Billy had somehow navigated an entire date with a Princess without once losing his composure, potentially emotionally or physically betraying Amanda or causing any kind of internation incidents that might have resulted in the kids or himself getting kicked out of Paldea. Geeta spent most of their time together getting to know him in ways no one but Amanda had ever probed, asking personal questions about his life and time in Arcana, his training regimen and many other things, acting shamelessly flirtatious all the while. In the end, while Billy did see her as an incredibly compelling and attractive woman, he kept his girlfriend in his thoughts the entire time and often mentioned her passing so that "La Primera" got the idea that he was spoken for and hoped to remain spoken for in the foreseeable future.
That didn't stop Geeta from continuing to ask him pointed questions about him and his goals in life. no matter how much he hoped it would. What did stop her, however, was when the topic got onto family. He had mentioned something about his large family and the probing slowed after that.
"Naturally" Billy spoke jokingly, "we knew we had to get Chris out of that bar before things got even rowdier. But there was only so much Jon and I could do. I was only about seventeen at the time and Jon wasn't one of the bigger guys in our family. I think we'd have been clobbered if Malcolm and Michael hadn't come in to bail us out. Those two had the whole bar petrified. Michael was the Champion after all and Malcolm had a pretty bad reputation from his days slugging out Giselle's goons." When Geeta didn't have a follow up question, he stopped their walking through the lobby of the hotel. "Is everything alright?"
She smiled sadly. "It is. I just...I wish I had those kinds of memories you had."
"You're not close to your family?"
She blinked slowly. "I'm an...I...my Pokémon are my family. The people of Arcana are my family. My friends are my family."
"I'm sorry if I said something wrong."
She shook her head and patted his arm. "You have been an absolute treasure this evening, William. A gentleman, a scholar, an accomplished Pokémon Battler and even good with children. And I should say...quite handsome."
This made Billy flush. "I should remind you-"
Geeta giggled. "As you've said many a time this evening, you have a girlfriend. I should add loyalty to your qualities. This Amanda maiden ought to have you under lock and key. Otherwise, someone might try to run off with you." She gently removed her arm from Billy's. "As much as I would wish to continue this wonderful evening, I have duties to attend to at the Pokémon League. But I will be in town tomorrow to help with the First Day festivities, so if you would like to meet again..."
Billy politely turned her down. "I'm sure Amanda will have plans for us in the evening. It's our date night tomorrow."
La Primera winked. "I see. We'll just have to plan another day, William. Once the Treasure Hunt has begun, I imagine."
"Treasure Hunt?"
"The young student you will be looking after should be able to clue you in. Until we meet again." She politely bowed to him, prompting Billy to do the same. Geeta smiled at this before turning on her heel and walking out of the lobby, leaving Billy utterly speechless of the woman who would one day rule Paldea as Michael ruled Arcana.
{}
As their procession finally made it towards the infamous Battle Court in the heart of Mesagoza, Tommy and the others had seemingly soaked all that they possibly could from Nemona as her pupils. She'd educated them on what battle items were the ones to invest in, which meals were the best to share with Pokémon and which styles were the best to show off when you were in the middle of a battle. Ordinarily, Tommy would mock Nemona for her obsession with battling, but he was so smitten with her that he could care less if she wanted to prattle on about it even more. Her passions brought out the best parts of her, at least from his currently enamored position.
He had never looked at girls like this before his crush on Addison blossomed back in Arcana. He had always wondered why Jeremy would put off training time to potentially dethrone either Michael or Ryan as Champion to spend extra time with Holly. But now, he knew all too well why he did. Though young, he clearly saw what it was in girls that made them irresistible to some guys. Then again, like Nemona seemed like second nature to him. They were both obsessed with Pokémon Battling, to the point where Nemona had dethroned all other top ranked trainers save for "La Primera", the top champion, who also happened to be the region's Princess. They both wanted to be the best and both saw in each other (at least Tommy saw it from his own perspective) a rival who might get the best out of them. Tommy wanted Nemona to be more than that to him, but all he got from her initially was how eager she was for an opponent who could meet her might. In some ways, Nemona reminded him of a less refined version of Dawn. But whereas Dawn took the time to appreciate the smaller things and spent time not battling, he doubted there was a moment in his new crush's mind where battling never crossed it.
