Celeste spent the next day in her classes, hanging onto every word that her professors shared. While other students struggled with jumping right into their first lessons, she was eager to start her morning with a slope fields review for differential equations. The girl carefully copied graphs off the board, taking in everything that the professor said.
"Hey," a boy sitting to her right turned to her, "Do you understand any of this? Because I don't remember shit from last semester."
"Yeah, it's just based off first order equations. The right-hand side only depends on the value of y so it will be autonomous," Celeste responded, annoyed that someone is interrupting her education.
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I just never understood this, you know? All these letters in numbers... makes no sense. I'd much rather be the Champion but my stupid dad is forcing me into aerospace."
"Am I interrupting something?" the professor asked, causing Celeste to jump up.
"Hey... that girl looks familiar," a girl whispered.
"I heard that Champion Cynthia's daughter will be in Canalave... could she be...?" someone else whispered.
"Why is she taking engineering? Surely she'd be better off studying Pokemon?"
Celeste's ears turned red.
"Seriously. She has all the connection and is wasting her time here? Obviously she'll be the next Champion."
"Uh, no. I apologize, professor," Celeste quickly said.
"Miss Astra, I would like to remind you that you are in a place of learning. I am sure that your mother would not approve of you making such commotions."
"Of course, I apologize professor. He just had a question," Celeste added, silently wishing for everyone to stop paying attention to her and to instead focus on the lesson.
"As I was saying," the professor turned back to the board, "If you take this equation, where y is equal to-"
"Hey... sorry about that. I don't remember you from last semester and thought that I should introduce myself and say 'hi'," the boy whispered to Celeste again, much to her chagrin.
"Ok, hi," she grumbled, looking straight forward at the board.
"I'm Justin. What's your name?"
Celeste ignored him. He glanced at her paper.
"'Celeste'?" he whispered, "It's nice to meet you."
He paused for a moment, "I know everyone here. So how come I haven't met you before?"
"Because I just started college. Now I wish to pay attention to this class," she whispered back.
"Just started? Woah, how old are you?"
Celeste rolled her eyes, "Eighteen. Are you done with your questions?"
"Ohhh... I see. This is an advanced class, you know? You must be one of the smart ones, huh?"
"Sure, whatever. Now, can you be quiet? I'm trying to pay attention."
"Sure... sure... sure... Just real fast- my frat is throwing a party tonight. You should come. Bring some girlfriends. Our house is at 245 Rivera Dr- the Alpha Tau Alpha house. You might have heard of it; we throw the biggest ragers."
Celeste nodded, hoping that this random boy would finally stop talking to her. Before she knew it, the 50 minutes were up and it was time for her next class.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. She put on a hat, glasses, and kept her head down for most of her classes. Finally, she went back to her dorm and sighed with relief.
"You're baa-aa-aa-aack!" she heard a trill. Froslass was crouching in a corner out of fear. Jessica put pink extensions in her hair and was wearing heavy make-up, "How was your first day, roomie?"
"It was pretty good. I really like my classes but I had a situation where-"
"Oh, yes, I am so happy that you liked it! Did you meet any cute guys?"
Celeste thought for a moment, "There was one guy in my Introduction to-"
"So there was this guy I met in Sinnohvian literature... Roomie, I am telling you, he is so cute! Our names go together too: Justin!"
Celeste just stared at her. Surely it can't be the same Justin that she met earlier that day?
"Anyway, he said that there is a party going on tonight at his frat... we should go! It will be so fun!"
"I'd love to hang out with you and Justin, but-"
"Then it's settled!," Jessica made a face, "You need to change though. That is not a a good outfit to party in."
"You know, I do have a lot of homework tonight, and it is the first day of classes-"
"Oh, who cares? You can always retake a class. You can never relive a party! Come on... don't you want the full college experience?"
"I guess," Celeste gave in. Surely one night out won't put her behind? Especially since college just started?
"Perfect! Go get ready! We'll be the hottest babes out there!"
Celeste changed into a tank top, skirt, and sandals. Froslass tried to convince her to stay home, but, to no avail. Anytime she tried holding her owner back, Jessica would butt in, shrilling about the party and demanding to put makeup on Celeste. Truth be told, Celeste rarely wore it. Cynthia's grandmother who, just like the rest of her generation, was superstitious, refused to let Celeste "look like a whore." Occasionally, Aunt Celina would give her light blush or some mascara, but nothing too noticeable.
