Tim wished he could be as self assured as Antoinetta seemed to be. Alas, he knew he could never be that. He would rather sit in the background, raise the Pokémon, and watch the people with more confidence performing. People would just laugh at him if he tried.

Everyone wanted to know what Troy’s Pokemon was, and the others wanted to know it was, even Tim himself. Troy just coldly refused. What was so wrong about letting your Pokemon out to play? It would be good for the Pokemon to socialize with others.

Tim didn’t dwell on that for very long. The group finally arrived at their class. They were then greeted by two other students, a boy and a girl. Well, they were mostly greeted by the girl. The boy was just there, and only spoke up once. The girl apologized for the behavior of the others, but then said something about them causing a disruption. Disruption? What disruption was he causing? His Rockruff nuzzled somebody’s leg, and barked? That didn’t seem very disruptive...

Then the girl, named Evey, asked Tim if his Rockruff was specially raised. He blushed, and shuffled his feet. What did that even mean? He cared for all Pokemon. Wasn’t that special enough? “Oh... um... I-I-I guess so... My father bred him just for me as a birthday gift, and I’ve been raising him ever since he was a little baby puppy.” He started petting his Rockruff’s head. ”Isn’t that right Rocky?”

Rocky let out a happy “Ruff!” In agreement.

Troy

Troy didn't pay the closest attention to the conversation between Zaria and Antoinetta. He had mostly lost interest in the conversation when Tim rejected his offer and it wandered off into topics irrelevant, like what pokemon are supposedly ugly. Zaria's motives and methods remain to be seen, though the possibility that Troy was expecting something beyond reality out of her actions was creeping its way into consideration. Even with such a possibility on the table though, that does not rule out grander designs, which just makes it harder to guess whether her actions are an act or not. Either way, the conversation was taken over with the introduction of two new students.

"I'm Evey!"

"Masaru"

"Troy."

Evey goes on about the interruption this morning. He had to admit, Zaria was really loud earlier, but it's not as if it was unprovoked, nor as if the faculty had done much about the situation to suggest they had any interest in keeping it from happening again. If this is how the PMA reacts to altercations between students, then it begged the question how competent the faculty actually were. It was always possible that staff competency outweighed their disciplinary shortcomings, but the school prefect wasn't instilling any faith.

In any case, Masaru seemed interested in a battle, but wasn't requesting one directly. Judging from his demeanor and choice of company, he didn't trust Masaru enough to expect the battle to not have consequences. Troy wasn't one to turn a battle down, even if there were social risks, if only because the best training is always hands-on. However, there was a risk that Shuckle would be shut down altogether, gaining no meaningful experience and making the entire encounter a pointless waste of time. Troy's metaphorical trigger finger itched, but his team of one still had obvious weaknesses that might impede practical training.

"If you're looking for a battle, you might have to wait a while." He didn't want to delay a battle unnecessarily, but as it stands right now, it was unclear how much he stood to gain from this, making it conflict with his goals. His team was too unbalanced, and as any one-man team is, utterly helpless against a variety of moves or ailments.

Still... the allure of battle was tempting. Troy didn't want to rule out the possibility, so he gives a simple explanation that would let him work with a non-committal time-frame. "We have class, after all." Troy eyes the others, waiting to see if they had something to say or if it was time to just leave.

---

The spat resolved itself quickly enough, but not without Antoinetta getting the last word. That was fine with Zaria, she had been past done at that point. She's probably just sensitive. People had insulted her plenty about her preferences of things, and that was supposed to be normal and fine, right? She'd had things she cherished made fun of before, and people had always told her she was being silly. Netty had probably had people saying yes to her all her life, Zaria thought with a roll of her eyes. She and her stupid contests, she fumed while trying to brush away the feather of jealousy that kept tickling her.

Troy shot down her request, and though she felt a little miffed, she got over it pretty quick. Should she have been surprised? Probably not.

When they reached class, a pair of students were waiting for them, though they seemed more intrigued by Troy and Tim. Again, Zaria felt a pang of inadequacy. Why hadn't anyone come up to her? Learning that their names were Evey and Masaru, she studied them, but once Evey started her reprimands she didn't want to listen anymore. Ughhhh, do they need to bring this morning up? I was the one who started the whole damn thing. Then I just shouted at everyone! Can't wait to forget about this... Too busy internally freaking out, she didn't notice anything else off about Evey, but Zaria did decide that she would avoid her at all cost anyways. Evey had made her feel awful about herself, and she tended to steer clear of people who did so, friend or foe or stranger.

Her cheeks tinged with pink from embarrassment and her grin looking sheepish, she excused herself. "Yeah, class, so I'm gonna head in. See you guys," she said, slipping past her peers to the classroom where she could just sit and think.

@vaguely

Troy's brusque reply earned a little frown from Antoinetta, but she didn't press. Was he worried his starter would get him laughed at? Or was he simply not in the mood to socialise? She couldn't blame him after the earlier fiasco. She strode alongside him into the Academic Wing, not that striding was easy when she had to stay on tiptoes to keep her balance.

She tensed as she spotted two students standing outside class 2-A, looking right at the group as if they'd been waiting. The girl's smile, however, held no malice, only friendliness. Head up high, Netty returned the grin. "Hey, I'm Antoinetta, as you'll know." Not just from the name badge, but from her introduction earlier, which surely would have made quite the impression if only Zaria had been looking where she was going.

At Evey's mention of the incident, Netty hid the flare of embarrassment behind a laugh. "Pffff, as if I'd let something like that get to me," she replied. "And nobody's gonna be making fun of us later down the line." Here, at least, was one exception to those jerks by the look of it. Masaru, though... Netty wasn't sure what to make of him. Much like Troy, his quietness and neutral expression made him difficult to read. As soon as he mentioned battles, Netty bristled again, ribs tightening. The challenge she'd issued, it seemed, was swiftly coming back to haunt them.

She hadn't expected Evey's response to set off even more alarm bells. Just like that, the prefect's smiles-and-sunshine demeanour had given way to a rather less pleasant one, then switched back as if nothing had happened. Netty shuffled back a step. Something about Evey reminded her of those fake friends who turned against people when their guard was down.

"Yeah, we'd better get to class," Netty answered, backing up Troy and Zaria. "Got to make sure everything goes smoothly from now on, after all. So, later!" Some chance of that, she thought, holding out a Pokeball to Mellona. "Hey Mel, time to come back now, but we can look around after classes." The Combee fluttered over, letting her trainer pet her once more, then disappeared into the capsule.

With that, Antoinetta marched into the classroom after Zaria, wasting no time in taking a seat.

@Crimson Flame

“Oh... um... I-I-I guess so... My father bred him just for me as a birthday gift, and I’ve been raising him ever since he was a little baby puppy.” He started petting his Rockruff’s head. ”Isn’t that right Rocky?”

Rocky let out a happy “Ruff!” In agreement.

Evey wanted to roll her eyes, but she managed to keep it together. So was he trying to play nice? His answer wasn't one at all, nonetheless she smiled thinly in reply. "Ah, I see!" Perhaps later she'd be able to figure out whether his Rockruff was bred for power or speed. But it was time for class. She tapped the pokeball by her belt assuredly. "Looking forward to seeing how you all rank in the tournament today! Later!" With a final bright smile, and a toss of her hair, she was walking towards Class 2B.

