3

It was early in the morning when Blake headed out to classes the next day. He only had Pokemon Myths and Legends and Pokemon Caretaking today, so he felt like his schedule was pretty light. He checked the school map, and found that his first class, Pokemon Myths and Legends, would be in, predictably, the only hall named after a Legendary Pokemon, Victini Hall.

Blake walked down the paved sidewalk towards the center of campus, being careful of where he stepped due to the slight incline down the grassy hill the sidewalk was built into.

"Hey, Blake!" as he reached the bottom of the hill, Blake saw Reiner walk up to him in the direction from Snorlax Commons, the lunch hall, which was just down the river.

"Reiner, what's up?" Blake asked. "You heading to a class?" Reiner asked as the two walked along the riverbank.

"Yeah, Pokemon Myths and Legends with Professor Reinhart," Blake said. "Oh, seriously?" Reiner asked, his dull eyes lighting up. "Me too!"

"Really?" Blake asked, surprised. "Yeah, I've always liked pokemon myths," Reiner said, kicking a pebble in their path into the river. "Especially ruins and the like."

"Really?" Blake said, surprised. "I wouldn't have expected it, looking at you." "Well, yeah, I have a few reasons," Reiner said, nodding. "Why did you sign up?"

"…It's kind of a long story," Blake said, sighing. "See, my brother is friends with Professor Reinhart, and he wanted me to take one of his classes so the professor would be my class advisor."

"Yeah, I've got a pretty cool brother, too," Reiner said, nodding. "Honestly, he's the only one of my family I get along with…"

"Really?" Blake asked. "Why?"

"It's complicated."

"Ah, I see."

The two continued to talk about small stuff, before arriving at Victini Hall. While located close to the main courtyard, the building was rather small, only a single story red brick building with less than ten classrooms. Blake and Reiner headed in, finding their classroom, and entering.

The last to show up, Reiner and Blake had to sit in the front, on either side of a girl with dark skin, amber eyes, and long, black hair.

"Okay, class," Professor Reinhart walked into the room, clapping his hands together to call for attention. "As you know, I am Professor Reinhart, and this is 'Pokemon Myths and Legends'. If there's anyone here who isn't taking this class, please leave immediately."

He paused. No one left, so he continued. "Now, would anyone like to pass out the syllabus?" Professor Reinhart asked.

"Yes, professor," the girl with amber eyes said, raising her hand. "Excellent, thank you, um…" the professor checked his clipboard.

"Nikita," the girl said. "Nikita, right," Professor Reinhart said, nodding. He placed the syllabus sheets on her desk, the girl getting up to pass them around.

"Now, as you might notice, the first thing mentioned on the syllabus is that under no circumstances are students allowed to have their pokemon outside of their pokeballs while in the classroom.

The reason for this is because this room contains several valuable artifacts I use to teach other classes, and I don't want any accidents happening."

Blake looked around, noticing the bookshelf on the back wall, which held several glass cases too far away to see what was inside.

"Now, for starters, I want to explain to you my grading process," the professor said. "There will be several quizzes, as you can see, those are worth 15%. However, this class has no tests, instead, I will be requiring three essays from each of you by the end of the semester on a variety of topics."

There were some groans from some students, but Blake was personally glad; he was better at research and writing than at test taking.

"Also, for extra credit opportunities, this November I'll be taking part in verifying the authenticity of some recent discoveries made in the Sinnoh Region.

Students in my classes can sign up to join, but it will be your responsibility to take care of the work for other classes. Anyone who attends the trip and does a good job with the work assigned, I will increase your final grade by a letter." The class seemed to murmur at this, the professor continuing.

"The other option for extra credit will be on the final paper due at the end of the year. I expect an 8-10 page essay on a Legendary Pokemon of your choosing. Students may instead turn in 12 pages for an additional 5 points, with another .5 points for each additional page."

Not hearing any complaints, the professor finished speaking with this.

"Now, some of you might have heard that I am a harsh professor. That is true. For anyone who doesn't put in the work, this will quickly become the most dreaded room on campus. There's a reason that Crobat House burns an effigy of me during Pokepalooza every year. For the students willing to put in the time and effort that this class requires, you'll likely find this to be one of your favorite classes. Now, any questions?"

There were none. Blake heard a few gulps.

"Good," Professor Reinhart said, smiling.

"Now, let's begin the lesson. Who can tell me one thing that makes a Legendary Pokemon 'Legendary'?" Several people raised their hands, Reiner and Nikita included.

"You," Professor Reinhart said, pointing at Reiner. "They have legends based around them," Reiner said.

Professor Reinhart rubbed his temples in frustration. "Okay, yes, but what specifically is special about them that other pokemon species don't have?" He pointed to Nikita this time.

