This is going to be an absolutely huge chapter, so strap in. I hope you enjoy it, but let me know if the chapters are getting too long because I was deciding on whether or not to divide this chapter into pt 1 and pt 2. I just decided to do a full chapter to make sure I get the whole first day of school in for Jake. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 7 - First Day
After Nemona's speech, I stood up like an idiot and started screaming and clapping.
"LET'S GO NEMONA! YEAH!" I shouted supportingly. Everyone looked at me in silence shaking their heads. I really can't help embarrassing myself huh? I sat down quickly to get out of the second hand embarrassed people's heads. Arven next to me looked at me like I was a lunatic and went back to his book while giving me side eyes.
Mr. Clavell went back to the podium while Nemona walked backstage. "Well go have fun! Your first classes start in 15 minutes, so if you need help with directions, ask for help from our wonderful staff! They're very supportive," Mr. Clavell explained. "Have a treasure-filled day!"
I heard a notification from my phone and took it out. My schedule appeared on the screen showing all my classes. "Damn 7 classes in one day! That's crazy!" I was surprised at how rigorous the school day actually is. It would be 7 classes 45 minutes each with lunch at noon for an hour. I guess the school day ends at around 4 and starts at 9. I don't mind the extra bit of sleep. "Alright, I gotta go to Home Economics first. Hey Arven, where are you going?"
Arven sighed. "I guess I have class with you first. Ughh," Arven replied. I ignored his clear disgust at having to have class with me and stayed positive. "That's awesome Arven! We can get to know each other better!" Arven looked like he would rather be anywhere else and pretended like he didn't know me. We got up from our chairs, and I realized how tall he was. My eye sight was at his chin, and he looked a lot older than me honestly. He walked on as I followed smiling ear to ear ready to start my dream.
"So what's Home Economics all about? What do you think that means?" I asked.
"I just know the teacher is named Saguaro. He's really chill apparently and is into cooking," Arven replied. He got a little excited at the mention of cooking.
"So you like cooking huh?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's alright I guess." I could tell he was just trying to act cool and aloof, but I let it go. After, I felt Quaxly stirring on my hat.
"Hey buddy! You feeling better after your battle?" I asked Quaxly. Quaxly nodded sleepily wiping his eyes and fixing his bed head.
"We're going to our first class Home Economics, so you better make sure you behave!" I ordered sternly. Quaxly nodded with a joking salute. I laughed and saw Arven with a slight smirk trying to hide his laughter.
"Oh yeah! Quaxly meet Arven. I met him at the assembly." Quaxly nodded toward Arven as Arven did the same.
"Nemona had a really great speech didn't she Arven?"
Arven shrugged. "She was alright. You seemed to get excited though," He observed.
"Yeah! I know a good speech when I hear one! Plus, me and her are friends so I had to be supportive," I replied. Arven and I kept talking and bonding a bit more as we finally reached the classroom. We walked in with a few other students and saw the teacher.
He was huge! He was even taller than Arven and looked like a body builder. He had a pink shirt with a purple apron and red pants. He and Miriam would get along with their fashion choices, but Saguaro looked a lot more intimidating for obvious reasons. He had long black hair tied back with a black mustache. He stared at us as we walked in like he was analyzing our every move. Suddenly, however, he spoke casually with a big smile: "Hey guys! I hope you're excited for some Home Ec!"
That was surprising. "Yeah! I'm just as excited as you!" I responded feeling more comfortable at his warm gesture. Arven remained silent.
"I like your attitude young man! Sit down anywhere you two would like!" We sat down in the middle section of the desks as class started. There were about 25 people in the class with us.
"Hello everyone! My name is Saguaro, and I will be your Home Ec teacher this year! Today, as a little introduction to the course, we will make something simple: sandwiches!" That doesn't sound so bad. My mom always makes me sandwiches, so I'm sure I can handle myself. Shoot! I need to call my mom! She's definitely so pissed at me. "It will be simple, so any newbies shouldn't have too much trouble. I will be eating a bite of each sandwich and ranking each of them." Damn I gotta show up to make a good first impression! I refocused back on class ignoring the impending doom coming once I called my mom. "Everyone go back to a cooking station and the ingredients are all there. Let me know if there's any trouble."
Arven and I took stations next to each other as we examined our ingredients. There was an abundance of fruits, vegetables, meats, condiments, cheeses and other ingredients at each station. I didn't know where to start as I stared astounded at the variety. "I do like spicy foods the most since I'm so tough haha, so if you wanna get on my good side, I would use that haha." He seemed pretty insecure saying it, so I honestly thought he was joking with all the awkward laughing. However, everyone around me, including Arven, started grabbing spicy foods. I had a feeling that I should do something else entirely. I'm gonna set myself apart! He'll have to notice me if I do something different!
