The stairway was exhausting, it took at least two whole minutes to reach the top. I supposed I had to get used to them eventually, but I felt they were unnecessarily extravagant for the sole purpose of destroying my calves. Nemona jokingly laughed at me as I bent over at my waist to catch my breath. Although Paldea was riddled with hills and hiking paths of every elevation, I was never able to get out much to enjoy them. Even after my parents died, I found it terrifying being outside alone. Alone with my own thoughts. The voices haunted me, constantly reminding me of my guilt over what I had done, but now I had Koraidon and I'd soon have another member to my Pokémon battling team.
Inside, the school had an enormous lobby with gigantic, welcoming arches with the academy crest showcased proudly at the top. Directly past the entrance was a receptionist, two staff members helping out the new students with maps and pamphlets. I could see behind them a tall room with a library of files and books, a steady ladder resting along the side of the wooden frame. That was probably where all the student files and information were. To either side were another two equally fancy—but not as long—flights of stairs that led to a mezzanine that looked over at us.
I took out my new student ID so Nemona and I could figure out which room was my dorm. The elevator was at the top of the lobby stairs and took us directly to any floor in the building, even the rooftop. Nemona told me that the school had its own personal Pokémon battlefield up there only for the students. When I got my first few Pokémon, I wanted to try it out. The dorms were on the third floor, above the majority of the classrooms and below the staff offices and the director's office. The rooms were separated into long hallways by the number. Nemona showed me the way and taught me how to remember the turns to get there. Inside, my dorm was unexpectedly spacious. It had a soft orange theme like the rest of the school, an orange bed, orange curtains. It wasn't my favorite aesthetic, but the room looked very expensive with a full kitchen, bathroom, and study in the corner by the bed. There was a laptop on the desk, as well.
I sat on the neatly folded bed and looked around. Nemona jumped into the sheets beside me. "Wha'd'ya think?" She asked me.
I truly was in awe at how nice the dorms were. I was expecting a lot less, especially compared to the universities I had seen online or the cramped, sad half-a-bedroom quarters I heard about. "It's so much better than what I could ever dream of!"
"I'm glad!" Nemona put on a rare face of sincere seriousness. "A lot better than back home, huh?" She said quietly.
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I clenched my fists, hearing the voices again. I took a deep breath. "Yeah. It's a whole lot better." I smiled sheepishly at her. There was a polite knock at the door.
"That must be him!" Nemona launched herself up from the bed, nearly knocking me over from the rebound. She already had the door open by the time I steadied myself.
"Nemona, I don't remember your dorm being on this side of the floor," Director Clavell said quite confusedly.
Nemona giggled. "I'm just here for my neighbor, Lugosi. I wanted to see what starter she picked out."
"Impeccable timing, then. I'm here for that exact reason." He reached into his pouch and took out three identical Pokéballs and tossed them on the wooden floor where three different Pokémon of all different typings jumped out. One was a fire-type fuecoco which looked a lot like a plump berry to me, waddling around awkwardly and tasting anything it thought looked appetizing. Another was a water-type quaxly that was an obvious water bird. Compared to the fuecoco, it was very graceful in its movements and was trying to get its companion to drop whatever it was holding in its mouth. The final Pokémon was a grass-type sprigatito who was a pretty generic feline, watching the other two while licking its paws. I knew a little about the starters' final forms. The three were performing Pokémon: fuecoco as a singer, quaxly as a dancer, and sprigatito as a magician. "Take your time to decide," Director Clavell told me. "Whoever you choose will be loyal to you for the rest of your journey here."
Nemona was trembling in excitement. "So who are you gonna choose?" If this Pokémon was going to stick with me for the rest of the year, I wanted my very first Pokémon—besides the strange koraidon I knew nothing about—to be someone like me, someone I would get along with and enjoy working with. It was true I came off more calm and isolated like sprigatito, but I knew that I used to be playful and active like the other two. I wasn't clumsy and ignorant like fuecoco, either. Besides, the fuecoco seemed to need a bit too much supervision I wasn't sure I'd be able to commit to. Quaxly was a perfect mix of playfulness and maturity. It was graceful but frisky. His final form as a dancing Pokémon seemed exceptionally cool, matching its demeanor as both beautiful and fun.
"I think I'll take quaxly," I announced. The duckling Pokémon perked up in surprise, and its friends congratulated it.
Director Clavell handed me the quaxly's ball. "You'll need this, too." He went back into his satchel and pulled out a black belt with six empty carabiners, three on each side like Nemona's. "You should be able to hook any Pokéball onto this belt." I took it from him and tightened it around my waist. It was a snug fit. I barely felt it around my body. "You were scheduled mandatory core classes for this semester along with some beginning Pokémon battling classes," he explained. "You are free to join any school clubs and explore the island of Paldea from dawn to dusk if you please."
