"What a creative use of research funds," Rosalia remarked dryly as she eyed the construction site that now stood where Arthur's family house used to be.
Arthur, unfazed by her obvious sarcasm, simply shrugged. "It's better to have my own lab. Honestly, it still feels surreal that I managed to pull off all that Pokémon research from my old, tiny, shabby room."
Rosalia had shown up unannounced again that afternoon, accompanied as always by Wentia and Reden—her loyal attendants and bodyguards.
Nearby, Ponyta was trotting happily alongside a cheerful Butterfree and a clearly irritated Beedrill. On the other side, their newer Pokémon companions played together in the open space, led by an excitable Pichu, a curious Eevee, and a bold little Charmander.
"If you'd just asked, I could've had a pocket dimension made just for you," Rosalia said casually.
"A pocket dimension?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You mean… like the inside of your tent?"
"Yeah," she replied, nodding as she pulled out her tent and set it up next to the temporary shelter that served as Arthur's family's home during construction. She looked settled in, clearly intending to stay the night.
"Want to come stay in mine? It's way more comfortable than yours," she offered with a teasing grin.
Arthur gave her a sideways glance. "Comfortable for a day, eternal rest for life. His Majesty would probably have my head if I dared spend the night in your tent."
Rosalia mimicked his earlier shrug and smiled. "Your loss."
They fell into a comfortable silence, quietly watching the progress of the construction as if spellbound.
Arthur had commissioned a renowned construction guild, Swetast, from the nearest city to handle the project. Since the idea of a Pokémon lab was completely foreign to this world, he'd drawn up the initial blueprint himself. It was so disastrously rough that the guild's head had scowled at the sight of it and revised it several times—but in the end, it still matched Arthur's needs perfectly.
Once completed, the lab would remain mostly empty at first. Arthur planned to install a series of intricate magic circles himself later.
The cost? One platinum coin—enough to make the finished building look even grander than the village chief's house.
At that moment, Reden approached, her steps unsteady and her eyes brimming with tears. Without warning, she dropped to her knees and prostrated herself in front of Arthur, forcing him to take a few startled steps back.
"Sir Arthur… please accept me as your disciple! I beg you—teach me runes magic!" she cried, forehead striking the ground with a loud crack as her round glasses fractured the earth beneath her.
How tough are those glasses…? Arthur momentarily forgot about Reden entirely, his gaze locked on the absurd durability of her eyewear.
After a moment to compose himself, he cleared his throat. "You do realize Rosalia is standing right next to me, right?"
"Eh?" Reden looked up—and immediately locked eyes with Rosalia's unamused pout.
Realizing she was not only prostrating to someone else, but doing so right in front of the very princess she had sworn her allegiance to, Reden sprang to her feet, frantically waving her hands. "P-Princess! This isn't what it looks like—!"
"Anyway," Arthur cut in, "what's gotten into you? Don't tell me this is because you couldn't crack my magic circle?"
"No! I did crack it!" she declared with pride, pounding her chest with one fist.
"You… did?" Arthur stiffened. For a moment, anxiety crept in. He hadn't expected anyone to decipher it, let alone by just looking at it.
Reden nodded vigorously. "Yes! Your Summoning Circle transcends the knowledge of a mere Court Researcher like me! It spoke to me in seventeen ancient dialects, Arthur, seventeen! Including Dolphin Cursive!"
Arthur blinked. "Spoke to you? Seventeen ancient dialects? Dolphin... cursive?"
"Dolphin cursive sings in the language of forgotten suns! It hums in icosahedral harmonics! It summoned twelve flaming walruses in my research lab—and one of them began lecturing me on Pokemon philosophy while knitting a sweater made of pure time!"
"????"
"I'm saying," she declared, eyes glowing with a swirling storm of runes and unexplainable energy, "that your Summoning Circle summoned me, Arthur! I'm not even real! I was born twelve minutes ago in the Pokemon dimension where spoons are gods and gravity owes tax-"
Bonk!
"I apologize for her idiotic display, Sir Arthur, Your Highness," Wentia said calmly, lowering the scabbard she'd just used to knock Reden out. She bowed with practiced grace, then began dragging the unconscious researcher away by her ankles.
Arthur wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Rosalia, who was visibly trying—and utterly failing—to contain her laughter.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Pff—ahaha!" Rosalia burst into full-blown laughter.
