First, we are nearly out of open slots! I'm not entirely sure how much are available, but I know the number is less than five. So act quickly if you haven't already submitted one!
Speaking of which, these are the characters I received since last time.
Tori Fox (Rescue Wolf)
Victor Gerulf Broen (Victor John Foxfire)
Jeremy Tinsel (Kuronicle)
Floris Acacia Malrock (CodeJoshua)
Now, for a couple more announcements...
So, last chapter, I appeared to have made a mistake! When I described Boulton using Flare Blitz, I described a Fire Blast attack instead! Whoops...
Thankfully, I know what the attack actually does now, so this won't happen again.
A very similar thing happened with the Z-move last chapter. I simply called the attack Z-Flamethrower, when in reality it is called Z-Inferno Overdrive. Guess that's what I get for using a gimmick I only know partially...
Now, for our review-answering column!
WyldClaw: Thanks! You can certainly expect more phenomenal battles in the future!
pokemonking0924: Kagome will certainly show up this chapter. Thanks for letting me know about the Z-Move thing!
1415: Don't worry, he'll definitely get stronger as the story progresses! It may take a little while, though...
coolhuh0526: Don't worry, Gwendolyn is the only super-powerful personal OC I have. Ray will certainly prove his true strength down the road, too.
HumanWiki: I definitely agree, my writing is definitely improving, and I'm hoping to turn this into the best story yet! You can also look forward to seeing plenty of Asher in the future, too!
AnonChan1: I love seeing your style of review! Nice, long, and full of your personal reactions to events in the chapters! I can't wait to read more of those!
jjjdunk1: I'm glad you enjoyed the battles and enjoyed the way I wrote Evan! There is definitely more to enjoy coming up!
Rescue Wolf: Glad you're enjoying it so far!
Now, without further ado, let's begin this chapter! (-o-)
Charlie studied the yellow keycard he'd been given by one of the faculty members. Apparently, this was his student ID, and contained his current budget, important information, and his room number.
"So, Charizard House, room 236, I see?", he muttered, before looking up at his current location.
Before him was a ring of six buildings, each of which had three floors and many rows of windows. They were all painted white, and had a matching pair of double wooden doors in front of them. A row of PO boxes and a keypad/speaker was next to each door.
Above the doors hang a banner, a different one for each building. There was a yellow one with a Pikachu, a brown one with an Eevee, a white one with a Meowth, a green one with a Venusaur, a blue one with a Blastoise, and, last of all, a red one with a Charizard.
"That looks to be the right one.", Charlie commented, heading over to the doors beneath the red banner.
Pushing open the doors, Charlie noticed that there were quite a few students here. Many of them standing in front of a staff member, who was discussing things with students before giving them a red armband.
"Hey, it's Charlie!" Charlie turned to see Sherman running over, another red armband around his bicep. "Good to see you again!"
Charlie smiled. "Hi there, Sherman! What's going on here?"
Sherman answered, "That dude over there is finalizing our admission. You know, recording Pokemon teams, getting us our armbands to distinguish what course we're in, that kind of stuff."
Charlie asked, "Recording Pokemon teams? Seems a bit late..."
Sherman shrugged. "I think it's because somebody's team could easily change before they get here. I'm not sure. So anyways, what room are you in?"
Charlie answered, "Room 236."
Sherman's eyes lit up. "Oh wow, me too! We're roommates!"
Charlie chuckled. "I suppose we are. Do you know who else we have? I heard each room has four."
Sherman answered, "Well, Grant's up there right now. There's also that one kid who lost to Gwenny-whatsawhosit. He simply dropped off his stuff and ran out, said he needed to train or something."
"I'm pretty sure you're talking about Ray.", Charlie said, "I might have to talk to him at some point. Don't want him getting too obsessed with beating someone; I've made that mistake before."
"Okay, then.", Sherman replied, "Honestly, I'm more interested in the fact we get to share a room with the big guy and his talking Meowth. So cool! I wonder if he could help me teach some of my Pokemon to talk. That would be interesting..."
Charlie glanced over at the staff member, and noticed that the line seemed to be smaller. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get registered and then head up to our room. See you there?"
Sherman nodded. "Of course! Then we can have that battle you promised!"
Charlie chuckled. "Maybe, but I'd like to let my Pokemon rest first. If only I'd been able to track you down when the professor issued his challenge."
Sherman smiled sheepishly. "Well, uh, I did challenge the first person I saw, so..."
Charlie chuckled again, before walking over to the line. He noticed a painting on the wall, featuring a dynamic battle between two samurai and their Pokemon, a Samurott and a Lucario. Charlie wondered what that referenced.
After a few long minutes, Charlie arrived at the front of the line, where a somewhat bored-looking man sat behind a desk, a pile of various-sized red armbands and paperwork in front of him.
The man himself was actually only a few years older than Charlie, with fiery red hair and daring orange eyes. He wore a flashy gold jacket, unbuttoned to reveal a black shirt featuring a roaring Charizard, surrounded in flames. Several golden bracelets dangled off his left arm, and on his other arm was a red armband with three metallic badges on it.
He gave a half-hearted wave to Charlie. "Hey kid. Hopefully you're one of the last ones I need to talk to."
"Who are you?", asked Charlie.
The young man replied, "My name is Ember. I'm your senior, and...(sigh), been told to orient all you freshmen for your first day."
Ember picked up one of the stacks of forms. "Let's see...which one of these are you? I'm really not the best person to be handling this..."
"Howston. Charlie Howston.", Charlie said helpfully.
