Chapter Five

Even after a few days of being here, Mesagoza and the Academy of Paldea felt like a maze for Ash. He took a good chunk of his time to get to know the building (and the local cuisine), walking the routes he'd be taking to his classes, and the quickest way to get to the cafes. It was quickly quite clear that this would be nothing like the small primary school he went to back in Pallet, or the close-knit class he had in the Pokemon school in Alola.

But still the sights slowly became familiar to Ash, and with only a weekend left until the school year officially started he was feeling more comfortable with his new surroundings. His dorm room was bigger than he was expecting, and it even came with a small personal kitchen! Which was awesome even if cooking wasn't his forte. Pikachu and Sprigatito made themselves quickly at home in the dorm, and Ash soon found his blankets always carrying a static and his clothes covered in fur that smelled like mint.

With Nemona being both a girl and in another school house, her dorm room was nowhere near Ash's, however Ash did discover a friendly familiar face rooming in the same hall as him.

"Hey! Arven! Long time so see!" Ash has happily called to him.

"Oh. It's you," Arven has muttered in greeting.

"Looks like we're in the same school house, pretty cool, huh? Anyways, how are you doing? How's your Pokemon doing? Running about and playing?"

Ash had been trying to ask about Koraidon as discreetly as he could, knowing that Arven hadn't wanted the dragon to be named in public, but apparently that wasn't allowed either. Arven instead just tensed up as he walked down the hall, going still for a moment, before suddenly wheeling around with a look of fury on his face.

"Mind your own business and leave me alone!" He screamed, before storming off into his dorm and slamming the door.

Okay, maybe not quite as friendly of a face as he had been expecting.

But still, the school was full of friendly people. Ash enjoyed talking to his fellow students, introducing himself and comparing class schedules to see if they had any overlap.

But at night Ash made his way up to the school courtyard alone, a Pokeball and some food in hand.

Technically it was closed at night, but with special permission from Director Clavell, Ash had been allowed to let Houndoom out up here. Not only would the Pokemon probably do better in the dark, there was no other students for the Houndoom to go after if he decided to attack. Also it kept his dorm room from being burned down.

"Hopefully tonight he'll eat more than a few bites," Ash said as he poured some kibble into a bowl. It was especially made for canine Pokemon, and though Houndoom had shown little interest in it so far Ash continued to offer it, knowing it provided the most balanced diet.

Next he added some meat on top of the dry food, both cooked and uncooked, so Houndoom could choose his favorite, or cook it himself if he wanted to. Lastly he laid out different kinds of berries around the bowl, and set a bowl of water next to the setup. He stood up, examining his work.

"Pika," Pikachu said, sniffing the air, eyeing the food. Ash picked up one of the berries, handing it to the mouse on his shoulder, before retreating a ways away from the food.

Ash settled under a tree, kneeling so he didn't loom over the fire type. Pikachu finished his berry, before hopping down to watch as Ash took out the Houndoom's Pokeball.

"No engaging unless necessary," Ash told Pikachu. "Right now is about making sure he eats, not approaching him. We're just going to stay over here, not even looking at him."

A part of Ash wanted to sit closer, to speak quietly with the Pokemon and show it was going to be okay. But that hasn't worked previous nights, and Houndoom had never shown any sort of fear of humans, just a strong distaste.

So Ash leaned against the tree, with his knees under him so he could leap to his feet at a moment's notice, and hit the release button on the Pokeball. The light snaked out, the Houndoom forming in front of the bowls. A deep growl echoed about them, the Houndoom instantly on alert. Ash didn't move, not trying to hide, as he knew the Houndoom could smell him with ease.

Ash tilted his head slightly so he could see out of the corner of his eyes. The Houndoom was looking straight at them, that growl still echoing out. In his lap Pikachu tensed, but Ash ran a hand down his back.

They'd see the glow in his throat if he decided to Flamethrower them, giving a few moments to leap out of the way. Ash did his best to stay relaxed, just watching from his peripheral vision. The Houndoom was moving, pacing around the bowls, making sure his back was never to Ash.

