Despite his high level of confidence, Rin stood there, pondering which Pokémon starter called to him the most. He considered their types and how they would fare against the gyms ahead, even if those gyms were far from their village. “Ground and Normal types? That’s going to leave me with four super effective weaknesses,” he muttered, thinking about how Cubylly might be the toughest choice, while Pubcup had a solid typing advantage and Heibear was the intriguing variant. “I’m going to have to pick Heibe—”

“I call dibs on the panda!” Tenzo exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“Wait, I was going to—” Rin started, but before he could finish his sentence, Heibear dashed toward Tenzo, its expression radiating pure joy, like a child reuniting with a long-lost parent. Realizing that Heibear was a lost cause for him, Rin looked around desperately for Pubcup and Cubylly. His gaze landed on Miyuki and Pubcup, who were happily playing catch nearby.

“How the hell did they get so close so fast?” Rin muttered under his breath.

Even though his ideal starter choice had crumbled, he maintained his composure and approached Cubylly, who had witnessed the whole scene. Trying to console the Pokémon, Rin spoke softly. “Look, I know I wavered before settling on you, Cubylly. My plan to become a Pokémon Trainer at a steady pace didn’t include a starter with Ground or Normal typing. I ignored the connection I felt toward you for my own ideology. I’m sorry.”

Cubylly let out a soft cub-like sound and turned away from Rin. But then, in an unexpected burst of energy, it lunged at him, bringing him down to the floor as happiness filled the laboratory.

“Now, now! I guess I underestimated you guys,” Kosai said with a smile. “This is the best bond I’ve witnessed among my previous and current batch of Pokémon Trainers! I hope training goes smoothly from here on out. Now let’s get the boring bits out of the way…”

He held up a sleek device. “This is a Pokédex,” he explained while pointing it toward them. “It identifies Pokémon that have already been encountered by its user and provides stats, move information, habitats, and much more. It’s one of the newer versions that fuses aspects of Hoenn’s DexNav, allowing it to detect Pokémon within a twenty-foot radius—even in thick bushes or during the dead of night.”

He handed it out to them with pride. “Next up is the Trainer ID Dex,” Kosai continued, “which has four parts: Badge storage, Trainer ID, Portal Corp’s Bag Storage (or PCBS for short), and finally Trainer Fund Engagement (TFE).”

Tenzo scratched his head in confusion. “So sir, that’s a lot! How does it work?”

“No worries! I’ll explain it right now since it’s quite a complex system,” Kosai assured them. “First is badge storage—a system that automatically stores and tracks your badges. This means you won’t need to show physical badges to gym leaders or event contributors; they can just check your ID.”

“Next is Trainer ID,” he continued. “It houses different combinations of numbers used for various events and serves as an overall identification tool that allows access to certain places.”

“Then we have Portal Corp’s Bag Storage,” Kosai added enthusiastically. “It uses Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon to break down items into data atoms, allowing you to explore more efficiently while keeping things slick and smooth.”

“And lastly,” he said with a flourish, “Trainer Fund Engagement is like your global banking system for Pokédollars! It lets you earn money when you win battles based on their difficulty while deducting funds from the loser's account.”

“Any questions?” Kosai asked.

“A lot, sir!” Tenzo replied eagerly.

“Good! A journey isn’t a journey without mysteries,” Kosai said with a wink. “And with that, you guys are finished with the basics!”

“How about a Pokémon battle? Tenzo! I want to pummel you!” Miyuki giggled mischievously.

“Let’s get it!” Tenzo replied confidently as he called out his starter.

“Come out, Pubcup! Come out, Heibear!”

As both starters faced each other in anticipation of battle, tension filled the air.

“Pubcup! Circle him!” Miyuki commanded firmly while swaying her arms dramatically.

“Don’t let him escape! Heibear!” Tenzo shouted back immediately after Miyuki’s command. “Cut him off! Use Pound!”

“Don’t stop now!” Miyuki urged calmly as Pubcup trusted her completely and sped up.

With both Pokémon barely missing each other in their frantic movements, just before Heibear hit the ground from its missed attack, Miyuki shouted her next command: “Now that’s what we’re waiting for! Icicle Spear!”

Pubcup barked energetically as spears made of refined ice formed around it and began drilling at insane speeds toward Heibear.

“Heibear!” Tenzo yelled at the top of his lungs as panic set in. “Dodge it!”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

In a desperate attempt to evade the attack, Heibear used Pound at its feet to leap over the icy spears just in time—leaving Miyuki fuming with passion for victory.

“I like your style, Hei! I’ll follow suit—Use Round!” Tenzo called out as Heibear began moving at breakneck speed for a rookie battler.

“Yes! Right there! Pubcup now!” Miyuki yelled excitedly.

“Use Water Gun!” Miyuki commanded as Pubcup attempted its attack but found only air where Heibear had been moments before.

“Huh? Where did it go?” Miyuki pondered quickly before coming up with another plan.

