Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts; you don't even know how much it picked up my day. This chapter is sort of filler, I suppose; nothing too radical or exciting but you do get a dose of history~

In no way, shape, or form do I own Pokémon or Drew and May's last names. I do however, own Chris and Nikki. Oh, I don't own the concept of horizontal gravity; that's my math teacher.

Part of the chapter is a tribute to HeartGold and SoulSilver (which are extremely fun games, by the way. The new Pokethelon thing is so much fun. My Quilava owns at it.)

Thanks to Bulbapedia for the information on the Legendaries on here~ I made it a mix of the information off of Bulbapedia, the anime, the manga and some information from my mind, which I'm sure is from the anime….

There's going to be some clichés here, but hey, it makes the story more fun~

Oh, before I forget: May's 17, Drew's 18 aaaand Jack and Garrett are both 18.

And, as always, pleeeeeasssseee review; even if it's two words. Or one!

Chapter 2: New Students, new disasters

There's nothing like waking up in the morning to the smell of smoke. Ha. Yeah, right.

Drew Hayden hated waking up to Monday mornings that way. Heck, he hated waking up that way every day, but when you lived in a place like his, you had to get used to it. The ex-Coordinator rolled over in his bed, pulling his pillow over his face in an effort to block out the burned smell that was wafting into his room. Maybe if he closed his eyes and counted to ten, it'd all turn out to be a dream. There went the fire alarm and that hope.

He groaned tiredly, every muscle in his body screaming for more rest as he sat up in his loose fitting pajamas. What he wouldn't give to grab a few extra hours in Cresslia's realm. A long yawn left him as he stretched out his arms. As he stood, his body protested clearly and he winced at the slight sting before effectively brushing it off. A good breakfast would clear that up.

But wait...she was cooking. Or trying to. Again. Drew had to laugh at her antics. He thought she would have given up learning how to cook by the 5th time she had almost burned the house down.

The distinct roar of a Salamence came in through his slightly open window and he thanked Arceus. He was here, which meant that breakfast could be salvaged somewhat. That also meant he needed to be ready soon. Drew grabbed his usual attire: a black short-sleeved shirt, his black pullover and jeans. He was starting to like the shade of black. It made matching easier and he didn't have time to think about his clothing.

By the time he had collected his school supplies (scattered all over his room), the air was breathable. He grabbed his chain of Pokeballs on the desk near the door, clipping them on before shutting shut the entrance to his room and making his way down the steps to the kitchen.

"You know, one of these days, the LaRousse police are going to arrest you for air pollution." Drew joked as he entered the kitchen, smoke still slightly in the air. "Morning Chris, Nikolai."

"One of these days, you're going to wake up underwater." Chris retorted, whirling on her heels. She had been opening the window above the kitchen sink in an effort to release the smoke. "Glad to see you didn't decide to sleep in today." She smirked, taking a seat at the round table in the middle of the kitchen.

"Yeah, me too." He grumbled. "Never again after last week's punishment."

"Actually," Nikolai interrupted from the stove, "that punishment was for more than waking up late. Your times and reactions were slipping." He said matter-of-factly as he slid scrambled eggs onto a plate of toast. (Which wasn't burned). It was the usual Monday morning breakfast for Drew, but it was different every time. Nikolai always infused the food with some sort of energy booster when he knew that Drew would need it; it was quite terrifying actually. Not the food, but the information that Nikolai always had in his mind.

"And your grades were starting to slip." Chris added as Nikolai served Drew and handed Chris a cup of coffee. "Thanks Nikki. You know," she took a sip of the drink, making a face when it burned her tongue, "you should really just move in; it'd make our lives easier."

"I second that." Drew said, smirking at the red blush that was beginning to tint Nikolai's face. "We could avert a case of food poisoning if you did." He ducked a swat from Chris, grinning as he took a spoonful of eggs.

"I'd watch myself if I were you." She warned, narrowing her eyes at him. "I might poison you for real." She grumbled, taking another sip of coffee. "Now hurry up and eat! If we're late, I'm giving you detention."

Xxx

For the record, it sucks to be a new kid at school. What sucks even more is when you have no idea where you are and no one really wants to help you or doesn't pay much attention to you. That was the problem that May was currently facing as she stood in front of the double doors that entered into her new school, Trainers and Coordinators filing past her as she tried to figure out her map.

It wasn't that it was confusing; it was that she felt so alone in the environment. It would have been slightly better if she had a friend with her and really, that's all she wanted at the moment. She sighed in defeat, comparing her schedule with her map; she might as well head to her first class anyway.

First up: Room 213. Something about Myths in the Pokémon world.

With another sigh, May readjusted her backpack, heading into the school as the bell to go to class rang loudly and clearly through the campus.

