Chapter 2:
Define Irony
"Jack…"
"Yes…?" Jack imitated his friend's slow, wary tone.
"Define irony,"
Jack blinked at the strange question, closed his book and repositioned himself slightly on Ivy's bed. Both he and Ivy were relaxing, or in Ivy's case, attempting to relax, in Ivy's modest bedroom in the student flat she shared with two other Saffron University students. It had been a day since Ivy had signed up for the three month Pokemon training journey, and still feeling depressed about it, Ivy had retreated to the safety of her flat, her warm bed, her biggest hooded jumper and what scarily looked like a year's supply of chocolate. Jack murmured thoughtfully at the question. "Irony…" he said "Well, I don't know… It's not copper-y. It's not brass-y. It's just kind of… iron-y."
"Ha bloody ha," Ivy, still wrapped up in the warm, soft embrace of her duvet cover leaned forward and butted her head weakly into Jack's arms. "You're hilarious."
"Why, thank you,"
Ivy groaned at Jack's response and slumped back into her bed, trying to pull the covers over her red and blotchy face. She'd spent the better part of the past twenty-four hours in irregular fits of tears and depression, and Jack had been called in as backup when Ivy's two flatmates could no longer deal with her.
Jack watched her in mild amusement as she grappled with the bedcovers, looking quite as if she wanted to disappear under them completely. She was being quite ridiculous, he thought privately, but what kind of friend would he be if he didn't at least try to bring her out of her depression? Sighing a little, he flipped the page of the latest book he was reading and continued where he left off.
"No, Jack." Ivy's voice came again a few long moments later, muffled from the soft covers masking her face. "Irony is when you insist you'll never need to become a Pokemon trainer and then not even a month later you find out you have to do it to pass your goddamn degree!"
Jack didn't even wince at Ivy's angered tone. Instead, he turned the next page and continued reading. "Have you told your parents yet?"
"Are you kidding?" she exploded, kicking the covers angrily, narrowly avoiding kicking Jack in the face in the process. "I'm not telling them! They'll be so disappointed in me for failing!"
Jack frowned, eager to steer the conversation away from the potential mine-field of the topic of Ivy's parents. He had already endured about an hour's worth of tears over how Ivy's parents would be "so disappointed" in her and would "disown her", and he was eager to move away from that subject altogether. "Won't they wonder where you are over the entire summer?"
"I'll tell them I got a job and have to stay in Saffron," Ivy said at once, barely able to hide the pride in her voice that she had thought of that alibi.
"Fair enough," Jack nodded, admitting that that was feasible enough. However, there was a glaringly large loophole in this plan of hers. "But, I'd like to see you explain why you suddenly have an entourage of Pokemon at your side when you do eventually go home."
Ivy swore.
"Language, language," Jack chastised her lightly.
"I cannot tell them that I failed!" she insisted vehemently.
"So, you're just going to lie to them?"
"I'm not going to lie. I'm just going to not tell them the truth."
"That's the same thing," Jack's eyebrow twitched.
"No, it's not. Lying means to tell something other than the truth. Not telling someone something is just avoiding the truth,"
Jack blinked, shutting his book. "So, you can't remember names, dates and faces, but you can be as pedantic as that when it suits you?"
Ivy grunted in response.
"Don't lie to your parents. Just tell them the truth."
"I caaaaaaaaaan't!" Ivy wailed.
"Yes, you can." Jack said patiently.
"No, I can't!"
"Ivy, do not make me use the teacher voice on you."
Ivy groaned, rolling over and burying her face in the pillow. "I hate the teacher voice…!"
"Well, sit up straight then!" Jack's voice was surprisingly firm and held the impression his orders were not up for discussion.
Ivy groaned, but obediently (albeit reluctantly) disentangled herself from the bed clothes, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Good, Jack reasoned, he was getting somewhere with her. However she had pulled the hood of her jumper firmly over her face and was refusing to make eye contact.
"Take that hood off your face," he said in a low, commanding voice.
Knowing her best friend meant business, and not liking the tone he was using, Ivy pulled off the hood of her oversized purple "Saffron University" hoodie, revealing her reddened face, watery eyes and bed-head hair.
"Look at me," he said finally.
She slowly turned her eyes on Jack's face. Her face had tinged with pink from a blush, and Jack wasn't quite sure why. But satisfied he had finally brought her out of her stupor, he waved an airy hand in her direction. "Good. Now go and wash your face, you look a state."