@Ryik
"If you're looking for a battle, you might have to wait a while. We have class, after all"

Masaru sighed. "Tch, fine. I guess it'd be nice to see how you all do in the homeroom tournaments first." He glanced towards Evey walking away before turning back to Troy once more. "You better be ready the next time I challenge you. Later." Masaru left, and all that was left was for the transfer students to enter.

---

Class 2-A was a very large and colorful room for 24 students. There were skeletal diagrams of pokemon, plenty of maps, charts, and models. To their left and right were bookshelves and cabinets filled with supplies, while the other back half of the room was large and strangely filled with many toys, cushions, and soft rugs. Arranged in rows of five, the desks were wide, large enough for laptops and textbooks. Their teacher was a young graduate student by the title Professor Caprea, already sitting at her desk and rifling through papers. She was of average height, with her brown hair in a bun and wearing a labcoat over her blouse and slacks. Her green eyes were pleasantly crinkled, and her smile was broad in her square shaped face. There were a few whispers as the doors opened...

"Why did Evey wanna talk to that kid?"

"They were talking to the top students? Masaru wanted to battle that guy?"

"I wish I could talk to them..."

The transfer students were able to take their seats next to each other, filling the last of the empty seats in the third row. "Hello and good morning, students! Good to have everyone here and on time. I am your homeroom teacher, Professor Floris Caprea. A pleasure to meet you all. Oh, I suppose I should introduce my pokemon too." She walked to the back of the room, fishing two pokeballs out from her coat as she did so. The capsules burst open with bright light that coalesced into the materialized monsters. One was a six foot tall blue-green bell type creature with arms and a totem like face. The other was a nearly ten feet tall brown green dinosaur with a long neck, leafy wings, and fruit growing from it's chin. "Ah yes, this is Nanabo and Bronza! My Tropius and Bronzong."

Pokemon in class? Caprea flashed a thumbs up. "I know what you're thinking, no pokemon allowed indoors. But there are rooms and buildings designated for pokemon to be inside, and the Academic Wing is one of them. You are allowed to have one pokemon with you, and there is a size chart as some pokemon are too large to have in class, naturally. So be mindful of that." She indicated towards the size chart next to the classroom door. "You may let your pokemon out, but remember: no distractions. If they can play quietly, there's plenty of enrichment toys in the back of the class that they can pick from. If your pokemon can't behave, they need to go back inside their pokeball. I hope I won't have to enforce that rule, so make sure your pokemon are behaving!"

Naturally, the next few minutes were filled with the trademark sounds of pokeballs opening, as the students rose and scraped their chairs against the floor. Even a first day at PMA allowed a little breathing room for the antsy students and pokemon, it seemed. The toy selection wasn't shabby either, ranging from chew toys to stuffed animals to complex puzzles, most pokemon would find plenty to entertain themselves with for homeroom hour. When they all settled down, it was quiet once more. The class seemed to feel a little more relaxed, thankfully.

"Put your energy into listening and paying attention today. We’ll be going over your subjects and the school’s expectations, so you’ll understand how to succeed at this academy. I’m excited to teach such dedicated students. The fact that you're here means you have the opportunity to accomplish much in your career, but remember...” She walked towards the front of the desk and leaned back, facing the class. "It isn't the school or the curriculum that makes you excellent. It is your diligence and work ethic. At the end of the day, you have to pursue what you want." Her voice was firm, but agreeable. It wasn't Caprea's intention to disillusion anyone, but rather get them in the proper mindset. “That said, there’s a whole slew of things we’ve got to cover today, but I’d like us to start off with an ice breaker. You’ve had those before, right?”

A murmur rippled through; a few students nodded, and Caprea nodded in return. “Right, so you have. Well, this one’s a fun one. It’s called Two Truths, and a Lie. Anyone ever heard of it before?”

Caprea analyzed the sophomore scholars before her thoughtfully. Bellamy had briefed her on what had happened during the assembly earlier. Hm, it's going to be an interesting year.

Some students perked up, being familiar with the game while others still looked uncertain. Caprea continued, “you’re all going to write your names and three things about yourself on the piece of paper in front of you.” Caprea picked up an index card on her desk and showed it to the class. “Of those three things, two of them will be true, and one will be a lie. Now, there’s a couple of tips I want to give you. First, mix up the order of the things you are writing! That is, don’t have your lie be the last thing on your list. Second, try to make a statement about yourself. What you choose as truth and lie can tell you a lot about a person, no?" She chuckled. Though she was jovial, she was also issuing a challenge. Who would try to stand out? In the pokemon world, there was no coincidence that plenty of pokemon professionals knew how to market themselves, and PMA being the academy that it was, made it exceptionally difficult to stand out among such closely matched peers. Which of the students here knew how to be noticeable? Of course, she mused, there were also professionals who didn't need to go commercial. All the same, this was a small but powerful prompt that would help her glean some insight into their minds, regardless of whether they wanted to be flashy or not.

"When you’re done, sit quietly and wait until everyone else is finished. I’ll be having you all come up to the front here-” she gestured in front of her desk. “To introduce yourself, and read your card. Then, the rest of us will try to figure out what the lie is. So!” She clapped her hands. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Professor Caprea, are you gonna be doing this too? Two Truths and a Lie?” A student asked.

“Nope, that’s just for you guys,” Caprea laughed. “And I'm not budging on that! Go on now, I’ll give you all 5 minutes to write something down. Come on!”

There were the sounds of paper sheets being taken out, pens being clicked, chairs being scraped-- school was officially now in session. When the five minutes were up, Caprea called out a name.

"Tim Wolfe, would you come up and introduce yourself?"

“T-t-tournament?!” Tim shuddered. He knew this school specialized in Pokémon battles, he knew he would have to participate in one at some point. Still, he wasn’t prepared to be in a tournament this soon. He just got here. The most experience Rocky had battling other Pokémon was tackling the random Rattatas that lived in the tall grass. The others would definitely laugh at him when he lost. Well... they already did that earlier, it couldn’t possibly get any worse right? Even now, other students were whispering about him talking to Evey...

He sighed as he walked into the classroom and sat at a desk. The Professor introduced herself, and her Pokémon, a Tropius and a Bronzong. Tim’s eyes lit up excitedly. Neither of those species were native to Johto, so this was his first time seeing them in person. He was excited to see any species of Pokémon. Pokémon were allowed in the classroom, and their were toys available for them to play with. Rocky ran to chew on a bone shaped chew toy that was lying around.

Professor Caprea decided to do an ice breaker, and instructed everyone to come up with two truths and a lie about himself. Tim really had to think hard about this one. He was never very good at lying. Was he supposed to brag about himself? As far as he was concerned, he didn’t have much to talk about that others would find interesting...

And then he was called up first. Tim swallowed loudly and cringed. He was up first?! He had to speak in front of everyone first?! Tim shuddered, and walked up to the front of the class. Why did he have to be first? As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t say no. This was a school assignment. He didn’t have a choice in the matter.

