Time flew by.
A week had passed since Eevee's birth, and it was also the day Minato and the others prepared to depart for Metropolis.
That morning, after washing up, Minato woke Eevee and prepared to set off.
Metropolis wasn't far from Heiwa City, which was one of the reasons the Psychology Club chose this city as their travel destination.
Eevee also knew today's itinerary. Hearing Minato's call, it blinked its eyes and got up groggily. Instinctively, Eevee wanted to roll up the Silk Scarf and drape it over itself, but although a week had passed, it still wasn't easy for it to wear the scarf properly.
"Give me the scarf. I'll hold it for you." Minato extended his hand.
Regarding the Silk Scarf, it could be said that besides Minato, this was the second thing Eevee couldn't bear to part with. It was the first gift Minato and his parents gave to Eevee, and it had accompanied Eevee throughout this week, providing warmth. Thus, the little creature treasured this Silk Scarf very much.
Without the scarf, Eevee immediately felt somewhat empty and unaccustomed, so it could only jump onto Minato's shoulder with a face full of grievances.
"Haha, let's walk. Off we go."
...
The Heiwa First Academy Psychology Club had five members.
Besides Minato and Yukari, there were three others: President Riku, Vice President Shigenori, and member Ai.
Minato arrived relatively late. The other four had already gathered. Seeing Minato, the four immediately teased him: "The new president is here."
"I'm here." Minato scratched his head and smiled.
"Alright, let's depart then. We'll aim to reach the destination before noon," Riku said.
West Coast Resort Area was one of Metropolis's famous tourist destinations. Sunlight, air, beach, seawater—everything here was top-class.
The origin of its name came from history. The details could no longer be verified. What could be determined was that this place was actually originally a Special Zone.
It was just a relatively small one, and having merged with Earth long ago, there were no longer any traces of it being a Special Zone.
"Eevee, you'll need to go into the Poké Ball for a while later, but I'll call you out again very soon."
Pokémon couldn't be left outside on the train, so Minato could only helplessly explain this to Eevee in advance.
Also, during security checks, Pokémon needed to be placed in Poké Balls. These were regulations Minato couldn't circumvent.
"Eevee..." Eevee became even more aggrieved.
"Newborn Pokémon are the cutest. You must cherish this time. My Geodude... was very well-behaved at first, but after evolving, its temperament became terrible. It's heartbreaking to talk about," Shigenori said.
"It's because you couldn't hold it anymore after it evolved. Of course it would be angry. Count yourself lucky it didn't use 'Geodude Punch' on your chest," Ai said.
While the five chatted idly, they finally boarded the maglev train.
The service here was quite thorough.
"Dear passengers, hello. There are still 28 minutes before the train departs. During the waiting period, we will provide beverages. Special reminder: our 'Magikarp Soda' is very famous. Drinking it lets you experience the thrill of Splash. Don't miss it!"
"I'll have one," Yukari said.
"+1" "+1" "+1" "+1" the other four said.
As expected, the essence of humanity is being a copy machine?
The journey was long, with only phones as companions. After boarding the train, due to the environment, the group began talking less and started playing with their phones.
Minato had planned to watch a movie, but without Eevee by his side, watching alone was rather boring.
He decided against watching movies and started scrolling through his feed instead.
Takeshi: "Friendly reminder: everyone's Poké Balls absolutely should not be thrown or tossed. The videos are all lies. You can't aim accurately at all."
Class Teacher: "Please do not damage Poké Balls. Do not damage Poké Balls. Do not damage Poké Balls. After school starts, we will uniformly teach various throwing postures."
"Interesting..." Minato remained calm.
Regarding throwing Poké Balls, he had foresight long ago. Before even obtaining the Pokémon egg, he had practiced with simulated Poké Ball toys countless times.
Minato continued scrolling through his feed, but after a while, he felt somewhat bored. After thinking, he started searching for information about dojos.
Metropolis had several dojos. He was quite curious about them. If he had the opportunity, he could visit them.
These Trainer dojos, it was said, emerged during the Monster War period. They also had prototypes in the anime.
Before the Pokémon League was formed, the earliest batch of Trainers established civilian organizations to protect towns from wild Pokémon and taught people how to command Pokémon. This was the prototype of dojos.
After the Pokémon League formed, each nation established Trainer Associations. Most civilian Trainer organizations were recruited.
However, because the Trainer Association was understaffed in its early days and couldn't manage some regions, such organizations continued to appear.
After the Monster War, someone in the East combined the newly emerging karate to raise Fighting-type Pokémon, achieving very good results. Then, for fame and profit, he established a dojo to teach his experience, receiving much acclaim.
Since then, the dojo operating model was widely imitated. Civilian Trainers who survived the Monster War used their own specialized types to create many schools. For example, yoga meditation from India enabled a group of people to become the first Psychics. In this country, certain philosophies also became breeding concepts and battle techniques, such as "using softness to overcome hardness."
Of course, due to the high fees charged by dojos for teaching experience, many suspicious dojos run by money-obsessed individuals appeared during that time. It wasn't until the Trainer Association strictly investigated them that the situation gradually improved.
However, with the popularization of basic education and the development of technology, some weaker dojos could no longer survive today. Some dojos with deep foundations either merged into the Trainer Association or transformed.
Metropolis possessed several dojos that had been passed down to this day. It was said that among them were Psychics, and their dojo leaders belonged to the upper echelons of the local Trainer Association, holding distinguished status.
Some wealthy families would not only send their children to elite high schools but also spend heavily to have them enter these dojos as apprentices to learn battle techniques and breeding concepts for better development.
"Dojos... aren't these just the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City from the anime, run by the Karate Master?" Minato's scalp tingled.
Minato knew very little about schools. After all, schools were only briefly mentioned in official Pokémon novels. Concepts like the "Ura-Table Grass Star School," "Ura-Table Waterfall School," "Ura-Table Rock School"... he didn't know how effective they were in reality.
But since dojos could be passed down to this day, they must have their unique characteristics.
Those founders who created schools, although their strengths might vary, obtained a very noble title at that time.
Pokémon Master.
Minato silently recited this. He felt this title was quite handsome. He could aim for it someday.