The next morning.
Third-year students from Xingyuan High School uniformly took school-arranged buses to the Alliance Breeding Center in the city's suburbs. This is the official Breeding Center of the Pokémon Alliance, and all third-year students are eligible to receive their first Pokemon here.
The entire Breeding Center is like a giant wild Yuanye Area, inhabited by various types of Pokemon. The students are heading to the Newcomer Zone, which houses carefully selected Pokemon suitable for newcomers by the Alliance.
Most of them are the offspring of Pokemon living or staying here, all of them just one or two months old and capable of normal training.
Everyone walked into the main hall, where a 3D panoramic virtual projection of the entire Breeding Center was displayed in the center. Rather than a Breeding Center, it looked more like an ecological park, with various ecological environments suitable for all Pokemon.
Following the guidance of Teacher Liu and the receptionist, everyone arrived at the Newcomer Zone, which has a variety of Pokemon suitable for newcomers.
Pidgey and Pidove flew overhead, Bulbasaur weaved through the flower bushes, a Caterpie was lazily sunbathing on a tree trunk, and a Sobble poked its head out of the pond.
Most of the Pokemon here are from the Royal Three Families, and there are also some easily nurtured Pokemon. This is because the Royal Three Families are widely recognized as the most suitable Pokemon for new Trainers; they generally possess impressive combat power after evolving and are relatively easy to raise, with most having rather gentle temperaments.
“Ling You, I’m going to get a Scorbunny first. I’ll come find you later,” He Pingfan said excitedly, nudging Ling You’s arm with his elbow.
“Hmm, I should also see who my destined partner is,” Ling You walked into the park. Upon entering, he received a Poké Ball at the entrance, which allowed him to freely catch the Pokemon inside, provided the Pokemon was willing.
If a forced capture fails, applying for another Poké Ball requires paying a fee. Repeated violations of capture rules might lead to being blacklisted.
After receiving the Poké Ball from the guide, Ling You thanked her. He then walked into the park, his gaze scanning the Pokemon within.
Common Bug-type and Flying-type Pokemon were all present here, likely because they are suitable for newcomers. Ling You first approached a Bulbasaur. This Bulbasaur was larger than average, lying lazily in the grass, sunbathing.
“So cute~” Ling You reached out and stroked the Bulbasaur’s head. The Bulbasaur felt the touch on its head and opened its eyes.
“Dah nah?”
Its big red eyes were full of confusion. Why was this human touching its head? Could it be that he hoped it would become his partner? But it just wanted to leisurely sunbathe and live a peaceful life. It hoped its partner would be a breeder, it thought, the breeder sister who took care of it made very delicious food, and it hoped its future partner would be such a person too.
“Because you’re so cute, I couldn’t help but touch you. I’m not necessarily thinking that you absolutely have to be my partner,” Ling You stroked the Bulbasaur’s head again, not expecting this Bulbasaur to be a lazy little glutton.
That’s right, Ling You could hear the inner voices of Pokemon, or rather, Ling You could understand the thoughts of Pokemon, but the prerequisite was being able to make physical contact with them.
This was also why Ling You said he wanted to find a Pokemon he clicked with; he hoped his Pokemon truly wanted to grow with him and walk the path to becoming the strongest together.
“Dah nah!”
The Bulbasaur stared at the young man in front of it in astonishment. He actually knew what it was thinking? Was he really human?
“I can hear you, and I am a genuine human,” Ling You couldn’t help but smile. He discovered this ability when he was a child, by touching his father’s Growlithe. To this day, only Ling You himself and his parents know about this; even his good friend He Pingfan is unaware of it.
The Bulbasaur stood up in a panic and scurried into the dense forest on its four short legs. Ling You wasn’t disappointed by this reaction; after all, it wasn’t the first time. Even his family’s affectionate Growlithe would get startled.
Ling You followed the Bulbasaur into the dense forest, which was mostly home to Grass-type and Bug-type Pokemon. Not many Trainers entered here, only two or three.
After all, the popular Fire-type and Water-type Royal Three Families were on the plains, and there were also Grass-type Royal Three Families on the plains.
“Meow~”
Suddenly, a cute and clear Growl attracted Ling You’s attention. Ling You looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small green cat Pokemon standing on a branch.
Sprigatito, also classified as one of the Royal Three Families, is a Grass-type Pokemon.
Sprigatito has the appearance of a small cat, and its body is light green. In the center of its face, there is a dark green pattern resembling four overlapping leaves, and it also has green, collar-like fur on its chest.
“A Sprigatito!” Ling You looked at the small cat in surprise. He remembered Sprigatito as a recently discovered type among the Royal Three Families, considered relatively rare. It shouldn't be widely bred and distributed as a starter Pokemon yet. He didn't expect the Breeding Center here to have a Sprigatito. “Want some?”
Ling You pulled a fish-shaped energy biscuit from his pocket and offered it to the Sprigatito. The Sprigatito blinked its cute eyes, seemingly responding to Ling You.
“Meow~”
The Sprigatito suddenly pounced on Ling You, its small, soft cat paws landing on Ling You’s head before it did a flip and snatched the fish biscuit from Ling You’s hand.
“Such a foolish human, just a little bit of cuteness and he offers up delicious food,” it thought.
“As long as you like it.” Just now, the Sprigatito’s cat paws had touched Ling You, and in that moment, the Sprigatito’s inner thoughts were perceived by Ling You.
“Meow?”
“Did this human hear what I was thinking? That’s so unfair, meow,” it thought. The Sprigatito was astonished, its mouth agape, and the biscuit in its mouth fell to the ground. Ling You, seeing this, roughly guessed the reason.
“You don’t like it?” Ling You picked up the fallen biscuit, intending to put it away. For some reason, Ling You suddenly felt like teasing this little cat.
“Meow~ Meow~”
The Sprigatito, anxious, raised its paws to scratch and meowed. Ever since it inexplicably ended up in this place, the Sprigatito hadn't had a single full meal, relying on Synthesis to barely survive.
“Alright, eat up.” Ling You fed the biscuit to the Sprigatito. The Sprigatito happily narrowed its eyes and rubbed its fluffy head against Ling You’s palm.
In an instant, Ling You seemed to see the Sprigatito’s past and understood why this Sprigatito was here.
The Sprigatito had originally lived in the wild, but a very ferocious Ursaring came to the forest, and many young Pokemon like the Sprigatito fled the forest.
While wandering, the Sprigatito, drawn by a scent, accidentally sneaked into a truck transporting food for the Breeding Center. Later, to avoid being discovered by humans, it hid here and there, accidentally ending up here, where it had been hiding in the woods for two or three days without eating anything.
The Sprigatito always wanted to defeat that Ursaring and return to that forest, but alas, being so weak, it couldn't even fill its stomach.
Ling You couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity. In that moment, Ling You suddenly felt that this Sprigatito might be his destined partner.
(Piplup Group: 901194306, interested Trainers are welcome to visit the Miaomiao House.)