”Um... uh... I-I-I’m Tim...” Tim began to say. All eyes were looking at him, and he hated it. His heart was racing, and he was breathing heavily. ”Let’s see uh...” He stared down at his index card the whole time. Not having to see the others made it a little better. ”Um... I’ve met the Gym Leader Jasmine... Um... Uh...” He shuffled his feet nervously. ”Um... M-m-my Rockruff won a ribbon in a Pokémon Beauty Contest... And uh... My mother is a Pokémon doctor, and I help care for sick and injured Pokémon at her office.” There it was done.

Someone immediately guessed the lie, and Tim nodded. Then he ran back to his seat in a flash. Glad it was finally over. Rocky never won a beauty contest, though he did enter one once. For Tim, it was a stressful experience for sure. About as stressful as having to speak in front of the class.

Troy

"homeroom tournaments"

A battle you say?

The risk of Taunt, Encore, and status ailments are devastating for almost any single-pokemon team. He didn't give a clear answer to Masaru earlier because of this; such an encounter should not even be called a battle. Still, even without any countermeasures, the prospect of battle fills Troy with anticipation, in a good way. His Shuckle is not completely without battle experience, but he hasn't had much opportunities to get practical training in with Shuckle, a problem that can only be remedied with many, many more battles. From the looks of things, he won't have to wait until after school hours to get started.

As Troy and the others arrive at class and take their seats, the teacher, Professor Caprea, begins her self-introduction and proposes a simple ice-breaker; two truths and a lie. Students are called up one at a time to introduce themselves and give random facts about themselves, a ritual Troy hasn't seen since elementary.

He supposes this would be a good time to take a look at some of his future battle opponents, though most of the facts these people give about themselves are so inane as to be pointless. He ends up forgetting most of them, and by the time he is called he has gleamed nothing of value. Par for the course, to be fair.

Troy stands and makes his way to the front of the room, without bothering to bring any piece of paper with him. He initially considered making three statements wherein any one of them could be accurately called a truth or a lie, with the other two statements changing in their truthfulness based on that, but ultimately, that wouldn't say anything about himself as Professor Caprea intended, other than that he liked being a smartass or some shit. Troy comes to a stop in the front of the room, turns around and crosses his arms.

"My name is Troy. I've been in hundreds of battles, if not thousands, using pokemon that do not belong to me. I will do anything it takes to win a battle, even if it costs me my dignity. I don't like talking about myself."

A crowd response is only as gullible as its most gullible member, or at least the most gullible person to say something. Even Troy thought he was laying it on a little thick by putting the bait third after Professor Caprea brought it up, but they fell for the it like a coyote realizing it's just run off of a cliff.

"The third statement is not a lie. I am not the best at externalizing my introspection, and I often find praise discomforting."

After that, Occam's Razor takes effect and the next guess is for the first statement.

"The first statement is not a lie either. My father has a vast collection of pokemon, and it's what I've been using to do rental battles on an almost daily basis, multiple times a day, for the past couple of years."

"So it's the second one?"

"The statement was that I'd do anything it takes to win a battle. 'Anything' would include dishonest or unsavory methods. As for me, there's no satisfaction to be found in a hollow victory. It's much more fun to play games on higher difficulties."

With that, Troy returns to his seat as Professor Caprea calls on the next student.

Tournaments. The word stuck in the back of Antoinetta's mind. She tried not to squirm in her seat - the other students would have way more experience. That and, although Mellona could pull off some impressive combos, the little bee was more of a dancer than a battler. Wafting Sweet Scent around with Gust while doing a figure-of-eight dance wouldn't help in a fight. For all the school's various programs, was there a bias towards battle here?

Before Netty could dwell on it, the teacher spoke up, introducing herself and her Pokemon. Netty leaned forward. The Bronzong, she'd have recognised even if not for Caprea's announcement. A few trainers in Eterna had Bronzongs, since wild Bronzors could be found outside the city. The Tropius, though... She looked up in fascination at the huge, winged, fruit-bearing Grass type she hadn't seen before. Despite her love of Bug types, her curiosity wasn't limited to them.

When Caprea allowed the class to let out their own Pokemon, Netty opened Mellona's Pokeball right away. The Combee flitted around the room, then to the play area. "There you go, just try not to buzz too loud," Netty said, following her, positioning two small cushions on the floor. "If it causes issues, how's this for a rest spot?" Mellona lowered herself into the gap, her upper heads' undersides resting against the cushions, her three smiles giving Netty the answer. The buzzing wasn't likely to cause problems anyway; Mel slowly rose to look around and play, the soft hum of her wings no louder than Rocky's scampering paws. Even so, best for her to have that option.

Netty returned to her seat, nerves tightening at the mention of the ice breaker. Speaking in public seemed to be her natural strength, but only because she made it appear that way, to hide what a wreck it turned her into every time. She could relate to Tim as he stammered his statements, barely able to look at the class. Student after student went up, and Netty wanted to guess the lies, but the words wouldn't leave her throat. Some of these people had so many achievements under their belts already. How could she possibly compete?

Troy turned out to be one such trainer. Something about the way he issued his matter-of-fact yet witty statements seemed like a combat strategy set in motion. For all his inscrutability, he gave the impression of having more fun toying with the class than he let on. This assignment, after all, was meant to be fun, although Netty found it nothing but nerve-wracking.

Her stomach flip-flopped when Caprea called her name. For a second, she sat frozen in place. Fake it till you make it, she urged herself, standing and sashaying forward. Wasn't that the point of this exercise anyway? She shouldn't be worried. Putting up an act, pretending to be more glamorous and interesting than she was... That was what she did best.

She stood tall in front of the crowd, just like Fantina or her other favourite coordinators would. "Hey everyone, my name is Antoinetta," she announced, smiling as if for a video camera. "First of all, I took a vacation in Kalos once, Hotel Richissime in Lumiose City no less. Second, I got into PMA by showcasing a contest move. And third, I was president of the theater club in middle school. So, can you tell the facts from the fiction?"

Ok, she hadn't stuck to the prompt exactly. Of her three statements, two were lies. As the crowd guessed the one about the famous hotel, however, that made it look like she had indeed led the theater club, when in truth she'd never even joined it. She'd been much too withdrawn and insecure, and no way had she wanted to be around her bullying classmates longer than necessary, but this class would now think she was born for the stage.

"Correct, I haven't visited Lumiose yet, although I plan to some day!" She headed back to her seat, with a discreet sigh of relief. It was done, and that little tall tale could help kick-start her coordinator career.

As long as nobody asked any awkward questions, that was.

---

Having already headed into the classroom before Evey and Masaru had left, Zaria didn't realize there were going to be homeroom tournaments. For the present, she remained blissfully unaware, already daydreaming of being one of the popular and accomplished students of PMA. Perhaps the first hour of school had been embarrassing, but she could redeem herself if she studied and worked hard. Students would start coming up to her then, she was sure.

