Kenji let out a yawn, not particularly impressed by the self-congratulatory spiels from the top universities.
"Student Kenji, our commitnt to talented new trainers and the resources we invest are unmatched by any other top school in the nation," the Imperial Academy recruiter said, shifting his strategy. He held up five fingers. "If you join Imperial Academy, you will receive an additional five million Pokédollars in scholarship aid annually."
Kenji, who had been in the middle of another yawn, froze. His mouth hung open as he stared at the recruiter's hand. He quickly snapped his jaw shut, worried he was about to drool.
So this is the 'gold' standard of the number one academy? They're obscenely rich!
The tropolis Academy recruiter sitting next to him just scoffed. "We can match that! Join tropolis Academy, and we'll give you six million in aid every year!"
Kenji gasped. Six million! He instinctively looked over at the recruiter from Summit Academy.
The man t his gaze with a bitter smile. Even among the top academies, there were tiers. Imperial and tropolis were giants. Against them, he had no choice but to fold.
Kenji's hopeful gaze bounced back to the two remaining recruiters, who were now glaring daggers at each other.
The Imperial recruiter spoke first. "Let's not waste ti with this back-and-forth. Student Kenji, I guarantee, whatever tropolis Academy offers you, Imperial Academy will offer more."
Kenji's eyes lit up, and he turned expectantly to the tropolis recruiter.
The man just sneered. "Are you sure about that?" He turned to Kenji, his expression dead serious. "Student Kenji, I can promise you, right here and now: if you join tropolis Academy, we will not only provide you with a ten million Pokédollar annual scholarship, but we will also gift you one pseudo-legendary Pokémon."
"WHAT?!"
Before Kenji could even react, the Imperial recruiter shot to his feet, his face pale with shock. Kenji's own eyes went wide, and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You... you can't be serious," the Imperial recruiter stamred.
The tropolis recruiter's face remained grimly serious.
A pseudo-legendary. A Pokémon with a base stat total of 600. That was the sa tier as lesser Legendary Pokémon, which hovered between 580 and 600. A pseudo-legendary was, for all intents and purposes, a Legendary-tier Pokémon without the unique "divine" status.
In the entire nation, there were only three known lines: Dragonite, Garchomp, and Tyranitar. All three were notoriously difficult to acquire, often raised by specific guardian clans and almost never seen outside those circles. Even for a top-tier academy, this was not an easy promise to make.
The tropolis recruiter looked back at his rival. "Well? It's your turn to show your 'sincerity'."
...
Ten minutes later, the tropolis recruiter was at the door, his face wreathed in smiles. "Student Kenji, the ten million scholarship and your admission docunts will be sent over shortly. As for the pseudo-legendary, you will receive it when the sester officially begins."
Kenji nodded and politely saw all three recruiters out.
The second the door closed, he collapsed back onto his sofa and burst out into giddy, stupid laughter. Just a few days ago, he had been stressing over money. Now, he was about to get a ten million deposit.
And a pseudo-legendary.
He wondered which of the three it would be. If he had to choose, he'd pick Tyranitar. The "Desert Tyrant." It just sounded too cool.
...
The sumr vacation began, but Kenji didn't slack off on Beedrill's training.
As expected, Beedrill's striking new [ULTIMATE] form imdiately attracted the curiosity of lody and Leo. Kenji just fed them the excuse he had already prepared about his "special ability."
The problem was, Beedrill was now far too conspicuous to train at the public Edgecliff Gym. He had no choice but to move its training to a private, rented field.
The routine remained the sa: learning new moves in the morning, and practical strength and speed drills in the afternoon, with sparring sessions mixed in.
Kenji had chosen three new moves for Beedrill to master: Agility, Swords Dance, and Aerial Ace.
Agility and Swords Dance were self-explanatory; they would be the core of its future battle style. Aerial Ace was purely for type coverage. The Poison/Bug-typing had notoriously poor offensive coverage, so he needed other move types to patch up its weaknesses. Both Aerial Ace and Venoshock were learned for this exact reason. The main focus, however, would remain on Agility and Swords Dance.
And thanks to the promised 10 million, Kenji was able to splurge, upgrading Beedrill's diet from mid-grade Bug-type Pokéblocks to high-grade ones.
...
Three days later, a package from tropolis Academy arrived.
He signed for it, brought it inside, and opened it. Inside were his official Temporary Trainer's License, his acceptance letter to tropolis Academy, and a few other miscellaneous docunts.
Just as he was sorting through the papers, his phone chid.
Ding.
A new bank notification: 10,000,000 Pokédollars had been deposited into his account.
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