Class 8-R

-Chapter Two-

"Hey Josh, you heard about the amateur Rhyhorn races coming up next week? They say that anyone can enter as long as they have a permission slip from an authorized member of the university."

"You know that's impossible. Who on earth would give us a permission to skip classes to go goof around on Rhyhorn?" Tayleer lightly punched his friend on the shoulder before heading to his next class.

September 14th, Thursday

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had some rest. Today, we'll be focusing on several seemingly random evolution processes from the Pokémon Rhydon. Now, before we begin, I've heard that the Rhyhorn Racing Committee is having a few students volunteer as amateur racers from each university across Sinnoh to compete at the Hearthome Plains. Naturally, you'll all want to join, for a few days of enjoyable relaxation. The university has decided that I, along with a few other professors, will each be given the choice of a single student to compete in the race. While I am uncertain how my colleagues shall choose their student, I've decided that for my nomination, I will pick the student according to my observations." (A/N: Try not to imagine Rowan having the voice he has in the anime. Instead, picture his voice a lot deeper, with a slight accent. British, perhaps)

The class went silent. This new regulation had them all baffled, their minds had already been set on a week full of Rhyhorn racing, partying, perhaps even a few Pokémon Tourneys to kick off the start of the semester, but the news that only a couple students would be participating threw them way off guard. One student quickly got up, silently furious.

"You don't have that kind of hold over us, Professor. We're legal adults, free to choose however and whatever we want to do. Most of us wanted this trip so we can get together with our friends, to have fun and get to know each other. Only allowing for one person to go is just unfair." Everyone stared at the boy, Ryan, with shock and a bit of admiration in their eyes.

The distaste in Rowan's eyes slowly changed into respect. In his years as a Pokémon Researcher, rarely did anyone have the nerve to stand up; the rather intimidating professor had that effect on people. Clearing his throat, he smiled before speaking. "I see, do you all share his opinion?" After glancing at each other for approval, over half of them nodded while the others mumbled their agreement. Rowan sighed, but he was smiling. "Very well, I'll do my best to persuade my colleagues."

"Now, since this matter has been resolved, to an extent. I would think it wise to waste no more time, please turn to pages 28 and 29 and take a look at the picture. Carefully examine the Rhyhorn, make note of several key body features of the Pokémon that would help in identifying other Rhyhorn and classifying them as the same species. Notice the colors of the various body parts, and once you think you have an understanding of how the Rhyhorn's body is shaped, to every joint and limb, then turn to the next page." Rowan patiently waited for the students to finish before continuing. "This here, is a picture of the Pokémon known as Tauros. Tauros, is the beginning of new life in our world, the birth of the type known to us all as Normal."

Sarah raised her hand. "Professor, you asked us to examine Rhyhorn earlier, me and Tia were looking at the behavior patterns of Rhyhorn and Tauros, they're nearly identical. Does that mean that the Rhyhorn went through Rowan Evolution to become Tauros themselves?"

"Precisely. Rhyhorn normally live in the savannas, but after a few centuries, they began to overpopulate, and some were pushed away from their herds and driven out of their homelands. Some, were cast out of their homes due to the ongoing battles between the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre and Groudon. Among these Rhyhorn, the ones that made it to plains and forests gradually lost their granite shells and began to change their bodies to adapt to their new environments. That is how Tauros came to be. Good work, Sarah. You too, Tia." The two girls simply nodded, engrossed in the information handed to them.

"That's impossible. Rhyhorn and Tauros may behave similar, but their structures are completely different. You made us take a look at Rhyhorn earlier, and so we examined it thoroughly. There is no possible way that Tauros could have come from Rhyhorn without there being more similarities. We need more evidence to justify this reasoning. After all, there is no way to prove that the Rhyhorn driven out of the savannas made their way to the plains. Most likely, they'd have been killed and eaten."

