Kyron's father said, "Kyron goes to Rongcheng No. 8 High School. He's a freshman, soon to be a sophomore. His grades are okay."
President Li said meaningfully, "He's got to work harder then. My son is in No. 1 High School, always in the top three of his class. After choosing the Pokémon track, his strength also ranks top ten in his grade."
"With his current level, he has a solid shot at getting into Imperial University or Magic University after the college entrance exams."
Kyron's father paused for a second and forced a smile. "We can't compare to that. I don't expect too much from my boy. As long as he gets into a college, that's good enough."
Although he said that, Kyron could still sense his father's disappointment.
President Li looked at the incubator on the table. "I heard a Pokémon egg was found at the construction site yesterday. Is this the one?"
"Old Jiang, I also heard that Pokémon eggs found outside are usually mediocre. They're fine as pets, but don't count on them for much else."
"A lot of people think they got lucky with a great egg, but once it hatches, they regret it."
"So be careful with this one!"
Kyron's father replied, "Of course, I'll be careful."
Kyron, listening nearby, shook his head inwardly. Every word from President Li seemed kind on the surface, but was actually subtly belittling his father's judgment and his own potential.
After lunch, Kyron took the incubator and went home.
When Kyron's mom saw him bring it back, she asked curiously, "Your dad got you a Pokémon? Why is it still an egg?"
Kyron explained how the egg was found and added, "Based on what I checked, it should hatch within a day."
"Once it hatches, I'll need to make a run to the store for supplies."
Mom said, "We still have plenty of food left from Pikachu and Jigglypuff. That should work for a newly hatched Pokémon too."
Kyron nodded, took the incubator to his room, and placed it on his bed. He stared at it for a while, excitement bubbling inside him—he was finally about to get his first Pokémon.
His mind was filled with wild guesses—could it be one of the starters? Charmander? Bulbasaur? Maybe even Froakie?
Well, even if it wasn't, whatever Pokémon it turned out to be, it would be his first and would mean everything.
His room wasn't big—just a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. Sitting at his desk, he pulled out a notebook and flipped to a blank page, eager to write something down.
Pokémon Egg? (No idea what it'll hatch into.)If it's a Weedle or Caterpie... that would suck.Then again, maybe not. Still, a little disappointing.
As he was getting lost in his thoughts, a sudden sensation rushed through his body. It was like a stream of energy was being pulled out of him.
He felt the air shimmer slightly, then a gray, watery energy appeared in mid-air, flowing toward the incubator.
His mind went blank for a second, and then, oddly, he saw a colorful orb in his consciousness—one he immediately recognized.
It's that little orb that came with the Arceus figure I bought in my previous life!
He couldn't believe it had followed him into this world. Could this be his "cheat code"?
He'd suspected it before, but now he was sure. But what exactly did it do?
As his thoughts spun, the gray energy poured into the egg. It began to shake excitedly, the life inside absorbing the energy like it was nourishment.
Kyron's heart raced. This was no ordinary egg. He could feel it.
The egg trembled harder and harder until it looked like it would break free of the incubator. Kyron quickly opened it and took the egg into his hands. It was hot—almost burning—but the life inside pulsed strongly.
Then, it happened.
The egg burst into a brilliant light that lit up the whole room. Even from the hallway, the glow could be seen through the door crack.
The white light morphed the egg's shape from an oval into something with four limbs—it was hatching!
A second later, the light faded, revealing the newborn Pokémon.
"It hatched!" Kyron shouted, heart pounding.
The Pokémon had a round black-and-white body, four stubby legs, and a large round head.
Its body was dark gray, eyes light blue. Its head, legs, and back were covered in armor. A small horn stuck out from its back.
It had holes in its armor—six on the head, three on each side. The two biggest ones were its eyes, and there were small protrusions near its horn.
"That's... Aron?!" Kyron gasped.
Kyron knew this Pokémon well. He had caught one in the games back in his past life. Evolving it into Aggron was always cool—it even learned Hyper Beam!
