For reference:

Electrical incontinence – A condition in which an Electric-type can't control its power well and accidentally discharges electricity when startled or threatened. It's typically seen in young Electric-types like Pichu or Elekid, but the problem can persist into higher stages of evolution as a result of a Pokémon being anxious or high-strung and can be overcome with increased confidence and maturity. Older Pokémon who suffer from this condition usually feel embarrassed by it.

Chassis (pronounced "chassee") – The basic metal skeleton of a robot or machine.

Capacitor – A small piece in a circuit that stores energy.

Transistor – A device in many electronics that amplifies or switches electrical signals.

(The last three aren't overly important to know; I just thought some readers might be curious.)

"Okay, class dismissed. Have a nice weekend, everyone! Oh, Volkner, can I see you after class for a bit?" Volkner jolted from his half-asleep state, wiping a bit of drool from his mouth and opening his tired eyes. He lazily slung his backpack over one shoulder and trudged to the front of the room, barely moving aside to avoid the flow of students, all of whom waved or said goodbye to the well-loved teacher.

"Yes, Ms. Cynthia?" he muttered lazily, his voice still scratchy from fatigue. The woman stood from the chair behind her desk and drew up to her full, impressive height.

The teacher looked down and gave Volkner a benevolent smile, gray eyes shining with concern. "Volkner, I'm sure you've seen your test grades recently, and you can see which direction they're going." At this, the woman paused, but Volkner did not interrupt. Dismayed by the youth's blank stare, she continued. "You're a smart young man with a bright future ahead of you, and I want to help you reach your full potential. To do that, we need to get your grades up."

Cynthia waited patiently again, but Volkner remained silent and motionless aside from his occasional blinking. Even that movement seemed like an afterthought. She crossed her arms. "Volkner, what's wrong? You were so animated at the beginning of the year. You LOVED physics and did extremely well, but your grades have plummeted. You usually don't come to class, and when you do, you sleep through it half the time. What's happened to you?" Cynthia's worry began to show on her face, and Volkner blinked again, seeming to focus a bit at last.

"I'm...I don't know, I'm just bored." Volkner shuffled his feet. "Everything's so easy. Why should I bother? It's not fun anymore."

The teacher's eyebrows rose at this. "So, the issue is just that you're not being challenged?" Her student nodded after a bit of hesitation. A grin lit up Cynthia's face. "I know just where you'll fit in. Have you heard of 'Firewire'?"

Volkner wrinkled his nose. "You mean our school's robot-building team? The one with all the geeks?"

Cynthia let out a cheerful laugh. She placed one hand on her hip and leaned against the back of her chair with the other, finally relaxing a bit. "The very same! Our team is in need of a good mechanic, and judging by how well you liked our Electricity and Circuitry chapters, you'd be perfect!"

It was clear the woman wanted to continue, but Volkner was already shaking his head frantically. "No, no thank you, ma'am. I'm NOT joining that club, no way. The kids there are...uh..." Cynthia raised an eyebrow, challenging him to finish his sentence. "Well...they're...different, that's all..."

Cynthia simply looked amused. "No offense, Volkner, but you're a little different yourself. Everyone's a bit strange in their own ways. I really think you'll be pleasantly surprised. The next club meeting is after school today in room 112."

Offended and exasperated, Volkner tightened his fists. This was NOT happening. "And if I refuse?"

At this, Cynthia's kind smile turned calculating as she said, "Well, it's up to you. I can't force you to go." She looked down at her desk and straightened a few papers. Volkner thought that was the end of it, but she wasn't done. "You know, Volkner, I saw your father at conferences last term. A military man, is he not?" Volkner nodded warily, and the teacher hummed a bit. "Seems like the strict type, if you don't mind my saying so. Come to think of it, I bet he wouldn't be too happy if it turned out that his son was, oh, I don't know...failing his physics class." The woman's eyes narrowed, and her tone turned sly. "Of course, he wouldn't HAVE to find out. Not really. You understand, don't you, Volkner?"

The boy paled. She had him.

