Flashback 1
Steven was flipping through his Pokémon Origins textbook; he was already a little late for the first class and he didn't want to be lost in the middle of class either. He kept his notepad open to jot down important notes, a habit of his since he was old enough to write.
He glanced around the classroom. It was quite big, with more than 40 students in the same room. All of them looked different from each other. He spotted a pair of twins chattering to each other excitedly and smiled. Being the only child isn't easy.
There were almost as many girls as boys in this class, most of them part of the whole Theory course. Directly to his side sat a lavender haired boy who looked like he would've given anything to be out of this class. A blond girl sat two seats after his; the chair in between was empty, but she didn't sit there. Steven wondered if he seemed unapproachable. He didn't concern himself with it overly, however.
A blond haired woman entered the class and they all stood up and greeted her. She smiled pleasantly, and gestured for them all to sit. She whipped out a blue marker and wrote 'Pokémon Origins' on the whiteboard. Under that, she wrote a name- Aurea Juniper.
Steven guessed that this was the professor's name was Aurea. He remembered what his father had told him. He realized that this woman was also the residing Pokémon Professor of Unova.
"Good morning, everyone!" said the professor. "My name is Professor Aurea Juniper, and I'm from Unova. I will be teaching you Pokémon Origins for this year." Steven nodded at the professor. The lady continued.
"I do see some familiar faces here and there," she commented. "A few repeaters, I see?" The lavender haired boy to Steven's right sighed and raised his hand. Steven looked around the classroom and saw a few other hands up as well.
This course must be quite difficult, he thought. If there are repeaters, then I should probably work hard to pass with merit. "Of course, I expect the highest quality of work from all of you present here," continued the professor. "I only allow the best to pass out of my class." She winked.
"You lot are probably the best, anyway," she said, eliciting slight laughter from the class. The blonde girl to Steven's left seemed confused, as if she didn't understand the joke. Steven briefly considered explaining the joke, but he realized that he didn't even know the girl in the first place.
"So, enough about me!" said the professor. "I'd like to know all of you. Tell us about yourself, starting with you!" She pointed to a green haired girl in the front bench. Steven listened intently as everyone introduced themselves. He learnt that the lavender boy beside him was called Maurice and that he was in fact from a place called Goldenrod in Johto.
When his turn came, he carefully introduced himself, trying not to reveal that he was, in fact, the son of the President of the Devon Corporation. Since they were in Hoenn, he didn't want any unnecessary attention from anybody here. Inevitably, quite a few people in the class looked at him in awe when he mentioned his name.
The blond girl didn't seem to be particularly bothered about him, so he deduced that she wasn't from Hoenn. When the girl's turn came, she stood up and introduced herself. Steven couldn't quite decipher what her name was, but she seemed confident when talking.
When she sat back down, however, her face grew moody once more. Steven found out that she was from Kalos and was one of the Pokémon Professor's personal protégés. She must be quite intelligent, he thought. Steven turned to try and start up a conversation, but her nose was buried in her textbook. She seemed to be halfway through it already.
Rather bookish, he noted.
After introductions, the professor stated clearly what she expected from them for the duration of the course and what they would be graded on. After that, she powered up the projector and launched into an introduction about Origins and the prevailing theory, the Infiltration by Meteoroid theory.
"My personal favorite, however, is the Evolution theory," said the professor, and went on to explain the second theory. She talked about it extensively and Steven had a feeling that she was personally involved in the makings of the theory.
After the explanations, the professor gave all of them a challenging look. "So," she started. "Do any of you have your own theories?" The blond girl seemed to snap into reality. Steven caught a glance of her bright blue eyes as her hand shot into the air. He smiled, suspecting that she was waiting for this moment.
Professor Juniper's eyes twinkled. "Yes, dear?" she asked. "What is your take on Pokémon Origins?" The whole class turned to face her. The girl seemed a little unsure of herself, but she took a breath and started.
"I don't think either of these theories on their own provides substantial proof," she declared. Steven's pen paused halfway above his notepad. He looked at the girl in wonder. She was rejecting the prevailing theories of the time!
