Bug-type Pokémon have short growth cycles, and correspondingly, their lifespans are generally not long.

  A Beedrill, if it doesn’t break through its limits, typically lives only about three years. However, as its level increases and its energy accumutes, its lifespan can also extend.

  Some schors have published papers on this topic, suggesting that if a Beedrill can reach the Elite Four level, its theoretical lifespan could extend to 150 years—roughly matching the average human lifespan in this world.

  Perhaps due to differences in the world’s material composition, the average human lifespan here has long surpassed 100 years, reaching around 150.

  But Su Wen knew this was nothing special. If he could somehow gain the favor of the "Life God," Xerneas, eternal life might even be possible.

  After Su Wen’s mom’s Beedrill passed away, she hadn’t kept any Pokémon until Su Chuan gifted her a female Indeedee as their first wedding anniversary present.

  Indeedee is a highly sought-after Pokémon—cute, efficient, and capable of sensing human emotions. Since getting this Indeedee, Su Wen’s mom had experienced significantly less stress.

  Seeing Su Wen and Su Chuan return, Indeedee happily opened the door and immediately hugged Su Wen.

  "Indeedee, is that Ah Chuan and Wen?" Su Wen’s mom’s voice floated from the kitchen. Indeedee responded with a couple of chirps.

  Su Chuan, after changing his shoes, hurried to the backyard. It wasn’t just a backyard—it was more like a breeding area, covering nearly 200 square meters.

  Since the Gym and Su Wen’s home were located near the outskirts of Jinming City, property prices were retively low. Su Chuan had bought over 300 square meters of nd to build their house, with two-thirds of the space dedicated to housing Pokémon.

  The backyard was designed to simute a grassnd and forest environment, suitable for raising Su Chuan’s Normal-type Pokémon.

  "Come on out," Su Chuan said, taking eight Poké Balls from his belt and releasing the Pokémon inside. These eight Pokémon were all personally trained by Su Chuan and were always with him, including his Sking.

  "Grumph," Sking emerged and lumbered over to its designated tree, stretching zily before lying down on its side, propping its head up with one hand.

  When not in battle, Sking was no different from any other Sking—zy to the core.

  If Su Wen had to guess how Sking would eventually die, he’d say it would probably be from sheer ziness.

  The other Pokémon gathered around Su Wen, eagerly watching him. A young Kangaskhan even climbed out of its mother’s pouch and clung to Su Wen’s leg.

  Su Wen skillfully patted the little Kangaskhan’s head and then pced it back into its mother’s pouch. "Alright, alright, I’ll get to it."

  In the past, Su Chuan had always prepared Pokémon food based on recipes from master breeders. While the meals were nutritionally banced, the taste was rather bnd.

  Perhaps due to his Aura abilities, Su Wen had a natural talent for making Pokémon food and energy blocks. He was rgely self-taught and had reached a very high skill level.

  After Su Wen experimented with a meal for Kangaskhan once, the Pokémon began to turn their noses up at Su Chuan’s concoctions, eagerly waiting for Su Wen’s creations instead.

  "Dad, get the ingredients ready for me," Su Wen said without hesitation, ordering his dad around.

  "Right, right," Su Chuan was already used to pying the assistant.

  "This is for Kangaskhan and the little one."

  "This is for Linoone."

  "This is for Sking."

  "This is for Pidgeot."

  ......

  By the time Su Wen had prepared food for all the Pokémon, Su Wen’s mom and Indeedee had already brought all the dishes to the table.

  "Indeedee, this is yours."

  Su Wen didn’t forget the family’s little helper, pcing a pte of Pokémon food in front of Indeedee, who had already set out a knife and fork and was sitting properly in its chair.

  It was said that in the Western European Federation, male Indeedee could become professional butlers, while female Indeedee made excellent attendants. With their high intelligence, Indeedee had developed a habit of mimicking humans after close contact.

  "Wen, have you ever considered becoming a breeder? I was chatting with Auntie Wang next door today, and she said the pay for breeders is really good now."

  Su Wen’s mom, Wang Xuan, had long noticed Su Wen’s talent for making Pokémon food. If he wanted to become a breeder, he could definitely become a master in the field.

  Being a Pokémon breeder was a lucrative and retively easy profession—trainers were more than willing to spend money on their Pokémon.

