A/N: I had a two month hiatus between chapter 10 and 11, so if you notice a shift in writing style between them, that's probably why. I also wrote these chapters for sites that have different editors than this one, so the formatting may be broken or wonky in places. I hope the story is at least a little enjoyable either way.

~-x-~

The clamor in the halls was unrelenting, but it was within the chaos that the girl found a sense of peace.

She was never the type of kid who loved going to school. Who looked forward to getting up everyday, just to have to sit down and do homework later? She usually found herself drifting off into more pleasant, stimulating settings and missing out on the day's lesson anyway. Then again, it has been quite some time since she was last enrolled in a learning institution. Perhaps the same habits would follow in this new, perpetually blue environment. At this point in time, she would take any change from her life back home.

An odor of a disinfectant chemical she could never remember the name of sat in the air. Aside from occasionally flicking upwards to check where she was in the spiraling halls, the girl's rose-colored eyes stuck to the stark white, tiled linoleum flooring as she walked amid the crowd of students. A glance at her schedule resting on the binder in her arms gave an important reminder: her homeroom's number was 3-2. Fortunately, she had the foresight to ask a staff member at the front office where exactly it was.

Turning a corner, she had to react quickly to avoid colliding with a student who had his floating Rotom phone practically blocking his vision. Then, she was nudged and pushed here and there by unaware passerby. Her fingers twitched, stretching towards the pokeballs locked to notches hanging from her belt, but she knew better than to follow the impulse. It would be a terrible look if she had one of the wiliest of her team force people to give her room.

With plenty of time to spare, she reached her destination, yet hesitated outside of the open door. There were already many students inside and seated, most chatting with someone else. The air of camaraderie was palpable, even outside of the room. It felt intrusive to step inside when she was, figuratively and literally, a foreigner.

She was forced to enter when the teacher sitting at the main desk looked upwards from documents and noticed her. She found herself staring at the adult's star-esque earrings in particular. They were very pretty.

"Ah! You must be our new student." The blonde woman's smile was somehow more vibrant than the ceiling lights. Shuffling through her papers, she singled one out.

"Your name is Alysa, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." To her own ears, her soft-spoken voice was drowned out by the others' chattering. Somehow, the teacher appeared to hear her.

"Good! I'm happy to have you." She pressed her hands together. "You may call me Ms. Briar."

Alysa looked on, horror steadily twisting her features as Briar stood and clapped to get the attention of the classroom.

"Everyone! The new addition to our little family is finally here. Her name is Alysa. Please help her feel welcome."

"Hi." "Hey there!" "Hello Alysa!"

Many greetings tumbled from the students, some even giving her rather amicable smiles. Ironically, they only served to heighten her already terrible anxiety. She would rather not get acknowledged at all.

"Feel free to sit wherever there's an open desk." Briar nodded to send her on her way. She tried to not nervously fidget with her uniform. The first empty desk she saw was her target. Not meeting anyone's gaze directly, Alysa kept her head angled down as she took her seat, slipping her backpack off to place under her chair. There was one girl with long red-highlighted dark hair and yellow eyes to her right who she could tell was eyeing her closely, but she did her best to ignore her.

Some desks away was a girl with glasses and braided dark hair, some aspects of it resembling the silver heads of screws. She was looking rigidly ahead with a stiff, poised posture. If she didn't notice the subtle expanding and deflating of her chest, Alysa could've assumed the girl wasn't even alive.

After the attendance check was completed, the class went on as expected. She had enrolled in Blueberry Academy somewhat late, attending a month after the year formally started, so Briar took the liberty to once again go over a description of what their school year will entail for her sake. The woman took a moment to speak to Alysa directly, informing her that she'd be happy to help her catch up to the first two lessons after all of her other classes are finished for the day.

About an hour and a half later, Alysa was exiting the room after most of all the other students had, toting a new textbook and feeling like her head was spinning. The material at least wasn't too hard to follow, but she naturally was not looking forward to the work, or for the other classes she'd have to play catch-up for. A consequence of starting late, but she rather have been late than not be able to attend at all. The annoying move to a different region would hopefully be worth it, in the end.

