Excel Academy

A/N: Welcome all to my first story on this account! I haven't done a Pokémon story with a school setting in quite a while so I decided to give another whack at it but I wanted to start fresh so here we are! For information about the SYOC such as the rules, form, and Pokémon that can be found on the habitat enclosure at Excel Academy, please go to my profile and if you have any questions that you want to ask before submitting your character, feel absolutely free to pm me.

Prologue

A flock of young Starly flew in formation high above the lonely streets of Eterna City. They blend in seamlessly with the indigo ceiling and only stand out against the vibrant magenta wisps that color the fading sky. Within moments, the only light left comes from the residential areas, resembling the stars overhead, though eventually these lights too died out until there was only one left late in the night.

The light shone from the room of a young boy, no older than fourteen, as he sat at the small desk in the corner of his room. His bed was neatly made and untouched and the rest of his room was honored with the same quality of cleanliness. The wooden floors were worn out over the years but they seemed adequately dusted and the walls were completely blank, save for a couple posters of legendary trainers opposite the bed.

There was the faint sound of scribbling as the boy pressed his pencil into the notebook lying flat in front of him. Before him was the fifth practice test that he had worked on that day, most of which had been completed already as evident by his slanted posture and weary eyes. His normal bright hazel orbs were beginning to dull with dreariness but they never turned away from the pages below them.

After realizing that he had read the same question seven times, the young boy leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out wide, prompting him to release a lingering yawn as his eyes shut closed for the moment. He quickly rubbed his eyes with the side of his finger and hunched back over his desk to continue his studies. Several seconds later, he heard a knock at the door so he whipped around in his chair to find his mother standing in the doorway with a laundry basket in one hand and the knob in the other.

She quirked an eyebrow at him as she asked, "What are you still doing up, Del? You have the exam at eight tomorrow."

He threw an arm over the back of the chair and let out another yawn.

"Yeah, I know mom. I was just getting some last-minute studying in."

"Well if you stay up any later, you might not even wake up in time. Here, I have some of your clothes. Put them away and go to bed, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay mom."

She grinned at her little hard worker before turning for the door and closing it behind her but before she did, she called out, "Good night."

With another yawn, Del returned the call and shut his book closed.

-Excel Academy-

Del's alarm screeched into his ear, causing his eyes to pry themselves open. He could see the checkered skin of the pillow that he was resting on as well as the matching covers as they disappeared around the edge of the bed. Even though he was taking in his environment, it took a second for his mind to start registering where he was and what was going on.

As memories of his test from the day before began returning to him, he flipped over on his bed so that he was laying on his back. He stared up at the bumpy why ceiling – his eyes still cloudy from having just woken up. That was all he could do while his mind began running through different questions from the exam. It was much more difficult that he had expected it to be, even with the months of studying through textbooks and practice tests.

The door swung open, breaking Del from his thoughts. Without even having to turn, he knew that it was his dad at the door but he sat up and looked over at him anyway.

"Hey, good morning, dad."

The short, bald man at the entrance had an unreadable expression on his face. Del never could tell what his dad was thinking or how he was feeling with how quickly the man could change moods. It seemed like it was going to be one of those mornings when he would just get straight to the point.

"Morning. Your mom made breakfast. Go eat and then get ready for church."

Del simply nodded and the door shut. His dad had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving the boy alone again. Knowing that his dad usually went to wake him up last, Del decided not to waste any more time as he slipped on a pair of sandals and dragged his feet to the restroom to freshen up.

The rest of his family was already in the kitchen when he got there – his mother was cooking while his brother and sister sat at the table already. His brother was playing with his food while his sister was busy telling their father about something that happened at school while he simply read the paper. Del knew that even if he seemed like he was not paying attention, his dad could recite every story that Emily would tell him. That was his little girl, after all.

"There's our scholar! Good morning!"

Del turned to find his smiling mother with a plate of eggs, beans, and bacon. Her bright blue eyes glistened in the soft morning light as she happily handed him his food. He couldn't help but smile dumbly at her compliment.

"Good morning, mom. Morning Em, morning Frankie."

"Good morning!" they called back happily.

As Del sat down at the table, Emily tore herself away from her story to congratulate her brother.

"So congrats on getting a good score on your test."

"Yeah, I heard you did awesome, dude!" Frankie added.

"You really did do a good job, Del. Ninety-two percent is something to be proud of."

