It took almost all of my willpower to keep a calm facade while I walked back with my Pokémon egg.
Because I really, really, wanted to gloat.
A lot of the people who openly mocked my Aura Rank were now walking back empty-handed, and the urge to rub that in was strong.
But I held back.
Mocking a bunch of teenagers didn't exactly appeal to my adult sensibilities.
Truly, I was the picture of maturity. A saint among men. The most generous and humble soul in all the lands.
I took my seat near the edge of the room, gently cradling the Zangoose egg in my lap. It had quieted, but the warmth hadn't faded.
Zangoose wasn't my first choice for a starter Pokémon—hell, it wasn't my second either—but I had to admit that I could've gotten far worse Pokémon. Like, what would I even do with a Ledyba?
That thing was just a major disappointment of a creature. Cuteness didn't win battles.
Er, usually.
Eventually, once the last few students finished their turns, with most of them returning with nothing but awkward expressions and lowered heads, Professor Diane stepped forward again.
"That concludes the Fated Bond Ceremony," she said. "An incubation chamber won't be necessary as it should hatch extremely soon. As long as you keep it safe, you'll be fine."
A few murmurs followed, mostly from students still clutching empty hands.
"The rest of you will be given a written test to determine which Pokémon will be your first bond," Diane concluded, her hands in her coat pocket. "Be patient."
She glanced around the room slowly.
"One week from tomorrow, the final part of your evaluation will take place. Your performance will heavily influence your class placement. Once classes begin, you will not be permitted to move between them until next semester."
The tone of her voice left no room for argument.
"Use the time wisely. The academy offers a number of resources—and as you might've guessed—most of them cost the points you've already been given. However, a fair amount of resources cost nothing. Do not waste this time. Those who do nothing will get nothing."
She paused, then gave the faintest nod.
"I'll be in Room 412 if you need me. You're dismissed."
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Despite her advice seeming to be sound, it wasn't that useful for someone like me.
As it turns out, most of the useful parts of the academy cost points, and there were only three methods to obtaining points.
The first method was to simply convert Pokédollars into points directly. The only downside to this method was that you could only do it before the semester began. But… I didn't have any money, so that method was useless to me.
The second method was to take jobs available for your class and gain the points that way. The problem with this method was also obvious.
Classes hadn't started yet, and so there were no jobs available. And with Zangoose still in its Egg, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
And finally, there was the method most people relied on.
Students were given 1000 points at the beginning of the school year, and an allowance in between semesters depending on what class they're in.
So… once again, it was currently impossible for me to gain points.
Therefore, I decided to utilize the one resource that I was planning on using from the beginning.
The library.
And I learned… a lot.
"Humans," I stared dazed into the book I was reading, "truly aren't the rulers of this world."
I flipped the page, still processing what I'd just read.
"In ancient times, humanity survived not by conquering nature, but by coexisting with it. Many powerful Pokémon govern regions, weather, and even aspects of time and space. It is widely accepted that we would not have survived without their protection—or, in most cases, their indifference."
It made sense, if one just put a few seconds of thought into it, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. After all, these were creatures with the power to wipe out entire continents if they wanted to.
But I would've never expected this.
Not only did humans not dominate the world, but we were only able to control a paltry 3%! Even with all of the regions combined, we were nothing in the grand scheme of things.
The only reason we were not completely wiped out was because Pokémon were not united. Sometimes tides of Pokémon would rampage through our society, but this was a rare occurrence.
But that was where Pokémon Trainers came in.
Not only were we the last defense humanity had, but we were also the pioneers of our continued expansion!
And I finally figured out why this world's history was so vastly different.
The reason was Aura.
Aura Guardians, time and time again, kept humanity safe from the extremely powerful Pokémon that threatened to wipe us out. Instead of learning from and growing with Pokémon, we became sheltered and dependent on the power of the guardians.
Yet in the last century, the Aura Guardians suddenly decided to share the secrets to their strength.
And with those secrets, a new age came upon the Pokémon World.
Combining Aura with the scientific method, we were able to develop techniques to strengthen common Pokémon to heights unseen in the wild. And these techniques were streamlined until we developed a procedure that separated humanity from Pokémon.
Aura Cleansing.
To put it simply, this was a method of purifying a Pokémon's Aura to perfection.
Each time a Pokémon won a difficult battle, their Aura would wildly increase. The reason being something to do with adrenaline and enzymes or something?
Honestly, the explanation went right over my head.
But the important part was that the Aura gained from this process was composed of various random types, and if left alone, would eventually cause a stagnation in power. But humanity found a way to remove this corruption and leave only the necessary components.
Alongside a human with Aura, any Pokémon could now reach their absolute maximum potential.
And if a lowly Pikachu with its full potential could rival a wild stagnating Dragonite, why wouldn't the prideful baby Dratini leave their parents behind to join humanity?
Thus, with the hope of one day not being suppressed, Aura Academy was born.
I closed the book, looking up at the massive library before me.
Suddenly, I saw the world around me with a new perspective. I'd been treating this all like a game, but it only just hit me that this was a whole other world.
A world that had its own history and culture. A world that was mostly unexplored. Unclaimed.
'Untouched by anything but nature.'
Back in my old life, the world had already been mapped, categorized, and solved. Sure, there were still mysteries, but not like this. Not like a world where storms had names, where mountains could wake up angry, where oceans shifted because something wanted them to.
A world like this? It didn't need me.
That was why I hadn't been given some cheat ability or anything like that. Because I wasn't the chosen one who would usher in a new era.
No, I was just one of the lucky ones born in an age of true adventure.
I wanted to see all that this world had to offer.
If that meant clawing my way up from the bottom? So be it.
Let the others chase glory or recognition. Me?
I was going to leave this civilized bubble and see the whole world.
As if waiting for that declaration, a faint cracking sound echoed in the quiet library.
I turned, eyebrows drawn tight, scanning the quiet corner of the library I'd settled into. There on the table beside me, sat the egg I'd laid earlier.
Another crack.
I stood abruptly, heart skipping.
The white-and-crimson egg jerked slightly, a thin glowing line splitting across the shell.
The cracks spread, crisscrossing down the surface like lightning. And then—with a final shudder—the egg exploded into a mass of light.
When it cleared… she was there.
'How did I know she was female? No, stupid question. She's my Partner, of course I know.'
A small Zangoose crouched on the table, steam rising faintly from her fur.
She stared at me.
I stared at her.
Then, without warning, she padded forward on quiet claws, leapt off the table, and crawled directly into my lap.
She turned a few times, settled in, and promptly went to sleep.
Like a cat. A smug, battle-clawed cat.
I looked down at her, utterly nonplussed.
"Uh… okay."
I wasn't really sure what to make of her first decision in life. But I wasn't about to push her off me so…
I just sat there, awkwardly frozen, while Zangoose began to purr.