Pokémon: Just won the championship, the newbie growth system is here!

As Ye Luo lay back on the bench, playing with Pokémon and gazing at the sky, contemplating life.

An untimely figure bursts in: a child carrying a suitcase and holding a note.

"Excuse me, may I ask? Excuse me?"

It sounded like a girl's voice, and the tone was a little trembling, so she must have been quite nervous.

Meloeta noticed someone approaching and quietly disappeared. Ye Luo glanced at them out of the corner of her eye and saw that the person was wearing a thick gray-blue coat.

Black, shoulder-length short hair with bangs curled to one side, a light blue V-shaped hair clip on her head, and light blue eyes that reveal both clarity and timidity.

Ye Luo sat up from the bench and asked in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"Excuse me, do you know how to get to the station?"

The girl's voice varied greatly in rhythm, as if she was forcefully uttering the first two notes, and then, out of fear, the sound became softer and softer, to the point that it was impossible to hear what she said afterward.

However, based on her description and the note she showed him, Ye Luo noticed that it was actually a train ticket.

Starting from Tokiwa City—to Quartz Academy.

"...This is Cerulean City. This isn't a ticket for a bus departing from here. To get to the station, go out of the park and turn left at two intersections."

Holding a ticket from another city, she asked him where the station was. Even if Ye Luo pointed out the station, she couldn't take the train unless she bought another ticket.

"Oh, is that so? What, what should we do...?"

The girl seemed nervous, looking around anxiously, and hesitated as she thought, carrying an oversized suitcase.

He looked to be a little over ten years old, about the same age as a child who has just embarked on the path of a trainer.

Carrying such a large suitcase doesn't look like someone going on an adventure; it looks more like they're going to visit relatives in a distant place.

The girl's gaze darted around; she had asked a question and received an answer, but she didn't take any action.

Ye Luo saw that she was stammering and seemed to want to say something, but the girl didn't say it.

This is the first time I've seen a girl so troubled.

The girl stammered, closed her eyes, her face flushed, and it seemed as if you could hear a sound like boiling water.

"What's the difficulty? Why don't we sit down, calm down, and talk about it?"

The girl suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked over, so Ye Luo moved aside to make room for her.

Out of politeness, place an Umbreon on the side closest to the empty space to create a sense of distance.

The girl hesitated for a while, and finally walked nervously to the empty seat and sat down.

Seeing that she was still getting into the mood, Ye Luo got up and went to the park's vending machine to buy some drinks.

"I'll go buy some drinks, is soda okay?"

"Ah, um."

The girl seemed about to say something, but paused for a moment and then nodded.

Ye Luo felt that she was a bit socially anxious, and it would take a lot of time for such a socially anxious girl to choose a drink, so he decided to help her choose one.

To give the nervous girl some time to calm down, Ye Luo got up and left temporarily.

Umbreon was left on the bench, so it simply lay down on its paws to rest.

The girl looked at the Umbreon next to her, wondering if she should pet it; its fur looked fluffy.

As she reached out, Umbreon suddenly opened its eyes, its red pupils startling her. She hurriedly explained.

"Oh, um, I didn't mean to touch you, don't be nervous."

"Umbreon isn't nervous. If you want to pet it, I suggest stroking it in the direction of its fur."

Ye Luo was returning with two cans of soda when she saw the girl being too afraid to touch her Moon Eevee.

"While Umbreon's blood-red eyes do look a bit intimidating, it's definitely one of the most friendly Pokémon to get along with, and it's also the most obedient. Now."

Ye Luo tossed the soda over, and the girl accepted it, but she was wary and didn't drink it; Ye Luo was just being polite.

Umbreon jumped onto the girl's lap, startling her so much that her trembling hand still dared not touch it.

Ye Luo sat down on the other side of the bench and opened the bottle in her hand.

After a while, she tentatively touched Umbreon and, finding that it was indeed alright, carefully touched it.

Ye Luo observed from the side and noticed that the girl's expression had relaxed a lot.

Judging from his actions, he seems to be a big fan of Pokémon, as a relaxed smile involuntarily appeared on his face as he touched Umbreon's back.

"Have you calmed down?"

"Um."

The girl nodded; the effect of interacting with Pokémon was immediate, and her voice became much calmer.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing, Umbreon likes you too."

The Eevee was curled up on the girl's lap, yawning. Objectively speaking, it felt the stroking wasn't firm enough and wasn't as comfortable as when its trainer groomed it.

I've calmed down enough; just playing Pokémon isn't enough anymore, I need to address the problems at hand.

Ye Luo took a sip of soda and said.

"My name is Ye Luo, and I'm just an ordinary trainer."

After hearing Ye Luo introduce herself, the girl became a little timid. She looked at Umbreon before mustering up the courage to raise her voice.

"Um, my name is Rico."

"Rico?"

I've never heard of that. Ye Luo doesn't play mobile games much.

"Not from the Kanto region."

"Um."

Rico nodded and said softly.

"I'm from the Parthia region, and I'm here to go to school."

"go to school?"

Ye Luo paused when she heard the word, and then considered the information she was about to receive.

"Padia... coming to the Kanto region to study? Doesn't Padia have its own elf school?"

The Padiya Academy is quite famous, and children from all over the world are sent to the Padiya region to study.

This is the first time I've seen local children sent to school outside the area.

Rico nodded shyly and said timidly.

"My mom sent me here. It's my first time living away from home to study, and she hopes I can learn to take care of myself."

These parents are really carefree; judging from her appearance, it seems she took the rail train to Cerulean City herself.

When asked about her reason for coming to Cerulean City, Rico smiled shyly and said.

"Actually, it's because I bought the wrong ticket. Viridian City and Cerulean City shouldn't be that far apart on the map."

"Hmm...that depends on what mode of transportation you use."

Moreover, she seemed to have never traveled far from home and didn't even know the geographical distance.

After some conversation, it turns out that Riko becomes more talkative with people she knows well.

"I'd like to ask, are there any Steelraven flights here?"

Ye Luo shook her head.

"There's no high-end infrastructure here, and the Corviknight Sky Rental is in the Galar region."

"Is it very far away?"

"It's not just far, it's practically across the Atlantic Ocean."

"It was me... I remembered it wrong."

Why does this girl seem so dull? It's like they're leaving someone who's geographically illiterate and socially awkward to attend school in the Kanto region.

Ye Luo sighed once again, marveling at how carefree her parents were.

"What are your plans now?"

"Hmm... I'll buy a ticket to Tokiwa City and then take the train."

After some thought, Lyco concluded that taking a long-distance bus was a viable option.

Ye Luo stroked his chin and added.

"Starting from Cerulean City, we'll first go through the mountain tunnel to Pyrenees City, and then take the forest road to Viridian City. Indigo Academy is a school located on the Indigo Plateau, right? We'll need to take another long-distance train there."

"I see."

Rico, assuming he was a local, remembered the information very carefully and stood up to bow deeply to Ye Luo.

"Thank you so much for your help."

"It's nothing."

Rico was still very grateful. What Ye Luo might have just been a casual offer of help had actually caused Rico a lot of setbacks in her quest for this clue.

The main problem is that she is not good at communicating with people. She is introverted and shy. Several times she wanted to ask people for directions, but she hesitated for a long time before she could speak.

Sometimes even Rico herself doesn't understand how to start a conversation or what to say.

Thinking too much can lead to inaction.

Coming to Quartz Academy from home is also about pursuing one's own goals.

This was the first time she had met a stranger like Ye Luo with whom she could have a clear conversation from the very first meeting.