As always... Please read and enjoy~ Scriffignano


Chapter 53: School's in Session

"Here we are Lily! Indigo Plateau!" Arc stood triumphantly at the city limits sign with his chest puffed out. "Home of the Pokemon League and the Kanto Grand Festival!" He threw his arms out, absorbing the rays of the afternoon sun.

Lily laughed at his burst of youthful exuberance. Knowing what being here meant to both of them, she recounted the times that they had spent together on their journey. Along with the adventures they had, Lily really focused on how their relationship grew and evolved over time.

While she was still lost in thought, Arc grabbed her hand and raced into town to find the Pokemon Center. Neeko and Snow Storm were close behind while Kappa desperately tried to hold onto Lily's shoulder as they raced through the town.

"I can remember the day we met as if it was yesterday…" she remained deep in thought. "What is it about Arc that makes my heart flutter every time I look at him?"

"Snow Storm use Silver Wind and Neeko Use Fire Spin. Keep them away from Dewgong" He shouted catching the four trainers by surprise.

Neeko and Snow Storm surged ahead of Arc and fired their respective moves encircling the gang's Pokémon in a wall of fire and battering relentlessly with Silver Wind. The lone trainer watched in wonderment as Arc attacked her assailants.

"Quickly get to your Dewgong. I'll hold them off." Arc shouted putting himself and his team between the girl and the purple garbed trio.

She continued to reminisce on the her past with Arc the entire time they were running around the city, only coming back to reality once they were at the Pokemon Center where she needed to register for the Grand Festival.

"Can I see your Contest Pass and Ribbons?" Nurse Joy asked with a shining smile.

She then scanned Lily's pass and ribbons, registering her for the contest and then handing her a card key. "You are all set. Here is a card key for your room."

With a pleasant smile and saying thank you, Lily and Arc headed for their room to put their stuff for the duration of the contest. As they walked through an area better known as Trainer's Square, Lily saw people and Pokemon of all sorts practicing their best combinations for the contest. Some of the practices would have really impressed Lily if she was paying attention. She was still so engrossed in her memories of traveling with Arc that she only kept a subtle sense of direction. Unfortunately because of her mental distraction, she accidentally bumped into another trainer that had their back turned to them.

"Sorry about that." Lily apologized before starting to walk away.

The trainer she bumped into whirled around and glared at Lily. She was a much bigger gal than most, but not in an ill conceived way. She was broad shouldered and tall. Her hair was a burgundy red and put up in a very odd set of twin ponytails that merged at the bottom. She wore blue jeans, a regular t-shirt, and a plain teal sweatshirt over it.

"Watch yourself." The lady snorted. "Runts should know their place."

Lily stopped in her tracks. Her trademarked temper starting to get the better of her. But before she could say anything against the new trainer, Arc stepped in.

"We apologize for disturbing you." Arc made a slight apologetic bow. "My name is Arc and this here is Lily. What's yours?"

The trainer loosened up a little. "Sasha. Are you two here for the contest?" She seemed to calm down and gain some civility about her.

"I'm not." Arc laughed. "Neeko, Snow Storm and I do better with battling than participating in contests."

Sasha nodded and then turned her attention towards Lily. She still seemed to be a bit stewed about being called a runt, but made sure to keep any ill comments to herself.

"I will be participating… and I plan to win the whole thing."

"Not before I do." Sasha built some friendly competition.

"We'll see." Lily smiled.

Neeko and Snow Storm who had been flying overhead landed out of curiosity. This human had a new scent about her and even though they had no problem with Arc and Lily making new friends, they wanted to meet this particular person themselves.

Sneaking up behind her, Sasha didn't know that Neeko and Snow Storm were around until she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck.

"Yikes!" She jumped at the fiery Pokemon and taking several steps back.

"Neeko… Snow Storm… What have I told you about scaring people like that." Arc glared at them.

"You've never said anything to us. The only one who has snuck on someone was Dino remember." Snow Storm broadcasted her thoughts so all could here. "I felt so bad for that poor girl when he did that."

Sasha jumped again, but this time at Snow Storm's ability to speak. She was blown out of the water and could only imagine what kind of skill Arc had as a trainer.

"Well I'm glad that you're not competing… you would be one heck of an opponent." Sasha wiped her forehead. "I better get going though. There is much to be done before tomorrow."

With that being said, Sasha walked in the other direction, leaving Arc, Lily and their Pokemon by themselves.

"Shall we?" Arc pointed towards the line of hotels.

She nodded and they both walked towards the hotels, wanting to unload their stuff before they started practicing for their respective matches. Their room at the hotel was quite spacious, able to even house a Gyarados with relative comfort. The walls were lined with glass lamps and there was plenty of light coming from the patio outside. The beds were very soft to the touch and covered in Swanna down feather comforters.

