Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Kept12345]

Thanks for the chapter!

Honestly while I was reading the elite four and the champio part, I thought how it will look like a battle Nemona Vs trainer red, like in an omake or something.

 

[Miinanothere0307]

Excellent story! Been reading this over the last three days. Time very well spent!

 

[Skyfyre]

Thanks for the chapter!

Honestly while I was reading the elite four and the champio part, I thought how it will look like a battle Nemona Vs trainer red, like in an omake or something.

Click to shrink...

Ooh, that sounds very fun, would definitely be a cool omake.

Excellent story! Been reading this over the last three days. Time very well spent!

Click to shrink...

Thank you! Glad to hear you've been liking it.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 59 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

Amethio POV

Panting heavily, I stopped, catching my breath. Dammit, how did this all go wrong? I knew, logically, the process of my mistakes, but critically, not why. Glancing back at the dusty bowl of earth I had scrambled out of, I could see that pink mist still billowing around, probably spreading further.

Enough panic. Grandfather wouldn't panic; he's an Explorer. And I am too. I just need to calmly evaluate the situation. Drakloak drifted over from where he'd been hovering, giving me a pitiful sound, half between a hiss and a croak. The worry he had wasn't due to his injuries but for the fate of his friend, his eyes glancing down at the Pokeball gripped tightly in my hand.

Leaning against a tree stump near the cliff edge, I tried to rest up a moment more, only to stumble and fall as the rotted wood gave way. Hitting my chin on the way down, I tumbled, landing near the edge. Panic seized me for a moment before I realized I wasn't at risk of falling off here. Still, I'd rather not find out what that mist does to humans.

I must really be out of it; I haven't failed to notice something that obvious in the wilderness since my survival training… with Nemona… As I slowly got up, my thoughts drifted towards my young rival. She was a Champion-ranked Trainer now, argued to be the best in Paldea.

It felt hard to consider her a 'rival' at this point (is that a feeling normal people get? I see it mentioned in media, but how do you know? There's so much of everyday communication I don't seem to understand as an Explorer). Nemona had rocketed past me, with Gym Badges and Legendary Pokemon to her name and skill in battle that had far outpaced my own. Seeing how much she'd grown had inspired me to take this mission, something I was now regretting.

Those doubts were also what held my hand from calling her for a minute before I caved and pressed the button on my Rotom Phone. Giving up and walking empty-handed to the base and having caused a potential natural disaster feels worse than calling her, so I'll see if she can help. Grandfather had been clear that this (much like the rest of our operations) wasn't to be publicized to the outside world, but Nemona was an Explorer. Sort of. Kind of.

It rang three times, longer than usual for Nemona to pick up (if only because Miles recognized my number and would answer it nearly immediately). When it did, I saw her on the other end of the screen, a light sheen of sweat on her skin and a few flecks of sand in her hair. There was a grassy field in the background, so she was likely training near her house. "Hey Amethio, what's u-"

"I need your help." My clipped words had her snap into focus.

"What can I do?" I breathed a sigh of relief at her quick acceptance. Not that I expected less from her, but still. Helps make this feel like everything isn't ruined forever.

"I need you to come here and help me deal with this… anomaly." I told her, sending her the coordinates.

"Mind clarifying what the anomaly is? Like, are we looking at a rip in the time-space continuum, a bunch of Pokemon spontaneously Terastalizing, or everyone doing the chicken dance?"

"What?" I couldn't help the baffled words slipping out of my mouth. Note to self—research this 'chicken dance' to see if it's popular/a thing kids my age should know about.

It was hard to tell with some of those offhand comments Nemona could make. Sometimes (as confirmed by the rest of her friends on the group chat), they were elements of 'everyday' child life that they all knew of. Sometimes, it was just Nemona being weird.

"Just a heads up on what I'm getting into," she said, quickly moving about and gathering her team into their Pokeballs. And why aren't you coming to pick me up?" She inquired. "Armarouge teleporting us there would be a lot faster."

"He's been driven into a rage. I-" my breath hitched for a second before I regained my composure. "I had to knock him out. He's in his Pokeball now."

Nemona's eyes sharpened. "Drakloak?"

"He's fine; he didn't breathe in any of the mist. The anomaly is a pick crystalline structure, but when I attempted to move it from where it was lodged in place, it began spreading a pink mist. Upon breathing them in, Armarouge became stronger but refused to heed my commands."

"Sounds like Beserk Gene, but I've never heard of it crystallized," Nemona muttered. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. I'll have to get the harness, but I should be there in a few minutes." It was impressive and faster than I thought she'd be capable of riding her Gliscor, but I wasn't about to turn away good news.

Ending the call, I turned to look at the mist below, waiting. I don't think it's growing, or at least not much. Despite that, there was still some danger, as I spied a pair of Rockruff down below looking to investigate closer.

"Drakloak, go scare them off. Carefully," I added as I saw the Dragon warily eye the mist below. With a slightly disgruntled sound, my Pokemon flew quickly around the mist and took aim, firing the Rotom atop his head at the ground right in front of the wandering canine Pokemon.

The impact the ghostly missile made in the ground as well as their ferocious battle wail (or as I knew better: a cry of joy and delight), and the Rockruff nearly jumped out of their skin before they scampered away. The Rotom shook themself off and floated back happily to roost atop Drakloak's head. It's been nice having them work together like this. Drakloaks get very upset without a Pokemon to look after, and this gives Rotom a taste of what battling is like while they're still deciding if they want to join my team permanently.

With the other wild Pokemon following the Rockruffs' lead, we didn't have to worry about anyone else getting too curious. At least not before I saw someone approaching from beyond the horizon.

The red-hot object burned through the sky, like a comet travelling parallel to the earth. I had to squint to get a closer look, but there I saw it. Nemona, she's being carried by- ah, right. Radiance. A Legendary Pokemon from the depths of history and Area Zero that she had somehow found. It was a discovery that earned a note of approval from Grandfather and had Spinel grinding his teeth in envy.

With the incredible speed they were moving at, I didn't have to wait long upon seeing them streaking across the horizon for the pair to come to a stop in front of me. All six of Radiance's wings were shooting fire out of them to propel the Legendary Pokemon (and their rider) forward, coming to a harsh stop in front of me. The wave of heat that came with them had me blinking my eyes, and I heard Nemona yelp, "Hot hot hot!" As she dismounted.

"Okay, the harness still needs some work," the girl muttered before peering down the cliff. "That's it?" She asked, pointing down at the mist. I nodded.

"Yes. I don't know how to remove—" I began as she started releasing Pokemon until she had six of her team out.

"Anya, will my plan work?" What plan?! You haven't said anything yet! That was hardly an obstacle for the Psychic type Gothorita, however, the Pokemon pausing for a moment before bobbing her oversized head up and down.

"Can she really see the future?" I asked. You hear stories, but I've never seen it myself. Then again, Spinel's, Agate's, and my Psychic Type all focus on different aspects of that power. Beheeyem was an expert at hypnotism, Agate's Medicham used psychometabolism to power herself up physically, and Armarouge mastered psychokinesis.

"Close enough - it's a good predictor that this won't blow up in our faces at least." With that reassuring comment, Nemona turned back to her team. "Miles, Radiance, take point around the mist, but don't let it touch you. With Dun, we're going to do that thing we practiced."

"I'm not sure we have the strength necessary to send it all the way into orbit, bzzt," Miles interjected, some sort of speech box obviously integrated into their fan body. "If it's carried up and disperses in the atmosphere…" They trailed off ominously. My eyes widened as I heard the scope of her plan.

"We don't need to make it that far - I can see tiny particles reaching us here. It looks like mist doesn't have an effect when only in microscopic quantities. Once we've got the mist out of the way, Notch can deal with the crystal." Nemona declared in rapid fire.

"Wait!" I shouted out, and everyone stopped, the girl and her Pokemon turning to stare at me.

"What's the issue?" Her question was fast, feeling more like a demand, and I froze. What really is the problem? Is it just moving too fast? I shook my head.

"Will the crystal be destroyed? I'm supposed to retrieve it." I could make an argument it was going out of control and had to be destroyed, but that feels as bad or worse than returning to the Explorers and leaving it active.

"No, I don't know what destroying it might do. Don't know how it's doing any of this in the first place—how does it produce mist without losing any mass? Is it a Psychic based effect, and if so, would dark types be immune? Eh, questions for later. It's showtime."

Nemona's mechanical Pokemon flew out over and around the mist, waiting for their trainer's signal. When she gave it, they and Dun flapped their wings (or, in Miles' case, spun their fan blade) and began whipping up the wind around them. A storm gathered over a hundred meters in diameter, covering the entire field of mist and carrying it up.

The funnel of wind rose up high, the three Champion-tier Pokemon beating the wind hard and not letting any of the mist they were sucking out of the area escape to the sides. I had to crane my neck, staring high into the sky and not able to pinpoint the exact spot where it broke. It looks like it just goes on forever and ever.

I couldn't figure out the exact mechanics, but I felt like each of the three Pokemon was focused on different parts in making the storm. One of them likely focused on containment, another on power, and maybe a third for the sheer length? That's how I might divide it up. If I had that many Pokemon that were that powerful. Beside me, Drakloak cowered slightly, shocked by the power they displayed.

It was hard to keep my eyes open even nearby the storm, the wind around us being torn ferociously, even if it wasn't directly part of a storm so strong it would rip someone apart. Still, I focused my vision around to see the crystal, unobscured, glowing pink, sitting as innocuous as it had been when I'd found it and tried to pry it from the ground. Or almost as much; I think it's still trying to make mist, it's just that the mist is getting drawn up instantly.

"Notch, now!" Nemona cried over the wind, and her Diancie grinned.

