With the first week of school done, and the announcement of tryouts for the IPL teams having been made, things had been pretty hectic at Lumiose University for a few days. While the first week of classes had been more about introducing the topics, it was already becoming clear that in the second week, things would be going at a much faster pace. As Clemont busily took notes in his Levels and Experience class, Trevor doing the same next to him, the realization of how busy they were getting was truly hitting him. It was only going to get harder with their project being assigned today, although it was the kind of project that would be enjoyable even for the many students who hated homework.
As Yuzo discussed some of the different evolutions that required battle experience, Trevor leaned over and whispered to Clemont, sounding somewhat excited, although it was hard to tell since he was whispering. "Hey Clemont, what kind of Pokemon are you hoping for?" he asked, quickly noting down something Yuzo said before looking back at Clemont. "I think it'd be cool to get another fire type to go with my Charizard. Or maybe another Kanto Pokemon."
Clemont thought for a few moments, not really sure how to answer. He'd definitely been excited about the idea of getting a new Pokemon from this class, and seeing the desk full of the trays of pokeballs, he could barely resist glancing over at it every few minutes. He hadn't really thought about which Pokemon he specifically wanted, though. He would truly be happy with whatever one he got, as long as they got along and would be able to work well with each other. "I guess I'll just go with whatever Pokemon I get. There's a lot of students here, so I think we just need to see where it goes."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Trevor said with a small nod. He was silent for a few moments as the two of them noted down a few more points from the lecture, and then he looked back over to Clemont. "I'm just a little worried that the Pokemon I get might not get along with Charizard and the others. I don't know if I've told you, but my Charizard gets a little...restless sometimes. He really likes to battle, so sometimes he overdoes it. It hasn't been a huge deal with the Pokemon I have, but sometimes other Pokemon and their trainers get a little frustrated by it."
"Once they get to know each other, I'm sure it'll be fine," Clemont told his friend confidently. "My Chespin can frustrate others as well, since he has a bad habit of stealing food, but once people and other Pokemon get to know him, it's usually fine. Sometimes the hyperactive Pokemon are the more interesting ones to learn about.
The two of them were fairly quiet after that, although at this point, it was clear it had less to do with listening to the lecture, and more to do with wondering about what Pokemon they were going to be receiving from Yuzo for the class assignment. Clemont was still managing to take notes and listen to what Yuzo was saying, but he continued to glance over at the desk with the pokeballs, imagining all the possibilities of which ones he could get.
Clemont could understand Trevor's nerves about how the new Pokemon would interact with his current Pokemon, but he felt surprisingly confident about what would come of this. He knew it wouldn't be easy, as it was likely supposed to be difficult, with it being an assignment for one of his most important classes. However, if he was learning anything from Ash, it was that nothing pushed a trainer and their Pokemon forward like bonding and working hard together. He was sure that whoever he received, would be able to help him through this class and whatever lay ahead.
When the lecture finally ended, with about twenty minutes still remaining in the class, Yuzo wrapped things up, and then approached the desk with the pokeballs. He aimed up his remote towards the projector and the screen flashed with a picture of all the starter types that would be available to the students. Clemont noticed that two of them were actually blacked out, though, with one being a cat-like Pokemon called Litten, and the other being a sea lion-like Pokemon called Popplio. The other Pokemon, an owl-like Pokemon named Rowlet, had a star next to it. Clemont supposed this meant that two of them were unavailable, while Yuzo likely only had one Rowlet.
Yuzo confirmed this, as many students seemed to be noticing this as well, pointing up to the screen. "All right, class," Yuzo called out, raising up his hands for silence, "I know this may be quite disappointing to some of you, but unfortunately we were unable to get any Alola region starter Pokemon with the exception of one Rowlet. With the way this process is going to go, I ask that you accept the Pokemon that chooses you and to not complain if the Rowlet does not select you. I believe it is best if these Pokemon select their new trainers, as it will allow you to more easily bond with each other. Are there any issues with this?"
Someone near a couple of rows down from Clemont and Trevor raised their hand, but when Yuzo signalled for them to talk, it wasn't a complaint. "I was just wondering how this will work for the other classes. Are there going to be enough Pokemon for the other students?"
"Oh yes, we have enough for everyone," Yuzo assured him. "This class has an advantage I suppose, but the important thing is for the Pokemon to choose their trainers and for you to form a bond with each other. We don't need jealousy to get in the way of that."
Clemont nodded to himself, in full agreement with Yuzo's words. He'd accept any Pokemon, no matter how common or rare it was. He was becoming a little restless, though. He was becoming far too excited and he could tell the rest of the class was that way as well. He wondered if Yuzo was trying to make people more excited so they would just be happy with whatever Pokemon they got, but realized that that was likely not how her worked.
Finally, Yuzo turned around and approached the desk. "All right, I guess we can begin, then. I'm going to let out the Pokemon. It will be a little hectic at first, I warn you, but these Pokemon are fairly young, so they get tired out fairly quickly. You are free to leave your seats and interact with the Pokemon, but what I hope is that you will accept any Pokemon that seems to take a liking to you. Are we in agreement on that?" There were some murmurs of agreement from the students, and then Yuzo placed his hand over one of the pokeballs. "All right, then let us begin."
