Larx kicked open her penthouse door at 6:47 PM, egg case slung over one shoulder like a tactical nuke. The loft was exactly as she'd left it—minimalist, cold, functional. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Black Dragon City's smog-choked industrial sprawl, neon signs flickering through the haze like dying stars. She didn't care about the view. She cared about the workstation.
She dropped the case onto her reinforced desk with a heavy thunk, cracked her knuckles, and pulled up the System interface.
The holographic readout materialized in front of her, glowing soft blue against the dim room. Her Ekans egg sat in its climate-controlled case, biometric sensors feeding live data into the System's analysis algorithms. Temperature: 32.8°C. Toxin saturation: optimal. Embryonic heartbeat: steady at 48 BPM.
And then, the stats.
[Pokémon: Fyrunian Ekans]
[Potential: ★★★★☆ (4-Star)]
[Power Level: PL-0 (Dormant)]
[Tier: 0 (Unawakened)]
[Badass Ranking: 0]
Larx stared at the screen.
Four stars.
For an unborn snake.
"She's not even born yet and already this stacked?" Larx muttered, leaning back in her chair. Her brain was already running calculations, cross-referencing forum posts, hacked Academy memos, and livestream rants from upperclassmen who'd survived their first year.
Because in this world, the rating system wasn't just important—it was god.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
The Pokémon Rating System was the backbone of competitive training. It wasn't some feel-good participation trophy bullshit where everyone got a medal for trying. This was cold, brutal meritocracy encoded into biometric data and algorithmic projections. Every Pokémon had a ceiling. Every trainer had limits. And the System told you exactly where you stood.
Potential was the first metric—the natural limit of a Pokémon's growth. It ranged from 1 to 5 stars, and it was genetic. You couldn't train your way out of bad DNA. A 1-star Rattata would never beat a 4-star Dragonite, no matter how much you believed in it or fed it protein shakes. Potential determined how high a Pokémon could climb before hitting its biological wall.
1-Star: Trash tier. Fodder. The kind of Pokémon that got released back into the wild or sold to breeders for pennies. Most wild-caught commons fell here.
2-Star: Mediocre. Usable for casual trainers or low-level circuit battles, but you'd never make it past regional qualifiers with a full 2-star team.
3-Star: Competent. This was the baseline for serious trainers. Gym Leaders' secondary teams, mid-tier pros, and Academy graduates usually hovered here.
4-Star: Elite. Rare. The kind of Pokémon that got you scouted by sponsors, targeted by poachers, and whispered about in online forums. Champions' main rosters were built on 4-stars.
5-Star: Legendary-adjacent. Pseudo-legendaries, regional apex predators, and one-in-a-million genetic anomalies. If you had a 5-star, you were either famous, rich, or about to be murdered for it.
Larx's Ekans was sitting at 4 stars. Straight from the egg. That meant her little venom noodle had the genetic ceiling to compete with Champion-level teams if she trained it right.
"Holy shit," Larx whispered, grinning like a psychopath. "I hit the jackpot."
But Potential was only the first layer.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Power Level (PL) measured how much of that potential had been awakened. It was the difference between a sealed nuke and a live warhead. A Pokémon could have 5-star Potential and still be useless if its Power Level was stuck at PL-0.
PL progression wasn't linear. It required specific triggers: intense battles, life-or-death situations, evolutionary breakthroughs, or exposure to rare environmental stimuli. Some Pokémon never awakened past PL-2, even with years of training. Others skyrocketed to PL-5 after a single traumatic fight.
The scale went like this:
PL-0 (Dormant): Unawakened. Most newborns and wild-caught Pokémon started here. Their instincts were raw, their techniques unrefined. They could fight, but they weren't dangerous yet.
PL-1 (Stirring): First awakening. The Pokémon begins accessing deeper instincts, learns advanced moves faster, and shows signs of battle intelligence.
PL-2 (Ignited): Mid-tier awakening. Passive abilities strengthen, move execution becomes fluid, and the Pokémon starts developing a combat personality.
PL-3 (Blazing): High-level awakening. Elite trainers' Pokémon lived here. Techniques became second nature, and the Pokémon could adapt mid-battle without commands.
PL-4 (Transcendent): Rare. Champion-tier Pokémon. At this level, a Pokémon's presence alone could intimidate weaker opponents into submission.
