Lo Xing stared blankly for a moment, lost in his thoughts as he recalled his own first encounter with Pokémon. But soon, his large hand slammed down heavily on Lin Yu's shoulder, causing Lin Yu to wince in pain.
"Stop with the melodrama. You've made your decision. Now you have a task: you need to get your second Pokémon."
"The university competition requires two Pokémon?" Lin Yu asked.
Lo Xing couldn't hide his frustration and gave him a stern look. "What do you think?"
"Alright, I'll go now," Lin Yu quickly replied.
Seeing his determination, Lo Xing didn't say anything more and signaled Lin Yu to join the team. He then began assigning training tasks.
"Today's training is simple: just try to keep pace with your Pokémon."
At first, the students didn't think much of it. But soon, the difficulty became apparent.
For example, during the long-distance run, while little Charmander could easily run five kilometers without breaking a sweat, how could a group of students keep up with the Pokémon's pace?
The instructor, who had retired from the military, yelled, "You're their trainers! Don't you know how hard they train? And when you explore a secret realm in the future, the wild Pokémon won't treat you like a trainer!"
While everyone understood, the pressure was what had been missing before. Now, under pressure, they could only reluctantly run.
After five kilometers, everyone was gasping for breath. Lin Yu quickly activated the "Rapid Recovery" trait, and within five minutes, his energy was completely restored.
Seeing this, Wang Miao, who was standing next to him, was stunned. His Squirtle was exhausted and drinking from the water tap.
"Lin Yu, aren't you tired?"
"Huh? I'm fine. Maybe it's because I've been training regularly," Lin Yu shrugged. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
Wang Miao looked at him like he was a monster. Not only did Pokémon get stronger quickly, but even their trainers were unbelievable!
After a day's training, everyone was too tired to move, except for Lin Yu, who seemed unfazed.
"This is the difficulty level for the reserve team. If anyone wants to quit, leave now. Otherwise, expect this kind of training every day."
Lin Yu quickly asked, "What about me?"
"You... As long as it doesn't interfere with your academic work, you're free to come. If anything happens with the high school team, your homeroom teacher will notify you."
Lo Xing was extremely satisfied with Lin Yu. Not only was his Pokémon strong, but Lin Yu's physical fitness was also well-trained. A person like him would probably perform best with some autonomy in training.
In other words, Lin Yu now had what every student wanted—unlimited leave rights!
"By the way, since your Charmander is a Fire-type, you could go to the Fire Gym to learn some new skills before the competition."
He handed Lin Yu his business card. "Zhong Yue, the guy who runs it, is an old friend of mine."
The others, including Wang Miao, once again felt the unfairness of the world. But there was nothing they could do.
Taking the card and looking at the familiar stern face, Lin Yu smiled. "I should have known. They're probably comrades."
...
Flamethrower was a nearly essential skill for Fire-type Pokémon. Lin Yu had been thinking about it for a while.
After Lo Xing's reminder, Lin Yu realized that instead of buying an expensive move tutor, he could take his Charmander to the Gym for training.
Without wasting any time, Lin Yu hailed a taxi and headed to the Fire Gym after school.
The Fire Gym was everything it was said to be. As soon as Lin Yu entered, he could feel the intense heat in the air. It was said that there was a massive underground lava pool behind the Gym, so the concentration of fire energy here was high. It was a paradise for Fire-type Pokémon.
However, Lin Yu wasn't too thrilled to see someone he didn't like.
By the side of the raging lava lake, a Growlithe was playing with fire, and beside it stood Qing Fei, his expression cold.
Lin Yu recognized him immediately.
The man who had abandoned Charmander on that rainy night.
"Is it you?" Qing Fei asked, immediately recognizing Lin Yu. He looked away, pretending not to know him.
Lin Yu wasn't interested in engaging with him. He was here to ask the Gym Leader if he could have Charmander learn Flamethrower.
At that moment, Zhong Yue, the Gym Leader, walked over with his Charizard.
He immediately spotted Lin Yu. "You're right on time! The first secret realm exploration just finished. The treasures will be sent to you soon."
Lin Yu didn't waste time and pulled out his Pokéball. With a flash of red light, Charmander appeared in front of them.
"I want my Charmander to learn Flamethrower," Lin Yu said directly.
Zhong Yue raised an eyebrow. "Charmander learning Flamethrower? Lately, it seems like all the new trainers have been aiming too high."
Before the required energy is reached, forcing a Pokémon to learn a move can exhaust its energy too quickly, which could hinder its growth.
Meanwhile, Qing Fei continued to stare at Lin Yu. When Charmander appeared, his eyes widened in shock, as though seeing something unbelievable.
This Charmander... it looked familiar. It was the same one that had taken first place in the training competition, wasn't it?
Qing Fei's mind raced. Could it be... was this the same Charmander that he had abandoned that rainy night?
"No way!" Qing Fei almost shouted in disbelief.
"What's wrong?" Zhong Yue asked, a bit annoyed by Qing Fei's sudden outburst.
Qing Fei hesitated but said, "Nothing."
Although the chances were slim, the possibility was starting to seem more likely. This Charmander could very well be the one he had abandoned, but Qing Fei didn't dare to say it out loud. He had told his father that Charmander couldn't handle the intense training and ran away. He had searched but couldn't find it.
"Impulsive," Zhong Yue muttered, then turned his attention back to Lin Yu. "It's too early for Charmander to learn Flamethrower. The fire energy required is too high. If you force it, the results won't be good. It's better to let it learn naturally."
Lin Yu nodded in regret.
Just then, Qing Fei, still in disbelief, approached Lin Yu and said, "You're Lin Yu, right? I challenge you to a battle between trainers!"
The more Qing Fei thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. How could this Charmander, the one that had won first place in the competition, help him win?
It seemed like the gap between him and Lin Yu was just too wide.