I haven't decided on a name for my Pokémon trainer yet.

Probably not...

-------------------------------------

"The Blazing Gem and the Psychic Gem, this is a good deal." On a rock, a man dressed in tattered trousers, barefoot and shirtless, with messy hair, looking like a savage, was holding a few gems and grinning foolishly.

This savage was none other than Ye Feng. He had just snatched these gems from a giant rock snake... and traded them for a Shadow Ball. It was a pity that if he had encountered it earlier, he could have obtained a few more Rock Gems.

He had been in the secret realm for more than ten days. Except for some places he couldn't go, Ye Feng had explored almost the entire secret realm and become thoroughly familiar with it.

During this time, Ye Feng encountered the little fire horse again. He originally intended to warmly invite it to play together, but seeing several fiery horses running around it, eyeing him menacingly, he wisely gave up the idea. Ye Feng had figured out that in the secret realm, you should never provoke a lone elf unless it is a solitary elf, otherwise you will be chased and retaliated against by a whole family of elves.

This is also why Ye Feng became familiar with the secret realm so quickly and only had tattered trousers left.

Fortunately, with the two intermediate-level Pokémon captured by the Association, Ye Feng hasn't encountered any truly threatening opponents in the Secret Realm yet—of course, those who use underhanded tactics like Victreebel don't count.

If I can't beat them, can't I at least run away?

After tossing one of the Power Gems to Kirlia for it to absorb, the Blazing Gem was put into the still usable pocket.

Ye Feng squatted on the rock, casually tossing pebbles while watching the few Magnus below work out their muscles.

Ye Feng hadn't found a suitable elf with no shadow, so he'd given up. He'd already achieved his goal of experiencing wilderness survival in the secret realm, so the quest was no longer a concern. He'd ask Wu Jiang what kind of elf it was when Wu Jiang arrived.

Just as Ye Feng was lost in thought, darkness suddenly fell over his head.

Looking up, I saw a Salamence descending.

"Ye Feng, fifteen days have passed." On the Flying Dragon was Shi Hang, who had previously rescued Ye Feng along with Wu Jiang.

"It's finally over!" Ye Feng cheered, dropped the pebble, and nimbly climbed onto the back of the Salamence. Once settled, he looked at Shi Hang with anticipation.

Shi Hang glanced at Ye Feng, who had become much darker but more agile and whose face had lost much of its youthful innocence, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. It seemed that his short period of training had changed him a lot, and he had completely shed his novice trainer status.

No wonder Wu Jiang was willing to help him sneak into the secret realm; he is indeed a promising newcomer worth nurturing.

Chapter 64 The Hatched Elf Egg, An Invitation from the Elf Studies Professor

After leaving the secret realm, Ye Feng first went home to take a good shower and change his clothes, then went to the Pokémon Center to have Kirlia checked out, and also picked up Magikarp and the Pokémon egg.

Having not seen Ye Feng for more than ten days, Magikarp seemed very excited, constantly using Splash, which soaked Ye Feng's face.

After sending the elves home, Ye Feng went to the association to see Wu Jiang.

Wu Jiang looked Ye Feng up and down and noticed that apart from being a bit darker-skinned, his entire demeanor had changed considerably; he was much more composed and no longer as spirited as before. He smiled with satisfaction: "Not bad. Fifteen days isn't a long time, but judging from your appearance, you've gained quite a bit."

Ye Feng smiled. He did feel that he had changed a lot, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He just had a very good feeling about it.

Scratching his cheek, Ye Feng said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, I didn't complete the task you gave me." He then shut his mouth, waiting for Wu Jiang's criticism.

But Wu Jiang widened his eyes, looking puzzled: "What mission?"

Ye Feng was taken aback: "It's the note you gave me when I entered the secret realm. It said, 'On the other side of the mountain, on the other side of the sea, there is an elf without a shadow...'"

Wu Jiang frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly realized: "Oh, you mean that? That's a lyric I just copied from the internet."

"..." Ye Feng's face stiffened. "What did you say?"

"Copied from the internet."

"I didn't hear that clearly."

"Copied from the internet," Wu Jiang said, raising his voice slightly.

Ye Feng's face darkened: "Didn't you say that was an assessment? Do you know that I searched the entire secret realm just to find that elf from the song lyrics?"

Wu Jiang looked completely innocent: "It was an assessment. I just didn't tell you it was an extra question. Nobody said you had to answer the extra questions, right?"

Although Ye Feng knew that Wu Jiang was about to make a scene, he was the one who set the question and had the final say. After arguing for a while, Ye Feng found that he couldn't win the argument.

Old fox! Experienced schemer! Despicable!

“Actually, none of that matters. What matters is your experience in the secret realm. I think that with your current state, you should be able to get a pretty high star rating when you apply for the promotion to junior trainer,” Wu Jiang said.

Ye Feng nodded, then shook his head: "We haven't decided on the second Pokémon yet."

"That elf egg should hatch soon, in the next few days," Wu Jiang said.

Ye Feng's eyes widened, and he asked with some surprise, "How did you know?"

Wu Jiang smiled and said, "You've entrusted your Pokémon egg to the Pokémon Center, but you should know that the Pokémon Center has to take care of so many Pokémon every day that it's impossible to look after each one perfectly. So I'll go and check on them for you whenever I have free time."

Ye Feng was touched, and the unpleasantness from just now had been left behind: "Thank you!"

Wu Jiang waved his hand.

