"Yo, Sprigatito—you're awake?"
Noticing the movement, Ethan Vale spun his chair around and said with a wicked grin,
"The surgery was a complete success. You're no longer a girl."
Sprigatito froze stiff, instinctively lifting a leg to check whether anything strange had grown there. After confirming nothing was amiss, it flushed with embarrassment and angrily meowed at Ethan Vale.
"Meow-feh!"
Give me back my emotional moment!
Ethan Vale cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Just kidding. But seriously—don't you feel like something's changed in your body?"
Logically speaking, becoming a Chosen Pokémon was a big deal. After a "system update," Sprigatito should've noticed something.
Seeing how serious Ethan Vale looked, Sprigatito hopped around on the bed and threw a few playful kitty punches.
Then it was pleasantly surprised to discover that, just as Ethan Vale said, its strength and speed had improved noticeably.
Sprigatito knew such a change wouldn't happen for no reason. It tilted its head toward Ethan Vale, puzzled.
"Meow-feh?"
What exactly did you feed me to turn my body into this?
Ethan Vale replied calmly, "Just a meeting gift. Relax—stick with me, and the benefits won't stop coming."
Sprigatito rolled its eyes. "Meow-feh."
More like the benefits won't stop coming for you, right?
Even so, a gentle warmth still welled up in Sprigatito's heart.
That previous Trainer had been strict, but when it came to training resources, Sprigatito had never been shortchanged—if anything, it had received more than most Pokémon.
So Sprigatito wasn't some sheltered rookie.
It knew that such a massive improvement in such a short time was impossible through ordinary means.
Ethan Vale must have put in a lot of effort—perhaps even paid a significant price.
Sprigatito even suspected that Ethan Vale had prepared these rare things long before officially capturing it.
Hmph. This guy was acting flippant on purpose—to hide all that, so I wouldn't feel guilty, wasn't he?
Watching Sprigatito's turned-away cheeks grow redder and redder, Ethan Vale twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Hey—what on earth are you imagining?!
Tsundere has already fallen out of the meta, okay?!
The next morning.
At Shanghai University's Pokémon Center.
The receptionist handed Ethan Vale a Trainer ID, her smile bright and sweet.
"Alright! From now on, you're officially a legal Trainer–Pokémon pair!"
Taking the newly issued Trainer ID, Ethan Vale flipped it open.
Below his handsome ID photo sat Sprigatito's cute smiling face, neatly placed.
A wave of emotion rose in Ethan Vale's heart.
After transmigrating to the Pokémon world for three years, today he finally qualified to say things like 'My goal is to become a Pokémon Master.'
If you put it in Donghuang-style parent talk—
"I already lost at the starting line long ago!"
…Then again, I don't even have parents.
With that thought, Ethan Vale waved to his new family member at his feet.
"From now on, let's take care of each other."
Sprigatito lifted its head proudly. "Meow-feh!"
Reality wasn't a game—there was no rival popping out to challenge him the moment he got his "starter Pokémon."
In fact, until the human-and-cat duo reached the classroom, hardly anyone even paid them any attention.
A Trainer paired with a starter Pokémon was far too common a sight on the campus of Shanghai University, a top-tier Pokémon school.
Once inside the classroom, though, someone finally expressed surprise.
"Ethan Vale—you actually caught that Sprigatito?"
The speaker was Aaron Cole, Ethan Vale's newly acknowledged "son."
With a teasing grin, he said, "Wow. I knew you two were making eyes at each other—didn't expect you'd really end up together!"
Ethan Vale chuckled. "Watch your tone when speaking to your father."
Aaron Cole was about to instinctively retort, but then remembered that Ethan Vale had just helped him secure his shiny Great Ball rank the night before. His confidence immediately deflated.
"Uh… okay. But are you sure about catching it?"
He grinned at the Sprigatito staring straight at him and leaned in to whisper,
"I told you about its past, right?"
Ethan Vale grinned down at Sprigatito, which was pretending to look around casually while secretly perking up its pointy ears, and nodded.
"You mean how it was abandoned by a blind, cold-blooded Trainer who only treated Pokémon as battle tools?"
Aaron Cole scratched his head anxiously. "No, no—Rowan Black might be a bit cold personality-wise, but she's seriously strong, okay? She's one of the biggest favorites to win this year's Shanghai Pokémon Cup!"
[Ding—Triggering Combat Round 2-1: Shanghai Pokémon Cup.
The host may choose whether to participate.]
Ethan Vale: "…"
Wait—this isn't right, is it?
So my buddy exists purely as an NPC to trigger rounds?
Isn't this setting a little too disrespectful to people?
The system's sudden voice in his mind left Ethan Vale speechless.
Of course, he knew what a "round" meant—Teamfight Tactics mechanics, right?
In the game, players with prepared unit lineups fight one another.
Translated to the real world, that meant Pokémon battle competitions?
[Including, but not limited to, battle competitions.]
Brother System promptly clarified.
Ethan Vale raised an eyebrow slightly.
Including but not limited to?
Then what else could possibly count as a "round" for the system…
"Hey, Chi—what are you spacing out for?"
Seeing Ethan Vale suddenly zone out, Aaron Cole waved his hand in front of his face.
"Nothing. Just thinking about something."
Ethan Vale temporarily set aside the system conversation, refocused, and steered the topic back.
"That… Rowan Black being strong doesn't actually contradict what I said."
Unlike many Pokémon fans who liked Trainers in the mold of Paul—cold, rational, results-oriented—
Which, frankly, also had to do with how well Diamond & Pearl was made: great story, great writing, great scripts for the Sinnoh Champion—
Ahem, off-topic. And to be fair, Paul did have reflection and growth.
Otherwise, Ethan Vale felt he wouldn't be much better than that later junior named Goh.
In any case, Ethan Vale personally preferred idiots who genuinely valued emotional bonds with their Pokémon.
So naturally, he also held no goodwill toward Rowan Black, who had abandoned Sprigatito.
Waving his hand, Ethan Vale said, "Alright, don't worry about it, Old Chen. Sprigatito and I are already registered."
Since his best friend had put it that way, Aaron Cole could only drop the subject.
At some point, a faint smile had appeared on Sprigatito's face at Ethan Vale's feet.
After sitting down at his seat, Ethan Vale finally found the time to read the message Brother System had just released.
There was no doubt about it—the first round was absolutely worth participating in, just to see what it was all about.
In his mind, Ethan Vale said, "Start the round."
Always online, Brother System replied instantly.
[Round 2-1: Shanghai Pokémon Cup has begun!
The system will evaluate the host's performance after the round ends and grant corresponding rewards!]
Ethan Vale's eyes lit up. "What rewards are there? Do they include Prismatic Orbs?"
The Prismatic Orb from the first Hextech reward had been absurdly good.
If he could open another one, he'd even be willing to catch Rayquaza and marry Cynthia!
However, the system's reply immediately shattered his unrealistic fantasy.
[This event is a small-scale round.
The highest possible reward is a Gold-tier Orb.]