"Aha! Yes! Well, looks like your form is right here.", Ember replied, slipping it out. "Let's see...how many Pokemon do you have on your person?"
"Six.", answered Charlie.
"How convenient!", Ember replied, grinning, "A lot of these kids have less than that, which can end up being an issue, but you're already on your way to becoming a champion or whatever. Now...what are each of them? Write them down here."
Ember passed Charlie a stubby pencil, and Charlie started filling out the form.
"As customary, I need to give you the rundown of how things work here.", Ember said, "People are officially enrolled for four years. In your freshman year, you'll be spending all your time here, but in the next three years you will have the opportunity to meet and train with people in your respective fields."
Before Charlie could say anything, Ember declared, "This does NOT mean you will be training with Leon or Cynthia or someone like that! Mainly just Gym Leader's, Ace Trainers, that kind of thing. Or perhaps some of the teachers we have on this campus."
Ember picked up a list of notes. "Okay...here's some of the rules. No Pokemon larger than six feet tall are allowed indoors. There was an incident involving some idiot who thought it was a brilliant idea to let out his Steelix indoors, tearing down the entire Lance Stadium locker room. Boy, was that fun to deal with."
He pulled up another note card. "You are allowed to catch any wild Pokemon that wanders across campus, but if you want to catch one from the reserve you will need special permission from a ranger or to be accompanying one of us on one of our monthly expeditions. One of those is coming up in two weeks, actually. Hopefully I can track down some more awesome Pokemon."
He grabbed a third one. "Oh, yeah, all the standard stuff. Keep track of your schedule, don't be late, do your homework, blah blah blah. Honestly, it would be interesting if someone actually broke these rules."
Ember chuckled. "Of course, you guys are all good kids. So that won't ever happen."
Charlie was not entirely sure how to respond.
Ember picked up a fourth notecard. "Alright, students of the Battle Course have free reign to any currently unused battlefield to train their Pokemon, but other students must negotiate with the teachers. That means you guys have extra time to get stronger without any hassle. As an additional note, any property damage caused by NOT fighting on one of the official battlefields will be fined. I would know. I once burned down half the lawn three years ago. Whew, that was a sum..."
Ember then put the notecards down. "Well, you look like a nice good boy, so I doubt I need to say anything else! Here's your armband."
He picked up one of them, and slapped it around Charlie's arm. "Welcome to the Battle Course, kid! I look forward to mopping the floor with you in a battle sometime!"
He laughed boisterously as Charlie stood up and walked away, somewhat confused about his upperclassman. The only thing he knew for certain, though, was that he was a Fire-type specialist.
Seeing as most of his team was not good against that, Ember's joke about mopping the floor with him was most likely quite accurate.
Charlie started walking up the stairs to the second floor, where his room was located. He noticed a few other students socializing with each other and their Pokemon, and Charlie was excited to get to know them all better.
That would start with his roommates.
When he reached room 236, Sherman was already there, hanging up a poster of a valiant knight facing off against a Hydreigon. Curled up on one of the two bunk beds was a Servine, presumably belonging to him.
"Oh, hi again, Charlie!", he greeted, "Just making myself at home!"
Charlie looked at the poster. "You really do like knights, huh?"
"Yeah, it gets annoying.", came Grant's voice, and Charlie turned to see the buff student lounging on the other bunk bed, Tom Tom sitting next to him and fingering a shiny silver coin.
Charlie walked into the room, allowing him to get a better look at everything.
The walls were painted a soft white, and were completely bare except for Sherman's poster. The bunk beds were on opposite sides of the room, with navy blue sheets and poofy white pillows. At the far end of the room, there was a wide window, beneath which was a row of four dressers. On top of this row of dressers was a computer and a Pokemon University brochure. On the left side of the room was a door, presumably leading to a bathroom. On the opposite side of this was a small kitchenette, with all the essentials.
"It's pretty nice, ain't it?", commented Grant, "Man, these beds are probably the comfiest thing I've sat on in, I dunno, forever!"
Tom Tom shrugged. "They're adequate." A catty grin was on his face as he played around with the coin, delighting in its sparkle.
Charlie looked up. "So, I guess Ray and I get the top bunks?"
"Yup.", Grant replied, "You get to share with Blondie over there; Ray already claimed the bunk above mine."
"Blondie!?", exclaimed Sherman, "I refuse to be called that!"
"Too bad.", cackled Tom Tom, "I have committed that nickname to permanent memory now. But...I'm certain I can come up with something better. Grant here is many things, but creative ain't one of them."
"Hey!", complained Grant.
Tom Tom shrugged. "Well, you know it's true."
Grant's face was a rather bright shade of red.
Ignoring the current dispute between Trainer and Pokemon, Charlie took off his backpack and slung it onto his bunk. He started sorting through it and getting his stuff put away, and started planning what he was going to do after that.
One of the first things he wanted to do was track down Ray and check up on him. It did not sound like he was taking his loss too well, and Charlie wanted to see if he was alright.
Additionally, Charlie wanted to explore the campus a bit more. He still wasn't even entirely sure where the cafeteria was at, nor did he know what the school had for entertainment besides battling. He was excited to find out.
"Ooh, what's this?"
Charlie whirled around to see Tom Tom dangling from his bed, holding a certain red device.
"Hey, give that back!", demanded Charlie, but the Meowth somersaulted back, flipping open the device as he did so.
"A Pokedex!? Those things are rare!", declared Tom Tom.
