Chapter 9: What Lies Beneath
Akari woke up to something soft pressing her face over and over. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sprigatito staring straight at her while padding her face.
"Off, Sprigatito," Akari groaned as she sat up. "I really need to name you."
Sprigatito mewled in response and made his way to the foot of the bed.
"How about Basil?" Akari asked. Her partner paused for a second before shaking his head.
"Nutmeg?" Another shake.
"Mint!" Akari exclaimed. The cat paused again. He titled his head and looked upwards as if he was thinking. After a solid minute, he shook his head again.
"Alright, alright…" Akari rubbed her chin and looked upwards. "How about… Lotus?"
The Sprigatito instantly mewled in approval and jumped into Akari's arms.
"Alright, Lotus it is!" Akari laughed as she caught her partner Pokemon. "Now, let's go, Lotus. I want to see what classes are available today."
"Ah Akari! It's nice to see you again," The receptionist's smile widened as Akari walked up to her with Lotus on her shoulder. "Raifort told me you did very well in history yesterday."
"Yeah," Akari grabbed her arm and looked away. "It was good."
"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it," The receptionist looked back down at her screen. "Is there a class you wanted to take or do you want to take a look at what classes are happening today?"
"Can I see the classes?" Akari turned back to the receptionist.
"Of course," The receptionist typed something on her screen and a screen to Akari's right. "Check over there."
"Alright," Akari looked. There were a few classes that caught Akari's eye like Home Economics and Battle Studies, but there was one thing in particular that caught her eye.
Archeology, Akari read. Akari had found archeology mildly interesting as she traveled around Hisui, but ever since her encounter with Dialga and Palkia, she immediately became invested in the subject. If the myths about the Almighty Sinnoh were true, who's to say that other myths aren't?
Plus, there's the issue of the plates, Akari mused. She didn't trust anyone nearly enough to handle them, as they were either gifts from the Nobles, Pokemon who Akari both loved as friends and respected as Pokemon of high status, or obtained through risking her life, like her battle with Heatran. If she could take some classes and find out what they are, then that would save her a lot of trouble.
"Can I take Archeology?" Akari looked up at the receptionist.
"Oh, Archeology!" The receptionist's expression brightened. "There aren't many people signing up for that class. Especially since it's the first year offering it."
"Really?" Akari tilted her head. That's convenient.
"Really," The receptionist nodded. "Miss Rika will be happy to have another student. Class will be starting in fifteen minutes. It's on one of the upper floors, so you might want to head there now."
"Thank you," Akari bowed to the receptionist before turning to Lotus. "You ready buddy?"
When Lotus mewled in approval, Akari smiled and made her way to the stairs.
"Hey Akari!" Arven's voice was one of the last things the young woman wanted to hear. It's not that she hated the boy or anything. She just tolerated him. "Fancy seeing you here!"
"Morning Arven," Akari forced a smile and walked over. She looked around to see only four other kids besides her and Arven minding their own business. "Wow, this class really is empty,"
"Yeah, which sucks," Akari took out his book and flipped through it. "A bunch of ancient stuff is brought up in this book so I thought I would take this class."
"Really," Akari tilted her head. Now that she thought about it, the book looked a little familiar.
"Yeah. Wanna sit next to me?" Arven gestured to the empty seat next to her.
"S-sure," Akari said. She didn't want to seem rude, so she sat down next to the boy. Lotus hopped in Akari's bag and made himself comfortable.
"So why do you want to take this class?" Arven asked.
"Well there are some interesting things I came across back home so I wanted to learn more," Akari answered. She wasn't lying, but she sure as hell wasn't going to confess to battling the actual god of time.
"Huh, your home seems like an interesting place," Arven closed the book and put it on the desk.
"Yeah, it is," Akari looked at Lotus, who looked back with wide, sparkling eyes. Arven was opening his mouth to speak again when he was cut off by the door opening.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to pick someone up," Akari turned to the door to see a pretty woman with dark green hair. She wore a dress shirt, a tie, and suspenders along with black dress pants.
So cool, Akari couldn't help herself. The woman exuded an aura of a powerful trainer. A trainer that could beat anyone effortlessly, all while keeping her laid-back demeanor. Behind the woman was a small girl. Adorable was the only way to describe her. She wore a cute dress and seemed to be several years younger than Akari. Despite that, something in the small girl's eyes unsettled Akari. If Nemona reminded Akari of Sabi's lightheartedness and boundless energy, this girl reminded her of the warden's ominous side.
"Poppy, can you sit over there?" The woman pointed to one of the empty tables next to Akari.
"Kay," The girl, Poppy smiled up at the woman and waddled her way over to the seat, jumping up to sit down.
So… cute! Akari usually wasn't one for cute things, but Poppy… she hadn't seen anything so cute in her life. Just looking at her made the time-traveler's heart melt.
"Yo," Everyone turned their attention to the woman who was now standing at the podium. "My name's Rika and that's Poppy. I'll be teaching Archeology for the time being."
"Miss Rika?" One of the kids raised their hand.
"Please don't call me Miss," Rika shook her head. "What's up?"
"Aren't you one of the Elite Four?" The student put his hand down as he started to speak. "Why are you teaching here?"
"Well why not?" Rika shrugged. "Well, I owe Dr. Clavell a couple of favors and he asked Geeta to ask me to teach, so my hands were tied."
