Well, I got less reviews than I thought I would, but that's what happens when you make a chapter on Christmas. Sorry this took so long.

Sonofthetrigod: Thanks, and sorry to see you go.

Duskzilla: Thanks!

Daozang: Thanks, I like hearing that I get characters right.

Deant33: Fair enough.

BloodStarGeneral: Well, the list is still in the making, but we'll see them eventually.

Darkhammer: Thanks!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 19

"Okay, students!" Professor Green declared, clapping her hands together. "Now that Club Day is finally over, it's time for us to get back to some activities!"

Everyone was a little exhausted after the long break, Blake in particular rather tired.

"Now then!" Professor Green pulled a blanket off of the table in front of her, revealing a pile of green pokeballs.

"What are those?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"These are a special ball made by the school," the professor explained. "They act similar to pokeballs, but have a modified capture rate to make it possible to capture pokemon without injuring them as much. Today, you'll each take one of these pokeballs to catch a pokemon."

Sango immediately raised her hand.

"…Yes?"

"I don't believe in catching pokemon."

"Bite me," Professor Green said. "Any other questions?"

Sango kept her hand raised.

The professor pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"Okay, look, these pokeballs are specially made for this class; unlike normal pokeballs, they don't register the trainer who uses them. Any pokemon caught with them will still be a wild pokemon, and won't listen to any orders you give. Does that satisfy you?"

"…Fine…" Sango said, looking down, frowning.

"Now then, this lesson was going to be about capturing pokemon, but I decided we should make it a competition!" Professor Green said, smiling. "I've got a list here ranking the pokemon that can be found outside on their capture difficulty level, so the trainer who can catch the hardest to catch pokemon at the highest level will win a prize!"

"What about using our own pokemon?" Julia asked.

"Yes, you'll each be able to bring one pokemon with you to capture the wild pokemon. But remember, you can only capture one wild pokemon, so make your choice wisely."

Sango raised her hand again, Professor Green pinching the bridge of her nose.

"…OKAY. If SOME PEOPLE who DON'T WANT TO USE THEIR OWN POKEMON are in this class, then THEY CAN BORROW A POKEMON FROM A FRIEND, okay?"

Sango's arm dropped.

As the class each grabbed a pokeball and headed out, Blake and Cynthia were deciding which pokemon would be the best for them to use.

"I'll go with Tristan," Cynthia decided. "His spore attacks will make it really easy to catch the best pokemon!"

"Hm…" Blake thought, frowning.

"I think Roden is a little too strong, he might just end up knocking out every pokemon I come across…" Julia sighed.

"I know, it's hard to choose a pokemon just for capturing others, I use my pokemon for fighting too much."

"Right? Mine are all really strong, I'm afraid they might knock out all the wild pokemon."

"Hey, Blake, can I ask a favor?" Sango asked, running up to him.

"You want to borrow a pokemon?"

Sango nodded.

"Sure, I guess… I'm not entirely sure about what pokemon I'm going to be using, though."

"That's fine, I'll just take whoever."

"Okay." Blake reached into his pocket and tossed out a pokeball, his Solosis emerging.

"Aw, it's the cute one!" Sango said, reaching down to pick up the cute green blob and nuzzling her face against it.

"Yeah, Uni gets along with others okay, but she can be a little shy."

"Okay, I'll take good care of her!"

"So which one are you gonna use?" Julia asked.

"I guess I'll use Weiss," Blade decided.

Once they got to the field, Julia immediately headed off on her own, leaving the four by themselves.

"I wonder what happened to Reiner," Blake wondered.

"He said he wouldn't be able to come to class today, he had something to do with his club," Nick informed them.

"Darn, that sucks," Sango sighed.

"He really hasn't been the same since he joined that gym leader club of his," Blake agreed.

"Guys, let's not focus on that!" Cynthia said, shaking her head. "It's time to get capturing!"

"Okay, Uni, let's do our best, okay?" Sango asked, Uni bobbing up and down in agreement.

"Why isn't this working?!" Sango demanded as another wild pokemon knocked Uni over and ran into the bushes.

"Maybe you should stick to something easier to capture," Cynthia suggested. "Like a Magikarp."

