The days passed by like little Bunnelby, and before I knew it the time to depart had arrived. I stared at the woman in the mirror glaring back at me with her brown eyes. Most of her black hair was pulled back into a meticulous bun, though some of it was left out of the bun to hang slightly above her shoulders. She wore a black military jacket and a crimson metal choker, and although I couldn't see any further, I knew she had on dark gray pants along with a pair of black combat boots. "I still can't believe that's me," I muttered to myself, turning away from the Morag in the mirror. I pulled on my white fingerless gloves before leaving my room without a backward glance. It's not like it had any sentimental value, considering how often we moved.

Before I could head downstairs, Callum stepped in front of me. He, too, was leaving today, though of course his was due to deployment. "Aww, my little sis is all ready for school! I'm so proud of you," he said, hand reaching to mess up the hair I had spent the past ten minutes perfecting.

"Oh, shut it, you," I groaned, swatting the prying hand away before it could cause any damage.

"Personally, I still think you would make a good-"

"Do me a favor and get whatever obscene thought you're thinking right now out of your head."

"Come on, I'm just teasing you!"

"And I have had enough." I walked down the steps, ending the conversation. The suitcases I had packed were sitting by the door. Mother stood up from her chair upon my arrival, though Father was nowhere to be found. He was currently in a meeting, but I had already known that. We had said our goodbyes last night. I glanced over to my mother; she looked like she wanted to say something, but her emotions prevented her from speaking. An awkward silence ensued, which I decided needed broken. "We should head to the airport now. Missing our flights wouldn't be ideal."

"R-Right," she managed to say before heading out to the car. Callum, who had followed me downstairs, picked up the larger suitcase effortlessly. Grabbing the other suitcase, I trailed after him. We joined Mother outside and placed the suitcases in the trunk.

"Shotgun!" Callum suddenly called before rushing over to the passenger seat. I sighed, shaking my head at his antics. I climbed into the backseat, and we were off to the airport.


It wasn't long before we arrived. We all exited the car, Callum pulling both of my suitcases out of the back, setting them beside me before grabbing his own stuff. Mother then startled me when she pulled us into a fierce hug. Her head laid on my left shoulder, and I could feel her wet cheek against mine. I forced myself not to cry; I had to be strong, for her sake. "I'll be back before you know it," I murmured, and at last she pulled away. The tears I had felt streaked down her face like cracks in a rock. "I'll make sure to call," I added before turning away from her without another word. I refused to let her see the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. It was only when I entered the building itself that I wiped my eyes of weakness.

"You, crying? Since when?" Callum asked behind me.

Of course, he had to notice. Turning around, I opened my mouth to deny it, but I simply couldn't get the words out. What was the point of denying it when he had obviously seen it? Instead, I replied, "Yes, I was. Is there a problem?"

He chuckled at that. "No, just was a bit surprised, that's all. It's not like you to cry." I shot him a halfhearted glare. "I'm gonna miss you, ya know," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I will miss you as well," I replied, grasping his hand firmly. "Don't do anything too reckless," I added, a rare, genuine smile crossing my features. He was always capable of eliciting such an emotional response from me, even when I was mad at him.

"Heh. No guarantees."

I shook my head at that. "Of course not," I replied with a sigh, letting go as he removed his hand. With a final wave, he turned to catch his flight. Resigning myself to the trip before me, I moved to do the same.


It was a grueling flight. I had spent most of the time sleeping, as I knew how brutal jet lag could be, especially when the time difference was as far apart as Japan and Scotland. It was almost 21:00 at home, yet here the sun had yet to rise. I picked up my luggage before making my way outside. Awe struck me upon seeing the site before me. In the time it had taken to get my belongings, the sun had just started to peek over the horizon. The city was still asleep, preparing to awaken to the day before it. A light breeze pulled gently at the loose hair. I was content to wait here for the bus to pick me up along with other students who were flying from overseas. It appeared I was the first one there.

A few hours passed, and a small group of students had begun to form. Most of them appeared to be first years, though there were a few fellow second years. The city bustled around us, people in a rush to get from one place to another. Some things were the same no matter the country, it seemed. It wasn't much longer before a bus pulled up to the group. A woman exited the bus and approached upon spotting our group. She did a quick head count and, satisfied by the number, ushered us onto the bus. "We're so excited to have you all here!" the woman said in Japanese, her voice preppy and cheery as expected. I tried my best to follow along with her speech about the school, though at times it was hard to follow. I had studied Japanese for the past several years when I had become enthralled by the Japanese culture, but studying a language in a classroom and being subject to an environment where fluent native speakers are speaking the language are two different situations.

The woman had just finished her speech by the time we arrived. When the bus finally came to a stop, we all exited to find ourselves before the school itself. As befitting a prestigious school, it was an impressive building guarded by the gate in front, and right outside it was a large fountain. "This way, everyone," the woman called out, gesturing us towards her. Upon all of us gathering around her, she began by pointing away from the school and down the street. "As you know, you each chose to train one type. Everyone lives in dorms, and each building houses a different type. We'll be heading there in a moment, but first we're gonna visit the school really quick!" She led the way towards the school itself, though we didn't go inside. From what I understood, the school had six floors and all our classes would be on the same floor. It seemed simple enough.

