Pokémon: Growlithe, the Champion King, gets the best of both worlds right from the start!

"Hey?"

The mother, Zhou Ya, spoke as always.

Lin Che organized his thoughts and, in the calmest possible tone, recounted the events.

Before the words were even finished, the voice on the other end of the phone suddenly rose eight octaves, becoming shrill and piercing.

"What? A Growlithe of unknown origin?"

"Found it in an alley? No way! Absolutely not!"

as predicted.

Zhou Ya's voice was like a machine gun, and you could feel the overwhelming anger even through the receiver.

"Who knows if it carries any germs? What if it has rabies? What if it bites someone?"

"Lin Che, let me tell you, you just finished your exams, so stop causing me trouble all the time!"

Faced with his mother's overwhelming anger and a barrage of questions, Lin Che unusually did not argue.

He simply listened quietly, letting his mother vent all her worries and frustrations.

He only spoke when the voice on the other end of the phone had calmed down a bit, leaving only heavy breathing.

His voice was calm.

"Mom, the predicted college entrance exam scores are out."

"I got S+ in both of my main subjects."

There was a sudden pause on the other end of the phone.

All the anger and questions seemed to be instantly suppressed by this bombshell news.

"……real?"

Zhou Ya's voice trembled with disbelief.

"real."

Lin Che's tone was firm.

He knew that for his mother, who valued his college entrance exam more than anything else, this was more effective than any explanation.

Sure enough, the atmosphere on the other end of the phone eased.

Taking advantage of this lull, Lin Che carefully steered the conversation back to the little creature that was on the verge of death.

This time, he didn't mention "king-level potential" again, nor did he describe how powerful it would be or how amazing its value would be in the future.

He described what he saw before him in an almost pleading tone, tinged with weariness and reluctance.

"Mom, it's really well-behaved, and also very pitiful."

"He was huddled in a tattered cardboard box, trembling the whole time, and didn't dare to open his eyes."

"If no one takes care of it, it might really die..."

His voice was low and slightly hoarse.

"I assure you, it is very docile and will never hurt anyone."

"I...I will take responsibility for it."

A long silence followed on the other end of the phone.

There was no more reprimand, and no more questioning.

Lin Che could even clearly hear his mother's slightly disordered breathing.

He's gambling.

He gambled on the seemingly hardened, weathered exterior of his mother's body, revealing the softest heart he had known since childhood.

Time passes minute by minute.

The light in the alleyway went completely dark.

Just as Lin Che's heart sank to the bottom, a sigh filled with helplessness and resignation finally came from the phone.

"Send me the address."

"I...I'll go check it out first."

Chapter 8 Subjugation, a Gift from Father!

The screeching sound of electric vehicle tires rubbing against the ground was particularly jarring in the quiet alleyway.

Zhou Ya stopped the car and walked over quickly, the anger on her face from being abruptly pulled from the card game still lingering. Her brows were furrowed, clearly showing her extreme reluctance towards her son's sudden "foolishness."

"Where is he? I want to see what it is..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt when she saw the tattered cardboard box in the corner of the alley.

Inside the box, a dirty, matted-fur puppy was curled up in a ball. Hearing the noise, its whole body tensed up, trembling slightly. It raised its head and looked at Zhou Ya with its timid yet pure amber eyes.

There was no aggression or resentment in his eyes, only the fear of being abandoned by the world and a trace of the most instinctive and faint curiosity about living beings.

Zhou Ya felt as if something had gently bumped into her chest, and the pent-up rebuke she had prepared instantly caught in her throat. The icy expression on her face melted away quickly, and her tight lips unconsciously softened.

"This...this little guy is so pitiful."

A soft murmur escaped her lips, and she herself was unaware of the change in her tone.

Lin Che seized the opportunity and stepped forward to gently guide her: "Mom, it's very hungry. It hasn't eaten for a long time."