"Oh shut up."

"Yeah, Uni isn't very good at fighting," Blake said apologetically.

"No, no, it's fine…" Sango sighed. "I'm just surprised you would have her on your team since she isn't that strong."

"Well, she was a gift from a friend, so I've been looking after her as a favor."

"Oh, I see…" Sango said, nodding. "Still… will she listen to me? Since you got her from someone else?"

"Yeah, sure, she's really well behaved."

"Okay then, Uni, do you think we can go find a pokemon to capture?"

Uni bobbed up and down again, Sango heading off to go find more pokemon to capture.

"I guess she doesn't want to fail in front of us," Cynthia said, shrugging. "Still, I guarantee we'll be able to find some good pokemon to capture, especially with my Tristan's spore!"

"Bre!" Tristan said, nodding.

Suddenly, the grass began rustling, Tristan's head jerking around.

"Yeah, go for it!" Cynthia cheered. A Raticate jumped out of the grass and ran away, Tristan bounding after it.

Spores shot out from Tristan's collar, coating the Raticate and putting it to sleep.

Cynthia ran over to it, and checked the list she copied on her phone.

"Oh well, it's a little too low rarity for my tastes, so no thanks. Either of you want to catch it."

"I'm good," Blake said, shaking his head.

"Abbie should be able to find me something a little more rare, so I'll be fine," Nick said, releasing his Absol.

The trio continued walking through the grassy field, arriving at the edge of the forest.

"I think I'll stay out here," Nick decided. "Abbie is really good in larger areas due to her speed."

Cynthia and Blake continued into the forest, where they came across an exhausted-looking Sango.

"So, how'd it go?" Cynthia asked, smirking.

"I had no idea that capturing pokemon was so hard…" Sango sighed. "How do you guys do it?"

"It's not that hard," Cynthia said, laughing.

"I haven't caught anything yet!"

"Well, maybe you just aren't putting enough effort into it!"

"Stop bickering, guys," Blake sighed.

The three of them continued deeper into the forest. However, Cynthia continuously rejected any pokemon they came across for being "too low rank" and Sango barely being able to put up a fight due to Uni being relatively weak.

"Whoa!" Cynthia said, her eyes widening. She stared at a wild Grovyle.

"Dibs," Blake said, smirking. Cynthia's eyes widened, and she turned and glared at Blake.

"Weiss, let's go!"

Blake tossed out a pokeball, which Weiss emerged from.

The Grovyle raised its head and glared at Blake.

Weiss flapped his wings, flying into the air and shooting towards the Grovyle. The Grovyle swung its arm, a blade of green energy flowing through it. Weiss skillfully dodged the attack, hitting the grass type in the neck, knocking it backwards.

Weiss flapped his wings, floating up into the air.

"False swipe again!" Blake said, Weiss nodding.

"Oh, smart," Cynthia said, nodding.

"False swipe?" Sango asked, confused.

"It's a special move," Cynthia said. "It never faints a pokemon."

"That will come in handy for capturing pokemon," Sango said, nodding.

"Boo, cheater," Cynthia jeered. "I saw it first!"

"You want a chance?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"Too bad, I called dibs."

Once the Grovyle had been significantly weakened, Blake tossed out the pokeball, and captured it.

"Awesome! Way to go, Weiss!" Blake said, Weiss nodding appreciatively.

Blake returned Weiss to his pokeball, and turned to Cynthia.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think I got ripped off," Cynthia said, frowning. "Jerk."

"Bitch."

The two snickered, Sango rolling her eyes.

"Seriously, guys?"

"What are you going to do?" Cynthia asked, turning to Sango.

"I'll have to figure something out."

"Well, Blake, you might have caught a Grovyle, so I'll have to go catch a Sceptile now!" Cynthia said, glaring at him.

"I don't think Sceptile are on the list."

"I won't leave it like this!" Cynthia exclaimed, running deeper into the forest.

"…You need any help?" Blake asked, turning to Sango.

"Yes, please. At the very least I don't want to embarrass myself."

"Hey, we can always catch a Magikarp, right?"

