A/N: Things will start to pick up with this chapter, guessing by the 10k word count, but I hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless!
Chapter 2: Classes? Go! Rivals? Go!
"Just five more minutes..." Ash said groggily, as Goh rubbed his temples.
"Come on Ash, we don't have time for this, we gotta go to school." Goh said in the hopes that it would wake him up, however his plea fell on deaf ears as Ash rolled the other way. Just then, an idea formed in Goh's mind, a mischievous grin rising to his face, as he quickly went to the kitchen of the lab to retrieve a device he's sure would wake Ash up.
When he returned, a metal ladle in one hand and a saucepan in the other, he saw that Ash's sleeping form changed as his leg now rose into the air. Exasperated, he promptly banged the utensil against the pot. "WAKE UP!" Nearly falling off of the bed, Ash quickly shot up.
"I-I'm up! ...Huh?" Ash blinked while looking around the room, briefly forgetting where he was until his eyes landed on an annoyed Goh.
"I hope this won't be a regular thing with you." He said, as Ash stifled a yawn and chuckled.
"Heh, me too, I don't want to be scolded by the teacher for being late." Getting up to prepare for the long day ahead, Ash and Goh went through the usual morning routine.
Upon entering the kitchen, the boys noticed Chloe already seated with a modest amount of food on her plate, apparently she'd been waiting on them.
"Oh hey Chloe, when did you get here?" Asked Ash, to which Chloe shook her head.
"Not too long ago, I guess Goh was too busy planning to even notice me." She shot him a soft glare as a sweat-drop formed on Goh's face.
"Sorry, I was too focused on finding a way to get this guy awake before we're late." Ash put his hands up defensively.
"H-hey, you'd be out like a light too if you were awake for that long!" He fought, recalling last night's events with an apparent haunting in the laboratory.
Goh facepalmed. "Ash, I was awake with you, weren't we investigating that poltergeist together?" At this, Ash gave a defeated sigh.
"What are we wasting precious breakfast-eating time for? Come on Goh, it's chow time!" Ash said, already grabbing a plate and retrieving some of the food laid out on a table.
Goh simply smiled, as he knew he won the argument, though Ash did make a good point about food.
After breakfast, the three of them headed off to school. While heading there, Ash spotted a few other kids his age who were wearing the same uniforms as they were. He noticed one of them had a strange hair style, with blue and yellow streaks in his purple hair, though his expression exuded confidence rather than an intimidating look.
"Come on Ash, our homeroom class is this way!" Goh said, with Ash and Chloe following closely. The three of them reached the room rather quickly, and inside there were the rest of the students, it seems. Already Ash could tell that some students formed groups of two to four, but there were also students who wanted to hang back on their own. This was certainly a different experience.
Besides Goh and Chloe, there was at least one other face Ash recognized.
"Ahem," Professor Oak cleared his throat to get the students attention. "Welcome to your first year in Vermilion Trainers' Academy, as you may know my name is Professor Oak," He paused to write his name on the blackboard with a white piece of chalk, squeaks being formed by the material gliding over the surface of the board. "And I will be your homeroom teacher throughout the Normal Grade. Now, you have the choice to move onto the next grade, or begin your Pokémon journey with what you've learned at the end of the school year." A few of the students murmured to each other as Professor Oak continued.
"Before you consider cutting out before moving onto the next two grades, be aware that the grade you finished will be recorded on your Trainer License, which will be used to determine a few things such as what strategies Gym Leaders will use should you aim to challenge them." This piqued the interest of one spiky-haired student in particular.
"Now, to continue," He took one of the Poké Balls from a box. "This Poké Ball and the others contain Pokémon, and you will receive these Pokémon to care for, however there are rules we must go over before you each receive a Pokémon." He grabbed a piece of chalk again and wrote something on the board.
"Rule one: You may not engage in unofficial Pokémon battles against fellow classmates using your Pokémon." He wrote the rule onto the board as a few students grumbled, and then continued.
"Rule two: The Pokémon may not leave the premises of the school, if caught leaving with a Pokémon with ill intent you will be expelled." One of the students seemed to look away from the teacher when he said that, which Ash noticed, but he wasn't sure if they were one of the students that joined in the grumbling at rule one.
"And rule three: Treat your Pokémon kindly. This one should be simple enough, but if you're caught mistreating your partner your right to a Trainer's License will be revoked until you can prove you're capable of treating your Pokémon kindly."
"With that out of the way, you each must step up to the board and introduce yourself, you can then receive your Pokémon, a school-issued Rotom Phone, and a slip containing a number. The number corresponds to a number on the desks, so that's how seating will be arranged. Now then, who will go first?" As he finished, the first person to hold their hand up was someone that Ash knew all too well.
"Of course, step up here young man." The boy gave a cocky grin. He had brown hair sticking upwards into spikes, and dark-viridian eyes that exuded confidence.
"Yo, my name is Gary Oak, grandson of the renowned Professor Oak. My dream is to be the strongest Pokémon Trainer in all of Kanto." Gary introduced himself, as a few of the female students swooned when he flicked his hand through his spiked hair with a palpable ego.
"Er, very good. I suppose..." He took one of the Rotom Phones from a drawer in his desk and handed it to Gary, as well as a slip and a Poké Ball. The colour of the Rotom Phone was a dark red.
"Before you decide to release this Pokémon, I'd prefer if you left that to the next class after introductions are over, and this goes out to each of you." Gary made an annoyed sound and made his way to his desk. He decided to turn on his Rotom Phone and get it set up, as Professor Oak spoke again, but before the professor could call up another student, a girl stood up and walked up to the stand after Gary. She had golden blonde hair, tied on both sides with pink hair ties and curled into a sort of oval shape, and her eyes were teal.
"My name is Vivienne and I moved here from the Unova region with my Papa. I dream of becoming a Pokémon Musical star with a cute Pokémon partner." She made a similar motion to Gary's with her right pigtail as she seemingly gave off a haughty aura. The mention of Pokémon Musicals earned a few confused looks, but she didn't notice since she turned to the professor to get her things.