"Legendary Pokemon don't have genders," Nikita explained. "Okay, good start," Professor Reinhart said, nodding. "However, not entirely true." "What?" Nikita asked, surprised.

"There have been several reports that clarify that, yes, most Legendary Pokemon as far as we know are genderless," Professor Reinhart admitted, nodding. "However, there are also a few examples of Legendary Pokemon that have genders. The Legendary Pokemon Cresselia, for example, has been confirmed to be female. I don't even want to know how."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokeball, tossing it out. A small blue and yellow pokemon emerged from it.

"This is a Golett, a non-Legendary Pokemon who has no gender," the professor explained. "So being genderless is neither a requirement of being a Legendary, nor exclusive to Legendaries."

Nikita blushed and lowered her hand, embarrassed.

"Anything else?" Professor Reinhart asked, looking around. No one else wanted to raise their hand, afraid of being completely shot down.

Blake hesitantly raised his hand. "Yes, Blake?" "Legendary Pokemon cannot evolve," Blake said. The professor smiled.

"Correct! Indeed, no Legendary Pokemon has ever been recorded as evolving. However…"

The professor walked over the black board and pulled out a piece of chalk. He wrote "EVOLUTION" on the board in big writing, and then beside it he wrote "FORMS".

"Can anyone tell me what a pokemon's form is?" the professor asked. Nikita raised her hand again.

"Yes, 'Legendary Pokemon don't have genders' girl?" Nikita blushed, but didn't put her hand down.

"A form is the state a pokemon is in at any time. When a pokemon changes its form to a new form, that is called Evolution," Nikita explained.

"However, if a pokemon can change its form into a new form and change back into its previous form, that is called Form Change. If a pokemon can be captured in several different colors or appearances, those are Form Differences of that pokemon."

"Correct," the professor said, smiling. "Can you think of any examples?" "Um, well, I'm from Johto, and we have a pokemon there called Unown," Nikita said.

"Good, good, Unown is an excellent example of a pokemon having a multitude of different forms," Professor Reinhart agreed. "Can anyone think of any pokemon that can change their forms?"

"…Castform?" Reiner asked, Blake remembering Sango's Castform.

"Yes, Castform is a pokemon capable of changing its form depending on the weather.

What about Legendary Pokemon?" No one in the class could think of any. "Well, let's start there," the professor said, turning back to the board.

After class let out, Blake and Reiner headed towards the Snorlax Commons; it was almost time for lunch.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Blake and Reiner turned to see Cynthia jump up next to them, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, Cynthia," Reiner said, waving, Blake nodding to her. "You guys just get out of a class?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah," Blake said, nodding. "Me too, I just came from my Pokemon Exercise class," Cynthia said, laughing. "All my guys got super pumped, and I worked up an appetite!"

Blake noticed that she wasn't wearing her uniform, instead wearing P.E. clothes of a white shirt and short grey shorts. REALLY short grey shorts.

Cynthia, naturally, noticed Blake's inadvertent gaze, and smirked. "Pervert," she teased.

"I… no, I…" Blake said, shaking his head frantically. "It's not like that, I swear!"

"Oh, come on, I consider it to be rather flattering," Cynthia purred. "Reiner, what do you think?"

"…" Reiner mused for a while, and gave her a thumbs up. "Nothing better than a short girl in shorts."

"…" Cynthia frowned at him. "I don't mind people ogling me like Blake-" "I wasn't!" Blake cried.

"But don't call me short!" Cynthia huffed. "…Okay…" Reiner said, nodding. "Great!" Cynthia said, her face brightening. "So, let's get some food!"

Cynthia grabbed Blake and Reiner by the wrists and pulled them towards the cafeteria.

After getting their food, Cynthia pulled out her ID card and handed it to the person located next to the exit, who slid it through a computer and handed it back to her.

"What was that?" Blake asked. "Pokepoints," Cynthia said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Pokepoints?" Blake asked. "Didn't you check your pamphlet?" Reiner asked. "Or get breakfast this morning?" Cynthia asked. "No…" Blake said, shaking his head.

"Well, think of it like this," Cynthia said. "All students in this school get 1000 Pokepoints each semester, that we can use on items, food, and other stuff, and it's stored on the card. Of course, by participating in school events like tournaments and contests, we can earn more Pokepoints depending on how good we do."

"Plus, you can bet Pokepoints in battles with other trainers, and the winner gets the pot," Reiner said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "I can't wait!"

"I, personally, like battling because it's fun," Cynthia said, smiling, "not because I want to win money."

Reiner and Blake both gave their ID cards to the employee, who slid the cards through the scanner, and handed them back to the two students.

"So, want to eat outside, guys?" Cynthia asked, turning towards the exit of the building. There were a large amount of tables and chairs inside, but out on the patio there were even more.