"Oh shut up."

Meanwhile, Nick was attempting to capture a wild Mightyena.

The dark type swiftly dodged Abby's night slash, raking into her with its sharp claws. Abby jumped back, snarling at the dog pokemon.

"Abby, use razor wind!" Nick ordered. Wind whipped up around Abby's body and shot at the Mightyena, cutting into it with several blades of wind, knocking it into the air, the dark type skidding across the ground.

Abby was quickly on top of it, slashing into the pokemon with her claws as soon as it landed on its' back. She jumped back, Nick tossing out a pokeball and capturing it.

"Yes! Way to go Abby!" Nick said, running over to the Absol, rubbing his cheek into her collar.

Nick returned Abby to her pokeball, and headed back to go see Professor Green.

"We meet again…" Julia was standing in the field, glaring at the wild Shinx she had seen before.

The Shinx glared at her angrily.

"Wolfie, let's go!"

Julia's Poochyena emerged, growling at the Shinx.

"Okay, Wolfie! Use dark pulse!" Julia ordered. Wolfie ran towards the Shinx, dark energy moving through her body and releasing as a shockwave.

The Shinx jumped into the air, avoiding the attack, electricity crackling around it. Shinx his Wolfie head on with a spark attack, knocking her backwards.

The two pokemon glared at each other, circling around in anticipation.

Wolfie ran forward and gnashed her teeth at the electric type, the Shinx jumping back and swinging its tail, hitting Wolfie in the face. As the Shinx landed on the ground, it ran at Wolfie and tackled her head on, Wolfie skidding across the ground.

Wolfie leapt to her feet, barking angrily at the Shinx.

"Wolfie, try using dark pulse again," Julia ordered. Wolfie nodded, dark energy surging through her body. She released in a shockwave, this one managing to hit the Shinx.

The Shinx crashed onto the ground, rising to her feet, shaking, before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

"Go!" Julia tossed out the pokeball, capturing the Shinx.

"Alright, I got it."

Julia turned and walked through the tall grass back towards the main building.

"Nick, how did it go for you?" Julia asked as she ran into him, both heading back.

"Pretty good," Nick said, nodding. "I caught a Mightyena, which must be pretty rare, right?"

"Sounds like it, yeah," Julia said, nodding. "What about the others?"

"Dunno, we got split up."

"Can I go back now?" Blake asked, exhausted.

"No!" Sango and Cynthia both exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"I'm not letting you go anywhere until I find a pokemon rarer than that Grovyle you caught, understand?"

"I still need your help in capturing something!"

"What about something easy, like a Kakuna or a Metapod?" Cynthia asked.

"I'd love that, but I can't seem to find any…" Sango said, shaking her head. "Unlike most pokemon, cocoon pokemon don't need to eat. I can't lure them out with berries, and anything I CAN lure out is too strong for Uni to fight."

Sango looked at the list.

"From what I can tell, the lowest rarity of pokemon are more likely to be the weakest, right?"

"I guess," Cynthia said, Blake nodding in agreement.

"Okay, then. It looks like the weakest pokemon on the list are Caterpie and Weedle, so I'll have to find the kind of berries most appealing to bug types," Sango decided, flipping through a small book she pulled out of her bag. "Bug pokemon like Leppa Berries, so I'll have to find out if there are any trees around here that grow that kind."

"Okay, while you do that, Blake and I will-"

"Wait, bug types?" Blake asked.

"Mm," Sango said, nodding.

Blake released Weiss from his pokeball.

"Hey, Weiss, do you think you can find any trees with Leppa Berries on them?" Blake asked.

"He should be drawn to them by the scent," Sango explained, "but just in case, Weiss, here's a picture."

Sango held up her book to the bug type, Weiss glancing over the small red berries and nodding.

With a flap of his wings, Weiss took to the air.

"Awesome, thanks, Blake!" Sango said, smiling. "We'll draw out those bug types like it isn't even a problem!"

"Okay, well, while he's working on that, Blake, can you help me capture a strong pokemon?" Cynthia asked.

"Does I really need to help you beat me?" Blake asked. "Do I seem like that nice of a person?"

"…Yes."