It's okay. Ash wanted to say. Just eat, we won't hurt you. But words wouldn't comfort this Pokemon. So he just sat, just being there, but hopefully not appearing threatening. Ash found himself holding his breath as the Houndoom lowered his head to sniff the food, those red eyes still locked on him.

Then with a snap of powerful jaws he lunged at the food, sweeping it up into his maw and swallowing it without chewing. Then his eyes were right back on Ash and Pikachu, watching, as if they had been waiting to strike in that moment. And again the Houndoom bent down to take a snapping mouthful of food, quickly swallowing to watch them with those burning eyes.

They didn't move.

It took several minutes for the Houndoom to finish his food in this manner, before moving on to the water. His caution never faded throughout the process– a swift swallow followed by that accusing stare. But the Houndoom was eating! He was getting food!

Once the bowls were empty Houndoom let out another growl. Ash resisted the urge to turn and look at the Pokemon, just staying where he was. The Houndoom was now pacing back and forth. Frustrated, or maybe afraid? He just watched, pacing, growling, snarling.

"Hey," Ash said in a quiet voice, turning towards the dog– who immediately tensed. "Hey now, I just want to talk–"

Then the Houndoom lunged, throat glowing as he sprang towards Ash and Pikachu. The mouse sprang from his lap, ready to defend his trainer, but Ash had already aimed the Pokeball at the charging dog. With a flash of light the Houndoom was recalled, and silence settled over the courtyard as the attack ended before it could begin.

Ash closed his eyes, and tucked the Pokeball away.


The first few days of classes was exciting, and overwhelming. Ash wasn't sure how he'd keep track of everything without Rotom taking note of things for him. His teachers' names, what to expect from the class, and what supplies to bring.

"You just had lunch a few hours ago!" Rotom protested as Ash headed out the front of the school.

"Brunch!" Ash declared.

"Brunch is between breakfast and lunch!"

"Lunner then!" He said cheerfully.

"That's not a thing," Rotom grumbled, but it seemed this human was determined to get another meal in though, so he drifted after him. Thank goodness that he didn't have legs, because he didn't know how Ash planned to make this hike everyday.

But it turned out that Ash was insisting that 'lunner' become an actual meal for him, and so Rotom followed the teenager up and down the steps everyday, waiting for the moment they could go back to the dorm room and he could rest on his wonderful charger and power up. But instead he spent his time watching Ash chow down on whatever meal he had selected for today.

Too bad Ash wasn't a Pokemon, he would be interesting to observe.

"That was delicious," Ash said as they climbed the steps back to the school. "We'll have to go back there tomorrow."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, clutching a ketchup packet close, he liked smuggling them back to the dorm, and Ash had found over a dozen empty ones stuffed under the bed despite the short time they had been here.

"Don't you get it?! If you join Team Star you can shine as bright as anyone!" A voice snarled in frustration as they continued up the steps.

Ash immediately paused, and couldn't help but turn and listen in on the conversation. After being followed around for five years straight by Team Rocket, and having encountered numerous other 'teams' whose intentions were never good, he was instantly on edge by the words he heard. His gaze fell on a group of three people, two instantly looking out of place with their school uniforms worn loosely and without much care, helmets on their heads as they approached a girl. They all were around Ash's age, though the girl didn't wear any uniform to indicate that she went to the school, but she did have a big fluffy Eevee backpack on her back.

She gripped the straps of the bag tightly, not looking at the two who were continually pressing closer. She didn't say anything, just staring at the ground, as if hoping they would vanish along with the conversation.

"What's with you?" The boy snapped. "Say something, don't you want to burn bright with awesome friends like us?"

Nothing like cornering and shouting at someone to make friends.

"…Not really," she muttered as she at last spoke, looking away.

The first of the duo looked annoyed now. "Look, we got a quota to fill, so just sign up for Team Star already!"

Ash had heard enough, and moved forward as the girl with the Eevee backpack whispered. "Um, I'd rather not..."

