Eichi took Archie on a tour of Silver Academy. Archie was full of curiosity about this school, which shared a similar reputation with his own Indigo Academy. Despite growing up in the region, he had never actually visited Silver Academy before.
"The vibe here is quite different from Indigo Academy," Archie remarked after finishing their tour. "At Indigo, there's a sharp sense of competitive drive. Everyone is hungry for power. The campus is filled with battles every day, and the atmosphere is incredibly intense. Conversely, I don't feel that same pressure here at Silver Academy. While there are still battles, the competitive spirit isn't as thick. Instead, it feels orderly, peaceful, and calm. Everyone seems to move at their own steady pace."
Archie then suddenly changed the subject. "Eichi, I heard about the inter-school exchange tournament. Word is, our Indigo Academy lost to Silver Academy. Specifically, the first-year students—they were supposedly completely outclassed by your year. I heard the school leadership was furious."
He continued, "When I heard the news, I became interested in Silver Academy and wanted to see what it was like. Now that I'm here, I have one question: how exactly did Silver Academy win?"
Eichi smiled and explained the situation. "The format we used with Indigo Academy involved all three grade levels. Each grade ranked its students by strength for the matches. Simply put, your school's rank one fought our school's rank one. It was a best-of-three series. The final result for Silver Academy was a loss for the third-years, a draw for the second-years, and a victory for the first-years."
"Doesn't that make it a tie?" Archie asked. "How did Indigo Academy end up losing?"
"Because it was a tie, the two academies discussed it and decided to add a tiebreaker match," Eichi continued. "They chose the first-years from both schools to participate in the extra round. You know the final outcome: Silver Academy won."
Archie realized the truth. "I see. So you won entirely because of your first-year class. Those students must be incredible. By the way, did you participate?"
"I am the rank one student of the first year," Eichi stated calmly.
"..." Archie was speechless. He had assumed Eichi's strength would place him in the top ten at most, but it seemed he had once again underestimated him.
Silence fell between them for a moment. After a while, Eichi sighed and added, "Actually, Archie, I think you're right. Silver Academy might not actually be stronger than Indigo Academy in terms of overall talent. Let me tell you something: among the students on our first-year exchange roster, four of us are originally from the Kanto region. Sato in second place, Konan in third, Kelly in sixth, and myself in first—we are all from Kanto. Without us, Silver Academy would have likely lost, and quite badly at that."
Hearing this, Archie thought it over and felt much better. The top three students were all from Kanto; if they had attended Indigo Academy instead, Silver Academy might as well have surrendered immediately. It wasn't that Indigo Academy was inherently flawed; they just had a stroke of bad luck.
Eichi walked with Archie a bit longer, showing him around the Battle Hall. By then, it was time for dinner. After eating together, Archie bid farewell and returned to the Pokémon Center. His Pokémon's injuries were likely mostly healed, and he intended to continue his special training in Mount Silver.
That evening, Eichi rested at the dorm briefly before taking his four Pokémon to the training center. This time, he didn't go to the second-floor training rooms but instead headed to the third floor: the Attribute Training Rooms.
These rooms were specifically designed for training Pokémon of a particular type. Eichi had known about them for a while but had never visited, mostly because he felt they weren't necessary. There were three main reasons: first, the number of attribute rooms was small and usually fully booked by upperclassmen. Second, they were expensive—500 Pokédollars an hour, or 50 credits, which was several times the price of the second-floor rooms. Third, Eichi simply didn't think he needed them.
However, a few days ago, Sato had mentioned that the effects of the third-floor rooms were significantly better than the second floor. Furthermore, the Academy had recently decided to reward the first-years for their contribution to the exchange tournament by reserving a few rooms specifically for their use. Director Yanagi had notified them of this just two days ago.
Eichi decided to experience the effects for himself today. He took the elevator to the third floor. Upon stepping out, he noticed the third floor felt completely different from the second. While the second floor felt like a standard gym, the third floor felt like a high-tech facility. The walls were made of smooth, silver-colored metal. He spotted a few upperclassmen in the silent hallway, but no one spoke.
Eichi walked up to the front desk. The female staff member smiled and asked, "Hello, how can I help you?"
"I'd like to book a Bug-type training room, please," Eichi replied.
"Certainly. How long would you like to book it for?"
Eichi thought for a moment. "Let's go with three hours."
"Alright, a Bug-type training room for three hours will be 1,500p or 150 credits."
Eichi took out his wallet and handed over 1,500p. The staff member processed the payment and handed Eichi a magnetic card, pointing to his left. "Please head down the hall to your left."
Eichi thanked her and walked away. The card was green and blue, with the number 319 printed on the front. As he passed various doors, he saw electronic screens displaying the room number and the attribute type. For instance, he just passed Water-type Room 304.
He quickly found his room. There was no handle, only a sensor with a slot. Eichi inserted the magnetic card, and the large doors slid open from the center. Upon entering, Eichi was stunned by the size. A single room here was as large as three rooms on the second floor. The interior was lush and green, filled with various trees, flowers, and grass—it looked almost exactly like a real forest.