I have grossly overestimated my own abilities when it comes to basic education.

In the two weeks since school started, I have done nothing but catch up on my studies and endured Sophia's relentless teasing, much to the chagrin of Alan, who was eager to gossip about the current trainer scene.

His newfound access to the Pokénet, courtesy of the library, has clearly led the boy to embrace his inner middle-aged neighbour.

"You know, Champion Lance was rejected by Lorelei."

"The elite?"

"The same" Can't blame him.

Today is special, though, because Roxanne has agreed to let us watch a match, which is a rare occurrence for us in the first year, since Battle Theory is a second-year course, and this kind of thing will become more common as we progress.

At the moment, my schedule doesn't differ too much from a normal school, except for Biology and Social Studies, where I'm learning that humans in this world are more resilient thanks to the high-energy environment and the Pokémon bond that the current society has. This discovery is what made Professor Oak the eminence he is today.

I might have to stop myself from asking whether Vaporeon is the most compatible Pokémon.

Social Studies, on the other hand, has the information I wanted about social structures. The thing is, the Pokémon League deals with matters concerning trainers, battles and wild Pokémon. The Committee of Civil Affairs deals with contests, labour and domestic Pokémon issues.

There is also the Scientific Union, funded by Prof Oak, which supervises and manages any projects the professors may have. As far as I know, together with the International Police, these are the only organisations operating on a global scale at the moment.

"Mrs Roxanne is taking too long," Alan says.

"Alan, the lesson hasn't even started yet."

As if to mark my words, the bell rang, starting the class and prompting the headteacher to enter.

"Listen class, today a challenger has agreed to show his fight to the school. We will gather with the other class and go to the gym, so be orderly and follow me," Roxanne says from the lectern.

-------

And with that, we headed for the gym, which wasn't too far from the school, but during the short walk I couldn't help but notice how few people there were in the first year, you'd think with the fame of the Rustboro coaching school this place would be packed.

And the gym. It looks kind of meh, I mean a collection of brown vertical rocks, with a small horizontal one breaking the feeling, and with the centre carved out to a grey wall with a large door. This has obviously been here for a long time, and I doubt that Roxanne has such bad taste.

As we entered the gym, Roxanne left one of the trainers to look after us before she went off to prepare for the match.

Once settled in the stands, I asked Alan about the thing that was bothering me.

"Alan, why is everyone so excited?"

"Uh, what?"

"I mean, it's rare that we're here, but I don't think it deserves this level of emotion."

"Ah, that's because this is a 4-badge match."

"And?"

"According to tradition, the Rustboro gym is usually the first gym to be challenged, so that's why."

"What tradition?"

"I don't know."

I blink, stunned.

"I never think about it."

Before I can continue, the lights come up in the centre of the stage.

"The official match for the stone badge between challenger Ryan and gym leader Roxanne is about to begin," the referee begins.

The sides of the arena light up, revealing Roxanne and Proto-Sasuke Ryan.

"The match is a 4v4 with standard league rules with 2 switches for the challenger."

"Humf, I don't need them." Ryan declares.

Roxanne just smiled slightly, with that fake smile that only a woman knows how to do. And you never want to piss a woman off like that.

"Both trainers ready?"

"Yes!" "Yes."

"BEGIN!"

With that, they both throw their Pokéballs into the arena, revealing Ryan Nuzleaf and Roxanne Golem.

“Razor leaf.”

“Rock polish into Rollout.”

The Nuzleaf quickly shoots the Razor Leaf, only to fail by a hair as the Golem begins to roll at a shocking speed.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Left, then Mega drain.”

Nuzleaf jumps to avoid the golem and prepares to attack.

“NOW.”

At Roxanne's command, the Golem drifts across the ground and crashes into Nuzleaf, who barely manages to drain its energy.

““Whoaaaa.”” The kids are flipping.

Before the Nuzleaf stood up, the rolling Golem had already circled to run over him again.

"Switch Nuzleaf." Ryan wisely called his Pokémon back.

“Go Breloom.” Ah, the mushroom kangaroo, is that where his confidence comes from?

“Match Punch.”

Ryan ordered, but as the Breloom closed the gap.

“Explosion.”

The attack was so powerful that even we could feel it through the psychic barrier that the Gym Arena has.

“Breloom and Golem are unable to fight.” No, Mr Referee, what surprises me is that the Breloom is alive.

Recalling their Pokémon, Ryan no longer has that arrogant smile on his face as they call upon their next Pokémon.

“Fresh, come out.” He shows a Tropius with a ridiculous name.

"Onix, show him." Roxanne shows off a deceptively weak Pokémon in the games. I wonder how it will fare in my new reality.

“Leech seed.” That is the kind of bullshit that I approve.

The Onix get seeded, while Tropius maintains air superiority.

“Rock tomb then screech.”

“Protect.”

Clever, as the rock tomb weakened the barrier, Onix's screech caused Tropius to lose his balance in the air. I just hope the tinnitus stops soon.

“Rock slide Onix.”

“Leaf storm.”

