Five

I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my wrist. The training logs still smoked from our last drill. Monferno’s newest move had more kick than expected.

He crouched low on a rock, chest rising and falling, the fire on his tail flickering steady like a heartbeat.

“You okay?” I asked.

He grunted in that familiar way that meant I’m fine. Stubborn as ever.

I knelt beside him and nudged a Sitrus Berry toward his claws. He took it reluctantly, like eating was a sign of weakness. I knew better now. He always got like this when he was trying to prove something. Kind of like—

The back door creaked open.

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Dad’s footsteps were always deliberate, each one placed like he was measuring the ground before trusting it.

He approached, arms crossed over his chest, and watched Monferno in silence. His eyes were focused, sharp—not just looking at my Pokémon, but seeing something bigger.

“He’s getting sharper,” Dad said. “Hits harder. Reads faster.”

I nodded. “I think he’s close to mastering Mach Punch.”

Dad raised an eyebrow. “Fast moves don’t mean much if you can’t spot the opening.”

I wanted to say I already knew that. That I’d learned it the hard way. But instead, I nodded again. Something about the way he said it made me want to prove it, not just agree.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded envelope, the edges slightly worn.

“They sent this earlier today.”

He handed it to me. The seal was gold-embossed—official enough to make your palms sweat just holding it.

Caelora Academy.

Even the name sounded heavy.

“They want you to visit,” he said. “Tour the campus. Stay in the dorms. Get a feel for how things work up there.”

“What is Caelora?” I asked, confused.

He let out a slow sigh, eyes drifting toward the horizon.

“I never mentioned it before because your mother didn’t want you feeling pressured to live a certain way. But… I told them about your progress. They were interested.”

He hesitated for a moment, then continued.

“When kids have a unique bond with Pokémon, when they really want to understand them, to grow with them, they regular schools aren’t enough. Not for someone like you.”

He glanced at the envelope in my hands.

“You’re starting high school soon. Out here in the countryside, you don’t have access to everything you need to truly grow. This place… it could give you all of that. The tools. The challenge. The community.”

I hesitated. If I went through with this, then Able would be—

Dad placed a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s just a campus tour. The school year hasn’t started yet. You’ve got time to decide. You’ll know what’s right—for you and for him.”

He nodded toward Monferno, now fast asleep on the rock, snoring softly.

“You have great potential,” he said quietly. “You should do everything in your power to make the most of it. Everything.”

I didn’t answer right away. Just stood there, watching Monferno sleep. My gaze drifted to the Poké Ball in my hand, fingers fidgeting with the latch.

“…Alright,” I said, the words coming out with more reluctance than I’d intended. “Let’s check it out.”

Dad smiled, just a little. “Good. We leave tomorrow morning.”

Authors note:

Hai guys it’s me Sowisi, I hope you’re enjoying  my story it’s been sitting in my brain rent free for months and now I have a place to upload it and get potential feedback

Rn it’s kind of a nothing-sandwich, I’m still learning how to write peak but I like where I’m going and I have a decent amount planned for the future.

ATM I just write on my free time so if you’re eating ts up please verbalize it via comment so I know ts isn’t getting ignored

Fun fact ig: I started writing this because I came to the realization that Pokemon has been directed to younger audiences for as long as I can remember, but they’ve grown older. Thus I’ve took it upon myself to create something that fills the hole as something I love but also enjoyable(not like a kids show)

Also like be my first follow, it would be so tuff