"Quaxly, grab everything you can that's sweet. It'll help with his burned tongue after all the spiciness. At least I think it would." Honestly, this is probably a horrible idea, but I'm gonna give it a shot. Might as well try! Quaxly grabbed some whipped cream and yogurt while I grabbed strawberries and apples. This is perfect!
I cut the apples and strawberries into slices and added them to the bread. I slathered the yogurt over it and shot some whipped cream on top of the yogurt. Quaxly jumped up and put a cherry on top as I added the top bread. It was perfect! It was a little rough around the edges, but perfect all the same! Quaxly and I were about to high five for a job well done until I saw Arven.
Arven's sandwich was the most appetizing sandwich I've ever seen. It looked even better than my mom's sandwiches! He mixed and matched a bunch of different toppings to make it look delightful. He even used a ruler to perfectly cut slices of peppers! He actually brought a ruler for this?! I knew he was a great cook. "Yeah, it's alright" my ass.
Saguaro suddenly called out time and everyone stopped fixing their sandwiches. I was right in thinking everyone would do hot sandwiches. I was the only one who diverged from that path. Arven and I's stations were positioned so that we would be the final two sandwiches with me being last. Saving the best for last! Saguaro began to move around the classroom in order tasting all the sandwiches.
"Arven, that sandwich is beautiful man!" I exclaimed.
"Thanks so much! I hope Saguaro likes it," He responded. He seemed really nervous. Cooking definitely is important to him.
"Check out mine though! It's amazing right? It'll win the whole thing I bet," I boasted confidently. He eyed it a little warily.
"Why'd you use sweet toppings? You know Saguaro likes spicy foods. Plus, it's so messy," He responded. It was a little messy, but that doesn't mean it's not good!
"You'll see when I get first Arven!" Quaxly jumped up and agreed.
"Whatever you say buddy," He responded sarcastically. I rolled my eyes laughing.
As I focused back on Saguaro, I could tell he was struggling. He was sweating a bit, and he seemed to be getting more and more disgusted as he tasted more and more spicy sandwiches. I just knew his tounge was in flames. He still put on a smile acting like he liked all of the sandwiches. "This is great Samantha!" he said as he finished off his 23rd spicy sandwich in a row. This Samantha smiled in delight at the compliment as Saguaro reached Arven's table. He looked very impressed.
"Wow Arven! This looks magnificent!" He took a bite after the compliment and smiled. "You have the potential to be a great chef one day Arven! Keep this up and you'll do great in this class!" Arven gave a genuine smile and started cleaning up. I was happy for him, but that put a lot of pressure on me going after Arven.
"Now what do we have here." Saguaro eyed my sandwich with a quick light in his eyes I hadn't seen throughout the assignment, but then he tucked it away and looked in disdain at my concoction. "It's not spicy huh?" He looked on in disdain. I gulped in distress. "Don't knock it until you try it right?" I said desperately trying to impress him. He wasn't susceptible to my charm and ignored me. He took a bite and smiled for a second. I looked on in hope as he went to take a second bite, but then he reeled his arm back like my sandwich was a disease or something. He then frowned in disgust and looked like he was about to throw up.
"It could be better. Good effort buddy, but you know I like spicy foods, NOT sweet foods." I looked down in shame. He really looked like he enjoyed it for a second too! He gave me hope and then crushed it! Rude.
He took some time to think about all the sandwiches, and he finally finished his rankings. "Alright everyone, here are the rankings. Don't get too caught up on them for now. The point of the class is to get better as you go! You all have great potential!" He finally revealed the rankings, and I looked for my name. I saw Arven's name in first as I looked over and congratulated him. He was genuinely happy which made me happy. However, my heart dropped as I looked down the numbers and didn't see my name. 10...15...20...Where am I? My eyes dropped in shame as I saw my name.
25. Jake Kami
I slumped my shoulders at the news. I didn't think it was that bad! Why didn't I just use spicy food like everyone else? Arven pat my back in sympathy as I sulked at the news.
"Jake! Could I speak with you after class?" Saguaro asked. I nodded in fright as I was probably gonna get yelled at. Starting off strong Jake!
The bell rang, and Arven looked back toward me in sympathy as he and the other students left. I mouthed help me as he laughed.
"Sorry Jake, I just wanted to talk to you about your sandwich real quick," Saguaro remarked sternly. I shuddered as I walked towards him.
