Back to School again

Zoey-POV:

Bing, bong!

Ahhh, the school bells - a nostalgic sound. It means the first class starts in exactly ten minutes. "Guys, we should hurry. Let's not be tardy." It's funny, really - we're not students anymore.

Riley and Maria, who'd been waiting outside the hotel and insisted on tagging along for some suspiciously vague reason, both glance at my missing arm... then wince. Riley catches himself and stares straight ahead, pretending nothing happened. "I'm sure nobody will mind you being a little t--... uh, late."

Sigh. Tardy. Retarded. Another word I have to cut from my vocabulary so people won't be uncomfortable around me. I draw a deep breath and take the lead, heading toward the building where I met almost everyone who ever mattered to me - the vast majority of all my acquaintances and friends.

This is almost where I met my first boyfriend too... But Riley doesn't dare meet my eyes. He might not even remember me... Although, he's probably just trying to avoid making things uncomfortable... Maria, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care for me much. She flashes an innocent smile the moment I catch her suspicious glare... Bitch.

The front entrance looks just as I remember it, although there are a few more paintings from the younger students. The same lacquered wood floors greet me with their familiar echo, just like they did nearly half a year ago. Looks like Mr. Honcho still hasn't gotten rid of that puke stain from some first-year.

I take another deep breath as younger students steal glances at our procession. The air smells like nostalgia... and old puke.

"Zoey? Are you sure this is alright?" Swole's hand rests on my shoulder, a reassuring weight. As I turn, his height feels almost imposing. "I mean, this is a school. Adults can't just stroll in. That's... weird."

"Swole? We're children."

"Teenagers. But, well..."

"There are students at this school who are four years older than me."

"When you say it like that..."

"Heeey!" A familiar screech interrupts his muttering, and my eyes widen as her voice reaches my ears. "Zo-yo! Giiirl, what are you doing here?! Did your pokemon career fail yet?!"

"Marilyn?! OMA, I haven't seen you in forever! How are you?! Is that a Cherubi?! And she's wearing such a cute scarf! O M A, you're gonna get in trouble - hide her!"

"O M A, like, Zo-yo. You've been gone for forever." She combs her fingers through her teal hair, then adjusts a pretty pink circlet. "Mr. Honcho lets us bring pokemon to class now."

"Whaaat? No way! He changed the rules right after I left, or what?"

"Totes. Candice did it. She became the new gym leader and fixed our stupid, outdated rules."

"Zoey?" Swole hisses into my ears, wearing a strange expression as if he's looking at a stranger. "Who is that?"

"This, my dear boyfriend, is Marilyn. We were classmates."

"O M A, you've got a boyfriend?! Tell me everything-- oh, by the way." Marilyn points at Swole's breast pocket. "You've got something gross poking out. Might want to fix that."

Oh... oh shit. Wow! I can actually feel his mood drop down into an abyss.

"That's Sewaddle." He scratches the sad-looking pokemon under her chin. "Don't insult her again, or you will have a fight on your hands."

"A fight against that?" Marilyn ignores my subtle head shakes - she really needs to stop. "My cutie would wipe the floor with it. Just look at how ugly this thing is. It won't stand a chance; let's battle after class!"

Marilyn spins on her heel, her hips swaying deliberately as she stalks off.

"I can't believe I'm about to beat up a kid... in a pokemon fight, of course." Swole's eyelid twitches.

"She's our age." I roll my eyes while he sends mean gestures after her. "Come on, you're an adult, aren't you? You can put this behind yourself, can't you? Let's just go to class. A little Pidgey told me you're going to want to meet someone there."

"Can only be better than the last one." The teenage child grumbles to himself.

Sigh... I guess Marilyn does have a few issues. She's a little bratty, but overall, usually, she's a nice person. I hope they can get along after their battle.

Anyway, we reach classroom 109, where I was told to meet... Her voice rings out from the open doorway. "And here they are, today's exchange students! Give them a round of applause!" Candice Kiai's timing is perfect, her words lining up just as we step into the room.