Del was slightly surprised to find his dad looking him straight in the eyes. He had set the newspaper aside and looked genuinely impressed with his son. Del smiled as he ran a hand through his wavy brown tresses. The test was definitely much harder than he had been led to believe from teachers but Del had prepared extensively for months to the point where most of the answers almost seemed like common knowledge to him. As challenging as it was, he felt that it only made him do better as he flew through the questions.

"T-thanks, dad. It was hard but I felt good about it."

"Well it's good to see that those classes and materials that I paid for were worth the money. Remember to start sending in those applications to the schools that you want to go to, okay?"

Del nodded and began eating his breakfast. Even though the conversation had ended there, he kept replaying the compliment in his head.

-Excel Academy-

Several months had passed when Del found himself on the 7 Freeway in his mother's compact SUV. They had been driving through the forest for about twenty minutes when signs for Sandgem Town began appearing more frequently, causing the young boy's heart to accelerate all the way to the regional professor's lab.

To be honest, Del had expected the building to be much larger but it seemed no bigger than a fast food restaurant. Once he stepped inside, he found that the lab was one large room with several cubicles inside, most likely offices for the professor's aides. Straight ahead was a disconnected wall with a counter in front of it where a young lady, perhaps still in her teens, sat at. She turned to him upon hearing the door swing open.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"Oh, um…hi. I was mailed instructions to come see Professor Rowan. It said that he was going to give me a Pokémon."

"Okay, let me see if the professor is available right now."

Del politely nodded. As she began dialing, his eyes fell to the papers he held on the counter. He swapped out the letter that invited him here for the one underneath it, taking a moment to admire the glorious acceptance letter from Excel Academy for the three-hundredth time. The golden seal at the top was absolutely beautiful in his opinion. It was very simple but the significance behind it was grand. The school's emblem could only be described as a circular capital "E" with the middle prong ending in a small circle in the center, mirroring a Poké Ball.

"Excuse me sir?"

Del almost felt his neck crack from how quickly he looked up from the letter. His expression conveyed a look of confusion.

"What's your name?"

"Delfino Navarette."

"His name is Delfino Navarette. Okay, I'll let him in." After hanging up, she looked back at him with a warm smile. "So you can go around this wall and his office will be all the way in the back to your right."

"Thank you very much!" Del couldn't help but sound a little too eager but the girl simply giggled in response as he rushed past her to hide his blush.

The short walk across the room felt longer than it should have. His sneakers squeaked against the polished tile floor, alerting all of the professor's aides to his presence. He simply trained his eyes forward, feeling uncomfortable from all of the attention on him. Even though it was only about four or five aides, it felt like there was a crowd on each side of the lab.

Thankfully, Del made it all the way to the back where he found a closed off office with a long slab of glass next to the door. He could see an older man sitting at his desk inside. As Del reached to knock on the door, a gruff voice boomed from the other side telling him to enter. This made Del flinch slightly before scrambling to open the door. He felt it best not to keep a man with such a voice waiting for too long. As the mahogany door opened with a slight squeak, the man looked up from his computer with an indiscernible expression causing Del to stop right in his tracks.

"Come in, young man."

Del stepped forward but his fingers lingered on the doorknob. His silent hesitance communicated the question he was too nervous to ask.

"Close the door, please, and have a seat."

Del nodded as he did what he was told, sitting down across from the white-haired man. From that close, he had a clear view of the man. He took note of the thin snow-white hairs on his head and face. It looked as though his moustache continues into his nose though every other part of his face was cleanly shaved. In terms of his outfit, he wore a simple white shirt and black tie combination under a blue vest.

"Good morning, sir."

"Good morning, Delfino. Thank you for making the trip to my lab. I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Professor Rowan."

"I know who you are, sir. You're the leading researcher on Pokémon evolution. You've published hundreds of books and papers on the phenomenon that happens in Pokémon and the effect that humans have on it."

Prof. Rowan looked at him with a still expression which hid his genuine astonishment. He knew that he was well known in the Pokémon community but it was a first for a boy of Del's age to be so well informed and articulate.

Del interpreted the look differently, however. The professor's silence made him feel as though he had come off as rude for speaking out of turn – the last thing Del wanted him to feel.

"I-I'm sorry for interrupting," Del said. His gaze lowered to the tabletop, unable to sustain a connection with Prof. Rowan's eyes any longer.

"No apologies are necessary, young man. I was just taken aback. You seem to be quite knowledgeable, though that does not surprise me seeing as how well you did on the Pokémon Academic Studies Test. It's even more impressive that the exam was much more difficult this year than it was in previous years. Take that as a testament to your intelligence."

Del nodded.

"In fact, that is the reason why I have called you here today. You see, it happens that you did so well that you are the third highest scorer in the entire region."

