Elliot was always the first person awake in the morning, no matter what day it was or how late he'd gone to bed the night before. Luca or Spectral could wake up as early as the sun, get out of bed without making a peep of noise or speck of light, and rush down the hall faster than the noise of their footsteps throughout the house, and their father would still be in the kitchen with their breakfast already prepared. It was such a bizarre thing that neither child could explain in all their years, and something their father clearly had no intent on sharing the secret to.

The announcement of the Champion on the day prior would do nothing to change that. Luca woke up an hour earlier than he normally did on weekdays, and halfway through changing into his regular clothes he could hear the sound of a plate being placed on the countertop in the kitchen.

Breakfast was already prepared for him and Luca hadn't even been up for more than two minutes. Luca smiled from within his bedroom.

Thanks, Dad.

Once he was ready, Luca quietly left his room and walked down the hall to the kitchen. He was dressed in his regular wear, which he wore whenever he wasn't working on the fields. A simple pair of long, black synthetic pants, light brown boots, and a bright orange zipped up sweater. Friends and family alike had always called this style a fashion disaster, but Luca had always ignored their complaints and wore his unorthodox getup proudly.

Luca's father waited in the kitchen for his son with a smile on his face. "Good morning," Elliot said warmly.

"Morning, Dad," Luca yawned as he sat down in front of his plate. The plate was topped with several assorted fruits and berries, as well as a couple of slices of buttered toast. He didn't serve a drink with it, as he knew Luca always determined what he was in the mood to chase the food down with only as he was preparing to leave the house.

"You're up early," Elliot teased, turning around as he continued preparing his own breakfast. "Planning on going to work on-time for once?"

"Ha ha, Dad," Luca said. Despite the sarcasm, he still smiled a bit. "Boss sent me an email last night. He made it very clear that I had to be on-time today, along with a few other things."

"Oh really? What kind of other things?"

"He wants me to meet with him in his office before the day starts for one. And…" Luca reached down and pulled a Poke Ball out from his pocket, showing it to his father as he turned around. "He requested that I bring a Pokemon. One that wasn't Ephraim. He said he wanted someone that had lots of experience battling."

Elliot finished prepping his own meal and leaned on the counter behind him. "Do you know what for?"

"I'd bet it has to do with yesterday's announcement. I bet he's asking all the former trainers that work there to bring in strong Pokemon for something educational."

"I'm surprised he didn't call me in if that's the case," Elliot chuckled.

"Dad…" Luca wanted to scream it, but also didn't want to wake up his brother. Spectral loved his beauty sleep.

"Oh come on, laugh at your old man's jokes for once. It's courtesy at this rate."

"This is a trainer event, I'm sure of it. If he was planning anything involving taming or battling wild Pokemon, then he'd absolutely go to you over me," Luca said, loosely pointing a finger at his father. "That's always been your specialty."

"Fine, fine," Elliot sighed. "So, who did you choose to take in? I don't have your 'superpower' of being able to know what Pokemon is in a Poke Ball at a glance, and you have quite a few Pokemon to choose from."

"Alan," Luca said without any hesitation. "His anxiety has been peaking over the past week. So I figure instead of spending an evening with him to calm him down like the norm, I'd just take him into work with me for a day. That'll relax him for sure."

"That's my son," Elliot smiled. "You're always thoughtful when it comes to things like that."

Luca finished his food and stood up, putting away the Poke Ball and making ready to leave. As he made his way to the front door, Elliot skipped out of the kitchen and stood in Luca's way. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Luca smiled, and shook his head. Without another word between them, father and son embraced in a warm hug that lasted a few seconds. Once it was over, Elliot gave Luca a kiss on the forehead before stepping aside and letting Luca pass. "I love you. Have a great day at work."

"I love you too, Dad," Luca said back. He opened the front door and began to head out, but his father called him right before the door closed.

"Consider walking with Alan!" he said, waving at Luca. "I bet you'd both enjoy it!"

Luca grabbed the Poke Ball from his pocket again, lightly tossing into the air and letting it fall gently back into the palm of his hand. "I like that," he said.

––––––––––

"Let's do it."

"All right, so that's the mini-tour of the main building."

"Whoa… Neat."

"We've got two more stops till we settle down and get to work. The first is this office."

"Uh-huh…"

"The second is where I work."

"Oka—wait what!? We haven't even—? I thought you said you worked here?"

"Kinda like how you always like to draw in that one corner of the house, I do all my work in a certain part of the building."

"Oh."

"We go there after we go here."

"And what's behind this door?"

"My boss's office."

"Y-your b-b-b-boss!? Already? I—Maybe I should stay behind and just wait for you…"

"Nope. You're coming in with me and meeting him. I get the feeling he'll want to see you."

"Oh."

"Ready, Alan?"

"No… Is it ok that I'm nervous about this? It's your boss..."

"Yeah, but... Well we can't really waste more time, so we're gonna have to go in anyway."

"Ohhh…"

Without further delay, Luca gently knocked on the wood door in front of them two times. There was no verbal response from within, though it wasn't long before footsteps were heard coming from the other side. Soon enough, the door opened, the man on the other end smiled slightly when he saw Luca waiting for him.

"Oh. How funny. I wasn't expecting you till later. Please, come in."

Luca said nothing in response, simply accepting the man's proposition and stepping inside the room. He signalled Alan to follow, though it was clear from just one look that his friend had been frozen by fear.

