After returning home, I played for a while with Happiny and the Eevees.
They were bouncing around the living room like sugar-charged toddlers, and honestly?It felt… peaceful.
For once.
Happiny tugged at my pant leg with her polished white stone.
The two Eevee siblings yipped loudly, demanding equal attention.
I scratched their heads one by one and finally remembered:
I had to send the list of stone-based Eeveelutions to Colonel Rawat.
I typed it out quickly—Fire = Flareon
Water = Vaporeon
Thunder = Jolteon
Leaf Stone doesn't work but Moss Rock exists.
—then forwarded it to him.
With that done, I went to sleep.
Next Morning
Woke up.
Worked out.
Shower.
Breakfast.
And then…Nothing.
For the first time in nearly three weeks, I had zero emergencies, zero meetings, zero battles, and zero political earthquakes to deal with.
It felt illegal.
So—since the world wasn't ending—I picked up my phone.
Time to call the one person I hadn't spoken to since waking up in this world.
Apoorv More.
My best friend since kindergarten.The guy who once ate mud because I told him it looked like chocolate.A fellow 10th-pass warrior who had also registered for the intensive course.
I figured…Why not give my friends a head start too?
He picked up after five rings.
"Who is it?"His voice was half-dead, half-asleep.
"It's a whole new era and you're still lazy."
The sleep evaporated instantly.
"Oh—Sir Aakash has risen from the dead! Or should I say, returned after bathing in the glory of the world! What can this poor mortal do for you?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Ha ha. Very funny. I've been busy for the past couple of weeks."
"Yeah I've SEEN, bro.' BRO Aakash leading the Pokémon revolution!'
'I want to have Aakash's children'—HAHAHAHA—"
He started laughing so violently I had to hold the phone a full arm's length away.
"Are you done?" I asked flatly.
"Go ahead, go ahead. And you BETTER be calling to give me a Pokémon. Otherwise I'll kill you and steal your Pikachu."
Still joking. Still dramatic.Classic Apoorv.
"Yeah, that's exactly why I called," I said. "Since you registered for the intensive course, I'm assuming you want to be a trainer."
"YES."
"Good. Day after tomorrow, let's go explore a zone. Call Arpit and Neha too. Tomorrow, I'm picking you up—I have the perfect Pokémon in mind for you."
"Bro… I love you."
"Don't love me. Tell auntie I'm coming for lunch tomorrow. She better make puranpoli."
He didn't even answer me.
Instead he yelled:
"MAA! Make puranpoli tomorrow!"
I heard loud footsteps, then his mother's voice screamed back:
"Do I LOOK like a slave? Is this a restaurant? Who are you yelling—"
"Aakash is coming tomorrow!"
Instant silence.
Then, in a suddenly angelic voice:
"Oh! Tell him to come anytime he wants. I'll make extra."
Apoorv hissed dramatically into the phone:
"I swear, Aakash… she treats YOU better than she treats her own son."
I laughed.
"Because I don't yell orders from bed."
"You're dead to me."
"No, I'm giving you a Pokémon."
"…I love you again."
After ending the call with Apoorv, I leaned back on the sofa and opened the digital map of Maharashtra's Pokémon zones.
Most of the low-level zones near Mumbai were already stabilized…But a few still flickered orange or red.
Time to pick a destination for Apoorv and the others.
I scrolled through the list.
Zone: Urban Outskirts — Sector M-17
Type: Mid-Level Forest Zone
Threat Level: Moderate
Pokémon Detected:
• Poochyena pack (approx. 30)
• 2 Mightyena acting as Alphas
• Tangela cluster (12–15 estimated)
• Minor Grass-types & Bug-types unseen
The note beside it read:
"Human entry not recommended. Poochyena pack attacks in coordinated groups. High aggression. No civilian casualties yet."
Perfect.
Not too dangerous for a supervised beginner team…But definitely enough to scare the life out of them.
Especially Apoorv.
I smirked.
He wanted to be a trainer? Fine.
Let him see real Pokémon pack dynamics.
My attention returned to the Tangela group.
I'd been using Tangela vines all week to prepare the upgraded Pokémon food formula—and the results were amazing.
Higher energy retention.
Better digestion.
Stronger flavor profile.
I was getting dangerously close to inventing Pokémon ramen.
If I could gather more vines, I could mass-produce the formula and put it on the PokéStore shelves.
Which meant…
Day after tomorrow — Zone M-17 exploration.
Objective:
• Find suitable Pokémon for Apoorv, Arpit, and Neha
• Collect Tangela vines
• Evaluate Poochyena pack behavior
• Deal with the Mightyena if necessary
Plans set.
I stood up and headed to the storage room.
Storage Room — Late Afternoon
A new shipment of berries had arrived from various zones today.
Blueberries from Kokan Zone.
Nanab and Razz berries from Nashik.
Tamato berries from the Satara foothills.
Pecha, Oran, and Leppa berries from the Aarey internal groves.
Each crate had a label and batch number.
All bought at current market price—A price that I would announce officially once the intensive course began, along with the standardized item list.
For now, it was preparation time.
I put on gloves, tied my hair back, and activated the crafting module.
Berry Blender ON.
Mortar and pestle ready.
Crafting menu open.
Then I began.
Pokéblocks
Red × 40
Blue × 40
Yellow × 40
Green × 40
Pink × 40
Transparent × 120
The room filled with sweet, fruity scents as the Berry Blender hummed continuously.
Potions & Medicine
Potion × 15
Antidote × 20
Paralyze Heal × 20
Awakening × 15
Full Heal × 10
Burn Heal × 12
The medicinal leeks and herbal roots blended smoothly.
Repels
A faint minty-sharp smell filled the air as I produced:
Repel × 25
Super Repel × 10
Repels would be in high demand once beginner trainers started entering zones.
By the time I finished, the clock had slipped past 6 PM.
I stored everything neatly in labeled crates, stretched my back, and turned off the lights.
Tomorrow: Lunch at Apoorv's place.
Get him a pokemon. I had a pokemon in mind. I was gonna take that pokemon for myself but then I got Grookey. Right now I need to focus on training not capturing.
Day after: Zone M-17.
And for the first time in days…
I felt excited and not pressure.
__________________________
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