I blinked at Nemona. "No curfews?"
She shook her head enthusiastically. "No curfews! Also free meals three times a day! That reminds me: I need to take you to the cafeteria to get you something to eat!" She grabbed my hand.
"Wait!" I pulled back. "Let me get the Pokéballs on my belt before we skedaddle." The three loose Pokémon returned to their balls, and the director said his goodbyes before moving on to the next new student. I hooked Quaxly's ball on first before going back to my bag and equipping Koraidon's.
"Ready to go?" Nemona asked me. I nodded, and she led me downstairs. As we stood in the elevator, she turned to me, "You know there's an app on your rotom phone that tells you all about whatever Pokémon you point it at."
I hummed acknowledgement. "That's cool. I'll take a look at my team after breakfast."
"Director Clavell usually starts you off with a starter that's close to evolving. Makes it easier for younger students. Quaxly evolves at level 16."
I scoffed, "You remember that?" The elevator doors opened, and we began our way to the open arches of the bustling cafeteria.
"Of course!" She beamed. "I'm gonna be the champion of the region some day."
I smirked. "You? Champion? I could actually see that happening." Nemona was very passionate about Pokémon battles. She had always been obsessed with them since I met her as a kid. She was definitely ambitious and incredibly knowledgeable on all things Pokémon biology related.
"There are eight gyms I have to beat before I could fight the Elite Four and La Primera. I think I'm finally ready this year!"
I patted her on the back. "I'll be with you all the way, Nemona." When we entered the cafeteria which was colossally large to accommodate the vast student body, I recognized a figure sitting by himself at a table. "You could start breakfast without me," I told Nemona. "I'll find you later." She agreed without protest.
I snuck up behind the boy and surprised him as I sat beside him. "Hey! Arven, right?"
The boy glared at me, clearly annoyed. "I'm not taking Koraidon back if that's why you're here."
I grimaced. He really did have a foul attitude. I took a look at the table. Arven was eating some sort of sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil while reading a thick book opened to a page that seemed to be about food. "Is that a cookbook?" I pointed.
He slammed it shut. "Mind your own business," he growled.
I threw my hands up. "I just came over because you looked lonely. Don't bite me."
Arven rolled his eyes and opened the book back up, flipping back to his page. "You've lived in Paldea all your life, right?" He mumbled.
"Yeah. How'd you know that?"
"I've seen you around." I thought about that for a while. I don't think I've ever met the teen in my life. He was at most a year younger than I was. I didn't get out much before today. My stomach audibly growled. "You didn't get anything to eat?"
"The—uh—koraidon ate my entire sandwich when I tried to feed him," I explained, a tad bit embarrassed at the whole scenario.
Arven looked at me weird then sighed. He tore his sandwich in half and gave me the unbitten piece. "Take it before I change my mind."
I obeyed and began to chew through it. "Wow..." The flavor was amazing. It tickled my entire mouth. "This is amazing." I swallowed and gestured at his handbook. "So that is a cookbook."
"It's my mom's notebook. I'm just reading through it."
"I heard about your mom." I recalled, "Professor Sada. Never met her, but I've heard she's super smart." Arven seemed broken hearing that. He was clenching his jaw in anger and his pupils were so contracted.
"Yeah," he breathed, clearly holding back an outburst. "She is." I wasn't dumb. I understood that there was something behind the subject that was bothering him, so I decided to drop the topic and continue eating the sandwich. Arven calmed down and rubbed the pages of his book with a palm. "Have you ever seen one of these?" I leaned over. He was turned to a page with a detailed drawing of a leafy plant with round leaves. It had a very distinctive shape, and the shading around it made it light up the writing around it.
"I've... never seen... anything like it." I swallowed and cleared my throat. "Why do you ask?"
"I've been trying to find them for a while now, and I'm certain I have," he groaned. "But the problem is that the plants are all guarded by these huge Pokémon called titans. I can't fight them by myself to have time to harvest the herbs." I wondered if he was trying to ask me for a favor.
"I got my starter earlier," I brought up. If you want me to help you fight them, I'll gladly do so for the training and experience."
"Are you sure?" He asked me. "The titans are pretty dangerous."
I shrugged. "Might as well. I'm not interested in any after-school club."
"It's not a club," he said firmly.
"Alright, I hear you."
He turned around to face me better. "Uh, thank you. For helping."
I got up from my seat and saluted him with three fingers. "In exchange for the sandwich. See you later?"
Arven squinted and turned his back to me. "We're not friends," he proclaimed. "I'll find you when I've decided to fight the first titan."
"Gotcha..." I trailed off, trying to sound somewhat unmoved. I should probably find Nemona before she gets worried I lost myself, I thought, searching through the numerous tables.