After she sat down at her seat, at chair 7, someone had already gotten up to the front in a puff of smoke. Ash heard surprised gasps from some of the students, even from Professor Oak whose eyes widened with astonishment.
"Oh my! That was very impressive! Could you introduce yourself since you came up to the front like this?" Oak asked, as the girl looked around the classroom and made an annoyed grunt.
"Shoot, I meant to appear in the corner of the room, not here… Very well. My name is Janine and I train in the ninja arts with my father." At this, a few students were murmuring to themselves. Ash meanwhile, didn't know the reason for the murmuring. At least until Janine continued.
"That's right, my father is Koga of the Fuschia City gym. I aim to take over one day, so I enrolled at his recommendation. Besides ninja training, I also prefer tricky Pokémon such as Koffing and Zubat." She took a bow as the students clapped at the introduction. She then turned to Oak to get a purple Rotom Phone and a slip, before making a strange pose and disappearing into a puff of smoke once more.
Ash looked to the back of the room after a moment, expecting to see her, but before he turned his head around fully he immediately heard an annoyed yell come from outside of the room as an embarrassed Janine walked back into the classroom and to her seat.
Up next was the boy Ash saw while he, Goh and Chloe were heading to school.
"Sup? My name is Tony Welder. No one knows the coolest type better than me: the Electric type. I look up to Lt. Surge, probably one of the coolest gym leaders, and there's no one more qualified to earn his gym badge than me, Kanto's soon-to-be coolest Pokémon trainer." There was somewhat awkward clapping as he took his Rotom Phone and sat at his seat.
The rest of the introductions went by pretty quickly, as the other students seemed to be pretty normal, besides one girl who was too quiet to say more than her name and promptly take her stuff and sit down. Ash noticed that most of the students were now seated, so he'd have to introduce himself pretty soon.
"We're almost done with introductions, so could you come up to introduce yourself?" Professor Oak said while pointing the end of a ruler in Ash's direction. Ash felt a pit in his stomach at the sudden attention as some of the students were now turned to him or were glancing his way, so he tried to swallow his anxiety and stepped up.
He stood for a moment at the front, as his eyes darted to Goh and Chloe who gave him a thumbs-up and a small smile of encouragement respectively. He took a sigh and spoke up.
"Um… My name is Ash Ketchum, I live in Pallet Town and was offered a chance to enrol by Professor Oak. My dream..." He trailed, pausing for a moment, before collecting himself again. What's the worst that could happen? "My dream is to become a Pokémon Master." To his surprise, pretty much all of the students gave polite clapping, except for Gary of course.
Ash was handed his slip and phone, which was red. He took his seat at desk 8 in the middle row and the second column. To his relief, he wasn't sitting next to Gary, but he did end up with Vivienne in desk 7, to his left. He gingerly gripped the Poké Ball in his hand, joy slowly swelling inside him as he wondered what Pokémon was sitting in the enclosed capsule.
Next to the stand was Goh, who walked up to the stand with a prideful look.
"My name is Goh, my dream is to catch every Pokémon ever to work my way up to the Pokémon of myth: Mew!" Much to Ash's chagrin the reactions to Goh's dream were a bit more mean-spirited, with Gary scoffing. He frowned at the responses, and quickly turned to the teacher to receive a Rotom Phone of a similar hue to Ash's, and a Poké Ball. Goh was seated at desk 10.
Last was Chloe, who walked up to the stand next, however she had an unsure look. She made her own glance at Goh and Ash, who gave her a friendly thumbs-up and an encouraging grin respectively, allowing her to relax a bit.
"My name is Chloe Cerise, my father is Professor Cerise, and my dream..." Like Ash, she hesitated, however this time it was because nothing was coming up for her. "My dream... I uh, don't have one yet." She admitted, her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.
"It's OK Chloe, not everyone has a dream in mind from the start, it's fine to take things slowly and figure out yours, who knows? It could even happen before you graduate." Professor Oak said in reassurance, as she turned to him to receive her stuff. Her Rotom Phone was pink, and luckily for her the only unoccupied seat left was between Ash and Goh. Taking the Poké Ball, she made her way to her desk, as Goh and Ash gave her friendly grins. At least there were some people she knew beside her.
It was now around 8:36 AM with introductions being finished, leaving them a little behind schedule as the teacher stood up from his chair and turned to the class.
"Has everyone set up their Rotom Phones?" He asked, as many of the students responded "Yes!" in confirmation, save for Ash and another student who was a little chubby, had short, messy blue hair, and looked about ready to fall asleep. Professor Oak nodded and then offered assistance to the two students.
"Ash, Blake, do you want me to help set them up?" However, Ash shook his head as he managed to finish the job on his own, Blake was still falling a bit behind though, prompting the professor to get up and walk up to the exit.
"Blake, I'll help you get that set up on the way to the school's garden. Everyone else, when we get to the garden that's when you can release your Pokémon, but only on my mark." He explained, as everyone shouted confirmation and got up.
The students had reached the garden, all holding their Poké Balls, before Professor Oak urged friend groups to separate and make sure there is adequate spacing between each student, so released Pokémon don't avert their attention to each other instead of at their new trainers. Ash glanced around a bit, and noticed that there were slightly older looking students peeking through the window of what he assumed to be the classrooms of later classes.
Excitement welled within each of the students, as they anticipated who their new partners were. The first student to release their Pokémon was, of course, Gary Oak, as a small light-blue turtle-like Pokémon with a brown shell and pale-yellow underbelly was released from the ball.
"Squirt?" It said, flicking its tail and looking up at the arrogant human before it.
"Now Gary, open your Rotom Phone and-" Before the professor could explain, Gary was way ahead of him as the Rotom Phone scanned the Pokémon.
"Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon, a Water type. The grooves on its shell serve to reduce drag as it swims at incredible speeds." A male voice said, which probably belonged to the Rotom that powered the device. Following the description of the Pokémon, pictures of it appeared, swapping between three angles to properly show how it looked.