Hopefully, the day will get more enjoyable from this point. She had her practical battle class to go to in the Terarium; something a lot more up her alley. Excitement buzzed, overtaking the anxious twisting of her stomach. The only aspect of her next class that had her feeling somewhat uneasy was the fact that it was being held in not the most friendly of landscapes.

The Polar Biome was dreadfully frigid, so wearing a protective coat and gloves while within it was highly recommended. Fortunately, she had the foresight to pack clothing articles like that before the big move. After a quick hustle to her dorm room to grab them, Alysa made her way to one of the many staircases spiraling down into the academy's undersea depths. The tunnel extending past the last door, leading to a bright light at the end, caused her breath to hitch. She stepped forward, and into the semi-warm air of the Savanna Biome. She had to stand still, and take the scenery in.

The musty smell of soil was weirdly aromatic. Auburn and beige patches of grass, dotted by sparse green vegetation, expanded for what felt like miles to the multicolored division barriers of the other biomes. The Terarium's dome was dream-like, projecting the appearance of a partly cloudy sky so real that made the park seem as if it wasn't truly hundreds of feet underwater. The Terarium Core was perhaps the most breathtaking point of interest, cream in color and sparkling brilliantly.

While she has seen pictures of it, this was her first time physically being within the massive dome. Unfortunately, she did not have much time at the moment for extended sightseeing. That could come sometime past 4pm, as her schedule contained no classes in the evening.

In the distance, Alysa could see the Central Plaza. How long it would take to reach on foot would've made her groan, but she had a more efficient – and fun – transportation method. Grabbing a specific pokeball and removing it from her belt with a click, she used a finger to press and hold its release button, triggering the ball's growth into its usable size. With just a single press next, the capsule opened to unleash a bright beam of energy.

A pokemon materialized before her. A blue head crowned by red shook, as piercing eyes that most people would find terrifying zeroed in on her. Rather than be intimidated, Alysa returned the dragon's toothy grin, giggling as its red wings flapped. It approached her with heavy steps, nuzzling against her cheek and tousling her black hair.

"Hi, Sally. Sorry I can't play with you right now." Alysa stroked the Salamence's cranial fins. "My next class starts soon, but it's far away. Can you give me a flight there?"

A rumbling sound of affirmation was her response, and she expressed her gratitude. The dragon turned and waited for her trainer to get onto her back, then lifted off into the air effortlessly. The Terarium was even more astounding at a higher elevation, but Alysa remained focused on the task at hand. She guided her pokemon over to the Central Plaza, and they touched down on top of its main structure. There at least wasn't too many students present, but the handful that were visibly reacted to the sudden appearance of them.

"Woah! What's that pokemon? It looks kinda scary..."

"Cool, a Salamence! Is that girl a Dragon Tamer?"

Alysa got off to stand on her feet, and lifted Sally's pokeball. She had a feeling the dragon would draw attention, but the last thing she wanted was for them to make a scene.

"I know, I know..." At the pokemon's disappointed snort, she apologetically rubbed the underside of her jaw.

"I promise I'll let you and everyone else out later."

Sally was recalled, and Alysa disengaged her pokeball before clipping it back onto her belt. She did her best to ignore the stares from onlookers as she swiftly put on her parka, beginning to walk down one of the platform's slopes as she slipped on her insulated gloves. Leaving from the Polar Biome's entrance way, her shoes crunching snow, the stark drop in temperature brought her temporary pause. It still boggled her mind how each of the biomes were regulated, but the intricacies of the technology were sure to go soaring over her head should one day someone attempt to explain it.

She made it to the ground-level gazebo of her practical battle class on time, though there weren't as many other students present as she would've thought. It was a positive change, helping create a more relaxed atmosphere. Alysa stood near the platform, raising her hand when her name was called for attendance, then listened to her teacher give his lecture on the wild pokemon diversity that can exist in even hostile environments – like frozen tundras.

"Now, your assignment for today." The man grinned. "Catch a pokemon that is NOT an Ice-type OR Water-type in this biome and present it to the class, then release it. It can be from around this area or even from the mountains. If you cannot fulfill this task before class time is over, then capturing the pokemon will be your homework assignment to complete before our next meeting period. Does everyone understand?"