"They really know how to treat trainers." Arc whistled as he dropped his stuff on the bed. "These are fit for a king."

"Well… the trainers that come here need all the good rest they can get. Plus in my opinion they kind of earned it."

Arc agreed and set about getting his stuff put into the closet and drawers available. Under normal circumstances they would just leave their stuff in their bags, but since they were going to be here for longer than most the two decided to go ahead and spread out and take advantage of the situation.

"Hey Arc… can I ask you a favor?" Lily finished putting her belongings away.

"Nope." Arc smiled. "Never." He kept joking.

Lily merely rolled her eyes " Could you be my battle partner? I've got my performance routine down, but I need some help with battling."

"Sure, but…" Arc raised an eyebrow. "What could I do to help you?"

"I want to adopt some of your battle style." She smiled. "I want to throw my opponents off during the competition and no one does it better than you."

"I'll say. Half the time we don't even know where he is going with his ideas." Snow Storm added. "But we still follow him and usually come out on top."

"Thanks…" Arc glared at her.

The two then went out back and found an open field to work with. Since the competition was going to be a mix of double and single contest battles, Lily decided that she wanted to work on the double performances first.

"Neeko, Snow Storm. You two are up." Arc chose his two best battlers.

"Banana Neck, Kappa. Let's go!"

Arc was surprised that she had intent of using her new Tropius during the Grand Festival, but commended her for pulling a stunt that he would do as well.

"We'll take lead!" Arc declared. "Neeko, use Fire Blast and Snow Storm, use Bug Buzz!"

"Now use Aqua Tail, Kappa. Banana Neck, fly up and use Leaf Storm.

Kappa and Banana Neck countered Neeko and Snow Storm as they fired their attacks. Kappa was first, stopping Fire Blast dead in its tracks with his tail as it surrounded itself with water. Steam billowed in all directions, blinding Lily's Tropius from seeing what was going on below.

As Banana Neck searched for a target, Snow Storm burst from the steam and fired a pulse of red energy from her wings. The pulse struck Banana Neck, knocking him out of the sky with a blast.

"Keep up the pressure. Neeko, use Flamethrower and do a downwards spiral!"

Neeko took to the sky and did a downwards spin while spewing a steady stream of fire. The attack spiraled outwards into a fiery tornado that baked everything near it.

"Wow that's hot!" Snow Storm ducked from the flames as the attack started to move around the field.

She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. There was a small human child running towards the field despite the obvious signs that there was a battle ensuing.

Fearing for the child's life, Snow Storm charged towards the child while calling for Neeko's help. Responding to her call, Neeko flew around and struck the flaming twister with Thunder Punch, breaking it up so Snow Storm could get the child out of the way.

"Stop the battle!"A young lady accompanied by a group of children ran up to the field.

The young boy cowered behind Snow Storm, seemingly worried of what the young lady might do to him. Arc and Lily walked up to Snow Storm as well, concerned about the boy's welfare.

"Thomas… what have I told you about wandering off that way?"

The boy said nothing, but kept his head down apologetically knowing what he did was wrong.

"I apologize for my student's recklessness. We didn't mean to interrupt your battle."

"We are just happy that no one was hurt." Arc smiled. "But I heard you say student… Are you a teacher?"

"Yes I am. This is my class from Indigo Elementary School." She smiled. "We are out on a field trip to watch trainers interact with their Pokemon and some battling."

"That sounds like fun." Lily smiled. "By the way… my name is Lily, and this here is Kappa and Banana Neck." She pointed at her Totodile and Tropius.

"And my name is Arc." He made a slight bow. "And this is Neeko and Snow Storm." He pointed to his Charizard and Butterfree.

"Hi there." Snow Storm projected her thoughts to the teacher and students.

The students went wide eyed at her mental greeting, not sure how to react to a Pokemon talking to them directly without it's trainer's help. Even their teacher was taken by surprise, but only reacted for a second before resuming a sense of calm.

"My name is Miss. Kylie Kendra." She then gained an idea. "By any chance… do you think it's possible for my class to watch you and Lily have a battle or two?"

Arc and Lily both smiled at the idea. They not only agreed to do that for the class, but in addition they gave the children the chance to interact with all of their Pokemon they had on hand. On top of Neeko and Snow Storm, Arc also had Kraite, Amarga, Sandamer, and Earthshaker with him. Lily on the other hand had Smoke, Iceberg, Waru, and Stratus along with Kappa and Banana Neck.

The children were in awe with their Pokémon and before long, they were all playing and interacting with them as if they were old friends. Amarga and Banana Neck were especially popular, letting the children slide down their backs and going for short rides around the field. Snow Storm was also a hit with the children. She would share stories of their adventures thus far, sparking the imaginations of the children who also wanted to be trainers when they came of age.

"Alright class!" Miss. Kendra gathered up her charges. "These two trainers are going to allow us to witness a real battle between their Pokemon. I expect all of you to watch carefully and give them the respect they deserve."