Zhou Ya couldn't tear her gaze away from those pure eyes. Encouraged by her son, she hesitated for a moment before crouching down. This action allowed her to see more details—the little guy was so thin that you could see the outline of his ribs, and there were faint abrasions visible beneath his fur.

Her heart melted completely.

She carefully unzipped her backpack, moving extremely slowly, as if afraid of disturbing this fragile life. She took out a small piece of bread, still in its packaging, tore it open, broke off a small corner, and tentatively and slowly handed it over.

The air seemed to freeze.

The Growlithe's nose twitched slightly. The aroma of food was a deadly temptation for it, yet its fear of humans was so deeply ingrained. It hesitated, leaning forward slightly before jerking back, a soft whimper escaping its throat.

Ultimately, the instinct of hunger prevailed.

It poked its little head out, quickly licked the bread with the tip of its tongue, and then opened its mouth to nibble on the bread in small, precious bites.

Seeing this, Zhou Ya's last bit of concern vanished completely.

She wasn't heartless; she had once dreamed of becoming a trainer. But the pressures of life forced her to bury that youthful aspiration, along with her trainer's certificate, deep inside a drawer.

She stood up and took out the wallet she hadn't used in a long time from her bag. Inside, a card bearing the image of her youthful, innocent face lay quietly—her Trainer Certificate.

Beside her was a blank Poké Ball that she had left behind but never used.

"Just this once, and don't let it happen again."

She muttered to herself, as if speaking to her son, yet also as if speaking to herself. But the motion she made when throwing the Poké Ball was an extremely gentle downward throw.

The Poké Ball traced a soft red line through the air.

A flash of red light precisely enveloped the Growlithe, who was still eating. The little guy didn't even have time to react before being sucked into the ball by an irresistible force, without the slightest resistance.

The Poké Ball landed on the ground and wobbled slightly.

It shook again.

Then, the central button made a soft click and then fell completely silent.

"Let's go to the Pokémon Center!"

Lin Che's voice rang out immediately, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

He helped his still somewhat dazed mother to her feet, picked up the Poké Ball from the ground, and headed straight for the nearest Pokémon Center. Without the slightest hesitation, he used his accumulated New Year's money to pay for a comprehensive physical examination and treatment package for his Growlithe.

Every second felt incredibly long during the wait.

Lin Che sat on the cool bench in the corridor, feeling the faint warmth emanating from the Poké Ball in his palm. His mother, Zhou Ya, sat beside him, glancing at her son from time to time, then looking towards the emergency room, her eyes filled with complex emotions, but she uttered no further objections.

Just then, Lin Che's phone vibrated.

Two words flashed on the screen: Father.

He took a deep breath and answered the phone.

On the other end of the phone, after learning that his son had successfully captured his beloved Pokémon, the father, Lin Jianguo, fell into a long silence.

That was not ordinary silence.

Lin Che could discern a complex emotion he couldn't describe in words from the faint, suppressed breathing coming through the receiver. There was the relief of his son achieving his wish, the感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion) about the past, and even a trace of the reminiscence of a dreamer that he had never felt from his father.

As if separated by radio waves, he saw another young man in another time and space, who also harbored the same dream.

A long time, a long time.

Only then did his father's slightly hoarse voice, as if it had been sanded, slowly reach out.

"The path I couldn't take when I was young, you go and take it."

A single sentence, yet it weighed heavily, striking Lin Che's heart.

"I asked your mom to give me the card number."

The father paused, as if organizing his thoughts.

"I had her transfer 100,000 yuan from our fixed deposit to your mother's account. Consider it... my early congratulatory gift to you as your father."

One hundred thousand!

That was no small sum; for their ordinary working-class family, it was practically their life savings.

This support is too heavy a burden.

"Only a little,"

At this moment, the father's tone became extremely solemn, and every word was crystal clear.

"Remember, safety first."

"Don't get hurt."

This entrustment and support, carrying the dreams of two generations, brought a surge of emotion to Lin Che's eyes, blurring his vision instantly. He gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, his throat tightening, but he could only nod forcefully, as if his father were right in front of him.