As the lights began to flash down below in front of Yuzo, and as Pokemon began to emerge and start wandering up towards seats, Clemont could see many students excitedly making their way towards them, eager to meet their potential new partners. He and Trevor actually remained in their seats, both deciding it would be too hectic down with most of the other students. The crowd was actually causing many of the Pokemon to turn away.
At one point, Clemont caught sight of the one Rowlet flying around, and asked Trevor to scan it with his PokeDex, as he'd never actually seen one before. Trevor did so, and then the Pokedex gave its brief explanation. "Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokemon. This wary Pokemon uses photosynthesis to store up energy during the day, while becoming active at night. It will silently glide, drawing near to its targets before they even notice, and then pelt them with vicious kicks."
"Oh wow, sounds pretty strong," Trevor muttered, looking up at Rowlet as it scanned the class beneath it. Clemont could already tell that it didn't seem to spot any trainers that it felt a connection to, but that didn't stop a few students from looking up and calling out hopefully to it. People handled it fairly well, though, and didn't attempt to push it when it flew away.
Clemont watched Rowlet a few more moments, and then he turned his attention back to some of the Pokemon wandering among the seats that had managed to get around the large group of students blocking the aisles. As Clemont watched a Bulbasaur walk up to a girl who was scanning some of the Pokemon with her Pokedex, he was distracted by Trevor suddenly jumping up excitedly, a small, blue amphibious Pokemon with a blue fin in the middle of its head and one on its tail. It also had two orange gills on each side of its head, and it was staring at Trevor with wide, interested eyes. "Mud-mudkip?" it squeaked, approaching slowly.
"Wow, it's a Mudkip," Clemont said, adjusting his glasses as he leaned forward to look at the approaching Pokemon. "That's the water type starter Pokemon in the Hoenn region. Looks like it's taken a liking to you, Trevor."
"You think so?" Trevor asked, looking a little awkward as he pulled his PokeDex out again and scanned Mudkip.
"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. Mudkip uses the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine what's going on around it. In a pinch, it can brandish enough power to crush rocks." As the PokeDex finished, Clemont could see the Trevor staring at Mudkip in surprise, clearly wondering how such a small Pokemon could be capable of crushing rocks. He'd trainer a Charmander before, though, so Clemont couldn't see how Trevor could be too surprised. Not to mention the fact that he'd seen Ash's Pikachu in action.
"So Mudkip...are you...um..." Trevor trailed off, looking a little awkward. Finally, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you want to be my partner, Mudkip?"
"Mudkip-mud!" Mudkip squeaked happily, jumping up into Trevor's arms. It had clearly just been waiting for Trevor to ask.
Clemont was just about to congratulate Trevor on his new Pokemon, but just in that moment, he heard a strange noise, and paused, listening carefully. It sounded like a combination of sniffing, crunching and rustling. His eyes suddenly widened, and he whipped his head around to where he'd left his backpack, which he'd packed a sandwich in, shouting, "Chespin, I've told you to stop-"
"Tur?" the Pokemon eating Clemont's food said, muffled by the food in its mouth. It was a green, tortoise-like Pokemon, with a light green body and a black and brown shell on its back. A small seed seemed to be growing out of a brown patch on its head.
Trevor took the initiative to scan the Pokemon with his PokeDex, while it turned its attention away from Clemont and continued to eat what was in his bag, now electing to chew on some of his notes. "Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. Its shell is made of earth and when it absorbs water, it becomes harder."
"Turtwig..." Clemont whispered, staring at the Pokemon destroying what was in his backpack. "That's the grass type starter in the Sinnoh region. I think Ash said he had one that's now a Torterra." He watched Turtwig another few moments, and realized that he should probably stop it from eating everything in his backpack, so he stepped forward, reaching out to his backpack. "I think you should probably stop eating everything in here," he started to say. "You'll get sick if-"
"Twig!" Turtwig suddenly shouted, narrowing its eyes and shooting out a seed from his head, which instantly hit Clemont on the nose, and then burst apart, little vines coming out and wrapping around his head. "Turt-turt-twig!" Turtwig seemed to laugh, before going back to eating Clemont's notes.
"Hey, stop that!" Clemont whined, grabbing at the vines covering his face. He managed to rip them off, and then lunged forward again, attempting to grab his backpack.
"TurrrTWIG" Turtwig shouted loudly, head shooting up, before bracing itself and then leaping up at Clemont. The two crashed to the ground, and Clemont's eyes shot wide open as he looked up to see a smug looking Turtwig standing on his chest.
"Well, it looks like you and Turtwig are hitting it off," a voice said from behind him, and Clemont glanced up to see Yuzo standing behind Trevor. "So I take it Trevor will be taking Mudkip and you will be taking Turtwig, Clemont?" he asked, when nobody said anything.
At that, Clemont immediately looked back towards Turtwig, who actually didn't look appalled by the idea, which Clemont had expected. It wasn't like he was actually too thrilled about the idea himself at the moment, but when he saw Turtwig looking like he was just excited to be playing around, he couldn't help but smile at the grass type. "Um...how about it, Turtwig? Think it's a good idea?"
"Twig!" Turtwig said excitedly. Clemont smiled again, sitting up a bit as Turtwig jumped off of him. Clemont slowly reached out his arm, about to pet Turtwig, but it moved out of the way immediately. Within seconds, it had another one of Clemont's notebooks out, and was munching away at it contentedly.
