Recently I've been experiencing a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis.
I'd fall asleep and then deep into the night, I'd see a silhouette in my dream and the silhouette would always the following:
"You're just like me (frfr)."
The only thing distinguishable from its figure is orange irises and yellow pupils.
It's been a recurring theme for the past 2 weeks.
School has finally come to a bit of a slower pace, we'd have lessons about the normal curriculum and then everything about Pokémon.
Whether it's about nature, abilities, hidden abilities etc.
The class has gotten yet again a bit more lax as most students choose to be on their phone or other miscellaneous activities instead of listening to what the teacher is talking about in the lecture.
I've visited the Ghost-club and the Steel-club a few times already and there are quite the bunch of interesting people there.
I've been making more trips to the Safari Zone and the Poké mart.
That has been slowly making a dent in my wallet, as of right now, I'm sitting at around 88,601 points and that is me attempting to be very frugal when it comes to spending.
Thanks to my Safari Zone frequent visits, I've almost captured every single one in the Serene Forest lush area. I'm still working on the Pokémon near the lake and in the lake.
As of right now, my Pokédex has a total of 37.
The only Water-type Pokémon I have captured are: Magikarp, Feebas, Chinchou and Spheal.
I've decided to keep Magikarp in my party for now, even though all his stats seem to be subpar.
The reason I decided to keep him is his Pokédex entry: "It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world."
It's such a striking Pokédex entry that it's worth investigating, why is this Pokémon so special that they need to mention how weak it is?
Also we've learned something about the generation of Pokémon, which is very noteworthy, because the 1st generation ends at Pokédex entry 151.
Why is this noteworthy?
Because Magikarp's Pokédex entry is at 129.
Logically the weaker Pokémon should be at the lower end of the Pokédex entries, which is more of a guess rather than guaranteed.
The best part is that Magikarp is rather hard to level up, it's taking it a lot longer than other party members.
The rest of my party is at around levels 20-21.
Meanwhile the Magikarp is currently at level 19 and I want to see if it can also evolve into something.
Although I have plans to visit the Safari Zone, I think it's time to address the issue of my recurring nightmares/sleep paralysis.
I think that the best spot for that would be to go to the Occult club of this school, which is something that we don't have...
So the 2nd best solution is the Ghost club, more specifically I'll talk to Fantina about it, if of course she is willing to listen to my issues.
Clubs are an after-school activity so I'll first have to get through with the day.
Which would start with some calisthenic exercises in the dorm.
I could start going to the gym, where I've seen many video clips of Kouenji lifting weights which is abnormal for a 15-16 year old high school student.
The reason why I'm opposed to going to the gym is that I can save private points for Pokémon related things such as Poké balls. Also I'd factor in that unlike Kouenji, I am not one born to be in the spotlight of others, showing great feats of strength in front of others is just a bragging right somewhat and there's really not only pros when it comes to that, there's cons. Like a pro would be that you could get the attention of people, but the con is that you can also get the envy of other people.
There's a good saying for this: The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
And I'll feast on the light until I can no longer, as attention soon is inevitable, if I'm going to rise my way to becoming the strongest Pokémon trainer.
With my mind set, I decided to finish off my calisthenic workout which consisted of exercises like squats, planks and lunges.
A shower would follow the workout and then breakfast.
After changing into my school outfit I would be off to school.
During the two weeks, it's become a common occurrence to go to school with Horikita.
Most people would come to the conclusion that we're in the stage before dating, but you couldn't be further from the truth, I promise.
"You're late, Ayanokouji-kun." said Horikita.
"I never made any promises that I'd come at a certain time."
"I've mentioned many times that you should never make a lady wait."
"You have said that."
"Is that so, maybe I should make you have a visit from my friend Compass-kun?"
"That wouldn't be good, I heard your friend has contracted some sort of illness, I'd have to visit my friend Doctor Pepper-kun." I say as I take out a can of Dr. Pepper from my bag.
I thought I could get a positive reaction, but instead I got a heavy sigh from Horikita.
"Maybe you should give up on your attempts at throwing a good pun and would hand out advice on how you train your Pokémon to be so strong."
"You're very stubborn aren't you?"
"You're saying this now after two weeks of me constantly asking you? If you want me to leave you alone, then you better tell me."
"Maybe it's better if I don't tell you, then I can spend more time with you."
Horikita would stop for a moment and turn her back to me, but even if I can only see her back, I can see a small hue of pink on her ears.
"You decided to stop pursuing your dream of becoming a comedian and now instead become a typical pick-up artist, what are the chances..."
This banter would continue until we'd inevitably reach class.
Contrary to most people's beliefs, we'd make it a few minutes before the start of class, which is surprising, considering the fact that Horikita is a prime example of a model student.
