Club Days at last!
Sonofthetrigod: It is a very enjoyable trope.
Arcana of the North: We'll have too see.
Phantom-Jester: Yeah, I kept it out on purpose. It's more fun if I get to choose.
Duskzilla: We'll have to see.
Daozang: Thanks, it means a lot.
Darkhammer: Kay, I'll try.
Martyn: Maybe, but not in this chapter.
BloodStarGeneral: Well, that's definitely a club…
Regiinator: Sounds like a good idea to me.
My Wunderwaffle iz missin: Hope it will.
DeviouslyNormal: No problem.
ShadeZyro: Well, we'll see a few of them this chapter.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 14
"Wow, it's such a great feeling to have no classes!" Sango said, stretching. She and Julia joined up with the three boys, and were heading out to the quad, where the clubs had set up stalls to attract people.
"Where's Cynthia?" Nick asked.
"She said she had something to do," Sango said. "She left earlier."
"I'm a little worried, honestly," Julia sighed.
"Whoa…" Blake said, staring at the large amount of people before them. The edges of the quad were lined with tables with colored banners decorating them. A few more were pushed out onto the grass, and a few more will near the river moving through the campus. Consulting the map, Blake learned that this was only about half the clubs on campus. Other clubs were on the other fields and meeting places in campus.
Not only were people moving to each of the stalls to check out what they were doing, there were also representatives from many of the clubs handing out flyers to people.
"So, any clubs you guys want to check out first?" Julia asked.
"Well, my club activities are pretty much already spoken for," Sango sighed. "I'm just here for moral support."
"What club are you joining?" Julia asked, surprised.
"Survival Club," Sango said. "Not only is it a sponsored club with a large budget, it also provides extra credit for people joining the Ranger Course. Combine that with my application to join campus security, I'm going to be busy pretty soon."
"Well, that sounds pretty cool," Reiner said.
"You'd think so…" Sango sighed. "Unfortunately, I've been getting a bunch of propositions to join other clubs…"
"Like what?"
"Well, mainly… nearly every athletic club has sent me a pamphlet on their activities…"
"Yeah, our school doesn't have that many athletic clubs for people," Julia agreed, "so it makes sense that the ones we have are eager to get someone like Sango to join."
"Well, I think a club like that would suit you," Reiner shrugged.
"Yeah, no thanks…" Sango said, shaking her head. "As much as I like my exercise, if I want to be a top ranger I've got put as much effort into it as I can."
"…Personally, I think that a survival club is a pain…" Reiner sighed. "Why do we have to join a club? I'd rather just relax…"
"Don't be lazy," Julia sighed. "Besides, the point of these next few days is for you to find out exactly what clubs suit you."
"…What about that club?" Reiner asked, pointing to a group of girls handing out flyers in swimsuits, boys crowding around them.
"…Pathetic," Sango sighed. "You'd have to stoop pretty low to try and use sex appeal to draw boys to your club…"
"Come join the Pokemon Friends Club!" a very familiar voice shouted. Everyone turned to see two girls handing out flyers. When their eyes landed on the two girls, they stayed there.
The two girls were a short and slim redhead with a bright smile on her face, and a tall, stacked girl with black hair, who was slightly more embarrassed. Both girls were dressed in skimpy Lopunny costumes.
"Is that Cynthia?" Sango asked, embarrassed for her friend.
"And Serefina…" Blake said, staring attentively at the embarrassed brunette.
"Eyes up, boys," Sango said, elbowing Blake in the stomach.
"Oh, hey, Blake!" Cynthia said, her face brightening as she noticed her friends.
"Say nothing and ignore her, pretend we don't know who she is," Sango said as Cynthia called over to them.
"Blake!"
The group slowly walked in the opposite direction, not staring at Cynthia at all.
"Blake!"
"Blake!"
"Blake!"
"Blake!"
"Blake!"
"…"
"PAY ATTENTION TO ME, JACKASS!"
Cynthia caught Blake in the back with a drill kick, sending him rolling across the grass as she landed on the ground.