But that didn't stop him from liking her. And he would continue to pursue her until he walked into a brick wall, Addison finally got to her senses and gave him a chance (as he would never admit to being over her), or some other girl surprised him.
So, mustering up some small courage to talk to Nemona about something other than battling, he crept his way up into a conversation she was currently having with Morgan and Addison.
"-about that in a book my Nona used to read to me as a little girl" Nemona went on.
"But do you know where it is?" Addison inquired desperately. "Or know anything about it?"
Nemona sadly shrugged. "I haven't been there, unfortunately, if it even exists. They say it only comes out once in a generation, and not for very long."
"So it's like a mirage?" Morgan suggested.
"Or maybe it's an urban legend. I haven't even heard anyone bring it up since I was a girl anyway. Why do you ask, Addison?"
Tommy could see Addison was unintentionally crushed by Nemona's answer. "Addy..."
Addison lowered her head. "It's why I'm here."
"I thought you were here to go to school and learn" Nemona recalled. "As part of bridging our regions together."
"We are" Morgan assured her. "It's important that we build up our friendships with other regions and follow through on our pledges to the King to try and reestablish communication lines between Arcana and Paldea at least. It's what Julia would want, right Addy?" Addison didn't respond and simply walked away. Tommy went to try and talk to her, but Morgan held him back. "Let her go, Tommy. She's going to need some alone time with Galatea."
"But she can't-"
"She'll come around" she assured him. "Let's keep up with Nemona."
Morgan's words convinced him that Addy could more than take care of herself for a few minutes. But he would be the knight who saved her if he had to. For the moment, Tommy returned to Nemona's side and noticed the strange black ball at her side. He initially mistook it for a Poké Ball, but it was definitely different and seemed to be almost opaque. "What's with that ball, Nemona?"
Nemona quickly picked up on Tommy's question and took it up in her hand. "Ah, I knew I forgot to explain something. This is something only experienced trainers get to use. This is a Tera Orb. It's a special orb that helps your Pokémon unlock its true potential. When you use it, your Pokémon transforms into a crystallized version of itself. It's type even changes and it becomes super strong. If you want to become a true Pokémon Master, you have to get yourself one of these."
"How does one get a Tera Orb?" Morgan inquired.
"I gotta have one!" Tommy exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, you have to achieve a special rank of trainer" Nemona warned them. "It's why having one is so rare. In order to be granted a Tera Orb, you have to attain four Gym Badges or ace your Art and Battle Studies midterms. Tera Orbs in the hands of any old trainer could be a serious problem. La Primera once said that Tera Orbs have the power to potentially wipe out all life in Paldea."
"ALL LIFE?!" Morgan screeched.
"Don't worry. I'm sure they've got things taken care of down in-Ugh. Not them again!"
Tommy glanced over towards where Nemona's attention had been drawn to and was puzzled. He saw a small group of kids wearing what appeared to be Uva Academy uniforms with some alterations to them. They also wore helmets and sunglasses in the shape of stars to cover their eyes and potentially mask themselves from any troublesome teachers or authority figures. They seemed to be looking around for something or someone and would occasionally whisper to one another. Tommy wouldn't have even given them a sideways glance if Nemona hadn't clenched her fist in anger at them. "Who? Those guys? They look like circus rejects to me."
"Team Star!" Nemona growled. "The Bullies of Uva Academy!"
"Bullies?" Morgan wondered aloud. "Given the way they dress, I'm surprised they're not the ones being bullied."
"One or two of them aren't a problem. But they hunt in packs, like Poochyenas or Houndour. They go around and scare students into either joining their ranks or force them to hide in their dorm rooms. No one wants to admit it in the school, but they're the reasons why so many local kids aren't applying to join in anymore. And a part of me thinks the only reason they wanted to open our borders is to fill in the ranks."
