Wanted to do a fun chapter since last chapter was so heavy.
Classes had started to ramp up in September. Especially Dr. Davis Walkmen's Pokémon research class. This was the only class where freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors had class together. This was by design at Dr. Walkmen's request. He had wanted to have the older students mentor the younger ones. Being a researcher, he had found that it was better to work in pairs on research than go it alone. Being in a pair meant that mistakes could be easily caught. That new opinions could be shared. People's eyes could be opened by working in pairs. Davis had experienced this on his own. He had worked with the likes of Bill from Kanto when it came to raising Pokémon. Bill had influenced Davis in several ways. That was because they had worked together. The older Bill had helped the younger Davis see things in another light.
This was why Davis had created the mentor mentee program. It had been successful for the last three years. Plus the Clash of Classes tournament always resulted in some interesting fights. Davis was especially interested in this year's mentor mentee program. His niece, Jessica, would be in need of a mentor. Of course Davis had his eyes on a few prospects for his niece. James, a junior, had seemed harmless enough and would work well with JJ's boisterous personality. There were a few others as well. There was just one person Davis wanted his niece to avoid getting. Not because he was a bad trainer, in fact he was one of the best trainers in his class. It was just that he was a known heartbreaker and he knew his niece. Davis shuttered at the thought of that pairing. But he had a trusted student assistant that would organize the pairings. Kat would know exactly what Davis would like for his mentor mentee pairings.
Kat stood at the side of the auditorium for Davis' class. She had a binder where she had made the pairings. Her black hair was tied in a bun and she wore glasses. Her brown eyes found Alex who sat in front of the class much to everyone's surprise. Alex gave her a nod which Kat returned with a thumbs up. Davis Walkman looked around at the filled auditorium. He stood behind the podium of the class, "Class today we are going to have a special session. As some of you older students will know what today is. Today is mentor-mentee assignment day." Davis paused as he heard a few groans and applause. It was a mixed reaction as was to be expected. Davis knew that some of the pairings had backfired, but that was to be expected. But overall he had wonderful feedback and the bad pairings were part of learning. "Now, I know some of you will hate this because it's a group project and I understand I hated group projects too in college. But this isn't an ordinary group project. This will test you mentally as well as physically.", Davis smiled.
The Pokémon research professor would flip to a slide, "now this will be a year long partnership. And older students, I have thrown a new wrinkle in this year as well." Alex looked over at Bunny though it was hard do to her arm being elevated in a hard cast. Bunny looked worriedly back at Alex, she had been informed of his plan and had went along with it though it had many holes in it. This was why. Kat mouthed, 'it's fine.' at both of them and smiled. "This year, for the first time, we have enough new hatchlings to give to each individual student as a sort of reward for being involved in this project. So you will all get your own new Pokémon to help train up as well. Your grades, especially for you older students, aren't just dependent on how well you mentor a student, but how well you mentor a Pokémon.", everyone's eyes lit up with excitement. There was a palpable buzz in the air. Everyone now couldn't wait to see which new baby Pokémon they would get.
"Now you will have papers and projects to complete. This is a class afterall.", there were more groans which Davis expected. But he had expected this. He couldn't just let them have a practicum without papers. He had tried that his first year and it had backfired. But the next part was the interesting part that would really get the students interested in the work again. He was going to throw another wrench again. "So, as the upper classmen will know, there is another component to this project. That is the Clash of Classes competition. Here the mentors and mentees battle one on one to determine who is better. I believe our current junior class is undefeated as they win as mentees and mentors.", Kat smiled at Ava who had sat at the side of the auditorium. Ava smirked back at Kat. They were the two best battlers in the junior class so it was no surprise that they had won the clash of classes. Kat, who had been Alex's mentor, had barely beat him and would still mock him over it. This of course gave Ava great joy.
"But this year things are different. Instead of judging by classes. We will have one winner this year. One person that will win the clash of classes.", there was an audible gasp. Even Kat had not been told about this. Davis smiled, he had wanted to surprise everyone with this bombshell. Yes, it wouldn't just be mentor vs mentee, but now there could be some rematches from years prior. There had been some pretty good matches, but they never had rematches. Now there was a chance for those dream rematches to occur. Davis had a few in mind that he wanted to see. Plus, he wanted to see who was the best junior: Kat or Ava. To be truthful that had been where he had come up with the idea. Davis looked out at the sea of stunned faces as he would continue. He had just dropped the stick and now it was time for the carrot. "The winner of this competition will get a special egg from me. So I hope you all really train and mentors don't divulge all your secrets.", he cackled at his own joke.
