A loud bell rang through the Academy, waking everybody up. Alex, still half asleep, rolled out of bed onto the bare rock floor.
"Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" Caleb rushed to Alex's side. Alex pulled himself up by the side of his bed. The other two apprentices stretched and got up on their own.
"That bell is rather startling," Fomantis said. "And looking out the window, it looks to be barely sunrise. I suppose breakfast will be served soon, then our classes will begin."
While Caleb and the rest of the apprentices wandered downstairs with barely a yawn, Alex struggled to keep his eyes open. Still, he had already fallen today, he didn't need to tumble down the stairs. Caleb's protection was comforting, but it felt like it drew more attention to him when he fussed over Alex.
While everyone was eating, Mentor Darmanitan came up to the new apprentices. Alex and Caleb sat in a corner as the other recruits in his group spread out and met the other apprentices at the Academy. Darmanitan weaved around the hundred or so Pokemon eating, waiting for food, or taking their dishes back to the kitchen. He met with Caleb and Alex last.
"Kids, I got your schedule set up. This morning, you've got battling, Pokemon study, and literacy. After lunch, you'll head to your apprenticeships until late afternoon, and come back for dinner. Tomorrow, you've got two sets of classes on alternating days, and one day off every six days. Your afternoons are the same no matter the morning classes, though. Remember your classrooms; just like the dorms, each classroom has a picture of a Pokemon on it, to tell them apart. You start today in the gyms, down on the blue floor. Any questions?"
After Alex and Caleb nodded in understanding, they quickly finished breakfast and wove through the hallways to find their first class.
The first class of the day was battling. A Manectric organized the students into practicing their moves against targets, sometimes strong attacks, sometimes rapid combos. Caleb and other Pokemon who battled physically attacked pillars of stone, imbuing their strikes with elemental powers if they knew them. Unexpectedly, the class wasn't limited to the group that was accepted yesterday. About twenty Pokemon were in the gym, practicing in pairs as Manectric circled between them, giving pointers and suggestions.
Alex was paired with a Flaaffy as they alternated attacking their target. Alex tried to aim his Hidden Power attack to hit the target only a few steps away, with limited success. When he had battled Sergeant Graveller yesterday, his attack had fired off in every direction when released. Today, his Flaaffy partner backed several steps away every time Alex closed his eyes to concentrate.
"Dude! You're going to burn off my fur if you can't aim your attack!" he said.
"I'm sorry. I don't know how to make it go in only one direction," Alex apologized.
"What are you talking about? Didn't your parents teach you your moves?" Apparently, news of Alex's humanity hadn't spread beyond the Pidgey cohort yet.
"Um… Not really. I barely knew how to do this yesterday, after Psychic Musharna showed me," Alex said.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were that young. You look like you've been adventuring or something for a while, 'cuz of the scars, but I guess you wouldn't be here if you could already handle yourself. Hey, tell me what goes through your mind when you do an attack. Maybe I can help you aim it," Flaaffy said.
"I have to concentrate on the energy inside me, and once I find it, I… pull a piece off, if that makes sense, and throw it out. Except it hurts if I do too much at once, and it causes a lot of damage. I accidentally blew up the office after Psychic Musharna taught me how to do the attack."
"I noticed. I see the rock chips in the ground when you miss. That's why I've been backing up every time it's your turn. You're so focused on doing the attack that you're forgetting to aim it. Next time, try to push that energy in the direction you want the attack to go, instead of just tossing it anywhere. It's like with my electricity," Flaaffy said. "I can just charge up my fur and hope it zaps the right target. Or I can push it where it needs to go, and it hits the mark every time. So try that. Throw that hidden power of yours towards the target after you get a hold of it."
Alex closed his eyes and found that swirl of gray-purple energy that was quickly becoming familiar to him and willed it toward the target they had been aiming at. When he opened his eyes, Alex saw a wisp of smoke on the ground near the target pillar they had been working on.
"That's it! Now it's my turn!" Flaaffy shot a spark of electricity at the pillar.
"I'm good at hitting the target, but I'm afraid of using too much power and shocking a teammate. So we're kinda opposites. You can barely aim, but you blow up everything around you, while I can hit the target every time, but it would barely sting an enemy."
The pair practiced together for the next hour, and Alex eventually honed his accuracy into a cone, even if it wasn't hitting the target every time. Flaaffy progressed from sparks to channeling small shocks to the target.
The next class was simply learning about the different kinds of Pokemon, their types, weaknesses, and techniques. The class started off with the teacher, a Talonflame, having each student introduce themselves and talk about their abilities, with Talonflame adding comments she felt were important to know. A Geodude spent over five minutes talking about his abilities and how they compared to rare versions of his species with magnetic powers, but Alex barely knew what an Abra could do. Talonflame had to fill in the gaps, lecturing on how Abra could eat and teleport without even waking up.
