Yuuki and his friends (Bonus Chapter Reward)

"There's no black spot on his wings, which indicates that Butterfree is a male," Kanraku murmured softly.

"By the way, Yamada-san, Inoue-san, Nakamura-san, Aizawa-san, your Metapod was close to evolving, correct? You need to spend time with them. I'll give you a three-day leave starting tomorrow," Kanraku announced.

"Aye," his disciples nodded in agreement.

Then he turned his attention to Suzuki Akiko. "Suzuki-san, there's something I need to discuss with you," he said.

"These six children — you look very familiar. Are you from the orphanage?" Suzuki Akiko surmised the topic of his inquiry, then addressed the children. "Are you the child from the orphanage?"

"Yes, my name is Sato Yuuki; I'm ten years old," Yuuki introduced himself.

"These are all my friends. This is Kaito-kun, surname Hoshino," Yuuki pointed at the slight boy with a timid expression.

"Hello, auntie, my name is Hoshino Kaito, and I am nine years old," Hoshino introduced himself.

"Hello, auntie, my name is Hana, Sugiyama Hana. I'm ten years old," the girl said, a touch embarrassed.

"Hello, my name is Isamu Haru. I'm nine years old," the quiet boy added.

"Oh, your name seems the opposite of your personality," Suzuki remarked, amused.

Isamu remained silent, offering no response.

"My name is Matsui Ren; I'm ten years old. And this is my little sister, Rio," the boy with glasses introduced them both.

"Good morning, auntie, my name is Rio, Matsui Rio. I'm six years old," Rio said, looking up at Suzuki with innocence.

"Kawaii~" Suzuki felt her heart touched by the child's cuteness.

"So, you are Matsui Rio. Good morning, Matsui-chan. How about calling me 'nee-san'? My name is Suzuki Akiko; you can call me 'Suzuki nee-san'," Suzuki suggested, patting her head and holding back the urge to pinch her cheeks.

Ren felt a twinge of dissatisfaction at the special attention his sister received but said nothing, not wanting to upset her.

"Suzuki-nee chan? Suzuki nee-chan, Suzuki-nee chan!" Rio repeated the name, enchanting Suzuki with her charm.

'So cute!' She thought.

"Where's your principal? Did you get her permission to come here?" Kanraku inquired of the children.

The children fell silent, and Kanraku surmised they had not asked for permission.

"Grandma Principal wouldn't let us come," Yuuki admitted.

"So, you just escaped to come here?" Kanraku probed.

Yuuki hesitated before nodding. "Yes."

"Since you have no permission, I can't allow you to make contact with any of the beasts here," Kanraku stated directly, then turned to Inoue. "How is it going?"

"It's already starting," Inoue replied, focusing on inspecting the blood.

"Professor, why? I want to tame beasts!" Yuuki protested.

"Why? Because you're here without permission. Honestly, it's a miracle you arrived safely; it's dangerous with so many beasts around. I'm relieved you've survived; otherwise, I wouldn't know what to tell your principal," Kanraku explained, sighing. He was secretly pleased that someone was taking the initiative to learn about beasts, but it was a pity they were just children; surely their principal wouldn't allow it.

"Professor, I'll go back to training," Floyd interjected, walking away with his Pokémon.

"Go ahead," Kanraku nodded in affirmation.

"Professor, Grandma Principal really wouldn't let us if she knew," Yuuki said, sounding a bit helpless.

"That's why I'm suggesting an alternative," Kanraku offered.

"Eh?" Yuuki and the other children looked confused.

"You don't need to tame beasts right now. First, you should learn from Suzuki-san," Kanraku instructed.

"That's why you asked me to come here," Suzuki Akiko realized her assignment.

Kanraku nodded at her acknowledgment.

"Learn? What do we need to learn?" Yuuki questioned.

"A lot. The English language, encyclopedias, Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, mathematics, science, history…" Kanraku listed them one by one, causing Yuuki and the rest of the children's hearts to sink.

"That's not related to beasts," Yuuki argued.

