CHAPTER NINE

The Newleaf Academy


"Storm."

Kalazar muttered the word, a hint of emotion flickering in his dark eyes. He seemed to stiffen before he turned to face Sterling, looking away from the excited Charmander with something like a somber expression. "What do you think, Shinx? Is Storm an acceptable name?"

Blaize turned too, though the eager expression melted off his face as he noticed Sterling's expression. "Wh…what's wrong? It seems like a perfect team name."

I have to put my past behind me. Sterling frowned and shook his head. "Nothing, it's fine. Storm's a great name. It fits us perfectly." He smiled unconvincingly.

The Charmander gave him a suspicious look before turning back to Kalazar. "Uh… yeah. We'll be Team Storm." His previous elation was completely gone, it seemed. Sterling felt a twinge of guilt for ruining his friend's good mood.

"All right, then." Kalazar regained his composure. "I'll register you two right now – but, before I go, I should really call in a guide, shouldn't I?"

"Guide?" echoed Sterling, making an effort to sound upbeat.

"Yes. I can't have you wandering around, all lost, can I?" asked the headmaster with amusement. "Registration is simple, and I would feel bad for dragging you all the way to my chambers just to give me your team name and species."

Blaize shrugged. "I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad, Headmaster…"

"No, no." Kalazar waved a paw at him, almost as if he was batting away the Charmander's reply. "I'll bring Team Guardian up here; they're fairly new as well, and I'm sure the two of you will like them."

He closed his eyes, as if concentrating. Sterling pricked his ears, trying to hear what he was doing, but no sound came from the immobile Alakazam.

Eventually, Kalazar opened his eyes again. "All right. They're coming."

"Who's coming? You didn't do anything!" Sterling pointed out.

Blazie rolled his eyes and placed a paw on his shoulder. The Shinx stiffened at the unexpected contact, though he relaxed quickly enough. "Seriously, Sterling – the Headmaster's a psychic-type. Mental telepathy must be really easy for him."

"It's easy enough when the Pokémon you're contacting is a psychic as well. Other types, though – especially dark and ghost – can be very difficult to speak to," Kalazar corrected. "But enough chat – they're coming right now."

Mere moments after he finished his sentence, the door on the far side of the room opened and a rather familiar Pokémon stepped through – a Kirlia. She was followed by what appeared to be a fox with six tails. Vulpix. Sterling remembered the name from a story he'd heard from his mother.

"These must be the newbies!" the Kirlia exclaimed, her eyes shining as she looked at them. "Wow, how wonderful – two new teams in one day!"

"I'm Ariana, and this is Lyre!" the Vulpix chirped, bouncing on her paws. "It's so great to meet you! You guys look a lot nicer than Team Victory. We'll be great friends, I know it! Welcome to the Newleaf Academy!"

She talked so fast that it was hard to keep up. There was something about her that made Sterling feel happy, though – maybe it was how genuinely friendly she looked, or how eager she was to meet them. And Lyre looked delighted to see them as well.

"I'm Blaize, and this moody Shinx here is Sterling. I call him Ster, though." Blaize had warmed up to the girls already.

"Don't call me Ster," Sterling grumbled.

Kalazar spoke, thoroughly startling the four Pokémon. Both of them had already forgotten that he was there. "I'll leave you here now. Make sure to show Team Storm all around the Academy, all right? Don't leave out any important places – such as the cafeteria." He winked at the females before leaving the room.

"Cafeteria?" Sterling perked up immediately.

Blaize grinned at him. "You would get all happy-happy at the mention of food."

"Don't pretend like you're not a glutton as well," scoffed Sterling. He made as if to pounce at the Charmander before halting suddenly, surprised by the outburst of laughter coming from the girls.

"What? What is it?" Blaize asked, completely bewildered.

Lyre regained control of herself, though she still wore a massive smile. "You two remind me of my sister! I argue with her like that all the time!"

"And you're so funny! I mean, just look at you two! Whenever I argue with someone, I just end up torching them!" Ariana giggled.

Despite that somewhat worrying statement, the Vulpix seemed to be kind enough. She stepped forward, waving her six curled tails, and smiled happily at the new Team Storm. "Well? What are we waiting for? It's time to explore the Academy!"


"So this is one of the guest rooms," Lyre said, sweeping her arms in a vaguely circular motion. "They're not used too often, but they're useful."

"Let's go on – this place is bo-ring," Ariana said, bouncing a bit on her paws. "Besides, there's so much to see!"

