Notes: This chapter continues to be inspired by episode 9 as far as Pokemon Tech existing and Jessie and James having been there as students, though events here aren't really from that episode.

12: Jessie and James vs. Pokemon Tech

Jessie awoke early in her excitement for her first day in the new school, taking care not to wake her three roommates as she dressed in her uniform. The other girls awoke not long after anyway, climbing off their bunks before looking at Jessie. "Hey, it looks great, doesn't it?" Jessie said, admiring herself in the school's uniform. The other girls tittered, and she smiled widely back at them. "I can't wait to find out what we have to do," she said. "Do you think we'll see pokemon today?"

"Who knows," one of her roommates replied, looking in the mirror as she began to do her own hair.

"What kind do you want to see?" Jessie asked. The girls didn't reply, seeming occupied as they went into the closet to get their own uniforms. Jessie decided to leave them alone and go outside, eager for the day to really begin. What might she see on campus? Would pokemon just be wandering around?

Instead, there weren't even many people at that early hour. No one else wandered the halls of the dorm. Jessie observed posting on the bulletin board for lost items or study groups which appeared to have been there for a while. Going outside to the extended school grounds, a man was out trimming the foliage, but there were no other people, and especially no pokemon.

Jessie went back to her dorm, grabbing her books before she left again. It was still too early. She decided to find her classroom, easily located from the previous day's tour, but still found herself alone. Deciding to make the most of her time, she opened one of her books and scanned the index before reading a chapter on wild pokemon that caught her eye.

Eventually, the door opened. Jessie glanced up, seeing a uniformed boy about her age enter before the door closed again. She turned her attention back to reading before the boy sat down next to her. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning," Jessie replied. It was the first time she'd been greeted on campus, probably because everyone here was too serious about their studies to socialize much. Even so, Jessie was eager to talk about their shared experience. "You're in this class too, I guess?"

"Class 1-B... Right," the boy said, glancing to a book in his hand before up at Jessie. "I think I saw you at the orientation. I'm James."

"Jessie," Jessie introduced herself in return. "It's not like I'm here early because I need to be."

"I was too excited!" James exclaimed with a grin.

Jessie couldn't help but smile at his reaction. She had almost thought she'd been alone in her enthusiasm, but here this boy was with his own, even coming to class this early. "We're pretty cool to get accepted by this place, huh?"

"It was a lot of work. I studied so much," James explained, his voice turning serious. "I just had to get in."

Jessie didn't immediately reply. On top of emphasizing with his excitement, she knew the feelings behind his current declaration as well. Getting accepted to Pokemon Tech had been no small feet. She'd been studying for years, giving up time she might have spent on other things. Becoming a pokemon trainer was just something she wanted that badly. Well, now that they were there, there was no need to dwell on that struggle. "We're here now, so let's celebrate it," Jessie suggested, leaning back in her seat.

"Yes," James said. "Though I know it won't be easy from here, either. I've heard keeping up and doing everything is difficult," he added with a frown.

"Hmph. We made it because we're the types that can handle it," Jessie said, fanning herself with her open book. "So, what kinds of pokemon would you want to train?"

"Hm." James looked up, pausing in thought. "I don't know," he eventually replied. "There's just so many I might think of. What about you?"

"The cutest, most lovely pokemon," Jessie mused, closing her eyes before she opened them, staring at James. "Which would that one be?"

"Well, the lesser evolved ones seem to be cuter, but-"

"Or maybe the sleekest, brawniest, most powerful pokemon," Jessie continued. "Of course, I'd need both. Together as one pokemon or as a team. My group would get me to the top of the league."

"Is cute really something to go for?" James asked, furrowing his brow before he broke out into a smile. "I wouldn't mind a cute pokemon either."

"That's right." Jessie nodded, opening up the text and looking at the pictures of various pokemon. "There's no reason you can't have both style and power. Maybe I'd go for the most stylish, powerful pokemon ever. How about Mew?"

"Do you think it exists?" James asked.

"Of course," Jessie asserted. "It's only illusive because it's waiting for the perfect trainer. That'll be me."

"I hope you get it," James said with a smile. "I'd just be happy with the team of common pokemon."

"Don't aim so low," Jessie advised. "Unless those common ones are the ones you want."

"Well, I suppose I haven't really decided yet," James said, looking at the pictures of pokemon himself.

As they talked, other students eventually came in. Once the teacher did, he imposed assigned seats, and they moved away from each other.

Jessie took careful notes as expectations were explained, tips were given. She ate with her roommates during lunch, and continued her work for the remainder of class afterward. Class had seemed to drag during compulsory education, but she'd gotten on top of her study habits when a teacher had said she wouldn't last in Pokemon Tech by just lazing around. She knew how to take notes during lecture, outline the information she read, continually review in order to make sure it stayed in her long term memory. That strategy had worked to graduate comp-ed, and would work here as well. If not, she was more than ready to do anything else that was necessary for success.

Even so, she was still disappointed at the end of the day. It was only back in her dorm, reviewing the first chapter of one of her texts, that she mentioned it to her roommates. "We didn't even get to see one pokemon today. That stinks."

No one agreed with her, so Jessie kept studying until one spoke up. "We can see them any time," the girl informed. "The loaner pokemon, you know?"

"Yeah," another confirmed. "I just went and saw them earlier."

Getting that information, Jessie definitely could no longer concentrate. "Where? How? Tell me!" As soon as she found out, she ran off. Studying could wait, at least for the moment.

Jessie couldn't help but shout in delight as she got to the building with the loaner pokemon and saw the graveler outside. It wasn't cute at all, or maybe it was in its own way, but it was amazing to see a pokemon like this, up close and in person. The upperclassmen that were apparently about to battle looked her way. Jessie put on a straight face, acting like she wasn't interested at all. Once the two turned their attention back to each other, walking over to the field to battle, Jessie watched from a distance, trying to act like she was just walking by. A bulbasaur was released by the other upperclassman in a flashy display, and they started to perform its appealing grass-type technique. Was that razor leaf? Jessie tried to name the moves from memory of their description at first, but then saw someone else coming from the other direction, and decided to make haste herself.

Reaching the sign up for the loaners, Jessie ran to the clipboard and picked it up, getting more excited as she saw the list of each, though there was someone's name next to each, indicating they were signed out. Jessie flipped one page, then another, her enthusiasm dampening as she eventually realized that no pokemon were left for her to get. "How could all the pokemon be gone already!" she shouted out loud, loudly clanking the item on the counter.

"Oh, hello."

