Roy's hand trembled slightly as he threw the Poké Ball.
The three starter Pokémon families are considered the most suitable companions for beginning Trainers in the Kanto region. They maintain excellent potential throughout all evolution stages and remain popular choices at all competitive levels.
Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle.
Because the natural habitats of these three Pokémon all exist within China's territory, they're often referred to as the Three Royal Families of China.
Many Pokémon adventures take place in China. The protagonist in popular movies often begins with one of these three starters. Influenced by the big screen, many children in this world dream of receiving one of these Pokémon when they grow up, and Roy was no exception...
Unfortunately, reality is cruel.
Only after growing up did Roy realize that these starter Pokémon are indeed, as rumored, perfectly suited to be lifelong companions for Trainers...
But they're typically reserved for the wealthy and privileged.
Through his own efforts and with a little help from his special system, Roy finally obtained Squirtle, one of the three royal families, fulfilling his childhood dream.
Even after hearing that this Squirtle was somewhat naive, it didn't diminish Roy's excitement.
A white light shone from the Poké Ball, revealing the figure of Squirtle—a Pokémon that countless children dreamed about.
The Squirtle's skin was light blue like a Tolkowsky diamond, its torso wrapped in a turtle shell with a brown back and creamy yellow underbelly.
Its round eyes gazed at Roy with bright curiosity as it stretched out its stubby arm and waved its small paw.
"Squirtle!" it exclaimed energetically, its voice revealing an intelligent spirit.
"Squirtle, my name is Roy, and I'll be your Trainer from now on. This is Riolu, my first Pokémon—your senior," Roy introduced with a smile while carefully examining Squirtle's appearance.
Pokémon of the same species are difficult to distinguish with human eyes unless they've lived together for a long time or are rare "Shiny Pokémon" with different coloration.
But this Squirtle was different...
Compared to others of its kind, everything about it seemed more... round.
With its round head, round shell, round eyes, and chubby hands, it looked exceptionally cute.
After hearing its Trainer's introduction, Squirtle turned to look at senior Riolu with awe, raising its hand like a soldier saluting.
Unfortunately, its arms were too short to lift above its head, only reaching up to its mouth.
"Squirtle Squirtle! (Senior, I'm Squirtle!)"
"...Ri."
Riolu hesitated momentarily before imitating the salute.
Seeing the friendly interaction between his two Pokémon, Roy smiled and patted both Riolu's head and Squirtle's... well, Squirtle's head.
Just then, Squirtle's stomach made a strange rumbling sound.
"Squirtleeee~"
Squirtle blushed slightly, rubbed its stomach, and looked at Roy with anticipation in its eyes.
For some reason, Roy suddenly thought of the popular 'blushing Hanhan' meme from his previous life.
An idea began to form.
Perhaps this Squirtle could become...
Roy had a rough concept forming in his mind as he said with a smile, "Wait a minute."
He opened his system panel and navigated to the familiar mall-energy cube interface.
For a long time, Roy had only used energy cubes as "enriched biscuits"—one cube could satisfy energy needs, making them simple, convenient, and time-saving.
But now, after realizing how precious these energy cubes truly were, Roy carefully read their instructions.
Energy cubes could not only meet physical energy requirements but also produce various benefits for Pokémon according to different ingredient formulas—enhancing speed, increasing elemental affinity, improving beauty, and more...
If a Pokémon consumed an energy cube just once, the effect would be minimal.
With long-term consumption, however, these enhancement effects would become significant.
There were hundreds of energy cube recipes, which wasn't helpful for those who suffered from decision paralysis.
Fortunately, the system could analyze a Pokémon's talent characteristics and offer "specially customized" energy cubes.
For example, the energy cube specially designed for Riolu would, with long-term consumption, enhance bodily agility, instant muscle explosive power, and affinity with Psychic energy.
It fit Riolu's fighting style perfectly.
As for Squirtle's customized energy cube, the enhancement effects included Water-type affinity, Ice-type affinity, and stamina recovery.
—[Squirtle Special Custom Energy Cube x10] —Points -5000, remaining balance: 2,445,000 points.
"Here you go, eat up," Roy said.
Squirtle tilted its head and looked at the two dark blue energy cubes in Roy's hand with a slightly disappointed expression.
Just these small things to eat?
"Squirtle?"
"Try one first, and you'll understand," Roy laughed.
Squirtle dubiously picked up an energy cube and swallowed it.
Instantly, its taste buds exploded with flavor. The unparalleled delicious taste engulfed its nervous system, making Squirtle momentarily intoxicated.
As the intense flavor subsided, Squirtle gave a satisfied thumbs-up, nodding enthusiastically.
Very good!
Lunch time ended.
Riolu and Squirtle were getting along wonderfully.
So far, apart from Squirtle's somewhat naive behavior, everything was normal.
In the afternoon, there was only one cultural class on "World History." Roy listened absent-mindedly, thinking constantly about Squirtle's training method.
Riolu's "lightning forging" technique was obviously unsuitable for Squirtle.
First, Squirtle didn't know any Electric-type moves.
Second, even if it could forcibly learn Electric-type moves, considering the extremely poor compatibility between Water-type Pokémon and Electric-type energy, the first thing to get damaged would be Squirtle's own cells when introducing electricity into its body.
Moreover, judging from the enhancement effects of Squirtle's customized energy cube, it clearly didn't rely on physical fitness for its strength. Its talent lay in energy control and durability.
A special attacker, or perhaps a defensive tank, might be Squirtle's optimal role.
Beyond training methods, Roy also needed to consider how Squirtle could generate popularity.
Currently, Squirtle's expenses were covered by points converted from Riolu's popularity.
But not every Pokémon could be supported by Riolu as the breadwinner.
That approach would eventually deplete their points.
After all, having each Pokémon generate its own popularity was the path to sustainable development!
Riolu had become popular due to the controversy of being the "Son of an Elite, from the Capital of Champions" and its breakthrough performance in the Rising Star Cup.
The circumstances were different now—this method couldn't be applied to Squirtle, and there weren't any upcoming competitions.
While Roy lacked immediate inspiration for Squirtle's training method, he had a general idea for generating popularity.
Roy clicked on his phone's photo album. The latest photo showed Squirtle's expression of pure bliss after tasting the energy cube.
This expression might look ordinary on other Pokémon, but paired with Squirtle's round head and innocent expression, the photo possessed a magical charm that evoked an uncontrollable emotion...
The urge to 'press and hold to add to stickers collection.'
That was it.
To earn points, Roy decided to have Squirtle debut as a meme star!