"Awesome, it's a Squirtle! No doubt this little guy is gonna be a real powerhouse when it grows!" Gary exclaimed in excitement and joy at the Pokémon, who gave him a cocky grin which matched its trainer to a tee.
"I'm glad to see it's taking well to you Gary, now then, prepare your Rotom Phones' Pokédex function for when you release your partners." Professor Oak finally managed to explain before Gary interrupted him earlier, while most of the students fiddled with their phones at his words, besides the ones who found out about the functionality during introductions.
Ash was next to release his partner, after switching the phone to "Pokédex mode". He expected his Pokémon, and by proxy the rest of them, to be about as small as Gary's as he finally released the Pokémon.
From the red and white ball emerged a small yellow mouse-like Pokémon, who had red spots on its cheeks and two horizontal brown stripes on its back, with the tips of its ears being black and its tail being lightning-bolt shaped while going from mostly yellow and then to brown at the base of it.
"Pika?" came its voice, as some of the students made adoring reactions at its apparent cuteness. Even Tony had his attention on Ash now. Ignoring them, Ash pointed the phone at it, scanning the Pokémon.
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, an Electric type. Groups of Pikachu are dangerous to approach during a storm, as their tails act like lightning rods." The explanation came.
Ash picked up his new partner, and began to introduce himself. He didn't notice the sour look Pikachu gave though, as his cheeks made a threatening crackle.
"Hi, my name is Ash Ketchum, and you're my Pokémon, my new friend!" He said with a friendly grin. The Pikachu's face softened at his expression, but he was still rather wary and not fully ready to place trust in a human he just met. Meanwhile Ash noticed that Pikachu didn't seem pleased, making him worry a bit that they wouldn't get along, but he had faith in Pikachu.
"Now, I want all of you who have met their partners to make an attempt to bond with them. Don't worry if things aren't working out immediately, if you have faith in yourself and your new Pokémon, you're sure to be good friends." The teacher said as Ash let Pikachu back onto the grass, who continued to look at him warily, not fully trusting of him, however Ash was determined to befriend the Electric type.
Chloe released her Pokémon next, and from it came a vaguely canine-like Pokémon with brown fur all over except for fluff surrounding its neck and the tip of its fluffy tail, which were cream-coloured. Its eyes were brown, and it had elongated, pointy ears that were dark brown on the inside. The Pokémon looked up curiously at Chloe, who gave it a small smile.
"Eievui?" It said, as Chloe scanned it like Ash and Gary did earlier.
"Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon, a Normal type. It has an unstable genetic makeup and can adapt to any environment. It is said that its face also adapts to match the face of its trainer." Eevee pawed at the phone in interest as Chloe picked it up.
"Nice to meet you Eevee, I'm Chloe." She said, as it yipped its name in response. Chloe noticed that the pattern separating the brown colour from the cream colour of its tail was curved, while in the Rotom Phone's pictures it was rougher.
Chloe approached the professor about this, hoping he would have an explanation.
"Excuse me Professor Oak, can you tell me why this Eevee's tail pattern is rounder than in its picture?" Asked Chloe, as her teacher turned to her at the question.
"Ah, that would be a gender difference, to my understanding this Eevee is female." He said, as Chloe turned her head to Eevee who was looking up at her.
"Vui?" Chloe smiled and held her higher.
"I hope we can become good friends." Her Pokémon made an excited noise in response, Chloe couldn't really tell if Eevee understood her, but she'd need patience with her partner if they were gonna get anywhere.
Next, Goh released his new partner. From the ball came a Pokémon with the appearance of a rabbit. Its body was primarily white, with orange markings on the tips of its ears, on its toes and around its neck. Across its nose was a curious rectangular yellow marking, which almost looked like a bandage. The Pokémon looked up at Goh with a face of interest.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Goh! Lemme scan you so I know your name." He pulled out his phone and scanned the Pokémon in the Pokédex app like his friends had done with their Pokémon, with pictures of the rabbit Pokémon appearing on the screen.
"Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokémon, a Fire type. Once this Pokémon is raring to go, there's no slowing it down. The pads above its nose and on its soles flare up when it gets excited." As if on cue, the pad on its face grew orange with heat, as it ran in place and hopped onto Goh's arms moments later, leaving the grass beneath its feet singed slightly.
"Scorbun!" It said happily, as a silly smile was plastered on Goh's face, immediately understanding Scorbunny's mood..
"I'm happy you accept me, let's be good friends!" He said, as Scorbunny's smile grew and cheeks became pink.
"Bun bun!"
The rest of the class released their Pokémon one by one. Vivienne's Pokémon was identified as Minccino, a Pokémon from the Unova region and one she was familiar with. It had the appearance of a grey chinchilla-like creature, with a long fluffy tail it used to keep itself clean, and which Vivienne adored very much upon laying eyes on it.
"Why, you're absolutely precious!" Vivienne squealed excitedly, which her Pokémon copied with a big smile of its own.
Although most of the Pokémon were native to Kanto, Ash noticed that there were about five Pokémon he didn't recognize as Kantonian.
"Alright students, I want you to learn about how the Pokédex app works. Point the scanner to your new Pokémon, and press the button labelled "Info", from there the app will tell you about some of its information, including gender and what its Nature is." As he laid out the instructions, Ash entered the Pokédex app and looked over Pikachu's information.
"This Pikachu is male, his ability is Surge, and he has a Hasty Nature." The Pokédex said.
Everyone followed Ash's example, going over info presented on their phones. Ash looked Goh's way and overheard his own phone, stating his Scorbunny is male. He then glanced at Chloe and her Eevee, as the phone explained her Eevee is female. Pikachu followed his gaze, wondering if the humans he looked at were his friends. His gaze subconsciously lingered on the Eevee, before he heard his trainer's voice.
"Okay Pikachu, I want to be good friends with you, so could you tell me what you like?" Ash asked Pikachu, his ears perking up.
"Pi. Kapika, Pi Pikachu, Kachupi, Pi!" He turned to Ash and said in response.
