A week and a half passed by without note. Othello still hadn't taken up Kara's offer, but from where he looked on from a distance, it seemed a new person came to the table every day. He had considered it, thinking maybe his presence would be overlooked among so many, but always decided against it.
As he made his way to Mr. Leone's room, he noticed a note on the door to the hall.
Notice: There is an announcement at the auditorium today in place of homeroom
Principal Owens
– Chapter Six: A Brief History –
Students!
The voice boomed through the microphone and it clearly belonged to Principal Owens. He wasn't sure how it was even a question who was speaking as the principal was nearly jumping with excitement.
As most of you know, the Winter Circuit for the Senior League begins in the coming months, with our first match being a home one against Blueberry Academy! The Minor League will follow with their circuit in Spring. While I would love for you all to attend to demonstrate our school pride, there is something happening even sooner that I must tell you all about!
Murmuring swept across the large room. Apparently, this level of excitement was not common from the Principal.
The Chairman of the Pokemon League, the broader one that oversees all regions' and league challenges, has invited our school to participate in a prestigious competition! The League has invited 16 schools across every region to compete and has even requested that we be the school to host this!
The murmuring picked up again and Othello was disappointed he didn't have Ava around to ask for an explanation. For the moment, he just assumed that this was another uncommon occurrence.
Some of the other participating schools are Blueberry Academy and us in Unova, Naranja and Uva Academy in Paldea, Golden Academy in Johto, Ballonlea Academy from Galar-
The crowd erupted into what seemed like panic at this name, causing Principal Owens to abruptly stop.
Unable to handle the curiosity, Othello took a deep breath and tapped on the shoulder of someone in front of him.
"What's wrong with Ballonlea Academy?"
It's supposed to be the greatest academy ever created! Those Galarians are practically brainwashed with battling from birth like monsters! It's, like, all they know! I've heard rumors that their weakest can take on our entire senior class!
Othello leaned back in his chair, unsure of whether or not to believe the remark. Surely that was an exaggeration, right? Maybe this student was…what had he heard it been called…racist.
Students. I understand you all have some exceedingly unflattering rumors concerning our Galarian friends, but I can assure you this is an even playing field. I am going to move on from the fellow academies that will be participating and get into the competition's structure. Unlike the Unovan school leagues, there will be a competition for each grade level, meaning seniors will be facing seniors, juniors will battle juniors, and so forth. It will be a randomized bracket with 128 students from each grade accepted per school. The front office has the application form which you can fill out and drop off with Ms. Raven in the office. Before I have anyone come to me to attempt bribery, I must tell you that that is an offense punishable by expulsion, but also that these applications are being sent to the Pokemon League's chair where they will decide who participates.
For the first time, silence settled on the room.
"The Pokemon League is reviewing our applications?"
It was the first Othello had seen of Ava in nearly weeks as she stood up from her seat to ask Principal Owens the question.
Yes. Why, I do not know, but the Pokemon League is one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. They will be fair in their assessments.
Ava slowly sat back down, clearly not satisfied, but knowing not to cause more of a scene.
I expect you all will want to grab an application immediately, so the office will be open at lunch solely for this purpose. Any other issues will have to be postponed for a later day.
– – –
By the time Othello reached the line to pick up an application, it already stretched hundreds of students long with the line to submit the application being just as long.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
I don't think we'll ever get this chance again!
We're gonna mess up Blueberry and Opal, they don't stand a chance!
You mean Champion Cannon is gonna mess them up. You don't stand a chance.
…Yeah…
The chattering continued at the level of an uproar as it seemed like the whole academy had shown up to apply for the tournament.
Doesn't it bother you a bit?
He heard a voice behind him whisper, presumably not to him, but he was curious now, so he listened in.
She didn't tell us what the criteria or anything was for the application. Why would they need to know?
Uh, because they can't have a tournament with thousands of students? If each class from each school joined, the tournaments would take years.
Yeah, but why would the Pokemon League be reviewing the applications?
The Pokemon League is one of the most trusted organizations to exist. They oversee all of the leagues run by each region. If there's one group to put trust in, it's them.
The silence that ensued from the two behind him was very telling.
Oh, what? Since I'm an Elite Four I'm not allowed to talk to you, Circe?
Sorry, Acacius. It just seemed a bit…touchy.
The Elite Four member sighed.
Right. Anyways, I have to monitor the line to make sure it's "orderly."
The man passed in front of Othello as he went, but kept his eyes forward, not seeing Othello. Or, at least, not making note of him.