Seated throughout the room are my former classmates, including Marilyn. Some offer lazy applause, while others don't bother hiding their disinterest - only snapping out of their daze when their eyes accidentally meet ours. They recoil, as if seeing a ghost, rousing from their half-slumber with the table still pressed to their cheek.

"Yooo, Zoey?" - "Hi, Zoey!" - "Yo." - And countless other variations greet me, a smile tugging at my lips as I match names to voices. Lena, Ethan, and Reed - along with Marilyn - we used to hang out together. The others I never really hung out with chime in too, saying hi, asking if I missed them, and what the fuck happened to my arm...

"Hi. I'm back. Mostly. Haha." Nobody laughs. I should tell them to clap for my joke since I can't do it. "--"

"Zo-zo! Hey! Look over here!" Candice's voice is the loudest. "I got you and your friends some chairs... and a table. Mr. Honcho said we ran out of funding for more. Come on, take a seat! And where's your Mismagius?! Call her out already, Zo-zo! Oh, never mind. There she is. Hey, Mismagius, did you miss me?"

My smile grows brighter when Candice hops around and pats the table as if it wasn't obvious which one she meant.

She sees my paranoid friends lingering around the doorway, flabbergasted and unsure of the potential dangers that lie within the classroom. She bounces over and grabs Dawn's hand before she can even recoil. In a flash, she drags both her and me to the front. I'm pushed into the middle chair, right in the front row, with Dawn seated beside me.

Candice returns to the entrance. Her head, hair, and hair-clips bob up and down, looking Swole all over. "You looked taller on TV."

His back straightens, his posture suddenly prim, proper, and perfect. He only gained like a centimeter, but it's cute how he asserts his masculinity like that. He thrusts out his hand, inviting her for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, gym leader--"

Candice just gives him a low five. "None of that. Right now, I am Miss Candice! A very professional teacher. Oh! Riley and Maria, what are you doing here? Did you want to join today's class too?"

Riley cringes. "Nope. Don't worry about us; we're just tagging along. We'll wait in the yard."

"Don't you both have jobs to do?"

Maria grabs him by the shoulder. "Nope. Today's a day off, don't you know?" And they flee the scene.

"I will have to remember to dock Maria's pay again... Anyway!" I love her. Candice is always so energetic! "Why don't you introduce yourselves first, and then we'll start class?! Today is math! Yaaay!"

Standing up first, I wave to my old friends. "Hi, I'm Zoey." Reed boos, and I flip him the bird. "I'm 14 years old and a pokemon trainer. Unlike you lame-os, I graduated school last year, and I've won three pokemon contests since then."

My old gang chuckles while Candice gives enthusiastic applause. A smug feeling fills me when the other lame-os jeer.

I'm actually quite amazing. I finished school much earlier than all my peers, I fished myself a handsome boyfriend, and, at the rate Dawn and I are going, a successful career as pokemon coordinators is nearly guaranteed!

Above all that, Swole is willing to overlook my ugly deformity. And so, it is with a bright smile on my face that I sit down and motion for him to go next.

"I am Swole Solo of Twinleaf Town. Future champion, on my way to a fourth badge." His eyes lock on Marilyn - glaring at her, threatening her, promising a world of pain. "I've got a few historic achievements under my belt - battles the likes of which Sinnoh has not seen since Cynthia began her rise! This year, I will surpass her. Nobody will stand in my way."

The guys clap in amazement, the girls swoon, all while Marilyn shrinks back in her seat at the intimidating aura of Swole... He wishes. "Nerd." Dawn whispers, and I giggle.

"Oh, wow." Candice stage-whispers so even Ethan and Reed in the back can hear her. "What an intense guy... Dawn, you're up next!"

"Oh! Yes, right." Dawn startles upright, turns to the class, and flinches when she spots Lena's expression. "H-hi! I'm Dawn--"

"Are you related to the princess?!" Lena wears an insane smile as if meeting her childhood hero. The girl bursts with excitement.

