The sound of the morning traffic on the street below caused Jason to groggily open his eyes. Upon realizing what day it was, he quickly went about his morning routine: Shower, brush teeth, get dressed, find a CLEAN lab coat, and grab his satchel before moving out of his bedroom. It had been over a year since he'd last lived on the Institute's campus, and while Jason missed the more social environment of the dorms, the Bibarel Apartment complex was significantly cheaper. Not only were the apartments a few blocks from the campus, but the Laventon Institute even covered the rental fees with scholarship money!

"Morning, gang" said Jason to the three Pokémon lounging in his living room. The trio all shook themselves from sleep while their trainer began preparing a thermos of coffee in his kitchenette. "Today's the day. We've got classes in the morning, then we'll have free lab to run all our testing today!"

"Nido!"

"Sala-Sala!"

"Slow..."

Jason smiled at seeing his team get excited at the prospect of more research. Not to mention he'd reward them with a few extra berries at dinner if they did well. With their final year at the Institute starting today, it was vital that Jason complete his thesis before the year ended next Spring. Once the coffee was finished, the senior student capped his thermos and produced three pokeballs from his lab coat. "Return!" Rex, Ricin, and Toxin were all vacuumed up into the red light and Jason carefully placed their pokeballs onto his belt holsters. With everything ready, he swiped a few breakfast bars from his cupboard and left his apartment.

The Sun was just starting to peek over the buildings in Jubilife City as Jason hit the street and began his walk to school. Producing his Rotom Phone from within his bag, he smiled to himself as he opened the voice recorder app.

"Laventon Institute Thesis Log: It's the start of my final year at the Laventon Institute. So far, I've been able to travel to just about every known region on the planet to gather environmental data. In this final year, I'm going to begin testing on Pokémon in these new environments. With the right stimuli, I just might be able to crack the code and discover new forms of Pokemon evolution that no one has ever seen before! Aside from a few core classes and TA sessions, I've got almost free reign to travel this semester." Jason winced internally upon remembering his TA commitments. Being one of the top fourth year students, it was natural the staff would ask him to assist with training the incoming class of first years. That also meant having to deal with... her.

Unfortunately for Jason, it seemed as though reminding himself of his commitments only made the universe throw them in his face once again. As soon as he arrived at the Institute and picked up his schedule for the week, he saw his first class of the day was going to be one of said TA sessions: Adv. Pokémon Ecology w/ Professor Michael Birch. As a footnote, Jason saw the TA list: Jason Yew (4th Year) and Natalie Willow (3rd year). Having been introduced to each other through Prof. Oak two years ago, Jason and Natalie just never seemed to hit it off. She viewed him as her "rival" for some reason and Jason ALWAYS felt like she had it out for him. Nevertheless, he'd have to put up with this if he wanted to get to his own research that day.

With a sigh, Jason began climbing the stairs until he reached the floor where the first year classrooms were located. He quickly found the Ecology classroom only to see Natalie already inside. "Here we go..." With a last minute curse, Jason slid the door open and stepped inside, "Morning, Nat."

@TheNoCoKid @Eveekitten

It was his first day at the institute, and Pine was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. Excitement, anticipation, and a hint of nervousness. Would he actually be respected here, or would this just be a continuation of high school.

Bebe the Flabébé sitting in the flower in his hair was a source of boundless enthusiasm, did what she could to cheer her trainer up. Pine couldn’t help but smile at his Flabébé’s efforts, finding comfort in her lively presence

He had a map of the campus, and his schedule. His first class of the day was Advanced Ecology. He eventually found the classroom on the fourth floor. Upon finding the classroom, he took a deep breath, and entered. He saw the two TAs were already there. Pine couldn’t help thinking the male TA was handsome… But immediately shook those thoughts out of his head. He had already had his heart broken already, he did not need a repeat of that. Focus Pine. This is about becoming the Professor you want to be. There’s no room for distractions.

