Desolate [Pokémon Arven x Protagonist]

The Director's Announcement

After dealing with the crowd from the dorms to the top floor to my seat, there was about half an hour left before the presentation. I used that time to bask in the sun and think about earlier. I already committed to helping an angry boy out to fight whatever a titan was for some cooking supplies so I had that going for me, but other than that, I didn't think I had anything else planned for the year. I wanted to pass my classes, of course, but I didn't feel the urge to participate in much more. Being away from home felt like a vacation to me, and I wanted to spend my time here relaxing and, maybe, using the time to heal. Maybe find a way to erase everything that happened before.

"I do believe it's about time to start," the director announced, a microphone in his hand, his voice radiating from surrounding speakers. The assembly began to quiet, and he waited until we could only hear the shuffling of students and the muffled rustling of tree leaves. "To those transferred here from other regions, Paldea is a sprawling region bursting with lush nature and magnificent landscapes," he began. "It is also, of course, home to the mysterious creatures known to us as Pokémon. They reside here in great numbers, in fact." He continued his speech, talking about Pokémon and how we coexist, likely to explain their significance to the younger attendees. "Here at Naranja Academy, we don't see our goals as mere goals. We see it as a treasure hunt!" I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness, but I did understand that the director was just trying to make school more enjoyable. "I ask each of you to set out and travel the world in search of your own treasure. You will all learn much within the walls of our fine academy, but now it is time to turn your eyes upon the wider world and deepen your understanding. Explore Paldea's abundant nature, soak in its rich culture, discover the Pokémon that live here, and get to know the people, too. Where will you travel? Who will you meet? And what will you achieve? Of course, your Pokémon partners will be there to help you. You will journey together, learn new things together, share each other's thoughts and feelings, and find something you might always treasure." I could tell my peers were loving the speech, but I wasn't too sure what I'd be looking for. All I wanted was freedom, and today I finally had it. "At the end of your time here, I assure you that you will all be fine, young trainers. Let the treasure hunt begin! Onward!" He concluded, and the audience cheered and whooped. I clapped calmly, again thinking about what I would be after during my time here. Was it mandatory? Did I need to bring something back? Could I not graduate if I didn't find my 'treasure'? I had so many questions to think about.

The students were beginning to make their way back to their dorms to prepare for the first day of classes tomorrow. The elevators were even more crowded with everyone leaving at once, so I reluctantly took the stairs. On the dorm floor, before I entered my room, I thought that I could use the free day to train my Pokémon for the titan battle that I had no idea when it would take place. Maybe Arven would come find me later that day. I didn't know, so I decided to make my way down to the ground level. As I walked through the pretty, small town of Mesagoza, I chuckled to myself. Perhaps this titan battle is my treasure. It would probably be a pretty lousy one at that. Nemona was trying to become the champion of the region. I couldn't live up to anything like that.

The gates were open, and I said hello to the guards beside them. I decided to leave through the southern gates which were the closest to my house. A lot of smaller and weaker Pokémon hung out there. Pawmi, lechonk, tarountula, and fidough were all abundant by Los Platos and were all easy to defeat with my own Pokémon. I released Koraidon and Quaxly. Koraidon yawned while Quaxly seemed exceptionally thrilled to see the outdoors. I scanned the area for any groups of Pokémon until I spotted a bunch of wild pawmi lazing about. I pulled out my phone to look up my quaxly's moveset. At level 14, he only knew six moves, four of them being the only ones that dealt damage, but I could work with it. I pointed at the group and ordered his strongest move: "Quaxly, Wing Attack!" Quaxly obeyed and leapt into the air to blast the pawmi with a gust of air. The wind slammed into them, knocking them into a tumble, and caused them to scatter in a dizzy mess. I felt bad for them, but it had to be done to train my team. Plus, Pokémon earned experience whether they won or lost a battle. "Alright, Koraidon, your turn." The beast made a throaty purr and cocked his head. I looked around for another Pokémon group and found a bunch of lechonk. I scurried closer, keeping my footsteps quiet, then scanned Koraidon for his moveset. The phone took quite a while to think before showing an error message.

"Pokémon not found. No info could be provided," the phone blared. The lechonk perked up and hurried away from the scene, seeing the enormous reptile staring them down. I scratched my head. If Professor Sada was researching him, why wasn't there any information about him on the Pokédex?

I turned to Koraidon. "What could you do?" Koraidon shook his head. "Can't tell me? What about Quick Attack? Growl? Tackle?" I named off a bunch of common moves a majority of Pokémon had, but Koraidon continued to shake his head. "You don't fight, huh?" He cooed sadly. I stroked his scaly muzzle. Was  that why the professor gave him to Arven? I thought about asking him later more about the mysterious Pokémon. In the meantime, I searched for more unsuspecting low-leveled Pokémon for Quaxly to battle until lunchtime.