Lin Yi crouched beside Glaceon almost imdiately, the earlier excitent completely gone from his posture. He worked efficiently, pulling a potion from his pack and spraying it carefully over the scorched fur along Glaceon's face and neck. The healing mist shimred faintly in the firelight as it soaked into the burns, knitting tissue and calming the worst of the damage.
Glaceon stirred after a few seconds, ears twitching weakly before opening its eyes. Lin Yi let out a quiet breath of relief and pressed his forehead briefly against Glaceon's.
"You did well," he murmured softly.
There was no arrogance left in his voice now.
Only sincerity.
After making sure Glaceon could stand on its own, he rose and slung his bag back over his shoulder. For a mont, it looked like he was going to leave without another word.
Then he paused.
He glanced back at the small campfire.
Then at .
He scratched the back of his neck, the confidence from earlier replaced with sothing far more human.
"Hey," he said, not quite eting my eyes. "I… forgot my fire starter kit."
I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
He shifted awkwardly. "Mind if I stay near the fire for the night?"
There was no pride in the question.
Just practicality.
I shrugged.
"Suit yourself."
He didn't need to be told twice. He moved quietly to the opposite side of the fire and sat down, placing his bag beside him. Glaceon curled up near his leg, tail wrapped around its body, though it kept one eye half-open in wary awareness.
owth, who had been pretending to sleep again, watched the entire exchange with narrowed eyes before relaxing slightly. Charleon stood a little apart at first, arms crossed, tail fla swaying in steady rhythm, but eventually he returned to sit near the warmth.
For a few minutes, no one spoke.
The forest humd softly around us. Crickets sang. Leaves rustled in distant branches. The sky above had darkened fully now, stars faintly visible between gaps in the canopy.
The tension from earlier had drained out of the clearing, replaced by sothing quieter.
Lin Yi broke the silence.
"It's different here," he said, staring into the fire.
"In India?"
"In this exam," he clarified. "And in how your people handle Pokémon."
I didn't respond imdiately.
He continued, voice steady but lower than before.
"In my country, things escalated very fast after the rge. Too fast. So regions adapted well, especially rural ones. But in cities…" He shook his head slightly. "Fear spreads quicker than understanding."
Glaceon shifted closer to him as he spoke.
"There are factions forming," he went on. "Groups saying coexistence is weakness. That humans must assert dominance before Pokémon outnumber us. They talk about control. About preemptive strength."
Earth Liberation.
Even if he didn't say the na.
I kept my expression neutral.
"And what do you think?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he watched the fire.
"My family is… influential," he said slowly. "They have business ties. Political ties. When things beco unstable, people like them push for order. Strong asures."
He glanced at Glaceon.
"But I raised her myself," he said quietly. "I saw what happens when you force growth. When you treat Pokémon like tools."
The fire popped sharply between us.
"My governnt wants leverage," he continued. "Your Pokéball technology. Your academy system. They think whoever controls trainer structure controls the future."
That didn't surprise .
No nation would ignore what Aakash was building.
"They don't understand sothing," Lin Yi added after a mont.
"What?"
"That strength doesn't co from control. It cos from trust."
For a second, I almost smiled.
"You learned that from losing?" I asked lightly.
He huffed faintly. "Partly."
The forest wind shifted, carrying a cooler breeze through the clearing.
"There's pressure back ho," he admitted. "Pressure to perform here. To bring sothing back. Information. Advantage. Prestige."
"And?"
"And I'm starting to think this isn't about prestige."
He looked up finally, eting my eyes directly across the fire.
"It's about who defines the next era."
The crackling flas cast shadows over his face, making him look older than he probably was.
Sixteen.
Just like .
We sat there in silence again, but this ti it wasn't tense.
The next morning did not bring relief; it brought clarity.
The forest felt sharper, more defined, as though the island itself had decided that the second day would no longer tolerate hesitation. A thin layer of mist hung between the trees when Lin Yi packed his belongings and prepared to leave. There was no dramatic farewell between us, no exchange of promises or rivalry-fueled declarations. He simply gave a brief nod, Glaceon already composed at his side, and walked away with the steady confidence of soone raised to treat competition as normal.
I watched him until the forest swallowed his silhouette.
Then I turned in the opposite direction.
Day two was not about testing courage.
It was about refining it.
Yesterday I had learned where my limits stood. I had tasted both victory and humiliation. Today would be about discipline, efficiency, and growth. Blue-scarfed Pokémon were no longer worth the energy expenditure unless unavoidable, and Orange-ranked fights would only be attempted under controlled circumstances. The Shelgon battle had already cost five points and nearly cost Charleon entirely. Recklessness would not earn a place in the academy.