Jessie stood up straighter as she heard the calm voice. She turned to the open loaner closet, where the boy she had just met that morning came walking out. She focused on the pokeball in his hand, then looked away. "You want to try and battle?" she said. "I can't get any pokemon, so too bad."

"I don't know if I can find anyone to battle. I just wanted to see a pokemon on my first day," James explained.

"Really? I might as well see it too. Send it out of there, then," Jessie suggested.

James pressed the button on the pokeball and did so, then shouted in his enthusiasm as the small pokemon appeared. "Hey, it's just a pokemon. You should get used to seeing them," Jessie said in response.

James didn't respond, just leaned down and looked at the pokemon, which stood straight in anticipation. "It's a bellsprout," he explained. "Look at its little leaf arms! And root legs! And its little face is really a bell."

"Bellsprout," the pokemon called, reaching its leaf arm toward James.

"Oh?" James touched the pokemon's arm with his finger, imitating a handshake. "How cute!"

"Hey, are you into battling pokemon, or do you just want a cute one?" Jessie asked.

"Both, just like you said," James replied, a smile still on his face as he looked Jessie's way.

Jessie stayed silent in her embarrassment as James doted over the pokemon more. Right, she had said something about that this morning when talking to him. Cute, tough, rare, powerful - she wanted it all. Of course, when she graduated and the time came for her to have her own pokemon, she'd probably accept any that came her way. She might feel like acting the way James was right then, though she'd know better and hold back, of course.

"Bellsprout evolves twice, you know, so it could become powerful, probably," James mused. "Do you know a lot of techniques already, Bellsprout? You're young, aren't you?"

James didn't even pay attention as some of their upperclassmen walked in, looking at the clipboard. They'd soon discover there wasn't anything left, Jessie supposed, but instead they smiled, looking over at James. "Hey, you," one of them said.

James stood up and paid them mind. "You signed out that pokemon, right?" the other asked.

"Yes," James confirmed.

"Good. We want a battle."

James stood up straight, appearing tense. "I'm not sure if I should," he said. "It's my first day, and I see Bellsprout is also new here."

"You and it have to battle sometime," the other student replied. "You should know enough to already, right?"

"Yeah, and why else would you have one? Let's go!" the other added.

James stood up and followed them out, carrying the small pokemon. Jessie followed, noticing they both had a pokeball as they left the building. They found an area in back that looked like it had been used as a makeshift battlefield before, the grass worn away, the dirt underneath somewhat displaced. The boys that had challenged James stepped to one side. James himself looked from one side to the other before he stood across from them, placing Bellsprout on the ground. "Are you ready to battle?" he asked.

"Bellsprout!" Bellsprout confirmed, raising its leaf arms into the air and straightening its posture.

"Good. I'll give it my best for you," James promised.

"You're ready? Finally. Go, Rapidash!" the boy tossed out the pokeball, and the named pokemon appeared. James's eyes widened at the sight of the fully evolved fire-type pokemon. "Rapidash, flamethrower!" the boy ordered.

"Bellsprout, return!" James shouted, but the flamethrower hit the inexperienced grass type before it was brought back in the pokeball. He glared at the older boys as they laughed, then went back toward the building.

"We won! Good job, Rapidash." The victor laughed.

"Hey!" the other boy shouted at James as he went. "Once you take care of that pokemon, get back here. I could use some practice with this charizard."

James said nothing, even as the boys came closer and one pushed his shoulder. Jessie clenched her jaw at the sight. "Hey!" she shouted out. As they looked back at her, she turned away. Maybe this was none of her business as a spectator. But no, she decided as she thought of the instantly KO'ed bellsprout and the smug attitudes of their upperclassmen at having been able to do so. Jessie's anger fueled her as she stormed over toward them. "What's with you? Leave him alone!" she said.

"Hey, you're new too, right?" the boy asked, petting the rapidash. "You know we're here to become trainers, right? So we get hands-on experience with battling pokemon."

"That wasn't a very good battle," Jessie pointed out.

"Yeah, because this new guy sucks," the kid who still wanted to bully James with a different fire type now pushed the younger boy playfully.

"Maybe because you suck," Jessie said. "Why don't you two battle each other? That would be a better match! Anyone who's not a total dunce could figure out that battle was one-sided. There's no reason for an idiot like you to think you're that great for beating him or that pokemon."

James's would-be second challenger pulled him by the jacket now. "Hey, why don't you get out that pokemon right now? I bet it can still battle."

Jessie paused to let James answer for himself. He didn't, and the boy just grabbed toward his pokeball instead. "Let's release it now."

"Cut it out!" Jessie shouted, pushing the annoying kid. As he stood up, she approached him with her fist raised. "If you want to be a bully, let's fight then. You think you can handle yourself against me?"

"This guy can't fight for himself, he has some girl do it?" The upperclassmen again chuckled to each other.

"Don't think I won't." Jessie swiped forward, knocking the pokeball out of the kid's hands. That seemed to get him angry. He pushed Jessie back, who was more than eager for the altercation, until she felt a hand on her harm.

"That's enough," James said. "I'm done battling you for today," he said firmly to the boys present, then went back in the direction he'd intended, clutching Bellsprout's pokeball close.

Jessie got hold of herself as well. Why had she gotten so heated, anyway? That guy should have been able to stand up for himself. At least he'd finally said something. Now the incident was over. Cooling down and deciding to forget about it and get something done, Jessie went back toward her dorm, becoming absorbed in the task she'd left. Just as she was getting into the flow, there was a knock on the door. One of her other roommates answered it, and Jessie only looked up as she heard her name called. "Yes?"

"Please come with us to the office."

Her roommate made a dubious face, but Jessie wasn't worried. She'd deal with whatever it was, then get back to her studies. As Jessie was led to the administrator's office, noticing the serious expressions of both the principal and the teacher that had led her there, Jessie started to realize something was up. "What's wrong?" she said.

"Good afternoon, Jessie," the principal said, folding his hands as she stared seriously her way. "I thought it might wait until tomorrow, but we want to make things clear to our students right away.

"What? What is it? What happened?" Jessie asked.

"There was an incident just a little earlier with the loaner pokemon. Someone thought it was appropriate to have a fully evolved pokemon battle one of our newer, inexperienced pokemon, and with a type advantage at that. Then there was a physical altercation between students."

"Yeah," Jessie confirmed. "I told those guys what for."

The teacher sharply inhaled as the principal shook his head. "We can't tolerate that kind of behavior. Violence and misuse of loaner pokemon is far from the standard we set for our students."

"I didn't..." Jessie glanced down in shame, pursing her lips. "I should have told you first, I guess," she admitted.