"Uhm, yes. We're like second cousins."

"Wooow! So cool!"

"What's even cooler is that I won three contests! And my debut battle--"

"Yaaawn. I guess that's cool too."

Swole consoles her as she slumps back in her seat.

"Don't be rude, Lena. Anyway!" Candice claps her hands before pointing at the blackboard. A few numbers and a very long S are drawn in white chalk. "We've introduced integrals last week, so I know this is new to Zoey, but Swole and Dawn, do you know them yet?"

"Nope." - "I've never seen that symbol before."

Candice briefly explains how they work. "Does anyone want to have a go at this one? ... No? Nobody? Dawn, do you have a question?"

"Oh, no. I wanted to solve it."

"In that case, have a go at it!" Candice drops a piece of chalk into Dawn's hand, pulling her up and helping her out of her chair in the same motion. Then she sits down in it and watches Dawn solve it at the blackboard. "And that's correct! Do you want to explain your solution to the class?"

"Sure. It's just the surface area under the curve in the graph - in this case, a straight line. So I calculated it using the geometry of the line."

"A creative and correct solution! Well done, Dawn. A little too fast, though. I like your chair... Anyway, let's trade places again!" They do. "Today, we will learn how to calculate an integral using antiderivatives! Yippee!"

Candice is the only one looking forward to it.

---

The bell rings again, signaling the end of math class. Candice walks around the tables handing out homework and returning the results of a small test on integrals.

"Good job, you three. Everything is correct." Candice gives each of us a golden paper star. "Sadly, that means no homework for you. Unless you admit that you looked at each other's answers?"

"The nerd wouldn't let us."

"Tests and exercises are important, Zoey." The wise-ass plays around with the golden star between his fingers. "Without them, we wouldn't retain nearly as much of the lecture."

"What would we ever need integrals for?"

"... Dawn, do you want to explain it to her?" He's buying time, trying to think of some reason.

"What if I plan to become a pokemon professor? Then I'd need to learn all that stuff. Besides, it's good for the brain."

"Right. Dawn's right. As she always is. Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go and beat up a little girl; we should go meet with her."

The cowardly nerd flees the scene with his tail between his legs. Integrals are useless. "Come on, Dawn, let's not let the nerd wait too long."

"You're right. Who knows how many girls he will talk to while we aren't around to stop him?"

Why would we want to prevent that?

"Actually," Candice grabs my hand before we can run after him. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

I signal Dawn to go ahead. "Sure. We haven't talked a lot face-to-face since you graduated... five years ago." Damn, has it really been so long? She was always away, traveling on her pokemon journey so we could only chat when she and I had access to a phone booth - which was almost never.

Candice follows Dawn, giving her an excuse for keeping me up and then closing the door behind her. I even hear the lock clicking, ensuring nobody will disturb us.

Her facial expression breaks down the moment we're alone. She motions for me to have a seat again while she strolls closer, not even mustering a single word.

"What's the matter? And what about her?" A blonde girl sleeps with her head slumped on her table. Straight, long hair hides her face. She might be pretending to be asleep to listen in.

"Don't worry about her." Candice crosses the room, ignores the girl, and sits down in front of me after dragging a chair painfully slowly over the floor. She braces her elbows against the table before placing her head in her palms. "Workplace politics."

"Is Mr. Honcho giving you trouble?"

Candice peers at me through her fingers. Her hazelnut brown eyes look kind of cute from this angle. She chuckles a short, dry laugh. "I'm technically his boss, so no. It's the league commission and the fucking princess even!"

I've never heard her curse before.

"I don't know what to do! Nobody is taking me seriously! The youngest gym leaders in history - they are taking turns pissing and laughing at Maylene and me!"

The Veilstone City gym leader, Maylene, is another very young trainer who inherited her gym from her grandparents this year. "Wait, the princess too?"

"Well, she started it. She ordered to try and give him a challenge. And the old farts were like, I doubt she can. HAHAHAHA!" Candice slams her fist on the table. "Fucking cocksuckers! I was fourth place in the league, for Arceus' sake!"

