Beep!

System is starting...

A mechanical voice rang in the young girl's mind just as she reached the cart.

'Sure enough. It's still here.' Reyna glanced around. It seemed that she was the only person who heard the beeping noise.

The voice's origin was the fifth generation artificial intelligence that malfunctioned and exploded in her first life. Somehow, it had fused with her soul and transported to the Pokemon World with her.

She has mixed feelings about their fusion. However, it was thanks to this "special ability" that she managed to reach the Advanced level and had a chance to tackle the realm of Elites. Without the A.I. Chip, she would have probably died in some ditch as a nameless Grunt.

'...' Reyna looked at the selection of Poke Balls.

The A.I. Chip had an accumulation of data from her two lives. Species, Typing, Level, Ability, Moves, Species Strength, all of these data were collected from Pokemon games, anime and manga from her first life. There were also the many databases and libraries she raided during her second life.

Even so, it was not an all-powerful cheat. The selection of her Starter was up to herself since the Chip did not have the power to scan through space. She has no way to know what Pokemon was held in the Poke Ball and what aptitude they had.

'If I remember correctly, there was an error in Team Magma's system and they accidentally included a Pokemon from the Merit Store. But...' Reyna frowned and stared at a certain Poke Ball.

What was inside was a Zubat who was also her former life's Starter Pokemon. It had evolved into a Crobat after she invested a good amount of resources into it and had been a member of her main force. However, because of its aptitude, it had no chance to breach into the ranks of Elite.

'No, I shouldn't hesitate. I have decided, haven't I?' Gritting her teeth, her eyes turned resolute.

Her gaze moved towards another Poke Ball near the end of the last row. The Pokemon stored within it was not supposed to be here. Unlike Team Rocket, Team Magma's financial situational was considerably worse and could not randomly add Pokemon who have high aptitude to a recruit training class.

A lucky recruit had conquer this Pokemon in her last life. And due to said Pokemon's aptitude and friendliness, he managed to survived the training and went on to become the subordinate of an Elite Officer, though last she heard, he had died in a mission.

"Yes, that's right, I will decide my own fate." Reyna smiled.

She made her way to the cart's rear under the scrutinizing gazes of Tristan and the Magma Grunts. Indecisiveness and the yearning to meet her former life's Starter Pokemon was no longer present. What was left in her was only the desire to grow stronger.

'She's smiling?' Tristan raised his brow, confused by the young girl's action. '...Why is she smiling?'

"Come out!" Reyna selected a Poke Ball and immediately threw it to the air.

Accompanied by a flash of light, a quadrupled creature whose body was primarily gray with a black face, throat, paws and belly jumped out and landed on her chest. Its eyes were red with yellow sclerae and it has a red nose. Its lower jaw has two pointed teeth sticking out.

Clearly different from the previously appeared Wild Pokemon, it did not attack the unfamiliar human but instead it squealed with joy. Wagging its tail, it snuggled into Reyna's bosom. Perhaps it felt the young girl's excitement? It did not resist for a single second and immediately recognized her as its Trainer.

"I'm glad to meet you too, Poochyena!" She patted her Starter Pokemon's head and laughed.

Poochyena responded to his Trainer's happiness by giving her a bright smile. It licked her face with glee, like a new-born puppy who had just met its parents for the first time.

Pokemon: Poochyena (Light Green)

Gender: Male

Level: 7

Type: Dark

Ability: Rattled

Held Items: None

Inherited Moves: Poison Fang, Fire Fang

Basic Moves: Tackle, Howl, Sand Attack

Instructed Moves: None

Move Learners: None

The A.I. Chip scanned Poochyena and a hologram only visible to Reyna appeared in front of her eyes. It displayed the information of the scanned Pokemon. If she specified, it could display the details of the Pokemon's Ability and Moves. The same applied to any other data she has a record of.

