285Chapter 81 – Teacher's Pet
Walter's tour was nearing its end. The man had shown me nearly all of the school's facilities and amenities. Thoroughly convincing me that if I ever had kids I'd be wanting them to get their primary education in this place. The only point of contention between the school's practices and myself was that the rental Pokémon they were responsible for spent an awful lot of time inside their poké balls. The only time my Pokémon were forced to be inside their balls was when traveling through restricted areas outside of that the lazy bums also liked to rest inside when we traveled long distances.
The Pokémon that belonged to this school actually spent most of their day inside their balls. Only being released for their scheduled playtime and during meal breaks. The rental Pokémon that got paired up with individual students had a much better time of it. Getting to walk around with their charges in between classes and coming out for group assignments. The Pokémon this school provided to their students are the typical common ones, but you could spot some of the students walking around with an Eevee or in some cases even lab starters. This disparity was caused by the fact that some of the students came from affluent families who *donated* said Pokémon to the school only for those specific rentals to be paired up with their children and later awarded to them as their official starters after graduating with trainer's licenses.
The children who got paired up with the more common Pokémon were often those on scholarship who aced the entrance exams. Despite their disadvantages they had clawed themselves into competition with the more well-off children through sheer effort alone. Their average win-loss statistics during practice battles reflected this. In actuality the group that struggled keeping up with their studies the most were the children whose families could just barely afford the school's expensive attendance fees. They didn't have the smarts of the scholarship students nor the fancy starter and private tutors like the well to do kids. This is what I had inferred from my discussions with Walter as he guided me through the school's halls. Of course, the man didn't explicitly tell me this, but I could read between the lines.
All of the children would eventually graduate no matter their performance. This was still a primary education institution despite its prestigiousness.
"Mr. Pepper!" "Mr. Pepper!"
A group of six children started crowding around the acting headmaster after the school bell rang, signifying the end of the last school period. These children were around three or so years younger than myself meaning that they were all beginner class students.
"Our precious students! What can I do for you on this fine day?"
"Can we play with the Pokémon pleeeeasee?"
"Pay attention Egon, this is a common sight. When the last period ends some of our students will have to wait for their caretaker's schedule to clear up before being brought back home. In the interim we often allow the children to play with their chosen partner Pokémon, barring unseemly behavior."
"Who is this Mister Pepper?"
"This esteemed personage is Egon from Lavaridge Town, a prospective guest teacher and professor's assistant."
"Really!?" "Teacher!? No way, he's no grownup!"
"Heya, it's nice to meet all of you. I hope to see a lot more of you during my working hours at this fine school."
It was at this time that Walter came up with a proposal of his own.
"This gives me an excellent idea! How about Egon here supervising your playground session? That way me and the other teachers are free to grade your test papers."
The biggest kid needing no further prompting grabbed me by the arm pulling me along towards the direction of the school's playground. I didn't mind being dragged along like a ragdoll, but I would be sure to lecture them about inappropriate behavior afterwards. Luckily for me the school playground was just outside and it didn't take long before we passed the school's main entrance.
Just like every other facility in this posh school the playground was kitted out with everything kids could want to entertain themselves. Slides, Monkey Bars, Swings. Noodle Climbers in addition to all of that I even saw ponds for water Pokémon.
'Nothing for fire types though. Well, it only makes sense. Can't have kids accidentally falling into pools of lava.'
One by one the group released their rental Pokémon from the singular poké balls all of them were carrying and out came a wide variety of Pokémon. A Tailow, Mankey, Poliwag, Shroomish, Zigzagoon and most astonishingly a Charmander. It didn't take me a whole lot of effort to figure out who among them had wealthy parents. Incidentally the one who had first grabbed my arm was the kid with the Charmander.
'That Kantonian kid with the Charmander is going to be all sorts of insufferable, I just know it.'
I didn't have any proof that the boy was from Kanto, but I was quite sure that their breeders weren't allowed to sell charmanders to non-nationals. That and the fact that the Rustburo Trainer's school is a nationwide recognized school. It didn't come as a surprise to me to see foreign expats.
