Vivian: Kanto Ranger
We stood in the main foyer of the school. The walls were covered in congratulatory banners, while colourful streamers hung from the ceiling. A temporary stage had brought out for the graduation ceremony. The bright sunlight lit up the foyer, giving it more cheer than usual.
I glanced around the room; my graduating class was only about 25-30 students. There were more when we started, but many of them decided being a Ranger was too much and dropped out after about a month. Their loss; I guess that means there's more job security for me anyways.
Even though we're all graduating from the Ranger School, not everyone will become one. Some continue on to the Police Academy, some become scientists, and others operators.
Jack and I (he's my best friend) are definitely going to be Rangers. We've gotten along from the beginning. I can still remember the day I met him.
It was the first day of school, and I had just gotten off the Dragonite Bus. I looked at the front gates, which stood majestically from the ground. A small group of students had already gathered by the gates, waiting for them to open. I clutched my bag and walked over.
Most of them seemed to know each other already, and talked amongst themselves. I introduced myself, eager to make at least one friend. They all quickly introduced themselves, and then continued on as if nothing had happened.
Fine, I thought to myself, they can be that way. I don't need friends like that. I decided to sit against the gate, and put my bag down beside me. To pass the time, I watched a flock of Tailow dig for worms in the ground.
I jumped slightly when I heard someone sit down beside me. I turned to see a guy my age. He was wonderfully tanned, with messy black hair and deep brown eyes. I did not mind him sitting there at all.
"Hey," he said with a fantastic, dazzling smile, "do you mind if I sit here?"
I smiled back. Only if you smile the entire time, I thought to myself. "My imaginary friend Stella might be upset, but I don't mind at all." Smooth, I thought to myself, any other terrible jokes that might scare him off?
He chuckled at my poor joke. He's attractive and has a sense of humor, so far so good! "My name's Jack" he said confidently, with yet another dazzling smile. "I'm from the Hoenn region."
"I'm Vivian, and I'm from Kanto. Where about in Hoenn are you from?"
"Lilycove; my parents own the hotel there. Kanto's pretty far. Which part of Kanto?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"Route 5, it's between Cerulean and Saffron. My parents own the daycare there."
He nodded, looking impressed. "I figured there was something different about you. Most of the girls where I'm from all seem the same, you know? I've travelled a bit with my parents, and most girls seem to be the same when I go to other cities. They all copy each other in style, hair, all that shit."
I chuckled. "Well I never really cared for that. I mean, most of my days were spent helping my parents with the daycare so whatever I wore would just get dirty. I never bothered buying nice clothes unless I needed them for a special occasion or something."
He looked at me like I was something incredible. I guess it was a good sign though, seeing as he looked over at the group I had introduced myself to and frowned at them. "By the way, you're better off not knowing them. Don't waste your time trying to get in with them."
I raised my eyebrow at him, curious as to why. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, most of those girls are the 'like, oh ma gawd' type" he said, doing a terrible impression of the valley girl voice. I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it sounded. "And those guys with them? They're just looking for a little something something, if you know what I mean" he said with a wink.
"Uh huh…" I said with a smirk, "and you're just telling me all this out of the goodness of your heart?"
He laughed. My goodness his laugh is amazing. It has that manly deepness to it. I could listen to him laugh all day. "Of course," he said, "what else would it be?"
I chuckled, "Do you want an honest answer to that?"
Still smiling, he replied "No, but to be honest, I think we'll get along quite well." He put his arm around my shoulders.
I smiled feeling my cheeks get warm. I was completely ok with how my first day had started.
Jack and I had some good times here at the school. We're both quite competitive, which made some tests and assignments interesting. We would tease each other, push the other to their absolute limit, just about anything to make the other screw up.
It was hard to believe an entire year had gone by. My graduating class stood with me in the foyer. This would likely be the last time we would all be together. I glanced over at Jack, who was fiddling with his shirt.
I had grown very attached to Jack during the year. I actually can't imagine doing anything without him. I liked him, really liked him. I'd like to think he liked me back, but I couldn't be sure. There were times I thought he felt the same, but then I shrugged it off, figuring it was just his personality.
"Ahem. Students, please stand in alphabetical order, as practiced at yesterday's rehearsal." We all looked at the stage to see Mr. Lamont, the principal. "Your families will be arriving shortly, so please assemble in your lines. Thank you."
The elderly man stood on the stage, talking to the other staff members. Ms. April, my teacher, looked like she was starting to get emotional. It looked as if she and Mr. Lamont were getting into a deep discussion.