"Oh gee, thanks." Ivy grumbled, but obediently slipped out of bed and crossed to the small porcelain sink in the corner of her room and began to run the tap. She had to admit, splashing the ice cold water over her warm, stiff face almost instantly made her feel better. Letting out a contended sigh, she patted her face dry and rejoined Jack on the bed.
"Feel any better?" he asked as she sat next to him.
"A little…" she said truthfully, leaning her head against his shoulder while pulling her legs underneath her chin.
"Going to tell your parents?"
Ivy grimaced. "Eventually, I guess…"
"When are you supposed to be leaving?"
"Monday…" Ivy inwardly cringed as she realised it was already Thursday, knowing all too well how easily the impending date would creep up. "We get our list of Pokemon we need to capture by the time the three months are up, our trainer's licence, and the one pack of Pokeballs they provide us with. Then they just shove us out and expect us to be independent for three months,"
Jack blinked. "Ivy, in case you haven't noticed… you've been independent for two years."
"I know, but they expect us to camp out and live off the land and all that kinda stuff! With no shops, no warm beds, no facilities…nothing!"
"Ivy, have you ever heard of these magical inventions called Pokemon Centres? You know, those mystical places where they give you free food and free lodging if you flash that nifty little trainer's license?"
Ivy frowned and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I hate you, Jack."
"I hate you, too." He said swiftly.
"It's not even all the travelling or the money problems that are worrying me…" she said after a further few moments. "…Well no, they are worrying me, just not as much as other stuff… It's more how lonely I'm gonna be…"
"Lonely?" Jack frowned. "Aren't there other kids on the course?"
"Yeah, but they'll all probably go off on their own and won't be interested in hanging out with me…"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, you'll have your Pokemon right? When you eventually catch one, right?" he couldn't help but snicker at this.
"Jack, they're expecting us to catch Pokemon without having Pokemon to catch Pokemon with!"
"In English, please?"
"You're meant to use Pokemon to battle wild ones to capture them. They're not providing us with a starter Pokemon straight away. We're on our own to catch our first one."
"Sucks to be you," Jack said bluntly.
Ivy aimed a weak punch at Jack's midsection, but then collapsed back into leaning on him again, wishing she could just forget all about this horrible situation. She hated it. She honestly hated it. The very thought of it just made her feel totally overwhelmed and terrified. She felt the threat of tears again and sniffed, trying to keep them under control. It proved fruitless though, and fat tears slowly began to cascade down her cheeks again.
Jack looked down at the unusually quiet girl leaning in to his arm. Her face was concealed from his view by her long hair, but he knew it was generally a danger sign when his motor-mouth of a best friend went quiet. "Are you crying again?"
"No." she said thickly.
Jack smirked. "You liar." He repositioned himself once again, and gently turned Ivy's face towards him. Using the cuff of his own "Saffron University" hoodie that he was wearing, he deftly wiped the spilled tears from her face.
"Thanks…" Ivy said weakly. "You really look after me, Jack…"
"Well if I didn't, no-one else will," he said with a smile.
She sniffed again, for some reason looking dangerously like she was about to cry again.
"Besides," Jack decided to rectify this as best he could. "I consider it my honour and privilege to be your babysitter."
Ivy couldn't help but laugh. "You old charmer…"
Jack had managed to cheer her up for a few moments, but it didn't lat long. Her mind slowly turned to ticking over her inevitable upcoming Pokemon journey. She hated the thought of not only being forced into this stupid course, but having to either do it alone or with a bunch of idiot under-achievers just made the whole thing worse. As she pulled her covers over her again, she disturbed Jack who murmured something unintelligible as he lost his place in his book. But no sooner had Jack spoken, a brilliant idea popped into her head.
"Jack!" she yelled, throwing her duvet down in her excitement.
Jack gave a start, almost dropping his book, not expecting her to holler like that. Breathing out so that he ruffled his thick fringe, he turned to look at his friend who was now sitting on her knees, bouncing up and down on the bed animatedly with a wide grin on her face.
"What is it now?"
"Jack, I've had the best idea ever! Why don't you come on the journey with me?"
Jack had to visibly restrain himself for a few seconds at his friend's suggestion. "Ivy, why would I do that? Unlike you, I did not fail my second year at university. I have a clean slate to start third year without getting any extra credit,"
"You don't have to do the course! You don't even have to catch Pokemon! You can just… follow me around for the three months!"