The professor smiled warmly. "And why is that?" she asked. "These are mainstream theories for a very good reason." The girl shook her head.
"I feel like the Meta-Fusion theory offers a better perspective," she said, locking eyes with the Professor. The professor smiled wider.
"Of course," she said. "You're Augustine's protégé. He was never one for the well-worn path. Go on."
The girl went on about the Meta-Fusion theory while Steven furiously scribbled notes. The whole class seemed to be silenced by her voice. It was captivating and demanded attention. Steven was impressed; she seemed like the very incarnation of the ideal Origins student. It was clear that she loved the subject with a fiery passion.
Just as she concluded her answer, the bell rang. She blinked, realizing that she had been rambling on and on. She turned slightly red. "I'm sorry for taking up too much time," she said, sheepishly. The professor laughed.
"Don't worry about it," she said, assuring. "We all need a radical idea now and then. Very well presented." She looked at the rest of the class.
"We'll wrap up for today," she said. "Today's task – see what you can dig up about the Infiltration theory. We'll have a discussion tomorrow. Good day!" With that, she gathered her things and briskly walked out of the room.
Steven quickly noted the task in his notepad, and he turned to the blond girl. His curiosity was piqued. Here was finally a person who shared his interests. He was also a supporter of the Meta-Fusion theory, but he chose to be more reserved with his viewpoints until he was comfortable with the class.
However, when he turned, the girl was nowhere to be seen. He swiftly glanced down to the classroom door, but she wasn't there either. He packed his own things up and walked out of the class, ignoring a few girls who were visibly pointing at him and giggling.
His eyes scanned the campus for any sign of a gold head of hair and bright blue eyes, but she seemed to have disappeared. He finally winded up at the central fountain, and kept his bag down for a moment while he checked his schedule.
Then he saw her. He quickly looked back up to make sure if it was her. Blond hair? Check. Bright blue eyes? Check. Nose buried in textbook? Check. Steven decided that he wanted to know more about the girl. She seemed…different. She was unique. Steven felt a sort of pull drawing him to her. He had no idea what to call it. She seemed so charismatic, and yet so reserved.
Everyone around her seemed so caught up with their own friends and they were all laughing at shared jokes. They all were socializing with friends while she sat all alone, reading.
"Excuse me, Miss?"
The girl's head snapped up. She looked to see if it had been directed to her. She seemed to recognize him. Her blue eyes flickered with doubt and suspicion. Steven nodded at her to confirm that she was indeed the one being addressed.
"Yes?" she asked, closing the book after marking the page with a slip of paper. She seemed slightly confused at being talked to.
"I just wanted to discuss the theory you put forth in class today," he said. The girl's face brightened.
"Really?" she asked. She moved her books and bag to the side. "Sit," she said, patting the marble bench. Steven felt slightly awkward sitting beside her; he had never sat with another girl before. He quickly waved his thoughts away and took out his notepad.
They started discussing about the theory and Steven told her what he thought about the theory. She seemed intrigued by Steven's ideas and he felt the start of a friendship form between them. They discussed about the theory and all of its flaws. He hadn't met anybody else with the same passion for the subject as him before.
After a good fifteen minutes of discussion, the girl looked up. Steven followed her gaze. A spiky, brown haired boy gestured for her to come over. His burning gaze was fixed on him. Her boyfriend, he assumed. Steven felt uncomfortable. He was unaccustomed to such blatant hostility, having grown under his father's influence.
The girl looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said, picking up her things. "I have to go now." Steven stood up as well and nodded. She was turning to leave when he finally asked something that had been bothering him for some time.
"Excuse me, I didn't get your name in class," he said.
The girl turned around. "Aline," she said, after some deliberation. "Aline Larissa Carrol."
This is my first time writing for the Pokemon series!
I have been writing this on and off for about a year now, and editing remains and the latter half of the story needs to be written.
Back after almost a year-long hiatus, and by gods, it is GOOD to write again.
-Author1720