With an explosion of red, Miles' final Pokemon appeared on the field, and Daniel could only use one word to describe it – majestic. Fur as gold as the morning sun shone gently as nine beautiful, amber-tipped tails waved softly in a breeze that didn't exist. A knowing smile sat below ruby eyes that seemed to twinkle with millennia long past. Announcing its arrival with a cry, the Ninetales stood to all fours, ready to battle.

Fidget seemed to take this as a challenge, and with a mighty screech the bat leapt off Daniel's shoulder, spiraling through the air until she was face-to-face with the Fox Pokemon. The two Pokemon locked eyes and sneered, Vix uttering a low growl and Fidget chittering in response.

Daniel made the first move, calling out, "Agility, then Wing Attack!" Fidget shrieked as she flew in a tight circle, warming up her wings and loosening some muscles. The Sound Wave Pokemon then shot at the Ninetales like a bullet, smacking her over the head with a glowing wing before Miles or Vix could react. This had the added effect of ruffling the Fox's glorious mane, infuriating it.

"Hit her with Will-O-Wisp!" Miles called in response. Vix's eyes changed from ruby to an eerie sapphire as a flame appeared on the tip of each tail. Vix barked at Fidget, and the nine flames shot out and hit Fidget one-by-one. Fidget seemed unhurt at first, but a single blue flame remained attached to her side, staying perfectly still despite the bat's constant flapping. Daniel made a noise of irritation when he saw this. The flame meant Fidget was burned, and if he was right… "Now, use Hex!" Miles ordered, confirming Daniel's fears. The Ninetales' eyes glowed again, this time a shadowy purple. The amber tips of her tails turned the same shade as her eyes and curled in on themselves. Small blobs of a shadowy energy drifted from the tails to an orb in the center, which grew until it was the size of a baseball.

Howling, the Ninetales fired the orb at Fidget, causing Daniel to cry out, "Get out of there!" The Noibat attempted to fly away, but the orb curved after it, and impacted with her body, sinking into it rather than dispersing. The blue flame suddenly exploded to twice its size, causing Fidget to shriek in pain and tumble to the ground. "No!" Daniel held his breath as Fidget hit the ground and waited for her to get up, only to breathe a sigh of relief when the Noibat took off again, albeit more shakily than before.

The bat turned her head to nod at Daniel, and he smiled gratefully. Still… The boy thought, taking in the scene before him with a critical eye. That burn is a problem. If I don't do something fast, Fidget's going to lose. It's a shame Ninetales doesn't have two heads… An idea flashed through Daniel's head, and he grinned to himself. But that doesn't mean she can't hurt herself!

"Supersonic!" Daniel called triumphantly. The Sound Wave Pokemon reared back her head, and then unleashed a horrible high-pitched whine from her speaker-like ears. The noise caused the Ninetales to stumble a bit, whining as her inner ears were disturbed. The once-graceful tails now wilted slightly, snapping erratically to and fro as the Fox Pokemon struggled to maintain her balance.

"Two can play at that game! Vix, use Confuse Ray!" Miles shouted. Attempting to comply, the golden Pokemon's eyes glowed slightly. The tails attempted to gather a multi-coloured energy between their tips, but the fox's eyes flickered, and the energy dissipated. Miles cried out in disbelief, and Daniel punched the air.

Just what I needed! He thought, before calling, "Now, use Tailwind, and then Air Cutter!" Flapping her wings as hard as she could, Fidget managed to whip up a strong wind behind her. The bat then flew at the Ninetales, her speed drastically boosted, and as she neared she curled her wings up to her body to spiral through the air. With an explosion of air, the bat spread its now glowing wings and spiraled over the fox, sending sharp gusts of wind directly into its face and back.

It was Miles' turn to grimace as he realized how quickly the tables had turned. "Don't give up!" he shouted to his partner. "Fire Spin!" Vix dashed after the far-quicker bat, and jumped into the air, curling into a wheel. Flames started to flicker over her body, but dissipated as the fox lost concentration, causing her to painfully slam into the ground.

Sensing his chance, Daniel cried, "Finish this with Wing Attack!"

