Two and a half months later.
A bone-chilling wind howled through the air. Owen stepped through the school gates, his boots crunching against the fresh snow.
On his shoulder, Eevee was bundled in a warm scarf, yawning incessantly; she had grown quite lazy since winter set in.
Besides Eevee, a new Pokéball hung from Owen's belt.
A month ago, Owen's request to Ethan had finally been approved. After multiple layers of administrative review, Owen officially qualified to capture a second Pokémon.
Usually, trainers only get this privilege in their rookie year if they are direct relatives of professional trainers or have placed exceptionally high in major official tournaments.
Owen didn't fit those criteria, but with the strong recommendation of the Fairview Trainer Association, he had secured the opportunity.
However, obtaining a third slot within his rookie year would likely be impossible.
The transfer of Magnemite's ownership went very smoothly. At the power plant where Owen's father worked, Electric-type Pokémon were usually moved to various industrial roles once they reached a certain level of growth.
If an employee had a child who was a university-level trainer in need of a Pokémon, the plant was often happy to donate one as an investment.
Because his father's company was a state-owned enterprise under the jurisdiction of the Trainer Association, the paperwork was a simple formality.
The Magnemite had been slated for release anyway, and given Owen's rising status in Fairview, the plant leadership was more than happy to do him a favor.
Thus, Magnemite officially became Owen's second Pokémon.
With the Spring Festival approaching, final exams had ended. Most high schools in Fairview had already started winter break—except for the third-year students.
"This is the agreement for winter break supplementary classes," Ms. Hailey, the homeroom teacher, announced. "Participation is entirely voluntary.
There are no extra fees for either cultural or training classes. However, I advise you all to join. Once you fall behind in your studies or training, it's very hard to catch up. Discuss this with your parents this week."
As the class monitor handed out the forms, the students' faces twisted in agony. "Voluntary" was a loose term; in reality, it was a thinly veiled requirement. Most students sighed and signed their names, sacrificing their holiday for better grades.
"I won't be attending..."
Owen didn't even bother consulting his parents. He tossed the agreement aside. School training sessions offered him little at this point, and he could do practice exams at home.
He wanted that extra time for his own specialized training.
More importantly, he had been "kicked out" of the winter training for the New Star Project. Zoe intended to focus her holiday sessions specifically on Lynnea and Leo to help them catch up.
In both school and the New Star Project, Owen had earned immense autonomy. His deskmate watched him toss the form with a look of pure envy; only elite students like Owen or Lynnea had the privilege to decline extra classes without a phone call home.
The night before the break, Owen sent a private message to Zoe: Zoe, do I really not need to attend the New Star training this winter?
Zoe replied: There are two months left. Your priority is getting Eevee to learn Shadow Ball. She hasn't mastered it yet, right?
Owen: ...Understood. I'll get on it.
Since obtaining the resources for Reflect and Shadow Ball, Eevee had been training hard, but Zoe was right—the difficulty was great. Even after sacrificing some basic physical training time, Eevee hadn't fully mastered either move over the last two months.
"I have to get her to learn both during the break," Owen thought. "At the very least, she needs to be proficient with Shadow Ball before the tournament starts. It's not impossible!"
While Eevee's main gains were in mental power, Magnemite had made even more progress. It had been steadily improving its Hidden Power, Thunder Wave, and Thundershock.
With the 149,000 Yuan manuscript fee from his paper, the school scholarship, and the rewards from the Trainer Association, Owen was finally "rich."
His parents had also handed over the 300,000 Yuan they had saved for his Pokémon journey. With such resources poured into a Pokémon with Magnemite's work ethic, progress was inevitable.
But combat power was secondary. The real breakthrough happened a few days ago: Owen finally produced his first high-quality Pokéblock.
Using a specific blend of Bluk Berries, Chesto Berries, and Oran Berries, he created a Light Blue Pokéblock. In the games, blue blocks raised "Beauty," often used to evolve Feebas into Milotic.
While Eevee's fur and Magnemite's metallic sheen had become much more lustrous, that wasn't Owen's focus.
The key was their Mental Power. After eating these blocks, their mental strength showed a remarkable improvement—far beyond the expensive supplements Ethan had provided.
It was the equivalent of weeks of intense meditation packed into a single snack made from cheap, market-available berries.
Owen knew exactly what this meant. He had found his edge.
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