We'll see, what will happen with Blake and his Salamence?
Martyn: She's not really that bad.
Duskzilla: It should be pretty fun.
Eclipsed Umbreon: He'll be fine.
Daozang: Yup, Salamence are pretty scary pokemon.
Darkmoonrise312: Welcome back.
My Wunderwaffle iz missin: Yup.
Darkhammer: It's a surprise.
Arcana of the North: It should be fine.
Amethyst53Ljk: We'll see.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 22
"Blake Harker." The headmaster glared at Blake, who shifted nervously.
"We've reached our decision."
"…" Blake remained silent, looking down.
"Many people believe that pokemon are toys. Because of that, they utilize the powers of creatures they don't fully understand, and wind up hurting themselves and others," Lori said. "Because of that, Pokemon Academy prioritizes safety above all else."
"…I know."
"Several of my colleagues are talking about suspending you, and prohibiting you from participating in school events for the semester."
The headmaster stared at Blake, his red eyes shining.
"However, testimony from the other members of your club has shed some light on the events. Furthermore, we've gotten a request from the victim herself not to be too hard on you. And since no one received any serious injuries and damage to the campus was at a minimum, we've decided not to judge as harshly as we might have in different circumstances."
Blake's heart was lightened, but the headmaster continued speaking.
"Until you can prove to the satisfaction of campus security that you have your Salamence under control, you are forbidden from ever releasing it from its pokeball while on campus grounds. Furthermore, we have decided to place you on probation, with the condition of your suspension for a month should you be involved with any infraction of the rules within the semester. Finally, we decided that you will be allowed to participate in the upcoming festival; however, these events have shown your lack in skill at raising pokemon, and you cannot be trusted with pokemon that do not belong to you. You will not be allowed to rent pokemon from the school or borrow pokemon from another student to replace any missing spots, understand?"
"…Yes," Blake said, nodding.
"Good."
Erik handed Blake Sarah's pokeball, and Blake left the headmaster's office.
"How did it go?" Cynthia, waiting outside the door, demanded.
"It… should be fine. The punishment wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Blake said, relieved.
"Oh, good. So you're still able to participate in the tournament, then?"
"Yeah, but it looks like I'm going to have to catch another pokemon," Blake said.
"Blake."
Blake and Cynthia turned to see Erik standing there.
"Um, yeah?"
"That Salamence of yours, you don't have very good control over her."
"I know," Blake said, looking down.
"If you want, I can help you."
"Huh?" Blake asked, confused.
"I'm a descendent of the draconid," Erik said, frowning. "A clan with strong ties to dragon type pokemon. Because of this, I have a certain set of skills when it comes to their raising and instruction. Your Salamence is lacking in discipline, and I believe that I might be able to help mediate things between the two of you."
"Seriously?!" Cynthia asked, excited. "That would be so cool!"
"I have a shrine," Erik explained. "Up the mountain, where my Destroyer stays. It keeps her away from the other pokemon, who have a tendency to provoke violent responses from her. If you want, I can keep your Salamence up there. It will provide an environment where the two of you can spend time with one another without causing harm to any of the other students."
"Are you sure?" Blake asked, frowning. "That… it would help a lot."
"It's fine," Erik said, nodding. "You wouldn't be the first trainer here with a dragon pokemon they couldn't control."
"Um, sure…" Blake looked at the pokeball in his hand, and handed it over to Erik.
"Come up in about a week, then we can start getting the two of you to spend more time together," Erik said. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a map of the mountain, handing it to Blake. "We'll be up here."
"…Thanks," Blake said, nodding.
"Good luck, then," Erik said, shrugging, turning and walking away.
"…Okay then, first order of business, we have to go and get you to catch a new pokemon!" Cynthia said, excited.
"No, the first order of business is to go check on Kitty," Blake said, frowning.
"…Fine, sure," Cynthia sighed.
As Cynthia and Blake reached the infirmary, Kitty was just leaving, Julia beside her.
"Are you sure it's okay to be leaving so soon?" Cynthia asked worriedly.
"Yeah, no problem!" Kitty said, smiling. "Nothing too severe, just…"
Kitty held her head, wincing.
Cynthia rushed over to Kitty, Julia holding onto her to steady the small girl.
"I-I'm fine, really, just a headache! Don't worry!" Kitty said, smiling.
