Scene 18: Prodigy

The very next day following the incident, Kari was fitted for a uniform and taken to her first day of class. Dana was the one showing her around, her father was much too busy for such things. After a brief tour of the facilities, her specialty uniform was ready and Dana returned her to the classroom.

It seemed that Team Rocket divided their students into two groups: red and blue. And within each group, the students were ranked according to their battle results. Kari would be in the red group, and thanks to her "splendid performance the day before," according to Dana, she would be ranked at the very top.

"Great. All the more reason for everyone to hate me…" As they walked around the building, Kari noticed people staring. No one knew who she was or where she came from, but they knew that she was the little girl from the day before. She was the one who beat out all the regular member's high scores and crashed the system. And just like that, she was the most well known student in the whole academy- for better, or for worse…

It was about midday when Dana took Kari to her first class. She introduced her as Kari, no more, no less. It seemed that Dana also understood the underground workings of the school. If no one knew who she really was, maybe they would just leave her alone… But, then again, that plan could also totally backfire. Kari appreciated the little gesture, but she also understood that she had to stand on her own two feet. Even if this was a school of much- much older teens to adults- she had to stand up for herself.

The first day wasn't as horrible as it could have been. No one really talked to her, they all just kept an eye on her, waiting to see what kind of person/ trainer she was. And seeing as how she was still sporting her bandages and a massive headache, Kari much preferred the lack of communication from everyone.

As the weeks lagged on and Kari still hadn't shown any remarkable skills, everyone began to forget about the incident. Obviously it was a fluke- an error in the system. This little girl wasn't anything special, and especially not with that pathetic little Eevee of hers. But as for the students who were still aiming for the top, Kari was in their way. And soon the bullying began.

Sometimes Kari would be unable to find her school things, and when she did find them they had been scribbled on or left in the girls' toilet. One day, after a gym day, Kari found her uniform in tatters. She had to wait 2 whole days before another could be made. Kari knew that if she spoke up to her father, or even to Dana, it would all stop. But she couldn't. This was her problem to deal with. Who knew a 7year old's life could be so complicated…?

Kari's worse class was the athletics. Everyone was much older and stronger than she was. She was just a kid, how could she even compete? And they all knew it, too. There was one day when all the girls in the red class had been playing volleyball, luckily Kari had been benched most of the match, but when she was finally called in to play, she sucked. When the game was over the girls all made their way to the locker rooms, but before they were even off the court someone pushed Kari. Kari almost flew into the ball basket and when she stood back up, her knee was bleeding. She didn't have to look far to find the culprit: Emily.

She was ranked number 2 in their class and was very open about how much she hated Kari. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what had happened, but no one made any attempts to help her. Kari was fed up. She had dealt with all this bullying for too long, "That's it." She stood up and faced them all, "If you have a problem with me, then just say it! You know it's sad when adults start shoving little girls. Go on, then!" A couple people laughed. Emily stepped forward, "Fine. You know what, I do have a problem with you." Everyone watched with bated breath.

"You come into this school all high-and-mighty, but you're nothing. You haven't earned your place at the academy like everyone else had. Just because of some fluke you think you can waltz in here and take the number one class ranking? I don't think so..!" Kari looked her straight in the eyes, "You think that was a fluke? Oh, just because I beat your measly high score? Puh-lease! If you want me to prove myself, fine! I'll have a battle with you. A real battle. Anytime you want." Kari crossed her arms. She had never felt so powerful, and confident. But she was.

Her score was not a fluke and she knew how powerful she and Eevee were. This was the first time she had ever been so confidant in her own abilities. Hands on her hips, Emily wasn't backing down from the challenge, "Alright then. Let's settle this. We can borrow the Battle Room right now, if you're not scared." She waited for Kari to squirm her way out of this one. Instead, she walked over to the open doorway and looked back, "You coming, or what?" And out she went. In an instant all of the students were filing out of the gym and down the hall to the floor below where the Battle Room was located.