"...Okay, I guess that won't really work. All I could get is "Kachupi" out of that, which kind of sounds like "ketchup"? Do you mean to tell me you like ketchup?" Ash asked, not sure if his swing was in the right ballpark, but apparently it was a home run as Pikachu nodded, aptly answering his question.
"Great! Well, eating ketchup alone isn't my thing, but I'm not here to judge my new friend." Ash said with a smile. Pikachu was practically beaming at his words, he found it hard to be accepted in the wild because of his odd habits.
By now, it was around 9:35 AM, as Ash was sitting nearby Pikachu, who was idly resting on his trainer's lap. Apparently Ash found a spot where Pikachu likes to be petted, something the Electric type realized was that he's the first human to find that spot.
Pikachu let out a contented squeal as Ash continued to rub Pikachu's back, his hand occasionally gliding along Pikachu's tail. Ash found out that whenever his hand reached the tip of Pikachu's tail, his hand felt tingly, it seemed that Pikachu makes a charge at the tip of his tail when he's stretching, at least that's what Ash assumed.
"Alright class, it's time we went back inside, next we have Training Study on the agenda, I'll explain what we'll be doing once we reach the classroom. For now, return your Pokémon." When the professor said that last part, immediately Pikachu recoiled into Ash's arms as he held him and tried to get up from the grass.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked, as Pikachu shook his head. Then it hit him.
The professor looked at Ash curiously as the boy approached him, cradling Pikachu in his arms.
"Excuse me, Pikachu doesn't seem to like being in his Poké Ball, is it OK if I leave him outside of it?" Ash asked. He was given a quizzical look as the older man was put in a bit of a predicament. On one hand, he didn't want the other students to assume Ash was getting better treatment, but on the other... Even he could tell Ash was telling the truth, evident by Pikachu's demeanour. He gave a small sigh.
"Alright Ash, you may leave Pikachu out of his Poké Ball, however I ask that you return him to the ball at the end of the day, when you return home, I'm not allowed to let students take their Pokémon off the premises after all." A smile grew on both Ash and Pikachu's faces, as Ash gave a thumbs-up in response.
"You got it!" Pikachu scurried up to Ash's left shoulder, feeling more comfortable closer to Ash.
Ash noticed a few of his peers looking at him, likely wondering why Pikachu remained outside of his Poké Ball. He felt a little guilty about his request at the looks, but this was overshadowed by the joy he felt about making friends with a Pokémon he might take care of as a trainer in the future.
"Now then, our next class is Training Study, for today you will take out your notebooks and record what you've learned about your new partners. However much you'll write doesn't matter much, as long as you show that you've been considerate to your new partners and have been observing them." Professor Oak explained as the students left for their homeroom again.
With Training Study over, it was now the end of the first period, as the Normal Grade had a fifteen minute break. Goh stood between Ash and Chloe's desks as the three conversed.
"So Ash, I see you have your Pokémon out with you." Goh said curiously, with Pikachu giving him a deadpan expression.
"He doesn't like being inside of his Poké Ball, and I don't want to force him to do something that he doesn't want to." Ash explained, as Pikachu nodded as confirmation. Goh rubbed the back of his neck with a pang of guilt, realizing how his question could have been taken, while Chloe gave a small smile at his thoughtfulness.
"Yeah... Now that I think about it, considering your Pokémon's wishes is a no-brainer." Ash nodded in satisfaction, while Pikachu's opinion of the friend of Ash shifted to a more positive light.
"Anyway, it sure is neat having a Pokémon, don't you think? I really hope I can be good friends with Eevee here." Chloe chimed in, as she glanced down at the shrunken Poké Ball laying in her hand.
"That's right, with Pokémon by your side you can live a fulfilling life, but caring for one as a pet isn't all there is to Pokémon." Professor Oak spoke up after Chloe, as most of the students shifted their focus towards him.
"Indeed, Pokémon are capable of amazing things, some of which not even I understand fully myself, but in the next class we will be going over the details of the following:" He started, taking a piece of chalk and writing on the other, cleaner half of the chalkboard. "Battle Theory. In this class, we will be learning about the intricacies of Pokémon battling, however, your break time isn't up for another twelve minutes, so feel free to talk with your classmates until then."
As he finished, the students did just that and resumed conversations.
"I can't wait to learn about battling soon, I want to be the strongest trainer in Kanto- no, the world!" Ash declared with pride. If there was one thing he could always get joy out of, it was talking about Pokémon battles. However, he kinda regretted announcing that so loudly once he heard a familiar voice.
"Well well well, is that a declaration of war I hear? Do you know how big of a goal that is?" Gary said, as he flicked his hair and approached Ash.
"I-I know how lofty it seems... What's it to you?" Ash replied, annoyed and slightly nervously.
"Humph. I'm the great Gary Oak, future Kanto Champion. I'll crush anyone who stands in my way of reaching my goal. And don't think you're exempt from that just because we were once childhood friends." Gary answered with a cocky grin. Ash was about to answer in kind until Goh held his arm up to him.
"He's just trying to rile you up Ash, if I were you, I'd ignore him." Chloe nodded, as she found herself standing up as well in a sort of defensive position.
Gary clicked his tongue."Tch. Whatever. But just so you know, I'd hate to have a weak rival, so keep up so that I can crush you at the Pokémon League and finally settle who is the strongest of the two of us." The message seemed just a little mixed to Ash, but it was clear Gary was being completely serious, so he had no choice but to heed his words.
After finishing, Gary returned to his seat, as Ash let out a breath of relief he didn't know he was holding.
Sitting back down, Goh and Chloe turned to him, with the former speaking up first.
"Ash, I'm not too big on battling myself, but as your friend I'll definitely cheer you on when you begin working your way to your dream." Goh said, as he placed his hand on Ash's shoulder after Ash sat down in his seat.
He smiled gratefully at Goh's words, as Chloe was next to be seated, before trying to find words of encouragement to give.
"Um… If Goh is going to support you, then I think I should too, since we're also friends." She mustered, earning a thankful thumbs-up from Ash, which she returned with a small smile.
After the exchange, the three began discussing what they might do after graduating from school.
