Three young, aspiring trainers stood together at the front gate of the esteemed Uva Academy. All three of them wore the school's classy uniform. The girl on the left had dark hair styled in a ponytail with a streak of dark green at the front. The boy on the right had wavy blond hair that covered his left eye. The girl in the middle had long pink hair with a teal bow on one side. She was slightly taller than the girl on the left but shorter than the boy on the right. The girl on the left smiled proudly at her two friends.
"So… here we go again. The first day of class! Aren't you guys excited?" The girl asked with a sense of joy in her voice.
"You've been talking about it nonstop for the past week, Nemona." The girl in the middle replied with a sense of disdain.
"Awwww, cheer up, Aubrey! This year just feels different from the last! You'll like it this year!" The girl on the left, named Nemona, raised her fist, looking into the eyes of the pink haired girl, named Aubrey. The taller boy on the right shrugged his shoulders, listening to the girls bicker.
"It's like this every year…" The boy sighed, stifling a laugh.
"Oh shut up, Arven…" Aubrey replied to Arven's sassy remark. Soon, the group opened the main gate and walked into the school building. Whole crowds of students barrelled through the halls towards the battle court on the school roof. The battle court had a simple clay field coated in black with a red and white Poké Ball emblem in the center. Standing on the referee's podium was a slim old man with a fancy purple suit over a white dress shirt with black pants. He had somewhat shaggy white hair and a slight beard. He looked down at the waves of students through his rounded glasses. He then cleared his throat.
"Good afternoon, Uva Academy students, new and old!" The old man began to speak with his refined, yet still somewhat coarse voice. "Welcome to the first day of school here at Uva Academy. It is an honour for all of you to be here within these esteemed walls! My name is Director Clavell, and from today forward, I will be the director of this fine institution. Since today is the first day of school, I would like to showcase the talents that can be developed within this institution! In order to do that, I will host the school's first battle of the year!" Clavell announced the upcoming battle, which sent the crowd into complete hysterics, surprising the old man for a moment before he regained his composure.
"For this battle, I will select two students from our Senior Division to battle and showcase their talents!" Clavell then pulled out a list on his Rotom Phone. He scrolled around until he found two suitable opponents.
"For this battle I call up Nemona Gutierrez and Aubrey Chase! Please report to the battle court immediately!" Clavell called out the two names he picked. Aubrey and Nemona's eyes lit up as the girls ran onto the stage. Arven sighed.
"Well… It's going to be intense… just not for the reason Director Clavell is expecting." Arven laid out a prediction of the battle ahead. In the back rows, a short girl with red and blue hair hid out. She wore a hoodie and an Eevee backpack. She silently studied the girls as they prepped for battle.
"Ready for battle, Aubrey? Let's give these kids a show!" Nemona challenged Aubrey with a smile. Aubrey smirked back.
"You're on, Nemona. I'll crush you in front of the whole school!" Aubrey accepted the challenge, taking out the first of two Poké Balls in her bag.
"Let the battle… Begin!" Clavell raised his hand to signal the start of the battle.
"Okay, Sprigatito! Come on out!" Nemona threw her first Poké Ball, bringing out the grass cat Sprigatito.
"Crush 'em Fuecoco!" Aubrey threw her first Poké Ball, summoning the fire croc Fuecoco. The crowds cheered for the two Pokemon on the field.
"Alright, Sprigatito! Open up with Tail Whip!" Nemona called her first move. Sprigatito turned around and whipped his tail back and forth to lower Fuecoco's defenses.
"My turn! Fuecoco, use Ember!" Aubrey shouted as Fuecoco took a breath before spitting out sizzling embers at Sprigatito, drastically reducing its HP. Arven noticed the type of move Aubrey used.
"A super effective move… perhaps she does actually study…" Arven wondered aloud. Another pair of students took note of Aubrey's moves. One of them had slightly darker skin and shaggy brown hair. The other had the same skin tone with spiky brown hair.
"So Aubrey's learning after all…" The spiky haired student spoke softly.
"Heh. I wouldn't expect any less from her, Hero." The shaggy haired student replied.
"You probably know her better than I do, Kel." Hero responded. Meanwhile, Nemona looked Aubrey in the eye and smiled proudly.
"You keep getting better every year! It makes me so proud!" Nemona praised her friend. Aubrey grinned deviously as she looked her friend in the eye.
"You bet I do. I've been training long and hard to whoop you in battle and now it all pays off!" Aubrey proclaimed, pointing right between Nemona's eyes. Nemona crossed her arms and smiled.
"I wouldn't bet on that yet! Sprigatito, get in there with Bite!" Nemona called her first damaging move. Sprigatito charged in and took a bite out of Fuecoco's nose, dealing a goood chunk of damage. Aubrey shook it off and smirked.
"Heh. Not a bad move. Not that it means anything. Fuecoco, finish it with Ember!" Aubrey called the same move again. Fuecoco took a breath before spewing out sizzling embers that singed what was left of Sprigatito's HP. The grass cat lay on its side, totally exhausted.
"Sprigatito is unable to continue. Fuecoco wins!" Clavell announced the outcome of the first battle. The crowd cheered for Aubrey as Nemona returned her Pokémon. She looked at Aubrey with a smile.
