Teo rubs the sleep from his eyes. Lowering his head into his arms, he can only feel grateful that he had managed to snatch one of the desks in the back of the classroom. He did not care to know about much. To him, the room he was in looked like any other classroom. White board on the wall. Too many desks. Posters put up on the walls for him to half-read when he gets bored. The walls were green. Last classroom he was in had yellow walls. So much for the diferences. Mostly, he just silently mourned not getting the window seat. Looking out of the window would be much more to his liking than looking at the walls or posters. He might have to convince somone to switch places with him. Or he'll just take the different desk for himself the first opportunity he has.

His teammates sat way too close to him for his liking. Ves was sat at the desk to his right. Sam was in front of him. Joe sat right in front of Teo, and in front of Joe was Ace. The boy wasn't sure why they did this. Why they insisted on banding together. Truth be told, he did respect his teammates for one thing and one thing only. They left him alone. Teo would look at all of the other teams and shudder. The way they all excitedly talked over each other, asking get-to-know you questions, Teo couldn't do it. Braindead behavior, that's what it was. The school ran some shitty personality test and decided who should get along. It was all so fake and faciliated. His team was different though. Other than Sam, the other boys didn't go around pretending they want to be friends. That was the only good thing he could say about their group. In every other aspect, his teammates were irritating. He couldn't wrap his head around why they insisted on going for meals together or sitting this close by right now. It was not necessary. Still, he humoured them, for the sole understanding that he could've ended up with roomates that demanded much more. Someone had to sit next to him anyways, maybe it's for the better it's someone who already know not to pester him.

Professor Nolan walked in, irritatingly casual. Teo did not like his mentor. The man had seemed to him too cocky. Professor Nolan had this air of confidence around him that Teo found completely unfounded. He was just a high school professor after all. And history professor, on that note. It's not like he was teaching something hard, like math or chemistry, or something cool like Pokemon battles or battle strategies. He had no business of acting that dignified. Then there were the switches. The man acts nice and collected, but is truly something else. Teo remembered his reaction to their partner pokemon. What kind of professor reacts like that? The school board ran through their info and assgned them partbers they thought were suitable. They wouldn't give them anything that they can't handle. He hated how high and mighty professor Nolan had acted, as if they are just a bunch of incompetent kids who can't handle themselves around anything more than a house cat. Teo decided to dissociate, as the professor started the class. He wished them a welcome again, then proceeded to talk about yesterday's assembly. Teo didn't care. He watched Ace's hand shoot up as soon as professor asked if there were any questions. Suck-up, Teo thought.

"Right, professor", Ace cleared his throat, "I'm unsure of how the different ranking lists operate, or rather, how do we score points on the team list and what counts towards individual lists". Teo rolled his eyes. It was clear to him where Ace was going with this. The little blond fuck was going to focus on the individual list. That suits him. He spent half of the day yesterday scribbling around in some notebook, probably calculating his chances. Most of the people did that, Teo noticed. Ace was the only one of his teammates that thought about that. Teo himself did not care about the rankings. He saw a simple truth, the entrance exam scores didn't matter now. For him, they were all on theneven playing field as of right now. Calculating anything would meaningless. There was a simple way to do things. Just be better than everyone else and win.

"I'm kind of bad at explaining these things", professor Nolan scratched his head, "but basically, everything you do as an individual counts towards both your individual ranking and your team ranking, and the team scores go towards team rankings, if that makes sense".

"It does not", a curly haired girl says.

"Right", professor sighs, "well maybe it's best if I explain it with some examples". Bringing his hands together he tries explaining again: "for instance, your written test scores, that's something you do as individuals".

"Right, what with them?", Ace urges.

"The points you score on your written tests will obviously count towards you individual ranking", professor states, "but each of your individual test scores also get added to your team ranking list, if that makes sense".

"Right, so written tests count for both lists?", some boy in the front row adds.

"That's right", professor nods.

"And the scores don't get split or factored or anything?", Ace questions further.