['Got it!'] The telepathic cry was easy to hear, even despite the rest of the noise, as the Legendary shoved their hands out as if they were holding the gem physically. As the rest of the Pokemon let go of the hurricane, Notch pulled the crystal from the ground telekinetically. It was an angular prism; the previously buried underside was much the same as the part that had protruded from the ground.

It also proved to be angry at the attempt to stop it, pulsing and causing mist to slowly seep out again despite the grip. At least it feels angry. How is it doing this? What can we—?

['Oh no you don't!] Notch redoubled their efforts even as I saw Nemona raising the ring at their side. ['It's fine, we don't need that.'] They said, their gems lighting up slightly as they concentrated and somehow pushed the mist back into the crystal. The crystal pulsed harder, but Notch drew their hands out wide before slamming them together. With that, a sphere of solid diamond blinked into existence around the pink stone.

It pulsed once more within the glittery prison before apparently falling inert, unable to best the Legendary Jewel Pokemon's prison.

We stood there in silence for a minute, staring, waiting for the other shoe to drop, until eventually Nemona relaxed, lowering her hand with the keystone on it. "Amethio?"

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck was that?" I winced at her words. I find it hard to deny them, though. What was that? I know I talked myself up and said I could handle it despite Hamber's concerns, but still! It's supposed to be the key to helping people.

"I—that's classified," I began before Nemona put her hands on her hips.

"Nuh-uh," she said with the grand maturity of a ten-year-old. "I'm a Champion-ranked Trainer; nothing is classified to me anymore." I felt that wasn't entirely true, but that the difference was also academic. So instead, I struck from the emotional angle.

"I didn't demand any answers from you when I took you to the forest and you came out with a 'Hisuian' Zorua." She frowned, her lip twitching, unable to deny my words fully. She still placed a hand on my shoulder to hold me back as I peered over the edge, looking for a safe way down (and wondering how I was going to carry that lump away).

"You didn't, but I also only called you for a ride there. And say this was a fair bit more involved than that." I paused, glaring down at her. She doesn't get the kind of pressure I'm under! My family has a mission grander than anything ever undertaken in human history. Even if I don't know all the details, I have to fulfill my duty. So why am I wavering?

"C'mon, that kind of crystal looks almost identical to any of the other Tera gems that litter Paldea! I need to know if they're a danger to the land."

"...Raquirium. They're called Raquirium, and they're very rare," I admitted. "The goal of the Explorers is to seek them out." It's not the only goal we have, and from the look on her face, I think she understands that too. Luckily, she chose not to press me on that, Hone Clawing in on the pink crystal.

"And what are you going to do with this Raquirium? That stuff seems pretty dangerous," she commented, gesturing at the scorched stone and rock shards that were all around the bottom of the canyon, where I'd fought my Armarouge.

"We want to study it. I was supposed to take it to Exceed, but when I tried to move it, the mist started rising up. I backed away before it could reach me, but Arma…"

"Got caught up in it. And given how bad Drakloak's looking there, I'm guessing he got a power boost from the mist too, to do so much damage despite the type advantage and having you on Drakloak's side."

I'm reminded why Spinel is so scared of her. Nemona has more than just a strong team; she's incredibly sharp too, putting it all together that fast. Hamber had praised my intelligence; Grandfather had even said I was a credit to our lineage in how quickly I learned, but next to a girl three years younger than me, I felt like a dullard.

"He didn't flinch when hit hard or anything either. Armarouge attacked randomly, making careless mistakes, and we still nearly lost." Drakloak whined, and I scratched the top of his head. Not your fault here; this is on me. I'm the Trainer and I haven't managed to get you to your final evolution yet.

"Stuff like that usually dulls the pain receptors, not makes you outright tougher. Means more chance of permanent injury." Her clinical words caused me to sharply take in a breath, and she flashed me a sympathetic smile. "We'll get Armarouge checked out. If you didn't notice anything in his battle, he's probably fine. Still, I get that it's worrisome. Almost as much as you wanting to take the Raquirium to Exceed."

"What did you say?"

"That I don't trust Exceed, not fully at least." Nemona let out a long sigh. "I take it you've got some personal reason to take offense at that?" She said, jerking her head at my clenched fists.

"... The president of Exceed is my father," I admitted. Grandfather feels he's 'abandoned our cause,' but my father is still willing to help, and having a huge company to research this can only be a boon. Staring defiantly at her, I added, "He'll help us get to the bottom of the phenomenon surrounding Raquariam and help keep people safe from its effects. I'm sure of it."

Surprisingly, considering how stubborn she could be, Nemona raised her hands up in surrender. "If that's so, it's a good thing, and I'll trust that you know your father better than I do. It's just…" She hesitated, likely debating with herself on what to say before continuing. "You remember that time you teleported me near Zapapico, and I came out of the forest with Phantasm?"

Right after you had a big fight with Arven, then a mysterious phone call, you swore loudly, the first time I'd ever heard you do that. "Yes. It left an impression," I snarked, and her cheeks became dusted with red.

"Right. Well, there was a project run by Exceed there. A friend of mine had been looking into it, but the day-to-day was run by some Exceed researchers that were negligent, and well, it nearly killed Phantasm. Should have, honestly." Is that how-? Pieces clicked into place about why Nemona had always been so evasive in answering questions about that member of her team.

As my mind was whirling, she continued. "I don't think Exceed is some big evil corporation hel- Distortion bent on destroying the world or whatever. If it was, I'd have done something about it," she said as almost an aside. It seemed laughable, a ten-year-old girl able to take down a large business, until I remembered who her parents were and the power she had just demonstrated. "Just be careful about who you trust to research this."

With the permission given, I sighed in relief. What she says about Father's company is worrying, though. I'll be sure to warn him about this. He can make sure that only us Explorers study the stone in the labs. That thought quickly soured in my head as I realized that Spinel was the only scientist familiar with Exceed within our organization. Problems for the future.

Hefting the diamond-encased Raquirium was a bit of a challenge, but with Nemona's help I was able to carry it out. With the help of her Pokemon, we carried it out of the canyon and to Exceed's main headquarters in Mesagoza.

"Alright, I hope you'll keep me updated if anything goes wrong, but it looks like that is settled for now. Do you want a hand in checking on Armarouge?" Nemona offered, and shamefully, I nodded my head. Feels like I've relied on her far too much, but I can't deny that I still could use her help. Looking after Armarouge comes before my pride.

"Thank you. Do you know how to undo this effect?" She shook her head.

"No, it's pretty new to me. It might have worn off with time too. Let's go near a Pokemon Center to check on him." We did so, going to the Pokemon Center stationed just past Mesagoza limits. Before I released my starter, she had Notch and Miles released in front of us, with Athena out ahead.

The first two covered us in psychic barriers to shield us, and I knew they could raise more potent defenses should the need arise. "Athena says she can't sense any rage off of him, so let him out, and we'll see if it's the same outside of a Pokeball." Pokeballs contained the Pokemon in a state of semi-stasis, so the reading Nemona's Lucario got off him likely wasn't perfect. I was still hopeful as I pressed the button and released him, however.

He flashed into existence a few meters ahead of us, looking around confused, then angry, his eyes bugging out under his helm. Before Athena could do anything, however, he went back to being confused, looking around and wondering where he was.

"It's alright, we're safe now. The Raquirium affected your mind, and- well, you're fine now." I caught the flash of distress that crossed his face as he picked up my meaning, though I wasn't sure if he remembered the incident or simply picked up the clues from Drakloak, still slightly singed, floating beside me.

Athena gave a bark of approval, and Nemona nodded. "Looks like it doesn't last that long. Though I wonder if the Auric reset of a Pokeball sped things along or even delayed how quickly it would have faded?" She mumbled to herself for a few seconds, the scientific parts of her brain clearly going at full speed, before shaking it off. "We should get you checked out at the Pokemon Center just in case."

The nurse took them in, clearly having her fair share of questions at our request for a deep scan and blood analysis, but was slightly cowed by the presence of Paldea's newest Champion-rank Trainer and withheld from asking them. It took a few hours, and Nemona and I passed the time catching up. We talk often; it feels like the message group is constantly 'spamming' me with new alerts, and I've gotten a few glances and comments of disdain, and Explorers like Spinel mention 'distractions.' And yet I feel like there's still so much missing from my friend's life that I can't see from those chats.

After I got the blood test back, which only showed the barest traces of Raquirium in Armarouge's system (and had entirely faded after he had been healed), I said farewell to her. "Thank you again for all your help today. Without it… I don't know what I could have done."

"It's fine, I'm glad to help. Glad you trusted me enough to call me in on this."

"You're still an Explorer, even if you don't come around often." Even if we have secrets we keep from you… And you have your own mysteries surrounding you, Nemona.

"Well, I'd be a bit busy for anything like this in the near future anyways, going to Blueberry and all. I know you have your issues with some of the others—and I don't blame you; guys like Spinel are jerks—but I hope you have some help if you're going to go out on missions like this in the future."

Frowning slightly, I replied, "I don't think I'll be going after Raquirium any time soon. That small piece was all we could find in Paldea after years of searching. You're right about backup, though. There are a couple of new recruits who look promising." I think I'll take a long break from fieldworkin any case and focus on powering up my team first. It's clear that I'm a long way from where I need to be.

She grinned broadly. "Sounds good; you could use a few more friends." Then she had the audacity to reach up and ruffle my hair before jumping back as I swatted her hand away, the girl laughing all the while. "Alright, see you around!" She exclaimed, hopping atop Radiance and flying away.

Gah! That girl… she can be so serious one moment and so carefree the next. Shaking my head, I called upon my healed Starter and said, "Take us home." With a flash, he teleported us back into the base. The dim atmosphere was definitely a jarring shift from how bright and sunny it had been outside, but it was one I was used to.