She managed to pull her head out of the clouds when class began, especially with Caprea introducing her pokemon. The Tropius and Bronzong both impressed and intimidated Zaria who had never heard of them, let alone seen them before. Woah, so cool... Intense too. Thankfully, they could take their pokemon out just as Caprea had. So Zaria released Magnet from his capsule and they both headed over to the back along with everyone else. Eventually settling for a cushion, his single eye swiveled around the room curiously before settling on Zaria as she patted his head. "This is class time, so you'll just need to sit tight and wait, okay? I know we don't really know each other yet, Magnet, but please be good." He let out a beep that sounded like agreement in return.

Settling in again once more, Caprea shook things up by having everyone play an ice-breaker game that seemed pretty fun. I've got this, I've got experience, I can come up with something good! That was how she felt initially... Yet achievement after achievement from her peers came up, and she couldn't help but feel discouraged as her turn neared; even Troy and Netty had ended up kicking it out of the park, she thought with a twinge of envy. Tim had come off as shy, but on the flip side he'd had that popular Evey girl come up to him, so it all kind of cancelled out (in Zaria's eyes) anyways.

How was she supposed to set herself apart in all this, then? Well... I guess it's less what you say, and more about how you say it. Okay, fine! I've still got this. It'll be great. When she was finally called up, Zaria grinned as she faced the class and saluted everyone, life an offcer or ranger would. Here we go!

"I'm Zaria, a junior ranger! I've experienced a forest fire, I've seen a shiny Butterfree, and I've rescued over 50 pokemon!" Zaria blurted it all out as fast as she could, realizing that her second to last statement was the lie she had been touting as truth earlier. Oh no! Damn, me and my big mouth! Why?! Well, there was no turning back now. Her other two statements were as close to the truth as it got, and they sounded much more impressive than the dumb Butterfree story she'd made up, so she didn't feel like she had the option to switch the verity of them around. I just gotta go along with it and apologize to the others after class. Hopefully it'll be okay.

The first guess was tossed out, with someone calling out that she hadn't been in a forest fire. Zaria grinned, pleased that she got to elaborate before someone made the correct choice. "Actually, I was! We were called onto the scene and there weren't a lot of water pokemon to help, so it was tricky to deal with. We ended up containing it though!" It sounded a lot more dangerous than it had been, especially since it had been a very small fire, but that was neither here nor there.

She probably hadn't rescued over 50 pokemon, someone else said. "Ha, I definitely have, and that number's only gonna get higher, just so ya know." Nevermind that well over half of those had been measly pet rescues, nobody needed to know anymore than what she said. It all culminated in the lie being left then, which Zaria had to own up to completely, whether she liked it or not.

"I guess you'd all know by now anyways, but I haven't seen a shiny Butterfree, haha! So, um, that was my lie." Ugh. She made sure not to look at Netty, Troy, or Tim, as she went back to sit down. Hopefully they wouldn't roast her too much.

---

@Crimson Flame
The students weren’t all too impressed by Tim, but it couldn’t be denied that he had a certain presence as of now. He had been scouted out by a top student even after the morning events, after all. They buzzed and wondered, and a few whispers sounded out.

“How did he get in here, again? He looks like he’s gonna faint...”

“He’s got medical experience? That’s hard to get.”

“Who hasn’t met a gym leader? Honestly…”

“Pokemon doctors make bank.”

”Please settle down, class.”

@Ryik
Troy had made quite the impression on the class. True, the top battler of the school had approached him, but even if Masaru hadn’t, Troy’s words and demeanor gave an air of cool nonchalance that seemed to command respect regardless. He was confident, composed, and held the class’s attention easily.

“What’s his pokemon?”

“He’s cool.”

“Who the hell is this dude?”

“All talk, pfft.”

“I don’t think he’s lying...”

”Settle down now!”

@LuckyBlackCat
Netty’s strong impression helped her quite a bit, though she had yet to convince the students that she was all that. But she’d stood her ground and shown serious gumption in the raucous jeers of the morning. Her style was nothing shabby either, even when she was wearing a very broken shoe.

“I like her dress!”

“Combee don’t evolve forever. How can she be all that when she’s just got a bug?”

“Show us your contest stuff if you’re so good, then!”

”Silence, class!”

@jujube
Zaria fared unfortunate. Though she had interesting things to say, her delivery was a little off. Her words were rushed and a little too eager, as if she wasn’t much more than a tryhard. Not to mention she hadn’t conducted herself too well in the morning. There weren’t too many jeers though, mostly because people had already dismissed her.

“Calm it down a little.”

“Are you 10 years old? Sheesh.”

“Cool, so how big was the fire?”

”BE QUIET!”

---

After the students had finished their ice-breaker, classes resumed. But it being the first day meant that it was mainly a review of their syllabus, the school code, explaining how some of the academic facilities worked, and more general-know how about academy life. The first day was light, with not much academic material being covered at all, and school was let out by 2:30 P.M. There was no direction or even so much as a mention of a homeroom tournament. The students were free to do what they wanted.

But Caprea did have an optional activity planned for them, if they were fine with that… It was all just school tradition.

“I wanted to assess all of you in battle today, but it’d take much too long to battle you all individually. Not only that, but my pokemon are quite a bit stronger than many of your own. I think it’s best for peers to work together, so let’s have a class 2-A tournament, shall we?”

The students began chattering.

“Did you hear that? A tournament!”

“Just in our class…”

“It’s the first day!”

“It’s after school…”

Caprea put her hands on her hips. “I forgot to mention, there’s a prize involved. Bragging rights, and-” she whipped out a technical machine with a flourish from her pocket. The small, palm sized disc glinted in the light, positively twinkling. “A Technical Machine! This one’s different than Hidden Power though. I promise it’s an interesting move.” The prize seemed to attract quite a few of the students interest at least, and a few of the reluctant looking ones straightened up. The stakes were steeper now. Caprea grinned.

“Looks like I’ve got your attention. Now, you’re to use no items in these matches. They’re going to be randomly drawn, and they’ll be simple 1v1 battles. I will be the referee for each. You’re a class of 24 students so we’ll pair you off in groups of 12. Then we’ll have the winners battle each other from there. Your pokemon will be healed every round. Any questions? Let’s walk to the Battle Facility together.”



The battle facility was different from the rest of PMA architecture, as it had been built much later on the campus. Most of the newer facilities and buildings were constructed to match the architecture of the PMA Castle, but the battle facility was a tower fortress, all chrome and steel with glinting windows. Walking in they were greeted by a spacious, minimalistic white lobby, with cool blue lights that pulsed around the room every so often, ever so faintly. They could see that there were a few stations with tablets, a healing machine in the far right corner, a PC system, all probably contributing to the near silent, yet constant mechanical whirring. If they had brushed up on the PMA brochures, some would know that the building was reinforced with concrete, mixed with some naturally shed Steelix Carapace and diamonds. It was built to withstand pokemon attacks and absorb massive amounts of heat, while supporting a myriad of battle terrains and boasting a brilliant sheen to boot. At the font front desk was the school’s head engineer and region electric gym leader, Tessa Nichols. She had a cup of black coffee in her hand and her eyes were ringed with dark circles, so she looked just like her usual self.

“Oh! Professor Caprea, how are you?” Tessa gave a wave. “And your students too! Hello! Ah, it’s the homeroom tournament isn’t it?”

