With a confident smirk, I set the Walkie-Talkie back down on the table and looked at my stunned friends and family. For the first time in my life, I was gonna stand up to Mr. Pepperridge. Buizel and Poochyena were eyeing me somehow; they looked like they were proud and impressed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Tucker laughed, "That outta spin his head around for a while! Nice one, Thomas!"

I sorta laughed myself; I was pretty sure as I still am that Mr. Pepperridge was ranting in his own rich and snobby polite way before he came to see me.

"Thomas, do you want us to leave for a while for you to talk with him?" Principal Vicar asked me.

"Aww… and miss him gut that jerk like a Magikarp out of water?" Molly whined.

Just as Jocinda and/or Kaname was about to correct her, I shook my head and said, "No, I want you guys to be here. I don't trust him anymore. I suspect he could try to pull a fast one. Besides, you're his boss, so that would be a way to make sure he stays clean. Old Man Fellows, hold my Pokémon for me."

With that, Buizel and Poochyena jumped into his arms as everyone waited. After a few moments, we saw the one and only teacher, Mr. Pepperridge, walk into the schoolyard. He had that dignity and proper etiquette way about him as he walked in. I stood up and walked towards him. We stood off not in a hateful way, but like a confrontation of arguing kind of way. He took a good look at my friends, including Buizel and Poochyena, and then glanced back at me.

"Well… for an individual requesting a one-on-one talk, I didn't expect others to be in this conversation," he said.

"Says the man who sent multiple people to stalk Thomas," Kaname groaned under his breath.

Unknowing if he was heard by the teacher, I sighed and said, "First of all, I never said this was one-on-one; I said it was a face-to-face conversation. Second, they're all part of this, especially since one of them is your boss."

Mr. Pepperridge blinked in surprise as he looked at Principal Vicar. The man waved at him to watch himself in front of him. Mr. Pepperridge nodded and looked at me. He breathed a disturbed sigh and allowed me to continue on.

"Now, that I have your attention, I am going to tell you everything that I have been trying to keep a secret for a month. I now really love Buizel and Poochyena. I have caught them and now official own them." I said.

Mr. Pepperridge's face lit up as he saw Buizel and Poochyena and heard that. He grinned joyfully as he looked at me. My facial expression? Not so much. Poochyena was a little nervous, while Buizel looked with a serious face at him.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Just splendid!" he exclaimed happily, "I am very happy for you! Are you suggesting something possible in the future?"

"No," I said to his dismay, "I'm not. I am not saying I'm going to join this school, because I'm not."

The man looked me over with disapproval. Tch, like I could care less. He could pound sand for all I care. All that mattered was that we end this argument once and for all.

"Well," Mr. Pepperridge said offended, "One of us just seem to take delight in wasting his talents, doesn't he?"

"Whether I waste my talents or use them is none of your business," I fired back.

Mr. Pepperridge glared at me with distaste. I had enough of his bullying and pestering.

"I have told you repeatedly that I do not want to come to this school and you do not listen or stop. I can't take it anymore," I ranted.

"Neither can us," I heard someone say.

I turned around to see Kaname sit up and looked Mr. Pepperridge dead in the eyes. It was incredible; it was the first time I had ever seen Kaname get angry before. Even Jocinda and Tucker flinched a bit.

"W-What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Pepperridge objected.

"Because we go to school," Kaname said, pointing to him and the other two students, "We can only spend time with Thomas on the weekends and lunch on schooldays. Every day I come here, I look forward to him coming here and spending time with us. However, because of you, we cannot fully enjoy it and we want this to stop."

"Yeah, that's right!" Jocinda joined in, "Thomas has told you from day one he did not want to come here, but you refuse to stop annoying him about it!"

"And you've done it for the past 8 years!" Tucker yelled, "Do you know how long that is!? That's 365 24-hour days times 8! DO THE MATH! THAT'S OVER 2,000 DAYS YOU'VE UNRELENTLESSLY PESTERED HIM!"

"Oh, and now I'm the bad guy!" Mr. Pepperridge fired back, "I'm trying to help him!"

"So, you think you're helping him when you send people to stalk and even chase him around the city?" Principal Vicar folded his arms and said.

"I'm preparing him for the Pokémon world!" the teacher retaliated, "You have to be ready for anything! And to go to school is the proper way and the very foundation of a good trainer! That's how you get a relationship strong with a Pokémon."

"Sorry, but that's not always true," Mr. Pepperridge flinched back as he heard Purgy said that.

With that, the three trainers stood up from the table with the two adults and looked at him.

"What in Heaven's name are you blabbering about?" Mr. Pepperridge said flustered, "Such nonsense! Everyone has to go through the Pokémon School to become a trainer!"

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble," Purgy folded his arms and said, "but the three of us never went to the school."

"WHAT!?" Mr. Pepperridge roared.

Lyr nodded with a smirk and said, "Hehe, yup! And we also disagree with that comment about the school causing the relationships. It's not the case all the time. Sometimes, it happens spontaneously or by a special event happening in the human and Pokémon's lives."

"I mean, take Thomas for instance," Molly said pointing to me, "He saved Buizel and Poochyena from dying, and because of that, their bond grew more and more every day. Just because it's not yours doesn't mean it's not true."

I blinked and thought about that. Yeah, she was right. Our bond did grow a bunch. And I did not ever go to the school to learn about it.

Old Man Fellows said concerned, "Arnold… is this because of your rivalry with Kevin?"

Kevin was my dad's name and my mom's was Nazz. If you didn't know already (or were too lazy to read from the beginning) Kevin and Mr. Pepperridge were rivals until my dad died with my mom and Manectric. But because of Kevin getting Nazz instead of him, maybe… Mr. Pepperridge thought this to be potential revenge? I don't know.

All I know is that Mr. Pepperridge suddenly got the most intense and scariest look I had ever seen on a human face… heck, any face. I immediately looked at Buizel and Poochyena. Poochyena had become a bit scared, while Buizel was ready to jump in front of me and protect me. Luckily, Old Man Fellows held them tight for their safety. I turned back to stare Mr. Pepperridge in the angry face of his.

"I am enraged at this!" he yelled, "I cannot believe this anymore! For years, I've tried to help him become like his parents! I want to see him shine like a true star, yet he always wants to be in the mud! I'VE HAD IT! HE CAN ROT LIKE A CORPSE FOR ALL I CARE! HE'S NOTHING, AN IDIOT, A VERMIN! THOMAS IS A DISGRACE TO ALL TRAINERS AND POKÉMON ALIVE!"

…

I… Did…. He….. Oooh…

All... I can see... is...

RAGE.

GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…..

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