"Look, you're starting to get on my nerves you–"

"Leave her alone," Ash said, stepping in front of the girl, holding an arm out to block them from moving forward. "She clearly said no, so why don't you move along?"

The girl of the duo scoffed, crossing her arms. "And what do you think you're doing? This is between us and her, so move along! Don't you know who we are?"

"Annoying?" Ash offered, and he could feel the gazes of others passing turning towards them.

"He must be new here, I mean, listen to that little accent," the boy said, crossing his arms. "So take this as a friendly warning, newbie– we're Team Star, and we burn brighter than anyone else."

"And we don't let people push us around!" The girl added. "So either you can sign up after we finish with this girl– or get out of our way and run off to the school and act like a trained Growlithes you all are!"

"I think it's pretty clear that no one is interested in joining your little group," Ash snapped. "So unless you want to star in your own defeat, then move along?"

"Chu..." Pikachu sparked his cheeks.

"H-hey!" The girl cried. "Only Team Star gets to make star-based puns!" She cried, hands curling into fists. "I didn't join Team Star to get pushed around like this– so I'm going to make sure you're seeing stars! Go!"

A Pokeball was thrown out– a small little Pokemon materializing between them. Ash eyed it– one that he was not familiar with. It was a tiny little thing, gray with a black mask on its face. He felt Pikachu tensing, but he wasn't going to waste a good training opportunity, and he pulled out Sprigatito's Pokeball.

"Scratch, let's go!" Ash ordered as he sent out his newest Pokemon, who immediately flexed her claws. Sprigatito raced forward, slashing the other Pokemon across the face, sending it tumbling. It immediately got back to its feet, shaking its small form.

"Shroodle, Acid Spray!" the Team Star girl cried.

"Fall back and use Leafage," Ash replied, and the Sprigatito leapt back as the spray of poison hit the stone where Sprigatito had been moments before. The toxic mess had a foul scent as it evaporated away, which seemed to prompt Spigratito to release the smell of mint in reply. A barrage of glowing leaves were sent flying at the target, making the Shroodle pause just long enough for Spitgatito to charge forward with a Bite at Ash's command.

Fangs sank into the poison type's back, the Shroodle letting out a high pitched cry, making the trainer scoff. "Oh, knock it off– bite it right back you idiot!"

The Shroodle turned, sinking a Poison Fang into Sprigatito's leg– instantly making the feline drop him as she let out a cry of pain. A purple tinge was visible under her fur where she had taken a hit– poisoned. Ash winced in his mind– knowing just how potent the toxins were in a Poison Fang. If the battle dragged out at all Sprigatito would be at risk of fainting, no matter who the stronger Pokemon was.

"Scratch," Ash called, not letting himself hesitate– that would only make Sprigatito panic, especially with how few battles she had under her belt. Sprigatito swiped at the Shroodle, favoring the leg were she had been poisoned, but had still landed the attack. "Leafage before it gets up."

Sprigatito wasn't hesitating to listen to any of his orders, following them to the letter as he guided her through the battle, the purple tinge slowly spreading up her leg. But even with the type matchup and the poisoning against them, it didn't take too many more hits until the Shroodle was laying at its trainers feet defeated, Sprigatito panting as she stumbled forward.

"Gah– are you kidding me, I had the type advantage!" The Team Star girl cried, stomping her foot as she recalled the little Pokemon.

"Of course everyone saw that, and I can't just let this slide..." the boy with her muttered, eyes flickering across the small group who had gathered to watch the battle. "Guess I have to clean up this mess since I'm higher ranked..."

"Get some rest, Sprigatito," Ash said as he recalled the grass type to her Pokeball so the poison couldn't get worse.

The Team Star boy had pulled out a Pokeball of his own, making it clear that these two just weren't going to walk away. Ash held back a sigh, before looking at Pikachu– who immediately leapt off of his shoulder to take Sprigatito's place. The boy instantly looked more confident as he saw Ash's selection– before throwing his own Pokeball up into the air. As Ash saw the Krokorok form he smiled slightly, seeing where Team Star hoped to take the battle.