He's gone now, right?
Yeah. Why did it feel like he was chewing us out?
I don't know. Most of the Elite Four are stuck up. Only Ekaterine and Cannon are any fun.
Well that's because Cannon is, what, like 15?
You'd think he'd be more stuck up than them though. Being that advanced at battling…skipping grades and all.
"He's 15?"
He meant to whisper it, but it came out quite clearly and audibly embarrassingly enough.
Huh?
He could sense the two girls' eyes stare at him although he was in front of them.
Oh, you look like a freshman, must not know.
He breathed a mental sigh of relief that they weren't mad at him for eavesdropping.
The guy is a straight-up prodigy. Like the kind you see in movies. Got here at like 11 years old.
He was so cute! …And then he kicked everyone's ass…but he was so nice about it!
Hearing more about Cannon wore down Othello's nervousness, "E-everyone?"
Yeah, that's not an exaggeration. Literally beat everyone in our class.
He could have easily been Champion of the Minor League as a freshman, but some salty motherfucker whined to their parents on the board about losing and got enough people to vote to not let him join.
Kinda a lucky outcome to be honest. If they hadn't, he probably would have graduated early. Instead, he wanted to hold a streak, so he stayed.
The line finally started moving forward.
"Do you think…" Othello started, "He would be more powerful if he was let in?"
Hmmm…probably not.
He says all his experiences have built up to make him more powerful, so I believe him.
The line moved forward again.
"Is there a reason he's the most powerful?"
One of the girls giggled.
Looks like we've made him into a fan.
Yeah! To answer the question though, I don't know. It's not like he came from some super rich family and just bought some rare and powerful Pokemon. I don't think so at least.
As we said, he's just a prodigy.
Another few steps toward the front.
So what's your name, freshie? And how do you know Cannon?
"Ummm…"
The line took another few steps as he debated telling the truth. Attention, namely more attention, was the last thing he wanted.
"I…I'm Othello. I met him at the orientation. Arthur was trying to…pick a fight with me and he stopped it."
Wow! I knew Arthur was a dick, but damn. He didn't hurt you, did he?
Of course not Runa! Cannon was there to stop it obviously, right, Othello?
"Uh…yeah," he said quickly, feeling backed into a corner by telling these senior girls what had happened. Luckily, the front office was rapidly approaching.
That's great! Isn't he perfect? Even looks out for the freshmen. I'm gonna miss him so much when we graduate!
In front of him, a woman cleared her throat.
Are you here for the application?
"Y-yes," Othello stammered out, nervous that he had ruined his chances of goodwill already.
Don't yell at the freshie Mrs. Jin.
It was one of the girls behind him, Runa.
He was just trying to ask some questions from us-
I wasn't going to. I just don't want the line held up.
Mrs. Jin pointed behind them where hundreds of students were still lined up to grab the application.
"O-of course," Othello quickly grabbed the application and hopped out of line.
Aw, no fun Mrs. Jin.
We might not be good at battling, but if you ever need us, I'm Runa and that's Circe. Talk to us any time Othello!
The two waved as Othello walked away and he tentatively waved back. The whole interaction left him with a lot to think about Cannon, but he couldn't deny that it felt nice to have what felt like a normal conversation with someone.
As he was walking away, he looked at the application. It looked fairly standard, or what he assumed was standard. A place for a name, a place for a signature, the date of application, grade/year of applicant, age, and Pokemon species and names. It seemed to be a little empty considering how many applications the League would be receiving. Othello did question how one was supposed to separate themself from the other applicants with that little, but maybe it provided more than he thought it would. He quickly pulled out a pencil and filled it out before hopping in the line to turn it in.
"I guess I should have seen this coming."
Othello turned around to see who the voice belonged to and saw Circe.
"Heyy," she waved, "I guess it makes sense that we'd both be here since we were at the same spot in that line."
Othello looked around slightly, not catching sight of Runa anywhere.
"Oh, she went to hang out with some other people," Circe nodded contemplatively, "Said Ms. Raven would still be here when she was done. Anyways, you want more senior gossip?"
Othello nodded, not liking that she called it "gossip," but still wanting to learn more about the school and its intricacies.
"So you already know Arthur and Cannon and you saw Acacius earlier, so you want to know about Ava and Ekaterine?"
Othello nodded again.