"When I learn all that I need to know to become a top Pokémon trainer, I'll explore Kanto and get each Gym Badge to participate in the Pokémon League!" Ash explained. Goh gave a polite clap as Chloe had a finger on her chin, as she pondered her own goal.
"You know, I was thinking that if I'm going to catch every Pokémon to work my way to Mew, then I should start by exploring every nook and cranny of Kanto first, so I thought that maybe we could travel together." At this, Chloe snapped out of her thoughts. Sure, it's likely that she'll figure out her dream before she graduates, however she did worry about the slim chance that she'll leave school without any steps closer to finding out what her dream is.
"I'll probably read about Pokémon at the lab once I graduate, assuming I don't figure out my dream by then…" Chloe said to herself, which Ash managed to pick up.
"Chloe, if you'd like then you could travel with Goh and I until you figure it out. It could be fun to see the sights at least!" He offered, to which Chloe rubbed the side of her arm and glanced away.
"I don't know, but… I'll keep your offer in mind. Thank you, Ash." Somehow, instead of encouraging her most recent friend, he did just that for her. Not that it really bothered her, though.
After the break came Battle Theory, a class that Ash was excited about, as he used to watch Pokémon League matches that were broadcast on television. He was certain that this might be his only class in which he would get perfect grades, but there's really only one way to find that out.
Professor Oak stood up from his chair and cleared his throat, getting the rest of the students' attention.
"Today we're going to go over a simple topic: Moves." He said, writing down the word "Moves" on the chalkboard where he wrote "Battle Theory" earlier.
"Moves are categorized using three labels. Can anyone guess what they are?" At this, Ash raised his hand, but he wasn't the only one to do so, as Gary had his hand held up as well.
"Uh, proceed, Ash." The teacher said, with Ash smiling in triumph.
"Um, the three move categories… There's Status moves such as Growl, there are Physical moves such as Tackle, and there are Special moves such as Thunder Shock." He explained, earning a smile from the teacher.
"Excellent work. Indeed there are these three kinds of moves." He wrote down the types as explained. "When a Pokémon uses a Physical move, damage is dealt using its Attack power. Meanwhile, a Pokémon using a Special move will damage the opponent using its Special Attack power. Status moves usually aren't used for dealing damage, but some can cause damage indirectly." He continued.
As soon as he stopped talking, one of the students with thick glasses added onto his explanation without warning or clearance. "Such Status moves could be Leech Seed, which saps the target's energy and heals the user in return, based on how much energy was taken."
Sighing, Professor Oak spoke up again.
"That's right Todd, but please speak when I say so." This earned snickers from some of the students as Todd pushed his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose, with a glare being cast on them (somehow).
"OK…" He responded meekly, before Oak continued with the lesson.
"So, I would like everybody to open the Pokédex app on your Rotom Phones and open the information page on your partner Pokémon. You can do this…" Ash's focus moved from Professor Oak's words to his Rotom Phone as he opened the app as instructed and opened the info page. On the screen was some information about Pikachu, and according to the teacher the focus was on the moves, with Pikachu leaning forwards from Ash's shoulder to peek at the screen.
"Take the paper on your desk and write down the first move at the top, and the second move in the middle. Underneath the names, copy the things the Pokédex says about it, like the description and the numbers next to the word "Power" and "Accuracy", I'll explain those in a moment. Also take note of the Move's "Category", which shows how the move is categorized." After he explained this, Ash clumsily copied the descriptions for the first two of the four moves Pikachu knew, Thunder Shock and Tail Whip.
Thunder Shock
The user builds up an electric charge and damages the target with it.
Power: 40
Accuracy: 100
Category: Special
Tail Whip
The user cutely wags its tail at the target, lowering its Defense.
Power: -
Accuracy: -
Category: Status
Ash stopped writing for a moment after noticing that there was no number next to the Power and Accuracy in the Pokédex, and asked the teacher about it.
"Ah, well you see, although most proper attacks will have its Power and Accuracy listed, some may have special cases, and in the case of Status moves most of them can't miss the target ordinarily, and typically don't have Power in the first place." He explained and wrote a brief summary of this information on the board for the rest of the students.
Ash put his pencil down after finishing, and realized he only heard one pencil clack before he finished, and figured it was Gary who finished before he did. He didn't linger on that for long though, as he heard a pencil clack to his right, which was Chloe's desk.
"This sure is a quick assignment, isn't it Chloe?" Ash asked her, as she agreed with a nod.
"Well it is the first day, it'll probably become more complex after we're taught the basics." She wasn't exactly off the mark, since it was only 10:09 AM and everyone else seemed to be done.
"It seems we can move on now, yes? Take a look at what you've written, notice how most of the Status moves don't have an Accuracy listed, or even a number for its Power. 'Accuracy' is a value that describes how likely the attack or technique will hit its target, and most weaker attacks will have an Accuracy value of "100" listed, meaning that ordinarily it will hit the opponent 100 percent of the time." He started while writing on an empty part of the blackboard.
"Something important to understand is that I say 'ordinarily', this is because even if a move is listed as having 100 Accuracy, it is still susceptible to missing its target, however there are some attacks that have Accuracy listed as a dash, these attacks will always land on the target, and this trait applies to many Status moves." Ash was diligently, yet sloppily, making notes of this important information, which Professor Oak noticed once he turned back to the class after writing down his explanation. The only other student who seemed to match that sort of energy in learning about the complexities of battling was his own grandson.
Slightly shaking his head, he continued with the rest of the lesson.
"Power should be a pretty simple concept. A bigger number listed for the Power will, rather intuitively, give you an idea of how strong that attack will be, but a Pokémon battle in the grand scheme of things is about how well you can strategize and plan with what you'll work with, it's generally a good idea to have attacks with high Power, but many of the most powerful attacks have downsides to make up for their sheer strength. For example," He wrote the name of a move on the board called 'Hyper Beam', and wrote the name of another move next to it that read 'Swift', "Hyper Beam is one of the strongest Normal type moves, it has an enormous Power of 150, but it suffers from one major drawback: it makes the user vulnerable for a moment after its use." Underneath the attack's name he wrote its effect.