Jack blinked slowly. "Ivy, you really need to learn to think before you speak. Why on earth would I follow you around for three months while you try to catch Pokemon? Especially when I could basically lie around in my bed for those three months in my underwear and do nothing."
"Cos it'd be fun? And you love me?"
"You can't play the "because you love me card" any more than once a month, you know the rule," Jack said, flipping his book back open.
"Oh, please, please, please, please, please!" Ivy grabbed his free hand, and rested her head against his shoulder again. "I'll be your best friend?"
Jack let out a sigh and wrestled his arm free. "That card's useless as well, you know that."
"Pleaaase?" she begged.
"I don't know, I'll have to think about it." Jack said, turning another page. "Like I said, the prospect of spending three months in my underpants is still looking pretty attractive."
"Mmmm!" Ivy beat her hand weakly into her bed. "At least come along on Monday with me to see what kind of Pokemon I'm meant to catch! Then make up your mind?"
"Fine, fine…" Jack said, slamming his book shut again. "Jeez, anything to shut you up for ten minutes," he added darkly.
By the time Monday rolled around, far too quickly in Ivy's honest opinion, Ivy was reluctantly ready to start her three month course. She had been photographed for her ID and license, filled out what seemed like hundreds of forms, including a worrying "disclaimer" that in the event of any "serious injuries, death, or long-lasting psychological conditions", the University of Saffron waived all responsibility. Jack had snickered behind his friend's back as he watched her sign the forms, her face slowly dropping and then contorting angrily.
Ivy's parents had taken the news surprisingly well. In fact, Ivy's mother Hollie, and father Callum, were quite enthusiastic for ditzy young daughter to explore more of the region and take on the responsibilities of Pokemon. Ivy's twenty-three year old sister Lily-Mae was less than enthusiastic, claiming "Pokemon training was nothing to write home about", but her ten year old brother Lewis was ecstatic, begging his older sister to bring him back a Salamence. He was quite disappointed when Jack told him Salamence was only found in Hoenn…
Michaela, Ivy's younger sister, however was less than impressed by the revelation that her older sister was soon to be embarking on her own journey and screamed down the phone that "Ivy wasn't allowed to steal her glory", before cutting the call off, leaving her parents in a bemused wake.
While Ivy was perfectly content to pick up her supplies and her briefing from the Professor of Pokemon Studies by herself, Ivy's parents, Lily-Mae, Lewis and Jack all decided to accompany her. The sign-ups and briefings were held in a small seminar room of the Pokemon Studies Department, and it was filled to the brim with the under-achieving students, their family and friends. Ivy was determined to wait until every last other student had filed out before she went anywhere near the sign-up desk. She spent that time arguing with her older sister and answering question after question from her worried father, while Jack sat in a spare seat, looking more than a little uncomfortable.
While Ivy eventually left to get the final papers, alongside the list of Pokemon she was expected to capture, Ivy's parents approached Jack.
"Jack…" her father ventured warily.
"Yes, Mr McKenzie?" Jack inquired politely.
"Callum, please." Her father said with a smile.
"… Callum…"
Callum McKenzie lowered his voice, bringing the young man in front of him closer. "Listen, I don't mean to be an over-protective father here, but I can't rightly say that I'm not concerned about this whole thing…"
"Dear, I'm sure our Ivy can handle herself." Hollie intercepted, resting a hand on her husband's shoulder.
"I don't doubt that, but you know how… frankly ditzy our daughter is," Callum said with a short chuckle. "I'm proud of our daughter for achieving what she has, but three months living on her own with no-one to look out for her is the bit that concerns me."
"Quite honestly, it concerns me too…" Jack said truthfully, as he cast a look back to watch his best friend chase a stray piece of paper halfway across the seminar room.
Callum shifted from foot-to-foot awkwardly. "This is rather difficult of me to ask of you, but I was wondering if it were possible for you to perhaps… accompany Ivy for a little while? Just to see how she gets on?"
"Oh dear, we can't ask the boy to take time out of his busy schedule to babysit Ivy!" Hollie sounded horrified at her husband's request.
"I—" Jack began to say, but was interrupted when an enraged voice sprung up from the opposite corner of the room.
"MUM! DAD! Look at this bloody sheet!"
Ivy suddenly appeared next to them, her face twisted in rage, a piece of paper clutched in her clenched fist. "Look at this!" she brandished it at Jack, who took it, perplexed. "Look at the bloody Pokemon I'm supposed to catch!"