The owner of the office saw this, and lightened his smile even more. "Good! You did bring a friend," he said to Luca. "Please, feel free to come inside."

His words did nothing to stop Alan's visible jittering. "Alan, come on. It's fine," Luca assured.

"O-okay…"

Alan carefully made his way into the office, meekly standing next to Luca as his boss closed the door behind him and made his way to behind his desk.

The room wasn't particularly impressive at a glance. If anything, it seemed rather disorganized. Though the intricate wooden craftsmanship that spanned the entirety of the room gave off an air of great formality and importance, it was easily betrayed by the numerous filing cabinets and shelves filled with binders that had loose papers visible in spades. The long windows had been covered by shades, leaving much of the room to be lit by a single overhead lamp hanging over the desk. The desk itself matched the room, bearing an intricate wood design while also being subject to the same mess of strewn about and loose papers.

Yet somehow, despite the total inexplicable chaos of documents on the desk, the plaque with the title of "Headmaster" inscribed on it stood firmly.

The headmaster himself was much more well kept, wearing a white dress shirt and a red tie, with a tan suit jacket neatly hanging on the back of the door out. All of that neatly complimented his long and well combed black hair, which still managed to keep its own uniquely casual style despite his best attempts. As he crossed his legs and got comfortable on his chair, the headmaster's blue dress pants became briefly visible, though vanished behind the desk he sat behind in mere moments.

He gave a small "Hm." Evidently, the headmaster was interested in Luca's friend that he'd brought along. Tall, yellow with black stripes in certain areas, pointed ears, and a tail ending with a red orb. To someone who had never seen one like him before, it was a bit of a marvel to see one in person. "So, this is who you brought to the school today. Would you like to introduce me to your Ampharos, Luca?"

Luca nodded. "This is Alan."

Alan waved nervously. "Hello…"

"And Alan was a part of my team when I travelled through Johto a few years back."

"I see. He certainly looks capable." The headmaster turned to Alan and smiled again. "Hello, Alan," he said. "Welcome to Aspertia Grade School. A riveting name for the region's best school, I know."

Though the man seemed to chuckle at his own sarcasm, Alan's response was nothing but a forced smile.

The man noticed. "He seems...shy," the headmaster commented.

"I wouldn't really call it shy, honestly," Luca said, looking thoughtful. "Moreso...awkward?"

"Sorry," Alan muttered.

"And Alan, this is my boss and the guy in charge of the school, Headmaster Cheren."

"Does he even know what a 'headmaster' is?" Cheren asked. He then brought his attention back towards the Ampharos. "Forgive me if I ask any insensitive questions, Alan. Please, express your grievances towards what I say if you have any."

"I don't know what it means, no," Alan said, shaking his head. "I-it's fine, though. I understand."

"I see," Cheren replied. "My position of Headmaster simply means that I'm the one who oversees the school, its staff, and its students. I'm highest up in the ranks of power."

"And that's why he's my boss," Luca added. "And speaking of that. Cheren, did you call me here for a reason?"

"If I'm being perfectly honest, Luca, I fully expected you to show up at your usual late hour, but comply with my request of bringing a Pokemon," Cheren said, leaning back a bit. "It seems I forgot how dedicated you are to your job."

Luca smirked at this a bit. "Should I be sorry?"

"No, not at all," Cheren replied. "It means I can explain this part easier and save time later." He cleared his throat. "Do you know why I asked you to bring in a Pokemon today?"

"I'd imagine it has something to do with yesterday's big announcement," Luca said, nodding. "With the whole champion and the tournament and all that jazz. I got home in the middle of it."

"Oh, good. You heard that. I wasn't sure if you had, considering your weekend schedule." Cheren smiled. "That saves me even more time. Here. I wanted to do something for the students today in light of that. I figure many of them may be interested to see what an actual trainer and their Pokemon are like, especially after what was said yesterday. I'm sure several students have never seen either before."

"So you asked me and any other former trainers in the school to bring in our Pokemon so the students could see and interact with us and the Pokemon firsthand."

"Exactly," Cheren said, now leaning forwards with his arms resting on his desk.

"Oh. So I'm like...being used for teaching?" Alan asked. "About Pokemon and trainers?"

"That's the idea I'm getting out of this," Luca said back.

"So he understands the gist of it?" Cheren asked, looking at Luca.

Luca simply nodded back.

"Perfect." Cheren rose. "Absolutely perfect. Here's the plan. You and...Alan?"

"Yep."

"I'm going to call all the classes and faculty to the backyard in about an hour from now."

"This school has a backyard?" Alan asked, though he spoke so quietly that not even Luca heard him.

"When I do that, rather than going with them, you and Alan come here to my office instead," Cheren continued. "Sounds good?"

Luca and Alan both nodded.

"Right. Then let's put a pin in this brief meeting and take it back out when the time is right, okay? You two are free to go," Cheren said, waving them off.

The two began heading for the door, both giving light thanks to Cheren on their way out. But as Luca put his hand on the doorknob, Cheren snapped his fingers, grabbing both their attention again. "Oh, yes. Alan, you're free to roam around the school if you want," he added. "Just don't disturb any in-progress classes if you can help it."

"Oh." Alan blushed a bit, smiling. "That's nice of you, but I think I'll just hang out with Luca instead," he said, shaking his head.

"Yeah. He'll just stick with me most likely," Luca said, giving Cheren a nod. "Thanks for the offer, though. We'll see you later, Cheren."

"You'd better," Cheren chuckled. "See you then."