He waited for Rosalia to calm down, his expression a silent mix of confusion and disbelief.
Finally catching her breath, Rosalia wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Haha... Reden's been spending countless nights trying to decipher your Summoning Circle—no sleep, no breaks. She gets like this when she's obsessed with something. And when she finally stepped outside to get some sunlight, well… she snapped. As usual."
Arthur stared, speechless for a moment, before asking hesitantly, "So… she never actually cracked it?"
Rosalia shook her head. "Not even close."
Secretly heaving a sigh of relief, Arthur asked, "…Will she be okay?"
She nodded with a confident smile. "She'll go back to normal—once she finally manages to crack your magic circle."
Arthur's expression turned strange at her confident words, but Rosalia didn't seem to notice.
Remembering his own magic circle, which was composed of runes crafted from a blend of two Earth languages, Arthur found himself torn between relief and concern for Reden.
Unsure of how to process it, he decided to shift the conversation. "What about her Eevee?"
This was, in fact, a matter that weighed heavily on his mind. If she was so consumed by her research that she neglected Eevee, he might have to ask the Pokémon if it wanted to change Trainers.
Rosalia smiled softly and shook her head. "Don't worry about that. Even though she often lost track of Eevee during her researches, the moment Eevee interacts with her, she always seems to regain clarity…" Her voice trailed off, hesitation clouding her expression.
"What is it?" Arthur asked, his curiosity piqued.
Rosalia frowned slightly as she spoke, choosing her words carefully. "It's just... Eevee has started imitating Reden's 'unique' quirk. It even laughs manically with her when she's absorbed in her research..."
Arthur's face twitched, a wry smile pulling at his lips. After a moment of thought, he shook his head and sighed, almost reluctantly. "As long as Eevee is happy…"
"I can promise you that," Rosalia said, her smile reassuring. "Eevee actually prefers spending time with Reden over anyone else—even our Pokémon."
Arthur relaxed, his mind eased by her words. After a few more moments of light conversation, he got to the main topic, "So, what brings you here today?"
Rosalia turned her face to the side, pouting playfully. "Can't I visit just because I enjoy being here?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanging. "You can't."
His answer stunned her, but as she noticed the slight smirk on his lips, her expression shifted. She glared at him and then punched his chest lightly, "You jerk! I'll beat you up!"
"Haha!" Arthur chuckled, feigning pain from the playful blow.
Rosalia quickly regained her composure, clearing her throat as she spoke. "Anyway, I'm here today because my Charmander seems to be taking forever to level up from 10 to 11. I was worried it might have some strange disease, so I came to you," Rosalia explained, calling Charmander back and allowing Arthur to inspect it.
"Char~" Charmander walked over, crossing its arms over its chest, clearly annoyed at being interrupted while it was playing with the other Pokémon.
Arthur glanced at the healthy Charmander and let out a wry smile. "I expected you to level it up quickly, but not this quickly."
With the resources of the Royal Family at her disposal, it would be strange if her Pokémon leveled up any slower than him and Lena. Despite his experience and knowledge of Pokémon, there was no way he could compete with the endless high-quality resources available to her.
His own Pichu had only just reached level 10 yesterday, while Lena's Squirtle was still at level 9. However, he figured it wouldn't be long before it hit level 10, probably tonight.
"Of course! Charmander's Trainer is me! I'm the best Trainer there is!" Rosalia patted her chest proudly, arching her back slightly as she declared her superiority.
Arthur huffed, his tone tinged with annoyance. "Totally not because of your endless wealth of resources."
"Wealth is just part of being skilled!" she said, without a hint of shame.
Not wanting to indulge her boasting any further, Arthur got back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, I think you already know why it's stuck at level 10."
Rosalia hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I had a guess… Is it because level 10 to 11 is the equivalent of the First Ring for us?"
Arthur nodded, "Exactly."
The so-called Ring was a ring of closed-loop mana that formed within their cores, mind core for mages, heart core for knights, once they reached a certain threshold of control, power, and attunement. Unlike the raw, chaotic mana that floated loosely in the body of an untrained individual, a Ring was the first sign of true mastery—a stable conduit where mana could flow continuously without dissipating.
When one attains the First Ring, that's when they're officially recognized as a Mage or a Knight. In theory, it's possible to form two cores, becoming both a Mage and a Knight, but that would require more than just doubling your efforts. As a result, few choose that path.