"Mud Shot!" The boy snapped, the Krokorok opening its large jaws, launching several balls of mud straight at Pikachu– which was instantly dodged with a Quick Attack, the mouse a blur as he weaved between the attacks, before swinging an Iron Tail straight up into the Krokorok's chest.

"Kro!" The Krokorok cried, claws brushing over where he had been hit.

"Fire Fang it when it comes near!" The trainer snapped, not looking as confident as he had a moment before as he realized that Pikachu was stronger than he had realized.

"Play Rough," Ash said with a finality in his voice– wanting Pikachu to end this as quickly as possible. The mouse took off running, pink energy surrounding him as he rushed at the ground type, whose jaw had lit up with flames.

The Krokorok snapped at Pikachu with the Fire Fang, but the electric type was too fast for him. He narrowly avoided the fire-covered teeth, turning sharply and barreling right into the Krokorok with the Play Rough. A paw swung up, hitting it in its massive jaws, before a leg kicked up to slam into the Krokorok's chest. It stumbled back as Pikachu continued to attack– tail and paws flying as he thrashed his foe, kicking up a cloud of dust about them– before bringing down another Iron Tail onto the croc.

As the dust faded Pikachu stood on top of the fainted Krokorok, having not even taken a single attack. The mouse glowered out at the Team Star members, cheeks sparking– who now looked a lot more nervous. The Krokorok was recalled with a burst of light.

"How did we just get thrashed by some rando!" The girl cried. "We're Team Star, I joined Team Star for the respect, not to just be–"

"Complain later," the boy snapped at her, grabbing her arm. "We've gathered enough attention as is– we're not going to get any recruits this way!"

"I'll remember you!" The girl snapped, eyes locked on Ash. "And you better not forget that– hasta la vistar!"

With that the two Team Star members turned, running down the long stairs and into the city. Ash turned to watch them go as Pikachu hopped back onto his shoulders, not sure what to think of what had happened. The other students who had gathered to watch the battle were cheering and whooping– whether for chasing off this 'Team Star' or just for the battle itself, Ash didn't know– and he just turned to the girl they had originally been cornering. It seemed she had been watching him the whole time, eyes flickering away as he approached. She was perhaps a year younger than him, short red and blue hair on her head.

"'Scuse me!" She cried before Ash could even ask if she was okay– and she bolted past those who had been watching the battle, rushing up the stairs.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head, confused.

"Heh, it's always nice to see those Team Star punks put into their place– they think they're so great," a student said with a laugh.

"Who is Team Star anyways?" Ash asked, still looking at where the girl had run off.

"New?" the kid asked, and Ash nodded. "Meh, they're just a bunch of troublemakers. Students who never show up to class, always are a pain when they get into their little groups."

"I heard even the teachers don't know what to do with them!" Another said with a laugh. "But apparently crushing them in battle works great!"

"Someone should probably tell one of the faculty that they were here anyways..."

"Oh, what good would that do?" Someone scoffed. "They're always around at the beginning of the year, trying to pressure people into joining..."

Ash wasn't sure what to make of this new information, and instead made his way off from the small group, climbing up the last flight of stairs. He was sure he could ask Nemona if she knew any more about them, as student council president she probably could explain it better to him. First he needed to get Sprigatito healed up though– and then he had homework to worry about.

Fortunately Miriam, the school nurse, was as effective as any Nurse Joy, though her partner was a Hypno rather than the standard Chansey Ash had seen at the Pokemon Centers here in Paldea. Access to healing meant Ash didn't have to go down to one of the Pokemon Centers in the city, and could instead get his team healed up at the school.

"I used to hold the title of Nurse Joy once," Miriam said happily as she treated Sprigatito's poison. "I wanted to go down the route of teaching though, still heading down that path now, but I enjoy working here at the academy in the meantime."

The poison seemed to have taken a toll on Sprigatito, however, even once she was healed up. She just laid there in his arms as he headed up towards his dorm, the Pokemon quiet, not even twitching as Pikachu ran down the hall ahead of them, happy and energetic.

"Like being hit with a Toxic, huh?" Ash asked softly, petting her fur, and her ears went back. "Do you want to go back into your Pokeball?"