Volkner lumbered to his locker and exchanged his backpack for one of his Poké balls, releasing a somewhat skittish-looking Raichu. The electric mouse sniffed and glanced around a bit before looking quizzically up at his trainer.

"I know you don't like strangers, buddy, but I need your help today. We're gonna be surrounded by total weirdos, and I don't want to face this alone. Do you understand?" Confused, the Pokémon cocked his head a bit but nodded anyway and smiled at his owner. "Thanks, Raichu." Volkner bent down to scratch behind Raichu's ear, then stood up again and sighed.

Volkner tried to walk as slowly as possible to room 112 after school, but the time had finally come. "Well, here goes." Bracing himself, Volkner pushed the door open.

The first thing he noticed was the noise. He'd expected it to be all whirring machinery, but most of it was from people talking...and there were a LOT of them. Instead of having seven or so students as he had expected, the room must have contained about thirty people, all in groups talking animatedly. Some of them had their Pokémon out to help with their various chores. Shaking off his slight surprise, Volkner stepped hesitantly into the room. The others barely looked at him, clearly preoccupied with their tasks.

"Ah, you must be Volkner!" He was startled from his reverie by a jolly, booming voice. Raichu quickly shuffled to hide behind his legs. The boy found the source of the voice: a tall, scruffy-looking blonde man in a green jacket. The man jogged to Volkner's side, meeting his disinterested scowl with his own jovial grin. "Hi! I'm one of the supervisors for the team. You can call me Palmer. Cynthia told me you'd be coming today. Wonderful teacher, isn't she?"

Evil, despicable witch, Volkner couldn't help but think to himself. She just has everyone fooled! He didn't voice his thoughts.

"So you're interested in joining Firewire, eh?"

Volkner sighed for about the tenth time that day. "...Something like that."

Oblivious to the sarcasm, the man grinned and put an arm around Volkner, guiding him forward. "Haha! Wonderful! I can tell you'll fit right in. Let me show you around!"

With one last longing glance at the door, Volkner abandoned all hope of escape and accepted his fate as he was led toward the first group of people. Raichu trailed slightly behind, his tail twitching in agitation.

"Lucian!" Palmer called to a tall, purple-clad student. "This is the new member I told you about earlier! Volkner, this is Lucian. He's the team's treasurer."

Lucian pushed his tinted glasses up on his nose and smiled smugly. "A pleasure to meet you. Volkner, is it not?" the man asked, walking forward and invading Volkner's personal space. Jeez, why was he so close?! Lucian offered a hand in greeting.

Volkner twitched a bit. "Uh, same." Lucian's grip was cold but firm, and he held on slightly longer than Volkner would have liked. Something about the man was...unsettling. Seriously, he was WAY too close.

Lucian was either unaware of Volkner's discomfort or just didn't care, and he said smoothly, "My duties for the team involve dealing with finances. I keep track of our spendings and create budgets," he continued, gesturing to an Espeon on a nearby desk, who lifted a rather detailed-looking notebook with Psychic. "I also delegate where we can spend our earnings, which we obtain through—"

"HEY, WANNA BUY SOME INCENSE?"

Volkner yelped and recoiled in panic, almost tripping backward over his Raichu, who seemed equally displeased about the commotion. The poor electric mouse had his paws over his ears. An energetic, dark-haired girl with a catalog in her hands had pushed her way past Lucian, inserting herself into the conversation—both literally and figuratively.

Palmer gave a good-natured laugh. "Perfect timing, Candice. Volkner, Candice helps out with fundraising, along with Gardenia, who is...right behind you."

"What?"

An orange-haired young woman popped up out of nowhere behind Volkner, startling him and his Pokémon. "HOW ABOUT AN OLD GATEAU?!"

"Raichu, don't!"

BZZZZZZZZZT!

In a selfless act, Volkner quickly dropped down and enveloped his Raichu in a makeshift embrace, taking the electric attack point-blank to shield his companions. A few wayward sparks still escaped, but the others didn't seem hurt.

Palmer bent down to the student once the electricity had fizzled out and placed a tentative hand on his back. "Volkner, are you alright? That was some shock..." He received a glare as Volkner stood up slowly, gritting his teeth in pain and holding the panicked Raichu in his arms protectively. He regained his bearings as the last of the sparks dissipated uncomfortably from his body.

