Chapter Thirteen: Agumon's Assault

"Agumon, time to get up."

Just as dawn began to break, Zhao Jie struggled out of bed. Now that Rolling Ballmon had evolved into Agumon, it was time to start preparing for the conditions needed to evolve into Greymon.

After all, this was an evolution route officially abandoned by the authorities; achieving it would be extremely difficult, but not impossible.

For instance, at the end of August, Shashi City would be hosting the Newcomer Cup.

This was a competition for novice Digimon Tamers in Shashi, and only Digimon who had entered their Rookie stage within the past year were eligible to participate.

What tempted Zhao Jie most was that as long as he passed the preliminary selection, he could earn Digimon Points. With enough points, he would be able to research and analyze the requirements for Agumon to evolve into Greymon.

As a trainee Tamer, this was one of the rare ways he could earn points, and Zhao Jie was determined not to let the opportunity slip by.

Of course, the ideal scenario would be to directly obtain the evolution requirements for Greymon, but that was likely even more difficult than passing the preliminary round.

"Let's go, Agumon."

After packing some medicine and food into his backpack, Zhao Jie pulled Agumon out of bed. Soon, the boy and his Digimon companion were once again standing in the dense forest where the evolution had taken place yesterday.

"Crunch."

Agumon bit into a crispy snack, relishing his new hands; evolution was a wonderful thing—he could finally eat with his paws.

"Zhao Jie, what are we going to do?" Agumon asked through a mouthful of food, speech muffled.

As for the specifics of training, Zhao Jie wasn't entirely sure. In the anime, both Taichi's Agumon and Daimon's Agumon were always at their peak, so there was little practical experience to draw from.

He would have to rely on his own understanding of exercise to devise a training regimen.

"Agumon, from now on, you can’t just eat whenever you want. But to encourage you, I’ve set up a rewards system: complete a task, and you’ll earn reward points. Points can be exchanged for money, and money can buy you any food you want."

"Any food at all!"

Considering Agumon’s gluttonous tendencies, Zhao Jie had created a reward mechanism overnight, hoping to spark Agumon’s enthusiasm for training.

"Really?" Agumon's spirits, which had sunk at the mention of food restrictions, were instantly reignited by Zhao Jie's words.

"I want to train! I want to train!" Agumon thumped his claws together, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

He had long craved the big bag of Little Raccoon crispy noodles, but Zhao Jie had never bought it for him. This time, he was determined to earn enough points through training to finally taste the treat he'd been dreaming of.

"Very good. Here’s today’s training plan."

Seeing Agumon's renewed passion, Zhao Jie nodded with satisfaction and pulled a training schedule from his backpack.

Complete the Small Flame attack: 1 point.
Perform five full-power charges: 1 point.
Dodge twenty incoming attacks: 1 point.
Run a kilometer endurance course: 1 point.
Complete a full circuit: 4 points.

First was mastery of special moves. Once a Digimon reached Rookie stage, it would automatically learn its signature skill—Agumon’s special move was Small Flame.

But having a special move didn’t mean being able to unleash it perfectly—this was the real world, after all, and opponents wouldn't just stand still and take it.

So perfecting the signature move was an important part of training.

Next were strength, speed, and endurance. As the saying goes, in all martial arts, nothing is invincible, but speed cannot be overcome—this was the essence of power and agility.

And endurance, or stamina, was just as vital. Without enough stamina, you'd be left exhausted after using just one skill.

All in all, Zhao Jie felt confident in his training plan.

"One point equals one yuan. The big bag of Little Raccoon costs three yuan. Completing one full set of training earns you eight points—eight yuan."

Agumon counted on his claws, calculating how many training circuits it would take to buy his coveted snack.

For the big bag—let's go!

"Let’s begin, Agumon."

After Zhao Jie marked a starting line, Agumon stood behind it, excitement bubbling as he waited for the training to start.

The first exercise was the kilometer endurance run.

At the sound of the whistle, a yellow blur shot forward. Since it was Agumon’s first time, Zhao Jie hadn’t set a time limit.

Three minutes and forty seconds.

That was faster than Zhao Jie had expected, especially for Agumon’s first attempt. With more training, his speed would surely improve further.

"Small Flame!"

A ball of orange-red fire formed in Agumon’s mouth, then shot out, about the size of a fist.

But the fireball wobbled uncertainly in midair, growing weaker and weaker until it simply fizzled out.

Zhao Jie: What?!

Are you telling me that little flicker was Small Flame? Is this a joke?

Agumon: (o╥﹏╥o)

"Again!"

Small Flame!

Energy gathered once more. This time, Agumon charged up for several more seconds. The fireball didn’t vanish midair, but its power still left much to be desired.

"Agumon, charge up to the max before firing!"

Agumon nodded and concentrated, charging up for ten seconds before finally spitting out a fireball the size of a basketball.

With a boom, it landed in a patch of dirt.

After unleashing such a blast, Agumon rubbed his stomach.

So hungry.

"Try one more Small Flame just like the last one."

The previous two attempts had only been for show; only this last one held any real combat value, though the charging time was far too long to be practical in a real fight.

But there was no helping it—Agumon had only just entered the Rookie stage.

"So tired."

After completing another Small Flame at Zhao Jie’s instruction, Agumon plopped down on the ground, gazing up at Zhao Jie pitifully.

"Here, have some Digibiscuits."

Zhao Jie walked over and handed him a box of biscuits infused with digital energy.

Unleashing special moves consumed not only stamina, but also the digital energy stored within a Digimon’s body. Besides natural recovery, eating energy-rich food was an important means of replenishment.

"Eat up, then it’s back to training."

Zhao Jie, are you a demon?