The car passed through the estate gates, continued along the private roads, and finally stopped in the residential district reserved for the family’s direct descendants.
After stepping out of the car, Adrian Sterling quickened his pace toward the manor.
Although his expression remained calm, excitement surged within him.
Today…
He would finally become an official Pokémon Trainer.
— Pokémon possessed incredible power.
Even a Level 10 Pokémon could easily kill an ordinary adult.
A newly hatched Weedle, with a well-placed Poison Sting, could pierce a person’s throat.
In any civilized nation, the existence of Pokémon posed an enormous challenge to public order.
If everyone owned a Pokémon, a single unstable individual could unleash one on a crowded street, causing countless casualties in moments.
To prevent such tragedies, a nation had only two choices.
The first was to strictly limit the number of Trainers.
However, doing so would also reduce the chances of producing powerful Trainers capable of defending the country.
As a result, most nations rejected that approach.
Instead, they chose the second option— Delaying the age at which citizens could officially register as Trainers.
In the Xia Kingdom, students were only allowed to register after entering their third year of high school.
Before then, they were required to study Pokémon knowledge alongside standard academic subjects.
By that age, most students had developed a greater sense of responsibility and maturity.
Of course, those who didn’t attend school weren’t excluded.
Any citizen who reached the age of eighteen could still apply to become a registered Trainer.
— Entering the house, Adrian took out his phone and opened the Trainer Association App.
The button labeled “Register as a Trainer,” which had always been grayed out, was now glowing blue.
He was finally eligible.
Even though Adrian came from one of the country’s most prestigious families, national regulations still applied equally to him.
Following the instructions on the screen, he completed the registration process in less than three minutes.
Ding!
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Congratulations!
You have successfully become a registered Pokémon Trainer.
Pokémon System Activated.
Pokémon Interface Activated.
Mission System Activated.
Shop System Activated.
Please obtain your first Pokémon to unlock the Mission Interface.
The mysterious system that had been stuck at 99% completion for years finally activated.
The sudden voice startled Adrian so badly that his phone slipped from his hand and crashed onto the floor.
— “Why are you so excited just because you’ve become a Trainer?” A teasing voice suddenly came from behind him.
Adrian quickly turned around.
“Grandfather.” Standing there was Xia Wudao.
He was the 68th Patriarch of the Xia Family, the current Steel-Type Elite of the Xia Kingdom, and the No.
1-ranked Elite Trainer in the nation.
His strength had already reached the peak of the Quasi-Champion realm.
— The Xia Family had specialized in Steel-type Pokémon for generations.
Within the Xia Kingdom, no family possessed greater expertise in raising Steel-type Pokémon.
Even on a global scale…
They stood among the very best.
The title of Steel-Type Elite wasn’t inherited.
Every five years, the Xia Kingdom held an official Attribute Tournament.
Only the strongest Steel-type Trainer earned that prestigious title.
Meanwhile, the Elite Rankings were determined through the Heavenly King Tournament, held every eight years.
Only the top one hundred Trainers entered the rankings.
Generally speaking…
Everyone ranked between 1 and 30 had already reached the Quasi-Champion level.
Even the Trainer ranked 100th possessed at least late-stage Elite strength.
Although the Xia Kingdom had more than one thousand registered Elite Trainers, that number wasn’t as large as it sounded.
With over a thousand cities spread across the nation, each city barely had one Elite-level Trainer on average.
— Xia Wudao had one son and one daughter.
His eldest child, Xia Qianli, had two daughters and one son.
The eldest daughter, Xia Yan, was currently studying at the Imperial Capital Steel Academy.
She was four years older than Adrian.
His son…
Was Adrian Sterling.
The youngest daughter, Xia Chuchu, was still in middle school and was four years younger than Adrian.
Meanwhile, Xia Wudao’s daughter, Xia Qingzhou, had never married.
She worked at the Imperial Capital Rayquaza Research Institute and was one of the nation’s most outstanding Pokémon Scholars.
She also held the distinction of being the youngest recipient of the prestigious Arceus Award.
— The Xia Family had existed for more than a thousand years.
It was a true millennium-old noble family.
Although no living Champion currently belonged to the family…
Since its founding, it had produced ten Champion-level Trainers.
On average…
A new Champion had emerged every century.
After those Champions passed away, their Pokémon remained with the family.
They were protected in a hidden sanctuary deep within the family estate.
Should the Xia Family ever face destruction…
Those Champion-level Pokémon would undoubtedly emerge once more to defend their descendants.
The other Seven Great Families possessed similar foundations.
Even those slightly weaker than the Xia Family still far surpassed almost every other family in the Xia Kingdom.
As for Xia Wudao…
He was widely recognized as the strongest Quasi-Champion in the nation and was considered the most likely candidate to become the next Champion.
Moreover…
Although the Xia Family lacked a living Champion…
Adrian’s maternal grandfather was one of the Six Great Champions of the Xia Kingdom— The Fire-Type Champion.
— “Grandfather…” “Where’s my Beldum?” Adrian asked impatiently.
The Xia Family’s signature Pokémon was none other than Metagross— The Steel/Psychic-type Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
Even more remarkably…
The family’s Metagross line consisted entirely of Shiny Pokémon.
Unlike most species, Metagross reproduced through binary fission.
Because of this unique method of reproduction, the Shiny trait was inherited with extraordinary consistency.
Every Shiny Metagross that divided would produce…
A Shiny Beldum.
— “I’ve already prepared it for you.” Xia Wudao smiled as he produced a pale silver Poké Ball.
Click.
The Poké Ball opened.
A silver-white Beldum floated silently before Adrian.
At the same moment…
A translucent blue interface appeared before Adrian’s eyes.
— Pokémon: Beldum Type: Steel / Psychic Level: 1 Potential: Quasi-Champion Ability: Clear Body Held Item: None Gender: Genderless Moves: – Tackle TM Compatibility: None Egg Moves: None Special Trait: Shiny Shiny Effect: All damage dealt is increased by 100%.
— This was the system’s Pokémon Status Panel.
Adrian couldn’t help but admire it.
Every important detail could be seen at a glance.
Its level.
Potential.
Ability.
Moves.
Held item.
Even hidden information was displayed clearly.
— Beldum’s Clear Body Ability was far superior to its Hidden Ability, Light Metal.
Light Metal reduced the Pokémon’s weight by half, making it somewhat faster.
However…
Beldum, Metang, and Metagross were naturally slow Pokémon.
Even with increased Speed, they still couldn’t compete with naturally fast opponents.
Clear Body, on the other hand, was invaluable.
Its effect prevented opponents from lowering the Pokémon’s stats through moves or Abilities.
In battle, that advantage was enormous.
For example…
Against a Gyarados with Intimidate, Clear Body completely negated the Attack reduction.
Likewise, moves such as Superpower or Hammer Arm, which normally lowered the user’s own stats after use, would have their secondary stat-lowering effects negated by Clear Body.
For a Pokémon like Metagross…
It was undoubtedly the superior Ability.
Give me more motivation!