Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, then I would've done something about that hideous Mewtwo form or whatever it is.
A/N: Rating is subject to change later on. Also, not everything is what it may seem like...
"What do you mean, I'm transferring?"
I stare at Mum, who is sitting on the opposite side of the table, with my spoonful of rice halfway to my wide-open mouth. I can't tell if her expression is one of sorrow or excitement; she's looking down at her lap, and her eyes seem solemn, but I think I can see the hint of a smile on her face. I can't tell if what she's just said is real, either. One second we're peacefully eating our dinner in the kitchen, the next she drops this bomb onto me. Transferring? Why now? I've got my best friends, I've got more than decent grades, all the teachers like me, I'm not being bullied in any way – there's absolutely no reason as to why I should transfer to a new school.
"But you're not transferring to any old school, Ash, dear," Mum says, looking up at me. She's definitely smiling now. "You're transferring to Lechic Academy. The best school for trainers-to-be in Kanto."
I lower my spoon, and stare at her even harder. She's joking, right? Either that, or I'm just dreaming. Lechic Academy… everyone who's interested in becoming a Pokémon Trainer or Co-ordinator when they're older – no, any old person, really – has heard of them, including me. It's the dream school of everyone, though for most people, it's painstakingly far out of reach.
Lechic Academy is a prestigious high school set up to cater for the most talented teenagers aged 15 to 18, but of course, it's only for the teenagers who can afford it, or to put it simply, the most talented teenagers who also happen to be the richest. Yes, they have the bursary scholarships, but as far as I know they're only for the people entering at the beginning of the year as first-years, and as far as I'm aware, I've been a second-year for the last four months or so. Not to mention, I doubt they'd be handing out bursaries left, right, and centre. I can tell you that we're nowhere near rich enough to pay the tuition fees. Mum's a single mother running a restaurant mostly by herself and a couple of kitchen staff and waitresses, and… well, let's just say that we haven't even been out of the region before, and it's not because of the restaurant.
I've heard rumours about it, of course. Professor Oak happens to be a neighbour as well as a friend of ours, and his grandson, Blue Oak, goes to Lechic Academy, though his expenses are paid for by Professor Oak's much richer brother. He's talked about the school a lot on his frequent visits to the restaurant with his grandfather (whether willingly or not, I don't know); though some things are less believable than others, such as outdoor swimming pools for summer use and corridors decorated with golden buttresses, there are things that sound genuinely legit as well, such as high ceilings, an ornate dining hall, a computer lab equipped with the latest technology and software, and best of all, an arena dedicated to Pokémon Battles and the such. No wonder it's only for the richest people.
"Ash? Ash, are you still there, honey?" I hear my mum say, and I snap out of my thoughts.
"Uh, yeah…" I reply sheepishly. "But, Mum, are you serious? Don't tell me that you're selling the restaurant just so you can send me there? I mean, it's really good and all, but that's just taking it to the extremes—"
"Of course we can't afford to pay for the tuition fees ourselves," Mum says, shaking her head. "But someone… an acquaintance of mine, in fact… he offered to send you to Lechic Academy and cover all the expenses for it. He told me that he saw you battle in that Battle Club Tournament three months ago, and thought you could grow up to be an excellent Trainer given the right type of education."
Ah, yes. The Battle Club Tournament. Though I lack a Pokémon of my own, because I never have time to go out and catch one, let alone take care of one, on that occasion, I borrowed an Excadrill from my best friend Iris (without her permission, which resulted in a backlash that I won't bother memories… but let me tell you, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned), and I somehow managed to battle my way all the way to the finals with that Excadrill of hers, until she finally tracked me down, interrupted me right in the middle of the final match with a dramatic flinging open of the doors, and got me disqualified. I had to explain myself to the police and everything, which Professor Oak had to sort out on my behalf. To sum it up… it was a stupid decision on my part. But to think that someone had noticed me then…
"By the way, Ash, I still haven't forgiven you about that," my mum adds, a stern look on her face.
I can't help but laugh at that. "I did bring on that surge of customers who all wanted to have a look at "The Thief Trainer", though, didn't I?" I say teasingly.
