While everyone else is working out things and dealing with issues, Nikita and Reiner are just enjoying themselves on a nice lunch date! And if that wasn't good enough, Nikita's egg is finally starting to hatch, after what felt like a lifetime! She's so lucky! What pokemon is inside it? And will the cerebral Nikita be able to take care of the little pokemon? I suppose we'll have to find out!
KedharS: Hopefully it'll hatch into a pokemon that's easy to take care of, Nikita isn't exactly the best at being nurturing.
Hyphenman: It's been quite a journey up until this point, that's for sure. I've been doing the best I can, but it's a long road forward.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1276
Nikita and Reiner stared at the hatching egg in Nikita's lap with shock. It had taken so long to hatch that Nikita had never believed it would happen; but now it was, and it was happening right here!
The shell of the egg fell away, and the pokemon within slowly revealed itself.
"Rol?"
Nikita's legs suddenly felt incredibly hot.
"Ahh!" She cried, quickly shoving the small black pokemon onto the table. She stood up and frantically scraped at her skirt, pushing off the flakes of eggshell and coal before she got burned.
"What pokemon is this?" Reiner asked, surprised.
"Rolycoly," the tiny pokemon chirped, turning to look at Reiner with its single orange eye. It was an oddly-shaped pokemon, and not one Nikita expected to hatch from that egg. It scarcely looked like a living creature at all, its body resembled a wheel, with rocky protrusions sticking out of it that resembled chunks of coal.
"I've never seen it before," Nikita said, adjusting her glasses. She was desperate to retain some dignity over letting out a screech like that.
Unfortunately, her outburst had attracted some attention.
The other students who had been eating on the courtyard quickly gathered around their table to get a look at the newborn pokemon. It was quite a sight to see, after all, it wasn't every day that a pokemon egg hatched in the middle of lunch.
"Oh, what a cute little pokemon!"
"Is it a Dark type?"
"No, I think it's a Rock type. See those rough parts?"
"It's a Rolycoly, from the Galar Region. Jason's right, it's a Rock type."
"Newborn pokemon are so cute!"
"Are you its trainer?"
The last question was aimed at Nikita, and she processed it just fast enough to realize that everyone was looking at her and her new pokemon.
"Y-Yes, I am," she said, shaking a little. The only time she liked being the center of attention was in class, when she could state that she confidently knew all the answers. How she felt right now was like the teacher had called on her the ONE time he had a question she was drawing a blank on.
"Excuse me," Reiner cleared his throat, stepping between his girlfriend and the crowd of curious students. "I know we're all excited about a new pokemon being hatched, but unfortunately, we need to go take care of something important."
Nikita stared at Reiner, confused. She didn't know of any plans they had. "We do?" She asked.
Reiner elbowed her in the stomach.
"O-Oh! Yes, that's right, we do!" Nikita exclaimed, nodding rapidly. "Yes, we need to go take this pokemon to a checkup with the Pokemon Center! Sorry to run like this!"
She turned to grab her pokemon before realizing two important things. The first was that did not have a pokeball to transport the tiny little pokemon.
The second was that his warm body was still too hot for her to carry all the way to the Pokemon Center by herself.
"I can help with that." A tan-skinned student broke through the crowd, walking up to their table. He wore a green and yellow beanie and had kind green eyes, and he looked very familiar to Reiner, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where he'd seen the guy before.
"Um, who are you?" Nikita asked warily, feeling distrusting of any strangers.
"Daryl Thorne," the boy introduced himself.
"…Right, and who is that?" Reiner asked, frowning.
Daryl scowled, slightly hurt. "You don't remember me?" He asked.
"…Should I?" Reiner raised his eyebrow. The casual dismissal hurt even more.
"I'm Akira's roommate," Daryl tried again.
"Oh! Okay, what do you want?" Nikita asked. Just because the guy knew somebody she knew, that didn't mean she had to trust him.
"I just want to help," he said. "Here."
He handed her a pair of gloves.
"These are heatproof gloves," Daryl explained. "They're useful for taking care of warmer than usual pokemon, like Fire types."