I remember a lot of commentators saying it was all lucky matchups, even against Tobias Blackthorn, who ended up winning against her ice pokemon with his team of dragons. Some speculate that the tournament brackets were manipulated to stop him from easily advancing to the top, arguing that a competitor from Johto shouldn't even be facing Cynthia in the finals. Yet, he still made it there, and he nearly won.

"I'm guessin' yer talking about Swole."

Candice nods, thoroughly defeated, hiding her face in her hands again.

"So... what are you going to do?"

"I dunno..." Her palms press against her mouth, muffling her voice, only to slam both hands into the table once more halfway through her speech. "I must win. But if I actually take him seriously, it will be just the same as admitting he's better than me. Are you reading what they're saying about Gardenia on the pokeweb?"

"Nnnope. I don't really use social media anymore. Too caught up with training, you know?"

"I understand... You're not losing out on anything. But they are ripping into her. Byron and Roark both had excuses for their losses, but Gardenia fought with one of her main pokemon and got outplayed. Everyone's calling her weak and foolish because she lost to a fucking noob... Sorry for the language."

"No worries, big sis Candice."

She exhales, making a sound that mimics and mocks her usual laughter. "Ha. I don't feel much like an older sister today."

"Yeah... sorry. My stupid boyfriend is causing everyone trouble, isn't he?"

"He is."

"If it makes you feel better, he has actual superpowers." A peculiar expression crosses Candice's face as she gazes at me with her adorable eyes. The tiny tears gathering in the corners make me want to gently caress and comfort her. "Yeah. He can use aura."

"That old fairy tale?"

"It sounds stupid, but it's real. Dawn and I have it too, and when I concentrate, I can see the connections he has with his pokemon. It's incredible, really."

"Seriously?" I nod. "Huh. That's... bizarre - strange, even."

"Life has gotten pretty strange lately."

Now an outright laugh. "You can say that again! End-of-the-world type of shit. I'm just glad Team Galactic is taking care of most of it."

"They are? Is that what the explosion at Lake Acuity was about?" I know the bits about it that Swole decided to share, but like Dawn said, he likes to keep secrets. Questioning a gym leader is bound to give more info.

Candice nods while relaxing back into her chair. "Yeah. It was the Galactic Bomb. Powerful stuff. Its purpose was to disrupt psychic powers on a large scale. I got their combat report into my hands, and they've successfully captured Uxie because of it and are currently transporting her to their building in Eterna City."

"Who?"

"A legendary pokemon. The Lake Guardian of Lake Acuity. My source said they need her to pacify Dialga and Palkia."

"Pacify? Are you sure? Swole said, they plan to control them."

"What? Are you serious? Where would he even get that info from?"

I take a look around, making sure all the windows are closed. "He was inside Team Galactic's building in Eterna City and found documents he definitely wasn't supposed to see. Cyrus and Giovanni are both planning to control Dialga and Palkia, probably to end up ruling the world."

"Giovanni? Former pokemon professor and now disgraced leader of Kanto's criminal syndicate?"

I nod.

"... Fucking shit."

"Yep."

"That... almost makes my problems seem like playground troubles."

"Glad I could help."

"Hahaha!" She bounces across the table and traps me in a headlock. "You little twerp. I'm so glad you're here." Then Candice slips back into her seat. "Still, I'm in trouble. My first official gym battle's coming up, and I can't afford to lose! What do I do?!"

"Seriously? Your first battle? Nobody came to Snowpoint City yet?"

"Nilch. And I'm reading the junk-- no, the bullshit they write online! These asshole trainers want to go to Veilstone and Snowpoint City last because they think we're the easiest to defeat in a 6 v 6. It's bullshit!"

That's awfully similar to our issues. Everyone has low expectations for Swole, Dawn, and me. They all think we're too young to get very far; except a few actual children who look up to Swole. Everyone thinks Cynthia was a once-in-a-lifetime fluke - proof of the rule, not the exception.

