We spent the rest of the day talking, Lidia and her group had a lot of things to talk about, it was good to meet some of the other students.

I woke up next morning groaning in pain, my body aches from all the exercise from physical conditioning. Not even my stomach grumbling was enough to make me want to leave the bed.

When I look at my pokedex, I have forty minutes before class begins, a quick shower and I rush to the cafeteria, eating very quickly, finishing just in time to reach the class building. While walking there I notice some of my peers looking worse than me, the exercise really did a number on us.

Next to the door of the building stands a very tall woman, she looks almost two meters tall, but aside from her imposing physique, everything about her seems very feminine, long pink hair tied with a ribbon and a slight touch of makeup on her face, she wears a form fitting pink ruffle dress with sleeves, and the very distinctive pink pokeballs on her belt. Next to her an excited Blissey welcoming the students as they come near.

The building itself looks sorta like a pokemon center, and if not for her height I’d say our teacher looks like a nurse Joy.

“There are five assistant students handing pokeballs by the reception desk, check in with them before going to the classroom”, explains the woman while we go into the building.

The reception lobby looks exactly like what you expect from a pokemon center, by the desk some students are lining up and waiting for their turn. I see Melody standing there and walk up to her.

“Hey Gabe, get in line!”, she talks excitedly, “they are handing our starters, come on!”

I see, there are five lines moving at a decent pace, so I stand in the shortest one, not that there is much difference. Quickly enough is my turn.

“Let me see, Gabriel Santos”, says a very amicable graduate student, “You are a legacy and the egg was prepared by your family”, she hands me a pokeball, “please check with your pokedex and confirm you received the pokeball”.

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With my pokedex in hand I scan the egg

Totodile’s egg

Level: 0

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Moves: Unknown

After that I tap the confirmation button and walk towards the classroom, joining Melody who is already picked a spot, she looks very cheerful with the pokeball on her hand.

“So, what did you get?”, I ask her while sitting by her side.

“Isn’t it obvious? I got a Litten”, she looks at me and realization hits her, “of course you don’t know, my brother has an Incineroar after all”.

“Did you get a Chikorita?”, I think she is assuming I received an egg from my mother’s Meganium.

“Totodile, my dad’s Feraligatr is here in the school”, I explain, “apparently he left some of his pokemon in the academy grounds”.

“Oh that’s great!”, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen her so cheerful, having a pokemon companion even as an egg is really good to improve our mood.

“Hey guys”, says a very tired looking Flavio while taking a seat next to Melody, it looks like he is having it harder than me with the pain.

“Melody got a Litten and I got a Totodile”, I speak, “what did you get?”

Flavio’s eyes light up, “the most fitting pokemon for a gentleman”, and that is?

Seeing my look of confusion, Melody sighs, “Rowlet, right?”

“Of course my dear”, he answers, “Rowlet are magnificent creatures, they look so elegant with their little bowtie you know”.

Choosing a partner by their looks isn’t exactly optimal, but well, I could expect that from Flavio after these few days we’ve known each other.

“Please take your seats, I’m going to begin class”, says the pink haired teacher as she walks into the room.

“My name is Aurelia Joy, but you can call me Instructor Joy”, of course she is from the Joy Family, “As you all know the Joy Family are pioneers into the pokemon healthcare development, establishing the first Pokemon Center and allying with the Pokemon League to expand our system all over the world, nowadays Pokemon Centers have an established presence in almost every region”.

“As the one in charge of the Academy’s Pokemon Center, I’m also in charge of your pokemon care education, and I will make sure that you learn how to properly care for your companions”.

“To begin with, you all have received a pokemon egg from a regional starter of your choice, you must understand this is a privilege you have earned by joining our institution”, she looks around the room and smiles, “Regional starters are rare, specifically chosen for promising young trainers and awarded by the league, every city school receives the official three of their region and they are awarded to the top three students of their generation”.

“You must be wondering, how come our academy gets to hand over a hundred of them, the Pokemon Battle Academy has earned a reputation over the years by working closely with the Pokemon League, and it’s the reason we get thirty starters from them every year. Still, not enough for our hundred students, that’s why we have the sometimes criticized legacy system, most of our graduates agree to hand our academy some of the eggs from their own starters, ensuring our institution can give them to our promising students”.

That’s interesting, how many graduates has the academy produced over decades of existence? They could probably supply for a lot more than a hundred students, I wonder how that works.

“This means, you as the ones receiving those eggs have the responsibility to take proper care of them, making sure your partners grow with love and can reach their full potential, do you understand?”, this time the look in her eyes is fiercer, even while keeping a smile on her face.

“For that to happen, I will now explain the proper way to care for a pokemon egg”.