Well, shit, when Onix, clearly weakened by the leech seed, started to gather around what I assume is the rock TE, Tropius generated the storm in seconds, perhaps thanks to Onix's energy, which then enveloped the stone serpent in a green spiral.

“Onix is unable to fight.”

Not a second after the referee announced that, Roxanne sent her next Pokémon, Kabuto.

“Ice beam.”

Before Tropius could recover from his attack, the beam hit him, freezing one of his wings and sending him spiralling towards the ground.

“Fresh, Stomp.”

“Rock polish.”

While the stomp thaws the ice from the wing, it only benefits Kabuto.

“Circle while spamming Ice beam.”

“Whirlwind.”

Tropius tried to make the winds, but unfortunately, Kabuto was faster and just proceeded to freeze the poor Pokémon.

“Tropius is unable to fight.”

Ryan's unwilling face was a treat, regardless he calls his last Pokémon.

“Rose is up to you.” What an uninspired name for a Roselia.

“Back off and sword dance." As the fight resumes, Roxanne shows herself to be merciless. Is there beef here? A single comment would not anger her that much, as teachers deal with a lot of shit.

“Stun spore and drain it.”

“Evade and Leech life.” Now I call that bullshit. How come Kabuto knows that?

In spite of my thoughts, I watch as the overgrown tick obliterate the poor Roselia.

“Roselia is unable to fight.”

“I, I forfeit.” The referee nods before announcing next.

“The winner of the match is Gym Leader Roxanne.”

The children go wild and begin to cheer for their beloved teacher as she and Ryan walk to the centre of the arena to join hands. They exchanged a few words that I could not hear before they separated.

-------

After the fight we were dragged back into the classroom to write our thoughts on the fight, which was ridiculously easy. After writing a paragraph, I handed it to Mr Ivan and asked permission to go to the library, which he promptly granted as there was nothing else to do today.

On my way to the library, I pass the Rocks exhibit to change my route. The reason I come through here is because I see a certain Gym Leader sitting on one of the benches.

"Mrs Roxanne. I call her and she gives me a curious look.

"I've never seen you here before, how can I help you?"

"I'm a new student, I saw the fight earlier and I wanted to ask if I could ask some questions."

"Sure, ask whatever you want." She said with a smile and a nod, her happiness was palpable. Have I ever met anyone who loves knowledge and teaching as much as this woman?

"How can you have a Kabuto, aren't they extinct?" Let's start easy.

"You recognise it" She looks pleasantly surprised.

"Yes, I like fossils and history" I can get away with a lot with that.

"This is good. Well, you see, a few years ago, a group of scientists in Kanto created a machine that could, with some limitations, bring fossil Pokémon back to life, and now Devon is working with them to create a machine of their own. The Kabuto you see today was one of the first successes of the project.

She explains with the patience of an experienced teacher, despite her young age. I have to admit that age doesn't give you the experience of a good teacher.

"And how did he know leech life?" I ask as innocently as I can.

"Thanks to a good friend," she tells me with a twinkle in her eye at my question.

"I see. You and that other trainer, Ryan, both use only one type of Pokémon, I believe. Why do people choose to specialise?" While she frowns at the mention of Ryan, she gives me an inscrutable look as she thinks about her answer.

"There are many reasons for this, from teaching moves, similar diets and nutritional needs, training methods and specialised tools. All of this affects the trainer economy, but most importantly, it shapes our energy to be more similar and compatible with our Pokémon."

"Our energy?" Is Aura common knowledge?

"Yes, but if you want to know more, you'll have to read Professor Oak's book on the relationship between humans and Pokémon." She said with a mischievous smile.

"I'll do that then, but before I go to the library, can you show me a stone?" I ask her as I look at the exhibit.

"A stone?" she follows my gaze.

"Yes, a black augurite, I read about it in a book.” let's hope this works.

"We have one, it's not that rare near Mt. Pyre." She pulls me along, delighted at the opportunity to talk about her hobby, no wonder she and Steven are friends.

“Here, take a look.” She shows the exhibit stand where the black augurite is, along with its details.

As expected, it seems like no one seems to know that it is an evolution item.

“It’s beautiful and sharp, perfect for primitive tool making,” I comment.

"Yeah, that was indeed its purpose." If only you knew.

“You like stones?” She asks me.

“Yeah, a lot.”

“Come with me.”

I follow Roxanne into what looks like her office, where she starts to look for something in a drawer on her desk.

“Here, Take this.”

She motions for me to come closer and hands me what looks like a black rectangle with white crystals coming out of it.

“What is it.”

“An aegirine, to start your collection.” She gently tells me.

I don't know how to respond. I tell her that I like stones to connect with her and Steven in the future, but this heartfelt gesture is not something I am used to. I like it.

“Thanks.” I will treasure this.

"You're welcome, now I have to get on with my work, so I'll see you later, Marcus."

"Yes, thank you." I bow to her before a realisation hits me.

"How do you know my name?"

"You're the only new student since the school started." She tells me smugly.

"See you later."

I leave Roxanne's office with a strange feeling of warmth, I have a book to read.