––––––––––

Aspertia Grade School was well known across all of Unova as being the pinnacle of education in the country before highschool level. It was an elementary school, a middle school, and a trainer's school all in one, and it was the best in the region in all 3 categories. The teachers were highly experienced, well disciplined, and well beloved by their students. The halls and classrooms were spotless, and the the amount of resources any student could access at almost any time was beyond compare. Students that graduated from there, even if just for their last year of school, often found above average success in the working fields. Even the workers there earned salaries far above the normal pay grade of people in their profession.

But, of course, with any good school came the problem of paying for it. Its quality had to come from somewhere, and that school bill was one of the biggest reasons for it. Despite the incredible opportunities that the school offered, many bright minds would never be able to attend it due to a lack of funds, something the school was notoriously strict on not waiving.

Some parents would scrape their entire life savings to send their children there during their middle school years, with the belief that after education there, they would be able to not only make enough money to make up for the tuition, but still make more than enough to make their own sustainable living.

For Luca and Spectral, this was not the case. For as long as the twins could remember, they had been a high class family, and they never knew how this came to be. They knew their father was not born a rich man in any sense, and that realistically speaking he had most likely come from a background that was anything but wealthy, but he had never told his children how he amassed his fortune. The only hint they ever received was that the man had been incredibly smart with how he lived and spent in the years before having children. Affording eight years of school for the two boys was hardly a problem for him, even with the high cost.

Thus, Luca was extremely familiar with the school and how it functioned both during his days as a student, and now during his time as an employee of the very place that taught him. After leaving Cheren's office, Luca led Alan down countless hallways and corridors that made the poor Ampharos feel like he was being taken through a maze. They passed by several teachers and students on the way to their destination, though neither of them were able to stop and say hi to anyone who was interested.

As the two continued moving throughout the school, Luca suddenly turned to Alan as they rounded a corner. "Alan, have I ever told you what my job actually is here?" he asked.

"Uh.. Well, it's a school, so you're probably a teacher. Right?"

"Nope, not a teacher. Somehow I knew you'd say that," Luca said, sounding slightly amused.

Alan sighed. "Dang it."

"But that's exactly why I asked. Take a look up ahead. Straight in front of us."

Alan didn't even need to squint to see what was coming up. "It's a door."

"Uh-huh. And can you read what's next to the door?"

"Oh! Uh…" Despite now being right in front of the door, Alan had to squint to read the sign above it. "'Pokemon House', yeah?"

"Perfect," Luca clapped. "This is where I work."

"But I thought you worked at the school?"

"The Pokemon House is the school. It's just another part of it." Luca opened the door forwards and offered Alan to step through first. "But it's pretty far out of the way. I'm sure you noticed we were walking down those halls for quite a while. It's like five, maybe ten minutes from Cheren's office to here."

"Whoa…"

Luca entered shortly after hearing Alan's gasp, bearing a cocky grin and a careless shrug. "I don't teach but I do do this," he said.

"Luca!?"

"Bah!"

Luca's smug attitude was instantly shattered as an unexpected voice called his name in a shout. Neither he nor Alan were given the opportunity to examine the glory of the Pokemon House before they were suddenly approached by a breathless and concerned looking man in his mid thirties. He looked up at Luca, giving a brief sigh of relief between his exhausted breaths. "Whew… It is you… You picked a great day to come in early, Luca."

That concerned Luca a bit. "Peter? What's up?"

"Lira's out," Peter sighed.

"Oh boy," Luca sighed. Then he perked up. "Wait, already? It's barely 8AM!"

"I know! That's why I'm in such a scramble! It's two hours too early!" Peter said. "Of course, Natasha is losing her mind—"

"And you can't search for Lira while you're spending your time making sure Natasha doesn't pass out from anxiety," Luca finished.

"Yep," Peter sighed. "I'm pretty sure Natasha's heart rate cut in half when she saw you come in. So can you like...work your magic and bring the little one back?" It was then that Peter noticed Alan standing there. "Also hi, who's this?"

"Oh, this is Alan. He's with me. Cheren asked me to bring him in," Luca said before turning around. Alan turned around with him, now noticing the large opening to a moderately sized outdoor field, which eventually led into the forest surrounding Aspertia City.

No wonder the lighting looked different.

Facing the outdoors, Luca cupped his hands over his mouth and began to yell.

"Lira!? Lira sweetie, where are you?" He stopped for a moment, visibly thinking about what to say next, before continuing with, "Now isn't the time to be playing hide and seek!"

Immediately from out in the distance, a loud response was heard.

"Papa!"

Eventually, a small, dog-like creature came running out onto the field, boasting beautiful orange fur and a growing beige mane across its chest and head. It made a beeline towards Luca when it saw him, who had already crouched down to the ground and extended his arms out.

The young Growlithe, smiling brighter than the sun, eagerly accepted Luca's offer and jumped into his arms. He wasted no time picking her up and lifting the pup up to his chest. "There you are," he said lovingly as the Pokemon gave him a friendly lick on the chin.

"Good morning, papa!" she said.

Alan's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, WHAT!?"

"Well good morning to you too, Lira," Luca said, shooting Alan a short glance with a judgmental expression. "Whatcha doin' running around so early in the morning? You have your mother worried sick." He began to carry Lira inside, gently rocking her as he moved forwards.

