Chapter 5: A Shine among the Students
Ash and his Pokémon have become more and more comfortable with the students and staff of Luna Nova Academy. It had been two days since Constanze borrowed Ash's Dex and Diana borrowed Pikachu, both of which have been returned. Ash and Pikachu were up before Ursula where they chose to get a lap in before breakfast. They found and used an oval track to run on and raced. "Try to keep up, Pikachu!" cheered Ash.
("Hey, don't think I gave up so soon!") snapped Pikachu. As they ran on the track, Oshawott raced to find his trainer and Pokémon partner in a stream of water. He circled around Ash and Pikachu before breaking free of his watery cocoon and saluting the pair.
"Oshawott, you broke out of your Pokéball again," Ash sighed.
("And used Aqua Jet to find us,") Pikachu finished.
("I didn't know where you took off for!") the Sea Otter Pokémon barked. Pikachu sighed as Nelson came over, flying in on her broom.
"There you are!" she called. She stopped as Ash and the Pokémon turned to her.
"Nelson?" called Ash. "Were you up for exercise?"
"No, I was having some coffee outside when I saw that watery streak whiz out of the tower," Nelson pointed out as she grabbed Oshawott by the scruff. "First time I've seen a creature fly without wings. Is that an ability it can do? I mean, Pokémon are still new to me." Oshawott flailed around, frantic to escape Nelson's hold.
"It's called Aqua Jet," Ash briefed. "It allows a Pokémon to go after its opponent in a stream of water." Oshawott surrendered and stopped moving.
"I see, like a watery bullet!" compared Nelson as she looked to Oshawott. "I didn't know you had it in you!" Oshawott itched his head to the compliment. "Does Ursula know you're up?" Ash giggled nervously to the claim.
"We were going to head back for breakfast after our exercise," he admitted. A grin painted Nelson's face.
"Oh, I see…" she believed. "Work up a little appetite before eating. Well, hurry up and get ready for school." She flew off after letting Oshawott go. Later on, Luna Nova Academy was in session. Ash was alone when he made his deliveries, including to Anne. Along the way, Akko, Lotte and Amanda found the trainer.
"Hey-o!" greeted Amanda. A smile came to Ash.
"Doing rounds for the Headmistress?" asked Lotte.
"I am," Ash answered. "Miss Finnelan still thinks I don't belong, even though I have nowhere to go." Akko billowed a sigh.
"What can we say?" she shrugged. "She's had quite the disdain for boys."
"I've been realizing," he muttered. That's when Amanda noticed the missing member.
"Wait a minute…" she voiced. "Where's the little guy?" Ash realized Amanda's reference.
"The Headmistress has him," he briefed. "She's suggesting a possible exhibition with my Pokémon Training." The students seemed intrigued with the suggestion.
"I like the Headmistress's idea," Lotte applauded. Akko giggled at the thought.
"Oh, is there something you have in mind?" teased Amanda.
"I believe it's about this morning with that little Oshawott," Akko recalled. "What I think the Headmistress has in mind is have Ash teach us about Pokémon for a session." The other two girls blinked before Ash believed Miranda's method.
"I don't have any problem with that," he accepted. The students awed the idea.
"This deserves something special," Amanda grinned as she had a broomstick fly to her. She caught it effortlessly as she boarded the broom and flipped, being upside-down as she was face-to-face with Ash. "A little something for the new teach." She gave Ash a kiss between the eyes as Akko and Lotte gasped as Ash looked shocked, cheeks reddening from the affection. A while later, Ash was back on the job with Akko hanging around.
"I should've stopped her before she did that," she admitted. "After all, I was the first to kiss you." Ash scoffed to Amanda's kiss.
"It's nothing," he dismissed. "Besides, I don't mind love once in a while. Besides, I learned about Diana's family and how long their lineage has gone on. Heck, it was the first time I heard the word 'lineage,' but anyway… Were your family witches as well?" Akko blinked to the question.
"I'm actually the first of mine," she admitted. Ash nearly stumbled at Akko's briefing.
"No way!" he gawked. "You're the only one!?"
"Well, the truth is that I'm hoping to be skilled enough to hold the Shiny Rod," Akko started. "I was inspired by the most powerful witch who gave us joy and happiness. She named herself Shiny Chariot. It was only a couple of years after I saw her that she retired. That's why I came to Luna Nova Academy." Ash giggled to Akko's explanation.
"You want to dazzle people like your hero," he guessed.
