Chapter 1
The sun rose slowly over the expansive woods called the Oldgrowth Forest. Here in front of the forest, sat a boy in front of a large empty shell. The Torterra that used the house the shell had long since passed, its shell and the large tree on its back still remained though and he took good care of that tree.
An elderly Pyroar had settled in behind him, its warmth comforting in the late summer morning. Its brown fur had streaks of gray in it, its large burning mane had lost some of its luster.
"Let's go, Sunlight." The boy stood up, he was close to 16, of average height, had light brown hair and gray eyes. This was his home. His grandparents ran a rescue and retirement home for abandoned, lost and old pokemon. The Pyroar had lived here for about 7 years now. Its owner, a former expert on fire pokemon had died suddenly and with no one to take care of it, his family had sent it here. They still visited once every month, but as they weren't trainers themselves, they thought it better to leave it here.
It wasn't an uncommon story, although less and less new pokemon came every year. He knew that to be a good thing. The fewer pokemon abandoned or lost, the better. But there was something sad about seeing his grandparents' work dwindle.
This was why he was leaving for the New Dawn Academy. He wanted to find a way to help the business grow. Or change. As long as they didn't lose it.
He patted Sunlight, a low growl escaped its mouth. As the sun cleared the forest, the pokemon woke up. A Primeape with a mangled right hand lifted its left and gave a small wave before it left to find breakfast. Tauros, Mudsdale, and several more pokemon joined in the field and one of the doors to the main house opened. His grandparents let out two Arcanine and a small group of Growlithe to help gather and control the pokemon. Rarely did anyone fight here, and this success was definitely due to the Arcanine.
A woman in her late sixties, graying hair and a sun-kissed face, met him at the garden door. "Christian, are you ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." He nodded. His heart was pounding harder than normal, and a few tears formed in the corner of his eyes. The car was already loaded up and inside sat his grandfather, ready to drive. Christian opened the back door and got in. A heavy weight filled his chest as he looked back towards his childhood home. Memories flooded his mind and the tears pressed harder in his eyes. The car rumbled gently and set out. There was a gentle quiet in the car, and although Christian tried to hide his tears, his grandparents kept an eye on him.
As the house disappeared behind them, and the roads turned and more and more life began to whiz by, Christian's tears dried up and the weight in his chest lessened. "What pokemon are you hoping to get?" His grandfather's voice brought a nice change of thought.
"A Growlithe and Turtwig, of course." The academy required their students to not bring any pokemon with them. Instead they would give their new students two on the first day of school. The academy had also established a large safari-like zone on the island.
His grandfather chuckled. "Of course, then we'll hope those are what you get." For a moment his grandparents shared a look and then chuckled quietly.
"Your sister'll meet us in front of the boat." His grandmother said with a slight smile.
His sister was 12 years older than him. She had long since moved out, gotten married and had a child. He had been four when their parents died, and for a moment they had lived together with their grandparents. But she had moved to a large city just a couple of years later, and eight years ago, she had found a girl she loved and later they adopted a child, who was now 10 years old.
"Great." A broad smile spread on his lips. A warm feeling spread in his body, he had hoped that they would come see him off, but they were busy. As if to share in his happiness the sun peaked out from behind a cloud and a group of Taillow rose from a large field. Dreams and hopes spread through him. He pulled out a small pokeball toy and spun it through his fingers. The one-hour trip passed in a mixture of slow motion and fast forward. He had probably fallen asleep at some point, his pokeball toy had fallen on the floor of the car and it took a little stretching and finessing to fish it up again.
A large coastal city came into view and they followed the highway around heading towards the harbor. His calm heart erupted again, finally it was time. He would receive two pokemon and start his journey to become the greatest carer of all time. The pokeball toy felt the brunt of his excitement as it twisted and distorted in his hand.
The car followed the highway round and headed towards the harbor. The city landscape gave way for industrial buildings and soon large ships and boats. The Rotom GPS guided his grandfather in the right direction. Christian's breathing sped up. The smell of salt water filled his mind with pictures of a boat sailing and every dream about this new chapter of his life sped through his thoughts.
The car came to a stop in a parking spot. The ship waited for him. The larger cruise ship solely brought students to and from the island. This time 100 new students would journey to the island, a trip that took about 7 hours. Dozens of students were currently saying goodbye to their parents, traffic going up the ship ramp was slow and easy, there was still an hour or so before departure.
Christian took his suitcase, bid farewell and so long to his grandparents. The world was a little blurry as he stepped up on the ramp.
Several service members stood ready to help navigate through the ship and he was quickly guided to his room. He stowed away his luggage and made his way to the main hall. Several tables had been sat up, signs with names placed upon the plates. It took him a good while to find his name. He recognized none of the names next to him. Which wasn't surprising, but it cemented a feeling of loneliness in him. He hoped he could make some new friends. Otherwise the next three years would be long and hard.
Time passed slowly as he waited. The hour dragged its feet, but slowly the main hall was filled with other students. They shuffled around, found their seat and hovered around it. Christian was no different. He tried greeting the others, but the awkwardness spread fast and silence followed. Giving up on conversation, Christian turned his eyes on the hall and the time. They were already full, and there were still thirty minutes until departure.
Other people tried to strike up conversation, but the answers were short and quiet, a nervousness had rooted in all of them as they waited.
The ship shook, a gentle motion indicated movement and a voice came through the speakers. "Welcome aboard everyone. This is your captain speaking. We've begun our trip and our estimated arrival is in 7 hours. In a moment your vice-principal will give a short speech. I hope your trip will be pleasant and a good start to your life at the academy."