Indeed.
The school rookie cup?
"Even the dogs wouldn't enter."
As for the National College Student Pokémon Competition—
Chen Ran couldn't muster even the slightest interest.
Compared to eating well, training hard, and steadily growing stronger with Charmeleon, Riolu, Jirachi—and now Pupitar—those campus competitions felt tiring and inefficient.
Too much time invested.
Too little return.
"National Collegiate Champion?"
He scoffed lightly.
It wasn't even as valuable as a professional Trainer qualification certificate.
If he had time to grind through school tournaments, he'd rather train.
Strength was real.
Trophies were decoration.
---
In the following days, campus life returned to calm.
Classes resumed.
Training continued.
Unexpectedly, Wen Xiaoke and Xiao Ju'er became close friends.
That was something Chen Ran absolutely hadn't predicted.
---
That afternoon, Chen Ran was watching a battle video of Leon—widely known as Champion Dandi in some regions.
On screen, Leon's Gigantamax Charizard towered like a blazing mountain, its combat power surging several levels higher.
It crushed an Ice-type Elite Trainer named Gomez from the Nordic region who had come to challenge him.
Chen Ran couldn't help shaking his head.
You're an Ice-type specialist.
Why challenge Charizard head-on?
That was practically asking to lose.
He was deeply focused when Wen Xiaoke suddenly leaned close and whispered:
"Chen Ran, have you heard? Ye Feng dropped out."
"Dropped out?"
Chen Ran looked up—
Too close.
For a second, their faces were only centimeters apart. He could even feel the warmth of her breath.
Wen Xiaoke's face instantly turned red. She covered her cheeks and hurriedly leaned back.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Chen Ran spread his hands innocently.
"You were the one who leaned over."
But honestly—
Wen Xiaoke blushing did look pretty nice.
"Stop staring."
She rolled her eyes, trying to regain composure.
"He really withdrew."
"Why?"
"I heard he couldn't accept taking second place. His Champion father felt embarrassed too. So he was taken back to his hometown to be 'disciplined' by his grandfather."
Wen Xiaoke's family had strong connections. Her information was rarely wrong.
"His grandfather," she continued, "was once a Fighting-type Champion. A pillar of the Dragon Kingdom in his era. Many of today's top Fighting-type Elites were trained by him."
So that was it.
A family of Champions.
Aiming for three generations of Champions.
The Ye family was already one of the most prestigious Trainer families in the country.
But—
That dream had hit a wall.
Right here.
With Chen Ran.
"Those who don't know would think his surname is Yuan," Chen Ran joked lightly.
Wen Xiaoke covered her mouth and laughed.
"It all started when you beat him."
Ye Feng had originally enrolled at Jiangnan Pokémon University because the school promised a quasi-legendary starter.
But Chen Ran took first place.
And with it—
The quasi-legendary.
Losing resources was one thing.
Losing face?
That was worse.
"He swore he'd never lose to you again," Wen Xiaoke added.
Chen Ran shook his head.
"That kind of obsession is dangerous. If he's only focused on not losing to me, what about everyone else? Does he think I'm the ceiling?"
Arrogance was heavy.
And heavy things broke easily.
"He's always been like that," Wen Xiaoke said softly. "Proud. Too proud."
Well—
When your father is a Champion, pride comes naturally.
---
After a pause, Wen Xiaoke looked at him seriously.
"Chen Ran… are you really just an ordinary person?"
Ordinary?
In a matter of days, he had defeated a Champion's son using only Charmeleon.
Won first place.
Obtained a pseudo-legendary.
Used Ultra Balls casually.
Fed Pokémon daily energy cubes.
Bought a supercar.
None of that looked "ordinary."
Wen Xiaoke had grown up in a Gym Leader household. She knew better than most how brutal the Trainer world was.
Talent mattered.
Resources mattered even more.
And Chen Ran had both.
"Of course I'm ordinary," Chen Ran replied calmly.
He sometimes wondered too—
Why didn't he have a Champion father?
Or a Professor grandfather?
Or at least an Elite-level older sister?
That kind of background would save decades of struggle.
But reality was reality.
He had none of that.
Everything he had—
He earned himself.
Wen Xiaoke didn't reply.
Something unreadable flickered in her eyes.
---
Jirachi floated closer and whispered into Chen Ran's ear.
"Chen Ran… I think Wen Xiaoke wants to recruit you into marriage."
It giggled mischievously.
Chen Ran nearly choked.
Marriage?
No, no, no.
Even if Wen Xiaoke's father was a national Gym Leader and her mother a senior Breeder—
He wasn't thinking about that.
If anything—
Maybe Xiao Ju'er, with her Elite-level grandmother, made more "strategic sense."
Or perhaps that distant Champion on the western coast…
Chen Ran quickly shook those thoughts away.
Focus.
Strength first.
Everything else later.
---
Just before class ended, Counselor Chen Ning made an announcement.
"The next few days are registration for the Professional Trainer Qualification Certificate exam. If you're planning to take it, prepare properly. Don't miss the deadline."
The professional qualification certificate—
Now that was real value.
Those so-called sixth-grade and eighth-grade hobby certifications?
Irrelevant.
If you wanted to stand at the top—
You needed the professional badge.
Chen Ran's eyes sharpened slightly.
That—
Was worth pursuing.