I had to admit, that the extra-curricular lesson that was taught by Ms April about Leah was actually quite interesting, as she was teaching us about the rules when it came to humans and Pokemon relationships, and the reason as to why halfbreeding between the two was considered as illegal almost everywhere on the planet, but halfbreeds themselves were not to be treated as lesser people.
The reason that people weren't allowed to have sex with and mate with their Pokemon partners was for a very simple reason. They ended up living for WAY longer and, when they reached the normal ages that they would get issues with health, it'd follow them until they died, which, for human/Pokemon hybrids, the lifespan was almost 2.5 times longer than the average of humans, which meant that if a human would live to be about 90, then if they were a halfbreed, they'd continue to deteriorate in mind, not body, up to 225, give or take a few years. They would get to the point they wouldn't be able to do a thing until they finally keeled over and perished... it was scary to hear of, but Leah sighed and nodded at that.
"And there are also other side effects, based on each type of the Pokemon type chart. In Leah's case, as she has a ghost type as a parent, she'll end up having horrible nightmares about her worst fears sporadically until she dies... and when she dies, her spirit would turn into a ghost Pokemon no matter what," Ms April said, me nodding at that. And Rhythmi was the one who spoke after.
"I see... hard to imagine that half-breeding between human and Pokemon would result in so many complications... now I understand why it's so tabboo to do so. I wouldn't want to see someone in that bad of a state, knowing they could have horrible things as side effects like unending nightmares..." Rhythmi said with a sigh.
"I have a question... what of the other types' side effects? I want to know if it'd be easier to spot someone who had a halfbreeding issue, in case they might need some love and affection," Pico said, which Ms Arpil nodded at.
"It'll be in pages 190-200 in your textbooks, which we'll give out tomorrow morning, but we can wait after a good night's sleep, and after a hearty meal," Ms April smirked as the bell then rung, me then proceeding to get my lunch from the food setup in the main hall and then went to the area with the Budew in order to get my backrub from Keith, who was surprised when I took off my shirt so he could do so.
"Uh... why'd you take your shirt off?" he asked, me smiling at him.
"So you could see what you're rubbing. As I said, the wings are delicate and cannot be damaged... and they can't be hurt, or the Celebi side of me would be very upset," I smiled at him.
"Okay, got it... so you know, I'm not really interested in you, I'm just doing this because I lost the bet," he said, me nodding at him as he rubbed my back... and when he touched my skin, he gasped at it. "Uh... sorry... I didn't think that a grassy back would feel so... soft..." he admitted, me smiling as we then continued like this until I finished my meal and then, afterwards, I then put my shirt back on and, after doing so, I then looked at Keith with a smile.
"Was it good for both of us?" I smiled at him.
"It was... I uh..." he blushed before I held his hand.
"If you want, I could give you a backrub, but only if I get out of any instances of 'hazing' or 'classroom rituals' and stuff," I smiled.
"Uh... s-sure, I'd like that," Keith smirked with a blush as we then agreed that we'd meet each other when the next night came up and that I'd give him the backrub down in the basement at night. And he sounded scared at first, but then I reminded him that I had three things on my side.
"Remember, Keith, I have the ability to see things from all angles with my mind, I can see in the dark with my eyes closed, and, if something bad were to happen, then I can rewind time for everything around me for a whole minute, and I can also have that effect on anyone that I touch," I smiled at him.
"So... you're sure we won't be in danger, then?" he asked, me nodding at him.
"Promise," I smirked. I knew it was a risk to be flirting with Keith, but I felt it'd be okay, since he was a good character and he got better as time went on.
Regardless, once it hit nighttime, our class went to the dorms... all except for me and Keith, where I led him in secrecy in the dark to the basement, me sensing through the walls that Kincaid was in the secret lab with Isaac, so I simply shushed Keith.
"Why? Why do we need to be quiet?" he asked.
"I don't know why, but there are two people in this basement. Kincaid and one of his students... stay quiet while I give you the backrub," I said, him nodding as I had us hide in, get this, a janitor's room and I proceeded to give Keith his backrub, him groaning softly from me moving my hands against his back.
"Even your hands are soft... it feels oddly nice..." he smiled back. "S-So... not meaning to ask a touchy question... are you a hybrid like Miss Leah?" he asked.
"Not in the natural way. More like I was genetically fused with a Celebi after being teleported to a Team Rocket laboratory with the rest of my family. All of us in the family have unique looks. Beth is mixed with a Magearna, Grace with a Shaymin, and mom and dad are a Latias and Latios combination... it certainly makes heads turn right to us, some out of confusion and some out of either disgust or concern," I said with a small sigh.