As we stood in our places, one of my classmates, Julia, whispered to me. "Hey, I heard a few years ago that the grad ceremony got interrupted by a couple of Tangrowth!"
I looked at her with my eyebrows raised, and scoffed. "You couldn't come up with something more believable? A couple of Tangrowth in the school? Come on. What else? One of the teachers was actually part of an evil organization?"
She gaped at me. "I'm serious! It's true! …bitch."
I rolled my eyes as I heard people file into the foyer. As soon as everyone was seated, Mr. Lamont took up the microphone.
"Greetings all! We're all so glad you could make it! Welcome to the Ranger School graduation ceremony. In a few moments, we will call up the valedictorian. After that, we have a few awards to hand out. Then finally, the graduation certificates will be given to the students. As we the certificates are handed to the graduating student, we will be announcing where they have chosen to pursue their future goals."
Mr. Lamont went on explaining, but at this point I was focused on Jack. I glanced to my right, where was standing in the row behind. He hadn't told me yet where had applied to. My guess was that he had applied somewhere in Hoenn.
My focus snapped back to the front as the valedictorian began her speech. Our valedictorian, Beverly, was someone I had seen once or twice around the school. I didn't pay much attention to her speech. I merely spaced out until they started to announce the award recipients.
I was very surprised when they called my name.
"We would like to award Vivian with the Type Advantage award. Vivian was chosen because her knowledge of Pokémon type advantages and disadvantages surpasses her peers'. Well done Vivian!" Ms. April said.
Everyone clapped as I made my way up to the stage. I shook hands with Ms. April and Mr. Lamont, as a medal was placed around my neck. I turned and smiled towards the crowd. I spotted my parents, as they were clapping ecstatically. I glanced over at Jack, who gave me a thumbs up and a wink.
I smirked as I went back to my spot. Of course I had gotten that award. My parents taught me about types ever since I was little. Apparently it was basic knowledge for any breeder.
The ceremony continued, and eventually reached the part where the certificates were to be handed out. They went through the list, handing out one certificate at a time, and then announcing which region the student had been accepted to.
Mine was no surprise. "Vivian has been accepted to the Kanto region. Vivian will be a Kanto Ranger. Congratulations!" Mr. Lamont said.
It was Jack's, however, that surprised me. "Jack has been accepted to the Kanto region. Jack will be a Kanto Ranger. Congratulations!" I gaped slightly as Jack shook Mr. Lamont's hand. No wonder he wouldn't tell me, he knew I'd bug him about it.
After the ceremony concluded, I met up with my parents. They told me how proud they are, and how happy they are that I'll be coming back to Kanto. It was some time during this excitement, that I felt a familiar arm around my shoulder. I looked, and it was that wonderfully tanned arm I had grown so accustomed to seeing. I even knew there was a mole on his right arm near his shoulder. I do have to admit though, his arm had gained quite a bit of muscle during the year. Not that I keep track of that kind of thing.
My parents looked pleasantly surprised at this. My guess is that they think he's my boyfriend. How fantastic.
"Vivian, won't you introduce us to this handsome fellow?" my mom asked. No, I wanted to say. My dad smirked, looking amused by this.
"Mom, dad, this is Jack. He's my best friend. He's also coming to Kanto to be a Ranger" I said, giving a brief explanation.
My parents are Kanto enthusiasts tonight. They gushed about how lovely it is, how much he'll love it, there's so many places he should see, places to avoid…the list goes on and on.
My mom stopped suddenly, and a look of worry took over her previously cheerful face. "Jack, do you have somewhere to stay in Kanto?" she asked.
Jack chuckled nervously. "I was just going to stay in the PokeCentre till I found somewhere to stay."
"Nonsense! Jack, feel free to stay with us as long as you need to!" my dad said.
I chuckled as Jack told my parents how grateful he was for the offer, but didn't wish to impose on them. After a few minutes, my mom was growing impatient. She told Jack not to worry about a thing, and insisted we leave for Kanto right away.
My dad, also feeling the itch to leave, picked up our bags and started heading for the Dragonite Bus. We were practically herded out of there by my parents.
It'll be interesting having Jack around. I'll definitely be bothering him about why he chose Kanto. I glanced over at him, as he was telling my dad about the hotel his parents owned. I smiled, deciding to leave it alone for now. The one thing that really made me smile was the fact his arm was still around my shoulders.