"Looks like you two are already good friends," Yuzo proclaimed, before pulling out two pokeballs and handing one to Trevor and the other to Clemont. "I look forward to seeing how you all work together."
Clemont stared at the pokeball in his hand as Yuzo walked off, meeting with other new trainer and Pokemon pairings. It was definitely not how he had imagined getting his new Pokemon, but he supposed he would accept it. I just hope Turtwig and Chespin won't eat everything, he thought worriedly.
"Make sure to apply the ointment very carefully, and remember that you don't need too much," Nurse Joy called out, as she wandered around the classroom. "Grass type Pokemon are particularly susceptible to fire type attacks, so when they are burned, they will be in the most discomfort. Make sure to be very gentle, even though this is just a practice exercise."
"All right, Bulbasaur, let's see if I can do it right this time," Ash said confidently, holding up his tube of burn ointment in front of him. "I promise I won't poke you in the nose again. Neither of us wants that to happen again."
"Bulba...saur..." Bulbasaur groaned, looking uneasy, but sitting still as Ash began to apply the ointment to his head, in the area between his ears. "Saur," he said happily, as Ash seemed to be doing a fairly good job at it.
"Good job, Ash, I knew you'd get the hang of it eventually," Marie said from her spot to Serena's right. "It's a good thing Bulbasaur's tough. Not many Pokemon would tolerate getting ointment stuck up there nose."
"I still don't even know how you managed to do that," Serena said, laughing as she thought of the scene. It truly had been quite bizarre, but it was becoming quite common for Ash to have these mishaps in their Pokemon Health classes. Even though this was only their fourth one.
Ash narrowed his eyes, pausing in his application of the ointment and looking at Serena. "Hey, I didn't try to do it, you know. It just kind of...happened." He then looked at the Pokemon sitting in front of Serena, who was watching him with amusement. It was a small, green, reptilian Pokemon with a cream-coloured underside and a yellow stripe down its back. "Stop laughing, Snivy," Ash said, shaking his head as he looked at his Pokemon. "You want me to be good at this stuff, don't you?"
"Snive," Snivy said quietly, folding her little arms and tilting her head up as though she didn't care.
"Don't worry, if you can't do it, I can help Snivy out," Serena said cheerily, smiling at the grass type. When they'd found out that they'd be treating grass type Pokemon for the class, Ash had made a call to Professor Oak to bring Bulbasaur over and since Serena didn't have any grass types, he'd called over Snivy as well. Serena was quickly growing quite fond of Snivy, who reminded her a little bit of Pancham.
"Snivey-snive," Snivy muttered, looking happily at Serena.
Marie, who was practising with a Chespin that Nurse Joy had brought, looked at Snivy and Serena and then smirked. "Snivy wiped off her burn ointment. You need to make sure she keeps it on, you know. Maybe Ash is gonna win this one."
"Huh?" Serena narrowed her eyes and looked at Snivy suspiciously. "Did you really wipe it off?"
"Snive," Snivy muttered again, folding her little arms and once again staring away to give the appearance of not caring. However, Serena did notice a hint of guilt in the grass type's eyes when she looked away.
"All right, Bulbasaur, we've got this. Almost done," Ash announced, giving Pikachu a mini high five and then doing the same with Bulbasaur, who used one of his vines to do it. "I think we did it," Ash said happily, looking at his work.
Serena pursed her lips as she started applying the ointment to Snivy once again, telling the Grass Snake Pokemon to make sure she didn't wipe it off this time. By the time she was done, she could tell the job wasn't as well done as her previous attempt, but it was still decent enough for when Nurse Joy came over to inspect their work. As usual, Marie's was nearly perfect. Serena's was good, but not as good as her first few classes. And then, surprisingly, Nurse Joy praised Ash's work as exemplary, saying that Bulbasaur would have been healed perfectly with the work Ash had done.
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, as Nurse Joy walked away. "Maybe I should think about becoming a Pokemon Doctor as well as a Pokemon Master. What do you think, guys?" he asked, but directing the question more to his Pokemon.
"Bulba?" Bulbasaur seemed to ask uneasily. Serena had quickly picked up on the fact that he was one of Ash's more battle-hungry Pokemon, as he had clearly not been excited about sitting in a classroom for over an hour.
"Snivey-snive," Snivy said quickly, shaking her head, while Pikachu nodded his agreement. Clearly the incident with the ointment up Bulbasaur's nose, and their love of battling had them wary of this proposal.
"Geez, just a joke," Ash muttered, shoulders sagging a bit as he looked away from his Pokemon. "Whatever, I guess battling is our thing, anyways," he said, turning back and smiling. "I can't wait for the weekend so we can really get back into it."
Marie leaned forward in her seat, looking at Serena and Ash in excitement. "Do you two have any plans for what you're gonna do for the tryouts?" she asked, clearly interested as she would be unable to participate herself.
"I'm gonna just do the same thing as usual. Battle to the best of my abilities and see where it takes me." Ash told her proudly, looking up with a somewhat cocky expression.
Marie raised an eyebrow at that, smirking at Ash's answer. "I know you do some weird stuff when you battle, but don't you ever have at least some kind of plan when you're going into one? At least for something like this that's set up like a tournament?"