He sat in silence leaving me in anxiety as he kept me waiting for the punishment. Finally, he spoke up.
"How'd you know I have a sweet tooth?" He looked at me confused, desperate for an answer. Wait what?
"Ummm...I didn't really know that honestly. You looked kinda uncomfortable when you said you liked spicy foods and you laughed, so I thought you were joking. Even if you did like spicy foods, I wanted to set myself apart by doing something different, so... yeah that's my story."
He stared out in thought looking conflicted. Finally, he apologized: "I'm sorry Jake. You're sandwich was honestly my favorite. I just don't want people thinking I like sweet stuff. People expect me to be a tough guy with my build, but I honestly don't really act the way I look. I fear people won't look at me with respect if they knew the real me."
I stared at him with a frown. "You shouldn't feel conflicted. I'm sure no one will think of you any differently if you revealed a bit of yourself to others. If anything, I think that I respect people more for being open about themselves compared to hiding everything in fright. It takes a lot more bravery! Trust me on this one," I replied with a smile.
Saguaro was deep in thought until he eventually agreed. He looked a lot less tense after his realization. "Alright I trust you Jake. Thanks for knocking my head straight with that delicious sandwich! Keep it up!" He responded with a thumbs up. I gave a thumbs up back as I left the classroom. It felt good helping others, and I got a little pride at having the most delicious sandwich in the class hehe. I checked the time and realized that I had only two minutes to get to my next class!
"Shoot! Quaxly we need to go!" Quaxly pointed me forward on my hat like a captain on a ship as I sprinted to my next class. I checked my phone, and my next class was math. I kept running aimlessly until I realized I have no idea where I am going! Why are there no maps here?! I kept running until I saw Nurse Miriam.
"Miriam! Where's the math room!" She looked on in surprise at me. "It's right down this hallway! You better turn on the burners Jake!"
"My hero! Thank you! I'll make it up to you!" I waved and she waved back as I sprinted as fast as I could. I saw the sign reading "MATH - MS. TYME" in big bold letters as I scrambled to the door. The bell rang just as I made it through the door!
I panted as I put my hands to my knees. "I...made...it...phew."
"Nice of you to finally join us Mr. Kami. You're lucky I did not close the door early. Other days you won't be this lucky. I intend to keep an eye on your promise to never be late again," Tyme explained. I nodded in gratitude for my luck. "Sorry, I was talking with my teacher after class. Won't happen again."
"If you say so. We have assigned seats, so you've been assigned to sit next to Sophia over there."
My heart dropped. It can't get much worse than this. I looked over and saw Sophia smirking at me evilly. This'll be a long class. I made my way over to the last seat left next to Sophia as she leaned over.
"You're really good at embarrassing yourself aren't you," She remarked while smirking.
"Just leave me alone damn. You've been..."
"Mr. Kami! Stop bugging Miss Martina and focus on class! That's two strikes! Next time, you'll be going to detention!" Ms. Tyme scolded. I nodded my head as I glared at Sophia. She smirked once again as she refocused on class. I hate her!
Ms. Tyme went through some introductory lessons as I followed along trying to focus. Sophia answered pretty much every single question that Ms. Tyme asked, and Tyme was lovin it. Sophia's definitely her favorite student. I honestly knew all the answers since my mom taught me math in her spare time, and I picked up on it pretty well so I was pretty good at math. I started to raise my hand a little timidly at first since I was on Tyme's naughty list, but I started getting more confident as I kept getting answers right. Sophia glared at me for starting to take her spotlight, and she started answering even more than she had to win back approval. Of course, I had to fight back and went at it with the same determination. By the end of class, it was just me and Sophia fighting for answers while everyone else just gave up at our determination. The bell rang, and everyone walked out of class.
"Sophia and Jake! Very good job on your first days even if one of you almost got a detention. I will be expecting a lot from you two," Ms. Tyme remarked. We both nodded as we glared at each other. An academic rivalry was born.
I had history next, and there was finally a sign that took me there. Finally, some direction! As I walked there, a certain someone was going in the same direction.
"Why do you keep following me new kid? Are you obsessed with me or something?" That Sophia!
"Not my fault we're heading in the same direction. You're the one obsessed with me always smirking at me and trying to one up me," I retorted.
"Don't act like you didn't try to one up me yourself back there. Tyme likes me the best since I'm the one who actually showed up early instead of sprinting into class like a lunatic," Sophia fought back.
"Ugh, whatever. So are you goin to history next then?" I asked. Sophia nodded. Not another class with her! Where does it end?!