"Mrrr..."

Ash frowned, but reached for the Pokeball to recall her into. He would have to do some more research on Sprigatitos– he wondered if it was possible they were more sensitive to poison compared to other grass types. Or maybe she just needed more time to lay in the sun? Perhaps they were more reliant on photosynthesis than he had originally thought.

"Pika," Pikachu said, coming to a stop, ears twitching. Ash looked down the hallway, and saw that Arven was coming out of his dorm room. He hadn't had the opportunity to speak with him since they had first arrived at school, if Arven shouting at him could really be considered a conversation.

But Ash decided to keep things friendly regardless, smiling. "Hi Arven, how are classes going?"

Arven eyed him warily. "Fine."

"How are you doing?"

"...Fine."

Ash wanted to ask how his Pokemon were doing next, but had a feeling Arven would not be as appreciative on that topic still. Ash wanted to talk some more, but by the way his housemate was shuffling away it seems he wanted the conversation to end. There weren't many people around, so Ash felt comfortable with his goodbye.

"See you and Koraidon around," Ash said, waving a hand in farewell– only to be greeted by a giant burst of light.

Koraidon materialized in the middle of the hallway, the lizard lifting his head to look about, as if he had heard his name be called. However his sudden materialization had only resulted in knocking the two boys down, and the dragon looked down to find the targets of his affection underfoot.

"Oof," Ash said, giving a pained grin. "Nice to see you again."

"You're not supposed to jump out of your Pokeball like that!" Arven hissed. "Especially at school– what were you thinking!"

Koraidon apparently didn't care– licking Ash across the face.

"Gah, fine, whatever– you two, in my room, now," Arven hissed as he pushed himself to his feet, looking up and down the hallway. He gave Koraidon a shove, which didn't shift the lizard, trying to herd him into his dorm room. "You can say hello to Ash if you go in there!"

This got Koraidon to move, sharply turning and sprinting into Arven's room, which allowed Ash to sit up. He grinned, adjusting his cap, only for Arven to grab his arm and haul him to his feet– shoving him into the dorm right after Koraidon. Pikachu darted in after them, followed lastly by Arven, who slammed the door shut behind them.

"Look at you," Ash cooed, reaching out a hand to pet Koraidon. "I'm glad to see you're in good spirits."

"Grrrhh!" Koraidon called, flaring out his feathers happily.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu ran forward and leapt onto Koraidon's back, and the dragon looked back at the mouse, giving a rumble, his large tail swinging about.

"Careful!" Arven shouted as the tail slammed into his bed. "This place isn't built for Pokemon like you– you can't just act like you own the place."

"Oh, he's not hurting anything," Ash said, scratching the lizard under the chin.

"It's literally in the school rules not to have Pokemon this big indoors..." Arven muttered.

"No one has to know," Ash replied, holding up Koraidon's head so it was facing him. "Besides, how can you say no to this adorable little guy? He just wants to play."

"Gaaa!" Koraidon rumbled in agreement.

"Then why don't you just take him off my hands then..." Arven muttered in a quiet voice.

"What?"

"Nothing," Arven snapped, crossing his arms. "Look, you two got to say your hellos– now it's time for you to get back to your own dorn and for the brute to get back into his Pokeball, okay?"

"Rrrrhh..." Koraidon lowered its head.

"Oh, a few more minutes won't hurt anything!"

"It's hurting my sanity..." Arven muttered, before shaking his head. "Gah, whatever, just make it quick."

Koraidon let out a happy call– and knocked Ash to the floor with a playful pounce.


"Today, class, we're going to be learning about the terastal phenomenon that takes place here in the Paldea region, and how it's used in the battling scene," Dendra, the battle studies teacher, said to the class with a smile. A Medicham stood by her side, eyes closed as if meditating.

Ash was practically bouncing on his heels– having been waiting for this lesson for what felt like forever. He had enjoyed the battle studies so far– it was an outdoor class that talked about his favorite subject to no end. But he already knew most of the topics that had been talked about in their first few classes– type matchups, types of evolutions and what triggers them– and now he was finally going to learn about something new!

