A week had passed since Lin Yu became a Provisional Professional Trainer.
He was in an excellent mood that day.
After dissolving this week's weekly Entry, his Entry Coins reached 1025—over 1,000!
That meant he could finally buy the pale, sinister flame.
"Charr…?"
Charmeleon stepped out, confused.
It had grown taller and stronger, standing at around 1.6 meters—only slightly shorter than a fully evolved Charizard.
"I've got something great for you today."
With a racing heart and trembling hands, Lin Yu redeemed the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
[Ding! Bone Spirit Cold Fire obtained. To protect you from its corruption, you may grant it to a Pokémon with a single thought. Note: This alien flame has extreme assimilative power—use with caution!]
Lin Yu stared at the remaining items in the Entry Shop:
Charizardite X, Gardevoirite, Legendary Summon Card.
He could only sigh helplessly.
He wanted them all, but Entry Coins held him back.
If only there was an Entry that could generate more coins…
Huh?
Lin Yu's eyes lit up.
He still had the [Encounter] Entry!
That was his chance!
He could wish for an Entry that boosted Entry Coin gain!
"Charr?"
Charmeleon tilted its head, confused. Weren't you supposed to give me something good?
"It's here, it's here!"
With a single thought,
a wisp of pale-white flame floated into Charmeleon's body.
This alien flame came with side effects,
but Charmeleon had the [Purification] Entry fixed to it.
Only Charmeleon could safely wield this flame!
"Charr!!" (I feel a new flame pouring into me!)
Charmeleon was amazed. This flame was nothing like its own.
Its fire was domineering, but only in a brute-force way.
This flame…
it felt like it could burn through everything.
Of course, that was just an illusion.
Bone Spirit Cold Fire did greatly boost burning damage,
but its real power lay in the mix of extreme cold and extreme heat, torturing foes so they could neither live nor die.
"Charr!!" (I wanna test the new flame!)
Charmeleon was pumped.
Lin Yu shook his head.
As much as he wanted to see the Bone Spirit Cold Fire in action,
Charmeleon had grown too strong for the old abandoned building.
Training there now would easily turn the concrete floors and pillars to ash.
Besides, the place was closer to the Secret Realm now—more people came and went, so it wasn't safe or secret anymore.
"Not yet. I'll find you a proper training spot soon."
Lin Yu patted Charmeleon's head to calm it down.
"Charr!"
He also thought he needed to get another Fire Stone for Charmeleon.
The one from the school had been completely used up.
The Water Stone he'd found in the Secret Realm had already been given to Frogadier.
Frogadier was now Level 21.
Once a Pokémon reached the Elite Stage,
leveling up became far harder than before.
That was the huge gap between ranks.
Wealthy trainers could easily get all kinds of resources to power up their Pokémon.
Ordinary trainers, like Wan Wan, had to risk their lives in Secret Realms for supplies.
Money blocked the path for so many people.
Take Energy Cubes, for example.
Lin Yu never worried—he had [Sub-job Expert].
But most trainers could only afford low or mid-tier cubes.
They filled bellies, but their energy efficiency and recovery were far worse.
Training moves and stamina took a huge toll on Pokémon.
Without proper energy, forced training would damage their foundation
and ruin their natural talent!
To keep the gap from growing too wide,
the country passed a law:
no one could receive their first Pokémon until age 15.
It was to give ordinary people a chance.
Otherwise, rich families would give their kids Starters or Pseudo-Legendaries from a young age. By adulthood, those Pokémon would be at least Gym-tier—and ordinary trainers would have no chance in new Secret Realms.
The long-term result would be disastrous.
Besides, ordinary people made up most of the population.
Among them, some had incredible luck and rose to the top.
Mu Ban, the Gym Leader of the National Gym, was an Elite Four-level trainer who came from nothing.
In his early years, he fought hard and survived countless near-death experiences in Secret Realms,
raising a Beedrill all the way to Semi-Champion tier.
Many other Master-level trainers also came from ordinary backgrounds. They knew the hardship, so they treated poor trainers fairly.
Thanks to that, more and more ordinary trainers got to shine.
"Kirl~"
Kirlia poked its head out carefully. It almost never stayed in its Poké Ball at home anymore.
Now it was Lin Yu's turn to be troubled.
The Secret Realm he'd discovered—
besides the giant Gyarados and a few smaller ones,
the strongest wild Pokémon were only mid-Elite tier.
Before, that had been enough to help his team grow.
But now, with [Battle Leech] equipped on all three,
that realm no longer challenged them.
"Kirl~" (Lin Yu, cuddles~)
"No cuddles. Have a cream puff." Lin Yu refused without hesitation, placing a puff on Kirlia's outstretched hand.
He'd made them himself.
Kirlia was the biggest sweet tooth of the three.
(>﹏<.)~ "Kirl…" (Sad…)
After finishing the puff, Kirlia stared at Lin Yu with a pout.
"Huh… an Entry Slot expansion?!"
When he saw the new slot in the shop, Lin Yu bought it immediately.
It was incredibly valuable.
Each Pokémon could only equip 3 Entries besides fixed ones.
After buying it, he called Frogadier over and attached the new slot.
Frogadier's status now looked like this:
[Pokémon: Frogadier]
[Ability: Protean, Torrent]
[Gender: Male]
[Talent: Elite]
[Level: 21]
[Moves: Bubble, Water Pulse, Double Team, Aerial Ace, Dark Pulse, Grass Knot, Cut, Water Shuriken...]
[Equipped Entries: Shiny Skin (Fixed), Blood Drink, Water Aura, Rasengan.]
After thinking it over, he gave [Blood Drink] to Frogadier.
Blood Drink only triggered healing from physical cutting damage,
and Charmeleon already had the Life Flame trait.
On top of that,
Frogadier's talent had risen even further!
The panel still showed Elite-tier,
but with another boost like Bone Spirit Cold Fire, its talent would undergo a complete transformation!