“Psychic Break! Hei!” Tenzo shouted desperately.

“Behind you! Pubcup dodge!”

But it was too late; Pubcup got hit and tumbled against the ground amidst swirling dust.

“You almost got me there; you’re good Miyuki,” Tenzo admitted breathlessly. “But it's my win though…”

“Not yet…” she replied in a dual-layered voice that resonated with determination as she leaned forward; her hair floated around her with a strong distinctive aura while her eyes shifted from a vibrant pink hue to solid blue with an eerie white line cutting through them horizontally.

“Ready Pubcup?”

I guess I need to knock you down again since you got back up,” Tenzo said confidently.

“But your appearance—”

“Grip the earth!”

I won’t let you!” Tenzo interrupted fiercely. “Heibear! Increase your speed again! Use Psychic Break!”

Heibear began moving faster than before as Tenzo smirked confidently.

“Tch… Dodge…” Miyuki silently casts a command to pubcup

Tenzo was met with confusion when Heibear attacked but missed entirely.

“Where is he?” Tenzo exclaimed worriedly as Pubcup used the dust cloud to its advantage.

“Here… Grip the earth!” Pubcup dug its claws into the ground and lunged off while spinning at high speeds toward Heibear.

“Dark Bullet!” A dark aura enveloped Pubcup as it shot off like a bullet toward its opponent.

Tenzo sensed its aura and reacted immediately. “Dodge and hit Round! You’re capable!”

“It’s not possible…” Miyuki said deadpan knowing that heibear would not be capable of dodging.

“Too late…”

With that declaration, Pubcup's speed accelerated ominously as it barreled toward Heibear.

“Heibear!” Tenzo shouted desperately—but it was already too late; Miyuki's strategy had worked perfectly by using the dust to obscure Pubcup's approach.

Boom! The hit collided violently, sending Heibear crashing against the floor until it embedded itself in the wall of their small lab stadium.

“Huff… Huff…” Miyuki breathed heavily as her hair settled back down around her shoulders; her eyes returned to their vibrant pink hue.

“What was that?” she asked breathlessly before breaking into laughter—a huge smile lighting up her face. “It felt incredible… battles… I need more!”

“Return Heibear,” Tenzo called back his Pokémon immediately after witnessing such an exhilarating clash.

“Miyuki!? Are you okay?” he asked hastily as he turned toward her.

“Never better! Why?” she replied cheerfully.

“You changed while battling me—not just in skill but also your appearance,” Tenzo observed curiously.

“I did?” Miyuki asked confusedly as she tried to comprehend what he meant.

“You didn’t feel any different?” Rin chimed in from where he waited for his turn to battle; astonished by what he had just witnessed between his friends—how fierce both were in combat left him feeling inadequate despite knowing he was better than average himself.

Don’t get me wrong; I'm decent enough but heavily at a disadvantage here… With Miyuki's mysterious thing that happened during battle and Tenzo's incredible reflexes paired with their strong typings (Fighting and Water) against me—backing down seemed like my best option right now. You can’t learn anything from a loss if you lose before you learn anything. I'm weak compared to them right now…

“Sooo… you wanna battle Rin-chan?” Miyuki teased playfully while elongating her words enticingly.

“Yeah yeah! You wanna fight too Rin?” Tenzo added excitedly beside her.

“No!” Rin shot back sharply without hesitation.

“What? You scared?” Miyuki taunted further while still stretching out her syllables teasingly.

“Nah… I'm going to spend today with my mom and dad; see you guys tomorrow,” Rin replied casually while walking toward the lab exit.

“Nope! I'm leaving right now,” Miyuki stated confidently behind him.

“So you won’t see me tomorrow then? Later!” she called out over her shoulder as Rin paused momentarily confused by her words.

“Huh?” Rin responded incredulously.

“I thought—”

“I’m also leaving today; I'm just going home first though,” Tenzo chimed in while walking past both Rin and Miyuki without missing a beat.

“And don’t forget: next time we meet? You won’t be faced with the same old Tenzo,” he said over his shoulder playfully. “Let’s battle next time Rin; get stronger!”

“Same here; later!” Miyuki echoed enthusiastically while heading toward the village entrance herself.

“Hey! You stole my line, you bastard!” she yelled after Tenzo playful aggressive as she chased after him into their home street where they lived nearby each other “It wasn’t yours” Tenzo exclaimed until Miyuki finally ran inside after him before he slammed shut in front of Miyuki who then left…

“Later Miyuki!”Tenzo peeked through the window and shouted while smiling and waving.

As Rin continued walking toward his house alone, now deep in thought about that intense battle—the mode change he’d witnessed—it felt like this was just the beginning for a new era for pokemon…

He wanted so badly—to be part of it someday!

I'm going to beat them next time we meet… They may have gotten one day ahead of me—but with preparation—I will win!

We'll see if I'll still be scared then...