"Lopunny used high jump kick!" Julia gasped.
"It's super effective!" Sango said, shocked.
"What the hell?" Blake exclaimed, rubbing his back as Reiner helped him up. "Why the hell would you just kick me like that?"
"You weren't paying attention to me."
"Of course not! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to have someone dressed like talking to me?"
"Oh, you would love it," Cynthia said, smirking smugly.
"That outfit is way too distracting," Sango said, interceding on Blake's behalf. "Nick has absolutely no idea where to look."
"Is this that 'thing' you told us about yesterday?" Julia asked.
"Yup!" Cynthia chirped. "The club paid me to help them pass out flyers."
She turned to Blake.
"Come on, guys, you should join the Pokemon Friends Club!"
"Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on…" She purred, sliding up to him. "If you sign up, you could get some 'special service,' what do you say?"
Blake stared at the idiot as she pulled the hemline above her chest out a little to entice him to stare.
"Yeah, that flat chest of yours isn't doing it for me," Blake said, shaking his head.
He said it! Julia gasped internally.
I can't believe he said it! Reiner said to himself.
"How could you say that?" Cynthia exclaimed. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm flat! Who do you think I am, Sango?"
"Hey!"
"Stop growing vertically and start growing horizontally if you don't like it!"
"I have a runner's body and I'm fine with it!"
"Blake doesn't want to be with a girl that's taller than him!"
"That doesn't have anything to do with anything! Besides, I'm only 5'6", how tall are you?"
Cynthia baulked a little, looking down.
"B-besides, since I'm a little short, it makes my figure stick out more! Your freakish height makes it even more obvious that you don't have anything there!"
She changed the subject, Julia thought.
She completely changed the subject, Reiner thought.
Did I do something really bad in a past life to merit this treatment? Blake asked himself.
"Cynthia…" Cynthia turned to see Serefina walk up to her, her face bright red. "I-I handed in all the flyers, can I stop this now?"
"No, remember, this exposure is exactly how we get more people to join the club," Cynthia explained. "With that body of yours, every single boy is likely to join!"
"Yeah, but I feel kind of…" Serefina said, looking around.
"This is ridiculous, I'm leaving…" Blake sighed.
"Why is he in such a bad mood?" Serefina asked, confused.
"Oh, he's just been a little depressed ever since Alcea beat him," Cynthia explained.
"Oh, I see…" Serefina said, nodding. "…Wait… did you say 'Alcea'?"
"…Yeah… why?"
"You don't mean Alcea Vermeil, do you?" Serefina asked, nervous.
"…Yeah, I think that was her name…"
"What?" Serefina exclaimed.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Dakota exclaimed, jumping out from the bushes in shock, Serefina jumping back with a shriek.
"Wh-what were you doing there?" Serefina demanded.
"…Research."
"What's so special about Alcea?" Blake asked.
"Everything!" Dakota exclaimed. "She's the strongest girl in the junior class, and is called 'Queen of Roses' by her underclassmen, for her noble air and beautiful red hair, not to mention the rumor she's from Kalos royalty! She never battles anyone, except for school events! I can't believe I missed it! DAMN IT!"
"She's unbelievably strong…" Serefina said, frowning. "Some people even say that she's stronger than seniors…"
"She was also voted 'number one girl I'd like to step on me and treat me like dirt' by the boys…" Dakota said, frowning. "Beautiful and powerful…"
"Well, she did kick Blake's ass pretty badly," Reiner agreed.
"I can't believe she accepted a battle with you, though…" Serefina said, frowning.
"Actually, she called him out, if I recall," Sango said.
"WHAT?!" Dakota and Serefina exclaimed. "No way!"
"It's gotta be…" Dakota said, frowning.
"What?" Sango asked.
"…The beautiful queen, drawn in by the allure of a younger man, and asked him for a private battle in the moonlight…" Dakota said, nodding. "That's gotta be the opening line…"
"That is absolutely not it." Everyone who had been there agreed at once.
