Early the next morning.
In the girls' dormitory of Haicheng First High School—
"Piplup! Pip-piplup!"
The round-headed Piplup stood with its flippers folded sternly in front of its chest, scolding the downcast Chimchar, who hung its head in shame.
Beside them, Liu Yunlan held up a bedsheet with a large, burnt hole in the middle, her expression one of speechless frustration.
Clearly, Chimchar had a bit too much energy.
It had woken up earlier than everyone else, started playing around—and accidentally set the bedsheet on fire.
If not for Piplup, who also rose early and quickly sprayed water to douse the flames, the girls would've woken up to a blazing inferno.
Murong Nan gently hugged the chattering Piplup and chuckled, "Alright, alright, Piplup."
"Chimchar didn't mean to. He won't do it again, right?"
Chimchar looked up at Liu Yunlan with big, pitiful eyes and nodded earnestly.
Though she'd initially been angry, the sight of Chimchar's guilty little face made her irritation melt away.
She pulled him into a hug and said warmly, "Okay, okay, it's just a bedsheet. Be more careful next time."
"It's a small thing."
"But in today's training—you'd better give it your all, got it?"
Relieved by her forgiveness, Chimchar beamed and nodded furiously, full of excitement and energy once again.
_____________________________________
Inside Haicheng First High, there was a special training field—one that required payment to use.
The school did have free facilities, but this particular field was different.
Instead of standard training dummies or simulation devices…
It housed real, low-level Death Beasts.
In the world of Awakened warriors, danger was a constant reality.
Each one had to learn to face deadly threats—and this facility offered precisely that opportunity.
These low-level beasts were mostly F-rank, with the occasional E-rank thrown in.
They had been captured by professional Awakened fighters and placed here specifically for new students to train against.
Haicheng First High invested heavily every year to maintain this zone.
"Let's go with this one," Liu Yunlan said, full of confidence as she set Chimchar down.
She pointed to a pack of wolf-like Death Beasts running circles across the field.
"F-rank wolf-types. They only know basic bite attacks."
"Eight to ten per group, and the alpha is just E-rank. Even if things go wrong, I can protect Chimchar."
Murong Nan nodded in agreement. "Better to be cautious—this spot is good."
After all, it was their Pokémon's first real combat, and they didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
But unlike their cautious trainers, Chimchar and Piplup were raring to go.
Chimchar's tail flame flared brightly as it hopped excitedly around the field.
Piplup raised its head proudly, as if to say:
"These little beasts? Hmph. Not even a challenge."
Soon enough, the pack of wolf-like Death Beasts noticed them.
They were used to humans, but… those two tiny creatures beside them?
Especially that round, blue one… were they mocking the wolves?!
With an enraged snarl, the E-rank alpha wolf charged forward, leading its pack into battle!
"Chimchar!"
"Piplup!"
At the shout of their names, the two Pokémon sprang into action!
In a blur, Chimchar vanished from sight.
Its signature speed, the pride of its fighting style, burst into full display.
Even Liu Yunlan could barely keep track of its movements with her eyes.
Suddenly, one of the wolves looked up—only to find Chimchar's grinning face right above it.
A spark dropped from Chimchar's blazing tail, instantly igniting the beast's fur!
The wolf howled in pain and lunged to retaliate, but Chimchar had already leapt away, darting toward its next target.
Chaos erupted among the wolves.
The fast-moving Chimchar, impossible to pin down, had turned the battlefield into a circus of flaming fur and panic!
"Yes! That's it, Chimchar!" Liu Yunlan shouted excitedly.
Chimchar's performance far exceeded her expectations. Compared to her own first time fighting Death Beasts, Chimchar was practically a prodigy.
Fast, fiery, and adorable—what more could she ask for?
Piplup, though slower, was no less impressive.
Unlike Chimchar's agile, warrior-like attacks, Piplup fought like a ranged mage—steady, precise, and deadly.
"Pip-piplup!"
Piplup, not about to let Chimchar hog the spotlight, let out a proud chirp and opened its beak.
A powerful torrent of water burst forth, striking one of the wolves square in the chest.
The beast was sent flying, legs in the air, crashing to the ground with bones clearly shattered from the force.
One hit. KO.
"That's some insane power!"
Even Murong Nan, herself already a D-rank Awakened, couldn't help but gasp.
"At this rate… Piplup might catch up to me in strength soon…"
She couldn't believe her luck—this Pokémon was a total jackpot!
Under the relentless close-range harassment of Chimchar and Piplup's long-range water blasts, the wolf pack began to fall one by one.
Only the E-rank alpha wolf remained.
The last beast standing.
Chimchar and Piplup exchanged a glance.
Without a word, they both launched their final attacks.
Flames danced through the air alongside a crashing stream of water.
The alpha wolf had barely raised its head to roar before the combined assault struck it with a thunderous impact.
It swayed.
Then collapsed.
In less than ten minutes, an entire pack of Death Beasts had been defeated by the combined might of two Pokémon.
"Whoa! That was way better than I expected!"
Liu Yunlan's eyes sparkled with joy as she threw her arms open and caught Chimchar, who leapt into her embrace.
Murong Nan crouched down, giving a proud pat to Piplup's fluffy, arrogant head.
These Pokémon were clearly born with natural combat instincts.
In the world of combat, talent wasn't just about raw stats.
Even if you had D-rank strength, it meant nothing if you panicked when facing a real threat.
Someone who froze up at the sight of a Death Beast would still be dead within minutes, no matter how high their numbers looked on paper.
But Chimchar and Piplup?
They had proven themselves.
Their fighting instincts were real—and crucial for any future Awakened.
Just as the girls were about to shower more praise on their precious partners—
A loud, exuberant voice rang out nearby:
"Nice job, Turtwig! You were amazing!"
Turtwig?
That name… why did it sound so familiar?
Liu Yunlan and Murong Nan turned toward the source of the voice.
Just a short distance away, in another section of the training field—
A group of wolf beasts lay sprawled across the ground in total defeat.
At the center stood a tiny turtle Pokémon with a fresh green sprout growing from its head.
It stood tall, one foot confidently pressing down on the alpha wolf's skull.
And beside it, a grinning chubby boy beamed with a proud "auntie smile" of absolute satisfaction.