OTIS
"This is the cafeteria, all food is free for students, so come down whenever you're feeling peckish!" Gardenia throws open the doors and leads the boys to the start of the line.
"Hey Miss Gardenia!"
"Gardenia, loving the boots!"
"You look lovely today, Gardenia!"
Multiple voices chorus from around us, but Gardenia just smiles.
"Everyone is super friendly, especially when its toward the teachers." She pretends to shoot an evil eye out, and everyone just chuckles.
They grab trays, and head down the line, grabbing sandwiches, fruit salad, even chocolate milk, before sitting at a vacant table.
"Any questions so far, guys?" She asks as they eat, and Otis shakes his head, but Titus raises his hand.
"Whats up?" She asks, and he smiles.
"Does the academy offer classes on trainer sub types, or trainer specific classes?" He asks, and Gardenia grins as she nods.
"You're a smart one, Titus. Yes, the academy offers courses and classes for the six most popular sub types of trainers. Contestier, PokeNurse, Breeder, Gym Leader, Police Force, and Professor. Why do you ask?" She asks, and Titus grins.
"I'm hoping to train as a Professor, eventually." He explains, and Gardenia laughs.
"That's a noble, and very challenging, dream! Good for you, Titus! And what about you, Otis?" She asks, but he just shrugs.
"I think I'll do the most popular option." He says simply, and both his brother and his mentor look at him quizzically.
"Catch some pokemon, then go and discover new caves and forests, hopefully finding some tough pokemon along the way. And maybe try to defeat the gym system. Haven't decided." They both nod, Gardenia back to her usual smile.
"That's also a noble cause. Just keep your heads on straight and you'll do great."
They put their trays on a dirty pile, and head back upstairs to the dormitory wing.
"So, what now?" Otis asks, and Gardenia turns so shes walking backwards.
"You guys have free rein for now, go explore! Training grounds are on the first floor, and there's a student friendly forest behind the building if you'd like to try that as well for training." Titus raises his hand, and she chuckles.
"You only have to raise your hand in class Titus. Whats up?"
"Sorry. Where can I find the library?" She chuckles again, shaking her head.
"Starts on second and goes to fourth, third hallway to your right." She points, and he nods, turning and waving.
"Any plans for today?" Otis asks, trying to make conversation on the rest of the walk back, and she nods.
"I'm teaching a seminar for the under grads. Something Grass related, I assure you." He chuckles, and she ruffles his hair.
"You'll like it here, kid. I promise." She smiles, waving as she heads out, and he opens his door, heading in.
Austin is just putting his shoes on, Lorell sitting quietly on his shoulder, and they chat away as Otis walks in.
"Oh, hey! Sorry!" Otis apologizes, getting past and back to the other side of the hallway in the room.
"No problem! I'm just heading out for some late training, so I'll catch you after!" He turns, but Otis stops him.
"Wait! Can I come with you?" He asks, and Austin smiles.
"Of course! Come on!"
TITUS
Gabby runs quietly from one end of the aisle to the next, every book she sees ten times better than the last one, and she just sighs in content.
Titus smiles from the chair near the middle of the aisle, his face buried halfway through a book on pokemon abilities, as she finally grabs one, and comes, crawling into his lap. His smile grows as she settles in, she is heavier than she was this morning, meaning her evolution is not to far off.
"What did you find, baby girl?" He peeks over her head, and she proudly shows it to him; Mega Evolution and the Known Benefactors. He nods, kissing her head.
"Tell me how it is?" He asks, and she growls happily, turning the first few pages.
He gently sets his book atop her head, continuing to flip through the many pages, when he notices the figure coming down the aisle towards them.
Avary smiles, her hair now cascading freely around her shoulders, framing her face beautifully. He also notices a Cubchoo, sniffling quietly and hiding behind her legs.
"Fancy meeting you here!" She smiles, waving, and he grins.
"Avary! What brings you here?" He asks, and she laughs.
"This is my calm place, it's always so... quiet." She says, and he nods.
She lifts a book from her hip, where she had been holding it, and puts it back on a shelf beside her.
"Is that your starter?" Titus asks, and she bends gently to grab the little ice type.
"Yep! This is Henry, and he's shy." She whispers something to the cub pokemon, and he nods, smiling at Titus and Gabby.
"Nice to meet you, Henry! This is Gabby!" Gabby hops down, shaking the bears hand formally, before crawling back up and continuing her book.
"She can read!" Avary exclaims, but it's less of a question, than a statement.
"Yeah, she learned a few years go, and can easily keep up with me nowadays." Avary smiles, handing a book to Henry, who happily takes it.
"Henry can too, but he's still learning." She explains as he opens the picture book, sitting down in the middle of the aisle and sticking his nose right into it as he traces over the words with his paws.
"Thats so cool! Maybe we could have reading dates!" Titus exclaims, but his face goes red and he shoves his face into his book again when Avarys' face also goes beet red.
"Um... yeah... I think... I'd like that." She coughs, turning and grabbing Henry as she goes.
"See you later!" Titus calls, and she shoots him a smile as she waves behind her.
After shes gone, Gabby looks up, snickering.
"Shut up!" He whispers, but he can't help the smile that breaks across his face.
