Chapter Six
After lunchtime finished, Red said goodbye to his friends and made his way to his next type elective, water. Like the other classrooms, it was insanely detailed with an aquarium taking the place of the walls and various water type pokemon could be seen casually swimming around. At the front of the classroom was a large portrait of a young trainer in a stylish blue outfit that matched his blue hair. Also in the portrait was a Milotic that was wrapped around the legs of the trainer. Red wasn't sure if that was a picture of the instructor or a former student.
None of Red's friends were in this class with him, but apparently Blue was, as he gave Red his usual look of annoyance. Not wanting to be within Blue and his usual mocking, Red looked around to see if there was anybody that he recognized and noticed a familiar head of orange hair, revealing to be Misty. Although the only time he spoke to her was when they accidentally knocked each other on the floor, he figured that sitting by her was a better option than sitting anywhere near Blue.
"Hey Misty" Red said as he walked up to her "Mind if I sit here?"
Misty looked over at him, seemingly thinking it over. "Eh, I guess so, so long as I don't end up on the floor again"
"Deal" Red said with a slight laugh
Once the rest of the class took their seats, The instructor walked to the front of the room in a very showy fashion. He wore a long blue trench coat that was complemented by a white ascot tied together by a blue gemstone. His black hair and thin mustache were clearly dyed as tufts of white hair on the front of his head contradicted it.
"Hello my students" The instructor began. "My name is Juan and I shall be your instructor for the water type elective. Now I'm sure you're all nervous about beginning classes at our prestigious academy, but rest assured, everyone in this classroom has already taken the right step forward, for you are signed up for my class. After all, not to brag but I am responsible for Wallace, one of the most famous trainers currently competing in the Hoenn league" Juan said as he gestured over to the large portrait beside him. As Juan continued to speak, Red wasn't sure whether to find his words comforting or pompous. "Now I wish to start things simple on the first day. When I call your name, I would like you to stand up and tell us where you are from and your reason for signing up for the water type. Now, Blue?, oh that's Professor Oak's grandson!"
Blue stood up in his usual smug fashion and began to speak. "My name is Blue from Pallet town and I'm in here for one reason and one reason only, and it is to train the strongest pokemon in the world and become a champion"
"Hmm, already we have an ambitious one here" Juan said. "Well, water pokemon are among the more powerful pokemon, but can also be among the most dangerous. I hope you are ready to balance that out, but if being the grandson of one of the best pokemon researchers in the world Now, Misty?"
After a few moments of hesitation, Misty stood up and began to speak. "Uh, I'm Misty I'm from the Celuean Gy.." Misty stopped for a second to correct herself. "I mean Cerluean City and I am here because I come from a family of water pokemon trainers and I have to carry that legacy."
"you don't sound as enthusiastic as I would" Juan responded.
"look I introduced myself, can I sit down now?" Misty asked.
"Hmm, very well. Lets hope you lighten up as our class continues" Juan responded. "Now, Red?"
Not really sure what to say, Red stood up to give an answer. "Uh, my name is Red from Pallet town, and I signed up for water pokemon, because I think their interesting. My neighbor taught me a bit when I was a kid and I'd like to know more"
"Pff, like you understood anything gramps said to you!" Blue interrupted.
"excuse me" Juan said. "please do not interrupt another student as they speak. Now you said you learned from Professor Oak as well?"
"Uh yeah a little bit" Red responded.
"Interesting" Juan said. "My legacy could become bigger by teaching the long time students of Oak, its quite exciting!"
"Uh, thanks I think" Red responded as he sat down looking confused.
"You alright there?" Misty asked.
"uh, yeah, you?" Red responded.
"same" Misty answered although it didn't seem as though either were answering truthfully.
…
Red was nearly exhausted by the time he got back to homeroom. He could barely listen to the lecture Oak was giving and was really trying more just to stay awake. Leaf had to nudge him awake at least twice but he was still able to stay up compared to Flannery in front of them whose snoring was incredibly apparent. Blue was over at the other side of the classroom giving an antagonistic look towards Red, as he was probably annoyed by the events of the previous class.
"Alright class" Oak said. "I can see several people beginning to doze off, so hopefully this will wake everybody up. As a welcome gift, every student will receive a specially picked pokemon to serve as their partner. At the end of your time here at Kobukan, your pokemon partner will be analyzed and given a final grade, so take good care of them. Once you have your pokemon you are welcome to leave class for the day"
This announcement excited the entire class, including Red who was also a bit nervous by the idea of training a new pokemon. The only pokemon he trained before was Pikachu and he had the help of his mother and Professor Oak. This would be the first time he would have to train a pokemon by himself and he had no idea how difficult it could be. When Red's name was called, he nervously walked over to Oak's desk where the professor happily greeted him.