"Of course! I'm stuck with you again in another class," I complained.
"Well since you're so obsessed with me, I'm sure you'll be fine," She retorted as she smirked. I seethed at her as we walked to class in silent anger. We finally made it with time to spare as we walked in. The teacher's name was Ms. Raifort, and she was quite tall, taller than me, with purple, messy hair tied back into a pony tail with long strands running down her shirt. She had a blue denim long sleeved shirt with red hems on the center. She had glasses and a cool looking pendant.
"Hello Ms. Raifort! My name is Sophia Martina! I'm very excited for class!" Sophia introduced. That kiss-up! Two can play at that game.
"And I'm Jake Kami! I'm even more excited than her! Paldea's history has always been very interesting to me!" I retorted. Sophia looked at me angrily for a second before smiling back at the teacher.
"Well I'm glad to hear that from both of you! I hope I keep you excited throughout. And please, just call me Raifort. We're going to arrange seats based on alphabetical order, so I'll put the order on the board," Raifort responded. We looked at the chart and realized that our names lined up so that I was in the first row, and Sophia was in the seat right behind me in the second row. Why do we always have to be next to each other?!
We moved to our seats, and she started her lesson. Every question asked, I made sure to raise my hand and take up as much space as I could so Sophia couldn't be seen. I know she was pissed haha, and Raifort loves me now which is good too. After class finished, Raifort called me over. What's with teachers and calling me up after class? I saw Sophia glare at me as she left class.
"Jake hey. It'll only be a few minutes no worries. You're going to homeroom after this anyway which is no big deal," Raifort acknowledged. I nodded and stood listening.
"I see a lot of potential in you for the field of history. You killed it in class and seemed really interested. I haven't had any other student be as interested as you in the subject. That's why I have a favor to ask." I perked up at that and nodded immediately agreeing to the favor. How could I not when she just complimented me like that?
"I talked about the Treasures of Ruin at class today, and I didn't reveal it, but there are swords all around Paldea that once all are pulled out for a specific treasure, a legendary pokemon will appear from a cave in a mountain. I have a map with all the sword locations with me, but I just don't have the time to go around all of Paldea with my teaching duties. Plus, I'm gettin old too haha. I have been waiting for a student that caught my eye that had the potential to do this. I am asking you to find the swords, find the legendary pokemon of ruin, and catch them. Then, bring them to me so I can analyze them and put my name and yours in all the history books!"
I was stunned at the info dump she just poured on me. Me? Find and catch legendary pokemon? That sounds crazy hard. She awaited my reaction as I thought about it.
"Well, I know I'm going to travel around the whole region for the treasure hunt, so once I get stronger, I can totally try my best to do that for you!" I answered excitedly. Who would turn down an opportunity to catch legendaries?
"Excellent! Very exciting! This is the map, and I'll tell you more as more classes come underway," She responded. "Come back to the school during your treasure hunt once you get all eight badges, and you can start the quest. I want to make sure you are strong enough to follow this mission because it will require lots of strength and willpower." I nodded gratefully as I waved her goodbye and headed to homeroom.
I realized homeroom was with Mr. Jacq in the biology room, which a sign led me to. Thank goodness for signs. As I entered, I saw Nemona sitting down with an empty seat next to her. I smiled getting to finally have Nemona in a class with me, even if it's only homeroom. I sat down next to her as she greeted me.
"Hey Jake! How's your first day?" She asked.
"Very, very eventful. I'm glad I actually get to have a class with you now. I had to go through two classes with Sophia and her kiss-assing. I took her spotlight though which made me happy and her not so happy haha," I responded.
"Way to put her in her place! I love it."
The teacher then called attention as the bell rang starting homeroom: "Hello everyone! My name is Mr. Jacq, and I am a biology teacher and your homeroom teacher! I'm excited to have you all here today." He basically explained that homeroom was just a chance to regroup and learn news about the school before going to lunch. No big deal. Mr. Jacq was an average height guy, probably about my height, with purplish gray hair and a lab coat on. He also had a purple shirt and purple pants with sandals on. Put those toes away!
As he dismissed us to lunch, Nemona and I headed for the cafeteria. We recounted our days a little more as we went to the lunch line. I got a ham and cheese sandwich while Nemona got a turkey and cheese sandwich. I told her about my own sandwich fiasco and she laughed. I had quite the stories today. We went and sat down at an empty table.
"By the way, that speech was awesome! You did great."
"Thanks Jake! I could tell you liked it hehe. I heard you all the way from the stage. You musta been so embarrassed hahaha."
