Pokémon: Generation By Generation

CHAPTER 7: [Student By Day, Money Maker By Night!]

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Getting dressed in my uniform, I looked at the Boulder Badge resting in its case that was currently on my table. Turns out, you can bring out items from the game into real life too.

Any item too, as long as it was shown in the BAG menu, that meant that I could retrieve expensive items that I gained in the game and sell them for more. A Nugget item that you get for free when you beat all Trainers on the Nugget Bridge can sell for 5,000 P in-game.

But based on the item description, the spherical ball was made of pure gold that gave a lustrous gleam. PURE GOLD. In the game, it sells for only 5,000, but in real life, if the Nugget was sized at 1 inch in diameter, in terms of weight, it is nearly 165 grams worth of gold.

165 grams in today's currency sells for 13,825 Pokédollars. Nearly 14 thousand for an item that you can get as early as the second Gym. I nearly choked on my straw when I did the math after realizing the ramifications of the Arc.

Closing the case of the badge, I wore my disproportionate tie, ignoring it as I picked up the Arc and raised it, the backplate of the device pointing at the badge case as I pressed and held the left and right shoulder buttons together.

A glow shone from the Arceus graphic as a scanner-like camera, hiding from within the Arc, rose from the top part of the device. The camera activated as a laser beam fired, scanning the badge case before the case disintegrated from reality.

[BADGE CASE Retrieved!]

That function of returning something back into the game took a few hours to figure out manually; I almost panicked when this happened.

It's just too bad that an item from this world can't be sent into the game. Only items in the game can freely traverse in the real world to the game world.

Turning the Arc off, I hesitated to bring it to school but decided to place it at home, as my school doesn't allow any electronics on school grounds. That one time that I brought it—the day I died that day—was during exam season; you could bring anything to school as long as you didn't cheat with it.

I did, however, bring something to show off to my friends. A spare Pokéball that my avatar bought after the Gym event; I had stocked up beforehand in preparation for Mount Moon.

Can't wait to show this to the boys, and I doubt that it will get confiscated since I couldn't even use it for any entertainment or distraction while class was in session.

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"Sup, Josh!"

I gave a wave as I entered my classroom, noticing that the gang was already here in school. My classroom was rather on the small side, with only 15 students instead of the usual 20. This was due to my class's uniqueness. Back in the old world, this class had more subjects than usual, with French and German being the extra subjects.

The course was optional and cost nothing, but rarely did people take it, most likely due to the requirement of good grades, indicating that you were keeping up with the modules.

In this world, though, the extra subject was Pokémon Basics, which is quite evident in what the subject teaches. The course is applicable only to those who finish in the top 15 of the whole year. If you somehow drop your position, you are not allowed to join the next year.

Brutal, but it made sense as those who manage to hang on for the three years from 12 to 15 get a small allowance from the government themselves if they study in a Trainer School.

... The allowance was only about 200 Pokédollars, and they can't really help with loans or stipends when you want to apply for said Trainer School, but hey, 200 dollars is 200 dollars!

At least that's what I found online. Cut me some slack; retracing this life when you have no idea what happened is harder than you'd think, you know?

"Yo! Morning, guys."

I greeted them as I sat down in my seat next to my friends. To my right were good friends that I've known for over a decade. Darren and Derrick, they were twins that I met back during my childhood days.

"Josh, help with this!"

Darren begged, pointing at a set of mock test papers that our teacher gave us a few weeks back regarding Pokémon-Typing and signs to identify them. Derrick, at his side, smacked his head as he remarked.

"Bro, you think he'll be beside you during the test?"

"Come on, why do I even need this when I'll get a Pokédex once Trainer School starts?"

"Because someday you'll need to identify a Pokémon's Typing without one, duh?"

To my left, the last member of the group retorted while reading a storybook.

He was a mate that I met in primary school, Alvin. The group clicked with him instantly upon meeting back in primary school, and ever since then, the four of us formed quite a tight group of friendship.

"Exactly! What are you going to do if you find yourself in a tight situation where you need to identify a Typing for a Super Effective move to survive?"

"Pshhh, I'll just bring out my Salamence to bombard anything that comes my way."

"That's if you even pass the test, because the way it is, you're dropping positions."

"Man, screw you, Alvin."

"No thanks, Darren, I don't screw with guys."

"Oh, he's got you there, man."

"Shut up, Derrick."

