On the way back, Uncle Ye still looked unwilling to let it go.
"Miss, you didn't need to yield like that."
"I don't believe for a second that there's anyone in this world who's truly unafraid of death."
"If I applied a little pressure—some threats, some temptation—I could definitely have forced the training plan out of him."
"He's just a lowly teaching assistant. What right does he have to be your teacher?"
Ever since Pokémon became integrated into all aspects of society, the status of Pokémon instructors had only continued to rise.
In fact, there was now a formal rank system for them, based on strength and accomplishment:
Teaching Assistant
Standard Instructor
First-Class Instructor
Special Instructor
Associate Professor
Professor
Becoming a teaching assistant had no requirements.
Anyone who wanted to pursue a teaching career could apply.
But to become a Standard Instructor, one of your officially registered students had to reach the Veteran level — and even then, you still had to pass a series of examinations.
The requirements increased with each rank.
Which meant that to be recognized as a Professor, at least one of your students had to have reached Champion-level strength.
The bar was set that high.
As a result, there were so few certified Professors across all of Dragon nation that you could count them on one hand.
And a good Pokémon teacher could shape a person's entire future.
While there were no rules prohibiting a student from having more than one teacher, the reality was—
Most prestigious instructors didn't allow their students to learn under anyone else.
So even if Guo Yi gave his blessing for Su Qingxue to later take on another mentor, there was no guarantee any respectable teacher would accept her.
But Su Qingxue had already made her decision. No matter how much Uncle Ye said, it wouldn't change anything now.
All he could do was hope that Guo Yi's so-called training method for Nidoking and Nidoqueen really worked as claimed.
Of course, Su Qingxue wasn't blind to the risks of taking a teacher prematurely.
But she had her own considerations.
If Guo Yi turned out to be all talk, she could still find another master.
It was difficult for most people to find another teacher under those circumstances.
But she wasn't most people.
Su Qingxue still had a hidden trump card—
The [Power of Viridian].
A rare gift, this power allowed her to sense a Pokémon's emotions, read fragments of its memories and thoughts…
And even heal an injured Pokémon, using her own strength.
Of course—
Su Qingxue didn't know this ability's name.
But that didn't stop her from understanding how powerful it was.
Just the healing aspect alone—
If word got out, countless instructors would line up to take her in as a disciple.
And that was exactly why Su Qingxue had never revealed it.
Aside from herself, only her mother Ye Qing knew of it.
"That's enough, Uncle Ye. You don't need to say more."
"I have my own reasons."
"Trust me — no matter how this plays out, we won't come out of it worse off."
Because of the [Power of Viridian], she couldn't explain too much.
So she simply tried to reassure him.
Uncle Ye nodded on the surface — but in his mind, he was already considering whether to report this to the president.
After all, this wasn't just some trivial matter.
It could affect her entire future.
He couldn't afford to treat it lightly.
---
In contrast to the somber mood on Su Qingxue's side—
The atmosphere back at Guo Yi's place was completely different.
He was all smiles, excitedly sharing his joy with Beedrill.
"Hahaha!"
"Beedrill! We finally have our first student!"
"Just wait — one day, you're going to stand tall at the very top of the world."
With Giovanni's Beedrill as inspiration, Guo Yi never doubted his own Beedrill's potential.
And even though Beedrill didn't understand why its trainer was so happy, as his number one Pokémon—
If his trainer was happy, then he was happy too.
More than ten minutes later—
Once Guo Yi had calmed down, he went to prepare food for Beedrill.
As for the [Master Trainer System] — it would activate as soon as Su Qingxue's student registration was confirmed.
...
[Ding! Congratulations, Host — you've accepted your first student. System functions are now fully unlocked.]
[Ding! You've received a Newcomer Gift Pack, one Student Link Template, and unlocked the Power of Viridian.]
[Ding! You've obtained a complete copy of Giovanni's Pokémon Training Compendium.]
"Hmm?"
"Student Link Template? What's that?"
Surprised by the unexpected reward, Guo Yi's curiosity was instantly piqued.
He didn't even open the [Newcomer Gift Pack] right away — instead, he checked the [Student Link Template] first.
[Student Link Template]
Description: Randomly selects a Pokémon as a template. This template can be bound to Pokémon of the same evolutionary line. Pokémon linked to the template will have an increased probability of being those used by the selected character.
Effect: The linked Pokémon's strength will match the total combined strength of the student's six strongest Pokémon.
For example—
Since Su Qingxue's matched template was Giovanni.
That meant the Pokémon drawn from the template would most likely be ones Giovanni had owned.
Of course, there was a small chance of drawing unrelated Pokémon too—
But that probability was low.
Once Guo Yi owned one of the same Pokémon (whether pre-evolved or fully evolved), he could bind it.
And once bound—
That Pokémon's strength would be directly tied to his student's strength.
The stronger the student, the stronger the Pokémon.
Understanding how this template worked—
Especially the fact that the linked Pokémon's strength was equal to the combined total of the student's six strongest Pokémon—
Guo Yi couldn't help but exclaim, This is ridiculous!
At first, it might not seem like much.
After all, a bunch of Entry-level Pokémon wouldn't stand a chance against a single Excellence-level one.
But if Su Qingxue eventually reached the Quasi-Elite, Elite Four, or even Champion or Grandmaster tiers...
Then this ability would become monstrous.
Just the thought of a single Pokémon having the power of six Elite Four-level Pokémon combined—
Was enough to send shivers down one's spine.
With that in mind—
Guo Yi wasted no time and immediately activated the template draw.
[Begin drawing Pokémon template?]
"Yes!"
As soon as he confirmed, avatars of Giovanni's Pokémon began to flicker across the screen.
First up, of course, was Giovanni's signature ace: Beedrill.
Then came Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Golem, Aggron — the iconic team that gave Giovanni the title "Master of the Earth."
And at the very end—
Two final figures appeared: Deoxys, the space-born mythical, and Mewtwo, the ultimate artificial Pokémon.
Besides these, a blacked-out "?" icon floated on the side—
Representing the possibility of a non-Giovanni Pokémon.
Please, Beedrill… or Nidoking… Nidoqueen works too. Just don't let it be Mewtwo or Deoxys!
Guo Yi silently prayed as the avatars cycled faster and faster.
Not because he didn't like Mewtwo or Deoxys—
But because, in his current situation, there was no way he could capture them.
Deoxys was at least theoretically accessible in certain secret realms.
But Mewtwo? A man-made Pokémon? Finding it in a secret realm would be a miracle in itself.
If he couldn't catch the corresponding Pokémon, then the template would be wasted.
So all he could do was hope.
And it seemed the heavens heard his plea—
The flashing finally slowed… and stopped on Nidoking.
As the choice locked in—
A golden card materialized in Guo Yi's hand.
[Nidoking Template]
Bound Student: Su Qingxue
Eligible Pokémon: Nidoran♂, Nidorino, Nidoking