Hamber was waiting for me already, and he motioned for me to follow him down to Grandfather's chambers. "It appears you ran into quite the excitement on your mission."

Stifling a grimace, I nodded curtly, not offering any explanations. There's no point here when Grandfather will want a full recounting as well. After leaving the elevator down to the secret sublayer (where even teleportation couldn't work), we walked down the long hallway before stopping in front of the glass that revealed the pink shrouded room my Grandfather resided in.

"Explain," he demanded as he got up from his chair and walked to his side of the glass, towering over me.

"I located the Raquirium with ease based on the information I was given. When I attempted to pull it out from the ground, however, a complication arose. It began releasing a pink mist," I faltered for a moment, my eyes flickering to the room the leader of the Explorers was in. Is that the same mist? Is it what's given Grandfather his longevity, or does it serve some other purpose? If it is, why does it have such a different effect on him and not drive Zygarde mad?

Gibeon snapped me out of my thoughts with a, "Continue."

"Apologies. The mist drove Armarouge mad when it touched him, and he lashed out. In that berserk state I was barely able to stop him with Drakloak. We retreated out of range of the mist, fearing what it might do to him. Then, I called my fellow Explorer, Nemona, in to help." Gibeon snorted at the framing I used but motioned for me to continue.

"She responded quickly, flying over with her Iron Moth."

"Iron Moth?" Hamber inquired.

"Ah, that's the species name for Radiance. It was called 'Iron Moth' in Professor Heath's Violet book two hundred years ago."

"Right… That girl does have such a penchant for ancient history, doesn't she?" Gibeon mused before shaking his head. "That's irrelevant, however. We've received word that Exceed has indeed secured the sample you gathered, so how did she do it?"

"She had three of her Pokemon disperse the mist through a powerful combined Hurricane the-" likes of which I'd never seen before? True, but Grandfather doesn't want to hear that. "Then she had her Diancie secure the Raquirium."

"Really? Just like that?" Gibeon pressed.

"It looked like a bit of a struggle at first, the crystal trying to release more mist. Notch had to push hard to contain it within a cage made of solid diamond, but it worked. They didn't even need to use Mega Evolution."

"Impressive, I never would have thought such a Pokemon could do so. Even Zygarde struggled with…" Gibeon muttered to himself before snapping out of it and staring at me. "While you went against the spirit of the mission and failed -" I winced. "-you ended up achieving the end goal we desired and have revealed valuable information to us. You're dismissed."

It was hardly the praise I'd hoped for when I'd set out today, but not the disaster I had feared after failing. As I left, I caught a snippet of Hamber talking to Gibeon.

"What are the chances we could obtain that Diancie? The girl is too willful, but that Pokemon could be useful to us." Is Grandfather really thinking about poaching Nemona's Pokemon!?

"Negligible, sir. I fear she's progressed beyond our organization in power at this point. And even if we could remove her from the equation, her close bond with her Pokemon means they wouldn't listen to us." That's true; it looks like Hamber has been keeping up to date with Nemona and her recent achievements, at least.

"Still, there are other methods we could pursue to obtain a Diancie of our own, courtesy of Nemona's assistance…" Their voices trailed off as I entered the elevator, unwilling to risk staying any longer.

To consider taking Pokemon for their goal, it must be really important. That's the only reason why they would entertain such an idea. And they aren't even going through with it and are instead going to get a Diancie through regular means, so that's fine, right? I tried to push aside any niggling worries as I settled back into my home, crashing on my bed. Despite only being a few hours, it already felt like a long day.

Spoiler: A/N:

So hey, Explorers are still here. It'll be a while till we see them in action again, so I thought we'd have this little interlude to show off some of what they're doing before we jump into the Blueberry Arc. This event won't change everything instantly (Amethio is still pretty embedded in their group and they don't have the clues to lead them to the 'pendant' yet), but it, along with all of Nemona's influence, have set the stage for some pretty significant shifts in that story, for when we eventually get there.

If you liked it, please leave a comment down below, or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

 

[Iwannareadfanfics]

Amethio my beautiful baby boy you're in an evil team please realize it... like they are COMICALLY evil

 

[Lillie Jones]

Poor Amentito, which Amentto is most ignorant Team Rocket Explorers are comically evil he just doesn't realize it yet. At least when James and Mewoth ,Jesse joined Team Rocket organization they had no choice and exteme tragic circumstances led them to Team Rocket organization.
Trying to unsuccessfully take Nemona's Radiance Dancie or did I miss name her Pokémon again.
Amenities just want to succeed Nemona , but doesn't realize how tragic consequences can be to him and his family I think?
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my sixty Beginner Tier Patreons and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Oh, look at you two!" Mom wailed, while, incidentally, not actually looking at me or my sister. This was mostly because she had an arm wrapped around each of and was pulling us in for a tight hug. "My little girls, all grown up. Don't go yet!" She pleaded.

"Mooooom," Cyan whined. "I have to go or I'll be late. It's Nemona that can wait a few hours." My sister shamelessly tossed me under the bus. Rude! And yeah, I can, but we figured it would be fitting to have both of us leave at the same time to head out to school. Clearly it was a bit too much so, given how O'Nare was wailing, and Billy was sniffling behind her, having gotten over his initial outburst which had started this whole situation (Leah was standing off to the side, only the barest hints of exasperation and bemusement slipping past her professional demeanour).

"I planned that cushion time for my travel for a reason. If I miss my flight, I'll be late for everything else." My logic was not enough to weaken O'Nare's resolve, nor free me from her iron grip.

"What will we do with all our free time, with our children gone to foreign lands?" Billy wondered aloud. Deciding turnabout was fair play, I gave them a suggestion.

"Well, I'm sure that Cyan will be close enough to come visit you for dinner often if you have such free time to prepare for that." I don't truly believe they'll be all that relaxed; their jobs are still both quite demanding and busy. Unfortunately my cunning scheme backfired as it just meant that mom let go of my sister while clinging tighter to me.

"My baby girl, all ready to fly away and leave us with an empty nest. I can't blame that Glitterati passion, but I feel like life will be so dull here with you two gone!"

"Calm down mom, it'll be fine," I told her, patting her on the back. "Besides, you've got two new little ones to look after," I pointed down at her Pokemon as I talked. She turned and gasped, seeing not two, but four small mouse-like creatures at her side, all of them chittering happily.

She let go of me (finally!) and dropped down to scoop up the two newest, smallest of the Maushold. "I'm going to call you Nims, and you Cy," she told each of them and they nuzzled into her arms, apparently happy with the name choice. I shared an embarrassed look with my sister, but I could tell that like me, she felt incredibly flattered and loved by our mother's choice.

"I suppose I have to let you go; at least I've got a reminder that unexpected joy awaits around every corner."

"Such Glitterati wisdom!" Dad declared, before fixing us with a slightly harder stare. "You will of course, still keep in touch with us, correct?"

""Yes dad,"" we said in unison. "I've got a reminder set in my phone to send you messages or call at least once a day, and I'll contact you more if anything super exciting happens." That reminder is called Miles, and they're an excellent Personal Assistant.

My words were enough to convince my parents, but there was another teary-eyed individual waiting for me as we moved to the entranceway. "I-I-" Arven only got that far before bursting into tears and latching onto me.

"There there. I'll be back next summer, and I'm gonna call you every day." I patted him on the shoulder, and Miraidon popped out of their Pokeball to help as well. Of course their idea of 'help' involves ample amounts of saliva. I cringed slightly as Miraidon licked us both, catching Mabosstiff off to the side, snickering at my plight (while also looking somewhat sad I was leaving).

"You better," Arven said with a sniffle.

"I will, I promise. We'll keep in touch, and you can tell me about everything you're doing here." I hesitated a second before adding, "I've heard your dad is coming back home soon, so I'm sure you'll want to spend plenty of time with him, but if you ever want to, feel free to stay here as long as you want. I'm sure my parents would appreciate it." I always marvel at how open they can keep their hearts. It took no time at all for Arven to pretty much become family for them.

"Definitely, you guys have the best kitchen to make snacks in!" He said in that somewhat self-centered, but nonetheless honest and endearing manner in which only kids could. The chefs still don't like it if he tries to cook while they're using the place, but his culinary skills have improved quite a bit. He'll be a regular pro one day - if he decides to go down that path.

I vaguely remembered something about him deciding that in the post-game from my past life, but not clearly enough to make out any details. With everything I had changed, I couldn't be certain that would stay the same too, but I was glad to see what the future would bring.

Speaking of that, I think it's time to go. Saying one last farewell to Arven, we headed outside (and I gratefully took the handkerchief that Leah offered to wipe off some of the snot and tears left on my jacket from Arven's emotional goodbye). There were two cars waiting for us. One was the large moving truck with a couple of Hariyama's lifting an absolutely massive aquarium tank out, filled with white fishes. The other was a sleek limo.

"I still have no idea how you convinced the school to let you take in a couple hundred Wishiwashi with you," I told my sister, shaking my head. "How do they even fit in your dorm?"

"They don't," she admitted. "Since we just need them for when my buddy battles, they're going to stay in the hallway connecting the new library wing." Something that has been paid for by a generous donation from our family, okay, yeah, that would explain why they're so willing to accommodate Cyan. Still… "Let me know if any of the students act up there."

Cyan frowned, but I continued. "You dealt with most of the people picking on you for our parents or just because, but there will be people at Uva who will get mad at you just because of my new rank and the fact that you're my sister." The fact that complete strangers tried to accost me on my Journey proved that. Uva's bullying issues are getting out of hand.