They exited the small room and emerged in a much larger one, though there was hardly any illumination here. It was dark, making it hard to see, though it was clear that a long staircase descended from the floor. The steps appeared to be made of stone.

Sterling peered worriedly down at them, though Lyre and Blaize were already stepping confidently onto them. Ariana bounced ahead, multiple tails high in the air.

"Don't be scared, 'fraidy cat," chirped Ariana. Then she giggled again – a high, cheery sound. "Oops, I forgot! You are a cat!"

Lyre glanced back over her shoulder. "Don't mind Ari. She's a bit of a handful." She flashed Sterling a reassuring smile before descending a few more steps.

Sucking in a breath, Sterling tentatively placed a paw on one of the stairs. It held beneath his weight. He began to step down with growing confidence, though he still held his tail out straight behind him – he found that it helped him keep his balance.

Blaize was chatting with Lyre ahead of him. "So you say that your sister is Stella? Are you two the same age or what?"

"Stella's older than me," Lyre replied, floating almost daintily down the steps. "She doesn't want to evolve, though, so she's still a Kirlia. She wants me to work with her in the Inn, but I like this life better. It's rewarding, you know?"

"Of course it's rewarding! You get prizes for completing missions, you know!" came the chirpy voice of Ariana from somewhere below them.

Sterling picked up his pace, not wanting to be left behind. He opened his mouth to inquire what those prizes were, but Blaize beat him to it. "Really? What kind of stuff do you get?" He paused, as if embarrassed. "Not that I want to be greedy or anything, but -!"

"I understand completely! It's nice knowing what you can get as a reward for a fun job like this," Lyre replied cheerfully. "Well, we mostly get money rewards. Some poorer clients give berries or seeds, and a few even give treasures in return."

"Treasures?" Sterling pricked his ears.

"No, not for missions!" Ariana corrected. "Just for treasure-hunting."

"Speaking of missions… the job room is just through here." They had finally reached the end of the long staircase. Lyre stepped forward, pointing at a heavy wooden door.

Blaize glanced up at Sterling. "You coming?"

The Shinx tensed his muscles, then gave a great leap and skipped the next three steps. He landed somewhat awkwardly, though still on all fours.

"Okay. Come on in," Lyre said, opening the door with enviable ease.


They entered the next room in single file, following a chipper Ariana. It was much brighter than the previous one, illuminated by light that streamed through windows – as well as from the flame of a candle-like Pokémon, who drifted beside a silver bird and what appeared to be a baby dragon.

"Hi, hi!" Ariana bounded forward to greet them.

While she was engaged in conversation, Sterling took the opportunity to look around. The room looked similar to the small one he had woken up in earlier, with walls made from somewhat cracked stone. Vines crisscrossed across its surface, adding color to the area.

Closer inspection revealed that there were four great slabs of wood on each wall. Though each appeared to be covered with paper, what was on the papers varied. One board was covered entirely with writing. Another seemed to be dedicated to photographs with short captions. The other two appeared to be a mix of both words and pictures.

"So you're the new team, huh?"

A voice cut into Sterling's thoughts. He jolted visibly, startled, before turning to face the speaker – the silver bird that had been looking at the picture-covered board. The bird actually looked metallic, with steely feathers and sharp eyes.

"Uh – yeah. We're Team Storm," Blaize replied, thankfully saving Sterling from the embarrassment of just staring.

"I'm Skaris, leader of Team Fidelity. This is Raze, and that candle-thing over there is Flissiere. She prefers that we call her Flis, though," the Skarmory said, speaking in a voice that even sounded metallic.

"Candle-thing? I'm a Litwick." Flis didn't seem annoyed, though, as if she was used to the bird's teasing.

"Team Fidelity joined around the same time as us!" Ariana announced, her tails waving. "They're a really great team."

"Don't be modest, Ari." Flis smiled, managing to look surprisingly happy despite the general expressionless look on her face. "Team Guardian is very good as well. We expect that you two will turn out great, like us!"

Blaize jumped immediately back into friendly mode. "How could we not? The Newleaf Academy only teaches the best of the best, of course. We'll turn out to be the best one day."

"With our help, you might even be as good as us." Skaris spread his metallic wings, amusement in his voice.

"Better!" Sterling shot back challengingly, a glint in his eye.

Raze spoke for the first time. His voice sounded harsh – even deep – but it was fairly friendly. "I'd like to see you try." He grinned.

"Let's not start rivalries already," Lyre groaned.