"Well, that was that, but…" Mum sighs, and laughs as well. "Anyway, that's a thing of the past. We're talking about Lechic Academy right now." Her face turns serious again. "Now, in order to enter Lechic Academy, you're required to pass two exams, one dealing with general intelligence such as English, Maths, and Science, and one dealing with Pokémon Theory, which is all about Pokémon Training. Then, if you pass that, you have to prove your skills in either a Pokémon Battle or an Appeal Round."
"That's a lot of tests there," I say.
"They have to pick the best, after all," Mum says. "You won't be eligible for a scholarship, since they've all been sorted out for your year, but that won't be a problem."
"Wait, so, do I have a say in this?" I ask, thinking about my friends and school commitments. "I mean, you do realise that I have a life inside school too, right? There's Iris and Cilan, who you know I've been friends with since way back in junior high, and I'm part of the Pokémon Battling Club, too, as well as the Soccer Club—"
"Think about it, Ash!" Mum says, standing up with a gleam in her eyes. "It's the chance of a lifetime – your dreams will be more than a step closer by going to Lechic Academy – all the opportunities you'll be offered while you're there that you wouldn't be able to experience here – surrounded by people as talented as you are – how could you miss out on that?"
"I've still got my priorities right now, though," I tell her, rubbing the back of my neck. "I just don't feel like I'm up for this yet."
"Would you like a top-level education? An education which could help you achieve your biggest dream?" she asks firmly, coming around the table to where I am. I look up at her from my seat, dumbstruck. I've never seen Mum so worked up before; she looks so excited about the whole deal, and so determined, too. She's got these sparks in her eyes, and it's like her whole soul's on fire. She's usually calm and composed, but right now, she's nothing even close. She could well explode any second. It doesn't look like anyone or anything is going to change her mind.
"It's a big decision for me, Mum," I say. That sentence was a big mistake, looking at the way her eyes fire up even more.
"Fine, fine," I finally said, holding up my hands in defeat. Something tells me that I'm going to regret this, but if you think about it, she's right – it could help me a lot in achieving my pretty far-fetched dream of becoming an Elite Four Member, or even a Champion. I can always see Cilan and Iris after school. The teachers will be supportive of my plans. It's just that the decision of whether or not I should transfer to another school is one that should take longer than just a minute or two to make.
But still… let's see what comes out of it.
"You're transferring?!" Iris says incredulously. I hear her slamming down her hands on the table.
I nod, still stirring the cup of coffee in front of me and staring down at it. I can see my reflection on the surface – my brown eyes look slightly weary, and my normally messy, raven black hair seems droopier than usual, if that makes sense. I'm sitting at a small café – nothing too posh, just a small café for passing students with sophisticated tastes, like a certain someone – with my two best friends, Iris and Cilan. I can't see their faces right now, but I can tell that Iris isn't all that happy with my decision to transfer away and leave the two of them alone, or something along those lines.
Maybe I should have been more careful with my lines, instead of just saying "Hey, by the way, I'm transferring to Lechic Academy, maybe". Okay, so that's not exactly what I said, but even so, now that I think about it, I could have put it more… how should I say this? Carefully? Cautiously? Yeah, something along those lines. It's not casual every day conversation material, after al
"Still, if it's Lechic Academy, it's probably worth it – as your mum said, it could be the chance of a lifetime," Cilan says, taking a sip of his tea. Iris huffs indignantly, and I spot her turning away out of the corner of my eye.
"I don't see how spending the next couple of years of your life with a bunch of snobby rich people who spend their lives not having to worry about anything and probably look down at us 'poor people'," Iris says. I look up at them at last. Iris looks more than annoyed – pretty angry, in fact. I don't see why she should care, really; I mean, we can always see each other after school, right?
"You sound like one of those 'snobby rich people' right now, Cilan tells her teasingly. Iris growls, and makes a lunge for the leaf-like strands of hair at the front of his head. Cilan dodges her hands and goes for her purple pigtails himself, laughing, and soon they were locked in a battle for each other's hair, with Iris laughing as well. I look from Cilan to Iris, and sigh, though I can't help but smile. Sometimes I wonder if they'd even care whether I leave or not, seeing as they're perfectly happy and lovey-dovey by themselves. It's becoming less of "Ash, Cilan, and Iris" and more of "Cilan and Iris, with Ash as the third wheel" as time passes.