My current plan was to wait until I finished at BB and started at Uva to work with Team Star and fully flush the problem out (as well as make sure they were okay), but if my sister was in trouble, I'd throw that out the window in a heartbeat.

She shook her snowy hair. "I'll be fine. I might not be a big, hotshot 'champion-ranked trainer' like you, but I earned eight Gym badges before you did, and that was without my two - or two hundred and two, depending on how you looks at it - newest team members." She frowned, looking uncharacteristically worried for me. "Let me know if you have any problems too. School is a big adjustment and some people… well if they feel like picking on you, they might not directly challenge you to a battle."

You mean they'll whisper behind my back, call me names, spread rumors. There was definitely potential for that, but I felt it minimized by Blueberry's battle focus. "I'll keep it in mind, but don't worry. I've got Lacey, Carmine, and Kieran over at Blueberry to back me up," I said, before giving my sister a hug and a farewell wave before walking over to the limo.

I settled into the car, remembering to strap on my seatbelt just before Leah turned the key and the engine turned on. Feels kinda weird to be in a car. Cars were decently common, and especially among the wealthy. But in the past few years, I hadn't needed to use one, either travelling on foot or by Flying Taxi/plane.

Gazing out the window, I saw the countryside pass by, the green foliage blurring slightly as we travelled down the narrow road. "Thank you, Leah."

"Hmm? It's no problem," she said, missing what I was getting at.

"No, I mean, thank you for everything. For helping look after the house, and mom and dad, and the Pokemon, and well, me." I might have needed to rely on her less recently, but even now her unfailing assistance has been great and early on… well, I don't want to think how bad it would have been without her.

"And before you say that you're just 'doing your job,' you've done far more than that and-"

"Thank you, young mis- Nemona. It's been wonderful watching you grow up," Leah said, and while I couldn't see her face, I heard the hitch in her voice. I mean a lot to her too. I did my best not to show it and make her or my parents feel worse, but even as I was excited for this, I'd miss them too.

By the time we got to the Mesagoza Airport, and Leah was handing me my bags, she had regained her composure. She still gave me a very tight (if brief) hug before sending me off. "I have no doubt that you'll show everyone at the Academy your spirit and genius, just as you have shown all of us."

"Th-thanks," I responded, ducking my head to not show my watery eyes before I waved her goodbye. Alright, that was good, but no need to dwell on the past. Time to head out to a brand new frontier. My school life starts now!

***

It didn't, actually, start then. There was a lot of waiting at the airport, then the flight itself (which was nice - it always felt great to be up in the air, even if part of me itched at being inside the cramped plane), and then a drive over from Nimbasa to Castelia city, where the docks were. If I had to place a time when it really began, it would be when I first ran into all the other students gathered there, including some familiar faces.

"Nemona! Over here!" Lacey waved eagerly at me, her outstretched hand barely going over the tops of most of the other students' heads. It was pretty easy to find her, Kieran, and Carmine, as even the red and black haired girl was shorter than most of the older students. Given how she's even taller than me, I think she'll likely eclipse all of them once she's older.

The fact was that we all stood out due to being so young, but it was hardly the stares I got for being a Champion back home… though that might just be because they didn't recognize me yet. "Wo-wozers, you're here too," Kieran said as I approached and I laughed.

"Of course she is Kiki!" Carmine screeched. "She told us she'd be here and she knew that I'd kick her butt if she didn't show up after all the hard work we put in to get in early!"

I chuckled at her antics. "Indeed, wouldn't want that. Had no choice but to come then," I snarked and she turned to me, flustered.

"What's that supposed to mean? Sinistcha and I could beat you no problem!"

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow challengingly at that, before I caught up with her words. "You evolved your starter?" The taller girl nodded and I congratulated her. "Awesome, you must have worked hard on that."

She puffed out her chest, beaming at that. "Of course I did! Couldn't let you and Kiki surpass me." At those words I cast a questioning gaze over at the boy who nodded meekly, but there was a determined fire in his eyes.

"Dipplin got really strong too, so uhm… don't be upset when we win!" He declared, his shyness clashing with a drive for battling. I bared my teeth in a grin.

"I've been looking forward to it. What do you say we put that to the test right now?" He gulped, and everyone nearby started paying a bit more attention to us. At least until Lacey stepped between us with her arms crossed in an 'X' in front of her.

"We can't have a battle in the middle of the waiting hall! It's just not right!" As much as I wanted to deny her words, I couldn't help but agree. Having a battle here might be a little dangerous. We can probably wait until we actually get to school.

The waiting hall itself was mostly just a repurposed warehouse where the hundreds of students had gathered. And it was only one of many, with several more warehouses holding the other returning students. Geez, really gives you an idea of just how massive this institution is. I can see why they call it a 'sister school' of Uva Academy - it's probably the only one that comes close to matching it in scope and number of students.

"You're looking good," Lacey commented to me. She's the 'fashion oriented' one of my little circle of friends, as much as we have anyone who fills that role. Mostly she just has an eye for what is 'cute.'

At first I thought she was referring to the fact that I was wearing the school uniform already (the Autumn version, not that there were any hard restrictions there, and the temperature being moderated meant you could basically wear whatever seasons uniform you wanted year round) until she clarified. "Those Pokeballs look new, when did you get them?"

I hooked my magnetized belt with my thumb to show them off a bit more. "Most of them I got from my parents for my birthday, good eye." The Masterball was a reward for achieving Champion rank, and I transferred Dun over to it. Mostly because I don't like the implications of a 'Pokeball that cannot fail' to be used on any Pokemon in the wild, but also as a sign that he'll stand at the top one day. Not just the greatest Dudunsparce in the world (which he probably already is) but the best Pokemon full stop.

The other one I got through finagling with the League which was a Beast Ball for Radiance. Still can't tell if it has to do with this world being different from their origin, but they like the Beast Ball better than the others. Well, 'hate it least' to use their words, but I'll take what I can get.

Carmine peered down. "Are they made of wood?" She questioned, looking at the other Pokeballs with their unique designs.

"Apricorn. They were handcrafted by someone in Johto and commissioned by my parents." Aside from Dun and Radiance, I had Miles in a Friend Ball, for being just that, my first friend. Phantasm had quickly picked out the Fast Ball for herself, while Anya had picked the Love Ball. Nightwing had ironically picked the Lure Ball, though I felt it was kinda fitting given her Tera Type. Not that I'd tell her that, or she'd probably choose another one just to be difficult/go against the grain.

Bahamut chose the Level Ball, recognizing that he had been the weakest when he'd joined us (something that Anya was much too proud to consider). I considered how far Bahamut had come and couldn't be prouder. Athena had picked the Moon Ball in the end simply because she liked it and hadn't had too much of an interest in what kind of Pokeball she was in (though she was still quite polite about accepting it). That would have left a Heavy Ball for Notch, but that didn't feel quite right. Luckily, my parents had somehow (read: through vast amounts of wealth and connections) obtained a Dream Ball. No clue how they got a Pokeball that supposedly only exists/can be made in the land of dreams, but I can't think of anything more fitting for Notch, having achieved their dream, to be in.

Kieran 'ooh'd' respectfully. "They looked nice."

"Yeah, they are. Hey, do you think you'll get permission to go home for the festival this year?"

"I sure hope so. I swear I caught a glimpse of Ogerpon in the crowd last year!"

"Shut up Kiki! You say that every year," his sister admonished. I could see her biting her lip though, more concerned about him getting his hopes up and having those dreams dashed than actually disbelieving him.

"But I thought I saw the mask we made! That proves it has to be her…"

We chatted together, catching each other up on things that we'd missed in the group chat and our thoughts about what the school would be like. Lacey knew the most out of all of us, having lived here. Carmine and occasionally Kieran chimed in with some anecdotes about what the school had been like from their parents' days, which was interesting, but very different from what Blueberry Academy was now. That had been back when the school was on the mainland rather than a massive underwater structure. Though it's interesting that they still focused on double battles back then.

Eventually one of the adults overseeing us, a dark skinned bald man with a pair of blocky glasses, raised a megaphone and got our attention. "Hello students! I am Mr. Tangleson, and I'll be one of your teachers at Blueberry Academy. We've just received word that our transport is arriving shortly. Please line up in an orderly fashion as we get ready."

He organized us into groups, and thankfully all of my friends and I were in the same group, though I wasn't sure if that was because of our early admission or just luck of the draw and being first years. When the vessel rose slightly out of the large pool of water, I heard numerous shocked gasps. I mean, it wasn't hidden that we take a submarine to get to the school, though I suppose it is more impressive to see in person.

Only the top part had crested the surface, and it was a sleek black thing. The hatch opened up to reveal one of the crew, working quickly to extend a ramp out across the water with practiced ease. Mr. Tangleson began checking our IDs and marking us off on his list before sending us aboard, only to stop part way through the list.

"Drayton? Is there a Drayton?" The teacher called out again before sighing. "We'll have to leave without him the-"

"I'm here," a boy I vaguely remembered in a white jacket said, idly strolling in through the door. He's that kid from the entrance exams. Doesn't look like he's in a rush, I thought to myself as the teacher frowned at the slothful boy.

"Try not to be so tardy next time; no matter who your grandfather is, Blueberry Academy does not wait on you." He chided Drayton, and while I couldn't see his eyes from my current angle, I was sure he was rolling them. My Aura sense has gotten better at reading emotions, so it could be that… or it could just be that it's an obvious response from a preteen boy being told off.

"...Nemona Glitterati?" I perked up as I heard my name, showing my ID to the teacher. "Very good. And I see you're in uniform already, that's good." I looked away, a little embarrassed at that - not many others, especially among the first years, were in the academy uniform yet.