I need to learn to do that. Alex thought to himself. I don't know how everyone looks so awake right now.
But once the class was done introducing themselves and Talonflame began to drone on about Charmander's natural habitat, he saw more eyes than his drooping in boredom.
"How am I supposed to hold this?" Murkrow asked, looking at a stick of chalk next to a flat, gray slate. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't have hands."
"Hold it in your beak then. Everyone needs to learn to footprint runes, and the best way to remember them is to drill writing them," the teacher, a Nidorina, said. "Alternatively, you may ink a talon or scratch directly onto the stone. Very few Pokemon are truly incapable of writing, and it's a skill that is supremely useful in the civilized lands. Writing and reading are interconnected, and it's folly to assume you can take missions when you can't read the request. Now begin!"
"Fine," he complained, as he took the chalk in his beak and began the writing drill.
Lunch was spent talking about the morning classes, and excitement for the afternoon.
"Did anyone hear how we're supposed to find our apprenticeships? I'm pretty sure that they're all in the town, but Mentor Darmanitan never said where they are," Caleb asked.
"I suppose mine is taking place in the Academy's infirmary on the orange floor, correct?" Fomantis said.
"I think so. There's not a lot of room on the other floors for an infirmary, but you'd think it would be closer to ground level so that if there's an emergency, you can bring Pokemon in and out easier," Girafarig said.
A Ledian tapped Alex on the shoulder. "Excuse me, are you Alex, from the Pidgey cohort?"
"Um, yeah, I'm Alex. Do you need something?" Alex said.
"Good. I'm Apprentice Ledian from the Tropius cohort. Mentor Darmanitan told me to find you and bring you with me to Zweilous and Altaria's business, Drake's Magic Emporium. I have the same apprenticeship, so we're going to the same place," she said.
"Wait, you get to work with dragons? That's awesome!" Caleb said. "Maybe if I follow you, I'll find the carpentry shop on the way."
"Actually, The Drake's Emporium is in the opposite direction from Exploud's workshop," a Timburr next to Caleb said. "I'll take you there after lunch. Oh, and Girafarig, I can show you the farms on the way."
The front of The Drake's Emporium was filled with wands and orbs of many different colors. Scarves and charms lined the shelves, each with elegant writing underneath describing their uses. Ledian buzzed to the desk, where a Zweilous was inspecting a tray of orbs, each head independently sorting them into buckets. Alex looked, but couldn't see any difference in the orbs, in color, pattern or otherwise. Once the two heads had finished the tray, Ledian spoke up.
"Craftsmon Zweilous, we brought the new apprentice with us. Shall I take him to the workshop?"
Zweilous tilted one head to face Ledian. "Yes. But let us smell them first, to know what manner of Pokemon they are." Her voice was raspy, imposing, like Alex was only slightly more interesting to her than the orbs she inspected.
"Um, I'm an Abra, if that helps," Alex said uncertainly.
The other head snapped. "We know you're an Abra, one named Alex that claims humanity. But that does not tell us what you are. Do you have the potential for true enchantment, or will you be yet another underling who can only etch the simplest charms and limits themselves to charging light crystals?"
The first head faced the second. "Now look! You've scared him. Now his soul is tainted with fear, we can't get a good reading off that!"
"You're the one arguing in front of him! Look at the example you're setting!"
"At least I don't put burnt out orbs in the 'to sell' pile!"
A new, melodic voice entered the room. "Zwei, Lous, be still." An Altaria gilded around into the door behind the counter. The two heads ceased their argument and turned towards the Altaria.
"I am Enchanter Altaria. Abra, are you here as the new apprentice?" she asked.
"Y-Yes. Mentor Darmanitan said I should be here until late afternoon," Alex said.
"Of course. Follow me, and I will show you your workspace. Ledian, you should continue with yesterday's work," Altaria said.
"As you wish, Altaria," Ledian said, buzzing deep into the workshop.
Altaria spoke as she led Alex into the back workshop, passing rows of tables strewn with tools and items. "Enchanting is a subtle craft, art and science mixed together to create helpful effects. We can create all manner of orbs, which are useful devices to do things as mundane as provide light or as dramatic as change the weather. To do this, there are two necessary components. First is the path, a set of shapes, runes, and symbols that provide an object with directions. Then is the energy, where a Pokemon imbues the item with power to follow those instructions. Any Pokemon capable of holding a tool can write the base instructions, but the power is more difficult. In order to energize a charm or enchantment, the Pokemon must be able to perform that skill naturally. For example, as a bird, I can imbue the power of levitation into an object, but I could not give one the ability to burrow in the earth. Of course, we work with more than just orbs, as you saw up front. Wands, equipment to enhance one's ability in battle, items to start fires, explore, and so on. But orbs are simple to understand and create, so that is what you will do today."
