Pokémon: The Path of Ascension

After flipping through the "Ponyta Cultivation Records," it was already dark outside. Toshi turned on the desk lamp, placed the book back, and pulled out another one, "Shroomish Cultivation Records," then sat down to continue reading.

Similarly, this was also written by his dad.

In addition to these two books, there were also cultivation records for Taillow, Snorunt, Budew, and Wurmple, which he still needed to read one by one.

However, the difference was that the first two were written by his dad, while the latter two were written by his mom.

His dad was a ranger, while his mom was just an ordinary housewife. So, it was natural that the cultivation records for Budew and Wurmple were not as comprehensive as those written by his dad.

Even so, Toshi had never looked down on these two books.

Because in this world, there were simply too few books on Pokémon cultivation, or rather, there were none at all.

No, that description isn't quite right; a more accurate statement would be that they existed, but were not accessible.

Yes, the Pokémon world that Toshi had crossed into was that realistic and that harsh.

All books related to Pokémon cultivation were things that every Trainer would never leak out, no matter what.

These materials were not only their foundation but also their reliance for the future, providing the opportunity to reach greater heights.

In this real Pokémon world, families that had been passed down for generations held some unique cultivation methods for Pokémon.

Whether it was training methods for certain moves, how a specific Pokémon would evolve, or how to raise a particular type of Pokémon.

The more knowledge a family possessed, the further they could pass down their legacy.

Almost every region's Pokémon Elite Four came from these long-established prominent families.

Likewise, this was also why the Elite Four of this world, as well as gym leaders, specialized in certain types.

Because if they recklessly cultivated Pokémon of types they weren't familiar with, they might not even measure up to an average Trainer.

Of course, there were exceptions, such as Cynthia.

And Toshi's dad, who started as a civilian with only one Pokémon, had fought hard to become a ranger under the league.

The hardships he endured and the difficulties he faced were unimaginable for many.

Toshi could basically see his dad training with his Pokémon in the backyard every night.

Honestly, this scene had a profound impact on him, especially when he had just arrived in this world.

Initially, when he arrived, he felt a bit excited, somewhat euphoric, dreaming of reaching the pinnacle of life in this world.

Because he loved Pokémon, he remembered many details from the anime; of course, this knowledge was limited to the anime. He didn't really understand the games or the deeper aspects of it, but even so, he believed he could be a winner in this world.

It was on the very first night of his arrival that he witnessed his dad training diligently.

He had to admit, it was truly moving, very moving indeed…

And when he truly understood the harsh reality of this world, he found himself speechless for a long time.

Previously, that kind of arrogant dream dissipated into thin air.

In a world where survival was so difficult, just being able to live steadily and live like a person was something that more than ninety percent of the people in this world would spend their entire lives striving for.

And without a system, how could he dare to expect more?

…

Of course, Hideo, who originally only had four Pokémon, could not become a ranger, because league regulations required every ranger to at least have a full team, which meant six Pokémon to qualify.

However, his dad was already exhausted from cultivating the four Pokémon he had, and with no extra resources to cultivate new Pokémon, Hideo had no choice but to transfer two Pokémon from his wife's ownership to his name to barely assemble a team of six.

In the final battle for the ranger position, he managed to defeat all of his opponents' six Pokémon with just his four, successfully claiming victory and finally becoming a ranger.

It's important to note that among his dad's four Pokémon, only the main Pokémon, Breloom, had good quality, while the others were average.

Yet, he still defeated many trainers who had over three Pokémon of good quality.

As a result, his dad became a genius in the eyes of many.

A genius that emerges from millions of ordinary people.

But they didn't know what kind of desperate struggle lay behind this so-called genius.

Toshi truly vowed to become stronger after learning about his dad's story.

At the very least, he couldn't bring shame to his father.

That's why he studied hard after enrolling, striving to achieve the first position.

Because Ranger Academy had a reward stating that anyone who could maintain the first place for three consecutive years at the academy would directly receive a Pokémon of excellent quality!

Excellent; this was a level above good, surpassing the average quality.

You have to understand that after Toshi came to this world, he had never seen an excellent quality Pokémon in reality, apart from on television!

This shows just how rare such Pokémon were.

Moreover, the Ranger Academy's semesters lasted a total of six years, which meant a person had two chances to obtain such a Pokémon.

This was the academy's incentive for every student, and it was also Toshi's opportunity; it was his chance to establish himself in this world.

Although throughout the history of the academy, there had been a handful of students who received one excellent quality Pokémon, none had ever received two.

From the very first day of enrollment, Toshi set his sights on becoming that first person!

This way, not only would he have two excellent quality Pokémon, but he could also bypass the tests and directly become a ranger under the league. He wouldn't have to go through numerous battles like his dad did just to earn that qualification.