran's home with her. However, Ye Ling had been too young to legally keep a Pokémon then, so Sneasel had always been registered under his mother's name.

Since Ye Ling was still young, they had never deliberately trained Sneasel. They had only regulated the energy intake in Sneasel's daily food to keep Sneasel's body active, waiting for the day Ye Ling officially became a Pokémon Trainer so Sneasel could become her partner.

Even so, after five years, Sneasel had reached the peak of Normal Class, just a step away from Entry Class. Once Sneasel advanced to Entry Class, Ye Ling would automatically become an Entry Class Pokémon Trainer. Her progress was far ahead of Xiao Ran's, considering he did not even have a Pokémon yet.

The League used classes to categorize the strength of Pokémon and Pokémon Trainers, with extremely strict boundaries between them.

Based on the strength of their internal energy and their control over it, Pokémon were divided into six classes: Normal Class, Entry Class, Elite Class, Lord Class, King Class, and Epic Class. These corresponded to the six Pokémon Trainer classes: Novice, Entry Class, Elite Class, Gym Leader Class, Elite Four Class, and Champion Class.

Of course, that was not the full picture. Pokémon also had Legendary and Mythical, two classifications equivalent to Epic Class, while Pokémon Trainers had Master Class and Legendary Class, both equivalent to Champion Class. These were more titles of recognition and respect than indications that their strength necessarily exceeded Champion Class.

Most ordinary wild Pokémon were Normal Class, also known as pre-Entry Class. Under the League's rating system, raising one Pokémon to Entry Class qualified someone to take the Entry Class Pokémon Trainer assessment. Raising three Elite Class Pokémon then qualified them for the Elite Class Pokémon Trainer assessment. After that, they needed at least six Lord Class Pokémon to apply for the Gym Leader Class Pokémon Trainer assessment.

"Snea-Snea!" Holding Sneasel in her arms, Ye Ling wore a rare tender expression. Sneasel had been her only companion in those dark days. After a full five years of waiting, they could finally embark on the path of a Trainer together.

"You're back? How did the exam go?" Before Xiao Ran could offer any more complaints, a beautiful woman in an apron emerged from the kitchen carrying a freshly cooked dish. She looked at the two of them and asked with a delighted expression.

This was Xiao Ran's mother in this life, Qiao Yan. She had given him the warmth of family that had been so lacking in his previous life.

Because she had married young, and because people in this world lived longer, the years had left few traces on her. The experience that came with maturity seemed only to have added an intellectual charm to her beauty. Though already in her thirties, she still looked as young as a girl, something even Xiao Ran could not help marveling at. When they went out together, people frequently mistook them for a couple, siblings, or even sisters, but no one ever thought they were mother and son.

"You know our grades. Of course we had it in the bag," Xiao Ran said casually. His gaze had already been drawn to the dishes on the table, and a blissful expression spread across his face. "Mm, I smell braised pork."

"Ha ha, then hurry up and wash your hands!" his mother said with a laugh.

"Right, on my way!" Xiao Ran said excitedly. He tossed his bag onto the sofa and ran toward the kitchen. Even after living two lives, he could not resist food this delicious.

"That boy!" Qiao Yan chuckled, then turned to Ye Ling. "Lingling, go wash your hands and come eat too!"

Ye Ling nodded obediently, then looked down at Sneasel in her arms. "Snea-Snea, could you take our bags to our rooms? Sorry for the trouble!"

"Sneasel~~~"

Xiao Ran found the meal immensely satisfying. Although the college entrance exam had been little more than a formality for them, his mother had clearly taken it very seriously. The spread on the table, considerably more lavish than usual, made that plain.

"Here, these are your starter Pokémon vouchers. You can go to the research institute in Nancheng and each choose one of the starter Pokémon as your first partner." After dinner, Qiao Yan took out two elegant cards and handed one to each of them.

The vouchers resembled admission tickets. Their silver-white surfaces were printed with portraits of various Pokémon, all of them known starter Pokémon species. A single voucher like this could fetch an astronomical price of several hundred thousand on the black market.

Obtaining one of these starter Pokémon as a first partner was no easy task. Aside from buying one on the black market, only core League personnel who had made major contributions could receive one. Those eligible included Gym Leader Class Pokémon Trainers and Senior Breeders.

Thus, obtaining such a voucher posed no problem for Xiao Ran. As for Ye Ling, her father had been a League investigator. What position could be more firmly within the League's inner circle? Moreover, he had died while wiping out a Hall Organization base. The descendants of such fallen heroes received particular care from the League, since its reputation and public standing were at stake.

"Great! Looks like I'll have my own starter Pokémon soon." Xiao Ran could not put the voucher down, turning it over in his hands as excitement surged uncontrollably within him. Sixteen years. He was finally going to have his own Pokémon.

