“Sprigatito, do you want to become stronger?” Ling You asked, gently stroking Sprigatito’s head with a smile. A Pokémon eager to grow stronger, and one he favored—all he needed now was Sprigatito’s agreement.
“Meow!”
Sprigatito nodded, its eyes gleaming with fighting spirit, even showing its little claws. However, to Ling You, it looked less like Intimidate and more like an attempt to be cute.
“I plan to become a very strong Trainer in the future. Are you interested in joining me?” Ling You said to Sprigatito. First, he would win the Bai Feng Conference, the Pokémon League Champion of Huaguo, then participate in the World Championship to become the Champion and the strongest Pokémon Trainer! He would challenge the person he admired in his heart!
“Meow!”
Sprigatito nodded excitedly, its eyes sparkling like little stars, as if it had already foreseen its glorious future self defeating Ursaring.
“Then, Sprigatito, here we go!” Having received Sprigatito’s affirmation, Ling You stood up, took out a Poké Ball, and threw it towards Sprigatito.
“Meow~”
Sprigatito lightly leaped up and pressed the button with its paw. A red light enveloped Sprigatito, drawing it into the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball landed on the ground, shook three times, and then stopped.
Ling You picked up the Poké Ball and released Sprigatito, holding Sprigatito in his arms: “Welcome, Sprigatito. From now on, we are partners. We promised to become stronger, okay!”
“Meow!”
Sprigatito nodded, responding to Ling You. Sprigatito was also incredibly excited at this moment. She had heard from her friends in the forest that Pokémon with Trainers were all very strong. She thought if she followed this human, she would probably become very strong too.
“Just my commands aren’t enough, you know. You must train hard to become strong,” Ling You reminded Sprigatito, chuckling at her simple thought. This silly cat couldn’t possibly think she would become strong just by being caught, could she?
“Meow!”
Sprigatito looked shocked, as she truly believed she could become stronger just by being caught. But soon, Sprigatito regained her motivation. As long as she could defeat that Ursaring, she would become strong no matter what!
“Meow~”
Sprigatito meowed with a serious expression. Ling You noticed Sprigatito’s thoughts and smiled, carrying Sprigatito as he walked out.
“Hello, I’d like to take this Sprigatito with me,” Ling You said to the sales assistant.
“Eh? This child is… I don’t recall us having any Sprigatito in our park,” the sales assistant said, looking at Sprigatito with confusion. This was one of the newly discovered species and shouldn’t have been distributed as a starter Pokémon yet.
“Perhaps she was accidentally sent here. I’ve already caught this child with a Poké Ball. Anyway, she’s already my first Pokémon!” Ling You tried to bluff. To be honest, Ling You hadn’t thought of any of this before catching her. It was only when he reached the exit that Ling You suddenly remembered that this Sprigatito wasn’t a starter Pokémon at all.
“But… how about this, I’ll ask my superiors for instructions. Please wait for me,” the sales assistant couldn’t make up her mind. Logically, new Trainers should receive Pokémon designated by the League. However, the other party had already caught it, so the sales assistant decided to pass the problem to her superior.
The person in charge of distributing starter Pokémon was named Liu Shu, a kind-faced elder. At this moment, he was giving He Pingfan instructions on the precautions for raising Scorbunny.
“Xiao Fan, Scorbunny is a very lively Pokémon. Remember to spend more time with him and exercise him often,” Liu Shu earnestly instructed He Pingfan.
“Yes, Grandpa Liu,” He Pingfan listened and took notes, not forgetting to respond.
“Burn~”
The Scorbunny in his arms also imitated He Pingfan, nodding and responding with a smile. The Trainer and his Pokémon were quite similar.
“Manager Liu, sorry to bother you,” the sales assistant walked into the office and said, “A Sprigatito suddenly appeared in the new Trainer area, and a child chose Sprigatito as his starter Pokémon.”
“Sprigatito? Something like that actually happened.” Liu Shu was stunned for a moment, then fell silent for a while before saying, “If that’s the case, let him take her. She’s the partner he favored, isn’t she? I’ll report it to the League. It’s just a Sprigatito that accidentally got in; there’s no need to make a fuss.”
“Yes.” The sales assistant nodded. With the manager’s order, the sales assistant no longer stopped Ling You, allowing him and Sprigatito to leave the park.
By this time, many classmates had already received their starter Pokémon and were introducing their partners to each other. However, Ling You didn’t have many friends besides He Pingfan, so he didn’t need to introduce anyone.
“Ling You!” He Pingfan waved and ran towards Ling You with Scorbunny. The Scorbunny beside him was hopping and skipping, looking very happy.
“So you’re the Trainer who chose Sprigatito,” He Pingfan said, seeing the Sprigatito in Ling You’s arms.
“Yep. Come on, Sprigatito, say hello! This is my good buddy, He Pingfan,” Ling You said to the Sprigatito in his arms.
“Meow!”
Hello!
Sprigatito even extended a small paw as she spoke, her big, reddish eyes blinking, looking very adorable.
“Hello, Sprigatito. This is Scorbunny, my partner. You two should get along well,” He Pingfan said with a smile. The Scorbunny beside him stepped forward, looked up at Sprigatito, and waved.
“Burn~”
“Go on, Sprigatito,” Ling You put Sprigatito on the ground, letting her go play with Scorbunny.
“How about a battle at the school later?” He Pingfan asked Ling You.
“Gladly.” Ling You nodded, pointing to a machine not far away. “But before that, let’s go check the moves Sprigatito and Scorbunny can use.”
“You’re right.” He Pingfan said, taking out a Poké Ball and aiming it at Scorbunny: “Return, Scorbunny.”
“Burn~”
Scorbunny nodded and trotted towards He Pingfan.
“Sprigatito, you come back too for now,” Ling You also took out a Poké Ball and aimed it at Sprigatito.
“Meow?”
Sprigatito turned around as a red light shot out, enveloped Sprigatito, and drew her into the Poké Ball.
The two of them took their Poké Balls to the analyzer. They each placed a Poké Ball on the analyzer.
Information for Scorbunny and Sprigatito appeared on the screens of the two analyzers, respectively.
Pokémon: Sprigatito
Type: Grass
Ability: Protean
Gender: Female
Height: 0.4 m
Weight: 3.8 kg
Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Leafage, Bite, Hone Claws
Egg Moves: Leech Seed, Sucker Punch, Ally Switch
Pokémon: Scorbunny
Type: Fire
Ability: Libero
Gender: Male
Height: 0.5 m
Weight: 6 kg
Moves: Tackle, Growl, Ember
Egg Moves: High Jump Kick, Sucker Punch
“What an amazing Sprigatito!” He Pingfan exclaimed. This Sprigatito’s level was a bit higher than that of ordinary starter Pokémon, and her aptitude also seemed quite good.
“Scorbunny is also very impressive; he’s developed much better than an average Scorbunny,” Ling You sighed, looking at Scorbunny’s data. He Pingfan’s Scorbunny was about a size larger than a normal Scorbunny and had developed quite well.
“Students, we’re preparing to return. Gather for roll call,” Teacher Liu, who was leading the group, called out to the excited students. Seeing these children so happy, the usually stern Teacher Liu couldn’t help but smile.
“Coming, Old Liu!” Ling You said to Teacher Liu, holding his Poké Ball.
(Piplup group: 901194306. Trainers who are interested can come play at Miaomiao House.)