Daniel adjusted his goggles for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, wishing he had tightened them properly before he left. Considering the sixteen-year old was currently on the back of an orange blur moving half the speed of sound, not tightening his goggles properly was definitely a stupid idea, but he was at least glad that he wasn't the one flying the Dragonite. His cousin was sitting directly in front of him, hands situated at the base of the Dragon's neck and brow furrowed in concentration. It took a lot of focus to pilot a dragon that could move at Mach speeds, but Daniel's cousin could manage it considering it was his job. The sun directly overhead shone on the sapphire sea below, sending motes of light dancing into the air.
Suddenly, Daniel's cousin turned his head slightly, and said something that was quickly torn away by the wind. Daniel saw what his cousin no doubt wanted to tell him about. Rapidly approaching the two was an island, and Daniel's destination. On the island was Victory High Academy, or as it was more commonly known, 'VHA' or 'Victory High'. Pompous name aside, Victory High was a prestigious school for some 900 or so talented Pokemon trainers. Daniel had somehow been accepted on a scholarship, but had to miss the transport provided because of a family matter. His cousin had agreed to drop him off personally, but he had still missed the orientation by a day. Daniel ran a hand through his light purple hair out of habit, glad he had dyed it the day before. He wouldn't have to worry about his brown roots showing for at least another month.
The Dragonite began to slow down as they got nearer. Daniel winced as he felt a twinge of pain, but it passed the second they began to fly over the land. Looking at the landscape below, Daniel saw grassy plains, a forest, and even a mountain in the distance. And nearing them was the main campus. Buildings of varying sizes dotted themselves around a large central building, which was where Daniel was headed. He spotted a large stadium, as well as an outdoor pool, and a large running track next to a field surrounding by a steel fence.
The Dragonite dipped and slowed until it was going merely a fraction of its previous speed, flying right above the ground. Daniel's cousin turned his head again, and shouted, "Okay, get ready to drop!" Daniel nodded, and his cousin grinned. "Stop frowning, you'll be fine! It's a new school; you'll make friends in no time! And don't you dare forget to write to us!" Daniel forced a smile, unaware he had been frowning. His cousin simply grinned wider. "There we go! Now get ready! Three… Two…"
On 'drop', Daniel jumped from the back of the dragon. He landed, and immediately moved into a roll, rolling his elbow and shoulder into it and tucking his head to his other shoulder. He allowed his momentum to carry him over his back until his feet landed and he stood up. Daniel waved at his cousin as he sped away, before looking around at his surroundings. He had landed in a courtyard some distance away from the large buildings, and a few students who were milling around were giving him odd looks. Damian frowned, and tugged his scarf up higher on his face. Daniel reached inside his dark purple jacket, and grabbed the Pokeball inside. Pulling it out, Daniel expanded it and tossed it into the air, releasing the inhabitant in a flash of red light.
As Daniel caught the Pokeball and placed it in his pocket again, the light materialized into a small, purple bat, with large ears and bright yellow eyes. The Noibat blinked in the light, and looked up the boy. The bat smiled, and flapped its wings, flying up to Daniel's shoulder where it nuzzled into his cheek. Daniel grinned, and scratched the bat under its chin, cooing, "Hey Fidget." He looked around, and muttered, "Let's see where we need to go, shall we?"
After some asking around and receiving some very unhelpful answers, Daniel was finally directed to a small wooden building where the main admin supposedly was. Skeptical that the main admin of the school would be in such a quaint building, Daniel nevertheless walked up to the front door, and listened. He heard talking through the door, which fell silent when he knocked. There were footsteps, and the door opened to reveal a man with the most impressive mustache Daniel had ever seen, and a far more modern room than Daniel had expected behind him. "Yes?" he asked, frowning at the purple haired boy.
Realizing with a start that he was still wearing his goggles, Daniel lifted them, and replied, "My name's Daniel Elyses, I'm a new student here. I missed the Orientation, but I was told to come to the admin building?" The man looked Daniel up and down, regarding his scarf, leather jacket and faded jeans with a mix of distaste and curiosity.
"Do you have your letter?" he asked. Daniel nodded, and began to search through his pockets, finally pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from his back jeans pocket. The man looked over the letter, and nodded. "Very well. Wait by the tree over there, and I'll send a student to show you to your dorm." The man nodded in the direction of a tree not too far away, before closing the door. Daniel shared a look with Fidget, before turning and walking over to the tree.
Daniel looked at the tree, and judged how far the branches were off the ground. It was decently sized, with a thick trunk and branches large enough to support his weight. He ran, and stepped up the trunk of the tree, leaping off and wrapping his hands around one of the branches. Daniel hung there for a moment, as Fidget clambered up one of his arms and onto the branch. Pulling himself up, Daniel swung his leg over, and sat back, leaning against the trunk.
Fidget hopped over and curled up into Daniel's lap. Scratching the Noibat behind its large ears, he looked out at the campus around him. Now that he had more time to look, he noticed that the large building in the center of the campus was roughly six or seven stories high. Whilst not terribly big in the scheme of things, it was still larger than any of the buildings in his home village. Surrounding the building was all sorts of smaller buildings, which he assumed to be the location for shops on campus, and some smaller classrooms. The stadium-like building was slightly smaller than the main building, and was situated further away. There were also multiple two or three story-high buildings in the other direction, but he was unsure as to what those were.
A voice from below caused Fidget to start awake, and Daniel looked below him to see a boy with blonde hair looking up at him. "Hello up there!" the boy called. "You wouldn't happen to be Daniel, would you?" Daniel felt a warm, friendly feeling emanating from the boy, and guessed this was the student sent to collect him.