'List of Pokemon Required to Pass the Course
1. Shellder
2. Cubone
3. Venonat
4. Vulpix
5. Pidgeotto
6.Nidorino or Nidorina
Pokemon must be presented to the proctors in the condition described, not in pre-evolutions or later evolutions. For example, Pidgeotto may NOT be presented as Pidgey or Pidgeot. Any additional Pokemon captured may also be presented for extra credit."
"I thought they said it was "common" Pokemon you had to find," Jack asked sceptically, his eyebrow twitching comically.
"So did I!" Ivy wailed.
"What about Pidgeotto and Nidorina?" her dad suddenly ventured, leaning over Jack's shoulder to investigate the sheet of paper. "They're common, aren't they?"
"Well, Pidgey and Nidoran are!" Ivy wailed. "But you need to spend practically months of training and battling to evolve them! I only have three months!"
"Oh…"
"And where am I supposed to find Cubone and Vulpix?" Ivy looked ready to tear the paper from Jack's hand, rip it in half and shred it into tiny pieces. "They're really rare! And Shellder! They live under the sea, for goodness sake!"
"Under the sea, under the sea! Darlin', it's better down where it's—"
"LEWIS!" Ivy bellowed at her ten year old brother, silencing him almost immediately. He was unable to hide the wicked grin spreading across his face, so thoroughly impressed with himself over successfully annoying his older sister.
"I'm sure you'll manage, darling." Hollie said, putting a hand on her trembling daughter's shoulder. She looked almost like a terrified, overwhelmed little girl and it broke Hollie's heart to see her like this. Lewis and Lily-Mae however, found this whole situation hilarious and giggled like schoolchildren for a good few seconds.
"So, have you got your Trainer License then?" Lily-Mae demanded, elbowing her sister sharply to get her attention..
Ivy delved wordlessly into her pocket and produced a small, thin card, no bigger than a credit card and waved it in Lily-Mae's direction. Lily-Mae snatched the card eagerly, consulted the picture and then burst out into shrieks of laughter. "You look like a serial killer!" she guffawed, whilst Lewis grasped for the card to get a look in.
"Stop that!" Ivy yanked the card from her sister's hand. "So, I should… probably leave now…" she said, with a feeling of ominous dread.
Callum and Hollie exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Where are you going to start?"
"I have no idea…" Ivy groaned. "But the other kids have left already, look…" she feebly pointed out the rapidly disappearing backs of the three other students. "I just feel like I should move."
"How are you gonna catch a Pokemon, Ivy?" Lewis asked animatedly.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Ivy said with a theatrical groan. "I guess I'll just look around here for a bit and see what I can find…"
"So, you're not gonna focus on catching the list Pokemon?" Lewis asked, his wide hazel eyes narrowing in confusion.
"There's no way I can catch any of these without a Pokemon to battle them with," Ivy said with a sigh, wishing she could just crawl into a corner and lock herself away from the world. "Even something like Pidgey is gonna be impossible to catch without something to battle it with…"
"So, what are you gonna do?"
Ivy sighed. "I really don't know…"
Before anyone could offer a solution to her predicament, Ivy's parents realised they had to leave in order to get back to their hometown of Pewter City before the night rolled in. No sooner had the family exchanged some awkward hugs and wished Ivy the best of luck, they packed themselves into the car and left. Jack and Ivy watched the car slowly turn away from the university buildings and onto the main road, disappearing out of sight within a few short moments.
Ivy let out a long, juddering sigh. She was conscious of the fact Jack was standing close to her, but they were both silent. Realising the goodbye she had been dreading for a long time was approaching, she eventually turned around to face Jack. Strangely enough, she felt sadder to say goodbye to her best friend for only three mere months, rather than her own family who she only saw for a few months of the year. She reached out her arms to Jack, but he waved his hands dismissively, frowning.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to hug you?" she said incredulously, marginally insulted.
"Why?"
"Uhh…" Ivy stuttered, looking bemused. "Cos I'm leaving for three months?"
"Who said you were leaving on your own?" Jack said with a wicked smile, stepping back. His hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out a thin card. The words Trainer License flashed back at Ivy, who simply stared at the card for a few stunned moments.
"Are… are you serious…?" Ivy whispered.
"I wish I wasn't, but I am."
"Is… is that real?" Ivy snatched the card from her best friend and squinted at the name. The name Jackson Hartman was there, sure enough, in black and white for the whole world to see. She almost dropped the card in her shock. "Jack!" she cried out, amazed. "It is real! You're really becoming a trainer too?"