"I'm fine," he spat tersely. He turned on Gardenia, fuming. "Why'd you scare Raichu like that?! That was really rude!"

She backed up defensively. "I was just being friendly! It's not my fault your Pokémon has electrical incontinence!"

Raichu whimpered, and his big, brown eyes welled up with tears of embarrassment. If Volkner was fuming before, he was livid now. "Don't you dare talk about him like that! Of course he's going to discharge when you—"

There was a swift movement at his right side as Volkner was quickly yanked by the arm away from the budding confrontation. A forceful, hasty voice spoke from next to Volkner's ear. "OKAY, then! Thanks for introducing him to the others, Palmer. I'll take it from here!"

Volkner had to hobble backward as he was dragged to a somewhat secluded corner of the room near a row of sinks. He was just gathering his bearings as the person gripping his arm firmly but gently pushed him to sit on the ground, and Volkner blinked, seeing a scrawny man about his age sit down across from him. He wore a bright yellow shirt, ridiculously baggy pants, flip-flops, black wristbands, and a pair of red suspenders...that he wasn't using. This was all topped off with a cheeky grin and a bright red afro.

Volkner raised an eyebrow. What a weirdo. Wasn't anyone in this club even remotely normal?

He expected the red-haired man to introduce himself, but he surprised Volkner by instead addressing Raichu, who was still shivering a bit in Volkner's arms. "Hey there, little buddy. You look a little shaken. That was a pretty strong Charge Beam back there, huh? Here, I think I have something for ya. Just a sec..."

Volkner exchanged a confused look with his Pokémon. He watched his companion pull something yellow from his pocket, secretly impressed the man had recognized Raichu's move, especially when it hit point-blank like that. He must know a thing or two about Electric-types; most people just assumed Thunderbolt whenever they saw any type of electric attack.

The redhead held out a small, speckled poffin in front of Raichu's face and smiled gently. "Here, try this." The orange Pokémon sniffed at the poffin for a moment in contemplation and gave a perplexed whine.

Volkner sighed. "Sorry, Raichu doesn't trust strangers. He only eats my—"

Chomp

"...cooking?" The pitch of Volkner's voice rose in bewilderment as Raichu munched contently at the food with a happy squeak. He opened his arms so his Pokémon could move forward and eat more freely.

The other man gave a smug smirk. "You were saying?" Raichu finished eating out of his hand, and the man scratched behind its ear as it nuzzled his hand slightly. It wasn't long before the electric mouse was sitting in the redhead's lap contently.

Volkner found his voice. "How'd you know what to feed him? Raichu's really picky."

The man chuckled as he pet Volkner's Pokémon. "Electric-types LOVE this type of poffin. My Electabuzz eats 'em right up." Volkner perked up at this excitedly.

"You raise Electric-types? That's so great! There's no one to talk to about them with around here," he borderline gushed.

"I mostly raise Fire-types. Even my Electabuzz has Fire Punch; I just like having someone around to take care of the Water-types and surprise my opponents, y'know?" Seeing his acquaintance deflate a bit, the man changed the subject. "I'm sorry the girls back there were so awful. Gardenia really did mean well; I'll have to talk to them about that." He sighed and looked back down at the Raichu in his lap, who had finally calmed down. "They should know Electric-types are always skittish. They just have so much energy in them, you know? Raichu, that was completely natural for you to do. You don't have to feel embarrassed," he reassured, tickling the electric mouse lightly underneath the chin.

Volkner had actually forgotten where he was for a few minutes, and his scowl returned when the others were mentioned. Right, this guy was just another geek, too. Raichu didn't seem to mind. Traitor. Volkner pouted.

The strange man looked back up at him with a lovable grin. "By the way, my name's Flint. I'm the captain of the team, and I help build the robots."

Volkner was speechless. This guy, the captain?! He didn't even look like he could control his own hair, much less an entire team!

