Half an hour later, Old Qin returned to explain the detailed rules.
Similar to previous years—but with one major change.
This time, Shuimu No. 3 High's new sponsor would provide Metagross and Zoroark to construct simulated Pokémon and fully virtualized battle stats.
These illusion-based Pokémon would be randomly deployed into the forest arena.
Students would battle them.
Each victory earned points.
Final rankings would be determined by total score.
The entire class was stunned.
Metagross. Zoroark.
Using that level of high-tier Pokémon to generate a simulated combat environment—
For what was essentially a freshman assessment in a mid-tier city?
It was like using national college entrance exam equipment for a weekly quiz.
For some reason, Lin Yu's gaze drifted toward Ye Qingxue.
She smiled at him.
Said nothing.
Lin Yu shook his head, dismissing the absurd speculation forming in his mind.
Right now, he merely had a ticket to the Heavenly King tier.
He wasn't there yet.
If he wanted to stand beside that girl—
He still had a long way to go.
And by "stand beside," he obviously meant as a brother.
Obviously.
The school day ended quickly.
Back home, Lin Yu sat in thought.
How could he push Charmander's combat strength even further?
Or more precisely—
How could he secure first place?
If possible, he wanted to surpass even the sophomores and seniors.
Charmander was now Level 11.
But a one- or two-level increase didn't create massive power spikes.
Helpful—but not decisive.
Trait refreshes were random.
Shop refreshes were random.
"Hopefully next week's refresh brings something insane…"
With that hopeful thought, he fell asleep.
The next morning—
He immediately opened the System.
A flash of blue light nearly blinded him.
He froze.
This wasn't a weekly refresh.
This was a daily trait.
And it rolled Blue-tier.
[Flame Splash Trait]: All fire-based attacks will splash outward upon impact.
A new trait?
Traits could generate pseudo-abilities too?
So any fire-type move would trigger splash?
Charmander had already turned Ember into Flame Rain.
If Flame Rain also gained splash—
That power spike would be enormous.
Add Rosemary Incense for lure-and-clear synergy—
It would be a harvesting machine.
"Let's check the shop too."
Encouraged by the strong start, Lin Yu opened the Trait Shop.
[Poké Ball]
[Premium Pokémon Food]
[Trait Slot Lock]: Permanently lock one trait onto a Pokémon without occupying an active slot. 10 Trait Coins (Today Only)]
[Rosemary Incense]
…
His eyes lit up.
This refresh was ridiculous.
He had been struggling with which trait to swap out.
Now he didn't have to.
Ten coins.
Expensive—but worth it.
He bought it immediately.
Strangely, the item disappeared from the shop after purchase.
Limited-time.
Not permanent.
A bit of a pity.
Still—
He immediately locked [Purification] permanently onto Charmander.
Then equipped [Flame Splash].
Evening.
Inside the abandoned building.
Charmander tested its new trait.
A small ember formed in its mouth and floated outward.
It looked tiny—barely ten centimeters in diameter—
Yet it crackled with terrifying heat.
When it struck the ground—
It exploded outward in a splash radius of several meters.
"Insane…"
Lin Yu said honestly.
That was just a basic Ember.
Once Charmander unleashed Flame Rain—
And every ember splashed on impact—
The battlefield would become a sea of fire.
And when it evolved into Charizard?
Flamethrower.
Burn Up.
With splash.
The visual alone would be catastrophic.
This Blue-tier trait rivaled some Purple-tier effects.
It also gave Lin Yu a realization.
Trait refreshes truly had no ceiling.
Even the seemingly useless ones—like [I Am a Singer]—
Might have Pokémon synergy.
Imagine Jigglypuff with a vocal amplification trait.
Or—
What if one day he rolled something like [Lord of Lightning]?
Charmander wielding electricity?
Custom move creation through trait stacking?
What if—
One day—
He rolled [Rasengan]?
Ninja Greninja.
Or—
Kaioken Lucario.
The thought alone made him tremble with excitement.
"Raaalts~ Raaalts~"
Ralts clapped happily at Charmander's display.
Charmander scratched its head shyly, flustered.
"You'll grow strong too," Lin Yu said, gently patting Ralts.
For her training, he'd assigned a unique regimen.
Throughout daily life, she was to use Confusion to levitate herself while performing actions.
He had also discovered something amusing.
Ralts loved watching anime.
So he encouraged her to draw—
Using telekinesis to control the pen.
The results were shockingly effective.
Perhaps Heavenly King-tier talent really did matter.
In just a few days, she had mastered advanced telekinetic manipulation—
Making light objects heavy and heavy objects light through precise control.
Her level had reached 9.
"Tomorrow's the field exercise," Lin Yu said, raising a fist.
"Let's give it everything."
Charmander bumped fists with him.
It was excited too.
Lin Yu handed out energy cubes.
Both Pokémon refueled.
The next morning.
Shuimu No. 3 High held a grand opening ceremony.
Thanks to the new sponsor, the event had been heavily promoted.
Media outlets gathered.
Anyone could tell—
This year's wilderness exercise wasn't ordinary.
Freshmen assembled on the field, listening to the balding principal deliver an overly passionate speech.
His face glowed with excitement.
Clearly, something good had happened recently.
"Ha…"
Lin Yu yawned.
These speeches never changed.
Let's hurry this up.
He was far more interested in what came next.
The freshman wilderness trial.
It was time.