"Hex, one more time! If you manage to get her, she's down!" Miles shouted in turn. Vix struggled to her feet, and shook herself. With a howl, nine ethereal flames formed on her tails and shot towards the Noibat. Fidget screeched, and rocketed towards the Ninetales with glowing wings.

Time seemed to slow down for the second time in two days as Fidget flew at the incoming flames. Daniel's heart beat in sync with Fidget's as the bat weaved in and out of all nine flames, narrowly managing to avoid each one. Time resumed its normal pace, and with a triumphant cry, Fidget struck the fox with both wings, knocking it back with such force it skidded along until it was at its trainer's feet. The Ninetales gave its trainer an apologetic look before it fainted, causing Adrian to lift his hand in the air and proclaim, "Ninetales is unable to battle! This battle goes to Daniel!"

Daniel cried out in joy as cheers erupted from the surrounding crowd, and his Pokemon did the same. Suddenly, the flame on Fidget flared up again, and the bat dropped out of the air. Daniel ran to his partner, and skidded to a kneel in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked, picking her up and cradling her. Fidget managed to give Daniel a proud, if exhausted, squeak, before he succumbed to her burn and fell unconscious. The boy smiled gratefully, and returned the bat to her Pokeball. "You did fantastically, girl. Have a long rest."

Daniel looked up to see a despondent Miles recall Vix. The purple-haired boy got to his feet, and made his way over to Miles. "I lost…" Daniel's blond counterpart muttered.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Daniel said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Miles looked up, and grinned, all traces of sadness gone. "Okay!" Daniel blinked, and the boy grabbed Daniel's free hand and gushed, "Man, that was so fun, though! And so close! I can see why you're number one! I'm happy staying number three, but man, imagine if I beat you!"

"Nothing would have happened," Adrian said, causing both boys to look at him.

"What," They said in unison.

Smiling, the dark-haired boy explained, "You were in such a rush to challenge Daniel to fight you didn't actually officially challenge him on your Scroll. Even if you had won, Daniel would've stayed number one."

Miles blinked. "Huh." Shrugging, the boy continued, "Oh well. I had an amazing battle, and that's what mattered! Hey Daniel, what classes do you have next?"

Extricating his hand from Miles' grip, the boy checked his Scroll, and replied, "Uh… Advanced Pokemon Theory, Pokemon Battling, and Home Ec."

"Yesss! I have the same classes!" A loud grumbling noise interrupted the blond, making him look down and hold his stomach. "Wow, I'm hungry. See you guys later!" Without another word, the boy dashed off, waving back at a very confused Adrian and Daniel.

"He's certainly…" Adrian began.

"Energetic?"

"Interesting." The boys looked at each other, and shook their heads in disbelief. "Wanna get something to eat before we go back to class? I'm starving."

Daniel nodded, looking at Fidget's Pokeball. "Sure thing. I need to get her a treat anyway. She deserves it."

"You have arrived at your destination," Daniel's Scroll said in a soothing female voice as he came to a stop outside his classroom in the main building. Adrian's mastery of electronics and coding honestly scared Daniel. Not only had he added new features to Daniel's Scroll, such as an advanced map and access to a GPS system, but he had done it in under an hour whilst munching on a Miltank Burger without breaking a sweat. Daniel could only imagine the things he could do with an actual computer.

"Danieeeeeeellll!" The boy in question turned to see Miles barreling down the hallway towards him, arms out in a hug. Daniel quickly took a step back, and Miles careened past him into the wall, unable to control his momentum. "Ow… That was mean," he muttered.

Daniel laughed and shook his head. Whether it be the small Celestic Town school or Victory High Academy, the boy seemed to have a knack for making bizarre friends. "Whatever," he chuckled, helping his friend off the ground. "You ready for Pokemon Theory?"

Miles puffed out his chest. "Of course! I'm so ready for this, I've studied my brains out! Go on, quiz me on something!"

"Why does Fire resist Fairy?" Daniel shot with an evil grin as they walked inside.

The blond boy was silent for a moment as he thought, tilting his head and holding his chin in contemplation. Eventually, he slumped, and whined as he collapsed into a chair, "That's not faiiiiiiir… Anything but that!"

