Chapter 8 – Back To School
Cadence stretched her arms and took a peek around the room she was in. Albert had really been kind to them, buying them rooms like this. She was sure the nurse had given her some nasty looks back in the lobby, but she didn't care.
Looking at her right wrist, she remembered just how generous the businessman had been. The pink Pokétch was flashing with the time as she touched the screen. Switching between the functions she had, she noticed the special one he had added for her. There were no flashing points, but Albert had assured her that when she used the scanning function on a berry she planted, it would flash for her.
The black haired girl slowly peeled off the bandages on her head, and, realising it had only been two days since she had left her home, she quickly wrapped it back up and placed her white hat back on.
There was movement on her leg, and she looked over the beige quilt to see her furred friends attempting to play with her.
The flame on Chimchar's tail was flickering around playfully, catching the attention of the Shinx. Cadence giggled, watching the electric-type chase her starter around the room. They seemed to have forgotten all about her leg.
"Cadence, are you up yet?" came a voice through the door. Cadence looked at her pile of clothes and wished she hadn't asked the staff to clean them. Her pink skirt that came just above her knee had shrunk during the washing and now looked as if it would just about cover her necessities.
"I'll be out in a second!" she shouted, returning the two already exhausted Pokémon back into the comfortable confines of their Pokéballs. Getting dressed as quickly as she could, she forgot all about the size of her skirt as the feeling of clean clothes hit her skin. "I don't think I'm going to be able to travel like this if I keep getting the Pokémon Centre staff to clean my clothes. My skirt will turn into a belt."
She sighed and picked up her bag. When she opened her door she saw Franklin and Joshua standing there, the latter messing around with his orange Pokétch.
"Finally," groaned Franklin, failing to hide his smile, "Now we can get out of here. I was thinking we could visit the Trainer Academy today. It could be useful to pick up some tips on travelling, and for your little berry expedition."
"Yeah, we could pick up some hints for our Gym Battles," Joshua smiled, putting his arm around Franklin's shoulders.
"We don't all need them," he grimaced, fingering his Pokéballs. Cadence could tell he was hoping for a decent win now, especially after he beat Coco and the two of them had deterred Raine once more.
"Well, we're all dressed up with nowhere to go," she laughed looking down at her skirt, "Let's do it."
"I'm so tired," Cadence cried, too far back for Franklin to hear. Joshua, however, wasn't too far ahead of her, slouching down in his orange and white striped t-shirt, moaning about leg pains.
"Come on, it's meant to be just to the left of the Pokémon Centre," Franklin observed, looking around for a sign, "There it is!" He pointed back the way they had walked, and, turning herself around, Cadence saw that they had indeed already walked past it.
With a quick jog, the three made it outside, with both Joshua and Cadence panting against the dry brick wall.
Franklin opened the door and walked in, fogging the room up with his confidence.
"Hi, the name's Franklin Jonah," he said, shaking the nearest students hand.
"Do I know you?" the young boy asked, looking at the girl next to him in disbelief.
"You bet your glasses that you will one day," Franklin smiled, winking at both youngsters. The boy pushed his glasses further up his nose, while the brunette flicked her short hair away from her face.
"Why don't we battle, idiot," the boy shouted, standing up and knocking his chair away, "Then maybe one day I will remember you when I read the book with the list of trainer's names that I've beat." He plucked a Pokéball from his desk, and the girl sitting with him did the same.
"My name's Christine, and this is Harrison," the girl said, expanding her Pokéball with a click of the button, "Which one of you two is going to battle us too?" She looked at Cadence and Joshua.
"My Pokémon have already been playing today," Cadence said, stepping back and nudging Joshua forward.
"I guess it's up to me, then," he smiled, grabbing his only full Pokéball.
"I choose you!" shouted both of the children, throwing their Pokéballs into the space of the classroom. The children around them started cheering, and the tall teacher stood in the centre, her hair scraped back.
Where the challengers light ended, two identical Pokémon appeared. They were both covered in a hard yellow shell, and didn't look too dissimilar to the children themselves.
"This will be a practice battle only!" she shouted, glaring at Franklin and Joshua. "Send out your Pokémon!"
"Come on out, Turtwig!" shouted Franklin, sending out his grass-type starter. He began giggling as he saw the two opponents, and quickly shook the remaining sparks of light off his body.
"Dazzle them, Dapper!" called Joshua, much to the embarrassment of Franklin, who covered his face. The Piplup came out and stood proud, arms at her hips and eyes squinted at both the opposing Pokémon.
"Start the battle!" shouted the teacher, blowing a whistle hanging around her neck.
"Turtwig, use Tackle!"
"Dapper, Pound the one on the left!" ordered Joshua, flinging his hand forward.
"Abra, Teleport!" both youngsters smiled. As the 'penguin Pokémon' and 'tiny leaf Pokémon' launched their wing and head into the psychic-types, respectively, both Pokémon vanished into thin air.
"Fire Punch!" shouted Harrison, laughing.
"Thunderpunch!" called Christine, smiling with her arms closed. Both Pokémon reappeared where they had been, flinging back their hands. While Harrison's Abra's hand began glowing red, fire was surrounding it.
Christine's Abra was charging electricity around her hand, glowing yellow. Both Pokémon attacked the starters fiercely, launching their selves into the air for a better range.
"Turtwig, use Withdraw!" shouted Franklin, causing his Pokémon to curl into a tight nit ball.
