Chapter 6: Wu Yaozu

Wu Yaozu sat on the sofa with a dark expression, his face clearly showing his resentment at having lost to Xia Yu, a novice trainer.

"This match doesn't count. I want to go again with Rockruff," Wu Yaozu insisted, hoping to regain his dignity.

"No way." Xia Yu wasn't stupid. His Noibat had only won against the Charmander because both Pokémon were weak, with battle power ratings of only the Normal tier.

Battle power tiers are divided into ten levels: Normal, Rare, Elite, Lord, Overlord, Gym Leader, Elite Four, Champion, Master, and Legendary, which correspond to the Pokémon's innate potential ratings.

Wu Yaozu’s Rockruff had been nurtured since it was young, and its strength had long reached the Elite tier. Even if Noibat had superior potential, a gap of two full battle tiers meant it was no match for the Rockruff.

"Your Rockruff is almost ready to evolve. Which form are you planning to go for?" Xia Yu asked, changing the subject.

"Dusk form," Wu Yaozu replied, as if he had planned it long ago. "The Lycanroc Dusk form has the Tough Claws ability, which is incredibly powerful."

Xia Yu nodded. If it were him, he would also choose to evolve Rockruff into the Dusk form; its high speed and attack, combined with the Tough Claws ability, made for a very strong combination.

"Xia Yu, are you really not going to the internet cafe today?" After the battle, the urge to play resurfaced in Wu Yaozu, and he began to pester Xia Yu to go with him.

"Really not going today." Xia Yu shook his head. "Noibat was just born, and I need to stay home and take care of it. You go ahead. You can better show off your skills playing solo. I won't carry you today."

"Bullshit! With your skills, you're the one being carried. Just watch—today, without you dragging me down, I guarantee I'll hit Gold rank." Stung by Xia Yu’s words, Wu Yaozu stormed off toward the internet cafe alone, determined to prove that Xia Yu was the one holding him back.

...

After Wu Yaozu left, Xia Yu stayed home, balancing his studies with caring for the little Noibat.

The college entrance exam in this world was similar to his previous life, except for the addition of a Pokémon subject. This was a mandatory component for both trainer certification and Pokémon research, and it was also the most difficult.

"A Scyther with a height of 1.5m and a weight of 56kg evolves into Scizor. Using a B-grade Metal Coat, what is the most perfect dosage?"

"Which Pokémon cannot learn Normal-type moves? What is the standard weight of its final evolution?"

"Please list all Poison/Ground-type Pokémon under normal circumstances."

...

Some questions were relatively simple, but others were quite challenging.

Beyond this strange knowledge, Xia Yu also had to review standard subjects like Language, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. It felt as if he had returned to his high school days—a mix of pain and pleasure.

After studying for a while, Xia Yu remembered that he seemed to have completed a system mission.

[First Victory]: Win your first battle.
Failure penalty: None.
Reward: One random draw.

"The lucky draw system has been activated. Would you like to proceed?"

"Yes."

As Xia Yu confirmed, a large wheel appeared before his eyes and began to spin rapidly.

"Stop."

At his command, the wheel slowed and finally stopped, the pointer landing on a disc.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a one-time TM: Water Pulse."

Water Pulse: Attacks the target with a pulse of water; has a chance to confuse the target.

TMs allow Pokémon to learn skills, and in this world, there are two types: one-time TMs and permanent TMs. The value difference between them is astronomical.

Most TMs are controlled by prominent families; they are the foundation of these families' status and the source of the gap between them and ordinary people. Outsiders must pay a heavy price to use them.

Xia Yu’s family possessed one permanent TM: Infestation. The public price for learning it was 150,000, and it could only be used by one Pokémon per day. If it ran all year round without a break, it could provide the family with a stable income of about 50 million.

And that was only because Infestation wasn't a particularly powerful move. If it were a move like Protect or Swords Dance, the price would be around 500,000, and it would require booking in advance—with extra fees for skipping the line.

Anyone who controls a TM effectively owns a gold mine, provided they have the strength to protect it.

As far as Xia Yu knew, the most sensational news from the previous year was the massacre of the Qi family, who held the Shadow Ball TM. All thirteen family members were killed.

Since then, the Shadow Ball TM had gone missing, leaving only a few one-time TMs in circulation, their prices driven to astronomical levels.

The Qi family had an elderly Elite Four-level trainer, yet they couldn't survive; it would be even harder for a rising small family like the Xia family.

If it weren't for his older brother, the youngest quasi-Elite Four trainer, the Xia family would likely not have been able to hold onto their Infestation TM.

Xia Yu took out the Water Pulse TM. Noibat couldn't learn it, though its evolution, Noivern, could. However, by the time Noibat evolved, it would already have learned many powerful skills, making Water Pulse unnecessary.

Therefore, Xia Yu decided to sell the one-time TM instead of using it.

Popular skills with popular typings like Water Pulse fetched a higher price on the market, usually selling for around 300,000. Xia Yu secretly marveled at his own luck—a simple draw had netted him 300,000.

He opened the "Xianyu" trading platform, compared various listings, and contacted a buyer with the highest reputation, selling the Water Pulse TM for 320,000.

With 320,000 in his account, Xia Yu felt a rush of excitement. He also noticed that his post seeking various strange stones had received several private messages.

"Are you there? Top-quality strange stone, 'Flowing Stream,' interested?"

"C-grade Thunder Stone, expert-certified, honest pricing, only 399,999."

"Top-quality Light Stone, three generations of family heritage, selling in pain because my mother-in-law demands a 288,000 dowry."

...

Xia Yu browsed through them quickly and replied to each one. While some were beautiful decorative stones and others were evolution stones like the Thunder Stone, none were his target. Besides, trading on the Xianyu platform offered no guarantee of quality. After some thought, he edited his post to limit the search area to Xishu Province and emphasized that he was only looking for stones that glowed or shimmered.

Items like Keystone, Mega Stones, Wishing Stars, or Terastal Orbs all shared one distinct feature: they shimmered.

As soon as Xia Yu updated his post and prepared to log off, a new message popped up.

"I have a strange stone in my possession."