"Hello Red, I hope your first day has been going well"
"It has, thanks" Red responded.
"This pokemon was specially picked to be your partner. May it serve you as well as your Pikachu has" Oak told him as he handed him a pokeball. After hesitating for a few seconds, Red activated the pokeball to reveal the fiery glow of a Charmander. "Char!"
"Woah! Thank you professor!" Red said.
"You're very welcome Red" Oak responded as Red returned Charmander to its pokeball and returned to his friends.
"So Red" Leaf started peaking "What pokemon did you get"
"A Charmander" Red answered.
"Nice! I also got some Kanto rep! I got a Bulbasaur!"
"I got Torchic!" May chimed in. "they're a native to Hoenn!"
"Flan got a hoenn pokemon too!" Whitney said as she and an exhausted looking Flannery walked up to the rest of the group.
"Uh, yeah," Flannery mumbled "I got a numel. Works for me since I'm focusing on fire types"
"And I got a Cleffa!" Whitney said. "Its so cute! I just wanna squish its cheeks all the time!" As the conversation continued, Red could see Hilbert awkwardly walking by, seemingly having nobody to talk to. Wanting him to feel included, Red decided to take matters to his own hands.
"What pokemon did you get Hilbert?" Red asked.
"huh? Oh I got a Tepig" Hilbert answered. "Has pretty good stats so itll make a decent addition to my team"
"Stats?" Leaf asked "Don't tell me you're one of those over analyzing math nerds"
Hilbert gave no response but just stood in cold silence, seeming a little embarrassed by the response Leaf gave him. Noticing that Leaf may have upset him she began to speak again. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you"
"don't worry about it" Hilbert said. "I appreciate the apology though"
"Check it out loser!" Blue yelled out as he walked up to Red. "I hear you got a Charmander! That is fantastic!"
"Is that a complement?" Red asked.
"of course not!" Blue said. "Its fate! Its fate that I will always be on top of you because I got a Squirtle!"
Of all the pokemon that Blue could have gotten, it just had to be of the one type that would have a direct advantage over Red's. This wouldn't bother Red if it were anybody else, but because it was Blue, it meant that there was yet another excuse Blue had to give him a hard time.
"Hey!" Leaf shouted over at Blue. "I've noticed you all day taunting and giving mean looks towards Red! What is your problem?"
"Pff!" Blue said. "I don't need to explain anything to anybody! Especially not people who hang around a loser like Red! Smell ya!" he then walked away in his signature smug fashion.
"Smell ya?" Leaf said in a judgmental tone "Does he think that's clever?"
"I wouldn't think too much about him" Red said to her "Blue is set in his ways"
"He does seem to have some bone to pick with you" Hilbert said. "Whatever it is, grudges are a waste of time" Hilbert then walked out of class as well.
"He's right" May said. "grudges are never good, but they could be hard for some people to let go of" May seemed to have emphasized the "some people" part of her statement. Red wondered if she was passively referring to somebody she knew. "Well anyway, Brendan and I are meeting up for a celebratory date for finishing our first day here so I gotta run" May then walked off.
"Same" Flannery said "I have a very important date with my bed" She then walked out with Whitney running to catch up to her.
"wait up Flan! Remember you forgot your dorm key!" Whitney shouted as she ran after Flannery.
With everybody in the group having gone, the only two that were left now were Red and Leaf. The two stood in silence for a few seconds as Leaf gave a smile that Red had to think on whether it was friendly or sinister, given Leaf's personality. "So Red" Leaf started. "You got any plans this afternoon?"
"Uh, not really" Red responded. "Gotta check on Pikachu but other than that nothing"
"Cool!" Leaf said. "Why don't you go grab him and we tour the campus together? I got nothing going on"
"uh, sure why not?" Red answered.
"Nice! Meet up at the Arceus statue in an hour?" Leaf asked.
"Sounds good to me" Red responded as he then headed back to his dorm room.
…
Red opened the door to his room to see Pikachu patiently waiting for him right up front with an angry look on his face as he gave an angry sounding "Pika!"
"I'm sorry Pikachu" Red said to his friend. "I can't bring you to classes with me unless you're in a pokeball so you'll be hanging out in here often, but I'm gonna make it up to. Leaf invited us to hang out with her tonight does that sound good?"
"Pika!" Pikachu happily responded.