"Uh...yeah, sometimes I do. It's kind of hard to plan things out for a battle, though. They can be pretty unpredictable, so just going with whatever comes is sometimes the way to go." Ash shrugged, looking at his three Pokemon as he spoke. "Hard work and trusting each other is what pays off, right guys?" Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Snivy all nodded, looking quite pleased with Ash's words. Serena was amazed at how they all seemed so much like him, even though they still had their unique personalities.
"And what about you, Serena?" Marie then asked, looking at the Performer curiously. "Do you have any routines set up for your performance, or any recipes planned for the baking contest? How does that even work?"
Serena paused, not really sure how to answer. Sure, she'd been practising her routines, and knew recipes for things like pokepuffs, but she didn't really have a set plan for how she was going to approach the tryouts. "Um...I guess like Ash, I'll depend on hard work and trust to get the job done," Serena said awkwardly. "I've got some routines prepared, but I guess it depends on the situation for which one I'll use and which Pokemon I'll use."
"Why not the routine you were doing the other day?" Ash asked, looking confused. "That one looked awesome."
Serena shrugged, smiling at the compliment, but still not sure about how she'd deal with her performance for the tryouts. "It depends on how many Pokemon I can use for the performance and how they'll be used for the other competitions. It's...a bit more complicated than some people might think it is.
"Yeah...I don't think I could ever do that kind of thing," Ash said jokingly. "It should be cool to see you and Shauna perform, though. I bet you two will win for sure."
"It won't be easy," Serena said seriously, more so to herself than to Ash and Marie. "Shauna and I might have made it far in the last Masterclass, but there are people here who have had a lot of success before. I know it's going to be really tough. And Shauna and I are going for just two spots."
"These teams had better be good," Marie muttered, clenching her fist and lightly hitting the table with it. "If only seven people make it onto them, the trainers have to be the very best."
Ash nodded, holding up a fist and looking confident. "Of course we'll be the very best and of course we'll make it onto those teams. We can't go in there expecting to lose, so we'll go in there, ready to win and work hard doing it."
"Hopefully we don't get too much homework this weekend," Serena joked, although with the pace picking up on classes this week, it was hard to look at it that way. Reggie was already talking about a big assignment for Breeding class next week, and they were already busy with practising Nurse Joy's various healing methods. The other classes were likely to have more to do as well.
"Don't you have a big assignment that you're getting today, Ash?" Marie asked, looking over to the raven-haired trainer.
Ash's eyes immediately lit up, and Serena could feel the excitement emanating from him. "Yeah, I get a new Pokemon in my Levels and Experience class. I don't know who it'll be, but I can't wait to see what I get. Who would've thought that training a Pokemon would be a homework assignment? That's exactly the kind of thing I love to do."
"Isn't the point that you're training a weaker Pokemon and using what you learn in class to adjust to its weaknesses?" Marie asked, looking sceptical of Ash's confidence.
"That's not gonna be a problem," Ash said seriously. "Did you see my Noivern battling in the Kalos League?"
"Yeah, he was pretty cool, but Noivern's not a weak starter Pokemon," Marie pointed out, looking at Serena as if she thought Ash was crazy.
Serena had a feeling Ash was making a point, though, and shrugged as Marie looked at her. "Maybe Noivern wasn't always like that," she suggested, looking at Ash.
"Exactly," Ash said, nodding. "Noivern was a baby Noibat not too long after I got my sixth Gym Badge. I didn't have too long to train him before making it to the Kalos League, but by the time we got there, he was a powerful Noivern."
"Well...he didn't win any battles," Marie muttered, before her eyes suddenly widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," she said in a muffled squeak.
Ash narrowed his eyes, a mix of irritation and amusement on his face. "How many baby Pokemon are capable of drawing with a Salamence?" he asked, watching Marie closely.
"I never would've guessed that Noivern hadn't been trained for very long," Serena chimed in, deciding to rescue Marie from Ash's somewhat wounded pride. "He might not have won individually, but he was an important part of your team, for sure."
"Yeah, for sure," Ash agreed, looking happy that Serena seemed to understand. "And he and Hawlucha are best friends. That's why Hawlucha was so motivated when he was battling Alain's Weavile at the Kalos League."
"So basically, Marie," Serena said, turning to the aspiring Nurse Joy, "a Pokemon can grow a lot in a short amount of time."
"And whatever Pokemon I get, is going to be awesome," Ash stated confidently.
Ash was very fidgety as he listened to Yuzo lecture about what Pokemon evolve when they reach certain levels and ow much experience they may need to do so. None of that really mattered to him if he was being honest. All he knew, when it came to that, was that if you worked hard with your Pokemon, eventually they would evolve, if they wanted to. Even then, some Pokemon were capable of evolving and didn't want to, but still remained quite strong. Pikachu was a perfect example that evolution wasn't necessary to be strong.
The lack of interest in the topic of the lecture wasn't helping Ash hold his excitement in check. He felt as if Yuzo was taunting the class with all of the pokeballs lined up on the desks behind him. Clemont and Trevor had mentioned feeling frustrated near the end of their class as well, but had admitted that the wait was probably worth it. Ash had practically begged for them to show him the Pokemon that they'd got, but neither had done so, saying that it would be better if they could introduce all the new Pokemon to each other at once.
