Isobe Himeko's home was in the villa district in the south of Wintergreen City.
She lived alone.
Her parents had both passed away when she was very young.
The two of them had left her a huge inheritance.
Enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life.
Pushing open the front door and stepping inside,
Himeko glanced at the furnishings and decor in the house.
Her expression turned slightly dazed,
her heart filled with a wave of sighs and emotion.
Just then,
the Pokémon Egg in her arms stirred.
It rocked a few times, clearly restless.
Himeko saw it at a glance.
This was the sign that the Pokémon was about to hatch.
Inside the Pokémon Egg,
Shiko could feel the fire-type energy in his body growing restless.
On the eggshell covered in fiery cloud-like patterns,
a crack suddenly appeared.
Crack, crack!
Right after that,
a series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.
The surface of the eggshell
was soon covered in countless fissures, spreading over the entire egg.
Looking at the Pokémon Egg in her hands,
Himeko's eyes were filled to the brim with surprise and anticipation.
Crack!
Another soft sound.
The broken pieces of shell fell to the floor one after another.
Shiko shook off the fragments clinging to his body.
When he lifted his head,
he saw Himeko's big, watery eyes fixed intently on him.
From that gaze,
Shiko could read excitement, shock, joy, and relief.
And also… a faint hint of tender affection?
Before he could be sure,
Himeko tightened her arms and pulled him in for a fierce hug.
"This is great… this is so great…"
Himeko murmured.
Right now, Shiko,
suddenly scooped up into her embrace,
only felt something soft wrapping all around his head.
Too big!
Can't breathe!
Shiko had to admit now,
staying outside
really was more comfortable than being stuck in a Pokémon Egg.
After a full minute of hugging,
Himeko finally, reluctantly, let him go.
Shiko took the chance
to gulp down a few huge breaths,
easing the suffocating tightness in his chest.
Himeko crouched down,
looking at Shiko in front of her.
Her bright clear eyes roamed up and down, examining him.
His four limbs were sturdy, with clear muscle contours visible.
That meant he was born with excellent strength and speed.
The color of his skin was deeper than that of an ordinary Charmander.
That showed that, in terms of sensing and controlling fire,
he far surpassed normal Charmander.
The flame burning at the tip of his tail was also extremely vigorous. Compared to the little flame on a typical Charmander, it was practically an exploding fireball.
That meant Shiko's vitality
and the reserves of fire-type energy in his body were both extraordinarily abundant.
All in all,
the Shiko in front of her
was an exceptionally high-quality, so perfect he couldn't be any more perfect, Charmander.
He was basically the dragon of every Trainer's dreams!
Even for a well-traveled person like Himeko,
among all the Champion-level and Elite-level Trainers she had known in her previous life,
not a single one of them
had a Charmander as outstanding as this!
Having finally caught his breath,
Shiko became aware of Himeko's gaze on him as she crouched there.
All of a sudden, he had the shy, self-conscious feeling
of a beauty being stared at openly by a man.
He couldn't help his face heating up.
He turned his back and coughed lightly.
"What are you looking at!"
Shiko's small, scolding voice rang in Himeko's mind.
"Looking at you! You're way too handsome!"
Himeko propped her chin in one hand,
her eyes half-closed,
her face lit up with a dazzling smile.
When she smiled,
it was as if the entire house filled with a warm, gentle atmosphere.
And that was exactly how she truly felt.
In her eyes,
a Pokémon born this perfect like Shiko
was even more handsome and appealing
than those good-looking pretty boys.
Shiko's face turned even redder at her unabashed, straight-up words.
Fortunately, he was a Charmander.
With his deep orange face, it was hard to tell when he flushed.
Otherwise, knowing Himeko's personality,
she would probably be teasing him again already.
"I'm going out to buy some ingredients and come back to cook for you. You get some good rest first."
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to Wintergreen Forest outside the city for field training."
"In two months, we have to take the Academy's Entry-level Trainer Exam, and there's also the Pokémon Tournament!"
"Let's work hard together!"
Himeko straightened up,
gently rubbed Shiko's head and gave a small smile.
She handed him a notice sheet, then pushed the door open and left.
Shiko turned the notice sheet in his hands so it faced him properly.
Looking at the information written on it,
he finally understood what Himeko meant by the Trainer Exam and the Pokémon Tournament.
The so-called Trainer Exam
was a test that Academy graduates who had received their Starter Pokémon had to face.
Within two months,
if the Pokémon in their hands
failed to reach at least the minimum Entry-level standard,
then
they would lose the chance to go on to the major central base cities of the Great Axia Alliance to attend Pokémon universities for further study.
Without the support and resources of a Pokémon university,
it would be hard for them to obtain any further opportunities.
The options left to them
would be to either attach themselves to one of the major families as bodyguards,
or join the military or the city defense forces, maintaining public order or cleaning up unsafe elements around the outskirts of the city.
Of course,
no matter which of the two paths they chose,
it basically meant the road of a Trainer had come to an end.
Among young people chosen to receive a Starter Pokémon,
only one in a hundred made the cut.
And the elimination rate for the Entry-level Trainer Exam
was as high as ninety percent!
It was no exaggeration to say
that just passing the test alone
was enough for someone to be called a genius Trainer.
As for the Pokémon Tournament,
that was a chance for those genius Trainers who had passed the Entry-level Trainer Exam to show off their talents.
The higher they placed in the tournament,
the more attention they would receive from the Pokémon universities, and once they enrolled, the more resources and focused training they would get.
And the greater the achievements they were likely to attain in the future.
Not only that,
but the rewards for the winner of the Pokémon Tournament each year were also extremely tempting.
Besides powerful, rarely-taught Hidden Moves that were never passed on to outsiders,
there were also rare Evolutionary Stones, type-boosting gems that increased move power, and so on.
Any one of these,
taken out on its own,
would be worth several million.
No wonder Himeko wanted to take part in the Pokémon Tournament.
Shiko muttered to himself.
Those rewards
were indeed enticing.
But at the rate he was leveling up now,
even if he just lazed around every day and completed his daily Lying Flat System tasks,
reaching Entry-level
within two months
would absolutely not be a problem.
As for actually winning a top place in the Pokémon Tournament?
Forget it.
He would just take things one step at a time.
Shiko did not bother racking his brains over something so troublesome.
He glanced at his quest list.
He still had two daily quests left unfinished today: taking a nap at noon and eating until he was completely full.
After checking,
Shiko stretched lazily.
Then he flopped straight down onto the floor, sprawled out on his back and limbs,
and drifted off to sleep.
(End of Chapter)
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