Articuno Blues
The light dinner Zoelle had with the other teachers was quite refreshing. She learned that Ms. Norton's first name is Hazel and Mr. Garcia's is Dario. At first it was awkward because she showed up late, no thanks to all the paperwork she had to fill out. Then all anyone could talk about was the battle from earlier in the day. It also did not help that she didn't quite have the money to afford a decent meal, so she settled with drinking juice.
Dario laughed, "Welcome to the teacher's salary club!"
Even Hazel let out a laugh with that as with the other teachers that attended. Luckily for her Dario ordered Zoelle a burger…with fries! Astounded by the kind gesture she offered to pay him back when they got paid. Again, he laughed and told her no problem.
"I'm surprised someone as well traversed as you don't have a savings account or anything," Hazel stated.
"I use too but buying equipment not just for my team but for myself as well is gets expensive. Plus, different regions different prices," Zoelle replied with a mouth nearly filled with food.
"I understand that much, but you're telling me you don't have any disposable income?"
"Well, when I first started my journey, I already had a job but my Charmander at the time cost me half my paychecks. Then on top of that some of my pokemon had me pay collateral damage fees at daycares. What else? Oh, when my grandmother found out I was a trainer she pretty much demanded I send her money even though she wanted nothing to do with me." Zoelle said nonchalantly as she finished her food.
With the last statement the evening quieted down. Even Hazel was at a loss for words. Maybe they judged her a little to harsh before getting to know her. They did wonder what her pokemon did to cause collateral damage and was worried about the temperament of her team.
Trying to lighten the mood again Dario suggested they sing some Karaoke. As fun as that would have been the teachers turned it down due to having to go to work in the morning. They did agree to have dinner again at some point throughout the school year. One by one everyone paid for their portion of the meal and left to go home. Except for Dario and Zoelle who stayed and chatted for a bit.
"It is getting kind of late shouldn't we head home?" Zoelle questioned?
"Yeah, but I was wondering when we should have our battle. I would like to have it soon."
"Why do you want to battle me so bad?"
Dario pondered a bit. "Maybe its because you're the only faculty member I haven't had a battle with."
"You even challenged the custodians and lunch ladies?"
"Yep."
Zoelle let out a laugh. A real genuine laugh. She couldn't remember the last time a person made her laugh. Looking at the time Dario offered to walk home with her. In true fashion Zoelle denied his request.
"I wasn't asking." Dario commented. "I don't care how strong of trainer you are it is still too dangerous to walk through the city this late. Now where do you stay?"
"Umm the edge of the city in those cheap apartments." Zoelle hesitated to say. She only knew this guy for a day, and he was being so nice to her. Not that she was not used to kindness. Just not to this extent.
"You mean Edgewood? No way! We stay in the same building! I was wondering who moved in next door!" Dario nearly shouted excitedly.
"Next..door?"
Writing down random pokemon names on strips of paper Zoelle came up with a way the core lessons along with the training lessons could intersect. Today she was going to focus on the letter 'A' and wrote as many pokemon names that start with the letter as she could. When she figured she had plenty she put them in a cup on her desk. With an hour to spare Zoelle prepared her room for the day.
So far, the job has been okay, but she knew once the kids get comfortable all hell would break loose. Still, Zoelle was determined to teach the next generation of trainers while also getting paid doing it. All she had to do is set some boundaries and rules and the kids would be in order. Easy peasy.
"Ms. Zo! Aoki won't leave me alone!" Spinda whined.
"I not do nothing." Aoki responded.
It was only thirty minutes into the day and Zoelle already at her wits in. From her name being called a million times to someone constantly messing or not messing with someone. Then on top of that Nora kept running around wild not listening to thing. The only one who wasn't acting crazy was Jackson for the moment.
"Ms. Zo I'm thirsty." Jace complained.
Taking a deep breath Zo regained here sense. "Listen you little monsters everyone needs to be in their seats so we can do our lessons! Next one who gets up or makes a sound without me telling them to do so will go to time out! Do I make myself clear!"
Getting scared the rowdy kids quietly returned to their seats. They didn't expect the teacher to yell at them, but they got the message…for now. Zoelle know this isn't the last time she would have to raise her voice but at the same time she didn't want to.