"Yes. Normally those two behaviors would call for immediate expulsion, but we've decided to make an exception for you," the principal said. "One week cleaning duty for the physical altercation, another for the misuse of pokemon."

"And at least a month suspension from taking out any loaners," the teacher added.

"Yes, that's appropriate, and quite generous. I hope you can learn from this."

"Hey, wait," Jessie looked up in shock as she realized the implications behind what they were saying. "Misuse - That wasn't me! That was those other kids! I don't know their names."

"Jessie, it's not good to blame your misdeeds on others. You just admitted this to us yourself," the teacher said.

"Yeah, those guys annoyed me and I wanted to smack them! I pushed them, whatever! But I didn't even sign out any pokemon!" Jessie protested.

The teacher sighed, motioning toward the clipboard. Jessie looked, noticing her name next to Rapidash, written in bad handwriting with thick lines, likely to cover up that another student's name had been erased badly beforehand. "Are you dumb enough to fall for this? It's obviously not me." The adults shook their heads at her question. Jessie looked down in shame. It seemed she'd pissed them off even more. "Sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have shoved that kid, but he shouldn't be bullying others and acting like he's accomplished something either."

"You shouldn't lie, Jessie," the principal said. "I think you'll need another week's cleaning duty for that. I hope you'll learn something from this experience."

Jessie fumed inside, but outside, just bit her lip and nodded. She'd worked too hard to blow things now, no matter how unfair it all was.

Cleaning duty was a small mercy, Jessie supposed. At least then she'd be occupied and not have to watch others be able to practice with pokemon outside. One of her roommates commented on it the second day. "What, do you want to be the maid?"

"I'll do what I have to. What about you?" Jessie accused. Though her other roommates were occasionally studying with her, this one she hardly saw doing anything but socializing. Instead of responding, she turned up her nose and left. While cleaning, Jessie again saw her socializing through the window. Some people lived a charmed life, didn't they? She ignored it and got to finishing her tasks.

After cleaning duty, all that was left to do was go to her dorm and study. Even if she had been allowed to practice a real battle with the loaners, she wouldn't have that day. There was a test that next day. She'd been through the chapters before, but some of it was confusing. Without time to talk to a teacher, Jessie had to work through it herself. As her roommates came back in, she decided to ask them. "Hey! Do you-" Jessie was interrupted as they started talking to each other about mundane things, raising their voices as not to hear her. Oh well, Jessie thought, turning back to her books. She'd do it on her own, as usual.

Despite having prepared, the test seemed difficult. Jessie still tried her best. She ended class that day feeling exhausted. The idea of being able to have a real battle seemed like it would energize her then, but she pushed through cleaning even without that happy thought. Her time would come, she told herself. And then she'd be even more ready for her first battle, with all the preparation she'd done. Jessie took a walk around campus only once, spying one pokemon battle before returning to her room and putting all effort into her studies.

The next day, her stomach started to sink as the tests were being handed back. "Anyone below a 70 should plan for remedial classes and a retest. This is basic information we'll need to know."

Jessie frowned, pushing her paper upside-down as she got it. Remedial class, retests, she knew all about stuff like that. She supposed that would be her. Giving herself a moment to become composted for the disappointment, Jessie flipped over the paper. She squealed with delight as she saw the number. Seeing the kid next to her glaring, she flipped it back over and just internally celebrated. An 85. A score that good, especially with how confusing everything had been, that was excellent. The idea of remedial classes could be erased from her mind, she only had to worry about what was next.

And her cleaning duties, of course. As Jessie dragged in the needed supplies after class, she noted her roommates a few other girls standing by the door, papers in hand. "Wow, good job," she commented to one with a 95. That girl ignored her, looking at the roommate who was always out being a social butterfly, whose paper had a red 40 with several notes written in red on it. "Huh, I guess you'll have to study seriously now," Jessie commented.

The girl turned red, hiding the paper behind her back. "As if you did any better," she accused.

"I sure did," Jessie said with excitement, running back to her test, grabbing her test paper, and then showing it off to the girls with a grin. "Here we are! This is hard work." As Jessie waved the paper around, she noticed the girls looking at their own test papers with dark expressions. Maybe that was enough. Jessie put her paper away, then went to get started on the cleaning. Even this banal task was one step closer to her goal of becoming a pokemon trainer. Returning to her dorm afterward, she started to go over the next part of the text. It was even longer, but she'd push through it.

Awaking the next morning, Jessie was surprised to note her roommates were already up, atypically so. It wasn't that weird, Jessie told herself, until she got down, noting there really was a weird energy in the room. Jessie got dressed, did a little studying, got her supplies ready, then noted everyone staring at her as finished. "What is it?" she demanded.

"Do you really think you're that great for cheating?" one of them asked.

"Huh?" Jessie scowled and folded her arms. She wasn't about to get upset because they said stupid things, but it was still annoying. "What's this crap?"

"We know there's no way you scored that great. You're dumb enough that you're going to flunk out after the short term."

So that's what they were thinking. "You can shut the hell up," Jessie decided to say.

"That's what you meant, right? You do what you have to?" the girl she'd said as much to stared at Jessie poignantly.

It really was infuriating, but Jessie was in no mood to try to justify or explain herself to someone who was willing to jump to these kinds of conclusions about her. "Just get out my way," she decided to say instead. "I've got to get to class." Jessie turned up her own nose, as they'd all done to her before, walking to the door. As she got there, she found her way block. "Move," she ordered. She thought about pushing them too, but then remembered the last time she'd done that, and the consequences. The memory of being berated for both what she had and hadn't done stopped her.

The girls smiled to each other. One of them pushed Jessie instead. As she fell down, the door slammed shut. "You don't need to be in class with us," a voice said at the other side.

"Hey," Jessie called loudly. She turned the knob and pushed, nothing happened. Even as she jiggled it more, it stayed closed. She heard laughter at the other end, likely about her current plight. "Hey!" Jessie said loudly. "You'd better open up." There was no response, though she heard animated conversation on the other side of the door. "Hey! Open up!" The voices faded into the distance. Jessie tried and failed more to open the door. It was definitely stuck.

The clock in the room let her know she was late. Jessie hadn't come to this school to let these other girls get in her way. She definitely hadn't come to sit around in a stuffy dorm room. Jessie went to their beds, taking off the sheets. She tied them to make a rope. Realizing it needed to be just a tad longer, she added a few shirts of her roommates. If they were going to act like this, they could do this much for her. Securing her makeshift rope, Jessie slung her bag over her shoulder, climbing down as fast as she could, while being careful not to muss her appearance. Reaching the ground, Jessie paused only to look at herself in her compact mirror. Putting one hair back into place, she headed off to class.