OTIS
"So, you only train flying types?" Otis asks, and Austin turns to face him, smiling as he nods.
"Thats right, I'm studying to take over one of the gyms. Well, that's the goal, anyways. Aerial Ace!" He turns back to the battle, and Lorell slams the Oddish with a hard hitting attack, pushing into unconsciousness.
"Good one, Lory! Come on back!" The bird pokemon doesn't waste anytime, landing gently on Austins' shoulder, and Otis gestures for Wen to go.
"There, see that Gloom? Use Shadow Sneak!" He says quietly, and Wen nods, giggling.
She disappears into her shadow, and appears beside the poor grass type, slamming it into the ground without ceremony.
It turns to her, sending a cloud of purple powder at her, and she quickly disappears again.
"Hypnosis!" A pink wave of hypnotic energy comes out of the Gloom's shadow, barely rippling as it lands dead-on in the center of it's forehead, and it quickly keels over, snoring loudly.
Wen appears again beside Otis, a wide grin on her face.
"I didn't know that Misdreavus could even learn Hypnosis!" Austin laughs, and Otis shrugs.
"They can't, apparently. I'm not sure why she knows it, but Titus thinks it could be her parents." He explains, and Austin nods.
"That's pretty sweet! Egg moves are awesome, its how Lory knows Air Slash and Air Cutter, her mom had a phenomenal move pool. And now, so does she!" He kisses the birds cheek, and it coos happily, shivering in delight.
He points out at another Oddish, and Lory takes off again.
"Do you have any other pokemon?" Otis asks, and Austin nods.
"One more, Rayne, a Staraptor, but hes at my parents for now. He was my grandmas', so he's not the young chick he used to be. He's an amazing battler, though, so I can call on him if I ever need him."
"Thats cool!"
"What about you? Just Wen?" He asks, and Otis blushes.
"Um... yea-yeah... But just for now!" He assures the older boy, but Austin waves him off and laughs.
"It's not a huge deal! If you ever need to catch one, or just want to find the next perfect team member, sign up for a Great Marsh trip which leaves every saturday, or you could always just say you are going to visit family, and go on a small excursion to a local route." He shrugs, but Otis nods, absorbing this information for use at a later date.
"I will! Thanks!" Without another word, the younger boy waves and takes off, leaving Austin confused, but he just shrugs, turning back to his training.
"Air Cutter, Lory!"
TITUS
Titus and Gabby walk around the fountain in the courtyard, set to the left side of the academy, and sigh as the sun starts to set.
"You think we'll like it here?" He asks no one in particular, but Gabby kisses his hand, nodding exuberantly.
"I hope so to, baby girl..." He kisses her forehead, and she smiles, giggling as she runs off to play in the fountain.
He takes his journal out,watching as she splashes around with the young water type pokemon in the fountain, and begins marking things down;
Thicker shell, heavier.
Dragon moves = drastic improvement.
Getting more tired.
As if on cue, as he finishes writing that last one, Gabby yawns loudly from across the way.
"Ready for bed?" He asks, but she shakes her head.
"Titus!" A familiar voice shouts from behind him, and he turns to see Gardenia approaching, with someone beside her.
His hair falls neatly around his shoulders, in waves of crimson, and his eyes match. His glasses are a bit to big for his face, but his bright yellow hard-hat takes away any chance of noticing it on the first look. His coveralls are dirty, and he has multiple grease and dirt stains across his face.
Titus smiles, standing as they approach.
"This is Roark, the Oreburgh gym leader! He's heading out but I wanted him to meet you!" Titus shakes the mans hand.
"Nice to meet you Titus! Gar was telling me you hope to study as a Professor?" He asks, and Titus smiles, nodding.
"That's the goal! Me and Gabby are huge fans of Pr. Oaks work, back in Kanto and Johto, and we hope to meet Professor Rowan, if the opportunity should come to pass." Gabby runs in, and Titus catches her and hoists her up onto his hip.
"That's amazing. More kids need to think about that option, we need more dedicated researchers. Is this Gabby?" He asks, handing her a cookie from his pocket, which she gratefully takes.
"Yeah! I found her egg a few years back, and she's the best book-buddy I could have ever asked for!" Titus explains, and Roark looks at him with a confused expression.
"Book buddy? She can read?" He asks, and Titus nods, his smile growing even wider.
"I taught her when she hatched, and nowadays shes almost faster than I am! She's reading a collection of information of Mega Evolution at the moment." This stumps the Oreburgh Gym Leader, and he scoffs, shaking his head and chuckling.
"She's smart, that's for sure. You two are going to go far, I can tell." He gives a grin, which Gabby happily returns, albeit a bit more toothy.
"Anyways, any plans for tonight?" Gardenia asks, but Titus shakes his head.
"Nothing in particular, probably read a bit more, pick up some textbooks or something." Roarks chuckles again, but Gardenia smiles.
"Good! Always good to keep yourself educated! Anyways, we have to go, but I'll see you for your class schedules tomorrow!" They wave as they head off, and Titus just smiles.
"He's pretty cool, don't you think?" He asks Gabby, but she snores happily from his hip.
He chuckles, grabbing his journal and heading back to his room.