"So... you have to win for your reputation, Swole has to win for his, and no matter who wins, it will suck for the other... Can't you, like, give him the badge without a battle?"

Candice shakes her head. "They want blood. The higher-ups say the whole online garbage discourse is exactly what they needed... I guess it's great for the ratings."

"What if you forget to let the Rotom drones film the match?"

"That just shows me as incompetent... There is one way I thought of earlier." Candice's expression tells me Swole won't like the option. "I would play him up for the cameras. And then I defeat him."

"But what if he still wins?"

"I planned to fight with three pokemon of my main team. If he still wins, then the pokeweb is right about me, and I might as well give the gym to someone else."

Oh. Yeah, he doesn't stand a chance.

"And I would give him the badge. Something like, you've already proven you earned it, but I want to give you the real match you kept asking for... I just need you to convince him to play along."

Candice puts her hand in a pocket of her beige-brown skirt, pulling out her gym's badge. The Icicle Badge, designed after an ice-covered mountain range.

He's not going to like the idea - he'll miss out on the rewards too. But this could be great for Snowpoint City. The school's missing tables and stained floors say it all.

Still... "Fuck."

"Sorry..."

"I will try to convince him."

"You will!? Oh, Zo-zo! You're the best! Thank you so very, very, very, very..."

---

Swole-POV:

"Check it out, Swole. That cloud looks like a poffin covered in sprinkles."

Leaning back, holding myself upright with the chains of an ice-cold swing set, I take a gander at what she pointed at... "Are you hungry, Dawn? I can whip up a quick snack for you."

"I'm fine." She rolls her eyes. "I need to look out for my figure."

"No, you don't. You have a perfect body."

"And I want to keep it that way. Oh, there is Zoey."

She approaches from the back entrance of the school, marching across the playground, stalking over the pressed snow where hundreds of other feet have already walked. She waves to us happily, but our bond feels off.

She doesn't seem to feel all that happy right now.

"Heeey! Swole! How did the fight go?" The closer she gets, the quieter her voice becomes. "Sorry I missed it. I bet you wrecked Marilyn, haha... uhhh, I kinda need you to do a favor for me."

"Of course. I will happily do any favor for you. Shoot."

And she shoots. At the end of it all, she hands me the badge, waiting for a reply.

"... Of. Course." Fuuuck. "I will happily do any favor for you." Shit.

The school bell rings as if Arceus timed it for this moment. Recess is over; the next class begins... But I'm not really a student. "You girls can go ahead. I think I will play on the swings some more. And you can tell Candice that I will fight against her three mains."

"I knew you wouldn't like it." Zoey's mouth twists and cringes as if she's not buying it.

"It's alright." I say, raising a hand and kicking out my legs. The swing seat moves with me. "In the end, Candice sets the rules. There's not much I can do about it."

"If that's what you say..." Zoey mutters.

Meanwhile, Dawn looks at me from the other swing. "I can stay out here with you... if you don't want to be alone."

"I won't be alone." I say while brushing through the fur on Riolu's back - my lap warmer.

"Alright. If you say so." Dawn gets up to-- "See you later, Feraligatr." --to walk back inside with the rest of the students.

I shout back. "In a while, Krookodile!"

"Sorry about that bad piece of news, Swole."

"It's alright. Now, shu, go with Dawn and make sure she doesn't cause any trouble."

Before leaving, she gives me a quick kiss on the lips, but she leaves nonetheless. I'm left alone on the silent playground. Not a single sign of the earlier battle remains. Every scratch in the ground left behind by Sewaddle's mighty attacks has been stomped flat by playing children and teens.

~"What's the matter, master?" Lopunny didn't bother to listen to our conversation.

"We're going to lose our next battle." The statement comes with a finality that offers no room for questions - I don't like it. We will lose. We barely squeezed out a win against one of Gardenia's mains, and Candice plans to send out three.

