"Okay," Su Wen replied.
As he walked towards the door, he began to ponder.
It was his 16th birthday, and he had no idea what his dad had prepared for him. But it was highly likely to be a Pokémon.
Determined to become a Pokémon Trainer, Su Wen had applied to study at Yun City No.1 High School's Pokémon department, and 16 was the legal age in Xia Country to officially own his first Pokémon.
Su Wen expertly picked up a sign from behind the entrance and hung it on the hook as challengers waiting outside stared at him.
"Closed?"
The challengers were dumbfounded upon seeing the sign. What was going on? Aren't gyms typically open until eight or nine? How come it was closing before six today?
"Cough, cough. The Gym Leader is unavailable today. Please make an appointment next time," Su Wen explained.
The challengers waiting at the door had no appointments; they probably decided on a whim to come and seek a beating.
Seeing the gym was closed, they could only shake their heads and leave.
The gym had security and management staff, so there was no need for Su Chuan to tidy up. He simply changed out of his Gym Leader robe and drove off with Su Wen through the back door.
"Dad, what's the gift?" Su Wen asked innocently from the passenger seat.
Su Chuan feigned mystery: "You'll definitely be satisfied with your gift."
"...Dad, you've said that before." Su Wen suddenly recalled his previous birthdays when his dad gifted him things like plush toys and toy trains. He even received a Barbie doll for his eighth birthday! Was that something he would play with?
Su Wen looked at Su Chuan suspiciously, making him feel a bit awkward. "Uh, this time, I promise you'll be happy."
Su Wen rolled his eyes discreetly. "Dad, why don't you just tell me? I'm really anxious about this."
Su Chuan couldn't help but try to maintain his image in front of his son: "How about a Pokémon?"
"Is that really a gift, Dad?" Su Wen expressed his dissatisfaction strongly. "School starts in a month, and if you don't prepare me an initial Pokémon soon, I might just go to the Alliance and get a Pokémon egg to hatch myself."
In Xia Country, the Pokémon Alliance prohibited private ownership of Pokémon; one could only capture them as a trainer. As there was no threshold for trainers, anyone aged 16 could apply for trainer status at the Pokémon Alliance, resulting in a nation of trainers.
The stronger a trainer was, the more Pokémon they were allowed to capture and care for. A Gym Leader like Su Chuan could nurture more than twenty-five Pokémon under the guise of their gym.
However, amateur trainers like Su Wen's mother were only allowed to care for a single Pokémon.
"Well, the gift is for you to choose! If not, I would have arranged for you to have a Slakoth already." Su Chuan huffed to show that he hadn't forgotten his son's start date.
Su Wen had no special feelings for Slakoth, which was merely the initial form of Slaking. The laziness characteristic of Slakoth was comparable to that of Slaking, and his dad's Slaking was irreplaceable. Not to mention, Slakoth's appearance was pretty average...
"I was planning to ask you after you blew out the candles, but since we're here, choose your initial Pokémon. Dad will take care of it," Su Chuan declared with flair.
"Dratini, Larvitar, Bagon, Beldum, Gible, Dreepy, Goomy, Deino, Jangmo-o," Su Wen listed out all the pseudo-legendary initial forms he knew, then looked at Su Chuan with a faint smile and added shyly, "I can settle for any of these."
"..."
After a long silence, Su Chuan seemed a bit defeated. "Your dad has wanted a Gible for a long time..."
The implication was, "Forget about it."
These eight Pokémon were at the top of the hierarchy among all Pokémon. However, among the known Pokémon, their potential had already hit the ceiling.
Except for Slaking, which was an anomaly, Slaking's base potential was possibly slightly higher than those pseudo-legendaries, but its poor ability truly crippled it.
Having a pseudo-legendary as an initial Pokémon would undoubtedly confer a significant advantage, but Su Wen was aware that the only documented habitat for pseudo-legendaries was in the first forbidden zone of Xia: the Dragon's Den.
Most dragon-type pseudo-legendaries, except for Goomy and Dreepy, had their respective clans within the Dragon's Den.
The inhabitants of the Dragon's Den reached an agreement with the Xia Pokémon Alliance that trainers were not allowed to disturb the Dragon's Den. However, underground dealings were rampant.