Despite this, she was still very jumpy. She nearly leapt out of Luca's arms a couple of times, only to be stopped by him suddenly lowering his arms lower to the ground, only to lift them right back up, as if he were dropping her and then picking her up again. "Well—well, you said that I wasn't allowed to leave the pen while you guys were here unless you said so. So I left before you got here! I didn't break the rules, papa!"

Luca chuckled a bit. "You didn't break the rules after all, huh? Did you open that big door to the field all by yourself?"

"I pushed it and pulled it until it finally opened and let me through!"

"The door was slightly ajar when I got here," Peter said with a nod. "When I saw she wasn't in her pen, I put two and two together."

"There's a door?" Alan asked, sounding extremely confused. "What's going on?"

"Peter, could you please catch Alan up to speed on what this place is and what's going on?" Luca asked. "I'd tell him myself, but I think Natasha's gonna want her baby back first."

"Huh?"

"Oh!"

Though both of them said "Wait" at the same time, Luca did nothing of the sort, continuing down the Pokemon House and talking sweetly to Lira as if he'd heard nothing at all. The two awkwardly turned towards each other as they followed.

"Funny. I'm usually the one asking Luca to talk to a Pokemon for me. Now we've flipped positions," Peter said with a nervous chuckle. "And I don't even know how to do it…"

Alan just sighed and shrugged, looking worrisome.

"You wouldn't happen to be a talker, would you?" Peter asked. "I know some of Luca's are but...some aren't too."

Alan shook his head.

"Aww man..."

As he said this, though, Alan pulled out a notebook and pencil. Peter didn't expect Alan to do much with them until he passed Peter the book.

"Huh? What's…" Peter gazed down at the notebook before continuing, and suddenly his entire mood shifted. "Oh! You're literate!" He passed back the notebook. "That's cool! So they did teach you something in that crazy household after all, huh?"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Peter," Luca started, looking back just enough to see Peter. "We prefer it when everyone can understand what Pokemon are saying, not just us. And that's why we like teaching them to read, write, and speak like we do."

Alan shrugged again, but this time he was smiling. He began taking in his surroundings, finally getting a proper look at the Pokemon House that Luca worked in.

It was a tall and wide building, with several glass panes separating the complex into different rooms. Each room had several open top pens of all shapes and sizes containing a plethora of different Pokemon, giving it the appearance of a greenhouse of Pokemon. From the common Lillipup of Unova to the foreign Psyduck of Kanto. From Riolu to Fletchling, Mudsdale to Kecleon, Appletun to Azumarill. Given the size of this part of the building and what he could see in the rooms over, he knew there were many more Pokemon here to be seen, but also knew that the space was definitely limited. Suddenly, being from Johto didn't feel so out of place.

It was still somewhat early in the morning, so most Pokemon were either asleep or too tired to care about the passerby. Those who were awake though looked very comfortable, and many of them waved to and greeted Luca as he passed by, greetings which Luca happily returned in quick breaths between sentences directed towards Lira.

Eventually, the trio stopped in front of a pen that housed a single Arcanine, who looked both beside itself with worry and so happy that it'd been moved to tears. Every time she opened her mouth to say something, all that came out was an excited breath. She either couldn't find the words or she was incapable of saying them.

"Here we are, Natasha," Luca said, gently lowering Lira into the pen with her mother.

"Papa, can we play later today?" Lira asked, looking up at Luca. "We barely played at all last week, and Mama's always so tired… It's boring here..." Her tone sounded more sad than bored.

"You're getting bored and want to play with Papa?" Luca asked. "Hmm." He crouched down to meet Lira at eye level. "How about we play later today, Lira?"

"Really!?"

"But, you need to promise Papa something first," Luca said, holding up a finger.

"Anything!"

"Papa and Mama said last time that you can't leave the pen while we're here, right? Not unless we give you permission?"

Lira nodded fervently. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! I've kept that promise Papa, you know I have!"

"I believe you, Lira. You're a good girl," Luca said, ruffling the fur on Lira's head. "And now, I need you to make Mama and Papa a new promise. If Papa's not here, and if Grandpops also isn't here, then you can't leave the pen unless Mama says yes, okay?"

"Whaaaaaat? But then...then I can't get out until you get here! Mean ol' mama never lets me leave the pen!"

Natasha visibly reacted to that, but Luca gave her a quick calming smile. "Lira...don't talk about your Mama that way, sweetie."

"But...she never lets me leave…"

"You know why we don't want you out of the pen without permission, right?" Luca asked.

Lira sighed in response. "Because you want to keep me safe…"

"That's right, Lira," Luca said.

"But I'm six months now!" Lira said, leaping up and down. "I can be safe! I can defend myself! I can fight!" Lira bore her fangs, though looked more cute than intimidating as she gave her best "Grr!"

"You're a strong girl now, huh?" Luca chuckled. "You wanna do some roughhousing later today when we play, Lira?"

"Oh! Yes yes! Yes please!"

"Then you need to promise me you won't leave the pen unless Papa or Grandpops are here, unless Mama says it's okay, okay?"

Lira's mood shifted when she heard this, though she looked brighter than her earlier complaint. "Aww…okay. I promise, Papa."

"Good girl," Luca smiled. "Now, spend some time with Mama, all right? Papa needs to get to work."

"Okay Papa!"

With that, Lira turned around, losing all interest in Luca and beginning to talk with her mother, who was still in the process of calming down from earlier. She looked much better than when Peter saw her earlier.