"Oh," The student said. "Thank you."
The Elite Four? Akari silently pondered. What's that?
"Anyways, I was given this lesson plan and it told me to cover all the stuff in Paleda," Rika grabbed a small packet that was on her stand. "But honestly? That's garbage, so I'll just teach you my way."
A couple students gasped as Rika threw the packet of paper in the trash can next to her podium.
You know, I kinda like her, Akari thought. She was never one for rules. Ask anyone in Hisui and they'd say that Akari was one of the biggest rule-breakers in the entire region. Akari didn't do anything bad, but sometimes stupid rules got in the way.
"If you're going to learn about archeology the right way, you're going to have to start with the main hub of digging," Rika waved her hand and a map with long and complicated pathways leading to large patches of land.
"This," Rika jutted her thumb over her shoulder to the map, "is the Sinnoh Underground, the largest connection of tunnels and caves in the world."
Sinnoh? Akari called back to her time in Hisui. I didn't see any of this back at home.
"Since we're in Archeology and not mining classes, I'm going to be going over the fossils you can find in here," Rika said. With the push of a button on her stand, the screen changed. "Technology to revive pokemon from fossils has only been around for twenty years or so, but it's still massively important."
"The first fossil you can find is the skull fossil. When you revive it, you get a Cranidos," Rika pressed the button again and another fossil flashed up on the screen. "The armor fossil will get you a Shieldon."
"Miss—" A student raised her hand, but was cut off when Rika's head snapped in her direction. "I mean… Rika, why do we need to learn this?"
"Is the concept of having ancient Pokemon not cool?" Rika asked. The student's mouth clamped shut. "Well, you signed up for this class anyway so I don't want to hear that. The next fossil is the dome fossil, which can be revived into a Kabuto."
Akari was taking notes furiously. This isn't exactly what she wanted, but reviving once extinct pokemon seemed fascinating.
"Alright, we only have a few more," Rika changed the screen again. The helix fossil will give you an Omanyte and an old amber will get you an Aerodactyl."
"Man, I want one of those," Akari could hear Arven mutter as Rika continued the lecture.
"For the last two, the claw fossil can become an Anorith and a root fossil can be turned into a Lileep," Rika concluded. "Now, are there any questions?"
No response. The topic was pretty simple and Rika's explanation was clear and concise.
"Alright. I'll see if I can get a fossil for next class, but if not, we're going to be going over the different types of stones," Rika said. "Now shoo. Lunch is going to start soon."
Akari stood up to leave, but stopped when Rika turned to look at her.
"You're Akari, right?" Rika asked.
"That's me," Akari's muscles tensed. Why would the teacher single her out now?
"I have a gut feeling that I'll be seeing you in the Pokemon League," Rika shrugged. "Nemona won't shut up about you."
"You know Nemona?" Akari tilted her head.
"Yeah, she's one of the strongest trainers in the region," Rika said flatly. Akari's eyes widened. "Anyways, I'll be waiting for you, kiddo. Don't disappoint me, kay?"
"Y-yes ma'am," Akari bowed.
"Please don't call me that," Rika groaned.
"Sorry," Akari muttered.
"It's fine," Rika waved the girl off. "Now go to lunch. I have something to do."
"Alright," Akari nodded and made her way out of the room.
I wonder if I should take another class? Akari thought as she walked down the hallway. Lunch was quite uneventful. She spent some time with Penny and bolted when Nemona challenged her to a battle, but other than that, nothing really happened. As Akari continued to walk, a familiar figure started to make itself known.
"Poppy?" Akari said as she approached the child. The child jumped and turned around.
"Oh, missy! I was looking for you!" Poppy's smile made the sun feel dim in comparison.
Adorable… Akari thought. It took all her willpower not to pick her up and squeeze her. She was like a little doll.
"Oh, why did you need me?" Akari tilted her head.
"Missy may be a strong trainer, but I'm stronger!" Poppy chirped happily. "I can't wait to see you in the League so I can crush you."
"What" Akari asked, more confused than anything.
"Poppy?" Akari looked up to see Rika turn the corner. "Oh, there you are."
"Sorry Rika," Poppy ran up to the older woman.
"Sorry about Poppy," Rika sighed. "She can be a bit excitable."
"It's okay…" Akari said, still processing what the child had said.
"Well, I'll see you around," Rika shrugged. "Let's go, Poppy."
"Bye missy!" Poppy said happily before walking off with Rika.
As Akari watched the shrink in the distance, only one thought crossed her mind. What the hell just happened?
Cynthia sighed as she looked at the large mountain of paperwork on her desk. Even though she was dethroned as the champion, she still had tons of paperwork to sift through. Fan mail, hate mail, acting roles, battle challenges, you name it.
"No rest for the wicked," Cynthia grit her teeth and sat down. Most of the things she read were dull. Some kid cursing her for demolishing his team. Some company wanting her to star in an ad for a new type of pokeball. It all blended together after a while.
"Oh?" As Cynthia grabbed the next piece of paper, her eyebrow raised. "Raifort never writes these days."
As she opened the letter and began to read, a smile slowly crept on her face.
"Well, don't we have a little scholar on our hands?" Cynthia placed the card down and stood up. "I guess I'll be keeping my eye on her from now on."
Enter Rika! I really like her character so I had her come in a bit early. And Cynthia! Ain't that a surprise? I'm excited to continue building these subplots. Please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.