Chapter Two: Another Chance Encounter

Half an hour early, Amu checked the number and was nearly the first to board the bus.

Taking advantage of the time, Amu began flipping through the advanced books on trainers that he carried with him. Back in Songzao Town, he’d refrained from studying these—partly to avoid angering Granny Leixi, partly because he hadn’t yet become a “Beast Tamer,” so he hadn’t focused on this knowledge.

Now that Amu possessed the Sequence 8 profession of “Beast Tamer,” his innate gift for training had soared, and he was absorbing the new information at a rapid pace. In fact, by the time he’d gotten off the ship, he’d already finished three foundational textbooks and four popular reference manuals!

After fulfilling the Sequence 9 role, Amu had also learned the requirements for advancing to Sequence 8—Beast Tamer advancement criteria: become an outstanding trainer.

Compared to Sequence 9, the requirements seemed a bit vague, but… Amu was feeling optimistic. Maybe, as soon as he earned his trainer’s license, he’d already count as outstanding?

“Row D… Row D… Ran, over here! Ah! Aren’t you the one from earlier…”

Just then, Amu heard a familiar voice. Even as he thought, “Uh-oh,” he realized it was Sonoko and her friends, Sonoko looking at him in surprise.

They’d only just met, but Sonoko clearly wasn’t the forgetful type.

“What a coincidence…” Amu smiled helplessly and greeted them.

Fortunately, Amu was seated in Row C, where each row on the left had three seats, meaning the three newcomers likely wouldn’t be seated with him…

Suddenly, Sonoko sat down in the same row as Amu, with one seat between them, and remarked, “No one’s sitting here, right? Three people would be too crowded; we’ll split up.”

Yet, as she said this, Sonoko placed her backpack on the aisle seat in Row D, leaving Shinichi and Ran to sit together inside.

“Sonoko…” Ran’s cheeks reddened.

Judging from Sonoko’s mischievous smile, Ran knew she’d done it on purpose.

As for Shinichi, his face remained calm and composed. He even grumbled inwardly, “Busybody,” but deep down he was secretly pleased, though he didn’t let it show, keeping up his cool demeanor.

“The boy playing tennis earlier—was that Shinichi’s brother?” Amu asked, feigning ignorance.

“No, we just happened to run into him…” Sonoko replied.

“I see… But they really do look alike.” Amu put on a look of disbelief.

“Hmm? Do they?” Ran mused, trying to recall.

“Pfft! You must mean that arrogant stare, right?” Sonoko immediately caught Amu’s meaning and burst out laughing.

Shinichi shot a glare at the two in front.

Soon the vehicle started up, and sure enough, no one took the seat beside Amu—no surprise there, since Sonoko had bought five tickets. Had Amu not booked early, his seat would have been gone as well.

At first, Sonoko kept turning around, peeking through the gap at the two people behind. Eventually… she grew so anxious she stamped her feet in frustration!

Perhaps realizing there was no hope for romance behind her, Sonoko turned to chat idly with Amu. “You’re a Pokémon trainer too, aren’t you? What’s your name?”

Ever since the three boarded, Amu had remained vigilant and hadn’t read another page—he had a feeling something was about to happen… Not to mention, he had to keep an eye on his six eggs.

“My name is Amu. I’ll soon be a trainer,” he replied.

Amu already possessed a trainer’s talent, but to be officially recognized, he’d need the League’s certification and a Pokédex.

When Sonoko heard this, combined with their destination, she immediately understood. “You’re going to Professor Oak’s to receive your starter Pokémon too? You look… a bit older than us?”

“That’s right. I’m eighteen.” Amu was at the upper age limit for starting the journey; Sonoko and her friends were likely the lower limit of sixteen.

What surprised Amu was that they, too, were seeking out Professor Oak. Supposedly, although Oak was famous, he’d retired into research and no longer handled the distribution of starter Pokémon.

It seemed… they must have pulled some strings.

“Eighteen… That’s quite rare,” Sonoko remarked.

It was true; most began their journey at sixteen.

“I spent the last two years studying to become an apothecary,” Amu explained briefly.

Sonoko, ever sociable, pressed further, “An apothecary? How’s that going? Have you got a Level Three qualification?”

“I just got my Level One,” Amu replied honestly.

Sonoko chuckled, thinking he was joking. After all, while Level One apothecaries were more common than experts, it was hardly something an eighteen-year-old could achieve.

In the back, Shinichi, pretending to sleep, cracked open one eye, thinking, “Is this kid trying to impress Sonoko by bragging…?” But recalling Amu’s tone, he dismissed the suspicion. If Amu really liked Sonoko, that would be even stranger.

Amu didn’t bother to explain further—let them think he was joking.

“Once you get your starter and Pokédex, let’s add each other as friends! Is your first Pokémon Exeggcute? Have you decided which starter you want?” Sonoko chatted away.

“Probably Bulbasaur. But… I’ll see what fate has in store,” Amu said. That was indeed his plan. He preferred Bulbasaur, but if he felt a special connection to Charmander or Squirtle, he wouldn’t rule them out.

Of course, if a legendary Pokémon happened to take a liking to him, that would be even better!

“Grass-type? That’s so fitting for an apothecary… I haven’t made up my mind yet. Charizard seems the coolest,” Sonoko mused.

Could Sonoko be my “rival”? Amu thought to himself.

As for why Amu leaned toward the grass-type Bulbasaur, part of it was due to his apothecary background, but there was more…

He could now see the next stage of career options!

[Once you complete the Sequence 8 role, you’ll possess Sequence 7 abilities and can choose one of the following two extraordinary professions:

1. Vampire:
Your appearance will be greatly enhanced;
Your physical prowess will increase significantly, but you’ll become sensitive to sunlight;
You’ll gain heightened talent in Fairy, Ghost, and Dark types.

2. Harvest Priest:
You’ll gain the power to catalyze biological growth and reproduction;
Your physical abilities will improve;
You’ll gain greater aptitude for Ground, Grass, and Poison types.]

Between the two, Amu now favored the second: “Harvest Priest.” With it, he’d have a training edge in Ground, Grass, and Poison types.

Looking at the benefits, “Vampire” mostly boosted looks and personal strength, while “Harvest Priest” genuinely enhanced a trainer’s talent.

Amu didn’t mind the idea of fearing sunlight; many Ghost-type trainers had similar issues. But in the world of Pokémon, the abilities of a “Harvest Priest” were far more valuable. Personal strength at most made a difference of a few levels compared to a Pokémon of similar rank.

As for appearance, Amu cared even less—he was mildly face-blind, and besides, with glasses and average height, his scholarly, refined appearance wasn’t bad at all.

The fact that Sonoko had approached him was proof enough! Of course, the fact that she hadn’t swooned on the spot set an upper limit as well…

As for attribute inclinations…

The “Beast Tamer” profession had already granted Amu extraordinary trainer talent—no Pokémon would dislike him for mismatched types.

If anything, Amu now had a natural affinity for Fairy, Ghost, and Dark types. Both “Apothecary” and “Beast Tamer” were “Lunar Path” professions, attuned to the power of the moon, of darkness, of curses…

In the world of Pokémon, the power drawn from the moon and stars was that of the Fairy type, while darkness and curses represented the Dark and Ghost types.

Having chosen the “Lunar Path” twice, Amu already enjoyed bonuses to Fairy, Ghost, and Dark types, though not as pronounced as they would be after advancing to Sequence 7.