It was said that in the past, a small family had once controlled a Dragon Dance TM machine.
However, the strongest Trainer in that family had only been an Elite Four Candidate.
Later, after the news leaked, that small family was wiped out overnight by a mysterious Elite Four-level powerhouse.
Not a single survivor was left behind, and the Dragon Dance TM machine vanished without a trace.
To this day, that mysterious Elite Four-level Trainer was still wanted by every major League.
Reality was ultimately not an anime.
Reality was often far bloodier than any anime could be.
This place did not believe in justice always prevailing.
This place only believed in the strong preying on the weak.
“You two are very talented.
Even if you no longer need to attend classes, don’t slack off.
Train properly.
This year’s state tournament might have a place for both of you.” Principal Marcus Greenhill first encouraged the two of them, then told them to go to the school warehouse on their own to collect their rewards.
After that, he said they could leave.
Evan Lane and Lucas Ember left the principal’s office.
Along the way, although Lucas still did not say much, the joy in his eyes could not be hidden no matter what.
The principal had clearly made that reward on a whim.
For just one assessment, a Protect TM was far too valuable.
Evan was also extremely happy.
He truly had not expected the principal to be this generous.
Passing an assessment and getting a Protect TM for free?
Kind.
Too kind!
However, he quickly understood.
If their starter Pokémon had not been Snivy and Charmander, the principal probably would not have been so generous.
“From now on, the two of us will be training together.
During extra time, we can also battle to test our progress.
What do you think?” Evan gave Lucas his suggestion.
Honestly, seeing Lucas pass the assessment as well made Evan rather happy.
With Charmander as an opponent, Snivy would improve much faster.
She would just have to suffer a little more in the process.
“Okay.
It’s settled, then!” Lucas, who was usually quiet and reserved, seemed to have flames burning in his eyes the moment battling was mentioned.
Even the Charmander beside him felt his Trainer’s fighting spirit, and the little flame on its tail burned brighter.
“Char!” Seeing this, the corner of Evan’s mouth twitched.
The moment battling was mentioned, he got fired up.
They had not even fought a single real battle yet, so how was he already addicted?
At that moment, the results of Evan and Lucas passing the assessment, along with the news that they no longer needed to attend the relevant Pokémon courses, had already been announced to all senior students through the school speakers.
Doing this could effectively motivate the students to study harder.
After all, as long as they passed the assessment, it was the same as having more than twice as much time as others to train their Pokémon.
That would let them get better results in the weekly battle exams.
After collecting the Protect TM, Evan agreed to meet Lucas at the training field tomorrow.
Then, he swaggered out of school, preparing to get Snivy’s meal plan ready before training started the next day.
From what Evan understood, direct descendants of large families often established long-term partnerships with Breeders who could design special diets for their Pokémon.
In this world, Breeders also held an extremely important position, and the field was divided into many branches.
Some Breeders specialized in post-injury care for Pokémon.
Some specialized in controlling and evaluating the state of Pokémon before evolution.
After all, everyone’s time and energy were limited.
Being able to specialize in a single field was already enough to prove both talent and effort in that area.
Nutritionists who could design exclusive diets for Pokémon held an even more important position.
A diet plan would follow a Pokémon throughout its entire life.
It would even need to be adjusted dynamically depending on the Pokémon’s development direction.
Evan had not found anything in this world similar to Pokéblocks.
Perhaps no one had yet developed the technology to extract and fuse pure energy.
Otherwise, there would not be much room left for other Pokémon nutritionists.
Although this was an undeveloped field, Evan had no intention of blindly charging into it.
Evan had always had one advantage that might not really count as an advantage.
He knew his own limits.
He was very clear that he was not a genius like Red, someone who could travel for only a year at the age of ten and stand at the peak of the League Champion throne by eleven.
The advantages Evan currently possessed, aside from his lead in information, all came from the system.
Just imagine.
Could he really rely on only those things to defeat the true geniuses of every generation?
The answer was obvious.
Since this world had ten major regions, and Evan had not heard of famous names like Red or Blue, there was a very real possibility that he would stand on the same starting line as those people he had once looked up to, competing on the same stage at the League Conference!
The moment he thought of that, Evan, who had been a battle-focused player in his previous life, grew so excited that he could not stop trembling.
“Sure enough, the best method is to catch…
cough, cough, I mean befriend a Pokémon nutritionist, tell them the idea behind Energy Blocks, and then just enjoy the results myself.” While thinking, Evan had already arrived at the entrance of Mapleford’s black market.
Before this, he had already recalled Snivy into her Poké Ball.
On the way to school that morning, he had discovered that Snivy, as one of Unova’s starter Pokémon, was still fairly rare in the Arcadia Region.
She always attracted plenty of attention.
If he ran into someone who wanted to steal her, with his current strength, he basically had no ability to resist.
This time, Evan would not go deep into the black market.
He was only going to buy some Berries suitable for Snivy from the Pokémon supply shops near the entrance.
The prices here were much friendlier than those at the official Poké Mart.
At the entrance of the black market, there were Officer Jennys, Arcadia League branch, patrolling the area.
For a Junior Trainer like Evan, this place was still much safer.
The deeper one went into the black market, the more gray industries appeared.
As for why the authorities did not shut down this kind of place completely?
Lower-level Trainers still needed a path upward.
Otherwise, managing them would only become even harder.
Evan liked one saying very much.
The world was not black and white.
It was a delicate shade of gray.
He walked into one shop and looked at the shelves filled with all kinds of Berries.
Some had clearly been left there for too long.
Not only had their color turned dull, there were even fruit flies buzzing over them.
After roughly observing them, Evan understood that these Berries had been divided into three areas: high quality, which meant bright color and freshness; medium quality, which meant they had been stored for some time but were still mostly intact; and low quality, which meant they had been stored for a long time and had serious scratches and bruises on the surface.
Of course, the prices were worlds apart.
High-quality Berries cost four times as much as low-quality Berries.
But even so, the price of high-quality Berries was only one-third of what they would cost at an official store.
Looking at the Berries in front of him, Evan fell into thought.
In his impression, Speed, Special Attack, and HP were all very important for Snivy.
Of course, in reality, there was no such thing as an HP stat, so the range of Berries he could choose from was narrowed down to two directions.
However, the shop in front of him only had ordinary Berries.
Something like the super-rare Salac Berry, which could greatly improve a Pokémon’s speed, was impossible to find in a small shop like this.
In the end, Evan bought Occa Berries, which could reduce damage from Fire-type attacks.
Adding everything together, and because Evan chose only high-quality stock, half a month’s worth cost him more than $180.
After all, even he would not be able to bring himself to eat those medium and low-quality Berries, let alone his proud little princess!
No matter who had to suffer, it absolutely could not be his own child!