Davis searched for his niece to see her reaction. Ever since that conversation with JJ their relationship had been very strained. Davis just wanted Jessica to understand that he cared about her and wanted to protect her from harm. The worst day of his life had been when he thought Jessica had died when he had saw her laying in the icu. He had cried and cried over her. He never wanted to see her in that state again. That was why he had arranged the plane trip home. That was all the professor knew about how to protect her. But she had told him to sod off which was the worst thing she had ever said to him. So he had backed off. Sure he had visited her a few times, but they were just short and cordial. This had damaged their relationship which had been so strong. Davis had no children of his own, but he imagined this was the downside of having children when they acted spoiled. Davis didn't see JJ In class and he hoped that she hadn't skipped especially not this one. This one was very important for numerous reasons.
JJ and Nikki sat in the back of the class. They had been out the night before and were for lack of a better term hungover. The two girls had become inseparable since their conversation. They each helped each other with classes and train their Pokémon especially Junior, the Gible that had hatched from JJ's egg that JJ gave to Nikki. The roommates had bonded tremendously since that awful conversation which had shattered both of them. But now they did everything together. Sure JJ wasn't one hundred percent, but she felt better both physically and emotionally. Nikki had become her best friend. Now that sat in the back of her uncle's class when he had delivered the news. Of course both knew about the mentor and mentee program. Alex had said he had a plan and dragged both of them into it. Speaking of the uppity sophomore, "Arceus I hope I don't get Alex as a mentor. Knowing him, he probably rigged it so I could be his mentee.", JJ huffed. Alex had been hanging around more especially with Royce and Andy to discuss his ideas about The Righteous. JJ thought he was just a pompous dick.
At least that was what she wanted everyone to think, Nikki suspected JJ might have a little crush, but didn't say anything. "I hope I get Ava. Everyone says she's the best junior so I want to learn from her.", Nikki said. If she had a strong mentor than she could maybe learn how to concentrate better on battles. Not be so sloppy and end up hurting people. That was her major flaw. Of course, Nikki worried that her godfather would stick her with someone weak and a yes man to make Nikki look better than she actually was. She hated whenever her godfather intervened like that. She looked at JJ, "I hope you know that I am winning this thing. Though I hope to meet you in the finals." JJ shook her head, "I'll meet you in the finals, but I am going to win.", both girls would chuckle though that didn't help their hangovers.
Davis raised his hand to end the conversations that had started since his instructions. "Now, I know everyone is excited, but this is your main grade in this class. I expect you all to take this extremely serious. Like I said there will be papers", but a Davis was talking to people not paying attention. Perhaps he made a mistake by announcing the prize and surprise this early. This upset him as Davis really did not make mistakes. The professor sighed as he looked over at his assistant. Kat just shrugged as she really did not know what to do. Davis sighed as he figured he had a solution to the issue. "Ok, now we will begin to assign mentors and mentees, Kat if you would do the honors please.", Davis motioned for his assistant to come over and make the announcements. He too was interested to see who Kat had paired with who. He was especially interested to see who JJ would be with.
Kat would take over for Dr. Walkmen. Eyes fell on her, but she was used to it. Catherine Kinner had gotten looks from guys her whole life despite her usually conservative dress. Alex had even made a move on her last year, but she had laughed it off. So she was comfortable with people's gaze on her. She would have to if she wanted to be a champion. She shuffled the papers in front of her as she looked over at Dr. Walkmen. He was preparing various pokeballs for when the students were going to be paired together. Kat felt bad that she had rigged the pairings. Dr. Walkmen had trusted her to be fair and honest when she put the pairings together, but of course she had followed Alex's plan to rig it. She had fought a member of the Righteous off herself last year so she knew how vicious they could be. That was why she had agreed with Alex's plan they had to prepare better for fighting the Righteous. The Institute didn't give them the proper skills to fight them nor did the professors talk about the group. So finding out more about them was important. And it all started with the pairings of mentor and mentee.
