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That night, David finally made his way home after spending half the day outside with his Pokémon.
The outdoor barbecue had been a great time, and everyone had enjoyed themselves. The only small hiccup was Salamence's appetite, which turned out to be staggering. Two or three whole roasted Miltank were barely enough for a few bites. David figured that if he ever cooked for it again, grilling in bulk was probably the only way to come close to satisfying it.
"Phew~"
What a good day.
After a bath, a change of clothes, and a moment to settle himself, David lay down on his bed and stretched out into a comfortable position. Only now, with everything quiet around him, did he finally have the time to look over what he had gained.
"I hope it's worth it."
He pulled up the system's notification log and scrolled past the long list of battle victory alerts, going straight to his final tally.
In system points alone, he had earned over four thousand in a single morning.
"I really have to thank this exchange team from Sakura," he thought, a grin spreading across his face. "They didn't come here for an exchange at all. They came here to hand me freebies."
Four thousand points in one morning was no small amount. Under normal circumstances, without any special situation, David would have had to grind for at least one or two months to stack up that kind of total. Getting it in a single morning by running through a whole exchange team — how could he complain?
Though, to be fair, calling it easy wasn't entirely accurate either.
He opened the system's detailed breakdown. The three so-called leaders had been genuinely capable, and the point values the system had assigned them reflected that.
Defeating Kuki Motoichi had earned him 380 points. Defeating Jinguji Yoraku had earned 420. And defeating Mei had earned 550.
That put them well above the regular exchange team members, who had each been worth anywhere from a few dozen to a hundred or two at most — clearly in a different category from cannon fodder. Still, none of them came close to the thousand points David had earned when he'd unexpectedly beaten his older sister in a battle.
One thing stood out from the numbers: the three leaders were clearly not equal, and it was the female — Mei— who had been the strongest. That explained why Kuki Motoichi had gone first. He was the weakest of the three, sent out early so the others could gauge David's actual capabilities before committing.
As for the regular exchange team members, their role had been even simpler: wear David's Pokémon down before the real battles began.
"I hope more 'cannon fodder' like them show up," David thought, then paused, reconsidering the label.
He knew it wasn't quite fair. Anyone who had been selected to travel to Cloudspire for an exchange was a Superior-ranked new trainer picked from within the Sakurajima Alliance. The system might have valued some of them at only a few dozen points, but that was still leaps above what ordinary trainers of the same level were worth — against those, David might earn single digits at best.
To have been chosen for this trip at all, every one of those trainers had to have been among the top performers at their respective schools. Looking at them from a neutral standpoint, each one had the strength to make a school team. The stronger individuals among them had been worth over 200 points in the system's eyes — good enough that, on a good day, some of them might have been able to battle Emma to a draw.
Among David's group of companions, Emma's battle performance was the most unpredictable. Her main partner was Togetic, and before it reached its final Evolution into Togekiss, its raw combat ability wasn't particularly impressive. What made Togetic dangerous was its signature move, Metronome — a move with an extraordinarily wide range of possible outcomes.
When Metronome rolled well, it could make even Luke's Metagross uncomfortable. When it rolled poorly, Emma could easily find herself being overwhelmed by someone like Willow.
After all, Willow's Grovyle had evolved into Sceptile during the recent break. Togetic didn't have Togekiss's powerful speed and flight, and fast, aggressive attackers like Sceptile were exactly the type it struggled against.
Willow herself was no pushover. The main reason she ranked at or near the bottom alongside Emma was simply that she came from an ordinary family, which put her at a natural disadvantage when it came to resources. Treecko was an excellent starter Pokémon, but stacking it up against the others' partners was a difficult comparison.
Luke's Beldum had the late-blooming potential of Metagross — one of the strongest non-legendary Pokémon once fully evolved. Miles had Growlithe, a Pokémon with remarkable power that sat just below pseudo-legendary tier and only needed a Fire Stone to evolve into Arcanine. And David's own Zorua came from a line of exceptional talent even by the standards of his family.
The gap wasn't small. If not for a lucky awakening of a Dragon-type bloodline, a breakthrough in potential after becoming a disciple, and a well-timed boost during the Dragon Festival, Willow's Sceptile would probably have struggled to keep pace with the rest of the group.
Still, that disadvantage had begun to narrow once Willow became a disciple. It would just take a little more time before she fully caught up to Luke and Miles.
As for David himself — well, that was a different story entirely.
Salamence wasn't even the whole picture anymore. The rest of the team had watched "Little Four," the newest addition, level up at a startling pace — and then surpass all of them to claim the top spot. That had lit a fire under everyone.
Even the naturally easygoing Zorua had started putting in serious effort. Growlithe, already diligent as ever, had redoubled its training. Lucario had buried itself in study of the two hanging scrolls David had brought back from his grandfather's home, quietly working through whatever knowledge was stored within them. Zorua and Kirlia, meanwhile, had taken their own separate paths: Zorua was drawing in negative emotional energy from the Light Stone, while Kirlia was pushing deeper into the development of its Dark-type power. Both were making real progress.
The one who paid the price for all of it was David.
Developing Dark power and channeling negative emotional energy both drew heavily on his Aura. During this period, he had been running close to empty on a daily basis. But there was a silver lining — that constant strain had done wonders for his own Aura capacity. His reserves had grown noticeably, and each of his Pokémon had climbed another level closer to professional rank.
He turned his attention back to the system rewards.
Of course, points alone weren't what he had been looking forward to. He was saving those up for a legendary ten-pull later and couldn't use them immediately. Beyond the points, today's haul also included three random item draw tickets and one pending achievement reward.
David nodded. That was more like it. Taking on an entire Sakurajima Alliance Superior exchange team deserved more than just numbers.
He set the draw tickets aside and claimed the achievement reward first.
"Ding~ Congratulations to the host for achieving the special achievement 'One Man Army · Part One' — defeating thirty opponents no lower than your own level in a single continuous run! Reward being claimed~"
"Ding~ Congratulations to the host for obtaining System Points × 3000, and Special Item: one Totem Aura Seed."
David's eyes skipped right past the three thousand points and locked onto the Totem Aura Seed. Something told him that was where the real value was.
He tapped on the item description.
"Totem Aura Seed: A seed containing mysterious power. When fused with a Pokémon, it grants a chance for that Pokémon to awaken as a Totem Pokémon. Success rate varies depending on compatibility between the seed and its host."
David slapped his knee. "Now that's a reward. Even if the ten-pull comes up empty, getting this alone makes the whole thing worthwhile."
He took a breath and thought it over, though.
As much as he liked the item, using it right now wasn't realistic. Salamence was a natural Totem — it didn't need any help from a seed. Growlithe and Vulpix were both built around speed and agility, and the Totem form's bonus to size and presence wouldn't suit their style; the compatibility would almost certainly be terrible. And as for Kirlia...
David pictured it and immediately shook his head. He did not need a towering, giant Kirlia looming over him. No thank you.
"I'll hold onto it. The right moment will come eventually."
He tucked the Totem Aura Seed away in the system's storage space and finally turned his attention to the draw tickets.
He had three new ones from today's rewards, plus the ones he had been holding in reserve — enough together for a full ten-pull. David gathered all ten, held his breath, and activated them at once.
The screen flooded with golden light.
David closed his eyes.