Peter himself looked much better as well, with most of his anxiety from before having been replaced by a heartwarmed smile. Luca had almost forgotten he and Alan were there when he turned around, and nearly jumped because of it. Immediately he grabbed them both by the shoulder and led them away from Lira and Natasha's pen so that they wouldn't hear what he had to say.

"Jeez, neither of you said a single word while I was doing that?" Luca asked.

"And interrupt that magic? I wouldn't dare," Peter said, crossing his arms.

"Magic? Really?" Luca asked, slightly chuckling.

"Dude. That was awesome." Alan peeked over Luca's shoulder to Lira's pen, though he immediately stopped looking when Lira looked back. "You make an amazing dad."

Luca smirked, trying to hide his blush. "I'm not like, actually her dad. You realize that, right?"

"She still calling you 'Papa'?" Peter asked.

Luca nodded. "Any opportunity she gets. I wonder if she even knows my name."

"Then as far as I'm concerned, you're totally her dad," Peter laughed. "And a damn good one at that. I don't need to be able to understand Pokemon to tell that much."

"Both of you? Really?" Luca asked, now covering his face in embarrassment. "I'm not that good, I swear."

"Well your dad has told me otherwise," Peter said.

"Aaaaaaaargh!" Luca couldn't even look at them anymore, turning away while still covering his face. "Not him too! Why does everyone think this!?"

Alan and Peter got a good laugh out of that. Though before Luca could chastise them for their act, they were all cut off by the loud ringing of a school bell. Alan, who was visibly spooked, instantly grabbed Peter for comfort. "Ok what was that!?" he asked. "That better not be an alarm!"

Luca laughed back a bit in revenge. "That's just the school bell, Alan. You're gonna hear it a lot throughout the day."

"Never heard a school bell before, huh?" Peter asked.

"Well that, and given what I know about his past, sudden loud noises are definitely something he does not take kindly to."

"Yikes. You hate to hear it," Peter sighed, slowly releasing himself from Alan's grip.

"I'll give you a heads up warning for when the bell will ring, Alan," Luca said, slowly easing Alan over to his side. "And so, with that said...prepare for a disembodied voice to begin speaking to no one in particular."

"Good morning students."

Alan jumped to Luca's shoulder this time. "Whoa!"

Luca continued talking over the voice on the loudspeaker. "And once he's done with his little speech here, you can expect another bell. You've been warned."

"Oh…"

––––––––––

For the next hour, Luca and Peter focused on their job. Working in the Pokemon House meant that they were in charge of ensuring that the Pokemon were all fed, cared for properly, and were comfortable. Students were allowed to come into the Pokemon House basically at will if they weren't in a class, so it was up to the two of them to make sure that the Pokemon were ready and relaxed for any unexpected visitors of any age who wanted to stop by and say hi to the Pokemon.

More and more Pokemon were waking up as the morning advanced in the Pokemon House, turning Luca and Peter from fairly relaxed workers who would occasionally chat as they passed by each other into diligent workers who took no time to distract themselves from the tasks at hand.

They hadn't even noticed the hour go by until the school bell rang again and freaked Alan out, who had been quietly sketching in his notebook while sitting in the nook between the door to the main building of the school and the door to the outdoor field.

The very moment after the bell finished ringing, a voice came through the loudspeaker once again. Unlike the longer set of announcements earlier in the day, this one was short and to the point.

"All students, please report to the backyard for a special presentation. That is all students to the backyard for a special presentation."

Just as suddenly as the voice had come, it vanished, and Alan swore he heard a collective groan come from inside the school once the loudspeaker clicked off. That collective groan was quickly replaced by a loud collection of footsteps that made Alan briefly question whether or not he was about to get run over by a Tauros stampede.

"Alan!"

"Gah!" Alan instantly snapped his notebook closed and stood up, standing as straight as possible. "I'm here!" he said.

"Relax, Alan," Luca said as he and Peter got closer. "It's time for us to go back to Cheren."

"Oh, you're not going to the backyard?" Peter asked. "He called all the faculty y'know."

"We probably will, but Cheren wanted to meet with us first," Luca said.

Peter nodded. "Got it. I'll meet you there, Luca." He smiled and waved to Alan as he entered the door to the school. "See you later, Alan!"

Alan finally eased up and gave a sigh of relief once Peter closed the door behind him.

"You good?" Luca asked.

"Yeah… Just on edge I guess. New place, you know?"

"Mmm…" Luca put a hand on Alan's shoulder. "Well, don't forget that I'm here, okay?"

"Right…"

"We should probably get going to Cheren's though. No time to lose."

"Actually, before we go, I had a question, Luca."

Luca perked up. "Hm?"

"If you're gone...and Peter's gone...and Elliot isn't working today...who's in charge of this place while you're all gone?"

"Oh, that's an easy one." Luca turned his attention to the back of the room, eyeing a certain pen near the corner. "Hey Seth!" he shouted across the room.

From the back of the room, a Venasaur stirred, lifting his head from a nap.

"We're all headed out for a while. You know the drill, right?"

Despite his slightly old appearance, his voice sounded rather young. "Of course, Luca," he said, rising to all fours and stretching. Once set, he made a massive leap out of his pen, somehow not waking the other Venasaur sharing the pen with him. "You have my word."

"You're the best, Seth," Luca said, giving a thumbs up. "All right Alan, now let's move."

Alan gave a meek wave and a weak "goodbye" to Seth before being whisked into the school hallways by Luca.

Most of the movement ruckus from earlier had since vanished, and had been replaced by complete and utter silence. Alan and Luca could still hear the distant echoing of footsteps deep within the maze of hallways, but it was too far away for either to care much.