"No, no", professor clarifies, "say, you've scored a 1000 points through your finals, those points go towards your individual score, but also get added to your team score, so if every team member scores a 1000 on the tests, each of them gets those 1000 points for themselves, and we consider that you have scored 5000 thousand points as a team".

"Right, that's clear, what about battles though?", the curly girl asks again.

"Well, the singles are easy enough, they work pretty much the same", professor says, "each round you win earns you points, the points you earn as an individual count towards your personal ranking and get added to your team as well".

"Right, so if I win and score 1000 points, I get those points and my team now has those 1000 points as well?", the boy in the front adds.

"Right that's how it works", professor Nolan confirms, "but one win in the battle definitely won't get you 1000 points, unless it's winning the finals".

"Well I'll just win the finals then", the boy in the front says cockily, and Teo can hear Ace scoffing.

"Okay, and what about the tag team tournament?", the girl asks again.

"That one's a bit more more complicated", professor scratches his head again, "but basically, if your team wins, your team gets the points, if you win, you get points, if that makes sense".

"No, it does not", the girl says.

"Right, so if your team wins the tag team battle, you get points, let's say you score 300 points for that", professor sighs, "but the tag team includes multiple individual battles, so if you've won your battle, you gain individual points, let's say you get 100 for winning your own battle within the tag team battle".

"Right, and if you lose your own battle?", Ace wonders.

"If your team wins, it gets the team points, however, if you lose your individual battle you don't get any points on the individual list, even if your team wins the battle as a whole", professor explains, "and in case you do win your own battle, you win the individual points, even if your team loses the tag-team battle".

"And if you lose your battle and your team loses?", Sam chimmes in.

"Then you get nothing", professor laughs him off.

"Don't worry buddy", Ves taps Sam on the shoulder, "you'll get a beating if you lose". Professor Nolan shoots him a sharp look.

"But wait", Ace says, "that sounds a bit unfair, I mean, it's a tag team battle, not everyone gets a chance to fight, or do we just continue even in cases when it's clear which team has won?".

"No, the first team that scores three victories wins, then the battle is over", professor shrugs.

"But then we don't all have equal chances of scoring individual points", Ace points out.

"Right, well, then I guess it would be beneficial for you to learn to communicate and problem solve", professor gives Ace a knowing look, making the boy pull back.

"And what if the battle ends in a draw?", the boy in the front asks, "do we get any points for that?".

"No points for a draw", professor responds.

"And if the whole tag team battle ends in a tie?", the curly haired girls wonders.

"Each team picks one of their winners and they fight in the tie-breaker round", professor says, "if each team has two winners you can do a double battle as well, if both parties want to go about it like that". The girl nods in understanding. "Any more questions about tournaments and scoring points?", professor Nolan looks around the room, "no? Good, any questions on other topics?".

"Um", Sam rasies his hand, "I was wondering, why are the teams all separated by gender, I mean, every team is either all boys or all girls".

"Well, we do make the teams room together, so it's only logical to create same gender teams", professor says with a laugh.

"Right, but like, it's kind of weird", Sam word-vomits, "I mean, is there really equal number of boys and girls?".

"Of course there is not", professor sighs, "but when combining students into team, you only need to make a single mixed team in order to eliminate that issue".

"That sounds wrong", Sam scratches his chin.

"Guess we know who's failing math", Ace remarks.

"So there's one mixed team?", Sam presses on.

"Yeah, most years there is one, and I believe it's the case this year as well", professor sighs, "though I really don't see the importance of a question like this"..

"Oh, I was just curious, that's all", Sam says simply.

"Alright, then, any more questions", professor sighs, "some that are actually important, please".

"Um, back to the tag team tournament, professor", another girl, short and with black hair asks sheepishly, "could you please tell us how many points can we earn there?".

"Well, the offical rules for this year have not been set in stone as of yet", professor says, "but usually the first two rounds go with awarding 300 points to the winning team, and 100 individual points to those who win their own battles".

"And the teams that get eliminated in the first round?", Ace questions.