Moving, in one word, sucked. When she had returned briefly from her escapades as a Coordinator, her parents had dropped the bomb on her: they were moving to LaRousse because the Pokémon League of Hoenn had decided that Norman would be needed there for a specific reason. They were sending in a replacement for him; one who Norman had approved of. May had been given the choice to go with her family or continue her journey. In all honesty, she didn't really care; Contests hadn't been as much fun when her rival had vanished without a trace. Upon their moving and settlement, May had learned that her father was to help the LaRousse Police catch the roving thief that had been plaguing them periodically. And now here she was, going to school.

Whoopee.

She glanced at her map again and then to her surroundings. Okay, so maybe she didn't know where she was going. Two students passed by her, a boy and a girl and she stopped them. "Excuse me, um, I was wondering if you could tell me where room 213 was?" She asked timidly.

"Before you say anything, Garrett, shut up." The girl snapped at the guy, clamping a hand over the guy's mouth. "I'm doing this as your friend." she hissed to him before turning to May. "That's our first period, actually. Why don't you join us? I'm Jack, and this is Garrett." She said his name with disdain as the mentioned rolled his bright blue eyes at her.

"It's nice to meet you two; I'm May." She returned, a slight weight lifted off her shoulders. They seemed friendly...ish. It seemed to her right away that Jack was the one who kept Garrett in line, evident by the way she spoke to him on their way to the class.

"By the way, Jack," Garrett said suddenly in the middle of a conversation, "your debt now rounds up to twenty-four." He snapped his fingers in realization. "Visetti won the race. Honestly, you have to stop betting on Rusinek...he's never going to win against her."

Jack cursed silently. "I'll bring your winnings tomorrow, I promise." She sighed.

"She always says that." Garrett shrugged to May, a teasing grin on his face. "She's got worse memory than a Slowking with amnesia."

"Hey, do me a favor and shut up." She snapped, stopping in front of a door, yanking it open angrily. "Morning Ms. Visetti." She grumbled.

"What'd Garrett do this time?"

"Why do people always assume I'm the one who puts Jack in a bad mood?" Garrett protested as he held the door open for May. "That's preposterous! Nice win this morning by the way."

Ms. Visetti, or so May presumed she was, was a young woman in her early twenties if she had to guess (slightly young for a teacher was the thought in the back of her mind). Her light brown hair was tied back in a ponytail and her emerald eyes sparkled upon seeing May.

"Well, you must be the new student, May right? Welcome to class. Glad to see you've met those two. They're lively...to say the least." She glared at Jack and Garrett, who gave her sly grins before sliding into their seats on the right side of the room. "Well, I'd like to seat you with them, but Arceus knows how that'll turn out...and I only have one empty seat..." She muttered, taking a quick look around the room.

May copied her, her chocolate brown eyes scanning the rows of paired desks that lined the room. The only open seat she saw was in the back near the window, right next to a blob of black clothing who she guessed was sleeping.

"No helping it then...." Ms. Visetti grumbled. She picked up an Expo marker from her desk, tossing it up and down in her hand. "Hold on one second." She reared her hand back before throwing the marker at the figure.

If she hadn't been in the room, May wouldn't have believed it. The person had suddenly sprung to life, catching the marker before it hit him.

"Nice try, Chris, but you'll have to throw faster next time." He scoffed, tossing the marker back.

"Who said I threw the marker? It was horizontal gravity." She remarked. "And don't sleep in my class; that's rude. May, you'll have to put up with Drew in the meantime."

No one else could feel the awkward air that had coated them.

Xxx

Drew was more than ready to hurt his cousin. Not literally though; he'd never admit it (as in, even under torture he wouldn't), but she was stronger than him in both strength and battle. Of course, she'd only been doing the job he had for about half a decade so naturally she one-upped him. But he was ready to chew her out for the situation she was putting him in. Of coupe, she didn't know that May was an old rival (he used that term pretty loosely. Rivals didn't like each other most of the time and he considered her a friend; sort of). How could she? It was just his luck to have May seated next to him. Great.

"Alright you guys; turn your books to page 185. Drew, be a nice boy and share with her." Chris said, throwing him a smirk. Okay...maybe she did know about the rivalry. That smirk said it all.

Well, it didn't matter; he'd just have to pretend that nothing ever happened. He'd treat May like he did everyone else at school: he'd ignore them. Which was definitely out of his natural character. But it wasn't like he'd gone to school willingly. He'd literally been pulled out of his Contest world to be situated in LaRousse. Under normal circumstances, he'd been the number one person there. Which he still was; he still had his good looks without the personality. It was just like the Contest scene, but even there he didn't like the fan girls...or the clubs. But it came with being who he was. It was just his choice to ignore it all.

May, for her part, was doing a fantastic job. He could tell that she was trying hard not to say anything. The glances she kept casting his way told him that she was definitely smothering her need to either blow up at him or bombard him with questions until his head was spinning more than a Spinda.

Anyway, he supposed he should have turned his attention to the lesson. Page 185...

"Ahh, so, how many people here, as I know you've all had journeys before hand, have traveled to the Johto region's Ecruteak City ?" Chris asked, interrupting Drew's train of thought.

A few hands went up, among them: Jack and Garrett and May and Drew.