I clear my throat, just as they both scream "Gotcha!" and manage to grab each other's hair, making a few alarmed heads turn towards them. I shake my head, sighing. A second of awkward silence ensues, and they both turn to look at me, the smiles disappearing from their faces. I suppress a snort.
"So, the Lechic Academy thing…?" I suggest, as they move away from each other at the speed of light, both of them blushing.
"Well, really, I think you should follow – your – dreams," Cilan says, twirling his hand in the air and putting it in front of him towards me between those three last words. "Since you've always wanted to become an Elite Four Member, it should be beneficial to you. It would look good on your job application, too."
"I doubt he knows what the word 'beneficial' means, let alone half the questions that would come up on the entrance exams," Iris says in a mocking tone. "You're such a kid."
"And this is coming from the girl who got involved in a play-fight in public where everyone was watching," I tell her in a snarky tone, making her blush even more.
"W-well, there's the more logical question of how you're going to be able to pay the tuition fees," she continues, turning more serious. "Let's face it, Ash; your family's nowhere near rich enough to be able to afford the fees. Not even Cilan's family would be able to pay the fees, and you know how well-off he is, compared to the two of us."
"It's more of a case of our family having three sons to support all at the same time, but sure, carry on," Cilan said, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"All the expenses are being paid by one of my mum's acquaintances," I say. "You know that Battle Club Tournament? Yeah, well, apparently, he saw me battling there, and he was really impressed with me, and thought I had potential."
"So you owe me one, eh?" Iris says, smirking.
"I thought the police and everything was enough?"
"Professor Oak helped you out there, though, so it doesn't count."
"Anyway, do you know who exactly your benefactor is?" Cilan asks.
"Thinking about it… no, my mum never told me who he was," I say, thinking back to our conversation. "She just said that he was an acquaintance of hers, nothing else." I then decide it would just be easier to repeat the whole conversation to them, rather than having them ask me an endless number of questions.
"Then you'll need a Pokémon, right?" Cilan said.
"Now that I think about it, yeah, I will…" I trail off, realising that I don't have a Pokémon of my own, which was the whole reason why I stole Iris' Excadrill back then in the first place. "Well, that's a problem."
"I'm not lending you my Excadrill again, Ash, if you're wondering," Iris tells me.
"Fine, fine, I didn't think you would, anyway," I reply wearily.
"Then you'll need some guidance from moi, I suppose?" Cilan says, his face lighting up. "Why, as a Connoisseur-to-be, I will tell you the finest choices that you can pick! You're usually quite level-headed, but when you get excited, you become really fired up, don't you? So, judging from that, I suppose a Fire-Type or Electric-Type would be an ideal Pokémon of choice for you… How about a Vulpix, or perhaps a Shinx? Cute and powerful at the same time, non?"
"They're not really my type of Pokémon, Cilan…" I tell him, exasperated. "And don't go around making decisions for me, okay?"
"Well, if you say so…" Cilan says, his face drooping, and he hangs his head in shame. That Cilan can be unnecessarily over-dramatic and exaggerating sometimes.
"So, if you get accepted, you won't be coming back to our school anymore?" Iris says.
"I guess not."
Another awkward silence ensues. I drink some of my coffee, which I absent-mindedly stopped stirring some time ago, and Cilan does the same his tea. I hate it when no one talks like that.
"Anyway, guys, I just have to tell you about the new shop that opened up in the shopping centre the other day," Cilan says, suddenly changing the subject. He starts rambling on about some shop that sells evolutionary stones or whatever, and how he'll finally be able to evolve his Pansage, if it weren't for the fact that they're tragically expensive. I mostly ignore what he's saying, and I take a glance at Iris. She doesn't seem to be listening, either. She seems gloomier than usual and lost in thought, with a small frown on her face. It's not like her to be like this. Maybe she's depressed about me leaving? No, that can't be it. She's usually always so annoyed with me, and treats me like a kid. It's probably those racist kids at school who always make fun of her, though I can't see how they're related to the situation right now.
I'm more concerned about how I'm going to get a Pokémon, however. I don't really have time to go out and catch one on my own, nor do I have the money to buy one, and I most certainly do not have the time to look after one – I've satisfied myself by watching battles on TV and reading Pokémon Training magazines so far. Well, I guess that zaps Mum's dreams of getting me into Lechic Academy. It can't be over this quickly, though, right?