"That is a very good observation, Jamey. That is exactly why progress in the field of Rowan Evolution has been very slow. Without a way of acquiring proof in order to confirm our findings, our theories are no more than simple guesswork. Fortunately though, while in the past, it was nearly impossible to provide evidence for anything, that isn't the case anymore." Rowan walked over to the back of the classroom, returning with a model of a strange fossil. "This was found in the Unova Region. Well, the actual fossil, this is simply a model. If you take a close look at it-" he put it in front of the magnifying screen, to show to everyone, "-it will resemble a Rhyhorn. Interestingly enough, if you look at it's head and it's behind, you'll notice it has both horns and a tail, which are the traits of a Tauros. Also, several scratches on the ribcage suggest that this Pokémon was very hot headed, always getting into fights, which ultimately lead to its death."

"There are other Pokémon with horns that attack other Pokémon, always getting into fights. What is it that makes you think that this Pokémon is Tauros?"

"While we were able to extract Pokémon DNA from previous fossil discoveries, we were unable to do so with this one. That would most likely be because this Pokémon is a secondary stage of Rowan Evolution, unable to classified as a Pokémon, this is a creature that would have offspring that would have offspring that would have offspring that would be in the ideal form to survive in the areas that Tauros live in."

September 13th, Thursday
4:21 PM

Jamey was distraught. His parents just texted him, telling him that their plans to go to the Pokémon Day Care were cancelled. He'd have to go another week without seeing his beloved Jolteon. He felt horrible, and wasn't exactly pleased to see Professor Rowan walking up to him from the staff office. His fists curled as he remembered how humiliated he was when the old man had openly mocked his knowledge. I mean come on, how was he supposed to know about a recent discovery? With a dirty look on his face, he turned away.

"Jamey, come with me." He looked over his shoulder to see Rowan beckoning towards him.

"What do you want? I'm busy."

"Your parents informed me that they couldn't come to pick you up, your father got in an accident with a wild Staraptor and needs medical treatment. Your mother is there to nurse him, so they asked me to take you home."

"I don't need your help; my friend Toby can drive me." He looked around, trying to find the guy. The empty arena in front of his eyes made him mentally slap himself.

"Tobias you mean? I believe I saw him running out being chased by a pack of Mightyena. Interestingly enough, the pack wasn't wild, their Trainer just appeared to have a grudge on the poor soul. The professor gently took Jamey by the hand and led him to the staff parking lot.

It was cool inside Professor Rowan's car, the seats were very clean, yet had a warm scent that calmed down Jamey's somewhat annoyed yet angered self. Professor Rowan got in next to him, closing the door behind him. His assistant, the beautiful yet cold Dawn Berlitz was in the front, texting somebody.

"Ready to go sir? Who's the runt?" Haven graduated the past year; the students were used to such treatment from the assistant. That didn't stop half the guys in the class from turning into a Charizard whenever she came by.

"His name is Jamey. He's one of my students, Class 8-R." Jamey rolled his eyes, specifying the room they used didn't give any particular information about which class he was in.

"Oh? You must learn a lot about Rowan Evolution." She was suddenly very interested in Jamey, which made him feel uncomfortable, having a beautiful girl look at him so closely.

"Err, yeah." He could feel Rowan eyeing him, amusement clearly in his eyes. Shrugging it off, he decided to play it cool. "It's one of my favorite subjects, we learned a lot about the evolution of Rhyhorn into other species."

"Cool, that was one of my favorite parts about Rowan's class. It's also the reason I asked if I could be his assistant. Ever since I've started studying with him, I've learned so many new things." She looked so engrossed in the conversation now that Jamey began to lighten up. "Is he one of your best students, Professor?" Snap. Back into reality. Jamey whipped his head back to look at the professor, who was clearly grinning because of their exchange.

"Indeed, he is one of my best students. In fact, he's almost just like you." A look of understanding passed through Dawn's eyes, and she smiled. A genuine smile with her white teeth flashing like the sun. "Since we're here. We might as well get to know each other a bit more, Jamey."

"Umm, sure. What do you mean by that?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Right now, where is it that you want to go. Surely it isn't home already, you must have a place you want to get to, where is it? Sandgem Town is where Dawn and I are headed, but according to student records, you live in one of the nearby towns."

"Yes sir. If you drop me off at Sandgem, I could get home easily. But… If it isn't too much trouble could you get me to the Sandgem Day Care? I need to retrieve my Pokémon before they close for the night."

"Certainly. Dawn, please take us to Arnold's Day Care." She put away her phone, and started up the car.

"On it sir."

~MegaGyaros

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