Upon entering the trolley, the trio were given pamphlets by one of the conductors, a Bisharp, who then guided the three to their seating.
"I call the far seat!" Declared Neltharios, sliding all the way towards the far seat.
"Alright then." Kruler said. She turns to Traximus. "Mind if I take the inner seat? I'm not so sure about sitting next to your friend."
"Sure. I don't mind." Traximus replied, staring at his pamphlet as he gets in the middle position.
After Kruler took her seat, Traximus began studying the pamphlet he was given. Reading through it, he found himself becoming lost in thought. So much so that he managed to tune out everything happening around him. He skimmed through most of it until he got to the section entitled "Exploration Teams."
Let's see here. Traximus begun reading to himself. Exploration teams are unspecialized teams in training that take on a mix of small town issues assisting civilians and taking care of minor criminals and apprehending them. Upon being registered for at least a year and successfully reaching silver rank a team may apply to become Rescue Teams or Bounty Hunters. Upon becoming specialized, a team may not take jobs of the opposite kind.
Rescue teams are teams that are specifically and primarily tailored towards assisting high-profile clients, typically with ferals. Jobs that Rescue Teams typically take include finding missing persons, investigating mysterious disappearances of governmental or commercial transits, maintaining the peace around borders to Mystery Dungeons and acting as field medics. Basic requirements for Rescue Teams include being able to stabilize incapacitated individuals without the use of healing items, having trained navigational skills, and having extensive knowledge of various kinds of biology. The application process for Rescue teams are detailed in the Student Handbook.
Bounty Hunter Teams are teams that are specifically designed to get a handle on the rapidly-rising crime rate among civilized Pokemon. Jobs that Bounty Hunters take include taking down high-profile criminals, acting as undercover agents in times of war, and-
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemons!"
The voice on the intercom was loud enough to jolt Traximus out of his line of thinking, as he nearly allowed the pamphlet to slip out of his nubs.
"The trolley inbound for Kira University is now departing. Our ETA is 6:19 PM. Thank you for choosing the Metagross Transit!"
Suddenly, the trio found their backs being thrusted towards the back of the trolley as the scenery around them beings to scroll.
"Six HOURS?!" Neltharios shouted, "Arceus, I this ride was faster than this!"
"Hey buddy, complaining won't make the ride any faster."
The group look behind them. A Passimian was looming over Neltharios's seat. Upon noticing the gazes of the trio upon him, he waved, "'Sup."
"And you're…?" Kruler asked.
"The name's Kroto! I'm going to this university to become an explorer and then apply to become a bounty hunter!" Kroto declared.
"That's nice and all," Traximus pointed out, "But you need a team to become either of those things."
"I know! I'll figure it out when I get there!" Kroto pounded his chest, "I always have!"
The trio looked at each other with unconvinced looks. "Right," Neltharios sighed, "So do you have an idea of what's going to happen once we get there Kroto?"
"From what I've learned, we're going to be filtered on gender and then split into groups of three. We are then going to be given living spaces based on that, as the rooms are designed to house at most three 'mons at a time." Kroto explained.
"Oh," Traximus looked to Kruler, "Looks like we're going to be split up. You okay with that?"
"I just met you two literal minutes ago," Kruler noted, "I think I can handle two other randoms."
"…Fair point," Traximus responded.
"Anyway," Kroto's voice deepened, "I've been hearing that this academy has some issues with certain types of pokemon as of recently." The sudden change of tone drew the attention of the trio. "Though I'm not entirely sure what types are on the block. If I had to guess, one would be dark types, considering most of the school board and admins consist of psychic types."
"What!?"
The conversation managed to reach a nearby Houndour, who immediately barked at Kroto.
"Hey man! It's all word-of-mouth until we see it!" Kroto yelled back. He turned back to the trio, "But other than that, we should be fine, right?"
Traximus looked downward at his closed pamphlet. I knew that the inner city had a problems with type relations, but if it extends into the school administrators, what will that mean for us?
With Neltharios looking out the window, and Kruler distracting herself with her pamphlet, Traximus figured that it would be a long 6 hour trip. He tilted his head upward and shut his eyes and began pondering to himself what it would be like at the university as he unknowingly drifted off to sleep…
~Ingista Military Base, Gullveria~
An alert sounded, its tone indicating alarm. "Seargent Garland. Your attention please." A robotic voice declared.
The Kommo-o leaned forward. His connection orb pulsated on the holder on his waist. Garland unholstered it and pulled it closer to his face. "Yes?"
