Chapter 88 – Approaching Destiny
A few weeks after the League Finals were over, Inferno gave birth to her litter of Vulpix and Eevee pups. There were 3 of each, and they were all very cute! Martin stopped by often to visit and brought nutrients and treats for them and the parents. They were old enough before the end of the year for us to begin finding homes for them. In the meantime, we had fun playing with and raising them, and May and I had already begun some of our gym leader / breeder training via correspondence school, cutting back the amount of time we'd have to spend in Goldenrod City by that much more. Anyway, when the time came, we found trainers and breeders who were interested in the pups. Naturally, Firestorm and Inferno got final say in the screening process. Of course, Martin was no problem at all – they were happy that he would be raising one of their children. He chose a female Eevee, which he named Angel. It was later discovered that Eevees could evolve through tameness, if they really loved their trainer – if it happened by day, they became Espeon, and if it happened by night, they became Umbreon. Months later, Martin's evolved, at night, and thus he slightly changed her name, now calling her Dark Angel.
As for May and myself, once we had homes for all of the pups, we were ready to leave for Goldenrod City Pokemon Academy for gym leader and breeder training. We rode on Tauros and Fierymane. Because of our correspondence school, we only had to attend for a year and a half now! We brought with only a few of our Pokemon, but of course, we had access to the school computer, which would allow us to access our Pokemon from Professor Oak's lab anytime we wanted. But I couldn't go without Flamefox and Firestorm, and Inferno just as May couldn't go without Amber, Redfur, and Fiona. You were only allowed to keep a maximum of 3 small Pokemon outside of their pokeballs in your dorm room, and those are the ones we chose. Quite a few people stared at us as we waited in line for registration, all remembering us from the League battles, and some asking among themselves, "Why are they even here? They don't need any more training." We were then assigned our dorm rooms and given our schedule. My classes included architectural based schematic studies for the design of the gym, badge design, training courses, and practice battles, some with my own Pokemon, some with Pokemon I had to choose at random, not knowing what I would get. One of the things they seemed most interested in was seeing how you battled with Pokemon you were given at a spur of the moment, but my knowledge of Pokemon skills won me just about every battle. Meanwhile, May learned all about Pokemon breeding, and how to raise Pokemon to bring out both their inner and outer strengths, as well as breeding center design and all the latest equipment. She also learned about which Pokemon have live births and which ones have egg births, although most of this was redundant for her. Also, she learned about which Pokemon were nocturnal and which were diurnal. In the next semester, we switched around, and May learned about gym leader skills, while I learned about breeding. I was amazed how little I really knew about Pokemon breeding, as I'm sure May felt the same way about what it takes to be a gym leader. But if we were really going into this together, it was best for both of us to know as much as we could about each occupation.
Throughout our time in the Academy, many new Pokemon had been discovered and added to the Johto pokedex, and soon, the worldwide pokedex, including Sneasel. Martin called us the day it was included, and he was very excited. We were happy for him, since he got full recognition for the discovery of the species, and was appointed the authority on the subject of Sneasel breeding by Professor Oak, himself. May and I were able to see and work with most of the newly discovered Pokemon, and even allowed to battle with some of them. We learned all about their skills, techniques, and types. Dark and Steel were added to the list of types while we were in school. I also learned that gym leaders are allowed to take a year or 2 off if they desire, to go on another Pokemon journey to learn more about newly discovered species, but this is strictly a personal decision and by no means mandatory. You could also keep up with the latest research via computer, or even through getting in touch with the people who discovered the new Pokemon.
May and I both excelled in our courses, and were well on our way to becoming certified by the Pokemon League. During the breaks, we'd fly home on Pidgeot and Fearow to relax for a while. I had the idea for my gym started out on paper, just as I had pictured it in my head during the Kanto journey. May did likewise. It was amazing how similar the building designs were, as if we had shared the same psychic vision. It was nice to have the time off to spend with our families, who were very supportive of us, and our Pokemon. May's family was amazingly supportive of her dream, even though it meant her moving from Violet City to Crimson Town, but it's what she truly wanted.
Meanwhile, young Ash Ketchum had begun his first Kanto journey the first year we were in school, and by our second year, he was competing in the Orange Islands. We saw him on TV. He could have done much better in the Indigo League if only he'd trained his Charizard better, but he did well for himself in the Orange League, even if it is somewhat of a joke of a League. Suzy had given her Vulpix to Brock, the Pewter City gym leader, who was accompanying Ash on his journey, which somewhat surprised May and myself. I mean, why would she give a Vulpix to a rock Pokemon trainer? Suzy, meanwhile, had closed her Salon on Scissor Street and had gone on a journey to learn more about breeding. May often commented that she never understood why – Suzy was one of the best Pokemon breeders – but then, I guess we all question ourselves occasionally. I suppose it's the only way we ever really grow.