As Charmander’s cws pierced into the wooden target, Su Wen’s consciousness was forcefully ejected for the first time—by Charmander itself.

  This indicated a significant emotional upheaval in Charmander’s mind.

  Staring at the three cw marks on the wooden target, Charmander and Su Wen exchanged gnces, speechless.

  "Char~"

  Charmander was both curious and eager, urging Su Wen to reconnect his Aura. That moment of sudden enlightenment had instantly hooked Charmander.

  If they could get results without effort, who wouldn’t take the shortcut?

  Su Wen chuckled awkwardly. "Ahem, that’s the only move I know."

  (￣□￣；)

  Charmander’s eyes darted around before it looked at Su Wen with a mix of pleading and expectation. "Char char~" (＞w?*)?

  Su Wen’s eyes widened as he pointed at himself. "You want me to go learn more moves?"

  Sigh, in that moment, Su Wen caught a glimpse of his future.

  While all the other trainers were busy training their Pokémon, he’d be the one being trained by his Pokémon...

  No! Absolutely not!

  But seeing the look in Charmander’s eyes—40% pleading, 30% expectation, and 30% menace—Su Wen knew there was no way to refuse.

  If he rejected Charmander now, future training sessions would be out of the question unless he changed his mind and became a breeder.

  Well... his mom might be thrilled about that.

  Gritting his teeth, Su Wen said with a pained expression, "Fine, but Charmander, you have to take training seriously too."

  At the same time, Su Wen made up his mind: in the future, when catching more Pokémon, he’d have to be cautious about using this Aura ability.

  With just Charmander, it was manageable. But if he ended up with five or six Pokémon, each demanding he learn moves for them, his life would be over.

  After some negotiation with Charmander, they reached an agreement: whenever Charmander practiced moves, Su Wen would learn alongside it, while Su Wen would handle all the combat training, with Charmander supervising.

  In exchange, Charmander had to follow Su Wen’s training schedule without compints.

  "Su Wen, time for dinner!" Wang Xuan called from the backyard entrance. Su Wen realized it was already dinnertime.

  As usual, Su Wen prepared food for the household Pokémon while Wang Xuan and Indeedee finished cooking dinner.

  During dinner, both Su Wen and Su Chuan were unusually silent, each lost in their own thoughts. What was usually a warm and lively mealtime had turned into an awkward silence.

  Indeedee, sensing the strange atmosphere, drooped its twin tails and quietly sipped its milk, not daring to speak. Only Charmander remained blissfully unaware, happily wagging its tail as it ate.

  Wang Xuan gently tapped the table. "What’s going on with you two? Big and small, both silent. Are we pying The Silence of the Lambs here? If the food’s not good, just say so."

  Seeing his wife upset, Su Chuan quickly smiled and said, "No, no, your cooking is the best, honey. After dinner, I have something to discuss with you."

  Su Wen scratched his head. "I was just wondering when Uncle Zhou and Sister Wan will be back."

  Uncle Zhou was Su Chuan’s close friend, Zhou Li, also a Gym-level trainer.

  A month and a half ago, Zhou Li had left Cloud City with his daughter, Zhou Wan, to find a suitable starter Pokémon, cutting off Su Wen’s contact with Zhou Wan.

  This was also why Zhou Li hadn’t been summoned during the secret realm incident.

  Now that Su Wen wanted to learn combat techniques from Zhou Li, he was wondering when they’d return.

  Su Chuan thought for a moment. "Your Uncle Zhou mentioned st week that he’d be back soon. It should be in the next few days."

  "What’s Sister Wan’s starter Pokémon?" Su Wen asked.

  Su Chuan chuckled. "Why don’t you ask her yourself when she’s back? Miss her already?"

  Su Wen shuddered. Miss Zhou Wan? Not a chance. That girl was a force of nature.

  Zhou Wan had been the undisputed leader of Su Wen and Chen You’s group since childhood, a title she’d earned through sheer physical dominance.

  In the trainer community, there wasn’t a kid who didn’t respect Zhou Wan.

  "No, no, I just want to learn some combat techniques from Uncle Zhou," Su Wen quickly crified.

  "Is that so?" Su Chuan seemed to recall something, barely suppressing a ugh. "Well, go talk to him when he’s back."

  Wang Xuan frowned. "This child, you gave up on martial arts when you were younger. Why the sudden interest now?"

  Su Wen clenched his fist. "Just trying to build up some manly strength."

  Once the topic was broached, the dinner atmosphere lightened up. Indeedee perked up and even washed an apple for Su Wen after dinner.

  After dinner, Su Wen took Charmander back to their room, while Wang Xuan cleaned up before joining Su Chuan in theirs.

  After some quiet moments, Wang Xuan, lying in Su Chuan’s arms, asked, "What did you want to discuss, Ah Chuan?"

  Su Chuan hesitated before finally blurting out, "Honey, I want to go out and train for a while."

  The secret realm incident had made Su Chuan realize that his title as the strongest Gym-level trainer wasn’t all that impressive.

  If even Long Xu, the so-called strongest Heavenly King, could only flee from Reshiram’s attacks, how could he protect his family?

  So, he needed to find a way to grow stronger.

  But instead of the expected storm, Wang Xuan simply replied softly, "Okay."

  Su Chuan was stunned. "You’re not against it?"

  Wang Xuan tapped Su Chuan’s forehead. "Do you think I’m that unreasonable? You’re a trainer. You stayed in Cloud City because of me back then, right? If you want to go exploring again, you must have your reasons."

  She paused before adding, "Su Wen’s so mature now. I have no worries. Why would I hold you back?"

  Su Chuan was speechless. "Wait, honey, are you saying you’re coming with me?"

  Wang Xuan’s words implied that the couple would leave Su Wen at home, essentially making him a "left-behind child."

  Wang Xuan rolled her eyes. "What? Did you make pns with some female trainer?" Her tone carried a hidden threat, making Su Chuan quickly agree.

  After discussing, they decided to leave Cloud City once Su Wen settled into the new school term, seeking a way for Sking to break through to the Heavenly King level.

  Su Wen had no idea that his parents had already deemed him capable of living independently before he even reached adulthood.

  In the following days, Su Wen and Charmander continued their steady training. Charmander’s strength grew noticeably, and it even learned a new move, ?Smokescreen.

  Finally, a week before school started, Zhou Wan sent a message.

  "Just got home. Call if you need anything."

  Short and to the point—very Zhou Wan. Su Wen nodded and immediately made the call.

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