Yeah, still the same group, even after transmigrating: Derrick being the serious twin trying to help his older brother, Darren always complaining and ending worries with his future Salamance, and Alvin using sass to screw with Darren.

I couldn't help but mediate the two arguing boys with a grin on my face.

"Ladies, you all are pretty, so just kiss and make up."

I said with a chuckle as Darren's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Ew! Like I said, I'm not gay."

"Being gay means that you're happy, you know?"

"Alvin, no one uses the word in that kind of scenario."

Alvin added with a smirk, causing Derrick to chime in, rolling his eyes at the dumbness in front of him.

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"Where did you even get this?"

Alvin asked with surprise on his face as Darren played with the Pokéball in his hand with awe. Derrick stood at his side, trying to grab the ball to inspect it.

It was currently lunch period, and we were the only ones in class; most people eat and ponder around in the cafeteria before coming back to class once lunch period was over, so I took the chance to show them what I brought.

I had to stop myself from smirking at their expressions as I mentioned nonchalantly.

"You know, here and there."

"Dude, this is authentic! Even I'd never held a Pokéball of my own before..."

"That's a lie; you held Dad's empty Pokéball before. And hand it over already!"

Derrick corrected him as he reached for the ball, only for Darren to push him back, keeping the Pokéball out of reach.

"But it's Dad's, Derrick; the point stands! And nope!"

The two twins started arguing as Alvin hummed, looking at me as if trying to figure out where I got it.

"Here and there? Joseph, did you do something illegal? You aren't allowed to even buy one without a license."

He said with worry in his tone, something that I took with a

"Relax, I got it through a legit source. Nothing illegal. Trust me, it's all above board."

I reassured him, giving a casual shrug. Alvin still looked skeptical, but he nodded slowly.

"Alright, if you say so. Just don't get into trouble, okay?"

"Promise."

I said, grinning as I grabbed and pocketed the Pokéball, causing a few sad prompts from the twins.

"You’ll get your chance soon enough. But for now, let's get back to helping Darren with his test prep before he flunks out and loses his precious Salamence dream."

I reassured, pointing at the mock papers on our desk. The Pokémon Studies teacher had just handed them a new set of mock papers in preparation for the test in just a few months.

Darren groaned dramatically but pulled his mock test papers closer.

"Alright, alright. Let's get this over with."

I had a little interest in solving the paper as well, since this was technically the first time I'm going to go through the test format. And after a few minutes of looking through it, I simply hummed as I placed the paper down.

It was... easier than I thought. Most of the questions were geared towards the fundamental knowledge about Pokémon species, elemental Typing and coverage, basic battle strategies, and general information about the world related to Pokémon.

One of the more difficult questions was... this one.

[What is the significance of the Elite Four and Champion in the Pokémon world?]

This stumped me for a second, so I asked the group for their opinion, and it was interesting.

Instead of maintaining a traditional army, a country relies on the manpower of Pokémon Trainers to substitute for military prowess. Registered Trainers are essentially soldiers who must respond and defend their nation when needed.

Regarding the Elite Four of the country—I was shocked that it was an actual thing—they are considered the elite defenders of the country. They are the first and last line of defense, often regarded as the best four trainers in the nation, acting as the core defense unit of the nation to respond to crises with their specialized Pokémon teams.

The Champion, meanwhile, is more than just a title. They are representatives and ambassadors of the Pokémon League and "guardians" of the country. The strongest in the entirety of a nation, a one-man army, if you will. They help the Pokémon League of the country to maintain order with their reputation, strength, and experience.

Malaysia has a Champion and Elite Four; well, technically we have a temporary Champion and 2 fourths of the Elite Four. Alvin mentioned that our country's circuit wasn't really fleshed out, as the promising Trainers from our country are usually poached by other countries to be added into their system.

I quickly noted in my to-do list to research more about the topic before I started teaching the boys about what I knew. With my knowledge of Pokémon and their general knowledge of the world, I'm sure that we'll ace the test with not much problem.

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Sitting on my bed with a flop, I booted up the Arc as I looked at my to-do list for the day. Today, I was hoping that I would catch a new Pokémon for the team, complete Mount Moon, and start grinding for the Cascade Badge, but that's unrealistic.

This new Pokémon was going to be a mainstay in the team, so I had to soft-reset for a perfect one. This alone will take a few hours if I was lucky with the RNG.

