Su Yu was momentarily stunned by the professor's words.
Then, a trace of embarrassment surfaced on his face.
"…Yes. I really don't have money to buy eggs."
"A lot happened at the orphanage. Every bit of money I had was spent there."
"So I don't have the funds to continue as a Trainer."
"After all, you can't walk the Trainer path without money."
As he said this, Su Yu felt no particular regret.
Becoming a Trainer had once been his dream.
But now that reality had made itself painfully clear, all Su Yu wanted was to make money.
The professor's surname was Wang—Professor Wang.
Hearing Su Yu's explanation, Professor Wang fell silent.
He had no rebuttal.
"…Very well," he finally said.
"I understand."
"If you've made up your mind, there's nothing more I can say."
He paused, then continued,
"But since you've graduated, there's still something I must give you."
"…A Pokémon egg."
Su Yu instinctively opened his mouth to refuse—
Only for Professor Wang to add calmly,
"It's free."
Su Yu immediately swallowed the words he was about to say.
Free.
That changed everything.
In that case… he could keep it as a pet.
After all, raising Pokémon in this world wasn't as simple as in games.
Money aside, there were licenses and certifications to consider.
Trainer certification.Breeder certification.University credentials.
Without proper authorization, even owning a Pokémon was illegal.
Pokémon weren't harmless creatures.Even the weakest Caterpie could poison a person to death.
During his years in this world, Su Yu had learned plenty of these rules.
Though he wanted to complain about needing a license just to raise a Pokémon, he had no choice.
Without certification, you couldn't even purchase a legitimate Poké Ball.
Sure, there was always the black market—
—but those were scams.
Don't ask him how he knew.
A Pidgey knocked unconscious by a rock couldn't even be stored properly, yet they still dared to call it a Poké Ball?
Absolute fraud.
In this world, genuine Poké Balls could only be purchased through Alliance-authorized stores.
Everything else was fake.
Even though there were multiple Poké Ball brands, the Pokémon Alliance stood behind all of them.
As for black-market goods, they were usually defective rejects.
After all, Poké Balls involved rare materials and spatial technology.
This wasn't a game where you completed a few quests, earned some gold, and bought dozens of Poké Balls.
Reality was cruel.
A standard Poké Ball cost five hundred.
Fail a capture attempt, and that five hundred went straight down the drain.
Trainer was an extremely expensive profession.
Sometimes Su Yu really wanted to say—
Trainer? That's a rich person's hobby.
As someone who had grown up poor, Su Yu now only wanted to return to the orphanage, manage its land, expand the orchard, and maybe work as an online writer on the side.
When he had money, he could reconsider becoming a Trainer.
As for golden fingers?
He had already given up on them.
Trash cheats. Ruined his youth.
Novels were full of lies.
Naturally, free things were rarely perfect.
Professor Wang handed Su Yu the egg.
The egg had a reddish hue, with strange patterns running across its shell. It looked as though it had been soaked in water.
At first glance, it even looked… damaged.
Su Yu frowned.
"Professor, what's going on with this egg?"
"Why does it look like it's been underwater?"
"Is it a Water-type?"
He looked closer, growing even more confused.
"No… these markings clearly indicate Fire-type!"
This was absurd.
Su Yu quickly ran through possible Water–Fire Pokémon combinations in his mind.
"…Could it be?"
"Is this a Volcanion egg?"
His eyes suddenly lit up.
No way.No way, right?
Was the professor giving him a Mythical Pokémon?
Professor Wang's face darkened instantly.
"What nonsense are you thinking?"
"Volcanion?"
"Why don't I just give you Arceus while I'm at it?"
He was utterly speechless.
If he had access to Volcanion, he would've become Champion long ago. Why would he still be teaching?
…
Hearing this, Su Yu felt an immediate wave of disappointment.
So it really had just been soaked in water.
In this world, much was already well understood.
There were eighteen known Pokémon types, and Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were common knowledge.
History was complete—no missing gaps.
Even Mega Evolution existed openly.
Which meant Su Yu had no chance to "show off" with secret knowledge.
Writing research papers on evolution paths?Discovering hidden mechanics?
Impossible.
With over a thousand years of accumulated research, what hadn't already been studied?
Waiting for him?
So his dream of becoming a famous professor was crushed before it even began.
In this world, you actually had to study seriously—or you wouldn't understand anything.
That was why Su Yu considered himself the unluckiest transmigrator.
No cheating opportunities.A garbage system.Endless bad luck.
Even the money he'd saved since childhood had vanished.
Even the Trainer path had been cut off.
And he hadn't eaten a proper meal in ages.
(╥╯^╰╥)
…
Professor Wang placed the egg into Su Yu's hands and spoke solemnly.
"Although this is a Fire-type egg that was fished out of water…"
"It can still hatch."
"The life signs are completely normal."
"It's a Charmander egg."
"You understand what that means, don't you?"
Su Yu froze for a moment, then muttered,
"But… it was soaked in water."
…
"It can still hatch."
"There's nothing wrong with its genes."
"Do you want it or not?"
"If not, give it back."
Professor Wang was genuinely irritated now.
It was free.And it was from the Charmander line.
Even soaked in water, it was still one of the three starter families.
If released on the market, countless people would want it.
He could easily sell it for hundreds of thousands.
If Su Yu weren't his most prized student, he wouldn't have given it away at all.
Though Su Yu had given up on becoming a Trainer, his talent and love for Pokémon were undeniable.
Professor Wang believed that once the egg hatched, the Pokémon would be well cared for.
That was why he'd given it to him.
…
"I want it."
"Of course I want it."
"I'll take it back and keep it as a pet."
Su Yu accepted the egg without hesitation.
Free things were not to be refused.
He could still produce basic energy cubes. As long as he didn't pursue combat strength, raising one or two Pokémon wouldn't be a problem.
After all, the orchard at the orphanage provided raw materials.
And in the future…
Maybe he could let the kids help out with production.
Ahem—Make money together.