Brendan was over by his bed getting changed for his date when he noticed that Red came in. "Dude, your Pikachu is something else man" Brendan said to Red. "I'm pretty sure he was standing there nearly all day waiting for you. I don't think I've ever seen a pokemon as devoted to a trainer as he is to you"
"Oh I don't know" Red responded. "Aren't any of your pokemon the same way?"
"Well sure" Brendan said. "But there's something more than that with you. Its like you and your Pikachu can actually talk to each other"
"What do you mean?" Red asked.
"Uh, never mind man, I'm probably just being confusing" Brendan said. "anyway you got any plans?"
"Uh yeah" Red answered. "Pikachu and I are meeting Leaf and we're gonna look around campus"
"my man!" Brendan said teasingly "The first day and all the ladies love ya!"
"Its not like that, we're just hanging out" Red responded in an annoyed tone.
"I know bro, I'm just giving you a hard time" Brendan said with a laugh. "You kids have fun"
…
After changing into his casual wear, Red along with his Pikachu headed out to the Arceus statue to meet up with Leaf. After Leaf predictably made a joke about how surprising it was that Red knew where to go, the two agreed to start with the gym, as they had been informed that it was available to students in the afternoon after classes. As expected, the gym was filled to the brim with students looking around and even engaging in some pokemon battles. One battle in particular caught the eyes of Red and Leaf as it was between a very focused Hilbert with his Tepig and another student who had a pokemon that turned out to be a Chespin. The student wore a tight blue windbreaker with matching colored skinny jeans and black hiking boots. Covering his long black hair was a red cap with a pair of black sunglasses sitting on top of it. Red could see Serena off to the side dressed in her casual wear consisting of a black top and a frilly red skirt along with her signature pink fedora. She was watching the battle, particularly focusing on the second boy's moves while she was also holding a small pokemon in her arms which turned out to be a fennekin.
"Tepig! Use tackle!" Hilbert shouted as his Tepig started charging toward Chespin.
"Chespin! Dodge then scratch!" The other boy shouted as the Chespin jumped out of the way and gave a furious swipe at Tepig, knocking it unconscious.
"Damn!" Hilbert said. "I had no idea Chespin's scratch was that powerful"
"I told you Hilbert" The other boy said. "You have to take those analysis reports with a grain of salt"
"I must have just used an unreliable source" Hilbert said. "Besides, we just got these pokemon so this was really just a test run"
As Hilbert and the other boy were conversing, Serena noticed Red and Leaf watching from the other side and motioned them to come over. "Hello Red" she said. "And Leaf right? Enjoying the show?"
"Yeah I love watching geeks talking about numbers" Leaf said with a laugh in which Serena joined in.
"Yeah, Calem has always been like that" Serena said referring to the second boy "And how fortunate that his roommate is just as passionate about it" she continued with the word "fortunate" sounding slightly sarcastic.
"Oh come on Serena" Calem said as he and Hilbert walked to the rest of the group. "This is fun for us. Its always good to understand the exact power and abilities of every pokemon"
"I think its cool" Red said with Pikachu adding on to it with a "Pika!"
"Nice Pikachu" Hilbert emotionlessly said. "I've read some reports saying that a Pikachu's volt tackle can be more powerful than a Raichu's if trained right."
"Really? I thought moves usually get more powerful as a pokemon evolves?" Red asked.
"You'd think" Calem said. "but some pokemon moves are actually more effective in certain evolutionary stages. I once heard about a trainer who fully leveled up a Metapod's Harden making it impenetrable."
"Holy crap!" Leaf shouted out as she was looking off into the distance prompting the rest of the group to do the same and see Falkner and Korrina, the top members of the battle team just entered the gym.
"Oh my god!" Leaf said excitingly "I can't believe I'm in the same room as Korrina!"
"Alright Leaf" Red said. "Don't get carried away."
"Your right, I won't" Leaf said before instantly following that up by shouting "I love you Korrina!"
"Sure, that's not getting carried away" Serena said with a laugh as Leaf gave an annoyed look.
Korrina, clearly having noticed Leaf's embarrassing outburst motioned Falkner to follow her as they made their way to Red and the group.
"Oh my god!" Leaf started exclaiming. "Korrina is walking towards us! Korrina is walking towards us!"
"So we're not even trying to not get carried away now are we?" Red said as Korrina and Falner came closer to them.
"Hey guys" Korrina started speaking. "enjoying your first day at Kobukan?"
"oh my god Korrina is talking to me!" Leaf said to herself.
"We're doing well" Red chimed in. "Please excuse Leaf, shes just a big fan of yours"
"believe us, shes used to it" Falkner said with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah" Korrina said "We just wanted to see how all the first years are doing. We know it can be a bit overwhelming"
"eh" Hilbert said while shrugging his arms.