"They get a zero and the tournaments are pretty much over for them", professor shrugs. "Although", he raises his finger before anyone else can interfere, "since the first round cuts the number of teams down to 15, and we need 16 teams for the tournament to function properly, one of the teams that loses the round one will get a second chance".

"Right, and I'd guess that team isn't just ramdomly picked", the boy in the front states.

"No, though the process of earning that spot is different each year, but no worries, it does involve battles", professor explains.

"Oh, well what will that be like?", the curly gurl wonders.

"It's different each year, usually they don't do a tag battle, they do either a king of the heel type of thing or doubles", professor explains, "maybe a free-for-all type of battle". Teo had no idea what any of those battles were. Or how they would function in the tournament format.

"And the team that passes through that gets some points as well?", the black-haired girl questions.

"Individual points, yes, they always count those", professor says, "but they don't always give out team points in those cases".

"Wait, so if you lose the first round, win the battle for the last spot, and then just lose again, then you get no points?", the tall girl questions, "I mean, your team can still end up scoring a zero?".

"Yes that can happen", professor says, "once again, the last team for the round of 16 won't necessarily be chosen through a tag-team battle, basically the decision wheter to award team points is dependent on the format".

"Right", the girl nods.

"Okay, anything else?", professor goes on.

Boy sat in the second row raises his hand. "Just to confirm something", he says in a calm voice, "I've looked over the schedule, and Thursdays and Fridays are empty, I'd assume that's meant to give us more time to train". Teo didn't even look at the schedule. The boy struck his attention. He was wearing a red track suit. Teo couldn't see his face. That didn't matter. The boy's tone and manners were painfully similar to Joe's, and it was getting on Teo's nerves.

As on cue, Joe inserted himself into the conversation. "On the topic of training", the boy spoke flatly, "when can we reach out to you in order to set up battles? I'd assume Monday through Wednesday won't work, since all of our classes are packed within those three days".

"Exactly", the red track suit ties in seemlesly, "not only would we be too busy on those days, but I'd guess you have classes as well".

"Thursdays and Fridays would be reserved for that then?", Joe adds calmly, "I don't know how much you like the idea of spending your weekends like a referee?".

Professor's stare keeps switching between the pair. "Right, I'm glad to see you two have studied the schedule, and are already thinking about training", he sighs, "Joe and Henry, right? Both of you have fighting type partners?". Both boys just nod in confirmation. "Right, they always give those to the kids who are a bit too... strict, to put it that way", he says to himself, "well, either that or anger issues, but I guess I should be lucky I got stuck with the two...dedicated kids". Overbearing, Teo realises, overbearing was the word Nolan really wanted to use.

"That does not answer our question, professor", Joe notes simply.

"Yes, we would like to know how we should go about setting up the battles", Henry, apparently, reiterates.

"Right, right", professor sighs again, "I'm glad to see you're enthusiastic". Scratching his head, he finally answers the question: "setting up battles is pretty tricky". He stops for a split second. "As you have correctly assumed, you have been given two days free from classes to train", he said, "that's why the first three days of the week are crowded with classes for all of us, so those certainly won't work".

"Right, so we just save the battles for the prolonged weekend then", the boy sat in the front desk comments, "I don't see why these two are making this matter sound complicated".

"Oh, shut up Lesley", Ace scoffs, earning himself a look from professor Nolan and Teo as well. Blondie knew this guy? This was a new information.

"I just want to make sure of how things work, so I can plan better", Henry adds.

"Oh, you don't need to plan that much Henry", Lesley chuckles slightly, "you're on the team with me, you'll do good, you can relax".

"Right, Lesley will just win the whole tournament for us", the boy sat at the back of the classroom speaks up. Teo takes note of him. Wearing a flannel button-down, he looks as if he had walked out of a low-budget 80s sit-com. Pitch black messy hair tells him the boy has never seen a hairbrush, and his voice and eyes tell him that the guy probably hasn't slept in a few days.

"Well, Andrei, I'm pretty sure I'll have to", Lesley scoffs, "you're literally dead last in the rankings buddy, I'm not exactly eager to depend on you".

"I'm not dead last, I'm 299th", Andrei adds cynically.

