Chapter 27. Compulsory Enrollment
Night. Liz hadn't returned yet, as someone was requesting an audience with the Queen. Ryū lay quietly on the bed by himself, excitedly tossing and turning while looking at his personal panel.
[Dratini]
[Potential]: Blue
[Level]: Lv. 7
[Attribute]: Dragon
[Ability]: Shed Skin
[Height]: 2.5 meters
[Weight]: 4.3 kg
[Skills]: Hone Claws (Inherited), Wrap, Glare, Twister
"Haha, not bad, not bad. It really gave experience." Ryū nodded in satisfaction. Although he only gained 2 levels after beating up 30 to 40 little ones, he was already very satisfied. After all, he barely exerted any effort. Many Pokémon were instantly defeated by him in one move or were chased down and beaten, and he sustained almost no injuries.
'But even so, I can probably only level up to around Lv. 10 at most. After that, fighting these babies probably won't be very useful.' Ryū lay on the bed and sighed. Although his current living environment was very comfortable and safe, it seemed unnecessary for him to seek hardship.
But as a transmigrator with a slight understanding of the future, Ryū naturally couldn't just lie flat like this. The Pokémon Era was an era where the number of lives lost reached its peak. In the ancient era before that, there were only survival wars between Pokémon, and they wouldn't risk their lives to attack other Pokémon unless necessary.
The Alliance Era that followed was even more peaceful. Not to mention humans who had entered a period of peace, even wild Pokémon rarely fought each other. Due to human intervention, the number of domesticated Pokémon greatly increased, while the number of wild Pokémon sharply decreased. This meant that survival resources were no longer scarce for wild Pokémon, so death matches and competition were rare.
Only this Pokémon Era had war everywhere. Pokémon and Pokémon, human and Pokémon, human and human. There was war everywhere. The Battle of Whirl Islands in the Johto Region, the War of Truth in Unova, the Final Battle in the Kalos Region... These relatively famous wars all occurred during the Pokémon Era.
The general trend of the world is that after a long period of division, there must be unity, and after a long period of unity, there must be division. The flames of war and the perishing of life were destined to become the hooks that usher in a new era.
"The Alliance Era will definitely arrive, but this also means that the middle to late stages of the Pokémon Era will be full of war." Ryū flicked his tail on the bed, feeling a bit annoyed. "Countless humans and Pokémon will die. Only by witnessing that scene will more and more people gradually realize the problem and raise the banner of creating peace."
"As the only kingdom in the Johto Region today, the Royal Dragon Kingdom is bound to be drawn into war, and it's highly likely to be a war with the nearby Kanto Region..."
It was precisely because he faced such a situation that he wanted to increase his level. If only Liz were the Queen of a kingdom in the Alliance Era, he would definitely lie flatter than anyone else, perhaps staying in the Dratini stage his entire life.
"At least I need to evolve to the Dragonair stage. By then, even if the war is lost, I can still take Liz and run." Ryū looked at his panel again. Evolving into Dragonair would probably require reaching around Lv. 30, which shouldn't take too long.
But the speed probably wouldn't catch up to his Beedrill period in his previous life. In his previous life, Ryū flew around with Kiko and Suzume. If they could win, they'd fight alone; if not, they'd gang up. He basically never lost a battle, and the experience was steadily earned. This life, he was just a lonely Dratini, and all the battles had to be fought by him alone.
The bedroom door clicked open. Ryū didn't turn his head at all. After all, only Liz could naturally enter the Queen's private room without knocking. So he knew it must be Liz who came in.
"Aran, why did you hit the other little ones in the kindergarten?" After Liz came in, she scooped Ryū's head into her arms and poked his nose with a finger.
"...So it was those two who were looking for you. How annoying, tattling like that." Ryū's mind went blank for a moment, and then he immediately realized what Liz had been doing just now. It must have been those two Pokémon scholars from the kindergarten today who ran to the Royal Palace to complain to Liz.
But this time, Ryū really did misunderstand. Although the two Pokémon scholars mentioned Ryū beating up dozens of little ones at school today, they also praised and commended Ryū's potential. In their opinion, they were all babies, but the fact that Ryū could defeat dozens of other babies in one day indicated that he would definitely be stronger than other Pokémon after he grew up.
So the two scholars also specifically came to congratulate Queen Liz on gaining a general with potential.
"What you did was wrong, you know?" Liz shook Ryū's head. Although she was reprimanding him, her tone was actually quite gentle, giving a feeling of being soft-tempered.
"Got it. I'll still hit them tomorrow." Ryū shook his head indifferently, putting on a rascally appearance.
"You little fellow." Liz was so annoyed by Ryū that she laughed, then continued, "Starting tomorrow, you won't go to the kindergarten anymore. You'll go to the Pokémon Academy."
"Huh? I only went for one day and I'm being expelled?" Ryū's eyes widened. He was still thinking of grinding experience until around Lv. 10 before figuring out the next step. Now, he was being forcibly promoted.
Although Ryū hadn't entered that Pokémon Academy yet, just by hearing the name, he knew that it definitely contained Pokémon with some fighting capability. If the school he went to today was equivalent to kindergarten to elementary school, then the one he was going to tomorrow might be equivalent to middle school to high school. With his small Lv. 7 body, how could he grind experience there? Not getting beaten up would be good enough.
Ryū's expression suddenly drooped. He turned his head away and ignored Liz. Seeing Ryū like this, Liz couldn't help but smile, but she didn't comfort him either. After all, comfort was useless. Given Ryū's violent behavior in the kindergarten today, she definitely wouldn't let Ryū stay there any longer.
Moreover, according to what the two Pokémon scholars said, staying in the kindergarten was not a good thing for a Pokémon like Ryū, who was full of wildness and potential. Going to the Pokémon Academy, which had a certain level of competition, could better help him grow rapidly.
"Alright, let's sleep. You'll probably Shed Skin when you wake up tomorrow morning." After Liz changed into her pajamas, she got into bed and pulled Ryū into her arms.
Early the next morning, Ryū, who had completed another skin-shedding with Liz's help, looked a bit listless.
"When you go to the new school, you have to get along well with everyone, okay?"
"...Just watch if I beat them up or not." Ryū twitched his nose, speaking boastfully. He knew that after going to the new school, he probably wouldn't be able to be as lawless as he was yesterday, but it didn't matter if he just talked big since no one could understand what he was saying anyway.
Liz returned to the Royal Palace to handle affairs, while Ryū was taken by Hestia to the legendary Pokémon Academy. The geographical location of this Pokémon Academy was very tricky. It was in the easternmost plains area of the Royal Dragon Kingdom's capital. People unfamiliar with the map might not understand how well this location was chosen.
Just a little bit east of this location was Mt. Silver, where Pokémon gathered, and further east was the Kanto Region, where Team Rocket was located. Whether the Pokémon from Mt. Silver rioted or Team Rocket sent troops for a surprise attack, they would inevitably have to cross this Pokémon Academy. It could be said that this Pokémon Academy was the last line of defense for the Royal Dragon Kingdom.