Week One Lesson: Respect

Day One Morning

After the first day was completed Zoelle returned to her new home. A small apartment near the edge of the city so it was pretty affordable. She really couldn't let out all her Pokémon otherwise it would be an extremely tight fit and a violation of her lease. So she decided to let out Regal and Rogue, a Persian and Jolteon. They could freely walk around without any trouble.

Regal stretched finally being released from the ball. Usually he would just pop out but his trainer made it extremely clear not to do that. For some reason she was tricked into watching human brats that would take all her attention away from him. Why did she agree to battle when the team was already worn down for the day. If Regal had his sixteen hour nap like usual he would have dominated his opponent. That's neither here nor there. Regal looked around the new surroundings. He believe that Zoelle said that this was there new home. It was plain and ugly not suited at all for his exquisite taste. However there was no need to go on patrol to make sure the area was safe to sleep. It would do for now.

Rouge on the other hand did not care one way or the other. He jumped to the nearest window to look outside. There was nothing much to look at. Just other houses and to occasional Rattata going through the garbage. That use to be him as a young Eevee before he met Zoelle. He did not trust humans. Did not liked to be touched by their hands at all. Heck Rouge use to be the terror of Viridian City. Constantly stealing food, ordering other Pokémon to due his bidding, until he was badly injured by a Mankey. Zoelle took him to the Pokémon Center not cause she really cared what happened to him. No, it was because he stole her last sandwich and wanted him to pay for it. The only way for that to happen was for him to be on her team and do ridiculous things to get money. Along the way they grew as confidants. Rouge even let Zoelle pet him without biting from time to time. That was one of things he loved about his trainer. She never forced their relationship and respected his space.

Zoelle looked over at her friends and smiled. Regal came up to her and rubbed his head against her legs before he went to go explore the rest of the apartment. Rogue on the other hand laid down by the window. She could tell that he was thinking about his time as the rouge Pokémon that even the police had trouble with. She sighed as sat down on the sofa. As a teacher now, Zoelle had to think of lessons for her students. Not just for one day but for the weeks ahead.

The director said it was okay for her to use her personal team to help in her lessons but she wasn't so sure about it. The Kanto team made more sense to her since the kids would recognize them more easily. However this team is quite difficult to be with. Ironic that her first team was the most difficult.

Each of the Pokémon had very strong personalities that reflected in their names. Rebel, Rogue, Regal, Ravage, Romeo, and Rosco. Romeo the Hitmonchan was her least problematic even though any female mon he found attractive turned flirty. Rosco, her Dewgong, was a prankster and Ravage, a Scyther, well he's a Scyther with a large appetite.

Another sigh left her lips. What would she do? Wait! That's it! Since her Pokémon were so strong willed this could be a perfect lesson. She could teach the kids to respect their future partners individual personalities like the would a person. Not only that but respect other trainers and wild Pokémon.

"Alright guys I got it!" Zoelle exclaimed. Her four legged companions looked at her with a bored expression on their face. Like they honestly could care less for what she had planned. "You guys are going to be a big part of the lesson tomorrow. How does that sound?"

Regal yawned and fell asleep on the floor. Rogue scoffed at the idea. Little humans touching him was not appealing. Yes he has gotten better at not biting people or shocking them. Still human cubs were there worse. Always tugging, pulling, and poking. Yuck.

"Well guys tomorrow's a big day let's get some sleep."

Zoelle walked into the classroom early with confidence. She is actually excited about teaching small children. The things she could passed on what she learned on her journeys was exciting. In retrospect she never planned on becoming a trainer much less a teacher. It just happened. Since she did gyms and contest she felt like she had an extra edge. She even dabbled in breeding for a short period. In all honesty each field coincided with each other so the kids should learn all three.

Looking at the clock it was only six-forty five. School started around seven-thirty. That was plenty of time to get the classroom set up for the kids. Zoelle wiped down their small desks. It was so cute on how tiny they were. Then she made her way to the bookcase to straighten out the books. Not only does she have to teach them Pokémon stuff but regular school subjects as well.

"I guess I could check to see what everyone's reading level is," Zoelle said to herself. "And math at this level isn't so complicated so that should be easy. Oh gosh! I'm not really familiar with Kantonian history. Writing shouldn't be to bad. I can't really draw so art is out of the question. I can sing but playing instruments is another story. Wait a minute...I'm really not even qualified to teach!"

The sudden realization just hit her. Zoelle literally lost a battle and became a teacher. No one in their right mind would agree to such ridiculousness. Why did she agree to such a terrible idea? Oh yeah, housing and money. With that in mind Zoelle sighed. If she won a League or Grand Festival , money would not be a problem. Sure every once in a while someone would ask if she breed her male Pokémon for quick cash. Still barley enough to cover her expenses. Food, toiletries, medicine, and gear quickly added up.

Knocking out her thoughts there was a knocking at her door. It was the director, Mr. Oda., a professionally dressed older man with a clean shaved and a salt/ pepper hair tied into a low ponytail. That jerk! How could his team still be so powerful after all these years. It was a set up. Zoelle was sure of it.

"Aww Ms. Morris or should I say Ms. Zo, are you ready for your second day of teaching?" He asked cheeky.

"Not at all. I'm not qualified and you can't hire people just because you beat them in a battle!" Zoelle yelled pointing at him.