"Yeah, and it's mine! Give it back, those are expensive!", Charlie replied angrily.
"But I'm not done looking at it!", complained Tom Tom.
Charlie lunged for the Meowth, but Tom Tom was quite fast. He scurried up behind Grant, and cried mockingly, "Oh no, protect me Trainer!"
Grant picked him up and held him out in front of his body. "Here you go, Charlie."
"Betrayal!", cried Tom Tom, as Charlie strode over and plucked the Pokedex out of Tom Tom's paws.
Grant said, "Sorry about that. Tom Tom just loves taking things."
Tom Tom grumbled, "I can't help it. If I don't hold something that doesn't belong to me, my paws get all sticky..."
Charlie glared at him. "Not an acceptable excuse."
Grant sighed. "Unfortunately, he'll just come up with another one for next time."
Tom Tom grinned knowingly.
Sherman crossed his arms and stated, "You know, I'm thinking you need to train that Meowth more thoroughly. I wouldn't let MY Pokemon steal people's stuff."
Grant shrugged. "There is nothing I can do. He's just a klepto. Thankfully, he usually returns the stuff he takes..."
"Usually.", Tom Tom stated, wiggling his eyebrows.
Charlie sighed, before working on putting the rest of his stuff away. It appeared he was going to have to lock up his Pokedex VERY securely...
Probably his wallet, too. (-o-)
"My friends, we appear to have a problem..."
Evan stood in front of the one computer in his room, while his three new roommates settled in.
"What problem?", asked Jason, petting Blaze as the Torracat purred happily. His Aether Foundation cap hung off of one corner of the bed, the golden symbol on it glinting as the sun's rays passed through the window.
"We only have one computer, and I can guarantee we'll probably end up fighting over it.", Evan replied.
Owen, who was currently lying on the bunk above Jason's bed with a large book, said, "Eh, I prefer reading books, and I can study at the library at campus. So I won't be fighting for it."
Eliot, who was currently tucked away on the other bottom bunk, whispered shyly, "I don't want to fight over it, either."
Evan shrugged. "Okay then, I officially claim the computer as mine."
Jason glared at him. "Even if half of us don't want to use it, you can't just claim it outright! I like computers, too!"
Evan threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I'll share! Arceus, one can't even make a joke around here..."
Jason rose an eyebrow. "Certainly didn't sound like you were joking..."
Blaze nodded in agreement, before rubbing up against Jason's side and demanding more pets.
Evan stepped away from the computer, and looked over his three Pokeballs. "The Pokemon doctors here are pretty good.", he commented, "My Pokemon are as good as new and ready to battle once again!"
"Save them for tomorrow.", Owen stated, "Our lessons start then, and from what I've heard it isn't going to be easy."
Evan shrugged. "Yeah, sounds about right. This is the most premier university in this part of the world."
Jason nodded. "Traveled all the way from Alola to get here. I'm excited to see what they have to teach us."
Eliot nodded in agreement. "Yeah.", he whispered, "I want to see if I can get stronger..."
After that, things fell quiet. Eliot leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes thoughtfully, while Owen continued reading and Jason continued petting his Torracat. Evan picked up the brochure off the makeshift desk and started flipping through it, smiling as he saw some of the things it said.
"Hey, did you know that there's apparently an arcade and snack bar over near the Battle Campus?", asked Evan, "It's called the Champion Rest Stop! Maybe we could go there as a group, get to know each other better and stuff?"
Owen held up his book. "I think I'd like to stay here and read, if that's fine by you."
Eliot added, "And, uh...I'm not great with people. I'll stay here too."
Jason said, "Well, I'll go with you, Evan. Not much to do here right now, you know."
Evan grinned. "Awesome! Let's go!"
The two boys left their room and headed outside, where the sun was still shining brightly. There were other groups of students here and there, who were all exploring the campus or having a couple more battles.
"You know, I've been thinking...", Evan said, "After that awesome battle we had, I want to get stronger and battle you again! How about we become rivals?"
Jason smiled. "Sure! That battle was quite close, so I'll need to train as well in order to beat you again! I would gladly be your rival!"
Evan pumped his fist. "Ah yeah, that's what I like to hear! Let's both do our best, and give each other the greatest battles of our lifetime!"
Jason shrugged. "We'll have to see about that, though. If one of us ends up fighting a Champion, we'd definitely be hard-pressed to give each other the 'greatest battles of our lifetime.'"
Evan sighed. "Yeah, yeah...we should still try, though!"
They were now following one of the five paths leading out from the central part of campus. This one led downhill, towards a ring of battlefields and a few buildings. The most eyecatching sight, however, was the brilliant, massive red-and-gold stadium in the middle of the campus.
"Whoa, what's that?", asked Jason, "That looks like something straight out of Galar's Gym Challenge!"
"I'm pretty sure that's the Lance Stadium.", Evan answered, "Apparently that's where the serious battles are held, as well as the tournaments and stuff. Supposedly, they have lots of Mega Stones and Z-Crystals in there, and according to one rumor an actual Power Spot!"
"How?", asked Jason, "We're nowhere near Galar!"
Evan shrugged. "Like I said, it's just a rumor. But I'd certainly like to find out if it's accurate! Can you imagine? Stoker, surrounded in powerful red energy, towering above the entire arena...he'd be amazing!"
Jason shrugged. "Well, even if there is a Power Spot there, from what I've heard Dynamax Bands aren't easy to get ahold of if you're not participating in one of Galar's Gym Challenges or don't have any connections with Macro Cosmos."