At his direction, I stepped aboard, easily walking across the ramp and then up the ladder to go down the hatch. The submarine was quite large, with a few dozen students already sitting in the rows of seats, which were fairly unadorned (at least by my usual standards of Glitterati travel). Spotting Lacey staring out one of the windows, I went over and sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Excited! It was a lot of hard work, but we're going to Blueberry Academy now! Dad told me a bunch of how much mining was done to make it, all the materials used, it feels hard to believe, but we're going to see it all in person."

"I've heard the cafeteria is pretty good, at least," a new voice cut in, and we turned to see the white-haired boy, Drayton, sitting down on my other side.

"Ah, Nemona, this is Drayton. Drayton this is-" Lacey began to introduce us before he interrupted.

"We met once before, though I gotta say the entrance exam wasn't nearly as exciting as the video you showed me of her." I was confused for a second before the pieces lined up in my mind, and I realized this must have been the boy whose birthday party she had to attend during my Gauntlet challenge.

"Nice to meet you again, Drayton," I said diplomatically, offering a hand for him to shake. Carmine and Kieran will be annoyed he's taking the third and final seat in this window row, but there was only one spot anyways, so at least they won't fight over it and will probably just sit behind us.

"You too. How's it going, champ?" The boy asked, shaking my hand. For someone so lazy, he's got a strong grip.

"It's going fine. And it's true the entrance exam wasn't the most exciting thing, but it was still a decent challenge. Besides, you wouldn't want to start at the top, would you?"

"Ha, guess that's true," he admitted. "But climbing up is such a drag."

"I'll admit, I'm eager to test myself here; if the others are as good as you were in the exam then this should be quite interesting."

"Glad to see I left such an impression on Paldea's Top Champion. Had to wake up early for this, which is a bummer, but hey, what can you do?" Welp, there goes any potential of me slipping by unnoticed. To be fair, I had hardly planned to remain an unknown for my entire time at school, and once the gossip wheel got going, everyone would know. Still hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with this on the first day.

"It's noon," I pointed out, slightly delayed in my response to Drayton's words due to being distracted by all the students staring and pointing at me.

Lacey cut in. "Don't bother; this guy was late to his own birthday party; and it was at his own house!"

Carmine and Kieran soon entered, and predictably took their place behind us, though not before the former yelled at Drayton too, who just grumbled and waved her off. Once the last student from our trip boarded, the teacher joined us, making sure we were all seated and knew the proper safety procedures (like not opening Pokeballs inside the sub) before directing the captain to take us off.

The trip didn't take long, and given where the academy was situated, I felt that had to be a result of the submarine being quite quick. Even with my vision, I couldn't see much that lurked in the depths outside, though I thought I caught a glimpse of a pack of Remoraids swimming by. The ocean depths remained in part a mystery even in my old world. I wonder what secrets lurk in the depths here?

Such thoughts also helped distract me from how claustrophobic I had been feeling. I wasn't sure if it had to do with my Aura Type or something else, but despite being even more spacious than an airplane, I felt cramped and constrained from the moment I got in there, but I did my best not to let that discomfort show or distract my friends, who were all incredibly excited.

We were swiftly directed off of the submarine upon it docking. Once off, the pilot took it back to the shore, to pick up more students. The teacher hustled us along, out of the exit chamber to make room for the rest of the submarines coming in. The staff moved in a smooth, practiced fashion, as opposed to all of us students, as first years, still slightly disoriented/unused to all of this.

The teacher led up an elevator in small groups up to the open air. The smell of sea salt hit like the waves lapping up against the shore of the walkway. I was used to dealing with sensory overload, so I only fell a step behind my friends (and Drayton) as I began walking after them.

The walkway was fairly long, sticking a few meters above the water, with a solid blue railing tall enough that I could only just see over it. At the end was a large open space, the classmates who had already arrived were milling about in the open center, many more lounging in the stands. At the far end of the circle, a woman sat behind a desk with two gates on either side, likely leading down to the far larger school complex proper.

The only other adult was a man in a suit, but my attention was caught far more by the large battle arena in the center. "Kieran! Do you see that?" I pointed at the arena, an eager grin on my face.

He blinked and then his eyes widened as he caught my meaning (or perhaps at me running on ahead). "Hey, wait up!" he called out, jogging after me. The others quickly followed us, Lacey calling out.

"You can't battle there! There's people on the court!" Her arguments were true, but I had a clever counter:

"Hey, can you guys step to the side? We need to have a quick battle here." I asked some of the older kids in the center, and Lacey shook her head in disbelief. "What? They can stand anywhere. Besides, this school is built on battling, let's give em a show!"

My words (or perhaps my reputation) actually did seem to convince them, most of the teenagers clearing the way, eager to watch our battle. The man in the snazzy white suit stepped up with a grin. "What an excellent idea to kick off the introduction tour!" At my look, a confused, almost cross-eyed look appeared on his face before he brightened up. "Oh right, I'm Director Cyrano, and I'll referee your match, but it sounds like you young uns' already know what you want," he added with a chuckle.

Oh wow, hadn't expected to see him so soon. He also wasn't wearing a fedora in the one interview I'd looked up of him. Cyrano was by all accounts a very reclusive, if well-respected man. Fifty-fifty toss up on him being some evil conspiracy/Team leader or just a really nice all-around good guy then. Those seem to be the only way things fall in this world.

Kieran nodded, looking determined as he took his place on one end of the arena, while I stood opposite him. We each drew our Pokeballs and it felt like the rest of the world fell away, like we were back on that mountaintop. Nightwing, you've come a long way from the Gligar you were then.

Tossing his Dipplin out onto the field earned a bit more excitement than Nightwing's release, though I guessed that was because most of the audience had never seen the candy apple coated Pokemon before. In form, aside from the syrupy coating, Dipplin was pretty close to Applin in appearance, only a thin spike shooting out the top of his head as a change from before. But as he caught Nightwing's gaze and glared back, without a hint of fear, I knew that he and Kieran had improved a fair bit too. That Eviolite stuck to the front of his body means he'll be way tougher than most Pokemon we've faced.

"Students, are you ready?" Cyrano asked, and we nodded. "Then let the first battle of the school year… begin!" Ah, no countdown!

"Syrup Bomb!" Kieran shouted, and Dipplin reared back, launching a large glob of the sticky red liquid at my Pokemon.

"Dodge around it! In close and Ice Fang!" I shouted, and Nightwing dipped down, gliding in, but… "That's not far enough, hard left!" I added desperately, my words apparently enough to help her narrowly dive past the attack. Why was it so hard-? Right, his Ability. It lowers evasiveness.

Nightwing swooped quickly around from that to continue her attack run at Dipplin. Not needing a command, he shot his head out, wreathed in Dark Type energy to crack into Nightwing for a solid Sucker Punch. I just smirked as she tanked the blow and sunk her fangs into Dipplin, the icy attack causing him to writhe in discomfort.

Not that much pain though. Nightwing has incredible physical defenses, but Dipplin's are quite high too, and that's before the Eviolite. He can take even a double super-effective Move with that item… so let's get rid of it.

"Knock Off," I ordered, and Nightwing swung her tail around, smacking hard into the purple stone attached to Dipplin. Despite the Dark Type energy and nature of the Move, she failed to dislodge it, however. Sticky Hold… Kieran really trained Dipplin hard, I forgot how strong he was in the Teal Mask DLC by the end.

He wasn't waiting around either, saying, "You got this Dipplin! Get her all covered in syrup," as Nightwing literally turned tail. From that close, the strange, sickly sweet scent Dipplin gave off affecting her even more, she had no chance of dodging the Syrup Bomb.

"Scor!" She screeched as the syrup landed, immediately beginning to weigh her down. By then the Toxic Orb had kicked in, so I wasn't as worried about the damage she had taken, but the speed drop would be a problem. Especially since she was so quick I never focused on a way for her to increase her speed.

"Fling, then-"

"Protect!" Kieran interrupted, his dragon pulling his head and tail back inside the apple and projecting a barrier around himself, which the toxic orb shattered harmlessly on.

"-Swords Dance, will break through one way or another." I realized my mistake as soon as Nightwing began moving, the usual graceful dance impeded by the syrup, some of it further entangling her wings. I guess that's how the 'speed drops for the next three turns' works outside of the game.

My mind raced trying to figure out an alternative to deal with this problem, but Kieran wasn't slowing down for a minute. "How do you like that? We've been training hard - we aren't the same Applin and Kieran you fought last time!" He crowed before telling his Pokemon, "Dragon Pulse."

Sticking his head back out, Dipplin launched a great blast of draconic energy, which Nightwing had no choice but to take. "You've definitely improved, there's no doubting that… but we still have a few tricks up our sleeves. Earthquake, break the ground to dust."

It was an unusual combo, one we didn't use often nowadays, but Nightwing didn't question me or balk at my orders. Diving down quickly, she struck the ground hard with her tail, kicking up a powerful Earthquake, but that did little damage to Dipplin given his grass Type resistance.

"She's a sitting Ducklett on the ground, Energy Ball!" Dipplin hissed eagerly and launched a glowing green orb of energy almost as large as her whole body at Nightwing. She mirrored the vicious grin on my own face as I gave my next order.

"Quick Attack, to the side around it, then back in for a Sand Attack, right in front of him!" For anyone else, the syrup clinging to their body might have kept them stuck to the ground, but as a Ground Type, she practically swam through the sand covered floor (courtesy of the Earthquake she'd just used). Upon avoiding his attack, Nightwing knocked a bunch of sand - and a fair bit of the noxious liquid inside the Toxic Orb - into our foe's face.