"Ava's nice enough I guess. As far as I can tell, she doesn't take the job too seriously, but she definitely takes the role a little too far sometimes," Circe shook her head, "She's pretty tall and she's been that way for years. That and her taking the 'protector' role made her walking bully repellent. She might have been the most popular girl here if she didn't have as many enemies as friends."
Othello cocked his head a bit. It sounded like something Ava would do, but…
"What do you mean by role?" he asked.
"I guess…" she trailed off, "She just is always trying to protect everyone. Sometimes from things they don't need to be protected from…but she's a hell of a battler!"
Circe lowered her voice to a whisper, "She always talks about this Pokemon 'Donner,' like it's some super powerful one, but I've never actually seen her use it. I would think she's faking it, but nobody's ever seen her battle with a full team of six."
Othello shivered slightly as the breaths stuck his nerves and the words hit his core.
Circe giggled, "I know, mystery woman and everything. Gives me goosebumps too."
"I've seen Ava…" Othello was getting more courage as the conversation went on, "But who's Ekaterine?"
"Oh she's the best!" Circe clapped lightly, back to her normal volume, "She was really shy when we were freshmen like you, but break that shell and she's so funny, gives great advice, and everything!
Othello nodded, still intrigued.
"She's on the shorter side. About…here," Circe gestured to her shoulder height which must have been under five feet, "Arthur picks on her a lot for it, but I think it's because he's into it. Don't tell her I said that though."
Circe looked around as if mentioning such a thing would summon an angry Ekaterine.
"She's the weakest of the Elite Four, but I think it's stupid. She should definitely be above at least Arthur."
"Do…do the Elite Four all use one type?"
"Not really," Circe made a face like it was a difficult question, "They're supposed to, but as long as there's a theme, they're in the clear. Arthur uses Bug types, bug-like Pokemon or bug attractors, Ava uses Pokemon that fly, Acacius uses Pokemon that like sunlight, and Ekaterine uses poisonous Pokemon."
"Then…the Leaders?"
"Oh, they're required," she waved her hand, "They get a lot less leeway than the others that are higher up."
Othello was starting to realize that the dynamics of the leagues were a lot more complicated than they were initially explained to be.
"If you think there's drama between the Elite Four, then yeesh," Circe's eyes widened to emphasize it, "The Leaders have so much beef they're practically drowning in it. They never get anything done which is why it usually gets left to the others. Someone's always challenging someone and nine times out of ten, the challenger loses."
She shook her head, "It's a mess."
Something in Othello's mind clicked. This girl knew a lot about the high ranked trainers and clearly did not enjoy the issues that arose from the Leaders' ineptitude.
"Are you a Leader?"
Circe doubled back, surprised, "Oh, you guessed it? I guess I'm a book to you Othello."
She laughed–a bit hollowly–trying to shake off what was bothering her, "Yeah. One of the earlier ones, so I don't get as much attention. Have to rely on events like this to try and make my mark when there are once in a generation type battlers in my class."
"It's still a huge accomplishment," Othello was confused why she was making it seem like it wasn't.
"You're right," she smiled at him, "Just wish I had more to be proud of."
Application?
"Here," he handed it to the clearly tired Ms. Raven.
Ah, Othello. The Principal will be glad to see you getting involved.
"Well, I'll see you around Othello," Circe waved at him as Othello walked away.
To see him find a place so quickly…you League members have done a great job of welcoming him.
"What?" Circe was slightly confused, "I mean, I know he's a freshman, but it's not like I was giving special treatment…"
You weren't?
Ms. Raven's shock surprised Circe.
"Um…was I supposed to?" Circe quickly tried to think of an apology, "I'm sorry Ms. Raven…uh…could you remind me why I was supposed to?"
Oh…that's right. Only the Elite Four were really briefed.
"Briefed?" Circe looked back at Othello whose form was shrinking in the distance, "Is he some politician's son or something?"
Ms. Raven glanced behind Circe.
I'm sorry, Circe, I can't really tell you. You'll have to ask the Principal about him. Next!
Circe stood dumbfounded as the next applicant pushed her out of the way. She tried to remember if she had seen Othello's face before. He was asking about all the powerful trainers…was he a Champion's son…maybe? Still, the special treatment thing didn't sit right with her. In fact, it made her feel sick. Did Othello think she was just nice because she had to be? Was that how everyone was around him? She walked to her next class even though it didn't start for another hour since time was allotted out of the school schedule for the applications, but she couldn't shake what Ms. Raven had told her. She needed to find out what was going on from Principal Owens and soon.