Evan sighed. "Yeah, you're right, but it's still cool to think about."
They then found themselves near a large building, brightly colored by the murals of various Pokemon painted all over its walls. The roof was a bright red, and a sign displaying the words Champion Rest Stop and an image of Leon giving the thumbs-up lined the top of it. In front of them was a pair of glass doors, revealing some of the many things inside it.
"Well, this looks pretty sweet! Let's head inside!", Evan exclaimed, his eyes shining in excitement.
Jason replied, "You know, I've never really been to an arcade like this before."
"Well, let's change that then!", Evan declared, and the two of them strode into the building.
As they walked inside, their ears were immediately introduced to the loud music playing in the building. It appeared to be some sort of hip-hop music, although neither of the boys were particularly knowledgeable on that sort of thing.
After their ears recovered from the sudden loud music, they took a look around the room to see what there was.
One half of the room was full of benches and tables, the benches lined with comfy red cushions while the tables were thick and made of wood, chipped and scratched from years of use. Each of them had an odd metal box full of little slips of paper, which was put right next to the standard box of napkins. The other half of the room contained a row of various arcade machines, beyond which was an actual battle arena. The restaurant/arcade was full of people and Pokemon, talking and laughing or playing the games.
In front of the two boys was the server counter, above which were several screens showing the menu. Behind the counter, there was the kitchen, as well as what looked like a standard row of store shelves and, beyond that, several boxes of Pokeballs all marked with numbers.
However, the main sight that caught the boy's attention was directly behind the bar.
That area had been converted into an impressive sound system, with speakers and twin record players and even multicolored spotlights. Behind the sound system, bouncing his head to the beat, was a young man. He was tall and dark-skinned, with long black dreadlocks and red sunglasses. He wore a floral-patterened red and green shirt, unbuttoned near the top, as well as ragged jeans and a golden necklace. At the end of it was a strange, round stone, with a shimmering DNA symbol upon its surface. A blue armband was around his wrist, marking him as a member of the Arts Course.
He saw the two boys, and waved. "Yo! Welcome to the Champion Rest Stop, kids! My name is DJ Dustin. What would you like today?"
Evan answered, "I read about this place in the brochure, and wanted to check it out! What do you recommend?"
Dustin grinned. "Well, for starters, we're famous for our ice cream sundaes! Any flavor imaginable! We can even make some for your Pokemon! Why not try one of those for your first time?"
Evan glanced at Jason, who nodded.
"Sure!", Evan replied, "Sounds good!"
The two boys walked over to the bar, as Dustin readied two large chalices. "Alright, so, you wanna pick a flavor, or would you like a mystery mix?"
Evan answered, "I think I'll just take rocky road, if you have that."
Jason added, "And I'd like mango and coconut!"
Dustin nodded. "Coming right up! Hey, Sherbert!"
A Vanilluxe floated out of the kitchen, its two faces beaming at the sight of its Trainer.
"You heard the boys. Let's go!", Dustin said.
The ice-cream-shaped Pokemon used its wind powers to scoop up various ingredients, which it blended together with the help of its icy breath. In less than thirty seconds, two massive sundaes were in Dustin's hands, consisting of the flavors the boys had chosen.
Evan's jaw dropped. "Whoa."
"No kidding.", agreed Jason.
Dustin grinned. "Impressive, huh? I'm in the Arts Course, you see! We train to do all sorts of awesome feats with our Pokemon! In this case, I taught Sherbert here how to make delicious ice cream! Go ahead, try it!"
He placed the sundaes in front of the kids, before spinning around with a flourish and slipping a spoon into each of their dishes.
Evan and Jason both scooped up a bite of their ice cream, and were amazed when they tasted it. It was absolutely delicious! They had never tried anything like it!
"Good, huh?", said Dustin, "That's just one of the things I can do!"
As the boys ate their ice cream, he said, "So, I don't only make food here. I help with the sound system and running the shop and the rental service. You see those Pokeballs in the back? If a Trainer is trying to get a full team of Pokemon for, say, a tournament or an exam, those are all caught and trained rental Pokemon for whatever you need! You'll have to get the actual paperwork from the registration office though."
Dustin grinned. "However, the Pokemon back there aren't just used for that. You see these boxes?"
He picked up one of the boxes filled with slips of paper. "That stadium in the back is both for official battles and a little thing I call Surprise Battles! Each of these slips of paper has a number on it, which correlates with one of the Pokeballs in the back! You and your opponent both draw one of these slips of paper, and have a one-on-one battle with your mystery Pokemon! It's pretty fun, and a good way to train your adaptability! Want to give it a try?"
Evan shrugged. "After I finish this ice cream, sure, I'll give it a try!"
Jason nodded. "Yeah, I'll try it out, too."
Dustin smiled. "Awesome! While you finish your ice cream, I can track down the Pokemon you'll be using!"
He placed the box of paper on front of them, allowing them both to draw a slip.
"Number 129.", said Jason.
"440 here.", Evan said.
Dustin grinned. "I'll get them for you right away!"
He zipped to the back of the shop, while the two boys finished their treat. When he returned a few minutes, Evan and Jason were ready to go.
"Alright, let's head to the battlefield!", Dustin declared, "No one appears to be using it right now!"
The two boys and the DJ walked over to the arena, passing by the arcade machines. Evan saw quite a few of them there - among them there, was the famous Gulpin-Mon (where a pixel Gulpin hurried to gather treats before getting hit by one of the four Gastly), Dance Dance Pokemon (currently it was being dominated by a young woman and her Steenee), and even a claw machine (controlled by a mischievous Rotom).