“It sure is!” Caprea replied. “We were going to go on ahead, but before we do, would you care to watch?”

“Oh? That’d be fun! Thanks for having me! I could also help you judge, you know. You’ve got quite a few students to get through.”

”That’d be fantastic, thanks for the help, Tess!” Caprea agreed. So then Tessa Nichols would be watching their matches today? The pressure to perform well was higher than ever. While Caprea and Tessa chatted and laughed as they walked towards the reserved room, the students followed behind anxious, excited, and some were dreading the gym leader watching that was for sure. After all, a gym leader could scout students, or help them get their foot in the door when it came to becoming a prestigious pokemon professional. At the same time, nobody wanted to make a bad impression or embarass themselves.

The many rooms of the Battle Facility were rumored to be enormous, and they lived up to the expectations easily. Even though the room they were in was one of the smaller ones, it was large enough to contain a standard pokemon battlefield that was neutral terrain of packed ground, with ample room for seating. Though the terrain could be changed out, Caprea opted to leave it for the time being. She did make a stop by the control panel to set the facility cameras on; now she and Tessa would be able to see four matches on the larger screen, as well as in front of the bleachers directly. The rounds would consist of four matches each. “Good luck to you all! I’ll be cheering every single one of you on!” Tessa plunked herself in a front row bleacher. "Hope we've got some electric types... Oooh! I see a few!"

The huge screens towards the top center of the room began to scramble the student photos around, calculating… Ding! The matchups had been posted. The students took their positions. And eventually, the transfer students had to show their stuff, didn't they?

---

@Crimson Flame
Student Gerald would like to battle!

Gerald had a Yamper, and was personally offended by Tim's Rockruff. He was sure he'd had the only dog pokemon in the class, but then Tim had shown up. He had the best boy, and he was going to prove it of course, by having his pokemon beat this crybaby’s mutt. “Don’t take it personally when I win,” Gerald said with a smirk. “Go Pachi, let’s do this!” From his ball, a Yamper popped out with a happy yelp. It was puppy against puppy- who would prevail?

“Pachi, Tail Whip!” The Yamper wagged his tail ferociously, letting out few glimmering motes of debuffing energy to lower Rockruff’s defense. On an insight check, Pachi seemed a bit slower than Rocky, but this didn't mean there was no room for caution. It was an electric type pokemon after all, and there was chance for paralysis, along with long range damage... So how would Tim respond?

---

@jujube
Student Rorie would like to battle!

“I’m going to crush you,” the girl gloated with a manic look on her face. “Go! Char!” The form of a Charmander manifested, serious and proud looking. With a snort, Char let out a plume of smoke. “Char! Ember!” Rorie shouted, and the fire lizard let out a jet of hot sparks towards Magnet.

On an insight check, Zaria would realize that the plume of smoke that the Charmander had released was none other than the move smokescreen. She knew an additional one of the four moves the trainer had likely picked... Char probably had an accuracy reducing move. How would Zaria proceed?

---

@LuckyBlackCat
Student Nicholas would like to battle!

“Ugh, I used to run into trainers like you all the time in Viridian. The Weedle used to poison my pokemon and me waaay too much. I’m just glad you don’t have a Weedle. ” He grinned, feeling proud of his negging. "Say, why don't you just give up and call it a day? Ugh, I can see that you'll be difficult about this. Very well then." He jabbed a finger forwards as his pokemon leapt out from behind his back.

“Emmy! Quick Attack!” The Sentret charged towards Mell. On an insight check, Netty realized that Mell was much faster than the Sentret, but Quick Attack did give the Sentret an edge in speed, even if it was only for the moment. As it charged, she noticed that it was holding the Quick Attack for longer than usual as well. Perhaps this Sentret had trained this attack specifically. It could prove tricky to handle. How would Netty react?

---

@Ryik
Student Bobby would like to battle!

“Let’s do our best! Just kidding! I'M GOING TO BE THE BEST TRAINER IN CLASS AND DEFEAT YOU!” Bobby screamed as he chucked his pokeball to the ground, and a Gulpin came out. “Gulp, use Sludge!” The Gulpin lobbed a chunk of slimy poison towards Shuckle. "Gulp and I, you see... We go a far ways back. Our bond cannot be broken!" Bobby clenched his fist. "That is why... I, no WE, must defeat you!"

On an insight check, Troy would glean that the Gulpin's poison was weaker than typical poison. It seemed thinner, and less viscous than other poison type attack executions he'd seen. He would realize this Gulp's sludge attack had a smaller chance of poisoning his pokemon this round, around 20% instead of the typical 30%. The Gulpin looked a bit young, and it moved with a jerky inexperience. Perhaps it still had to warm up to use his poison moves effectively. Well, how would Troy pick his next move?

@vaguely

The lecture mostly consisted of things Antoinetta already knew, such as rules and schedules. Throughout classes, those comments kept taunting her in her head. Show us your contest stuff if you're so good, then. She'd show them alright, as soon as she got the chance...

That chance came up sooner than expected. She looked up in surprise at Caprea. The tournament was today? Right now? A jolt of panic ran through her, but she quickly composed herself, at least on the surface. As Caprea produced a TM, Netty leaned forward, eyes on the prize alongside the rest of the class. Mellona currently couldn't learn many TMs, but that would change once she evolved, and if nothing else it'd be something to show for a victory. Netty would need proof, after all, to back up her words.

Heading out with the others as Mel fluttered by her side, she stood tall. Such was easier since she'd changed her shoes at lunch time. What wasn't any easier was the thought of the challenge looming ahead, sooner than expected. Not that she'd let any doubts or fears show. "This is gonna be no problem," she said, a grin hiding all uncertainty.

A short walk led the class to the battle facility, an ultra-modern tower, in contrast with the ornate castle that was PMA's main building. She followed the others inside, her step faltering when she noticed who was at the desk. Having lived in Balamla for a year, she recognised the woman from photos - Electric type gym leader Tessa Nichols. The small, scruffy-haired engineer wasn't all that intimidating, especially with those tired eyes like she'd pulled an all nighter, but the thought of the extra scrutiny made Netty want to shrink back. Imperceptibly, she bit the inside of her lip. Great. As if an official match on the first day wasn't daunting enough, a gym leader was going to help judge it. There was no way she could afford to screw this up.

For all that effort to appear confident, Mellona could clearly tell she wasn't. If the Combee was nervous herself, she hid it better than her trainer did, nuzzling Netty's shoulder with her third, main head. Netty gave a strained smile - it was a comforting gesture for sure, but if anyone else picked up on how anxious she was, it wouldn't help their chances. "We can do this, ok?" she told Mel.

Striding into the reserved room, she took her place. She resisted clenching her fists as her opponent approached, a smug, smirking boy by the name of Nicholas, who took the opportunity right away to mock 'trainers like her'. Why did people view bug catchers as little more than annoyances? Some woodland grubs could give painful stings, but typically only when threatened, and well-trained ones usually behaved themselves, so why was her Pokemon type a problem? "Oh please." She straightened her back. "I'm not just any bug catcher, as you're about to find out."