Once there, Jessie entered quietly, though she didn't try to sneak in or anything. It was probably better to just act like this was normal, she'd assumed. Once she sat down, she realized she was wrong.

The teacher stopped talking, staring her way. As he did so, the rest of the class followed suit. Jessie closed her eyes. She had to act cool. After all, she'd just tried her best to be on time. "Jessie," the teacher finally spoke.

"Yes," Jessie replied.

"Here at Pokemon Tech, we expect the best. Being late isn't acceptable."

With all these eyes on her, Jessie found it hard to bring up the words, remaining silent. It wasn't her fault, but Jessie wasn't about to cry about it. Accusing her roommates at the moment didn't seem tactful or graceful. She wasn't going to let them see her sweat. She'd keep the cool attitude that was expected at Pokemon Tech. "I had to," Jessie eventually spoke. "I'll explain later. Let's continue with class."

Though she'd just meant it as a way to end the conversation, telling her teacher what to do seemed to annoy him further. "Yes, I think I'll have you on cleaning duty after class. Wait, you already are from that rapidash incident. I will talk to you more after class," the teacher promised, then got back to the lesson.

It wasn't easy for Jessie to follow, having arrived in the middle, but she eventually caught up, annoyed she'd had to miss. Anger at what her roommates had done and getting chastised upon arrival to class threatened to distract her, but she was able to concentrate somewhat on class. This was just another obstacle to her goal, of which there had been many. She could deal with it. When class ended, Jessie went and swallowed her pride, apologizing to the teacher for being late and interrupting his class. She found out she'd have another week of cleaning duty, but whatever, that coincided with the remainder of her month of being unable to practice with loaner pokemon.

Deciding the situation was annoying but manageable, Jessie went on her way to get the cleaning supplies, only to be accosted again in the hallway. A different one of her teachers stood, with her roommates, one of them holding a stretched out shirt with tears in her eyes, the other some dirty, knotted sheets with a cross expression. They said various things at once before the teacher spoke. "Jessie, care to explain yourself here?" the teacher asked.

"Not really," Jessie said, realizing the mistake in using that tone only as she spoke.

"Vandalizing other students' possessions isn't accepted in this school."

"Maybe I wouldn't have had to do that if they hadn't locked me in the room!" Jessie said firmly. That seemed to shut up the boo-hooing and complaining of her roommates. Maybe they finally realized that they could get disciplined as well. Getting in a petty argument about it wasn't on her to do list. She noted the teacher seemed to realize Jessie's accusation was the most plausible explanation, so that was enough, really. "I've got work to do," Jessie said, walking past the group.

What happened to them or didn't wasn't her concern. The cleaning duty was her current obstacle, so she'd finish it diligently. At least after this, it wouldn't be her turn for a while. Finally getting to the door with the needed items, Jessie noticed a boy was standing there, as if waiting for someone. As she was about to pass him without comment, she recognized him.

"Oh, it's you," Jessie said. James touched his head and looked away shyly as she spoke. He seemed okay to talk to at first, though she hadn't done so since that first day of class. In the moment, she continued walking past him, putting the supplies in the classroom. He followed her, she noticed as she was about to begin. Couldn't anyone leave her alone today?

"I, um..." James paused, looking away.

"You what?" Jessie demanded. "I need to finish this, you know," she said.

"I'm here to help," James said. "I didn't realize you'd been punished... I guess you have to do this because of me..." He frowned, looking to the ground with guilt.

"That's right!" Jessie realized, pointing right at him as she realized it. "It was you! You're the little wimp that couldn't stick up for himself!" James's eyes opened wide as she moved closer, staring sharply his way. "Listen up, if people are willing to treat you that badly, you've got to stand up to them, or else they'll keep doing it. Next time one of those jerks tries that, tell them to shut up and go away. Yell at them. Got it?"

"Yes," James said. From his tentative tone of voice and how he wouldn't meet her eyes, Jessie guessed he didn't really get it. Well, if he didn't get it from her telling him once, he probably wouldn't from the second time either. Jessie leaned down to grab a cloth and begin. Taking it, she noticed James take one right after her. "It shouldn't all be on you, since it was because of me. So I'll help, okay?" he said.

Jessie turned away as she started her task. "If you want to do something, do it. Don't ask me." Surprisingly enough, the next time she turned her attention behind her, James was helping. He was being a bit more meticulous than her with wiping the floors, actually. Without a word, Jessie continued her work. "Done!" she said as they finished, in record time at that. Well, with two people finishing, they were bound to. Jessie grabbed her bag. "Well, I've got other things to do."

"Wait," James called to her as she was leaving the room.

"What is it?" Jessie asked. Did he want thanks or something? He'd done all that on his own.

James held up a pokeball, glancing down at it before back up at her. "Did you want to see one of the pokemon?"

Did she want to see one of the pokemon she still couldn't sign out herself, and barely had any chance to even watch battle on top of that? Jessie really did want to see them. She wasn't going to make the mistake of showing someone else from this school how much though. "Might as well," Jessie agreed.

They went outside. "Go, Bellsprout!" James shouted as he threw out the pokemon.

"You got this one again?" Jessie asked, leaning down to see it closer this time. Getting to observe it closer, she supposed it really was cute, though also kind of funny looking.

"Yes," James confirmed. "It's gotten tougher. I even taught it a new move. Double edge!"

"Hm." Jessie studied the small pokemon as it posed. "You've spent some time training it."

"Yes." James confessed this with a smile on his face, looking down at the borrowed pokemon with a grin.

"You shouldn't get too attached, you know."

From how James reacted, looking down briefly with his lip moving up, Jessie supposed he had been. "I know," he said, not admitting it. "I just thought it should have some powerful moves to protect itself. Double edge is a risky move, but can turn the battle in its favor. Not just when battling with me, when battling with anyone. I got to find out how to use a technical machine to teach it, too."

"Hm. That is useful," Jessie admitted. "How did it work?" Jessie listened as James describe how he'd loaded up the disk in the computer, which showed Bellsprout some images which it had apparently learned the powerful attack from. "I'd like to see you do it," Jessie said seriously to the pokemon.

"I should probably return it and go study," James said, standing up and pressing the button to return the pokemon.

"Yeah. I should study too," Jessie said. She practically dragged herself back to the dorm, but once she saw her roommates were there it was time to put on her show. The girls became silent and glared at her as she opened the door, but Jessie still walked in without comment. So she had to stay with some obnoxious people that hated her. It was hardly the first time that happened. Once she was a top trainer, she'd be able to get her own fancy place without any of them, so why should she let these people bother her now? Jessie sat down and took out her books.

