Chapter 28: Lv. 7 and Standing Like a Scrub
The training grounds of the new academy were much larger than the old one.
At the same time, the Primal Beasts were much larger, too.
Will stood trembling in the center of the grounds as a circle of other Primal Beasts curiously sniffed at the new little guy.
They were...
A ten-foot-tall Nidoking.
A ten-foot-tall Machoke.
An Onix, fifty feet long and thirty feet high.
An eleven-and-a-half-foot Ursaring.
And an eight-foot Donphan.
"...Hey there," Will greeted them cautiously.
Meanwhile, his eyes darted around, searching for any sign of the Primal Beast Scholars.
I'm the Queen's personal, cherished pet! Shouldn't you have at least eight or ten people watching over me?
Seeing the grounds were empty of any humans, Will started to panic.
These big guys aren't going to beat me up, are they?
Being stared down by these giants, Will broke out in a cold sweat. The sheer pressure these massive Primal Beasts exuded was no joke. The physiques of the Primal Beasts from this era were just too exaggerated; they were easily double their Pokédex stats, if not more.
He would never forget this day.
That year, he was Lv. 7 in the Dragonite Kingdom's Primal Beast Academy, standing like a scrub.
Speaking of which, something piqued Will's curiosity.
How did this guy manage to evolve? Will wondered, looking at the Nidoking circling him.
Nidorino needed a Moon Stone to evolve into Nidoking. He was certain the Primal Beast Scholars didn't know about this evolutionary method. Only twenty-odd years had passed since humans began harnessing the power of Primal Beasts; they probably hadn't even figured out the concept of types yet.
So how did this Nidoking come to be? Will didn't believe for a second that these people would dare to capture a fully grown Nidoking from the wild. It was most likely that this Primal Beast had accidentally acquired a Moon Stone and evolved. The question was whether its master even knew.
Will stood rooted to the spot for a while longer. Seeing that he wasn't giving them any reaction, the big beasts lost interest and wandered off. They weren't interested in such a tiny baby.
"Phew..." Will breathed a sigh of relief as they left.
That was nerve-wracking.
Hiding in some nearby bushes, two Primal Beast Scholars were secretly observing the situation.
"Lord Lan seems to be behaving himself pretty well."
"I think he's just scared stiff, hahaha."
The two Scholars kept a constant watch on Will's condition. It was no laughing matter. Of course, they wouldn't dare let the Queen's darling get hurt at the Academy. Did they have a death wish?
After that, the rest of Will's day was peaceful.
That evening, he hid in a small lake in a corner of the Primal Beast Academy, quietly poking his head out to survey his surroundings. He had spent the day figuring things out, and this Academy was completely different from his old kindergarten.
That kindergarten was just a daycare, teaching the Primal Beast toddlers some basic etiquette and leaving it at that.
But the Primal Beast Academy was genuinely focused on increasing the combat power of its students. They were being raised as reserve soldiers for the battlefield. The Scholars here would organize battles for the Primal Beasts—not just 1v1s, but even 3v3s, 5v5s, and larger team battles.
And they weren't worried about the Primal Beasts getting carried away. They had a two-layer safeguard system.
The first layer was that most new arrivals at the Academy had to go through a period of "Boot Camp." The main purpose was to teach them to obey orders without question. When they heard a whistle, they had to stop fighting immediately. Disobedience meant going hungry or even getting a beating. This "Boot Camp" would last for more than half a year, until the sound of the whistle was etched into their very bones.
In truth, this training wasn't cruel. In Will's past life as a human, the vast majority of soldiers in the world went through the same thing, with daily training that was often ten or a hundred times harsher.
However, Will knew how Pokémon were treated in the Era of Leagues, where humans cherished them like their own children. With that era as a point of comparison, this kind of training seemed outrageous. In the Era of Primal Beasts, most people didn't see Primal Beasts as family or companions, but as weapons to be thrown onto the battlefield.
He had gotten along so well with Liz these past two days that he'd forgotten that in the eyes of most, he wasn't a "Pokémon," he was a "Primal Beast." No matter how high his status or how good his treatment, he was still just a "Primal Beast."
The second layer of protection was the veteran "regular army" Primal Beasts that accompanied the Scholars. Every Scholar had an adult, high-level Primal Beast that had fought on the battlefield. These Primal Beasts were powerful, emotionally stable, and perfectly capable of suppressing the sub-adult reserve troops in the Academy.
"I'm not going to that regular Boot Camp, it's a complete waste of time. I'd rather find some suitable opponents to fight."
Will's gaze swept across his surroundings. As he had discovered, the Academy wasn't filled exclusively with sub-adult Primal Beasts undergoing combat training. There were also adolescent and juvenile Primal Beasts who were past their infancy but still undergoing obedience training.
The adolescent ones were mostly in their second evolutionary stage, with levels ranging from 20 to 30. He was definitely no match for them. But the juvenile ones might be manageable. These juveniles were mostly in their first stage, with levels between 10 and 20.
Even though he was only Lv. 7, his body was relatively large for his species, and he understood type matchups. A fight wasn't out of the question. After all, all the Primal Beasts in this Academy fought on pure instinct.
Humans in this era didn't yet understand the concept of [Moves]. They only gave broad commands like [Breathe Fire], [Release Electricity], [Attack], and [Defend].
But Will knew about these moves in detail. He could even judge what kind of move an opponent was using by observing its actions and then counter it effectively.
"Good. That's the plan."
Will nodded to himself in the water. He was starting to get back that feeling of surviving in the wild from his first life. The sensation made the Primal Beast genes in his body hum with a bit of excitement.
"I should prioritize finding Water, Fire, Grass, and Electric types to fight. And I can use the terrain to my advantage."
Will's mind raced as he looked at the small lake he was in. He recalled the juvenile Primal Beasts he had seen that day and quickly picked out a few potential targets. Finding a Primal Beast with two of those four types was difficult, but there were plenty with just one.
Having made his decision, he quietly submerged himself. He would rest today, calm his racing heart, and begin his conquest of the academy tomorrow.
Will waited until evening, when Liz came to pick him up personally.
On the carriage ride home from the Academy, Liz held Will and gave him a few gentle kisses.
"The teachers at the Academy told me you were very well-behaved today. Good boy, Lan~"
"Hmph, let's see if you're still saying that tomorrow," Will smirked.
An image had already formed in his mind: Liz, being approached by the Primal Beast Scholars the next day with some very different news.