Lopunny wraps her arms around my neck from behind. ~"No, we won't." Her finality clashes with mine. But there's no way around it - we can't plan ahead, we don't stand a chance, and worst of all, it's what Zoey wants. What a mess.

Could I sue the league commission to force them to give me normal matches? ... Nope. Reputation gone. Also, there's really no fun in battling weak opponents. I'm proud of Sewaddle's progress, but earlier's beatdown was just sad. Cherubi never stood a chance.

Could I win? ... Nope. No chance.

Could I... I don't even know. "Any ideas, Lopunny? What do you think I should do?"

~"I dunno. Fight, I guess? I'd just do what you tell me to do."

That's pretty much what I expected her to say. I could fight Candice, accept the loss, and keep the badge... The blue, spiky thing - it weighs surprisingly heavy in my palm.

~"Couldn't we try it multiple times?" Lopunny suggests. ~"Wasn't there a rule about it? That lame human from the boring building in that one city said so, I think."

What is she talking about? Wait... lame human... boring building... one city... Did she mean Jubilife City? The lame instructor-guy from pokemon school! I almost forgot about his forgettable face!

"How do you know what he talked about? You fell asleep immediately."

~"I don't know what he talked about."

Ah. I get it. She's just rambling random thoughts. I can't even remember what the guy said - probably something about gym battle rules. Did he mention how many retries I get? I can't remember, but luckily, we're not in the wilderness! We have access to the glorious invention that is the pokeweb!

Pokeweb: Retry rules for gym battles

...

Aha. I get infinite retries because there are only 8 active gyms per region; I can't fight anywhere else to avoid a region's gym, thus each gym is a checkpoint to ensure I meet the minimum standard to fight in the league.

I just need to wait at least a week between rematches, and the teams may not change... Not even the challenger's.

Which, apparently, is a contested rule. A bunch of noobs locked themselves out of their challenge by making idiotic choices. Well, they can swap their teams after getting one or two badges in other towns and increasing their team limit.

I could challenge Candice until I win. My reputation has already been tarnished; only 3rd place in the school tournament. The title 'undefeatable champion' will never belong to me, so it's not like I'll lose that much from losing.

And to beat Cynthia, I will need to surpass whatever Candice throws at me anyway. A four versus three, two swaps for me, one retry per week. "You're right, Lopunny. We will fight!"

With a flick of the thumb, I toss the badge in the air. It spins and begins its fall until Lopunny catches it in front of my face, pressing her chest against the back of my head to reach it.

"Be prepared for a whole lot of training and a whole lot of setbacks, but we're going to win in the end."

~"I know." She releases the gym badge, allowing it to drop down to my open palm.

Candice will get her win, I will get mine, and this useless piece of metal will then truly belong to me. But first, "Riolu? How threatening can you be?"

She growls at me while sitting in my lap. It looks rather cute, the way her eyes sharpen and her ears lie flat against her head while her tail wags full of excitement.

"Not very threatening. Sorry, but you're simply too cute. You need to return to your ball. Lopunny? We have a class to disrupt and a gym leader to challenge."

---

Narrator-POV:

Silent halls watch an ancient evil passing by. He spells doom with every step he takes, and our hero's trusty Lopunny walks beside him with a menacing grin on her face as she imagines the carnage that is about to take place.

Ripping off his soft scarf and storing it away, the man's firm, purposeful steps echo against the quiet mutters audible through the classroom door.

Swole thinks he looks very cool right now, even though he is being cringe.

He closes his eyes, activating his powers. Through his third eye, he sees the faint outlines of twelve strangers, Dawn and Zoey, a handful of pokemon - and the subtly different shapes of Marilyn, slouched in the back, and Candice, standing tall at the front. No one blocks the doorway.

Swole twists the door handle before kicking it open. Girls yelp in surprise as he marches in, taking note of the blue shimmer that kept the door from slamming into the wall.

"Swole Solo--"

"Gym leader Candice Kiai!" His voice cuts through hers like a sword. "I challenge you! Name the time, place, and state the rules of our battle!"