"Oh whatever. The students are just lame that's all. They're all under the Sophia spell, taking things too seriously. I did meet this kid named Arven during the assembly. He's a great cook. Got lots of props from Saguaro."
"Oh! You mean the professor's kid? He's pretty quiet and angry at the world most of the time from what I see. He never wants to battle which is dumb, but what can you do."
"You mean Professor Sada? I've seen her a few times on TV, but other than that I don't know much about her."
"Yeah, she's this really great pokemon researcher. I know her solidly, and she's really nice. Kinda emotionless, but polite. She actually gave me my tera orb since I caught her eye, and I've helped her with her research on terastallization. Now she's been studying inside Area Zero. Haven't heard much from her lately though."
"How do I get a tera orb? That would be amazing for Quaxly and I." Quaxly agreed knowing how powerful terastallization is.
"Well, I got it an unorthodox way by the professor just giving it to me for research, but the main way is to be top of the class. Whoever gets top of the class in a given semester before the treasure hunt is awarded the tera orb, so it's pretty hard to come by."
"Damn, now I know why Sophia tries so hard. Now I actually have a reason to one up her besides pettiness haha. How was your first day though Nemona?"
We went on talking about our days, battles, pokemon, and classes as we ate our lunch. We learned we're in the same biology class and battle studies class. I still had language class as well as art class to finish out the day plus battle studies and biology, so it would still be awhile.
We finished our lunch right as the bell rang, and we headed over to the biology room, the same room we just had homeroom in. Mr. Jacq was there waiting for us. I waved politely ready for class. He let us choose our seats, and Nemona and I sat next to each other. The bell rang as class started, and Mr. Jacq immediately brought out a Charcadet from his pokeball.
"Welcome to biology everyone! I think it would be great to start off with the basic biology of a pokemon as a prelude to our biology studies!" He started talking about the biology of pokemon excitedly using Charcadet as an example as I zoned out looking at the familiar pokemon. It was the same one that watched me and Quaxly's battle with Team Star! We eventually made eye contact as Charcadet looked at me with a burning passion. We had a conversation with our eyes, as I realized how passionate she was about battling. Her eyes told the story. My eyes related with that burning passion of battle as we gained mutual respect. Neither of us were listening to Mr. Jacq's lecture as she raised her head to Quaxly on my hat. Quaxly also showed his flaming desire in his eyes toward the Charcadet as they made eye contact. I needed to catch this pokemon! It has even more passion than me and Quaxly! I finally refocused as the bell rang. How did time go by so fast?
As everyone was leaving, I told Nemona to go ahead since we had different classes. I needed to talk to Mr. Jacq about Charcadet. I walked over as Charcadet kept staring at me and Quaxly.
"Hey Mr. Jacq! That Charcadet has a lot of passion doesn't it!"
Mr. Jacq was a little confused: "She's usually pretty disinterested in everything around her actually. She wandered to the school and was just waiting at the front door a couple days ago. When students were arriving to set up and register for their rooms, she would challenge each and every trainer. The students would either ignore her, or they weren't up to her caliber. Eventually, I went down and caught her so she wouldn't bring anyone else any trouble. After that, I would try to ask her what she wanted, but she would just wander off and roam the school looking around. I've never seen her with so much passion until now! You must have won her over huh?"
I smiled with pride, happy that I impressed the Charcadet with high standards. I knew my next question immediately: "Could I catch her if that's ok with you and Charcadet?"
Mr. Jacq immediately agreed as well as Charcadet. Mr. Jacq most likely finally found a purpose for Charcadet due to her excitement. Quaxly and I smiled with pure joy as we made a new friend. Mr. Jacq handed me the pokeball as she jumped up and tapped the pokeball immediately accepting, signifying her eagerness at being a part of the team. "Let's go Quaxly! We have a new friend!" Quaxly was just as happy as me but stayed cool about it while I was bouncing up and down in excitement. A new friend that loves battling? Score! Mr. Jacq smiled at my excitement.
I let her out now as a new member of the team. "Welcome to the team buddy! You're gonna become the strongest fire type in the world! I hope you're ready to train your heart out!" Charcadet immediately agreed and jumped up to give me a fist bump. I asked her if she wanted to be returned since I'm sure she would be bored sitting through a bunch of classes, and she agreed. I returned her as I thanked Mr. Jacq profusely.
Mr. Jacq asked for a favor for Charcadet though: "As I have taught, Charcadet has a split evolution into Ceruledge and Armarouge depending on what armor you give her. Since she's yours now, I ask that you get both armors and send them back to me so I can study them and their attraction to certain Charcadet. Do that before you evolve her please. That's all I ask." I quickly agreed still feeling in debt to him for taking Charcadet. I would put my all into getting those armors! I left the classroom and headed to language class. I had to once again sprint to get to class, but I made it just in time since it was closer to the biology room than I thought.