Pine quietly waved to the teaching assistants, and took a seat.

---

“Heh heh heh…”

A passing student gave the cackling woman a wide berth as he moved around her from where she crouched, peeking around the corner with a greedy - no, hungry - look upon her face. Ew…was she actually salivating? The young man shook his head - not his Mankey, not his circus - and made his way down the hall, passing by a taller blonde man wearing flowers in his hair. For not the first time during his stay in Jubilife, the man sighed, resigning himself to just quietly accept the eccentricity of his peers. As he then proceeds down the staircase out of view, another cackle cracks through the quiet halls.

“Heh heh heh…”

“Scy scy scy…”

Another head had popped around the corner, this one as green as the dollar signs in his trainer’s eyes. Its cackle joined the woman’s in an awful chorus, causing another student who had been meandering unaware down the hallway toward them to glance up from the floor, spot the dreadful eyes peering at her, then promptly turn an about face and march off away. Whatever that was, she wasn’t remotely interested today.

“Heh heh heh!”

“Scy scy scy!”

“Krawsh krawsh krawsh!”

A third head - this one decidedly more blue than green - joined the pair turning the chortling Doduo into a crowing Dodrio. By now, any of those unfortunate enough to be entering the first year’s Advanced Ecology classroom would be subject to a rather unsettling ocular patdown by the clowns down the way. The thought was enough to spark another cough of guffaws from the goof troop.

“Heh heh -” THACK! “-OW!”

“Scy scy -” THACK! “-THER!”

“Krawsh krawsh -” THACK! “-HER?!”

As the knucklehead Cerberus collapsed in a pile of arms, wings, and other appendages, it was Kaori who first sat straight up, beat-up trucker hat in one gloved hand and rubbing her head with the other. She was dressed in her usual bright yellow trousers and tan tee. Her cheeks were puffed out in a pout as she regarded her attacker with wide brown puppy eyes. “Jerk! Asshole! Meanie!” she whined, soon joined by similar cries of protest from Champ and Goob as they also sat up, each nursing their own bumps given by the one before them, silencing as a large shadow began to cross over them.

Boss loomed large over the trio - while by all means the smallest of the lot in stature, his presence was overwhelming and the leak's even moreso. Kaori chuckled nervously as she glanced at her hooligan helpers. “Uhh heh heh…yeah, maybe Boss is right, gang, this ain’t no time to be fooling around.” she sighs, moving to her feet. As she does so, Champ shoots Boss a narrow look, but quickly withers under the oppressive Leer he receives in kind.

It’s only when the Heracross pops up beside the angry Farfetch’d that the bird’s nerve slips and the anger and irritation is replaced by panic and terror. There’s no time to escape as no sooner does he become aware of her before he’s pulled into a tight, crushing embrace, Goob rubbing her face affectionately against the feathers on his head.

Kaori watches it all with a fond grin before she glances conspiratorially around to see if anybody was paying too much attention. They weren’t. People were used to her…let’s call them antics at this point. Or at least warned to maybe stay clear of them if not. And the newbies…well, they were smart enough to get into Laventon, weren’t they? Surely they’d know better than to get involved with…whatever this was.

Once satisfied, Kaori squatted down on her haunches and clapped her hands together, before motioning toward the others. “Okay, okay, gather ‘round and pop a squat.” she urged the others as they formed their little huddle, Kaori and the bugs squatting while Boss stood full height, chest out. Arm on shoulder on one shoulder, wing on the other, a grinning Kaori cleared her throat before announcing the start of the first official, if not impromptu, meeting of the Laventon Institute Student Welcoming Committee!

