"That's Lin Yu, champion of the Hunan Provincial High School Tournament! I can't believe he's also a Top-Rank Breeder!"
"The gap between people is just insane… Ugh, compared to him, what even am I?"
"A Top-Rank Breeder, no less!"
Seeing a Top-Rank Breeder in public was already extremely rare — a young one like Lin Yu was practically one of a kind.
Lin Yu stood there holding Latias's hand, replying to the crowd's excited greetings with a helpless smile. After what felt like forever, the lab-coated Breeder hurried back.
"Here, Mr. Lin! Your Antidotes are practically Master-rank quality. We'll buy each one for 100,000 yuan!"
"I've got more than a dozen bottles here," Lin Yu said, pulling them from his bag.
They were leftovers from healing Latios in the Eon Islands. Perfect for selling now.
He was glad he hadn't brought out the super-Antidote that had cured the Elite Four–level Arbok on the cruise ship — the chaos that would've caused was unthinkable.
At 100,000 per bottle, that came to over a million yuan — just enough for the three A-Rank Psychic Stones, with some left for travel.
Beside them, Misty's mouth dropped open when she heard the price.
100,000? For one Antidote?
She didn't have that kind of money at all.
She'd just been saved by him, so running away was impossible.
But how could she ever pay back 100,000?
"Hey, little miss! That Antidote's 100k! You owe him that!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Misty flushed bright red, stammering, "I-I know… I will…"
Lin Yu saw how flustered she was and used it as his escape.
"Ahem, everyone, she's my classmate. It's totally fine."
He whispered quickly, "Hurry, let's go."
When she just stood there frozen, he grabbed her hand and rushed out of the Treasure Bureau.
"Phew, those people were wild," he sighed.
He turned to look at her. She was around his age, wearing a yellow short-sleeve overall, with neat short orange hair tied in a tiny ponytail — lively and cute.
"I'm really sorry… but I don't have that much money right now," she mumbled, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
She'd run away after fighting with her parents. They wanted her to be a Pokémon Coordinator, but she wanted to be a Trainer. She'd brought almost no money, and traveling had left her completely broke.
Lin Yu scratched his head. "When can you pay me back?"
"I'll pay you back as soon as I can!" She bowed deeply.
"It's fine, it's just one Antidote. Let's add each other on WeChat, and you can send me the money later."
He just wanted to go make Energy Cubes for Latias.
But as he turned to leave, she gently tugged his sleeve.
"Um… could you… lend me some money too?"
Lin Yu blinked in confusion.
He hadn't even asked her to pay him back, and now she wanted to borrow more?
"I ran away from home. My parents won't let me be a Trainer. But I promise — once I qualify for the National High School Tournament, I'll pay you right back!"
Lin Yu sighed.
Kid-parent fights over dreams were common.
Her Staryu was only level 26 — barely strong enough for the qualifiers, let alone winning prize money.
But sending her back would just crush her dream.
"Wait here. I'll make some Energy Cubes, sell them, and send you the money."
"Then I'm coming with you!" she insisted.
"Fine." He then asked, "How many Gyms have you beaten, Misty?"
"Yeah, just call me Misty! I'm gonna be the greatest Water-type Master ever!"
She perked up at once. "I've beaten three City Gyms…"
"Provincial ones?"
She hung her head. "I… can't beat them."
Lin Yu facepalmed.
He'd planned to beat Provincial Gyms first, but training Larvitar made sense now.
"I've already challenged all the City Gyms in Changyun," she said.
Changyun had six City Gyms — so she'd lost three.
No big deal.
"Then we'll go somewhere else."
But first, he needed to test Larvitar's real battle ability.
They headed into a C-Rank Secret Realm in the wilderness outside Changyun.
"What are we doing here?" Misty asked.
"I need to make Energy Cubes, and find practice targets for Larvitar. This Secret Realm's perfect."
"Come on out, everyone!"
Lin Yu called out his team:
Gardevoir, Charizard, Greninja, Lucario, and Larvitar.
Latias stayed in human form beside him.
He gave each Pokémon their favorite Energy Cubes.
"Wow, Lin Yu, you're so cool!" Misty's eyes sparkled.
She sent out her own team: Magikarp, Poliwhirl, Staryu, and Lapras.
Her eyes lit up. "Wanna have a battle?"
Lin Yu checked her levels and nodded. "Sure."
"Go, Lapras!"
"Go…"