The follow up Energy Ball hit Nightwing head on, even with the sand in Dipplin's overly large eyes, he couldn't miss a shot that easy. Part of me wanted to call Nightwing back to regroup and let her Poison Heal regeneration deal with the damage she took, but I knew I had to press the attack. "Ice Fang," I ordered. Acrobatics would be better for dancing around Dipplin's attacks, but Nightwing is too tangled up for such motions right now.

"Recover," Kieran called out with a small smirk on his face, watching as Dipplin began glowing with a bright white light, recovering the damage that was done to him even as Nightwing sunk her teeth into his shell.

"Keep at it," I called out, unconcerned. While it would usually be true that he could stalemate and potentially even run Nightwing out of energy, that was without considering the toxin coursing through both of them, and how it hurt Kieran's Pokemon and helped mine.

The young boy clearly recognized that, changing strategies. "Infestation, those creepy crawlies will take her down!" A swarm of tiny black insect-like blobs crawled out of the apple shell, something that made my skin crawl even just seeing it. The attacks had the insect aura constructs biting and attacking Nightwing, mostly ineffectual in their attempts, but they stuck around, targeting weakspots in her exoskeleton as they gradually wore down at her.

My Pokemon hadn't halted her onslaught however, and she used the offensive opportunity Dipplin gave her to viciously tear into him with her Ice Fangs, landing a devastating hit that left him mostly frozen over.

"Is there anything you can't do? It's like you're the hero of a story…" Kieran muttered in frustration before slapping his cheeks and shaking his head. "No! We can't give up this easily! Dipplin, Dragon Tail to make room."

His Pokemon should have been frozen far too solidly to move, but with a burst of strength, he broke free at his Trainer's command, swiveling around to smack Nightwing with his tail, the Dragon energy surrounding it sending her flying back. "Now, Draco Meteor!" Kieran called, pointing a finger dramatically up in the air.

I let out a low whistle as Dipplin stuck his head out fully from his freezer burnt shell and launched a powerful purple glowing meteor up into the sky. That attack earned many shouts of surprise and joy from our classmates in the stands, and I could see why. It was said there were two methods of training up Draco Meteor; one that focused on mitigating how much of a drain it put on the Pokemon afterwards to fire it off repeatedly, and one that enhanced the pure power of the Move, to make it a devastating finisher. I can tell which one Kieran focused on. It's far stronger than Bahamut's version of it, and with enough strength that it'll probably win if it connects. If.

"Protect." I ordered and saw the dawning moment of horror on Kieran's face as Nightwing stuck her tongue out and made a shield around herself. The meteor broke into several shards that rained down, most of them honing in to impact where my Gliscor was or around there, proving that trying to evade the attacks by backing up or charging in would have been folly.

"Aww shucks," was all Kieran had time to say as the devastating attack finished. Before the dust had even cleared, I was giving my order.

"Gunk Shot, you've got this!" My hearing caught the slight 'tink' sound as she stabbed her tail into the ground, picking up on the tremors that gave Dipplin's position away even without sight. A chunk of garbage soared across the arena, slamming into Dipplin and knocking him into the edge of the barrier, where he rolled to a stop, unconscious.

"Dipplin is unable to battle, Nemona Glitterati is the winner!" The Director announced to uproarious cheering from the students, many of whom had joined in partway through. Kieran and I quickly moved to tend to and congratulate and talk to our Pokemon before Nightwing and I walked over to them.

"You did great out there," I told him, offering my hand to shake which he took.

"I can't seem to beat you, though…" He muttered with a dejected look on his face, even as he took the offered hand and I frowned.

"Don't think of it like that; it's not a competition against me, it's a challenge against yourself, to see how far you've come. I know Nightwing has improved tremendously from their last match, measuring her aggression, and striking strategically. And I'd say you two have improved too. Neither of you had any hesitation this time around - Dipplin took on a bunch of Ice attacks from Nightwing without even flinching!"

"Thanks," the Kitakami boy muttered, blushing, a little embarrassed. Both of our attention was then drawn to our Pokemon, having their own little chat.

"Cor, glis, gli gli," Nightwing stated. Dipplin looked a little unconvinced, but after a moment, he turned around. Nightwing didn't have to do the same to stretch her long tail out, slapping Dipplin's once, then again from the other side, then up and down, before wrapping around it and 'shaking' the appendage, careful not to poke the Dragon's tail with her stinger.

So cute! A sentiment that seemed to be shared by many of the other students who called out to that effect or cheered even louder. I think this is a fine start to my Pokemon Academy life.

Spoiler: A/N:

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, et. cetera to all! I hope the seasons and this chapter, find you well and you remain in good cheer. And the start of a new mega arc might help with that! Blueberry Academy has a tone of fascinating stuff as described or hinted at in the games, and I have some fun headcanons of my own to explore there. We also get to see Nemona interacting with kids closer to her age a lot more regularly, something that hadn't happened all that much during the Journey or even just in general before now, which should be interesting. Plus, a bunch of cool new Pokemon, of course. What are you all looking forward to most? Let me know on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

 

[Spearow]

Nice, showing games mechanics in "real life" is super cool, congratulations for the great chapter, loved to read it.

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

Spoiler: Corrections

"I'm going to call you Nims, and you Cy," she told each of them and they puzzled into her arms

Click to shrink...

nuzzled*

Phantasm had quickly picked out the Fast Ball for herself, while Anya had picked the Love Ball. Phantasm had ironically picked the Lure Ball, though I felt it was kinda fitting given her Tera Type.

Click to shrink...

Phantasm is in two different balls here.

Not that I'd tell her that, or she'd probably prove another one just to be difficult/go against the grain.

Click to shrink...

probably pick another one*

something that Anya was much to proud to consider

Click to shrink...

much too proud*

Luckily, my parents had somehow (read: through vast amounts of wealth and connections) somehow obtained a Dream Ball.

Click to shrink...

Repeated 'somehow' twice.

and I realized this must have been the boy who's birthday party she had to attend during my Gauntlet challenge.

Click to shrink...

boy whose birthday party*

Carmine and Kieran will be annoyed he's taking the third and final sit in this window row

Click to shrink...

third and final seat*

He blinked and then his eyes widened as he caught my meaning (or perhaps at me running on ahead.

Click to shrink...

(or perhaps at me running on ahead).*

"Infestation, those creep crawlies will take her down!"

Click to shrink...

creepy crawlies*

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 62 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, Exalted Requiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Haha, that was wonderful!" Director Cyrano was the first one to step forward, clapping loudly along with the rest of the students. "Great to see how driven our new students are," he congratulated us.

As he got close to us, he continued. "That being said, the official battle strategy of Blueberry is Double Battles. I hope you can use that in the future; I think it leads to some really exciting strategies and combos."

"Aheh, sorry sir," Kieran said, blushing slightly at an authority figure chiding him (however kindly).

My own cheeks grew a bit warm as I realized the slight gaff we'd made. "Ah right, I'm eager to try out double battles more, I just- this was just kind of a personal moment for them." I explained, hoisting Nighting up onto my shoulder, her long tail wrapping around my waist to avoid trailing against the ground.

"We caught both of them in Kitikami on the same day, two years ago. They had their first battle as trained Pokemon a week after that, before Nemona went back to Paldea. This was the first time they've been able to fight." I cringed a little at that, recognizing that it was my fault. I ran off during my birthday party last year after having a fight with Arven. Kieran probably wanted to challenge us back then but didn't feel like it would work because of all that.

"Sounds like quite that tale there! Reminds me of the time Snackworth-" Cyrano began before a very beautiful girl with long white hair stepped up beside him, clearing her throat.

"Sounds heartwarming," the girl said with a voice like ice, matching the gaze she sent mine and Kieran's way. "But all the first years have gathered now, so it would be best to stay on track and start the tour, sir."

Geez, what's her problem? Then again, he does seem like the sort to ramble. I didn't have time to ponder that as she turned around and strode to the back, letting the Director call everyone together.

"Right, right. For another time then." He clapped his hands together loudly once, getting the attention of all the excited students.

"Welcome, first years, to Blueberry Academy! What do you think of the color scheme?" He asked, waving an arm out at the bleachers and walls. There was a moment of silence which dragged on, becoming awkward as we realized that he actually wanted a response to the question and it wasn't just rhetorical.

"Umm, it's nice." I blurted out, and then wished I could dive into the ocean as everyone stared at me and a few kids snickered. He asked!

Cyrano beamed at my response. "Glad ya like it! Took me forever to come up with just the right blueberry color, it was the hardest part of making this place." There's no way that's true, right?

He continued, oblivious to my (and likely most of the other hundreds of students gathered there) doubts on that. Turning around, the Director said, "Follow me! We've got a bunch for you newcomers to see. First stop, our entrance desk, where the lovely Miss Rose will hand out your student IDs," he waved over to the secretary sitting behind the desk. "She'll make sure you get your physical and electronic IDs setup. Make sure to keep them on hand, they'll be useful for later."

We all lined up and Miss Rose (as well as dozens of assistants whom I imagined were just stationed here for today to help deal with this bureaucratic volume) and got the small plastic ID cards handed out, as well as shown how to download and use the ID app on our Rotom Phones (which worked with Xtranscievers, Pokegear, and regular smart phones too). Then as that was all finished, he took us down into the school proper.

Cyrano directed us to the elevators, of which there were several sets, each one large enough to hold even a Steelix or Wailord within comfortably (though there was a sign indicating that Pokemon as big as a Snorlax or larger should be stored within Pokeballs when using the elevators). "These are the main elevator lines. They can take you all the way down to the Terarium, or even to the geothermal power regulator," Cyrano informed us.

I paused. "That's cool, but where are we going next?" He hasn't exactly told us much yet.

He paused, going cross-eyed again. "We're going to umm, hmm… where were we going again?"

The white haired older girl cut in. "The central rings, sir."