"I do!" confirmed Akko. "It's a dream to me!"
"Hey, I can relate," Ash nodded. "My dream is to be a Pokémon Master. It's been with me since I was shown Pokémon from an early age." Akko laughed to Ash's dream.
"I'm sorry! I should know better. After all, this is the first time we've been exposed to Pokémon, let alone a boy ever since that one party and Sucy sending a Cupid Bee to sting that one student from Appleton Academy." The short made Ash nervous.
"A Cupid Bee, huh? Not exactly what I'd want to be stung with, but better than being stung by a Beedrill." The name made Akko gawk with huge fear.
"Drill…" She fell to her knees, but saw something poking out of Ash's pocket. It snapped her out of her fear and reached for his pocket, surprising Ash.
"Whoa, what are you-" The pull was successful. Standing up, Akko discovered the item as a photo of an auburn-haired woman in a pink blouse and blue skirt with a garden behind her.
"Who's this?" Seeing the photo, Ash became calm.
"That's my mom." The identity made Akko awe as Diana came to the pair.
"Mother?" she repeated. Ash and Akko turned to Diana from her voice.
"Oh, Diana!" she greeted. "Did something happen with Miss Callists? I saw you going in class."
"I came to confirm Headmistress Holbrooke's notion of having a class on Pokémon this afternoon," she informed. Ash nodded, accepting the news.
"That's good to know," he smiled.
"I figured that you'd accept the information," Diana praised. "Now, about a mother." Akko offered the photo to Diana.
"Ash told me this was his mother," Akko briefed. Diana looked at the photo, awing the woman.
"Oh, she is someone my mother would be happy to have around," she believed. Ash awed the idea while Akko mulled. 'That is, if she didn't die while I was so young.' A tear started to streak from her eye to her cheek, making Ash concerned.
"Diana?" he called out. Not saying anything, Diana reached and hugged Ash with Akko gasping.
"Whoa, Diana!" she gasped.
"Ash, do not worry," she whispered. Akko began shedding a tear before wiping it away, knowing Diana's grief... with a hint of a surprise. 'I'm... literally hugging Ash! It feels too soon... but I feel needing to...' She soon broke and palmed Ash's face before she and Akko departed. Ash seemed shocked by the gesture. After that, Ash was outside with Miranda and Pikachu as he set up the stage for Pokémon lessons.
"I know it's out of the blue for you, young Ash," Miranda sighed. "But even with these old bones, I feel intrigued to know about this." Ash smiled, knowing of Miranda's interests.
"You're never too old to learn something new," he said.
"Quite taken," Miranda agreed. "Now, will all of your Pokémon be out?"
"Of course," Ash confirmed. "I'd also tell them about why I only carry six Pokémon at a time." Miranda pondered to an explanation. She remained silent as the students came outside and lined up. Ash prepared himself for an explanation of Pokémon as Nelson, Ursula and Badcock arrived.
"Did you have the Abacus fixed to your liking, Samantha?" teased Nelson to Badcock.
"Like you care about the arithmetic I teach, Nelson," Samantha scoffed. As everyone gathered, Miranda stood by Ash and Pikachu.
"Students, this is a special treat for you, and for the teachers," she began. "Since he's been a big asset to the functions of Luna Nova Academy, I have the privilege of having Mr. Ash Ketchum provide a background of his world of Pokémon." The girls became thrilled to the offer. Ash took a deep breath. "Mr. Ketchum, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Headmistress Holbrooke," he welcomed. He now faced the students and teachers. "Pokémon… are everywhere. In my world, no matter where you turn, you'll be seeing a Pokémon. They fly the skies, swim in the seas, frolick in the forests… Before you know it, you'll be in the sights of many different Pokémon!" Suddenly, a screen appeared with Constanze's help as a projector shot and created said screen. Silhouettes of different creatures gave girls mystery before they became filled with color, including a large red mushroom-like creature with glowing eyes near the bottom. Sucy drooled at the sight if it.
"They're… really adorable!" cheered Lotte.
"You mean Constanze was helping ze Headmistress with ze idea?" gawked Jasminka. Constanze held up a tiny chalkboard to the students.
HER SUGGESTION, MY HELP.
"Should we expect anything less?" giggled Samantha. Ash began explaining more about his world.
"There's so much we do with Pokémon, including working alongside to make our jobs easier," he continued. "Some, we can even have as pets." Seeing an orange puppy that looked like it was part-tiger made Miranda awe.