"Yeah, okay…" Cynthia said, nodding.
Meanwhile, in Kalos…
"Kanone!" Casey ran into the hotel room Kanone was staying at, panting.
"…Yes?" Kanone asked, looking up from his food. "Can I help you?"
"You need to hide me, reporters…" Casey gasped out.
"…Sure."
Casey flopped onto the bed, panting.
"Sometimes I regret becoming a professional pokemon trainer…" Casey sighed. "Way too much publicity…"
"I don't," Kanone said, smiling. "It gives me a stage to fight the strong."
"Yeah, I know, but I remember when training pokemon used to be just for fun," Casey sighed. "Now, it's so stressful… I just wish I could take a break…"
"Strange…" Kanone said, chuckling.
"…What?"
"What you said, about pokemon being just for fun, it seems so strange to me…"
Casey sat up, surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just that ever since I started, I've only really had one goal, to become a stronger trainer… the idea of training pokemon for enjoyment never seemed to make sense…"
"You don't… like training pokemon?"
"Of course I do," Kanone said, shaking his head. "It's just… training pokemon, and making them release their inner strength, it's always been a means to an end."
"…Then why?"
"Sorry, another time," Kanone said, opening his wallet and staring at the picture within it. "Now that I think about it, though, there is one thing that I do find enjoyable. Facing a strong opponent. An opponent who stands a chance at defeating me."
…
"Not you, I mean."
"Hilarious."
"On the other hand, though," Kanone said, smiling, "I've recently discovered… that perhaps there is a trainer who is strong enough to give me a good challenge."
"Someone who can fight you on even ground?!" Casey asked, shocked. "That I'd pay to see!"
"Yes, and even more interesting, the person in question is still a student…" Kanone said, smiling. "I've only recently gotten word, I don't even know who it is yet."
"Well, that should be interesting. If there's someone who can defeat you, I guess that means I have a shot."
"…Not really," Kanone said, shrugging, Casey glaring at him.
"Don't take it so personally," Kanone said, smiling. "I only say stuff like that because it drives you to become stronger."
"If one didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted someone to defeat you," Casey said, smirking.
"I don't want anyone to beat me," Kanone said. "I want to be the strongest."
"Well, you're already amazing. You couldn't win the World Tournament, but you still were amazing."
"I don't want to be strong. I'll never be satisfied," Kanone said, looking out the window.
"Well, that doesn't sound very good," Casey said, frowning.
"It's very good," Kanone said, turning back to her, a broad grin on his face. "You see, Casey, the problem with strength, is that when most people achieve it, it becomes all that is for them. They cling to the strength they have, and never reach for anything more. So many people I've defeated have claimed to be strong, and never sought to grow past that because they had no one to challenge them, no one to drive them to become better."
Kanone's grin faded, and his expression became serious.
"I need something to challenge me, something that drives me. Something to keep me from being merely 'content' with my level of power, and drive me to improve."
"I see…"
"Casey, have I ever told you about my brother?" Kanone asked.
"He… he's going to that school, in… Sovia, right? The one that teaches people to be trainers and coordinators, right?"
"Exactly," Kanone said, nodding. "You'd like him. Just like you, my brother has always had this desire to become stronger than me. To make me kneel before him on the ground and lick his boots and call him 'your highness'."
Casey's face was bright red.
"W-WHY would you think that I-"
"I'm kidding. But just like you, I serve as something he can aim for. I'm someone that you want to defeat. And because of that, you'll train your pokemon until you run out of strength, and drive yourself as hard as it takes to defeat me. Because I serve as a good measure of your power."
"…Yeah."
"I want to find it. Someone who can challenge me, fight me right to the very edge of my ability, and then drive me to surpass it. All I've fought, they've either been far too weak to challenge me, or so strong I couldn't overcome them no matter how I tried. But I might soon find someone… at that school… who can challenge me."
Kanone's eyes narrowed, shimmering with light.
"I can see it clearly…"
Nick looked off into the distance.
"Wait, why am I here?" Nick asked, confused. "It isn't me, right?"
"Isn't you what?" Cynthia asked, confused. The two of them were eating lunch while waiting for the others.
"Whoa, so he actually agreed to train your Salamence for you?" Sango asked, surprised, she and Blake walking up to the two, holding their trays.
"Yeah," Blake said, nodding. "But it means that I'll have to find another pokemon to fill up my party."