Once she was done, she led us back through the gate and in the direction she had originally pointed. Soon enough we came upon a group of apartment buildings. "Now, we're going to go to each building. When we get to your type, head on inside. There'll be someone there who'll give you your school stuff and tell you where your room is." We first went to the dorms of typical starter Pokémon. We went to a few more before finally reaching the dorm I belonged to: ground. I was alone in entering the building.

Inside the lobby area was another younger woman, though she appeared to be a student. She looked up as I entered, her brown ponytail brushing behind her and the Wooper resting on her head almost toppling off before righting itself. "Oh, you must be the new student! I'm Umeko, and you must be…M-Mora-san?" she asked, stumbling over my name, though I was used to it.

"Morag, actually, and yes, I am," I replied slowly, hoping my Japanese was able to get my words across.

Luckily, she understood. "Oh, sorry! That's a rather unique name. It kind of has this…harsh sound to it. Fitting for a ground-trainer, I'd think! Oops, I tend to ramble a lot. Well, enough of that! I have your schedule here, and if you'll come with me I can show you your room!"

"Thank you, Umeko…-san," I added hesitantly. Japanese honorifics were something I still struggled with.

"You can call me Umeko-chan if you want," Umeko prattled on as she went down the hall. She was now carrying the Wooper in her arms, her long sleeves protecting her from the poisonous film over its body. "So, where're you from, Morag-san?"

"Scotland."

"Wow, all the way from Europe? I love being able to meet people from all over! It's why I'm here. A lot of the students are still Japanese, but then you've got people like you from other countries." She stopped in front of one of the doors. "Well, here we are! I'm sure I'll see you around, right?"

"Sure," I replied, not sure if there was any truth in my statement. It seemed to satisfy her, though, as she turned and walked away, a slight bounce in her steps. Opening the door, I entered what was to be my room for the next two years. The first thing I noticed, besides the bed, was the extravagant kitchen area. "This is nice," I muttered to myself, closing the door behind me.

It was only then that I realized how exhausted I was. Through the window, the sky shone in brilliant shades of orange and pink in preparation for the night. When did it get to be so late? Despite being tired beyond belief, I sat down at the desk to write in my journal before going to sleep.


Another one out so soon? "Where's the Ylva that I'm used to?" Said no one ever. I promised this out...four days ago. That didn't happen, but I got this out faster than I ever would have expected normally given my normal tendencies. So I guess I'll be glad for that much.

I will say this now, it probably will be a while before this story catches up with To the Better You, if only because I have a full year to cover first, and so much I want to do with it. Yet I do want to get to the start of To the Better You, so who knows exactly how long it will take.

First off, I have some people I need to thank or reply to or both:

-Clarified Conundrum: Okay, I know I just thanked you earlier, but oh well. First off, I'm glad you've enjoyed writing Morag. I have loved being able to see Morag evolve from just a form from a crazy obsessed girl known as me into an actual person who stands out in her own right. Also I may kind of ship her and Naomi a bit too much in my head (Yeah, yeah, I finally admit it...I ship this ship so much it's the biggest ship in my shipyard). Also, Callum's a goofball, really, but I guess it really does show how duty bound Morag is compared to her brother. Unintentional characterization is best characterization, apparently. I will always shoutout about your stories, because they truly do hold a special place in my heart as well as my overobsessed mind. Also thanks for the favorite and follow. You have no idea how much this means to me. Even now, over a year after I first discovered your stories in the form of Spirits, I always try to write these side stories so that they are worthy of standing alongside yours. Mine certainly isn't up to your level by any means, but I will keep trying to make this the best it can be.

-Plague Dog UnleasheD: Thank you for following! I hope you'll enjoy this journey as much as I am right now.

-Farla: I was warned about you before and how your "reviews" can be and that some people have quit writing just because of your comments. As you'll realize, I'm not one of those. If anything, it just made me get this up faster just to show that I won't let someone like you bring me down. If you had read far enough (heck, even the end of the first chapter), you would have known most of the story is not in diary format. Or even Chapter 2, which is in that normal story format. And as far as stuff "not being necessary" it leads right into Chapter 2 and is meant to just get an idea of what Morag's like and her current situation. I'm sorry if this sounds bitter, because I'm really not, and since I don't know how far you read I may be completely wrong with you not having read that part.

-Anonymous 1O1: Rest assured, Pokémon are definitely a big part in this, even though it hasn't seemed like it just yet. I do plan on also bringing in how a modern military would function with Pokémon involved, though I'm not quite sure how I'll go about it as of yet. Thank you for the favorite and follow as well.

-Mega Espeon: Thank you for the favorite and the follow! Klaus is personally one of my favorite characters now, especially with Clarified Conundrum's most recent chapter.

So, more trivia!

-I have no idea if they say shotgun in other countries or if that's just an American thing, but oh well. I felt it would fit Callum to do that in the moment, hence why it's there, accuracy be damned.

-I didn't originally plan on revealing what type Morag trained for a while, but as I was writing this it became clear that I couldn't really write it well without doing so. So yeah, it's now revealed: she trains ground types. Though I'm not revealing which ground types just yet. Plus it kind of already was out in the open, if one did a little bit of searching (not in the story itself, mind you).

-I am ashamed to admit that I had to look up Japanese honorifics to make sure I used the right one, though I guess it would make sense, for both Morag and me.