For Arthur, his magical talent was average, even by the standards of Rastor Village. His mind core had yet to form the First Ring, and he had no intention of becoming a Knight.
For Mages, the First Ring marked the Apprentice Mage level—just where Lena currently stood, though it was likely she would reach the Second Ring soon.
As for Pokémon, while they didn't have the concept of Rings to define their progress, they still underwent a similar advancement process. For them, surpassing level 10 and reaching level 11 was roughly equivalent to attaining the First Ring. Though he had no proof yet, Arthur suspected that once a Pokémon reached level 21, it would be equivalent to the Second Ring in human terms.
Despite the lack of a "Ring" system for Pokémon, the world's laws seemed to have adjusted to accommodate them. The experience required to level up from 10 to 11 was remarkably high. In fact, his older Pokémon had reached level 12 much faster than they had broken past the 10-to-11 barrier.
Simply put, Pokémon needed to train significantly more than usual to progress.
Simply put, Pokémon had to put in significantly more effort than usual to break through this bottleneck and advance.
This also caused Pokémon to gain +1 to all their IVs upon reaching level 11—an immense bonus that Arthur couldn't manipulate. Unfortunately, he had observed that the IVs couldn't exceed +31. So, even with the boost from crossing the Ring barrier, it would remain at +31, as it was already maxed out.
Perhaps things would change once a Pokémon reached level 50—assuming they formed a new Ring every ten levels. That was the point at which Mages and Knights alike underwent a qualitative transformation, as all five Rings in their cores converged to form a True Mana Core. But that was still a distant future for Arthur.
On the bright side, this system could be useful for grouping Pokémon by level, which might make the Gym challenges and League tournaments more balanced—like a Nuzlocke challenge with level caps.
Or it could completely destroy the balance if one side had even a single Pokémon that had broken into higher Ring... but that was something only time would tell.
He continued, "While this is similar to the First Ring for us, the overall increase in strength for Pokémon isn't as dramatic. For them, the real qualitative change comes with evolution—that's when they experience a significant boost in power."
Except, of course, for Ash's Pikachu, he added with a chuckle in his mind.
He often wondered if Ash's Pikachu would become weaker if it ever evolved into a Raichu? He recalled the endless debates on the internet about whether it would grow stronger or weaker. Personally, he sided with the "Pikachu is stronger" camp.
Rosalia's eyes sparkled with excitement. "When will my Ponyta and Charmander evolve? How many evolutions do they have?"
Arthur smiled, his tone playful. "I'll leave it to you to figure out the first question, but I can answer the second. Ponyta has one evolution, while Charmander has two."
She tilted her head. "Does that mean Ponyta has better potential?"
Shaking his head, Arthur replied, "Not necessarily. Some Pokémon don't even have evolutions; they're just born strong... but that's not absolute." There was a noticeable hesitation in his voice as he spoke the last line.
"What do you mean, 'not absolute'?"
In an uncertain tone, he answered, "Well, although I know quite a bit about Pokémon, not every Pokémon has been fully documented. So, who knows? Maybe Ponyta has a second evolution if you find the right path."
Just like the Eevee he created, whose evolution remained open-ended, other Pokémon also held the potential for undiscovered paths—though the chances were much slimmer, as, unlike Eevee, he had left them mostly unmodified. Because of this, many were likely destined to remain unchanged. However, perhaps one day, someone would uncover a way to unlock a new evolution, though that would require a great deal of effort and research.
"What fascinating creatures," Rosalia said with a smile, apologizing to Charmander before letting it return to play with the other Pokémon.
"I feel like you've said that before."
"Did I?" Rosalia pouted slightly, then giggled, before heading over to Lena, who had been eager to join in earlier but had waited for their conversation to finish.
Hmm, maybe it was Reden who said that? Or both? I can't remember. Arthur pondered, shaking his head.
Right, I still need to ask Rosalia about the possibility of certain Pokémon types being hunted in the future, he thought, suddenly remembering—but that could wait until later.
Usually, he would spend the afternoon training and bonding with Pichu, but it wasn't bad to let it have fun with its own kind, so he simply watched them play, a smile tugging at his lips.
Soon, Rosalia and Lena joined him, followed by Wentia and Reden, who had a bump on her head and looked around in confusion. She and Wentia stood behind them as they all watched their Pokémon having fun together.