"Yeah, I'm last", Sam chimmes in, and Teo can see Ace face-palming.

Lesley laughs at this whole ordeal. "What was that, Acey", he says, "please, tell me you're stuck with this guy".

"I am, Lesley", Ace says sharply, "what does that matter, he's last, I'm not, but you already know that".

"Yeah, I know that", Lesley is still laughing, "and I guess you already know I'm 60 spots above you".

"It's just the test scores, Lesley", Ace retorts, "calm down".

"Well, it not like you could beat me in the battle", Lesley shrugs, "actually, we can test that, professor, what did you say, how do we go about setting up battles?".

"Right, I didn't say anything, since you decided to interupt me", professor Nolan raises his eyebrow, causing both Lesley and Ace to shift in their chairs. Clearing his throat, the man says: "I'll put it in simple terms, the days I don't have classes, I work on my own reaserach, so I don't really have too much free time to be a referee".

"Wait, so you won't referee our battles?", the curly haired girl straightens up in her seat, "how are we supposed to practice then?".

"I didn't say that exactly", the professor gestures with his hands for her to calm down. "Of course, I will fullfill my duty of overseeing your battles, I'm just putting it out there that I do not have too much time on my hands to act like a ref for you kids", he explains. "Besides, to be completely honest, I'm not a trainer myself, you'll be much better off asking other professors to referee for you, unlike me, they might be able to give you some pointers", he sighs.

"Oh, we can ask other professors as well?", Sam wonders.

"Yes, Sam, they said it in an assembly yesterday, even I caught that", Ves says in an uninterested voice.

"You can ask any of your professors, which includes me as well", professor Nolan continues, "however, do keep in mind that we are all educators first and foremost, first year professors are not trainers themselves, you know". He brings his hands together: "and keep in mind, as a non-trainer, I do not find myself suitable to handle every situation involving pokemon battles, so there are battles that I will refuse to oversee on that ground as well".

"I'd guess I fall into that category", Joe notes shortly.

"Me as well", Ves adds.

"I'd take I'm in there as well", Henry says calmly.

"Right, the three of you are out of my capacity", professor admits, "nothing personal, but I don't think I'm capable of handling a battle that includes fighting or dark types". He looks over them, landing his eyes at Teo as well. The boy throws him a snarky smile. Turning to look at Andrei he adds: "ghost types are also a no go teritory, all of them".

"Yeah, I'm not exactly in a hurry to battle", the boy responds uninterested, "I'll leave that to our resident battle maniacs over there".

"Okay, but I don't have any of those types", Lesley notes, "so I'm good to go then?".

"You're the one with a Spoink, right?", professor questions.

"Right", Lesley confirms, sinking a bit deeper into his seat. Teo sees Ace trying not to laugh.

"Right, well psychic types are not my favourite either", professor scratches his head, "but a Spoink at the beginner level, I think I can do that".

"Okay, so you can set up a battle between me and Acey over there, then?", Lesley questions.

"Ace, you have a Rockruff, right?", professor looks over at the blond boy, who nods in confirmation.

"Well, then, I think that's a battle I could handle", professor Nolan nods.

"Good, so when can you set that battle for?", Lesley says eagerly, "I mean, if Ace is up for the challenge".

"I am", Ace says coldly.

"Actually, if there are no more questions, we could do it right now", professor says, "I guess it would be beneficial for all of you to see a pokemkn battle first hand, and besides, it's a way to prove I do have some will to be a good mentor". He looks over the room patiently, but everybody just stays quiet. Even if anyone had any questions left, they sure wouldn't be asking now. "Alright, then, if both of you are up for it, we can move to the court room, there's one just down the hallway", professor notes. Lesley is quick to jump up.

"Oh, wait, actually", Andrei stands up in the back, "I do have a question".

"No Andrei, you do not", Lesley shoots him a tired look.

"Yes I do Lesley, please stop talking", Andrei sighs dramatically, "I was wondering, how can we catch some new pokemon, since I haven't seen any wild ones". Teo hasn't even thought about makimg team expansions right now, Absol was already enough trouble by himself.