It wasn't just, Ash who was anxiously waiting, though. Tierno was here as well, after having been invited to this class with a few other students who had this class scheduled for tomorrow. They would be having a makeup class for the Abilities class that he was missing for this one. "I can already tell that there's a Pokemon that can move and groove," he whispered to Ash. "I can just feel it."
"Uh...right," Ash said, glancing at Tierno to see if he was joking, and then looking back towards Yuzo. "Hopefully it doesn't lose its rhythm while we wait.
"I think I've lost my rhythm while we've been waiting," Tierno complained, looking at the lined up pokeballs with longing. "I hope this is worth changing classes for the day."
"It'll be worth it," Ash assured his friend. "Clemont and Trevor said it was pretty tough waiting, but the two of them seemed pretty happy with the Pokemon that they got, so I think it'll work out for us in the end.
The two of them continued to wait in pained silence as Yuzo continued his lecture, and then finally, with about twenty minutes remaining, he wrapped it up, clearly noticing that many students were anxiously waiting for their Pokemon. He then discussed how things would proceed, stressing that it was important for the Pokemon to select their new trainers, rather than the other way around, something that Ash probably preferred, as he had no idea if he'd be able to choose himself.
When Yuzo put up the picture that displayed all of the Pokemon that would be available, Ash noticed what Clemont had warned him about prior to the class. Two of the three Pokemon from the Alola region would be unavailable, and only one Rowlet would be there. Yuzo asked for patience and understanding in this matter, and again stressed that it would be important for Rowlet to select its own trainer. Luckily, people seemed to understand, and then finally, Yuzo approached the pokeballs, ready to release the Pokemon.
As soon as the Pokemon began to appear from their pokeballs, Ash and Tierno could see that even if they wanted to head towards the front of the class, they wouldn't be able to. With not only the many students from the original class, but the additional students from Tierno's, there was a massive crowd on each side of the class, where students were rushing forward to meet the Pokemon, who were very cautious about approaching with so many being a little too eager.
"Why are they so crazy?" Tierno asked, looking at their classmates down below. "They're all Pokemon trainers, so it's not like they haven't seen Pokemon before."
Ash shrugged, shaking his head as he watched. "I guess they're even more excited than we are," he suggested, although he didn't see how this was necessary if someone was excited. "I just hope the Pokemon are able to handle it. It's probably a little intimidating. I wonder if-"
Ash stopped talking immediately when he felt something land on his head, and noticed Tierno staring at whatever it was with wide eyes. For a moment, he thought it was Pikachu, but then Ash could see that the electric mouse was sitting comfortably in the seat next to him, also staring at whatever was on Ash's head.
"Hoo-hoo," it hooted from Ash's head. "Hoo-hoo."
"Um...Tierno...what's on my head?" Ash asked, eyes wide. He probably should have known, but he couldn't think straight with something unfamiliar sitting on his head. "Is it one of the Pokemon?"
Tierno nodded, and then slowly, he started smiling. "Ash, you're so lucky!"
"Huh? Why?" Ash tried to look up, but the brim of his hat was blocking his view of the Pokemon on his head. Finally, after a few more hoots and a couple more failed glances upwards, the weight on Ash's head disappeared, and then a moment later, something shot down towards Ash's backpack which was on the ground in front of him. The shape seemed to disappear within the backpack for a moment, and then suddenly, a head popped out, looking completely comfortable and content, sitting in the backpack. "Hey...is that...?"
Ash quickly pulled out his PokeDex, hardly believing what was happening in the moment. Tierno was right. He was pretty lucky if this meant what he thought it meant. As he scanned Rowlet with the PokeDex, Ash saw it open its eyes and stare up at him with interest. It immediately reminded Ash of his Noctowl, with how its head tilted and the little "hoos" coming from its beak.
"So you're a grass and flying type Pokemon, huh?" Ash asked, glancing at the information displayed on the PokeDex. "And you're from the...Alola region. Interesting...I've never been there before. I bet there are lots of awesome Pokemon like you there. I'd love to see it at some point."
"Hoo," Rowlet cooed, seemingly nodding a little bit, as though that idea appealed to it. Ash wondered if it was saying that it wanted to go back to Alola at some point.
"Wow, so it looks like Rowlet managed to find someone it likes," a voice said from Ash's right, and he turned to see Yuzo next to their row of seats. "I was a little worried about how it would all go with Rowlet, but I think most would agree that you are the perfect trainer for it, Ash. What do you think?" he asked, pulling out a pokeball, which Ash assumed was Rowlet's. "Would you like to work with Rowlet?"
"I'd love to!" Ash exclaimed, turning back to the Grass Quill Pokemon. "I've never seen a Pokemon from the Alola region before. This would be an awesome opportunity for me. And Rowlet seems really cool. What do you think, Rowlet? Wanna come along with me? I'll make sure that backpack is nice and cozy for you."
"Hoo-hoo!" Rowlet cried out happily, squirming out of the backpack, flapping its wings, and then landing on Ash's shoulder. Pikachu quickly hopped up onto Ash's other shoulder, greeting their new partner immediately.
"Well, looks like that's settled then," Yuzo said with a laugh, before walking over and handing Rowlet's pokeball to Ash. "This will be a bit of a tough one, Ash. Rowlet can be very energetic, but it can also be, um, well it can be a bit sleepy." He then pointed to Ash's shoulder and Ash noticed that his newest Pokemon was drifting off, head bowed as it started to sleep on his shoulder.
