Lin Yi crouched beside Glaceon almost immediately, the earlier excitement completely gone from his posture. He worked efficiently, pulling a potion from his pack and spraying it carefully over the scorched fur along Glaceon's face and neck. The healing mist shimmered faintly in the firelight as it soaked into the burns, knitting tissue and calming the worst of the damage.
Glaceon stirred after a few seconds, ears twitching weakly before opening its eyes. Lin Yi let out a quiet breath of relief and pressed his forehead briefly against Glaceon's.
"You did well," he murmured softly.
There was no arrogance left in his voice now.
Only sincerity.
After making sure Glaceon could stand on its own, he rose and slung his bag back over his shoulder. For a moment, it looked like he was going to leave without another word.
Then he paused.
He glanced back at the small campfire.
Then at me.
He scratched the back of his neck, the confidence from earlier replaced with something far more human.
"Hey," he said, not quite meeting my eyes. "I… forgot my fire starter kit."
I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
He shifted awkwardly. "Mind if I stay near the fire for the night?"
There was no pride in the question.
Just practicality.
I shrugged.
"Suit yourself."
He didn't need to be told twice. He moved quietly to the opposite side of the fire and sat down, placing his bag beside him. Glaceon curled up near his leg, tail wrapped around its body, though it kept one eye half-open in wary awareness.
Meowth, who had been pretending to sleep again, watched the entire exchange with narrowed eyes before relaxing slightly. Charmeleon stood a little apart at first, arms crossed, tail flame swaying in steady rhythm, but eventually he returned to sit near the warmth.
For a few minutes, no one spoke.
The forest hummed softly around us. Crickets sang. Leaves rustled in distant branches. The sky above had darkened fully now, stars faintly visible between gaps in the canopy.
The tension from earlier had drained out of the clearing, replaced by something quieter.
Lin Yi broke the silence.
"It's different here," he said, staring into the fire.
"In India?"
"In this exam," he clarified. "And in how your people handle Pokémon."
I didn't respond immediately.
He continued, voice steady but lower than before.
"In my country, things escalated very fast after the Merge. Too fast. Some regions adapted well, especially rural ones. But in cities…" He shook his head slightly. "Fear spreads quicker than understanding."
Glaceon shifted closer to him as he spoke.
"There are factions forming," he went on. "Groups saying coexistence is weakness. That humans must assert dominance before Pokémon outnumber us. They talk about control. About preemptive strength."
Earth Liberation.
Even if he didn't say the name.
I kept my expression neutral.
"And what do you think?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he watched the fire.
"My family is… influential," he said slowly. "They have business ties. Political ties. When things become unstable, people like them push for order. Strong measures."
He glanced at Glaceon.
"But I raised her myself," he said quietly. "I saw what happens when you force growth. When you treat Pokémon like tools."
The fire popped sharply between us.
"My government wants leverage," he continued. "Your Pokéball technology. Your academy system. They think whoever controls trainer structure controls the future."
That didn't surprise me.
No nation would ignore what Aakash was building.
"They don't understand something," Lin Yi added after a moment.
"What?"
"That strength doesn't come from control. It comes from trust."
For a second, I almost smiled.
"You learned that from losing?" I asked lightly.
He huffed faintly. "Partly."
The forest wind shifted, carrying a cooler breeze through the clearing.
"There's pressure back home," he admitted. "Pressure to perform here. To bring something back. Information. Advantage. Prestige."
"And?"
"And I'm starting to think this isn't about prestige."
He looked up finally, meeting my eyes directly across the fire.
"It's about who defines the next era."
The crackling flames cast shadows over his face, making him look older than he probably was.
Sixteen.
Just like me.
We sat there in silence again, but this time it wasn't tense.
The next morning did not bring relief; it brought clarity.
The forest felt sharper, more defined, as though the island itself had decided that the second day would no longer tolerate hesitation. A thin layer of mist hung between the trees when Lin Yi packed his belongings and prepared to leave. There was no dramatic farewell between us, no exchange of promises or rivalry-fueled declarations. He simply gave me a brief nod, Glaceon already composed at his side, and walked away with the steady confidence of someone raised to treat competition as normal.
I watched him until the forest swallowed his silhouette.
Then I turned in the opposite direction.
Day two was not about testing courage.
It was about refining it.
Yesterday I had learned where my limits stood. I had tasted both victory and humiliation. Today would be about discipline, efficiency, and growth. Blue-scarfed Pokémon were no longer worth the energy expenditure unless unavoidable, and Orange-ranked fights would only be attempted under controlled circumstances. The Shelgon battle had already cost me five points and nearly cost me Charmeleon entirely. Recklessness would not earn me a place in the academy.
