Perhaps there were too many people, and it was Chimchar's first time being stared at by so many at once. He stood nervously on Ye Qing's shoulder, one hand wrapped around Ye Qing's neck as he gently sucked on a finger.
The bespectacled sports representative rushed over immediately, thinking that a Starter Pokémon Egg cost at least three hundred thousand on the market. There was no way Ye Qing's family could afford that much, let alone be willing to spend it!
"Damn, where did you get that Chimchar?"
Seeing his astonished expression, Ye Qing stroked the timid Chimchar and said, "I spotted a bargain with my discerning eye."
"Quit bragging. You, a discerning eye? Just make sure you can afford to raise him!"
The boy with glasses gave Ye Qing a pat. Knowing he didn't want to explain, he didn't press further.
Under his classmates' envious gazes, Ye Qing recalled Chimchar and walked to his usual seat in the back row.
Wang Yao had already seen Chimchar, so he merely gave Ye Qing a discreet thumbs-up from his seat.
Ye Qing winked at him. Pokémon weren't allowed out in the classroom, so no matter how unwilling Chimchar was, Ye Qing had to recall him.
Huo Mengyao, the class beauty, looked back and forth between the two, wondering whether Ye Qing and Wang Yao had some shady deal going on.
Aside from Ye Qing's Chimchar and Wang Yao's Treecko, the class's other two Starter Pokémon were the class monitor's Charmander and the sports representative's Totodile. Huo Mengyao also had a fairly strong Growlithe. The other classes were much the same, with only a handful of Starter Pokémon or rarer Pokémon.
Their homeroom teacher was teaching this period. The moment he entered the classroom, he heard that Ye Qing's Pokémon was a Chimchar. Has this kid been possessed?
Ye Qing had left quite an impression on him lately. Not only had he become remarkably knowledgeable, but even his Pokémon was a cut above the rest.
Liu Jianguo coughed, interrupting his own wandering thoughts, then tapped the blackboard and said, "Now that our class's last Pokémon has hatched, I'll apply to the school for a practical lesson in the forest surrounding the city a month from now. Until then, I hope you'll all work hard on raising your Pokémon."
The day passed quickly. After school, Ye Qing went straight to the Pokémon store and bought a month's supply of Pokémon Food and Pokéblocks for Chimchar.
The food wasn't expensive, but the Pokéblocks cost him five thousand-and those were only basic Pokéblocks!
"Dad, Mom, I'm home!"
Ye Qing shouted excitedly as soon as he got home.
"Ooh-ah!"
Standing on Ye Qing's shoulder, Chimchar happily waved at his parents, who were watching television on the sofa.
"Chimchar!"
Ye Dad's eyes widened. He had never imagined that the Pokémon Egg his son had chosen would contain a Chimchar!
Ye Mom covered her mouth, exclaiming in amazement. A Starter Pokémon was practically an entry ticket into society's elite!
As long as trainers with Starter Pokémon weren't foolish or dim-witted, very few ended up doing poorly for themselves.
"Come here and let Mommy have a look."
After her brief surprise, Ye Mom stood up happily, wanting to hold Chimchar.
"Ooh-ah."
Chimchar wasn't shy around strangers at all. He leaped straight into Ye Mom's arms.
"Wonderful, wonderful!"
Watching the mischievous Chimchar, Ye Dad repeated the word twice. Much of the pressure that had weighed on him for so long instantly lifted.
The family enjoyed a lavish dinner that evening. Even Ye Dad, who hadn't drunk alcohol in ages, had several glasses.
Seeing how happy his parents were, Ye Qing looked around their aging home and vowed to give them a better life.
Lying in bed, Ye Qing opened his camera, took a picture of Chimchar, and posted it to his Moments feed.
Ye Dad: "Don't forget to feed him!"
Ye Mom: "Look how mischievous he is! So full of energy, and much cuter than our son was as a little boy!"
Ye Menghan: "Oh wow, it's a Chimchar! Big brother, big brother, I want one too!"
Ye Qing could only stare in exasperation. Ever since Chimchar had arrived, his standing in the family seemed to have plummeted!
He spent a few more days playing with Chimchar, who was beside himself with excitement and curious about everything he saw. Only once Chimchar had fully adjusted to his own body did Ye Qing begin training him.
After listening to their instructor's lengthy lecture, the fifty students in the class quickly spread out with their Pokémon.
"Chimchar, try using Ember!"
Ye Qing pointed at a large tree ahead and called out.
"Ooh... ah!"
Chimchar pondered for a moment with a troubled expression, then took a deep breath and blew it out forcefully. Yet all that emerged was black smoke, without a single spark.
"Is this really how you're supposed to train him?"
Ye Qing scratched his head in confusion. After some thought, he decided to start with something simpler. Talented as Chimchar was, he couldn't expect him to run before he could walk.
Ye Qing gave an order, pointing at a tree about as thick as an arm. "Use Scratch!"
Chimchar nodded and pushed off with both legs. The nails on his hands glowed white and rapidly lengthened. An instant later, he slashed at the trunk!
As leaves fluttered down all around them, Ye Qing stepped forward to inspect it closely.
Two claw marks nearly two millimeters deep scored the arm-thick trunk. That was already a good result for Chimchar's first use of a move.
After training with Chimchar for over another hour and taking a short break, Ye Qing pulled out his phone to show him a tutorial on Ember.
The Pokémon League's official website had video demonstrations by Pokémon for basic moves like this.
Chimchar watched for a while and tried taking a deep breath. A moment later, he tilted his head, planted one hand on his hip, and handed the phone back to Ye Qing.
Ye Qing took the phone and looked at Chimchar's show-off pose, unsure whether he actually understood. Surely he can't be that ridiculously talented? Has he learned Ember after watching the demonstration just a few times?
Huo Mengyao's Growlithe had trained for several days without managing to learn Ember.
Speak of the devil-Huo Mengyao happened to jog past Ye Qing with Growlithe just then.
"Ye Qing, aren't you rushing things a little? Chimchar was only born a few days ago."
The boy with glasses, who was following Huo Mengyao around and fawning over her, chimed in, "Exactly. Even my Totodile took three days of training to learn Water Gun. Give it a rest."
Ye Qing was just about to retort when Chimchar took a deep breath facing Growlithe. Then he opened his mouth wide and spat out a cloud of black smoke laced with sparks!
"Woof!"
Growlithe jumped in fright, but loyal and brave as he was, he immediately leaped in front of Huo Mengyao, shielding her firmly behind him.
"I-is... is that his Egg Move?"
The boy with glasses was so shocked that his glasses nearly fell off. Unless he remembered wrong, this Chimchar had still been an egg just a few days ago!
"Pfft!"
Huo Mengyao nearly burst out laughing at his words. Ember as an Egg Move? Seriously?
Seeing Growlithe's fierce stare, Chimchar's fighting spirit rose as well. He clenched his fists and fixed his gaze on Growlithe.
Huo Mengyao and Ye Qing exchanged a glance as an inexplicable emotion stirred between them. Just as she was about to speak, Ye Qing suddenly interrupted her.
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