"Okay, I'll let that slide, it's a good question", Lesley nods.

"It's... it's not really up to you to decide anyways", Andrei says tiredly.

"There are mo wild pokemon on the island, for safety reasons", professor Nolan says, "you can catch new pokemon either when making trips back home during weekends, or during organised school trips, you are requiered to register any newly caught pokemon with the school though".

"Oh, we can go home on the weekends?", Sam says excitedly.

"Of course we can, it's a weekend", Ves says snarkyly.

"Yes, you are allowed to go home on the weekends, of course you have to notify the school that you'll be leaving", professor confirms, "though, rarely anyone leaves during the weekends, your do have a rather tight schedule here". Teo's definitely not going home. It had nothing to do with the schedule.

"And the school trips are?", Andrei questions.

"School organises educational trips to different regions, Thursday through Sunday, I usually lead the trips to Sinnoh region, since that's where I'm currently doing research", professor says, "of course you are free to sign up for a trip to any reagion you take interest in, but keep in mind, you have to sign up as a team".

"That's just great", Ves sighs, "so what, am I just going to be stuck with these four for everything now?".

"Yes, pretty much", professor shrugs.

"Alright, so we have school trips, we need to notify school about everything", Lesley eagerly cuts into the conversarion, "can we just go and battle now?".

"Wait Lesley", professor gives him a Stern look, "are there any more questions perhaps?".

"Professor, I think it's for the best we go right now", Ace says after noting everyone else is quiet, "Lesley's not exactly a patient type, he might turn full blown American Psycho on us if we don't go now".

"Hey Acey, you need to stop trying to work out movie referemces into every conversation", Lesley grins at him, "stuff like that is why no one likes you, you know".

"This is how I live Lesley", Ace says in all seriousness.

"Alright, you two should cut it out", professor Nolan says, "and since there are no more questions, I think we can all head for the court room, slowly".

Teo watches as his classmates shuffle through the doors. He's not in a hurry. Joe and Ves seem to be on the same page as him, waiting for everyone else to leave first. Sam's quick to jump up, but he floats just a few feet in front of the others so they could leave together. Ace has already left. As the four walk out of the classroom and into the hallway, keeping their distance from the rest of the class, Teo takes note of the situation. So far the only three names he had caught were Lesley, Andrei and Henry. He had no idea who other two people on their team were. He was, however happy to see there were other dysfunctional teams beside his own. The three didn't seem to be the best of friends. And they had some dead weight as well, Andrei was ranked almost last, he remembered. Carefully checking his phone, he found the other two on the list. Lesley was 17th, exactly 60 spots above Ace, as he had claimed. This battle might be interesting. Especially since the two obviosly knew each other. He had some trouble finding Henry, since the boy didn't mention anything about his position, but something told Teo he's definitely not in the bottom half. Sure enough, he saw Henry's name at the 74th spot. Another highly ranked guy. Thinking about team compositions, Teo assumed the other two boys on their team are probably ranked lower, that's how it should work, after all. Ves gives him a raised eyebrow, figuring out what Teo's looking at. "Just checking out the competition", the boy assures him.

"Hey, are they good?", Sam takes an opportunity to insert himself into the conversation.

"Well, I don't know that, these are just numbers", Teo says sharply.

"Well we are about to see for ourselves", Joe says flatly, "and we'll see how Ace does as well". Teo notices he's let Riolu out of his pokeball already.

"Hey, so, Ace knows that Lesley guy, right?", Sam wonders, "how do they know each other?".

"They probably went to the same school", Ves says as if the answer's obvious.

"Doesn't have to be the case, they might just be neighbours or even related", Teo adds.

"Well, they are the same age, obviously", Ves retorts, "so they probably went to the same school".

"Oh, you think they are from the same place?", Sam thinks about it.

"They seem to have something going on between them", Joe says, "so I'd assume they are from the same town".

"Right, they definitely didn't meet on social media or something", Teo nods, "this seemed a bit more personal".