The Battle Room was split into 4 courts with audience seating around its perimeter. Each court had a ball dispenser: you could either battle with your own Poke'mon, or use the Team Rocket database. While the other students were filing into the seats, Emily was punching in numbers into the computer system. She spoke without looking up, "We'll go with random selection, just to make it fair. How does 3×3 match sound?" She looked over at Kari who was starting to get nervous now. She fixed her face, "That's fine."

Although Kari was now trying to be brave, she had never battled with other Pokémon before! Her and Eevee? Sure, no problem! But she wasn't expecting this! On either side of the dispenser came out 3 poke'balls for each. Emily picked hers up and walked to the far end of the arena. Kari did the same. Eevee followed close behind her the whole way. She hoped the others couldn't tell how nervous she was now. She shook her head to help her focus- No! She couldn't be nervous! She had to do well, otherwise none of the other students would respect her..! This was her only chance..!

A voice pulled her back to reality, "I'll play ref then, shall I?" Eric, a boy with dark blue hair, jumped the barrier. Kari remembered from that day in the Battle Simulator. Ever since she started classes, he was one of the few people who actually spoke with her. It was also nice because he was one of the most popular students here, not to mention one of the most good looking; however, he had a weakness. His sister, Kari's current opponent, Emily. She was much more rough than he was, and although he often made a wise-crack at her expense, he also feared her wrath.

Eric walked by Kari, looked her over, then stopped and prodded her on the forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?" Eric chuckled, "There. Now get out of your brain and focus. No need to get all nervous." He smiled, "After all, it's just another battle." He continued walking towards the referee box in the middle. Kari couldn't help but smile. He was right. This was just another battle. Sure she had no idea which Pokémon she would have, but she was a Pokémon Trainer, and just like all Trainers, she had to learn how to tame other Pokémon, so why not start now?

Emily glared at her brother. He knew full-well how much she despised this little wanna-be Trainer, and here he was messing with her plans to put her in her place for good. Emily knew full well how inexperienced Kari was. She may be good with her little Eevee, but what about other Pokémon? She was loving getting to see Kari squirm inside her head, but no, Eric just had to make her feel better… That was his problem. He was too nice, especially with damsels in distress.

"Alright. This will be a 3×3 battle. Emily vs Kari." Eric raised the referee flags, "Best out of 3 wins… Eh.. What are we fighting for, again?" Emily face-palmed, "We're fighting for the respect of knowing who the top Trainer is, you dimwit!"

"Oh, yeah." He shrugged. The audience laughed. In that moment, Kari realized something. Emily was the only one stressing about this match. To her, this was a serious life or death situation- if she lost, she would lose her respect as a top ranked trainer. Everyone else was just in it for the show. And most likely just waiting to watch someone fail… But what about Kari..? She only agreed in the heat of the moment, for her, this match didn't matter at all. At least, not as much as it did for Emily. Eric raised his flags once more, "Let the match- Begin!"

"Go, Poke'ball!" Emily threw her first ball and out came Poliwrath. It pumped its fists, ready for the battle to begin. He was definitely much bigger than any photograph Kari had seen in her books, "Alright, it's our turn." She threw the Pokéball, "Go! Whoever you are..!" The light dimmed around the Pokémon and Kari saw that it was an old friend- Growlithe! She laughed in spite of herself- ok, this wasn't her mother's Gowlithe, and she fully understood the type-disadvantage she was in, but this was also a Pokémon she knew oh, too well!

It seemed that both sides were celebrating their victories prematurely, "How sad, already off to a rough start." Emily had no plans to hold back, "Poliwrath, use Bubble Beam!" A burst of bubbles headed straight towards Kari's side of the arena, "Quick! Dodge it!" Growlithe didn't have to be told twice. Growlithe ran from side to side dodging the attack.

"Now, Growlithe! Use Dig!" And a moment later, it was gone.