Tommy shook his head angrily. "Why doesn't someone do something about them?"
"You'd be crazy to" Nemona warned him. "The last student who stood up to Team Star was never seen again."
Morgan shuddered. Even Tommy was put off by that. "Huh? You mean they-"
Nemona quickly waved her hands at that. "Whoa whoa! Not like that!" She laughed nervously. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you think that happened. But Team Star has a lot of members. One kid got riled up and took on a few of them, but then their leaders showed up. And the rumor has it their leaders are a robot, a rocker, ninja, a pyro and a giant. All that kid needed to see was all five leaders and he got scared so bad, he dropped out of school. A lot of other kids dropped out too."
"Why doesn't the school do something about them?" Morgan asked timidly.
"So long as it doesn't happen on School Property, they can't. Team Star only gets as far as Mesagoza, but their bases and actions are usually all throughout Paldea's other towns." She shrugged. "But being here is close enough to school ground. I'm gonna go get a School Security guard. You guys wait out here." With that, Nemona sprinted down towards the high staircase that led to Uva Academy.
Morgan glared at the Team Star grunts as they lurked near the cafe. "Why does every school on earth have a bullying problem?"
"Bad policies?" Tommy guessed. "And it's not just schools. Don't forget how we had to deal with that jerk your sister brought out on a date."
"Matt?"
Tommy blinked. "Uh, no. He's dating Annette. That big jerk at Titanio Park. You know, the one that the King banished."
Morgan's eyes went wide. "Oh, you mean Simon. Yeah, the only guy in Arcana who was a bigger jerk to Jasmine than Matt was. In his case, it was his parenting. Betsy Seissuon was a real piece of work, always calling the Queen 'street trash' and being loyal to Claude. Simon took after her. It's good thing they're both gone from the region for good."
Tommy noticed the two Team Star Grunts eyeing a girl roughly his age walking nearby from the local Sushi Bar with a bag of what he could only guess was her own sushi. They were whispering to one another and nodded mischievously. He could only predict what their next move would be, as they began to make their move on this innocent girl with a big Eevee bag on her back.
"Oh no you don't!" Tommy growled.
Morgan grabbed his arm. "And where do you think you're going?"
"I can't just let them jump that girl!" Tommy declared.
"Nemona asked us to stay here" she reminded him.
"And how is that gonna help her?"
"We can't get in trouble, Tommy. Remember what we promised the King."
"How are we gonna end up in trouble when those two pinheads are the ones causing this?!"
"Tommy!"
Tommy sighed. "Would you stop Ryan right now if I were him?"
Morgan blinked and lowered her head, releasing him in the process. "Fine. But if you get us in trouble for this..."
Tommy winked in her direction. "No sweat. Taking down these clowns will be as easy as pie!" He rushed forward as the two made their move on the innocent girl. As he approached her, he got a better opportunity to see what she looked like. And Tommy was caught off guard by how cute she was. She wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but she had a strange aura of sincerity about her. What you saw was what you'd get with her. She had mostly reddish hair with fairly decent sized patch of blue hair that made up the back of her hair style. She had a pair of glasses that covered her face, no doubt showing signs of someone who often kept to themselves. And given all of the young ladies Tommy had grown up around, he hadn't ever met someone like that.
She was definitely put off by how the Team Star grunts approached her. She took a step back as they confronted her. "Would you mind backing off?" Tommy couldn't help but smiling at the soft-spoken nature with which she went about.
"Why would you try to run off?" the male grunt asked. "We're giving you the opportunity of a lifetime, ya nerd."
"If you join up with us" the girl grunt added, "no one will be able to mess with you."
The girl backed further away. "Um, I'd rather not..."
"She doesn't understand the kind of offer we're giving her" the girl grunt grumbled.
"Maybe she needs to have an offer made to her that she can't refuse." He made his way over to grab at her, prompting Tommy to rush forward. All three were caught off guard by this, but only the Team Star grunts backed off. The girl was surprised at Tommy's brashness, but simply stayed behind him.
"Um..." she tried to speak, but Tommy put his arms in front of her, quieting her.