"Are you going to have me do engraving or charging items?" Alex asked. Both sounded hard. His handwriting wasn't much better than Murkrow's, even by the end of class with dozens of writing drills. And all the exercise this morning hadn't helped him feel less tired, either.
"That depends. What techniques do you know, or other special abilities? As an Abra, you can certainly teleport, but is there anything else?" Altaria asked.
"I can use Hidden Power, too, but I don't know how to do anything else."
"Hmm. Putting actual offensive moves into an item is possible, but challenging and rarely worth it. But Teleport is easily used to power Escape Orbs, and those are fairly simple to engrave as well." Altaria glided above rows of desks and tables narrowly paced with Pokemon and supplies, while Alex had to squeeze around the other craftsman, hard at work on different projects. " "Here is your workstation. I will bring you the tools you will need to engrave orbs, as well as an example to copy." Altaria left, leaving Alex at a simple table, larger than the desks used in the writing class, with a chair to sit on. A clear piece of glass or crystal sat on the table, and when Alex looked through it, he found that it made things appear larger.
Alex saw Ledian at the station on his right, embroidering a pattern into a cape while occasionally bending over to look at it more closely. On his left, a Kricketune used his forelegs to etch directly on a crystal orb without any tools. Around Alex, dozens of Pokemon worked, sitting or crouching at workbenches, each focused on a separate project.
Alex saw Altaria gliding over the desks, carrying a bucket filled with a cloth wrap and two orbs. She placed the bucket on his workbench and started pulling things out with her beak.
"Here are your tools. You are responsible for them; if they are or damaged, you have to pay for replacements. However, if you work for us for a full year, they will be yours to keep," she said. She unrolled a long strip of thick cloth, showing chisels, picks, and hammers inside of different shapes and sizes, organized in the roll.
"Here is a sample Escape Orb. Copy the shapes and lines onto this blank orb. Use the magnifier to be certain you can see the details needed," Altaria said. She pulled two orbs out of the bucket, one blue and covered in engravings, while another orb of similar size that was cloudy black and completely blank.
Alex looked at the other workers, trying to find someone else that engraving orbs. How was he supposed to hold the smooth stone while also carving? His nails couldn't scratch the surface like the Kricketune next to him.
A Semipour behind him pushed through the narrow walkways between stations. "Watch your tail!" he growled.
Alex curled his tail around himself, scrunching himself in the chair that was slightly too tall and wide for him. Alex spotted an object, somewhat like a bowl, but with a wide base. The orbs fit into it perfectly. Placing the unfinished orb into the stand, Alex studied the example escape orb. Lines and shapes circled along one axis, but he couldn't see how that was supposed to be able to teleport someone. But it did look simpler than the Kickeune's orb, since that one seemed covered in etchings and shapes.
Alex looked at his tools, chose one that seemed like it would work, and began scratching at the orb.
It was challenging work. The tool had a tendency to slip off the round, smooth surface and nick the hand he was using to steady the orb. And while the example orb had neat, flowing lines and runes that kept an even depth, Alex's clumsy scratches left deep, uneven gouges. Eventually, he had copied the runes and shapes onto the new orb. In that time, Kricketune had finished the more complex orb and looked to be working on a second one. He hadn't said anything, or even looked in Alex's direction as they had worked. Leidan was sewing, using his four hands to work with two needles simultaneously.
Working up his courage, Alex asked Ledian, "Um, am I supposed to give this back to the Enchanter Altaria, or are they coming back?"
"Huh?" Ledian said, looking away from his work. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Did you say something?"
"I, um, finished the orb Altaria gave me. Do I have to enchant this now, or do I get to leave?" Alex asked.
"Oh. Did they not tell you? I guess you can let me see the orb. I didn't make a lot before switching to cloth, but I know the basic runes and stuff for them." Ledian said.
Before Alex could hand it over, the Zweilous appeared behind him. Alex heard a long, deep sniff before the heads started talking.
"Yes, I smell uncertainty, yet power in him. He will do nicely here," one said.
"His control is lacking. He will have to be precise in his sigils, or his talismans will leak energy," the other countered
Alex jumped at their sudden intrusion. They continued to talk to each other, ignoring Alex. Ledian saved him.
"Hey, you want to check his work? He just got done with his practice orb," he said
"Of course, of course. Show us his first attempt," the head on the left said.
"Hmm, too rough with the tools. Deep, short scratches. Good proportions, no sudden stretching in one section like one who realized most of the way through a carving he still had half a stone to cover!" The heads cackled together at some private memory. After a minute of mysteriously inspecting the orb, they turned their attention back at Alex.