I made my way to the only empty seat as I introduced myself to the teacher. His name was Mr. Salvatore, and he was average height, like Mr. Jacq he was about my height, and he wore a gray and black suit with unique designs on them. He also had black hair with another unique design on the side of his head. I wasn't gonna hate, everyone has their own style so good for him for showing it.
There was no one I knew in the class for the first time, so I honestly sat back and relaxed answering a few questions here and there that I knew about communication. His activity for the day was to communicate with a pokemon that you don't know well and bond with them. He taught the basics on how to communicate with pokemon even though they don't speak the same language, so I decided to bring out Charcadet and bond with her since I've already bonded with Quaxly.
I let out Charcadet as she appeared on the desk in front of me. She looked like she was ready to go into battle but got a little sad realizing she was in a classroom.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry Charcadet but there's no battle right now. You'll probably get to battle next class in battle studies though!" She perked up at that. "Right now though, we have an assignment to bond with a pokemon we don't know well, and I want to get to know you better!" She got a little happy at that and was ready to communicate.
"Hmmmm what to talk about?" I wondered. "Oh! I know! Let's talk about your evolution. Do you think you'd want to evolve buddy?" She nodded her head vigorously. I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Let me show you pictures of both, and you can think about which one you'd want to go for. But first, let me scan you with my pokedex." She accepted as I scanned her.
"Charcadet. The Fire Child Pokemon. Burnt charcoal came to life and became a Pokémon. Possessing a fiery fighting spirit, Charcadet will battle even tough opponents."
"Wow! I didn't know you came from charcoal. That's pretty cool!" Charcadet put her head up high in pride. I laughed.
"It looks like you know the moves Astonish, Ember, Leer, and Clear Smog. You're pretty powerful buddy!" She put her head up even more with pride until she fell over. I laughed again at her antics as well as Quaxly. Quaxly seemed quite interested her. Maybe he wants to battle her! I'll have to have a little mock battle between those two later.
I showed her the two evolution paths she can take: Armarouge and Ceruledge. She didn't really seem to pick one side or the other, but I wanted her to think about it since she wanted to evolve. We talked a little bit more the best we could, and a bond was formed.
"How are you doing Jake? Looks like you two are bonding quite well!" Mr. Salvatore remarked. I smiled and nodded.
"Her being a great pokemon helps, so yeah. I just caught her today actually," I replied.
"Well I'm quite proud of you for bonding so fast. I might use you as an example one of these days since others are kind of struggling. Don't tell the others I said that though haha." I laughed with him as he went back to his desk. The bell rang as Mr. Salvatore dismissed us. I let Charcadet stay out of her ball since battle studies was up next, and I know she would love that. I grabbed her in my arms ignoring the heat and went off to the courtyard where battle studies were held according to my rotom phone.
I saw Nemona at the elevator going up to the courtyard and met up with her. I could tell how excited she was about this. She had both Fuecoco and Pawmi out for all the battles they could have. I came up to her and introduced her to Charcadet.
"Awww, she's so cute and looks so strong too! You're a lucky guy Jake!" Charcadet once again held itself up with pride at the compliment. "Yes I am a lucky guy aren't I!"
We made our way up the elevator into the courtyard as I said hi to Dendra. "Hey Jake! Good to see you again! I had your friend Penny earlier today in class, and she was killer with her Eevee! They were in sync! I hope you can match her flare this class!" I was genuinely surprised at the revelation. I didn't think she was a battler considering she didn't fight back against Team Star. "Well I hope I don't disappoint. Quaxly and Charcadet are ready for action right guys?" They both cheered in response as Dendra took interest in Charcadet. "That Charcadet looks like a fighter Jake! I hope to see her in battle today!" I nodded as we took our spots in the open field. There were no seats, so we just stood around listening to her teachings.
"Hello everyone! If you don't know me already, call me Dendra. I will be your battle instructor today! I'm excited to see some epic battles! Today, we're just going to have you partner up and battle someone 1v1's until the bell rings. Just want you guys to get a sense of battling if you haven't already! Now go have fun, and let me know if you have any questions." Some students, including me and Nemona, got real excited while some were a little tentative.
Nemona and I immediately partnered up reading each other's minds as we took to an empty battlefield. "Alright Nemona! I'm excited we get a rematch now! Why don't we use our two new guys for this battle!"