"Did I do that?" Mr. Oda laughed rubbing his chin. "You have the smallest class, I gave you a home, and I'm paying you. Besides I only challenged you because Professor Oak said you had great experience from your journeys . Plus it was extremely fun. And I owe at least this much to you."

Zoelle was stunned at what she heard. Why would Mr. Oda owe her? She only met him last week. Mr. Oda smiled once again before leaving the room. Before she could think of anything else she could hear children outside. She checked the clock again. It was seven on the dot. Soon the kids would be piling in.

Clearing her head Zoelle went over to her desk and laid out her schedule. The first thing was that the kids had fifteen minutes to get themselves settled in the class room. From there the kids would write in a journal about the previous day. Around eight o'clock Zoelle would start with reading and literature subject for about thirty minutes. Take a ten minute break before the math lesson which should also be thirty minutes. At nine the kids will have a small snack break to hold them over until lunch at noon. Even then they only had twenty minutes to eat. She had no idea why their lunch was so late. Unfortunately that was the time she was given Maybe she should move snack time. From nine-thirty to ten-fifteen would be writing. A twenty minute break there and from there history. She figured she could mix the training lessons in with science. Recess after lunch and then a twenty minute rest period or nap time after that. Still school ended at three-thirty five. Zoelle wondered if she even timed her lessons right. Well this her first time so she would figure it out along the way.

The door open and the first kid showed up. It was Nora with her mother. The mom looked at Zoelle with disgust. That was okay she was used to that. It still hurt though. She was a gaudy dressed woman with bright pink hair. If it wasn't for Nora having a copy and paste of the woman's face you wouldn't think it was her mom. The sneaky girl had jet black hair in pigtails that she must have inherited from her father. The mom gave her daughter a goodbye kiss before scowling at Zoelle once more.

At least she was kind enough not to say anything rude in front of her child. The next kid to show up was Jackson but without a parent. He quietly greeted his teacher then made his way to put his backpack in his cubby. Zoelle was a little worried for some reason but tried not to think much of it. Soon the other kids came in. Some with their parents some without. No big deal. At least most of the parents didn't scowl at her.

Once the morning bell rang Zoelle smiled. It was her time to shine.

"Good morning kids!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Today we're going to have a special guest to help with our lesson for the week. " With that being said the students went wide eyed with anticipation. Who could it be? Champion Lance? Professor Oak? The Gym Leader? Zoelle giggled. "Come on out, Rouge!"

With a bright flashing light, a Jolteon appeared in the classroom. The only thing was that it wasn't smiling and had a protruding fang outside of its mouth. The kids stared in awe but wasn't really impressed with it.

"Why is it's tooth out like that?" Sammy asked.

"It's just one of his unique physical feature. He had it since he was an Eevee. Which brings up this week's lesson. Respect. Now you know how everyone in the world looks different? Well even Pokemon of the same species might have a unique physical trait that is different than what you might not normally see. Not only that like everyone in the world they have different personalities too. For instance, my friend Rogue here doesn't like being touch unless it's for medical or personal reasons. If you touch him with without consent he will bite or shock you. Do you understand?'

The kids looked confused. Why would the pokemon not like getting touched and why would he bite you?

Jace raised his hand. "What does consent mean?"

"It means permission. For example if you asked you mom for a cookie and she says yes, you have her approval to do so. Rogue does not like being touched without permission. He will warn you with a growl or sparks before he attacks. "

"My brother has a jolteon and he loves to be petted." Aoki butted in.

Zoelle looked over at the purple haired girl. "That's your brother's jolteon. It's probably more affectionate than mine but that's okay. Like I said earlier. Similar to how people are different so are pokemon. Now since today is our first official day I would like for us to start writing in our journals in the mornings. But we're not going to today since there's nothing to write about on your own yet so everyone turn to the bored and copy what I write. "

All of the kids except Jackson took out their notebooks and pencils. Zoelle noticed but she didn't say anything yet. Once she finished she with the board she walked over to him. She instructed the kids to continue their work.

"Jackson is everything okay?" Zoelle questioned concerned.

"My mom wasn't able to get all of my stuff." Jackson responded sadly. "I don't really have a lot of stuff at home either. But Mommy said she wanted me to go to school. She said she would get the rest of my things when she got paid today after school."

Zoelle was at a loss for words. She didn't think she would have to face this problem so early on. She held back her tears and smiled. Zoelle had spare notebooks and pencils so she gave them to Jackson. He gave her a small smile and began his work.

Rogue looked over at his trainer then at the boy. He knew from the look of Zoelle's face that something was wrong. He didn't care about the child per se but even he felt sympathy. Guess that what he gets from being around Zo so long. Against his nature he went up to the boy and barked. Not aggressively but not friendly either. Jackson was unsure what the electric fox was doing. Rogue lowered his head and barked again.

The gestured stunned Zoelle. Rogue disliked being touch especially by children. Yet here he was letting a kid pet him though Jackson doesn't know what's going on. She really need to try to make the electric fox work on his kindness better.

"He is giving you permission to pet him." She explained. "Scratch behind his ear, he likes that.." Jackson nodded and did as he was told. Surprisingly Rogue gave off a smirk. Not a full smile because that would probably hurt his muscles to do so. After a few seconds he went back to sit next to the desk. Zoelle gave him a cheeky grinned. "Is someone being nice?" She joked. With slight irritation Rogue gave her a light shock.

"Thank you Rogue for letting me pet you," Jackson said. Rogue gave turned around with a scoff but was smirking at the same time. Maybe being around the human cubs won't be so bad.