There were a lot of discussions taking place near Ike's and Yamauchi's seats.
"Yamauchi, isn't this school the best? I can't believe that it's almost time for swimming! And when I mean swimming I mean girls. And when I say girls, I mean girls in swimsuits!"
The rest of the discussion would take a turn as they'd approach "the Professor" also known as Sotomura, talking about him if he could record the girls.
He'd agree and would pretend to be sick. Only time will tell how many people will actually decide to participate in the swimming lesson.
Besides the fact that we'd have a swimming lesson, it was a rather mundane day in my personal opinion, because there are no Pokémon related subjects at all, just regular classes.
The class would go by shortly and it would soon be time for swimming class.
I wonder if Horikita will participate after hearing all those comments about women and their body parts, but that is none of my concern.
I'd head to the locker room and use a towel to cover up my body while I change, like most students.
Sudou and Kouenji would be the only outliers in that part as they'd just remove their uniforms and change, showcasing their physiques.
While Sudou has a lean athletic build, probably from all the basketball he has played, Kouenji just looks like someone who'd definitely be accused of doping.
After changing into my swimwear, I'd be one of the first to enter the pool area and we'd be greeted by a fifty-meter pool.
Sudou would be one of the first to come and then following him would be Yamauchi and Ike.
"Whoa, this school school is something else! This is even better than the city pool, don't you think?" cried out Ike.
Because the pool is indoors, we wouldn't have to worry about the water being dirty, it would be the perfect environment.
I'd move further away from Ike and put my legs in the water and just waddle them around.
The water seems to be temperature-controlled, as I felt no chills when I put my legs in the water and it adjusted straight away, school of your dreams indeed.
While I was pondering about it, Ike was moving towards the girls changing room. He was pondering out loud: "What would happen if I suddenly jumped into the girls locker room?"
Yamauchi was cheering him on, hyping him up, which is downright a devious act to do, Yamauchi seems to be praying for his downfall for whatever reason.
Before he could do that, the girls would come out of the locker room and the first would be the angel of class D aka Kushida.
Seems like the most common swimsuit to wear is the school swimsuit.
"What are you doing here Ike, are you lost?" said Kushida innocently.
"No, I am at the right place..." he said before covering his face up, shedding tears of joy, probably.
Kushida would act confused and just console Ike.
In the background I can see also Horikita would come out of there as well, also wearing the school swimsuit.
She just headed in my direction, I decided to ignore that and continue to waddle my feet in the water.
In the background I can see and hear Ike being in disbelief and Yamauchi would come and console him, he was looking at the observation deck, where a lot of students were at. It seems like Ike wanted to see Hasebe's boobs the most, how upsetting for him.
Since Horikita is showing no signs of not coming over here, I decided to stand up.
I'll miss playing with you, Water-chan.
There's no denying it, up close, she looks good wearing the school swimsuit, but the best decision is to not look at her too much, I wouldn't want to be labeled a creep of course.
"Ayanokouji-kun, do you exercise?"
"Well I've gotten into exercising recently, but I'm still quite new to it, why are you asking?"
"Well you say that, but the development of your forearms and back muscles, you seem above average."
"You could say I have been blessed by my genes."
"Well, if you only started to exercise recently, then you shouldn't have this kind of development in your muscles."
"What's with you? Do you have a muscle fetish or something? Is that it?"
"If you're saying that much to say that you just started exercising, then there's no reason to not believe you..."
She appeared somewhat dissatisfied, an expression I'm used to, because of her meddling and stubborn nature.
The rest of the conversation would be about how good we are as swimmers, I'd say I was average and she said that she's above average.
Our conversation would have a new member join us, that being Kushida.
"I was really bad at swimming in junior high, but I started giving it my all and practicing and now I've gotten better."
"I see." responded Horikita.
Kushida seems to be quite unlucky, her unrequited love would go unnoticed by Horikita it seems.
"All right, everyone line up!" said a macho-looking man.
"There are 25 of you, huh? I thought there would be more of you, but that's enough people."
The people who ditched class could be seen on the observation deck, some worth mentioning would be Karuizawa, Sato, Hasebe, Sotomura and Sakura.
"After you warm up, I want to see what you can really do. Swim for me." said the coach.
A lone boy would sheepishly say that they couldn't swim, the coach said he'd be swimming in no time and that it would definitely be useful in the future.
After warming up with everyone else, the coach would announce the following:
"There would be a swimming contest, with a prize of 5,000 private points. There is a catch however, you can have your Pokémon swim for you, if you lose while using a Pokémon, as in place last, you'd have to take supplementary lessons where you'll have to swim yourself. If you decide not to use a Pokémon and swim yourself, you are given a 10-second head start." said the coach with a smirk on his face.