"Are these losers giving you a problem?" Tommy asked proudly, winking in her direction. "I'll clear them out quickly for you. You'd better take cover." The girl looked from Tommy to the Grunts and nodded before backing away towards another building and leaving Tommy free to deal with these rogues from Team Star.
"Who do you think you are?" the male grunt growled. "Calling us 'losers' and the like! You'd better clear out before you have a problem with the rest of Team Star!" The grunt reached onto his belt for the lone Poké Ball he had in his possession. "I'll give you one last chance to take back what you said about us!"
Tommy took up his own Poké Ball. If I had my Donphan, I'd be clobbering this loser. Oh well, looks like it's Fuecoco's time to shine! "You don't see me running away, do you? But you'll be running off with your tails between your legs soon enough." He flicked his wrist forward and his Fuecoco came out, barking with pride before spitting a small fireball out in front of him.
"Why you-ugh! Fine! GO! SHROODLE!"
The Team Star grunt dispatched his first Pokémon, a tiny shrew-like creature with an almost hemispherical body, with a stubby tail, four small light gray paw pads and a pair of rough looking incisors. Judging from the Pokémon's coloring, Tommy deduced that it was a Poison Type Pokémon and knew better than to engage with it in direct combat.
"Shroodle! Poison Fang!"
"Fuecoco! Dodge and use Ember!"
His Fuecoco leaped out of the way of the Shroodle's attempt to bite him and then retaliated with a small ball of fire it spat out with force at the Shroodle. The Shroodle absorbed the fire attack before being blasted backwards. It tumbled back towards his trainer before fainting after one attack. Before the trainer could even recall his fainted Pokémon, the female grunt pushed him aside and sent out her own Pokémon: a Shroomish.
"You really think a Shroomish could-"
"It's the only Pokémon I have" the female scowled.
"All Fuecoco sees is a salad buffet!" Tommy grinned. "Ember that one too, Fuecoco!" His Fuecoco growled with delight before spitting another fire ball at the female grunt's Shroomish, which was knocked backwards and collapsed in one move. The Fuecoco chirped with delight as Tommy grinned at his opponents. "So much for you guys being a 'problem' for me."
"We're outmatched here!" the female grunt warned. "We have to warn the bosses."
"If they find out there's a kid tough enough to-" the male grunt agreed, before looking up and noticing Nemona returning with a Uva Academy Security Officer. He returned his attention to Tommy. "You're going to regret getting your nose in our business. Until we meet again, Mr. Pest, Hasta La Vistar!" The two grunts than, in sync, made a star movement with their hands before rushing away before the Security Guard and Nemona arrived on the scene.
"Where did they go?" Nemona growled.
"Those kids are becoming a pain" the guard added, turning his attention to Tommy. "Thanks for clearing them out, kid, but next time you should leave dealing with them to the adults like us." He glanced over to Nemona. "I'll be filing a report with Director Clavell." He then spun around and made his way back towards Uva Academy.
Nemona seemed astonished. "You-you took down those Team Star guys?"
Tommy confidently brushed his cheek with his fist. "You sound surprised."
Nemona smiled excitedly. "I was just-never mind. I'm happy you whooped them. You have a lot of potential, Tommy."
He would have said something in response, had he not noticed the girl with the Eevee backpack returning to say something to him. He spun around and smiled in her direction, which seemed to completely catch her off guard. She remained on her backfoot, a hand over her heart. Tommy was puzzled by this initially but remained his cheerful smiling self. "I hope you're okay. They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"No, they...I..."
"Guess I should introduce myself" Tommy replied. "Tommy Queensbury. I'm a new student from Arcana."
Her eyes shined at this. "New...new student? I see." She lowered her head and whispered something to herself. Tommy offered her a hand to shake, but this seemed to shock her even more than his positiveness. She seemed eager to shake his hand but pulled away. "I'm just...I mean...thanks. I'll...uh...I'll see you around." Without another word, she rushed off towards Uva Academy with her bag of sushi.
