Wu Yaozu slumped on the sofa, his face dark with frustration. He couldn't believe he'd lost to Xia Yu, a complete battle newbie.
"That doesn't count! Let's go again with my Rockruff!" Wu Yaozu demanded another match, desperate to salvage his pride.
"No way," Xia Yu replied. He wasn't foolish. Noibat had beaten Charmander because both Pokémon were weak, barely at Ordinary-level strength.
[Combat Power Levels: Ordinary, Rare, Elite, Lord, Overlord, Gym Leader, Elite, Champion, Master, Legendary—ten tiers, aligned with potential grades. ]
Wu Yaozu's Rockruff, raised from a young age, was already at Elite-level. No matter how high Noibat's potential was, a two-tier gap in combat power made it no match for Rockruff.
"Your Rockruff is close to evolving. Which form are you aiming for?" Xia Yu asked, changing the subject.
"Dusk Form," Wu Yaozu said, clearly having planned ahead. "Lycanroc's Dusk Form has the Tough Claws Ability, which is super strong."
Xia Yu nodded. If it were him, he'd also choose Lycanroc's Dusk Form. Its high speed and attack, paired with Tough Claws, made it formidable.
"Xia Yu, you really not coming to the internet café today?" After the battle, Wu Yaozu's urge to game resurfaced, and he tried to rope Xia Yu in again.
"Not today," Xia Yu said, shaking his head. "Noibat just hatched, so I'm staying home to take care of it. You go solo—show off your true skills. I won't hold you back today."
"Pfft, with your skills, you think you're carrying me? Watch this—without you dragging me down, I'll hit Gold rank for sure!" Stung by Xia Yu's words, Wu Yaozu stormed off to the internet café alone, determined to prove he wasn't the weak link.
…
After Wu Yaozu left, Xia Yu stayed home, tending to Noibat while studying and flipping through textbooks.
The college entrance exam in this world was similar to his previous life, but it included an additional Pokémon exam, a mandatory subject for trainer and Pokémon research paths—and the toughest one.
"How much B-Grade Metal Coat is optimal for a 1.5m, 56kg Scyther to evolve into Scizor?"
"Which Pokémon cannot learn Normal-type moves? What is the standard weight of its final evolution?"
"List all Poison/Ground-type Pokémon under normal conditions."
Some questions were straightforward, but others were fiendishly difficult.
Besides these esoteric topics, Xia Yu also reviewed standard subjects: language, math, English, physics, chemistry, and biology. It felt like reliving his high school days—painful yet fulfilling.
After studying for a while, Xia Yu remembered he'd completed a system task.
[First Victory]: Win your first battle.
Failure Penalty: None.
Reward: One random draw.
"Lottery system activated. Proceed with draw?"
"Draw."
As Xia Yu silently commanded the draw, a large spinning wheel appeared before him, whirring rapidly.
"Stop."
At his mental cue, the wheel slowed and stopped, its pointer landing on a glowing disc.
["Congratulations, host, for drawing a one-use Move Tutor: Aqua Pulse." ]
[Aqua Pulse: Attacks the opponent with a pulsing wave of water, with a chance to cause confusion. ]
Move Tutors allowed Pokémon to learn specific moves. In this world, they came in two types: one-use and permanent, with vastly different values.
Most Move Tutors were controlled by powerful families, serving as the foundation of their wealth and status, widening the gap between them and ordinary people. To use these Move Tutors, outsiders had to pay a steep price.
Xia Yu's family owned a permanent Move Tutor for Bug Bite, charging 150,000 per use, limited to one Pokémon per day. Operating year-round, it generated roughly 50 million annually for the family.
And that was for a relatively weak move like Bug Bite. For coveted moves like Protect or Swords Dance, a single use could cost 500,000, requiring advance booking and extra fees to jump the queue.
Owning a Move Tutor was like having a gold mine—provided you had the strength to protect it.
Xia Yu recalled last year's shocking news: the Qi family, which controlled the Shadow Ball Move Tutor, was massacred, all thirteen members killed. The Shadow Ball Move Tutor vanished, and the few one-use Shadow Ball tutors in circulation skyrocketed to astronomical prices.
The Qi family had an aging Champion-level trainer, yet they couldn't survive. A small, rising family like the Xias, without Xia Yu's brother—a young Elite-level trainer—would never have held onto their Bug Bite Move Tutor.
Xia Yu examined the Aqua Pulse Move Tutor. Noibat couldn't learn it, but its evolved form, Noivern, could. However, by the time Noibat became Noivern, it would likely have stronger moves, making Aqua Pulse unnecessary.
Instead of using it, Xia Yu decided to sell the one-use Aqua Pulse Move Tutor.
Popular moves like Aqua Pulse, especially for a sought-after type like Water, fetched high prices. Online buyers offered around 300,000. Xia Yu marveled at his luck—drawing a prize worth 300,000 with a single spin.
Opening the Xianyu platform, Xia Yu compared offers and contacted the most reputable buyer, selling the Aqua Pulse Move Tutor for 320,000.
Flush with 320,000, Xia Yu felt a surge of excitement. He noticed several new messages in his post seeking rare stones.
"Yo, got a premium stone here, 'Bridge Over Flowing Water.' Interested?"
"C-Grade Thunder Stone, expert-certified, fair price, only…"
"Top-quality Light Stone, family heirloom for three generations. Selling cheap due to mother-in-law's 288,000 dowry demand."
Xia Yu skimmed through and replied to each. Some offered beautiful decorative stones, others evolution stones like Thunder Stones. None were what he needed, and Xianyu's transactions often risked low-quality goods. After some thought, Xia Yu revised his post, limiting acquisitions to Xishu Province and specifying only "sparkling stones."
Evolution Key Stones, Mega Stones, Wishing Stars, and Tera Orbs all shared one trait: they shimmered brightly.
No sooner had Xia Yu updated his post than a new message popped up.
"I've got a weird stone in my possession."
...