“Alright gang, listen up!” she shouted, getting grunts from her bugs and a nod from the duck. “We all know why we’re here, right?” she asks, glancing from side to side. At their nods, she launched her arm in the vague direction of the classroom she had been staking out, extending a finger for emphasis. “Inside are a bunch of fresh, malleable minds, probably scared and overwhelmed at the ‘First Day of the Rest of Your Lives’” she monologues, mimicking the way her own greeter had phrased things at her own orientation and pausing to build anticipation. The bugs eat it up. Boss remains stoic as always. “So it’s up to us to make them feel at home! WE, THE LAVENTON INSTITUTE STUDENT WELCOMING COMMITTEE!” she shouts, thrusting up a fist. The bugs join her. Boss looks aside.

Another student watches on with mild curiosity and irritation. He’s heard the rumors of some bright yellow weirdo on campus, but this is his first time seeing it first hand. Somehow even weirder than they say. He hugs the wall, trying to quietly and stealthily pass by. Partway through, however, the menacing Farfetch’d makes eye contact and starts mean-mugging. The student takes the hint and moves along faster. Kaori remains oblivious to all of it as she continues on with her monologue.

“Remember, everybody has a job to do: Secretary Goob, Secretary Champ - you two are on cheer squad.” she states, answered with grunts and nods. “Vice-Chairman Boss, you’re with me: we’re handing out goodie bags.” Another nod, another grunt. “And most importantly…” she starts again, moving to her feet and turning around. “Secretary Buddy: how’re the balls?” she calls.

Down the hall perpendicular to the Advanced Ecology hall, a lone Paras stands next to a large burlap sack. He watches on with vacant eyes - not a damn thing going on behind them, let’s be honest - and a slack jawed grin. After several quiet moments, the Paras snaps off what can only be called a salute, gathering a chorus of admiring fawning from the rest of the crew. Even Boss watched on approvingly. Secretary Buddy was on Ball Duty, a task reserved for only the most reliable Committee Members. Who would be more fitting for that than the paragon of diligence himself?

With the roles assigned, the plan in place, and morale sufficiently raised, Kaori and co were good to go whenever. But not yet. She crossed over to the large window and peered out to the campus below, at the little people marching about like confused little ants trying to find their path. It was still too early. She needed to wait just a little longer, make sure there were no stragglers, then she’d begin her rounds. Starting with Jason’s class. Sweet Jason Yew. Surely he’d be kind enough to let her make her pitch…or lazy enough to not just throw her out. Right? Nah, he was a good guy. He liked fun, right? He’d definitely let give her a few minutes.

Probably. He’d probably give her a few minutes. Maybe. He might.

Could she bribe him? What kind of balls did he like? Uhh…

Oh. That reminded her.

Kaori pulled out her phone and navigated to her messages. It didn’t take long to find the thread she was looking for. Isaiah Akana. Kannyboy. As close to a regular as she got with the business. She scrolled back through the last few messages before composing a new one. After a few moments, she read over it again and grinned, biting down on her tongue.



Kaori blinked. Oops. Why did she do that? She hadn’t meant to hit send yet…right? Probably hit it by accident - she was wearing bulky gloves after all. She snorted a little laugh, debating leaving it as it was just to fuck with him. Ultimately she decided to add some context, having decided that maybe teasing her best customer was a less than stellar business decision. He provided the most thorough data. No reason to make that awkward…

She added a sticker and shot another message off to him before stowing her phone back in her pocket and slapping her cheeks. C’mon, Gingko, getcha head on straight.



With that settled, Kaori turned back to her crew. Boss watched as Champ and Goob started psyching each other up. Buddy grinned thoughtlessly at her. She grinned back, moving to join the smaller bug. She grabbed the sack and peered inside, looking over the balls in one final inspection to kill a little more time. There were no nerves in her gut, only excitement. Maybe it wasn't the wisest use of her rather limited free time. Maybe there were better, more efficient ways. But this one worked for her. It was her way. And that made it better.

She tightened her grip on the sack.

Soon.