Arc and Lily then pulled back their entire team and went to opposite sides of the field. As they did, two of the children started asking who was going to win the match. After some minor disagreements, the class split into two teams. Most of the girls thought for sure that Lily was going to win while the majority of the boys were rooting for Arc.

"Class… please stay quiet." Miss. Kendra reminded them to be respectful of the two trainers.

"Okay kids. This will be a one on one battle with no substitutions." Arc called out. "We would have a three on three, but since the Grand Festival starts tomorrow, I don't want Lily's Pokemon to be too tired to compete."

Arc then threw his Pokeball, releasing his red quilled Sandslash, Sandamer who sparkled as he landed on the field. Lily said nothing, but threw her pokeball to reveal Waru as her combatant. Arc then gave her a curt bow to display that she had the first move in the battle.

"Waru, use Stone Edge!" Lily commanded with an iron voice.

"Counter with Slash attack!"

Waru slapped his clawed hands on the field creating bright blue stones that erupted towards Sandamer. Each stone seemed sharper than the last, but just before they reached Sandamer he sliced through the final stone with sharp glowing claws. It was a perfect display of Sandamer's power and it left the kids cheering for more.

"Time to heat things up! Sandamer use Rollout!"

On command, Arc's Sandslash rolled up into a tight ball and started barreling across the battlefield towards Waru. Without a command, Waru tried his best to block the attack with brute strength, creating sparks as his claws clashed with Sandamer's sharp spines.

The children cheered for their favorite side, hoping that they would be victorious in the match.

"Dive under with Dig!"

Waru nodded and rolled to the left, dodging most of the attack and then escaped below the surface of the earth. Both Arc and the children watched for Waru as Sandamer kept barreling around the field in hopes of not getting hit.

"Use Dragon Claw!"

Waru erupted from the ground right in front of Sandamer and swiped at him with glowing blue claws. The force of the attack was so strong that it stopped Rollout dead in its tracks and threw Sandamer into a nearby tree. Down, but not out of the match, Arc's Sandslash dislodged himself from the tree and began using Slash attack in quick succession in an attempt to wound his opponent.

Waru was not easy to hit though, blocking Sandamer's Slash attack with Dragon Claw. Sparks flew as Sandamer and Waru crashed into each other repeatedly with Slash and Dragon Claw. Neither was willing to give up which was surprising being that Sandamer was still new to battling and because of Waru's rather timid nature.

"Wrap this up! Use Crunch!" Lily clapped her hands together like teeth inside an animal's jaw.

"We won't go down that easily. Use Sand Storm!" Arc countered.

Waru bit down on Sandamer with glowing teeth and tremendous force, trying to crush the fight out of Sandamer. However, before Waru could finish the spiny Pokemon off, Sandamer unleashed a powerful Sand Storm in his mouth.

Sand poured into Waru's mouth, forcing him to disengage from Sandamer and scratch at his tongue to get rid of the gritty taste in his mouth.

"Wrap this up Sandamer, use Slash attack!"

Moving with lightning speed, Sandamer struck Waru once under the chin and then over the head with sharp glowing claws. Dazed by the force of the blows, Waru fell backwards and landed on the field unconscious and unable to continue. The students who voted for Lily sighed and whimpered while the students who voted for Arc cheered his name victoriously.

"Waru is unable to battle! Arc and Sandamer are the winners!"A third voice rang over the field.

Arc and Lily turned around to see Thorn standing there with his Pikachu, Sparky. It's been awhile since they had seen their good friend and it seems like he had been working hard since they last met.

"Hey there bud!"Arc smiled and gave him a rough embrace. "Long time no see."

Miss. Kendra and the young students were sitting there awkwardly as the three caught up, but it didn't stay like that for very long.

"Miss. Kendra, class… this is a good friend of ours named Thorn. He is also going to be participating in the Indigo League with me and has agreed to do another one on one battle with me."

"Wait… I have?" Thorn looked surprised.

Arc then whispered into Thorn's ear. "Lily and I are demonstrating battles for this class, but Lily really needs to focus on her contest. Can you please take over?"

Thorn agreed and the two resumed their lesson with the class.

"Okay kids… why do you think Sandamer was able to win?" Thorn and Arc picked kids as they raised their hands.

All their talking to the class gave Lily the opportunity needed to slip away for training. Snow Storm accompanied her so she could get feedback on her training.

"You sure you don't mind?" Lily asked Snow Storm. "I'm perfectly capable of training on my own.

"Of course I don't mind. You asked Arc to teach you to battle like him." Snow Storm projected her thoughts. "Who better than me to help you."

Lily smiled at Snow Storm's kindness and they both went to a nice quiet corner of Trainer's Square to practice.

"Lesson one of battling like Arc. Throw away any standing strategic rationale you have. You will be using your gut instincts and dumb luck."