"So, this orb is junk. If we charged it, most of the energy will leak out in a half day, and what's left might stick your head on backward. But we never expect apprentices' first try to succeed anyway. Here are your mistakes." Zwielous nudged a wide line. "Here. You used the same small chisel for the entire orb, didn't you? For this line, you must use a medium one, to make a smooth, flat bottom. And here, you rotated this rune backwards. Last, you must use the hammer. The hammer makes the force even, with even, fluid lines.. Secure the orb in its holder before you try to carve. Now, two more attempts, then you may return to the Academy. Blank orbs are found on the north wall, so continue your work. Oh, and Ledian, your top row needs to be fixed, the stitches are off." Zweilous wandered off.
"How could she tell that your project needed to be fixed? Can she even see it?" Alex asked.
"Nobody knows. Zweilous are supposedly blind, but she can feel the energy flow, or something. She's the best in the business, though. Things she crafts never break, and never lose power. Altaria managed to convince her to teach others how to make items, and here we are."
Alex worked in silence on his next two orbs. He tried different ways of holding the tools and positioning the orb, and his final attempt was noticeably smoother and cleaner than his first. Still, Zweilous dismissed the orbs as "better, but still unacceptable as merchandise."
Wringing his sore hands, Alex made his way back to the Academy. Ledian stayed, saying that he wanted to stitch a few more rows. Alex found Caleb waiting for him on the road leading into the Academy.
"What kind of stuff did you make? Did you learn how to make those scarves that make you stronger?" Caleb asked.
"Uh, I didn't do that. There was someone else making a cape or something next to me, but Zweilous had me carving Escape Orbs, but she said none of mine were good enough."
"Hey, you'll get it! All they had me do was move lumbar around. 'Take this to the saw! Put that in the cut pile!'" Caleb sighed. "Exploud just yelled at everyone and barely helped. And his yelling really is INSANELY loud. I think my ears are still ringing," he said, rubbing the sides of his head.
A voice spoke in Alex's head as he was eating. He concentrated on it, trying to block out the sounds of everyone comparing the day's work.
"Alex Abra, I am Psychic Gothetelle. I will be your psychic training tutor. When you are finished eating, I will be expecting you in the Toucannon room on the yellow floor."
Alex focused his thoughts, trying to send a message back. "Um, which one is the Toucannon room? I don't know what that looks like," he tried to project.
An image flashed into his mind of a bird with a large beak, with an echo of annoyance. Alex hurriedly finished his food, promising to meet back with Caleb back in the dorms.
The door was open when Alex found the Toucannon room. Psychic Gothitelle stood over twice as tall as Alex, looking at him sternly.
"There you are. Come in, we have very little time for what needs to be done. I have two hours a day for a month to train you to the level of a yearling wild. I hope you understand the math of how impossible that is. So, have you performed any psychic abilities beyond Hidden Power and Teleport? Have you sensed the minds of others, or used psychic energy to lift or hold something?" he asked. Alex sat down, craning his neck farther to look into the eyes of the giant in front of him.
"Um, I don't think so. Is that what you're going to teach me?" Alex replied.
"It's one of dozens of things you need to learn; how to levitate, rules of using psychic powers, and, possibly most important for you, is control. Normally, a first use of Hidden Power or new moves in general barely singe paper. But you destroyed a solid wood desk. If Sergeant Graveler is to be believed, you have the power of a Kadabra, while looking like an Abra that's barely old enough to leave home. Before we get started, do you have any questions?" he asked.
"Um, what kinds of powers are you going to teach me? Psychic Musharna did something to read my memories. Is that something you can do too?" Alex asked.
"Memory and mind manipulation is one a skill that I have. It is a very common misconception that all psychics must be capable of performing any ability with the word 'psychic' attached to it. This is not accurate. Though Charizard is a Pokemon of fire, they are capable of only a limited number of fire techniques. They cannot emulate the lava of volcanoes, any more than a Rapidash can bite with fangs of fire. It is the same with psychics. Some may exert great power in battle, some work in dreams and memory, and a rare few can see into possible futures. But before you try to uncover your classmate's embarrassing secrets, we must start with what is most natural to Abra.
"Now, the books that I have found on Abra mention that the second basic ability that Abra develop in the wild is levitation, or at least partial psychic support of their bodies. Physically, Abra are weak and delicate, and this does not significantly improve with evolution. Apparently, Pokemon of your evolutionary line use your psychic powers to support your bodies. Close your eyes, feel your body, and lift…"
Two hours later, Alex had found relief for his aching legs; he wasn't supposed to be walking on pure determination and muscle power. While he couldn't fully lift himself into the air for more than a few seconds, the strain on his body was relieved by a slight focus in his mind, like he had found a new, stronger muscle to flex. Two days ago, Alex tripped over his toes. This lifting force felt right, as he continued to learn how his body worked. And so, Alex went to bed, finally feeling a little more confident in the world, and in himself.