"Mom, we're back! Oh my god!" Ethan shouted as he pushed open the door, but before his voice could fade, a dark shadow had already rushed out and pounced on Emily beside him.
"Weavile, I said, can you not be so sudden?" Ethan turned around, looking at the dark blue creature nestled in Emily's arms, feeling a surge of helplessness.
"Weavile~~~" Weavile let out a satisfied cry, completely disregarding Ethan's warning.
This Weavile was the Pokémon Emily was assigned during her time in the Temple organization. After Emily was rescued, this Pokémon also followed her to Ethan's home. However, Emily was still young at the time and didn't have the right to raise a Pokémon, so this Weavile was registered under his mother's name.
Because Emily was still young, she never deliberately trained this Weavile. She only controlled its energy intake through daily food to maintain its physical activity, waiting for the day Emily officially became a trainer to become her partner.
Even so, five years later, this Weavile's strength had reached the peak of the Normal-level, just a step away from the Entry-level. It could be said that as soon as this Weavile was promoted to the Entry-level, Emily would automatically be promoted to an Entry-level trainer. This progress was much faster than Ethan, who didn't even have a Pokémon yet.
Levels are the Alliance's classification of the strength of Pokémon and trainers, with extremely strict dividing lines.
Pokémon are divided into six levels based on the intensity of their internal energy and their control over it: Normal-level, Entry-level, Elite-level, Lord-level, King-level, and Epic-level, corresponding to the trainer levels of Novice, Entry-level, Elite-level, Gym Leader-level, Champion-level, and Crown-level.
Of course, this is not all. Pokémon also have the Legendary and Mythical levels, which are on par with Epic-level, and trainers also have the Master-level and Legendary-level, which are on par with Crown-level. These levels are more of a title, recognition, and reverence, rather than necessarily indicating stronger power than Crown-level.
Most wild Pokémon are Normal-level, also known as uninitiated. In the Alliance's evaluation, being able to train a Pokémon to Entry-level qualifies one for the Entry-level trainer assessment; then, cultivating three Elite-level Pokémon qualifies one for the Elite-level trainer assessment; finally, owning six or more Lord-level Pokémon allows one to apply for the Gym Leader-level trainer assessment.
"Weavile!" Holding Weavile in her arms, Emily's face showed a rare tenderness. This was her only companion in the darkness back then. After waiting for five long years, she could finally embark on the path of a trainer with it.
"You're back? How was the exam?" Before Ethan could continue to express his opinion, a beautiful woman in an apron walked out of the kitchen, carrying a freshly cooked dish, and asked with a joyful expression.
This was Ethan's mother, named Joanna, who made him feel the warmth of family, something he had lacked in his previous life.
Due to marrying early and the long lifespan in this world, time had not left many traces on her. Her mature experience seemed to have only added a touch of intellectual beauty. Even though she was over thirty, she still looked as young as a girl. Ethan couldn't help but marvel at this. When they went out, people often mistook them for lovers, siblings, or even sisters, but no one ever thought of them as mother and son.
"You know our grades, they're totally fine," Ethan said nonchalantly, his gaze already drawn to the dishes on the table, a look of intoxication on his face. "Tsk, tsk, I smell the braised pork."
"Haha, then why don't you go wash your hands quickly?" Joanna laughed.
"Alright, I'm going!" Ethan said excitedly, throwing his bag onto the sofa and running towards the kitchen. Even as someone who had lived two lives, he found such delicious food irresistible.
"This boy!" Joanna smiled and turned her gaze to Emily. "Emily, go wash your hands and eat too!"
Emily nodded obediently, then turned her gaze to the Weavile in her arms. "Weavile, please help us take our bags to the room!"
"Weavile~~~"
...
Ethan could say that he ate with immense satisfaction during this meal. Although the college entrance examination was just a formality for them, his mother clearly still attached great importance to it, which could be seen from the table of dishes that looked much richer than usual.
"Here, these are your initial Pokémon vouchers. You can go to the research institute in the South City to choose one of the starter Pokémon as your initial Pokémon." After dinner, Joanna took out two exquisite greeting cards and handed them to the two of them respectively.
These were two proof tickets, with images of many Pokémon printed on the silver-white card surface. Of course, these images were all of the known starter Pokémon. Such a certificate could be sold for hundreds of thousands at an exorbitant price on the black market.
It is not easy to obtain a starter Pokémon as your initial Pokémon. Besides purchasing it on the black market, only direct descendants who have made great contributions to the Alliance can obtain one, including Gym Leader-level trainers and senior breeders.
Therefore, for Ethan, getting such a certificate was not a problem. As for Emily, her father was an Alliance investigator. What position could be more directly related to the Alliance? What's more, her father sacrificed himself to eradicate a Temple stronghold. Such descendants of martyrs are even more the Alliance's priority for care, as this concerns the entire Alliance's reputation and public image.