"Hey, not bad! You're pretty skilled in battle!" Nemona complimented her opponent. She was happy to be met with a legitimate challenge. Then she took out her second Poké Ball.
"Allllright! It's your turn, Pawmi!" Nemona threw her second Poké Ball, sending the electric type mouse Pokémon into battle. "Now, Pawmi! Let's kick off your battle with Charge!" Nemona called her first move. Pawmi charged up bits of electricity to crank up its special defense and boost the power of its next electric type move.
"Scare them a little, Fuecoco! Use Leer!" Aubrey called out a passive move. Fuecoco ran up to Pawmi and gave it a condescending stare, intimidating the mouse into lowering its physical defense. In the crowd, Arven eyed up the battle.
"Aubrey and Nemona are using setup moves… what could they have planned…?" Arven asked aloud as Nemona struck a pose.
"Let's get 'em Pawmi! Strike with Thunder Shock!" Nemona pointed at Aubrey with a smile on her face as Pawmi loosed a jolt of electricity which shocked Fuecoco, exhausting its HP.
"Fuecoco is unable to continue! Pawmi wins!" Clavell announced the outcome of the second battle. The crowd roared for Nemona. Most of the boys in the crowd were chanting her name. Nemona happily waved to her fans as Aubrey begrudgingly returned Fuecoco to its Poké Ball.
"So what if you took out one of my Pokémon? You won't stand a chance with my second!" Aubrey pulled out her second Poké Ball.
"Okay, Klawf! Get ready for battle!" Aubrey threw her second Poké Ball, summoning the ambush Pokémon, Klawf. It landed with a thud as Aubrey stood behind her Pokémon with a confident grin. Nemona smiled back.
"Hey, that's a pretty powerful Pokémon! Where'd you find it?" Nemona asked. Aubrey shrugged with a smirk.
"I raised it from an egg. This one's special." Aubrey replied before glaring into Nemona's eyes. "Let me give you a taste of its brutality! Klawf, crush that Pawmi with Crabhammer!" Aubrey called out a powerful move. Klawf's left claw took the shape of a blue crab as the ambush Pokémon charged at Pawmi with surprising speed and slammed it with high force, depleting Pawmi's HP in one swing. Nemona, along with the rest of the crowd, was stunned as Pawmi laid on its back, totally exhausted.
"Pawmi is unable to continue! Klawf wins, and Aubrey Chase takes the match!" Clavell pointed his right hand at Aubrey, who simply folded her arms and smirked. Nemona returned Pawmi to her Poké Ball, then widened her eyes, smiling at Aubrey.
"Wow… How'd you find a Klawf with an egg move?!" Nemona asked. Aubrey smiled softly.
"An old friend of mine gave it to me as an egg… he said it was very special." Aubrey remembered when she obtained her Klawf. A time long ago when her hair was black and she was much smaller. She looked up at a taller young boy with spiky golden hair and purple eyes. The boy handed her a capsule with a Pokémon egg in it. A young Aubrey looked at the egg in a state of wonder. The taller boy smiled softly.
"Take care of it, Auby… this egg is a special one." The boy spoke as he turned to leave. Aubrey watched him walk away with tears in her eyes.
"Wait! Where are you going…?" Aubrey asked, with a sense of worry in her voice. The boy turned around and looked her in the eyes.
"I have to go, Auby… I can't stay here in Faraway Town… but I wasn't going to leave without a parting gift…" The boy replied. "One day… when we're both a little older… we'll meet again. I promise." The boy left, with Aubrey starting to cry. She clutched the capsule tightly, as if she were holding on to her dearest friend. Flashing back to the present, Aubrey let off a small smile, looking into Nemona's eyes with Klawf at her side.
"Wow… that's so touching…" Nemona almost wanted to cry herself. Elsewhere, Kel and Hero were also listening in on Aubrey's backstory. Kel was choking up a little bit. Hero simply smiled.
"I imagine he'd be pretty happy to see how far Aubrey has come…" Hero spoke softly, referring to Aubrey's old friend. Back with Nemona and Aubrey, the crowd dispersed and Director Clavell walked up to the pair, with Arven beside him.
"I must say, that was an excellent match! I wouldn't have expected anything less from the both of you!" Clavell praised his students, catching their attention.
"Thanks a bunch, Director!" Nemona replied. Aubrey simply shrugged.
"I must say, your Klawf is quite special, Miss Aubrey. This friend of yours must have deeply trusted you to give you such a special Pokémon." Director Clavell added. That caught Aubrey's attention.
"Yeah… I miss him. I kinda wonder where he went…" Aubrey sighed.
"Now… I do suggest the two of you hop to class. The first bell rings in ten minutes." Director Clavell urged the girls to go to class, which they did. As soon as they left, his eyes shifted to a taller figure standing on the balcony of the academy. He had spiky golden hair and purple eyes, just like Aubrey's old friend. He wore a purple shirt with a golden heart broach, along with tight purple shorts and white high heel boots with matching white cuffs, both bearing purple ribbons. Clavell's eyes met his purple eyes as they smiled at each other. Clavell folded his arms.
"I trust you've been keeping well… Edwin."