After emerging from the Secret Realm, David mounted his Salamence and shot through the sky like a streak of red and blue lightning, heading straight toward Imperial City.
The Thousand Wind Secret Realm was not far from Imperial City — by train, it was barely an hour away. But high in the air, with Salamence's powerful wings cutting through the wind at full speed, that same distance melted away in less than half an hour. Before long, the outer edge of Imperial City had already come into view below them.
Out in the wilderness, there were no restrictions to worry about. Without a flying license, David could still ride Salamence freely in open, uninhabited areas. And in the wild lands near the edge of the city, there were no wild Pokémon strong enough to threaten a Salamence that was only one step away from reaching professional level. So David and his partner flew without a care in the world, soaring at whatever speed they pleased, enjoying the open sky while it lasted.
But the moment they neared the city's boundary, things changed. As soon as Salamence crossed into the outer perimeter, an Alliance staff member appeared, riding a Pidgeot, and cut across their path.
"Excuse me," the staff member called out firmly, raising a hand. "If you intend to fly within city limits, you are required to hold a valid flying license and complete the appropriate registration. Please land your Pokémon."
Even as he delivered the reminder with practiced professionalism, David could see it clearly — the man's eyes were wide, and his composure was just slightly off. The staff members who worked the skies above Imperial City had certainly seen Salamence before, but a Salamence of this size was something else entirely. The sheer scale of it clearly caught them off guard.
And it wasn't just the humans who were unsettled. Even the Pidgeot the staff member was riding shifted uneasily beneath him, its feathers ruffling as it instinctively responded to the pressure rolling off Salamence's Intimidate ability. The dragon didn't even need to growl — its presence alone was enough to make lesser Pokémon nervous.
David understood the rules. He had no intention of causing trouble for people just doing their jobs. Without argument, he brought Salamence in for a smooth landing, recalled his partner, and hailed a Corviknight taxi. The sleek, armored bird carried him the rest of the way home in comfortable silence.
He had spent several hard days working through the Secret Realm, pushing both himself and his Pokémon to their limits. Now, with about a day and a half of his vacation still remaining, he had no desire to rush off anywhere. He planned to rest — properly, this time.
Two mornings later, Imperial City First High School buzzed with quiet tension near its main gate.
"Hmph. I can't believe we're out here waiting to greet people from the Sakura Alliance. Isn't that a bit much?"
Miles stood with his arms crossed, his expression somewhere between boredom and irritation as he grumbled to David beside him.
It had been a while since David last saw Miles. The boy had missed the start of the school year and then been away for nearly a month after that, but he had finally returned — and he had come back at exactly the right moment. Whatever he had been doing during that time, it seemed to have agreed with him. He looked settled, if a little impatient.
"They didn't even send word ahead of time," Miles continued, his voice dropping lower but no less annoyed. "Made us stand out here for nothing. Don't you think that's a little disrespectful?"
He wasn't alone in that feeling. Several students standing nearby caught his words and began murmuring quietly among themselves, sharing the same understated frustration.
As the de facto top student of First High's Pokémon major, David's presence at a reception like this was expected. He was there, standing near the front — but unlike Miles, he wasn't particularly bothered.
He already knew a little about why the Sakura Alliance's team had been delayed. Part of it, he had to admit, had to do with him.
Because of what David had done, Mr. K and the End Church had been exposed to Alliance officials far earlier than planned. Using multiple detection methods, the Cloudspire Alliance had confirmed that the so-called End Church was genuinely connected to Yveltal — a threat serious enough to make every official involved extremely cautious.
The Sakura Alliance, meanwhile, bore a different kind of guilt. They had been behind the Cocoon of Destruction incident. Though they had ultimately suffered consequences of their own making, that did nothing to ease the anger still simmering across every nation along the Pacific coast. And now, after all of that, the Sakura Alliance was uncharacteristically sending students to Cloudspire Alliance territory for a "study exchange."
The Cloudspire Alliance had responded with predictable wariness. Extensive checks, careful screening, and thorough inspections — none of it was optional, and all of it took time.
So when David looked at the row of students and staff assembled near the school gate, he didn't think of it as a welcome. It felt more like a show of force. Their principal, after all, had a military background. It was hard to imagine him holding any warm feelings toward visitors from the Sakura Alliance.
A faint, cold smile touched the corner of David's mouth. He had been quietly looking forward to this moment for a long time. He hoped, genuinely, that the people arriving today would find the surprise he had prepared to their liking.
Some time later, the Sakura Alliance's exchange team finally arrived at Imperial City First High School, accompanied by Alliance reception staff.
They stepped out of their vehicles and gathered near the gate. David watched them casually from where he stood, letting his eyes move across the group without appearing to pay them much attention.
There weren't many of them — ten people, perhaps a few more. At first glance, nothing about the group stood out.
But David's read of the situation wasn't based on looks alone. His Aura had already quietly swept over them from the moment they arrived. There had been no strong reaction — no spike of power, no resistance. That told him clearly enough: the exchange team the Sakura Alliance had sent did not include anyone with a meaningfully powerful special ability.
The leader of the visiting group stepped forward with a broad, friendly smile and engaged the First High reception teacher in easy conversation. The teachers on David's side responded politely, keeping the tone pleasant and professional. On the surface, everything looked like a perfectly cordial exchange. What it actually was beneath that surface was another matter.
After a round of introductions and pleasantries, David's teacher stepped back and drew him gently to the front of the group.
"This is our school's representative — the top student in our Pokémon major. He'll be showing you around and helping make your stay here comfortable."
The last part of that sentence was aimed clearly at the visiting team's teacher, who responded with an easy laugh and a nod.
"A rising talent — impressive! All right, everyone, you'll be following David from here."
David offered a polite smile and stepped forward. He had little choice in the matter.
With that, the exchange leader and First High's reception teacher headed off together, leaving the student groups to manage themselves.
Almost immediately, David felt it — a cluster of sharp, evaluating gazes fixed on him from across the group. He followed them back to their source: two women and a young man standing at the very front of the Sakura Alliance's team. Their positions made it obvious they were the ones in charge of the student group.
There was something predatory in the way they looked at him. Not hostile, exactly — more like the careful, measuring look of someone sizing up a target.
A moment later, David felt the faint pulse of special abilities activating around him. Several of the Sakura students were probing at him — quietly, carefully — testing his level.
They had, it seemed, overestimated themselves.
"Hmph."
David let out a short, quiet sound of displeasure. A wave of Aura flowed out from him — not violent, but firm and overwhelming. It rolled over the probing abilities like a tide sweeping over dry sand. Their techniques folded instantly. The Psychic backlash snapped back against two of them hard enough that they let out low, involuntary grunts and flinched visibly.
David didn't bother looking at their expressions after that. He turned without a word, signaled to Miles, Luke, and the others, and led them away from the gate.
He didn't look back.