"Is that a mon?"
"What?"
"Over there, in the front. I thought they weren't allowed at this school."
" Hmmm… oh the yellow? Yeah looks like it."
"But it was all over the brochures, every tour I went on it was all 'no mons allowed, no exceptions, pets and fighting, no mons, no mons.'"
"Well she probably doesn't know."
"How could she not know? It's plastered everywhere. If she can bring her mon why did I have to leave mine at home?"
"Everyone probably told you that you couldn't bring yours because yours is a thief."
"He's a Sableye, of course he's a thief. They're dark types. I'm not they type of person to supress his natural instincts."
"And this is why you can't bring him."
Kory had arrived to class early and had the unique opportunity of watching every student walk past. Sitting at the front of the class would ensure that all eyes would be on her as they entered, but it was also the best place to leave early. Her next class was across campus and she wanted to be there early too. As the lecture hall slowly filled Kory studied her campus map. She would have 10 minutes between this class and the next and she intended to speak with her next professor before class started.
He's looking at you again. Melatonin's voice echoed in her head. He had an easier time ignoring the passer-bys, instead busying himself drawing geometric shapes in his sketch book. Earlier that day he had packed a bag for himself: his sketch book, 2 pencils, a pen, 2 poffins, and a sudoku puzzle book. He would spend a lot of time waiting and liked to keep his mind active.
Kory glanced towards the professor at the front of the room. He smiled and gave her a double thumbs up. She had been sure to email anyone she would be interacting with about her situation, yet only a few had gotten back to her, which happened to be the exact reason she had to get to her classes early.
"This is Tauros shit."
"What?"
"Why the fuck is she allowed a pokémon?"
"Oh shut up, it doesn't matter."
"No this is total shit. I chose this school so I wouldn't have to deal with this."
"Let's just sit down."
"I swear I'm going to have a talk with the head of the department."
"Shut up, this is an elective."
Kory sighed. The students slowly fell into place around the large room and the professor finally walked to the front, the voices died down.
"Hello class, welcome to 13-110, Theory of Diversity in Society. My name is professor Tupelo." The professor paced gently in front of the projector. "Please take a moment to look around the room and find your nearest exit. In the event of an emergency oxygen masks will descend from the celling and we ask that you help yourself before helping others… but really, I know that this may be some of your first class of University, so welcome." He waved to the 1000+ lecture hall of people. "Most classes start with an ice breaker… but there has to be at least 7 of you so I think I'll hold off on that for a while." He chuckled a little to himself. Although he looked young, Kory figured he'd been teaching this class for a while, he seemed comfortable at the front. "I couldn't help but hear a lot of you notice that we have a particular person in our midst." Kory shook her head, trying desperately to get Tupelo's attention. "Kory, would you like to come up and explain a little about what your service mon does?"
"No."
Tupelo gave a welcoming grin. "You were so open with me, there's no reason to be shy with the rest of your peers," he quietly encouraged.
"I'm not shy, I'm just not the one running this class," Kory waved, offhandedly.
"Please," Tupelo looked around the murmuring class, he had already introduced them, "just a few words, to help people better understand."
Groaning, Kory rose from her seat, "I don't want to be understood, I want to be respected," she made her way to the front of the room.
Knock em' dead.
Standing at the center she slowly panned the audience. "I'm Kory," she pointed at herself, "that is my service mon," She pointed at Tonin, "he does for me… services," she said the last word as slowly as she could, milking the awkward tension in the room. "Thank you," Kory bowed and made her way off stage.
"She doesn't look disabled," a voice from the middle of the room squeaked, before realizing how loud they were.
"Oh sorry, I'll try more," Kory exaggerated a slow limp back to her seat. She made sure to maintain eye contact with the professor along the way.
That was beautiful, Tonin congratulated, the only thing that would have made it better would have been you dragging your chair as you sat down.
I couldn't, they're attached to the desk.
We'll have to find a squeaker next time, He chuckled, snorting a little through his nose.
Kory started down Larch who had resumed his position at the front of the class. "Well now, I… um… I hope you have all brought your, um, your syllabus' with you," he awkwardly wrung his hands together, "we are required to go over a few guidelines before the lecture begins."
