Calvin could definitely see them as he stood in a large grassy field as big as a baseball park. The Scarlet Forest was particularly beautiful this time of year. Hills of red grass surrounded him, coming up to his knees. At first, the black helicopter was a dark spot in the clear afternoon sky. Now, while it lowered toward the field in front of him, the chopper was bigger and certainly much louder. Flocks of fletchling and fletchinder fled from the noise.

The helicopter had some kind of bright blue design on it, an insignia of a crown with the blade of a large sword going through it. Despite him being a good amount of feet away from the landing zone, powerful winds from the thing whipped whipped across the field, making the grass sway like trees in a violent storm.

Calvin couldn't help but shield himself, raising an arm to cover his nose and mouth. The winds blew black his gray blazer. His dark tie flailed around his neck, slightly choking him like it had a mind of its own.

In the distance he noticed the door of the helicopter slide open. A woman jumped out first, wearing heels, a buttoned navy blue blazer, with a matching pencil skirt that flaunted her womanly curves. Her brunette locks were tied into a curly yet loose bun.

A tall, dark haired man immediately followed her. His face was clean cut and his locks brushed the tips of his ears. He also sported a suit and tie like Calvin, only his matched the shorter woman by his side. Together, they approached him.

"Kenneth and Kaylin," Calvin began, nodding to them in acknowledgment. "Glad you two could make it out here this afternoon."

Kenneth extended a hand, Calvin quickly shook it. His grip strong.

"We heard you all had a great turnout for the new semester." Kenneth smirked.

Calvin spun around and the three of them started to walk away from the chopper in the grass.

"I've already found some promising young trainers," Calvin said. "They're sure to be phenomenal aces this year."

"Exciting to hear!" Kaylin flashed him a great smile. "Do you mind if we take a look around and meet these fantastic new students?"

"Not at all," Calvin shook his head. "My home is your home, as the saying goes."

He continued raising a finger. "While you're here, I hope the both of you will indulge me."

Kenneth stepped on top of a broken tree log hidden in the grass. "What's on your mind?"

"I know I'm not the point person in this entire situation, so forgive me if I am overstepping my boundaries here. But I can't help but be curious."

"We have nothing to hide, Mr. Humphries." Kaylin said. "What are you curious about?"

He took a minute before responding, forming his words as politely as possible. "Your organization. What is Team Valor? What exactly is your mission in all of this?"

Kaylin and Kenneth smiled.

The Winetta Lab seemed just as busy as last night when Ethan stepped through the doors. Pokemon and workers alike continued to hurry back and forth all over the first floor. He did notice that there wasn't as many towering shelves as the day before though. Appearing less like a superstore and more like an actual lab. Long wooden tables were being set up in various corners with large boxes on top of them. A few of them were open already and Ethan spotted dark wires that attached to computer monitors.

The weather was nice and warm for the afternoon. Ethan sported jean shorts and a simple t-shirt. His cleffa was on top of him, riding his shoulders as if she were his own daughter. Now that he finally had a pokemon there was no way on Earth he would leave her in her pokeball, especially after Clarke explained that it could lead to him talking to lots of cute girls throughout the school year. He hated to use his new partner in such a way, but at the same time—as long as he was in control of it—a little popularity wouldn't hurt.

Camryn and Drew were not at the help desk beside the elevators but they did inform him to let himself into the lost and found whenever he arrived. He did just that. To his surprise he found Camryn, and two other girls in the small white room when he entered. The blonde, Summer, was sitting on the counter like she owned the place. Still sporting those neat braids above an ear on one side of her head. The rest of her hair was tied back to a ponytail. She wore dark leggings and a baggy shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A psyduck sat on her lap wearing a necklace with a teardrop pendant. Her backpack was on the floor under her.

An ebony skinned girl stood to her right, wearing a frilly white dress with a brightly colored blouse to match. Her braids fell to her back. Hovering next to her left elbow was a cutiefly wearing a cute, glittering scarf around her neck.