"Um… thanks," Nikita said, taking the gloves and trying them on. They were a little too big for her hands, though.
"Any time," Daryl flashed a toothy smile that made Reiner a little irritated. He got serious vibes that this dude was trying to hit on his girlfriend.
"Okay, let's go, Nikita," Reiner said. Nikita nodded and picked up the Rolycoly, taking the little guy to the nearest Pokemon Center.
Whent hey got there, the nurse in charge was very excited.
"Oh my! Is that a newborn pokemon?" She asked.
"It is, yeah," Nikita nodded. "He just hatched, like… five seconds ago."
"I know, you can tell by the way there's still little flecks of eggshell all over him," the nurse laughed. On closer inspection, Nikita thought she looked a little young to be a nurse.
Reiner frowned. He glanced at the nurse and could tell that something was up with her. But he didn't have a chance to say anything because Nikita immediately spoke up.
"So, um… I haven't raised a baby pokemon before, but I thought it was important to take him here," Nikita explained. "What, uh… what should I do?"
"Oh, I'll be happy to help!" The nurse smiled. "In fact-"
"Ahem."
Nikita and Reiner glanced up to see an identical woman standing in the doorway, wearing an expression on her face that was anything but amused.
The first nurse turned pale.
"Y-Yes, well, as I was just saying-"
"Excuse me!" The second nurse stormed over and grabbed the first by the ear. "What do you think you're doing?! You know you're not qualified to look after patients!"
"B-But sis-"
"No buts! And stop stealing my clothes! Get out of that outfit right now!"
The second nurse dragged the first one into the back room. A few minutes later they both emerged. One of them was dressed in a casual soft cotton dress and wearing a dejected expression, and the other was unamused, and still clothed as a nurse. Looking closely they both had pink hair and blue eyes, but while the nurse had her hair tied in rings, the other left it loose.
"You'll have to forgive my brother Jo," the nurse sighed, shaking her head. "We're both licensed to work in the Pokemon Center, but since he's still a first-year he's not allowed to actually treat pokemon. My name is Joyce, how can I help you?"
Nikita's jaw hit the floor. "Brother?!" She sputtered, staring at the slender figure in white standing in front of her. "B-But… but you're so pretty!"
"Why thank you!" The very much male Jo greeted her with a flirtatious wink. "I try to look my best, after all!"
Nikita was still completely lost. "But… you're wearing a dress! Why are you wearing a dress!?"
Jo scrunched up his face in confusion. "…You're wearing a skirt. Why are you wearing that?"
Nikita wasn't sure how to answer that. "B-Because it's my uniform."
"Oh, I see, so of the two of us, I'm the only one wearing a clothes they actually bought for themselves, then?"
"That's my dress you're wearing," Joyce reminded him with a scowl. He shrugged it off.
"B-But…" No matter how Nikita looked at the person in front of her, she couldn't see them as anything other than a girl.
"I'm surprised you didn't realize it," Reiner laughed. "I noticed pretty much the second we walked in that he was a dude."
"How!?" Nikita exclaimed.
Reiner just smirked. "My eyes are just that good. You know those 'spot the difference' puzzles? I'm an expert at those."
Nikita just fumed.
"So, you were eyeing me up a bit, eh?" Jo asked, leaning over the counter with a smirk. "Well, I'm sorry to break your heart, but just because I like the feeling of a dress, that doesn't mean I'm interested in dating boys. Sorry honey."
Joyce rolled her eyes and groaned. "Excuse me, but I believe we have something MEDICAL to discuss here?"
"O-Oh, right," Nikita mumbled. She had almost forgotten about the Rolycoly in her hands. "So, um… this is my new pokemon, he's… a Rolycoly, I think? He just hatched, so…"
"Say no more," Joyce said, gingerly lifting up the crumbling pokemon. "I'll be happy to take him in for a checkup!"
She headed into the back room, and Jo followed right behind her. A few seconds later he was shoved out the door and it was slammed in his face.