PL-5 (Apex): Pseudo-legendary status. Only a handful of trainers worldwide had Pokémon at this level. They could alter battlefields, shrug off type disadvantages, and fight multiple opponents simultaneously.
Larx's Ekans was PL-0. Dormant. A blank slate.
But that was fine. She wasn't expecting a newborn to come out swinging like a Garchomp. The important part was the potential to reach PL-4 or higher. And with 4-star genetics? That ceiling was real.
"Alright, Megatron," Larx said, addressing the System. "What's the fastest way to push PL progression?"
The System's response materialized in glowing text:
[PL Progression Methods:]
- High-intensity combat (life-threatening preferred)
- Exposure to elemental extremes (heat, cold, toxins)
- Consumption of rare evolutionary catalysts
- Bonding synchronization with trainer (emotional resonance)
- Genetic mutation triggers (experimental; high risk)
Larx snorted. "So basically, throw her into hell and hope she doesn't die. Got it."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Tier was the third metric, and it was the most straightforward: raw combat readiness. It didn't care about potential or awakening—it measured right now lethality.
Tier 0 (Unranked): Newborns, untrained wild Pokémon, or anything that hadn't seen real combat. Harmless unless cornered.
Tier 1 (Novice): Basic battle experience. Could win street fights or low-level trainer duels. Most Academy freshmen hovered here.
Tier 2 (Competent): Solid fundamentals. Gym-level threats. Could handle wild predators and mid-tier trainers.
Tier 3 (Veteran): Regional threats. Gym Leaders' main teams, pro circuit regulars, and experienced wild alphas.
Tier 4 (Elite): Champion-adjacent. These Pokémon made headlines. They could solo entire teams if played right.
Tier 5 (Apex): Legendary-tier combat ability. Pseudo-legendaries, regional guardians, and apex predators that required government intervention to contain.
Tier 6+ (Catastrophic): True Legendaries. Pokémon that could level cities, alter weather patterns, or rewrite ecosystems. Trainers didn't own these—they negotiated with them.
Larx's Ekans was Tier 0. Unranked. A baby.
But Tier wasn't permanent. It scaled with training, experience, and evolution. A well-trained 4-star Ekans could hit Tier 3 as an Arbok. And if Larx's theories about pseudo-Dragon evolution were correct? Tier 4 wasn't out of reach.
"Three years," Larx muttered, doing mental math. "If I push her hard, avoid stupid mistakes, and don't get her killed... Tier 3 by graduation. Tier 4 within five years."
That was ambitious. Most trainers never broke Tier 2.
But Larx wasn't most trainers.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
The last metric was Badass Ranking, and that one was hers. The System had originally labeled it "Charisma Modifier" or some boring corporate term, but Larx had renamed it the second she got access to the interface.
Badass Ranking measured presence. Intimidation factor. The kind of aura that made wild Pokémon hesitate before attacking, or made rival trainers second-guess their strategies. It wasn't a hard stat like Potential or PL—it was psychological warfare encoded into body language, battle reputation, and raw confidence.
A Pokémon with high Badass Ranking could win fights before they started. Opponents would flinch, hesitate, or outright flee. It was the difference between a Gyarados that looked scary and a Gyarados that felt like death incarnate.
Larx's Ekans was sitting at Badass Ranking 0. Because, again, unborn snake.
But that would change. Larx planned to make her Ekans so terrifying that wild Pokémon would scatter at the sound of her hiss.
"Alright," Larx said, cracking her neck. "So the game plan is: hatch her, push PL through combat hell, scale Tier as fast as possible, and build Badass Ranking through psychological warfare and public humiliation of rivals."
The System pinged in agreement.
[Acknowledged. Recommended first milestone: PL-1 within 30 days.]
Larx grinned. "Challenge accepted."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
She spent the next two hours doomscrolling through Academy forums, cross-referencing hacked databases, and pulling up public ranking boards. The Pokémon University leaderboard was a brutal, real-time hierarchy that tracked every registered student's team ratings. It updated hourly, and people obsessed over it like stock traders watching the market crash.
The top 10 freshmen were already pulling ahead:
Kazuki Yamamoto – 3.8-star average team rating (Charmander, Riolu, Magnemite)
Seraphina Cross – 3.6-star average (Eevee, Ralts, Vulpix)
Marcus Webb – 3.5-star average (Machop, Geodude, Aron)
Bonnie Sato – 3.4-star average (Torchic, Poochyena)
Larx Dragoniod – 4.0-star average (Ekans)
Larx blinked.
