Aura Cleansing was just as difficult as I expected it to be.
I likened it to doing surgery on the spiritual essence of a Pokémon—an incredibly delicate process that required expert-level control of Aura to perform without causing damage.
But what I hadn't expected… was how intimate it felt.
That strange "world" I'd entered when Zangoose and I first bonded? That wasn't some hallucination. It wasn't a metaphor for our souls clicking together.
Apparently, it was real. Sort of.
It represented the bond between us—a shared inner space formed when two souls intertwine. And within that world, if one gave permission, it became possible to reach across the gap and touch the other's Aura directly. To heal it. Shape it. Purify it.
Professor Diane showed me how.
She guided me through that space, taught me how to recognize the tangled mess of elemental energy within Zangoose, and how to extract the foreign types without damaging the Normal-aligned core. It wasn't an easy nor fast process. And even in a practice session, it left me exhausted.
But I understood it now.
And then, right before she kicked me out of her office, Diane threw in one last tidbit.
Apparently, people could absorb the excess energy.
The types that didn't belong—the stray traces of Fire, Ice, Ghost, Dragon—those fragments that were still within Zangoose's Aura? I could take them. Not just discard them, but draw them into myself.
It was another reason for why Pokémon and humanity were the perfect partners.
Humans could absorb all eighteen types of Aura, but didn't naturally have the power to do so. Pokémon did have the power, but only one or two types would be beneficial to them.
Together, we created a balance that made both of us stronger.
My reserves were pathetically low, the lowest a person could ever have, but that wouldn't be the case forever.
Eventually, I'd have power of my own.
But first… Zangoose had to shine.
We had one week.
After spending about fifty points on essentials for her, grabbing dinner in the cafeteria, and skimming through a few more chapters in my reading material, we called it a night.
That was yesterday.
Today, while the rest of the students were busy receiving their first Pokémon, Zangoose and I were already a step ahead. Without any class obligations, we had no distractions.
The entire day was ours.
And currently, Zangoose was pacing back and forth.
Not out of nerves. It was more of a focused, restless energy—like a runner waiting for the starting gun. Through our bond, I could feel her desires loud and clear.
She wanted to move. Fight. Do something.
"I know, I know," I muttered, tossing the last bite of the protein bar into my mouth. "I'm finishing up."
She paused mid-step, and for a moment, I felt the faint brush of satisfaction flick through the bond—like she'd successfully guilt-tripped me with sheer presence alone.
I sighed, slinging my jacket on. "Yeah, yeah. You win. Let's go train already."
She was already at the door, tail swishing side to side anticipation.
Most of the other first-years were still down at breakfast or jammed into orientation halls getting their Partner Pokémon. Which meant we mostly had the place to ourselves.
She stepped out first, ears twitching, alert. I followed her into the morning light and pulled the door shut behind us.
As we walked, my mind drifted back to the realization I'd had the night before.
I finally understood why people revered high Aura capacity. It wasn't just because they could bond with more Pokémon. No, the truth was much simpler—and much more frustrating.
Any normal person with access to a mystical energy like Aura would want to mess around with it constantly, right? Even without a plan, just using it felt fun. It made me feel giddy just knowing I had something supernatural in my hands.
But there was a catch. And having low Aura meant I noticed it more than most.
Aura was costly.
Just like you used stamina to move your arms or legs, Aura also had a resource it constantly ate to do things.
Itself.
Aura burned itself into nothing for even the most basic of actions. Even something as simple as shifting it around inside me drained my reserves little by little.
And it seemed that Aura only regenerated from rest. Long rest. Which meant I couldn't constantly cycle it through my body or something like those isekai protagonists. There were no magical methods to improve my Aura control.
At least, no magical methods I knew about.
If I wanted to improve fast, I needed more Aura. Simple as that. That's why people with huge reserves had such bright futures ahead of them.
So I gave up on that route.
Not forever, of course, but I clearly wasn't going to learn anything useful in the week I had left.
There simply wasn't enough time to make meaningful progress on anything involving myself—not with how little Aura I had to work with.
But Zangoose? I suspected she could grow surprisingly fast in such little time.
I was still mulling over what to work on first when we finally arrived.
Except… we didn't.
I stopped, blinking up at the building in front of us.
While the other facilities had that high-tech, modern look, this one looked like it had been pulled straight out of a feudal-era painting. Tiered roofing. Wooden beams. An ancient pagoda aesthetic that reminded me of the sprout tower.
"…The hell?"
Frowning, I pulled out my Pokégear and flicked through the menus until I got the campus map up again.
The location marker blinked exactly where I was standing.
-—-
Field C – Outdoor Training Grounds.
"An open field for beginner practice and mock battles. Includes stationary targets and basic obstacle courses."
-—-
I stared at the screen. Then back at the building. Then back at the screen.
"Ooookay, this map is clearly useless."
Zangoose tilted her head, puzzled as to why I stopped moving. Her ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Hey!" someone called out.
I looked up.
A guy in a student jacket stood on the front steps of the building, one hand raised in greeting. His blue hair was buzzed close to the scalp, and a Pokéball dangled from the clip on his belt. "You lost or something?"
"Uh… kinda." I held up my Pokégear and walked a few steps closer. "I was looking for the uh, training grounds? Followed the map to here, but—" I motioned vaguely at the ancient-looking structure. "This doesn't exactly scream outdoor field."
He laughed, a relaxed, easygoing sound. "Oh man, you're using that map? That thing's practically ancient. Field C got rebuilt as this place, like, five years ago."
I sighed, pocketing the device. "Figures."
"But hey," he said, stepping aside and gesturing toward the wide double doors behind him, "don't sweat it. You're not the first person to show up confused. Happens all the time."
That made me pause. "So… what is this place, then? A shrine?"
He gave me a look. Not a mean one, just surprised. Then he caught himself and nodded, smiling. "Right. First week. No one tells you anything until classes start."
He reached out and tapped one of the thick wooden beams like it was an old friend.
"This is the Indigo Dojo," he said. "It's sort of a niche spot around these parts. Not a lot of first-years wander in, but if you're serious about training, this is the place."
I nodded slowly. "Sounds like a happy accident, then,"
I stepped forward and held out a hand. "I'm Jasiir. And this is Zangoose."
She gave him a once-over, flicking her tail in what I was starting to recognize as an affirmative.
"Brawly," he said, taking my hand and shaking it. "I help run the place when I'm not off teaching electives or punching things."
I almost flinched.
It couldn't be that Brawly, could it?
He looked way younger than I expected—maybe a few years older than me at most. And the buzzcut threw me completely off. The Brawly I remembered from the games had long, wild blue hair and surfer vibes turned up to eleven. Not this almost-military, teenage looking version.
Then again, if anyone was running a dojo in this academy, it would be someone with gym leader potential, wouldn't it?
I coughed. "Punching things?"
"Don't worry," he said with a wink, already turning toward the door, "I mean that in the most professional way possible."
Brawly jerked his thumb back toward the door. "C'mon, I'll show you around. You're here anyway."
I hesitated for half a second, but Zangoose had already started walking ahead like she'd made the decision for me. Tail flicking, ears perked. She was curious.
Well…
I guess we had time for a little detour.