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.