Nicholas' Pokemon, a Sentret, made a wild dash forward. By the look of it, not even the sudden burst of speed could match Mellona's, or at least Netty hoped. Still, she had to think quickly. "Mel, sweep it back with Gust!" Mellona braced herself, buzzing louder as she whipped up a much stronger stream of wind than the earlier ones.

@vaguely

---

Zaria had been so sure that she'd delivered herself well. Sure the morning had been embarrassing, but seeing how the other transfers had been received in the class, she thought she'd be accepted more. Of course that didn't happen... The class practically booed her off with jeers, if they thought she was worth talking about at all in the first place. Well, I guess that's that... She felt a few tears come to her eyes, but blinked them away quickly. Class was officially starting anyways.

Thankfully the first day was easy on studying and schoolwork, so Zaria found herself daydreaming away, cheering up more as time passed. Sure, maybe her social standing wasn't great right now, but it was just the first day. There was plenty of time for her to grow and find friends... You've got to stay positive, whether you believe it or not. It'll be okay. By the end, just as they were packing up and getting to leave class, Caprea got their attention with a tournament.

Not sure how to react at first, Zaria glanced around the class to see how everyone else was taking the surprise. Her own battling experience capped out around novice; she'd been in a few wild pokemon battles for self defense, but nothing on the official or competitive level. Could she handle this, or should she bow out? Then again, everyone around her seemed to be pretty excited and pumped up, so she couldn't show a weak resolve. I'm going to look even worse in front of everyone if I don't make some kind of effort! I've got to pull it together. Hopefully Magnet can too...

As they retrieved their pokemon and walked to the battle facility, Zaria kept Magnet close to her, but avoided the other students. After her little lie, well, maybe it was better to just focus on herself and Magnet for right now; she was thinking of potential strategies to use at the moment, apologies could be made later. Now, how to strategize... Who was she kidding, she didn't know the first thing about strategy!

Magnet took notice of Zaria's worried expression so he beeped and nudged her shoulder. Turning to look at him, Zaria thought he looked pretty relaxed and nonchalant. Or did he not realize the gravity of the situation? Their popularity factor was at stake! "So you're not nervous? Even though we're going to be having a battle?"

He nodded, his screws twisting in and out deliberately as if he were thinking. He let out another beep and zig-zagged erratically for a moment before nuzzling Zaria's hand again. The facility leered at them as they strode towards it, and Zaria could practically feel her heartbeat in her throat.

"That's good Magnet, but we have to win, understand?" she insisted. He looked at her quizzically. "We need to prove ourselves to the other students. Or else people are going to--to make fun of us and stuff, you know?" These were dire circumstances!

Magnet paused at first, but then nodded slowly as if he understood. So they had to win the battles. Winning was very important. It would be difficult, and maybe not as fun as he'd hoped, but there was nothing that could help that. The New Bark Ranger humans had told him he could trust Zaria, so he did. If she said this was important, he accepted it. Showing that he understood, he let out an enthusiastic beep and nodded. His eye curved into a smile.

"Right? I'm glad you understand! Oh, and we're here. Whew, lookit this place..." As they entered the battle facility, she was surprised to see the region electric gym leader at the front desk. Don't tell me she does clerk stuff here... Wait, did she just say she was gonna watch our battles?! Agh, okay, don't worry. It's fine, it's fine!! Why was the pressure stacking up so much today? After this was over, she was heading to her dorm for a good nap.

Moving through hallways and passing doors, they eventually settled on their facility room. And before Zaria or Magnet knew it, they were facing their opponent, a grumpy looking Charmander with his trainer who was hellbent on defeating them. Great. We're at a type disadvantage and our opponent's pretty confident. But that doesn't mean we can't win... We've just got to be on our guard, Zaria thought, her brow furrowed. As for the jeers, she wasn't going to address them. Too deep in anxiety for that.

"Magnet! Be careful! Avoid those fire attacks! And..." She squinted as the Charmander exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. That's... Smokescreen? So this Charmander knows Smokescreen and Ember... Maybe we can use our status moves, before it tries to mess with us. Can't let our accuracy fall when every move counts!

"Use Thunder Wave! Focus on paralyzing!" If they inhibited the Charmander's movement, surely the sides would be evened out a little. Magnet would try to dodge the Ember, then fire off a Thunder Wave. Zaria crossed her fingers.

After he went up, the other students started talking about him. Tim was just relieved that it was over. It also came out during this ice breaker that Zaria had lied about seeing a shiny Butterfree... Honestly, of all the things to lie about... Whatever, class was starting.

The class was basically going the rules and curriculum. No actuall lesson today. After class ended, Carpea announced the tournament. The prize would be a TM. Of course, a battle. Tim sighed. He should have known this would come eventually, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. Rocky on the other hand was excited to battle and started barking and running around excitedly chasing his own tail.

The class was led to the battlefield. A futuristic looking tower. There they were told a local Gym leader would also be judging them. Tim frowned. More people judging his battle abilities was exactly what he needed... Not... Rocky barked and panted happily.

Tim and Rocky went into the reserved room, where he faced Gerald and his Yamper. Tim’s brown eyes lit up seeing the other canine Pokémon. It was so cute! The electric dog used a Tail Whip to lower Rocky’s defenses. The sight was so cute. Tim had to stop himself from cooing over him. The other students would certainly make fun of him more than they already did.

Tim took a moment to think moment to think of his next move. Rocky was faster than Pachi, but Pachi was an electric type, and could probably inflict paralysis on Rocky. That wouldn’t be good. ”Um... Rocky... Use Double Team... Please...”

The Rockruff ran around in circles, and created multiple illusory copies of himself while barking loudly. Tim hoped the Yamper would hit one of the duplicates, and he could get an attack in safely.

Tim shuffled his feet and twiddled his thumbs nervously. ”Um... uh... W-w-whatever happens... I-I-I hope our Pokémon can play together sometime...” He smiled sheepishly. ”Rocky would appreciate a fellow dog Pokémon to play with”

Troy

The queen of deceit strikes again, uncoiling her vast tendrils and winding them around us all in a leathery vice grip akin to that of an anaconda cosplaying as a bear trap, snapping shut on our collective legs and whispering promises of total consumption.

ZARIA, wielder of misdirection and chaotic sower of confusion, how far doth thou aim to grasp?

Just when Troy had given up, when Zaria had completely thrown him off with acting worthy of an award, she had come back around and boldly proclaimed that her earlier statement was a blatant, flagrant, and utterly shameless lie. She knew the transfer students would know immediately. She could have picked any lie, but instead chose to announce her previous statement as the lie in front of the entire class. Did she know the teacher would conduct this particular icebreaker? Was this all planned from the onset? Is Professor Caprea in her pocket? How powerful is her influence, and how high up does it go? Why would she have such influence? Why would she deliberately let the transfer students know she lied? This timing is too perfect. Does she want Troy to suspect her ulterior motives? Is she trying to say there's more than meets the eye? How great is her ambition, and for what purpose does she taunt Troy and the other transfers with this?

Troy goes on like this for quite a while, ruminating on possible explanations for Zaria's actions but not coming to any satisfactory conclusions.