"Exactly, as I said, they live in the same town, they are the same age, so they probably went to the same school", Ves presses on.

"Dude, some towns have more than one school you know", Teo retorts, "they could just be neighbours, or even family with some bad blood".

"Well, in that case they might not even be from the same town", Sam notes, "if they are family, that is".

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

"It's not like it matters", Joe cuts them off, "let's just see if Ace can beat this guy". Teo hates the way Joe goes around making executive decisions. Walking into the court room he makes shure do dig his shoulder into the other boy, just to drive home the point.

Court room is a simple space consisting of a battle court. No stands, professor Nolan informs them that the room was not designed to fit spectators, instructing them to stand on the sidelines. As he finds a place to stand, far from the crowd, Teo quickly takes note of other characteristics of the room. It's a small space, barely big enough to fit 30 of them. They are all standing on the same side of the court, though. The ceiling is high, lined with LED lights radiating in that sterile white that Teo hated with sincerity. Lesley was a first one to take his spot on the court, eagerly awaiting for the match to begin. Taking in the boy's appearance, the first thing Teo noticed was the boy's smug grimace. It didn't fit him at all. His features were too feminine. His blue eyes were too soft looking, his lips almost bay pink, blending into his light complexion. His short light brown curls looked almost as if somebody carefully placed each of them in the exact spot they should be in. Lesley was a bit taller than Ace, with slim looking body, he stood on the court confidently. Blue pants and vest complemented his hair well, and, paired with his posture, they gave the boy almost a royal look. The white blouse underneath the vest looked to be made out of satin. Trust fund baby, Teo decided, and, much to his own surprise, he found himself rooting for Ace in this match. His teammate took his position on the court, wearing simple blue jeans and a green t-shirt that looked just a size too big on him. Fixing his eyes on Lesley, Ace looked as stressed out as always.

"Alright, before we begin", professor raises his hands in the air, "I urge all of you to be careful, spectators should take care not to enter onto the court, and our battlers should take care not to launch any attacks at the audience".

"Alright, we know that much", Lesley pressed, already readying his pokeball.

"Well, it is my job as your mentor to make sure everyone is safe", Nolan retorts, "you know, if somebody gets hurt, I'll be drowning in paperwork". Lesley stays quiet, gripping on his pokeball even tighter. Ace tries to keep his cool, but Teo notices the boys death-grip on Rockruff's pokeball. "Alright, both of you release your partners", professors announces. Lesley acts quickly, throwing his pokeball out, letting his Spoink onto the court. Ace releases his Rockruff with a press of a button, and Teo can clearly see he's trying hard to stay focused.

Looking at the Spoink, the piglet pokemon doesn't seem too threatening, to put it lightly. Sam must be thinking the same thing cause he adds under his breath: "Ace is winning this for sure".

"Well, I wouldn't bet on it", Teo says.

"He looks scared", Joe flatly agrees.

"You think he'll lose?", Sam wonders, "there's no way, look at that thing, it's so tiny and it looks weak".

"Well, Ace looks weak as well", Teo notes.

"Right, and Spoink is a psychic type", Joe adds, "the looks don't really matter with those".

"Oh, if he loses to this trampoline piggy, I'm going to fuck with him so much", Ves chuckles.

"You always see the bright side of things, don't you Ves", Teo says.

"Right, that's why you all love me", Ves retorts.

"That's why we all find you annoying", Teo clarifies.

"Let's just watch the battle", Joe cuts them off.

"Alright, are both of you ready", professor Nolan looks between the two boys. They both reply with a short nod. "Well then", the professor says, "let the battle begin".

Lesley wastes no time in ordering an attack: "Confuse Ray".

Ace starts laughing on the other side of the court. "Really, that's the dumbest thing you could've done", he says, "Rockruff, go for the Double Team". His partner is quick to respond, creating a clone of himself. Spoinks attack manages to land, but Ace doesn't seem worried.

"Don't tell me", Lesley scoffs, "it has Own Tempo".

"Right, Ace is good to go, Rockruff can't get confused", Sam seems happy about the turn of events.