"A puppy like that is something I wish I had 100 years ago," she admired.
"And then, there are Pokémon Trainers like me who journey the world to become great," Ash added on. "We hunt and capture Pokémon, but we don't hurt them with weapons or magic. We get influenced by their performances that we have them become part of a team. They have special abilities that we could only dream of, though I bet some of you witches may pull it off." The women laughed to the tease.
"Not on you, trust me!" denied Amanda. "Not on you!" Lotte rose a hand. Going by manners, Ash noticed her.
"Miss Jansson?" he named.
"We noticed that some of the Pokémon from there don't necessarily look alive," Lotte pointed out. "Like that!" She pointed to a picture of a trash bag with a face and octopus-like tentacles.
"There are some Pokémon like Trubbish that look odd," Ash admitted. "However, they and other Poison-Type do help with pollution that goes around." Amanda's hand rose next.
"We've seen you carry only six Pokémon around," she voiced. "Is there a reason? Can't you carry more?"
"About that, Amanda," Ash started. "Back home, I have a lot of Pokémon that I captured from several regions that I can switch out, including 30 Tauros like this one." He pointed to a brown bull-like creature with three whip-like tails, studs on its forehead and fur below its neck. "Now, imagine if all 30 of my Tauros have different attacks like one having Earthquake and another having Mega Horn. Then, add three more abilities like Rest, Flame Charge and others." Samantha started to work on her Abacus, sliding beads from right to left and back.
"That would be 120 different abilities for all of the Tauros," she calculated. "Obviously, too much for one person to remember. In other words, the six-Pokémon carry is a method to keep trainers from losing count of what Pokémon can do and Trainers can command."
"Exactly, Miss Badcock!" acknowledged Ash. "Not just that Pokémon can learn moves on their own, but they can learn different attacks and abilities along the way." Diana's hand came up. "Miss Cavendish?"
"When I talked to Pikachu and what he does, I learned that his Iron Tail is a Steel-Type attack, even though Pikachu is an Electric-Type Pokémon," Diana began. "Why does Pikachu have an attack that is not adjacent to his type?"
"Great question," Ash began. "A Pokémon can learn different attacks to surprise their opponents and counter type advantages. Using Pikachu, he is normally weak against a Ground-Type Pokémon. However, if I taught Pikachu a Water-Type attack like Surf or a Grass-Type attack like Grass Knot, it would give Pikachu a type advantage over the Ground-Type. Of course, there are ways to overcome a type disadvantage without changing the moveset." Diana approached the trainer.
"In that case, how about we have a demonstration?" she offered. "And I can use Pikachu for this." Ash and Pikachu seemed surprised.
"Are you sure?" asked Ash. That's when Oshawott appeared from Ash's robe. He greeted the women there who cooed and laughed to his sudden appearance.
"That little critter just emerged?" awed Akko.
"Does all of his Pokémon come out when zey feel like it?" wondered Jasminka. Oshawott shyly giggled to the girls in their teasing. To Ash, this was an opportunity to show off his skills as a Pokémon Trainer.
"Alright, let's do it!" he accepted. "We can have a practice match." The Pokémon seemed bewildered to Ash's idea. Ash and Diana stood several yards apart as the other women watched on.
"I've learned about what Pikachu can do, Ash," Diana warned. Oshawott became worried about the demonstration. Ash knelt down to his Sea Otter Pokémon.
"This demonstration can show how powerful you are," he whispered. Oshawott awed the idea and stood straight at Pikachu. "We're set over here!"
"As are we!" announced Diana. "In fact, I'll let you have the first move!" Ash nodded to the offer.
"Okay!" he grinned. "Oshawott, use Tackle!" Oshawott ran after Pikachu, but Diana stood firm.
"Use Iron Tail!" she commanded. Pikachu's tail became steel as he swung it and smashed Oshawott back to Ash. "Follow up with Quick Attack!" Pikachu sprinted ahead at high speed at Oshawott. Ash had a plan.
"Use Razor Shell to block!" he called. Oshawott removed his scalchop and swung a blade of blue energy that protruded from the shell at Pikachu who was knocked back a few feet. After a second, Pikachu reset himself. "Now, use Aqua Jet!" Oshawott cocooned himself into a watery shield before flying at Pikachu.
"Use Thunderbolt!" ordered Diana. Pikachu fired a huge stream of lightning that struck the Aqua Jet, dispersing the water and shocking Oshawott. He hit the dirt but sat back up. Ash knelt to Oshawott once more.
