Chapter 8: Another 5 Years

Pallet Town Trainer Academy

A young man sat in a meditative position under an Oak tree as the sun slowly crept up over the horizon, unleashing its rays of sunlight. He wore the typical academy uniform, a comfortable white button down with the Academy's insignia on it and black slacks.

The young man seemed unperturbed by the sun's rays as he focused with closed eyes on something only he could see, something inside of himself. If someone proficient in Typing Energy were to look at this scene, they would undoubtedly be shocked by the absurd aura flowing out of the kid.

'It seems I've completely mastered Fighting-type energy finally… The question now is: Should I master the energies I already have experience in? Or should I focus on familiarizing myself with other Typing Energies? Hmmm… There are simply too many possibilities!'

Michael smiled to himself as he gazed at the Soul Tree inside his consciousness. The tree had grown to a respectable size, resembling a young cherry blossom. The fruits growing on it had grown considerably as well.

The Fighting-type fruit was now equal to a watermelon in size, and emitted a consistently powerful orange glow. Michael could feel its effects clearly as he felt his body was brimming with strength, yet his body was not too muscular aside from some definition. His constant training around his father's Pokemon greatly accelerated the growth rate of it, he concluded.

The Rock-type fruit had now reached the size of a grapefruit, emitting a decent amount of aura, yet nothing comparable to the Fighting-type fruit. Although it wasn't easily detectable, Michael could tell that his skin had become tougher to some degree. Michael had concluded at this point that Rock-type Energy was correlated with outer enhancement, similar to how martial arts practitioners would coat their bodies in internal energy in order to strengthen their defensive capabilities.

The third fruit, now identified as the Ground-type fruit, was now the size of a fist. At this stage of its growth, Michael could not yet determine what physical enhancement Ground-type Energy was correlated with. However, he did in fact discover that once the fruit's Energy was identified and perceivable, another colorless fruit appeared on his Soul Tree.

This caused Michael to come to yet another conclusion regarding his Soul Tree: He was only capable of gaining another form of Typing Energy after successfully reaching a certain level of 'mastery' in his current Energies.

The fourth fruit could be seen hanging from an isolated spot on the Soul Tree as it radiated a faint pink glow. This is the same fruit that had appeared once he successfully 'felt' Ground-type Energy within himself. Its initial appearance was colorless and tiny, but after a period of a few years, it had grown and taken on the properties of Psychic-type Energy, growing to the size of an acorn.

'It seems like Typing Affinities truly do play a big part in how quickly one can master certain Energies. It took me more than two years to be able to feel Ground-type Energy at all, and yet I was able to feel Psychic-type Energy after only six months.'

Throughout these five years of attending the academy, Michael successfully took the top spot in his class with ease. His knowledge regarding Pokemon had grown immensely thanks to the academic environment, helping him memorize over 500 different Pokemon and their ecological habits, and that's not mentioning the fact that he can at least identify the other 400 or so and their types.

One specific area of academia that Michael had come to grow interested in was Pokemon with regional forms. As it was one of his goals to become a Professor, he had decided to focus on this specific topic for the thesis he was currently working on for his application to the Professor program.

Michael was not one to shirk on his other goals, however, as he had focused a lot of his effort into his Ranger and Trainer studies as well. His consistent efforts in school were well-rewarded by the academy this year, as Professor Oak himself gave Michael special permission to visit the pasture where he kept all of the Pokemon that were entrusted to him by various trainers.

This was an incredible opportunity for Michael, and he had planned to get the most out of it. Having the opportunity to study many different kinds of Pokemon would help him decide what starter Pokemon he'd like.

Standing up from his meditative sitting position, Michael opened his eyes. Standing silently in front of him was a girl who appeared to be in her early teenage years. She had black hair and a blank expression on her face. From Michael's perspective, the girl naturally had a large pink aura radiating around her.

This girl's name was Sabrina, an 8th-year student at the academy specializing in Psychokinetic Studies. She had become quite fond of spending time around Michael, with the majority of that time being spent talking about Pokemon and Typing Energy.

At Pallet Town Trainer Academy, Students must choose a specialization of some sort after receiving their starter Pokemon when entering into their 5th year. The specialization students chose didn't have to follow any specific restrictions.

One student could specialize in Herbology while another specialized in Entrepreneurship. Regardless of the student's choice, the academy granted them the necessary resources to further their studies in said specialization.

"Good Morning, Sabrina." Michael stared back at his silent friend and greeted her with a small smile.