The kids split up to enjoy the various playground amenities with their Pokémon. While I just sat down content to watch just how Pokémon being handled by school age children behaved. Not at all jealously observing the Charmander and rich kid having a good time on the swings. That was when both the young girl carrying the Zigzagoon and the boy with the Tailow perched on his shoulder walked up to me clearly eager to engage. The both of them (were) wearing neat but cheaply made clothes. Having gone through the school system myself multiple times I could already tell that these two were the social outcasts of the group.
"Egon, do you want to play with us?"
"That's very sweet of you….?"
"Tammy." "Nate."
"Ahem! Right Tammy and Nate. It would be irresponsible of me to lose sight of even a single one of you, but I've got two partners who would be more than happy to do so."
Unclasping the two balls of the Pokémon I had in mind. I activated their release mechanisms.
"Come on out!"
Rena and Raven materialized on the rubbery tiles of the play area. The two large canine Pokémon presence immediately drawing the attention of all the students on the playground.
"Woow! A Ninetales! How pretty!"
"Cool! Houndoom those bone spurs look wicked!"
The other students on the playground kept a respectful distance clearly having been taught to not approach other trainers' Pokémon without permission.
"Ninee?" "Ruff?"
"These four are looking for somebody to play with. Could the two of you keep them company until their parents show up?"
Raven being the big sister type didn't mind chaperoning the little boy and his Tailow and was quick to give me an affirming bark. Rena on the other hand gave me a quizzical look which I knew meant that I was adding extra berries to her bowl at dinner time this evening. Giving her a silent nod to acknowledge our pact my Ninetales shifted her focus on the little girl and her partner Pokémon.
"Ninee!"
"Ehh?!" "Zigg?!"
My foxy partner wrapped up both the girl and Zigzagoon in her many tails before walking on over to the merry-go-round where a small group of other girls were already gushing at the sight of her.
'*Playing* in her dictionary means letting little girls fawn over her. Still, it speaks a lot about Rena's character to try and attempt getting that poor girl some more friends.'
Meanwhile Raven in a similar fashion guided the boy towards the nearby practice range. Once there she had the little guy throw frisbees in the air which she promptly shot them down with small applications of Dark Pulse. All the while with his Tailow helpfully grabbing the falling frisbees and returning them to its trainer to be thrown once again. This spectacle grabbed the curiosity of all the students on the playground who were soon watching from the sidelines hoping to get in on the action.
The boy and his Tailow were aglow with the amount of attention they were receiving and soon invited the others to join them. Each student threw out bizarre trickshots in an attempt to beat my doggo's open challenge. Sighing contentedly I watched them until a familiar presence reconnected with my mind.
"Egon! I missed you!"
'Where have you been? I was worried sick!'
"I made a bunch of new friends! …and lost track of time."
"It's… fine, I guess. You're only late by a couple of hours. Did everything work out with the jigglypuff?"
"I brought them to a Slateport Pokémon center. Nurse Joy was making funny faces the whole time we were there."
'That's to be expected. As far as I know Jigglypuff aren't classified as dangerous Pokémon, so they fall outside of the rangers' jurisdiction. Nurse Joy must have been pondering which league agency to call.'
"Why wouldn't they be able to stay there?"
'Mostly the collateral damage caused by trainers who would be trying to battle and capture them inside city limits but never mind that. Are you close by?'
"You are… on a bench near a playground?"
'You remember the nice reception lady recommending that I check out the trainer's school? Well yesterday after you left, I applied for a position as a guest lecturer. We will be visiting this place from time to time to pad our emergency funds.'
"You became a teacher!? Again?!"
'Hey now, it's not the worst way to spend my spare time. In any case you don't have to worry, being a trainer will always be my main occupation.'
Saying that I projected the trainer's school building in my mind so that Victini would have an easier time finding me. Victini could fly about as fast as a full grown fearow but she was terrible with directions. In a large sprawling city like Rustburo it would take a while until she found the right building. Giving me enough time to sort out these leftover children who are due to be picked up by their parents.
Twenty minutes or so later*
I spent the next fifteen minutes watching as one by one the children got picked up by their guardians. Leaving their partners behind, balled, and in my care. Until only the boy with the Charmander remained he was standing there awkwardly holding onto the orange lizard like Pokémon. Both Raven and Rena, having seen their charges off, were now lounging around on the bench I was sitting on. Both of them locked in a fierce staring contest with the winner of said battle gaining sole lap privileges.
