The first day of school came quicker than most students wanted to, though I did not mind the starting of a new school year. I had spent my time up to this point becoming acquainted with my surroundings, both on and off campus. I was beginning to feel more comfortable here, which was assuredly a good sign. After having gone through my daily routine, I took a quick glance in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable. Satisfied, I grabbed my bag from off the bed before leaving my room. I was confident that this day would go smoothly.

However, it did not take long for the day to try and prove me wrong. As I exited the lobby door, a tall equine Pokémon barreled towards me, skidding to a stop just in front of me. The Mudsdale's blue eyes stared solemnly down at me. It let out a sudden snort as someone on its back shifted their position. "Hey, Morag-san!" Umeko's head poked out from behind the powerful ground type before she dismounted. How a girl as slight as Umeko, who barely stood above five feet, was able to stay on a galloping Mudsdale was beyond me. Even if Mudsdale were not known to be fast, this one had been going at a good speed. "You ready for the first day of school?" she asked, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"I suppose," I responded, refusing to allow any signs of nervousness to show themselves to this energetic girl.

"You suppose?" she blurted out, looking distraught at my vague statement. "How could you not be excited? This is the day you get to show everyone what you're made of! Plus, there's all the cute little first years! And even new second years like yourself! Who knows, there could even be a new third year this year! Though that never happens, as there hasn't been anyone who transferred as a third year in forever, not even when my brother Ayumu graduated from here fifteen years ago. I can only imagine how hard it'd be to transfer during your last year of school." She stopped bouncing around for a moment after her rambling as an idea seemed to come to her. "Oh, hey, you wanna ride? My buddy here can get us there super quick!"

"…You want me to do what?"

"Come on! He's reeeally nice, and he doesn't bite!" She clambered up the Mudsdale's back, and she turned back towards me to offer an outstretched hand. It was becoming more and more apparent that she intended to ride her Mudsdale to the school. "Hop on up! As I said, he won't bite, so don't worry!"

"I am not worried," I snapped, crossing my arms. "Honestly, are you even sure this is allowed?"

"Sure I'm sure! I do it all the time! Hurry up, Slowpoke!" She beckoned with her hand, impatiently waiting for me to accept her offer. Against my better judgment, I relented and grasped her hand with mine. I pulled myself up behind her, warily wrapping my arms around her waist. This was not my first time riding a Pokémon, as I had ridden an Arcanine of one of my childhood friends, Rini, a few times in the past during training, so I knew that trying to stay mounted without hanging on to something was a sure way to be sent flying off. She let out a short, high pitched giggle before patting Mudsdale. "Alright, let's show her what you're capable of," she whispered into his ear. He seemed to get the memo, as he took off with an unexpected burst of speed. Umeko let out a whoop of joy as the Mudsdale barreled forward. Somehow, she managed to keep us from trampling over any unsuspecting persons just trying to enjoy a casual stroll. I let out a sigh as we galloped along, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my face. The strands I had left hanging loose flew behind me.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the school without managing to cause chaos in our wake. Umeko half scrambled, half leaped off Mudsdale before returning him to his Poké Ball. "You know where you're going, right?"

"Of course," I said, pulling out my schedule.

"Good! Let's g-" she started to say, reaching into her bag. Her mouth gaped open when she didn't seem to find something. "Oh, no no no no no. Not again. Where could it be?" She rummaged frantically through her bag with no luck. "Crap, I'll see you later. I forgot something. Bu-bye!" She then turned and ran back in the direction of the dorms.

I stared after her for a few moments before turning away and walking towards the stairs. "Well, that was a thing," I muttered to myself. I contemplated waiting for her, but I was sure she would be fine on her own. I made my way up the stairs until I reached the floor for second year classrooms. People were still chattering away in the hallways, catching up with old friends. A few others were alone, watching these interactions without participating. "So even here there are social cliques. Interesting." I decided it was best for me to head straight to my first class rather than remain in the hallway.

The classroom I entered had a steady amount of noise, but it quickly turned into a low murmur upon my entering the room. I gave no outward indication that I noticed, opting to sit in a seat near the front so I could pay attention more easily. I could feel the eyes of the other students on me, and if I strained my ears enough I could hear the curious whispers about me. I refused to acknowledge it, and soon enough, the noise level returned to normal. At long last, the teacher entered. She gave a slight smile and said, "Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Naoki! I see some new faces here as well, and to anyone who has just transferred here I would like to personally welcome you here. My name is Yumi Matsumoto. Now, with that, let's begin class!"