Jack reached out and plucked his card from his best friend's hand. He said nothing, apart from to flash her a winning smile.
Barely able to contain her excitement, Ivy was practically jumping and down at this stage. "Why, though? Why'd you do it!"
Jack shrugged lightly. "Well, with the inclusion of Pokemon training in all schools now, not just Pokemon Academies, job prospects for teachers with some degree of experience with Pokemon are much better than ordinary teachers."
Ivy would be lying if she said she completely understood everything Jack had just told her, but she got the idea. She stood perfectly still for a few moments, her face still a picture of shock and delighted surprise. Finally a wide grin broke out over her face. "You… you… you big… GAH! Jack!" she cried out joyfully, before throwing herself bodily at Jack, wrapping both arms and legs around him.
Jack squeaked, his skinny body almost buckling under her weight. All the same, he grasped her tight for a few brief seconds before letting her go. As she settled herself on the ground again, Ivy couldn't help but grin from the rare display of affection Jack had just shown her. As the reality of it all sunk in properly, her heart started beating against her chest, and with a burst of excitement she grabbed Jack's hand and started bouncing up and down.
"Jack! I'm so happy! We're going together!"
"Joyous," Jack said, slipping his hand out of Ivy's and pocketing his new trainer card firmly out of sight.
"Oh, come on. It… it could be fun, right?" Ivy said, but her voice wavered a little. Jack wasn't fooled. He bet that Ivy was only trying to convince herself of that matter, not him.
"Yeah, real fun." Jack forced a smile on his face "Waltzing off for three months around Kanto on our own trying to capture Pokemon, when we've never done anything like that before? Yeah, a total barrel of laughs."
Ivy grimaced. When Jack put it like that, the situation seemed even more hopeless. Letting out a sigh, she fought the urge to hug Jack for comfort. "Hey, it just… it just feels a lot better knowing you're coming with me,"
"Sappy git," Jack smacked her on the top of the head with the back of his hand. "Now come on. Do you want to leave today, or are you just gonna stand here for the next three months?"
Ivy considered this. "Yeah, probably a good idea to start, huh?"
"Not if you want to give yourself any moredisadvantages…" Jack said with a sigh. "I still don't know how we're going to catch any Pokemon…"
Ivy sighed, scratching the back of her neck sadly. "I have no idea… I was gonna go look in the parks…"
"Bad idea," Jack said at once. "The Pokemon there are wise enough to stay away from people… We'll never get near one."
"Then what are we gonna do?"
Jack's eyebrow twitched as Ivy let out an anguished wail, like the world was coming to an end. It was times like this he was grateful for his seemingly never-ending supply of patience; a valuable asset for any teacher in training. "Well, Saffron City has four routes leading in and out of it. Routes 5, 6, 7 and 8. Any of those would be a good start to look for some weak Pokemon."
"Oh! That's a good idea!" Ivy's eyes shone excitedly.
"So, which one shall we go for?"
"Umm…" Ivy thought about it. "Route… 5!"
Jack frowned. "Route 5? Any reason why?"
Ivy shrugged. "I don't know. I like the number 5. And doesn't that lead up to Cerulean City? I would love to see Cerulean!"
Jack fought to keep a frown off his face. "You do realise you're going looking for Pokemon, not sightseeing!"
"I know, I know, but hear me out! Cerulean is right next to Viridian Forest, right?"
"Right…"
"So! Viridian Forest is full of really weak Bug and Normal types, right?"
"Yeah…?"
"So, we could find the Pidgey and Nidoran we need there."
"You mean you need."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Ivy flapped her hands animatedly. "Find a Pidgey, find a Nidoran, maybe even find a Venonat! Right?"
"Hmm…" Jack couldn't deny he was impressed at Ivy's knowledge of Pokemon locations in this instance. "I'm surprised you know even that much. Who told you that?"
"Michaela." Ivy said with a grimace. "She never used to shut up about it the first few weeks into her training."
"So, we're basically heading to Viridian Forest, then?"
"Yeah. Like I think we need to start off with the easier Pokemon like the Pidgey and the Nidoran. Venonat to an extent," she added a moment later. "Then once we get a halfway decent team, we can try going for the Cubone and the Vulpix, and then the Shellder!"
Jack nodded. "Well, at least you've planned this all out. I'm impressed."
Ivy stood up a little straighter, puffing her chest out proudly.
"You're forgetting one thing though… This is not a we operation." He said, folding his arms firmly. "I don't have to catch a Pidgeotto, or a Cubone or a Shellder or any of them. I can catch whatever I like."
