Chapter 39

Back in the Paldea Region, we find ourselves rejuvenated after completing the Kitakami journey. With that adventure behind us, it's time to resume our regular routine – attending classes, preparing for four more challenging Gym battles, facing two more formidable Titans, infiltrating three additional Team Star Bases, and striving to earn two more Contest ribbons.

Serena and I proudly display our accomplishments: the Gym badges from Cortondo, Artazon, Levincia, and Casscafara, the Titan badges earned by defeating Stony Cliff, Open Sky, and Luring Steel Titans, and the Star badges we acquired after defeating Giacomo and Mela. Additionally, I proudly showcase the three Contest ribbons I obtained at Artazon, Zapapico, and Porto Marina. Our journey continues with new challenges and exciting adventures on the horizon.

As we return to our regular classes, our classmates are utterly captivated by the presence of our new friend, Ogerpon. They have heard tales of the legendary Ogre and the Loyal Three but seeing an Ogre in person is an entirely new experience for them. The classroom buzzes with excitement and curiosity, and even Professor Jacq expresses a keen interest in learning more about this remarkable Pokémon.

To our surprise, this week happens to be the day when our parents and friends come to visit the school. Serena's parents, as well as mine, are among the visitors. However, upon meeting them, we quickly notice that Kabu, Serena's father, is conspicuously absent.

"Mom? Where is Dad?" Serena inquires, her expression filled with concern. Her mother sighs and turns around, drawing our attention to a surprising sight. We see Kabu in conversation with... Mela? The unexpected encounter leaves us wondering if Kabu had some prior connection with Mela that we were unaware of.

"Dad!" Serena and I decide to seek him out, which causes Mela to step back slightly, a hint of unease in her demeanor. "You..."

"Ash and Serena, hello again," Kabu greets us, his tone casual. Serena, intrigued by the situation, asks, "So Dad... you know Mela?"

"Mela?" Kabu appears puzzled. "Did you change your name as well, Mellie?"

Mela turns away a bit, and Serena gasps in realization, "Wait... you are Mellie? But..." The revelation takes us by surprise, as we had no idea that Mellie, Serena's cousin from her father's side, was disguised in such a different outfit and hairstyle, not to mention using a different name. The shocking truth leaves us both astonished.

"I dropped that name a long time ago; it only brings back painful memories," Mela responds defensively. "Now that you know, what do you want?"

Kabu is visibly concerned as he questions her, "Mela, we've been worried about you ever since you lost contact with us all those months ago. And we also heard that you didn't even go to school and joined some sort of Team Star. What have you been thinking?"

"I don't need to answer you; what I am doing is my business and mine only." With that, she abruptly storms off, leaving us bewildered by the encounter.

As my parents and friends arrive, my mom inquires, "So what's wrong with Mellie?" Serena and I proceed to explain the entire situation regarding Team Star and recount the conversation Mela had with Director Clavell on the day we raided the Team Star Fire Base.

My Dad remarks, "So you still don't know everything about Team Star?"

"Yeah... we were just thinking about going to the third base; first is Giacomo, and then Mela... I wonder if the other three are also our friends as well," I ponder aloud, a sense of determination growing within me to uncover the truth about Team Star and its members.

"Well, we can deal with Mellie later," my Dad sighs, putting our family matters on hold for now. "I also want to talk to you about the Loyal Three, if you don't mind."

We return to our dorm room, and our parents decide to return the Poke Balls containing the Loyal Three. Ogerpon remains cautious about them, but with the assistance of Pikachu, Sylveon, and Zoroark, we manage to ease her apprehension.

"You see... those three Pokémon were affected by an aura that fueled their greedy desires. We've been trying to trace the source of this aura, but right now, we have no idea," my Dad explains.

Serena inquires, "Was it from Dark Phases or something pure evil like Giovanni?"

"We're not sure," my Mom responds, "but right now, you don't need to worry about using them. The Loyal Three will respect you, considering that you defeated them fairly."

We nod, reassured by our parents' words, and our focus shifts to the mysteries surrounding the Loyal Three and their tainted auras. After our parents leave to have a conversation with Director Clavell regarding certain matters, we continue to share our travel stories with our friends, Drandon, Lucine, and Nemona, who are all eager to hear about our adventures with the Kitakami.