Drew was becoming slightly murderous now. Chris had no idea how while he was in the Johto region, he'd run into May (and Soledad and Harley) in that particular city and how the two of them had went on a semi-date. But...that was a long time ago. Still, he didn't fail to see the pink tinge on May's face.

"Wonderful. So, the lot of you must have visited the Burned Tower ?" She assumed, excitement lighting up her face. She grabbed a small clicker off her desk, shutting off the lights by pressing a switch that read 'on/off' and then, she pointed it at the projector in the ceiling in the middle of the class, pressing the green button on the remote.

This was one of the moments that Drew sincerely thought that Chris had lost it; she became so passionate in the world of legends that it made it hard for the girl to decipher reality from fiction. Then again, that's what Nikolai was for. He was the person who pulled her back down to earth.

The projector finally started up, its almost silent whirring the only sound heard in the class; hardly anyone was as awake as Chris on a Monday morning. Not that the teacher minded; she pulled up a presentation onto the whiteboard, showcasing three familiar Pokémon. "Two towers... Two Pokémon... But when one burned down, both Pokémon flew away, never to return." Chris said in so softly a voice that it was almost impossible to hear. "This saying, well, legend, is passed down by the Ecruteak Gym Leaders. Don't ask how I know it. About 700 years ago, the people of Ecruteak built two nine-tier towers in order to create an environment that would encourage peace between Pokémon and humans."

She flicked on to the next slide, showing the same towers she had mentioned. "In the west lay the Brass Tower , believed to awaken Pokémon while the Tin Tower in the east provided a place for Pokémon to rest."

The next slide. One of the towers was burning; a jagged bolt of lightning dashing across the top of the slide to connect with the top of the tower. "150 years ago, the Brass Tower was struck by lightning and burned for three days. It was quelled only when the Slowpoke of, what city was it that had Slowpoke in their Legend?"

"Azalea." The class chorused.

"Good, when the Slowpoke of Azalea Town used Yawn. The phenomenon is still a mystery to this day. Continuing on…" Chris changed the slide yet again and this showed a more recent picture of the city's tower. "This is what Lugia's home resembled after. He resides now in the Whirl Islands , or so researchers believe. Ho-Oh left his home in the Tin Tower as well. Legend says that he will return when a Trainer with a pure heart appears. But that's for another day. Today, our main focus are these three."

The slide show went back to a picture of the three Pokémon in the opening of the slideshow. "Class, names?"

There was a flurry of different answers, mixing together to come out as nonsense. "Right… I think I heard: Suicune, Entei, and Raikou…" Chris grinned. "There are two different pathways that their Legend branches. Who can name one of those? Jack?"

The grey eyed girl seemed to sit up straighter, earning a snort from Garrett, who Jack proceeded to slap on the shoulder before continuing to answer. "Raikou is to embody the thunder that struck the tower, Entei the fire that burned and Suicune the rain that put it out."

"Very good!" Chris exclaimed. "That's exactly right. It's said that three Pokémon perished in the fire and that Ho-Oh took pity on them, resurrecting them to embody those three elements. There's another one that researchers are still skeptical on. Anyone?"

The class stayed silent for a while until Drew heaved a heavy sigh and raised his hand. He knew this reason like the back of his hand. Nikolai and Chris constantly argued (nicely, of course) over this.

"Drew. Enlighten us." There was that annoying hint of a smirk in her voice.

"Not much evidence supports it, but it's believed the three Pokémon who died in the fire were Eveelutions: Vaporeon, Flareon, and Jolteon. Those three were brought back to life and represent their respective elements." He answered.

"Nice job! I'm so glad you guys actually know this subject matter!" She gushed, flipping over to the next slide, which showcased the three Pokémon Drew had mentioned. "Right, there's a belief that the three Pokémon who suffered were indeed these three, but again, the evidence is small. Now, the three Legendary Beasts are thought to roam Hoenn in order to find the Trainer that Ho-Oh awaits for. One of these three also have another embodiment…anyone want to take a crack at it?"

"It's the North Wind." Garrett yelled. He was promptly rewarded by a marker making contact with his head. "Ouch…"

"Horizontal Gravity attacks those who yell out in my class, but yes, that's correct. Suicune, who Garrett forgot to mention, also represents the North Wind. I'm almost out of time, so tonight's homework will be…" She went to the next slide, grinning maniacally. "Choose one of the three Beasts. Try not to overuse Suicune. Please. One year, my class did Suicune. I don't mind it, but I like variety, even if you have only three choices. Choose one of the three and do some research on them; I want two paragraphs, that's not a lot, on what you find about them individually and on what you think of them. Due tomorrow. Dismissed." She reached the last word as the bell rang once again and the students scrambled out of their seats.

Drew was out the door first, not giving May a chance to even talk to him as his black hood was lost in the crowd of students.

Xxx

Huge apologies if this chapter was bad.

Please leave any comments and reviews if you can; as well as suggestions or thoughts; any feedback at all~

Thanks!

nellchan