"Hey! You think we want you in here? Get out!" one of the girls shouted.

"It's my assigned dorm," Jessie informed sharply. "You have a problem with me using it? You get out."

After a moment of silence, the door opened and some footsteps indicated they were leaving. Jessie remained absorbed in her studies. Whatever they did or didn't do was none of her concern. She had other things to concentrate on. It might be a long, difficult haul, but she'd already completed the hard part in being accepted to this place. As long as she kept going, doing what she was supposed to, she'd eventually meet her goal.

As Jessie expected, she was able to settle in just by doing what was asked of her and completing the required tasks. Eventually, the cleaning duty was no longer her responsibility. Perhaps she'd grown a bit of pride from doing the task over those weeks, but she couldn't help but notice that the other students weren't doing as good a job getting their learning area spotless.

Oh well. Far from getting in their business, Jessie just continued with her own work. She was ecstatic when she was finally able to sign out loaner pokemon. The first she checked out was a poliwhirl. In her first battle, she was excited to beat that rapidash with it, though with a different student than the ones that had antagonized her directing it. Even though there was a type advantage, Rapidash had more experience. Poliwhirl was a newer pokemon, though it had been lucky to evolve, so that kind of evened out any type related influence.

Jessie tried to be humble, though she felt like bragging about winning her first battle. She followed the battle related decorum which had also been covered as part of their curriculum and complimented her pokemon before going and shaking her opponent's hand.

"Jessie!" James called to her as she walked away from the field. He smiled happily. "I battled with that poliwhirl yesterday. Its water type attacks are pretty, aren't they?"

"And powerful," Jessie pointed out.

"Of course. It's a very powerful creature," James agreed. He reached up, showing the pokeball in his own hand. "I wouldn't mind going against it. Would you like to battle me?"

"Sure," Jessie agreed. She got ready for her second-ever battle, standing across from James. They threw their pokemon out in unison. "Go, Poliwhirl!"

"Go, Bellsprout."

So, he was still using that one? That meant he had the type advantage, though he also knew that poliwhirl had the evolutionary advantage. Jessie used its normal-type pound attack before following with the water gun attack, finishing poor Bellsprout off.

James frowned as he looked at the pokemon on the battlefield, its roots a messy pile instead of acting as its sturdy limbs. He pressed the button on the pokeball to return it. "Can't you battle one more time?" he asked.

"You weren't thinking the same as those jerks that first day, were you? You'd get an easy win with a type advantage?"

"I know Poliwhirl is powerful," James said. "I wanted Bellsprout to be able to show its power too."

"Fine," Jessie agreed. "Might as well battle one more time."

They took the pokemon into the medical area, spraying them with potion and letting them rest up. Jessie relaxed as the pokemon did. James sat down next to her. "Hey, how have you been doing?" he asked tentatively, looking away as he did.

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked, guessing there was something behind those words other than a simple 'how are you'.

"I saw you, you know, being bullied. Are they still bothering you?" James asked, studying the ground as he spoke.

"Feh," Jessie purposefully made a loud noise of dismissal. "I'm not here to worry about other people. I'm too busy thinking about how lucky I am to be in a part of the world with pokemon, and get to be part of an elite few to learn how to train and battle with these pokemo. There's no time to think about any crap any unimportant people give me. And yeah, they stopped. Mostly." Jessie paused, considering what happened after their first day of class. "Shouldn't I be the one talking to you about this, if anything? With you just turning away when those guys targeted you like that."

James squeezed his arm, looking toward Bellsprout and Poliwhirl resting side-by-side. "It wasn't me I was thinking of then. Bellsprout must have been so upset, getting attacked brutally during its first battle here. I just wanted to make sure it was alright."

"Oh. Right." Jessie said nothing else. From what James said, it seemed he had been worried less about those jerks than she had been. Maybe he had the right idea after all. "So, things are fine for you too, huh?" she asked.

"I suppose," James said, frowning. "But all of this studying... I really hate it. I thought I was done with this, I just want to battle with pokemon. I hope it doesn't get as bad as it was before. It's too much," he whined.

"Hey!" Jessie said harshly, standing to her feet. "You'll never make it with that attitude. We're just starting. Any result takes hard work, okay? So don't complain! This is what it takes to be trainers! Word hard!"

James stared away blankly, perhaps considered her words, before he finally smiled her way. "You're right," he said. "I'll keep working hard."

If he got it, maybe he'd make it, so there was nothing else to talk about. "Hey!" Jessie said to the two pokemon behind them. "Are you ready for another battle?"

The two pokemon got up at the same time, standing straight and noting their battle readiness. They followed Jessie and James back onto the field, standing in the same places as the previous battle. "Poliwhirl, pound!" Jessie ordered.

"Bellsprout, vine whip!"

Their suggestions were the same as the first battle, but Bellsprout seemed a little more energetic as it attacked. This was the result of experience, Jessie supposed. "Poliwhirl, water gun!" she ordered once the small pokemon was close to Poliwhirl. Would this be a repeat of the last battle?

"Bellsprout, double edge! Hurry, now!" James shouted.

The tiny pokemon moved quickly, perhaps even glowing as it struck poliwhirl in an instant. Both pokemon fell back in obvious directions as they hit each other. Was it a tie? Before Jessie could ask it aloud, the bellsprout stood up on somewhat shaky limbs.

"You did it, Bellsprout!" James ran onto the field, enthusiastically shouting and picking up the pokemon to hug it as Jessie returned poliwhirl to its pokeball. "I knew you could! Great job!" James suddenly noticed Jessie staring his way and composed himself, going to do what else he needed to as part of a pokemon battle. He walked over to her, notably without putting down the pokemon, and put out his hand. "Thanks for the battle," he said.

"You too. You really did a good job, Bellsprout. This is what hard work leads to, huh?" Jessie mused as she shook James's hand.

James shouted in happiness at the compliment given to the pokemon, then quickly became serious, nodding at Jessie. "We'll get results ourselves if we continue with working hard, hm?"

"Of course," Jessie asserted.

The next test they got back, Jessie frowned as she saw her grade of 72. It was above the need for remedial classes, but still far from the standard she wanted to set for herself. She became all the more determined as she turned it over. After class, she noticed her roommates together, smiles on their faces. She glanced at one of their papers, which showed a score of 92. "You've really gotten better, huh?" she complimented sincerely. Though her tone wasn't overly flowery, the girl still beamed in response. "What did you get for that last answer? Can I see?" The girl showed Jessie her paper easily. "Ultra potion?" Jessie read in dismay, then double checked her own paper. "I put the same answer. Why is it wrong?"

