The girl standing before him was named Ye Qingxue.
He had found her when they were six.
That summer, Rattata had been overrunning the streets. She'd been sitting beside a trash pile, crying her eyes out. Lin Yu had dragged her back to the orphanage.
After that, she'd become his little shadow.
A sniffling tag-along who cried whenever he disappeared from sight.
Back then she was like a toddler fresh off weaning—clingy and loud.
Unlike him, she hadn't just recently left the orphanage.
Three years ago, she'd been taken away.
Lin Yu remembered that day clearly.
A massive Altaria descended from the sky, wings like drifting clouds. A refined woman stepped down from its back and took Ye Qingxue away.
Only then did Lin Yu learn the truth.
She wasn't an orphan.
She was the lost daughter of a powerful family in Kyoto.
And right now—
Through the window—
An orange, round-bellied Dragonite hovered outside, waving cheerfully at the girl as if saying:
"Delivery complete. I'm heading off."
Lin Yu instinctively activated Eye of Insight.
[Pokémon: Dragonite]
[Ability: Inner Focus]
[Gender: Male]
[Talent: Heavenly King]
[Level: 62]
[Moves: Protect, Hyper Beam, Dragon Dance, Wing Attack, Dragon Rush, Ice Beam, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Extreme Speed…]
The move list went on and on.
It was stacked to the extreme.
Lin Yu's eyes widened.
He looked at the Dragonite.
Then at the girl.
First reunion in three years—and she drops this kind of shock?
"Hehe, gege," she grinned. "I'm kind of a little rich girl now. How about I support you from now on?"
She glanced around the modest apartment and proudly pulled out a gold-trimmed bank card.
"There's ten million in here. Let's go pick your first Pokémon."
They say: When there's no woman in your heart, you draw your sword with divine focus.
But rich girls clearly don't fall under that rule.
A rich girl doesn't distract you.
She hands you a better sword.
If Lin Yu hadn't met Charmander—
He might have taken the card.
But they hadn't seen each other in three years.
Taking that much money the moment they reunited?
That didn't sit right.
Unless…
You removed the "friend" part from "good friend."
"No need," Lin Yu said, gently pushing the card back. He held up Charmander's Poké Ball and shook it lightly. "I already have my first Pokémon."
"Oh? What is it?"
She leaned in, curious.
Please don't say Caterpie…
"Charmander."
Ye Qingxue visibly relaxed.
Good.
If he'd registered something like Weedle or Caterpie with the League, abandoning it later would be illegal.
Charmander, at least, was respectable.
"Then the money…"
"Nope. Take it back," Lin Yu said firmly. "Your big brother here has no intention of living off a rich girl."
Under the white fluorescent lights, her shadow stretched along the hallway.
Lin Yu sucked in a sharp breath.
…There's definitely an old monster hiding in that shadow.
"Alright…"
She looked a little disappointed.
After chatting a bit more and inviting him out—an invitation he politely declined—she finally left.
Outside the door—
The hallway lights began flickering.
The temperature dropped slightly.
A faint, eerie voice echoed through the corridor.
"Not bad, kid. Good instincts."
Purple mist seeped from her shadow.
A short, plump, purple body emerged—blood-red eyes gleaming.
A talking Gengar.
Clearly, "rich girl" didn't even begin to describe Ye Qingxue's background.
"Of course," she said proudly. "That's my brother."
Even though she had no idea what exactly Gengar had praised.
"Heh heh heh…"
Gengar chuckled and melted back into the shadows.
It had only meant one thing—
Character.
But that alone wasn't enough to stand beside her.
A normal boy who happened to obtain a Charmander.
Let's see how far he can go.
Inside the apartment—
"Level 62 Dragonite… Level 73 Gengar…"
Lin Yu pressed a hand to his chest.
Seventy-three.
That was Heavenly King level.
In the entire country, that kind of Pokémon was headline material.
And it just casually appeared in a mid-tier city like Shuimu?
"What kind of background does she have…"
As the sky darkened outside, Lin Yu felt something deepen inside him.
A desire.
To grow stronger.
Sure, having a rich girl hand you a better sword sounded nice.
But if you couldn't wield it—
The Gengar behind her would swallow you whole.
He looked down at Charmander's Poké Ball.
"Charmander… we can't let anyone look down on us."
The ball trembled lightly in response.
Charmander felt it too.
That unwillingness to lose.
That fire.
It would grow stronger.
No matter what.
Two days later.
The abandoned construction site again.
With sufficient energy supply, Charmander had climbed another level—now Level 7.
And Fire Punch?
Terrifying.
One punch left a watermelon-sized crater in the concrete floor.
If that hit a person—
There would just be a hole.
Pokémon power was absurd compared to ordinary humans.
Fortunately, in this world, there was a way for Trainers to share a portion of their Pokémon's physical resilience.
Bond.
The deeper the bond, the more physique they could share.
Otherwise, Trainers would die in battle far too easily.
That was also why the League strictly prohibited abandoning Pokémon.
That day—
Lin Yu was wiping sweat off Charmander after training.
He reached for an energy cube and prepared to check today's trait refresh—
When a voice interrupted him.
"Um… hey. Want to have a battle?"
Lin Yu turned.
A boy around his age stood a short distance away.
His tone was shy.
But his eyes burned with excitement.
Clearly itching for a real Pokémon battle.
There hadn't been anyone around during training.
So this guy had just arrived.
Probably saw Charmander and got curious.
Before Lin Yu could answer—
"Char!"
Charmander stepped forward, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
After days of training, it desperately wanted to know—
How strong am I now?
Lin Yu grinned.
"Alright. Let's do it."
"I'm Wang Miao, freshman at Shuimu No. 3 High. This year's top recruit."
He threw his Poké Ball.
"Come out—Squirtle!"
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow.
Same school.
Water-type starter.
Good.
Let's see how this opening battle goes.