[Pokémon: Riolu]
[Ability: Prankster]
[Gender: Male]
[Talent: Champion-tier]
[Level: 4]
[Moves: Mega Punch, Extreme Speed, High Jump Kick, Ice Punch, Aura Sphere]
Five moves.
A newborn Riolu, Level 4, and it already knew Aura Sphere?
What kind of monster Pokémon was this?!
This was the ultimate steal.
The sky dimmed. A newborn Pokémon shouldn't train right away.
Lin Yu fed it Energy Cubes, and they all rested early.
The next few days were Spring Festival — Shuimu was lively, decorated with lanterns. A Pokémon Performance Contest was held, followed by exhibition matches between National Gym Leaders.
When Lin Yu's Pokémon watched, their eyes lit up, burning with fighting spirit.
National Gym Leaders were basically Elite Four-tier Trainers.
Their battles were breathtaking.
Their arenas were in the sky, on isolated islands, in the ocean — never in standard stadiums.
A battle between Elite Four-tier Pokémon shook mountains and split earth.
Unless it was an official national tournament, they never used standard Elite-level stadiums.
In the ocean:
A Dragonite over four meters tall fired Ice Beam, turning dozens of kilometers of sea into a frozen domain.
That was their natural battlefield.
In the sky:
Salamence and Metagross darted so fast they were barely visible, even slowed down dramatically.
Charmeleon and Frogadier watched, thrilled — they wanted to duel on the spot.
During the holiday,
Lin Yu spoiled his Pokémon.
He held a huge feast, made premium Energy Cubes, and splurged for once.
Then it was back to serious training —
especially for Riolu.
On top of that, Lin Yu bought a Gravity Sphere from the Entry Shop.
[Gravity Sphere: Raises personal gravity within 1–200x. Effectively boosts Pokémon speed! Cost: 200 Entry Coins.]
Lin Yu made up his mind:
instead of saving coins for some vague Legendary, he'd strengthen the team he already had.
He bought one for Charmeleon, Frogadier, and Riolu
to train speed.
He even bought one for himself, to build his body and share the same feeling as his Pokémon.
Kirlia didn't need one — it floated with Telekinesis.
February 16th.
10 days since catching Riolu.
[Blue Entry (Fighting Master):
Instantly comprehend all Fighting techniques!]
This was the wish Lin Yu had made for Riolu using the [Encounter] Entry the previous week!
Meanwhile, the [Encounter] Entry had upgraded from blue to purple,
becoming [Wish Come True].
This mysterious Entry was growing more powerful by the day.
The original green [Blood Drinker] Entry had also upgraded to blue.
[Blue Upgradeable Entry (Blood Drinker):
Every physical attack heals 20% of damage dealt as HP and Energy. (23%/100%)]
And —
in just 10 days, Charmeleon realized it had nothing left to teach Riolu.
[Pokémon: Riolu]
[Ability: Prankster]
[Gender: Male]
[Talent: Champion-tier]
[Level: 10]
[Moves: Mega Punch, Extreme Speed, High Jump Kick, Ice Punch, Aura Sphere, Karate Chop, Brick Break, Sonic Punch...]
[Equipped Entries: Fighting Master (Fixed), Combat Leech, Kaioken]
Champion-tier talent,
plus an Expert Breeder's training,
plus Charmeleon's guidance —
this was the Riolu standing before him.
"Ri-o~!" (I can handle more gravity now!)
The 70cm newborn had already grown to nearly a meter tall.
"Alright, alright. I'll crank it up."
Inside the Training House,
Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the now Basic-tier Riolu.
Compared to Charmander's rough start,
Riolu had been given the perfect launch.
And Riolu was humble and eager to learn — whenever it didn't understand something, it asked Charmeleon.
Lin Yu set the Gravity Sphere to 1.5x,
and Riolu immediately went back to training Extreme Speed.
They trained until night.
Lin Yu had Frogadier wash everyone off, then they returned to the real world.
Just then, the phone rang.
It was a video call.
Luo Qingfeng had contacted him many times lately, asking about Eevee's evolution.
Lin Yu had told her everything he knew.
Her voice was warm.
"Xiao Yu, I watched your tournament. I had no idea you were such an outstanding Trainer!"
"You flatter me, Master. Happy New Year."
Luo Qingfeng paused, then laughed.
"Alright, enough pleasantries. I'm calling with great news —
the friendship evolution you suggested worked!
One of our Eevee just evolved into Espeon!"
She was clearly excited.
Some people were just born obsessed with research —
she was one of them.
"Oh! Really? Congratulations, Master!" Lin Yu pretended to be surprised.
To him, it was no shock.
Once you had the right direction, it was easy.
"Congratulations nothing! This breakthrough is all thanks to you.
Your insight was exactly what we needed.
In recognition of your contribution, we've decided to award you the title of
Intermediate Researcher. Send me your info later, and I'll handle the paperwork."
She spoke quickly — she was clearly busy.
She added that Lin Yu would be listed as a co-author on their published paper:
Eevee's Evolutionary Branch Through Friendship.
After quizzing him on a few Breeder topics — which Lin Yu answered perfectly — she hung up.
Lin Yu had barely set his phone down
when it rang again.
It was Xue Nai.
"Senior?"
"Happy New Year, little brother~"
"Happy New Year, senior."
They chatted casually, until Auntie Xue's voice cut in:
"Enough small talk! Get to the point!"
Xue Nai quickly said: "Little brother, I wanted to invite you…"
Auntie Xue took over:
"Xiao Yu, I'm planning to send Xue Nai to the Frost Secret Realm for training, but I'm worried it's too dangerous. Would you go with her?"
Lin Yu blinked.
The Frost Secret Realm was a Class-B Realm.
"The Froslass there is the elder of my Froslass. It won't harm you…"
Lin Yu replied:
"Okay."