"It's just 'potion' for you," the other girl pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's the answer, isn't it? 'What helps our pokemon recover more quickly?' We use it ourselves, with the loaners, any potion," Jessie pointed out.

"Ultra potion is more effective," the girl replied, looking self-satisfied.

It was just a brand name and hype, Jessie thought to herself, but didn't feel much like continuing the conversation. Maybe the teacher had hyped up the ultra potion himself, and she should have thought about, even though the brandless potion they used all the time seemed to work well enough. It was wrong and that was that. At least her score saved her from having to attend the remedial class and retest, though it was uncomfortably close to the cut off.

As Jessie started to leave, she noticed James in the back, still sitting at his desk with his head down. "Hey," she said, poking his arm. "What's up?"

James sat up, revealing his teary face, the score of 65 on the test in front of him revealing why he might be upset.

"Hey, you can't let a little thing like this trip you up," Jessie encouraged him. "Get your passing score on the retest."

"Maybe I'm not cut out for this," James muttered. "That's what-"

"Enough with that," Jessie interrupted, not interested in what he might have to say. "I'm not that better off than you," she said, deciding to show him her own score. "We're both fine, we just need to work harder. Why don't we study for the next one together?"

James nodded. "You would?" he asked.

"We could make it a competition," Jessie suggested. "Buy me a snack if I study longer than you. Carry my books if I get a higher score than you."

"Okay," James cheerfully agreed to those conditions, wiping his eyes as he did.

"When your remedial class is done, we'll start," Jessie declared. She left him to get to it. However, she wasn't going to let herself off that easily. Getting back to her dorm, she decided to review the material covered in the test one more time.

Getting away from her dorm and over to the library turned out to be a much more pleasant studying experience. She and James read silently across from one-another. James fell asleep as the evening fell, so Jessie poked him until he woke up. "Hm?" James blinked as he sleepily figured out where he was.

"You owe me a snack," Jessie said.

"Right," James agreed, actually getting out the coin that would pay for one. They went to the vending machine to the side of the building, where Jessie happily picked something, not having expected him to actually follow through. "It's so boring," James complained. "I can hardly concentrate. If I could just get out there and train, I know I'd learn these things better."

"Well, this is what we've got," Jessie snapped. "I won't let a little boring textbook stop me from becoming a top trainer."

James stood up straighter, seeming to take her words seriously. "That's right," he said. "Without this, I don't think I'd have any other chance."

They studied together the next day again, this time, James seeming to take it even more seriously. The next test, they skated by with scores in the 70s. "It's not good," Jessie commented as they compared their tests outside the classroom.

"It's passing," James pointed out.

"Yeah, fine, but the work is just getting harder," Jessie said. "That means it's just going to take more hard work to make it."

"We've been studying every afternoon into the evening," James pointed out. "There's no time anymore for the real part - the battle practice with the pokemon."

"There will be plenty of time for that when we graduate," Jessie assured, mostly to herself. She wanted to complain like James. These stupid tests weren't fun at all. The chapters droned on, often with generic things she already knew from just casually reading about pokemon, but then they expected her to remember some very specific information, like potion vs. ultra potion.

There was also all the memorization of the specifics of attacks, and which attacks were 'viable' for specific pokemon. But why did she have to learn that? If she was training a specific pokemon, Jessie would just look it up. Sure, knowing offhand any possible viable attack for a pokemon she might come up against might be useful in a way, but how was she to know which techniques any specific pokemon actually used? It seemed pointless.

But she wouldn't complain, especially not as she was called in to see the principal yet again. She hadn't gotten into any fights with any of her various annoying classmates as of late, so there was no reason for her to feel self-conscious about it, either. Jessie calmly entered the room with the administrator and the teacher, taking her seat without a word.

"Hello Jessie, how are you doing?" the principal asked.

"Just fine. Thank you very much. How about yourself?" Jessie asked. No one could complain about her decorum, either.

"Very well, thank you. The reason we called you in today is to talk about your progress. How are you finding yourself at Pokemon Tech?"

"It's lovely. Everything in the classes is just so valuable," Jessie lied. Praising the school and flattering the staff seemed to be part of the curriculum as well. "Thank you very much for checking on me."

"I'm pleased to hear you find our school valuable. But I've heard you've been struggling. You get along better with your classmates, but your grades have been slipping."

Jessie stood up upon hearing that. "I took all remedial classes! I passed all retests!" Only silence remained after she spoke. Jessie realized her standing up and speaking in a harsh tone may be a faux pas. She sat back down, though she couldn't help but fold her arms as she looked away. "There's no complaints about my dedication," she said.

"No," the principal admitted. "But we really do hold our students to a high standard here. If you can't pass the end of term exam with at least an 85, well, I'm afraid we'll need the next term's payment up front."

Jessie had been preparing a response in advance, but that information choked up her words in her throat. Everything she had there, from the classes to the food to the ability to sleep soundly in a dorm, even if it was with unlikable roommates - even the uniform she wore, that was all just from a loan. Was that what this all was about, the money? She didn't have it. She'd pay it back once she graduated, or at least that had been the arrangement. But if she wasn't good enough, she'd never graduate.

Of course they weren't going to waste their time on a hopeless case that piled up debt they could never pay back. Jessie nodded seriously, indicating her understanding. They didn't want to help out a failure indefinitely, but being an indefinite failure was far from her future. "I've got it," she said to the principal, sure to meet his eyes when she was speaking. "I'll pass," she promised.

The administrator appeared satisfied with that response. Jessie soon left. Outside, she noticed James sitting on a bench, eyes reddened from tears. "What's with you?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"Oh, sorry." James wiped his eyes, trying to pretend he'd never been crying in the first place. "I'd been waiting for you. I wondered if you were called in for the same reason as me."

"And what's that?" Jessie asked.

James didn't answer though it appeared he tried, closing his eyes and tensing up instead. Jessie sighed, deciding to tell him. "He said this last test - this is the last chance I've got, basically. I'll have to leave otherwise."

"It's... It's the same for me," James admitted.

Neither of them had to share details. Jessie figured his reasons were probably similar, if not the same. "Let's keep going," Jessie encouraged him, along with trying to rev herself up. "We can pass."

"But then what?" James asked, unable to keep from whining. "It's just too much."

"Two and some more years of this is nothing. We'll finish it, then we'll both become masters at pokemon battling," Jessie said. She didn't really care if James agreed with her, but he put on a brave face and made a noise of agreement. Maybe that was the push she needed as well.

