By the time the sun rose properly, I already had twelve Miracle Seeds in my pocket.
They weren't hard to find. Not for me, at least.
Each one gave off a faint pressure in the air like a distant chord vibrating on a string. Most students probably had to focus to pick that up. Me? I just followed the 'sound'. It was like the world had laid out a quiet trail, meant only for me to hear.
Zangoose slunk at my side, ears twitching, eyes sharp. She hadn't needed to battle once. Honestly, she seemed almost disappointed by that.
But fighting? That was happening everywhere else.
Distant booms cracked through the trees. Bursts of energy, shrieks of Pokémon, students yelling commands—those with stronger partners were probably throwing their weight around early, trying to stake out territory and scare off the competition.
But that was fine by me.
The louder they got, the easier it was to avoid them. I could feel whole clusters of students clashing together like hungry insects, swarming anywhere the Aura was dense.
I slipped through the cracks.
This wasn't a game of conquest. It was a test of perception. And unlike most of them, I wasn't here to prove I was strong.
The underbrush rustled faintly behind me.
I paused, crouched low, holding the eighth seed I'd found between my fingers. Zangoose's ears twitched beside me, her eyes scanning the forest in sync with mine.
Another rustle. Closer this time.
Then silence.
Too late.
"Hey!" a voice chirped—right in my ear.
I jolted so hard I nearly dropped the seed. I whipped around on instinct and stumbled back.
And there she was.
A girl I'd never seen before, crouched inches from my face, grinning wide with the kind of innocent joy normally reserved for very young children.
'How the hell did she sneak up on me?!'
"Gotcha!" she said, orange eyes sparkling. "Man, it was really hard to sneak on you. You've got a real talent for this sensing stuff, man!"
Zangoose pounced and missed as the girl leapt backwards unfazed. Fur raised in alarm, she growled at the unknown student who was simply standing there with her head tilted.
'Sneaky enough to slip past my senses. Fast enough to react to Zangoose with ease.' I noted internally, a foreboding feeling bubbling in my gut. 'My luck is truly terrible.'
"Who are you?" I asked, in lieu of showing how startled I was.
"I'm Nemona!" she beamed, standing tall and planting a fist on her hip. "And you know what happens now, right?"
'Why does that name sound familiar? Is she a named character?' I wondered.
Her features didn't really remind me of anyone I knew per se. Tanned skin, freckles, orange eyes, with a small amount of green dye in her black hair? None of that rang a bell.
Oh, wait, she asked a question.
"You leave me alone?" I suggested instead of humoring her.
Her eyes lit up even brighter.
"Of course not, silly! When Trainers lock eyes," she said, dramatically pointing a finger at me, "they have to battle!"
"No." I denied flatly.
"C'mon, don't get cold feet!" she insisted, fists clenched with pure sincerity. "Can't you feel it? The tension in the air? The electricity? The need to throw down?"
'Gross.' My nose scrunched up. 'A battle junkie.'
Those were the worst types of people to deal with in a situation where fighting other trainers was discouraged. If she was anything like Goku, she would just incessantly bug me until I caved.
Sadly, Zangoose was not on my side. She looked up at me for permission, almost eager to test herself.
Instead of acknowledging my partner, I simply stared at Nemona, focusing on the feeling of her Aura. Now that she wasn't trying to hide it anymore, I could see it practically vibrating with excitement.
I sighed. "…You snuck up on me just to force a battle between us, didn't you?"
Somehow, she interpreted that as agreement. Her eyes sparkled. "Well, I wouldn't use the word 'force'. Your Zangoose gives off the vibe that she really wants to battle, so I felt happy to oblige!"
She started to reach behind her back, fingers curling toward a Pokéball on her belt, eyes flicking momentarily to the side.
'Chance!'
I seized the moment. Grabbed ahold of my Aura and shoved a single thought to Zangoose as hard as I could: Run.
My partner tensed, catching the signal instantly.
I wasn't going to stick around to find out what kind of ungodly skill she had in battling to love it so much. Not in an exam where losing meant forfeiting early for literally no reason.
Did she really think I would just… agree?
What was she even thinking?
"Go!" I barked, snatching a Smoke Ball from my pocket and hurling it down.
It was one of the battle items I'd bought which in the games let you run from any Pokémon. In real life? It was basically a smoke bomb that masked one's Aura for further concealment.
It burst with a sharp crack, flooding the clearing with a cloud of choking pink haze.
We vanished into the trees like phantoms, ducking beneath branches, vaulting roots, my breath ragged but focused.
Behind me, I could still feel her. Just standing there in the clearing with her Aura flickering every so often.
Not with anger. Nor offense.
Just… genuine, disappointed confusion. Like her favorite show ended right before the good part.
Sorry. I wasn't dumb enough to fight some wild card I'd never seen before. Not one who got within breathing distance without me or Zangoose noticing.
This wasn't the time, nor the place.
And I wasn't about to give up everything just because some battle junkie liked my Partner's "vibe."
We rounded a corner in the woods—
And a pressurized jet of water blasted overhead, slamming into the tree trunk above with a crack of exploding bark.
I shoved Zangoose out of the way without warning, and I hit the ground hard, my hand instinctively curling around another battle item in my pocket. Even though I sensed it in time, that attack still almost hit us.
I rolled, scrambled to my feet, and looked up just in time to see the source stepping into view.
Gary Oak. And his annoyingly smug Squirtle standing next to him. My luck truly was the worst.
"Huh," he said, head tilted to the side. "I've been dropping scrubs all day, and none of 'em even flinched before being hit. But you…
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You actually dodged."
Then, as quickly as the surprise came, it vanished into a smug grin.
"Guess you must have some talent to have scurried around for this long. You've been gliding under the radar, right? Snatching up points from little seeds without getting into any scuffles."
He stepped forward.
"Well, sadly, you ran into me. Fork 'em over and forfeit."
For a moment, I just sat there in confusion. This kid had to be joking, right?
Then I realized; Everything he said just now sounded performative, but he was being dead serious.
His Aura, from what I could tell, just oozed arrogant confidence. A sharp and prickly thing, like a sea urchin dipped in cologne. He actually expected me to not only tank my score down to zero, but to forfeit right after, giving him even more points.
Evidently, this was a kid with a major case of main character syndrome.
That, combined with the Aura signature I felt rapidly approaching our location, sparked a plan instantly.
Instead of responding, I dusted off my pants, not even bothering to look at him right away. My heart was still hammering from that Water Gun, but I didn't let it show.
Instead, I checked Zangoose over with a glance. She was already back on her feet, fur bristling, crouched low and ready.
Then I finally looked at Gary.
Expression purposefully blank. Voice as dry as the desert.
"You done?"