"That gives him a shot at winning, at least", Ves notes.

"I guess we'll have to see", Joe adds flatly.

"Go for Aceelerock, Rockruff", Ace yells out decisevly.

"Use Snarl", Lesley scoffs, "now Spoink".

Ace flinches, reacting quickly:"get out of the way, Rockruff". The brown dog quickly stops its attack, pulling backwards. The dark energy blast from Spoink hits the clone, dispersing it immediately. "Now, Double Team again", Ace's hand cuts through the air.

"Confusion, Spoink", Lesley goes on the offensive, hitting into the newly made clone again. Just like that, the two boys are back where they started.

"Double Team, once more", Ace commands.

"Fine, Spoink, use Calm Mind", Lesley decides to switch it up.

"Rockruff, go for another Double Team", Ace orders, and his partner creates yet another clone.

"Calm Mind again, Spoink", Lesley orders, and the pearl on top of little piglet's head suddenly starts glowing brighter, causing the boy to smirk.

"Hey, Ace's got this", Sam states, "he has two clones now, there's no way Lesley will hit him, he's going to win".

"He'll lose", Joe flats out.

"What do you mean", Sam looks at him in confusion, "he's battling well, there's no way Lesley can hit him now".

"He's too careful, he's way too defensive", Joe sticks to his guns, "he'll lose here".

"Cmon, Lesley hasn't hit him once", Sam argues, "and he wasted the first attack".

"Right, that was a mistake", Joe agrees, "but Lesley know what he's doing, and more importantly, he knows what Ace is doing".

"Cmon, dude", Sam snarks, "why are you rooting against your own teammate here".

"I'm not rooting against him, I'm just stating the obvious, he's battling way too carefully", Joe replies calmly.

"Well, it's not bad being careful", Sam retorts.

"It is in this case", Joe says simply, "for many reasons".

"What do you mean?", Sam finds himself confused again.

Teo starts to see what Joe is going for. "It's Rockruff, right?", he says, "he's not a pokemon to be used defensively, he's supposed to attack".

"Right", Joe confirms.

"So what", Sam retorts, "it's not like pokemon can be used in only one way".

"Sam, please, don't be a dumbass", Ves inserts himself, "sure, you can trsin your pokemon for a different battle style, but Rockruff's not trained at all, this is their first battle, and he's using his partner in the completely against his natural affinities".

"Hey, since when are you an expert", Teo gives Ves a surprised look.

"I know a thing or two, you know", Ves makes a grimace, "don't let my pretty face fool you".

"Lesley on the other hand, is using Spoink the way he's supposed to", Joe ignores the two and continues the analysis, "it is a slow and bulky pokemon that can land a hit, and it's a psychich type as well".

"Right", Teo sees the big picture, "and Ace has let him set up twice with Calm Mind".

"More like Lesley figured out Ace won't attack him and he decided to outplay him", Ves latches onto the point as well, "he literally exploited how defensively Ace is fighting".

"Not to mention that Ace didn't need to do any of this", Joe nods, "Accelerock is a priority move, he would've landed that hit for sure, even if he got hit with the Snarl in the process, it wouldn't do much damage".

"Right, he could've won this fight by now", Ves agrees.

"And now that Lesley is all set up, he need to land just a single hit to finish this", Teo states.

"Go for Quick Attack, Rockruff", Ace's command interupts them.

As Rockruff and its clones launch at the Spoink, Lesley confidently orders: "Snarl".

"Out of the way", Ace stops the attack again. The wave of dark energy hits at the two clones, dispersing them, while the real Rockruff avoids taking damage again.

"Confusion, now", Lesley yells out, and his partner is quick to react. The pearl on his head glowing bright white. Teo watches as Rockruff's body goes stiff. For a split second, the small dog's body goes gray. The next moment, it falls to the ground, without making a sound.

The only thing Ace can do is stand there, dumbfounded, barely raising his hand to recall his fainted partner. "The winner of the match is Lesley", professor Nolan announces.

"It wasn't much of a match", one of the students comments.