Not only that, with the amount of experience needed to level up once fighting Wild Pokémon, I doubt that my team can all rise to level 25 by today. Averaging 4 to 5 levels a day... I'll need at least 3 to 4 days to be able to be on the same level as Misty for the Cascade Badge.

So... a week max for preparation to tackle the second Gym of the circuit. Oh well, I can't really speed up the game, so I'll be patient and grind well instead of rushing in blind.

My avatar was currently in the Pokécenter, the last save after I had healed my team from the hard battle yesterday. Double-checking to make sure that I had everything for the next part of my journey, I stepped out of the Pokécenter before heading straight up west to Route 3.

This route was just a money and experience grinding spot, as there were at least half a dozen Trainers here. Money, especially since I spent 1,600 P on 5 Pokéballs and 2 Potions with about 500 P remaining in my bank account.

Walking towards Route 3, a person dressed as a lab assistant stopped me in my tracks as he handed me the Running Shoes, saying that it was a gift from JOSEPH's in-game mother. This would be useful to traverse around Mount Moon for a quicker clear!

Once the assistant walked out of the frame, I was finally able to move around in Route 3, so I got to work leveling up Zardon and Bolt.

It got a little tedious going back and forth into the simulation world for Pokémon Battles, but after just two NPC Trainer Battles, Zardon finally hit level 16! That means...

[What? ZARDON is Evolving!]

[...]

[Congratulations!]

[Your ZARDON Evolved into CHARMELEON!]

I instantly brought him out from the game and released him from his Pokéball. With a mighty roar, my newly evolved Charmeleon breathed out fire from his mouth before giving me a wolfish grin.

Zardon had grown considerably in size. Standing at half my height, his orange scales had darkened to a deeper, more intense hue. His once small and round face was now more elongated and fierce, with sharp, prominent claws and a long, powerful tail ending in a blazing flame.

We had to keep our squealing quiet, but believe me when I say that both of us were very emotional at the new metamorphosis. I would have brought out the whole team, but since it was nighttime, I promised to postpone the celebration to a weekend.

Zardon even learned some new moves to go with his evolution, Smoke Screen and Dragon Rage, the latter of which is usually not learned until Zardon reaches Charizard-evolution levels.

It was overpowered in the early game; an instant minus 40 HP move regardless of Typing was busted, especially when going to Mount Moon, which was filled with Rock and Ground-Type Pokémon.

I spent a few moments appreciating Zardon's new form before returning him to his Pokéball and back into the Arc. I then continued on with today's grinding, defeating every Trainer in Route 4, and boy, was it worth it.

By the time I reached the Pokémon Center outside of Mount Moon, my team had significantly risen in levels with new moves to boot.

---------------- Current Team Summary ----------------

---------------- 1st POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Zardon]

[Species: Charmeleon (♂)]

[Level: 19 (21%)]

[Nature: Lonely]

[Ability: Blaze (Boosts the power of Fire-Type moves when HP is below 1/3rds)]

[Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 2nd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Bolt]

[Species: Pikachu (♀)]

[Level: 18 (82%)]

[Nature: Timid]

[Ability: Static (1/3 chance of applying Paralysis status on opponent when damaged with a physical attack.)]

[Moves: Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Double Team]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 3rd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Monkey]

[Species: Mankey (♂)]

[Level: 16 (24%)]

[Nature: Quirky]

[Ability: Vital Spirit (Prevents the Pokémon from entering Sleep status.)]

[Moves: Leer, Scratch, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- Current Team Summary ----------------

And along with the improvements to the team, I've received 1,288 extra Pokédollars as prize money for defeating the NPC Trainers along the way.

Yeah, you heard me right. Just shy of 1.3 thousand dollars was added into my account, so now I had a total of 1,768 Pokédollars from just Battling, that's insane.

Honestly, there wasn't really much in this route, except for our third permanent team member for the Elite Four and above. So, after healing my Pokémon to full, I briefly sent both Zardon and Monkey into the PC for now, as I had to open up slots for more party members to join.

I had a total of 5 Pokéballs, so I needed 5 open slots to fully maximize my time. I brought Bolt, as she had Thunder Wave to increase the odds of catching the specific species of Pokémon that I wanted, though the catch rate was fairly high.

Running straight down south of the Mount Moon Pokécenter, I turned right to find a large section of grass and started going back and forth for the Wild Pokémon encounters.

Relaxing on my bed, I cracked my fingers as a Pidgey met a Thundershock from Bolt before repeating the process. This was going to take a while.