In corner behind them, Camryn leaned on the white marble, beside the same bulky computer as she was last night. Today she was wearing another pair of jeans and a crop top that really flaunted how top heavy she was. Her meditite sat with his legs crossed in front of her on the counter, meditating quietly to himself.

"Ooooooh my gooooooshhhhhh!" Camryn exclaimed, clasping her hands over her chest. The blonde and her friend turned to face her.

Her words also made him stop dead in his tracks in the middle of the room to stare at her. "Huh? What?"

His cleffa blinked cutely at her too.

She pointed at the star shaped monster. "Your cleffa is absolutely adorable!"

"Oh," He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Thanks."

With that, he took her down off his shoulders and held her in his arms, close to his chest. "This is Claire, everyone."

Camryn's smile brightened. "Aw, she's an angel."

The ebony skinned girl hurried right up to him, getting inches from his face. Sweet baby Arceus, she was so close, she could have stolen a kiss. Her face smelled like strawberries.

"You like fairy types too, huh?"

Ethan took a step back, a little put off by how this girl ignored boundaries. "Honestly, they're not at the top of my list," he looked down at at the pink pokemon, feeling a smile grow on his lips. "But this one is really growing on me."

She giggled. "That's good! Don't let the cuteness fool you now. They're sturdier than you think."

She extended a hand toward her cutiefly. "This is Ribbon."

"Cuuuu~" The pokemon said. She buzzed over to Claire and the two of them began conversing.

"Hi~" Claire waved at the flying bug. Her voice was a little squeaky. "I love your scarf, it's so shiny!" She jumped out of her partner's arms and carefully landed on the polished tile.

"Thank youzzzz," Ribbon buzzed happily, floating down to meet Claire. "Tasha got it for me yesterday."

"I wish I had something cool like that…"

The blonde noticed his cleffa admiring cutiefly's sparkling scarf. She hopped down from the counter and bent over, placing her psyduck on the floor. Then she turned to her book bag and unzipped one of the smaller folds in the front, beginning to search for something. After a minute, she pulled out a bright bow.

"Hey," Summer started, approaching the two of them. She nodded at Ethan. "Mind if I do something with your cleffa?"

He arched an eyebrow. "And what would this 'something' be?"

When she reached them, she kneeled down to the fluffy and pink creature, holding the bow out in one hand. "Claire, check this out."

With that she tied it tightly around soft tuft of curly fur between her ears. She smiled. "There we go~"

Claire's eyes practically sparkled with appreciation. She turned to face Ethan and looked up at him. He grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "You look great!"

"Yay!" Claire bounced up and down, spinning in circles like a ballerina.

The blonde placed her hands on her hips. "Consider that my apology for yesterday. I was caught up in a whirlwind of stuff that had me running like a chicken without a head."

"It's alright," Ethan waved a hand at her. "I apologize too. I didn't have to react the way I did. Yesterday was just a lot to take in."

"First day is always the craziest." Camryn closed her eyes, raising a finger.

Summer shook her head. "Anyway, I'm Summer. This is my roommate Tasha." She then pointed to her pokemon. "And this golden boy is Oliver."

Claire and Ribbon were quick to go greet the psyduck.

"This is so great! We all have something flashy to show off!" Claire exclaimed happily.

Oliver proudly held out his necklace with the teardrop pendant. "Mine is the coolest of all, though."

"Hey!" Ribbon buzzed angrily in his face, making him jump back, and fall on his ass. "Be nice! Bzzzz!"

"Nice to have faces to the names." Ethan chuckled. He quickly looked down for a second, unsure of what to say next. Camryn stepped in mercifully, pulling his bag out of a locker and placing it on the marble.

"Bet you're happy to see this." She said.

"I am!" He replied, hurrying over to the counter and unzipping it to check the belongings within. When everything was accounted for he zipped it back up, moving the bag to the floor in front of him.

Claire noticed the meditite sitting at the end of the counter by himself in the corner of the room, not far from her trainer. She walked over to him and looked up. "Um, excuse me, sir. What are you doing?"

"Ooooohhmmm." Meditite said.

The cleffa tilted her head. "Sir?"

"Oooohhhmmmm."