"Hah…" Jo sighed, ambling around the counter and flopping down on one of the couches in the waiting room. "What a stick in the mud."
"Did you really steal her clothes?" Nikita asked.
"Yup. But can you blame me? Look at how cute the nurse uniforms are!" Jo wailed. "Don't they just make you want to try them on?"
"Uh, no, not one bit," Nikita said, shaking her head. While the uniforms weren't revealing, she didn't like the way they emphasized femininity. She already had trouble downplaying her curvy figure in the school's existing uniform, and in the growing heat of spring sweaters were becoming an increasingly-unfeasible option.
Reiner placed his hand on Nikita's shoulder.
"Nikita, I think you really should have more of an open mind," he said firmly.
Not amused in the slightest, she socked him in the nose.
"Ow!"
"I'm not dressing up like that to suit your sick fantasies."
"Oh, but you'd look so cute as a nurse!" Jo gushed. "Of course, you wouldn't look as cute as me." He sighed and flicked his long hair over his shoulder. "But then… nobody does…"
Nikita's eye twitched. While she was never much one to care about her appearance, the fact that a guy was talking down to her about her appearance still rubbed her the wrong way.
"What, you don't think I could pull it off?"
"Oh, of course you could!" Jo skipped over and patted her on the head. "But being a nurse is about more than just looks. You need the right personality type, and frankly, you just haven't got it. Sorry."
"Hey!" Nikita exclaimed.
Jo shrugged. "A nurse needs to be kind, sweet, and nurturing," he explained. "I should know, I have more experience with them than most. Why do you think I'm assigned to work the same shifts as my sister? It's because the teachers know that a rude, heartless bitch like Joyce would never-"
Joyce stepped out of the examination room, radiating a tranquil murderous aura.
"I believe I heard my name?" She asked, smiling serenely at her little brother.
"U-Um… just telling these guys how great you are at your job, sis!" Jo said, starting to sweat.
"Why thank you!" Joyce narrowed her eyes into a cold glare. "That's so nice of you to say." She turned and headed back into the examination room. When the door closed behind her, Jo let out the breath he'd been holding.
"You see?! She's terrifying! I'd make a MUCH better nurse than her! Everyone in our family thinks so, after all."
Reiner blinked. "What do you mean?"
"See, I come from a very large family," Jo said, fishing his phone out of his purse and starting to scroll through it. "And all of us go into pokemon nursing. It's like we're all made for it. Take a look! Here was our last family reunion!"
He passed the phone over to Reiner and Nikita. In the photo a large crowd of women were standing in front of a hospital, all dressed in identical uniforms, with the exact same blue eyes, pink hair, and gentle smile.
"It's like staring at a mass-produced product," Reiner mumbled.
"Or a repetition algorithm," Nikita agreed.
"What can I say, looking this good just happens to be hereditary!" Jo boasted, flicking his hair. "Of course, even if my sister looks pretty, she still can't fix the ugliness of her soul-"
A sharp scalpel flew past Jo's face and embedded itself in the wall behind him.
"Whoops," Joyce said, walking out of the back room with a smile on her face. "I'm such a klutz sometimes!"
"Y-Yeah, sis, anyone could be."
"Is everything okay with Rolycoly?" Nikita asked, desperate to get off this topic and also get some information on her pokemon.
"Yes, he looks fine so far," Joyce confirmed. "Of course, we'll have to check with the actual nurse stationed here, of course."
'Wait, you aren't the actual nurse?" Nikita asked, surprised.
"No, that's my cousin, Joyra," Joyce clarified. "I'm a third-year student in the Caretaker Course, Joyce Joy."
She nodded to Jo. "That's my little brother, Jona. But he prefers to go by Jo. He's a first-year like you two."
"I-I see…" Nikita nodded. "So, um… you're still looking after him, though, right?"
"Yes, I'm sorry to say," Joyce nodded. She smiled. "But don't worry! It's just about policy. The early days of a pokemon hatching are important to monitor. These first 48 hours are critical, so we just want to make sure the little guy can receive the best care possible. Now, if you could fill out this form, we'll look after him for now, just give me all the details you can."