"Too late. We're already competing with Team Victory," Blaize informed her with a smirk.

"Ooh, really? That Aloe girl seemed really good – I don't know if she's going to be easy to beat in any way," Flis said.

"Guys! We can chat later. We have a tour to finish," Lyre grumbled.

Skaris flapped his wings again, effectively drawing all attention to him. "We can help with that right now – then we'll leave you alone. This is the job room." He swept his wings in a vaguely circular motion. "The Academy students come here to select missions from the bulletin boards."

"Yeah." Flis picked up from there. "The one we're looking at right now is the outlaw board. All of the Pokémon on it are outlaws that we're supposed to apprehend. They're not all evil – some are just weak thieves – so even newbies like us can take them on." She made a sound that vaguely resembled a snort; it was hard to tell with talking candles.

Ariana bounced on her paws. "Some outlaws can be really strong, though, so you should ask an older member before you choose!" she announced.

"Outlaws?" murmured Sterling in alarm, turning to face Blaize.

The Charmander nodded. "Outlaws, yeah. They're mostly thieves who break the law, and it's the job of Pokémon like us to catch them."

Lyre opened her mouth to speak, but Skaris cut in. Sterling was beginning to get the feeling that he and Flis were doing this to annoy her. "But students like us don't just catch thieves. See that board over there?" He gestured a silvery wing at it – it was one of the mixed ones, covered with both pictures and writing.

"That's the normal job bulletin board," Raze growled.

"You'll see it so much, it'll haunt your dreams," Ariana announced ominously.

Lyre tried to speak again, but Flis quickly spoke up. "Even the best teams normally take missions from there. It's got stuff like item-retrieving, item-delivering, escort missions, rescuing lost Pokémon… the list goes on and on."

"I think I'll talk now, thank you very much." Lyre seemed to be speaking, though her voice wasn't audible. Sterling flinched, realizing that she was using telepathy.

"Don't take too much offense, we're just playing." Flis beamed at her – an oddly eerie sight.

"Too late," grumbled Lyre's psychic voice.

Sterling winced, hearing it again. It was bad enough having to deal with his own mind – listening to someone else's was just not fair.

Skaris also seemed to dislike the telepathy. "Do us all a favor and talk like a normal Pokémon, okay?" he muttered, somehow managing to twist his beak into a frown.

"Don't interrupt me, then."

"We won't!" Ariana waved her tails.

"No guarantees," Raze muttered to Blaize and Sterling. They both grinned.

Lyre shot a glare at the Gible before speaking aloud. "See the other bulletin board that has lots of pictures on it? That's the treasure-hunting one. If anyone hears rumors about special treasures, or asks you to escort them on a mission to find them, or even requests a delivery of some rare item, it's on here."

"Ooh, treasure." Blaize's eyes seemed to glitter as he looked at the board.

Sterling nudged him playfully. "And to think that you claimed I was too happy about food."

"Ever heard of the Golden Apple?" Flis interrupted with a smirk.

Sterling turned to face her, ears pricked. He was aware of Raze looking amused out of the corner of his eye, though he chose not to pay too much attention to it.

"Well, it's a fabled treasure. It's rumored to be a huge apple that is actually gold in color. Some legends say that it tastes so amazing, some Pokémon will kill just to get a –"

"Enough with the teasing." Lyre rolled her eyes. "Let's move on."

Ariana took over from there, hopping over to the next bulletin board. "That's the communications board! You can put notices here, or notes to others, or important news or whatever! It's really useful. Look – Kalazar's already got your name on here."

Sterling trotted closer to get a better look at it, followed by Blaize. It was true – a large paper announced in bold letters that a certain Team Storm had joined the Newleaf Academy and was ready to begin training.

"I feel so loved." Blaize stared critically at the paper, his eyes fixed on what appeared to be a picture of the two of them. "I look diseased there…"

"How in Arceus's name did Kalazar photograph us?" Sterling demanded.

Blaize had told him about "photos" earlier. Apparently, Pokémon could use strange tools to capture images and preserve them. The technology used to capture those images was apparently created by humans, and some "scientists" had modified it.

Skaris laughed – a mix between a squawk and a scraping-clanging noise – and Ariana giggled. Lyre just looked triumphant. "Psychics are pretty cool, you know. We can use our minds to take images. It's a complicated process, but we can get it on paper."

"This is starting to hurt my eyes," Blaize announced, dramatically turning away from the paper. "Can we move on now?"