  Of course, this wasn’t the first time Su Wen’s mom had tried to convince him not to become a professional Pokémon trainer.

  Before Su Wen could respond, Su Chuan muttered, "What’s so great about being a breeder? Son, don’t listen to your mom. Be a trainer."

  Smack.

  Wang Xuan, annoyed, spped the back of Su Chuan’s head. "Who asked you to speak? You talk too much."

  Su Chuan immediately quieted down and sat obediently to eat.

  "Let’s not talk about that now. Son, blow out the candles first."

  With that, Wang Xuan removed the cover from the rgest pte in the center of the table, revealing the birthday cake.

  She carefully inserted candles shaped like the number "16" and lit them, smiling at Su Wen. "Make a wish before blowing out the candles."

  Su Wen obediently closed his eyes, csped his hands together, and silently wished, "I hope I can find a Pokémon that’s right for me."

  Although this wasn’t exactly a wish, Su Wen still opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and blew out all the candles in one go.

  "Son, what did you wish for?" Su Chuan asked curiously.

  Su Wen replied seriously, "If you say it out loud, it won’t come true. By the way, Dad, when are we leaving for Charicific Valley tomorrow?"

  "Huh?" Wang Xuan frowned and looked at Su Chuan. "Why are you going to Charicific Valley? You didn’t tell me about this."

  Su Chuan awkwardly expined, "We just decided. Son said he wants a Charmander as his starter Pokémon, so I’m taking him to Charicific Valley to check it out."

  Wang Xuan’s brow furrowed, but just as Su Wen thought she might object, she sighed. "Fine, go ahead. But make sure you pick a good one for our son."

  After all, Su Wen had been adamant about becoming a trainer, and his high school application had already been submitted. Her objections were more symbolic than anything else.

  After dinner, Su Wen habitually opened a website and browsed the test Pokémon-reted topics.

  "Experts have discovered traces of Pokémon deep within the Yaji Mine. Analysis suggests a Metagross (the final evolution of Beldum) may be inhabiting the depths. Gym Leader Zhou Shou has led a team to explore the area."

  "Large schools of Wishiwashi have appeared in Ximin Lake. Professor Wang Ai is currently analyzing their origins."

  ......

  Nothing particurly interesting caught his eye. Even the news about Metagross seemed likely to be false—over the years, there had been hundreds, if not thousands, of simir reports.

  Su Wen shut down his computer, leaped onto his bed, and sprawled out. "If I catch a Charmander, should I build a team around it? Hmm, maybe add a Torkoal, and perhaps a Cherrim..."

  After a series of random thoughts, Su Wen drifted off to sleep.

  The next day, before leaving, Su Wen’s mom carefully packed his luggage and repeatedly reminded Su Chuan to keep their son safe.

  "Don’t worry. Even if the pne explodes, I’ll bring our son back in one piece," Su Chuan decred, only to earn another smack on the back of his head.

  On the way to the airport, Su Wen asked curiously, "Dad, if the pne really exploded, could you actually get me down safely?"

  Su Chuan gnced at him. "Of course... not. I could ride Pidgeot down, but with your physical condition, tsk tsk, you probably wouldn’t make it."

  Su Chuan’s physical fitness was exceptionally strong—he could even go toe-to-toe with Linoone.

  Not just Su Chuan, but everyone in this world had significantly better physical fitness than humans from Su Wen’s previous world.

  However, Su Wen was still a minor. Although he often exercised with Su Chuan, his physical condition wasn’t nearly as good.

  As for the pne exploding... not only was the probability astronomically low, but even if something did go wrong, airlines had professional rescue teams composed of Flying-type and Psychic-type trainers. Their response times were impressively fast.

  Su Wen had once seen on TV how a team of over a dozen Gym-level Psychic-type Pokémon worked together to gently lower a malfunctioning pne to the ground. The ease with which they did it left Su Wen deeply aware that in this world, the only real science was Pokémon.

  If Su Wen hadn’t been coming along, Su Chuan could have simply ridden Pidgeot to Charicific Valley.

  At the airport, they checked in, stored their luggage, waited, and boarded the pne—everything went smoothly.

  As the pne took off, Su Wen, sitting by the window, watched Yundu City grow smaller and smaller until the pne entered the clouds. He finally turned away, thinking: Charicific Valley, here I come!