But then they reached the arena, and the two boys readied their Pokeballs.
"Alright, you two! Let's go!", cheered Dustin.
Evan sent out his Pokemon, which turned out to be a Gloom.
'Huh, a Grass-type.', he thought, 'I don't have much practice with those...'
But it turned out that didn't matter when Jason sent out his mystery Pokemon.
"Karp karp!"
Jason's face turned a brilliant shade of red. "You have GOT to be kidding me."
There was a Magikarp flopping in front of his feet, infamously the most useless Pokemon there was.
Dustin laughed. "Oh, dear, looks like you got unlucky! Yeah, there's a few joke Pokemon in there, you know, to keep people on their toes. Heheh."
Jason groaned, and Evan smirked.
"Razor Leaf!", he commanded.
It was a critical hit.
As Jason returned the fainted fish Pokemon, Evan declared, "Well, looks like we're even now, right? Haha!"
Jason growled, "This doesn't count. Not. At. All." (-o-)
Venusaur House was where most Research and Medical Course freshmen students were assigned, as Asher had quickly figured out. They had been assigned to room 142, which they could quickly infer was the forty-second room on the first floor of dorms.
What they were not expecting was to walk in and be greeted by the scent of garden soil and fertilizer.
Looking around, Asher could see that the room now had eleven different flowerpots scattered throughout it now, while Kagome planted some seeds into a twelfth one. Asher remembered talking with Kagome after Gwendolyn defeated Ray. It appeared she was very excited to start working on a personal garden, although Asher was surprised that Kagome was planting it in their dorm room.
Kagome spotted Asher standing in the doorway, and waved to them. "Hello! I can't believe we're roommates! That's pretty cool!"
Asher walked in, closing the door behind them. They said, "I can believe it. But, uh, can I ask why you're planting a garden in our room?"
Kagome sighed. "Well, unfortunately, it seems that I can't plant it anywhere else! But I won't let that get me down. You are, uh, okay with it though, right?"
Asher shrugged. "I suppose I don't really have an issue with it...although this room's gonna be rather cramped. What about our other roommates? Do you know what they think about it yet?"
Kagome shook her head. "They haven't shown up yet...hopefully they'll understand, though."
"Lombre!", came a voice from the kitchen. Running out was a Lombre wearing a red bandana, with a big smile on its face.
"Hi there Taco!", greeted Kagome cheerfully, "Did you finish watering the plants in the kitchen yet?"
"Lom!", replied Taco, nodding.
"Awesome!", Kagome declared, "Look, this is Asher! They're our new roommate!"
Taco turned to Asher, and waved happily. "Lombrelom!", he greeted.
Asher smiled. "Hi there, little guy. I think you'd get along great with Arlen!"
Asher picked up the Pokeball with their Snivy in it, and sent him out. Arlen saw the Lombre, and walked over to greet them. After a short conversation, the two Grass-types ran over to some of the flowerpots and started working on helping them grow.
Kagome smiled. "Looks like they're already friends! I think Arlen will be a big help in the garden! If you're okay with that of course..."
Asher replied, "No worries! As long as Arlen's happy, I'm happy."
They sat down on the nearest bunk, carefully scooting aside a flowerpot by the base of it. "So, what kinds of things are you planning on growing?"
Kagome answered, "Oh, the usual. A few different kinds of berries, some vegetables, a couple of flowers to help pretty things up, nothing too big or fancy. Much as I'd like to, I can't grow a tree in here!"
Asher replied, "Well, maybe you could. There's this special technique called bonsai that allows people to grow tiny trees that could easily fit in a flowerpot. I could study up some more on it if you'd like..."
Kagome shook her head. "No need! Tiny trees equals tiny fruit. But maybe if I feel like we could use it, I could try and see if I can grow a tiny Cheri blossom tree..."
Asher smiled. "I'd gladly help!"
There was then a little shout, and Taco and Arlen leaped back as a berry bush sprouted out of a pot, suffused in green light. It quickly grew to the height of a person, and a bunch of blue Rawst berries grew off of it.
Kagome sighed. "Were you two messing around with your powers? The berries taste the best when they have to grow and flourish! If we grow them too fast, they won't taste as good!"
The two Pokemon looked sad, and Kagome smiled.
"Don't worry, though! It's okay. The berries will still taste fine! I can probably use them in dinner tonight!", she said, attempting to cheer them up.
It worked - the two Pokemon cheered excitedly, before rushing off to help some more plants grow, preferably not as fast or as big.
At that moment, two girls walked in at almost the exact same time, startling each other.
One was short, with long shining blond hair and sparkly blue eyes. She had a spotless, beautiful face that would make her the envy of most other girls, and a big smile that made everyone who looked at her feel nice and warm. She wore a short white blouse and pink leggings, as well as polished black shoes. A pink armband marked her as part of the Medical Course.
The other girl was taller, with fluffy red hair and analytic green eyes. She had a pair of black glasses and an intimidating expression. She wore a simple black T-shirt and jeans, over which she'd thrown a lab coat. There was also a camera bag on her side, as well as a pouch that for some reason was radiating a soft blue light.
Kagome waved. "Hello! Looks like you're our two other roommates! What are your guys' names?"
"I'm Nancy.", answered the blond girl, "Um, why do you have flowerpots everywhere?"
"I don't really care about that.", commented the other girl, "My name's Winona, by the way."
She climbed up onto one of the bunks and pulled out a book. "Don't bug me too much, and we'll get along just fine."
