Nearly half of Sai Island belonged to the Ruby Pokémon Academy. As Kalia and Sean entered its premises, numerous buildings came into view. Although none were particularly tall, they displayed unexpected elegance.
The entire academy formed a massive circular layout, resembling a spherical Poké Ball when viewed from above.
The distant mountains and lakes served as training grounds for students, emphasizing the importance of considering terrain and weather conditions during wild Pokémon battles. Developing this knowledge was crucial for their education.
Most powerful Trainers within the academy had flying-type Pokémon, resulting in frequent sightings of individuals riding these creatures in the sky. However, most were instructors, with only a few being students.
Not all advanced-class students necessarily owned flying-type Pokémon, and some even had a fear of heights, making them hesitant to utilize such Pokémon for transportation despite having access to them.
"Let's stop here; we can walk the rest of the way," Sean suggested. Ahead, Tauros couldn't proceed further, although he could have flown over on his Braviary. However, considering Kalia didn't possess any flying-type Pokémon, leaving her behind wouldn't be appropriate.
Kalia dismounted from her Tauros and surveyed the surroundings. The Ruby Pokémon Academy's environment was truly exceptional; with hardly any people around, it teemed with Pokémon sightings, exuding a natural ambiance.
Pop.
After waking up, Lian voluntarily opened his Poké Ball, emerged, and looked around, finding himself in an unfamiliar setting.
Finally, they had arrived at the Pokémon Academy.
"Your Charmeleon seems to enjoy coming out often," Sean casually remarked upon seeing Lian emerge. From their encounter at Steel Fire Mountain, he noticed this Charmeleon exhibited high autonomy, proficiently executing moves even without its Trainer's commands.
"Yes, indeed." Kalia nodded, smiling as she watched Charmeleon curiously surveying the surroundings.
Her rapid growth in strength within less than two months, leading to Axel's invitation, was largely attributed to Charmeleon. Without it, she likely would have remained at a red-star-three level, barely qualifying for the beginner trainer assessment.
The strength disparity between Grovyle and Vulpix compared to Charmeleon was substantial. It wasn't due to inadequate training on her part; honestly, with more time, once Grovyle evolves into Sceptile, its power would be comparable.
However, Charmeleon's growth rate was remarkably abnormal. Despite minimal focused training, it had already reached an astonishing level of prowess.
"Sometimes, I envy you, having the freedom to choose your preferred Pokemon," Sean remarked. His Pokemon were selected based on the academy's recommendations: Braviary, Machamp, and Jolteon, forming a well-balanced team with diverse resistances.
Most students at the Pokemon Academy do not choose their favorite Pokemon because doing so often leads to a weak or unbalanced team composition. From the beginning, the academy plans various strategies around each student's first starter Pokemon, aiming for synergy within the team. Students can only cultivate Pokemon from these suggested options; otherwise, their teams risk vulnerabilities.
Unless a student focused solely on one attribute, typically aiming to become a Gym Leader, even then, they wouldn't strictly limit themselves to just that single attribute, as encountering a type disadvantage would be detrimental.
It has been proven that the academy's prescribed Pokemon team combinations are indeed powerful, backed by extensive research and validation. Consequently, numerous skilled high-level Trainers emerge from the academy each year.
"You can only truly nurture Pokemon you genuinely love," Kalia stated. If someone were to train a Pokemon they disliked, what would be the point? Even if offered a Legendary Pokemon youngling for free, Kalia wouldn't accept it unless she had an affinity for it.
"Your perspective is both right and not entirely accurate," Sean countered, implying that a Pokemon's potential significantly influences a Trainer's level of affection towards it.
For instance, between a Rattata and a Charmander, most people would choose the Charmander due to its greater potential. This potential heavily sways their decision; many opt for Charmander precisely because of its promising abilities.
As Lian emerged from his Poké Ball, he surveyed the surroundings and realized they had finally arrived at the Pokémon Academy. Here, most students came from wealthy backgrounds, which meant their Pokémon likely possessed exceptional potential.
Kalia was serving as an external assistant for the Middle Class, where the trainees were generally already beginner Trainers or higher. This indicated that each student typically owned three Pokémon.
Even if the individual Pokémon's ability values weren't exceptionally high, combined, they would undoubtedly surpass two thousand, potentially even reaching three thousand.
Lian eagerly anticipated earning sufficient Combat Points during his time at the academy to enhance his own abilities and Control Rating. Achieving evolution might still be challenging, given the eight-level gap remaining; it wouldn't be easy to reach that threshold.
With his current strength, Lian confidently expected to dominate the Middle Class Pokémon effortlessly. The strongest Pokémon among these trainers were likely around level forty, while his ability values far surpassed this stage.
If we compare Lian's current ability values with typical Charmeleon growth (excluding specialized training), just his Special Attack value alone would be equivalent to a level sixty-plus Pokémon.
While his other ability values might be slightly lower, they still reached around level fifty.
Moreover, with Lian's 30% Fire-type Energy Control Rating and various resistances, aside from Ground-type attacks, he had virtually no weaknesses. With these advantages, if he couldn't effortlessly dominate the Middle Class Trainers, it would truly be a lost cause.
"Senior!"
"Hey, Senior."
As Kalia and Sean approached, they encountered numerous students, many of whom recognized Sean and greeted him warmly.
"It seems you're quite popular," Kalia observed. Almost nine out of ten people along the way knew Sean.
"Well, I am the youngest student in the advanced class, and also ranked among the top ten there," Sean proudly replied.
"That impressive?"
Honestly, when Kalia first met Sean, she found him off-putting due to his arrogance. However, being ranked within the top ten of the advanced class at such a young age gave this Trainer ample reason for pride and confidence.
Kalia couldn't help but empathize; if she had achieved such accomplishments herself, she likely would have been even prouder than Sean, given her ample strength to back it up.
"Sean, why didn't you return with your Braviary? Walking isn't really your style," said a tall student dressed casually as he approached, seemingly well-acquainted with Sean, and greeted them with a smile.
"I'm just taking a walk for some exercise, is that not allowed?" Sean responded with a grin.
"Who's she? I've never seen her before." The tall student looked at Kalia, curiously asking, noticing that she was unfamiliar among the academy students.
"This is Kalia, an external recruit brought in by Teacher Axel for the Middle Class competition. Have you seen Teacher Axel around?" Sean explained.
Most of the advanced class members had previously graduated from the middle class, so Axel was also Sean's former teacher.
"Oh, an external recruit! I heard Teacher Harvey got some reinforcements from the Ellie Region too. This should make the Middle Class competition quite interesting now, with both sides bringing in outsiders. Wondering whose recruits will prove stronger."
"I think Teacher Axel might still be near Lake Cerulean; I spotted him earlier, perhaps he hasn't left yet."