There were only a few certainties in life; death, taxes, and Isaiha's morning runs. The sun had barely peaked its head over Jubilife City and once again his footsteps rhythmically beat against its pavement as he jogged along its streets with a steady breath for the first run of the academic year. Muscles stretched and compressed with each strode and the swing of his arms in harmony. For Isaiha it was his 'me time,' a period for him to get ready to face the day. It was therapeutic; the noise of the early morning traffic, the scattered chatter of people going about their daily lives, the rustled branches of trees from a gentle breeze, and the sound of Pokemon all blended in the background like static. There were no thoughts as he ran, just the enjoyment of moving his body.

Eventually his steps would lead him back to the dorm building where he took the elevator up to his floor and soon after walking down the hallway reached his door. He unlocked it and walked into a relatively spacious one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen area and one large living space with a small balcony outside. In the living area were plenty of Pokemon beds which were occupied by his junior assistants who were very much asleep still.

Isaiha clapped his hands together and said loudly, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!" The group of Pokemon all stirred awake and groaned for they had to wonder why their trainer had to be a morning person. He grabbed their food bowls and filled them up before they went to chomp down on it. Isaiha grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and with a click of a button and a beam of white light a Kindra floated in the space. "Breakfast is on the counter, Riptide." He patted it on the head.

"Dra!" It floated over to the counter where a massive bowl of food was laid out because Kingdras are very big Pokemon that needed plenty of food.

He pulled his sweaty tank top that clung to his body and took a whiff. His nose wrinkled up. "Alright, time for a shower." He threw the tank top off and went to go have a shower. Eventually he would be back in his room where he quickly dressed in his typical attire of jeans, an Alolan shirt, sneakers, and of course his sunglasses which hung on his shirt. He grabbed a pot of filled with coffee he made before he went off his morning run and filled a mug with it and whole milk. Some good old Alolan beans that his parents sent him. It had a gentle fruity aroma with a vanilla finish. He sipped it while he made his breakfast. Well, it was mainly heat up leftover quinoa and crispy tofu topped with a fried egg, scallions, and a dollop of chili crisp. A filling, but healthy breakfast while he watched internet videos of baking recipes and his Tyrunt chewed loudly on a squeaky toy that screamed for its life.

"Alright everyone, it's time to go! Back in your balls." He held several Pokeballs between his fingers and just absorbed all of his Pokemon back into their respective balls, all except for one. "Okay Cinder. Ready?"

"Chim!" It chirped up before it crawled up his body to his shoulder like the burning simian that it was. Isaiha patted him on the head and grabbed a bag where he put his laptop, books, and his labcoat.

he left his dorm and once again wandered the campus though it was not to head to class, at least not yet. Before him was quite a large part of the campus sectioned off where many fully evolved Pokemon were wandering around. This was the pen where his senior assistants, his Pokemon during his time as a professional trainer, resided as per to the special agreement between the Institute and himself. The only thing that kept anyone in or out technically was a gate though they could climb over it if they were either brave enough or stupid enough to go into a den of some of the most dangerous Pokemon in the region. Frankly speaking, they were their own best security and these overpowered creatures all looked delighted to see their trainer walking through its gate.

He was hoisted up in the air by his Kommo-o and "Guys, I literally saw you all yesterday when I put you back here!" Said Isaiha in between laughs. Eventually he was placed back down, and he was nuzzled by Ampharos while his Serperior looked at the scene with great envy. "Oh Highness, you're loved too." He pat the arrogant grass snake that now blushed and looked away with a 'humph!' Really, the only ones who did not show excitement were his cool headed Scizor and his Pelliper that was taking a nap in the morning sun. "Great to see you two too." Isaiha rolled his eyes with a smile.

However, his attention was brought to his buzzing phone. He picked it up and saw a message from his favorite Pokeball supplier, Kaori Ginko. Riri.



Was it possible to choke on air? Well, Isaiha just found out. It was hard to tell what his redder, his hair or his face. His Pokemon peeked over his shoulder to see what could have garnered that kind of reaction from their trainer. Cinder raised his eyebrows up multiple times and nudged him like the cheeky monkey he was though Highness looked like she was ready to kill a bitch though the rest looked more amused except for Cotton the Ampharos who blushed too and Xena who looked she could not really care less.