So it begins, I thought to myself as I gave my undivided attention to Matsumoto-sensei.

The first day passed by so quickly. For it having been the first day of schooling here, it went by as well as I had anticipated. I had managed not to draw too much unwanted attention towards myself. After class had ended, a few students had come up to me with questions. I answered the simpler ones, like who I was and where I was from, but when some of the questions became more personal, I quickly excused myself. There were just some questions that I would rather wait to give answers to when I was more acclimated to the school setting.

As I was making my way to the dorms, I started to wonder where Umeko had gone off to. I had yet to see her since this morning, so I assumed that she just had different classes than me. It was unfortunate, but it was not too much of a problem. I had managed fine without her today.

I had just reached the first of the dorm buildings when a large, brown haired boy walked out of the building. I moved to avoid him, but he suddenly turned and ran straight into me. "Hey, watch where you're going, gaijin," the boy snapped in English, as if to make sure I understood him, before switching to Japanese with his last word. I knew it translated to foreigner, but the way he said that one word, as if it tasted like bile in his mouth, spoke for itself.

"I was watching where I was going," I replied calmly in Japanese, shooting a glare at him while crossing my arms. "You were the one who wasn't being vigilant to their surroundings."

He sent back a glare of his own, though I was as unfazed as he had been to my own. "Oh, you think just 'cause you're using big words that you're better than us?" It was then that I noticed the two boys behind him, both as much of bullies as their ringleader. This predicament was becoming more troublesome by the second. "Well? Do ya?"

"No, though it is rather low of you to be picking fights you have no hopes of winning."

"Oh, really?" one of the boy's lackeys said in a confident tone. "Did they not teach you math where you come from? There's three of us, and only one of you. Katsu is not someone to take lightly, and Shota and I aren't pushovers ourselves!"

"It may not be fair," their leader, Katsu, continued, "but no one messes with me and gets away with it. Surely you understand."

"You are right. This truly isn't a fair fight." The right side of my lips curled into a smirk. "Bring a couple more guys, and then we will be evenly matched."

The easy going yet conceited expression that had originally been on Katsu's face was replaced with one of pure loathing and anger. "You'll pay for that!" No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, he careened forward with a wild punch aimed in my general direction. I barely had to sidestep out of the way due to his erratic aim. I was initially surprised when the other two didn't jump in to help, but it gave me enough time to analyze the situation I was in while my opponent was regaining his balance. Due to his height advantage, he had more reach than me. However, just through that one attempt alone I could tell that I was quicker than him, and I was definitely more accurate too. It also helped that I was trained to handle scenarios where I did not have a Pokémon by my side.

I stayed on the defensive as Katsu kept lashing out. None of his blows connected, though, as he was using his anger to fuel the power behind his throws rather than taking a moment to actually aim. It was not hard to avoid them, and with the fight only being against him, it was barely even worth prolonging. At each missed strike, Katsu only became more and more infuriated. His already inaccurate blows were becoming even easier to dodge.

Finally, I had had enough of this game. I ducked under a punch aimed much too high to even hit my face, and instead of backing off like I had been, I used my momentum to send him flying back with a well-aimed uppercut. He slammed into the wall just as I pinned him there. His eyes widened in fear. It was all too apparent that he had never faced an opponent like me before. "You listen to me," I growled, coldly staring at this pathetic excuse of a human being. "Bullies like you disgust me. I did nothing to you. All I want is to be left alone, understand?"

The fear in his face suddenly dissipated, replaced with a smile that was all but friendly. Realizing my error too late, I turned just as the third boy shoved me into Shota. I lost my balance for only a second, but it was all the time Shota needed. He grabbed my arms as soon as I landed into him, attempting to pin them behind me. There was no way I was going to let that happen. I fought back against him, flailing erratically before sending my foot back into his knee. "Ack! This one's a fighter for sure. Help me out, Riku."