"Its fine, we can go," Sango said, nodding. "Weiss should be able to find us, at least."

Blake nodded, and the three of them continued down the path.

"So, Sango, what kind of berries are good for catching powerful grass types?" Cynthia asked.

"Well, like I said, different types of pokemon like different types of berries. Dual type pokemon like multiple kinds, but because of that they don't have the same sensitivity that monotype pokemon have. A monotype bug pokemon will be able to smell a Leppa Berry better than a dual type, for example."

"So grass pokemon…?"

"They generally like Persim Berries," Sango explained, beaming with pride at being able to talk about the subject like her teacher. "Persim trees grow high up from the ground because the berries like taking in large amounts of sunlight."

"So all we have to do is find a Persim tree, and we can draw the Sceptile right towards us!" Cynthia decided.

"It's not that easy," Sango said, shaking her head. "See, while the Persim Berries might draw Sceptile towards you, it's a lot more likely that you'll attract other grass types instead."

"Fine, whatever."

They continued for a little while, before Weiss flew back down to meet them.

"Weiss, did you find any of the berries?"

Weiss nodded.

"Great! Can you show us?" Sango asked, the Scizor nodding. The group followed after Weiss, who swiftly led them through the forest until they came across a clearing of large flowering trees, bright red berries growing from the flowers.

"Perfect!" Sango said, smiling. She looked around eagerly, but no pokemon could be found for now.

Sighing, Sango shrugged off her backpack and grabbed one of the tree branches. She hoisted herself up, skillfully climbing the tree until she was within reach of the berries.

"Blake!" Sango called down. "Open up my backpack and hand me a few ziplock bags, okay?"

To emphasize this point, her hand stuck out from the mass of leaves and waved.

Blake opened the bag and found a roll of ziplock bags, handing a couple up to Sango.

A few minutes later, the bags dropped to the ground, stuffed full with red berries, followed by Sango herself.

"Excellent, we've got more than enough."

"For what?" Cynthia asked.

"You know about repels?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, repels drive off wild pokemon by releasing a pheromone scent wild pokemon release to mark their territory. I'm going to make sort of an 'anti-repel' to do the opposite."

Sango poured several berries out onto a small wooden bowl she pulled out of her bag, and began mashing them with a small mallet.

"…Wait, are you saying that repels are made of-"

"Pokemon pheromones."

"Extracted from-"

"Yes."

"Oh, god, that's so gross."

"Geez, they use perfume to cover the scent, don't be such a baby."

"Well, I don't like spraying my clothes with… ick."

"God Cynthia, don't be such a girl."

"Well, you know, you could do to care a little about it."

"What's the point?" Sango asked, looking up.

"Well you know guys don't generally LIKE the smell of sweat, right?"

"I don't smell like sweat! D-do I?"

"That's what happens when you focus on exercise and not appearance."

"Exercise is more important! Appearance doesn't matter jack when it comes to surviving as a ranger."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"So I'm just going to focus on what I see as important, and you can do the same," Sango huffed.

"Cynthia, what were you trying to accomplish there?" Blake asked.

"…I'm just worried about my friend, geez."

"Whatever. I'm almost done anyway."

A few minutes later, Sango revealed the wooden bowl, and the bright red liquid inside of it. Sango took a small brush and began rubbing the red liquid around the trees, and soon enough the entire area began smelling with a slightly sweet aroma.

"Now we just wait, and the bug pokemon should come."

Indeed, they didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, several Caterpie were sniffing around the berry juices.

"Okay, Uni, you're up!"

Uni emerged from her pokeball, and released a blast of psychic energy. One of the Caterpie was thrown from the tree trunk, flopping over onto its back. Sango took out the pokeball, throwing it at the bug pokemon, capturing it easily.

"Awesome!" Sango cheered, throwing her arms up in victory. "I did it!"

"Nice job," Cynthia said, nodding. "Does that mean it's my turn?"

"Sure, fine, why not. I'll help you find some Persim Berries to use to draw out those Sceptile," Sango said, shrugging. "Even though it's just a stupid wild thing that makes me unattractive."

Sure, she's fine as is, though.