"Nothing I like better than a challenge," Ash said confidently. "Besides, everyone needs a nap from time to time." He then carefully picked up Rowlet from his shoulder, knelt down to his backpack, and gently placed it inside. "There, now you can be nice and comfortable." He noticed Rowlet's eyes open up slightly, before they shut again and it continued to sleep.
Once Yuzo had walked away to hand off pokeballs to some other students, Ash turned to see Tierno staring around with a hint of panic on his face. "What do I do, Ash?" he asked worriedly. "I don't have a Pokemon yet."
"Don't worry," Ash assured him, "it looks like a lot of people don't have one yet. "Just be patient and there will be one that likes you."
For a few minutes, the two of them waited, and Ash couldn't help but notice that the class was getting smaller and smaller as students were partnered up with their new Pokemon. Tierno was becoming increasingly agitated, eventually leaving his seat and joining the now smaller group near the front row of the class. Meanwhile, Ash surveyed the room to see if there were any Pokemon he could find that might suit Tierno.
After another few minutes, and a few more departures, Ash could see that Tierno, and the few other students that hadn't been paired yet, were looking pretty anxious. Then, finally, a couple of students at one side of the class suddenly called out excitedly. "Wow! Look at this Chimchar!" she shouted.
Ash looked over to see what the commotion was about, not expecting something that would help Tierno, but then, what he saw, made him realize he'd just found the perfect Pokemon for his friend. "Tierno!" he shouted, getting the attention of the dancing enthusiast. "Look at this," Ash called out, pointing over to the Chimchar that a few people were now watching.
When Tierno saw what Ash was pointing at, his jaw dropped, and he quickly began to make his way over, looking extremely excited. As Tierno was approaching, Ash turned back and watched this now popular Chimchar, as it performed in front of its small audience.
The Chimchar had, in Tierno's words, the ability to "move and groove" and if Ash didn't know that Tierno and Chimchar had never met, he would've assumed that they'd been partners for years. Chimchar was doing flawless pirouettes and head spins and little jumps. It was actually quite graceful as it did so, and Ash tried to imagine his Infernape doing something similar as a Chimchar and laughed at the thought.
When Tierno had finally reached the small group now around Chimchar, Ash could see his instincts kicking in. The dancing enthusiast took another step forward, and suddenly, he was dancing away, doing his best to copy Chimchar's movements. It was a little sloppy at first, but after a couple of minutes, Tierno was moving along with Chimchar as though the two of them had practised this routine over and over again.
Once Chimchar had noticed what Tierno was doing it picked up its pace, as if it was testing the dancing trainer in front of it. Ash was sure that Tierno was passing this test, though, as he managed to go at whatever pace Chimchar wanted, and moved in perfect sync with the Sinnoh fire type. For a couple more minutes, the two of them continued to dance, their movements quick and in perfect sync, and by the end of it, Ash could see that there was no doubt about who Chimchar would be going with.
"Chim-chim-char!" Chimchar squeaked out happily as their dance ended, and it ran up to stand in front of Tierno. It gave a small bow to him, and then looked up with shining eyes as Tierno returned the bow, looking quite ecstatic himself.
"Hi there Chimchar," Tierno finall greeted. "It looks like you've got some great rhythm. You know, I train all my Pokemon with dancing and we all really love it. Do you think you'd like to give it a shot and join our dancing team?"
"Chim-chimchar!" Chimchar shouted, nodding excitedly.
As Yuzu went over to check out the new matchup, Ash looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder, and then glanced back at his backpack, hearing the soft snore of Rowlet, who sat comfortably in there. It was definitely not the most normal way to catch a new Pokemon, but if the little display from Tierno and Chimchar showed anything, how you caught a Pokemon mattered very little, as long as the Pokemon and trainer were excited about their future together.
The whole group was waiting patiently, well somewhat patiently, for Ash and Tierno to meet up with them for lunch. They'd planned to pack up sandwiches and then head over to the training facilities to meet the new Pokemon that Ash, Tierno, Trevor and Clemont were receiving from their Levels and Experience class. They'd been pestering Clemont and Trevor to show them their new Pokemon while waiting, but the two of them were sticking to their promise to wait for Ash and Tierno.
While they waited, Dawn and Serena were explaining to Marie how Contests and Performances worked. She was clearly more interested in standard battling, but she still seemed pretty curious about the different paths trainers could take. It was also pretty interesting for Dawn, as she was able to hear about Performances in more detail. She really wanted to see what all the hype for this Kalos Queen Aria was about. Of course, with what Shauna, Trevor and Tierno had mentioned, Serena was close to that level as well, although she continued to act humble about it, calling it "beginner's luck" a couple of times.
"That's not beginner's luck," Marie said, when Serena finished talking about her Masterclass Showcase. "Beginner's luck would be winning your first Showcase. You made it all the way to the final round in the biggest Performance competition in Kalos. That's talent and hard work."
"Yeah, and if you ask me, Serena should be Kalos Queen right now," Shauna added, sounding just a little bit bitter about her friend's loss. "Aria was good, of course, but Serena should've won."
Serena was looking a little embarrassed by all this, and quickly waved her hands, gesturing for them to stop. "No, Aria deserved it. Besides, if I'd won, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to come here. There's a bit more to performing than wanting to be Kalos Queen."
