Pokemon: My Strange Pokemons

Ethan felt that both Eevee and Feebas were unusually excited today.

Eevee's excitement was understandable. It had successfully registered for the Boga Cup, and after breakfast, it happily ran to the yard to train on its own.

But Feebas was acting strangely. After finishing breakfast, it kept swimming around the glass tank, its usually dull eyes shining brightly.

Was it... looking at itself in the mirror?

When did Feebas become so vain?

Ethan didn't know what to make of it, but he wasn't too concerned. He had a lot to do today.

Shopping for groceries, preparing ingredients, cooking, and recording videos—the morning quickly passed by. Being a part-time food PTuber was exhausting.

Thankfully, Rosa was helping out. Without her, Ethan would have been stretched too thin.

After lunch, Rosa went off to the Battle Park, but Ethan stayed behind to edit his video. He didn't have time to go with her.

It wasn't that big a deal—while others trained their Pokémon through battle, Ethan let Eevee train on its own. It wasn't a bad choice either.

After all, real life wasn't like a game where experience is easily gained from battles.

But while sitting at the computer editing his video, Ethan suddenly remembered a serious problem.

Right now, he had Rosa helping with the video editing, but what would happen when she wasn't around? Wouldn't he be stretched too thin then?

Ethan imagined a pop-up menu in front of him, offering two choices.

Option 1: Keep Rosa by his side forever, problem solved.

Wait, hold on—forget about whether that was feasible or not, it sounded a bit... obsessive, didn't it?

Moreover, as one of the chosen "children of fate," Ethan didn't think Rosa would be the type to follow the conventional path.

This option was a no-go.

...

Option 2: Find someone who could stay by his side long-term.

Ethan didn't like this idea either. He was used to being independent, and the thought of hiring a professional assistant made him uneasy.

Wait, why did it have to be a human? Don't forget, this was a world full of Pokémon!

Eevee and Feebas obviously weren't suitable.

Even if these two evolved, they wouldn't even be able to hold a camera properly. Maybe he should get a humanoid Pokémon with long arms?

All signs seemed to point to a particular Pokémon, the one that was jokingly referred to as the "wife Pokémon" in his past life:

Shiny Female Machamp!

Just kidding, of course—it was actually the Shiny Gardevoir.

But Psychic-type Pokémon were generally rare, especially the popular Gardevoir.

Conservatively speaking, a baby Ralts would cost no less than twenty steps... which was equivalent to twenty Eevees.

It was one of the more expensive Pokémon in terms of evolution potential.

Ethan could hardly afford that, so it was just a passing thought.

Moreover, with Eevee and Feebas' evolutions still nowhere in sight, Ethan wasn't in a hurry to look for his next Pokémon.

First of all, he wasn't sure he could afford it.

Second, catching Pokémon was something that sometimes depended on fate.

——————

Monday, a day that spells despair for most students and office workers, was a little different for Ethan.

He rarely suffered from "Monday Syndrome" because, compared to school days, weekends were even more exhausting.

At Ancient City High School, senior year was typically divided into cultural classes in the morning and practical battle classes in the afternoon.

The sleepy morning passed quickly, and before afternoon class began, the classroom atmosphere suddenly became lively.

Because, this afternoon, there was going to be the first attribute class exchange match.

"Who are your water-type class facing today?"

"I think it's the ground-type? Wow, that's a good counter, why do you look so upset?"

"Our bug-type class is facing the flying-type class, I feel like I'm going to be jailed!"

"Don't worry, my friend in the poison-type class is facing the steel-type, so it'll be easier for him."

"That's even more intense!"

"Is that so? Terrible!"

"Class monitor, how's the grass-type class's matchup?"

"I haven't paid attention. Let me check... we're facing the fire-type class."

"Woah, that's not a good start, that's so hard to fight..."

"Hard to fight? My Gloom doesn't even want to fight! Watch me, the reverse attribute master, teach those heretics who believe in attribute counters a lesson this afternoon!"

...

The discussions kept ringing in Ethan's ears.

It seemed like the exchanges between all the classes were based on attribute counters?

To confirm this theory, Ethan turned to Kai, who was sitting not far away, and asked, "Who are you guys facing? Fairy-type? Or Ice-type?"

These two types were famously dragon-type's worst enemies. The former not only countered dragon-types but was also completely immune to dragon-type moves.

The latter, well, many flying- and dragon-type combos had no defense against Ice-type moves.

Kai smiled wryly. "Fairy-type. What about you? Fighting-type?"

Ethan shrugged. Aside from the Ghost-type, which had mutual immunity, his general-type Pokémon wasn't countered by any specific type, though Fighting-types could still pose a challenge. Long Tao quickly guessed it, which wasn't surprising.

However, attribute counters weren't everything, as Rosa had said during their chat—while they had an effect, they shouldn't be completely relied upon.

After all, real-world battles weren't like Pokémon games, where it's just a matter of raw numbers. There were too many variables.

For example, you're telling me a Frogadier with Water Pulse lost to a Charizard?

Speaking of which, the school's arrangement was probably meant to hone the students' ability to adapt to unfavorable situations in battle.

It was likely that next round, the school would mix up the classes with attribute counters, making the current advantage into a disadvantage.

Those who were laughing and chatting happily now probably wouldn't be so joyful by then.

But there was a problem—general-types had no counters. How would they be arranged for the next round?

In any case, amidst the mixed atmosphere of joy and despair, the Pokémon battle practical class officially began.

...

The general- and fighting-type classes held their match on the playground. These two types were easy to handle; they could fight anywhere.

Unlike Water-type, which needed a place suitable for aquatic Pokémon.

The Fighting-type class had fewer students than the general-type class, with only around twenty students.

Similar to how the general-type class had more students, Fighting-type Pokémon were usually strong and muscular, so they were more expensive to raise.

As expected, there were fewer students in the Fighting-type class.

But having fewer students didn't necessarily mean they were weaker—their strength was ranked among the top in the eighteen classes.

During the novice trainer stage, many Electric, Water, and Fire-type Pokémon were still immature, only capable of using weak moves like Water Gun or Ember, and their electrical powers couldn't compare to household appliances, let alone powerful moves like Thunderbolt.

In such an environment, Fighting-type Pokémon, which excelled in physical combat, had a natural advantage.

...

Now, the two teachers in charge of the classes were discussing the battle rules due to the large number of participants.

Mr. Dhan thought for a moment before suggesting, "Mr. Hulk, our class has nearly twice as many students as theirs. It wouldn't be fair for us to fight as a whole. How about each side picks ten participants to battle, and the rest observe?"

Mr. Hulk, a bald, muscular man, had a surprisingly gentle tone as he hesitated. "But then many students would lose the opportunity to practice. How about we do an elimination match so everyone has a chance to perform?"

(End of Chapter)