Inherited Moves meant Moves inherited from one's parents. Basic Moves meant Moves a Pokemon would automatically grasp when leveling up. Instructed Moves were Moves taught to the Pokemon by a Trainer. And lastly, Move Learners were Moves learned through a machine by using items such as TMs.

Poochyena certainly wasn't the most powerful Pokemon out there. It was quite common, even, and its Species Strength was a low 220. Its two-stage evolution line was neither excellent and its evolution, Mightyena, was not great either when compared to many other Pokemon out there.

However, the bracket with the words "Light Green" behind Poochyena's species name was the most important of all.

There was a saying in this world that the upper limit of a Pokemon's growth depends on the Pokemon's aptitude, while the lower limit of a Pokemon's growth depends on its Trainer's ability.

The Pokemon in this world was nothing like what you'd expect. They could not continuously level up as in a game through defeating other Pokemon. On the contrary, many of them are blocked by an insurmountable wall: Aptitude.

The ranking order of aptitude follows the seven colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Each color is separated into three tiers corresponding to the colors of their shades. For example: Light Green, Green, and Dark Green.

Reyna's Poochyena had a Light Green aptitude. This was middle-ranked among the seven colors. But do not underestimate this as a Green aptitude was, in gaming term, a Pokemon with perfect IVs. They are the masterpieces you'd obtain after generations of selective breeding.

Most of the Pokemon you could find in the wild would be either Red or Orange. You might encounter one with Yellow aptitude from time to time and those would be immediately caught if ever discovered. As for Green aptitude? Even the Pokemon that the ten chosen ones received were probably Yellow or Dark Yellow at best.

That was why the lucky recruit who received Poochyena was able to survive in her past life. It was not the Trainer's ability, but it was the Pokemon who single-handedly carried its Trainer through the hell-like training regime. Unfortunately, Poochyena never shined past the Intermediate level because of its mediocre Trainer.

"Hm. Good job. Now, next!"

Hearing the instructor's shout, Reyna nodded and left together with Poochyena.

Huff huff huff.

Reyna rubbed her head as she calmly watched the contest before her.

The recruits were frantically climbing up the staircase and have been doing so for almost an hour. Many were breathing heavily and had sweat pouring down their face. How many steps have they taken? It was unimaginable to them as most of them were malnourished and could not exert the physical strength of a normal child.

Poochyena who was beside Reyna seemed to have sense its Trainer's condition. It nudged on the young girl's leg, wanting to cheer her up.

"It's okay, just a bad dream. Don't worry about me." Reyna, in turn, looked down and caressed Poochyena's head with smile.

Someone had spread the words of how Tristan was waiting for them above ground, how he was a man who hated those who are not punctual, and how you could get punished for being late. Thanks to that, the recruits were shook awake and started pushing each other to rush up the stairs.

Team Magma's base were usually built underground, hence them having to climb all the way up. As of a result of that, most of the children would run out of stamina by the time they reach the surface. Of course, there was a proper elevator, but none of the recruits dared to step onto it under the adults' intense glare.

'Slow down. It's not like they're going to steal your food.' Reyna shook her head.

She was one of the few who were not hurried. Although Tristan being above ground was true, she knew that they were safe and would not be late. If it went according to her last life, he should have been the one who spread the news.

It was smart, actually. Anyone would rush like their life depended on it when threatened with possible death. Furthermore, Tristan was not a patient man. He would never spend his time guiding the children through the base. He would rather watch as they find the designated gathering spot themselves.

Soon, the group reached the destination. They were gathered on an open field. Unlike the gymnasium they were led to yesterday, she could see the clouds and the bright blue sky above her.

What surrounded this field was a large grassland followed by a sea of trees. One might have guessed that the base was built in a hidden forest zone, but those who were more keen could tell that it was not from the salty smell in the air.

That's right. They were not located inland but rather on an island in the middle of an ocean.

"How nostalgic." Reyna whispered in a sarcastic tone.