"Who was that?" Alan asked as they began their long trip back to Cheren.

"Who, Peter?"

"No. The Venusaur."

"Oh. Seth? That's Ephraim's dad."

"What?!" Alan considered himself good friends with Ephraim, as the Bulbasaur was a common sight around the household. Yet, Alan only realized right there in the halls of the school that he'd never asked Ephraim about his parents or early childhood.

"And the other Venusaur in the pen is his mom, Erika. She came directly from Kanto, so she was named in honor of one of their gym leaders."

"Double what?!" Alan looked at the floor in disbelief. "But...Spectral told me you raised Ephraim from birth?"

"I have known Ephraim for a very long time. We've known each other most of his life. But, Ephraim was born here at the school. He was about two or three weeks old when we met and got him."

"Whoa… But Spectral?"

"He could just be misremembering," Luca shrugged. "With that big brain of his, I'd bet he gets some information all jumbled up and confused."

Alan took a moment to process that statement. "Is...that a compliment or an insult?" he asked.

"Yes."

Alan looked like he wanted to object to that response, but ended up saying nothing back and just sighing instead.

Their walk together was totally quiet after that all the way to Cheren's office, where Luca broke the silence upon making the final turn down the hall towards the place where Cheren worked.

"Oh. He's waiting."

Indeed, Cheren was standing just outside his office door, with both his arms crossed and a difficult to read expression present on his face. His gaze lightened a bit when he saw Luca and Alan, but he still looked stern when they approached him to talk.

"We're not too late, are we?" Luca asked. "We came right away."

"You're perfectly fine on time, Luca," Cheren replied, easing both his guests. "Funny. I have this unusual notion that you're the kind that will always be late, and yet history has always proven that you've always been very much on time to important events."

"Maybe that idea comes from Spectral," Luca said back with a hint of snobbishness.

"True. He is anything but punctual," Cheren said, hiding a bit of a smirk. "Let's not waste any more time than we have to, though. We're off to the backyard. Now."

"Just us three?" Luca asked.

"Everyone else is either already there or is on their way there. I waited here just for you," Cheren said, loosening his gaze.

"Why?"

"Am I not allowed to have a nice, quick chat with an old friend?"

Luca wanted to counter Cheren's point, but stopped himself mid breath. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"Old friend?" Alan asked. "What's he mean by 'old friend?'"

"What does he mean by 'old friend?'" Luca repeated. "Well, Cheren and I were students here at the same time. He knew Spectral way better than he knew me back in those days, though."

"We once took a class together, and were made partners for the year," Cheren explained. "Spectral was an incredibly smart student, and frequently got put into higher level classes. He was the salutatorian of his class."

"Salu-what?"

"The second smartest as recognized by the school. No, I was not number one," Luca added, knowing Alan would ask. "My grades were...not the greatest throughout my school life."

"During the class we shared, Spectral and I became good friends. And because we became good friends, it was only a matter of time before I would come to befriend his brother as well. I don't talk to either nearly as often anymore though. It's a shame," Cheren said, beginning to walk down the hallway on his own. He stopped once he passed Luca, turning around and inviting him and Alan to walk with him. "Didn't Spectral recently finish an internship?"

Luca picked up on the hint. "Uh, yeah, actually. He got back a couple of weeks ago." He began walking forwards too, eventually keeping pace with Cheren as they went down the halls while Alan trailed behind, wanting to catch up to the two men but also not wanting to distract them by running.

"Tell me about it."

"I'm afraid I don't know much," Luca sighed. "Spectral's been kinda vague on the details. All we know is that he spent a year in Kalos with their Pokemon Professor, whose name I cannot remember for the life of me."

"Kalos professor? I believe that would be Professor Sycamore?"

"Maybe," Luca shrugged. "But like, he's told us almost nothing else. He didn't even tell us what his job was or what he did. Just that he really enjoyed it."

"I see. At the very least, he's taking steps to build a future for himself. An internship is always a valuable experience." Cheren turned to face Luca. "And what about you? Do you plan to keep working as you are for the rest of your life?"

"I'm pretty damn happy with how things are now," Luca said, casually stretching a bit. "Two jobs, great family, good health, sustainable looking future… So yeah. If you'll have me, I'd love to keep working here."

"Considering the invaluable work you and your father have done for this school, I would be very surprised if either of you would ever be denied your job here," Cheren nodded. "Which, by the way, thank you for agreeing to do this."

"Do what? Work?"

"This event. The whole thing for Pokemon Trainers and yesterday's announcement."

"Oh. That. Yeah. Why would I not agree to this? You're my boss."

Cheren sighed. "I'm very conscious about your strong opinions on the ethics of Pokemon battling. Too conscious, even. It always makes me hesitant to ask you for anything at all related to Pokemon training. Even just simple questions like your experiences on your travels."

"Oh shoot. Cheren, dude, it's all fine," Luca said, concerned. He and Cheren stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway, giving Alan ample time to catch up as they prepped to head outside and join the rest of the school. "I mean like, asking me to battle and asking about my time as a trainer are two totally different things as far as I'm concerned."

"And if I were to ask you to battle?"

"Uh…" Luca thought over it for a bit. "It'd probably depend on the situation and reason. If I can avoid battling, I'd much prefer that, but if I'm left with no other options…"

"What if you were challenged? In front of a crowd?"