So Kat would start with the pairings. The first pairing would involve Kat's junior rival. The guy that had beat her in the finals of the Institute Championship last year. Kat still had not gotten over it, but now she had a chance at revenge. So he had stuck him with a powerful freshman that would hopefully beat him. Kat looked at the papers, "Kuroku Yuki will be paired with freshman Rex Gifford." There was a polite round of applause. Kuroku was 6'2 with blue and purple eyes. He wore a purple zip up sweatshirt. He had medium dark brown hair that went down to eye level. The senior was widely considered the best battler in the school and many gyms had already contacted him about taken over there. He just nodded at Kat who glared. His mentee, Rex Gifford, had a wiry build, and was about 5'9. He had silver/grey eyes and gelled hair. Both shook hands with one another and went over to Dr. Walkmen to get their Pokémon.
Alex watched and smiled. Yes, it appeared Kat had indeed rigged it. Alex had heard that Dr. Walkmen had wanted JJ paired with Kuroku, but it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Yes, his old mentor had went with his plan. This made him happy. Of course Davis was shocked by Kat's choice in the first pairing, but he still trusted her. Kat shuffled the papers again, "this is a special pairing next. Dr. Walkmen has been looking for a second student assistant so this person will be working under me and be my mentee." Bunny immediately looked over at Alex. Could he be the other student assistant that would be wired especially since Alex had slipped a lot of Dr. Walkmen's classes. But she also knew that Kat and Alex were very close and she had been his mentor last year so if they were going to repeat it. "Bunny!", the little female gasped as everyone applauded. She was stunned as Kat smiled and motioned for Bunny to come up. The little girl hobbled forward as she blushed from embarrassment of being given such an honor. She walked over to Dr. Walkmen who handed a a Pokémon ball with a heart on it. Of course, Bunny fumbled around with it in a left hand. She was not used to being left handed.
"The next pairing will be James Aegis and Royce Cyrus.", this was an interesting pairing. Royce, from all accounts and what they had seen, was very competitive. His battling style had been all out assault and attack. Yes, he had good strategy, but he always tried to overwhelm opponents on pure strength of his dragon Pokémon. James was calmer and more tactical. In fact he had been Bunny's mentor last year. That was where Bunny had truly developed her calm and tactical style. That was how James fought and acted. He believed in calmness and analyzing the battlefield. He would have to train Royce is being more tactical in nature. If Royce could manage to become more patient in his fights then there would be no telling what he could do. For James, he needed to have an edge to him at least Kat thought so. James was way too passive especially the way he fought. He let people dictate the battle to him instead of dictating the battle himself. Kat had figured that by pairing James with Royce they would balance each other out.
Davis nodded in approval of the pairing. He had initially been disappointed that Kat had gone against his wishes about pairing JJ with Kuroku, but now she had been some interesting selections. He was pleased. Kat looked down, "the next pairing will be Jeren Thaw and Andrew Rosescale." This was another interesting pairing. While Alex liked to claim he was the best of the sophomore trainers, Kat figured it was Jeren. Jer has outlasted Alex in most of the tournaments. Yes, Alex had won the freshman competition last year, but that was because Jer had suffered an upset before the finals. Plus Jer didn't. Rag like Alex did. Ka got the same vibe from Andy. That he may be unassuming, but a great tactical and battler laid underneath. Kat figured Jer could get the best out of Andy. They would need some great analytical minds paired together to go into Righteous territory. These two were perfect to do just that.
The pairings would go as planned. Each student being selected with an older student to work with. Davis watched on like a proud father as he handed the students the special pokeballs they would receive. Catherine had done an amazing job and he was excited to see what was going to happen. There was only one thing he had started to question: why hadn't his niece been paired with anyone yet? There was no set order so it was not like it had to be by last names. There had been plenty of mentors that would have been picked for his niece. Yet, Jessica had not been drawn into being paired with them It was strange, but a Davis still trusted Kat to do right by him and Jessica. She had never let him down before. There was no reason to believe she would now. Then Dr. Walkmen looked at the only four that had not been paired. His heart sank in horror.