Student heads switch back and forth between Swole and Candice. Tension fills the space between them, almost shaking the ground on which they stand.

Candice's smirk spreads slowly, dangerously, her body trembling with growing excitement. "I hear your spirit, loud and clear. Tell her to send out as many of her personal pokemon as she thinks she needs. I will beat her too. - that's what you want, and that's what you'll get. Meet me at the gym. I'll deliver you the challenge you so desire!"

The classroom erupts in chatter. Their teacher will battle the arrogant nerd who had muttered under his breath about how dumb they all are. No one cheers louder for his doom than Marilyn, cradling her fainted Cherubi like a martyr. She had to apologize to Sewaddle - and there's nothing worse than having to apologize.

"Quiet down, everyone! We will end class early today, but tomorrow I will quiz you on the mitochondria. Come, Jynx, let's go and get ready."

Swole's eyes widen when one of the blonde girls straightens from her desk, shedding the pretense of her sleep. Purple-skinned, thick-lipped, and with strange, gnarly arms hidden beneath her hair - Jynx, the human shape pokemon. A psychic and ice type whose voice mimics a human's when she speaks.

She glides between tables with rhythmic steps, clearing the way for Candice. Neither Swole nor Lopunny even notice when her psychic touch gently pushes them aside.

As Candice passes by Swole, shoulder to shoulder, she stops and faces ahead, not even granting him a glance. "The fight begins in an hour. Don't be late."

"Wouldn't think of missing it for anything in the world." He says with hyperbole.

Of course, his pokemon and his friends' and loved ones' health would come first, but beyond that, he wouldn't skip a battle for anything. He's hyped, he wants to battle, and most importantly, battle experience is too precious to waste. At this point, Swole figures it'd take some real cosmic garbage to stop this fight.

... Deep underground, deep within a mountain, the ground rumbles - just a little, as if answering his call... But the two fighters, overflowing with adrenaline, don't notice anything beyond the trembling in their own bodies.

"I will see you on the battlefield." Candice keeps moving, trailing after Jynx on the way out of the school.

Once she's out of sight, Swole turns as well, leaving the classroom behind while giving Dawn and Zoey a quick aura message to tell them he will see them later. It is always a gamble when he uses his powers. Did he really deliver a message, or was he simply thinking very hard? He will only know for sure when they show up for his fight.

Within a blink, Swole already stands outside the school, looking at a pair of footprints trailing across the freshly fallen snow. His eyes follow her tracks, scanning the empty streets for a glimpse of Candice. A snowflake melts on the tip of his nose. He exhales, watching his breath vanish into the cold. One step after another, crunching deep footprints into the snow, he follows her fading trail - toward the gym, toward the fight.

His pokemon partner grabs his hand, holding it tightly. Swole opens his mouth to protest but comes up short. Lopunny faces away, pretending to guard him from threats, avoiding his rolling eyes. "Let's just hope no one's watching from afar."

The town-sized city seems clear enough: silent, still, with the sun struggling to pierce the ever-overcast sky. Its citizens prefer to stay indoors, only emerging for work or groceries or to avoid their work.

He sees more pokemon on the streets than people: a horde of Snover stretching their limbs to soak up daylight, a clowder of Sneasel huddling together for warmth, and a single Delibird climbing out of a nearby chimney. Swole is not surprised when the chimney explodes with a plume of smoke, followed by a scream of frustration from inside. "Dammit! Not again!"

The fool. He should have chosen Pelipper mail.

Swole chuckles as the snow picks up in intensity. The ever-present light snowfall grows harsher by the second. A dim shimmer glitters through the air, a wild pokemon's cry pierces the sky as a large shape drifts over the clouds.

Its shadow is far too large to be any bird pokemon Swole's seen before. Could it have been the legendary Articuno, flying so close to civilization? "No way." He shakes his head and steps into the pokemon gym, wiping his shoes on the 'Welcome <3' mat at the door.

There's no secretary on duty, and the gym has no assistants. He follows the colorful crayon signs pointing the way to the changing rooms.