"If it's a crowd of strangers, I couldn't care less. If it's people that see me on the regular though, then I think I'd save myself the humiliation and go for it."

"I see." Cheren turned around and prepared to open the door. He gazed at the conglomeration of the students sitting on the benches outside, and the teachers trying their best to calm everyone down. He could hear the collective talking of all the people there, but couldn't make out a single word of what was being spoken. "In that case, Luca… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Try to keep quiet," Cheren said. "Wait here for me to call you in. By then, you'll know what for." Cheren went all in with the door, pushing it open and heading outside. All the clamor of the students and faculty vanished instantly when Cheren stood in the center of the field of flattened earth, leaving behind complete silence in its wake as he observed both sides.

"What just happened?" Alan whispered to Luca.

"I have no idea," Luca whispered back. "He just left with an ominous warning that sounds like it came right out of a movie, but I don't know what it means."

"Oh, come on. I raised you better than this."

Luca and Alan both yelped at the same time at the sound of a new voice behind them, barely remembering Cheren's request to stay as quiet as possible.

However, they both recognized the voice in an instant, and swerved around to meet them.

"Dad?" Luca gasped.

"In the flesh," Elliot replied.

"I'm here too!" came a fourth voice as it climbed up onto Elliot's shoulder. Ephraim gave Luca and Alan a wave. "'Sup guys?"

"Hi Ephraim," Alan said, waving back. "Dude, you never told me your parents live here."

"Yeah. Luca brings me here like once a month to say hi."

"Oh."

"But not today. Why are you here?" Luca asked.

"What can I say? I wanted to watch."

"We both did," Elliot added.

"Watch what?"

"I thought you'd've figured this out by now, Luca," Elliot said shaking his head. "You love playing around with people in the exact same manner, too. How do you not see it?"

Luca took a deep breath, thought for a bit, and then shook his head. "Am I being daft right now? Am I missing an incredibly obvious hint?"

"Yes."

"Yep."

"I think I get it," Alan said, looking thoughtful.

"Whaaaaat?" Luca sighed. "We're on the clock here so like, can someone explain it?"

Ephraim started jumping up and down on Elliot's shoulder. "Oh, oh! Me, me, me!"

Luca just pointed at Ephraim in return, which to him meant "go for it."

"Ok so, yesterday. Announcement about return of the Unova League. Today, you get called into work early, are asked to bring a Pokemon, and then Cheren wants to meet you alone with that Pokemon. He mentions that he's looking for people with experience as Pokemon trainers."

"Uh-huh…"

"Literally right outside this door, Cheren asks you under what circumstances you'd be willing to participate in a Pokemon battle, despite your overall apprehensiveness about the sport."

"Okay…"

"He mentions a specific scenario. One that resembles the one that's happening outside the door in front of you. And there are no other trainers outside from what you can see."

"One that resembles the one— Wait."

"And he apologizes to you before heading outside."

Luca's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"He gets it," Ephraim chuckled.

"Yeeeeeah...that's the idea I was getting," Alan said.

"And you knew?" Luca asked, looking at Elliot and Ephraim. "Did Cheren tell you this was his plan?"

Elliot nodded. "Yep. He texted me shortly after you left, and invited me to watch. And I brought Ephraim along, as he insisted he watch too."

"And you did nothing to stop him?"

"I want to see you battle," Elliot said, suddenly sounding scarily firm. "He does too. Here. Today. And nobody wants you to hold back."

"But—"

"—and so, I'd like to invite our special guest to join me here on the battlefield!" Luca heard it out of the corner of his ear. Cheren had spoken up during that sentence and that sentence alone, and now he was staring right at Luca.

"That's you, champ," Elliot said, patting Luca on the back.

"I—… Ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuck… Okay." Luca took a deep breath and shook off his anxiety. "Okay. Okay. No holding back huh? I can do that." He briefly turned around, looked at Alan, and pointed at the ground. "Stay here. I'll call you in," he said.

Before Alan could question why, Luca was already stepping out the door and to the school's backyard, where several hundred pairs of eyes were suddenly laid on him. He walked forwards with a calm and cool stride, showing no signs of the fear and anxiety that had his heart racing faster with every step he took.

When Luca passed by the headmaster, Cheren whispered into Luca's ear, "The floor's all yours."

Luca's only acknowledgement was a smirk blossoming on his face.

Once Luca reached the center of the battlefield, he stopped and looked around at the bleachers. There were barely any empty seats to be seen, and almost every single person had their attention focused solely on Luca. "All out," he repeated in his head.

"So. 'Why the heck did Cheren just call forth the guy who spends all his time working in the Pokemon House? He's not even a teacher, what's he gonna show us? The optimal way for a Trainer to pet their Pokemon? Lame.' Is that what most of you are thinking?"

There were a few chuckles from the audience, and Luca heard one kid behind him whisper "Oh shit" a little too loudly, but for the most part, everything remained silent, and people's faces still looked dull and unimpressed.

"Well, surprise. Before I worked here, I used to be a professional trainer. Look up my name. Luca Mararcich. M-A-R-A-R-C-I-C-H. You'll get results. Like my thirteenth place in the Johto League three years ago. First time at a national, mind you."

Suddenly, several of the bored reactions Luca had been seeing from the crowd of students had become bitterly intrigued.