Del cocked his head back, slightly shaken from the realization. He knew that his score was high but he had no idea that it was the third highest.

"It is also to my understanding that you have been accepted to Excel Academy in the Unova Region, a remarkable learning institution so I commend you on that as well. Now you may already know about this but at any Pokémon academy, you are typically given the opportunity to catch a Pokémon in the school's enclosure on the first day of your first year."

"Yeah, I read something about that. I wasn't too sure about how it works exactly though."

"Well it won't be necessary for you to know for the first day but I will explain it to you since it is something you will need to know for the future."

That's when the professor pushed himself away from his desk in his chair and pulled open one of the drawers in front of him. As he emerged around the edge of the table, he placed a large gray brief case flat on the shiny mahogany surface. The case had several ridges running along the long side and a number lock near the handle. There were faint traces of wear and tear but overall, the case seemed to be in good condition.

The professor quickly entered the number code and the case propped open slightly with a clicking sound. Then the white-haired man opened the case fully and turned it around so that Del could see the three Poké Balls sitting against a green surface. There was one circular indentation inside, so Del assumed one Pokémon had already been selected.

"Now the P.A.S. designed to do two things primarily. First, it gives Pokémon academies an accurate analysis of an applying student's knowledge of Pokémon studies since the goal is to license the most intelligent trainers once they've graduated. Secondly, it reveals the brightest students to philanthropic individuals and organizations to offer them grants and scholarships. I'm sure that you have already gotten offers from Excel Academy itself."

"Yes sir, I have. I've gotten a few scholarships online."

"Very good. I'm sure your parents are happy to hear that the economic burden will not be as severe as it can be. Now as I explained to you in my letter, I will be granting you a Pokémon. This is what the regional professors use the P.A.S.T. for. Every year, we select the four highest scores in the region and offer them a Pokémon. I have asked you here today so that you may pick yours."

As he stared down at the three red and white spheres in front of him, Del could feel a smirk stretch itself across his face. He tried to fight it back but could barely contain his excitement as he stood up and reached for the right-most Poké Ball. He stopped suddenly and looked up at the professor.

"I already know which Pokémon I want but...has the water starter been taken yet?"

"Fortunately for you, it has not. That would be the Poké Ball currently in the middle."

Del reached for the sphere, feeling his fingers graze against the cool metal before his entire hand wrapped around the device. As he pulled it out of its resting place, he noticed several buttons on the upper half of the device, something he had not noticed when watching professional trainers on TV.

"Do you know how to operate a Poké Ball?"

Del shook his head.

"There are three buttons for you to know well. The first two are on the upper half. This button will release the Pokémon inside and the one next to it will allow you to return it. The silver button will be used to enlarge and shrink the Poké Ball."

Del looked down at the device in his hand, clearly still processing what was happening.

"Would you like to meet your new companion?"

"C-can I? In here?"

"I see no reason against it. The Pokémon inside is rather small."

"Okay. Piplup, come on out."

With the press of a button, the red half flung open and a white beam of energy shot out from the sphere before landing on the floor in front of them. As the light began to clear, Del could see the outline of a small creature with a round head and body. Finally, the light dispersed to reveal a tiny blue penguin.

The small water-type Pokémon blinked from the sudden change in location when he realized that there was someone next to his current owner, the professor.

Rowan spoke to the penguin, "I have someone for you to meet. This is Delfino, a young man aspiring to be a Pokémon trainer."

The Piplup turned its head to Del, blinking its beady black eyes a couple of times before finally saying, "Piplup!"

Del smiled as he looked down at his new partner. "It's nice to meet you, little guy." He held out his hand and was relieved when the little penguin offered him his flipper.

"Plup!"

"Young Delfino, what would you like to nickname him?"

Del looked up at the professor with a quizzical expression. He hadn't yet thought of what he would name his new Pokémon so he began to form a list in his head. As he scratched off names from his imaginary list, he finally reached an idea he got from a movie he saw. Finally, he looked down at the Piplup and asked, "How about Mumble?"

"Mumble?" the professor questioned.

"Yeah, it's from a movie I saw. Well how about it? Can I call you that?"

The Piplup looked up at him with a blank expression until he finally smiled and nodded.

"Piplup!"

A/N: And that's the end of the Prologue! I know that the ending was a little bit rushed but I couldn't wait to upload this so I can start seeing your awesome characters flood my pm. Again, the rules, form, and all other information that you're going to need to create and submit a character for this story can be found on my profile. That's it for now so please leave a review and a character. Sayonara!