···

With some time still before school starts, Ye Feng doesn't plan to do anything for the time being and intends to take a good rest. Moreover, Kirlia has indeed had a tough time in the secret realm. In addition to constantly maintaining "Eboshi's" vigilance, she also needs to help Ye Feng deal with the consequences of provoking Pokémon from time to time. However, her strength has also improved significantly.

Writing papers on Power Cubes, feeding Magikarp, teasing Kirlia, and petting Pokémon Eggs, Ye Feng felt that this peaceful life was quite nice.

A few days later

In the living room, Ye Feng, Kirlia, and the Magikarp in the fish tank were all staring intently at the Pokémon egg on the table. Cracks had already begun to appear on it, and hatching was just around the corner.

After much anticipation and waiting for several months, Ye Feng finally witnessed the birth of his second Pokémon—not counting Magikarp, although it hadn't hatched, the Pokémon egg did come first.

As the light representing hatching faded, what appeared before Ye Feng was a Growlithe with orange fur all over its body, black stripes on its back and limbs, creamy yellow mane on its head and neck, a black nose, and large, round ears.

Growlithe, a single-type Fire-type Pokémon, is honest, brave, and reliable. It fearlessly confronts powerful enemies to protect its family and companions, and once trust is established, it will never betray them. Because of this personality, it is often used as a partner Pokémon by police and is deeply loved by humans.

"Awooo?" Growlithe opened its eyes and the first thing it saw was a human. It sniffed the air and smelled a familiar scent. It immediately pounced on Ye Feng and started licking his face.

"Hahaha, it tickles! Growlithe, stop, stop!"

The newborn Growlithe was already quite big, standing about 70 centimeters tall, almost as tall as Kirlia. It was also quite strong, and Ye Feng had to use a lot of effort to push it away.

"Sit down!" Ye Feng held up his finger.

"Ow!"

The Growlithe obediently sat down, looked up at Ye Feng, and its tail wagged rapidly behind it.

Ye Feng said, "Growlithe, come here, let me introduce you. This is Kirlia, and that's Magikarp. From now on, we're family, so get along well!"

"Awooo!" Growlithe responded, sniffing Kirlia intensely before running to the edge of the tank and scooping it up from Magikarp's terrified gaze, sniffing it as well.

Is it memorizing a scent? Ye Feng was speechless. As expected of a canine Pokémon, this method of recognizing its opponent was indeed simple and direct, but it seemed to have scared Magikarp.

Ye Feng found a basin, filled it with energy cubes that suited the taste of fire-type Pokémon, and pushed it in front of Growlithe: "Here, try it and see if it suits your taste. If not, I'll make a new one."

Growlithe sniffed the air, barked happily, and began to eat heartily.

It really was Growlithe. Ye Feng rested his chin on his hand, watching the Growlithe devour its food with a broad smile. He had imagined many Fire-type Pokémon, but the one he most hoped for was indeed Growlithe.

Speaking of Growlithe, we naturally have to mention its evolved form, Arcanine.

Arcanine is not only incredibly cool-looking, but also very powerful. Although it's a pure Fire-type Pokémon, it can learn a wide range of moves without any glaring weaknesses. Its stats in HP, Defense, and Speed ​​are all quite good. Offensively, depending on the moveset, it can go for a physical attack build or even a mixed attack build.

In the early days, Arcanine also had a powerful exclusive move called Extreme Speed.

However... while Ye Feng was imagining Arcanine, he realized a serious problem - Growlithe needs a Fire Stone to evolve, and good evolution stones are not easy to come by in this world!

I should prepare in advance, I don't know how much time it will take... Ye Feng opened the forum and posted a request to buy high-quality fire stones, but the post quickly disappeared and was buried by other posts.

Ye Feng thought for a moment, then sent a message to his parents, asking if they had any good channels to obtain Fire Stones, but he hadn't received a reply yet. It seemed that the research project he mentioned earlier was very demanding.

···

Whether in fire, water, grass, or forest

In the clouds above the earth, in the girl's skirt (Ahhh!!)

Ye Feng's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Li Yue calling.

"Hey, Sister Yue. Happy New Year!" Ye Feng answered the phone.

"Happy New Year, Ye Feng. Well, my teacher asked me to ask you if you'd be interested in visiting our research institute?" Li Yue asked.

Visiting the research institute? Ye Feng's eyes lit up. Li Yue's teacher, Dr. Deng Ruizhe, is a well-known researcher in the field of Pokémon studies. Maybe he has high-quality Fire Stones there?

"Of course I'm interested. When can I come over?" Ye Feng asked, suppressing his excitement.

“Anytime is fine,” Li Yue replied.

"Okay, I'll come tomorrow!"

"Okay, I'll pick you up at the station then."

Ye Feng looked at the Growlithe dozing on the sofa and sighed softly, "My child, I've worried myself sick over you."

These past few days, Ye Feng has been constantly posting on the forum, almost getting banned by the administrators; he's also been keeping a close eye on the association's resource library, all in an effort to get a high-quality Fire Stone, and he's become quite haggard; his parents still haven't replied to his messages.

Ye Feng looked up in the direction of Jiangning City—hoping that Dr. Deng Ruizhe might have the Fire Stone.

Chapter 65 Want to be my student?

Jiangning Station

Ye Feng took the high-speed train to Jiangning City early in the morning and waited for Li Yue at the exit.

"Ye Feng~ Happy New Year! Long time no see." Li Yue, wearing a beige down jacket, quickly arrived.

Ye Feng raised his hand in greeting. It had indeed been a while since they last met. The two chatted casually as they walked toward the parking lot.