Asher knew that they were going to have to try pretty hard to befriend Winona, it appeared.
Nancy shrugged apologetically. "I dunno what's up with her. But it's nice to meet you guys! Looks like you're both in the Research Course, just like Winona over there?"
Asher and Kagome nodded.
Nancy sat down on the bunk beneath Winona's. "I am pretty excited to start school here. I'll be able to do all sorts of things! Learning how to take care of Pokemon even better, making new friends, all sorts of things! I hope you guys are nice and not too weird."
Kagome looked at her plants sheepishly, while Asher thought of her habit of spouting random facts on everything.
Nancy leaned back, smiling. "So, what are we going to do together first? Shop at the campus mall? Eat a meal at one of the restaurants? Just chill in our dorm and chat about random things? I'm fine with any!"
Kagome slipped out a particularly large, homemade cookbook. "Well...maybe I could introduce you to my culinary expertise? You will never believe your tastebuds!"
Asher shrugged. "Sounds great! I'll help!"
Winona simply ignored them.
Nancy said, "Well, looks like no one's against it! Are you able to cook for Pokemon, too?"
Kagome nodded. "Of course! I'll get started now! Thankfully, we have plenty of Rawst berries right now..." (-o-)
Cristian was resting on his new bed, eyes closed. Ivy slept on the dresser ahead of him, basking in the mid-afternoon sun.
He felt quite at peace and happy. He didn't particularly care that he'd lost his battle (well, he did a little bit), and knew that he just needed to train some more and get stronger.
Opening his eyes, he sighed as he glanced at the white armband around his wrist. He had wanted to sign up for the Battle Course, but his family had wanted him to be a scientist like his dad and he did not want to let them down.
He just wished that he could become a Pokemon master instead...
As he sat there, he heard a knocking on the door, and sat up as a boy walked into the room, whistling cheerfully.
He had long black hair that touched his shoulders, as well as oddly purple eyes. He wore a black jacket with a Squirtle wearing sunglasses upon the chest pocket, as well as casual brown pants and shoes. He had a belt around his waist, which had two large pouches on it. He was also wearing a black backpack.
"Hello there!", greeted the boy, "My name's Floris! Who are you?"
"Um, I'm Cristian.", answered Cristian.
"Nice to meet you!", Floris replied. He sat down on the bed across from Cristian. "Looks like we're both members of the Research Course, huh?"
"Yeah...", sighed Cristian, "I guess."
Floris nodded, before taking off his backpack and beginning to unpack it. One of the first things he started taking out were odd pieces of painted cardboard.
Cristian asked, "Um...what are those for?"
Floris looked up, and then smiled. "Oh, they're just props for my puppet shows. I'm going to need to find a good place to put them."
Cristian nearly started laughing. "You do puppet shows? Really?"
Floris nodded. "Did them for the kids all the time back in my hometown. I told various myths and legends with them. They all loved it."
Floris sighed. "Unfortunately, I doubt anyone here would like to see one of my shows. Everyone's too serious, and from what I learned back home other teenagers just don't seem to like puppets."
He sighed once again, glancing at one of his pouches. "I'll just have to practice in private, I guess."
Cristian felt a little bad about mentally finding the fact that Floris did puppet shows hilarious. But he wasn't entirely sure what to say, and so he remained silent.
An awkward silence fell, during which Floris continued sorting through his belongings.
Finally, he said, "So, after I finish putting my stuff away, would you mind checking out the library with me? I'm curious to see what books they have, and I'm certain you are too!"
"Um, yeah, I guess so...", Cristian replied.
"Awesome!", replied Floris.
Cristian closed his eyes and mentally sighed. Looks like he'd have to train his Pokemon later... (-o-)
Travis was tuning his guitar, looking around his room and waiting to see who his roommates were going to be. He was the first one here, and he was rather curious to see who they were going to be.
He heard a soft squawk, and looked over to see Staccato, his loyal Chatot, fluttering around the door. Travis smiled, knowing that Staccato had probably heard someone coming in.
Sure enough, the door opened, revealing another boy.
He was bald, although he was keeping most of it covered with his black baseball cap, and he had innocent brown eyes. He wore an orange shirt and blue shorts, as well as black and blue striped sneakers. He had a big smile on his face, and he was wearing the green armband of the Ranger Course.
"Hi, I'm Jeremy!", he said cheerfully.
"And my name's Travis.", replied Travis, "It's great to meet you!"
Jeremy nodded. "Yup! Now, um, if you'll excuse me, my Pokemon's been in his ball all day, and I want him to get some fresh air! Shelly, go!"
He tossed a Pokeball onto his bed (somewhat poorly, Travis noted), and emerging was a Shuckle.
But...it didn't seem quite right.
Its shell was a deep red, almost blood-like in color, and its black eyes studied everyone with a cold, intimidating gaze. Its mouth was an odd zigzag shape, and its face just looked...wrong. Travis couldn't quite place it.
Jeremy didn't seem to care, walking over to his Shuckle and patting it on the head. "Sorry it took so long to let you out! Don't worry, I'll get you some food and we can hang out for the rest of the day, sound good?"
Shelly gave a very, very slight nod, his eyes still analyzing everyone.
"Sweet!", Jeremy replied, hurrying into the kitchenette.
Travis stared nervously at the Shuckle, who stared right back at him without even blinking.
"Chatotchat?", asked Staccato, looking at Shelly.
Shelly did not respond, simply staring at him.
"Okay, you're creepy.", commented Travis.