There was some grumbling, but since objecting of course wasn't an option, no one refused. Alysa had since started thinking, going through the possible options. She had did a little digging into what wild pokemon populations each biome possessed beforehand, and already knew what would likely be the easiest pokemon to capture.

A Minccino. A Normal-type that was allegedly common in the Polar Biome.

She was among the first to set out, traveling further into the tundra. However, she realized a glaring issue: where were Minccino usually spotted? It makes sense for a pokemon not naturally resistant to cold temperatures to create a den protected from the bitter winds, so Alysa set her sights on conspicuous snow mounds.

Minutes passed, and it dawned on her that another pair of eyes surveying the land would help out a lot. Alysa selected another one of her team members to send out: a blue avian pokemon with wings resembling the most plush cotton. Around the base of its neck, almost swallowed by the white fluff, was a yellow ribbon necklace with a marble-esque pink jewel hanging off of it.

"I'm looking for a specific pokemon to catch, Tari. Can you give me a heads up if you spot any wild ones?"

Her Altaria sung a short tune of confirmation, flapping his wings in an elegant fashion. Unbothered by the cold, he begun to fly about in large circles above. Alysa attempted to stay on track, but the chilling air was starting to get to her a bit. Her clothing could only do so much while the warmth of her body was being slowly stripped away, the longer she was out in the open.

Finally, a development was brought to her attention. Some yards away, she heard Tari call out, and briskly walked to his location.

A small group of wild pokemon were huddled around what appeared to be some bushes holding berries, but the noise of her dragon frightened them into scattering. Alysa spotted a Minccino fleeing, and directed her pokemon's attention to it.

"Quick Tari, aim a Dragon Pulse before it!"

The dragon swooped down, and released a purple energy wave from his peak, which collided with the snow in the Minccino's path. It flinched, the force of the attack sending it flying backwards where it rolled into a heap.

Seeing her chance, Alysa wasted no time in tossing the Quick Ball she had ready. A flash of light and three shakes later, the Normal-type was caught.

"Great job." When the Altaria landed next to her, she stroked the back of his long neck, parting through tiny blue feathers and drawing out a pleased hum from him. Tari moved closer to envelop his trainer with his wings in a hug, a usual display of affection that always had her cooing at him.

... ... ...

"That's a nice Altaria you got there."

The unexpected, masculine voice made her eyes snap open. With a start, she spun to the direction of it.

A boy with a purple streak running up a fluffy part of his white hair was standing near her. What knocked her more off guard was how vibrant his golden eyes were, a strong and enlivening contrast against the greyish dull tones she's been staring at for the past hour. His white shirt bore a logo of something familiar, but his added accessories of a black and gold jacket with a flared collar and a purple fabric draped around him added an overall unique look.

His expression was serene, features relaxed and maintaining an easygoing smile. A comical difference to her spiked anxiety from being approached so suddenly by a stranger.

"Uh...thanks." The compliment for the dragon was acknowledged, though she instinctively lowered her head so the hood of her parka provided some cover. Tari trilled curiously, folding his wings back and watching the boy.

"How long have you had it?" He met the creature's gaze cordially. In the following instant, he honed in on the accessory the dragon wore, eyebrows quirking the smallest degree.

"...A lot of years..." Talking about her pokemon always came to her more easily, but she was not the social type. Self-consciousness had her blood burning, increasing the temperature and making the coldness feel non-existent. Her parka was starting to feel uncomfortable, which was a cue for her more than anything else.

"I'd...love to stay and chat," A well-rehearsed lie. "-but I should get back to class."

Alysa started walking away, pocketing the Minccino's pokeball and briefly gesturing for the Altaria to follow. "C-C'mon, Tari..."

He didn't move right away, choosing to first face the boy and wave a cottony wing as a polite farewell. He chuckled, waving back to the pokemon, then observed as it took to the sky to follow the girl.

A finger went to his chin in thought while he watched her disappear behind a large snow mound, smile broadening.