Kogane Prefecture.
Its capital, Shirogane City.
Inside Class 2-A of Shirogane Steelix High School, the homeroom teacher was delivering the final lesson of the second-year term.
“Five hundred years ago, Pokémon researchers here in Japan proposed what is now known as the Pokémon Aptitude Theory.”
The teacher spoke calmly as he turned toward the whiteboard.
“According to this theory, the maximum strength a Pokémon can attain is determined not only by the resources invested in its growth, but also by its innate aptitude.”
At around the same time, researchers in the Western nations had published papers supporting a similar idea.
Squeak, squeak.
The teacher’s marker moved across the whiteboard, leaving behind two bold phrases.
Maximum Strength
Innate Aptitude
Thirty-five students sat below him.
Most listened with serious expressions, while a small handful had already allowed their minds to wander somewhere far beyond the classroom windows.
“In the past, there was no reliable method of evaluating a Pokémon’s aptitude.
Trainers could only make judgments based on their personal experience.”
The teacher tapped the whiteboard lightly with his marker.
“That changed a little over two hundred years ago, when the world’s first Pokémon Aptitude Analyzer was successfully developed.”
Several students immediately raised their heads.
“However, the original machine was enormous.
It occupied an area roughly the size of an entire basketball court.”
A few quiet murmurs spread through the classroom.
“Even then, it could only evaluate Pokémon whose aptitude was below the Elite tier—and its results still contained a considerable margin of error.”
The teacher continued writing.
Pokémon Aptitude Analyzer
“After nearly two centuries of technological development, modern analyzers have been reduced to roughly the size of an ordinary television.
All you need to do is place a Poké Ball inside the device, and it will automatically evaluate the aptitude of the Pokémon within.”
The appearance of the Aptitude Analyzer had finally provided concrete evidence that a Pokémon’s ultimate strength was closely related to its natural potential.
However—
The moment one mystery was solved, another appeared in its place.
“Pokémon researchers in the West once conducted a famous experiment.”
The classroom gradually fell silent again.
“They selected two Bulbasaur that had hatched from the same clutch.
The two were biological twins, and both possessed quasi-Elite aptitude.”
The teacher raised two fingers.
“The researchers then entrusted them to a pair of twin Trainers.”
“Throughout the Pokémon’s development, every condition was kept identical.
Their diets, daily training routines, medicine, supplements, and rare resources were all exactly the same.”
“In the early stages, the two Bulbasaur developed almost identically.”
“They evolved into Ivysaur on the same day.”
“Later, they evolved into Venusaur—again, on the very same day.”
Everything had proceeded exactly as the researchers expected.
But after that, the growth of the two Venusaur gradually began to diverge.
“Ten years later, one of the Venusaur successfully reached the quasi-Elite tier.”
“The other, however, remained trapped at the peak of the Gym Leader tier.
It had been unable to break through for four entire years.”
The teacher turned away from the whiteboard and looked over the classroom.
“Why?”
No one answered.
“The two Pokémon had possessed the exact same aptitude as Bulbasaur.
The resources invested in them were identical.
Their diets and training environments were identical.”
“Even their Trainers were twins.”
“And yet, their final achievements were completely different.”
Experiments of this nature were conducted repeatedly by Pokémon researchers in both the Eastern and Western worlds.
However, no one could provide a convincing explanation.
Not until one hundred years ago.
“That was when Professor Shōzō Tōdō of Japan published his revolutionary paper—the Trainer Aptitude Theory.”
The teacher wrote the professor’s name on the board.
“Professor Tōdō proposed a simple question.”
“If Pokémon possess different levels of aptitude, then why should Trainers be any different?”
The theory was initially met with intense skepticism.
However, after extensive research and repeated experiments conducted by scholars from multiple countries, Professor Tōdō’s theory was finally verified.
Trainer aptitude truly existed.
“When a Trainer and Pokémon live, train, and battle together for many years, they do more than simply support each other.”
“They shape each other.”
“A Trainer guides a Pokémon, allowing it to grow faster and overcome its natural limitations.”
“In return, that Pokémon brings its Trainer victory, reputation, wealth, and status.”
“It is a relationship in which both sides help the other become greater.”
The teacher paused.
“However, if a Trainer possesses poor aptitude, then once their Pokémon reaches a sufficiently high level, the Trainer may become the very thing that restricts its growth.”
The students’ expressions gradually became more solemn.
“The experiment involving the twin Venusaur and their twin Trainers was the best evidence of this.”
“The two Venusaur possessed identical quasi-Elite aptitude.”
“Their Trainers, however, did not.”
“One twin possessed high aptitude as a Trainer, while the other possessed relatively low aptitude.”
“As a result, the Venusaur raised by the more talented Trainer successfully entered the quasi-Elite tier, reaching the level its natural aptitude should have allowed.”
“The other Venusaur was held back by its Trainer’s limitations.”
“In the end, it became trapped at the peak of the Gym Leader tier, unable to display strength equal to its quasi-Elite potential.”
The marker moved once more.
Across the center of the whiteboard, the teacher wrote several large words.
APTITUDE AND STRENGTH
TRAINER AND POKÉMON
After studying the words for a moment, he placed the marker down.
“When summer vacation ends, all of you will enter your third year.”
The atmosphere in the classroom changed instantly.
This was the matter every student had been waiting for.
“Once you become third-years, you will be divided into two educational tracks—the Pokémon Training Course and the General Studies Course.”
“If you wish to enter the Pokémon Training Course, you must register as an official Trainer through the Japan Trainer Association app during summer vacation.”
“You must also register one starter Pokémon whose level does not exceed Level Five.”
Excitement appeared on the faces of many students.
“You may purchase your Pokémon from a licensed breeding center.
Alternatively, you may register through me.
The school has partnerships with several Pokémon nurseries and can provide starter Pokémon at comparatively affordable prices.”
The teacher’s gaze slowly swept across the classroom.
“I know that many of you dream of becoming Pokémon Trainers.”
“Perhaps some of you have carried that dream since you were children.”
“And as your teacher, I do not wish to crush that dream.”
His voice, however, became noticeably heavier.
“But I am still obligated to explain what awaits you once you choose that path.”
The excitement in the classroom quietly faded.
“As I said earlier, becoming a truly exceptional and powerful Trainer requires more than determination.”
“Both your Pokémon’s aptitude and your own aptitude as a Trainer must be outstanding.”
“A Pokémon’s aptitude can be measured with an analyzer.”
“A Trainer’s aptitude, however, cannot currently be measured by any known method.”
“Of course, there are certain exceptions.”
“If you possess a special ability such as the Power of Aura, psychic abilities, or a Dragon Heart, then your aptitude as a Trainer would almost certainly rank within the Elite tier.”
Unfortunately, people born with such abilities were exceedingly rare.
Most ordinary Trainers would never know the true limits of their aptitude until they had already spent years walking down that path.
“Then there is the matter of money.”
The teacher raised one finger.
“Raising Pokémon requires an enormous amount of financial support.”
“Even an ordinary Caterpie with unremarkable aptitude can cost at least twenty thousand yen.”
“And purchasing the Pokémon is only the beginning.”
“Food, medicine, training facilities, move instruction, evolution materials, recovery items, and rare resources—all of them cost money.”
“The stronger your Pokémon becomes, the more expensive its continued development will be.”
“For many of your families, that burden alone will become an extremely serious challenge.”
Several students quietly lowered their heads.
Some of them had already considered the issue.
Others were only now beginning to understand it.
“And then…”
The teacher’s expression turned grave.
“There is the most important matter of all.”
“Danger.”
A suffocating silence descended over Class 2-A.
“If you want to become strong, you cannot remain inside a safe training facility forever.”
“You will have to compete against other Trainers.”
“You will have to enter the wilderness.”
“And there, you will have to fight wild Pokémon with no referee, no protective barrier, and no guarantee that your opponent will stop after you fall.”
The teacher looked at them one by one.
“I am certain that all of you have read this year’s report from the Japan Trainer Association.”
“Last year, approximately thirty million five hundred thousand new Trainers were registered throughout Japan.”
“Of those people, roughly twenty million genuinely attempted to pursue the path of a professional Trainer.”
He paused.
“One year later, nearly five million of them were already dead.”
The classroom became so quiet that even the faint hum of the air conditioner sounded painfully loud.
“Pokémon Training is a high-risk profession.”
“According to official statistics, more than ten percent of active Trainers lose their lives during wilderness training every year.”
“Cities have laws.”
“Cities have police, emergency services, Pokémon Centers, surveillance systems, and protective barriers.”
“But the wilderness has none of those things.”
“Out there, you will face countless wild Pokémon.”
“And sometimes, the most dangerous enemy you encounter will not be a Pokémon.”
“It will be another human being carrying Poké Balls.”
A few students swallowed nervously.
“According to the World Trainer Association, a newly registered Trainer has only a fifty-two-percent chance of surviving their first five years.”
“In other words…”
“Almost half of all Trainers will die for one reason or another before reaching their fifth year.”
The teacher allowed those words to sink in before continuing.
“Last month, Elite-ranked Trainer Takeru Tendō—the fifty-sixth-ranked Trainer on the national Elite Rankings—was officially confirmed dead.”
“He perished in the Saihara Desert of northern Japan.”
Even someone ranked among the strongest Trainers in the entire nation could die in the wilderness.
For ordinary rookies, the danger was even greater.
“I am not telling you this because I wish to stop you from becoming Trainers.”
The teacher’s voice softened slightly.
“I am telling you because I want you to understand that enthusiasm alone will not carry you down this road.”
“You will face obstacles that passion cannot overcome.”
“You may lack talent.”
“You may run out of money.”
“You may suffer injuries that never fully heal.”
“Your Pokémon may die.”
“And even if you do everything correctly, a single moment of bad luck may still cost you your life.”
He looked toward the students seated near the windows.
“If you genuinely love Pokémon, there are many other careers you can pursue.”
“You could become a Pokémon researcher, a Pokémon doctor, a breeder, a groomer, a nutritionist, or a professional caretaker.”
“So long as you devote yourself to your work and become skilled at what you do, you can still earn the respect of society.”
The homeroom teacher’s words clearly caused many students to reconsider their plans.
Becoming a Trainer was easy.
All one had to do was register with the Association and obtain a single Pokémon.
But becoming an outstanding Trainer—
That was something else entirely.
Talent.
Money.
Family background.
Opportunity.
Luck.
To climb to the very top, one could not afford to lack even a single one.