Snivy.
One of the Grass-type royal starters.
Its body was mostly green, with pale yellow accents on its abdomen and feet.
A thin yellow stripe ran from its back all the way to its tail. The yellow markings around its neck spread outward like small wings, forming a fleur-de-lis shape when viewed from behind.
Despite its serpentine appearance, Snivy had four limbs and stood upright on two legs.
After evolving, Serperior was considered a capable battler rather than a purely decorative Pokémon.
"Insight."
Chen Ran remained calm and activated his appraisal.
Snivy's information appeared before his eyes.
…
[Snivy]
Level: Lv.13
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow
(When HP drops below one-third, the power of Grass-type moves increases by 1.5×)
IVs:
HP: 22
Attack: 26
Defense: 15
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 26
Talent: Gym Tier
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Vine Whip, Wrap, Growth
…
"Gym-tier Snivy."
Not bad.
Chen Ran understood immediately.
The Individual Values were very similar to those in the games. An IV of 31 represented a perfect value—commonly called a V.
The more perfect IVs a Pokémon had, the higher its overall talent.
According to the system's classification:
0V — Normal
1–6V — Elite, Gym, Pseudo-Elite, Elite, Champion, Legendary
For example, Chen Ran's Charmander possessed perfect IVs across the board.
A completely unprecedented case.
"One of a kind," he thought.
"Snivy is already level 13. Wen Xiaoke must have started training during summer break—otherwise, there's no way it would've broken level 10 so quickly."
That level of progress was anything but normal.
"Chen Ran, are my legs really that white?!"
Wen Xiaoke misunderstood his gaze and blushed slightly.
Faced with Chen Ran's focused eyes, she grew embarrassed and snorted lightly.
Ma Gang nearly choked on air.
"They're… pretty green."
Chen Ran laughed.
Wen Xiaoke frowned, looked down, and finally realized—
He wasn't looking at her legs at all.
He was looking at Snivy.
"Hmph!"
Not looking at legs—
Looking at a Pokemon instead?
Is he gay ?
She mentally slapped a label on Chen Ran.
Still—
She quickly found common ground and smiled as she introduced,
"Chen Ran, this is Snivy, one of the Grass-type royal starters."
"She's my starter Pokémon—my best partner."
Starter Pokémon?
That meant Wen Xiaoke's family background was anything but ordinary.
"Yes. Not bad."
Objectively speaking, Snivy's stats were solid.
Combined with gym-tier talent, Wen Xiaoke had a real chance of becoming a professional Gym Leader-level Trainer in the future.
But—
The Ability Overgrow was fairly mediocre for Snivy.
"If you really want to play the serpent line properly, Contrary would be insanely strong."
Grass-types were naturally resilient and dependable.
Many Trainers favored Grass-type starters due to their balance and safety.
Among them, Bulbasaur was undeniably the most popular—but Serperior was one of the few that could rival it.
"Xiaoke, choosing Snivy as your starter was a great decision."
Chen Ran wasn't particularly interested in the delicate, pale type—but that didn't mean he was rude or antisocial.
Normal conversation was still normal.
"Really? I think so too."
Wen Xiaoke smiled gently and looked at him more intently.
"Even though some people dislike snake Pokémon, Serperior completely overturns that stereotype. After evolving, it becomes noble and elegant."
That was precisely why she had chosen Snivy.
"Agreed."
Chen Ran nodded.
That kind of regal aura was rare among Pokémon.
Only Serperior—
And Slowking—came close.
Though compared to Serperior, Slowking was… a bit silly.
"Venusaur is too bulky, Turtwig feels clumsy. Snivy suits you perfectly."
Clearly, her family had chosen carefully.
"But—"
"If Serperior wants to truly shine in battle, it needs the right Ability."
Chen Ran glanced at her meaningfully.
The Snivy line had two Abilities:
Overgrow — standard comeback boost
Contrary — the core Ability that could turn stat drops into increases
With Contrary, Serperior could dominate entire teams.
Unfortunately—
Wen Xiaoke's Snivy had Overgrow, making it less oppressive.
"I want that too!"
Wen Xiaoke sighed helplessly.
She spread her hands.
"Snivy is already rare enough. Finding one with a Hidden Ability is even harder."
Hidden Abilities—
They were called "hidden" for a reason.
Extremely rare.
Combined with Snivy's rarity, a Contrary Snivy was practically one in a hundred.
"You're right."
Chen Ran nodded.
This wasn't a game world where you could reset endlessly.
"A normal Snivy already costs millions. A Contrary one sold for 30 million two years ago."
Wen Xiaoke puffed her cheeks slightly.
"Thirty million?!"
Even Chen Ran was stunned.
For ordinary people, that number was astronomical—
But for wealthy elites or professional Trainers, it was simply an investment.
Unlimited resources in exchange for a limited, powerful Pokémon.
No matter how you looked at it, it was worth the money.
"Oh, right."
Wen Xiaoke looked at Charmander, blinking expectantly.
"Can I touch it?"
"Sure."
Chen Ran smiled and reminded Charmander not to hurt anyone.
"Char~"
Charmander flicked its tail happily, waiting to be petted.
"Thank you!"
Wen Xiaoke beamed, dimples appearing on her cheeks.
"For a moment, I thought being slim and fair was a good thing."
Chen Ran froze.
"Pfft."
Wen Xiaoke rolled her eyes shyly.
"Hey, Chen Ran—I heard that the reward for first place in the freshman military training…"
"…might be a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon."