As the glow inside the incubator slowly faded, a small, adorable puppy appeared before Aaron and the others.
"G-Growlithe!?"
Lily let out an incredulous cry the moment she saw the fluffy little dog.
"This…!"
Victor and Celia stared at the puppy in front of them, so shocked that they were completely speechless, their eyes wide open.
"Son… this is a Growlithe that can evolve into Arcanine, right?"
Celia asked Aaron, still hardly daring to believe it.
"That's right, Mom," Aaron replied with a smile.
"Arcanine has extremely high base stats. This Growlithe would be worth at least two million outside…"
"Son… your luck is just unbelievable!"
Celia covered her mouth, exclaiming in astonishment.
Victor continued to stare at the Growlithe, silent for a long time.
Lily, meanwhile, stood completely frozen.
This… was her Pokémon!?
Once it evolved, an Arcanine with a base stats total of 555… With stats that high, its potential had to be at least Gym Leader level, right!?
And this was going to be her very first Pokémon!?
Was she dreaming!?
Lily felt as if she were trapped in a dream. Only in her dreams would she ever own such a rare Pokémon.
She had imagined countless times that her first Pokémon might be a Caterpie, or maybe an Oddish, or even a Rattata…
She had never once imagined that she would own the adorable Growlithe so many people dreamed of.
Happiness had come far too suddenly, leaving her completely overwhelmed.
"Silly girl… what are you standing there for? Hurry up and hug your very first Pokémon."
Seeing Lily still frozen in place, Aaron couldn't help but remind her.
A loyal Pokémon like Growlithe would recognize the first person who approached it as its lifelong partner.
"Huh!?"
"Oh…"
Lily finally snapped back to her senses. She quickly opened the incubator and gently picked up Growlithe, not even noticing Aaron's affectionate way of addressing her.
"Woof, woof…"
Growlithe barked happily, licking Lily's cheek with delight.
"Ah—so itchy! Hahaha!"
Lily laughed uncontrollably as she dodged the licking, while Aaron watched from the side with a relieved smile.
It had been a long time since he had seen his sister smile like this. The feeling was wonderful.
Their parents watched Lily's joyful expression, then exchanged a glance with Aaron, relief and satisfaction flashing in their eyes.
...
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Aaron was woken by his alarm. After washing up, he went to eat breakfast—only to discover, to his surprise, that his sister was already sitting at the table.
Aaron felt secretly pleased. It seemed the Growlithe really hadn't been a wasted gift.
His sister's attitude toward him had clearly improved.
Just then, Celia's voice rang out.
"Son, hurry up and eat. I asked your sister to take the day off today so she can take Growlithe for a checkup and buy some dog food."
Aaron: "…"
So she wasn't actually waiting to eat breakfast with him.
The corner of Aaron's mouth twitched as he fell silent in resignation.
While eating, his mother continued to nag him about studying hard at the training camp. After breaking out in a cold sweat responding to her reminders, Aaron finally set off.
...
When Aaron arrived at the school gates, a large crowd had already gathered. A military bus and a large transport truck were parked nearby.
Several burly men in military uniforms were talking with Principal Sterling. One of them, around thirty years old, had sharp, resolute eyes and a faint smile on his face.
He wore a camouflage uniform, with a captain's insignia gleaming on his collar under the sunlight.
A trace of admiration flashed through Aaron's eyes.
No matter which world it was, soldiers were always worthy of respect.
Aaron quietly walked over to Grace and greeted her in a familiar tone.
"Morning, Grace."
He had no choice—she was the only person he knew here, so he needed something to ease the awkwardness.
"Morning."
Grace didn't ignore him and returned the greeting, sparing him a painfully awkward moment.
The surrounding students immediately noticed, shock flashing through their eyes.
How did this guy from the regular class know Grace, the rich and beautiful girl!?
And they even seemed fairly close!?
Quite a few people began to grin knowingly, their gazes darting back and forth between Aaron and the handsome young man standing beside Grace, their expressions full of amusement.
The handsome man next to Grace, however, turned toward Aaron with a dark expression.
"Hey, who are you?"
"You seem pretty familiar with Grace, huh?"
"Don't try to cozy up to her."
Aaron looked at him, momentarily stunned.
Hmm.
Damn—he really was handsome.
Only a tiny bit worse than himself.
Barely lost by a hair.
Recovering, Aaron asked bluntly,
"Who I am is none of your business."
"What, are you saying Grace belongs to you?"
"I can't even talk to her without you interfering?"
Aaron had no intention of being polite. One glance was enough to tell—this guy was Grace's simp.
And he hated simps the most.
In his previous life, he had spent years fawning over his so-called waifus, only to end up dying alone, staring at her photos.
A lifelong, incurable sorrow.
Simps deserve no mercy.
"You—!"
The handsome young man's face twisted with anger as he was about to lash out, but Grace cut him off.
"Simon, I'm not close to you at all. Please don't act familiar with me."
Her expression was icy as she spoke.
"Hahaha… hear that?" Aaron laughed mockingly.
"Grace just told you to back off. Why don't you go cool off somewhere else?"
Grace couldn't help but roll her eyes at Aaron.
Simon's expression darkened even further, as if he had just swallowed something foul.
…