"You have an urgent message coming in from Team Legion in the Northwestern Sector. It is priority zero."
"Put it through."
Upon a dial tone playing, the voice of a Flygon can be heard through the comms. "Seargent Garland, sir. It appears that the Talgerian forces are gearing up for a potential conflict. Word has it that the Talgerians are afraid of having another Kalgore War scenario, this time along the Talger-Gullverian border."
The Kommo-o flinched and paused the recording for a moment. That…that's impossible! There's no way that they have built the resources needed to mobilize for war that quickly! A moment passed before he shook his scaly hide and took a deep breath. With a click of the orb, he continued the recording.
"Unrelated, there appears to be a spike in the amount of Eternarifts along the coasts of both nations. Rescue Teams from Talgeria are being deployed to investigate the occurrences. We will bring you more updates when they become available. Team Legion out."
With an audible click the message cut off. Garland leaned back and clasped his hands in a praying position. The Kommo-o forcibly shut his eyes, straining his fatigued eyelids. Eternarifts AND Talgerians? This is a nightmare. Could they be related? Are we in immediate danger? How long do we have? WHAT do we have? Argh! So many questions!
The next few minutes were spent in silence. Entering the room sometime later was an Aggron, who wore a fancy belt with a strange looplet around his tail. Despite his age, the Aggron's metal coating was noticeably kept, save for a few scratches around the neck area. With each step the Aggron took, a noticeable clink can be heard.
"Seargent Garland, sir. You called for me about an hour ago?" The Aggron asked.
Garland opened his eyes and peeked over his shoulder. "It would be nicer if you would have arrived within 30 seconds of asking you, but you're here now." He hissed.
"Apologies, sir. What is the cause for alarm?"
Garland got up and stood face-to-face with the Aggron with about two feet of distance between them. The Kommo-o stated as coldly and as straight faced as he could possibly muster, "Captain Burtoli. We have a potential problem. And you're not going to like it."
"W-What is it, sir?" Burtoli asked, voice shaking.
"We may have a repeat of the events of Dellos Bay. And this time, we won't have the power of neither Zekrom nor Reshiram backing us up."
Burtoli audibly gulped and was left shaking.
"Well? Stop standing there like a lost Growlithe and alert the Sector of Defense! I have to make plans to meet with the Minister about this! Got it!?"
The Aggron could only nod and salute, "Y-yes sir!"
Captain Burtoli stomped out of the room in a panic. Garland was left alone once again, sitting down and placing a shaking hand on his axe-shaped snout.
Are we really doing this again? Garland pondered, sweat trickling down the sides of his face. Last time nearly cost us everything…
Why is it in MY hands?
~Lestfall Glades, Gullveria~
"Traximus! Traximus! Wake up Traximus!"
Regaining consciousness from the Charmander violently shaking him, Traximus jolted in his seat. "What!? What is it!? This is the second time you've done this today!" He growled.
"Look out the window! We're here!" Neltharios cheered as he pointed toward the inlet.
Bumping beside Nelthatrios, Traximus peeked his head out the window. What looked like a small island had a large, almost kingdom-like campus on it. Visible from the altitude they were at, they sighted what looked like a large field, a city and a castle-like structure.
"Wow! You weren't kidding!" Kruler slid in between the two, "This place is nothing like I've ever seen before!"
"I'll say! It looks a lot different in the pamphlet!" Traximus shouted. He spun around to the Bisharp who just happened to be walking past them, "Hey, sir! How long 'till we get there?"
"We'll be there in about thirty minutes. You ought to prepare yourselves." He responded, sharpening his blade hands.
Traximus spun back around to see the school getting closer and closer. The closer the place got, the stronger his heartbeat felt in his chest. Man, this is so far away from home. And in an unfamiliar place. I hope I can get adjusted…
A few moments later, the trolley arrived at the station. As soon as the door opened, a wave of excited students poured out of the vehicle. Following behind them were Traximus, Neltharios, and Kruler. Behind them Kroto filed out as well. As soon as the final four left the trolley, the trolley screeched away.
"Well guys, looks like we're here," Kroto announced, "Um. Do you know where to go?"
"Nobody asked you to come with us," Kruler stated, "Why didn't you follow the herd of students?"
"Hey, don't be so rude," Nelthatios interjected, paused and then turned to Kroto, "So maybe we should find a staff member or something?"
"Sounds good." Kroto agreed.