He could have gone and looked up more about terastallization himself, the school had a huge library, but he had decided to wait until class, like Nemona and Rotom and suggested that he do. Now Ash was double checking to make sure that Rotom was recording so he could reference back on it later, Pikachu and Sprigatito looking just as excited as they stood at his feet among his classmates and their own Pokemon.

"Now, is there anyone here not familiar with the terastal phenomenon?" Dendra asked, pausing to look out at them.

Ash held up his hand– and was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one. A few other hands were up as well, others shaking theirs in a 'so-so' fashion. Most of the class did know, but of course a majority of the class was from Paldea.

"Wonderful," the teacher said, pressing her hands together. "Now, we have possible documentation that this phenomenon has been happening in Paldea for at least 2000 years– but the most reliable records start only about 140 years ago. Despite all that we have only been able to use this power within trainer battles the last decade! That is of course thanks to the tera orb."

She held up the same object Nemona had used to terastallized her Quaxly. Black and crystalline– about the same size and shape as a Pokeball. It gleamed with a faint light as she held it up, showing that there was energy inside of it. Ash watched it closely, remembering how in his battle with Nemona it had drawn energy right out from the ground, turning everything into crystals.

"Now I could go on and on about how the tera orbs were invented and what it took to get them into standard battles– but I'll save all that for your history teacher," Dendra grinned. "We of course care about how this impacts during battle, how we can use it in a fight– and all the traits that come along with it. Now– how many charges can a tera orb hold?"

"One!" Several students shouted out together– as Dendra rarely waited for students to raise their hands to answer.

"Correct," she said, spinning the tera orb up on a finger, before catching it in her palm. "Tera orbs can be recharged at one of two places– most simply being any Pokemon Center. However if you're out adventuring in the great unknown and you find a crystal cave, a simple touch will also recharge your tera orb."

"Er– are you saying just any cave full of crystals, or something more specific?" Ash asked.

"Brilliant question, new student!" Dendra said, pointing at him. "Crystal caves refer to a specific aspect of the terastal phenomenal, and are easily spotted by a crown of 'gems' that sprout out of the ground. Of course these aren't true crystals, rather energy arranged into a crystalline structure, giving it a temporary physical form."

"The same energy that surrounds a terastallized Pokemon!" A girl next to Ash called out.

"Exactly!" Their teacher turned, pacing across the battlefield that served as their classroom. "These 'crystal caves', 'energy pockets', 'annoying force that sprouted up in my backyard'– whatever one likes to call them– hosts an entrance to a cave that features a space-distorted pocket space where the Pokemon that has collected this energy resides. This location continuously releases energy that keeps any tera orb charged, along with the native Pokemon within in a terastallized state– but that's not important. Ask questions in your biology or geology class if you care about the caves."

Ash thought it was something very interesting, and half regretted the shift in topic. Caves that formed from the ground? Distorted pocketed spaces that could appear anywhere? It all sounded fascinating– but then again so did everything about this strange terastallization transformation.

"Anyways, we've covered the basics of what's needed to terastallized– a charged tera orb, and of course your Pokemon," Dendra said. "Triggering it is very easy, you just hold the orb above your head, press the button on it and aim it at the desired Pokemon to terastallized, and it will released the stored energy. From there your Pokemon will enter the terastallization state, and take on its tera type."

"Tera type?" Ash echoed.

Dendra grinned at him. "A Pokemon's tera type is what some call its 'true typing', 'hidden typing', 'inner typing'– there's a lot of different names for it. But what terastallization does is turn the Pokemon into their tera type– and they take on all the defensive skills of such typing."

"They can change types?" Someone else called– earning a few laughs from other classmates. Ash was frowning though, because he was very sure the terastallization he had seen had all been tied to the water typing– including that being the typing that Quaxly always was.