Cyrano snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! You should probably do this tour stuff, it's not exactly my strong suit."

"I think the Director giving the welcoming tour sends a good message," the teenager shot back dryly. Her tone was polite, but her face said 'No way in hell am I doing that for you.' I can't say I like her from my first impression, but she does have a point there about him being the one to do this… even if practically speaking Cyrano is probably right. He seems like a good guy, but a bit airheaded. I wonder how he got the job as Director?

We exited the elevator out onto a very large, wide, curved hallway, with numerous rooms on the side. The walls had a very futuristic decorative pattern to them, and slightly stuck out jagged white patterns, almost like tree branches. There were plenty of bright lights and screens on the walls to illuminate the interior. The screens displayed mostly imagery of the outside, clouds and sky, likely in an attempt to make people feel less like they were trapped in a metal coffin.

From those walls hung plenty of signage to help direct any student to the nearest amenities, and give them an idea of where the most important places were in relation to them. Around us people and Pokemon were walking about, chatting, or going about various jobs. Most of the other students weren't here yet, but obviously a lot of staff was needed to keep the place running.

Director Cyrano led us down the hallway. "Welcome to the inner rings of Blueberry Academy. These serve as the central hub of the school and connect the five outer rings- ohh, there's a great little study hall over there." He pointed at one of the rooms before taking a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Where was I? Oh right, the inner rings. It has most of the administrative features and rooms, though there's lounges and libraries in here too. There's three levels to each of the rings, and you have to travel through the central ones to reach any of the others," he told us, pointing out another hallway sticking out to the side. My eyes caught onto the lines around the edge connecting it to the inner rings, and how they were repeated down that hallway, and along this one.

Clearly some sort of mechanism designed to cut off water from flooding, if need be. Might even be used to trap or block intruders in a pinch, depending on how much control they'd have over the system to utilize it like that, but that might be risky. My thoughts wandered as the rest of the group moved ahead.

There's so much here. So much knowledge, so many people and Pokemon all stored here. I'm sure there's more redundancies than the ones he's shown us here, more protocols to keep people safe in the event of a disaster, but I can help but worry about how bad it would be if something happened. Pokemon and even the technology of this world can be so powerful and I can just imagine it all sinking to the bottom of the ocean…

But on the other hand, is anything truly safe in this world? Entire civilizations have risen and fallen leaving only scant ruins and legends of their existence. Legendaries could wage battles that could raze the mainland entirely, but Blueberry's separation might be the only thing that keeps it safe.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Carmine's voice jostled me out of my thoughts and I rushed ahead to keep up with the taller students, already walking away. "Geez, how are you getting your head lost in the clouds already?"

"Haha, guess I just fit more up there than down here," I joked and she gave me a thoroughly confused look before shaking her head. Cyrano brought us over to a big directionary/map.

The interactive map was in the center of the hallway, and while it was large, the group was too big for everyone to get a clear view of it, especially the smaller kids in the back, which most definitely included me and my friends. We were able to hear the Director's explanation, though.

"This map shows all the major locations within the school, which will do a brief tour of today. There's the battle arena and entrance above. Outside of the Terarium that's the only arena, so keep your battles to one of those two places!"

"Next we have the inner rings, where we are, right about… here! They lead to the Classroom Rings, both basic and advanced, the Science Ring where we do our most intensive research, the Recreational Ring, where the cafeterias, libraries, school shops, and most club rooms are, and finally the Dormitory Ring, which has all of your rooms. But I just like to think of them as the Green, Blue, Purple, Red, and Yellow rings, color coded so it's easy to keep track of them all!"

Is he serious? Cyrano doesn't seem like a bad guy, but he's kinda… out there, for the Director of such a large faculty. "All of the outer rings have lifts to take you down to the pride and joy of Blueberry Academy, our Terarium." I caught more than a few sharp intakes of breath amid my own. The Terarium is one of the biggest draws of Blueberry Academy and I would be lying if I said it hadn't played a huge role in me wanting to go too.

"Beneath that is the geothermal processor that powers the school and more, real fascinating stuff that. We won't be going over it in too much detail, but you'll get a brief looksee of it before the tour is done."

"Do we get to see the Terarium?" One student asked among the crowd, and he just chuckled.

"Of course you'll get to see it. But you can't spend too long there; don't want to risk losing you before the term's even begun. Each of the tour groups will have fifteen minutes there, but I'm sure you'll spend plenty of time all around the Academy in the future." Disappointing but it makes sense, we'll see it more later. I think we even have some classes inside the Terarium itself.

Some more teachers had joined us, and were dividing us up into different groups. My friends were all split up, but I remained in Cyrano's group as the quirky Director led us through the school.

We didn't spend too long in the classrooms, but they all looked functional and easy to navigate. The school app updated automatically to show us our schedules, which would mostly just be orientation for the next two days before we got to the real work. The entrance exam is weighted a bit tougher for early admittance students, but I'm actually looking forward to even the regular school stuff. It's been a long time since I had to do any of this.

Next came the dormitories, where we got to find our rooms and put down our personal belongings. Each one (I presumed since I only saw the inside of my own) had a comfy bed, desk, cabinets, fridge, and little kitchen station. A little bland at the moment, but I can customize it with time, and it has everything a student/young adult would need in a home.

After that Cyrano took us to one of the cafeterias in the next ring over. "Basic meals will be included in your tuition, but if you want something fancy, our chefs can whip something up for you, in exchange for some Blueberry Points."

"What are Blueberry Points?" A girl in the back with pale blue hair that stuck up somewhat asked, and Cyrano's 'assistant' sneered.

"It should have already been covered in the introductory guide you got when you received your acceptance letter, but since you couldn't be bothered to read it, I'll spell it out for you." That earned a few snickers, to which the older girl glared at the rest of the students. "And for everyone else who failed to properly prepare themselves," she added, which shut down most of the people laughing. Despite here attention being drawn to the girl who asked, she noticed that some of them had looked curious when the other girl first asked her question too. She's sharp.

The older girl stepped up onto a table bench to loudly lecture us. "Blueberry Points, or BBPs, are the currency of Blueberry Academy. It does not matter how rich your parents are-" her gaze locked on with mine for a moment and I just crossed my arms in response. Bring it, I don't need Glitterati money to shine on. The moment passed so quickly it could have been my imagination as she continued. "Or how great your lineage or whatever might matter outside these walls. If you want anything more than the basic amenities here, then you need BBPs. With these you can order fancier meals, buy rare Technical Machines, Vitamins, and more from the shop, remodel clubs, and far more."

"You earn BBPs by doing well in classes, winning tournaments and big battles, from club leaders, and can earn some assisting the teachers and staff with small tasks, colloquially called 'Blueberry Quests' or BBQs. You can also exchange BBPs with other students, provided the transfer is authorized by a teacher. Any questions?" She asked acidly.

That makes sense - without a teacher involved, there's a chance that people could trade BBPs for money or other things that the staff wouldn't approve of. Already I can see ways in which the rules around those might get bent, to say the least. Still, it is an interesting system. Like a personalized House Points from Harry Potter except you can use them for more than just what color the banners are at the end of year feast… okay, it's not much like that at all, then.

I had read the attached guide pdf thoroughly, but that hadn't mentioned transferring BBPs over, or all of the examples this rude girl had given, so I was still thinking it over, but I did have something I wanted to ask. "Yeah, two questions: First, who even are you? Second, why are you even here if you seem to hate everyone and everything?"

There was a look of shock and flash of hurt I thought I saw (but could have easily been imagined on my part) before she replaced the surprise with cool anger. My response earned a few snickers her way, and while the glare she sent out smothered most of them, the drop in temperature silenced the rest as she glared at me. It's not super dramatic, I doubt most people consciously picked up on that, but my senses are improved, and the temperature definitely dipped a bit in response to her anger. Must be the work of an enemy Aura user!

I held my defiant gaze as she answered. "My name is Elsa Death, and I'm here because it's one of my duties as head and champion of League Club. Fulfilling that duty is what gives my club Blueberry Points we can distribute to others - and the League Club has the largest budget for BBPs to hand out to the student body." She finished with a smirk, watching as the students perked up, looking eagerly towards her.

"And what a zealous job you do filling those duties," Cyrano said with a light smile. The words could be perceived as a compliment, but from the glint in his eye and the downward turn of Elsa's lips, I could tell that the admonishment wasn't missed by her as she stepped off of the bench. "Now, as a reward for you all making it to our school, I've had our chefs prepare a number of the deluxe items for you to feast on," he declared, waving a hand to the platters placed out across the counter. "Let's take a break from our tour and enjoy ourselves!"

The students formed a line (with a bit of pushing and shoving), eager to get some food after a long tour. I was hungry too, but still mildly disturbed by this 'Elsa' person. On the one hand, she is just a kid, and it's only a League 'club', not an official institution. But on the other, I'm an even younger kid, and that Aura use… it doesn't necessarily mean she's a super strong Trainer, but most of those who are the former, are the latter too.

Elsa stood back, not keen to talk to me and I didn't really feel like engaging with her either even if I was curious, so I just went and had my lunch. And what a lunch it is! They have all sorts of different meals here, plenty of regional specialties laid out to like Malasadas, Johtoan Bento boxes, and so much more!

I, like the basic bitch I am, had a steak and fries. Something which drew a few eyes from some of the other students sitting nearby. "Not going for the sandwich? This is great!" A stocky boy asked beside me, digging into his odd sandwich that had an over-easy egg placed atop the bread rather than between the slices. He had short black hair with two puffs on either side of his head and a very bulbous nose.

"She probably gets plenty of those in Paldea. That is where you're from, right? I heard a rumor…" The blue-haired girl from before trailed off, suddenly feeling nervous. Don't blame her after Elsa nearly bit her head off.