The forest thickened as we moved inland. Roots twisted across the soil like coiled serpents, and vines formed natural barriers that forced constant adjustment in our path. Meowth advanced slightly ahead, his gait relaxed but his eyes always scanning. Charmeleon walked beside me, tail flame steady, no longer flaring wildly with emotional surges as it had the previous day.
He had changed.
The loss had not broken him.
It had hardened him.
Our first Green-scarfed encounter of the morning came near a fallen log covered in thick fungal growth. A Breloom stood there, posture balanced, gaze unwavering. It did not attempt to flee; it did not attempt intimidation. It simply waited, as though aware that this island was a proving ground.
"Meowth, take lead," I instructed calmly. "Charmeleon, support but conserve."
Meowth sprang forward with controlled aggression, closing distance quickly enough to avoid Breloom's opening Mach Punch. The strike skimmed past him, grazing fur but not connecting fully. Meowth countered with Fury Swipes, not to overwhelm but to probe, forcing Breloom to reposition.
Breloom retaliated by launching Leech Seed, the vines whipping through the air toward Meowth's torso.
"Charmeleon, Ember—intercept!"
Charmeleon stepped forward instantly, a precise burst of flame igniting the seeds mid-flight and turning them to ash before they could anchor. The coordination between them felt smoother than it had ever been.
"Meowth, Fake Out!"
The sharp, sudden strike stunned Breloom long enough for Charmeleon to close in.
"Flamethrower. Controlled output."
The stream of fire did not rage uncontrollably; it pressed forward in measured force, enough to force Breloom backward and eventually to concede.
Two points.
Clean execution.
No injuries beyond minor scratches.
As always, I offered Oran berries after ensuring Breloom could stand on its own. The Pokémon accepted them without hostility and retreated into the undergrowth.
The rhythm continued through the morning. An Alolan Graveler forced me to rethink positioning as electrical bursts erupted unpredictably from its rocky form. A Swellow tested aerial reflexes, requiring Meowth to bait low and Charmeleon to punish mid-descent. A Loudred nearly disrupted our coordination entirely with sound-based attacks that vibrated through bone and concentration alike.
Each encounter refined us.
By midday, sweat clung to my back and my arms felt heavier than they had at dawn. I allowed us to pause near a shallow stream cutting through the terrain. Meowth drank first, then sprawled briefly in filtered sunlight. Charmeleon stood rather than lay down, tail flame flickering but steady, breathing controlled.
My watch vibrated softly.
Total Points: 35.
It was not dominance.
But it was respectable.
As I crouched to refill my canteen, Meowth's ears twitched sharply. His body did not tense fully, which meant this was not immediate danger, but the alertness in his posture told me it was not a small presence either.
Branches parted ahead.
Arpit stepped into view.
He looked more exhausted than I had anticipated. Sweat darkened his shirt, and his breathing suggested he had only recently concluded a demanding battle. Beside him, Mightyena lay on its side but lifted its head the moment it sensed us. Its muscles tightened instinctively, and a low rumble vibrated in its throat before Arpit placed a steadying hand near its shoulder.
"Stand down," Arpit murmured.
Mightyena obeyed, though its gaze never left me.
"You're sitting at thirty-five?" Arpit asked after glancing at my wrist.
"You counting other people's progress now?" I replied.
He allowed himself a faint smile. "You don't look like someone struggling."
I examined Mightyena more carefully. Scorch marks along its flank and claw scrapes across its shoulder indicated a sustained engagement rather than a quick skirmish.
"Multiple Greens?" I asked.
"Three together," Arpit confirmed. "We won, but it drained us."
That aligned with Mightyena's posture. It was not injured critically, but stamina had been pushed close to its limit.
"You holding up?" I asked.
He nodded once. "We're fine. Just need a reset."
There was no hostility between us, only calculation. Two competitors assessing relative strength without posturing.
"You heading further inland?" I asked.
He hesitated briefly before responding. "We found a clearing ahead. Heavy damage. Trees split. Ground torn apart. Didn't see who caused it."
Orange or Red.
My pulse shifted slightly.
"Alone?" I asked.
"Didn't confirm," he replied. "But it didn't look like something a Blue-ranked entrant caused."
I considered the implications carefully. Pushing toward that clearing could mean facing an Orange-ranked Pokémon, possibly even encountering one of the Red-scarfed overseers under island agreements. It could also mean losing valuable points if misjudged.
Charmeleon's flame brightened subtly.
He wanted challenge.
Meowth glanced at me, waiting for direction rather than imposing his own.
"You teaming?" Arpit asked.