Snooping around, the four managed to trudge their way into the entrance hall of the Academy. Hanging between some pillars was a banner that said, "Welcome new students to Kira University" In bold blue letters with a silver background. To the right of the group was a Seismitoad seemingly dealing with the considerably smaller population of late returning students. To the left of the group was a line of students heading towards a desk manned by a Gallade. Kruler pointed in the direction of the Gallade.
"I assume we see him first."
"How can you tell?" Traximus asked.
"Cause that Houndour that barked at us is in that line." Kruler puffed.
"Eheh, yeah…" Kroto bemoaned.
Getting in line for the four was simple. All they did was line themselves up, after all. However, it proved difficult waiting for the line to shorten. Kruler tapped her foot impatiently, Neltarios clapped his hands to an imaginary beat, and Kroto and Traximus largely kept to themselves, lost in thought. Finally, when the line sufficiently shortened, it was Neltharios's turn to sign in.
"Name?" The gallade called.
"Neltharios. The Charmander."
The Gallade scrolled through a slue of documents before confirming his identity. He passed some keys and a bag to Neltharios. "Those are the items in the bag for your learning experience and the keys are for your room and your mailbox. You will get your room supplies shortly after your roommates confirm their presence."
"Thanks Mister!" Neltharios said, smiling.
"Uh-huh," Gallade turned to the line as Neltharios stood to the side, "NEXT!"
The process repeated for Kroto and Kruler. Then Traximus stepped up to the counter.
"Name?"
"Traximus. The Bagon."
The Gallade once again shifted through documents. However he stopped midway through. He pulled out a document with words that were impossible for Traximus to transcribe from the distance from and the size of the font.
"Something wrong sir?" Traximus inquired.
The Gallade ignored the Bagon and squinted at the paper. "You ARE a Bagon, correct?" The Gallade asked.
"Um, yes, I am."
"Weird. You have the structure of a Bagon, but don't share the same coloration or even some of the features of any of the Bagon I have ever seen before."
The other three looked between each other, wondering what the problem was. Traximus briefly glanced at them and then turned his attention back to the gallade. "Um…"
"Ah! I see! Your father isn't a Salamence! Wow. A crossbreed and a scale condition… ooh…" Gallade deduced, stating that last part quietly.
"Sorry, sir?"
"Oh, nothing. Your green coloration just threw me off for a moment." Gallade passed Traximus his keys and his bag. "Here you go. Check your room number on your key."
With Traximus joining the group, the four of them reconvene near the west hallway. "All right guys, let's all check our keys!" Neltharios opted.
Kroto was the first to slip out his key. Imprinted in the key was the code "B373." The passimian inspected the key thoroughly before citing, "I think this means 'Boy's dorm, room 373'."
"If that's true, then we got the same room." Traximus deduced, "What about you Nel?"
…
…Silence.
"Nel? You good?" Traximus asked.
"Room 'B363'. Looks like I'll be separated from you guys…" Neltharios said, glumly.
"Wait, how did that happen? Didn't we all register together?" Kroto pondered.
Kruler crossed her arms, "Well I have room 'G292' so I'm separated from you lot as well. And I, for one, don't really like all the 'girly' nonsense that some of these 'mons partake in when it comes to female dorms."
That earned three surprised looks. "Well that's a way to think about it," Traximus stated, "So why don't we all get settled in? We gotta find out who our third parties are, after all."
Nodding in silent agreement, Kruler split off from the group, heading northwest through the hallway towards the female dorms. The other three moved toward the southwest.
Upon reaching the male dormitory across the campus, the three boys were annoyed to find out that their rooms resided on the third floor, resulting in stair runs that they thought lasted far too long. Upon their arrival, Neltharios came to a halt at room 363.
"Well guys, we split here. I gotta see the people that must deal with me!" Neltharios puffed, brimming his chest.
"Haha, sure," Traximus laughed, "With that kind of talk you'll end up getting really 'lucky!'"
Neltharios, in between laughs, scrambled to find his words before saying, "Hey, I didn't mean it like that!" Which drew a chuckle from Kroto.
"I mean…" Kroto remarked, only managing to make the Charmander laugh even more.
"Whatever guys!" Neltharios retorted, "I'm going in."
"See ya man." Traximus sent off.
Opening the door, Neltharios greeted himself with two other pokemon. One being a Magmar, who sat in the corner, reading a book and an Electabuzz, who fidgeted with his fingers, seemingly staring at the wall.
Huh. I expected more lively 'mons here. Neltharios thought. Still, I ought to make myself known if I'm going to room with them.
"Hey!" Neltharios shouted.
…No response.
"Hey!" Neltharios repeated.
...
...
…Still no response.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh?