Nina dove into the water while holding onto a little harness that Tini was wearing. The pair zoomed around and took in all the colorful marine life that the seas of Vermilion City had to offer.

The two of them no longer needed to catch fish, since Nina’s scholarship provides for all their meals. But after several years of routine, diving had become a ritual for them at this point.

Nina felt that there was just something relaxing about being in the water, surrounded by nature and accompanied only by her best friend in the whole world. No offense to Beverly of course, but the bond between her and Tini was unique and absolutely irreplaceable. At this point, she would even go so far as to call Tini her soulmate, and she was sure that the Dragon felt the same way.

The girl pointed excitedly at a cluster of Shellder who were napping adorably within a coral reef dotted with Corsola. She could even see some Horseas peeking out shyly from the corals, who she offered Berries to. Most of the Horseas shied away at the gesture, diving back into the safety of their home. But one of them was brave enough to approach and partake, which was all it took to satisfy Nina’s need for affection.

“One. All it takes is a single brave soul to inspire others. Much like Tini back when I met him,” she mused. And sure enough, after seeing that their brethren was unharmed, more and more Pokemon approached Nina to demand treats.

She had been thinking alot about expanding her team lately. The midterms were right before summer break. And if she did well enough, which she was confident she would after seeing the syllabus, Nina would be able to expand her carry limit by one.

“Ideally, I’d like to go catch something in advance during summer. But unfortunately, my summer break is likely going to be very hectic…” because that was when Misty’s wedding with her Uncle Ali was going to be held, and these were two people to whom the word ‘humility’ does not apply. So naturally, they were going all out.

Violet had already begun marketing the occasion as being the wedding of the decade. They even started selling commemorative paraphernalia like the couple was the royal family or something. But the funny part was, people lapped it all up thanks to Misty’s proposal going viral on the Pokenet.

Nina was pretty certain that they’d already recouped all the money they spent on the extravagant ceremony and then some. Even the local government was chipping in on the promotional efforts, already projecting a massive spike in tourists revenue. The whole wedding might as well be a citywide festival at this point.

As the ring bearer and also the only person with direct ties to both the bride and the groom, Nina was expected to play a large part in the celebrations and was asked to make her way back the moment that summer break commences to help with the preparations.

They had not been very specific in telling Nina what they wanted from her, but she was already dreading every second of it.

“Tiin~” Tini swam up to the daydreaming Nina and booped the girl on her rebreather, before making a weird face at the inexplicably hard surface, eliciting giggles and a burst of bubbles from his partner.

***

“Are you Melina Jones?”

Nina was leisurely chatting with Kerry on their way to the next class when she was intercepted by an unfamiliar face; a stoic looking girl, with a wild mane of red hair and wearing a… “Is that a half cape attached to shoulder pauldrons?”

While Nina was contemplating the girl’s odd choice of fashion, her silence was misconstrued as tacit admission, prompting the girl to continue speaking.

“I challenge you to a duel!” The girl exclaimed, while taking up her own unique brand of dynamic posing.

Nina held back her urge to groan and simply put on her ice queen facade, or uppity bitch face as Beverly liked to call it. This was how she’d been dealing with all the random challenges that had been coming her way since the start of school.

Stolen story; please report.

Most get too intimidated by her silent glare and eventually falter, allowing Nina to wave them away or simply walk past them. The rest she would ask to see their battle record to see if they’ve reached the requisite thirty wins necessary to challenge her, which most of them won’t have. But Nina could already tell that this one wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“First of all, it’s only polite to introduce yourself before challenging someone,” said the incensed Nina. “And I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, are you an upperclassman? Because I’m pretty sure the school has rules against older students issuing challenges to their juniors.”

“You will find that I am indeed in the same year as you. And as for my name…” The girl gave a confident smirk, threw out her arm with a flourish, before clenching her fist and slamming it against her chest with a loud thump that would make even Commander Erwin proud.

“I! Am Lilian Blackthorn! Successor to the Blackthorn Legacy, and the one who will one day step on the charred corpse of Lance Blackthorn to ascend the Champion's throne!”

Nina shared a look of disbelief with Kerry. “Blasphemy against the Regional Champion aside, did you know that we had a Blackthorn enrolled into our school?” To which, the young Joy shrugged and shook her head in ignorance.