"Today I'd like to give you a taste of what it's like to see a professional trainer battling in person," Luca said, trying his best to keep the crowd's newfound attention. He was having trouble coming up with ideas. "I'd like to show you that you can reach this level! The level of a Gym Leader. The level of someone who has made it to the national level and made an impact in their first appearance. I'm nineteen, didn't go to trainer school, and have been a trainer for five years. I've lived right here in Aspertia City my whole life. No one else in my family was or is a trainer. I got that league placement three years ago! If I can do it, so can you."

Suddenly, an idea struck. Luca pointed to Cheren, confident and aggressive. He swallowed all his pride in one gulp. "Cheren. I'll raise the stakes. You are the Gym Leader of Aspertia City. You wanted to battle me as a demonstration for the students. So, I wish to challenge you to a gym battle, right here and now. One on one!"

Several "Oohs" came from the students. Even Cheren had pursed his lips together in interest. He looked as though he was debating whether or not to accept the challenge.

"Well?" Luca asked.

Cheren grinned a bit. "You act like I would decline. I would be more than happy to accept you as my first gym challenger since yesterday's announcement."

Cheren crossed the battlefield, stopping briefly as he passed by Luca. "I forgot how good of an actor you are," he whispered. "Very dramatic. Very real. Full marks. I'll join in."

"You flatter me," Luca said, ensuring he kept his game face on.

Cheren continued his trek to the opposite end of the field. Once ready, he turned around and drew a Poke Ball in one swift movement. "I invite you to present your Pokemon first, Luca," Cheren said. "I have no intention of using anyone other than the Pokemon in my hand right now."

"That's not proper etiquette," Luca said, shaking his head. "But, it hardly matters. I already know the Pokemon I'm using today." He snapped his fingers and pointed forwards. "Alan!"

Only hearing the sound of his name, Alan stepped forth from the same spot Luca had emerged from, walking in proud and confident steps as he resisted the temptation to gaze at the crowd watching him. He only stopped moving forwards when he stood in front of Luca, ready to fight whatever it was that Cheren sent out.

"A friend of mine, straight from the Johto region!" Luca exclaimed, trying to keep the students excited about seeing a foreign Pokemon that didn't also reside in the Pokemon House. "And one of my aces during my time there."

Alan beat his fists together, before letting out a very awkward sounding "Yeaaaaaaaaaah!"

Luckily no one in the audience understood what he said, so it sounded like a normal battle cry.

"Nice entrance," Luca said just loud enough so that Alan could hear.

"I heard your speech, man," Alan muttered. "That was cool." He smiled. "So I tried to be cool, too. Like we did back in Johto. Did it work?"

"Well…" Luca scratched his chin a bit. "Back in Johto, we looked cooler while battling than we did entering the ring. So let's emphasize that, okay?"

"Right."

Their attention shifted back to Cheren, who was still in the very same pose with the very same Poke Ball as before Luca summoned Alan. "Do you own any Pokemon with type advantage over me, Luca?" he asked. "You are aware, after all, that I'm a normal-type specialist, yes?"

Luca nodded. "Very. And I do own a rock-type, as well as a few Pokemon who like fighting-type moves. But I figured we could go for an even battle. You probably have counters to those things with your stronger Pokemon anyway. A more neutral Pokemon is something you're less likely to have a counter for."

"You're not wrong," Cheren said, slightly grinning. Luca's analysis had gotten a few students even more interested. "However, what I have in my hands is a counter for you specifically, Luca. It works regardless of your current Pokemon. Your neutral pick can't have prepared you for it."

Now there were many audible "Oohs" from the students. Luca could see everyone's gaze suddenly move from Cheren to him.

His response was simple. "Bring it."

"Hmph. Maurice!"

Cheren threw the ball in a single motion that looked unprofessional. He brought the hand holding the ball down from the opposite shoulder directly across his sternum, and threw the Poke Ball at an angle that made his hand look like it had to uncomfortably contort. Yet, Cheren did the motion so swiftly and fluidly that everyone ended up not caring. It still looked clean.

From Cheren's Poke Ball emerged a large dog-like Pokemon, with long beige and white plumes running from its face all the way down to the ground beneath. The rest of its body was surprisingly rectangular, boasting shaggy dark blue and gray fur. Its size, girth, and confident resting face made it intimidating to look at.

This intimidation effect didn't seem to be doing anything to Alan, who was looking at the opposing Stoutland with his own confident facade. On the inside, he was more curious than anything else. It was a Pokemon he'd never seen before. How would it act? What was it like? Was it as fierce as it appeared, or was it a gentle giant? What was its favorite color? The questions never stopped.

However, on Luca, the intimidation worked rather well. Luca's fake confidence had been completely replaced with an expression of genuine shock, a look he couldn't wipe off his face no matter what he tried. "Maurice?" he repeated.

"Hmm?" The Stoutland looked past Alan at Luca, and his eyes suddenly widened. Quickly, he recomposed himself and returned to his stalwart gaze. "Ah… So this is how our paths cross again."

"Maurice…" Luca suddenly sounded much more dejected.

"You do remember me, right, Luca?" Maurice asked, tilting his head a bit. "Or was I just forgettable and unimportant to you, too?"

"That's a counter to me all right." Luca finally managed to correct his attitude, returning to his firm stance and clearing his throat. "How could I ever forget, Maurice?" he nodded. "Five years…"

"Five years," Maurice affirmed. "Five years ago, we met. T'was a day that changed both of our lives...all of our lives. Forever. If not for that day, we wouldn't be standing here now."

"Don't remind me," Luca groaned.

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm glad we met, Maurice. Don't get the wrong idea," Luca said. "But that day isn't a day I like to remember."