"Mm. Have you decided on your specialization?" Sabrina spoke in a hushed tone.

"Mmhmm. I've decided to specialize in Pokemon Regional Forms. I believe that there is a lot left to be discovered on the topic." Michael explained.

"Mm. And what about your starter Pokemon? Have you decided yet?" She nodded at Michael's answer before asking another question.

"I haven't been able to decide yet… I know that the academy will offer most Pokemon from Kanto and Johto as a starter, but… I just feel like my first Pokemon should be extra special, you know?" Michael had a complicated emotion on his face as he thoughtfully answered.

"Mm. Knowing you, I doubt that just any Pokemon will entice you…" Sabrina nodded sympathetically to Michael's words.

"*sigh* I'm hoping that visiting Professor Oak's pasture will give me some ideas or at least a direction." Michael said with exasperation.

After talking with Sabrina for a little while longer, Michael bid farewell to her and made his way to his first class of the semester. It's during this class that Professor Oak will personally give a lecture on various fields of study before the students confirm their specializations.

*some time later*

"Alright! Now that I'm done talking your ears off with my lecture, it's time for you all to decide what you wish to specialize in for the remainder of your time here! When you're done filling in the sheet, you can hand my assistant your paper and go on your way." Professor Oak spoke jubilantly to the class full of 10 year olds.

Michael and the rest of the students received a sheet of paper with two empty lines labeled 'Name' and 'Specialization'. He quickly wrote what he wanted on the paper and stood up. Instead of handing his paper to Professor Oak's assistant, he walked directly to the professor himself.

"Ah, Michael! It seems you've already made up your mind. 'Regional Forms of Pokemon' is it? What an excellent specialization! Unfortunately, I'm not particularly well-researched on this topic, but fear not! The academy and I will not fail to provide you with the proper tools for success!" Professor Oak spoke enthusiastically.

While Michael was already quite familiar with the professor due to his frequent visits to Michael's home, it was specifically requested by Bruno and Gigi that Michael was treated just like every other student. As such, Professor Oak and Michael played the roles of esteemed professor and promising student during their time at the academy.

Michael simply nodded at the professor with a smile before making his way to another classroom nearby. This was where students would be given the chance to choose their starter Pokemon.

The usual methodology for this process was that highest-ranking students would get a wider range of Pokemon to select from, usually including the royal-starter trio, while lower-ranking students had less options. This didn't mean, however, that the Pokemon each student was offered would lack in the quality department.

As Michael entered the room, he was greeted by the sight of a group of Professor Oak's assistants. One of the assistants motioned for Michael to approach them.

"Good Morning! May I have your name, please?" The assistant asked.

"Michael Heartfield." Michael replied without missing a beat.

"Michael… Michael… Ah! Congratulations on achieving the best scores in the class once again! As the student to achieve the best test scores, you are given the option of choosing from this list of Pokemon to be your starter!" The assistant replied after finding Michael's name on the catalog in her hand.

Michael received the list and quickly began looking through it. Pokemon after Pokemon was listed, even including some Pokemon native to the Sinnoh and Kalos regions. Yet, even after reading through the various Pokemon available, nothing piqued Michael's interest.

That is until he saw the last option on the list, one that was quite odd considering the implications of it.

The last Pokemon listed wasn't technically a Pokemon yet. Instead, the words 'Mystery Pokemon Egg' were listed. Michael's mind instantly fixated on this option, clearing itself of any further doubts.

"I would like to choose the Pokemon Egg please." Michael said suddenly, excitement clear in his voice.

"Hmm? Are you sure?! You can choose any Pokemon on the list, you know? With the Pokemon Egg you won't know what it is until it hatches!" The assistant was shocked at Michael's decision, trying to convince him to not let go of this valuable opportunity.

"I'm sure." Michael simply said resolutely.

"Eh… Alright then." Seeing that the boy in front of her was firm in his decision, the assistant simply gave in.

Once Michael's decision was confirmed, another assistant moved to the back of the room and picked up an incubator containing the very Pokemon egg that Michael had chosen. Michael's eyes were glued to the egg as anticipation and excitement welled up in him.

After going through all the necessary safety precautions with Michael, the assistant handed him the incubator. Michael immediately thanked the staff then left the classroom, heading towards his typical meditation spot.

He gazed at the egg carefully, trying to discern what kind of Pokemon could be inside of it. He even tried scanning the surface of the egg carefully to see if he could detect any Typing Energy, but to no avail.

'Truly mysterious… I can't quite describe it, but… I can definitely feel that this egg is special in some way'