“Ah, I see. You demand proof of my lineage. Very well.” The self-proclaimed Blackthorn then took hold of a Pokeball and expanded it. “Behold, my mighty Drag—”

But before the pompous girl had a chance to finish, a white gloved hand appeared out of nowhere and gently covered up the exposed Pokeball.

“Milady, I must remind you that the academy has strict rules pertaining to the release of Pokemon within its confines. Might I suggest presenting your student identification instead. I believe that should suffice,” said the genial looking elderly man in a tailcoat, who inexplicably materialized next to the girl during that brief moment of distraction.

“Alfred, yes. My thanks for the reminder.”

Nina gawked. “This girl has a butler named Alfred? How cliche can you get?”

At her servant’s suggestion, Lilian went through her shirt pocket and pulled out a Pokedex which she flipped open with a single handed flick then turned to face Nina, to show a display of her student ID alongside her battle record.

The butler gestured towards his mistress’s device. “As you can see Miss Jones, milady has already earned the school mandated 30 wins to issue the challenge.”

“Right…” said the bewildered Nina. “And that does say Lilian Blackthorn alright. I’m just a little confused as to why a member of Johto’s leading family is here in a Kantonian school and why we’ve never seen her around before?”

“Indeed. Lady Lilian has been sent to Kanto as part of an exchange program to further deepen the ties between our two regions. During this time, she has been given the status of nominal student in all of the great Kantonian schools to facilitate greater interaction among the local youths,” explained the butler on Lilian’s behalf.

“As a nominal student, Lady Lilian may freely enter the confines of any school she is enrolled in without being fettered to their established curriculum. Thus freeing her from the obligation of attending classes. Though rest assured that milady is quite up to date on her studies.”

Nina took a deep breath to compose herself. “Sure, but before I accept the challenge. May I ask, why me?” That question was directed towards Lilian herself.

The red haired girl grinned. “Because a mighty Dragon’s fangs can only be sharpened by another Dragon!”

“What milady means is that she heard tales of your prowess as a trainer and would like to test her mettle against yours. This is in addition to the fact that you possess a member of the noble Dragonite line — a rarity here in Kanto,” interpreted Alfred.

Nina sighed at the odd dynamic between the Johton duo and agreed to the challenge. “Do you wanna put in a wager or will this just be a friendly spar?” She asked.

To which, Lilian simply snapped her fingers in response, prompting Alfred to pull out a small briefcase in a sleight of hand. Then proceeding to snap it open with a satisfying clack, unveiling a single lustrous Golden Nugget.

Nina balked at the sight of it, jaw nearly hitting the floor from astonishment. Even Kerry was taken aback by the ball of pure gold that suddenly appeared in front of her. “I uh… I don’t think I have anything that can match something of that value…” Nina stuttered.

Lilian simply laughed dismissively at the girl’s concern. “Oh no, you misunderstand, Melina Jones. This is your reward should I deem our battle satisfactory. And should you prevail, then I shall double it’s worth. So hold nothing back, and give me everything you got!”

Nina was speechless, trying to figure out if this was a prank or not. How could someone give out a freaking Golden Nugget just for agreeing to a battle. Was it not a given that Nina would give it her all?

“Though I suppose if you grew up in a family as prestigious as the Blackthorns, sycophantic followers trying to gain favor by deliberately losing must be the norm.” In a way, Nina kind of felt bad for the girl.

“Just for the record, I would have given it my all even if you hadn’t offered me such a ludicrously valuable item,” said Nina. “But I thank you and accept it nonetheless.” In fact, she would be an absolute dumbass if she had declined.

Lilian gave a haughty but approving nod. “Very good! Now, let us be away!”

“Wait!” Nina’s call halted the other girl in her step. “We’ve still got classes ongoing. In fact, Kerry and I are late to our next one. I’ll battle you after school.”

Lilian frowned and opened her mouth to protest only to be held back by Alfred. “Miss Jones is correct, milady. For regular students, attending classes and marking their attendance plays a vital role in their academics. It would behoove us to wait until Miss Jones’s obligations are completed before commencing the bout.”

Alfred’s mistress nodded somewhat reluctantly. Lilian was clearly eager to battle but had enough self-control to reign in her desires, earning her a bit of respect from Nina. “I guess the girl isn’t as spoiled as I thought she was.”

“Very well, but I shall attend your classes with you. To ensure that you do not be waylaid by other emerging obligations,” declared Lilian.

Nina groaned. But after seeing that the butler was going to do nothing to stop his mistress, she gave Kerry a helpless look and simply resigned to her fate.