"I said he seemed genuine, not that he was genuine. Besides I'm too ugly to be a fairy."
"Hey, Grandbulls are faries."
"Well, there's hope for me yet."
Kory and Tonin were 4 minutes early for their next class. Their professor was 2 minutes late.
"Sorry I'm late, there was a mix up with the offices, with the paperwork and shit." The smartly dressed woman, professor Larch according to they syllabus, pushed through the door. "No Pokémon in the classroom," she barked, rushing past the pair in the front.
"He's a service mon." Kory didn't look up.
"I'm sorry?" The professor turned back.
"He's a service Pokémon." Kory met her eyes.
"Where is its service vest?" The professor broke eye contact to scan Melatonin's fur.
"He doesn't wear one."
"He needs to wear one to be classified as a service Pokémon," She dropped a stuffed file pointedly on the podium.
"No he doesn't."
Turning back to the troubling pair she sized the two of them up before continuing, "you don't look disabled."
"You're the second person to tell me that today," Kory kept her voice even and her eyes dull. She had learned from experience that explosive confrontation would get nowhere.
"A Pokémon is required to wear a service vest. How else would people distinguish it from any other Pokémon?" The professor's voice rose an octave and her eyes became sharp.
"A person can distinguish a service Pokémon by either assuming any Pokémon out of its ball is a service Pokémon, or by asking." Tonin began packing their supplies in Kory's bag. He didn't need Future Sight to see where this conversation was headed. He knew Kory well. It was part of his job.
"That is total b…"
"Besides," Kory casually cut off the professor's outburst, "a service vest can be purchased online for less than a train ticket. Who is to stop you from wearing a service vest?" There was a soft chuckle from the back of the class.
"You are being extremely disrespectful in my class room. Either put it away," she pointed at Tonin, "or leave." She threw the words across the room.
Why, are you afraid I might get an education? A girl at the back of the class jumped at the mental intrusion. Murmurs shot through the room. Projecting a thought through a room was not that uncommon for most psychic types, yet most of the students didn't know Tonin was a physic type. Hypno were not native to this area.
"I don't have time for this." Larch huffed, shuffling through her purse.
"You probably would have had time if you hadn't been late." Kory's temper waivered.
"I'm calling campus police." Larch pulled a cellphone from her bag.
Kory stood, lifting one of the bags her Pokémon packed. "Don't bother, I'll get them for you. They're the ones next to the Welcome Center right?" She stalked towards the door, "never mind I have a map," she turned back to face the professor with a smirk, "I'll find it."
Turning into the hallway, Kory missed the flash of a camera coming from the back of the room. At her heels, Tonin let the door swing gently shut.
A light rain started while the room waited for their professor and Kory was to busy grumbling to pull out her umbrella. Throwing open the front door Tonin quickly threw up a psychic Barrier to block the rain, Kory may not have minded the drizzle, but her hair was cut short, the feeling of a soggy mane was something Tonin liked to avoid.
"That could have gone better," her sarcasm seeped into him. "We left the vest at home, can't go back for it." The pair paced steadily past the campus police building.
Nope, we can't fly back across the ocean. We already did that once and it was enough of a hassle.
"And that's because we left the vest back at home."
We would need it back at home.
"And is that such a bad thing? It would save us the hassle." Tonin pointedly ignored her. The fight wasn't worth the stress they both would have to endure, besides, they both knew the results. Tonin didn't like his vest and Kory didn't like making him wear it, no matter how easier it made their lives.
Kory sped across one of the campuses many manicured lawns. While there were no 'stay off the grass' signs, most of the grass was sectioned off by hedges and shrubbery. Tonin followed dutifully behind, the puddles chilled the pads of his paws.
Kory's mother played in her head on repeat 'There are plenty of campuses at home, many of them didn't have a problem with trainers Pokémon, Tonin wouldn't even have to bother with his vest.' While this may have been true, it started a whole other list of problems. What if Melatonin was mistaken for a fighting Pokémon, and Kory for a trainer…
The university had started out as a small, single building campus and throughout the years bloomed into an amalgamation of structures and vacant lots and parking garages that took over a quarter of the city. Many classes advanced, requiring newer equipment and more phone charging ports for the students to succeed; this in turn led to many of the older building being repurposed into offices for HR representatives and quiet rooms for theatre students. The disabilities office was located in the basement of one such building. They used the stairs, the elevator was broken.