A million things ran through his mind though his thoughts were instantly quelled by the next message.



He just fell silent and squinted at the phone as if that was what wronged him.

"Sciz Scizzor." His Scizor said as if she was embarrassed for him.

"I do not look disappointed!" Isaiha embarrassedly shouted at the stoic.

Well, he had to respond, but maybe he needed to give her a taste of her own medicine.



Isaiha left the message to linger for about thirty seconds before he attached a sticker and sent a new message.



Either she would think this was funny or she was going to punch him in the stomach because she was too short to slap him. Well, either way he needed to go into the main lecture hall so that was his next destination.

Lancer Cerisier did not want to be late, but he was certainly going to be late. Which was not the impression he wanted to make on any of the staff or student assistants or really anyone. It was already a miracle that his application had been accepted in the first place. It had been years since he had last had any kind of formal education and even then, he hadn’t been the best student. He had other responsibilities, so sue him. Still, this was a chance to make something of himself and he didn’t want to start that chance by making a bad first impression. But HoneyLuv had turned off their alarm this morning and Sassy McSassy Pants hadn’t bothered to wake him up.

So, now he was running to his first class with one arm wrapped around his Munchlax and the other hand clutched desperately to a map to avoid getting lost. He had mad the trip yesterday just to be sure, but didn’t want to jinx it. He was hurrying, but not running because his Furfrou was older than most Pokémon and he didn’t want to accidently leave her behind. He was further hindered by the fact that most of his fellow students were filming something on their phones. Lancer caught a glance. Yeah, he maybe late, but at least he wasn’t that guy. Poor bloke.

As he hurried he chastised, “This is your fault Honey! I set alarms for a reason.” His voice sound exasperated, stressed and just a touch done, “I know you know this.”

The Munchlax in his arms chirped sadly at the scolding he knew was well deserved, “Munch.”

Lancer couldn’t help himself and pressed a quick kiss to his best friend’s crown, “It’s okay Luv. I forgive you. Just try to remember and don’t do it again.”

The Furfrou barked in amusement, “Frou! Frou!”

Lancer gave her the side eyed, “Not helping Sassy!”

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he got to the correct classroom. He stumbled in to see the boy that had been the subject of other students’ amusement at the sink trying to clean up. It was never going to work and Lancer winced in sympathy. After placing his stuff down, and checking that Darius’s Pokéball was still in his pocket, he pulled out his spare shirt and held it up to check before making a foolish offer. Yeah, okay that might work. He probably needed a friend more than anything else right now, because that was the about the worse way to start four years in a place were every action was observed and criticized.

Lancer looked HoneyLuv in the eye as he placed him in the seat, “Stay! I mean it Honey! Don’t cause any more trouble.” Once the Munchlax had nodded Lancer made his way over to the boy by the sink, “Hello! I’m Lancer. It’s nice to meet you. I’m not sure it will fit, but I do have an extra shirt if you would like it. Also, I have wet wipes if that would be better than trying to duck under the sink faucet.”

Meanwhile Sassy, who had been given no instructions to stay put, wandered over to the other boy in the room siting and placed a head on his lap. Clearly, if her trainer was too busy rescuing people, which she did approve of, she was going to have to find her own pets. And since the teaching assistants were busy this boy would have to do. She looked up at him with mournful eyes that betrayed the fact that she was clearly well loved in a clear ploy to garner attention. HoneyLuv was busy snooping in Lancer’s bag for snacks to really pay attention. Besides, he didn’t want to cause any more trouble, not today at least. Maybe tomorrow.

@Crimson Flame
@anothered

@TheNoCoKid @anothered @LadyAnnaLee

Pine sat at the desk staring at the handsome TA. He knew he needed to distract himself with something or he was going to seem like a creep. He didn’t need that kind of reputation. Especially when he just started. He looked around for something else to hold his attention.