"It will be separated for males and females, so there'd be two winners. There are 17 males and 8 females participating in this class so there'd be 4 rounds for the boys and 2 rounds for the girls before the final for each gender, which would decide the winner of the whole thing. The two best times from each round would make it to the final round and the person with the worst time in total, one for each gender of course, would have supplementary lessons and as I mentioned, if you lose in your round while you have your Pokémon swim for you, you'd have to take supplementary lessons as well." the coach said without having to catch his breath, not even once, it's as if the instructions were embedded into him.
The groups would be announced and mine would be the following:
Sudou, The flying fish aka Ike, Miyake and myself.
I have already decided to use my Pokémon, I hope Magikarp won't let me down.
The one person who I'm sure will swim instead of using their Pokémon is Kouenji, as I can see him not even going near his Poké balls and instead doing stretches in his speedo.
In my group I can see that Sudou and Ike are swimming for themselves, but it seems like Miyake has decided to also use a Pokémon, it's one I've never seen before. It's got star shaped gills on its face and it's got a fin on the top of its head, not to mention its quadrupedal.
"Alright, Ike-san, Ayanokouji-san, Sudou-san and Miyake-san, you've all decided if you're going to use your Pokémon or not, am I correct?"
"Yes sensei~, I will show you why they call me The Flying Fish." cried Ike.
"I don't have a Water-type Pokémon so I'll rely on myself instead," said Sudou.
"I've decided to use my Pokémon Mudkip." said Miyake.
"I've decided to rely upon Magikarp."
"Alright, get yourself or your Pokémon in the water, we'll be starting shortly."
Ike and Sudou go to their lanes and I can see Mudkip going by on its own.
I'd have to lift the helpless Magikarp into the water, as it flaps around on its own on the ceramic laminate.
I can hear some giggling from other classmates and from Ike about my Magikarp and its lack of being competent, although I'd believe that Magikarp is more of a flying fish than Ike will ever be.
"Ayanokouji, I bet you would do way better than Magikarp at swimming or are you scared of losing to me?" said Ike with a tone of smugness.
"I believe in Magikarp, she's not going to place last." I say as I place the Magikarp into the water.
As soon as Magikarp got into the water, it started flapping around more than normal and then it would start to glow.
The small fish would be no more, as it would change drastically into something long and serpentine like.
What would come out after the white glowing ended would be a blue dragon-serpent like Pokémon.
The first thing coming out of the new Pokémon would be a powerful roar, which would echo around all of the gymnasium.
"Hoho, there's no need to even watch this contest to see who'll be the victor of this round." says Kouenji with his eyes closed while continuing his stretches.
"Now that that charade," the coach pointed at the evolved Magikarp, "has ended, we'll be beginning the swimming contest round 1, get ready Ike-san and Sudou-san, Mudkip and Gyarados will start swimming 10 seconds later."
So she evolved into Gyarados now, huh, I have high hopes for her.
"First start is for Ike-san and Sudou-san, ready, set go!" said the coach as he started the timer
Sudou would have better reaction speed than Ike on the start. You'd have to swim to the other side, touch the wall and back to complete the race. He was almost at the otherside of the pool, meanwhile Ike had barely reached halfway.
"Alright, Gyarados and Mudkip, ready, set, go!"
While Mudkip was a very fast yet gentle swimmer, Gyarados was rough, which couldn't be blamed on her due to its size and probably mass difference.
It has already been 5 seconds into the race and Gyarados has made it past Ike and is on the tail of Sudou, Mudkip would already be a second of pace behind Gyarados.
Sudou would begin to swim like his life were on the line, as if he was being chased by Gyarados as prey with Gyarados being the predator.
The last 25 meters would begin, but Gyarados was only slightly behind and she would finally get the lead and finish the race as first, Mudkip would also catch up and get past Sudou at the last 5 meters. Ike? He was found to be passed out in the middle of the pool and had to be given mouth to mouth by the coach, poor him.
"The winner of the round 1 race is Gyarados, with a time of 18 seconds flat, 2nd place is Mudkip with a time of 23.4 seconds and Sudou would finish with a time of 24.2 seconds. Ike has been deemed disqualified due to not finishing the race, I'll be seeing him at supplementary lessons."
"Nice one, Gyarados, rest until the next race I guess." I said, returning her to her Poké ball.
"Wow, how'd such a small thing become that?" said Miyake as he approached me.
"I'm not sure myself, I just caught it and hoped for the best."
"It's hard to tell with you, if you're using sarcasm or not, considering your expression and your tone never change."