"Sounds great with me Jake! Be ready to see some firepower! Pawmi let's go!" Pawmi sprinted out to the battlefield with a confident smirk on his face. Fuecoco clapped its little hands together to cheer it on.
"Let's go Charcadet. Let's show them what we got!" Charcadet walked onto the field slowly with its head down. It suddenly looked up with a burning intensity in its eyes toward Pawmi. Pawmi immediately inched back in fright until Nemona and Fuecoco encouraged it. Quaxly seemed to want to get in on the action and cheered louder than Fuecoco. It looks like they are even rivals outside of pokemon battling with their battle for the best cheer! Nemona and I shook our heads at the silly rivalry and got ready for battle.
"Alright Pawmi! Let's show them your power! Use Quick Attack!" Pawmi sped forward at high speed that Charcadet did not have. What he didn't have in speed, however, he made up in power and defense.
"Charcadet, use Astonish!" Though Astonish isn't a powerful move, it got the job done pushing Pawmi back and leaving him open to an attack due to his low defenses. "Now, use Ember!" It hit Pawmi square in the chest as it got thrown back.
"Great job Charcadet!" Charcadet held its head high in pride, but he got a little too cocky. "Now! Pawmi, use Thunder Shock!" Charcadet was blindsided by the attack due to his celebration and got hit because of it.
"Let's not get too cocky now Charcadet! Let's hit em with Embers!"
"Pawmi, dodge!" Pawmi managed to dodge all the embers shot toward him and began to rush in. "Use Quick Attack!"
"Clear Smog all around you!" Charcadet was confused but followed through anyways, spreading smog all around him. Pawmi charged through, but only hit the smog as Charcadet was hidden in the dense air.
"Hahaha Nemona! We got you trapped! Now use Ember!"
"Quick! Use Thunder Shock all around you like a discharge!"
All that was seen was fire flying in random directions as electricity shot from all angles through the smog. There was a cry that sounded as the smog eventually cleared away revealing the two exhausted pokemon. They stared at each other without any movement, until finally, Charcadet fell to the floor with swirls in its eyes.
I immediately rushed over to Charcadet to see if she was ok. She looked at me and looked away in shame.
"Hey it's ok buddy. It was my fault we lost. I'm sorry buddy. You did amazing for your first battle, and you were so strong. We're gonna train hard so we can both become strong enough to win next time. How about that?" Quaxly agreed with the same sentiment. Charcadet nodded its head in determination as I returned it for a good rest. Nemona walked up and congratulated Pawmi as she came up to me with Pawmi on her shoulder.
"What happened there? I thought we had it when we caught you in the smog," I wondered.
"I don't think Charcadet could see anything in the smog either. He was just as blind as Pawmi. That's why I used an attack that hit everywhere so the sight didn't matter," Nemona explained.
"Yes, what she said. Also, Ember is a move that requires aim, so since she couldn't see where she was aiming, it would require lots of luck to hit," Dendra explained further.
"Ah... that makes sense. Dang we almost had that, but I messed up. That Pawmi of yours is really special Nemona!"
"Hey don't worry about it Jake! You show lots of great potential considering you haven't had many battles yet!" Nemona encouraged. Dendra nodded as well.
Suddenly, the bell rang indicating the end of class. I told Nemona to go ahead since I wanted to talk to Dendra.
"Hey Dendra!" She turned around after dismissing the class. "What's up Jake?"
"I'd like to take you up on that offer to train Quaxly! I'm pretty inexperienced in training pokemon, so it would be great if you could help me get a basis for how to train him and even Charcadet if you have the time."
"Yeah I'd love to Jake! I see your potential, and I would love to help you channel it with some good training. I know how hard it is to start training with no idea of what to do. I started out the same way, but I'll teach you the ropes. Let's do it a half an hour after school." I nodded and thanked her as I went back to the elevator to get to art class.
Although the training aspect was very important to me and would help me a lot, I was mostly doing it to help out Miriam. She's already helped me immensely, so I want to help her the best I can. After school there'll be time to go heal Charcadet before training, so I can talk to her then.
I finally reached the art room a little later than everyone else once again because I was talking to the teacher after class, so I took an empty seat in the back. Coincidentally, Penny was right there! I got to sit next to her and greeted her with a wave since class was starting. She waved back a bit as she put her focus onto the teacher.
The teacher's name was Mr. Hassel. He was a tall older man with longer blonde hair. He had a green suit on with grey khakis and a red and blue sweater. He seemed very strict which worried me.