Faraway Island was Team Magma's secret training facility that continuously pumped out new Grunts to be used in its goal of capturing Groudon and expanding the amount of landmass in the world. Yet, such a important location was never found until the organization's downfall in her past life.

This was because this facility was not actually located in the Hoenn region. Maxie was not stupid. Why the hell would he put his lifeline near their headquarters? Instead, he had secretly scouted out an uninhabited island near Kanto and sent his trusted subordinates along with the necessary resources to gradually form the present base.

The surroundings might look tranquil but this was a facade created to give the recruits a false sense of security and freedom. If she was not wrong, there should be at least twenty or thirty Flying-type Pokemon patrolling at all time.

No recruits could escape. Even if they were to somehow hide from the Magma Grunt and run into the forest, they would never be able to avoid the aerial Pokemon's detection. Not to mention that they were in the middle of an ocean.

"Looks like everyone's here." A gruff voice interrupted Reyna's thoughts.

Tristan and his group of ten Magma Grunts appeared before the recruits. The Team Magma instructor had a baton in his left hand and was properly dressed in Team Magma's uniform this time. Meanwhile, his Claydol was not present but his ever-bloodthirsty Seviper was.

Pokemon: Seviper (Green)

Gender: Male

Level: 27

Type: Poison

Ability: Infiltrator

Held Items: None

Inherited Moves: Scary Face, Stockpile, Wring Out

Basic Moves: Wrap, Swagger, Bite, Lick, Poison Tail, Feint, Screech, Venoshock, Glare, Poison Fang, Venom Drench, Night Slash

Instructed Moves: Crunch, Iron Tail

Move Learners: Sludge Wave, Sludge Bomb, Flamethrower

"It's not his main Pokemon?" Reyna blinked when she saw Seviper's information.

It wasn't that the Seviper was strong, no, on the contrary, it was too weak, being only at the Intermediate rank. It might have a great aptitude exceeding her Poochyena, however, she had expected a Pokemon with a much higher Level from Tristan.

Someone who has the status of a instructor in a criminal organization will never be weak since they are responsible for training the people who would later become their organization's backbones. Who would want a weakling to raise the future of their organization?

Tristan should be at least an Elite Officer, or even an Admin of Team Magma. That meant Advanced Trainer or possibly an Elite-level powerhouse. Green aptitude should be the norm in his team and there might even be Pokemon with Blue aptitude in his main team.

You know, just because the official materials stated that there was only three Admins in Team Magma didn't mean it was the same for this world. This applies to many other organizations as well. Team Rocket is especially notorious for this since there are many nameless Executives you would have never heard of in the anime, game or manga.

"It's time for your second task, recruits." Tristan raised his voice.

At the same time, a Magma Grunt moved towards the instructor and respectfully handed him a handheld display device. Another pair who were standing at the back carried something similar to a large mechanized stone to the front and inserted it into the ground.

"This is an Evaluation Stone. It is an instrument that measures the power of a Pokemon's attack." Tristan explained. "I believe that you can now guess what I want." He looked at the recruits. A few chosen ones gave him a knowing smile.

"From today on and for the next six days, I will teach you how to train your Pokemon and how to survive in the wild." He continued. "At the end of the teaching period, you will order your Pokemon to attack this Evaluation Stone."

"The top ten scorers will be awarded with this." He pointed at his own belt. "100 Merit Points plus a storage device that uses space technology. It has a cubic meter of space within it. As for how it's used, you'll have to figure that out yourself. And..."

"...After the teaching period, you will be released into the wild and have to survive for a week. That's your third task." By now, a fierce expression was plastered on his face. "We will perform another round of evaluation, the final evaluation, at the end of your third task! As for the one who places last... he will be directly eliminated from this class!"

"Evaluation?"

"He wants us to survive in the wild?"

Murmurs came from the crowd.

'This again.' Reyna subconsciously frowned. Looking at the appalled children, she could not help but admire Team Magma's ingenuity.

