Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Director Yanagi nodded in satisfaction.
"Ahem. Now that everyone is here, I'll start speaking. I called you all here today to announce that our academy has decided to hold the Inter-Academy Exchange Match in five months. At that time, Indigo Academy will bring their first, second, and third-year students to our academy."
As soon as Director Yanagi finished, the room erupted into discussion. Sato and Konan were unfazed, having already been informed. They calmly watched the others debate without speaking.
Director Yanagi allowed them to discuss for about ten seconds before continuing, "Alright, settle down. I haven't finished yet."
Everyone stopped talking, waiting for the Director to speak. "This Inter-Academy Exchange Match will involve all three grades, with ten slots for each grade," Director Yanagi continued. "Do you know why I called the seventeen of you here?"
Someone asked, "No, we don't."
Director Yanagi explained, "I called you here to tell you that three of the ten slots have already been determined. They belong to the top three of this year's Freshmen Tournament. The remaining seven slots will be selected from the fourteen of you. In December, I will have the fourteen of you compete in a battle tournament. The seven winners will secure a slot. The losers will get nothing."
At this, everyone except Eichi, Sato, and Konan grew solemn. The atmosphere in the office instantly became tense.
"Of course," Director Yanagi added, "since it's a competition, there will naturally be rewards. Our academy has prepared a great many rewards for this Exchange Match. One of them is the opportunity to choose any Pokémon Egg from our academy's Pokémon Library, and the Talent Grade of the Egg will be at least Excellent."
Hearing that they could choose a Pokémon Egg from another region, and that its Talent Grade would be at least Excellent, everyone's breathing hitched. Who didn't love Pokémon? Furthermore, these were Pokémon from other regions. They had only seen pictures of other regional Pokémon in textbooks and rarely encountered them on campus.
Fueled by curiosity about the unknown, everyone became excited, Eichi included. I wonder if there are any Eggs of those Bug-type Pokémon I'm looking for. Even if the Talent Grade was slightly lower, it didn't matter. With his Bug Force, even a lower-grade Pokémon could eventually reach Champion Talent Grade under his training. Even Sato and Konan were tempted. Although their family backgrounds meant they could acquire almost any Pokémon, this was different; this was a prize won through their own efforts. The nature of the reward was unique. Still, like Eichi, they were confident in their ability to win.
Director Yanagi was pleased by their reaction. Their fighting spirit was ignited. That was exactly what he wanted. He then continued, "I can tell you all want the rewards, but you must first secure a slot. So, for the next period of time, everyone must work hard. However, it won't just be the fourteen of you competing for the seven slots. We will also include other students who have the strength to compete."
This statement added considerable pressure to the already excited students.
Director Yanagi concluded, "That's everything I have to say. The rules of the competition and the specific rewards will be explained to you by your homeroom teachers later. Everyone, you may head back now."
The students bid farewell to Director Yanagi and left the office.
***
After everyone had left, Director Yanagi sat in his chair and muttered to himself, "This Exchange Match will be somewhat risky. The third-years have Yuli and a few others, so they should be fine. But the second-years seem to have no chance of winning at all. Ultimately, we might have to rely on Eichi and his group. I hope they don't disappoint me!"
***
Exiting the teaching building, Eichi and Tetsu walked back together, with Kelly following behind.
Tetsu immediately told Eichi, "I envy you, Eichi. You already have a reserved spot. Kelly and I, on the other hand, still have to fight for a slot."
"It's nothing," Eichi said, smiling to reassure him. "I believe that with your and Kelly's strength, you should have no problem."
Tetsu chuckled, "You have so much confidence in me, but I'm not so sure myself."
After a laugh, Tetsu suddenly remembered something. "Oh, that's right. This Sunday, you have to come with me to the Pokémon Breeding Center. You said you'd help me choose a good Pokémon."
"Yes, no problem," Eichi confirmed.
"Then it's settled," Tetsu said. "Remember, it's Sunday. Don't forget."
"Don't worry, I won't forget," Eichi replied. "Besides, you live right next door to me. You can just come and call me when it's time."
At that moment, Kelly spoke up, "Eichi, Tetsu, I'll be heading back now."
"Kelly, why didn't you say anything just now?" Tetsu asked. "You need to talk more, or people will easily overlook you."
"It's fine," Kelly said. "I'm used to it."
"Well, goodbye," Eichi said. "Good luck!"
Kelly nodded. "Mhm."
***
In the blink of an eye, Sunday arrived. All the students had no classes, but Eichi was scheduled to go to the Pokémon Breeding Center with Tetsu.
At 7:00 AM, the alarm clock rang. Eichi woke up, washed up, and woke up his three Pokémon. After cleaning up, he started preparing breakfast for them. After the meal, he checked the time; it was nearing eight o'clock. A little while later, he heard a knock on the door, followed by Tetsu's voice: "Eichi, Eichi, are you up yet? We should get going."
Eichi put on his backpack and recalled his three Pokémon into their Poké Balls. Ready to go, he opened the door, and there was Tetsu. "You're all set?" Tetsu asked when he saw Eichi.
"Mhm, let's go," Eichi replied.
"Let's go, but we should grab breakfast first. Did you eat, Eichi?" Tetsu asked.
"I knew you hadn't eaten, so I didn't eat either," Eichi said.
Tetsu grinned. "Then let's go get breakfast together."
The two first went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast before heading to the Pokémon Breeding Center.
The Pokémon Breeding Center was the area Silver Academy used to raise Pokémon. It housed a great variety of Pokémon, and many Silver Academy students caught their Pokémon there. Of course, the academy did not spend so much money just to let students catch Pokémon for free. To enter and catch a Pokémon, one needed to pay a fee or use credits. Compared to directly exchanging credits for a Pokémon Egg, the fee and credit cost to enter the Pokémon Breeding Center were much lower.
The Pokémon Breeding Center was a bit far from where they lived, taking them over twenty minutes to walk there. They could already see the center's entrance in the distance.