"Kaito right? Come sit with us."
The smaller kid awkwardly squeezed himself between me and Raven, breaking up the staring contest and making Rena the winner by default. Who shortly after victoriously rested her head on my lap in a show of dominance.
Getting the opportunity to look at Kaito's Charmander from a closer distance I could already tell that this was not a Charicific Valley breed. This Charmander being of just regular size. Which made sense seeing as the selection process of qualifying for one was harrowing unless your last name was Blackthorne. Making me wonder what kind of other licensed breeder could have sold one to Kaito's family.
"I see that you and Charmander have already become fast friends. How did the two of you end up meeting each other?"
"My Dad's a scientist who got a new Job working for Devon Corporation. Before moving to Rustburo he and my mom brought me to a local breeder on Cinnabar Island and let me pick one Pokémon I liked the most."
"That makes sense, Charmander is a solid pick. You like fire types as well, Kaito?"
"Yes! Charmander is the best partner ever!"
"Chaaaar!"
The Charmander loudly let its appreciation be known while bunting Kaito's face.
'That's nice. Still… A scientist from Cinnabar Island? That's too much of a coincidence. I am betting there's some corporate espionage going on here.'
I knew that the Devon Corporation would get their hands on a functioning revival machine eventually but not that it would happen this fast or blatantly. I reminded myself that there is the odd chance that this could not be that and not to rush to conclusions so quickly.
It was at this moment that a well-dressed lady pulled up in front of the playground inside the nearby parking lot. She was blatantly overdressed like a nouveau riche who had fallen into money and gotten a bit wild on her increased spending power. Not a good sign for my corporate espionage theory. Kaito, knowing it was time to say goodbye, gave his Lizard Pokémon one last hug.
"We'll play a whole lot more tomorrow, okay Charmander?"
"Mander!"
The boy returned the fire type inside the school's poké ball before handing said ball over to me and afterwards rejoining his mother who was waiting at school's main gate. While I was waving the lad goodbye a familiar weight landed on top of my head, I didn't even need to look up to know Victini had perched herself on top of me.
"Found you! Where are we going next?"
'I'll be returning these poké balls to the school's storage facility. Feel free to snoop around though I'll be sitting in on some of the more advanced evening battle courses.'
"Why? Listening in on teachers is boooring!"
'There's very little of that in here. The class mostly consists of having mock battles with the other students. The licensed trainers taking the advanced classes are usually ones that had experience competing in at least one circuit and are looking to further polish up their skills. This being an internationally recognized school means we will also be facing off against trainers coming from all sorts of backgrounds.'
As I was walking through the school's hallways holding a tray of poké balls Victini regaled me on her adventure through the Meteor Falls mountain range.
"There weren't a lot of humans traveling on the public road. Just some macho men wearing these weird dresses. Always accompanied by strong looking fighting types! Kicking or punching rocks and even standing underneath waterfalls!"
She flashed me images to further elucidate her story.
"Those are Gi's. It's what human martial artists wear. There aren't any other places in Hoenn where one can undergo waterfall meditation training. That must be the reason why fighting type specialists are drawn to a dangerous place like Meteor Falls."
"There weren't a whole lot of other Pokémon around and while it was still daylight the cave's zubat were still fast asleep. So, I got near the river and waited for a Pokémon to swim by so I could ask them for directions."
'And did you meet one? A water type Pokémon.'
"Yep! There was this Seaking who was really experienced in the going's on of the surrounding river system. After we got to chatting, she mentioned that there's a river branch where only suicidal idiots venture into. A terrifying Gyarados and its lady trainer fish and eat all the incognizant newborn water types."
'Even the magikarp? Isn't that like cannibalism?'
"Especially the magikarp! But Seaking said that those two are a necessary evil. If it were not for them the river would get overcrowded. Still, it makes me feel sad thinking about it."
'Gyarados and some of the other piscine Pokémon can lay up to a thousand eggs at a time. Their newborns aren't even fully cognizant of their surroundings until they've grown a couple of months old. Their species fill an important niche for the carnivorous sea dwelling Pokémon.'
"Eventually I figured that if I followed that branch of the river, I'd be bound to find the lady trainer with the Gyarados. But something even more amazing happened!"