"Hello everyone. My name is Mr. Hassel, and let's just get right into it. Go to an easel, and I'll tell you the instructions." He ordered with little emotion.
I followed Penny to an easel that was next to hers as he explained what we were doing.
"Today, we are going to do something simple. You are all going to paint a pokemon. There are paintbrushes and paint in front of you. I do not have high expectations since it's the first day, so there is no need to worry, but I will always be watching," he explained. Uh oh.
I got the memo and immediately began my painting. I had never been a good artist, so this would probably end horribly. I was already tired from the long day, so I didn't really care as much for how I did until I started painting.
I told Quaxly to go up to a podium in front of me and told him to pose. He did his little slick back the hair pose that he did after his victories. I put the paintbrush in my mouth like how all the other artists do it in TV shows, and went to work.
I was focused entirely on putting all of Quaxly's quirks into the painting. Blues, light blues, yellows, blacks, whites, everything came together nicely. I was in my own world with all the sounds of the other students blocked out, and then, I was finished.
"Ahhhhh. That's how you do it," I exclaimed exhausted. Penny looked over and tried her best not to die laughing right then and there.
"What?" I asked confused at her reaction. I just put my ass into that! It had to be good!
I looked down at myself to see tons of paint all over my uniform. I looked to my painting to see blotches of blues and yellows everywhere. It was a disaster! "How did this happen?" I asked rhetorically. I looked over at Penny's and was astonished. It was beautiful!
She decided to paint Eevee, and it looked like a real photo. She was a master!
"Yours is so beautiful Penny! How did you do it?" I asked.
She got shy at the compliment. "I've always loved art, so... yeah. It's just my thing you know," She explained.
"Well whatever you're doing, it's right because this is beautiful." She smiled at the compliment.
"Now what do we have here?" Mr. Hassel came over, and I immediately froze. He's gonna hate mine!
"Penny, as impressive as I expected considering what I saw this morning," Mr. Hassel remarked. Penny must have been up early to paint this morning.
"Now, Jake is it?" I nodded. "Let's look at yours." He stared at it for about 30 pain-stakingly long seconds as I waited anxiously for his review.
"This...this..." He began sobbing? Wait what? "THIS IS THE MOST EMOTIONAL PIECE OF ART I'VE EVER SEEN oh oh oh," He declared sobbing uncontrollably. I looked on in confusion. "Wait really?" I asked. Penny was trying not to die laughing once again.
"Yes," He started wiping his eyes pulling it together. "The colors splotching everywhere gives emotion to it. Its abstract feel brings a deeper meaning to what we know as pokemon. What is the deeper meaning here Jake?" He asked me. I quickly jogged my mind trying to make something up.
"Uhhh... it means that humans have a...willing ignorance? of what pokemon really are to us? I guess?" Penny had to run away to hide her laughter as I threw out the most basic deep meaning of all time. A willing ignorance? Really Jake?
"Jake...that's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard oh oh oh!" He sobbed even more uncontrollably as I pat him on the back. I knew my art was good! Penny walked back in a little calmer than before as the bell rang indicating the end of the day.
"Oh!" He started rubbing his eyes. "Everyone may go. You all did great! Especially you Jake! Keep up the good work buddy!" He took one last look at my artwork one more time and immediately choked up again. He ran off sobbing at my art's beauty.
"I told you it was beautiful! You just didn't see the vision!" I exclaimed. Quaxly jumped up and high-fived me.
"Yeah, I didn't understand the 'willing ignorance,'" She replied laughing. I laughed too at the absurdity of it all. We walked out of the classroom.
"Hey I heard that you're a really great battler from Dendra. Why didn't you fight off those Team Star grunts? I bet you could've taken em without my help," I questioned.
"I-uhh," She started stammering out nonsense as she tried to say something.
"Hey, no worries. I would've helped you regardless of how good you are at battling." She smiled in appreciation at my sincerity and understanding. I didn't want to be too nosy or anything since we just met today.
"Hey I'm going to the Nurse and then training with Dendra for a bit. Do you wanna come along? It could be fun, and you could get your Eevee checked out and trained," I suggested. She thought it over, and then nodded.
"Yeah, I'll go to the nurse with you. I was gonna go there anyway since he suffered a nasty burn earlier from the battle. I can't go to the practice though because I got some other stuff I wanna do," She replied. I smiled and nodded as we walked to Miriam's office.
The school day was long but rewarding! Afterschool here we come!
There you have it! I should have a chapter done for y'all tomorrow and maybe even Sunday! This weekend's pretty low-key, so I should get a lot done. Thanks for reading! Review if you have any suggestions!