"Um, okay?" Tommy remarked sadly. "I didn't get your name though."
"You can't woo them all, Tommy" a voice responded. Tommy was surprised to hear Addison coming back, a look of determination on her face, as if she had restored some confidence to herself. She gave Morgan and Nemona both reassuring smiles as well, though Tommy could tell the 'urban legend' comment about White Island had shaken her to her core.
"You sure you're gonna be okay?' he asked her.
Addison nodded. "Yep. Just needed a bit of reassurance."
"I'm glad you're in better spirits" Nemona added. "All that's left on the itinerary for you guys is Uva Academy itself, but seeing as how it's getting late, we might have to wait until tomorrow after the first day of classes." She took a deep breath and gestured towards the staircase behind them. "They say half the hurdle of making it to Uva Academy is running up those stairs for the first time. The second half is actually taking part in classes." She glanced around in confusion. "Wait, wasn't Justin supposed to be here?"
"He ran up ahead of us" Morgan reminded her. "He's probably already getting settled in his room."
Nemona gestured to Tommy. "Well, you'd better catch up with him, since he's the one who has access to your dorm room. The porters should have brought your stuff into your rooms already." She then reached into her backpack and handed to all three of them their schedules. "Until we determine what our future courses of study will be, you all will have the same schedule as me and a few other newer students in General Studies. First Period is 9:00 AM, History with Ms. Raifort." Once Tommy had collected his schedule, he raced up the stairs to begin the next big stage of his life.
{}
Having gotten his schedule and the location of his Deluxe Dorm room from their Home Room teacher Mr. Jacq, Justin slowly made his way through all of the various hallways and up to the hallway his and Tommy's room was slated to be. While his mind jumped and spun around as if he was being pushed and pulled in various directions, he did his best to keep an eye on every Deluxe Dorm Room to ensure he did not pass by it so quickly. All of it was quite stimulating for him, from getting his "first" Pokémon, to entering a new region, to trying to learn how to be a proper diplomat all the way down to potentially landing himself a "date" with Bridgette. Of course, it wasn't exactly a date, more or less a special studying session where Bridgette would educate him about being the best diplomat he could be. He hadn't even had an idea about mapping out an idea for a new video since landing in Paldea. But that would have to change. He needed to show his audiences the Paldean variant of Wooper he had been given, assuming he'd be allowed to.
He finally made it to the room he and Tommy had been assigned to: Room 909 A. The Second half of their Deluxe Dorm would belong to another girl, one who almost never left her room for some reason. Justin guessed she might have similar issues to him in being quite introverted and potentially neurodivergent. He pulled out his card to access the room, when a voice stopped him.
"Um, I don't think that's your room" a girl's voice chimed. Justin spun around and saw a girl slowly approaching him, with red and blue hair and an Eevee backpack on her back and bag of take-out sushi in her hand. "That room belongs to-"
"I believe this is the correct room" Justin explained. "Room 909 A. You must be one of our roommates."
The girl paused at this. "You're one of those Arcanan transfer students? Aren't you a bit old for this kind of school?"
"You never can be too old to learn something" Justin joked.
The girl nodded. "I guess. Then this is your room. I'll leave you guys be if you leave me. I've got a lot of things to worry about as school starts up so-"
"So here it is!" Tommy's voice echoed from nearby. Justin noticed Penny's face slightly redden at the sound of Tommy's voice, then saw Tommy hurrying down to see their room. Once he spotted their dormmate with him, he smiled brightly. "Oh, there you are too. I never got your name."
She looked away, hiding her face from both of her new roommates. "Uh, I thought I did."
"You know our roommate already?" Justin asked.
"Oh yeah, I whooped some sorry losers who were giving her a hard time" Tommy said proudly. He then returned his full attention to the girl. "I think I'd have remembered your name if you'd given it to me."
"I suppose you have the right to know" she muttered quietly. "I'm Penny."
"Ah, hello Penny" Justin bowed respectfully. "I'm Justin Jacques."