"Besides this drawback, it also has an Accuracy of 90, but most Pokémon strong enough to learn it are also likely good enough to aim it. Anyway, Swift on the other hand isn't too strong, having only a Power of 60, however it's special in its effect of homing in on the target, giving it perfect accuracy, thus leaving a dash next to its listed Accuracy."
"In summary, having strong moves isn't a bad strategy, but it's important to keep in mind what that move is actually doing and try to work with any shortcomings it may have. You must also place trust in your partner Pokémon, as working from a foundation of trust works just as well in people as it does Pokémon, after all, no Pokémon would battle for a trainer it has no respect for."
The teacher's words stuck in Ash's mind. 'You must also place trust in your partner Pokémon - after all, no Pokémon would battle for a trainer it has no respect for.' Having lived a childhood mostly surrounded by wild Pokémon, Ash knew better than anyone how far a strong bond with a Pokémon will take you, so this lesson struck a chord in Ash.
Surprisingly, the next class was the ever boring subject of Math, a subject Ash was sure he'd have the lowest scores for, but he figured he may as well give it his all as well.
"I know it might seem kinda strange to have a math class in a school for Pokémon care and battling, but it's an important life skill that also has its place in battling in ways that might surprise you, that much I can assure." Professor Oak explained after its reveal was followed by groans from most of the class.
Ash struggled with some of the beginning questions, but got the hang of it once he grasped the concepts. It wasn't until he got to a word question that his momentum screeched to a halt. Next to him, Chloe was already halfway done, but noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ash's pencil stopped moving.
"Psst, Ash, are you stuck on something?" She whispered to Ash, who turned to her and nodded.
"Yeah, I got to the first word problem after finishing all of the other number questions, and this is where it confused me." As he explained the problematic problem, Professor Oak looked up from his desk to see if the students were working, and noticed Ash was getting assistance from Chloe, leaving him with a smile.
Despite Ash's initial worry, time passed surprisingly fast as the school bell rang, signalling that it was now lunch break. Before any of the students could even get up, Professor Oak held his hand up until the bell stopped.
"I know some of you are eager to have lunch, but now that you're caring for a Pokémon, it's best that you eat lunch with them too, so once you get to the cafeteria you should also feed your Pokémon." The moment he finished speaking, the students that were in the middle of getting up from their chairs darted out of the classroom, leaving Professor Oak sighing to himself.
"Just like in the garden, I suggest you be seated a bit of a distance from each other so that your Pokémon are more focused on you than other students or each other." He finished, as a few students acknowledged him with nods.
Ash got seated with a big tray of food and a few packets of ketchup for Pikachu, as well as a smaller tray with Pokémon food. Setting the trays on the table, he looked around at the other students and noticed that some of their Pokémon seemed to have unique eating habits, and Pikachu was no exception.
"Ash? Why is there ketchup on Pikachu's Pokémon food?" Goh asked curiously. Pikachu started coughing while chewing his food at his question. If he could, he would have given him a taste of his Thunder Shock attack, but his question didn't really sound like disgust or the like, so he supposed he could let it slide.
"Err, that's just how Pikachu likes to eat his food." Ash explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Lucky for Pikachu, Ash's friends were a little more understanding than other humans he's met, much like Ash was.
"Oh, OK. By the way, what's with your mountain of food?" He asked with a sweatdrop.
"Hey, I'm a growing Pokémon Trainer, I need this energy, alright?" He defended, taking a big bite of the stack of food.
"For what? You're gonna be sitting for most of the classes." He retorted. Now it was Ash's turn to cough on his food, prompting him to take a swig of his cup of water.
Chloe smiled at the exchange. She knew moments like this between her and Goh were a lot rarer since they didn't really hang out much, so she worried a little about Goh being too engrossed in Pokémon research to make any other friends besides her, but with Ash around she no longer had those worries.
Looking down at Eevee, she noticed that the way her Pokémon ate reminded her of Ash, even though most Eevee tend to take after their trainer. 'Well, I guess we haven't spent enough time together for that to be seen.' Chloe thought to herself, as Eevee looked up at her with a mouth full of food and a head tilted in confusion.
From another table sat Gary and Tony (much to the former's initial annoyance).
"So Gary, I noticed you seem to have some sort of beef with that Ash kid, what's up with that?" Tony asked out of nowhere.
"Hmph. We used to be pretty close pals back in Pallet Town, but then he suddenly started becoming lamer and lamer every time I saw him, and that's all there is to it." Tony didn't seem to agree there, guessing from Gary's expression, but he chose not to point that out.
"I see… Well I can't really bring myself to disrespect someone with a partner as cool as a Pikachu, but if he turns out to be a weak battler then that could change." He admitted, earning a grin from Gary.
"Sure. Just don't be shocked if I start ignoring you for not being able to keep up with me, I can't bring myself to respect anyone who can't match me." Tony chuckled in response.
"Heh, whatever you say tough guy." Tony's Elekid looked up at him as he was finishing the last of his Pokémon food.
After lunch came History, which Ash wasn't too enthused about, like he was about Math. Goh, on the other hand, was a little more thrilled about it.
"For this class, we'll be learning about the history of Kanto and the Pokémon native to our region…" Already Ash started tuning out what the professor was talking about, which Chloe noticed out of the corner of her eye.
"Psst, Ash, I think you should pay attention to Professor Oak right now." She whispered to her deskmate.
Ash yawned sleepily, before turning to her. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired." He replied while scratching his cheek, which made her smile subconsciously.
Luckily for Ash, the teacher wrote on the chalkboard as he spoke, allowing him to catch up on whatever he might miss. Besides that, he kinda hoped Chloe would help him like she did during Math, which he should probably thank her for later.
Any worries Ash had about this class seemed to nearly vanish once he noticed how much of it involved copying stuff written on the chalkboard, though him needing to put it in his own words was a bit of a curveball. Truth be told, his investment in the class wasn't very high, unless it was directly related to Pokémon.