"Dapper, use Growl!" yelled Joshua, but a moment to late. The elemental punches hit their opponents, knocking Piplup out cold. Turtwig was sent towards the crowd of children, a dark burn mark on his shoulder.
"Can you still battle, Turtwig?" Franklin asked, as Joshua returned his water-type to the Pokéball in his hand. The Pokémon flinched, but stood firm, nodding swiftly. "Use Tackle now!"
Turtwig ran towards the two Pokémon, before falling to the floor in pain. Franklin quickly returned him to his Pokéball.
"We won!" shouted Harrison, giving Christine a high five. The girl winked at their teacher, who smiled and nodded.
"Students Harrison and Christine won!" she called out in the room, "Are there any more battles to be had today?" As she looked at Cadence, she laughed.
"I'll battle them," said a voice from behind the crowd. A girl with long brown hair stepped out. She looked a little older than Cadence, and, apart from the hat, she was dressed almost identically. Her skirt was red, and just as short. She wore a navy blue waistcoat over her white shirt. She wore a little red bow at her collar, and two Pokéballs at her waist.
"You've only been visiting an hour, Angela," the teacher teased, "Are you sure you're ready?"
"I think I might be able to do a good job," Angela smiled, grabbing her Pokéballs. "I choose you!" The Pokéballs flew through the air, opening to release the Pokémon inside.
"Feeeeeeeeeer!" the first shouted, flicking its brown fur around. It looked much like Cadence's Chimchar, and wore a blue mask around its eyes.
"Pipi!" called the second; it's small black tail swishing around, ears twitching. Its short yellow fur seemed to be bristling.
"Monferno, use Ember," she ordered to the much taller Pokémon, the fire at the end of its tail blazing more brightly than Chimchar's ever had, "Pichu, attack with Thundershock!"
"Monfeeeer!" screamed the fire-type, spewing hot flaming orbs at the Abra, while Pichu's cheeks sparkled with electricity before releasing it in a ranged burst, streaming towards the other opponent.
"Abra, Teleport!" both children called. Harrison's Abra was quicker, and he disappeared before the Thundershock could hit. Christine's Pokémon, however, wasn't fast enough, and was sent flying through the air by the orbs of fire.
"Abra is unable to battle," sighed the teacher, shaking her head as Christine returned the psychic-type to its Pokéball.
"Now Abra, use Hidden Power!" shouted Harrison. Several orbs of brilliant white light surrounded first the brown torso of Abra, before moving closer to his head.
"Monferno, use Mach Punch!" Angela smiled. Each of the orbs turned a pale blue; smoke seeming to evaporate from them as they were flung forward to the 'playful Pokémon'.
Monferno's fist was glowing a weak brown, and the fire-type was thrown towards the Hidden Power orbs aiming for him. A few small bolts of electricity smashed two of the orbs, breaking them as if they were ice. Monferno shattered through them too, as if they were nothing.
"Now, Monferno, Ember!" Angela directed. Through the orbs of Hidden Power, Monferno stopped thrashing her fist around and opened her mouth. Smaller orbs of fire were once more shot at the psychic-type, this time knocking him out cold.
"Abra is unable to battle," the teacher said, once more glaring at the children, "Angela wins!" Some of the crowd were cheering, while others were calling for all four of them to be removed.
"Return," Angela called her Pokémon back, turning towards Joshua and Franklin. "You two battled nicely. Am I right in assuming you've only just begun your journey?" Franklin nodded solemnly.
"We've only been travelling for two days," Joshua admitted, "We left Sandgem Town literally two days ago. It's been fun already. I got a Pokétch." Angela feigned a smile and turned towards Cadence.
"Are you travelling with these guys too?" she asked, flicking her hair over her shoulder as her brown eyes dug deep into the new trainer.
"Uh-huh," Cadence nodded, "I just didn't feel like battling today." The stranger laughed.
"Well maybe you and me can battle one day," she grinned seeing the two Pokéballs at the girl's waist. "May I ask what Pokémon you have?"
"Maybe you'll find out if we ever see each other again," Cadence smiled, turning towards the rest of the class. "We were actually wondering if we could sit in on a lesson today."
The teacher nodded, settling the rest of the class down. "As long as you make absolutely no noise, I'm sure I can find a seat for the four of you."
"Oh, not me," Angela stepped back, "I learned everything I needed today. I may be back, but I'm going to have another look around town today. Goodbye," she waved to Cadence and the boys.
"See you soon, Angela," Joshua called, waving his arm high in the air.
"Sit down, please," said the teacher, sternly, "Now, children, let us resume our conversation on the eight gym leaders of Sinnoh. I have with me a Piplup, a Buizel, and a Wingull. Which gym leader would I be weakest against?"
Harrison shot his hand up, as did a boy in front of him.
"Yes, Gareth?" the teacher smiled, looking at the boy. He wore green shorts with an olive t-shirt. His green cap covered his brown hair.
"With those three, your hardest battle would be against Volkner of Sunnyshore Gym," the boy answered, "Without taking his level into account, his gym specialises in electric-type Pokémon."
"I'm wondering why you did not choose Gardenia of Eterna Gym," the teacher leaned forward, staring at the boy.
"Well, miss," he began, moving his hands around as he spoke, "With both Piplup and Wingull, you'll have access to some flying-type moves, and Buizel have a lot of physical strength, and can also learn Ice Fang when they evolve."
"Well done, Gareth," she smiled, writing something down, "Now, who can tell me what Pokémon I would be able to take into Amity Square with me, and what the benefits of the area are?"
Gareth and several other's hands shot into the air.