She was ranked fifth. With one Pokémon. An unhatched one.
"What the hell?" she muttered, scrolling through the rankings. Most of the top 10 had two or three Pokémon already. Kazuki had a full starter trio. Seraphina was running a balanced type-coverage team. Marcus was building a physical tank squad.
And Larx? She had one egg.
But that egg's 4-star rating was dragging her average so high that she'd cracked the top 5 on potential alone.
"Okay, that's hilarious," Larx said, grinning. "I'm not even playing yet and people are already scared."
She kept scrolling. The forums were losing their minds.
[TrainerNet Forum – Freshman Rankings Thread]
User: DragonSlayerX
"Who the f*ck is Larx Dragoniod and why does she have a 4-star starter? Did she bribe someone? Hack the Ranch? I call bullshit." User: VenomQueen88
"4-star Ekans? That's not even a meta pick. She's trolling or she's insane." User: ShadowEdgeLord
"Doesn't matter. 4-star Potential means she's got a higher ceiling than 90% of us. If she doesn't screw it up, she'll be top 3 by midterms." User: KazukiYamamoto(Rank 1)
"Let her try. Potential doesn't mean shit if you can't train it. I'll be watching."
Larx laughed out loud. "Oh, Kazuki, you smug bastard. I'm coming for that #1 spot."
She bookmarked the thread and kept digging.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
The deeper she went, the more she realized how obsessed people were with the rating system. It wasn't just a tool—it was a religion. Trainers tracked their Pokémon's stats like day traders, analyzed type matchups like military strategists, and gambled on ranking predictions like sports bettors.
There were entire black markets built around high-Potential Pokémon. A 4-star egg could sell for six figures on the underground circuit. A 5-star? Seven figures, easy. And if you were dumb enough to publicly announce you had one? You'd get kidnapped within a week.
Larx had already seen the news reports. Three freshmen from last year's cohort had their Pokémon stolen within the first month. One of them—a kid named Ryo Tanaka—had a 4-star Larvitar. He'd posted about it on social media, bragging about his "future Tyranitar."
Two days later, his dorm was broken into. The Larvitar was gone. Ryo dropped out.
"Lesson learned," Larx muttered, closing the article. "Don't brag. Don't post. Don't give anyone a reason to target you."
She glanced at her egg case, still humming softly on the desk.
"You're staying a secret until you're strong enough to bite someone's face off," she said. "No social media. No flexing. Just training."
The System pinged.
[Recommended operational security protocols:]
- Avoid public battles until Tier 1
- Register Pokémon under alias if possible
- Limit exposure to high-traffic areas
- Eliminate witnesses if necessary
Larx raised an eyebrow. "Eliminate witnesses? Megatron, are you telling me to commit murder?"
[Clarification: Non-lethal intimidation preferred. Lethal force authorized only in self-defense scenarios.]
"Good to know you've got limits," Larx said, smirking. "I'll keep the body count low. For now."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
She leaned back in her chair, staring at the egg case. The biometric readout showed steady progress—embryonic development at 94%, estimated hatch window in 6-8 days.
One week. That's all she had to wait.
And then the real work would begin.
Larx pulled up a new document on her holo-screen and started typing.
[TRAINING PROTOCOL: EKANS – PHASE 1]
Objective: Push PL-0 → PL-1 within 30 days
Methods:
Live prey hunting (Spearow, Pidgey, Rattata)
Venom resistance training (controlled toxin exposure)
Combat drills (speed, precision, lethality)
Bonding exercises (predator-to-predator recognition)
Estimated Risk Level: High
Acceptable Casualty Rate: 0%
Backup Plans: Emergency healing items, System intervention, tactical retreat protocols
She saved the file and closed the screen.
"Alright, little killer," Larx said, tapping the egg case. "One week. Then we see what you're really made of."
The egg didn't respond. But Larx could've sworn she felt it twitch.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Larx didn't sleep that night.
Instead, she did what any sane person with a 4-star apex predator egg would do: she researched until her eyes bled.
Her workstation was a war zone. Three holo-screens floated in front of her, each one crammed with academic papers, forum threads, and black-market breeding guides. Her coffee mug—cold, forgotten—sat next to a half-eaten protein bar. The city outside her window had gone dark hours ago, but Larx didn't care. She was in the zone.
"Alright, Ekans," she muttered, pulling up a regional variant comparison chart. "Let's figure out what makes you tick."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Regional Variants: Hoenn vs. Kanto
The first thing Larx learned was that not all Ekans were created equal. Regional strains shared the same base stats, abilities, and learned moves—but their instincts were different. Evolution shaped behavior, and behavior shaped combat style.
Hoenn Ekans had evolved in an ecosystem dominated by Seviper infestations. The result? They were ranged strikers. Hoenn Ekans learned to attack from distance, using Poison Sting and Acid Spray to wear down enemies before closing in for the kill. They were cautious, calculating, and preferred ambush tactics over direct confrontation.
Kanto Ekans, by contrast, were brawlers. They'd evolved in dense forests and urban sprawl, where close-quarters combat was unavoidable. Kanto Ekans leaned into physicality—Wrap, Bite, Poison Fang, and eventually Crunch. They were aggressive, territorial, and built for sustained grappling.
Larx's egg was a Kanto strain. That meant her Ekans would naturally favor up-close, brutal combat. Good. That matched Larx's philosophy: get in, bite hard, don't let go.
"Mid-tier by most standards," Larx muttered, reading through a forum post from some smug Hoenn breeder. "But I don't need 'most standards.' I need a killer."
She bookmarked the thread and moved on.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Real-World Biology: Dasypeltis and King Cobras
Larx wasn't some wannabe biologist who'd watched five PokéTube videos and called it research. She'd grown up on Animal Planet. She had Steve Irwin episodes memorized. She could identify snakes by fang shape, venom type, and behavioral patterns.
And she knew exactly what real-world species Ekans was based on.
Dasypeltis – the African egg-eating snake. Specialized predators that fed exclusively on bird eggs. They used bony spines in their throats to crack shells internally, then regurgitated the fragments. Agile climbers. Sensitive to smell. Nervous as hell when cornered, but smart enough to avoid rotten or over-developed eggs.
Ekans shared those traits. The throat spines, the egg-based diet, the climbing ability—it was all there. Game Freak had done their homework.
But Dasypeltis were small. Non-venomous. Defensive, not aggressive.
That's where the second inspiration came in: Ophiophagus hannah. The king cobra.
King cobras weren't true cobras—they were their own genus. And they were apex predators. The longest venomous snakes alive, capable of killing elephants with a single bite. They ate other snakes for fun, including venomous ones. Their only natural enemies were giant pythons, monitor lizards, and apex birds of prey like hawks.
Larx's Ekans had king cobra DNA written all over it. The hood structure, the neurotoxic venom, the aggressive territoriality—it was a hybrid design. Dasypeltis agility plus king cobra lethality.
"Perfect," Larx said, grinning. "A climbing, egg-eating, snake-murdering apex predator. That's my girl."
She pulled up a behavioral study on king cobras and started taking notes.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Ecological Impact and Natural Predators
Larx found a research paper on unchecked Ekans populations in the wild. The results were brutal.
In regions where Ekans breeding went uncontrolled, bird populations collapsed. Pidgey, Spearow, and Taillow nests were decimated during breeding seasons. Some areas saw 70-80% declines in flying-type populations within five years.
Most predators avoided Ekans because their meat was toxic. Hemotoxin-laced muscle tissue made them unpalatable to most carnivores. But they still had natural enemies:
Arbok (obviously—adult Ekans were cannibalistic)
Nidoking and Nidoqueen (Poison-resistant, physically dominant)
Snorlax (ate anything, didn't care about toxins)
Noctowl (apex avian predators with Poison resistance)
Larx filed that information away. If her Ekans ever faced one of those species, she'd need a counter-strategy.
"Alright," she muttered, pulling up a new document. "So the baseline is: agile climber, egg-eater, snake-killer, bird-destroyer. Natural enemies are Poison-resistant tanks and apex fliers. Got it."
She moved on to the next section: diet and metabolism.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Feeding Costs and Metabolic Efficiency
This was where things got interesting.
Snakes had low basal metabolic rates (BMR). They didn't generate their own body heat, so they didn't burn calories maintaining internal temperature. That meant they could go weeks between meals without losing muscle mass or combat effectiveness.
For a Trainer on a budget, that was a godsend.
Larx pulled up a cost analysis spreadsheet and started running numbers.
Estimated Feeding Schedule (Juvenile Ekans):
Frequency: Once every 10-14 days (non-combat periods)
Meal Size: 1-2 whole prey animals (Rattata, Pidgey, or equivalent)
Cost per Meal: ₽800-₽1,200 (live prey from licensed suppliers)
Monthly Cost: ₽2,400-₽4,800
That was cheap. A Growlithe or Machop would cost three times that much just in daily kibble.
But there was a catch: battle nutrition.
Combat Pokémon weren't pets. They were athletes. Warriors. They burned through calories like jet fuel during high-intensity fights. Healing, stamina recovery, toxin replenishment, muscle regeneration—it all required a nutrient-dense diet.
Larx adjusted her calculations.
Battle-Ready Feeding Schedule (Active Training):
Frequency: Once every 5-7 days
Meal Composition: Whole prey + organ meat supplements + vitamin-packed Berries
Cost per Meal: ₽2,000-₽3,500
Monthly Cost: ₽12,000-₽21,000
Still manageable. Larx had scholarship money, black-market side income, and a System item mall. She could afford it.
"Alright," she said, saving the spreadsheet. "So the plan is: whole prey animals for base nutrition, organ supplements for combat recovery, and Berries for elemental resistance training. Easy."
She pulled up another document: heat management.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Thermoregulation and Environmental Needs
Snakes were ectotherms. "Cold-blooded" was a lazy term—they didn't lack body heat, they just didn't generate it. They borrowed warmth from their environment: sunlight, hot stones, radiant heat sources.
That meant Larx needed to maintain a controlled climate for her Ekans. No heat? No movement. No movement? No training.
She pulled up the specifications for her dorm's terrarium setup. The Academy had provided basic heating equipment—radiant coils, UV lamps, temperature regulators—but Larx wasn't satisfied with "basic."
She opened the System item mall and started browsing.
[SYSTEM ITEM MALL – ENVIRONMENTAL EQUIPMENT]
S-Rank Radiant Heat Stone: ₽15,000 (maintains 35-40°C surface temperature indefinitely)
A-Rank UV Basking Lamp: ₽8,000 (full-spectrum UV output, promotes scale health)
S-Rank Climate Control Module: ₽25,000 (automated temperature/humidity regulation)
Larx winced at the prices. "Okay, so I'm not buying all of that right now. But the Heat Stone is non-negotiable."
She purchased the S-Rank Radiant Heat Stone and queued it for delivery. The System confirmed the transaction with a cheerful ping.
[Purchase confirmed. Delivery ETA: 24 hours.]
"Good," Larx said. "Now let's talk about combat conditioning."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Battle Nutrition and Performance Optimization
Larx pulled up a research paper titled "Metabolic Demands of Combat-Ready Poison-Types: A Longitudinal Study." It was dense, academic, and exactly what she needed.
The key takeaway: Poison-types required higher protein intake than most other types because venom production was metabolically expensive. Every time an Ekans used Poison Sting or Poison Fang, it was burning through stored toxins that needed to be replenished through diet.
The paper recommended a diet rich in:
Whole prey animals (bones, organs, and all—maximum nutrient absorption)
Liver and kidney supplements (high in vitamins A, D, and B12)
Pecha Berries (natural detoxifiers, helped regulate internal toxin levels)
Calcium-rich foods (crushed Oran Berry extract, bone meal)
Larx started building a meal plan.
[EKANS NUTRITION PROTOCOL – PHASE 1]
Base Diet (Non-Combat):
1 whole Rattata or Pidgey every 10-14 days
Supplemental Pecha Berry mash (weekly)
Combat Diet (Active Training):
1 whole prey animal every 5-7 days
Liver/kidney supplements (3x per week)
Crushed Oran Berry extract (daily, mixed into water)
Bone meal powder (2x per week, for scale hardness)
Post-Battle Recovery:
Double protein intake for 48 hours
Sitrus Berry juice (accelerates healing)
Electrolyte-heavy hydration (prevents muscle fatigue)
She saved the document and leaned back, rubbing her eyes.
"Alright," she muttered. "So I'm basically running a high-performance athlete nutrition program for a snake. Cool. Totally normal."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Venom Production and Toxin Management
The last piece of the puzzle was venom.
Larx pulled up the System's analysis of her Ekans egg. The biometric readout included a section on toxin production capacity.