Pikachu seemed to match that sentiment, though he didn't have the "luxury" of doing the work and seeing how he could be interested in it in the first place considering he couldn't read, let alone write.
"OK, it's almost 1:30, and next we have Physical Education in the gymnasium." Professor Oak announced, as some of the students then became a little restless, especially the ones already finished the assignment.
"P.E huh? See Goh? I knew that big lunch would come in handy!" Ash said with a smug grin, as Goh cleared his throat and chuckled nervously.
Before Goh could make a clever retort, Chloe spoke first. "Oh, so I'm sure you knew beforehand there would be a Physical Education class, isn't that right Ash?"
Pikachu chuckled, while Ash's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "Pshh, of course, when you're a Pokémon Trainer you'll do all sorts of tough activities between towns on your journey, so I guess something like P.E would make sense."
Chloe's smile morphed into surprise. "...W-Well, I guess you're right about that." She managed to respond. If it were Goh, he would probably say something like 'Shut up...', but they were unlike each other in strange ways.
It was now 1:38 PM. The students from Normal Class had just finished doing stretches with their Pokémon.
"These gym uniforms seem a little plain compared to the normal uniform, don't you think?" Tony asked himself. Indeed they were rather simple. The top was a white shirt with the hem lined with a light blue similar to the standard uniform, while the bottom was a simple pair of shorts that were dark blue with white stripes on the sides.
"Welcome to my Physical Education class! The name's Chuck, and my favourite Pokémon attack is Strength." He introduced himself with a flex of his arm. "Now, when you're a Pokémon Trainer you can expect to do things like hike difficult trails through mountains and spend days away from civilization, so doing P.E is very important." Ash was right on the money with his earlier reasoning, which made Chloe wonder a little about that.
"For today, let's do something simple. We'll do a few laps all around the gym, maybe 10? And run with your Pokémon. It'll help you figure out a groove to work with your Pokémon and get an idea of how to train with them." A few students groaned at the idea, causing Chuck to chuckle.
"Oh-ho, take it from me, I used to jog with all of my Fighting type Pokémon every morning in my early years as a Pokémon Trainer, it's guaranteed to have good results! Besides, it looks like 10 laps might be the most some of you can handle, but that's the fun part, learning what your limits are and improving not just yourself, but your Pokémon partners."
Running laps was pretty simple, and because of how active Ash was back in Pallet Town he was easily one of the faster kids in the class, though Gary was making good pace as well. Goh wasn't as lucky though, although he went on excursions with Ash for a few days, he still couldn't quite keep up with him.
Just behind was Chloe, who was trying balance her pace with Eevee's, who was just a bit faster than her.
"So, how many laps... is that so far?" Ash asked himself as he began to lose steam. Lucky for him, he had just finished the 10th lap and was stopped by the teacher.
"Nice work you two! It's interesting to see that you could keep up with the pace of your Pikachu, one of the things the species is known for is their speed." As he spoke, Gary stopped and was in the middle of catching his breath, before noticing something was off.
"Where's your Squirtle?" Chuck asked the spiky-haired student, who sighed a long sigh of exasperation.
"My bad... I forgot that Squirtle aren't very fast on their feet, they're much faster in the water and on their shell." He said, as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead (which a few of the female students caught and swooned at).
Chuck shook his head slightly. "Well, as long as you're aware of that, then I can let this slide, but just know that this isn't a race." He said while looking back at Ash, causing Gary to scoff and turn his head.
"Wah!" Next up was Goh on his tenth lap, where he tripped on nothing and fell forward with a thud.
"Scorbun!" Apparently his Scorbunny had already finished his tenth lap and was basically waiting for Goh to finish.
"Remember Goh, you're the Trainer, not your Pokémon, next time you should run alongside it instead of letting it get ahead of you." Chuck suggested, causing Goh to laugh nervously and nod.
More and more students got to their tenth lap, with Chloe being near the middle as the 7th to finish, right ahead of Vivienne. As each student finished the tenth lap, Chuck spoke to them and made observations like with Ash, Gary, and Goh.
"Chloe, your pace kind of flip flopped a bit during your laps, but it's clear that you were being considerate of your Eevee, which is one of the keys to efficient and fun training with your Pokémon, and any others you may train in the future." Chloe nodded with a smile, as she picked up Eevee and patted her head.
By the time the last student finished running laps, there were about nine minutes of P.E left.
"Huh, I guess 10 laps may have been overdoing it after all... So!" He started with a loud clap, getting the attention of the students. "There isn't enough time to do something like set up a net for volleyball, and it's too early for me to send you to your next class..." He paused for a moment with a hand on his chin.
"I guess you could do more laps if you so please, as long as it's an activity that involves you and your Pokémon" He said with a shrug.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ash looked down at Pikachu, who looked up at him, and gave him a competitive smile. Pikachu returned it with a sigh, but dashed off ahead of him.
"Hey! I didn't say "Go"!" He shouted at Pikachu, before running after him and doing laps (although it was more of a race than anything else).
As the two were running around, Pikachu decided to use Quick Attack to get ahead of Ash, but ended up tripping and tumbling along the floor into a wall.
"Pikachu!" Ash called out in worry, though that faded when he noticed Pikachu giving him a thumbs-up.
"You're not hurt, are you buddy?" Ash asked as he picked up Pikachu, who frowned as crossed his arms in annoyance.
"Pi." Came the response. Although Ash can't understand Pokémon-speak, he could at least tell that the question was unnecessary, which made him smile.
"Whew! I'm glad." His smile dropped and turned into a pout as he gently pinched Pikachu's cheek. "But that was unfair, I can't use Quick Attack after all."
Pikachu gave a smug grin even while being pinched, although lightly.
Now 2:28 PM, the students were in another classroom, though it felt a little more like a kitchen then a classroom.
"Hello students! I'm glad to see none of you are late." The teacher sounded just a bit too peppy, but not really obnoxiously so.
"My name is Lottie, and I'll be your Pokémon Economics teacher!" As she introduced herself, Ash stood by one of the desks with Goh and Chloe next to him, though he noticed each desk had a plastic bowl that contained various berries.
