Pokémon: Check-In System

"So, is there anyone interested in helping out with the school team tryouts?"

The homeroom teacher's voice echoed through the classroom.

As soon as the words left the teacher's mouth, a brief silence filled the room. However, before long, a boy sitting in the middle raised his hand.

Smiling, the boy said to the teacher, "Teacher, I'd like to sign up."

Seeing the raised hand, the homeroom teacher nodded in satisfaction.

Instantly, the boy who had volunteered became the center of attention, and murmurs spread across the classroom.

"As expected of Dennis! I knew he would definitely sign up for the school team tryouts."

"Oh, I remember now! Just before the final exams, his Pokémon, Trapinch, evolved into Vibrava!"

"Vibrava! That Dragon-type Pokémon is quite powerful. Its special abilities make it immune to thunder from the sky and earthquakes from below..."

"A Dragon-type Pokémon—how terrifying!"

In this era of Pokémon trainers, Dragon-types represent both strength and rarity!

Dragon-type Pokémon are inherently gifted, possessing strong resistances against mainstream types such as Water, Fire, Grass, and Electric. The only types that counter them are Ice, Dragon, and Fairy.

Even after the introduction of the Fairy type—which had a significant impact on Dragon Pokémon—it couldn't dampen trainers' enthusiasm for them.

In the annual survey of favorite Pokémon types, Dragon-type Pokémon consistently rank at the top.

However, it's important to remember that raising a Dragon-type Pokémon is a long and costly endeavor. Their nutritional needs are expensive, making them unaffordable for most average families.

Vibrava's final evolution is Flygon, another formidable Dragon-type Pokémon.

Dennis' first Pokémon will ultimately evolve into a Dragon-type—thanks to his well-off father.

After all, Dragon-type Pokémon aren't cheap in the market.

"I heard that during the winter break, Dennis' father used his connections to get him access to an explored Wild Zone. Although it was a small-scale secret area, the energy within it was incredibly dense. Training Ground or Rock-type Pokémon there would yield twice the results with half the effort!"

"And now his Trapinch has already evolved into Vibrava! On top of that, he trained in a secret area over the break, significantly boosting his strength. Getting into the school team should be a piece of cake."

"Yeah! Our class might finally have a school team member!"

At Samron First High, each grade consists of ten classes.

Nero's class is not an advanced placement class; it's just an average one.

The core school team consists of only five members. In the last school team tryouts, three of those spots were taken by students from the two experimental classes.

That left just two spots for students from other classes.

This time, the school team tryouts are for substitute members.

Even though it's just a substitute position, out of nearly 500 students in the grade, how many actually get to be part of the school team?

Even substitutes receive some resources from the school, and they also get a chance to compete in major tournaments. If they perform well, it's a perfect opportunity for an underdog comeback!

Every chance to join the school team must be seized.

For an ordinary class like theirs, having a school team member would be a great honor. If Dennis makes it, everyone can already imagine their chatty homeroom teacher beaming with pride.

"Anyone else signing up?"

With Dennis already confirmed, another student in the class raised his hand.

It was Markus, the top student in their class.

During the final exams, Markus ranked first in the class. His Pokémon was Wartortle.

Wartortle is a well-balanced Pokémon in terms of offense and defense, and Markus had trained it well. He was one of the students the homeroom teacher believed had a strong chance of making the school team.

Once the center of attention, Markus now found himself overshadowed by Dennis, which made him uncomfortable.

Rumors had it that during the winter break, Markus and Dennis had battled each other.

The outcome? Vibrava had won.

After all, Vibrava could already hover in the air, making it incredibly difficult for Wartortle to land any effective attacks.

Previously the best in the class, Markus was now in second place. He wanted to prove himself in the school team tryouts.

With two skilled trainers competing, the homeroom teacher was more than pleased.

She felt confident that their class had a good shot at getting a school team member this time.

If a student from her class made the school team, she, as their homeroom teacher, would also gain some prestige.

The school team tryouts are the highest-level competition in the entire school. When the event takes place, the whole school will pause classes to watch the matches.

With 500 students in each grade, that's a total of 1,500 high school students. Add in the middle school students and teachers, and nearly 3,000 spectators will be watching every move on the battlefield.

If someone underperforms and loses badly, they might end up being mocked by a few jealous individuals.

A humiliating loss in front of thousands of people, followed by passive-aggressive taunts from classmates, could easily break a student's confidence.

And with the college entrance exams coming up in June, a shattered mindset could even affect final scores.

Not worth the risk.

So, for many students, it was better to just sit back and enjoy the show.

As for actually participating?

That was a matter for the top students in the class. Everyone else could just relax and watch from the stands.

"The participant list is confirmed. Best of luck to Dennis and Markus," the homeroom teacher announced.

The two strongest students in the class had signed up, so she didn't bother asking further—she knew the nature of her students well.

They all understood how important the tournament was, but they simply weren't willing to put in the effort to compete.

They were content living the easy life of bystanders.

The first class of the day wasn't homeroom, so just as the teacher was about to leave, a hand suddenly went up from the second-to-last row by the window.

"Teacher, you missed someone. I'm signing up too."

The voice belonged to none other than Nero.

Nero was speechless. He had raised his hand at the same time as Markus, but maybe because of where he was sitting—or just because he wasn't as highly regarded—no one had noticed him.

Everyone's attention had been on Markus and Dennis, completely overlooking Nero in the corner.

"N-Nero?"

The homeroom teacher was briefly stunned upon seeing his raised hand.

And in that moment, Nero became the focus of the entire class.

"No way, no way—you're serious, Nero? You're really joining?"

"Bro, think it through. Wouldn't it be more fun to just sit back in the audience and enjoy the show? If you get crushed in the tournament, no one's gonna come to your rescue."

"Yeah, there's no need to do this. I remember the guys in the next class love making snide remarks, and they've never gotten along with us. If you lose, you'll be the first one they go after."

If it were Markus or Dennis signing up, everyone would offer their encouragement.

But for Nero?

They were just giving him a few words of warning.

Because, honestly…

With Nero's current strength, he wasn't even qualified to step onto that stage.

If he entered the tournament, he'd be nothing more than a joke.

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