Daniel was about to attempt to stump Miles again until he saw someone with a stupid black haircut enter the room. Groaning, Daniel slumped at his desk to try and avoid Ian's gaze. Miles had a different idea, and instead stood up in his seat slightly and waved vigorously. Ian glanced over, and saw the two teenagers. His brown eyes met Daniel's green, making him freeze for a second. Finally, the boy huffed and looked away, sitting at a table by himself. Miles frowned, and his arm drooped. "What's up with Ian?" he murmured, slowly sitting back down.

"You know him?" Daniel asked, sitting up slightly.

Miles glanced at him. "Well, yeah. He's my roommate."

Shuddering, Daniel muttered, "How can you stand him? He's a jerk."

"Huh? Ian's not a jerk, he's really nice!"

Daniel blinked, trying to think of a 'nice' Ian. Yesterday's impression dominated his mind, and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. He and his friends bullied Adrian and me yesterday."

"Was that why you battled?" Daniel nodded in confirmation. Miles pouted in thought, and muttered, "Weeeeeeeird…"

"Ahem!" Everyone in the classroom fell silent, and turned to look at a blue-haired man who now stood at the front of the classroom. Daniel squinted as he tried to remember the name belonging to this 'Blunet', as his brothers would have called him.

"Did he just say 'ahem'?" Miles whispered.

"Yup," Daniel confirmed, frowning.

The man, pleased he had gotten everyone's attention, began, "Good morning, everyone! My name is Mr Hillman, and I will be your Advanced Pokemon Theory teacher. Those of you doing Pokemon Battling, which is all of you, I am your teacher for that as well." The man paused, and sighed. "Does anyone mind if I just drop the whole formality thing? Strudel and the others like to speak formally, but I'm only, like, seven years older than you. It just feels weird…" The class was dead silent, and with a grin, the man continued, "I'll take that as a yes."

Clapping his hands, Mr Hillman went on, "So! My name's Mr Hillman, but I feel really old if you call me that. Call me Mr H or something, I don't mind too much. Anyway, I've had a look at your entrance scores, and most of you scored pretty well on the actual knowledge bit." At this, Daniel could've been imagining things, but he swore the man shot a look in the direction of him and Miles. "But I want to make double sure, and see what I need to work on most with you. SO!" The man grinned widely, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Pop quiz time!"

The entire class groaned and Mr H cackled, "Oh calm down, this doesn't go to your marks. After this, we can go on a run around the campus or something. It's either this, or we start this theory thing from the verrrryy beginning. Now come and get your quizzes." Sighing, the entire class got up in chunks, walking to the front of the classroom to get their stacks of paper. Daniel and Miles looked at each other, identical looks of despair on their faces. This was going to be a long lesson.

Three hours and two battles later, Daniel and Miles finally turned up to their last lesson of the day, Home Ec. Daniel had taken it as a 'relief' subject, considering it was the only other non-academic elective he was eligible to take. And after being challenged by two people in what was meant to be his breaks, he felt he deserved a break. "Being Number One is cool and all," he groaned to Miles as they walked to the Hospitality building, where Home Ec. was apparently held, "But having people challenge you all the time is annoying. I barely got enough time to heal in between classes…"

"It sucks for me too, you know," Miles countered, mock-pouting and crossing his arms. "No-one pays attention to Number Three! I haven't had a single challenge yet!"

"What are you, some kind of Blood- Miki!" Daniel cut himself off, and ran towards his black-haired friend, who turned and gasped in excitement.

"Daniel!" the girl cried, obviously happy to see him. "I didn't take you as a Home Ec. guy."

"Eh, it's a good rest from Theory and Battling," he replied, smiling.

"What's a Blood Miki?" Miles asked, catching up to Daniel. Noticing Daniel's friend, the blond's eyes widened. "Uh… H-hi…" he stammered.

"You must be Miles, right?" The girl asked, holding her hand out in a greeting. "Ian told me about you at break." The blue-eyed boy took her hand hesitantly, trying to think of a response.

"You're pretty," he eventually blurted out, surprising the other two teenagers. "Wait, sorry, I didn't mean to say that! I mean, you're pretty, but I didn't mean to say you're pretty. But you are pretty, it's just-" Miles facepalmed to shut himself up, and moaned, "I'm going inside now."

Both teenagers watched him walk inside their classroom, head cradled in his hands. "He's…" Miki began.

"Interesting?"