"Huh, hiding are we?" Emily sneered from across the way. Kari smiled, "Nope. Just getting ready for the next attack." The ground shook at Poliwrath's feet, and out popped Growlithe, "Now! Use Flamethrower!" Poliwrath stumbled backwards. Emily flailed in outrage, "Use Hydro Pump, Go!" Nothing happened. Poliwrath looked at her questioningly, "What!? You don't know that move?" Growlithe had bounded back to Kari's side of the field. She looked it, "Hey, Growlithe, do you know Fireblast?" Growlithe shook his head, "Hmmm, Ooh! What about Flame Wheel?" Growlithe barked in agreement, "That'll work! Growlithe, use Flame Wheel!"

Growlithe closed in on Poliwrath. In a panic Emily shouted out, "Watergun!" And Poliwrath obliged. The water was enough to slow Growlithe's attack, but it still made contact. Poliwrath went flying.

"Get back up and use a Fighting Attack! Mach Punch, Vital Throw, anything will do!" Poliwrath leapt forward and slammed into Growlithe with a powerful Vital Throw.

"Now, follow up with another Bubble Beam!" And before Growlithe could land after the 1st attack, it was bombarded with the the Bubble Beam. A moment later, Growlithe was out. Eric raised his flags, "Growlithe is unable to battle. Poliwrath wins!" Kari went to check on Growlithe, "Are you ok?" He licked her face. "Good. Now take a long rest." Kari returned him to his poke'ball. Eric watched as Kari walked back to her spot.

On the other side, Emily was doing a victory jig with Poliwrath. Kari pulled out the next Pokéball, "If you're finished over there, I'd like to move onto the next battle, thanks..!" Emily looked over. She returned Poliwrath to its Pokéball, "Aaw, what's wrong? You just realize you're gonna lose?" Kari smiled, "You wish." She threw out the Pokéball and out came a Wartortle. Kari was astonished, "You have got to be kidding me..!" Two in a row were her mother's Poké wondered if the last one would be- Emily threw her ball. A Voltorb appeared.

"Let the match- Begin!" Eric threw down his flags.

Kari was at another disadvantage, but that didn't matter. It just made things more interesting. "Wartortle, use Hydro Pump!" And it worked this time. Wartortle's attack hit everything. But rather than be upset by the damage her Pokémon had taken, Emily was gleeful, "Thanks for the shower. Now it's my turn. Use Thunder!" Voltorb powered up and unleashed a powerful Thunder Attack, all helped and led on by Wartortle's previous attack. The move was super effective. And worse- it was Paralyzed! Emily took advantage of this, "Quick! Use Roll Out!" The attack sent Wartortle flying, but when it got back up, the paralysis had worn off.

"Alrighty, let's hit them back! Can you use Skull Bash? Good! Now, go!" Wartortle catapulted itself straight at Voltorb and rebounded. But something was wrong. Voltorb started flashing red- Kari had read something about this before, "Wartortle! Protect! Hurry!" A massive explosion shook the room. Kari had seen it coming, but Emily hadn't.

She was covered in soot and flooring, coughing up ashes. But when she peered over, "Ha! That Self-Destruct was so powerful it blew Wartortle right out of its shell!" Kari looked down at what she was looking at, Wartortle's shell rocking back and forth at Kari's feet. The explosion had thrown it across the room and back, "Uhm, not quite." Out popped Wartortle, a little dizzy, but alive.

Eric raised his flags, "Voltorb is unable to battle. Wartortle wins!" Kari ran over to congratulate Wartortle. She gave it a shell-crushing hug, "Way to go! You were amazing!" Meanwhile, Emily had already returned her Pokémon and had wiped off most of the soot on her face.

"Play time is over." She threw the Pokéball and a Machamp appeared. Cheers went up for the Fighting Pokémon. Kari, realizing the next match was already beginning, returned Wartortle and threw out her next ball.

"Getting impatient, are we? Alright, it's up to you, Persian!" She called it out without any doubts. Emily was baffled, "How do you-" And Kari was right- from inside her final Pokéball came a Persian. She knew the cat Pokémon too well, and even at a Type Disadvantage again, Kari believed in her Pokémon.