"Well I'm being genuine, I just thought the Magikarp's Pokédex entry was a bit funky and there's that."
"Well, there's nothing to be salty about, a win is a win, congratulations Ayanokouji-kun." said Miyake offering a handshake.
"Your Mudkip did well, I'm not sure Magikarp would've won, if it didn't evolve." I said returning the handshake.
The rest of the races would happen, where winners for the other rounds would be Hirata, Kouenji and Yukimura.
Yukimura and Hirata would use their Pokémon, but Kouenji would go through and win the round against Pokémon by himself. Funnily enough, he lowered his head start to only 5 seconds, to make things more fair, according to him.
"Alright, it's time for the finals, whoever wins gets the 5,000 points, Kouenji, will you use a Pokémon this time or will you swim by yourself yet again? Also please join the swimming club, you'd break records."
"Hohoho, I thank you for your offer, but I'm not that into swimming. As for your other questions, If I may, I'd like to use a Pokémon this time around." said Kouenji bringing out a Poké ball that has a blue top with red accents.
"Ayanokouji-boy, I hope you will entertain Milotic." he says as he throws his Poké ball out to bring out a Pokémon similar to Gyarados, although it would definitely be a more elegant and beautiful kind of one.
Hirata uses a Chinchou and Yukimura's representative is a Squirtle.
"Alright, since everyone is using a Pokémon, there will be no head start given to anyone, when I give the sign, everyone will begin, get your Pokémon in the water."
"Ready, steady, set, GO!" the coach would blow the whistle.
The race had just begun and it was already a two-horse race as Milotic and Gyarados were neck and neck.
We'd reach the other side of the pool and now would begin the last 25 meters.
"Milotic, time to go for real, increase your tempo just slightly."
Milotic would start to creep ahead slowly.
"Gyarados, don't just let Milotic pass you, go all out." I said nonchalantly, hoping to ignite a flame inside Gyarados.
Gyarados would not let Milotic get past her as she is now neck and neck yet again with Milotic.
Kouenji would just watch and snap his fingers using his thumb and index at the last 4 meters of the race.
I could personally not perceive who won, it was a photo finish.
"Alright, since both of them finished basically at the same time, I will need to get a photograph from the cameras, I'll have the answer in a minute."
Also worth mentioning is that Hirata finished last, but the girls in the class didn't think so.
"Alright, from the photograph the winner is..."
"Milotic and Kouenji."
"Losing was never a thought, but I wouldn't think it would be so entertaining, Ayanokouji-boy, I'll show you my gratitude later."
I would just nod as Kouenji gave me a smirky smile.
The girls' races wouldn't be as dramatic, as the winner would be Onodera, who's Horsea was a cut above the rest, like Horikita's Psyduck and Matsushita's Staryu.
After the class I'd take a shower, change up quickly and exit.
My phone would be greeted by a notification from Kouenji.
<You've received 5,000 private points from Kouenji Rokusuke>
It must be noteworthy that I haven't given him my number, so he must have quite the connections to be able to hand me the points.
Although the consolation prize is sweet, winning would've been even better.
The day is yet to end though, as I would have to have a talk with Fantina about my recurring nightmares.
What is it related to?
And why does it say what it says?
I would like an answer to all of the above.
That would have to wait as I'd have another class after the swimming lesson and then I'd be free.
Before the class I'd be interrogated by Horikita, who would've known.
I'd just dodge the questions as per usual.
Class would be short and abrupt and I'd head straight to one of the smaller colosseums as that is where the clubs are situated. It isn't just discussions about the club's type Pokémon, mock battles were held in the club frequently, in fact, we should have some next week.
When I'd arrive, I would be one of the first people there, only Fantina is here as well.
"You've made it, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Fantina-senpai..."
"Although your expression never changes, your eyes tell me you have something you want to talk about."
"Is it fine to talk about it after the club?"
"No need, there's no one here and we have a solid half hour before anyone else comes."
"If you say so. Then I have something I want to talk about."
Ayanokouji's Current Party:
Honedge
Gyrados
Liepard
Fletchinder
Diggersby
Pikachu
A/N:
Well hello, hello, Happy New Years to everyone.
I got a bit more writing done on Friday then I would've expected and the chapter came out a bit longer too.
I could make it an extra big chapter, but I want to leave the reveal for the next chapter. :D
What could Ayanokouji's problem me, is it related to Pokemon or is something else?
Like Ayanokouji would say about everything, who knows? (except me)
Also, it's challenging to come up with naming the chapters, my brain no good, so if it ain't fitting, recommendations are always welcome!
As always, give me feedback and criticism related to the chapter, I try to leave inconsistencies in chapters, but I might make mistakes.
Until next time,
KojiEnthusiast