Tristan had basically told them that the weakest of them would die. It might have not sounded so frightening considering how only about a hundred fifty children were left from the original two hundred, but that one move by Tristan was not just to evoke their competitive spirit but to also pour cold water on them.

Although some of the recruits might not realize this for now, they would certainly do so over the next few days. The so-called "survival exam" they were preparing for was not a camping trip. They were going to be thrown into the wild without any food or supplies and surrounded by hostile Wild Pokemon in addition to other recruits.

Tristan was pointing out that those who were around them were not allies but were competitors or potential enemies. "I can't trust others and if I don't get stronger, I'll die." He wanted to ingrain such a concept in their mind so that they would do their best to train their Pokemon and themselves.

Conflict between humans was normal. However, unlike Trainers from the Pokemon Association who would usually solve their problems with a friendly Pokemon battle, criminals would almost always resort to violence. For that reason, death in a battle between two members of the Underground World was common.

Any careless move could result in death. The instructor and his subordinates would make sure to let them know that this training facility was a place where one had to do everything to survive.

And worse, they'd do that while awarding the top scorers and punishing the weaklings: The so-called carrot-and-stick approach. They wanted the recruits to know that Team Magma cared about their members and would reward those who put in efforts. And at the same time, those who were useless would be disregarded.

So, Tristan was killing three birds with one stone. He was going to train the recruits to the minimum operational standards, instill loyalty for Team Magma in them, and ensuring each of them possessed a criminal's mentality.

"NOW!" Tristan bellowed at the whispering children. "I will now start explaining Pokemon's Typings and their effectiveness! You better listen well."

Nothing out of the ordinary happened for the next few days.

It was monotonic. Reyna would wake up early in the morning and spend the whole morning listening to Tristan's lessons. In the afternoon, he and his Grunts would bring the recruits into the forest and split them up into teams of threes, fives or tens depending on the lesson's topic. For example, foraging, tracking, hunting and water purifying.

Despite how he looked, Tristan was surprisingly good at teaching. He explained the knowledge necessary to Novice Trainers in a straightforward and easy to understand way. He also demonstrated many wilderness survival techniques and focused on practicality. No wonder he was appointed as the Team Magma Instructor by Maxie.

However, Reyna did not like it. The atmosphere was peaceful, too peaceful. It was as if they were in an middle school camping trip. No one got hurt except a fool who was bitten by a Rattata. Occasional laughter could even be heard during classes.

In any case, there was nothing she could do except to train Poochyena to her very best. As long as her Pokemon was strong, she would be able to overcome any obstacles in her way.

Reyna didn't blindly choose Poochyena either. It wasn't certainly only because of its Light Green aptitude. If she didn't know anything about Poochyena's raising method, she would've picked Zubat who she was more familiar with.

Fortunately, Poochyena and its evolution, Mightyena, were one of Team Magma's most commonly-used Pokemon. This was due to them having a complete method for breeding and training them.

Without the complete raising method, Team Magma would not have transported Poochyenas all the way from Hoenn to Faraway Island just to distribute them to recruits. They could have just caught a bunch of Pokemon were native to Kanto.

Reyna, too, had the said method saved in her A.I. Chip's database. She was not only confident in raising Poochyena, but she was also confident enough to bring out its maximum potential. And so, she chose it as her Starter Pokemon.

There was also the fact that Poochyena has yet reached its maturity. There were still rooms for it to grow, and according to the Chip's scanning, there were many physical imperfections to be found. Those could certainly be treated through simple training, massages or supplements.

She had to uncover all these hidden dangers and fix them before Poochyena evolves into a Mightyena. If she did so, Poochyena could potentially up its aptitude to Green and might even have a chance to climb to Dark Green when it attain its final evolution form.

'I won't fail this time...' Reyna watched the children in front of her doing their best to create a campfire.

It was almost time for the first evaluation.

A/N:

University closed down due to COVID-19 :P

Stay safe everyone!