From that day until the end of the term, they spent every afternoon, evening, and day off studying. They read the assigned texts, going over previous chapters, questioning each other on the material inside, getting very specific while doing so. They went over lists of pokemon techniques and facts, trying to recall which pokemon could learn which moves viably, and what the types and relative power of the moves were. They knew which known pokemon were in which evolutionary line in which order. They recalled names of all the pokemon in the specific field guide they'd been assigned as well as the specific descriptions of said pokemon from their text, which was sometimes confusing, even if they were familiar with the pokemon.

Then, when the scores were posted, they were right next to each other on the ranking board. Jessie's score was 80, James's 79.

Jessie and James stood at the same spot in the Pokemon Tech hall where they'd discovered the sub par scores that had led to them leaving the school years ago. Instead of James crying as Jessie berated him not to as she attempted to hold back herself, they stood calmly, staring at the wall, which had a temporary poster for a school get-together. They exchanged glances, each knowing the other was also reflecting on that time. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" James commented sadly.

"It has," Jessie agreed.

"Okay, okay, enough, enough," Meowth said. "So you went to this stupid school when you were little twerps. That's done. Let's move on, we've got real stuff to take care of."

"Why do you think we're here?" Jessie asked poignantly.

"Hm?" Meowth had supposed it was just so they could think of times gone by, but Jessie's tone implied otherwise.

James smiled. "Meowth is right, it's time to move on from anything to do with this place," he said.

"Right," Jessie agreed. "It doesn't mean anything anymore, does it."

"Not at all," James assorted, holding Koffing's pokeball up in his hand. "They said we wouldn't be trainers, but here we are. We didn't need them after all."

"Very true," Jessie said, happily swinging the hand that held her own pokeball, held at the ready in case they'd come across anyone that objected to their presence. "And now we're here to pay back who made it possible."

"Not just pay back Team Rocket, support the group," James pointed out.

"Why don't you start talking about how. You said yourself these kids don't have pokemon, right?" Meowth asked.

"They don't," Jessie confirmed. "But the school does." She glanced at James, and they both started chuckling.

Meowth's mouth opened in surprise as it realized the implication. Then it grinned widely. "They have a huge pile, don't they? That'll be a mega prize for the boss! Great idea, you two were really thinking!" it praised.

"Of course," Jessie asserted. "We know how to notice an opportunity."

"They don't deserve these pokemon, anyway," James said darkly. "They're just a tease as they break their students' dreams."

"Even if they weren't, pokemon belong to Team Rocket, right?" Jessie said.

"Right," James agreed. "Let's go get ready to take them, then."

The group walked down the call to where Jessie and James recalled the loaner closet being. "At this time, the kids probably have a lot of them checked out, so we'll wait," Jessie said. But as they opened the door, they found only piles of napkins, and boxes with other random items. Jessie pushed through them with frustration, not even seeing one pokeball.

"Looks like everything can't stay completely the same as back then," James commented, his voice indicating annoyance.

Jessie stopped short of slamming the door shut. "Let's go and figure out what's new, then."

The group went outside, climbing a tree and trying to stay hidden as they observed the kids around. "Over there," Jessie finally spoke up, pointing to a group that had a charmeleon and voltorb out. They eventually returned the pokemon to their pokeballs, but the rocket group kept watching, noting what building they entered before heading back to the dorms. As the sun set and the staff locked the door before leaving, Jessie climbed down first, followed by the rest of their partners.

Meowth picked the lock easily. They walked around a bit before finding the clipboard with various pokemon names placed carefully on hooks on the wall in front of a closet. "Here we go," Jessie declared, smiling as she tried to open the door. Her expression changed to annoyance as it didn't open. She jiggled it more, trying to force it to open before James put up his hand to stop her.

"They've added more security as well," he noted, pointing to the pin pad next to the knob.

"We'll just crack it," Jessie declared, first entering all four zeros. As the light flashed red, she just felt like hitting it to get the goods, and raised her fist to do so.

"No," Meowth said as it hopped on Jessie's shoulder to try and quell her anger. "Come on, cut it out. You two had a good idea here, so let's not go and mess it up. Look around for a hint." With the pokemon's prodding, they looked under the computer keyboard, on the lists, and through the loaner instructions to try and figure out what the code might be.

They still didn't find it. "That's it, let's just break it," Jessie jumped to her first impulse as they couldn't find anything else that might help them.

"How about not." Meowth glared up at her impatiently. "We've gotta be careful if we want to do this."

"Do you have any suggestions, Meowth?" James asked as he started to think himself there might be better ways to go about this.

Meowth grinned and nodded. "The kids know how to get in. So we'll just use them," it declared.

"Why not. Can't be difficult to fool a few twerps," Jessie said.

"Right," Meowth agreed. "Let's get a little rest first, then I'll tell you the rest of the plan."

"Good morning," Jessie greeted happily as she entered the classroom, dressed in a lab coat, James behind her, with a stolen Pokemon Tech teacher's uniform. "It seems you're all on time today. How wonderful, though I wouldn't expect much less from the caliber of students at Pokemon Tech. I hope you're all ready to learn our new lesson today." Jessie spoke cheerful to the quiet audience of surprised looking students sitting at their desks.

"Right, please welcome our special guest," James said.

Giselle paused, though she'd been ready to lead the class in welcoming the teacher as soon as he had walked in. However, something was definitely wrong here. "Excuse me," she began as she stood up. Other confused students looked to her for direction. "Would you mind clarifying who you are and your purpose here?"

"I'm a special guest, Professor Pokemon," Jessie said.

"Right, and as your teacher, I'm here to help welcome the special guest," James added.

"You aren't our teacher," Giselle pointed out poignantly.

James almost faltered at the direct observation, but kept standing tall, forcing a smirk on his face. "Yes. Well, I'm here as your teacher would be if he were feeling well. I'm the substitute. Are you sure you don't recall me from before?"

Giselle shook her head. "If the teacher isn't available, it's study hall, of course," she said.

"Well, we've been trying something new this year," James said. "If I wasn't here, who would be to welcome this special guest?"

"Yes, and I have a special event for us today," Jessie said, winking as she took out two pokeballs. As expected, this got the students to sit up and take notice. Happy grins spread to their faces where dubious, confused expressions reigned before. Jessie knew her audience. Of course, these kids wanted to see some real pokemon. Hanging around in this classroom listening to lecturers drone on all day was difficult. "Come up and see closer if you'd like." Jessie got ready to release the two pokemon for them to fawn over. The students crowded forward.