"That's great, it looks like I'll soon have my own initial Pokémon." Ethan played with the certificate in his hand, unable to suppress his excitement. It had been sixteen years, and he was finally going to have his own Pokémon.
Compared to Ethan, Emily's expression was much calmer. After all, she planned to specialize in Dark-types, so there wasn't much choice among the starter Pokémon. Moreover, she already had Weavile, and she only needed to register it after receiving her initial Pokémon to transfer Weavile to her name.
The Pokémon Alliance has a rule that minors are not allowed to raise Pokémon. So, although Weavile had been with her for five years, it was under Joanna's name. Therefore, Weavile still belongs to Joanna's Pokémon. Only after she receives her initial Pokémon and becomes a recognized new trainer by the Alliance can she transfer Weavile to her name.
"Because you two have already been exceptionally admitted to Nanda University, you can go to the research institute to receive your initial Pokémon at any time, without having to wait for the university's admission letter to arrive." Joanna said with a smile, looking at the excited duo.
There are generally two ways to become a trainer: one is to acquire your initial Pokémon through wild capture, family inheritance, or purchase, and then become a beginner trainer by passing a series of Alliance assessments; the other is through the Alliance unified examination. All students who pass the college entrance examination and are admitted to a university can receive a free initial Pokémon at the admitted university.
There are two ways to obtain an initial Pokémon through the college entrance examination route: one is to go to the school normally to receive it, but the Pokémon obtained through this method are generally more common, mostly like Caterpie, Weedle, etc., and better ones are like Spearow, Pidgey, Geodude; the other way is for direct members of the Alliance to go to the local city research institute with a certificate to receive a starter Pokémon, which is what Ethan and Emily belong to.
However, regardless of the method of acquisition, to obtain an initial Pokémon through the college entrance examination route, one must first pass the college entrance examination and successfully enroll in a Pokémon university. After all, starter Pokémon are very rare, and the Alliance cannot waste resources on people who are destined not to become trainers.
"Being admitted early has such benefits? Then can we go get our initial Pokémon tomorrow?" Ethan said excitedly. He felt like he wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
"Yes!" Joanna nodded. Ethan's excitement made her feel as if she had returned to her younger days, when she and Ethan's father were just as excited when they received their initial Pokémon.
"Haha, Emily, shall we go get our initial Pokémon tomorrow? I'm already a little impatient!" Ethan said excitedly, looking at Emily beside him.
"Okay!" Emily softly responded, while stroking the Weavile beside her. "By the way, I want to transfer Weavile to my name."
"Weavile~~~" Hearing its name, Weavile looked up and cried out.
"You're right, after getting your initial Pokémon, you can officially raise Weavile. However, a Weavile with such a high energy level will be quite a challenge for you, won't it?" Joanna's heart stirred slightly, then she said with a smile.
Although it had lived in the house for five years, Weavile was undoubtedly closest to Emily. This was the person Weavile recognized the most in its heart, and being able to officially return to Emily's name was probably what it looked forward to the most.
"It's fine!" Emily said, not taking the upcoming challenge to heart at all.
Once Weavile is registered under Emily's name, if it breaks through to the Entry-level, then regardless of whether Emily passes the Entry-level trainer assessment, she will no longer be considered a novice trainer. She will not be able to enjoy the benefits associated with novice trainers, and she will not be able to participate in some Alliance competitions. Therefore, from the very beginning, her opponents will already be Entry-level trainers, unlike others who can have a growth process.
"Don't worry, I'll catch up soon!" Ethan said to Emily in a deep voice. No man would allow himself to be inferior to the woman beside him. This was a challenge to his dignity.
"Mhm!" Emily nodded.
"Tsk, tsk, this PDA, it seems I need to prepare for your engagement. It's best to hold the engagement banquet before school starts. Of course, if you plan to get married directly, I'm also very much in favor." Joanna exclaimed as she listened to their conversation, making both of them blush profusely.
"Mom, what are you talking about?!" Ethan shouted awkwardly. Although he knew the legal marriage age in this world was very young, getting married right after graduating from high school was really a bit hard for him to accept.
"I'm talking about serious matters, do you have an opinion? Could it be that you're going to renege after eating, and don't want to marry Emily?" Joanna raised an eyebrow and snapped.
"How could that be? Of course I want to! No, when did I ever renege after eating? No, when did I…" Ethan argued, but the more he spoke, the more he felt something was wrong. Indeed, he still couldn't out-argue his own mother!
"Um, I'm going back to my room first!" Emily rarely blushed so much, standing up to go back to her room, but she was stopped by Joanna.
"Hey! Hey! Not so fast! Don't rush back to your room! I still have something to show you two! Honestly, you two have been together for so many years, what's there to be shy about? It's going to happen sooner or later, right? Okay, okay, okay! I won't say anything more. Come with me, I'll take you to see the gifts your Dad Ethan sent back for you." Joanna said helplessly, while pulling Emily's hand and walking towards her laboratory.