Chapter 10: Special Abilities
A faint smile played on Kenji's lips as he watched Chase with an amused expression.
In truth, Kenji never actually expected to get the 50,000 Pokédollars. It wasn't Monopoly money, after all. The main goal had always been to teach Chase a lesson.
But the other students—especially those who had clashed with Chase before—didn't care about that. With graduation just around the corner, nobody was worried about his family's connections anymore. They were all enjoying the show, and their taunts and jeers made Chase's face cycle through shades of red and white.
All his earlier arrogance had vanished. He looked like he wanted to be a Diglett and bury his head in the ground.
"Alright, alright, that's enough."
After enjoying the spectacle for a few more moments, Kenji finally held up a hand to quiet the crowd. He then looked at Chase. "Look, we're all classmates here. How about this: you give Leo a sincere apology, and I'll forget about the 50,000 Pokédollars. Deal?"
Every eye in the crowd was now fixed on Chase. Each stare felt like a steel needle, shredding what was left of his pathetic pride. After a long, tense silence, he gritted his teeth, pulled out his phone, and quickly tapped the screen a few times.
Ding!
Kenji blinked, pulling out his own phone. He stared at the screen. It was a transaction notification.
Fifty thousand Pokédollars. The full amount.
"Hmph. It's just 50,000. It's nothing to me," Chase sneered. He recalled his Geodude and turned to leave. But if you looked closely, you could see that the hand holding his phone was trembling.
Fifty thousand Pokédollars! No matter how rich his family was, he couldn't just throw that kind of money away without a second thought. He could already imagine the thrashing he would get from his father when he found out.
Watching Chase's "stylish" retreat, Kenji's jaw went slightly slack. The guy he had found so annoying just moments ago now seemed to have a pair of pure white wings sprouting from his back.
He was a literal angel.
Chase left, partly to get his Geodude to a Pokémon Center, but mostly because he was too humiliated to stay.
His departure didn't dampen the mood. In fact, it made Kenji the new center of attention. Both boys and girls crowded around him, begging for a closer look at his Beedrill. But Kenji's Beedrill was a total introvert. It disliked being around people, let alone being gawked at like a zoo exhibit.
Kenji would never force his Pokémon to do something it didn't want to. He politely but firmly refused his classmates' requests and recalled his Beedrill.
The Pokémon battles continued, but they were much tamer now. No one pushed their Pokémon to the point of fainting; having an unconscious Pokémon in the middle of the wilds was a serious hassle.
In a quiet corner, Kenji and Leo were huddled over a single phone screen.
"One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand... hehehe..."
Kenji couldn't stop the goofy grin from spreading across his face. This money was enough to keep his Beedrill fed with mid-grade Pokéblocks for a long time. Since evolving, its appetite had exploded. Kenji had been on the verge of switching to cheaper, low-grade blocks because he couldn't afford its diet anymore.
He never imagined that Chase would swoop in like a hero and solve his financial crisis.
"Kenji, my man, you're rich! You have to treat me to a feast now," Leo said, nudging him with his elbow. Seeing Chase get his comeuppance had put him in an exceptionally good mood.
Kenji laughed and readily agreed.
"Kenji."
As they were talking, Melody slowly approached them. She stopped in front of the two boys, her expression serious.
"What's up, school idol?" Kenji asked, raising an eyebrow. He and Melody weren't close; they were just classmates.
Melody didn't seem to mind his casual tone. "I have something I want to ask you," she said simply.
Leo glanced at Melody, then back at Kenji. After so many years of friendship, Kenji knew exactly what that look meant.
"Well, uh... you two talk. I'm gonna go grab some more skewers. I'm suddenly starving," Leo said with a sly grin. He gave Kenji a knowing look before making a conspicuous exit.
Kenji's eye twitched in annoyance.
Melody, however, seemed completely oblivious to their silent exchange. She sat down right next to Kenji, in the spot Leo had just vacated.
"So, what did you want to ask?" Kenji said, scooting over a bit. He felt a little awkward, so he grabbed a nearby drink and took a sip before getting straight to the point.
Melody looked him right in the eye. "Your Weedle evolved into a Beedrill in such a short amount of time. You've awakened a special ability, haven't you?"
Kenji froze for a second. A special ability?
It made sense. Just like the Aura, psychics, and the Viridian Force from the lore of his old world, some humans in this world were born with unique powers. They were just exceedingly rare.
"Uh... I guess you could say that," Kenji said after a moment's hesitation, rubbing his nose. The system counts as a special ability, right? But wait, why did she say 'you too'?
"Melody, don't tell me you have a special ability as well?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
She shook her head, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Not me. My father."
Kenji's interest grew. Melody's father was the Edgecliff City Gym Leader.
"What's his ability?" he asked.
These abilities, while rare, weren't exactly state secrets. Melody looked up at the sky. "My father's ability comes from the sky," she said. "It helps him raise Flying-type Pokémon."
Kenji nodded in understanding. "So that's why Edgecliff has a Flying-type Gym."
Melody didn't reply to that. Instead, she looked at him and sighed. "I'm so envious of you."
The envy in her voice was unmistakable. For humans in this world, awakening a special ability might not grant them superhuman strength, but it gave them an unparalleled advantage in raising and battling Pokémon. Trainers with these abilities simply had a higher ceiling than ordinary people. He remembered the stories of Giovanni, who used his own innate connection to the earth to raise his Pokémon to an Elite Four, or even Champion, level.
Faced with her envy, Kenji, being the emotionally dense guy he was, had no idea how to respond. He just sat there in awkward silence.
As the day of fun and games continued, the sky slowly began to darken.
Around the campfire, some students sang arm-in-arm, while others, emboldened by the atmosphere, gathered the courage to confess their feelings. With graduation so close, this might be the last time they were all together before they went their separate ways.
Kenji sat off to the side, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he watched them.
It's nice to be young.
As a wise man from his old world once said, you can't have your youth and understand it at the same time. In other words, the moment you start feeling nostalgic for your youth, it's already started to slip away.
And in that moment, that's exactly how Kenji felt.