Mythical Pokémon—acquired.
Without meaning to, Chen Ran had unlocked a brand-new achievement.
Even though there was no system reward attached to it, Chen Ran felt that the cute little Pokémon in front of him was already the greatest reward imaginable.
"Jirachi, can you turn invisible?"
In anime and legends, many Mythical Pokémon possessed stealth abilities.
Whether it was Mew, the ancestor of all Pokémon,
or Victini, the Victory Pokémon—
These small, adorable Mythical Pokémon could freely wander through the human world without ever being noticed.
If Jirachi couldn't do the same, Chen Ran would be in trouble.
Taking her out openly would be inconvenient—and worse, it could attract the attention of poachers.
That would be extremely dangerous.
"I can."
Jirachi clasped her hands together, squinted her eyes, and smiled.
The next moment—
In Chen Ran's vision, Jirachi was still there.
But her outline was now surrounded by a faint dotted silhouette.
"…?"
Chen Ran's eyes widened slightly.
A dotted outline?
Was that… invisibility?
And yet—
Jirachi had completely vanished from Charmander's field of vision.
"Woohoo!"
So amazing!
Charmander's eyes widened as he spun around, searching everywhere.
For a moment, Chen Ran wondered if Charmander was just pretending—
But no.
Chen Ran could still clearly feel Jirachi sitting on his lap, completely unmoved.
Ding!
Attention, Host: the Insight Eyes can detect Jirachi while she is in an Invisible State.
Hearing this, Chen Ran suddenly understood.
To distinguish stealth invisibility from normal visibility, the system marked Jirachi with a dotted outline when she was hidden.
Invisible to others.
Visible only to him.
"That's perfect."
An invisible Jirachi would make everything much easier going forward.
Whether it was daily life—
Or the upcoming freshman military training.
If things ever became critical, Chen Ran could rely on Jirachi.
"Even if Jirachi isn't battle-oriented…"
"A Level 50 Mythical Pokémon dealing with Level 10 or 20 opponents would still be effortless."
Thinking about it, Chen Ran couldn't help but feel excited.
"Let's go. Time to head back."
Chen Ran let Jirachi sit invisibly on his shoulders as they left the training room.
If he could, he would've preferred to hold her—
But that would've looked far too strange.
The shoulder would have to do.
Like a certain yellow mouse.
Clearly, the shoulder was a special seat.
"Chen Ran, is this a modern human city?"
"Compared to a thousand years ago, it's changed so much."
Jirachi slept for millennia at a time.
Human society had undergone enormous changes.
Although the Pokémon world had only merged with this one for a few decades, Jirachi's memories came from the original Pokémon world.
So despite everything being new—
She wasn't particularly surprised.
Along the way, Jirachi was fascinated by her Invisible State.
From time to time, she tugged on Chen Ran's ear while asking questions.
Chen Ran answered patiently.
Though… his ears were starting to hurt.
"Jirachi, I'll buy you something tasty."
As they passed the campus supermarket, Chen Ran suddenly thought of a treat.
A cute Pokémon like Jirachi would definitely enjoy snacks.
"What kind of tasty thing?!"
Mythical Pokémon technically didn't need to eat.
But the moment she heard "tasty," Jirachi was clearly tempted.
Inside the supermarket, Chen Ran walked straight to the candy section.
"There are strawberry, pineapple, watermelon, and banana flavors. Pick whichever you like—I'll buy it for you."
He spoiled Jirachi like a daughter.
He nearly cleared out the entire display of lollipops.
After all, he was rich now.
A few lollipops were nothing.
The only concern was whether Jirachi would like the flavors.
"Okay!"
Jirachi clapped happily, her laughter light and bell-like.
"Chen Ran is the best!"
She was full of anticipation.
Outside the supermarket, Chen Ran handed her a pineapple-flavored lollipop.
Jirachi put it into her mouth.
Her eyes squinted comfortably.
Happiness practically overflowed as she swung her short legs back and forth.
"Delicious!"
Jirachi laughed, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
Adorably cute.
"Eat slowly. I bought plenty."
Chen Ran had bought over a dozen different flavors—more than enough for her.
Back at the dormitory.
Chen Ran checked the news for a while, then glanced at the freshman group chat.
Dinner time was approaching, and he planned to eat with his roommates at the new cafeteria.
Jiangnan Pokémon University's cafeteria was enormous.
Each dining hall had over a hundred stalls.
Zhejiang cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Cantonese food—
Even Western dishes and specialty religious meals were available.
The four guys from Dorm 427 had been eating together for a month and still hadn't finished exploring all three cafeterias.
At noon—
While eating—
They talked about the upcoming military training.
"Have you heard? A senior made ranking lists for the freshmen—strength rankings, potential rankings, even a campus beauty list."
Ma Gang, carefree as always, had already befriended plenty of seniors.
That's how he got the gossip.
"The vice-captain of the school's Pokémon team said this freshman class is stacked."
"There are tons of geniuses and second-generation Trainers."
"And the strongest one is the Champion's son."
Hearing this, Wang Bo and Chen Xiang froze.
"The Champion's son is coming to our school?"
"Why not stay in Kyoto? There are two top Pokémon universities there—better than our fifth-ranked Jiangnan Pokémon University."
"I don't get it."
As they talked, Chen Ran already knew the inside story.
"Besides the Champion's son, there are freshmen who've already retired from Elite training camps."
"There are also children of active national Gym Leaders."
"The competition is fierce."
"…."
Chen Xiang and Wang Bo clenched their teeth in frustration.
They hated how these second-generation Trainers competed with ordinary students like them for resources.
But there was nothing they could do.
All they could do was watch as those people fought for the top ten.
"Chen Ran! You have to work hard!"
Wang Bo suddenly said.
"Yeah! Bro, you've got a real shot at the top ten!"
Faced with the earnest looks of his three roommates—
Chen Ran quietly ate his rice.
"Heh."
"So what if he's the Champion's son?"
"It's not the Champion himself coming."
This time—
Chen Ran was determined.
----------Author---------------
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