The forest thickened as we moved inland. Roots twisted across the soil like coiled serpents, and vines ford natural barriers that forced constant adjustnt in our path. owth advanced slightly ahead, his gait relaxed but his eyes always scanning. Charleon walked beside , tail fla steady, no longer flaring wildly with emotional surges as it had the previous day.
He had changed.
The loss had not broken him.
It had hardened him.
Our first Green-scarfed encounter of the morning ca near a fallen log covered in thick fungal growth. A Breloom stood there, posture balanced, gaze unwavering. It did not attempt to flee; it did not attempt intimidation. It simply waited, as though aware that this island was a proving ground.
"owth, take lead," I instructed calmly. "Charleon, support but conserve."
owth sprang forward with controlled aggression, closing distance quickly enough to avoid Breloom's opening Mach Punch. The strike skimd past him, grazing fur but not connecting fully. owth countered with Fury Swipes, not to overwhelm but to probe, forcing Breloom to reposition.
Breloom retaliated by launching Leech Seed, the vines whipping through the air toward owth's torso.
"Charleon, Ember—intercept!"
Charleon stepped forward instantly, a precise burst of fla igniting the seeds mid-flight and turning them to ash before they could anchor. The coordination between them felt smoother than it had ever been.
"owth, Fake Out!"
The sharp, sudden strike stunned Breloom long enough for Charleon to close in.
"Flathrower. Controlled output."
The stream of fire did not rage uncontrollably; it pressed forward in asured force, enough to force Breloom backward and eventually to concede.
Two points.
Clean execution.
No injuries beyond minor scratches.
As always, I offered Oran berries after ensuring Breloom could stand on its own. The Pokémon accepted them without hostility and retreated into the undergrowth.
The rhythm continued through the morning. An Alolan Graveler forced to rethink positioning as electrical bursts erupted unpredictably from its rocky form. A Swellow tested aerial reflexes, requiring owth to bait low and Charleon to punish mid-descent. A Loudred nearly disrupted our coordination entirely with sound-based attacks that vibrated through bone and concentration alike.
Each encounter refined us.
By midday, sweat clung to my back and my arms felt heavier than they had at dawn. I allowed us to pause near a shallow stream cutting through the terrain. owth drank first, then sprawled briefly in filtered sunlight. Charleon stood rather than lay down, tail fla flickering but steady, breathing controlled.
My watch vibrated softly.
Total Points: 35.
It was not dominance.
But it was respectable.
As I crouched to refill my canteen, owth's ears twitched sharply. His body did not tense fully, which ant this was not imdiate danger, but the alertness in his posture told it was not a small presence either.
Branches parted ahead.
Arpit stepped into view.
He looked more exhausted than I had anticipated. Sweat darkened his shirt, and his breathing suggested he had only recently concluded a demanding battle. Beside him, Mightyena lay on its side but lifted its head the mont it sensed us. Its muscles tightened instinctively, and a low rumble vibrated in its throat before Arpit placed a steadying hand near its shoulder.
"Stand down," Arpit murmured.
Mightyena obeyed, though its gaze never left .
"You're sitting at thirty-five?" Arpit asked after glancing at my wrist.
"You counting other people's progress now?" I replied.
He allowed himself a faint smile. "You don't look like soone struggling."
I examined Mightyena more carefully. Scorch marks along its flank and claw scrapes across its shoulder indicated a sustained engagent rather than a quick skirmish.
"Multiple Greens?" I asked.
"Three together," Arpit confird. "We won, but it drained us."
That aligned with Mightyena's posture. It was not injured critically, but stamina had been pushed close to its limit.
"You holding up?" I asked.
He nodded once. "We're fine. Just need a reset."
There was no hostility between us, only calculation. Two competitors assessing relative strength without posturing.
"You heading further inland?" I asked.
He hesitated briefly before responding. "We found a clearing ahead. Heavy damage. Trees split. Ground torn apart. Didn't see who caused it."
Orange or Red.
My pulse shifted slightly.
"Alone?" I asked.
"Didn't confirm," he replied. "But it didn't look like sothing a Blue-ranked entrant caused."
I considered the implications carefully. Pushing toward that clearing could an facing an Orange-ranked Pokémon, possibly even encountering one of the Red-scarfed overseers under island agreents. It could also an losing valuable points if misjudged.
Charleon's fla brightened subtly.
He wanted challenge.
owth glanced at , waiting for direction rather than imposing his own.
"You teaming?" Arpit asked.
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