"Still, I wonder why she would ask you to battle?" Serefina mused, frowning.
"No idea, really," Blake said.
"What's so impressive about her? I mean, she's strong, but you guys are treating her like she's some kind of legend…" Cynthia said, frowning.
"Have you heard of the Eight Leaders?" Serefina asked.
"Is that something like the Elite Four?" Cynthia asked warily.
"It's a title passed to the eight best students in the Battle Course," Dakota explained. "Basically, it's saying that those eight will eventually become gym leaders."
"Currently, she's the Sixth Gym," Serefina explained. "Which means she's the third strongest leader, as well as the strongest female student among the leaders."
"That is impressive," Cynthia said, nodding.
"Not only that, Alcea is one of three students of the current year to reach that rank as a sophomore," Serefina said. "Meaning that as a sophomore she was strong enough to compete with people who are now seniors. And there are only two actual seniors among the Eight Leaders. The others are all juniors."
"Wait, so many of the juniors are better than seniors?" Blake asked.
"Not exactly," Dakota said, shaking her head. "See, there are certain requirements to being in the eight leaders that not every student, and certainly not every senior, meet. For example, you have to have excellent grades, and train pokemon specializing primarily in a certain type. Not only that, appointments are made only after a student graduates or steps down, and they are appointed at the discretion of the Eight Leaders themselves. So even if you're a powerful trainer, you still might not get chosen. Make sense?"
"Kind of," Blake said, nodding.
"Well, at least it makes sense why Blake got his ass kicked," Sango said, nodding.
"Do we have to keep saying it like that?" Blake asked.
"Excuse me," Julia interrupted, everyone turning to her.
"Yeah?" Serefina asked.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we do still need to check out some of the clubs…" Julia said. "If you don't mind…"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Serefina gasped, embarrassed. "Sorry, I completely forgot!"
She turned to Blake and the others.
"Listen, if you could, please stop by the Pokemon Friends Club booth, and check us out… don't worry, I promise, it's not as bad as it looks, we don't wear costumes like this."
"…Uh, sure…" Blake said, nodding.
"I feel like I just lost…" Cynthia said, frowning.
"I get that feeling too," Sango agreed.
Serefina ran off to go get changed, Dakota following after her initially, but stopped and turned back to Blake.
"Be sure to check out the newspaper club too," Dakota said, handing Blake a flyer.
"Absolutely not."
"Don't be so mean!" Dakota huffed, storming off. Blake crumpled up the flyer and jammed it into his pocket, turning to everyone.
"So, think we should check out the Pokemon Friends Club?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, but first I have to change out of this costume," Cynthia said. "This thing gets fur everywhere, even up my-"
"Okay, let's go," Sango said, pushing her towards the library and the bathrooms within it.
"Hey…" Julia said, Blake turning to her.
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to go to the Pokemon Friends Club first…" Julia said, frowning.
"Where do you want to go?"
"Oh, I got it!" Reiner interrupted, grinning. "When it's stuff like this, we'll have to check out the food places!"
"Food-?" Julia asked, confused.
Reiner grabbed her and Blake by the wrists and dragged them across the quad, reaching a small waist high fence surrounding large tables. People were crowded around, eating food. A Charizard was standing under a large tent, its tail flames being used to keep a grill lit while it cooked hamburgers with small bursts of fire.
"Pokemon Cooking Club!" Reiner said. "I noticed it when I glanced through the pamphlet!"
"…This is pretty cool," Julia admitted. The group waited in the line, Sango and Cynthia rejoining them a few minutes later.
"What's with the kids?" Cynthia asked.
"Well, from what I hear, Club Day is open to families in the area. Some come for the food, some come for the entertainment that some of the clubs show, and some come so their kids can play with the pokemon," Reiner explained. "I think it's pretty cool, to be honest. The money the clubs make off of their services helps stimulate their budget."
After getting their food, they sat down at one of the empty tables, and quick wolfed the food down. The line had been a twenty minute wait, and it had worked up an appetite for them.
