6
Monday, February 3rd (first day of school)
I walked into the lab with my best friend, Thaddeus. It was odd and extravagant.
There were books everywhere. It smelt oddly of something burning. People in white cloaks scuttled around, reading, fetching things, I didn't even know what. Thaddeus looked in awe at the posters and charts on the walls. He was a bit of a nerd. An older fellow in a white cloak saw us and waved.
"Hello, I'm Professor-"Thaddeus suddenly grabbed the professor's hand and shook it vigorously. "You mine hero, sir!" Me love you work with rock and flying Pokémon!" He burst out in his foreign accent. He hadn't quite grasped our language yet. He was still shaking hands with the stunned old man.
"That's great," the professor continued after a few seconds. "I'm Professor Singleton, but you can just call me Mr S," he introduced. "You're early, but that's good for you, you get first choice." Thaddeus was almost crying with joy. He rolled down a poster that had the twelve starter Pokémon on it. "Choose when you are ready," he said as he walked to the door to see if other people were coming yet.
"Hmm… me think Charmander or Chimchar, you think what?" Thaddeus asked me.
"Uhhhhh, I will choose Treecko or Bulbasaur I reckon. Those Pokémon would suit you, bro." I replied. "Me choose Charmander!" He said a little too loudly. Mr S walked over with a frightened look. Behind him was a blonde boy with an uppity grin on his face.
"Boys, this is my brother's grandson, Eddie.
"Hi," I said, still studying the Pokémon.
"Hallo Eddie!" Thaddeus said, beaming.
Talking quietly to Thaddeus, I said "I think I'll pick Bulbasaur." He nodded in contempt. Eddie took one look at the Pokémon. "I pick Bulbasaur!" He shouted. My jaw dropped. Never had I been so mad at one person. Never had I ever been mad actually. It was weird. I didn't understand angriness. I was deflated. He had burst my bubble. But I was sad, not angry. Mr S turned to me. "Young man, you're taking a long time, pick now, please."
"Sorry, sir, I'll pick Treecko." I said quickly and sadly.
"Grand, follow me," he beckoned as he put the chart away and led them out a door.
Pokémon were frolicking in a grassy paddock, about the size of a tennis court. There was a tree in the middle that had fresh berries growing off of it. Mr S let out a shrieking whistle of three ascending notes and all twelve of the Pokémon came running. All but one. "Hold up, who are we missing?" He asked as he counted the Pokémon. "I believe it's the loser Pokémon, Treecko," Eddie chuckled. I heard a girl laughing behind us. It was Paula-Sue Mercer, Eddie's girlfriend. "Aah, Paula-Sue. How's it going?" The professor asked her. "
Not bad, Mr S," she replied. "Torchic please," she continued.
Mr S put Torchic, Charmander and Bulbasaur in Poke Balls and gave them to their new owners. "Come on, PS, let's get out of here," Eddie said to Paula-Sue. PS is what her Eddie and her friends called her. "Smell you later, starter trader!" He yelled to Mr S as he left. He chuckled at his own joke again.
"Thank you, sir!" Thaddeus yelled. "Me stay with Aaron!" He continued.
"Let's go find that Treecko, then," Mr S said to them. Thaddeus and I checked that it wasn't hiding in the long grass near the back. It must be in the tree, then, I thought. "It's not in here, let's go to the tree," I suggested. Thaddeus nodded. We walked over to the big Sitrus Berry tree in the centre. Once we were beneath it, we looked up. There were only four or five branches, so it wasn't hard to spot Treecko. He was soaked. He was either sleeping or passed out. "Shake tree?" Thaddeus asked. "Yeah, that might work," I replied as Thaddeus started shaking the tree. The Treecko flopped out after a couple of shakes and I caught it. He was surprisingly light, but the sharp leaves on his arms cut my fingers. "Ouch!" I exclaimed. I carefully passed him to Thaddeus and he carried him to the lab.
"Wow, he is really roughed up! It was probably water gun, he got knocked out cold," Mr S said as his assistant bandaged up my fingers. Mr S put Treecko in a Poke Ball and into his healing machine. After a couple of minutes, he was fully healed. "Goodbye, boys. He said hastily, shooing them out. "Bye!" Thaddeus shouted. "Let's go to Lorene's house tonight, we'll be at yours until then. Us two fifteen year-olds walked back to Thaddeus' house in Twinleaf Town.
"Hey, Lorene!" we said in chorus at six pm, when we spontaneously came to her house.
"Hey, guys, which Pokémon did you get? I've got Mudkip!" She said excitedly.