Eventually classes come to an end and the class 2-A tournament begins, with a TM on the line for the victor. Naturally, Troy is ready and raring to go, putting aside the Zaria mystery for the time being to focus solely on his battle. For the first time in front of others, he sends out Shuckle on the battlefield and gives it an affirmative nod. No words need to be said.

He is matched up with a classmate named Bobby, who insists they will be the best trainer in class, screaming even louder than Zaria did earlier today. He then proceeds to say some nonsense he probably stole word-for-word from an anime or something and takes the initiative with a Sludge attack from his Gulpin.

Troy couldn't help but notice the attack's shoddy quality, sparser than one should expect and symptomatic of Gulpin's visible inexperience. Even in spite of Shuckle's defensive focus, power split is unlikely to yield much (if any) results this battle, and Shuckle should theoretically do the most damage through brute force.

As for Gulpin's attack, although poison is usually very difficult for a Shuckle to deal with before learning Rest, it's shouldn't be an issue for a 1v1 battle with healing available in between, so long as things don't get dragged out. Troy hates to take chances, but expecting a Shuckle to dodge an attack with no setup is like expecting the sun to stop shining. Still, it's not like there's no counter-measures.

"Block it with defense curl."

Shuckle withdraws into its shell and angles itself to avoid direct contact with the sludge as the poison comes to drape itself over his shell.

"Now, shake it off with rollout!"

Shuckle begins spinning rapidly, attempting to shake off the poison while it barrels toward Gulpin.

@LuckyBlackCat

Nicholas' Pokemon, a Sentret, made a wild dash forward. By the look of it, not even the sudden burst of speed could match Mellona's, or at least Netty hoped. Still, she had to think quickly. "Mel, sweep it back with Gust!" Mellona braced herself, buzzing louder as she whipped up a much stronger stream of wind than the earlier ones.

The Sentret was too close to change trajectory. He couldn't dodge the gust that roared after him, and was sent back flying before he could get damage on Mellona. "Seee!" he cried, completely getting swept off his feet.

"Emmy! Defense Curl to protect yourself from the fall!" Nicholas commanded. Emmy was able to curl up into a protective ball as he plummeted from the--albeit now dissipating--howling winds. The pokemon seemed to flash red for a moment as his defenses were raised. Still, this was just for his physical defense, it wouldn't help his special defense. The Gust attack would still do full damage should Netty choose to use it again. "Hmph, that was a lucky hit, Bug Catcher. I don't see how you're any different from the other bug trainers I've seen. Tell me, why do you all bother with such a common and weak type?" Nicholas grinned. "Before you answer that--Emmy, try a Scratch!"

The Sentret let out a shriek as it headed towards Mellona with glowing claws. Nicholas was relaxed and confident, despite the initial turn. What would Netty's next move be?

---

@Jujube

"Magnet! Be careful! Avoid those fire attacks! And..." She squinted as the Charmander exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. That's... Smokescreen? So this Charmander knows Smokescreen and Ember... Maybe we can use our status moves, before it tries to mess with us. Can't let our accuracy fall when every move counts!

"Use Thunder Wave! Focus on paralyzing!" If they inhibited the Charmander's movement, surely the sides would be evened out a little. Magnet would try to dodge the Ember, then fire off a Thunder Wave. Zaria crossed her fingers.

Unfortunately, Magnet was not able to dodge the Ember, and was hit by the super-effective move. However, Magnet succeeded in paralyzing the opposing Char after he was hit. The Charmander's movements slowed to a crawl as electricity crackled around his body, locking his muscles in place. "Char!" he growled, trying to fight against the paralysis.

"Don't ignore me!" The girl, Rorie, stamped her foot. "Char, hang on! We've been paralyzed before. Fire off a Smokescreen!"

The Charmander was slowed, but not fully paralyzed. He snorted and spewed out a thick screen of black smoke. The smog cloaked the battle area, lowering the accuracy of opponents in the vicinity.

"You're one of those rangers, aren't you?" Rorie crossed her arms. "Was that story in class about the fire true? Let's see how you handle Char, then!" She grinned. Her Charmander was paralyzed, but they also had a little bit of cover from the accuracy drop they had inflicted. One pokemon paralyzed, and one with less accuracy, who would get unlucky first? Char still had the advantage with his typing, though.

That said, there could still be a strategy here. What would it be then?

---

@Crimson Flame

Tim took a moment to think moment to think of his next move. Rocky was faster than Pachi, but Pachi was an electric type, and could probably inflict paralysis on Rocky. That wouldn’t be good. ”Um... Rocky... Use Double Team... Please...”

The Rockruff ran around in circles, and created multiple illusory copies of himself while barking loudly. Tim hoped the Yamper would hit one of the duplicates, and he could get an attack in safely.

Tim shuffled his feet and twiddled his thumbs nervously. ”Um... uh... W-w-whatever happens... I-I-I hope our Pokémon can play together sometime...” He smiled sheepishly. ”Rocky would appreciate a fellow dog Pokémon to play with”

As Rocky created multiple copies of himself, Gerald cursed. "Damnit! We need to try to paralyze that inferior mutt! Use Discharge!"

Pachi barked happily, letting of a massive, jagged blast of electric energy into their arena. "Yip! Yiip!" Pachi cheered as lightning came thundering down.

"As if I would ever let Pachi play with your inferior mongrel!" Gerald shouted back, insulted by Tim's suggestion. "Pachi is a purebred Yamper, the finest of his kind! Your Rockruff could never compare! We only associate with the purest of breeds after all, Pachi would get sick playing with those dirty breeds and all that dander in their fur!" As he spoke, the massive bolts of lightning struck the multiple Rockruff on the field one by one until there was one left. But was it the real one? After a moment it became clear--Rocky had successfully dodged the attack!

"Pachi! Hang in there! We'll defeat that dirty cur! Be on your guard!" Gerald insisted.

It was Tim's move then! What was he thinking next?

---

@Ryik

Troy couldn't help but notice the attack's shoddy quality, sparser than one should expect and symptomatic of Gulpin's visible inexperience. Even in spite of Shuckle's defensive focus, power split is unlikely to yield much (if any) results this battle, and Shuckle should theoretically do the most damage through brute force.

As for Gulpin's attack, although poison is usually very difficult for a Shuckle to deal with before learning Rest, it's shouldn't be an issue for a 1v1 battle with healing available in between, so long as things don't get dragged out. Troy hates to take chances, but expecting a Shuckle to dodge an attack with no setup is like expecting the sun to stop shining. Still, it's not like there's no counter-measures.

"Block it with defense curl."

Shuckle withdraws into its shell and angles itself to avoid direct contact with the sludge as the poison comes to drape itself over his shell.

"Now, shake it off with rollout!"

Shuckle begins spinning rapidly, attempting to shake off the poison while it barrels toward Gulpin.

Though the Defense Curl raising physical defense didn't necessarily help defend against Gulp's special attack based Sludge, a defense boost was never a bad thing. And the move made Rollout more powerful to boot. Bobby's eyes widened with Shock as the Shuckle effortlessly shrugged off the poison type move. "B-But how?!" He sputtered, recoiling as the Shuckle barrelled into Gulp directly, which sent Gulp skidding back with a cry.

