After breakfast, Teddy walked beside me, tail swaying, belly full and satisfied. Or maybe waddled was more accurate.

  “Dude,” Flavio said as he rejoined us, “you’ve got a target on your back. Everyone thinks Teddy’s an easy win.”

  He grinned. “I’d probably challenge you too—if I didn’t know who your mom is. Her Ursaring was a monster.”

  Was.

  Right. Ursaluna wasn’t public knowledge. My mom evolved her partner after retiring from public events.

  “I get it,” I muttered, glancing at Teddy. “He doesn’t look like a battler.”

  Teddy made an offended noise and looked away, pouting.

  “Hey, you’re the one who embarrassed us in front of Irene.”

  He grumbled something that sounded vaguely like his name.

  “I’m tempted to battle you,” Melody said, eyes narrowing playfully. “What level is he?”

  “Twelve.”

  They both blinked.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Dude,” Flavio said, “most of us are around level seven or eight. We weren’t allowed to battle before school.”

  “What about your partners?”

  “Meli’s level nine,” Melody said. “We trained a bit with my brother before I got here.”

  “Koa’s only level seven,” Flavio added. “I just focused on flashy moves, not battles.”

  I scratched the back of my neck. “My village had a Sentret problem. Mom used to send us out to scare them off. Plus, Teddy got some tutoring from his mom.”

  “Same here,” Melody said. “Meli learned a few moves from my brother’s Ninetales.”

  Flavio groaned. “Great. So I’m the slacker. I really need to be careful who I challenge.”

  “We could do a practice battle,” I offered. “No points on the line. Just warm-up.”

  They both nodded, agreeing to spar after getting their Pokémon checked out.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  *

  The Academy’s Pokémon Center was busier than usual. Upperclassmen and even a few graduates walked around with their teams. Chansey moved among the crowd, assisting where they could. Instructor Joy stood at the center of it all, watching everything with calm authority.

  “Good morning, Instructor Joy,” Flavio greeted.

  Melody and I echoed him.

  She looked over our group and smiled. “No injuries yet? That’s a good sign.”

  Flavio stepped forward. “We were hoping to get a full analysis of our Pokémon. A second-year said it updates the Pokédex.”

  Joy raised an eyebrow. “You first-years are really eager.”

  She sighed, but her smile didn’t fade. “Technically, we’ll be covering this during Wednesday’s class. But... I suppose it doesn’t hurt to get a head start.”

  She tapped her Pokédex and sent a message.

  A moment later, a pink-haired girl in a nurse uniform appeared through one of the side doors. She looked younger than I expected—and a lot more like a traditional Nurse Joy.

  “This is Aline, my niece,” Instructor Joy said proudly. “She’s a third-year here and ranked fourth in her class. She’ll run your analyses.”

  Aline flushed and gave her aunt a look.

  “Please follow me,” she said quickly, not waiting for further introductions.

  We followed her down a hallway lined with doors until she stopped and led us into a large room filled with machines. It felt more like a lab than a clinic.

  “Who’s first?” she asked, turning to face us with a polite smile.

  Flavio and Melody looked at me.

  “Teddy will go,” I said, nudging my partner forward.

  Aline studied him for a second before pulling out a pale pink Pokéball. “Nona, come out.”

  A pink-and-cream Pokémon with big blue eyes materialized in front of us. I recognized it—Audino. Some Centers use them instead of Chansey.

  “Nona, get the Move Checker ready,” Aline said. The Audino nodded and wandered off to prep one of the machines.

  “And you, little guy,” Aline continued, “step right here.” She pointed to a red dot inside a rectangular scanner.

  Teddy looked at me. I nodded. He walked in.

  “First scan?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  “This is a body scanner. It reads your Pokémon’s physical data and compares it to species averages. You’ll see the results in your Pokédex in a second.”

  She turned to Teddy. “Close your eyes.”

  A brief flash of light pulsed from the scanner. Aline walked to a monitor nearby and typed in a few commands.

  “Done. Check your Pokédex.”

  I opened Teddy’s profile and a new tab appeared: Stats.

  Physical Attack: Rank D

  Special Attack: Rank E

  Physical Defense: Rank E

  Special Defense: Rank E

  Speed: Rank E

  I stared at the letters. “Uh… what does this mean?”

  Aline chuckled. “And this is why we normally wait until class.”

  She walked over.

  “Quick version: stats measure your Pokémon’s strengths—how hard they hit, how well they take hits, how fast they move, and so on.”

  I nodded slowly.

  “Each stat gets a letter rank. E is basic. D is solid. C is strong. B and A are rare, and S is elite-level. The scanner compares Teddy’s current growth to the average for his species.”

  “So... D is good?”

  “For a Level 12? Very good,” she said. “Most Pokémon under Level 20 have all E ranks. Teddy already hitting Rank D in physical attack means he’s ahead of the curve.”

  I looked down at him. He tilted his head, still sitting calmly on the scanner floor.

  You don’t look like much, I thought. But you’ve got power under the fluff, don’t you?

  That was going to come in handy. Especially tomorrow.

  “Don’t stress about the other stats,” Aline said. “You’ll improve them as you go. Classes will cover how to train specific attributes. You’ll get it.”

  I nodded, but I was already thinking about more than numbers.

  People underestimated Teddy.

  Even Irene had looked at him like he was a joke.

  Let them keep thinking that.