Compared with Xiao Ran, Ye Ling looked much calmer. After all, she intended to specialize in Dark-type Pokémon, which left her few options among the starter Pokémon. Besides, she already had Sneasel. Once she collected her starter Pokémon, she could register and transfer Sneasel to her own name.

The Pokémon League stipulated that minors were not allowed to keep Pokémon. Thus, although Sneasel had been by her side for five years, Sneasel was registered under Qiao Yan's name and still belonged to her. Only after Ye Ling received her starter Pokémon and became an Alliance-recognized new Pokémon Trainer could she transfer Sneasel to her own name.

"Since Nanjing University already admitted you both through special consideration, you can go to the research institute and collect your starter Pokémon whenever you like. You don't have to wait for your university admission letters," Qiao Yan told the excited pair with a smile.

There were generally two ways to become a Pokémon Trainer. The first was to obtain a starter Pokémon by catching one in the wild, inheriting one from family, or buying one, then passing a series of League assessments to become a Junior Pokémon Trainer. The second was through the League's unified examination. Any student admitted to a university through the college entrance exam could receive a starter Pokémon free of charge from that university.

There were also two ways to obtain a starter Pokémon through the college entrance exam route. The first was to collect one from the university as normal, though the Pokémon provided this way were generally common species. Most were Pokémon like Caterpie and Weedle, with better options being Spearow, Pidgey, or Geodude. The other way was for members of the League's inner circle to take a voucher to their local city research institute and collect one of the starter Pokémon. Xiao Ran and Ye Ling fell into this category.

Regardless of the collection method, anyone taking the college entrance exam route had to pass the exam and gain admission to a Pokémon university before receiving a starter Pokémon. After all, those starter Pokémon were rare and valuable, and the League could hardly waste its resources on people destined never to become Pokémon Trainers.

"Early admission comes with perks like that? Then doesn't that mean we can collect our starter Pokémon tomorrow?" Xiao Ran asked excitedly. He felt as though he would not get a wink of sleep that night.

"That's right!" Qiao Yan nodded. Xiao Ran's excitement seemed to take her back to those days long ago. She and his father had apparently been just as excited when they received their own starter Pokémon.

"Ha ha, Lingling, let's go get our starter Pokémon tomorrow! I can hardly wait!" Xiao Ran said excitedly to Ye Ling beside him.

"Okay!" Ye Ling replied softly, stroking Sneasel beside her. "I also want to transfer Sneasel to my name while we're there."

"Sneasel~~~" Hearing the name, Sneasel raised a head and cried out.

"That's right. Once you've received your starter Pokémon, you can officially keep Sneasel. But a Sneasel with such a high Energy Level will be quite a challenge for you, you know?" Something stirred in Qiao Yan's heart before she spoke with a broad smile.

Although Sneasel had lived with them for five years, Ye Ling was undoubtedly still the person Sneasel was closest to, the one Sneasel trusted most. Being officially registered under Ye Ling's name was surely what Sneasel looked forward to most as well.

"It's fine!" Ye Ling said, not taking the coming challenge to heart at all.

Once Sneasel was registered under Ye Ling's name and advanced to Entry Class, Ye Ling would no longer count as a new Pokémon Trainer, regardless of whether she had passed the Entry Class Pokémon Trainer assessment. She would lose access to all benefits for new Pokémon Trainers and would also be ineligible for certain League competitions. From the very beginning, her opponents would therefore be Entry Class Pokémon Trainers, rather than giving her a chance to grow gradually like everyone else.

"Don't worry. I'll catch up soon!" Xiao Ran told Ye Ling solemnly. No man would accept being outdone by the woman beside him. This was a challenge to his dignity.

"Mm!" Ye Ling nodded.

"Tsk, tsk, look at you two lovebirds. Seems I'll have to start preparing your engagement. Ideally, we should hold the engagement banquet before university starts. Of course, if you want to get married straight away, I'm all for that too." Qiao Yan tutted at their exchange, making both of them blush furiously.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Xiao Ran cried awkwardly. Though he knew the legal marriage age in this world was very young, getting married right after graduating from high school was still a little hard for him to accept.

"I'm talking about something serious. Do you have a problem with that? Don't tell me you've had your fun and now won't take responsibility. You don't want to marry Lingling?" Qiao Yan raised an eyebrow and demanded.

"Of course I do! How could I not? No, wait, when did I refuse to take responsibility? Hang on, when did I even..." Xiao Ran protested, but the more he spoke, the more he felt something was off. Sure enough, he was still no match for his mother in a war of words!

"Um, I'll go back to my room!" Ye Ling, unusually red-faced, stood up to leave, but Qiao Yan stopped her.

"Hey! Wait! Don't rush back to your room! I still have something to show you! Honestly, you two have been together for so many years. What is there to be shy about? It's bound to happen sooner or later, isn't it? All right, all right! I'll stop. Come with me. I'll show you the gifts Papa Xiao sent back for you." Looking helpless, Qiao Yan took Ye Ling's hand and led her toward her Laboratory.