Rather than replying right away, Daniel instead shifted Fidget off his lap, and moved so that he was sitting with his legs dangling off one side. He lowered himself off the branch before he dropped in front of the boy, crouching to absorb the impact. Daniel stood up, and Fidget flapped down to land on his shoulder. "That's me," he replied, looking at the boy. The boy was maybe two or so years older than Daniel, and was wearing a white polo shirt with an orange trim and collar, with the school's shield-shaped crest on the left hand side. Four blue Chevrons stood proudly on his left shoulder, and beneath the school crest were two slightly zig-zagged marks meeting on a black triangle. Daniel decided not to ask about either marking.
The boy grinned at Daniel, and said. "Fantastic. The name's Cody, I've been sent to show you to your dorm. Your stuff arrived yesterday, so all you need to do is unpack." With that, Cody turned and began to walk off, Daniel following beside him. As they walked, Cody said, "So, Daniel. Where are you from?"
Daniel tore his eyes away from a flock of Fletchinder and Fletchling overhead and turned to look at Cody. "Sinnoh," he replied. Cody nodded.
"I thought so. You're pale enough for it," he replied. "I'm guessing you travel a lot though?"
Daniel's eyes widened. "Y-yeah. How'd you know?" he stammered. Cody grinned mischievously.
"I'm psychic," he said, "So I can see aaaaaanything going on in your head." Cody made an 'ooh' noise and waved his hands mysteriously, before giggling and continuing, "Except not really. I just took a guess. Your accent isn't like any Sinnoh accent I've heard before, and I know for a fact that that isn't a Sinnoh native." Cody motioned in Fidget's direction, who chittered back at him.
Daniel nodded. "Yeah, my dad's a reporter, so he goes everywhere. He usually takes me or one or two of my brothers on trips with him. I picked Fidget up when dad took me to Kalos for an interview with one of the Elite Four. We've basically been inseparable ever since," he explained.
Cody nodded thoughtfully. "You two do seem very close. My Umbreon and I are really close too, so it always makes me feel happy to see trainers have close bonds with their Pokemon." Cody looked up, and added, "We're here." Looking up, Daniel saw two buildings, roughly four stories tall, standing with their inner corners almost touching. A gated archway connected the two, but Daniel couldn't make out the words on the archway.
The two boys walked through the gate, and Daniel couldn't help but whistle. The two buildings were connected to a third, forming a triangular courtyard. Benches surrounded trees dotted around the courtyards, with the only garden beds containing sturdy bushes, and very few flowers. A large statue stood proudly in front of each building, and in the very center of the courtyard was a smaller statue on a swirly stone pillar. Boys milled about the courtyard, talking with each other or simply hanging out. A particularly boisterous basketball game was taking place on the court in front of one of the buildings, and Daniel noticed that humans and Pokemon alike were participating.
Cody led him through the center of the courtyard, waving at a few boys who passed by. The two passed by the statue in the center, allowing Daniel to get a closer look. The creature had two small wings, and a fluffy tail. It had a large, V-shaped crest on its forehead, and one of its hands was outstretched in a 'victory' gesture. Daniel recognized the creature; it was a legendary Pokemon known as Victini, and it was the school's mascot. The 'V' on its forehead was the very same as the 'V' in the middle of the shield that made up the crest.
They passed by the statue, and arrived in front of the building furthest from the gate. The statue in front of this building was of a quadrupedal Pokemon, with two zig-zagging horns coming off its head. It had a stern look on its face, and what seemed to be whiskers. A plaque at the bottom gave the name of the Pokemon, and Daniel frowned, trying to make it out. "Co… Ba… Lin?" he said, looking at Cody.
"Close," the boy replied. "It's actually Cobalion. He's one of the Three Legendary Musketeers, and this dorm's named after him. Your room's on the second floor, if you'll follow me." Cody set off again, and Daniel followed.
As they entered the building, Daniel asked, "This dorm?"
"Yep! Both the guys and the girls who go here are split into three dorms: Terakion, Virizion, and of course, Cobalion." Cody winked at Daniel, and added, "That's the best one."
"So, is there a competition between the dorms, like that one book?"
Cody shrugged. "Kinda. Not to that extent, though. We're mainly just split up for admin's sake and for boarding purposes, but we do have occasional competitions between the dorms. It can be boys versus girls, or Cobalion versus Terakion versus Virizion, or even a mix. Last year there was a Capture the Flag match between Virizion and Cobalion Girls, and Terakion and Cobalion boys. This year I'm the prefect for Cobalion Boys. That's what this means." Cody pointed at the markings beneath the crest on his shirt, and Daniel nodded in understanding.
As they arrived on the floor, Cody murmured, "Now then, you're Room… 207! Which is…" The two walked through the hall for a bit, looking at the doors on either side of them. Cody stopped in front of a door, and triumphantly said, "This one!" Cody fished around in his pocket, before retrieving a key, which he handed to Daniel. Clearing his throat, he began to speak as if rehearsed, "Don't lose this. You and your roommate are the only ones who have these keys, and if you lose it, you'll have to get them or one of the prefects to open the door for you. There's a toilet and shower in a little bathroom in there, and fresh towels and stuff are provided daily. Your luggage is already inside, so you only need to unpack." Cody smiled, and added, "Welcome, by the way. You two are going to love it here, I just know it." Patting Daniel on the shoulder and scratching Fidget's head, the older boy proceeded to walk down the hall, and out of sight.
Turning, Daniel regarded the door with apprehension. Fidget sensed his trainer's nervousness, and nuzzled into his cheek to comfort him. Daniel smiled slightly, and scratched the bat under its chin. He sighed, and then placed his key in the door. Twisting the key and the doorknob, Daniel opened the door to his new home.