"If their tera type is different from their standard type, then yes," Dendra said with a nod. "All Pokemon hatch with a tera type that matches their own– in the case of a dual-typed Pokemon they can have either of their original types." She waved to her Medicham. "My partner here had the fighting tera type upon hatching, but could have had the fighting or psychic typing. Meanwhile a Lechonk would always hatch with a normal typing– but a tera type can change throughout a Pokemon's life. Who can tell me what factors can change a Pokemon's tera type?"

"Evolution!"

"Yes! If a Pokemon gains a new type upon evolution, it is not uncommon for a Pokemon's tera type to switch to match it," Dendra said, snapping her fingers. "A Pokemon's environment can also come into play– a Pokemon living along the river bank may find themselves with water tera type as they grow, or a ground tera type for those living within caves. Also a Pokemon being raised by or around another type of Pokemon may find their tera types matching that."

"There's tera shards as well," Another student called.

"Ah, one of the easier ways to influence a Pokemon's tera type, by exposing them to tera shards– fragments of terastal energy that remain even after the fading of crystal caves. Now we can go on all day about other means of what could change a tera type– but just to name a few more if a Pokemon favors a specific type of move different than their standard typing they might find their tera type reflecting such. Pokemon that exhibit skills closely linked to another type can have that reflect in their tera type– Golducks are often known to have psychic tera types, while Eelektriks can have the water tera type. Finally any Pokemon caught up in the formation of a crystal cave will have their tera type mirror the same type-based energy the cave was made from."

"Rotom, are you getting all this?" Ash asked the Rotomdex– as there was no way he was going to have all this memorized in one sitting. Rotom dipped up and down to confirm that he was recording– before displaying a 'shh' emoji, wanting him to quiet down so he wouldn't miss what the teacher was saying.

"What tera type your Pokemon has can easily been seen upon terastallization, in the color of the energy that surrounds them, and the 'reflection' that shines above their head the moment they take on their tera type– which is an image related to the typing, such as flames for a fire type. This tera typing will last for the rest of the battle, usually ending when adrenaline levels drop– such as when a fight ends or a Pokemon faints."

"Like mega evolution," Ash muttered softly– unless in the heat of battle, mega evolution tended not to last for long on a Pokemon.

"Now, on to what makes terastallization fun," Dendra said with a grin. "As I stated earlier, your Pokemon will take on the defensive qualities of their tera type. This can mean a whole new set of weaknesses if their tera type differs from their standard type, and this shifting of types can be a great way to get an upperhand for a matchup that wasn't originally in your favor."

Could a Pokemon be mega evolved and terastallized at the same time? Ash was tempted to ask this question, but there was no pause in the teacher's lecture to ask.

"If your Pokemon was originally a duel type then the process of terastallization would shed the weakness of the combined typings, only carrying the ones that come with its tera type," Dendra continued. "It of course also gets a natural boost to moves of its tera typing, just like how a Pokemon does with moves of its own typing. If the Pokemon's tera type matches one of its standard typings, however, then it boosts the power of this move even further."

That explained how Quaxly's Water Gun had become so powerful– and it also meant that Ash's original guess about terastallization was correct, at least with Pokemon that had the same tera type as their regular type.

"You see, however, what makes terastallization unique compared to other instances that might alter a Pokemon type– such as moves or form changes– the Pokemon can still call on the power of its original typing," Dendra continued. "Take my Medicham for example– they get a boost of power when using any fighting or psychic type moves. If they were to have a fire tera type then they would get the same boosts to any fire type moves– but their fighting and psychic type moves would not weaken even as they became a pure fire type."

"The weaknesses of the standard type vanish, but the strengths of them don't," a boy said.

"To put it simply, yes," Dendra agreed with a nod, before looking at her watch. "Now, before we continue on to the batting portion of our lesson, if any of you are interested in the possibility of receiving a tera orb of your own, please come line up. I will put your name on a waiting list. The school does provide tera orbs to students, but only a select number at a time, so you will have to wait until your time comes."

Ash tried to be one of the first ones in line as this was declared– but it was clear that everyone else had the same idea, and he found himself near the end as basically the whole class lined up. The only ones who didn't have an interest in getting an orb were the few who already had a tera orb hooked to their belt– which Ash eyed with longing.