"Ok, listen up. This round's gonna be all about the speed- you got that?" Persian mewed in understanding and dashed forward. And just as Kari thought, Persian was fast, "Use Fury Swipes!" They had Machamp stumbling around. It does you no good to be extra strong when you can't even see, let alone, touch your opponent.

"Now, Double Team!" Multpile images circled around the Machamp. Even more than the viewing audience, Machamp was getting dizzy.

"Swift!" An entourage of Swift Attacks made impact until Machamp was actually seeing stars. He tried to take a swing at Persian, but either Machamp was really out of sorts or Persian was just too fast for it, it missed- hitting itself instead and knocking itself unconscious. Kari was just as surprised by the final blow as everyone else…

"Machamp is unable to battle! Persian wins! The match goes to- Kari!" Eric came over and raised one of Kari's arms, claiming her victory. The audience cheered. Some were standing and stomping in their seats. Kari couldn't help but smile.

Eric looked down at her, "I've got a question: how did you know your last Pokémon was a Persian." Persian had sauntered over and was rubbing itself against Kari. She went ahead and stroked its fur, "My mother." She didn't want to look at Eric, "My mother's 3 favorite Pokémon were Growlithe, Wartortle and Persian. I don't know. I guess after the 1st two appeared, it just seemed right…" Before Eric could respond, Emily had arrived.

"Ok, Girlie, I don't care what that match meant, I still won't acknowledge you!" Eric put his arm over her shoulder, "That's alright, '2nd Place,' everyone else will." Emily grabbed his shirt and wrung him back and forth, "DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!" Others from the audience were starting to gather around, all were laughing at the brother-sister antics.

"Hey, Kari, can I pet your Eevee?" a girl with orange curly hair asked- Mia? Or was her name Maya?

"Dude, Kari, that battle was sick!" A blonde haired guy patted her on the back. Kari didn't understand: an hour ago everyone was against her, and what..? Now that she had proven herself against one of the top students, they were all ok with her? Man, teen-logic made no sense.

"What's going on here!?" Kari jumped. She knew that voice. The students all turned around: standing in the doorway were Lt. Surge (one of their instructors) and none other than Giovanni himself. Giovanni picked his way through the mess until he was right on top of Kari, no one dared try to stop him. As he got closer, Kari took a few steps back- it was daunting how terrifying he looked.

"What did I tell you about battling while you still had those bandages on..?" Giovanni didn't yell, he didn't have to. He spoke low and in a stern voice that forced you to listen. Kari gulped, "…Uhm… Not to..?" Kari spoke to her feet.

"We spoke about this- a hundred times, Kari! Why you shouldn't be doing this or shouldn't be doing that…" And it went on like that for 5full minutes. Giovanni ripping into her and Kari just taking it. The rest of the class stood in awe at what was taking place, and still, no one understood their relationship, that is until…

"Come, we're leaving." Giovanni grabbed Kari's hand. She stumbled over her feet and some of the broken flooring, "B-but where are we- "

"Home. And you will stay there until you've learned your lesson." They were already at the doorway, Giovanni dragging Kari along. Eevee tailing along behind.

"But, Daddy, that's not fair!"

…DADDY!? The lightbulb clicked on for everyone at the same time.

"Daddy"… It all made sense now…

Almost a week had passed by the time Kari was allowed back to the Academy. Her bandages were finally off, so there was no way she could get in trouble. The bell hadn't even rung for first period to begin when she was hounded by a group of classmates, including Eric and Emily. Amy slammed her hands on the sides of her desk, "So… 'Daddy,' huh?" Everyone watched closely.

"Oh, a-about that…"

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Everyone was suddenly on top of her- "Well it makes sense, now!"

"Ya, it's no wonder she's so strong!"

"I wonder if that Eevee's one of his experiments? And that's why it's so powerful!"

"What's it like being The Boss' daughter?"

"What's The Bosses' favorite color?"

And just like that, Kari was the most popular girl in her school, for better or for worse… She was The Boss' daughter, after all, and if you were in good with her, there was a chance you could get in good with him, too. And still, Kari wondered: who would have thought that a 7year old's life would be so… complicated..?