"Are these all the pokemon partners you were given?" Korrina asked gesturing to all the pokemon out with just about everyone nodding.
"No, I got a Charmander" Red said. "I've had my Pikachu since I was a kid."
"Wait a minute" Falkner intervened. "Are you that guy Lance told us about?"
"Um, yeah probably" Red said feeling a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, he said some not kind words about you" Falkner said. "I wouldn't make a big deal about it though"
"Yeah" Korrina chimed in. "He's not always like that, you probably just caught him in a bad mood. I'm more than sure you know what your doing. You wouldn't be at this school otherwise."
"Thanks, I appreciate it" Red responded with Pikachu chiming in with another "Pika"
"Well, we gotta get out of here, but you guys enjoy your time here!" Korrina said as she and Falkner made their way to another group of students.
"Aw man!" Leaf said sounding disappointed. "I didn't get to talk to her. She probably won't even recognize me later"
"Oh don't worry" Serena comedically said. "I'm sure she'll remember the girl who shouted out that she loves her across the gym."
'Yeah yeah whatever" Leaf responded seeming annoyed. "Red wanna get out of here? There's a spot I wanna show you before curfew hits"
"Um sure, I guess I'll see you guys later" Red said to the others.
"See you later Red" Serena said
"Nice meeting you guys" "Calem said while Hilbert just gave a simple wave. Not too long after their good byes Leaf very abruptly dragged Red out of the gym with Pikachu quickly following them.
…
After being dragged across campus, Red was then instructed by Leaf to close his eyes as she guided him up a hill. Based on what he had learned about this girl up to this point, he began to debate with himself whether she was bringing him up this hill to push him down. "Alrighty Red, you can open your eyes now." Leaf said to him as he opened his eyes to a perfect view of Suspira City. The lights of the buildings beautifully danced up to the quickly darkening sky. Both Red and Pikachu were absolutely taken by the sight as Leaf looked over at them, proud of her tiny accomplishment. " I found this spot on orientation day" Leaf continued. "Its very quickly become my favorite place to go"
"I can see why" Red responded. "Its beautiful" the two then stood in blissful silence for a few more minutes before heading back to there dorms as it became darker. On the walk back, Leaf began to speak once again.
"So what exactly is up with you and that Blue guy?" She asked.
"Oh Blue?" Red said. "Yeah, we used to be friends when we were younger but we just kinda drifted apart"
"Really? That's it?" Leaf asked. "Something must have happened based on the way he treats you"
"I don't really know what to say" Red responded. "He got really focused on becoming a trainer and I guess his path to do that didn't include me"
"Yeah but that doesn't explain why he's such an ass to you"
"I honestly don't know" Red said and he was being truthful. For all the years that Blue gave him a hard time, Red could never figure out why. He understood that Blue had his own path to take, but it would have made more sense if they just stopped talking altogether rather than Blue constantly dogging on him.
"Well, hopefully he lightens up eventually" Leaf said. "Did you hang out with anybody else as a kid?"
"Not really" Red answered. "Pallet is a small town so there weren't a lot of kids. I had my mom, professor Oak, and Pikachu."
"Well, you have friends now" Leaf said in a comforting tone.
"I appreciate it" Red responded. "How about you?"
"How about me what?"
"What was your home and family like? Red asked.
"Oh" Leaf responded seeming a little uncomfortable "Uneventful"
"That's it?"
"That's it" Red seemed to notice that Leaf felt less comfortable talking about this so he decided to change the subject.
"So, are there any Korrina videos you recommend I watch?" Red asked.
Leaf's face lightened up more than any other time that evening. "OH! Where do I even start!"
Red and Leaf talked for a few more minutes before finally making it to their dorm building. "Well, this was fun" Red said with Pikachu chiming in with another "Pika!"
"Pikachu had a good time too"
"Hey there's one more thing I wanted to ask you." Leaf said. "Do you and your Pikachu always talk to each other like, how we talk?"
"Hmm, Brendan asked a similar question earlier today. I just figured evetyone talked to their pokemon like that"
"I mean I guess" Leaf said. "But the way you seem to talk to Pikachu seems so, natural. Maybe that's why you belong here"
"Maybe" Red said while giving a shrug.
"Well, I gotta go get some sleep, but thanks for a great night" Leaf said as she went to her room. Red stared for a moment as she walked away, thinking about all the great people he had met so far, especially her. There was something interesting about her that Red was sure he would learn more about as the year continued. After a few more seconds of standing, Red and Pikachu then headed to their room to get some sleep and prepare for the next day.