"Well, I should get back and introduce you to the rest of the guys, but first..." Flint gently placed Raichu on the tiled floor and stood up, turning on one of the sinks. Volkner cocked his head in confusion. Flint wet his hands and shook off the excess moisture, then knelt close to his new friend and reached his warm, calloused hands into Volkner's blonde spikes, running his long fingers briefly through the strands to distribute the water. "...thanks to Raichu's Charge Beam, your hair kinda looks like mine right now."

Volkner stiffened, but didn't move. He knew well what static could do. Besides, this wasn't too bad. It...actually felt kind of nice.

"Hey, get a room, you two!"

"Who's your new boyfriend, Flint?"

Volkner's eye twitched in annoyance, and Flint shot back, "Hey, screw you guys! You're just mad you can't get laid!" He looked sheepishly back at Volkner and withdrew his hands. "Sorry about that. I just came out, and my friends won't shut up about it."

Oh, great. "So they're homophobic, then," he said quietly, trying to seem detached about it. Well, here was another place he'd have to stay closeted.

"Oh no, not at all!" Flint objected. "They completely accept me. That's just how they show affection. By the way, what do you do to prevent static in your hair, anyway?"

Volkner hid his relief. "What do you mean? I just kind of live with it."

"Well, it might seem a little weird, but try this..." Flint pulled a tube of hand lotion out of his pocket. Damn, maybe that's why he wears those ridiculous pants. How much can he store in those pockets?! Oblivious to Volkner's thoughts, Flint squeezed out a bit from the tube and rubbed his hands together thoroughly, then reached for Volkner's hair again and lightly touched the tips of it, slightly coating them in the lotion. What the hell was he doing?! Man, this guy was weird...

"Now, I know this seems odd—" You're damn right it does, "—but it really works. You only need to use a bit, but it weighs down on your hair and counters a lot of the static." His tone was clinical, and his eyes—which Volkner now noticed were a cool gray—were focused entirely on his task as he leaned over him. Volkner mentally shook himself, reminding himself to pay attention; this actually seemed like it might be useful. "I know it looks like I know nothing about hair, but you should see this thing in the morning before I fix it," Flint grinned, pulling back his hands again to point at his mass of hair. He scooted back on his heels to give Volkner a little space. "Alright! Now that your hair looks awesome again, wanna meet the others?"

He honestly didn't, but Volkner nodded, and they stood up to approach Flint's teammates. Raichu sauntered jauntily behind his owner and his new favorite human.

The three approached a small group that was gathered around a table piled high with a myriad of tools and materials. A primitive chassis sat in the middle of the table. The robot consisted of only a metal skeleton, a motor, a circuit board, and some stray wires. Volkner cringed internally, already spotting several flaws in the design. A few of the students around this table had been the ones teasing Volkner and Flint earlier. "Volkner, these guys are the core building team." He first gestured to a boy with glasses and a mining helmet—were those allowed in school?—who was comparing different sheets of metal and bending them rather aggressively alongside his Geodude. He placed the more malleable ones back on the table and nodded sagely at the strongest one. He was focusing so intently that he didn't look up until he heard his name. "This is Roark. He's in charge of designing the defensive portions of the units. Competitions can get pretty intense, and it's his job to make sure nothing breaks."

Roark looked up, startled, and reached out to shake Volkner's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you. Palmer said you were going to be building our circuits." The helmet-clad man adopted a serious expression. "I'll make sure to build a strong defense to protect them!"

"I never said I would...ugh, never mind," Volkner gave up lamely.

"Roark's dad, Byron, was on the team back when he was in high school," Flint elaborated. "He was famous for building some of the sturdiest robots in the history of the competition. He claims even his Bastiodon couldn't smash them." Flint raised his eyebrows with discreet skepticism at the last bit.

Roark came to his father's defense (no pun intended). "Well, it's true!" he said emphatically, ignoring Flint's chuckle. The boy grinned sheepishly. "I guess Dad's love of defense kind of rubbed off on me," he admitted, adjusting his glasses. He was clearly impatient to return to his work, so Flint placed a hand on Volkner's shoulder and led him farther along.

Well, he's another geek, Volkner thought, but I guess he's alright.