"Yeah..." Keith sighed as I continued to rub his back for a good half hour, about the same time he rubbed my back, before I then stopped... and just in time too, as we heard a voice from outside the room.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE?! GET OUT! NOW!" we heard Mister Kincaid shout loudly, me seeing that the ones who had snuck down to the basement happened to be a combination of Pico and Rhythmi as well as Ponte and Kiki, me knowing that it had to be the initiation day, me then listening in from afar as me and Keith got our bearings and I led him out.
"What was the commotion, Mister Kincaid?" I heard Isaac say with his mouth, hearing better with my mind and antenna combo.
"Nothing much, just a couple rogue Zubat... how goes the experiment?" Kincaid asked.
"I'm afraid it'll need a bit more work before it can be used successfully. These little stones have tons of power, the problem is how to harness that power effectively," Isaac said, me gulping at that. They were interacting with shards of the Black Soulstone, that much was a fact.
"Keep up the good work, then, Isaac. You're a prodigy among your peers, and your intellect will lead to a brighter future for Almia," Kincaid said, me seeing it in his heart. He was under the influence of the Black Soulstone, specifically, he was under the control of a group of demons, them happening to be the children of Belial... yeah, the Decievers. Made sense, since he was decieving everyone in the entire school. I also knew to keep my own mind quiet, just in case the demons could hear me.
"You looked to be a bit perturbed when we were leaving the basement, Hush. Is there a reason?" Keith asked, me sighing.
"Nothing, just heard some words between Kincaid and another student, it being Isaac. They're working on some kind of secret project. A project to make a brighter future for Almia, or something... no clue as to why he'd be so nasty to the other students, though, yelling at them at that high a volume," I admitted.
"So... who did he chase out, then?"
"Two student groups that were doing some kind of initiation. Pico was there with Rhythmi and Kiki was with Ponte," I said.
"And who are Kiki and Ponte?" Keith asked.
"Ponte and Kiki are from Kincaid's class, the former wanting to be a ranger while Ponte doesn't really know what his path wants to be," I said.
"So can you read minds, then?" Keith asked, me nodding at him as we finally got to the upper floors and we then saw each other again, me seeing that his face was just as blushy as mine. "So... can you see what I'm thinking right now?" he asked, me smiling at him and seeing just one thought. Love.
"I didn't need to see much, as your face tells me everything," I smiled at him. "I hope we can remain professional during the rest of our time, but in private, we can definitely be a couple... I promise not to tell Rhythmi," I smiled at him. And just in time for the girl's dorm room to open up, which Rhythmi looked at us in surprise.
"Hey! What're you two doing up? And why the blushing faces?" Rhythmi asked, me then blushing as I came up with a lie. A lie that would benefit Keith, but not me.
"I... accidentally went into the boy's room... and saw Keith at the urinal," I said, which Rhythmi giggled at, while Keith smirked at me with even more blush.
"Oooh, scandal in the bathroom, heehee," Pico giggled, me seeing that she was actually outside the door and was also phasing through the wall.
"Pact, this never happened, okay? It was because I was trying to use my mind to go into the bathroom, but I didn't use the mind to look behind the door..." I said with a blush.
"Aww, you have to keep a keen eye for details like that, little miss Hush. Otherwise, you may end up getting into trouble," Kiki smirked at me.
"Let's uh... let's just get some shut-eye, okay?" Keith asked, me nodding as I then went to the dorm room and saw that Pico, Kiki, and Rhythmi were the only ones still awake, me then writing out a short little letter to Beth that I'd send in the school mail tomorrow morning. I did it quietly with telekinesis and it read out like this:
"Dear Beth:
You never mentioned that Leah Cain was among the group of video game characters that were sent to this world as well. I need to know if you know of any others that were warped to this world from other realities, and give me a full, comprehensive list of any and all instances. I need to know if the world is safe, or if it might have bad guys waiting in other regions just as well.
With concern, yet love, Hush."
After about 10 days of schoolwork, tests, and experience at the school, our group was then made aware that it was time for a very important day, which everyone in class shouted out loud in response to Ms April's question.
"OUTDOOR CLASS!" they all shouted, me included.
"How could I forget Outdoor Class? It's the greatest day for all the different students at the school! We can get any question answered, so long as its one per person!" Rhythmi smiled widely.
"I know I have a question for him... I need to ask whoever the ranger is if he's happened to come across ghost humans like me, not just ghost type Pokemon," Pico smiled.