Ribbon and Oliver joined her. Then Ribbon floated up to the meditite and buzzed around him softly as she examined him.

He opened an eye, appearing a little irritated. "...What? I'm busy." He spoke in a dry tone.

"You don't look busy." She replied. "You're azzzzz still as a dandelion on a hot day."

"I'm trying to meditate!"

"Well what's that?" Claire asked, tapping the corner of her mouth.

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "Forget about him, girls. It's obvious this jerk wants to be alone."

At those words, the meditite opened both eyes and glared at him for a moment. Then he relaxed, closing them once more. "On second thought, you're not even worth the time."

Oliver didn't like that, not one bit. He opened his beak slightly, spitting a small stream of water at the blue creature, hitting him dead in the face.

Droplets of water splashed against Ribbon, forcing her to hover away quickly. Some water even got on Ethan, making him spin around. "What the—"

He turned just in time to catch Camryn's meditite jump up from his sitting position on the counter, raising a fist while water rolled down his body. "You will regret that, Goldie."

"Uh, guys…" Ethan began, getting the attention of the girls.

"Bring it on!" Oliver quacked loudly. "I'm not afraid of you, asshooOOOOH!"

Summer stepped in swiftly, picking up her pokemon and stepping back. "Oliver! The hell's your problem?"

Camryn yanked out her pokeball, frowning. She pressed the button at the center and a red beam shot out, enveloping around the wet pokemon.

Once it disappeared, she sighed. "Sorry guys. Aiden isn't exactly on the friendly side. He's more of a loner, even with the rest of my team."

Tasha's eyebrows shot up. "The rest of your team? How many pokemon have you caught?"

Not too far across school grounds, the glass doors of the library swung open, allowing Marco and Clarke to step out onto the campus, feeling cool breezes of the afternoon tug softly of their clothes. Clarke sported a tan tank top, a denim vest and jean shorts, along with a backpack. Marco also had his backpack, with jeans, plus a plaid button-up. Dagger, the nickname Clark gave his lillipup, trotted out beside him, happily wagging his tail.

Ahead of them, the brick path split into a fork. The right path led back to the dorms and the park beyond that. The way to the left directed them to Winetta lab and a little further, the Great Woods, which was off campus. A patch of green big enough to hold a school playground sat beside Marco. Some of students relaxed alone under the the shade of tall trees with their pokemon. Others hung out in groups, laughing, chatting and engaging in battles.

Above the boys in the air, a small cluster of hoppip and skiploom floated past, carried by cooler, stronger winds. Next to Clarke on his side, was the side of a yellow building. A pokemon shop to be exact. The place was closed though, and wouldn't be opening until classes started. Across the road beyond the fork was another generous patch of green. Upperclassmen were gathering there, with huge groups of new students for more campus tours.

Marco pushed his glasses onto his face before reaching into his pocket to pull out a small notebook. "Alright, the next place is… um..."

"If you say we're going to another library, I'm gonna lose my shit, dude," Clarke said grabbed the straps of his backpack. "We've had our noses in books all morning."

His shorter friend rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for trying to give us a head start," He closed his notebook.

"I mean, books are helpful sure," Clarke shrugged. "But they won't give us a head start by themselves. We gotta go out there and get active too!"

"Fine, what do you suggest we do now?"

Clarke pointed to all the students enjoying themselves under the trees across from them. "Battle, of course! There's plenty of students to pick from."

Marco turned his head, gazing out at his fellow classmates in the small field. Then he looked back at his roommate. "If you want to go out there and fight everything that moves, go ahead. Keep in mind you only have one pokemon while you're out there."

He continued, pressing a thumb to his chest. "I'm going to stock up on pokeballs at the lab and go catch some pokemon."

Clarke stopped walking, placing one hand on his hip. The other rubbed his chin as he thought about something. Dagger looked up at him, tilting his head inquisitively.

Marco took a few more steps before slowly turning to face his friend. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Hate to admit it, but you're probably right," Clarke sighed dropping his head. "Damn it all…"

Marco grinned. "Winetta Lab it is, then."