"I got Treecko, he got Charmander." I said as we whipped out our Pokémon. Lorene's mum got a little scared when she saw Charmander. "Ooh, that's so cool!" She said hysterically as she released Mudkip. The three of us, best of friends, chilled with their Pokémon until late, as teenagers do. After Thaddeus and I left, Lorene and her mum talked.
"Does he know how much you like him?" Lorene's mum, Ollie, asked.
"I wish."
"You could just tell him"
"It's not that simple, mum. If he likes me back, it would be great, but what if he doesn't? it would ruin our friendship."
"Sounds like you've thought about it."
"Yeah. Goodnight, mum." Lorene said as she trudged upstairs.
Tuesday, February 4th
I walked into my new classroom and sat down in the seat that had my name on it. Professor Singleton walked in front of the class holding a Poke Ball once everyone had sat down.
"Hey everyone, you all know I'm Mr Singleton right?" There was murmured agreement from the class. "So you can get to know each other a bit better, I'll point to someone and they'll tell me their name and Pokémon. So if I pointed at me, I'd say Mr S, Zangoose," he said as he opened his Poke Ball and a Zangoose popped out. Everyone looked in awe at his cool Pokémon. He pointed at a chubby boy at the far left of the first row.
"Ken Copeland, Totodile," the boy said.
Mr S pointed at the blonde girl next to him. She didn't respond; she seemed to be daydreaming. "Excuse me," he said, tapping her shoulder. She snapped out of her daydream and looked blankly at him. "I'd like you to do four things for me. Put your finger to your head" She slowly did what she was told. "Say the letter after L."
"M," she followed.
"Say the letter after S," He continued.
"T," she said obediently.
"Now, do the first three things all at once."
She put her finger to her head and said "Empty." She gasped. The whole crowd burst out into laughter. "Now, what's your name and your Pokémon?"
"Nanette Fischer, Squirtle," she said proudly. Mr S pointed to the next person.
"Socorro Farmer, Cyndaquil."
"Salvador Gibbs, Chimchar."
"Bobbie McLaughlin, Turtwig."
"Alyssa Mendoza, Chikorita."
"Thaddeus Mercado, Charmander."
"Paula-Sue Mercer, Torchic."
"Aaron Riddle, Treecko."
"Eddie Floyd-Stephenson, Bulbasaur."
"Matthew Valentine, Piplup."
"Lorene Whitely, Mudkip."
"Alright, that's everyone." Mr S said with a smile. He went on with the rest of the boring lesson.
In Sinnoh, kids start Pokémon schooling at ten years old. They stay in school for five years, until they are fifteen. In their fifth year there, they get a starter Pokémon on their first day. At the end of the fifth year, if they pass, they get a trainer's license, a badge box and a PokeDex. They can start any adventure they want after those five years. If they fail, they are doomed to a menial life.
Lorene, Thaddeus and I glided through school easily, getting good grades. Thaddeus' grades were the best in the class, considerably higher than mine and Lorene's. He always got first or second in assignments and tests. Lorene and I usually got fifth or sixth. On our last test there was a tough challenge.
Friday, October 31st (last day of school)
Everyone was in class at ten o'clock that day, because it was special.
"By now, your Pokémon should be about level ten, correct?" Mr S asked in front of the class. The class nodded confidently. Some of them had level twelve Pokémon. Others were as young as level nine. "The challenge is to catch a level two Pokémon, then level it up as high as you can before six o'clock. Then you must all report here by six and I will grade you, to see if you've passed or not." He explained. "Your time starts in… five… four…" Everyone was anxious to get out. We were all half out of our seats with haste. "Three… two…" My heart was pumping with anticipation. I could see sweat drops on Thaddeus' forehead. "One…. Go!" Everyone shot out of their sheets as he yelled. One guy tripped over, only to be trampled by a stampede of excited trainers. He got up a while later, aching badly.
At four o'clock, Thaddeus, Lorene and I met up near Lake Verity to check out our new Pokémon. "I got Shinx, level three, on Route two-o-two, how about you guys?" I said after the usual greetings, as I released Shinx from his Poke Ball. "Starly, level two, on Route two-o-one," Lorene said, releasing her bird Pokémon on cue. "Me get Bidoof, level three on Route two-o-three." He said, beaming, while showing off his cute Pokémon. "Let's battle, then!" Lorene said excitedly.
First, I battled Lorene. It wasn't a very epic fight, because our Pokémon were young and only knew a few, weak moves. It was close, but she beat me because of her superior speed. The young Pokémon were excited and giddy to be a part of a team. "Yes!" Lorene screamed with delight s her Starly beat both Shinx and Bidoof, levelling up to level five in the process. After Thaddeus and I recovered our fainted Pokémon, we battled. Because the only moves either of them knew were Tackle and Growl, it was about speed. Good thing Bidoof was pudgy and had short legs. Shinx won and levelled up to level four. At six, everyone was back in class.