"Sweet." Miki smiled. "Not that it's the first time I've been called pretty." The girl flicked her hair back, and made a mock modelling pose. Daniel laughed as the two walked inside, taking a seat at some sort of kitchen bench next to Miles (with Daniel in between of course).

The teacher, a plump lady with a dopey smile and a Slurpuff, welcomed the class with soft tones and invited them to get to know each other and look up recipes for them to create on their next lesson. Miles hurriedly excused himself from the table to get a cookbook from a nearby shelf and to avoid embarrassing himself any further. "So, how's your day been so far? You were pretty down after Mr K's announcement this morning." Daniel groaned, and slumped low enough to smack his head on the bench, eliciting a small 'ow'. Miki giggled, "That bad, huh?"

"Mandatories sucked, we had a pop quiz in Advanced Theory, I got challenged to a battle every single break I had, and our teacher made us do an obstacle course in Battling-"

"Why are you doing exercise in Pokemon Battling?" Miki interrupted.

Shrugging, Daniel grumbled, "Heck if I know. I did meet this really cool guy in English, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah! His name's Tristan." Daniel sat up slightly, and began recounting the lesson to Miki, growing steadily more energetic as he did so. "… And he called me Danny when he left!" Daniel finished, a smile spread wide on his face. Remembering he was actually talking to someone, Daniel turned to see Miki looking at him with a sly grin. "…What?"

"Nothing," the girl replied. "You just seem to really like him, is all."

"I-I guess… I mean, he was super cool, and he was nice to me, and he laughed at my jokes and stuff, and-"

"Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"You're blushing." The violet-haired boy made a noise somewhat resembling 'meep', and clapped his hands to his cheeks to hide them.

"A-anyway…" Daniel struggled to change the subject, and Miki, taking mercy on him, spoke.

"You said you got challenged to some battles in your breaks?"

Smiling gratefully, Daniel replied, "Yeah… One of them was Miles." The boy nodded in the direction of the blond, who was currently buried in a small bookcase, seemingly trying to find the most colourful recipe book. "Adrian lended me one of his Pokemon for that battle, but I had to use just Fidget for the other two."

Miki frowned in confusion. "You only have one Pokemon?"

Daniel nodded reluctantly. "Yeah… Back home, I just used my brothers' Pokemon to practice battling, so I only ever had Fidget with me."

"That must suck against trainers with two or three Pokemon."

Miki's expression changed from one of sympathy to one of thoughtfulness, and it was Daniel 's turn to frown. "What is it?" he asked.

"Why don't you get another one?"

"Huh?"

"Another Pokemon! I mean, we are allowed in the city this weekend."

"What."

Miki looked puzzled, and elaborated, "The excursion? You know, the one they talked about on Orientation?"

"I wasn't here for Orientation."

A look of understanding crossed Miki's face. "Ah, that explains it. Well basically, every weekend, two years get to spend the day in Castelia City, swapping each day. Because we're new, we get Saturday, followed by the Sophomores on Sunday, and the Juniors and Seniors the weekend after that. One of my friends comes from Castelia, so I could get her to show us some good spots to catch Pokemon, if you like?"

Nodding gratefully, Daniel replied, "That sounds great, thanks." Glancing over at Miles, he added, "Perhaps one of us should help him? He's been holding that cake book upside down for a while now."

Miki chuckled. "I'll see if I can get a sentence out of him without him freaking out," she joked, getting up and walking over. Daniel pulled out Fidget's Pokeball and placed it in front of him, bending down so that his chin was on the bench, allowing him to look directly at the slightly worn Pokeball.

"What do you think, Fidget?" he asked the red and white orb. "Want another friend?" Looking up to where an amused Miki was watching Miles attempt to contain his word vomit and failing miserably, Daniel smiled, and finished, "We have a bunch already. One more can't hurt."

WOAH WHAT'S THIS AN UPDATE WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT

Hey guys, it's me again! I'm so sorry for the loooooong wait, but school's on holidays for now, so with any luck I should be uploading regularly again!

Should be. School's still a thing unfortunately, so if my updating runs dry again then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but know I am trying my best!

Next chapter exciting stuff happens! Like, Castelia City exciting stuff! See you all then!

Miles Wernicke belongs to Legacy918