Nikita nodded and began filling out the paperwork. Finally something she could focus on after how complicated and overwhelming the day had been.
But when she got to the part asking for the pokemon's nickname, she started drawing a blank.
"Um… is it okay if I just leave this part empty for now?" Nikita asked.
"Yes, of course, that's fine," Joyce said, taking the clipboard back. "We'll take care of him from here! But do feel free to drop by any time for a checkup. …Checking up on your pokemon, I mean, we don't treat people here!"
She laughed at her weird joke and headed into the back room again to keep working with Rolycoly, leaving Nikita alone at the counter. She sighed and turned back to her boyfriend, only to see he was whispering something with Jo.
Now it was Nikita's turn to frown with jealousy. She didn't like the idea of her boyfriend getting that close with someone that pretty, even if they WERE a guy!
"Reiner, what-"
Reiner held up his hand to keep Nikita from saying anything. In his hand, he was presenting a card to her.
"I want to cash in one of my Nikita Tickets," he stated, his tone indicating the seriousness of the situation.
"…Please try on one of the spare uniforms."
"WHAT?!" Nikita exclaimed. "No, no, absolutely not! Rejected! I refuse to wear something like that! I already told you these request tickets aren't for anything dirty!"
"It's not like that!" Reiner insisted. "I assure you, I only have wholesome and sincere reasons for asking this!"
His mouth might have been saying one thing but the ulterior motive in his eyes was saying something else entirely. Nikita scowled.
"I already said no," she snapped. "And I mean it. Not happening."
"Aww, too bad then, I guess it's just me," Jo said, his eyes sparkling. "I"ll be sure to look my best for you to make up for it, Reiner!"
"W-Wait!"
Nikita didn't like the sound of THAT either.
"So you'll do it?" Jo asked, his eyes sparkling with glee.
Nikita was no fool. She was probably the smartest girl in her grade. Which is why she could be absolutely certain that Jo was manipulating her.
Unfortunately, knowing that fact did not keep the manipulation from working, and thus she reluctantly agreed.
"Yes!" Reiner pumped his fist in the air, far too eager to see his girlfriend dressed up like a nurse for someone who only had wholesome motives.
Nikita cast a seething glare his way and snapped the ticket back, storming after Jo towards the storage closet.
"I don't get it," Nikita said as Jo started looking for a uniform in her size. "If there are so many spares here, why did you have to steal your sister's uniform?"
"To piss her off," Jo said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Nikita stared at him.
"Seriously?"
Jo didn't reply, he just handed her a nurse's uniform. "Found it. This should be a good fit for those boobs of yours."
Nikita sighed and started unbuttoning her shirt.
"Ew, hey, what are you doing?!" Jo covered his eyes. "How shameless!"
"Huh?" Nikita stared at him in shock, before realizing what she'd just done. She'd been reflexively getting undressed in front of a BOY! Even though Jo looked like a girl, he was still a guy, and she'd completely forgotten that!
"EEEEK!" Nikita rushed into a changing room, thoroughly embarrassed at what she'd almost let happen.
Jo just laughed.
A few minutes later, the two emerged, dressed in nurse uniforms. Jo pulled it off perfectly, of course, having been dressing as a nurse his entire life.
Nikita, on the other hand, was having some issues.
"I thought you said this was in my size!" She wailed, pulling down the skirt. It kept riding up on her curvy hips. At the same time, her boobs were straining against the top.
"I did the best I could," Jo shrugged. "You should be happy, you look great! And I'm sure your boyfriend agrees!"
Nikita turned to Reiner, her face flushed with embarrassment and her eyes wet with impotent rage.
Reiner decided that he should not be expressing his thoughts on the matter of her appearance in any sense.
I would agree, I think that's the right choice. In the meantime, it's good that Nikita's pokemon egg hatched! So her new pokemon is a Rolycoly! And with it, she's met some new, interesting people in Jo and Joyce! Right now, though, the real winner of the chapter is Reiner, getting to see his girlfriend dressed up as a nurse! Nice work dude.