"Creepy.", mimicked Staccato, nodding.
Shelly did not seem to care.
At that moment, the door opened again, and Donovan walked in.
Travis recognized him easily. With his long brown trench coat, neat khaki pants, and incredibly reflective rectangular glasses, he was quite distinguishable. Paired with his incredibly neat brown hair and action-ready expression, Travis wouldn't have been surprised to hear that he was a superspy or whatever.
But when Donovan spotted Shelly, his already pale skin turned a ghostly white, and his hands trembled.
"Holy Arceus...", he whispered, "How could I have forgotten..."
He stumbled over to the bed and sat down, his face ashen.
"Um..." Travis was not entirely sure what to say. "Are you alright?"
Immediately Donovan regained his composure, and he took a deep breath. "I'm fine.", he replied, "Don't worry about it."
Travis rose an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because you don't seem alright..."
Donovan replied, "It's fine. Just...remembered something from my past, is all."
Travis wasn't entirely sure what had happened in Donovan's past that caused him to freak out at the sight of a Shuckle (even if it was a creepy one), but he didn't want to bother him about it. Travis figured that Donovan would probably tell him more whenever he was ready to.
Lost in thought, Donovan slipped out an old weathered Pokeball and started rolling it around in his hands. Travis did not remember seeing it in Donovan's battle against Cristian, so he figured this was another Pokemon of his.
"What's in that Pokeball?", asked Travis curiously.
Donovan smiled. "My Braviary. He's been my Pokemon for eight years now. He's even older than Boulton here."
The Tepig, who'd been quiet this entire time, perked up at the sound of his name.
"You have a Braviary, too?", asked Travis, surprised. "Just how many powerful Pokemon do you have?!"
Donovan shrugged. "Not as many as you think. But yes, I have been training a lot with my Pokemon, considerably more than some of the other students here. If I had enrolled in the Battle Course, I'd probably be top of the class, heheh! But the path of the ranger has always appealed to me more..."
Travis could understand what he was talking about. He, too, had followed his passion in joining the Arts Course, instead of going to the Battle Course.
Travis felt a slight twinge of guilt as he thought that.
Donovan leaned back, and seemed be trying to relax. But Travis could see that his body was still quite tense. Whatever that Shuckle had reminded him of, it was clearly something bad.
After a few quiet minutes, their final roommate arrived. It appeared to be Danforth, and he seemed to be pretty tired.
"Hello!", Staccato greeted loudly, causing Danforth to jump in alarm.
"Argh!", he cried, "Don't DO that!"
Staccato made a chuckling sound.
Shelly remained utterly emotionless.
Danforth sat down near the Shuckle, and sighed. "So, it looks like we're roommates now, huh? Cool."
Jeremy walked over, smiling as he carried a small berry salad. "Oh hi guys!"
He squeezed in between his Shuckle and Danforth, holding out the berry salad. "Here you go Shelly! Yum yum!"
The Shuckle finally stopped staring at people, and started nibbling away at his meal.
Danforth scooted away from it, making sure he was out of the potential crossfire if Shelly proved to be a messy eater. But the Shuckle appeared to be very delicate with its food.
As the Shuckle ate, Staccato landed on Travis's shoulder. The Chatot stared at the food hungrily, and Travis slipped a cracker out of his pocket. Staccato chirped excitedly, and eagerly gobbled it up.
To avoid making Boulton feel like he was missing out, Donovan slipped out a few berries and placed them in front of his Tepig, who proceeded to toast them with a few puffs of his fire breath.
While the Pokemon ate, Jeremy asked, "So, uh, what can we do together? Like, bonding as roommates and whatever. Any ideas?"
Danforth answered, "Just relax and stuff, I guess. Get used to our new home and all that."
"Maybe we could pick up some dinner together?", suggested Travis, "Nothing too fancy or anything."
Donovan shrugged. "I don't have any problem with that."
Danforth sighed. "Fine then, I guess."
"Sweet!", Jeremy replied, "Dinner it is! Um...where will we be going?"
Donovan suggested, "Perhaps the Snorlax Buffet? I don't remem- er, don't know what you guys all like, but that restaurant has quite a bit of variety."
Travis said, "Well, that sounds good to me. What about the rest of you?"
Jeremy gave a thumbs-up. "I'm all for it!"
Danforth shrugged. "I guess I'm fine with it, since the rest of you are."
"It's a date, then!", declared Travis.
"Let's not call it that, please...", muttered Danforth. (-o-)
Gwendolyn strode up the stairs, closely followed by her Luxio. She wasn't happy at all, seeing as the Pokemon Center had been so full of Trainers trying to heal their Pokemon that she'd had to wait almost an hour before she'd been able to take care of hers.
It didn't help that she'd had to sign more paperwork when she'd gotten to Blastoise House, either.
But now, at last, she could try to relax.
She reached the top of the stairs, where the third floor was located. Gwendolyn smiled to herself as she spotted room 301, which was right next to the stairs. She didn't have to go very far, and could actually sit down finally.
When she opened the door, she quickly realized that she was the last one here.
Two of the students there she did not recognize, but she remembered seeing the third one watching her match. Kellie or something?
Her eyes looked over the other two, committing their details to memory.
One seemed to be even older than Gwendolyn was, with a soft smile and a tall stature. She had long flowing purplish brown hair, over which she had a green sailor's cap with a white brim. Her eyes were a cloudy grey, and her face was beautiful and symmetrical. She wore a long gown with puffy sleeves and a ruffled skirt, which was a verdant green and striped with white. She also wore pristine fashion boots.