A boy ran in covered in glue and paper confetti, and went to clean himself off at the sink. No doubt the victim of someone’s cruel prank. This boy was apparently trending all over the school’s social media page. He couldn’t help rolling his eyes. Why does the misey of others fill humans with such glee? Pine had been there before. He figured people had matured past the need for such things, especially at such a prestigious institution, but clearly people never change…

Pine wondered if he should say or do something, but another boy took initiative first. Much to his relief. What would he have said or done anyway?

And then suddenly, a Furfrou came up to him, and made eyes at Pine. It was clearly looking for attention. It was rare for anybody to seek him out, so Pine petted the Furfrou’s fluffy head. With a gentle smile, he responded, “Um… hello… Unfortunately, I don’t have treats for you. All my Pokémon food is formulated for Grass types… and Flabébé…”

Said Flabébé, perched in a flower in Pine’s hair, made a cheerful humming noise.

As the students began pouring in, Jason leaned against the wall on the far side of the classroom. He only kept half his attention on the first years as he looked over notes on his Rotom Phone. He could already FEEL the morning beginning to drag on as he longed for the first chance to jump out of class and catch some new Pokémon in the school's terrarium. Being locked in the middle of Sinnoh's largest city, the terrarium wasn't anything compared to other schools out in the world, but the Pokémon in there would still provide useful data. He also took a moment to check that a 'package' he'd ordered from Professor Cedric Juniper in Unova would be arriving today. His eyes lit up when he saw the delivery was on time!

The sound of labored breathing finally caused the fourth year to look away from his phone only to see a student walking in covered in glue and a variety of confetti. He could only sigh. The same group of students had been setting up that prank every single year. Some naive first year always wound up falling for it. "Use hot water! That'll weaken the adhesive faster." He called out as he saw the student standing at the sink. He was taking a spare shirt from one his classmates. Weird to pack an extra shirt on first day, but Jason didn't judge. He was the guy carrying poison resistant gear in his satchel. He was about to return to running through his notes when a notification came through on his phone. A voice memo from Professor Birch.

"Hey there, Jay!" Came the professor's voice as Jason held the phone to his ear. "Unfortunately I got a tip about some new developments in the Hoenn region following the Hoopa Incident. So... I'm in Littleroot Town right now. Do me a favor and stream me in for the class?" Jason smirked and placed his head in his palm. It was JUST like Birch to miss the first day of the class he was being paid to teach. At least if it was remote, Birch would spend most of the class not needing his TA services.

"Ok! Take your seats everyone," said Jason and he began firing up the computer. "Seems we'll be having an unconventional first day." Soon, Professor Birch's face was displayed on the projector screen. He waved to the class while a few students whispered in the back.

"Hello class! I'm Michael Birch and I'll be teaching Pokemon Ecology this year. Before any of you ask, yes I'm that professor who went viral last year for being attacked by a Poochyena. It was VERY funny, now let's not discuss it..." While the class snickered, Jason could just make out the sound of someone cackling in the hallway. Excusing himself from the room, he stepped outside only to be greeted by the Pokeball wizard and her menagerie crouched just outside the door. Cocking his head, Jason shut the door to the classroom; leaning against it to block the girl from the inside.

"You know I respect your business more than anyone, Kaori, but do you think you can wait till these kids have been here a few days before you start getting them roped into your pokeball racket?" Jason waited to see if his mild tease enticed the proper reaction from his former student.

---

Bzzt.

Kaori’s brow raised at the sound of her vibrating pocket, earning her curious glances from the squad, except for sweet, sweet Buddy, who was flying high on Thoughtless Airlines. She blinked. He hadn’t been expecting a message from anyone…

Fishing the phone out of her pocket again, her confusion morphed into surprise.

Isaiah Akana.

Already?

She had expected a response, sure, but that quick? Pfft. Boy had it bad. She smirked at the thought before opening the thread, which quickly turned her smirk into a full blown smile.