[Venom Gland Development: 118% above baseline]
Larx blinked. "Wait. 118% above baseline? So she's producing more than double the normal amount?"
[Affirmative. Genetic mutation detected: Hypervenom Trait. Venom potency and production rate significantly elevated.]
"Holy shit," Larx whispered. "She's going to be dripping poison."
That was a massive advantage. More venom meant more Poison Fang uses per battle, faster toxin buildup in enemies, and higher lethality overall.
But it also meant Larx needed to manage toxin overproduction. If her Ekans's venom glands became oversaturated, it could cause internal stress, gland ruptures, or even self-poisoning.
She pulled up a veterinary guide on Poison-type care and started reading.
[Toxin Management Best Practices:]
Regular venom extraction (weekly, to prevent gland saturation)
Controlled toxin exposure training (builds internal resistance)
Dietary detoxifiers (Pecha Berries, Antidote supplements)
Monitor for signs of toxin stress (lethargy, scale discoloration, appetite loss)
Larx added a new section to her training protocol.
[VENOM MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL]
Weekly venom extraction (store in sealed vials for later use)
Daily Pecha Berry supplementation
Monthly toxin resistance training (controlled exposure to weak poisons)
Emergency Antidote supply (minimum 5 doses on hand at all times)
She saved the file and closed the screen.
"Alright," she said, stretching. "So the game plan is: feed her whole prey animals, manage her venom production, keep her warm, and train her like a goddamn Navy SEAL."
The System pinged.
[Acknowledged. Estimated survival rate: 87%.]
Larx raised an eyebrow. "Only 87%? What's the other 13%?"
[Potential causes of failure: overtraining, venom gland rupture, predator encounter, trainer error, random environmental hazard.]
"Great," Larx muttered. "So basically, don't be an idiot and don't get unlucky."
[Correct.]
"Thanks, Megatron. Real inspiring."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Larx glanced at the clock. 4:47 AM.
She'd been researching for eight hours straight.
Her eyes burned. Her back ached. Her coffee was cold.
But she had a plan.
She pulled up the final document—a comprehensive training blueprint spanning the next six months—and saved it to her encrypted drive.
[EKANS TRAINING PROTOCOL – COMPLETE]
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4): Foundation
Hatch and bond
Basic obedience training
Live prey hunting (Spearow, Rattata)
Venom control drills
Phase 2 (Weeks 5-12): Combat Conditioning
Trainer battles (low-level opponents)
Speed and precision drills
Toxin resistance training
PL-0 → PL-1 breakthrough
Phase 3 (Weeks 13-24): Apex Development
High-intensity combat (wild predators, rival trainers)
Evolution preparation (Arbok transition)
Pseudo-Dragon mutation experiments
Tier 0 → Tier 2 progression
She closed the file and leaned back, staring at the egg case.
"Six months," she said. "That's all I need. Six months, and you'll be unstoppable."
The egg didn't respond.
But Larx could've sworn she felt it pulse.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
ne week later, at 2:14 AM, the egg cracked.
Larx was half-asleep on her couch, wearing a worn tank top and compression shorts, when the biometric alarm shrieked. She bolted upright, adrenaline spiking, and sprinted to her workstation.
The egg case's readout was flashing red.
[ALERT: EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT COMPLETE]
[HATCH SEQUENCE INITIATED]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO BREACH: 3-5 MINUTES]
"Shit," Larx hissed, grabbing her gloves. "Okay. Okay. This is happening."
She pulled on reinforced handling gloves—standard protocol for newborn Poison-types—and opened the egg case. Heat rolled out in a wave, carrying the sharp, acrid scent of venom and amniotic fluid.
The egg sat in its nutrient bath, shell hairlined with fractures. A low, rhythmic crack-crack-crack echoed through the room as the embryo inside pushed against the shell.
Larx held her breath.
The first breach came from the center. A tiny, blunt snout punched through the shell, slick with yolk and membrane. No fangs yet—just the smooth, rounded tip of a serpent's nose.
Then the head emerged.
Larx's breath caught.
The scales were amethyst. Deep, dark purple, almost black in low light, but shimmering with an oily iridescence when the UV lamp hit them. The eyes—still closed, still adjusting—were narrow slits, the kind that would one day lock onto prey with surgical precision.