She waved nervously to the both of them. "Well, like I said to your friend, I'll leave you guys be if you leave me be." She then quickly swiped her card and opened the door for them all. "I like to game late at night, so I apologize if I keep you up. Just feel free to let me know if-"
Tommy was confused. "We're not gonna hang out or something?"
Penny kept her back to them. "I...uh...I'm not the best at this sort of thing, so...uh...I guess we'll see each other in class?"
"Do we have any classes together?" Justin inquired. "It would be nice for us all to get along since we'll be sharing a Deluxe Dorm with one another."
"I doubt we'd have many" she responded quietly. "I'm on the STEM Track, which means I take more advanced classes for the most part. We might be sharing one or two classes, but that would be it. I have History with Ms. Raifort for the first class, then lots of computer programming classes before Advanced Placement Math with Ms. Tyme and Art with Mr. Hassel to end my day."
"Guess we'll see you in History and Art class then" Tommy grinned.
Penny nodded nervously before vanishing into her half of their shared Deluxe Dorm and shutting the door behind her. Justin and Tommy then shrugged at her abruptness before going into their own half of the Deluxe Dorm Room. The room was surprisingly large for the two, with a large bed in one corner of the room and a pullout sofa that had a mattress inside of it. Like all other Dorm Rooms, they came equipped with a refrigerator, a toaster oven and a small kitchenette, a large TV and gaming console, and a full bathroom with all amenities.
"So how are we gonna decide who sleeps where?" Justin inquired.
"I don't think we need to fight over it" Tommy theorized, pointing towards the large desk that sat next to the bed. "You're gonna set up all of your stuff for your vlog on there, right? So why don't you take the bed? I'll sleep on the sofa here." He looked at the sofa and found that their bags had already been brought in. "Oh good. Nemona was right. They did bring our bags."
Justin was surprised at Tommy's maturity. "You sure you don't mind?"
"Nope. You're gonna need the space. I promise I won't interfere with your video making."
Justin smiled at this. "While I do appreciate that, I'm sure my fans would like to get to know my roommate at Uva Academy as well. Especially if he becomes a legend in the Paldean Pokémon League." He offered Tommy a handshake. "And we'll make the best roommates either of us has ever had. Or at least me."
Tommy shook his hand and smiled. "I'm certain you'll pass Ryan on that list for me in no time, hahaha!"
Justin quickly collected his suitcase and brought it over to the full-size mattress he'd be spending the next few weeks on. Once he'd placed his backpack containing his laptop and various belongings besides the lone Poké Ball he had for his Paldean Wooper, he took a deep breath and tried to compose himself for the remainder of his evening. "While I would love to start working on a video or unpacking now, I'll have to use the rest of our time tomorrow for that. I need to meet Bridgette in town for our first-"
"Date?!" Tommy snickered.
Justin gulped. "No. Our first study session." He cleared his throat and made his way for their exit. "I'll be back before 9:00. Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone, Tommy."
"Who says I'll do anything crazy?"
Justin looked back and gave the boy his own wry smile. "I'm not the only one who may end up on a date one of these days." He then made for the exit.
{}
Though she was trying her hardest to hide her troubled thoughts from Morgan, Addison felt she was doing a lousy job, given how many nervous looks her friend would give her as they climbed the stairs and walked the halls of Uva Academy. She had to have a moment by herself to collect her thoughts and reinforce her faith in finding White Island, even if she might be the only one who believes in the legend. Especially if she was the only one who had the faith it was real. While Morgan may be willing to help her, she could only guess that the lone person who had faith in finding White Island was herself.
Whenever Morgan wasn't eyeing her with worry, however, Addison noticed her aura changing into something brighter and more joyous than she remembered Morgan ever being. She would occasionally skip along the hall, whistling a happy and friendly tune. Addison didn't even need her mental talents to guess what was causing this. The boy she'd met while Addison was buying churros. This boy must have been something for her to lose her cool as much as she did. She had initially been afraid Morgan would be dwelling on Ethan and her "break" for a while, but this new boy might be a blessing to them. And Addison was sure she could get along with the boy once they meet.
"So, you said this boy is a roommate of ours?" Addison inquired.