"Hello, can I help you with something?" The man at the desk beamed as the two came in.
"I'm looking for Mrs. Ulmus." Kory made her way to the desk, dripping water from a pair of too large boots. Tonin wiped his paws on the floor mat and shook out his fur, carful not to let it fly everywhere.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
"Is that a service mon?"
"Also no, I figured I would take my battle mon onto a campus that forbids mons, then we would take a trip down to disabilities services. Just for shits and giggles."
The man sighed and rubbed his eyes, it was only his first day back, "have a seat." Kory gave a half salute and turned on her heels into the waiting room.
Tonin connected a mental link between the two of them. I'm going to miss my whole class aren't I? Kory mental voice wasn't as strong as the psychic type beside her, but years of practice made her understandable at least.
Your professor will make up for it.
The first time they connected mentally was a disaster. Melatonin was an inexperienced Drowzee, Kory an angry child. She fought him off, believing the world to be against her. His instructions were unclear and he had trouble understanding how to proceed. The first time they connected gave her a migraine and him a bloody nose, which incidentally got everywhere because he was too busy trying to calm her down than focus on his trunk flying everywhere. Her father had to take her away as she fell into a fit and Melatonin ended up feeling like a failure.
Don't worry about it. We know we're in the right. We came all the way out here to be in the right. Tonin reassured her, pulling out his sketch book as they waited.
Kory as a mail carrier struggled through the door. His hand dolly had gotten caught in the door and one corner of his boxes crumbled under is straining already. Kory thought about him trying to pull the thing down the rain slick stairs. After getting himself though he handed the man at the front desk a form to sign and brought the boxes though a back door into the offices.
"Oh hey, is that a Hypno?" The delivery man noticed the pair on his way back out the door. "Can I pet your Hypno?"
"I don't know, ask him." Kory didn't look up from her phone where she was memorizing the email address of the school dean.
"Hey bud, you like pets?"
"No." Tonin's spoken voice was horse from lack of use. He had the idea a few years back to learn to speak. His couple months of study resulted in the words 'no,' which was part of his natural linguistics anyway, and 'nope,' which sounded a lot like 'nyop.' In hindsight it didn't yield much, as his psychic abilities ensured he had little problem with communicating.
The man jumped, startled at being addressed verbally, "alright bud, I can respect that," he nodded.
Thanks. Tonin nodded back. And the man backed out of the door, pulling the dolly behind him.
"Kory, Melatonin, I'm sure you both know I am very busy, on the first day back, what can I do for you?" Mrs. Ulmus's voice was hurried, but not unkind.
We understand and will try to make this quick.
"We're having issues with a professor."
"Already?" The woman smiled to herself as she brought up their file, "what happened?"
"It was your typical, there are no Pokémon aloud in here and you need to leave because I don't know the laws of my own fucking country," Kory exaggerated with hand gestures.
"I see. What class was this and what was the professor's name?" Ulmus brought up a fill-in-the-blank standardized complaint email. It was a formality.
"The class was Introduction to Ethics and the professor was Mrs. Larch."
"This might seem a little obvious, but I still have to ask, what happened?"
Dear professor Larch
This is a letter from the University of Slateport disabilities department. It has been brought to our attention that a student and her service Pokemon (hypno) was dismissed from your 10-102 Introduction to Ethics course in building C at 10:40 am today, September 7th. This student claims that she had attempted to contact you prior to your class and that you had not responded to her emails about her disability. As per the Hoenn disabilities charter, section P.42 "A service pokemon is not required to wear any identification to indicate its purpose or responsibilities." I am sure that you and this student can make up the time that she missed out on. If there are any further concerns about the incident please do not hesitate to contact the disabilities department.
Thank you. Mrs. Ulmus, Head of Disabilities.
"Medium pizza, nori and pineapple, half pepperoni?" The man read the pick-up order to ensure the name was correct.