The Ekans uncoiled slowly, instinctively, sliding free of the shell in a smooth, practiced motion. It was tiny—maybe eighteen inches long, no thicker than Larx's thumb—but every movement was graceful. Efficient. Predatory.
Larx watched, transfixed, as the newborn serpent slithered onto the heated stone slab she'd prepared. Its breathing was shallow, rhythmic. For the first 48 hours, it wouldn't eat—just absorb the last of its yolk sac and learn how to move.
But even now, Larx could see the awareness in its body language. The way it tested the air with its tongue. The way its muscles coiled and released, testing their strength.
This wasn't a pet store snake.
This was a bioengineered predator.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Larx reached into the egg case with gloved hands, moving slowly. Her first contact class had drilled this into her: newborn Poison-types could strike on reflex. One wrong move, and she'd be spending the night in the medical wing.
But the Ekans didn't strike.
It slithered weakly into her palm, coiling against her skin like she was the warmest rock in the terrarium. Its scales were smooth, cool to the touch, still slick with residual yolk.
Larx felt something shift in her chest. Not affection—she wasn't built for that. But recognition. Predator to predator.
"Welcome to Black Dragon Academy, little killer," she whispered.
The Ekans's tongue flicked out, tasting her scent. Its eyes—still half-closed—locked onto hers for a brief, electric moment.
And then it relaxed, coiling tighter around her wrist.
Larx grinned.
"Yeah," she said. "You know what's up."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
She set the newborn down on the heated stone slab and pulled up her holo-screen. Time to register it in the TrainerNet database.
[POKÉMON REGISTRATION FORM]
Species: Ekans (Kanto Strain)
Potential: ★★★★☆ (4-Star)
Trainer ID: Larx Dragoniod
Nickname: _____
Larx paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Names mattered. A Pokémon's name wasn't just a label—it was an identity. A declaration of intent.
She thought about it for a moment, watching the newborn serpent coil and uncoil on the stone.
"Nix," she said finally. "Short. Sharp. Sounds like a blade cutting through flesh."
She typed it in and hit submit.
[REGISTRATION COMPLETE]
[POKÉMON: NIX (EKANS)]
[TRAINER: LARX DRAGONIOD]
[STATUS: ACTIVE]
The System pinged.
[Congratulations. First Pokémon successfully registered. Badass Ranking updated: 0 → 5.]
Larx snorted. "Five points for hatching an egg. Generous."
[Badass Ranking scales with achievements. Current milestone: Survive first week without killing your Pokémon.]
"Wow. Setting the bar high, Megatron."
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---
Larx glanced around her dorm. Through the walls, she could hear faint sounds—other Trainer students going through the same ritual. A Chimchar's Ember crackled somewhere to her left. A Squirtle's Water Gun hissed two floors down. Someone's Pidgey was screeching at 2 AM, probably freaking out its trainer.
First-hatch week was chaos. Every serious Trainer student was awake, bonding with their newborns, running diagnostics, and praying they didn't screw up.
Larx wasn't praying. She was planning.
She pulled up her training protocol and skimmed through Phase 1.
[PHASE 1: FOUNDATION (WEEKS 1-4)]
Day 1-2: Rest and observation (no training)
Day 3-7: Basic movement drills (climbing, coiling, striking)
Week 2: Live prey introduction (stunned Rattata)
Week 3: Venom control training (precision strikes)
Week 4: First real hunt (wild Spearow in Viridian Forest)
She saved the file and closed the screen.
Nix was still coiled on the heated stone, eyes half-closed, breathing slow and steady.
Larx reached out and tapped the Dragon Lord Emblem hanging from her lanyard.
The emblem pulsed faintly, glowing soft gold in the dim light.
[DRAGON LORD SYSTEM ACTIVE]
[CURRENT TEAM: 1/6]
[NIX (EKANS) – TIER 0, PL-0, POTENTIAL ★★★★☆]
Larx stared at the readout for a long moment.
One Pokémon. Tier 0. Dormant.
But 4-star Potential.
"This is just the beginning," she said quietly.
Nix's tongue flicked out, tasting the air.
Larx smiled.
"Yeah," she said. "You feel it too, don't you?"
The newborn serpent coiled tighter, settling into the warmth of the stone.
And Larx Dragoniod—15 years old, mentally 31, armed with a Dragon Lord System and a 4-star apex predator—leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Phase 1 started tomorrow.
---Pokemon: Master of Dragons---