Hearing the system notification, Ethan froze for a moment.
A Blue Opportunity… tied to Liam?
He hadn't expected that.
Just as Ethan turned his attention to Liam, Liam's gaze shifted past him—landing on the two small Pokémon that had entered the dorm alongside Ethan.
Gible and Deino.
The moment Liam recognized them, his brain shut down.
"…What the hell?"
"Ethan," he said slowly, staring, "what are these two?"
Ethan answered calmly, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
"This is Gible. And this is Deino."
"Gible, Deino—this is Liam."
"Say hello."
Gible was incredibly cooperative.
"Gii-baa~!"
He beamed happily, radiating friendliness.
Deino, much quieter by nature, merely let out a soft sound in acknowledgment.
That alone was enough.
Liam stared at them, then back at Ethan.
Then back at them again.
"…Ethan," he said weakly, "what did you do this afternoon?"
"You left for a bit and came back with two pseudo-legendary babies?"
Even though Liam wasn't deeply knowledgeable about Pokémon theory—
He still knew what pseudo-legendaries were.
One was rare enough.
Two at the same time?
That was madness.
He was already struggling to process the fact that Ethan had a Metagross.
Now this?
"My dad came to see me," Ethan replied honestly.
"He took me to officially adopt them."
Liam went silent.
So this was what other people's dads were like.
Then his thoughts drifted to his own test results from earlier that day.
The silence deepened.
Even if his father somehow got him a Pokémon like that…
Could he really raise it well?
The answer was obvious.
So while Liam felt envy, there was no bitterness in it.
Just acceptance.
Ethan noticed his mood and changed the topic.
"By the way—where did you go this afternoon?"
"I called you at noon to invite you to eat, but you didn't answer."
"And earlier… you said you had something to talk to me about?"
Liam took a deep breath.
Instead of answering immediately, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a Luxury Ball.
Click.
A flash of light.
"Fue~!"
A small, round Fuecoco popped out, wearing its usual vacant smile.
The moment it saw Ethan, it happily toddled over and rubbed against his leg.
Ethan crouched down instinctively and gently patted the warm spot near the flame on Fuecoco's head.
Liam watched that scene in silence.
Then sighed.
"…Ethan."
"What I wanted to say is…"
"I want to entrust Fuecoco to you."
Ethan froze.
"…What?"
Liam continued quietly.
"I've thought about it a lot."
"I don't think I'm suited to being a battling Trainer."
"Things that seem obvious to you and others… I don't understand at all."
"At first, I thought being a Trainer wouldn't be that hard."
"But now I know."
"It's really difficult."
During the entrance evaluation, even after switching to the older, sturdier testing machine—
Most students still scored over forty thousand.
Liam?
He hadn't even broken ten thousand.
And that was after two weeks of honest effort.
After training Altaria every single day.
Reality had finally caught up.
So after thinking all afternoon, Liam called his father.
He would stay at Donghuang Academy—
But he would transfer from the Battle Department to the Breeding Department.
The Breeding Department demanded even more technical knowledge.
But effort there led to real growth.
Unlike battle training, where he felt permanently stuck.
His father didn't object.
Liam's father had grown up poor.
More than anything, he didn't want his son suffering.
That afternoon, Liam completed the transfer with Counselor Lou Yixiao.
Altaria would stay with him.
But Fuecoco…
Fuecoco had never truly acknowledged him.
Not even once.
After thinking it through, Liam made his choice.
Not to waste Fuecoco's potential.
And not to force something that wasn't meant to be.
That was why he chose Ethan.
Now Ethan finally understood why a Blue Opportunity had appeared.
It was about Fuecoco.
And truthfully—
Ethan liked Fuecoco a lot.
The little guy looked slow and clueless, but he was sharp in his own way.
When Ethan trained Hatenna, Fuecoco would always watch nearby, absorbing everything.
Ethan had given him a few pointers before.
Fuecoco picked them up almost immediately.
Not Tyrantrum-level genius—
But undeniably talented.
Still, Ethan took a deep breath.
"Liam… are you sure?"
"Fuecoco wasn't cheap. Your dad paid a lot for him."
Liam smiled.
"I know."
"But Fuecoco wants to grow stronger."
"And if I stay in the Breeding Department, he won't get that chance."
"Honestly, he's already unhappy with me."
"One day, he'd probably leave on his own."
"So instead of that—"
"I'd rather entrust him to you."
"You're my brother."
"I know what you're capable of."
"Fuecoco won't be buried under you."
"And hey—"
"I still get to see him."
"If you become famous someday, I can even brag and say—"
"Fuecoco used to be my Pokémon."
"So… Ethan."
"Will you take him?"
Ethan looked down.
Fuecoco was staring up at him, eyes full of anticipation.
He had already been told earlier that day.
And he was happy about it.
After a long pause, Ethan smiled.
"If that's the case…"
"Then Fuecoco—"
"Let's work together from now on."
"Fue~!"
Fuecoco beamed.
At the same moment, the system voice echoed again.
[Ding! Blue Opportunity acquired – A Friend's Trust]
[Opportunity Surge in progress…]
[Congratulations! Eighty-Eightfold Surge triggered]
[Opportunity upgraded to Red Tier]
Pokémon Acquired: Fuecoco
Level: 12
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze
Moves: Ember, Bite, Round, Flame Charge, Dig
Potential: Champion-grade
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