Time flashed by.
A week had already passed since Eevee was born, and it was also the day when Yun and the others were set to leave for Modu (Magic City/Shanghai).
That morning, after finishing his wash-up routine, Yun called out to Eevee to wake it up for departure.
Modu wasn't far from Pingcheng, which was one reason the Psychology Club had chosen it as their travel destination.
Eevee also knew about today's plans. Hearing Yun's call, it blinked its sleepy eyes and got up drowsily. Out of habit, it wanted to wrap itself in its silk scarf, but even after a week, putting it on properly was still not easy for it.
"Hand me the scarf, I'll hold onto it for you," Yun said, stretching out his hand.
Other than Yun, the silk scarf was probably the most precious thing to Eevee. It was the first gift from Yun and his parents, and it had stayed with Eevee throughout the week, bringing it warmth and comfort—so the little guy treasured it deeply.
When the scarf was taken off, Eevee immediately felt a sense of emptiness and discomfort. Looking aggrieved, it jumped onto Yun's shoulder.
"Haha, let's go. Time to head out."
The central Psychology Club of Pingcheng had five members.
Besides Yun and Tang Ying, there were three others: club president Lu Jie, vice president Meng Zicheng, and member Du Ai.
Yun was one of the last to arrive; the other four had already gathered. When they saw him, they immediately joked, "The new president is here!"
"Yeah, I'm here," Yun scratched his head and replied with a smile.
"Alright, let's hit the road and try to arrive before noon," said Lu Jie.
The West Coast Resort was one of Modu's most famous tourist attractions—sunshine, air, beach, and ocean, all top-notch.
Its name had a historical origin, though the exact details were no longer verifiable. What was known was that this place was originally a secret realm.
It was one of the smaller ones, and after being fused with Earth for so long, there were barely any traces of its mystical nature left.
"Eevee, in a bit I'll need you to go into the Poké Ball, but I'll call you out soon," Yun explained.
Pokémon weren't allowed outside their balls on the train, so Yun had no choice but to give Eevee a heads-up.
Also, during security checks, Pokémon had to be stored in their balls—those were the rules, and there was nothing Yun could do about it.
"Bui…" Eevee looked even more pitiful.
"Newborn Pokémon are the cutest, so you'd better treasure this time," said Meng Zicheng. "My Geodude was so obedient at first… but after it evolved, its temper got nasty. Just thinking about it is depressing."
"That's because you couldn't carry it anymore after it evolved—of course it got grumpy. Be thankful it didn't punch your chest with its little fists," Du Ai replied.
The five of them chatted casually as they finally boarded the maglev train.
The service on board was impressively thorough.
"Dear passengers, hello! There are 28 minutes until departure. While you wait, we'll be offering drinks. Special reminder: our 'Magikarp Soda' is very popular! Try it for a splashy surprise—you won't want to miss it!"
"I'll take a bottle," said Tang Ying.
"+1," "+1," "+1," "+1," echoed the other four.
So human nature is just to repeat each other?
The long journey stretched ahead, and with little to talk about due to the train's environment, everyone pulled out their phones.
Yun initially planned to watch a movie, but without Eevee by his side, it felt boring. So he gave up on the movie and started scrolling through his social feed.
Li Mu: "Friendly reminder—don't throw or toss your Poké Balls! The videos online are all fake. You won't hit your target at all."
Homeroom Teacher: "Please don't abuse your Poké Balls. Don't abuse your Poké Balls. Don't abuse your Poké Balls. When school starts, we'll teach proper throwing techniques."
"Heh… too young," Yun thought calmly.
He'd already anticipated this issue. Before even receiving his Pokémon egg, he had practiced throwing with replica Poké Balls countless times.
He continued scrolling through his feed, but soon got bored. After some thought, he began searching for information on dojos.
Modu had several dojos, and he was quite curious about them—maybe he could visit one if he had the chance.
These Pokémon training dojos were said to have emerged during the era of the Beast War, with prototypes even appearing in the animated series.
Before the Pokémon League was formed, early trainers had created civilian organizations to defend towns from wild Pokémon, passing on their training knowledge—this was the origin of dojos.
Once the League was established, many countries set up Trainer Associations, and most civilian trainers were incorporated into official systems.
However, due to initial staff shortages, the Association couldn't manage every region, so these independent organizations continued to emerge.
After the Beast War, someone in the East fused the newly popular karate with fighting-type Pokémon training and achieved great results. For fame and profit, he established a dojo to share his experience, attracting many followers.
Since then, dojo-style training became widespread. Survivors of the Beast War created styles based on their strengths—like yoga meditation in India, which birthed the first psychics, or concepts in Huaguo (China) like "soft overcoming hard," which shaped training philosophies and battle techniques.
Of course, the high cost of dojo training led to the rise of shady, money-hungry dojos. It wasn't until a crackdown by the Association that things improved.
But with the spread of basic education and technological advances, weaker dojos couldn't survive. The well-established ones either merged with the Association or transitioned to other models.
Modu had a few dojos that still carried on these legacies—some were even said to house true psychics. Their leaders held high-ranking positions within the local Trainer Association and enjoyed prestigious status.
Wealthy families would not only send their kids to top schools but also pay huge sums for them to apprentice at these dojos, learning battle techniques and training methods for better prospects.
"Dojo… sounds just like that karate master Nobuhiko's fighting dojo in Saffron City from the anime," Yun thought, scalp tingling.
He knew little about these styles—after all, they were only briefly mentioned in the official Pokémon novels. Things like the Inner and Outer Grass Star styles, Waterfall styles, Rock-Rock styles… who knew if they were effective in reality?
Still, if these dojos could survive to the present day, they must have something unique.
The founders of those schools—though not all equally strong—were given highly respected titles back in their time.
Pokémon Master.
Yun muttered it quietly, thinking the title sounded pretty cool.
Maybe one day, I'll get one of those myself.
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