Once the opening ceremony concluded and the students began dispersing across the academy grounds in search of their assigned dormitories, classrooms, and training sectors, the atmosphere of the campus shifted rapidly from formal anticipation into active movement, as what had until now existed only as a carefully constructed institution finally began functioning as a living environment filled with purpose, energy, and direction.
Groups formed naturally as students moved through the wide pathways connecting the various academy buildings, some already familiar with one another from the entrance examination while others introduced themselves for the first time, and conversations spread constantly through the grounds as excitement gradually overtook the earlier nervousness that had dominated the opening ceremony.
Some discussed rankings from the examination and argued over which battles had been the most impressive, while others focused entirely on future plans, already debating which Pokémon they hoped to capture once they qualified for external missions and additional team slots. A few students appeared overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the academy itself, their attention constantly shifting between towering training facilities, research buildings, and the large battle arenas that were already beginning to fill despite classes not having properly started yet.
From above, the academy looked entirely different from how it had during construction.
The dormitories were occupied.
The pathways were filled.
The arenas echoed with movement and noise.
And for the first time since the merge began, there was a place specifically designed to shape the next generation of trainers rather than merely react to the chaos of a changing world.
As for me, I quietly left the main grounds once the ceremony ended and headed toward my office, allowing the sounds of the lively campus to gradually fade into the background as I moved deeper into the administrative section of the academy.
The moment I entered the office and the door closed behind me, my focus shifted toward something I had been considering seriously for the past several days.
An elite team.
Even in my own mind, the name sounded somewhat exaggerated, because what I actually intended to create was not a formal elite unit in the military sense, nor a publicly announced special class designed to create unnecessary division among students. What I truly wanted was something much closer to the old master-disciple relationships from historical stories and cultivation novels, where exceptionally promising individuals received direct guidance beyond the limits of standard institutional teaching.
The academy itself would provide structure.
The professors would provide foundational education.
But there were certain students whose potential made ordinary instruction insufficient in the long term, and those were the individuals I wanted to observe personally and train directly.
Still, the idea carried one problem that I found strangely difficult to ignore.
My physical age.
Mentally, the issue didn't, especially given my age before rebirth, but outwardly I was still close in age to the students themselves, and the idea of formally accepting people Same age or even a year older than me as "disciples" felt unnecessarily awkward no matter how I tried to justify it.
Because of that, I eventually discarded the idea of direct discipleship entirely and settled on something simpler.
A team which is less rigid and less uncomfortable, But functionally similar in purpose.
By the time I sat down behind my desk, the first two members had already been decided.
Apoorv More and Rakesh stood out too clearly to ignore, not simply because of their rankings during the entrance examination, but because both had demonstrated the ability to remain functional when situations escalated beyond expectation.
That mattered far more than raw strength.
Strength could always be improved through proper training and experience, but mentality was significantly harder to shape once a person had already settled into their habits and instincts.
Both of them adapted quickly under pressure.
Both made decisions instead of freezing.
And most importantly, both understood how to act without waiting endlessly for instructions.
Those qualities were far rarer than talent.
As for the remaining positions within the team, I had no intention of rushing the process, because the academy had only just begun and there were still many students I needed to observe properly before deciding whether they possessed the qualities I was looking for.
Potential alone was not enough.
I wanted judgment.
Adaptability.
The ability to remain calm when plans failed.
And above all, the willingness to act when necessary instead of relying entirely on authority figures to solve every problem for them.
Leaning back slightly in my chair, I began organizing the structure mentally, deciding that for at least the first month, nothing about the arrangement would change outwardly for the selected students.
They would attend normal classes.
Participate in regular activities.
Live alongside the rest of the academy population without special privileges.
That period was important because no matter how talented someone was, becoming disconnected from ordinary academy life too early often created arrogance or instability later.
After that first month, however, things would begin changing gradually.
Weekend expeditions.
Zone visits.
Field observation.
I intended to personally take them into real environments outside controlled arenas and classrooms, showing them how the Pokémon Department actually operated beyond public broadcasts and simplified explanations, because there was a massive difference between performing well in examinations and functioning properly in unstable situations involving civilians, containment operations, logistics, and genuine danger.
If they were going to stand at the forefront of the next generation, then they needed to understand reality rather than simply mastering theory.
With the structure settled for now, I forwarded instructions through one of the professors, asking them to quietly announce the existence of the special team during the students' first lessons later that day, while deliberately avoiding detailed explanations. I wanted the selection process to remain observational rather than turning into a popularity contest driven entirely by rankings.
And with that—
The academy truly began functioning.
The following days passed far more quickly than expected as routines gradually formed across the campus, transforming the academy from a newly opened institution into a constantly moving ecosystem filled with activity from morning until late evening.
Students moved continuously between dormitories, classrooms, battle arenas, training fields, and research facilities, filling pathways that had once stood empty during construction, while professors adjusted lesson structures in real time as they learned the strengths and weaknesses of their first batch of students.
The battle arenas became some of the busiest locations almost immediately.
At nearly any hour of the day, students could be found challenging one another in friendly matches, testing newly learned strategies, comparing Pokémon growth, or simply attempting to improve through repetition and competition.
Some battles were crude and overly reliant on brute force.
Others already displayed surprising tactical awareness for first-year students.
But all of them reflected growth.
The Pokémon Center within the academy became equally active, with exhausted students arriving throughout the day carrying injured or overworked Pokémon after training sessions that often exceeded their current level of understanding and control.
Thankfully, according to the latest reports from the research division, the first stable healing machine prototype should be completed within a month, which would significantly reduce the burden currently placed on medical staff and healing Pokémon alike.
Until then, however, the workload remained extremely heavy.
Even so, complaints were rare.
The atmosphere throughout the academy was simply too alive for that.
Students had already begun developing the early concepts of what kind of trainers they wanted to become, and those intentions became increasingly visible in the way they approached both battles and team-building discussions.
Some focused entirely on offensive power, searching for Pokémon capable of overwhelming opponents directly.
Others leaned toward speed, adaptability, support roles, or environmental control.
A few had already begun carefully discussing balanced team compositions despite currently possessing only one or two Pokémon themselves.
The idea of a future team had begun forming in their minds long before they actually acquired those partners.
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