When it came to Business Administration, the idea that its knowledge could be applied to Pokémon management, breeding, and daily training schedules…
At first glance, it actually sounded kind of reasonable.
It was nothing more than using methods meant for managing people to manage one's Pokémon—
or rather, managing one's Pokémon partners.
But no matter how you spun it…
If Serena truly wanted to focus wholeheartedly on raising Pokémon,
then transferring to the Pokémon Battle Program sooner rather than later was inevitable.
Managing livestreams to earn some extra money and raising Pokémon at the same time?
That much, Serena was confident she could handle.
It just meant that her university life going forward wouldn't be about lying flat and slacking off—
she'd have to grind a little harder.
Push herself a little more.
But if she had to juggle major credits, earning money, andPokémon training all at once…
She'd probably end up screaming like a captured knight from a fantasy manga:
"Gu… just kill me already…"
—Who could possibly handle that?!
"Then you and Gible go train at the gym," Chen Lidong said.
"If there's roll call today, I'll answer for you."
"Thanks, brother."
Serena nodded.
She wasn't about to kneel down and shout something dramatic like 'Honored Father!',
but she genuinely appreciated the help.
When you went to university, you met people from all over the place.
Having a roommate with decent character and personality was honestly a blessing.
The phrase 'thanks for not killing me, roommate'
wasn't just a joke.
"I'll treat you and Yamper to a meal some other day."
"No need to be so polite," Chen Lidong said, pushing his black-framed glasses up his nose.
"But if you keep this up, it's not a long-term solution."
"If you really love raising Pokémon and don't want to waste time on other things,
why not just transfer to the Pokémon Battle Program?"
"That's the hard part…"
Serena rubbed her temples with a headache.
"What kind of school lets you transfer majors right after enrollment? That rule doesn't exist."
If freshmen could switch majors freely,
then what was the point of major reassignment in the first place?
Wasn't it exactly because your exam scores weren't high enough,
yet you still wanted to attend a good university,
that you had to accept reassignment?
Only after completing at least one semester—or even a full academic year—
and achieving excellent grades in major courses
would students be allowed to apply for a transfer.
That long, exhausting road?
Serena had zero intention of walking it.
She wasn't planning to deeply study Business Administration anyway—
so how could she possibly get good grades in it?
"In that case," Chen Lidong suddenly said,
"why don't you take part in the Sprout Cup Freshman Challenge?"
"If you perform well enough there,
the university might make an exception and let you transfer!"
"That… actually makes sense."
Serena's eyes lit up.
"Of course, that's assuming you and Gible can actually shine in the competition,"
Chen Lidong added.
"From what you said before, those late-blooming Pokémon don't really shine early on.
I don't know much about Pokémon battles myself, so I can't give you proper advice."
"That's more than enough already!"
Serena grinned.
"A goal and a direction—that's all I needed."
"The rest is up to me… and my Gible!"
"Kapu! Kapu!"
Gible placed one fin over the red patch on its chest,
striking a confident 'leave it to me' pose.
Serena quickly logged into Shanghai University's academic system
and registered for the Sprout Cup Freshman Challenge as a non–Pokémon Battle Program student.
Interestingly enough, since it was a freshman competition,
there were no restrictions on non-battle-program participants.
Pokémon battles were one of the most common forms of competition in the Pokémon world—
open to everyone, enjoyed by everyone.
Only high-level professional events like the World Championships,
Champion's Path, or Regional League Conferences
imposed strict qualifications.
Most Pokémon-related activities—
Bug-catching contests in nature parks,
water sports competitions,
aerial tournaments—
Even non-professional Trainers could participate with their Pokémon partners
and experience the joy of fighting side by side.
Gible: When were we ever fighting side by side?!
Serena: Clearly you don't understand what it means to be a Super Donghuang Person…
"Daily training, proper breeding, and steadily entering battle competitions…"
"That's a pretty clear growth path for a rookie Trainer."
Serena finally had a rough outline of her future.
The Donghuang Region was vast,
with many professional Pokémon Gyms scattered across it.
So the classic anime-style path—
traveling with Pokémon, challenging Gyms, collecting badges, and entering League tournaments—
absolutely existed in reality.
However…
Despite how common Ash-style wandering Trainers seemed in anime,
the real situation was the opposite.
Every region in the Pokémon world had specialized Trainer schools.
Most rookie Trainers studied seriously on campus
and only traveled or adventured occasionally.
Someone like Ash—
a headfirst, iron-willed battle maniac—
was actually the minority.
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