She waited for the follow up, but when it didn’t come, she felt confused. He was just playing along, right? Like, he was going to send a punchline. Right? Surely he didn’t…that wasn’t…Warmth grew in her cheeks. What if he did? She gave him an opportunity and he took it.

Her reaction garnered the attention of her crew, so Kaori spun around, hiding her face as she crouched down again, hugging her knees. What the actual fuck Kannyboy? What should she sa-

Bzzt.

Another message scrolled across the screen, followed by…by…



…

……

……….

Pfft.

The bugs exchanged concerned looks. Boss took a defensive stance. Buddy stared off into the middle distance in blissful ignorance.

PFFT.

A menacing sound arose from the girl, sparking fear in the hearts of her subordinates. The bugs held each other in terror. Boss closed his eyes, steeling himself for his end. Buddy continued to stare off into the middle distance in blissful ignorance. The anticipation was overwhelming…

But it settled into a laugh. A cackle, really. Kaori shook her head, shoulders bobbing with laughter. It continued for a few moments before she hung her head, pressing a fist against her temple. “You dummy…” she muttered, looking off toward the window. “You really had me going there for a sec.”

It was deserved. She felt just a tinge embarrassed that she let herself get worked up like that, but it was whatever. Nobody was around to see that. Just her. And the crew but…heh. They’d take it to their graves.

Or else~

Whatever. It was funny. He got her back. Well played. She was still going to slug him in the gut. Or finally get around to finding a stepladder. Jerk.

As she was putting together a response and plotting retaliatory violence, a familiar voice startled her. She peeked over her shoulder just in time to see her favorite TA leaning against the door to the classroom. Ruh roh. Busted already. It was fine - it was okay. Ideally she’d have been in the classroom before he noticed her, but she could work with this. Sure. Just had to uh…

Kaori pushed to her feet, taking a moment to compose herself again before spinning about face, one fist against her hip, the other near her face, finger extended. She flashed Jason a wide grin - her best salesperson grin - as she prepared to pitch.

“Heeey, c’mon, I’m not that devious.” she protested with a grin. “I’m just here on official Laventon Institute Student Welcoming Committee business.” she explained, nodding. “And as founder and chairwoman, it’s my solemn duty to make sure that all new students are given a proper warm L.I. welcome, y’know?”

She glanced over at her sack of pokeballs. Uhh…

“The balls are just welcome gifts. A little treat.” she continued, searching his face for annnnny hint that he might actually be buying it. When she wasn’t convinced that he was convinced, she sighed, dropping the facade. “Okay, just gimme like ten minutes at the end of class to give my pitch and I’ll make you two free balls of your choice every week for the rest of the semester. Deal?”

Isaiha looked at his phone to find that there was still no new message. She would not have felt hurt by this, would she? Surely, she laughed until she her sides split. He didn't do anything wrong, right? Then why did it feel like he messed up? He stared at his phone awaiting a message from Kaori with a weird intensity until he shoved it back into his pocket. "Why am I getting so worked up over that gremlin?" Isaiha asked himself with suspiciously warm cheeks.

Cinder though stared at his trainer for being the dumbass that he truly was. This trainer was one of the most intelligent people in the region, personally selected by one of the most prestigious university programs in the world, an incredibly competent trainer, and yet somehow the Chimchar watched Isaiha make the greatest fumble that it in its admittedly short life.

The fire ape looked both disappointed and disgusted by the sheer cowardice of Isaiha. "Chim, chim char. Chim chim!" Chastised a very annoyed Cinder.

With hot cheeks Isaiha protested, "I did not wuss out!" He glared at the Chimchar who in turn returned a gaze of absolutely being sick of Isaiha's shit. Isaiha sighed heavily and ruffled his Chimchar's tuft of fur on its head. "We're just friends, that's it. There's no need to make it any more awkward." He smiled softly at the Chimchar as if this was a fact to be accepted and yet, it felt like there was a hand that gripped his shoulder tightly, an anxiety that lurked behind him.

