Chapter Three: Humility

"Our family generally leans toward Steel, Rock, and Ground types. Unfortunately, the starters are the basic Water, Fire, and Grass... And, to make matters worse, the types we’re good at rarely have any beautiful Pokémon." Sonoko was clearly the energetic sort—she could strike up a conversation with strangers even on a long bus ride.

Although she hadn’t introduced herself, Amu was nearly certain now—her family had to be the Suzuki conglomerate, the big-shot dog owners! In this world, the Suzuki Group was essentially the Devon Corporation from the games, built on mining, now heavily invested in fossil research. Their preference for those three types made perfect sense.

"Carbink is still pretty cute," Amu offered after a moment’s thought.

Sonoko giggled cheerfully. "Yes, that’s why my first Pokémon was a Carbink—my brother gave it to me!"

Indeed, in this world Sonoko had a brother—none other than Steven! He wasn’t yet the Champion of the Hoenn League, but he was already a famous young trainer.

And, just like Amu, Sonoko already had a Pokémon.

"By the way, Ran’s Pokémon is a Lopunny, and Shinichi’s is a Wash Rotom... Do you know about Rotom? It’s a Pokémon that can possess electrical appliances. It’s very hard to raise—Professor Agasa gave it to him," Sonoko took the initiative to introduce them to Amu.

With Sonoko leading the conversation, their talk soon veered toward cute and dazzling Pokémon. The three starters didn’t quite suit Sonoko’s taste—truth be told, she would have preferred Popplio from Alola, but since Ran wasn’t about to head all the way to Alola right from the start, Sonoko settled on beginning her journey in Kanto as well.

"In fact, type preference isn’t the only standard—the most important thing is still the bond," Amu offered a conventional but heartfelt reassurance.

In this world, trainers tended to have certain type inclinations; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many specialists. But such preferences weren’t set in stone. No matter which edition of the textbooks or guidebooks, two points were always stressed: First, there’s no superior or inferior type—the best is the one that suits you. Water, Fire, and Grass may be common, but common doesn’t mean weak! Second, the bond between trainer and Pokémon is the most important inclination of all.

"Exactly—just like Gym Leader Giovanni!" Sonoko, trying to encourage herself, gave a close-to-home example.

Currently, Giovanni, the leader of the Viridian City Earth Gym, was known as "Giovanni of the Earth." A true master of Ground types, his power was rumored to rival that of the Elite Four. Yet his ace was, strangely enough, a Beedrill.

The reason? It was a Beedrill he’d raised from childhood—their bond, or perhaps their affection, was so powerful that he’d nurtured it to be his strongest.

As for Giovanni himself...

Amu could only think, "Unknown, no comment." Team Rocket existed in this world too, but the true boss remained a mystery. Whether Giovanni really was the mastermind, Amu couldn’t say for certain.

Time slipped by as they chatted, and by afternoon, the long-distance bus had arrived at Pallet Town.

Amu couldn't help but reflect—without Shinichi turning into "Conan," he wasn’t nearly as "cursed."

Of course, whether Shinichi in this world would turn into Conan, Amu also didn’t know. But from a technical standpoint, shrinking in this world was much more plausible than in Conan’s! Who knew? Perhaps it would be the work of Dialga or Celebi.

Once they reached Pallet Town, the air felt especially fresh—clearly, this small town had preserved its natural beauty, a complete contrast to the city.

Since they shared the same destination, Amu and the other three headed to Professor Oak’s Laboratory together.

The Oak Laboratory was on the edge of town, and unlike most research centers with their high-tech appearance, this place looked quaint and refined from the outside—hardly what one would expect from the workplace of a top Pokémon researcher in the League.

After showing their credentials, the four were soon invited in and ushered to Professor Oak himself.

There were no other young trainers here to receive their starting Pokémon—after all, it was already the final day, and few youths could wait until the end.

As soon as they entered, Professor Oak’s hearty laughter greeted them. "Shinichi, Amu—I didn’t expect you two to know each other, hahaha..."

"We only just met on the way," Amu replied, meeting Professor Oak for the first time and feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Professor Oak! Don’t forget me!" In contrast, Sonoko was a social whirlwind.

"Hahaha, I know, I know—Steven already spoke to me about you," Oak said, clearly fond of spirited young people.

"And this one here is my best friend—Shinichi’s future wife..."

"Sonoko! Don’t talk nonsense... P-Professor Oak, hello, I’m Ran." Ran’s face flushed bright red at Sonoko’s words.

"Perfect—there’s one last set of starters. Each of you, pick one," Oak said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Sonoko paused, counting heads—there were four of them!

Amu was taken aback as well. Could it be...

Was he about to get a Pikachu?

That wouldn’t be so bad...

But clearly, it wasn’t to be. Professor Oak continued, "Amu, you’ll be taking Bulbasaur, right? Lei Xi asked me to reserve one with excellent potential for you!"

"Ah! Thank you so much!" Amu replied promptly.

"No need for thanks. Lei Xi and I traveled together years ago—old friends, hahaha... By the way, in four months, there’s the Expert-level Pharmacist Exam in Celadon City. You’ll be taking part, right? How are your preparations?"

At this, Sonoko and her two friends stared at Amu in astonishment—Expert-level Pharmacist? So he really hadn’t been joking earlier? After all, only those with a Level One Pharmacist qualification could even register for the Expert exam!

Wait a minute!

Even if he wasn’t joking, hadn’t he just gotten his Level One license?

Well, it made sense—there was no harm in seeing what it was like. Most who just passed Level One were curious about the Expert exam...

Many Level One Pharmacists signed up for the triennial Expert Exam every time, as a matter of course.

If everyone waited until they were fully confident before registering, the Expert Exam wouldn’t be nearly as lively, even if it was only once every three years.

"Fifty-fifty, I hope it won’t be too difficult," Amu replied conservatively.

The three girls stared at Amu in a daze; the news had been quite a shock, so they held their tongues, but if he really did pass... an 18-year-old Expert?!

At that moment, Professor Oak laughed again. "You’re being modest—Lei Xi didn’t describe you that way. And knowing her, if you weren’t at least ninety percent sure, she’d never have let you register. So humble at your age—if only my grandson were half as courteous as you." He sighed, sounding a bit exasperated.

"You’re too kind," Amu replied with a smile.

Truth be told, Oak wasn’t wrong.

He wouldn’t dare claim to ace the Master-level, but the Expert-level...

That’s child’s play!