The hit had been a hard one. Still the Gulpin rose. It seemed like the opponents weren't defeated just yet... "Gup!"

Bobby searched out Troy's gaze. "Don't ignore me, damnit! I'm important!" He jabbed a finger, trembling. "You'll see! Our bond can't be defeated! Gulp, use Yawn!" The Gulpin opened his mouth wide and released a huge, dreamy pink bubble towards the Shuckle. "Ha! You'll be asleep in no time!" How would Troy respond?

Tim was relieved that Rocky managed to dodge the Discharge. Then Gerald had to go and open his mouth. Tim didn’t like what he heard. He clenched is fist. "How dare you... HOW DARE YOU! Listen here mister. You can make fun of me all you want. I’m used to that. But you do not, I repeat, YOU DO NOT TALK TO ROCKY LIKE THAT! ROCKY USE TACKLE RIGHT NOW!”

In spite of Tim’s anger, the Rockruff barked happily, and started running towards the Yamper in preparation for to Tackle it.

@vaguely

As Mellona's Gust successfully stopped the attack, Antoinetta smirked. "Heh. Easy." In truth, her heart was thrumming like a Yanma's wings - blocking a move as fast as Quick Attack was no easy feat. If Emmy tried that again, could she and Mel pull that off a second time?

And, of course, it didn't shut up Nicholas' jeers any. Netty folded her arms, hoping he didn't notice her grin waver. Common and weak? Surely someone with a Normal type, equally overlooked but with a great deal of potential, should know better than to judge undervalued Pokemon. How would he feel if people said the same about his Sentret?

"May I remind you I have a name. Did you not listen to the announcements, or do you just have the worst memory?" she mocked back. Before she could continue, to tell him how much he'd regret underestimating bugs, he called Emmy's next move - Scratch.

No time to answer. "Mel! Resist with Struggle Bug!" A red glow surrounded Mellona, brightening as if the resolve she mustered against Nicholas' trash-talk were visible. Right as Emmy lashed at her, the Combee spun, her glow flaring outwards in a burst of energy. Not a regular blast of raw power, but a swirling wave that sparked like a firework.

"Do you call this weak?" Netty taunted. Struggle Bug lowered special attack power, not physical, but with any luck it could block the Scratch. At the very least, it'd deal a little more damage than Gust.

Troy

Seeing as how Shuckle wasn't poisoned, it would seem that Defense Curling in the face of a special move payed off, or at least wasn't punished. Either way, with a second hit of rollout, it will have been damage-efficient, and Yawn is a relatively slow move. Although Troy doesn't doubt Shuckle's ability to withstand a direct attack or two while asleep, it would be nice to avoid the scenario altogether. With that in mind... "Spin as fast as you can! Tear up the arena and use it against the bubble."

Shuckle attempts to speed up, spinning around the arena, back towards Troy, before coming back towards the bubble and swerving, kicking up as must dust and debris as possible towards the bubble and Gulpin.

Popped or not, the bubble and the dust should provide a workable level of visual obscurity to make Rollout difficult to defend against.

"Now back around." Shuckle continues the swerve, circling around in an arc in order to spin towards Gulpin while avoiding proximity with the bubble and any effects it may have as it may or not pop.

---

"I'm not trying to ignore you! I'm trying to focus! Shut up!" Zaria shouted back, thoroughly riled up. Rorie was annoying, insulting, and to top it off, she'd been able to get off a Smokescreen after getting a hard hit on Magnet. We're lucky. Magnet didn't get burned. For all the status moves she and Magnet were trying to utilize, the opponent had theirs too.

Seeing as how her pokemon had a large single eye, it was needless to say that the thick black smoke--which now obscured the battlefield--was effective. Magnet rose from the cloud of smoke with an electronic cry, but Zaria noted that his eye was red and watery. She gritted her teeth, both at her pokemon's condition and Rorie's awful remarks. I wish I had a good comeback! But that Charmander's hiding in the smoke and he can shoot Embers from anywhere! Well there were only a few things they could do as it was. She hoped it'd be enough.

"Magnet, hang in there! Do your best to aim and Thunder Shock!" Zaria commanded. They needed to get some damage on that Charmander and end the battle as soon as possible. Before any other accuracy drops, at least.

@Crimson Flame
"Pachi! Use Bite!" Gerald commanded. "We'll best you, don't you worry-!" But as the Yamper dug into the Rockruff wth his jaws, the pokemon poofed away in a cloud of smoke. It seemed that there were still a few Double Team clones about, enabling Rockruff to get in a good Tackle after Pachi's missed bite.

"Arf!" Pachi let out a yelp as he was flung back. Even with a single hit, it was clear the Yamper didn't have the best defenses. That didn't stop Gerald though. He was determined to win and prove how pedigree pokemon surpassed all else.

"Pachi, go for another Discharge!" Gerald shouted.

"Arf! Arf!" The Yamper let off another blast of electricity just like before. Tim's response?

---

@LuckyBlackCat
"Heh, I'd remember your name if it was worth remembering... Wait--what?! Emmy!" Nicholas' smug smirk twisted into a look of surprise as Mellona's Struggle Bug swept across their field, sparkling and fabulous. Emmy the Sentret did get a Scratch in on Mellona, but taking a direct hit from the Struggle Bug hurt the Sentret quite a bit.

"Sen!" The pokemon was pushed back once more. Emmy wasn't looking too good, having taken a Gust and a Struggle Bug. Nicholas gritted his teeth.

"Hmph, we have one more trick up our sleeve Bug Catcher... and it's something nobody's ever been able to beat before." He smirked, crossing his arms. "Now then, Emmy, get another Quick Attack off!"

What was Netty's response?

---

@Ryik
The strategy executed well. Shuckle, with some shoddy steering, was able to swerve towards the Yawn bubble, kicking up quite a bit of rubble and debris. The bubble popped, but before the Yawn gas could envelop Shuckle, the turtle rolled away to avoid the effects.

"No! Damn it, at this rate..." Bobby wracked his brain. Gulp just wasn't good with his Poison Gas. What other moves could they use? "Gulp, use Acid Armor!"

The Gulpin's form slowly melted into a puddle before reforming once more. His cells rearranged, he could now withstand stronger physical moves. "Gup!"

"We're powered up!" Bobby pumped his fist into the air. "Let's see what you can do, RIVAL!" How would Troy react?

---

@Jujube
Magnet's aim was true, Thundershock made a direct hit on the Charmander. The pokemon howled and spewed a jet of flame from its mouth. "Chaaaa!"

"Char! Hang in there! Oof, you just got lucky!" Rorie screeched, jabbing a finger at Zaria. "This doesn't mean you're better or anything! Char, use another Smokescreen!" But as the Charmander went to belch another burst of smog, he froze in place, trying to move but his limbs seemed locked. A thin thread of electric current snaked around his body. It was a sure sign of the paralysis working.

"Char!" Lucky for Zaria, the Charmander couldn't attack this turn due to paralysis. How would she react then?