The projected images I received caught me by surprise. A large grouping of clefairy and clefable huddling together stargazing. With my psychic rabbit making merry while sharing stories.
'There's a tribe of clefairy living in Meteor Falls?! That must be the most well-kept secret ever.'
"Yep! They keep a low profile, but the clefairy recently came over from their previous home in search for moonstones. Their leader is super-duper strong and keeps all the meanie dragons away."
'Moonstones… there should be plenty of them scattered across the mountain range surrounding the ancient meteorite's impact site.'
As I was ruminating on Victini's blindsiding revelations I found myself in front of the storage room. This was the most secure room in the entire school since it was also the place most of the school's Pokémon were kept. I was shown this particular room during Walter's tour, so I knew what to expect. Ordinarily the students themselves had the duty to drop off their partners here after finishing up classes, but they could also hand over their poké balls to the nearest teacher which I now qualified as for some reason. The custodian who I had already been introduced to only gave me a silent huff as I placed the tray of poké balls on his work desk. Not wanting to risk the ire of the gruff looking man by being a busybody I quickly exited the storage room free to further discuss the details of Victini's solo adventure.
'So… did the clefairy tribe know where to find Meteor Village?'
"They were quite sure that a human settlement could be found the next mountain over. When I told them about our own goal to recover your little sister. Those nice Pokémon let us know that we are free to teleport on over anytime we want."
'Excellent job Tini!'
"Guess what else? In their search to find more moonstones they've collected a handful of other shiny rocks including a mega stone! They were even willing to gift it to me, but I couldn't take advantage of them like that! Egon lets go to a jeweler after this and buy them a nice moonstone in return."
One part of me felt disappointed from missing out on a free Mega Stone but the other part of me felt pride at Victini's impeccable morals. I was quite sure that if I were to be placed in her shoes that I would've insisted on a similar exchange. It was then that I reminded myself of your average retail pricing for moonstones.
'The cheapest deal you can get for an adequately sized Moonstone is ten thousand poké dollars. Here in Hoenn they're at least thirteen thousand!'
"Bad Egon! We're doing it! When I was hungry and alone, they freely shared their berries with me!"
"Fineeeee but later. First, we are going to visit the battle classes and see if those students have what it takes to pose an adequate challenge to the team."
Wasting no time, I set off towards the more advanced battle class. Having glimpsed it during my guided tour I knew where to go and in no time at all we arrived at our destination. The spaces used for the classes weren't your traditional classroom setup. They had done away with chairs and desks and had used two floors worth of space combining the ground layer and floor space above that to create the school's battle facilities. Each class grouping had just one medium sized battlefield for themselves with their teacher being a veteran trainer acting as a battle judge to make sure the Pokémon didn't take it too far during spars. Peering in from the outside of the glass windows I could see two students and their partners already battling it out.
"That Vigoroth is no slouch, but I think Mawile's got this in the bag."
Watching this battle play out I could confidently say that my veteran team members are a whole experience level above this.
"Still, this would make a perfect training opportunity for Orin. Here's to hoping that they also have some stronger water types we could do battle with in preparation for our gym match."
As I was spying on their goings-on the battle concluded with Mawile being declared the winner. Before the next two students could step onto the battlefield the teacher who doubled as a battle judge waved me to come in. Not wanting to be impolite I walked inside eager to learn if the school's battle curriculum suited my needs.
"Welcome to advanced battling techniques 102. Are you a new student?"
"Not really. Mr. Pepper is hiring me as a guest lecturer. He told me all about the school's battle classes and being a trainer myself I grew curious."
"Already being made a guest lecturer at your age is very impressive. Well, seeing as you are a fellow colleague you are free to observe our classes to your heart's content. However, if you'd like to get some serious battling done we can discuss it at the end of today's class. Our scheduled courses usually start after the unlicensed children leave the building so that would work out for you as well. The name's Banya ace trainer extraordinaire nice to meet you."
Taking his hand, I gave the man a firm handshake to prove my manliness before introducing myself as well.
"Egon from Lavaridge Town. Fire type expert, first time circuit participant."
Later at the nearest jewelry store*
My post class discussion with Banya had been fruitful. The man was a near retirement battle maniac who kept up his listing on the Ace ranking ladder despite being a full-time teacher. He made it clear that I couldn't participate in the battles taking place during class but if any of the advanced students wanted to keep going after classes ended, I was free to join in on the fun. Which according to him was a hundred percent guarantee. Banya even offered to test out the limits of my team himself just because. I haven't ever met a man more in love with his job than Banya.
