The phone rang a few times before the call was answered, and Arven's slightly distorted voice came through the speaker.
"Kai…?"
His voice was drowsy and slurred, suggesting he had already fallen asleep before Kai's call woke him up.
Kai felt a little guilty. "Did I wake you? If so, we can talk tomorrow instead."
Lying in his dorm bed, Arven yawned, shifted positions, and teased, "I'm already awake, so go ahead. What's up?"
Seeing his point, Kai nodded. "I'll keep it brief, then. If we're talking about raw strength, Mabosstiff is clearly superior. But you still lost to Poliwrath yesterday. Why do you think that is?"
Arven fell silent for a moment before replying, "The reason… is me."
Since he was already quite familiar with Arven, Kai didn't bother sugarcoating things. He spoke bluntly, "That's right. The only reason Mabosstiff lost to Poliwrath was because your battle strategies were awful."
Arven mumbled under his breath, "But it's not like I want to be a strong Trainer anyway… so what does it matter if my strategy is bad?"
His you're right, but I'm still not going to bother attitude left Kai feeling a little helpless.
Right now, it made sense that Arven thought this way.
But after that incident, he would come to hate his own weakness—regret that he wasn't strong enough.
And if this was a tragedy Kai could prevent at its source, he had no problem stepping in to change things.
It was just a small effort on his part.
Kai spoke in a calm, measured tone, "What if I told you that if you became a strong Trainer, you'd be able to help Professor Sada and Professor Turo in the Great Crater of Paldea? Would you still feel the same way?"
Arven opened his mouth, trying to come up with a response, but his words got stuck. "…Uh…"
Kai continued, "The Great Crater is home to countless powerful and wild Pokémon. They've been isolated from the outside world for thousands of years, yet they remain just as ferocious as ever."
"The reason why Professor Sada and Professor Turo are so overwhelmed isn't just because of their research—it's also because they lack enough battle-ready Trainers to support their exploration of Area Zero."
"If you become stronger, you will be able to help them in the future."
There was an almost imperceptible hint of persuasion in Kai's words.
And sure enough, Arven fell silent, his heart wavering.
Sensing the shift in Arven's attitude, Kai decided to strike while the iron was hot.
"How about this—since you've already enrolled in the Battle Studies course, why don't you take it seriously? Train together with Mabosstiff, and if you truly improve, I'll personally take you to the Great Crater to meet Professor Sada and Professor Turo."
Arven's voice was filled with barely contained excitement. "You swear?"
Kai nodded. "I swear."
Arven rolled over in bed, his expression full of anticipation. "Alright! So what exactly do I need to do? How can I improve as a Trainer?"
Kai's lips curled into a small smile as he explained, "It's simple. The first thing you need to do is build a solid foundation of Trainer knowledge. I've put together a reading list for you…"
—
The next day.
Compared to yesterday, the sky was gloomier, but that didn't stop Kai from heading back to the fields.
Farm work was repetitive and monotonous—a constant cycle of the same actions, testing both physical endurance and mental patience.
But to Kai, who knew that eight-on-eight death conveyor belt battles existed in the world, this didn't seem so bad.
By the time it was nearly four in the afternoon, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and gazed at the neatly planted section of the field—one-fourth of the total land he needed to sow.
A deep sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
Looks like I'll be able to finish the initial sowing before my second class.
Once the seeds are planted, all that's left is watering and Admiral upkeep, which means I'll have more time to focus on other tasks.
With his hands covered in mud, Kai couldn't easily pull out his phone, so he lifted his head instead, trying to gauge the time by the position of the sun.
After observing for a moment, he concluded, "Hmm… It's probably around four or five o'clock?"
Just as he was about to lower his gaze, something caught his eye.
A dark speck in the sky.
It was approaching rapidly.
Squinting against the sunlight, Kai focused on the object. It looked like a Flying-type Pokémon, but its movements were unsteady, its flight path erratic—like it could plummet out of the sky at any moment.
His brows furrowed. Something was wrong.
"Dragonite! Let's check it out!" Kai called.
Based on its trajectory, the Pokémon seemed likely to crash somewhere near the farmland. While the Pokémon itself might be fine, the newly planted seeds wouldn't be if it landed there.
Dragonite, who had been playing with Milcery, perked up at Kai's voice. It quickly entrusted Milcery to Serperior before hurrying to Kai's side, lowering itself so he could climb on.
Kai swung himself onto Dragonite's back with practiced ease and gave a light pat to signal he was ready. With a few powerful flaps of its deceptively small wings, Dragonite shot into the sky.
Despite its notoriously poor agility—statistically on par with Magikarp—Dragonite's flight speed was indisputable.
In less than a minute, it had closed the distance between them and the mysterious falling figure.
And now, Kai could finally see what it was.
A Braviary.
The large eagle Pokémon was in rough shape.
Its feathers were disheveled, its beak opening and closing as it gasped for breath, and its wings flapped weakly, barely able to keep it airborne.
Kai wouldn't have been particularly surprised if this were just a wild Braviary that had run out of stamina.
But its powerful talons told a different story.
Because in its right claw, the Braviary was clutching an unconscious man.
Kai's expression turned serious.
Was this man attacked by the Braviary?
No—he quickly dismissed that thought.
If the Braviary had been the one to attack, then why, even in its exhausted state, was it still clinging to him for dear life?
A more likely scenario was that this man was the Braviary's Trainer, and for some unknown reason, he had lost consciousness mid-flight.
As Kai processed the situation, Braviary's strength finally gave out.
With one last desperate flap, it succumbed to gravity, eyes reflecting helpless despair as the ground rushed up to meet them.
Kai's chest tightened. No time to hesitate.
"Dragonite! Use Tailwind to slow their fall!" he commanded.
Dragonite nodded and, with a simple shift of intent, called forth a powerful current. The wind surged to meet Braviary and the falling man, enveloping them in an updraft that eased their descent.
Meanwhile, the commotion had drawn Serperior's attention.
The regal Grass-type, with Milcery still balanced atop its head, lifted its gaze to the sky.
Noticing Dragonite's intervention, Serperior's crimson eyes flickered with contemplation.
Then, without hesitation, it lashed out two Vine Whips, stretching them toward the falling pair!
----
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