The night passed without incident.
The next day, it was time for school again.
Lu Ze got up in the morning, made breakfast, ate with his Pokémon, and then headed out.
Crobat flew toward the forest with Charizard riding on its back, while Snorlax held Elekid in one arm and Crawdaunt in the other, striding off toward the back mountain.
"Hey, Probopass, do you want to come to class with me today?"
"Ku-Qi~"
Probopass nodded, and Lu Ze picked it up, placing it on his shoulder.
"Let's go, time to move!"
And so, with Dratini coiled around his waist, its head resting on Lu Ze's right shoulder, and Probopass perched on his left shoulder, one person and two Pokémon made their way toward the teaching building.
"Maybe I should think about when to shiny-hunt Probopass. Then I'd have two shiny Pokémon on my shoulders whenever I go out."
Lu Ze glanced at the Probopass on his shoulder and smiled at the thought.
Just one shiny Dratini already drew so much attention. Add a shiny Probopass on top of that, and he'd be even harder to miss.
And so, Lu Ze walked into the classroom with his two Pokémon, surrounded by envious gazes from his classmates.
Class started quickly.
Today's lesson was about the differences that come from different Pokémon species.
"Grass-type Pokémon, compared to other types, are relatively easy to care for. Their daily needs are met by sunlight."
"However, Grass-types require careful attention. You can't let them bask in the sun for too long — if too much chlorophyll builds up and isn't expelled, it becomes a burden on their bodies."
"At the same time, while Grass-types are absorbing sunlight, trainers need to provide them with water, preferably mineral water. That way they can absorb the minerals they need for growth directly through the water."
The elderly professor lectured earnestly at the podium, and Lu Ze took careful notes.
None of this knowledge had come up in the games, anime, or manga he'd played and watched before.
"Now, does anyone know how to increase the toughness of a Grass-type's vines?"
The old professor smiled at the class as he asked.
"You can use soybean water. It works the same way as mineral water — one absorbs trace elements, the other absorbs minerals. Both…"
After class, Lu Ze packed up his notes and headed outside.
Sui Yan had called early in the morning, asking when Lu Ze would be free so they could go pick up their reward.
Lu Ze told him he had a morning class and would find him after it ended.
And so, the two met up quickly and headed toward the school storage facility together.
"So, what Pokémon should I pick?" Sui Yan chattered excitedly the whole way.
Lu Ze thought it over. "Right now you've got Torkoal, Arcanine, Charizard, Volcarona, and Bulbasaur, right?"
Sui Yan nodded. "Yep, that's right."
"You've got a lot of Fire-types. But at least Bulbasaur covers your weakness."
Lu Ze stroked his chin. "How about adding a strong attacker?"
"What do you mean?" Sui Yan lit up immediately — Fire-type teams were all about going on the offensive.
"Darumaka or Talonflame would both work. Or you could bring in Cottonee for some tempo control."
"Come on, let's hurry!" Sui Yan grabbed Lu Ze and pulled him forward.
"Hey, relax, no need to rush."
Lu Ze was a little helpless, but he matched Sui Yan's pace.
"Hi, we're here to pick up the rewards from the新生 tournament."
"Alright, please show your student IDs."
Lu Ze and Sui Yan handed their IDs to the woman at the front desk.
"You're the first and second place from the新生 tournament, right? Would you like to claim your rewards together?"
Sui Yan nodded, then shook his head. "We're together, but pick mine first, then his."
The woman glanced at Lu Ze. Lu Ze nodded.
"I'll follow his lead on that."
"Alright, please follow me."
The woman smiled slightly and led Lu Ze and Sui Yan toward the back.
"The second-place prize is: choose any Pokémon egg, correct?"
"Yeah, that's right."
After confirming everything, the woman opened the door to the breeding room.
"Here we are. The eggs on the right side are all estimated Purple quality or above."
"Excuse me, I have a question." Lu Ze looked at the eggs on both sides and spoke up. "If we wanted to pick from the left side, would that be allowed?"
The woman looked at Sui Yan, since he was the second-place finisher and should be the one making the decision.
"Whatever he says goes."
The woman was speechless. Fine.
"That's possible, but the eggs on the left have undetermined quality. Of course, if you'd like to choose from there, that's still an option."
"Sounds good!"
Both of them made an OK hand gesture in sync, then descended the steps and looked over the eggs on both sides.
Pokémon: Lotad
…
Pokémon: Skitty
…
Pokémon: Macargo
Gender: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Own Tempo (ability rank changes doubled)
Quality: Orange
Base Skills: Growl, Tackle
Egg Moves: Ancient Power, Growth, Heat Wave, Heavy Slam
"Macargo actually works well — it not only has powerful moves like Ember and Flamethrower, but also Ground-type coverage. Not bad."
Lu Ze nodded and jotted down Macargo's egg number.
Unlike outside Pokémon shops, where an egg you note down might be gone by the time you come back, here these were tournament rewards. Very few people came to choose at the same time, so they could take notes on all the suitable ones and compare later.
Pokémon: Woobat
…
Pokémon: Bouffalant
…
"Actually, Bouffalant is solid too. Its evolved form, Rillaboom, doesn't rely on sun, but it has wide coverage — pretty good as an enforcer."
Lu Ze looked at Bouffalant's egg and thought for a moment. Something felt like it was nagging at him.
"What's wrong? Is this one okay?"
Lu Ze shook his head. "Let's keep looking."
"Alright."
Sui Yan nodded and continued forward.
Pokémon: Sandile
…
Pokémon: Sewaddle
…
Pokémon: Ferroseed
…
And then, seeing Ferroseed, Lu Ze finally remembered what he'd been forgetting.
"Right — no one to set up Spikes!"
Lu Ze's face lit up with excitement, but then he calmed down.
"Although, come to think of it, these kinds of annoying strategies don't seem to exist yet, do they?"
Lu Ze quickly replayed every battle he'd watched in his head — whether it was the school's 新生 battles or the videos of Elite Four matches. He hadn't seen Spikes, Toxicspikeshelf teams, Minimize teams, or anything like that.
"I wonder if I should tell Grandfather about introducing something like Sword and Shield's format? That way, these strategies would eventually catch on."
The thought excited him. He'd be able to return to his old trade — B-station Up~
(End of Chapter)