Gible looks like a small, baby shark—
except it's a land-based shark.
A "land shark."
Pokémon are strange like that, aren't they?
Not only do they have land-dwelling sharks like Garchomp,
they also have so-called "sky whales" that soar through the heavens.
Gible has a massive fin on the top of its head,
with two spindle-shaped protrusions on either side.
Its body is primarily deep blue,
with red coloring running from its lower jaw to its belly.
Light-blue stripes trace its back and head fins.
It has an enormous mouth filled with sharp teeth,
short but sturdy limbs ending in three toes.
Male Gible have a notch in their dorsal fin.
Females do not.
However—
The problem was never Gible's appearance.
The real issue was that Gible belongs to the category of so-called "pseudo-legendary Pokémon."
To put it more formally,
it is known as a "late bloomer Pokémon."
After three stages of evolution,
Gible becomes Garchomp—
a powerhouse with what players consider an almost perfect stat distribution.
HP 108 | Attack 130 | Defense 95 | Special Attack 80 | Special Defense 85 | Speed 102
Total: 600
Those numbers were etched into the DNA of countless Pokémon players.
So iconic that during blind dates,
people could recite them as a secret passcode.
Like shouting, "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger!"
and waiting for the reply, "The Pagoda suppresses the River Demon!"
Once the numbers matched,
both sides would smile knowingly.
Ah…
So you play Pokémon too.
"I don't really understand why Gible and Garchomp are so strong,"
Chen Lidong scratched his head,
"but the title of 'late bloomer Pokémon' isn't something you earn for nothing."
"—Wait a second."
"Is there a rich second-generation heir hiding right beside me?!"
"What are you thinking?" Serena shot back.
"If I were rich, would I really have gone that long without a starter Pokémon?"
"This Gible is—"
"It's what?"
"…I'm currently thinking about what kind of excuse I should make up
so I can fool you for now."
Serena straightened her expression and began lying with complete seriousness.
"Prepaid phone bonus?"
"Found it in a trash dump?"
Chen Lidong laughed out loud.
"What kind of trash dump drops pseudo-legendaries?
Tell me where it is—I want to go pick one up too."
"Not just Gible," Serena continued without missing a beat.
"Next to the trash pile was also a beautiful humanoid android that only went 'beep~'.
Too heavy though—couldn't carry her back, so I left her there."
"I believe my ass," Chen Lidong snorted.
"You're so full of nonsense that Cyclizar and Revavroom would be ashamed."
"But whatever. I don't really care."
"I'm not planning to be a Pokémon Trainer anyway.
Having Yamper as a pet is enough for me."
"Battling is something only Pokémon Battle majors should worry about."
Both of them were students in the Business Administration department at a major university in Shanghai.
Most majors at the school were divided into specialties like:
Pokémon Battle
Pokémon Breeding
Pokémon Medical Care
Pokémon Research
Alongside normal disciplines such as:
Business Administration
Computer Science
Civil Engineering
Finance
Even in a world powered by Pokémon,
society still needed ordinary professions.
Everyone played their role.
"That said," Chen Lidong added,
"you already have a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Not becoming a trainer feels like a waste."
"…We'll see," Serena muttered.
"Since it's called a late bloomer,
Gible isn't exactly strong in the early stages."
As a starter Pokémon,
pseudo-legendaries were actually less convenient than most common starters.
They were often worse than Pokémon found on roadsides, in forests, rivers—
or, allegedly, beneath girls' skirts.
The main issue was their extremely long growth cycle.
The experience and levels required to evolve were far higher than normal.
By the time Serena's Gible evolved into Gabite,
and then finally into Garchomp—
Other trainers would have already finished raising their core teams
and moved on to training their second lineup.
The efficiency gap was enormous.
Of course, that didn't mean Serena had any right to complain.
After all—
The last trainer who started with a Gible
was now a multi-time Sinnoh League Champion,
known to the world as the Goddess of Battles.
After finally sending away her overly enthusiastic roommate and his Yamper,
Serena closed the dorm door.
At last, she had the chance to properly examine
the Pokémon that had crossed into this world with her.
Her starter Pokémon.
Her adorable little shark.
"Kapu~?"
Gible tilted its head,
opened its mouth clumsily,
and stared back with dull, innocent eyes.
Serena looked at Gible.
Gible looked at Serena.
(O_o) (O_o)
Trainer and Pokémon stared at each other.
Then—
A translucent panel of Pokémon data suddenly appeared before Serena's eyes.
Species: Gible (♀)
Type: Dragon / Ground
Ability: Rough Skin
Base Stats: ————
Known Moves:
Dragon Claw
Stomping Tantrum
Sand Tomb
Dragon Rage
Dragon Dance
Bite
"…Hmm."
Serena examined the information carefully.
"…Hmm?!"
The more she looked, the more shocked she became,
letting out a low, engine-like groan.
No, no, no—
wait, wait, WAIT—
A Gible that knows Dragon Dance?!
My "friend."
Your Pokémon…
Feels a little illegal, doesn't it?