"Hey, don't think about it like that!" Cynthia said, patting him on the arm. "You won't need a full party unless you make top 32 of the tournament. Maybe you'll lose before that!"
"…Not helping," Blake said, narrowing his eyes.
"You need pokemon?"
Blake turned his head, Serefina standing behind them.
"Um, yeah."
"Well, I actually came to find you guys and talk about class, but I think I might be able to help," Serefina said, smiling. "See, there are a bunch of wild pokemon out in the fields, I'm sure we can find you one or two to catch."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, students can catch as many pokemon as they wish," Serefina explained, "but they also have to take some of the responsibility for caring for them, the Caretakers can't do all of it. Hence, people generally don't have more than ten on campus at a time."
"You know, I always wondered, why can trainers only carry six pokemon at a time?" Cynthia asked. "Why not seven or eight?"
"Trust me, if you aren't taking caretaking courses, you have no idea how much work it is to take care of pokemon," Serefina said, shaking her head. "It's a lot of work. Which brings me back to the reason I came here."
Serefina handed Sango and Blake a clipboard.
"What is this?" Sango asked, confused.
"It's a schedule," Serefina said. "Students in the Pokemon Caretaking class must serve 3 hours of service every week taking care of the pokemon. So find times that work for you, okay?"
Blake and Sango looked over the dates and times on the clipboard and realized something pretty quickly.
"All of these times are taken," Blake said, frowning.
"…No, not all of them," Serefina said, pointing at the bottom of the page.
Blake looked at the time printed, and went pale.
"5:00 in the morning?" he asked, shocked.
"Yup, that's what happens when you're the last ones to sign up."
"No problem, I get up every day at 5 anyway," Sango said, smiling. "That's generally when I start my workout."
"Well, it's a problem for me!"
"Then you should have signed up earlier."
"Okay, thanks for signing up!" Serefina said, taking the clipboards. "Meet me at the Floette Fields after classes end, so we can help you capture another pokemon!"
"Alright, thanks," Blake said, Serefina heading off.
"Awesome, so it looks like you'll be able to participate in the tournament after all," Cynthia said, smiling.
"Looks like it."
"I don't see what the big deal about this tournament is, anyway," Sango huffed. "This school should hold its own version of the Ranger Games, THAT would be something that would be interesting."
"Oh, poor, stupid Sango," Cynthia said, shaking her head, smiling smugly. "Nothing can compare to the marvelous thing that is pokemon battling."
Sango narrowed her eyes.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing, but pokemon battling is the combination of strength and skill, and an example of the bond between trainer and pokemon. It excites people. Pokemon Rangers just tame wild pokemon, it isn't even on the same scale."
Sango slammed her hands on the table, glaring at Cynthia.
"Is that what you think?" Sango asked, frowning.
"Hey, I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong with being a Pokemon Ranger, I'm just saying that it doesn't have the same level of excitement as a pokemon battle. Pokemonn Trainers are far more amazing."
Sango turned to Blake.
"…What?" Blake asked, looking up from his food.
"Do you agree with her?" Sango asked. "Do you really think that pokemon battles are more interesting then capturing a pokemon with a capture styler?"
"Yeah, Blake," Cynthia said, turning to look at him. "What DO you think about it?"
Seriously, why is it always me? Why couldn't those two have asked Nick instead?
But Nick had wisely chosen to leave by that point, leaving only the three of them.
"Which are better? Pokemon Rangers or Pokemon Trainers?" The two asked in unison.
Blake put his utensils down, cleared his throat-
And promptly ran away.
"Ah…"
"Wha…"
"Geez, that idiot could have just been honest and said that Pokemon Trainers are better, he didn't have to run away…" Cynthia sighed.
"He wasn't going to say that, and you know it."
"Blake is a trainer, and that's because he knows how awesome it is. He just ran away because he didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"Maybe he ran away because he didn't want to hurt your feelings."
The two continued to glare at each other.
"Oh, it's just you two?"
Sango and Cynthia looked up to see Julia.
"Yeah, Blake was here earlier, but he ran away to spare Sango's feelings."
"That wasn't what happened!"
"…Okay, explain," Julia sighed, setting her tray down on the table.
…
Julia pressed her hand to her forehead after hearing the argument between the two.
"…You two are idiots."
Indeed they are.