"So, Pokemon Friends Club first?" Cynthia asked.
"Julia actually had somewhere she wanted to go before that, if that's okay," Blake said.
"Yeah, sure, no problem," Cynthia said, nodding.
After finishing their food, the group followed Julia's lead. However, to their surprise, she didn't lead them back to the quad, and instead headed towards the edge of campus.
"Venusaur Hall?" Cynthia asked, confused. "Why are we here?"
Julia used her card to open the door and headed inside, walking to one of the rooms.
"Gardening Club?" Sango asked, confused, Julia knocking on the door. Everyone realized where they were just before a familiar face walked to the door.
"Welcome to the Gardening Club!" the brown haired girl everyone only knew as Kate said. When she noticed who was there, her face soured.
"You three, get out," she snapped, glaring at Blake, Reiner and Nick.
"What? Why?" Blake demanded.
"The Gardening Club is a place for people seeking to refine themselves in the arts of preserving delicate beauty and gentle nature," Kate explained, leering at them. "It's no place for dirty boys like you."
"Kate."
"But…"
"Let them in."
The girl grumbled, cursed, and looked like she wanted to hurl, but she opened the door to let them inside.
"Bienvenue," Alcea said. She stood from her desk and curtsied, walking over to them. "What can I help you with?"
"Um, not me," Blake said, turning to Julia.
"Oh? Joining the Gardening Club, is it?"
"Sorry, no," Julia said, shaking her head. "No offense, but flowers just aren't my thing."
"Then what business do you have here?"
"I want a battle," Julia said, frowning. "You and me."
"I refuse."
"Wh-what?"
"I refuse. Je refuse," Alcea said, repeating it again in French.
"Wh-why?" Julia asked. "You fought Blake, why won't you fight me?"
"I do not accept challenges," Alcea said. "If I accepted challenges, then I would have no time for anything else. Excuse-moi, but I do not have the time to spare to strike elegance into you."
"Then if you won't fight me, train me!" Julia exclaimed. Alcea's eyes narrowed at this.
"…Train you, is it?"
"I want to become strong like you," Julia said. "Seeing you fight like that, I've never seen anything like it. You, and that girl Gabrielle… you're all so strong, and I want to be like that too."
"…Training you… something like that… I have even less time for."
Sango poked Julia on the shoulder.
"It's because you said you didn't like flowers."
"Our Queen is very busy," Kate said, frowning. "Now if you don't have any more business, I'd like to ask you to leave."
Blake became suddenly aware of the other girls in the club leering at them, uncomfortable with boys in their club.
"Why do you want to be strong?" Alcea asked suddenly, catching Julia off of her guard.
"The Eight Leaders," Julia said, like that solved everything.
"Ah. So you've heard that Gabrielle and I are both among the Eight Leaders. However…"
Alcea moved closer to Julia, close enough for Julia to smell her perfume.
"It seems you aren't after my title… So what else could you be after?"
"The reason I came here... to this school… I wanted to become a gym leader."
"A gym leader, is it?"
"Wow," Cynthia said, surprised.
"So, you must have heard the those who are the 'Eight Leaders' almost invariably receive invitations from the Pokemon League to be gym leaders, is it?"
"Yeah," Julia said, nodding. "And the only way that can happen is if I become stronger than anyone else."
"I see…" Alcea said, nodding. "Perhaps I could train you…"
"Really?" Julia asked, her face brightening.
"…No. Not as you are. However, it isn't impossible… you would have to do something in exchange…"
"Name it," Julia said, a big smile on her face.
"I am unfamiliar with your pokemon, and of their skills, but from what I can see of you, you are in great need of refinement. If you join the Gardening Club and polish yourself in the ways of grace and elegance, then I will train you to become a trainer capable of being among the ranks of the Eight Leaders."
Julia bit her lip, frowning.
"You should feel honored," Kate said, smirking. "Our Queen doesn't offer to train just anyone."
EoS: But is such training a good thing?