Next in line was a girl with pink hair who wore blue spandex, gloves, and...wait, was she barefoot?! That's...not sanitary, Volkner noted mentally. So far, this group was breaking at least two dress code rules and possibly committing a health code violation. The pink-haired girl was inspecting a complex blueprint. Flint interrupted Volkner's train of thought.

"This is Maylene. She devises strategies for playing the games and maps out the designs," he explained.

"Nice to meet you, Volkner!" she said excitedly, grabbing his hand and shaking it enthusiastically. He nodded in acknowledgment and visibly winced at her strong grip. "I'm pretty sure I've organized things so they'll work with the wiring, but let me know if there's a problem!"

"Sure thing," he said, feeling a little wimpy. He reminded himself that he should probably start working out or something, discreetly shaking out his hand behind his back. Ouch. Well, at least she's friendly, he thought. Maybe these guys would be alright.

Flint must have spotted his hand-wringing, because he snickered a bit. He leaned in and whispered, "Yeah, that's the usual reaction." Volkner felt only marginally better. "Alright, who's next...ah, Thorton! I'd like you to meet—"

"Oh, we've met," came a nasally voice. Volkner turned around and saw a familiar, short boy with a bizarre black hairdo and a haughty glare. Oh, great.

"You have?" Flint questioned. Volkner spoke up.

"We're in the same physics class," he said simply, hoping he didn't have to expound. Unfortunately, Thorton did it for him.

"You see, Volkner thinks he's too good for our class. He's always napping or skipping." The boy sniffed and crossed his arms. "I'm surprised he can even pass."

Flint's eyes widened, and his expression showed surprise and disappointment. "Volkner, is that true? You don't seem like the type..."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Volkner glared at Thorton and defended himself coldly. "It's an easy class. Why should I bother trying?"

Before Thorton could speak up, Flint interrupted to diffuse the tension, changing the subject hastily. "Uh...anyway, Thorton's our main driver; we have two others, but he's usually in charge. He's also been doing the wiring since we haven't had a specialist. Say, what are you working on?"

Thorton clearly wasn't over the animosity, but he didn't want to argue with his captain, so he moved on. He picked up a small, gray handheld unit with a single antenna and several buttons and levers. The back was bare, revealing the wires and circuit board within. "I'm almost done with this controller. I'm just having one problem; the robot moves left instead of right, and vice-versa..."

"We should make it so it can't turn left and nickname it 'Zoolander!'" Maylene called in a snarky tone.

"NOT HELPFUL, MAYLENE," Thorton snapped. "We can adjust our steering styles if we must, but it's counter-intuitive. I won't tolerate clunky technology," he finished harshly.

Flint reached out tentatively. "May I?"

"Of course, not that it'll be an easy fix," the boy said self-assuredly.

Flint inspected the back of the unit for a moment, but his expression quickly turned frustrated. "Yeah, I got nothin'. Sorry, pal." He was about to hand it back to Thorton, but Volkner interjected.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure!" Flint responded quickly before Thorton could reject him.

Volkner carefully took the controller, flipping it over with a bored expression. He looked for a problem, but everything was lined up properly, right to the last capacitor. Unless...

Thorton and Flint looked at him curiously as he approached the robot on the table, inspecting it briefly. He nodded. "Your controller's fine; you just have the wheels wired backward. See? Right here." He pointed to the mistake, and Thorton's eyes widened comically. Volkner tweaked the wires, reattaching them. "Try it now."

Thorton snatched the controller from Volkner's hands, switched it on, and fiddled with the levers for a second. Sure enough, the unfinished robot responded correctly. Flint laughed and exchanged a high-five with his new teammate. "See, Volkner? You'll do great! You're already fixing things!" Volkner couldn't help but smile a bit when Thorton's jaw dropped.

The operator snapped his mouth shut again promptly in an attempt to retain his dignity. "Hmph. A lucky break from an amateur. Don't expect that to happen again."

"Oh?" Ah, a challenge at last. "I thought you didn't like 'clunky technology.' I mean, if you really don't want my help, I suppose you can put up with it, then. It's up to you."