"What boy?" Morgan asked dreamily.
Addison laughed. "The boy you're dreaming about now."
"Who says I'm dreaming about him?"
"Your movements, the way you talk, the happy aura you're giving off." She could have went on listing all of the telltale signs, but she figured Morgan got the point. When she noticed Morgan looking embarrassed, Addison put her arm around her friend. "You don't have to feel worried, Morgan. Or embarrassed. If you fall for some cute guy in school, I'll be very happy for you. I'm not the only one who should get a 'Happily Ever After' in all of this, you know."
Morgan got a little solace from this. "Thanks, Addy." She looked at the room numbers and pointed towards their door. "Here it is. Room 808 A and B. The boys will have the B half if I'm not mistaken." The two made to open their door, but the door opened from the inside and a young man with long brownish-blonde hair pushed through and glanced back into the boys half of their room.
"Look, I don't have time to get into it. I'll be spending the evening in the library. I've got some research to do before the school schedule mucks up everything."
"You don't understand" another boy's voice echoed from inside. "You see, I was-"
"Whatever it is, Cole, it can wait. My research can't! See ya!" When he realized that Addison and Morgan were trying to get in, he politely brushed past them. "Excuse me. We'll get to introductions at another time." He rushed past them and down the hall to the Library.
Addison glanced back as he vanished out of their line of sight. "I really hope he wasn't the one you're crushing on."
Morgan shushed her. "Do you want the whole Academy to know?!" She pushed Addison inside and let the door close behind them. "And no, it's not him. It's our other roommate. By the way, we should properly introduce ourselves to him." Addison giggled as she watched Morgan take a moment to collect herself and make sure she looked as beautiful as possible before taking a long and deep breath in and knocking on the door to the boys half of their deluxe dorm. "Cole? Are you in there?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Come on in."
Morgan pushed the door open, with Addison remaining behind her as they walked inside, wanting to give Morgan time to speak to Cole first. She did meet him first after all. Addison noticed him from the back, going through a suitcase that likely had his necessary belongings in them. From this angle, Addison was initially confused as to why this boy was the one who drew her affection. He was skinny, his clothes were patchy and unmatching and his hair was spiky and unkempt. For someone who once desired to be a Contest Queen, the boy seemed to be one she wouldn't have ordinarily made a passing thought at. But rather than come to any conclusions immediately, she remained quiet as Morgan made their introductions. Even diamonds could often be found through coarse pieces of coal.
"I'm so glad I caught up with you" Morgan exclaimed happily. "I was worried when you ran off like that."
"Oh, you didn't have to be" Cole replied. "But I do appreciate it."
Addison smiled. He sounds genuine and sincere enough.
"Why did you run off like that?" Morgan asked. "Did you find that shooting star you were looking for?"
Cole kept his back to them as he continued to go through his belongings. "Well, not exactly. It was a Pokémon that fell from the sky. But one of your chaperones was the one who took him off Arven's hands. I've been trying to get Arven to talk to me since then, but without much success."
"Well, I'm glad you're safe and sound" Morgan reiterated. "I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine, Cole." Morgan pulled Addison up to standing beside her. "This is Addison Tenton. She's from Arcana like I am."
Cole finally finished what he was doing and turned around to greet them. "Oh, hello Addison. I'm Cole."
At first glance, Addison was puzzled by why Morgan was falling hard for him. He was cute, to a degree, but not the kind of Adonis she'd expected Morgan to fall for. The longer that her eyes were locked with his, however, the more things began to appear off to her. When he offered her a hand to shake, Addison made to shake it, but when their hands met, she saw him. Out of the corner of her eyes, as if appearing from Cole's shadow, she saw his smile, his perfect emerald eyes that matched the bandanna on his head. The smile she'd promised would be the only one she would ever love.
Ryan? It can't be.
She blinked as their hands shook, and he became the shaggy haired boy she was meeting for the first time once more. But blinking a second time and he was Ryan once more.
"Uh, are you okay?" the boy asked her.
