A/N: New tiers added for specific stories. Do check it out. Show you support for this story. Creator Name: Blaze98
I stood there for a long time, staring at the egg.
The forest felt different now. Quieter. Heavier. As if the land itself was waiting to see what I would do next.
My thoughts were a mess.
I didn't need anyone to explain what had just happened. The Salamence hadn't attacked me. They hadn't chased me away either. They had judged me—and then entrusted me with something precious. The final roar wasn't anger. It was a warning. A promise. Do not mistreat this. Do not fail it.
My hands trembled slightly as I clenched them at my sides.
The truth was painfully simple.
I couldn't keep it.
No matter how much I wanted to.
I already had two Pokémon. Meowth, who had survived the streets with me and never once abandoned my side. Charmeleon, who had just pushed himself past his limits and paid for it with everything he had. By law, an apprentice trainer could only register two Pokémon. No exceptions. Not even for an egg left behind by a Salamence.
And yet—
I looked at it again.
A Bagon egg.
The sheer potential of it made my chest tighten. Dragons weren't just strong. They were rare. They were forces of nature wrapped in muscle, scale, and instinct. A Pokémon like that could change a trainer's entire future.
For someone like me—someone from Dharavi, someone who had clawed his way into this exam with second-hand gear and stubborn resolve—it felt like destiny dangling itself just out of reach.
But destiny didn't care about laws.
And laws didn't care about feelings.
To officially claim a third Pokémon, I would need an advanced license. Four more months at minimum. An evaluation. Background checks. Performance reviews. Even then, approval wasn't guaranteed.
The egg lay there silently, unaware of the problem it had created.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my heartbeat to calm.
Then—
Footsteps.
I stiffened instantly and turned, expecting another entrant to emerge from the trees, maybe someone drawn by the earlier chaos.
Instead, a figure walked into the clearing at an unhurried pace.
He wore a white cloak marked with the insignia of the Pokémon Department. Calm. Clean. Completely out of place amid broken branches and scorched earth.
Behind him walked a Slowking.
Its gaze was sharp, ancient, and disturbingly aware of everything at once.
Recognition hit me a second later.
"Imran," I said hoarsely.
Healing Division.
One of them.
He stopped a few steps away from me, eyes briefly flicking to Meowth and Charmeleon before settling on the egg. There was no surprise on his face. No shock. Just quiet understanding, like this outcome had always been one of the possibilities.
The Slowking moved.
It stepped toward the egg.
"Wait—!" I said instinctively.
Meowth hissed, leaping forward despite his exhaustion. Charmeleon growled low, tail flame flaring as he tried to put himself between the Slowking and the egg.
They didn't make it two steps.
The Slowking's eyes glowed faintly.
Psychic force wrapped around them effortlessly, lifting both Pokémon into the air like toys caught in an invisible grip. They struggled, claws scraping uselessly against nothing, before being held completely still.
I froze.
Imran didn't even look at them.
The Slowking gently picked up the egg, cradling it with far more care than I expected, its movements precise and deliberate.
"We'll take care of it," Imran said calmly.
My throat felt dry.
He finally looked at me then, really looked at me, and for the first time since this whole ordeal began, I felt like someone understood exactly what I was feeling.
"Aakash will handle the registration," he continued. "The egg will be protected, monitored, and kept stable. You'll get it back after the test."
I stared at him.
"You mean—"
"You earned it," he said simply. "The law just hasn't caught up yet."
There was no pity in his voice. No condescension. Just acknowledgment.
"You're doing good," Imran added.
Those words hit harder than I expected.
He turned without another word and walked back into the forest. The Slowking followed, egg secured, its psychic grip releasing Meowth and Charmeleon only after they were several steps away.
The moment they were free, both of them dropped to the ground.
Meowth landed awkwardly, swearing weakly under his breath. Charmeleon hit his hands and knees, breathing hard, tail flame flickering but still burning.
I rushed forward, kneeling between them.
"It's okay," I said quietly, even though my own chest felt tight. "It's not gone. Just… waiting."
They didn't fully understand the words.
But they understood the tone.
As the forest settled around us again, I looked once more toward the direction Imran had disappeared.
The egg was gone.
But the choice had already been made.
This exam wasn't just about points anymore.
It was about whether I could become the kind of trainer worthy of what had been entrusted to me—even if I couldn't hold it yet.
And somehow, that felt heavier than carrying the egg ever could.
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