"And I need to ask him something Ms April couldn't answer, both in textbooks and the teacher herself... I doubt he'd have an answer, or, if he did have it, if he'd even be allowed to answer it," I admitted with my mind, which everyone nodded at. It was a question mainly about the sightings of some different, weird-looking people and creatures that were arriving to this world from different places, all in different regions of the world. One such region happened to be Cardopolis, where the TCG of Pokemon was at, it having a different bracket for every card game listing from the start of TCG to the most recent version, as the earliest cards were much weaker than the later cards, so they had different rules and different card listings for each bracket, it currently having 9 generations, up to and including the most recent of TCG of Gen 9 cards.
But you may be wondering, which characters happened to be in this bizarre region of Pokemon? Yugioh characters. Not. KIDDING! And the reason they were all weird? Each were humanoid monsters from the Yugioh universe! And the oddest part, all of them were good monsters, not a one of them were evil, but I did have to worry if a bad monster WERE to come to this world...
"It will occur by the monument by the pier to at the bottom of the hill. We will proceed there the moment we finish our breakfast. After all, it's easier to listen and think about your questions when you have a full stomach," Leah said with a smile, me nodding at her as we then got our breakfast, me seeing that in this world, Pokemon were able to be used for food, but it had to be specific Pokemon and you had to be a specified breeder to raise Pokemon for that kind of food. Among them were Torchick Nuggets, Pignite Bacon, Taurus sausages, and even some special whipped cream sundaes that were made with consenting Alcremie, as Alcremie was able to regenerate their cream bodies after giving it to cooking purposes, so long as they were kept healthy and well-fed.
"It's still odd to me that Pokemon are able to be used for food like this, not going to lie," I admitted honestly to Rhythmi.
"It's actually outlawed in a few regions, where they opt for vegetarian options instead, growing food in the ground as opposed to to eating Pokemon. Of all the nations, the ones that are vegetarian-only are Sinnoh, Orre, and Alola," Rhythmi smirked at me. "And in order of reasons why: Sinnoh have a wide history of being partners with Pokemon and have been vegetarian the longest. Orre has had TONS of issues with illegal Pokemon experimentation, so the Rangers stepped in to set up tons of bases and issue lots of new rules to stop these misdeeds, and as such, things such as illegal Pokemon experimentation is almost impossible in that region. And as for Alola, its because it's got the most amount of Pokemon on the endangered species list, so they have lots of rules as to how you operate on those islands, such as only using specified Ride Pokemon and you can never have Pokemon battle each other without it going into the rules of the Pokemon League."
"Wow, that's deep. Like, subterranean," Pico smiled as she then simply proved she was a stronger ghost than we realized at how she was able to eat the food that was provided to us... the only downside was that we could see it inside of her half-visible body and we saw it moving around in an invisible stomach.
"Okay, that is now the most interesting thing I have seen in my entire life. Sorry, Hush, you've been dethroned," said Isaac, me smiling at the mushroom boy and smirking at him.
"No issues there, Isaac," I smiled before going into his head only. "I just hope that this project of yours does good. I'd hate to see it bomb," I thought, him blushing in surprise before I poked him and then shushed him. "Only you heard that, so keep it quiet."
"Okay, yeah," he said as we then finally finished our meals and proceeded to the ranger monument, where we happened to see the very enthusiastic man known as Crawford, my second favorite of all the side rangers in the series. Who was my first favorite? That had to be Barlow, the master of human Target Clearing.
"Well, class, meet Crawford. He's been a graduate of this ranger school since two years ago," Ms April smiled.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Crawford. This here's my partner, Budew," he smirked widely.
"Aw, he's so cute!" Kiki smiled at him.
"Okay, now for the best part of the class. The interrogation of terror! Everyone will ask their questions as called out by Crawford. Remember, only one per person," said the headmaster, Principal Lamont, me smiling as I then raised my hand first, which Crawford then immediately smiled at.
"Well, we got a lively and unique one, here. What's your question, miss?" Crawford asked, me then asking the question I wanted to know, hoping that someone could tell me.
"I don't know if you've heard of it, but there's been a lot of sightings of weird humans and creatures that have been popping up all over the place. Do you happen to know any that happen to be dangerous?" I asked, Crawford's smile turning into a frown and then nodding.
"Ah, didn't expect that question to be the first one... well, while I can't say much, there have been numerous sightings, yes, and some have been dangerous, such as a witch that had been detained by Ranger Beth in the Fiore region, or even a small warlock called Dreg that had been apprehended in Unova after he tried to use the powers of a Victini in order to create a potion to enhance his magic. We've actually started a new project to try and find these different instances, which all seem to resonate with Team Rainbow Rocket's reality portals. We're going to find all their bases, no matter what it may take," Crawford said, me nodding at that.