"Yeah, that's us."
"Alright, that'll be 2,100, with the student discount, cash, debit, or credit?"
"Actually I'll be paying with my meal plan." Kory handed the man her student card to swipe while Tonin wrapped a plastic bag around the pizza box.
The rain outside doubled since the morning and even with their umbrella the pair were soaked. A car hit a pothole, spraying the curb in front of them as they sheltered under the pizzeria's awning. It was a chain business that promised pre-made pizza's as soon as someone walked in the door, but it was directly off campus, making it a perfect stop on their way home.
Kory's parents offered to get her and Tonin into a dorm, but Kory knew she would probably have issues with the laws and restrictions those buildings usually had, so she rented a room directly across from campus. There were 3 other students living in the house, two downstairs and two up. Her landlord didn't seem to be in town and the only interaction they had was over e-transfer.
On a brighter afternoon they would have seen their building from the corner on which they stood, but the rain and fog danced in their face and kept their eyes to the ground. Besides, staying close to the building kept most of the wind off. Tonin, holding the pizza under a physic Barrier, burred his nose in his mane, trying to keep the chill off and the pizza dry. Kory watched the light turn green and made a break from under the awning, a stream of cold water pooled at the corner of the building's sign and quickly ran down Kory's face. Tonin reached up to steady her as she stumbled forward. At the same time a second car hit the pothole outside the pizzeria. Its tires sent a spray of water which caught the light from its high-beams, cutting through the weather. The effect lasted only a moment…
Kory was sitting on a sandbar on the outskirts of Undella town. To her left wavered the vague geometric colours of the city, the sun was high overhead. If she turned to look, behind her would have been the rough rockface of Route 13. The dark shadows of Wingull stood in contrast to the white sand, unmoving. Her hair sat motionless at her shoulders, the wind refusing to pick up despite the motion of waves in front of her.
The pizza is ruined, I'm sorry. Tonin stood beside her, his pendulum a swinging metronome, a heartbeat.
"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault," Kory moved her mouth as she spoke, but her voice came from everywhere. It echoed against the rockface, it skipped across the water. After a beat she began again, "we'll order another one."
Let's get back to our room first, then get delivery. I want to dry off. Tonin stood motionless, save for the string wrapped around his finger. Kory had seen Hypno battling before, they looked very similar. Stoic concentration, moving only when needing to, their pendulums never missing a beat. Someone is coming. Tonin blipped out of the headspace.
Heaving a sigh Kory brought up a memory, the smell of ocean brine and dead things.
Melatonin used his forewarn a lot, in fact it was what he was breed for. He and his siblings were hand-chosen, to do what the humans can't. He was in position to catch Kory even before the car hit the pothole. Telekinesis took a lot of concentration, Tonin had been sent all the way to Alola as a Drowzee in order to learn it. Years of practice showed in his ability to manipulate multiple things at once. For example: while his physical body was busy catching Kory, he was mentally manipulating her jaw, lungs, heart, and bladder. Keeping her jaw open ensured that she would not bite her tongue off or crack any teeth. This also had the benefit of keeping her airway clear of vomit as her digestive system sputtered. At the very least he had to ensure that her lungs and heart kept working, even if the rest of her body didn't. This was what he was breed for. Hypno are masters at keeping rhythm.
"Hey are you okay?" The car skidded to a halt when it saw the girl tumble backwards. A young man came skittering out of the driver's seat.
"Oh my god, what is it doing?" A small woman shielded herself from the rain as she pulled herself from the car. "Is that her Pokémon?"
Tonin concentration faltered and Kory's body briefly convulsed. He threw an opaque Barrier around Kory and himself, shielding her from the eyes of onlookers.
"It's attacking her." The man beat his fists against the shield. For a second before stepping back and pulling a ball from his pocket. "Grandma, I need your help!"
"GRO!" Light burst from the ball. Grandma, the Pangoro, steadied herself on the wet curb. She locked eyes with her thin trainer and immediately braced for a Quick Guard.
"Grandma, stop that Pokémon." The man automatically took up a trainer's stance. Turning with purpose, Grandma readied a Brick Brake, only to have the move fizzle out before making contact with Tonin's Barrier. Grandma stood still as water dripped into the thick fur around her neck. "Grandma they're attacking somebody!"