"Isn't some decorum expected, even if this is a special event?" Giselle said. However, none of the other students were listening at this point. They all had walked to the front, staring and waited.

"Welcome, Ekans! Welcome, Koffing!" Jessie threw out the pokeballs one after another. "Of course, inside the classroom isn't an appropriate battlefield. We'll have to go outside. And I'm going to pick a challenger."

Giselle observed the mismatching pants of the man that said he was the teacher as well as the hint of bright coloring under the lab coat. Something seemed very wrong here. "I'll accept," she said.

"Oh? Now now, I'm sure other students are just as eager to try," Jessie said. This kid probably wouldn't do for their plan.

"I know they will," James said, picking up on the same. "Who wants to go and pick a loaner pokemon to challenge one of our lovely subjects here? Professor Pokemon will wait here as you do."

But the kids didn't rush to volunteer as he'd expected, instead turning to Giselle. Seeing them, the class president went to her bag, taking out a pokeball. "There won't be any need to go get a loaner. I still have one from yesterday that I was too busy to return," she said.

"Oh? You do know they're all to be returned at the end of the day," Jessie said seriously. Some things might have changed, that much still had to be a strict rule. "We'll have to report you for this."

"Then report me afterward. But this saves us the trouble of waiting, doesn't it?" Giselle said.

Jessie and James exchanged glances, each trying not to look too annoyed. "No," James finally said. "We won't use unauthorized pokemon. I need to be sure a student picks one that is appropriate. So, who would like to come and do so?"

The excuse was believable, and afterward, James got the kind of exuberant response he'd been expecting the first time. He picked a quiet boy that raised his hand sitting at a desk in front, looking at the seating chart to find his name. "Joe, is it? You come with me."

"And the rest of you can come with me!" Jessie declared, motioning Ekans to go to the other door, distracting the kids from looking to the departing two. "We'll wait in the designated area for our battle to begin. Alright then, let's go. Out here now."

The students followed the self-declared professor and two pokemon down the hallway and to one of the makeshift battle arenas that they used. Giselle looked around, noticing the particular chosen field was in a wide alley between two buildings away from where classes were being held. The buildings that faced it held few windows. The one window on a specific side was to a storage room where no one was likely to be. It was peculiar that this professor had chosen such a site, one that less than sophisticated students often held battles that probably shouldn't take place. Giselle remained wary, holding the pokeball tight in her hand.

"Alright then, let's stay and wait, they should be here soon," Jessie assured. "Do you little children have any questions in the meantime?"

"Yes," Giselle said. The classmates that admired her remained silent so she could speak. "What type are these pokemon?" she asked.

"What type?" Jessie repeated. She momentarily scrunched up her face in annoyance, then put back on a pleasant demeanor. "Why, they're both poison type, of course! You should know that much if you expect to get by in Pokemon Tech!"

"Of course," Giselle replied calmly. "I was just making sure you knew the basics, my dear 'professor'. So next, tell me, what can koffing learn at level 40?"

Jessie was momentarily silenced, recalling the anxiety she'd felt at having been asked many pointless questions like this in the past, in this very institution. She soon got hold of herself to reply. "Oh ho, you don't know? That's very basic information about poor Koffing here."

"Koffing," Koffing agreed.

"I don't think you know," Giselle accused calmly. "I don't think you're a professor at all." She started to walk off, ready to find some other staff to discuss their strange visitor more.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jessie demanded, standing in front of her. The two pokemon also blocked the way.

Giselle stared up at her. "Oh? So you're going to force a pokemon battle? You nearly certainly can't have the credentials you say then. Go, Geodude!" Giselle threw out the pokeball, and the rock type pokemon appeared, facing its two opponents. "Geodude, rock throw!"

"Ekans, dig! Koffing, sludge attack!" Jessie shouted. As she hoped, the kids crowded nearby to watch the battle instead of leaving the area. Geodude tossed rocks the way of the two poison types. Ekans dug under the ground, while Koffing spat in Geodude's direction.

"Geodude, self-destruct!" Giselle ordered.

"Huh?" Jessie was momentarily lost for words as the pokemon started to glow. An explosive energy surrounded it, encircling all around. Though missing any humans nearby, Koffing shouted out as it was hit. "Koffing, return!" Jessie returned it before it could hit the ground.

"Geodude, return!" Giselle followed. She shook her head as she stood with the other students, blocking any method of escape. "By the way - that's the technique koffing learn at level 40."

"Is that right? What a messy attack that was," Jessie commented.

"A messy attack to defeat a messy visitor," Giselle commented. "What do you want from our school?"

"You think you defeated me?" Jessie said. "You're forgetting the other pokemon, aren't you?" As Jessie spoke, Ekans erupted from the ground, dislodging the area nearby, hissing out a call.

"I didn't," Giselle said. "But even then, what will you do? I'm sure one of our true professors is on the way," she said. Several students had left the area already, and she was sure they were on their way to do the responsible thing and report this aberrance to someone. "We'll soon have you rounded up and expelled from campus, however or whyever you got in."

"It might happen sooner than you think," Jessie declared. She took a step back as Ekans slithered in front of her, then smiled as she saw a familiar pokemon hop into a nearby tree.

"Hey, we got it!" Meowth informed. It went over the wall first.

Jessie ran next, and met up with James, who had a bag full of pokeballs slung over his shoulder. They climbed the tree together, then stood on the wall. Jessie happily threw off the stuffy lab coat just as James took off the teacher's uniform jacket. With that, their Team Rocket uniforms were in full view.

"Team Rocket," Giselle said. She frowned. "I suggest you put down those pokeballs right now. A group like yours isn't worthy to have any pokemon."

"And you think you are?" Jessie challenged.

"We will be before long," Giselle asserted.

"Have fun memorizing decided facts and putting things into categories and ranking everything up to your nose hairs before being tested on it over and over until someone finally gives you permission to be something that's even a little bit worthy of being a trainer," Jessie said. "Right, just go ahead and pour all your useless hard work into the drivel that other people say you should do, knowing the nonsense that other people say is important. In the meantime, we'll be making a path of our own - one much better than that. We'll figure it all out ourselves, without worrying about if anyone approves. That's what Team Rocket does."

"Certainly," James agreed. He found the branch for the tree on the other side, making his way over. This was the way they'd found the previous day, the way the soft, posh Pokemon Tech students wouldn't be apt to follow. Jessie went over in an instant after James, leaving them all behind. By the time any staff came around, they'd be long gone.

Next chapter: AJ vs. 100 Trainers
(Ahaha, yes, I'm going back.)