"Let's put a spin on that and see Pikachu counter it," he suggested. "Like what Dawn and Piplup did at Cynthia's villa." Oshawott thought back to seeing a blue penguin chick spin and blow bubbles around and around fast. He quickly grinned to the thought. "Alright! Spin and use Aqua Jet again!" Oshawott started Aqua Jet again but spun to make the move look like a corkscrew.
"Another Thunderbolt!" demanded Diana. Pikachu did another Thunderbolt, but the spinning Aqua Jet dispersed the electric attack. Diana and Pikachu gawked to the deflection. "Not possible!" The Aqua Jet blasted Pikachu back to Diana. "I do not understand!" The women around stood in shock at how the Aqua Jet fought through the Thunderbolt.
"Yeah, what just happened?" asked Amanda.
"Remember when I said that Pokémon can overcome a type disadvantage without changing their moves?" recalled Ash. "I have trained my Pokémon ways to improvise their moves without the need to change it." Oshawott emerged a little dizzy, but soon felt jolts to the body. Akko gasped to the outcome.
"What's wrong with Oshawott, now?" she wondered. Constanze pressed a few times on her tablet before a voice came out.
"STATIC," the voice rang out from the tablet. "THIS POKÉMON ABILITY PARALYZES THE OPPONENT SHOULD A SUCCESSFUL PHYSICAL ATTACK OCCUR. IT MOSTLY COINCIDES WITH ELECTRIC-TYPE POKÉMON LIKE PIKACHU. WHEN PARALYZED, THE POKÉMON MAY NOT ATTACK." The women gasped to the status effect.
"That's a game-changer," Ursula gulped.
"Use Electro Ball!" commanded Diana. Pikachu gathered electricity for the Electro Ball as Oshawott fought the paralysis.
"You can do it, Oshawott!" encouraged Ash. Oshawott began to stand. "Use Hydro Pump!" Water gathered around Oshawott, ready to pour an attack at Pikachu. Both fired attacks but walls suddenly appeared before the attacks could meet each other, let alone the Pokémon.
"What in the-" gawked Diana.
"What's going on!?" irked Ash. Everyone turned to Anne who started putting away her wand.
"There will be no violence with the students, Mr. Ketchum," she scolded. "This is the reason we never wanted you around Luna Nova Academy! It would be best if you leave… NOW!" Ash and the Pokémon were shocked by Anne's punishment when Ursula stepped in.
"Now, that's enough, Anne Finnelan!" she shouted. "This was a demonstration and you should've allowed them to finish!"
"I will not subject any of the students to this demagoguery, Ursula Callists!" countered Anne. "That goes for Miss Cavendish as well. We teach our students to be witches and learn witchcraft, not teach animals how to be savage beasts!"
"Ze only savage right now iz you Miss Finnelan!" growled Jasminka.
"Besides, the Headmistress approved of the idea!" added Nelson.
"Did you ever think this could be useful for us to improve our witchcraft?" pointed Sucy.
"And we're seeing a great battle that began to rejuvenate my youthful excitement!" snapped Miranda. Everyone was after Anne who became a little upset that the students sided with Ash over herself. A little while later, Miranda, Ursula and Diana came to Ash after he treated Oshawott.
"We do apologize for Miss Finnelan's disruption of your demonstration," Miranda started.
"It's alright, and it's nice to teach the students about neat ideas," Ash forgave. "As a matter of fact, that spinning was something I learned while in the Sinnoh Region."
"Of course, with Dawn," Pikachu realized while on Miranda's shoulder. "It was that Counter-Shield improvisation that she displayed at Cynthia's villa not too long ago in front of Cilan with Piplup." Diana seemed intrigued to the notion.
"So, does this mean you can use this… Counter-Shield technique yourself, Pikachu?" she guessed.
"Yeah, with my Thunderbolt," Pikachu confirmed. "I wonder if I could've done it when I had Volt Tackle? Maybe it could've reduced the recoil I suffered?" Ursula petted Pikachu with a giggle.
"Better not to think of it and move on," she pointed out. "And maybe we can make something so when we want to hear explanations from you, we don't need to use magic back and forth."
"How about not?" denied Pikachu. "I prefer my voice, not someone else's." Everyone shrugged and laughed as the day wound down. Everyone had a trying day, with the next day having more to offer.
TO BE CONTINUED...