Thorton narrowed his eyes and regarded his rival suspiciously. "I don't appreciate you calling my technology 'clunky.' Attempt to help if you must, but you won't be finding anything I've missed, I can assure you of that."

"Mhm. Sure," Volkner responded smugly. He looked back at the metal skeleton from the corner of his eye. "Say, have you ever noticed your robot just stops sometimes or doesn't go too quickly?" Thorton choked on whatever he was going to say in response. "I bet it bears right, too, doesn't it? That can't be good for handling...oh, and what's this? Have you been having trouble keeping it going for more than thirty seconds?" he teased with a smirk.

Thorton gulped and sputtered at the blatant innuendo. "Well...I..."

"'Cause I bet I can keep it going much longer." Volkner couldn't help but feel satisfied when he noticed Flint shaking next to him from holding in his laughter.

The captain threw one arm around Volkner amicably and wiped tears from his eyes with his other. "Thorton, I don't think it could hurt to let him help out a bit. What do you say? Can't hurt to test out his endurance, eh?" he said. He smirked at Volkner, and they both snickered. Even Raichu was smiling and wagging his tail; he didn't completely understand what was going on, but this was the happiest he'd seen his owner in months.

The shorter boy kept his head down, fighting back a blush. "...You two are going to get along just perfectly, because you're both shameless perverts! Fine, do what you want. Just don't screw. I-I mean, don't screw anything up!" He flounced away. It was all the two could do not to burst out laughing.

Volkner was surprised at how quickly the time passed. With Thorton busying himself elsewhere, the rest of the builders proved themselves to be great company. Volkner was introduced to the other two drivers, a pair of freshmen twins named Lucas and Dawn. Before he knew it, he was halfway done solving the problems he had pointed out with the bot, and Flint stood up from his seat next to Volkner to interrupt the group's animated conversation about transistors.

"Alright, guys. We got a lot done today," he said, grinning pointedly at Volkner, "but it's almost three o'clock already. We'd better get going before the janitors kick us out again." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and Volkner got the idea that that happened frequently. Some light laughter from the others confirmed his theory.

Volkner stopped suddenly, looking down at his section of the metal frame. He wasn't done. He was just starting to get into it, too...

Unbeknownst to Volkner, Flint took note of his sullen expression and waved the others out silently, quietly wishing them a nice weekend before he plopped back down next to Volkner on the bench where he sat with the robot. He turned sideways, straddling the bench to face his companion.

"So how'd you like it?" he asked with an encouraging smile. Volkner blinked, snapping out of his reverie.

"It was...actually kind of fun. I didn't finish, though."

Flint's smirk only grew. "Well, that just means you'll have to come back next week, eh?"

Volkner allowed a small smile at that. "I guess I have no choice," he said with a twinge of sarcasm. He put the robot back on the table and twisted to face his captain, straddling the bench just as Flint was. "Thanks for helping me out. With...y'know, calming down and adjusting and everything."

Flint pumped his fist in the air with a proud, goofy pose. "That's just what the captain is here for!"

Volkner laughed under his breath, then averted his eyes self-consciously. "Yeah, well, I really appreciate it either way. If it weren't for you, I probably would have punched someone. Sorry about that."

Flint's silly smile faded. "It's not your fault. Aw, crap, that reminds me! I have to catch Gardenia and talk some sense into her about that. Ah, I need to hurry if I want to catch her. So I'll see you again, then?" he questioned hopefully.

Volkner nodded and beamed. "You can bet on it."

Flint's eyes lit up again, and he roughly tousled Volkner's hair with one hand and swung a leg over the bench. "See you next week, then, Volk!" he called as he jogged out the door with a smart wave.

Volkner cocked an eyebrow at the nickname and reached his own hand into his hair where Flint's hand had been, patting it softly. He heard Raichu squeak sadly at his feet, reaching out a small paw after Flint's retreating figure. He laughed fondly and lifted Raichu into his lap. He scratched the orange mouse under his chin just as Flint had, and his Pokémon relaxed at the treatment. "Don't worry, Raichu. I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of Flint from now on." His Pokémon squeaked with joy at the news.

Maybe geeks weren't so bad after all.