Compared to Gwendolyn's rough, angular appearance and imposing demeanor, this girl seemed like a shining angel, perhaps a future star of the stage. Gwendolyn felt somewhat sad, although she wasn't entirely sure why.
As for the other girl, she seemed to be trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She wore a simple gray hoodie and white pleated skirt, underneath which she had long black leggings. Her red hair was short and smooth, curling around her cheeks. Her long bangs shrouded her green eyes, as she shyly looked out at everyone. Her skin was incredibly pale, almost sheer white, and Gwendolyn wondered just how that was so. Currently, the girl was bunched up on one of the top bunks, her knees pressed against her chest.
"Ah, hello!", greeted the girl in the green dress, "My name is Tori!"
Even her voice was gorgeous, a flowing melody that would put most people at ease. But Gwendolyn was not most people, and it only made her feel even less adequate.
"I'm, uh, Gwendolyn. You can simply call me Gwen.", Gwendolyn replied quietly.
Kellie waved. "Hi! I saw your battle, that was pretty awesome! I do think that Ray wasn't showing you his full power, though. No one like him is THAT easy to take down. I suspect he was just out of practice."
Gwendolyn frowned. "I probably would've defeated him anyway, even if he hadn't been holding back."
She strode over to one of the beds and sat down on it, Nala leaping up next to her and rubbing against her side. "Now, if you don't mind, I've had a long day and would prefer to be left alone."
Kellie shrugged. "Okay then..."
After a few moments of blissful silence, Tori picked up the brochure.
"Alright girls, during our free times we will be working on bonding!", she declared, "Breaking you out of your shy, lonely shells and making friends! I hope that it will be lots of fun!"
Everyone else groaned.
"Come on, guys!", Tori complained.
Kellie sighed. "I'd rather paint or train my Pokemon."
Gwendolyn nodded. "I have plenty of other things I'd like to do as well."
The other girl (who still hadn't introduced herself) whispered, "And I'm not all that great with people..."
Tori declared, "That's exactly why I want to do this, Jennifer! So you guys can learn to socialize!"
She continued, "Anyways, for our first go, if you want to train Pokemon, then we can train Pokemon together!"
Gwendolyn sighed. "That would be fine..."
She knew that she probably wouldn't be forced to make friends if she was busy training her Pokemon up.
"By the way, socializing IS mandatory.", Tori added, "You're not getting out of it!"
Gwendolyn rolled her eyes, and Jennifer mumbled something.
"Alright girls, let's pack up and get ready to head out! The day's still young, and there's training to be done!", Tori declared.
With a sigh, the other girls started gathering their things. (-o-)
Kealoha wasn't sure who he'd been expecting his roommate to be..
It was certainly not the man he saw before him, though.
He was tall and stocky, with long dirty blond hair and blue eyes so dark they were almost black. A long scar crossed over his left eye and down his cheek, left by who knows what. He wore a steel helmet that covered the top of his head and protected the area around his eyes. Chainmail came down from his helmet, ringing his face and covering his neck. This was far from his only armor, though. He had a steel breastplate as well, which connected to his absolutely massive armored backpack. He had a thick belt as well, which was covered in pouches full of all sorts of things, as well as an oddly-shaped knife. The knife was shaped somewhat like a rectangle, with a tapered point at the end like a triangular piece had been cut out of it. He also wore reinforced khaki pants and armored boots, as well as large gauntlets that seemed to have multiple fancy gadgets attached to them. The man's arms were bare, revealing his well-toned muscles, and there was a fierce expression on his face.
"Um, alola! I am Kealoha Koa.", greeted Kea, "Who are you?"
The man waved, smiling slightly. "Hello, Kealoha. My name is Victor Gerulf Broen. It appears that we are now roommates. Although I'm not too fond of sharing rooms, it is still good to meet you."
Kea nodded. "It is good to meet you as well, Victor. I hope that we can become good friends."
Victor agreed, "Yes, that would be great. Then I wouldn't hate it nearly as much that we're sharing a room."
Kea stared, and Victor chuckled.
He then picked up a sticky note off the bed. "However, I am quite curious about our other roommates. They left this behind for us to read."
He passed the note to Kea, who started reading through it curiously.
'Hello roommates! Perhaps you're wondering where the other two of us have gone! The answer is simple - I've kidnapped him!
No, I'm not serious. We're just taking a tour of the area, especially the reserve!
Feel free to try and find us!
Farewell, your brand new friend, the Master of Dragons, Dravilius Skyborn!'
Kea was silent for a moment.
"Well, that's interesting.", they finally said, "Do you think we need to rescue that kid from this Dravilius fellow?"
Victor nodded. "Definitely."
The two ran out of their room, ready to go see who their crazy new roommate was. (-o-)
AN: Man, this chapter took forever! But at last, it has been finished!
Future chapters will probably be a bit shorter than this, but hopefully you will enjoy them all as well! Apologies if things got too repetitive at the end there, there are only so many ways you can introduce characters.
Next chapter, we'll follow up on more of these character interactions! There are several groups I'll be following, though I won't be doing all of the ones that showed up here.
Anyone who hasn't submitted a character yet, there are some potential options open here! Perhaps they could be Cristian and Floris's roommate (Research/Medical - preferably someone unique), or they're the kid who Dravilius 'abducted' (Ranger/Arts). Or it could be completely separate - you have quite a bit of freedom here!
Well, that's all for now. Please review, and have a great day!