"Carmine and Kieran really sound like interesting siblings," Drandon comments with a hint of amusement.

Curious, Serena asks, "Since you two are from the Unova Region, why didn't you go to Blueberry Academy but come here instead?"

Lucine explains confidently, "It's quite simple. We chose this school because of the famous 'treasure hunt.' Blueberry Academy is known for its focus on battling, and we were more interested in the exploration and treasure aspect, so we decided to enroll here."

"I see." We then decide to make our way to class, which happens to be Professor Jacq's Biology class. This is the first class following the midterm exam.

Professor Jacq begins the class with enthusiasm, "Hello, hello! I hope everyone's ready to learn some new things today! You all did really well on the midterm exam! Thanks for your responses to my little question at the end; I'll be sure to keep your input in mind."

With that introduction, he delves into the subject matter, saying, "Alright! We're now heading into the latter half of our classes together. It's time for our knowledge to evolve and grow—just like our Pokémon! Evolution...yes. Haha! Evolution! Today, we're going to explore the fascinating phenomenon of Pokémon Evolution!"

While the topic excites most of the class, it's evident that Pikachu isn't particularly fond of the concept, and who can blame him? Nevertheless, Professor Jacq continues, "As your Pokémon battle and level up, they learn moves and get stronger. And for some Pokémon, once they've leveled up enough... their appearance changes, and their stats increase—sometimes by a lot! That's Pokémon Evolution!"

He elaborates further, "Pokémon become very strong when they evolve, making them trusty partners in battle. But! Some people prefer to keep their Pokémon in their adorable pre-evolved states. To do this, you just need to remember a certain button when your Pokémon begins to evolve."

Turning to the class with a friendly smile, he prompts, "Say it with me if you already know! To cancel Evolution, press the..."

In unison, we all exclaim, "B Button!" in the Rotom Phone. Professor Jacq acknowledges our response with a smile, "That's right, everyone! 'B' for 'best answer!' The button you want when you need to stop a Pokémon from evolving is the B Button! If you press this button soon after a Pokémon begins to evolve, you can stop it from changing. You can also let the Pokémon hold an item known as an Everstone to prevent evolution."

I recall instances from our earlier adventures when Yellow refused to let her Pokémon evolve. Professor Jacq continues his lesson, "Keep in mind that the requirements for Evolution differ from Pokémon to Pokémon. Some may evolve by having a specific item, such as a Fire Stone or Thunder Stone, used on them. Others may need to learn a particular move or defeat a specific Pokémon in battle to evolve. The method by which Primeape evolves into Annihilape is particularly peculiar. There's a certain move that—"

Just as he's about to reveal more about Primeape's evolution, the school bell rings, much to my dismay, as I was eager to learn the specifics. Professor Jacq apologizes, "Whoops. Sorry, looks like we're out of time! I guess we'll have to end the class there today. Thank you all for your attention!"

After class, we approach our parents to inquire about how to evolve Primeape. My Dad provides an answer that seems oddly reminiscent of our adventures in the Hisui Region: To use Rage Fist 20 times. This unique method involves teaching Primeape the move known as Rage Fist, which, as we soon discover, is quite challenging for him to learn.

Our parents inform us that they need to leave for other regions due to business commitments. We bid them farewell, promising to stay in touch, and then prepare ourselves for our upcoming classes.

In Professor Tyme's Math Class, she starts by acknowledging our performance on the midterm exam. "Hello, everyone. Well done on the midterm exam. Some of you earned perfect scores, and others seemed to have a bit of trouble, but I can tell that you all tried your best. I am quite pleased to say that every last one of you passed. I can only assume that this means you have all come to love numbers! Stay sharp, and try your best for the rest of my classes, too!"

She proceeds to introduce the day's topic, saying, "Speaking of staying 'sharp,' do you know how that word applies to Pokémon battles? That's right—it has to do with stat boosts! A Pokémon's stats can rise and fall throughout the course of battle, correct?"