Once Jessica finished putting on the makeup, Celeste glanced at the mirror. Froslass could barely contain her laughter.
You look ridiculous, she purred.
Celeste couldn't recognize herself. The bright turquoise eyeshadow dulled her skin and made her eyes look too bright. The red lipstick was obviously overlined and her cheeks were drowning with pink blush. Celeste wondered if Jessica was intentionally trying to ruin her appearance. When her roommate went into the bathroom for a moment, she took some makeup remover and tried her best to remove some of the disaster off her face.
The frat house was pretty large and crowded, making Celeste uneasy. The floor was sticky from spilled alcohol and loud music (that Cynthia's grandmother would never let Celeste listen to) blared in the background. The air was heavy with the scent of poffins and, well, alcohol. While Jessica confidently walked forward, Celeste nervously glanced at Froslass, whose pale expression made her think that something doesn't feel right. Nonetheless, her roommate grabbed her hand and urged her deeper into the frat house. The two passed girls nearly unable to stand, screaming drunkenly at new pledges or their Pokemon.
"Hey! If it isn't Jessica! And you brought Celeste," a smooth, deep voice exclaimed from behind the girls.
"Oh my gosh, Justin! Wow... I didn't know that you two knew each other," Jessica frowned.
"Yeah, Celeste and I have a class together," he turned to Celeste, "I knew that you'd be able to make it!"
Froslass groaned from the side and Celeste began feeling uneasy.
"Hey, you ok?" Justin grinned, "You look a little sick. Here... where are my manners? I should get you ladies a drink."
As soon as he left, Jessica turned to Celeste, "Look. I don't know what your deal is but you are totally ruining the mood right now."
"Sorry, I just felt a little queasy."
"Well, stop it! We're at a senior's party freshman year. Okay? Be appreciative for a moment."
As if on command, Justin returned with three red cups and Jessica smiled and twirled her hair. She and Celeste took a cup from Justin's hands.
"Cheers," he said and he and Jessica drank together. Celeste stared at the purple liquid in her cup and her stomach churned. She wondered for a moment what she was even doing in a frat house.
"Are you going to drink?" Jessica demanded.
Celeste took a deep breath and brought the cup to her lips. The drink's smell was strong... but she stomached it and tried chugging the entire liquid.
"Let's go dance!" Jessica grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards an empty space. All of a sudden, the music sounded muffled. Celeste's legs felt weak and her vision was blurry.
"Are you a lightweight?!" Jessica shouted, "How are you already so drunk?!"
Froslass floated to her owner and gently pushed her towards a room.
Sit down, she murmured.
"Hey... just want to make sure, everything ok?" Justin walked into the room and closed the door behind him, "Saw you stumbling in here."
Celeste's mouth felt dry. She glanced back at Froslass who was holding her hand. Jason sat on the other side.
"You know, it's weird how things work out," Justin murmured, "Do you know who Benjámin Lenoir is?" He sighed, and stared off into the distance, "Your mother never told you, did she?"
"My mom met a lot of people," Celeste managed, "I can't remember them all."
"Benjámin finished his studies. He was a favorite to become the next Champion. Hell, even the last Champion named him his successor. But do you know what happened? You know what happened, Celeste? Some pregnant 20-something-year-old beat the Champion before him. And she was charming. As soon as the old Champion met her, he completely forgot about my dad."
Celeste tried listening to his story but could feel her eyes closing.
"Anyway, I wanted to be the next Champion. Gods, I spent hours studying battling and Pokemon in high school. But you know what? There isn't going to be a new Champion anytime soon. Cynthia's still young, way below the age of retirement. Doubt that she would give up her position anyway. Country clubs and fine dining... and all she has to do is bat her pretty little eyelashes and she gets everything that she wants. Women just have it easier like that, you know?"
The room was spinning. Flecks of purple bled through the ceiling. Celeste leaned on Froslass to help soothe her pounding headache. With no warning, Justin started caressing her right cheek. Froslass immediately got up and slapped him.
"Oh, I would be careful," Justin murmured, throwing a PokeBall at a nearby wall. Out of it, came out a Magmortar.