It whispered ever so intrusively in his ear, "Besides, why should she want a loser who ran away from everything?"

Isaiha shook his head as if to shake the unwelcomed thoughts and continued on his way to the main hall. Eventually he would find himself in the main building of the campus. Technically he had no reason to be there yet; his first class would not start for a little bit, but he wanted to get there early enough to be able to make a good impression on the lecturer. Well, it was to be expected to be there on time, but it was still worth the try!

He walked around looking for the lab or lecture hall that he would need to find for class until he saw two familiar figures down the hall: the ever-messy looking Jason Yew with an uncharacteristically clean lab coat talking to some shortie in a trucker hat. Wait...

Oh shit. That was Kaori.

This was way too awkward for Isaiha. He did not even know what to say to her. What could he even say to her? Yeah, no, he was just going to walk away and hide at school cafeteria until it was time for class. Well, that was what he was going to do, except Cinder instantly leapt off his shoulder and Kaori would soon feel the weight of the Chimchar crawling up from her leg to her shoulder.

"Chim!" It greeted quite happily before shooting a mischievous look at Isaiha.

"Et tu Cinder," thought Isaiha before he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alola Jason, Riri." God he just wanted to hide.

Meanwhile, Cinder would eventually climb down her and approach Kaori's Pokemon. "Chim, chim chim char?" Roughly translated it went like this, "So, was your trainer a blushing idiot too or was it just mine?"

Lancer looked up as he heard someone mention treats. Was HoneyLuv trying to mooch? He told the little Mucnhlax to stay put. His worry and concern melted off his face into a soft smile when he saw Sassy with her head on another boy’s lap. Lancer was willing to bet that the Furfrou hadn’t even asked permission before just slipping into the stranger’s personal space. Well, Lancer trusted her instincts and judgement. They had very rarely led the Cerisier family wrong after all. The young adult probably needed a friend, and he wasn’t that bad looking. Lancer could follow Sassy’s lead once again.

Lancer smiled as he called out, “Oh no! Sassy’s not looking for treats. She’s an older Pokémon and on a special diet and she’s smart enough to know that it’s for her own good. She’s really just looking for attention. She likes ear scratches and butt scratches. She also understands consent a lot better than some humans. If Sassy is bothering you, just let her know. She’ll leave you alone.” He moved away from the sink to sit down, “Honey, stop eating all the snacks. We need some for lunch. We don’t have time to go back to the dorm and you know it.” He wasn’t far from Sassy’s newest friend, so he held out his hand, “I’m Lancer, by the way, Lancer Cerisier. I’m looking to study Pokémon Trainers. What are you studying?”

Introductions were made just in time for one of the TAs to start the professor streaming in. This was supposed to be an in-person class, right? No matter. Class was class. Lancer pulled out his keyboard as his Rotam phone hovered just at eye level. It was an older model, but it worked for taking notes. Lancer was not used to taking notes. Back in high school he was more concerned with his siblings than note taking. So, Lancer could hope that it was a skill that was learnable. He had a class coming up that sounded like it was basically how to do college. Maybe that class would have a note taking segment.

Lancer’s note taking skills were further damaged by the fact that Lancer just found the whole thing about Pokémon ecology painfully fascinating. He kept getting distracted by what Professor Birch was saying and forgetting to take notes. Why was this not required learning for kids wanting to go on an adventure? Maybe not all of it, but some of it would be helpful to prevent accidently stumbling on to things like upset nests of Beedrils. Lancer’s full attention would be on the Professor only to suddenly realize that he needed to be taking notes, so he would hurriedly type out what he remembered of the lecture only to be dragged back into to the interesting stuff. This was only the first lesson. How much more interesting would it get from here? Could he read ahead? Maybe that would help him actually focus on note taking than being dragged into the lecture itself.