"You did record everything, right?" Ash asked Rotom again as they waited in line. There had been way too much information dumped on him at once, and Ash knew he wasn't going to remember everything from the lesson.

"Yes, I did," Rotomdex said, irritated. "Just like I do for every class."

"Just make sure you don't delete it," Ash said.

"Because I just randomly delete things without asking you."

"You deleted Pikachu's shopping list without asking any of us."

"His shopping list was just 'ketchup' repeated forty-seven times!" Rotom protested.

By the time they reached the teacher Ash knew he was going to be pretty far down on the list, and probably would have to wait quite a while until a tera orb could be his. He didn't want to wait– but it seemed that it would be his only option, and recited his name to the teacher as he reached the front of the line.

"Oh, you're already on the list, Ketchum," Dendra remarked.

"I am?" Ash said, blinking.

"Yes, it seems someone has already put in a request for you to receive an orb– your name is marked as recommended. I'm guessing you should be getting yours within a week or two."

"Oh," Ash said, before grinning slightly. "Awesome."


"And that was when the League Alliance was officially formed, my little students," Raifort said with a smile.

Nemona held back a yawn, as history wasn't really a favorite subject of hers. Still, she did her best to pay attention and not look bored– just to be respectful. She had battle studies later today, so she had that to look forward to, she just needed to focus on taking notes and getting through this lesson.

"Can anyone name the regions that are currently part of the League Alliance?" Raifort asked, looking out at the class. Several hands were raised up, and the teacher nodded towards a boy in the front row.

"Paldea, Galar, Kalos, Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Unova; along with Alola– who only joined the Alliance last year," he recited.

Raifort beamed. "Correct. Now, can anyone name the current Champions of each region in the Alliance?"

Nemona's had shot up into the air at a question more closely linked to battling, and the teacher pointing at her to answer. "La Primera Geeta is of course the current Champion of Paldea," she said, though everyone in the room knew that. "In Galor the Champion is Leon, but his status may be challenged if his brother Hop does end up defeating their Elite Four. The Champion of Kalos is Diantha Carne, in Sinnoh it is Cynthia, Steven Stone in Hoenn, and... and Kanto is..."

Nemona trailed off, racking her brain for a moment. Lance was the champion of Kanto... or was it Johto? Unova's champion had just changed recently, right– or was that an Elite Four member? Her eyes flickered up to the teacher, who smiled.

"Kanto can be a bit of a trick question– as Kanto and Johto actually share the same Elite Four and Champion. They were the first regions within the League Alliance, and had united under one League at the time; though this tradition didn't stay with other regions that followed. There has been much discussion about dividing the Kanto-Johto League, but so far it seems they will be remaining as one League, with Lance as its current Champion."

Nemona jotted that down, having a feeling that Raifort might be throwing that on a future test due to her hesitation– as she had earned a reputation throughout the school about knowing all things about battling. When it came battling news though she tended to stick with the closest regions and the most relevant information.

"Alder is the current Champion of Unova, but has expressed interest in retiring– this either means a challenger needs to defeat him, or one of the current Elite Four of Unova will be chosen to take his place," Raifort continued. "As for Alola they have only had one champion so far in their history, as there has only been one conference held there after all."

This Nemona knew a little bit about– the Alola League was the only region within the Alliance that didn't have a gym challenge (a big reason why they hadn't been allowed in sooner, actually). Eventually their Island Challenge had been accepted as a suitable replacement to the system, as long as they formed an Elite Four and a Champion within their region. The Elite Four was even newer than their current champion, having been formed after their first League Conference. Nemona didn't bother writing this down, but as she listened to her teacher lecture on, she couldn't help but freeze up.

"As for the first and current Champion of Alola, that title would be held by Ash Ketchum."


There's a few more events I'd like to cover with them at the school, but we should soon be moving on to the Pokemon journey itself! :D

Also I did add a few of my headcanons for tera types, like how they can change over time and be influenced by different things, though a majority of Pokemon will have a tera type that matches their standard typing.