Kanraku didn't explain it first and just handed them a book which was the 'Beast's Encyclopedia.'

Yuuki took the encyclopedia and, joined by Ren, Hana, Kaito, and Haru, started to examine it. Rio, looking confused, was reassured by Suzuki, who held her hand and smiled. Rio returned the smile with a cheerful, "Suzuki nee-chan!"

Yuuki, not understanding the English text at the front, flipped through the book, finding himself and the others awed by the multitude of Pokémon pictures. Although the text was beyond their comprehension, the logical sequence of Pokémon evolution in the illustrations helped them to differentiate between each species. Yuuki, mesmerized by what he saw, snapped the book shut with visible excitement.

"Why did you close it, Yuuki-kun?" his friends protested, dissatisfied, wanting to take the book into their own hands.

Ignoring their protests, Yuuki handed the book over and turned his attention to Kanraku, who was busy experimenting with his disciple. "Professor, I want to learn!" he exclaimed, rushing toward him.

"Huh? You want to learn?" Kanraku responded, surprised, then nodded. "Okay, remember, it's English, encyclopedia, Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, science, mathematics, history…"

"Stop, stop, stop! Professor, Kokugo, mathematics, history—it doesn't relate to beasts!" Yuuki complained, stamping his feet.

"Of course, it's our national curriculum dedicated to all children. How can you just only learn about beasts and forget basic knowledge?" Kanraku retorted.

"Is it really that necessary?" Yuuki asked.

"Yes," Kanraku affirmed.

"Then why is that kid an exception?" Yuuki pointed at Ryota, who was playing with his Pokémon.

"Who said he's an exception? That kid is intelligent. Do you want to try testing his knowledge?" Kanraku challenged with a smile.

"Hmph, I don't believe it," Yuuki muttered, snatching the book from his friends and rushing towards Ryota.

"Yuuki!" his friends called after him.

"You, kid! I ask you!"Yuuki rushed at him.

Ryota noticed Yuuki and the other children approaching.

"I'm not a kid, hmph, I have a name, Ryota, Suzuki Ryota. What is it?" Ryota snorted as he said then asked, puzzled.

Squirtle, Butterfree, Ekans, Teddiursa, and Cherrim looked on curiously, as it was the first time they had seen children similar to Ryota. The children, especially intimidated by the presence of Ekans, swallowed hard.

"That bear is so kawaii; it looks like my Kuma-san," Rio said, pointing at Teddiursa while clutching her teddy bear.

"Onii-san," Rio began, but Ren hushed her with a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

"Why are you calling me?" Ryota asked again.

"Can you understand this? Can you explain it to me?" Yuuki showed Ryota the book.

"Oh, that? This is the Beast Encyclopedia Version 1. It was written by Shishou, Floyd-onii-san, Oba-chan, and, of course, Shishou's apprentices, including me, and the rest of the Gaijin here," Ryota explained with pride.

"And what about this?" Yuuki asked, initially shocked but suspecting Ryota might have memorized the content, he flipped to another page for Ryota to explain.

"It details the evolution of the beasts. It's just a summary, so people can easily understand the evolutionary concepts that Shishou described," Ryota elaborated.

"And this?" Yuuki persisted, still not fully convinced.

"That's Squirtle, similar to my friend here," Ryota said.

"Squirtle!" the Pokémon responded cheerfully.

"And this?"

"That's Wartortle, the next stage of evolution."

"And this?"

"That's Blastoise, the final evolution of Squirtle. See those big turtles? They're Blastoise!"

"Hmph, I'm not convinced, how about this?" Yuuki continued his interrogation.

"That's Caterpie, the pre-evolution of my Butterfree. Right, Butterfree?"

"Free~" the Butterfree chimed in.

Ryota started to ask random questions and Ryota answered it perfectly.

Yuuki and his friends fell silent, thoroughly impressed by Ryota's knowledge, and thereby completely convinced. Following this revelation, Yuuki and his friends made a decision for themselves.