"Yeah!" Ariana replied, the tips of her tails curling with what appeared to be delight. "There's so much more to see! Bye, Skaris, Flis, Raze!"

"See you later, Ari," Flis called.


The next room they visited was a massive one, filled with Pokémon. Between the various windows all along the walls, there were several doors that branched off into other hallways. Some looked very heavy, making Sterling wince inwardly.

"This is the cafeteria, but we mainly refer to it as the Main Room, Main for short," Lyre announced. "See all of those tables? They're pushed all to the side because lunch has been over for a while now, but it still smells like food."

Sterling tilted his nose into the air, inhaling deeply. It was true; the room did smell amazing, though like no other food he had smelled before. Though he could distinguish the scents of berries and meat, they were overwhelmed by different, more unfamiliar smells.

"The kitchens are over there," Ariana announced, gesturing with a tail at one of the doors. "I'd show you around, but the cooks really hate that!"

"Oh, they cook the food?" Sterling asked with interest.

Blaize rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ster. Just because you eat things raw doesn't mean the civilized world has to." He flashed the Shinx a grin to take the sting from his words.

"Do not call me that," Sterling whined.

"Ster! Ster, Ster, Ster!" Ariana chanted in a singsong tone, waving her tails.

"Enough, you three," Lyre groaned, though with a trace of playfulness in her tone. "We have to complete the tour, don't we? Blaize, Ari, don't annoy anyone, okay?"

Sterling flashed the Charmander a smirk, lifting his tail into the air with triumph. "So what's next to see on this grand tour?" he asked.

"A lot, but I should really finish what we're doing here first," Lyre told him dryly. "So this is the Main, or the cafeteria. Just about everyone gathers here after their missions to hang out, tell stories, and talk with others. The headmaster even joins us sometimes."

"Yeah! Kalazar's really wise, and he has lots to say!" chirped Ariana.

Blaize looked around, his tail-flame flickering a bit in his excitement. "Just look at everyone, Ster. There are some powerful Pokémon in here, I bet. And look – Team Earthquake! They're one of the more famous teams!"

Sterling glanced ahead and noticed the four great Pokémon that were gathered around one of the tables – a Nidoqueen, an Aggron, a Tyranitar, and a Rhyperior. They were huge, and seemed to give off a distinct aura of power.

"That Aggron is Ardon, the second-in-command," Blaize said, eyes wide. "And Tremor and Rhyor, the Tyranitar and Rhyperior. And there's Nettle, the Nidoqueen – she's amazing. Unlike most Pokémon that excel in physical combat, she's got brains as well as brawn."

"Nettle's really nice," Ariana added. "If you went over, she'd be happy to talk to you."

"Ah – no thanks." Blaize backed up.

Though Sterling remembered how friendly the Raichu trader had been, he was also reluctant to chat with the massive Nidoqueen. "We're good," he said awkwardly.

"Awww," whined Ariana.

"No, Ari, it's okay." Lyre patted Blaize on the shoulder, making him flinch a bit. "They can have a nice long chat later." She flashed the Vulpix a smile that was downright devious before moving on. "Okay, let's go to the infirmary."


The infirmary was a fairly wide room filled with all sorts of beds. Only a few were occupied – a Cacturne lay in one, a long, jagged wound running down the length of his arm, and a Seviper was coiled awkwardly in another. A Chimecho drifted anxiously before the Cacturne.

"This is the infirmary. If you're injured during a mission, then you'll stay here to get healed. Those with more serious damage get sent to the hospital." Lyre pointed at the Seviper. "That's Toxin of Team Serpent. I believe he was badly paralyzed earlier." Then she turned to the Cacturne. "That is Raonix, leader of Team Desert. The Chimecho is Lyricial, also known as Lyric. She's a member of Team Desert."

"Hello, Lyre." The Chimecho spoke in an oddly musical voice, turning to face the group of four with a somber expression. "You two must be Team Storm… I saw the announcement on the communications board. Welcome to the Newleaf Academy."

Sterling nodded awkwardly in response, though Blaize replied cheerfully. "Hi, Lyric! I've heard of Team Desert before. You guys are really awesome. What happened to Raonix?"

Now it was the Cacturne who spoke. "Scyther outlaw," he mumbled.

"We weren't able to apprehend him," Lyric said worriedly. "Team Earthquake is going to face him next. I hope they don't get hurt…"

Then a loud voice cut into their conversation. "You four! Out, out! You are aggravating my patients! Unless you are here to comfort them or help out, then leave this room at once!"