Skipping the post class session this time because my paperwork hadn't come through yet. I caved into Victini's demands, finding myself standing in front of a jewelry store. Generally speaking, the more commercially minded brick and mortar establishments either sold human worn apparel or minerals suited for the needs of Pokémon but not both. This establishment belonged to the latter category. The display cases were filled with evolution stones, Deep Sea Teeth and Scales, Oval Stones and specially produced Metal Coats. The price tags on some of these items giving me a near nervous breakdown.
Stepping inside I was met with the sight of a near empty store aside from who I presumed to be the owner currently haggling over the price of a Leaf Stone with a lady wearing a sundress.
"Seven thousand is a bit much. How about six thousand poké dollars?"
"Seven thousand was the discounted price, either buy or stop wasting my time. Lookie here there's already another customer lined up eagerly waiting for me to be done with you."
'Haggling is an option? Well, this is a privately owned store… maybe I won't have to spend too much money after all.'
Noticeably gritting her teeth, the lady shelled out the seven thousand before storming off but not without giving me the evil eye. The man behind the counter warmly motioned me to come closer in stark contrast to the cutthroat persona image he previously built up in my mind.
"What I do for you kid? Are you looking to buy something nice for mother's day?"
"Not exactly… I was looking to buy a Moon Stone and people directed me to this store."
"Then you've come to the right place! We sell the finest quality evolution stones money can buy all along the entire west coast of Hoenn."
The man started rummaging in his drawers before pulling out six different samples of Moon Stone all of different sizes and lusters. Myself having no idea how to differentiate quality stones hesitantly enquired for more information.
"Say if one was to buy a Moon Stone for the purposes of evolving a clefairy, which of these would you recommend?"
"All of them would do the trick. It's not so much the clarity, color or cut that matters but more the mass of the actual stone itself. Still where matters of retail pricing is concerned the stones that look prettier tend to sell for a bit more."
"How much for the cheapest among these?"
"Sixteen thousand pokédollars."
"…And there's no wiggle room there?"
'Damn! Keep your cool, don't show weakness!'
"I can already tell you are new at this sport. I'll lower the price to fifteen thousand just because I like the look of you. Do we have a deal?"
"Did you forget already? You've been looking for another stone as well."
"Could I see the Dusk Stones as well?"
"Hoo! Now that's a rare request. Not many folks in Hoenn with a Murkrow or Misdreavus on hand."
The owner pulled out his keychain and unlocked another tray and laid down two Onyx colored stones on the velvet countertop right next to the Moon Stones he showed me earlier.
"I've only got the two left. I had to sell the rest of my stock to other vendors in Johto to recoup my losses on the initial purchase. Turns out even in a big city like this the demand for these is practically non-existent. Both of them are around the same quality, let's say eighteen thousand and I will let you pick out the one you want to take with you."
'Okay, here goes Egon you can do this!'
"The Moon Stone for fifteen and one of the Dusk Stones for eighteen? Let's round it down to an even thirty thousand. Do we have a deal?"
"Haha! Better! How about I'll let you walk away with these two beauties for thirty-two."
"But you yourself said that there's no market for them here. Wouldn't you rather the Dusk Stone be used to help out a Pokémon in need of evolving?"
My expert Haggling skills got him to lower the price down further to thirty-one thousand before we ended up shaking hands on the deal. One card swipe later and I was walking out of the store with a complementary jewelry box containing the two stones. I somehow knew that the man still made off like a bandit but with my new job lined up I felt a false confidence that I could make up for my loss in time.
Standing outside the store I felt like this had been a productive day. Getting a job, earning ourselves a free pass to come and go to the school's battle classes and finally getting my hands on that Dusk Stone for Orin.
'That's half our funds gone. it looks like we won't be going on that mid conference minivacation unless we manage to eke out a win at our next gym battle.'
"Noo! We were set to explore Granite Cave!"
'We can discuss my financial mismanagement during dinner. Let's go out to eat. I am too exhausted to cook for all seven of you.'
"Malasadas?"
"If you can find an Alolan restaurant then sure."