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"Amarga, use Hyper Beam!"

"Counter with Dragon Tail, King!"

Arc's Aurorus and Thorn's Tyrantrum were locked in fierce combat with each other, using their brute strength to try and overpower the other. King bit down on the frigid Hyper Beam attack, causing a small block of ice to seal his mouth closed.

"Now send him flying before he can get the ice off."

Amarga the whipped around and smacked King square in the back with her tail and sent him sailing clear over Thorn's head. He crashed with a cloud of dust, but was still able to fight.

"Take her down with Crunch!" Thorn growled in response.

King dug his clawed toes into the earth before leaping onto Amarga's back. He grappled with her for several seconds, latching both his feet and his tiny clawed hands into her side while she tried desperately to shake him off. After getting a firm grip on her, King sank his glowing sharp teeth into the base of Amarga's neck forcing her to fall to the ground in agonizing pain.

"Don't give up Amarga!" Arc tried his best to give her strength. "You gotta pull through!"

She tried her best to get back on her feet and throw King off of her, but he was way too heavy for Amarga to handle. The students who watched were also trying their best to cheer for her, shouting and screaming their pleas for her to get up.

"What do I do?" Arc tried to think of a way out of this.

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While Arc and Thorn were locked in fierce combat, Snow Storm was giving Lily a crash course in how to be an unpredictable battler in the contest arena.

"Okay... you want to be flashy yet unpredictable at the same time right?" Snow Storm sat next to Lily as they watched other coordinators.

"Basically… I'm just not sure how to pull it off." Lily sighed. "I thought battling with Arc would give me some idea, but I'm still not sure how to do it."

"I honestly don't think there is any set way Lily. Quite frankly… I find all humans rather unpredictable, and since you seem to have the flashy part down, I think you're all set."

"Wait… what do you mean you find us all unpredictable?"

"No two humans are the same to me and I never know what to expect when Arc meets someone new. Some have tried to steal me, others have tried getting Arc to trade for me, and yet others turn out to be Arc's best friends. Its actually quite scary because all humans seem to wear this invisible mask that hides their true intentions." She shivered slightly.

Lily said nothing, but wrapped an arm around Snow Storm comfortingly and sighed. There was no words for them to say as they started to come to a more mutual understanding of each other. Up until this point, Lily saw Snow Storm as the most level headed of all of Arc's Pokemon. She never knew that she carried such a huge level of doubt about those she was around every day.

"Snow… People and Pokemon are more alike than you will ever know. Just like you see us as very unpredictable, we see Pokemon the same way." Lily tried to reach out to her. "Take Dino for example. He is the last Pokemon that anyone would ever expect to be an absolute goofball, but he is. And look at you… you can project your mental voice to others. Not even some Psychic type Pokemon can do that."

"I guess you're right." Snow Storm's face brightened up. "We do have a lot of things in common. I guess I was just caught up in my own thinking that I never thought of it."

"I guess we both learned something new today." Lily smiled.

"Yeah… we should probably head back. I heard Amarga's wailing voice so I think Arc is battling Thorn and his Tyrantrum, King." Snow Storm scratched her head.

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Amarga still struggled to get King to let go of the back of her neck, but no matter what she tried his iron like bite persisted through it all. Matching her every move, King threw his head down, knocking Amarga off balance and pulling her to the ground again.

"Swing your tail and roll!"

Using her tail as a counterbalance, Amarga rolled over and pulled King along for the ride. As she rolled, King's head started to be crushed under the weight of Amarga's body.

"Ouch… that looks painful." Snow Storm and Lily rejoined the group during the battle.

"Now finish this! Use Hyper Beam!"

Amarga twisted her head around and fired a chilling beam of concentrated energy, freezing the rest of King in a solid block of ice. Unable to counter or move for that matter, Arc and Amarga were declared the winners of the match.

The kids all cried out in excitement and ran out on the field to give Amarga a hug around her leg to congratulate her on a job well done.

"Thank you. All of you." Miss. Kendra bowed to the three trainers. "I am extremely grateful for everything you have done for us."

"It was our pleasure. I'm glad we were able to help." Arc smiled.

With that said, Miss. Kendra and her class said goodbye to the trio of trainer and their Pokémon before taking their leave. As they left, Lily returned to her thoughts which were still swirling around in her head.

"Those kids were not the only ones who learned something new." Lily found some self realization. "I now see that much like Arc has his style, I have my own. The best part is that no one can duplicate it no matter what."

With that thought now set in the foundation of her mind, Lily stared at the Grand Festival Hall where she was to compete for the title of Top Coordinator. She felt confident in her abilities as a contestant and with her strategy set in stone, all there was left to do was wait until tomorrow.


Well... since there was a lack of response to the epilogue idea, I will be scrapping the idea completely. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)

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