"Yeah, I think I get what you mean by that," Dawn chimed in, nodding in understanding. "Now that I'm here, I kind of feel like my past losses took me down a better path. I wouldn't have met Ash and Professor Oak, and then I wouldn't have come here. Already I feel like I'm learning so much more, just by being around so many people who have had so many different experiences.
"Losing stinks at the time, but I think it's helped a lot of us find a better path for our journeys," Trevor said, walking over with Clemont and joining the conversation. "I felt kind of lost after losing at the Kalos League, but seeing Tierno work so hard to get to the quarterfinals and then seeing Ash and Alain, I knew I had to keep at it. And now I'm here and things are going great so far."
"And they'll only get better," Dawn cheered confidently. "We have to make sure we make it onto the IPL teams together. It'll be so much fun. Imagine it...Lumiose Luxrays, the Kalos IPL Champions!"
"These tryouts aren't going to be easy, though," Serena warned, taking a deep breath. "There aren't many spots, and we're not the only trainers who have had success with battles, Contests and Showcases."
"Well it's a good thing we're the most determined then, right guys?" a familiar confident voice called out from behind Dawn. She turned, smiling as she saw Ash and Tierno walk up to their group, both looking quite pleased, clearly happy with the Pokemon they'd received in their class, although, Dawn was sure they'd be happy no matter what. At least Ash would be.
"Hey guys," Trevor greeted, quickly followed by the others. When everyone finished, the orange-haired trainer quickly pulled out a pokeball, his excitement clearly too much to control by now. "Well, I guess I'll show everyone my new Pokemon first, now that Ash and Tierno are here." The group excitedly murmured their agreement, and watched closely as Trevor clicked open the pokeball.
After a bright flash of light, Dawn looked at the Pokemon that had emerged, and quickly recognized it as a Mudkip. "Wow, you got a Mudkip!" she exclaimed, smiling at the slightly nervous looking Pokemon. "Aw, it's so cute."
"Mudkip, huh?" Tierno said, walking up and looking at it with interest. "Awesome! If we ever have a tag team battle, it'll be an awesome partner for Blastoise."
"That'd be awesome!" Trevor said happily, giving his friend a fist bump and then looking at Mudkip. "How does that sound, Mudkip?"
"Mudkip-mud!" the Mud Fish Pokemon agreed happily, now looking a bit more comfortable, understanding it was among friends.
Tierno then pulled out his pokeball, ready to show off his new Pokemon. "All right, guys, ready to meet the next great dancing Pokemon?"
"What? This Pokemon can dance?" Dawn asked, a little doubtfully. There was no way Tierno had gotten that lucky.
The dancing enthusiast just winked and then clicked his pokeball open. A moment later, a Pokemon that Dawn was fairly familiar with emerged. Before anyone could say anything, the fire-monkey exchanged a look with Tierno, and then the two of them began to dance. It was bizarre looking, but it was often somewhat bizarre when Tierno did this. However, Dawn couldn't help but be impressed. These two already had what Tierno would call, "perfect rhythm".
"Wow, you really lucked out, Tierno," Shauna said, laughing as Tierno and Chimchar finished up. "Chimchar's great!"
"Hey Ash, you have an Infernape," Clemont said, looking over to the raven-haired trainer. "Does it like to dance?"
Ash laughed, rubbing his chin as he seemed to think about it. "Um...well not anymore, but I guess he did do a few victory dances as a Chimchar. I think Tierno's is pretty unique, though."
"You can say that again," Marie whispered, watching as Chimchar began dancing once again. Within a couple of seconds, Mudkip had joined it, standing up on its back legs and trying to imitate the fire type.
"Just like their trainers," Tierno said, laughing. "Best buddies already."
After a couple of minutes of watching the dancing duo of Mudkip and Chimchar, Clemont then stepped forward, holding his pokeball in his hand. Dawn noticed that he looked slightly uneasy. "Um, just a warning, guys," he said, staring at his pokeball cautiously. "This Pokemon...well it's a little...hard to handle."
"It'll be fine, Clemont," Ash said confidently, taking a seat next to Dawn and opening up his backpack. He seemed to be hiding it from view, but then the only thing he pulled out was a sandwich. "All right, let's see what you've got," he finished, opening up the wrapping and preparing to take a bite.
"Okay..." Clemont muttered, clicking open his pokeball. Again, there was a bright flash of light, hiding the new Pokemon for a moment. However, Dawn did hear a thud almost immediately after the flash, and thought she heard Ash cry out in surprise.
When the light disappeared, Dawn looked up to see Clemont staring ahead, looking horrified at whatever he was watching, which was apparently right next to her. She turned her head, and immediately could see why, although she reacted very differently to Clemont, and instead burst out laughing, quickly joined by the rest of her friends.
It was a three-way tug of war over Ash's sandwich, as he, Pikachu, and Clemont's brand new Pokemon each had hold of one piece of it. The new Pokemon was another familiar one to Dawn, being the grass type Sinnoh starter, Turtwig. This one was definitely a unique one, though, as it was dead set on getting Ash's food, while most Turtwig that Dawn had seen, were far more...calm.
"Hey! Gimme that back!" Ash growled, tugging hard as he tried to get his food back.