Addison shook herself out of it and nodded. "Uh, yeah. I'm sorry. Guess I'm a little tired from our trip here." She let go of Cole's hand and smiled at him. "I'm Addison. But my friends call me Addy, and since we're going to be roommates, I think you should too."
Cole smiled at her, echoes of Ryan's smile etched on his face. "Okay then, Addy. Director Clavell mentioned that we all have the same class schedules. So we should be able to go to all classes together."
"That's perfect" Morgan exclaimed. "We'll be able to get to know each other so much more easily now."
"Ye-yeah" Addison affirmed with less confidence.
Cole waved to them as he resumed going through his few belongings. "I'll be going through some of my things if you need me. But since it's the first day of school tomorrow, I think we should be going to bed early. See you girls tomorrow."
Morgan giggled and waved flirtatiously at him. "Of course. Already looking out for us. You're the best, Cole. See you in the morning. Come on, Addy."
Addison could not tell if Morgan had made it past her or not, as she was frozen in place by what she had seen. I wasn't just seeing things there, right? I mean, I saw what I saw. Ryan. That was definitely him. But why was it with some kid I've never met before? Her mind was racing in multiple different directions. Was she truly as exhausted as the felt? Was this her mind playing tricks on her? Or was it some kind of divine intervention? Was Cole a clue as to how she could possibly find Ryan or White Island at the very least? Did Morgan see Ryan in him? She recalled how Morgan had once crushed hard on Ryan back when they all went on their first journey. Was she also seeing him like this? Either way, she needed an answer from Cole.
"Uh, Cole?" Addison spoke up, before she felt Morgan grab her hand and yank her back into their side of the Deluxe Dorm Room. She would have to wait to get any possible answers from him.
"So?" she exclaimed. "What do you think of him?"
Addison blinked. "Do you want my honest opinion?"
Morgan hurried over to close the door to their half of the room. "I want the White Mage's opinion." She then pulled Addison over to the sofa and the two sat beside each other, once they set aside their luggage. "Did you get a sense of him? Is he good? Is he nice? Or was he putting on a front? I don't want to make the same mistakes Jasmine made."
Addison smiled nervously. "Uh, Morgan, the White Mage's answer may not be what you're looking for."
"Come on, Addy" Morgan beamed, taking her hands in hers. "What did you see in him?"
"Ryan" she said honestly.
Morgan blinked. "Whaddya mean? How could you see Ryan?"
Addison shrugged. "I wish I could say. I don't even think Galatea has any ideas. Do you?"
Perhaps before we're dragged out of the room, I could perhaps lay my own eyes on this young man? All I can see is what you think you saw. And that doesn't help me.
Morgan was still trying to wrap her mind around this. "But how could you have seen Ryan? I mean, Ryan wasn't...uh, I mean-isn't Paldean. He's half-Arcanan and half-Sinnoh since that's where Lady Alison is from. Do you think it was a vision? Or something else?"
"I can't explain it without any additional evidence. The only way to know for sure will be getting to know him better. Since we have the same class schedules, that will hopefully get easier. Maybe he'll know something about White Island. Or maybe he did know Ryan somehow. We won't know until we've become better friends."
Morgan smiled brightly. "And I hope I get to know him a whole lot better."
Addison rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your charms will win him over before we're a month in, Morgan." The two then let their Pokémon come out of their Poké Balls for a moment to get used to their new surroundings. Morgan's Quaxly almost immediately rushed for the vanity in their bathroom to ensure its pompadour was still in order. Addison's Sprigatito happily hopped around the sofa until finding a peaceful place to snuggle up and rest. Addison's Hatenna and Morgan's Misdreavus quickly got into a game of Hide and Seek, playing with each other all throughout the room.
While Morgan was able to play with her Pokémon as she simultaneously tried to unpack her belongings, Addison was left thinking about the boy they now shared a room with and the boy that had her heart in his hands, even as he was in a place she could not yet reach. Why had she seen him in Cole's shadows? Was it that her longing for Ryan was overtaking every other aspect of her being? Or was this a sign that things were not as they seemed in Paldea?