"Okay everyone we are behind on our lessons so let's make sure we know our alphabet okay. Now let's sing it okay."
"Okay!" The kids responded.
After singing it three times in a row Zoelle began to name objects that started with the letter 'A'. The first object of course was apple. Spinda surprised her by calling out airplane. Then Jace called out arrow, which made Zoelle quietly question what he knew about arrows.
After naming random objects Zoelle moved to the cup and picked out a random pokemon. Before she announced what the creature was, she asked the kids what creatures name start with the letter. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it, the kids only came up with bulbasaur or staryu. Perfect time for learning.
"Well kids today we are going to learn about…Articuno!" Zoelle exclaimed. "Does anyone know what type of pokemon Articuono is?"
Jackson raised his hand. "I think it's a bird pokemon Ms. Zo."
"That is correct more specifically we call most bird pokemon flying types. Good job. It is also part ice so you will find them in snowy environments sometimes."
"Have you ever seen one before Ms. Zo?" Sammy asked?
"Once when I was on Seafoam Island (and nearly freezing to death)."
"My mom said its pretty. Is it pretty?" Lily asked.
"Very pretty. Does anyone know what color Articuno comes in?" Zoelle inquired. Wondering where their minds will go.
"Is it purple?" Lily asked again.
"Not really but I have heard the one in Galar is purple. I've never been despite being so close to it when I was in Kalos. Anyway, enough about that. Articuno is blue for the most part. We have a poster with one on it and I have coloring sheets too. So, today's assignment is to color Articuno what color?"
"Blue!" the class responded.
"Good job. Everyone take out your blue crayons out so we can begin. I'll even color one with you guys."
Zoelle being excited to see the kids work put a smile on her face. She wondered which color blue the kids will use on their Articuno. Sure, she had a reference for them to use but she didn't want to stifle any creativity either. If they know the base color, it should be okay.
Twenty minutes passed and the kids finished coloring their papers. Surprisingly Nora was the closest to give her Articuno the correct blue coloration. The boys mostly used a dark blue for their paper. While the girls except for Nora and Aoki went for a lighter blue. Aoki used indigo for her Articuno. Her reasoning was that it matched her hair. Which wasn't too far off from her perspective. Heck even Zoelle had a hard time separating indigo from purple. Another surprise was the fact the students stayed mostly in the lines meaning their parents must have colored with them frequently.
"Good job everyone. They look amazing. Make sure to write your name on it. We'll put them in your folders to show your parents."
Zoelle gathered the papers and placed them on her desk. Putting a mental note to put their work up during nap time. Since they were still on the topic of the legendary bird, she wanted to ask which kind of pokemon they would use to battle it.
"Okay Jackson. Which pokemon would you use to battle Articuno?" Zoelle inquired.
"Umm a Squirtle." Jackson answered unsure.
"Interesting. What about you Lily?"
"I would use electabuzz!" Lily stated proudly.
"Sammy? Which pokemon would you use."
"Onix! Cause they're cool."
Sammy response triggered something in Zoelle's brain. Nothing terrible but it was quite unexpected. She wasn' t sure if Sammy was aware of type matchups yet. Then again at this age they only needed to learn the building blocks of trainer life.
"Sammy that is a superb choice. Everyone else choice is great too of course but Sammy other than being cool why else did you pick onix."
"Umm because they uhh…. strong!" What a simple answer but nonetheless a great one.
Zoelle smiled grew. "In all practical sense, an onix can beat an articuno due to its type. An articuno being a flying and ice type will be more effected by damage due to an onix being a rock type. Rock types are super effective against ice and flying types."
The kids looked confused when Zoelle gave the explanation. She forgets that they are only between the ages of four and five so she would have to simplify it better. Looking at the time she saw that it was lunch. It would be probably better to explain after the kids had a full stomach. She ordered the kids to put the crayons away to get ready to eat. Despite the difficult morning class was running relatively smooth. Looking over the papers again she decided not to send them home yet. Instead Zoelle wanted to hang them in the classroom to add a bit more color to the walls. Besides it would be a great way to show off to other teachers and parents that she is taking her job seriously