The bulding was on a hill, overlooking a large lake and a field of grass on the edge of campus, where wild pokemon could be seen.

"Sure," Reiner said, nodding. The three of them found a table and sat down, setting their trays in front of them.

"Blake you don't have the healthiest food," Cynthia said, glancing at the pizza on his plate.

"…I like pizza," Blake said, frowning.

"All that stuff is going to kill you, you should eat healthy," Cynthia said, gesturing to her food, which, at least, was well balanced.

"Same with you, Reiner." "Hey, I like sweets," Reiner snapped, Cynthia holding her hands up defensively.

"Geez, sorry," she sighed. "Anyways, if you guys want some real food, I could cook something up later."

"You can cook?" Blake asked, surprised. "I'm an awesome cook," Cynthia said, nodding. "What do you think, Reiner? Want to try some real food?"

"Well, I guess I could," Reiner said, shrugging. "I mean, if I wasn't willing to try, that would be very short-sighted of me, wouldn't it?"

"…Really?" Cynthia frowned. "Sorry, I forgot you're short tempered," Reiner smirked. "…" Cynthia smirked back at him, shaking her head.

"Hey, is that Sango?" Blake asked, looking out over the patio fence, down at the pathway leading up to the cafeteria. She was wearing the same clothes as Cynthia was, but she was jogging so she was covered in sweat, her hair matted to her neck.

"Nice," Blake said, staring down. "Nice," Cynthia echoed.

"Hey, Sango!" Blake called down. Sango looked around, raising her head and noticing them, waving. Blake and Cynthia waved back.

"Hey, Sango, you shouldn't go jogging in a white shirt and black bra," Reiner called down to her. Sango looked down and crossed her hands over her shirt, shooting Reiner a dirty look. Reiner waved.

"Spoilsport…" Cynthia and Blake said simultaneously, glaring at Reiner.

"Thanks!" Sango said, pulling herself up over the fence, Silver floating up after her, her bag hanging from its body.

"How-?" Cynthia sputtered. "That was a ten foot jump!" Blake said.

"Yeah, but it's a rock wall, climbing something like that is easy," Sango said, plopping down between Blake and Reiner. She pulled a towel from her bag and wiped her hair down, her naturally unruly hair sticking out even more.

"I'm starving," Sango said, reaching for Blake's pizza. Blake slapped her hand away, Sango glaring at him.

"…Give me the pizza," Sango said, frowning. "I'm starving, so no," Blake replied. "10 seconds," Sango stated. "Then what?" Blake asked.

"I'll pay you," Sango said. "Then go get your own food," Blake said, frowning. "Don't eat mine." "I'm hungry NOW." "So am I."

"I'll kiss you if you give me that pizza." Cynthia and Reiner coughed into their food, surprised.

"How is that a reward?" Blake asked, smirking. Sango narrowed her eyes at him, and turned to Reiner.

"What about you?" "Oh, I am SO not getting involved in this," Reiner said, pulling his tray away from Sango's greedy hands.

"I'll do it," Cynthia said, smiling, Sango turning to her in surprise.

"…Yes please," Blake said, Reiner nodding in agreement. Sango elbowed him in the stomach.

"Sorry, even if I'm willing to kiss someone like Blake or Reiner, you're kind of…" Sango said, shaking her head. She stood up, sighing, and walked inside. A few minutes later she returned with almost an entire pizza on her tray.

"Apparently, that food isn't healthy for you," Blake said, Sango sticking her tongue out at him.

"So, Blake, Reiner, what class did you have today?" Cynthia asked. "'Pokemon Myths and Legends' with Professor Reinhart," Blake said.

"Oh, you have a class with Professor Reinhart?" Sango asked. "Jealous…" "Yes," Blake said, nodding. "Why are you jealous?"

"Well, I mean, the Professor is a legend!" Sango said, smiling. "I heard he works with my dad sometimes. He gets to go on all sorts of cool adventures and excavations."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Reiner said, nodding. "He's going to some excavation or something in the Sinnoh Region this November, and he's inviting students to go."

"Do the students have to be in his class?" Sango asked, excited. "I want to go!" "Why?" Reiner asked, confused. "It's just a big pain in the ass."

Sango glared at him. "Stop being so lazy, Reiner! It's an amazing opportunity!" Sango exclaimed, fired up to the extreme.

"Yeah, yeah," Reiner said, nodding. "Whatever." "Okay!" Sango said, backing up, Blake noticing her tray was already empty. "To find Professor Reinhart, and see if I can join his expedition!"

Sango charged forwards, jumping over the fence, landing on the ground ten feet below.

"That girl is always moving," Blake said, shaking his head. "Even you're not as hyper as her," Reiner told Cynthia.

"Hey, I prefer to think of it as 'energetic'," Cynthia said, laughing.