"Whew... that's a relief," I admitted, knowing about Gruntilda already, but not about Dreg. From that description, it sounded like the green-hooded warlock from Bubble Bobble who not only practiced potions and magic, but also made different robotic drones that he piloted. His most infamous creation in his world of origin was Madame Luna, who tricked a moon fairy called Cleon to steal the light from the universe and scatter it all over the place.
"That was quite an interesting question, but my turn!" Pico smirked. "Have you ever seen any other ghostly humans like me in this world? Or just ghost type Pokemon?" she asked.
"Well, we actually have seen ghost humans before, and more often than not, they just need some help to cover some unfinished business. I remember seeing a ghost in the forest one day, who wanted me to tell her family about what happened before she could move on... do you need to move on?" Crawford asked, Pico smiling and shaking her head.
"I'm staying put, to help the world on my own and my fellow spirits," Pico smirked.
"Isn't it odd that the ranger asked a question?" asked one of Kincaid's students.
"Hey, no one said it wasn't allowed... by the way, that's a question," Crawford said, the student then gawking.
"POOEY!" she shouted in annoyance, followed by us having a small laugh at that.
"What are the hardest Pokemon to catch, Crawford?" asked Kiki.
"If you ask me, I'd say psychic and ghost types, since they can teleport all over the place," he smiled.
"Wow, that's freaky," Kiki gawked.
"Did you ever get Ms April angry?" asked Isaac.
"Oh, yes! She used to blow up at me at least twice a day, haha!" Crawford laughed.
"No, that's not true. It was at least three times a day! But despite his misbehavior, he was still a very dedicated student to learning how to be a Ranger. It's just that he really knew how to push my buttons," Ms April said with a stern smile.
"Ooh! Can I know where the buttons are, please?" Pico asked.
"Hey! Only one question per person, Pico," Rhythmi said with a smirk.
"And trust me, you don't want to see her bad side," Ponte smirked. And then, after Keith and Rhythmi got their questions answered as to if they'd be a good ranger/operator (and both being given a yes, so long as they studied hard and kept their dreams alive), Crawford's Styler rung, him then being surprised.
"Uh-oh, what's this? This is Crawford, what's going on, Barlow?" Crawford asked into his Styler.
"Crawford, we have an emergency! There's a mantine that was hit by a large ship! We need you to go out with Luana and rescue the Mantine. She's coming in on a ship to the school to pick you up," said the gruff voice of Barlow, which Crawford gawked at.
"Understood, I'm heading out immediately!" Crawford said. "I apologize, Principal Lamont, but I'll need to cut Outdoor Class short today."
"I completely understand. Isn't that the boat?" Lamont asked, which we all looked at the harbor and gawked.
"Wow! That was fast!" Keith gawked.
"I'll see you at a later date, everyone! Crawford signing off!" the joking ranger smiled as he jumped onto the ship and they sailed away into the distance, which the rest of us looked at in surprise.
"Wow, look how tiny the ship is now... I really hope that Mantine is okay," Leah said with surprise.
"We'll probably get an update from Crawford in the next few days about its condition, so we should just head back to normal activites for the day. But considering that we were cut short of Outdoor Class, I say we should have some recess until lunchtime," Ms April said, all of our group cheering at that, including Kincaid's class. Our group of myself, Keith, Rhythmi, Pico, and Kiki stayed behind, however, as Kiki and I had been talking for a while since the incident involving the initiation, which resulted in Kincaid blocking off almost all access to the basement, only allowing himself down there, meaning he also had to resort to fetching the cleaning supplies for Ms Janice as well.
"Hey, I know that this was quite the amazing day, but now I've got even more questions! I just have to hope that I can get them answered when I become a Ranger," Pico smiled.
"I have questions as well, and I hope I can assist in taking out those interdimensional teleporters... and Team Rainbow Rocket? I didn't think they were real," Keith admitted.
"Hey, I have an idea. Let's all make a pact right here at this mural. We'll promise each other to be a great group of heroes, who will work together, even if we come from far away, in order to help humans AND Pokemon," Rhythmi smiled.
"I pledge to that, for sure!" Pico smiled.
"Same for me," I spoke with my mouth for a change.
"Ah, so you CAN speak with your mouth!" Kiki smirked at me.
"Only if I feel I need to speak with it," I smiled with my mind again.
"And back to mind games again. I pledge to this, too. And you, Kiki?" Keith smirked.
"You bet! I just need to keep learning and maybe I can become a good Mechanic, as I learned that would be my greatest type of work in the Ranger Union," Kiki smirked, me nodding as we then placed our hands in the center and, afterwards, we nodded at each other in agreement. We then proceeded to go back to the school and enjoyed having some recreational time until it came time for lunch.