Aron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Its body was encased in steel armor, and new plates would form when it evolved. The discarded armor could be used for rare materials.
He remembered the textbooks too—Aron's shed armor was extremely valuable. He had seen videos online of people selling just one kilogram of it for 10,000 yuan. He had been so envious.
Aron blinked its big eyes, staring at Kyron with curiosity.
Pokémon Fact: The first person a newly hatched Pokémon sees becomes its closest bond.
Aron: ((っ c))It waddled over and rubbed its steel-plated head against Kyron lovingly.
Kyron picked it up—its warmth and hardness felt like holding living steel.
Not as cuddly as Pikachu or Pachirisu, sure, but still—it was his starter. That made all the difference.
And Kyron was more than satisfied—he was ecstatic. This was way beyond his expectations.
He would've been thrilled with a Sandshrew, Pichu, Oddish, or Machop. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to "pull" an Aron from a random egg.
Its final form, Aggron, was not just cool but incredibly strong. With a base stat total of 530, it was far from ordinary.
Most importantly, even a two-star Aron would cost over 100,000 yuan at a breeder's shop. This was a jackpot.
Just then—knock knock!
"Kyron, what's going on? Your room lit up all of a sudden!" his mother called.
He opened the door. "Mom, the egg hatched!"
She peeked in, and her eyes widened. "That's... that's Aron, right?"
"I saw one at the Garden Breeder House once. It cost 190,000 for a two-star Aron. Someone bought one—I remember it clearly."
"Can't believe the one your dad found was an Aron. Kyron, you hit it big!"
Kyron grinned, "Gotta thank Dad for that. What a find."
His mom turned to go. "Let me get some Moo Moo Milk. I think we've got two bottles left."
Moo Moo Milk was produced by Miltanks. Both humans and Pokémon could drink it, but the kind Kyron's mom mentioned was specially formulated for Pokémon.
Kyron watched Aron slurp down milk in the living room and started planning.
First of all—no training yet. The first ten days were all about eating well, drinking well, and sleeping soundly.
Next up: food.
A Pokémon like Aron needed quality meals.
One 300ml bottle of Moo Moo Milk cost 15 yuan. Aron already drank two bottles in one sitting.
That meant six bottles per day—90 yuan daily just on milk.
Pikachu had only needed half a bottle per meal. Aron's intake was twelve times that.
Then there was regular food.
A 2kg bag of generic Pokémon food cost 49 yuan. Pikachu and Jigglypuff ate that, usually the pet variety sold in many brands.
There were also trainer-level foods: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Some were specialized by type—fire-type foods, water-type, etc.
And then there were premium foods made specifically for a single species—those were insanely expensive.
Kyron couldn't afford most of those.
He also knew rich trainers gave Pokémon energy cubes—useless in games, but in this world, they significantly enhanced development.
He searched online for Pokémon food.
Top three brands in Huaguo (China-like region): Moli, Penguin, and Snorlax.
Each had pros and cons: Moli gave more food, Penguin tasted better, and Snorlax was cheapest.
His mom had bought Penguin brand for Pikachu and Jigglypuff.
After comparing reviews, Kyron decided on Snorlax brand—cheaper, same effect.
He didn't plan to buy online, though. The supermarket had weekly Sunday sales, with 10% off storewide.
He would go tomorrow.
He also accepted the 20,000 yuan his dad had transferred.
On top of that, he had his own savings—Chinese New Year red envelopes from the last 16 years.
Every year, he'd been tempted to break into it. Now he finally could.
He grabbed his gold Meowth-shaped piggy bank, and smash—broke it open.
"Bang!"
Out spilled red, yellow, and green bills.
He sat on the floor and counted for over an hour.
When he was done: 46,375.5 yuan.
Added with Dad's 20,000 and another 573 in his wallet, that made 66,948.5 yuan.
He'd never had this much money in his life.
He would have to spend it wisely—no idea how long it needed to last.