"Was that fun?" Mr S asked, grin from ear to ear.
"Yes," the crowd mumbled.
"Good answer," Mr S said cheerfully. "Now I'll call out the roll for your final grade. Ken Copeland," he called. "Your Totodile is level…
"e-eleven," Ken said after a second of hesitation.
Mr S scribbled down something short. "Your second Pokémon, name and level," Mr S said.
"K-K-Kricketot, six, sir," He stuttered. He must have stage fright, I thought.
"Your practical work grades b minus. Your bookwork is c plus. You have passed, with a c." Mr S told him. He sighed with relief. "Nanette Fischer," he said loudly. Nanette listened this time and told him the level of her Pokémon. "Ten," she said casually. "Geodude, five," she continued.
"You're prac grade is C minus. Your theory grade is d. D plus, is a fail, Miss Fischer," Mr S said grimly.
"Whatever," she murmured. She was rebellious, I thought. I like that.
"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you'll have to give me your Squirtle," Mr S said, amazed at her lack of commitment. "Whatever," she said again as she chucked her Poke Ball on his desk.
"Thank you. Socorro Farmer." Mr S said, moving on.
"Cyndaquil, twelve," he said very proudly. He was competing with Eddie and Thaddeus for highest marks. "Starly, seven," he went on.
"Very good, Socorro, prac, a minus, theory, a. You've passed with an a minus." Mr S said, delighted. Socorro punched the air above him. As the list went on, more and more people passed. The only person who hadn't passed so far was Nannette. Thaddeus got an a, I got a b and Lorene got a b plus. We couldn't wait to be the best trainers ever.
We went to Lorene's house for a party after school. It was great. Her dad made some Miltank great steaks. Lorene wouldn't eat them though, because she was vegetarian.
"How can you eat something that was loved and cared for by people and animals? How come some Pokémon are partners and others are food?"
As usual, no-one listened to her. Her dad was really friendly to me because I loved meat. Steaks, chops, ribs, legs, shoulders, wings. I had a passion for meat. After the awesome party and dinner, we had some battles. Because Thaddeus' dad was the professor's assistant, he had a Pokémon healing centre in his house. Thaddeus and I hoisted it into Lorene's basement for the battles. I squashed my toe, trying to get it down the stairs. Thaddeus' dad had designed the basement for them to have battles in. it was a dome shape, with a big Poke Ball painted on the floor. The stone walls were cold and impenetrable.
"Go, Treecko!" I yelled, throwing my Poke Ball out.
"You beat this guy, Bidoof!" Thaddeus replied, releasing Bidoof. Bidoof was three levels lower than Treecko, but he was saving his awesome Charmander until after.
"Treecko, pound." I said calmly, trying to keep my cool. Treecko smashed Bidoof with his tail.
"Tackle," Thaddeus called. As Bidoof was running at him to attack, I said something smart.
"Jump up and use quick attack!" I told Treecko. Treecko did as he was told, he jumped. With the force of gravity, he slashed at Bidoof. But Thaddeus was ready.
"Defence curl! He cried. Bidoof curled up in a ball. Treecko's attack barely had any effect on her. I was stunned at how good his techniques were. His parents cheered. My dad barked at me, he always did. "Keep attacking, you're quicker than him! Hit his soft spot, keep your eyes peeled for an opportunity!" He commanded.
"Dad! This is my battle!" I told him over the commotion.
"Fine! Lose, then!" He called back.
"Treecko, quick attack again!" Treecko slashed more quickly this time. Bidoof fainted.
"Charmander!" Thaddeus exclaimed as he released the lizard Pokémon. "Use ember!" Charmander set Treecko on fire for a second. Treecko hopped about, then the fire was gone. He fell over. Out cold. "Go, Shinx, tackle!" I said as Shinx hopped out of his Poke Ball.
"Scratch!" he chuckled. Shinx ran and jumped Charmander. When he got close, Charmander scratched Shinx' stomach. Shinx fell to the ground. He could barely stand. Shinx try to tackle again, if you can. You can do it." I said encouragingly to Shinx.
"Smokescreen," Thaddeus told Charmander. His Pokémon coughed up smoke that filled the room. Shinx was determined. He quickly limped and rammed into what he thought was Charmander, but was actually the wall. Shinx fainted. I put my Pokémon in the healing machine as the smoke cleared.
It all seems fine and dandy now, but a big plot twist coming up.