"Piii," Pikachu groaned out, his voice muffled by the piece of sandwich wrapper he'd grabbed onto.
"Twiiig," Turtwig growled back at the both of them, clearly refusing to give in.
Dawn thought she saw another flash of light out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it for now, the scene in front of her being far too amusing to turn away from. She couldn't believe such a laid back guy would get a Pokemon like this. They seemed like complete opposites. As Clemont joined in the tug of war battle, it didn't even seem like Turtwig liked him, as it hit Clemont in the face with a Leech Seed attack.
"Ahh! Turtwig!" the inventor whined, falling down on his back, grabbing at the vines covering his face.
It seemed that Turtwig's successful attack on its new trainer had inspired it, as it suddenly fired out two more Leech Seed attacks in quick succession, first hitting Ash, and then Pikachu. As both were struck, they too fell flat on their backs, vines taking hold of them. This left a very triumphant looking Turtwig with Ash's whole sandwich in its mouth.
"Aw man," Ash whined, as he managed to finally get the vines off of himself and then started taking them off of Pikachu. "That sandwich looked really good," he muttered, glaring over towards Turtwig, who'd wandered off a few feet away, and was now munching on its prize.
"Sorry, Ash," Clemont said, sounding exasperated as he managed to get his own vines off. "I'd give you mine, but Turtwig stole it earlier."
"That's one hungry Pokemon," Marie laughed as she stated the obvious.
"Yeah, a hungry, thieving Pokemon," Ash muttered, pouting a little.
"It's all right, Ash," Serena suddenly said, pulling out her bag. "You can have my sandwich. And I also baked us all some macarons." She seemed to search through her bag for a while, eyebrows furrowed as she did so. "Um...maybe I forgot them," she whispered.
In that moment, a loud belch was heard just behind Dawn, and she, along with the rest of the group, whipped around to see where the noise had come from. There was another groan from Clemont as they all saw the culprit. This time, however, it wasn't Turtwig.
"Pin-pin-ches," Clemont's Chespin choked out, mouth still full. He looked a little embarrassed at being caught, but was clearly quite happy to stuff the rest of Serena's sandwich in his mouth, followed by a few macarons from a small basket.
"Twig..." Dawn turned her head at that noise, seeing Turtwig, now holding half a sandwich in its mouth, approaching Chespin. The two watched each other warily as Turtwig approached, but Dawn could almost see the twinkle in their eyes as they sensed a kindred spirit in one another. Turtwig then placed its sandwich in front of Chespin, almost like an offering.
Chespin watched the other Pokemon a moment, looking somewhat impressed. He then took a big gulp, swallowing the rest of his food, and then held out the basket of macarons to Turtwig, who happily accepted. The Spiny Nut Pokemon then picked up the rest of Ash's sandwich and deposited it into his mouth and swallowed it whole, before falling onto his butt and sitting their with a content smile on his face, while his new partner in crime began to not only eat the rest of Serena's macarons, but the basket and wrapping that they were in.
"Well," Dawn said finally, after about a full minute of stunned silence from the group, "that was...interesting."
"At least they're getting along," Shauna pointed out, as everyone turned to the embarrassed looking Clemont. "You can be happy about that."
"Yeah," Clemont said dejectedly, "my thieving Pokemon get along. Good."
"It's all right, Clemont," Ash said, although Dawn noticed he couldn't resist a glare towards Turtwig and Chespin. "You'll figure it out."
"Yeah, I guess so. Eventually," Clemont answered with a small nod.
"Hey what about your Pokemon, Ash?" Dawn asked, only just remembering that Ash hadn't shown his to the group yet.
Ash quickly got up and headed over to his backpack which he'd left as he'd battled for his sandwich. "My new Pokemon's right here," he announced, holding his backpack and opening it up fully. "Meet Rowlet everybody."
"Is Rowlet a backpack Pokemon?" Marie asked sarcastically, pointing at what appeared to be an empty bag.
"Huh?" Ash turned the backpack around, looking inside, and his eyes immediately widened. "Rowlet?" He started staring around with wide eyes. "Rowlet!?" he called out, sounding very worried.
"Um, Ash?" Serena asked quickly, getting his attention. When he looked at her, she pointed in the direction of Chespin and Turtwig. "Is Rowlet a flying type?"
Everyone turned to see what Serena was talking about, and when Dawn saw, her eyes widened. She could see a small owl-like Pokemon hovering over the sleepy looking Chespin and distracted Turtwig. Its eyes were narrowed, looking quite determined. With a sudden flap of its wings, it dove down, grasping at the basket that Turtwig was chewing on, and pulling it up with its claws. It then flew high into the air, avoiding a quick Leech Seed from Turtwig, and then began to fly back over towards the group.
"Hoo-hoo!" it hooted, as it approached, before hovering in front of Serena and dropping the basket in her hands. It then flew back over to Ash, tilted its head at its new trainer, and then dove into the backpack. It seemed to rapidly shift around in there, until suddenly its head popped out of the top, eyes closed as it drifted off to sleep.
"Um...yeah, so that's Rowlet," Ash said, as everyone stared blankly at the sleeping owl Pokemon.
What is up with these Pokemon? Dawn thought, as she looked at the now passed out Chespin, angry Turtwig, dancing Chimchar and Mudkip duo and finally the sleeping backpack Rowlet. And I thought Piplup acted strange...