The boy who had managed to catch me off guard, who I assumed was Riku, came over, grabbing my right arm as Shota kept hold of my left. This was not an ideal situation by any stretch of the words. I knew how dangerous being trapped like this was, as it caused the options for escaping to be limited. With that in mind, I ceased my struggles in the hopes that a sudden bout of strength would be enough to release myself from their grip. "Oh, you finally scared of us?" Riku laughed, noticing my sudden lack of movement.

"You wish," I replied through gritted teeth without looking at him. I kept my eyes trained on Katsu. He had just recovered from my attack on him, though his hair was still disheveled, and a bruise was starting to form on his jaw. The look on his face, one of both anger and glee, was enough to even make me feel a twinge of fear. I glared into his manic brown eyes as he approached so that he wouldn't become aware of that horrid emotion.

Katsu towered over me, that demonic smile still on his face. It was only then I realized just how tall he really was. He had to have been at least six feet tall. His height, though, did not intimidate me in the slightest. I had never let it intimidate me in the past, and I wasn't about to let it faze me this time either. "Didn't I tell you no one gets away with messing with me?" he snarled.

"You did, but need I remind you that you were the aggressor."

He frowned at that, his eyebrows knitted in anger. "I promise you, when I'm through with you you'll know better than to try and fight me again."

"Then do it already," I snapped, bracing myself for what was sure to come. I had been through much worse than this one boy could possibly throw at me. His smile only widened in response, a crazed look coming to his eyes. His fist came up, aiming for my face. One of his many mistakes during this fight, as I was ready to duck-

"Well, well, look what we have here."

Oh, that cliffhanger. I am so evil.

I would have had this chapter out a lot sooner, but over half of the alphabet on my computer's keyboard decided to fail and only just started working yesterday, so my time for typing for several days was extremely limited. I apologize for that!

Some responses, as per usual:

-Clarified Conundrum: I'll admit I wasn't sure if I wanted Umeko to be a more recurring character, but after writing her part in this chapter I am convinced that she should be. I've never really written a super bubbly personality like hers, but I'm finding it's a lot of fun! I have a lot planned for her now. And, as I told you personally, but I just wanted to say to everyone else, the day Morag admits something like being nervous or frustrated out loud to anyone is the day the world is ending.

-Mega Espeon: You know, I really am tempted to change it to that now, but I already have problems taking the title seriously as it is, for my own personal reasons. I wouldn't get anything done because I'd be laughing so hard at the title. So, as much as I'd love to take the suggestion…yeah.

-Anonymous 1O1: I never had thought about that before, and I like the idea. More on that later.

Trivia:

-So, this one is a bit old but I did just realize it a couple days after posting the last two chapters. I already mentioned where Morag's first name came from, but her surname is a different story. At first, it had seemed random just based on it being a Scottish surname. At the time, I had thought it had sounded familiar but didn't think much of it. Then, a good friend of mine on here, Ganondora, informed me it was (coincidentally) the name of one of the kingdoms in her book, Bound by Time: The Possessive Flame. Apparently my mind must have subconsciously recognized it and thought it sounded good. And looking back at that book now, I can see why I would pick Ainsley.

-This chapter originally played out much differently, but I realized I wanted to wait before a certain part, so I moved the one part to later and wrote what you see now. The Umeko with Mudsdale part was the only part that remained in this chapter instead of being delegated to later chapters, and even that changed a bit.

-I also had no idea what I was going to do with the ending itself, as I originally was going to introduce the principal when Morag was still winning, but I didn't really like the idea I had. Then I realized that I could just as easily do something else I've been looking forward to ever since starting this, hence what you see now. Killing two birds with one stone, in more ways than one.

-Speaking of birds, for any of you hawk-eyed readers who happen to know my OCs, you might have recognized this "Rini" friend. It's sort of a throwback to an old OC of mine with the same name (Marina Morra, though she went by Rini) from an older story of Clarified Conundrum's: A World Beyond Our Own. In that story, Rini was a fire type trainer, and she had an Arcanine herself. It really was just more out of nostalgia than anything, though who knows. Maybe she'll make a true appearance, maybe not.

Alright, now that the trivia is finished, back to Anonymous 1O1's idea. It got me thinking, so I have a question for everyone: what types and/or Pokémon rivalries would you want to see? I have a few ideas in mind, some that would be obvious, others less so, but I personally want to see what you all think. Any type is fair game, too, so don't feel like you're limited to the people we have seen so far! Though legendary and mythical Pokémon are obviously excluded.