As long as a trainer broke through to the Champion level, they were allowed to enter the Dragon's Den to capture a Pokémon or could specify a certain Pokémon and receive a starter Pokémon or egg directly from the Dragon's Den.
That was plain old favoritism, but everyone was more than willing to catch this favor. Who wouldn't want a pseudo-legendary? Even if they didn't need it themselves, they could always pass it down to their children.
As for Larvitar and Beldum, the other two Pokémon were also quite rare.
Larvitar didn't have a fixed habitat, but wherever Larvitar was found, it was likely in deep mountains or forests, often accompanied by two adult Tyranitars.
Beldum, on the other hand, resided deep within cave systems rich in steel-type ores, usually in forbidden areas, making it a Pokémon that could only be acquired by chance.
Su Chuan had wanted a pseudo-legendary for a long time but had yet to get one.
It was probably only after breaking through to Champion level that he could go obtain a pseudo-legendary baby Pokémon.
As for now, it was better not to think about it.
In fact, Su Wen couldn't quite understand why his dad, despite having Champion-level strength, couldn't secure an investment in the Dragon's Den.
"Then how about Froakie, Charmander, Riolu, Eevee, and Torchic? Can you find ones with good potential?"
"Froakie, Charmander, and Torchic would be best with hidden abilities, while Riolu should have the Adaptability ability," Su Wen proposed after deep thought.
These five Pokémon were carefully chosen by Su Wen. Setting aside the elusive Mega Evolutions, bond evolutions, and Dynamax forms, the hidden ability of Froakie, Protean, could change its type.
Torchic's hidden ability, Speed Boost, was extremely powerful in battle because its speed increased every turn.
Having strong Aura Power and a Riolu, a Pokémon who also harnessed Aura, should synergize well.
Charmander was a versatile Pokémon and its hidden ability, Solar Power, boosted its special attack by 50% in sunny weather. Although it drained stamina significantly, it was still a fierce trait.
Eevee had many evolutionary forms, allowing Su Wen to have multiple options for training.
These five Pokémon represented the best choices for Su Wen's initial Pokémon in his mind.
Most importantly, they all had high appeal—Su Wen was indeed a visual dog.
Listening to Su Wen's requirements, Su Chuan pondered seriously. "Forget about Froakie; they're mainly in Western Europe, and high-quality Froakies are hard to come by in Xia Country."
"For Riolu, there's a Fighting-type dojo in the Imperial Capital. I know the Gym Leader there, who has raised six or seven Riolus. However, obtaining a hidden ability Riolu won't be easy."
"I can check for Torchic and Eevee to see if I can get one."
"As for Charmander, Charicific Valley is the best place. Uncle Zhu owes me a favor, and it happens to be the hatching season for Charmander. Many people are probably contacting him, so I'll take you to check it out tomorrow. If there's a suitable one, we'll take it. If not, I can help you find Torchic and Eevee. What do you think?"
With Su Chuan's status, finding these five Pokémon wouldn't be too difficult, but the challenge lay in most of Su Wen's demands being for Pokémon with hidden abilities, making it rather complicated.
Each Pokémon of a species generally possesses both a regular ability and a hidden ability, similar to dominant and recessive genes. Pokémon within the same species often exhibit the standard ability.
The appearance rate of hidden abilities is approximately one in a hundred, and varies among different species.
However, like winning the SSR in a lottery, each Pokémon with a hidden ability was a treasure.
Most hidden abilities featured strong effects, though some were lackluster.
Seeing that Su Chuan had presented a detailed plan, Su Wen nodded. "Sounds good."
On the way home, Su Chuan continued to discuss various Pokémon knowledge with Su Wen, feeling quite satisfied. Su Wen had always been strong in theoretical knowledge and exhibited excellent potential for Pokémon training.
As a first-rate trainer, Su Chuan eagerly anticipated his son growing into a trainer even more outstanding than himself.
Arriving at home, Su Wen knocked on the door. He and Su Chuan weren't in the habit of carrying keys.
With a click, the door opened, and a small head poked out.
"Indeedee, is dinner ready, Mom?" Su Wen wasn't surprised at all; this adorable Pokémon was currently his mom's only Pokémon, Indeedee.
Indeedee was not Su Wen's mother's starter Pokémon. Her starter was a Beedrill that had long since passed away.