"All right, all right, don't rub it in!" Ivy deflated. "What kind of Pokemon do you want to catch then?"
Jack took only the briefest of moments to reply. "…a Rapidash."
Ivy blinked. "A Rapidash? Why?"
Jack's face changed, but only briefly. It completely softened, and his eyes shifted away from Ivy's gaze, as if he was focusing on remembering something. But it was all so brief, and it flickered away almost immediately. "No reason," he said airily. "I just think they're… they're…um…"
"Cool?" Ivy suggested.
"Yeah… that." Jack said stiffly, while Ivy had to suppress a giggle. In the two years she had known Jack she had never known him to use those kinds of slang buzzwords. Even when he was with the pupils on his teaching placements. Ivy had to shake her head fondly at him; he was so innately serious.
"Where are you gonna get one of them, though?" Ivy inquired. "Aren't they pretty rare?"
"I don't know…" Jack said. "All I know is that I have to get one,"
Jack sincerely hoped she would leave the matter at that, and thankfully, his perpetually ditzy best friend proved true to form and quickly got distracted when her attempts to wrench open the pack of Pokeballs she had been given resulted in the six capsules spilling all over the floor and rolling off in separate directions.
Jack frowned after his friend as she scrambled to collect the spilled Pokeballs. "You're hopeless. You're not gonna survive three months out on your own,"
"I will survive, cos you're gonna be there watching out for me," Ivy mumbled, attempting to retrieve a capsule that had rolled under the table.
"Don't bet on it," Jack said with a sigh. "Honestly, it's like babysitting a giant child…"
"Better get used to it, you're gonna spend your whole life dealing with kids!" Ivy said, getting to her feet again, arms full of Pokeballs.
"Kids I can deal with. You, I cannot."
"Aww, cheer up," Ivy grinned, stuffing the Pokeballs into her backpack. "Let's just get a move on and head for Route 5. Think we can make it up to Cerulean before nightfall."
"Are you kidding me?" Jack said, frowning. "It could take us days to reach Cerulean. We're gonna have to camp out overnight at least."
Ivy looked crushed. "But I hate sleeping outside!"
"You're not the only one," Jack deadpanned. "This is why I wish I'd passed my driving test last year… It would only take us a few hours…"
"Oh, yeah, you failed didn't you?" Ivy snickered.
"Hey, it was not my fault some idiot was tailgating me and I had to change lanes so quickly…"
"Yeah, but it was your fault you almost rear-ended a Mercedes…"
"Well, what idiot slows down to 40 in a 50 zone when there's a car moving in behind him?" Jack fumed, his fists clenched fiercely.
"Jack, Jack, easy!" Ivy giggled. "Come on. We're wasting too much time hanging around here. Shall we go?"
"I guess so…" Jack said, shouldering a massive bag he had up until now conveniently stashed out of Ivy's sight. He let out another groan when he thought about what the next few months would entail for him. "Come on. Let's just get this whole thing over with."
"Sounds like a plan to me…" Ivy said lightly enough, but still grimacing at the thought. "Just keep focused, Ivy." She told herself. "This is for your degree. You need to do this to pass your degree. So just relax… take a deep breath… and think about the degree."
With that, Ivy McKenzie and Jack Hartman officially embarked on their way. Their destination now set at Viridian Forest in search for the first few Pokemon on Ivy's list, the two friends were feeling at least marginally better at having a goal to achieve. Ivy however knew deep down in her heart that this was not going to be an easy task, and her worry seemed to only intensify with every step they took through the bustling suburbs of Saffron City. Letting out a long exhale, she focused herself and pushed onwards, wondering what the hell was waiting for her in the immediate future as a fledgling Pokemon trainer.
Author's Note
Hello everyone! Second chapter of Master's Degree here for you! I hope you enjoy!
I know it's been pretty talk-y this chapter and last, but the proper journey starts next chapter :)
I'm so thankful for all the awesome reviews I got! Shoutouts go to Sniper Mudkip, See That Guy, MasterFreezeman, Shadow of Eckhart, Kopycat101, Sunbean, Zoeten, Chaison, Splashstorm, Something Dictionary Related and Sapphire'sDestiny.
Zoeten, just for clarification, this isn't really a "school" or "college" or "university" fic. Very little of it will be set in university, so it is more of a journey fic.
Extra thanks go to the lovely members of Sunbean's forum :)
Please read and review, guys :)