Professor Tyme goes on to explain, "For example, if a Pokémon uses the move Work Up, its Attack and Sp. Atk stats will rise by one stage each. And, as you may know, each time a Pokémon's Attack or Sp. Atk rises one stage, moves affected by that stat will deal 50 percent more damage. If that same Pokémon from our previous example were to use Work Up again, both its Attack and Sp. Atk will have risen by two stages total. This results in a 10 percent increase to damage dealt, making its moves twice as strong! Swords Dance, on the other hand, boosts Attack by two stages at once, allowing the Pokémon to deal double damage after just a single use! Using Swords Dance twice would boost the Pokémon's Attack stat by four stages. How much more damage, then, would this Pokémon deal?"

I raise my hand and confidently answer, "Triple damage."

"Wow, that's great! You answered this difficult question with ease, Florian!" Professor Tyme praises me. "Each stage that a Pokémon's Attack or Sp. Atk stat is raised increases its damage by 50 percent. So, being raised four stages would result in a four time 50 percent—or 200 percent—increase. The base damage of a move is 100 percent, so adding 200 percent to that gives us 300 percent. In other words, the next move the Pokémon uses will deal triple damage."

She goes on to discuss how various factors like type matchups and critical-hit damage affect these calculations, emphasizing the importance of even small stat boosts. Professor Tyme also clarifies the terminology related to stat changes: "By the way, if a stat simply "rose," that means it has gone up by one stage. If it "rose sharply," that's two stages. And if it "rose drastically," that's three stages. Just so you know, the X Attack and X Sp. Atk items, which can only be used in battle, can be used to sharply boost those respective stats."

As the bell rings to signal the end of the class, Professor Tyme exclaims, "Oh, my. Is that the bell? I suppose that's all for now. What a shame... Today's lesson was a little difficult, so be sure to review what you learned in order to stay "sharp"! I'll see you all again next class."

That night, much to our surprise, we come across Professor Tyme in the cafeteria, and she appears to be hiding in the kitchen. I cautiously call out, "Ms. Tyme?"

She jumps at our sudden presence before gasping, "Florian and Juliana?! You scared me!"

Curious, Serena inquires, "Were you here to cook something?" Professor Tyme quickly shakes her head and clarifies, "Oh, no! I'm not here for anything food-related at all! I was just walking around the entrance hall...and I felt that intense gaze that I told you about before! So I quickly ducked into the cafeteria here. Our cafeteria has only one entrance, so I thought I might be able to discover the identity of the person watching me if they followed me in here!"

Just then, she senses someone approaching and exclaims, "Ah! Someone's come just now!"

We hide and observe as a girl enters the cafeteria and mutters to herself, "Huh? That's weird... I thought I saw her come in here. I guess I won't be able to ask my question today, either..."

Once the girl departs, Professor Tyme remarks, "That girl...I feel like I've seen her several times before. She seems to be a student here, but I get the feeling that her question is not about her studies. Next time I see her, maybe I'll go start up a conversation myself! It could have been a little scary being here on my own. I'm glad you were here with me."

"No problem," we respond, deciding to order some food to enjoy while we keep an eye out for any further developments.

Here is a new chapter, and we're back into Paldea main story. Though I have some explanations that I want to mention and the next chapter will be the Poison Base.

Ash and Serena's Pokemon:

Charizard x2, Pikachu x2, Primeape, Tauros (Paldean) x3, Lapras, Girafarig, Dunsparce, Steelix (Crystal), Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Garchomp, Lucario, Krookodile, Zoroark, Bisharp, Greninja, Sylveon, Noivern, Lycanroc (Dusk), Mimikyu (Shiny), Corviknight, Indeedee x2, Kleavor, Sneasler, Floragato, Crocalor, Quaxwell, Oinkologne x2 (Male/Female), Spidops, Lokix, Pawmot, Maushold x2 (Family of four/three), Dachsbun, Dolliv, Squawkabilly x4, Naclstack, Armarouge, Ceruledge, Bellibolt, Kilowattrel, Mabosstiff, Grafaiai, Brambleghast, Toedscruel, Klawf, Scovillain, Rabsca, Flittle, Tinkatuff, Wugtrio, Bombirdier, Finizen, Varoom, Cyclizar, Orthworm, Glimmet, Flamigo, Clodsire, Dipplin, Sinistcha, Okidogi, Munkidori, Fezandipiti, Ogerpon