Hey nerd,

It feels weird, writing this with everything that’s happened. But we’ve been trading these emails back and forth for so long that it’s practically a habit. Keeps me calm, helps me focus.

It’s been tough lately, but we’re doing everything we can. Can you believe that Wang, Eva and I are now considered the “world’s foremost experts” in all things Kryptomon? Hell, we sure as hell don’t feel that way.

Everyday we’re one step closer to reverse engineering that portal Charles Pound disappeared into, and we realize just how little we really know about Kryptomons or this other world he was talking about. But that doesn’t stop the magazines and the press blowing everything out of proportion like they always do — They even nicknamed me “The Strongest Trainer”.

The strongest trainer… Heh, what a load of horseshit.

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Absolute Power

“In the face of absolute power, tactics and strategies amount to nothing.”

I don’t remember exactly which fight in the arena where I first heard that, but I can’t stop thinking about it ever since the showdown with Pound. His Dark Kryptomons were… unstoppable.

What was the point of all of that training Fyllo and I went through? We had the numbers on our side, we had Tanya and Fyllo’s strength, we had the battle experience of the best trainers… But in the end what use was any of it against the Dark Kryptomons?

What would you do man? Everyday it gets harder and harder for me to get out of bed and come to the lab, to smile at the rest of the team and work on the portal. They need me to be strong, to be the person who tells them everything is going to be all right. Everyone’s ignoring the elephant in the room and just trying to push on one day at a time.

So what if we find this new world? We don’t even have the ability to protect ourselves from the Dark Kryptomons, who knows what we’ll find on the other end of that portal?

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Kyros the scientist… or Kyros the trainer?

The world doesn’t need Kyros the scientist. Heck, this lab doesn’t even need Kyros the scientist. We’ve brought in some new faces, and I hear good things about a lady called Jeanne Dunn. Kinda reminds me of you really, brilliant researcher who tends to lock herself in the lab and get lost in her work.

Heh, speaking of which — I know you’ve always complained about her, but Lise’s really come through for all of us in the lab. She’s still up to her usual antics, but it’s one of the few things that puts a smile on everyone’s faces. Bet you didn’t see that coming when you agreed to that internship program did you?

No, what this world and this lab needs is Kyros the trainer. I need Kyros the trainer. I can’t keep pretending that I don’t still have nightmares about the helplessness and the frustration of being completely outclassed by Pound. Fyllo and I… we’re never going to be that weak ever again.

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It’s training time

Eva understood this as well. She’s off on her own journey but I need to do my part as well. With most of my work handed over to Wang and Jeanne, it’s time for Fyllo and I to double down on improving our strength.

With these guys on the job, it’s not even a question of if, but when the portal will be opened. And this time I won’t fail again. Whatever this new world throws at us, I’ll protect us all.

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