During 'Poké Ec.', as she shortened it, the students learn about making Pokémon food for their partners.
"For today, we're gonna make a simple energy restoring berry mix! Pair into groups of three, and have the group leader release their Pokémon when the mix is finished. The goal is to make sure the mix is tasty and gives the restoration effect, as well as learn how to make berry mixes." As Pikachu was already outside of his Poké Ball, Ash was appointed the group leader between he, Goh and Chloe.
The teacher wrote on the board the names of two kinds of berries. "The mix uses one Sitrus or Oran Berry as a base, and then a second berry is added depending on the flavour your Pokémon prefers for the best results, though a flavour that it doesn't feel especially strong about won't ruin it." She then instructed the students to take a mortar and pestle from a drawer in the desks they stood in front of.
"Take one Oran Berry from the bowl on your desk and place it in the mortar, the little ceramic bowl, and then take the secondary berry next." As she said that, Gary immediately pointed out something Ash was wondering himself.
"How do we find out what berry will work best?" He asked.
"Great question! Do you remember what Nature your Pokémon all have?" She asked seemingly out of nowhere.
"Lax, but I don't see what that has to do with anything." Gary responded with a shrug.
"You see, it's theorized that a Pokémon's Nature is linked to what category of flavour that Pokémon likes or dislikes, for example, a Pokémon that's Lax is likely to prefer sourness and dislike bitter flavours, so your Pokémon will like the taste of an Aspear Berry because it's primarily Sour, while it'll dislike the taste of a Rawst Berry, which is mainly bitter." She explained. Ash made sure to make a mental note of that for Pikachu.
Looking through the Pokédex App, Ash found out that there was a list of known berries with their primary flavours listed, and then checked what flavour a Pokémon with a Hasty nature would prefer. He learned that the flavour is Sweet, and remembered clearly how Pecha Berries were crazy sweet, and then placed one into the mortar along with the Oran Berry.
"So, once you've placed the appropriate secondary berry into the mortar, take your pestle, the thick ceramic stick that was next to the bowl, and start crushing up the two berries until you get a nice smooth powder, but don't crush it too much or it'll wreck the texture." She explained by demonstrating with a Sitrus Berry and a Rawst Berry. After a moment of crushing the two berries, she placed the powder into a clear jar with a little spoon.
"It should look something like this, but it depends on the berry. Also, be sure to remove any stems from the berries, proper preparation will complete the concoction!" As she was explaining, Ash already finished crushing the two berries.
"Wow Ash, you did a pretty good job." Chloe said with surprise. Even she had trouble crushing her chosen berries.
"Well, I guess I'm used to this, besides, I had my mom teach me this a few years ago," He explained. "It's all about how hard you press on the berries while also having a good rhythm to it." She nodded and turned to the fine powder in his bowl, hoping her own berry mixes she does at home for Yamper have that sort of quality.
Pikachu looked into the bowl with a slight bit of drool forming at the edge of his mouth.
"Heh, looks like you want a taste, don't you Pikachu?" Ash asked him with a smile, prompting the Electric type Pokémon to shake its head in denial while looking away.
"Yeah, I gotta agree with Ash on this one." Goh added, causing Pikachu to release small sparks from his cheeks in a somewhat threatening manner.
"No matter how you look at it, Pikachu was definitely giving it a hungry look." Chloe finished, as Pikachu hung his head low and sighed.
"Pi." He said and sat in front of Ash with a pout.
"Alright students, I'll be coming up to each desk and grading the berry mix." Lottie said, as Ash suddenly got a little nervous.
The first group leader's Pokémon gave an unimpressed impression at the berry mix, as it was thoroughly average, thus earning an average grade. The next group fared a little better, the mix was pretty good, but the flavour ended up being neutral.
Next came Ash's group. The mix had a fine quality to it, certainly easy to digest, and Pikachu had a blissful look as he ate it (even though it didn't have ketchup), however he quickly a disapproving shake of his head, though it was clear to the teacher that Ash did a good job, earning the top grade so far.
Next was Gary's group. The mix wasn't as good as Ash's, but it was the second best thus far. Next, Squirtle looked like it was enjoying the berry mix, and so they earned a high grade as well.
The last two groups seemed to perform fine, besides the last one having a terrible texture but a good flavour.
"Good job everyone! Especially to Ash's group, the texture was exquisite, and his Pokémon seemed to enjoy it a lot, and so his group earned a high 95." Goh had a prideful smile, while Ash did a high-five with Chloe, and then tried to give one to Pikachu (who did the action with his tail while crossing his arms).
"Gary's group did pretty good too, earning an 89 for good feedback from Gary's Squirtle, although the berry mix itself was just good." As she said this, the final bell rang for the day, prompting some of the students to leave the classroom immediately, though the teacher stopped them just as quickly.
"Excuse me, did I dismiss you?" She asked with a mildly threatening smile that was unlike her demeanour during the rest of the class.
"So, remember to put your Pokémon back in their Poké Balls before leaving for home again." She finished.
"I don't think I'd ever get bored of being a student here, even if the world were in an endless summer or something." Goh said as he recalled History class with a smile.
"If that were the case, I don't think we'd ever graduate in the first place, or even age." Chloe pointed out.
"Yeah, somehow something that like sounds a little unbelievable." Ash said with a sweatdrop, though it did turn into a slight sadness since he couldn't bring Pikachu home with him.
Chloe seemed to pick up on his expression, and had an idea of what he was thinking of.
"Hey, you'll see Pikachu again tomorrow, and then when you graduate I'm sure he'll become your first Pokémon for real." She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave an encouraging smile, which he instinctively returned.
"Thanks Chloe. I bet all of our Pokémon will be happy to see us again!" He replied with a grin.
While on the way to the lab, Chloe parted ways with the boys for the day to go home, leaving the two to explain how their day went to Professor Cerise.
Next time: Coolness in the Cold One.
A/N: So how was that chapter? Was the pacing good? Please leave a review, it helps a ton. See you next chapter!