A Leafeon was trotting towards them, looking annoyed. Her voice was surprisingly loud for such a delicate-looking Pokémon.

"Hi, Vale! We were just showing these two around!" Ariana chirped, unafraid of the Leafeon's wrath. "They're new to the Academy, just like the three that joined earlier. We'll be out of here soon enough, I promise!"

Vale angled her leafy ears towards the Vulpix, her amber eyes thoughtful. "Well, welcome to the Newleaf Academy, then. I do hope not to see you in here, though I don't doubt that I will, in the future."

"She's referring to you getting injured," Lyre clarified.

"We'll be going now, Vale!" Ariana announced brightly before turning around. Lyre hastily opened the door and she squeezed through, tails high.

Sterling exchanged a glance with Blaize before following after.


"That was Vale. She works with Chamomile at the apothecary in town. I've heard that she comes down here to help, though," Blaize informed Sterling.

Lyre nodded. "Yes, she does, and she's very helpful. But enough with that – we should be showing you the students' quarters now."

"Students' quarters?" echoed Sterling.

"Yeah! You can't expect us to just sleep outside, can you?" Ariana replied with a grin, trotting forward with a definite spring in her step. "It's bad enough doing that on long missions without having to do it every night!"

Something seemed to flash in Blaize's eyes. Sterling glanced curiously at him, though the Charmander concealed the emotion quickly.

"Your room is through this hallway." Lyre squeezed past an Arbok and opened a large wooden door. "You two should be able to find it yourself – the rooms have team names on the doors."

"You're not coming with us?" Blaize asked in alarm.

"Nah! We'll leave you two alone to get settled in your new home!" Ariana chirped. "But, no worries, we'll see you at dinner! Team Fidelity will be there too, so we'll definitely see you again."

Lyre smiled at the Charmander's expression. "Just go on. It won't be as bad as you think it is."

Sterling trotted through the open space and into the hallway, sensing an opportunity for some teasing. "Don't be a 'fraidy cat." He cast a grin at Ariana before continuing down the hall.

"Look who's talking," grumbled Blaize, reluctantly following the Shinx.

"Okay, then! See you at dinner!" Ariana called.

Lyre gave the duo a nod before closing the door.


The hallway was actually quite dark without light streaming in from the cafeteria, though there was enough illumination from a few windows along the walls. Sterling, who was a fairly slow reader – he had never gotten the opportunity to read much but the few scrolls his tribe had – let Blaize check out the team names on the doors while he continued down the hall.

"Team Never, ooh… Team Earthquake, Team Serpent, Team Grassthorn, Team Peril, Team – oh, Sterling, I think it's right there!" Blaize moved ahead, pointing at one of the doors near the end of the hall.

The Shinx rushed ahead and examined the name written on the door in golden letters: Team Storm. "Yep, that's it."

"All right, then." Blaize gave him a satisfied smile and reached out to push the door open. However, the grin melted from his face as his claws made contact with the wood.

"What is it?" Sterling asked curiously.

The Charmander pulled away. "It's just… I'm nervous," he admitted. "This is going to be our new home. What if we don't like it? What if we don't like our life at all? What will happen then, Sterling?"

Now was the time to put on a brave face to comfort his new friend. Sterling looked confidently back at Blaize, lifting his head. "Of course we'll love it. I like it already. Everyone's been really friendly to us, and we'll be able to do something good as soon as we start missions."

"But…" Blaize shook his head, staring at his feet. "My parents won't like this, and… what if we fail? What if we're really bad?"

Now Sterling understood what he was so concerned about. Though there was always the looming threat of failure, it was his parents' wrath that Blaize really feared.

"Of course we'll fail – everyone does at some point. But our accomplishments will be greater than our losses," Sterling told him. "As for your parents… if they can't accept the fact that you're following your dreams… well, they'll just have to deal with it. When we're great, and have saved lots of lives, then they'll understand."

Silence.

Then, Blaize nodded. Slowly. "Yes, of course."

He reached out a paw and shoved open the door.

As they stepped into the room that awaited just beyond, Sterling had the strangest sense that something major had changed.

And it had. His old life was long over, and his new one was ready to begin.


AN:

I had lots of fun with this chapter. Though I've reviewed how the Academy looks about a million times in my head, it was interesting to put it down on paper.

Team Fidelity and Team Guardian will appear frequently in the future, and so will Team Victory. Oddly enough, it will be the newer teams that are going to be important here. The only exception to that is Team Never.