"I won't hurt you, but I would be careful if I were you," Justin warned, then turned back to Celeste, "I refuse to believe that Cynthia has no secrets. Everyone in that position of power does. But whatever. It doesn't matter. I am sure that there are many ways to hurt her."
At this point the entire world was blurry. Celeste could only see specks and lines: Froslass starting a blizzard, Magmortar releasing fire, Froslass sending out a ray to confuse the opponent... She glanced out a nearby window where purple rays were striking random spots in the ground.
"What the hell?" Justin stopped what he was doing and looked out the window. All of a sudden, he released a scream.
Magmortar stopped the fight and ran to his master. Froslass took the break to go check up on Celeste, who was barely conscious. Justin stomped to the bed-even in the dark, Froslass noticed that half his face looked burned. He threw a nearby pot on the floor from anger and left the room.
The next day, Celeste found herself in the office of the Dean of Students. Cynthia flew in immediately upon hearing about what happened.
"Champion Cynthia... thank you for coming in. As you know, this was an urgent matter," the Dean held his hands behind his back and stared out a big window.
"I still don't understand what happened. Celeste... you promised you'd be careful," Cynthia responded with tears in her eyes.
"Your daughter was found on the bed of a frat house unconscious... we do not want to assume the worst but... these are the times now. Unfortunately," the Dean cleared his throat, "We have a witness... or victim, depending on how you look at it. Justin Lenoir, senior class president, came in this morning to tell us what happened. We, of course, found Celeste last night after a different student called the emergency line. Mr. Lenoir told us that he tried helping Celeste last night but... her Froslass attacked him."
"I do not remember what happened," Celeste muttered, still feeling weak and sick.
"I would suggest doing a drug test. I know how these parties are. Unfortunately, Mr. Lenoir suffered great injuries as a result of your Froslass and Sinnoh law does require any pet Pokemon to be put down for attacking humans."
"Oh gods... Celeste, what did Froslass do?" Cynthia frowned.
"I don't know! Froslass doesn't go around attacking random people!" Celeste responded defensively.
"Mr. Lenoir is currently in the hospital being treated for burns," the Dean stated firmly.
"Froslass isn't even a fire type!"
"Yes, but she can learn will-o-wisp."
"Mine definitely does not know that move."
"Nonetheless, we do have to report this incidence. I still suggest that you do a full drug screen as an investigation will be conducted," the Dean sighed, "Mr. Lenoir's story adds up but... there were just these strange lights last night. Champion Cynthia, you studied Sinnohvian myths," the Dean paused for a moment, "The entire situation yesterday was just strange. Security said that they heard someone whispering to them to check the frat? I don't know but thankfully they had that feeling. Still... it makes me think. Strange things had been happening lately. The purple lights are just one but had you noticed how the world just keeps getting stranger? So much violence and evil... and for what? I spent my youth traveling around the world, learning about different traditions. The Snow Queen's evil mirror in Odense, Samael, Iblis... We all have different names for the same evil being. For us it's-"
"Giratina," Cynthia said softly.
"Correct. It makes me think... Is Giratina trying to enter our world? If so, why? Of course, the only source we have is our ancestors... they claimed that Arceus banished him for his violence... but why would he return? Would Arceus allow this?"
Celeste turned towards Cynthia, who was pale and stiff.
"I think that Celeste will be out of school for a while," she said quietly, nearly whispering.
"Why are you taking me out again?" Celeste asked once the two returned to her dorm, "I didn't ask for anything that happened!"
"I know but... the Dean is right. There is something evil happening in the world, you have to understand," Cynthia responded.
"I don't get it."
"I think... that... Look. Maybe you shouldn't be in school right now. You don't think that the lights were a coincidence, did you?"
Celeste thought for a moment but the entire previous night was still a blur.
"I knew that I shouldn't have left you alone... but it's too late. Celeste, I think your dad was trying to protect you."
"My dad? What?"
"I mean, he doesn't know that you exist. But clearly Giratina has taken a liking to you. It's more likely that Giratina will burn someone rather than Froslass, no?"
"I- yeah...?"
"Celeste, I really think that you should return home. We can handle the paparazzi but Giratina? It's too dangerous."
"Mom-"
"I'm not arguing with you about this," Cynthia snapped.