"I am from Paldea, though I was born in Unova and I'm honestly not a huge sandwich fan. Though I've never seen one done in that style before," I said to the boy.

"Yeah, it's a Kalosian style I wanted to try but never had before. It's really good!" He took another bite before saying with a mouth full of food, "I'm Victor. Everyone calls me Chum though, because-" he paused, suddenly looking awkward.

"Cause you're such a good friend?" I offered, and he took that new interpretation of his nickname, nodding vigorously.

"Yeah, just call me Chum! Or uh, maybe Chumley." He added after a split second. Must want a way to differentiate that from people who might mean it derogatorily. The kid was awkward, but I could relate, having once been an awkward teenager myself. And knowing myself, I'll probably be plenty awkward in a few years two, no doubt. Or at least, about as unsure as I am now of social situations. People had so many hidden rules going on with interaction, Pokemon were so much easier.

"I'm Nemona," I said, considering offering a hand for him to shake before seeing how messy his was and turned instead to the girl sitting across from us. She was quite small, so much so that I thought she might have been an early entrant too, but no, she just tiny. Neither she nor 'Chumley' have more than one Pokeball, so I guess the regular entrance must be easier than the early one.

"Ah, I'm Sally. So you're really her? A Champion… what's it like?"

I laughed, only slightly awkwardly. "I mean, it was a huge achievement at the moment and I'm so proud of my team, but uhh, it's like anything else right now? I'm just me, a girl going to school at the moment."

"Huh, that's really down to earth. You don't really see that from celebrities." Chumley commented and I gave him a sidelong look.

"And you've talked to plenty of celebrities, have you?" He blushed and mumbled something indistinct, taking another bite of his sandwich. "Haha, relax, I'm just ribbing you. I wouldn't really know too much about celebrities either."

"Not even with your music?" Sally inquired, and I shook my head.

"I haven't really had the chance to do much of that recently, too focused on training." Not that I can complain, but it does feel like there's never enough time. "I was hoping to do a music shoot inside the Terarium at some point, but that might take a bit of work."

Cyrano, who had been walking nearby as I said that, gave me a thumbs up. "We'd have to go over the details, but I think that sounds wonderful. It could promote your music and the school."

"Ah, thank you sir." Hmm, on that note… "Who funds the school, exactly? I know Blueberry gets some funding from the Unovan League but that can't be enough to cover everything." My research into financial matters had led me down a bit of a rabbit hole regarding Blueberry Academy.

Part of the reason why they seem so separate from Unova is because after they made the switch to this separate, underwater school, the Unovan League didn't increase any funding towards it. It was understandable, as Blueberry's decision came after the first Plasma Crisis, and then the blueprints and plans were finalized right as the Neo Plasma Crisis passed. The League was bleeding money trying to recover while Blueberry wanted to move away, but it does raise the question of who supported all the initial financing, even if the programs they run currently could shore up the extra costs in supporting the students and staff on campus.

A mystery that was apparently very easy to answer. "Oh, I do."

"Like… all of it?"

"Yup! Cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it." He said with a big smile on his face. "Ooh, is that someone dipping a Malasada in a smoothie? I've never tried anything like that before," He said, quickly walking off to investigate the culinary experiment.

That… that's more than a 'pretty penny.' I don't know the exact state of my parent's finances, but I think even they would have trouble affording that! Then again, they have enough money that they could take out loans and finance such a project, even if it would raise quite a few eyebrows…

"You have five minutes to finish your meals," Elsa's voice cut out across the cafeteria, spurring me out of my thoughts and to quickly eat up the rest of the delicious meal. Part of me was tempted to be upset with her forcing the issue, but as I saw the next group being led to the cafeteria as we left, I could begrudgingly admit she had a point in keeping us on schedule (and that the Director wasn't likely to keep as close an eye on things).

Next up was the school shop, and I was already eyeing some nice gifts I could grab for my family, like a Scald TM for Cyan and a football jacket (is it even called that here? Yet another thing to carefully research with Miles before opening my mouth and making it obvious I don't quite fit in with the culture of the world here) for my parents. Hmm, I should talk with Cyan about getting one from Uva as well, that way Mom and Dad would each be able to have a jacket from one of us.

Considering we didn't have any BBP yet, we didn't spend too much time at the store before doing a quick tour of the clubs (mostly just the League Club room, which was nice, but didn't look like anything too special despite how Elsa puffed up in pride as she showed it off), and then to the final of the outer rings, the 'science ring.'

"While we run some experiments within the Terarium, there are other delicate procedures and equipment stored here. For the most part you kids won't be here often, but a couple classes take place here, and you might be asked to assist some teachers as part of your BBQs." Cyrano explained as he led us through the rings. We didn't go inside many of the rooms but from the outside we could see and hear things like heavy machinery moving, an explosion and…

"Colress?!" I questioned, breaking off from the group to see the man with incredibly oddly shaped hair inside a room. The scientist in question had a clipboard in hand and was standing in front of an odd contraption, like a frame with four points pointing in from the corners. From those points it created a field that I instinctually felt like backing away from, with a Solosis floating in the center of it.

He turned to me, looking only momentarily surprised. "Ah, Miss Glitterati. What brings you to my lab?"

"Uh, I just saw something- what's going on here?" I asked, pointing at the machine.

"Solo, sis, so." The Psychic Pokemon responded, and Colress nodded, noting a few things down before turning off the machine and letting the Psychic Type float out.

"Two things. The first was an experiment to see if Psychic Types had any difference, difficulty or ease, when using their powers within a vacuum. The other was to see how Magic Guard might prevent a Pokemon from being hurt in outer space."

"And that device simulates a vacuum?" I asked, even though I was fairly certain in my assumption given how I felt and my Aura.

"Correct, as well as some of the other factors, radiation and the like, that would be applicable in outer space. The machine can let me scale up those factors slowly to avoid harming the Pokemon who volunteer for the tests."

"That's good. Why though? For the Psychic testing in outer space, not the keeping Pokemon safe part," I quickly added.

"Because no one else had tested such a thing." I mean, yeah, that's probably true. "I was also curious as I'd heard rumors that Deoxys came from outer space, and was a Psychic Type. The Clefairy line has connections to the Moon and is known for possessing Magic Guard, so I was curious about that as well, and the viability of having those kinds of Pokemon assist us in setting up research bases and colonies among the stars."

"Whoa." I mean, it's not that crazy to think about. Poke-world technology is a lot more advanced than our own and with Pokemon by our side, we could discover so much more about planets beyond ours. Teraforming would also be much easier with Grass and Water Types. There are Steel Types like Magnezone that don't need to breath - using them could make repairing a ship much easier if it ever got damaged in a long flight-

"Interesting ideas," Colress said, snapping me out of my thoughts which I had apparently not kept nearly as silent as I'd thought. "I'd love to discuss this more with you Miss Glitterati, but it appears your tour group is going on ahead."

"Ah! Sorry, yes, we should talk later. And call me Nemona!" Miss Glitterati makes me feel old. I mean, I am old, but- enough of that, got to catch up! I sped out of the lab and down the hallway to catch up with the group. Not many people noticed (since I hovered an inch off the ground with my Aura to avoid making any sounds and literally fly there faster), but Elsa whipped her head around to catch my gaze as I joined up with the end of the group.

Did she notice me using Aura somehow? Tulip could sense Aura use around her without seeing it, but we figured that was because hers was Psychically aligned. I'd never managed it, but had enhanced senses to make up for that.

There wasn't any time to dwell on that though, with the Director ushering us onto an elevator. This one didn't have anywhere to go up, however, going straight down. "Each of the outer rings has a lift going down to the edge of the Terarium - it's honestly easier to reach that space from these than the central elevator."

We went down a fair ways, and I noticed the elevator dinged twice. "All right here we are, the beating heart of Blueberry Academy; The geothermal engine room!" Cyrano proudly declared as the doors opened up.

"Huh?!" Was the response from most of the students as we were greeted with a bunch of steel pipes, machines, and sweltering heat. The only one not surprised was Elsa, whom I caught sight of tugging at the collar of her summer uniform, beads of sweat rolling down.

"I did say I was going to show you this, didn't I?" The man said, scratching at his chin as he tried to remember.

"You did sir, I think we were just expecting the Terarium, is all." I told him, gathering some cool air around myself. I was certain Elsa noted that time, but I hardly cared with how hot it was. Pretty sure I've got her pegged too. The bigger question is how the heck does Director Cyrano deal with all of this while wearing a three-piece suit??

It was a puzzle I'd have to solve later as he led us through an abbreviated tour of the place, which mostly got covered as 'don't touch that' for most of the apparatus down here and to follow the directions of the technicians who worked with the stuff for a living. We did get to peer down a large glass cutout over the ground in one spot and see part of the super thermal vent the school was placed atop of, which was cool (Haha, heat jokes!).

With that out of the way we were taken up a slight distance to what would serve as the actual end point of the tour and what we'd been waiting for: The Terarium.

Spoiler: A/N:

This chapter fought me, a lot. Some things were from elements I researched better later on, but others were just hard and I don't know why. In any case, I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless. Sorry that the intro took so long, but we're gonna be spending a fair bit of time at Blueberry, so I really wanted to explore it in-depth. We're going to see a bit of the Terarium next time though and get into some action too.

Thank you all for your support and looking forward to seeing you in the New Year! Got plenty more planned for the future... if I can drag myself away from the new video games I got for Christmas long enough to write haha (kidding, but Expedition 33 has been so much fun).

If you liked the chapter or had anything to say, leave a comment down below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day and a great next year!

 

[Spearow]

Becoming friends with Colress is how her villain arc begins

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!