Nikki, JJ, Ava, and Alex did not have any partners. Obviously this meant that they would be partnered together. Ava knew exactly who she would get as a partner. Despite her hospital stay, she had still been close to Nikki often texting with the female. Ava has not forgotten her agreement with Franz Babic and she wanted to be champion of Galar. It was her right. Plus, Ava knew that she had a mega Noivern. Ava wanted to test her metal against a mega Pokémon. She had managed to beat a few GMax Pokémon, but GMax Pokémon were stupid in Ava's estimation. They were not a challenge and the Galar native hated them. But Megan's were special. It took a special trainer to earn a mega stone. Nikki had to be special. Ava could not wait to really challenge and mentor Nikki. Ava had told Kat to assign her Nikki which Kat promised she would do so Ava didn't have to worry about getting Alex.
JJ had turned pale and it wasn't because she was hungover. She had a feeling about who she was going to get. The thought made her sick, "I am going to be stuck with Alex. Oh fuck. This absolutely sucks. That idiot rigged it to be paired with me. Now we're going to be stuck together this whole year." JJ would have preferred to have been back in the hospital with shrapnel in her body than being paired with Alex. She just shook her head in horror at the thought. Nikki, however, had a large evil smirk on her face. She leaned into her best friend and whispered, "you know that there appears to be some sexual tension with you when it comes to Alex. Why don't you just bang him and get it over with? That way you can release the tension." The sound of JJ's palm hitting Nikki's face echoed throughout the auditorium. JJ sank even more in her chair as Nikki just cackled.
Kat composed herself and coughed to get everyone's attention again, "anyways the next pairing is Avaline Bloodsworth and Nicole Allaire." Nikki's laughter in JJ's face gave her joy. JJ started to dry heave in her seat as Nikki skipped down to meet up with Ava. Nikki was glad that she had Ava. She didn't mind Alex and knew he was a smart, strong trainer. She had been a guest of her godfathers last year and had seen the battle between Ava and Alex. So Nikki knew he could hold his own despite being a douche. She didn't understand why JJ was so opposed to being with Alex. But Ava was on a whole different level. If they were going to stop the righteous then Nikki had to be with the best. Ava was the best in the school by Nikki's estimation. Ava could really help Nikki become the trainer that she needed to be. Nikki knew that Ava would bring out the best in her.
Alex leaned over his seat to look at JJ a wry smile on his face. He gave a mock wave at JJ who had covered her face in embarrassment. "Hey protégée", he said as he laughed as JJ shook her head. Kat just rolled her eyes. This was peak Alex. Him at his absolutely douchebag worst. Kat had originally planned on pairing Dr. Walkmen's niece with Jer or James, but Alex had come to her yesterday. He had laid out that he wanted JJ to work with him. At first, Kat thought it was because Alex had wanted to get in JJ's pants, she was attractive afterall. That would not be cool with Kat. But then Alex laid out his explanation and it all made sense to Kat. Alex had cleared up any objections that Kat had. So she had arranged them together, "Alexander Knight and Jessica Walkmen will be the last pairing." A noise of agony came from Dr. Walkmen's lips.
Yes JJ was Alex's type, long legs and a very nice ass, but that wasn't why he had wanted to be paired with her. She was strong, very strong. He had noticed it the day he first met her in the hospital room. She had showed fire and spunk in her attitude. Alex respected it. But then he heard that JJ had sacrificed herself for a girl she really didn't even know. That sounded like something Alex would never do, he didn't have the guts to do what JJ had apparently done. That took true bravery. Alex needed to be like someone like this for what he was going to do. He was going to head back to those woods where he had encountered the Rightoeus member. But Alex had heard rumors about there being something else there. Something the righteous was looking for and something the Institute was hiding. Alex would mold JJ into being her best self even if she did not know it yet.
Dr. Davis Walkmen sat at his desk depressed and confused as the students had left class. He didn't understand why this had happened. How Kat could think THIS was a smart pairing. His beloved niece, Jessica, being paired with the biggest heartbreaker at the university. This had been the one thing he did not want to see happen. "ALEX KNIGHT IS JESSICA's Mentor??? Why!!!", he cried. This was why he had wanted to send her away. Moments like this. Davis was besides himself. This had completely backfired on him and he couldn't change it. This was set in stone as he promised Kat he would never change it. So all he could do was accept that this was how it was going to have to be. He would just have to keep a special eye on those two. He had to. His worst fear had been realized.
OOC: Last chapter until Monday/Tuesday. Want you guys to marinate on everything for a couple of days. I wanted to do a lighthearted chapter after the brutal chapter 10. Hope you enjoy it. What pairing are you guys looking forward to the most?