The Pangoro turned back to her trainer shaking her head. Although her communication was limited, years learning under the same trainer has taught her some very important gestures: yes, no, and another one that was more crude.
"Why isn't she doing anything?!" The woman, who had retreated back behind their car when Grandma was released, looked between the Barrier and the fighter, "tell her to do something!"
"Something's wrong," the trainer locked eyes with his Pokémon, "what's wrong?" Grandma shook her head again and steped between her trainer and Tonin, she flicked the twig in her mouth passively. Although he couldn't understand her completely, the trainer knew the message.
One of the most important things Tonin can do for Kory is to put her to sleep, another thing Hypno are known for. Being awake and aware during a seizure had been a terrifying experience. Screaming for her limbs to move and having the feeling rejected is something that she would never get used to, but if she couldn't be in control of her body, she wanted Melatonin to be.
Thank you. Tonin dissolved the Barrier and nodded to Grandma.
"Oh my god."
"Are you okay?" The man knelt beside them.
Please give her space.
"Okay, sorry." He scooted back a bit, sitting in a puddle.
Although in a somewhat hypnotized state, Kory could feel the cold from the ground seeping into her legs. Her breath hitched a little as Tonin released his hold on her lungs. Dazed, she met eyes with the man.
"Are you okay?"
Kory's mouth opened and closed, not quite responding yet. I'm okay, thanks. Tonin acted as a conduit, connecting her mind to his. It was difficult, but it was his job. The man nodded, "my name is Scott."
He turned towards his Pokémon, "hey, thanks for that. Grandma knows best right?" Although he wanted to hug her, he kept his distance from his Pokémon, he knew she liked her personal space. The Pangoro didn't move as he returned her to the ball. He turned back to the girl, still sitting on the ground, "do you think you can walk?"
Yeah, I should be fine. Tonin pulled her up. She stumbled a little bit, but it was due to the chill in her legs and not the fit.
"Okay, well I just wanted to say sorry my car got a little close, and the thing with my Pangoro, I was just…"
"Hey you're the one from that video. The one Kyle posted!" The small woman peered from the other side of the car.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, with that professor today. You and the hypno." The woman bounced from around the car, suddenly oblivious to the rain.
"My name's Kory. This is Melatonin."
"Oh," she shook both their hands, "I'm Nat. You're freezing. Get in the car, I'll turn the heat on."
Kory picked up the soaked pizza box, water pooled in the plastic bag around it and Scott led the way back to their car, which was double parked and still running.
"I can drive you guys home, it's the least I can do after attacking you, right?" Scott turned the heat up and the vents began rattling.
Kory turned to Tonin with a questioning look. I don't sense any ill intentions. He answered.
"We're in the red building just up the road there, down the block on the right." Kory pointed. The car pulled out onto the empty street. Scott drove slowly, trying to avoid another incident.
"I can't believe you told that woman off." Nat chattered from the front seat.
"You mean Mrs. Tupelo. Were you in that class?" Kory opened the pizza box to find an inedible mess.
"No, I'm in journalism. But you're all over the school's social media," She typed a few things into her phone, "here."
The video started playing as the car pulled in front of her house.
"you don't look disabled." "You're the second person to tell me that today," -
Kory watched herself and Mrs. Tupelo condensed on the screen. It was shot from the back of the classroom and the motion blur made her a little nauseous. The part of the fight where Tonin spoke up was silent, except for the faint gasps of the class. His mental connection couldn't transfer to video, not yet anyway, but whoever recorded it added subtitles.
"You seem to be making quite the stir, for a freshman." Scott joked from the front seat. "Hey, there's a party Friday night, it's like a freshman welcome, would you be interested?"
Kory shrugged. "I can't really do parties, too many lights," She opened the door, "thank you for the invite though, and for the ride home." Tonin crawled after her.
"Wait." Nat threw her head out the window. "Give me your number, if there is anything more low-key going on I can let you know. I volunteer for the events committee at the school so I can keep you up to date."
Kory smiled, "I'd like that."