"Well, you can blame that on Acey here", Lesley wears a giant grin on his face, "you need to land an attack in order to win, you know, buddy?".

"Shut up, Lesley", Ace says sharply, but the craks in his voice make the humiliation apparent. Teo doesn't feel sorry for him. It was his own judgment that had caused him to lose this.

"Lesley's apparently not all talk", Ves notes. That's a sentiment Teo can agree with. Lesley was at a huge disatvantage here, he realised. Considering the match-up and the fact neither Pokemon had any training, Spoink wasn't exactly the best match against Rockruff. Still, Lesley has managed to grab victory almost effortlessly.

"I'd worry more about Ace allowing this to happen if I were you", Joe states distantly, "you passing the year depends on his performance".

"You mean us passing the year", Ves reminds him.

"No, I mean you", Joe says simply, "I'm ranked 4th, I'll pass on my own, Ace's incompetence does not affect me in the slightest".

"Hey, cut him some slack, it was his first battle", Sam says defensively.

"He fought like a pussy he is, and he lost", Teo scoffs him off, "as much as I hate agreeing with Joe, he's right this time around, if this is how Ace fights, we're screwed".

"Teo, just calm down", Sam raises his hands, "it's not the end of the world".

"It's not, huh?", Teo snarks, "let's see, we have you on our team, and you're ranked last, and now we have Ace who's too much of a coward to actually commit to an attack, so I'd say we're pretty much screwed".

"And then we have you as well Teo", Joe states, "who can't even let his partner out of the pokeball".

"That's none of your business", Teo shoves him, "I thought I told you not to meddle".

"You are on the same team as me", Joe reminds him, "so it kind of is my bussines, have you even fed your Absol in these past few days?". Teo flinches a bit as Joe gives him a blank stare.

He did. He tried to. Yesterday. Absol ignored the food and decided to jump straight at Teo. The boy was quick enough to recall him into his pokeball. But his partner did go hungry. "Once again", Teo scoffs, "none of your bussines, didn't you just say you'll pass on your own?".

"Right, I will", Joe replies, "but not feeding your Pokemon is neglect and abuse you know".

"Oh, and you're such a sweetheart to care about that", Teo rolls his eyes, "what are you, a tree hugger or something?".

"No, but they will revoke your provisional licence and kick you out of the school if they deduce you've been neglecting your pokemon", the boy responds.

"As if you care about me", Teo retorts.

"I do not", Joe says simply, "but if you're out of the school, our team will be one member short, which is not good considering we have to battle in a tag team tournament soon".

"Oh, didn't think that would bother you", Teo says sarcastically, "won't you just win the whole thing on your own?".

"I would if I could, but the school board probably won't let me do that", Joe notes, "so be nice and feed your partner".

"You're full of shit", Teo turns away from him. Rage rises right to his head. He hates it. He hates to admit that Joe is right. They are screwed. Ace has been proven useless. Considering Sam's views on this battle, he's probably even worse. And Teo could not even let his partner out of his pokeball, let alone use it in battle. Joe was a nosy fucker, but he knew what he was doing. Ves was still an unknown, but even if he proved to be capable of battling, him and Joe wouldn't be enough to pull all five of them through the year. If he wanted any chance at passing, Teo had to get through to Absol.

Appriaching them, Ace looks willing to commit a murder. Joe steps forward, but the blond boy raises his hand, not letting him utter a single word: "don't start, I know already, I got nervous and I did a stupid thing, I should've gone for the Sand Attack, he wouldn't be able to get rid of that like he did with the clones".

"That's not the thing you should be focusing on", Joe says calmly.

"Right, buddy, you should've done some attacking", Ves chimmes in.

"Oh shut up, I don't care", Ace rolls hid eyes, "Lesley's ranked higher than me anyways, so I don't give a fuck".

"What does that have to do with anything?", Teo furs his eyebrows.

"I only need to be stronger than people ranked lower than me so they don't take my spot", Ace looks him straight in the eye, "and then just a few people above me, so I advance, that's all I have to do, so don't give me any crap, losing to Lesley doesn't matter in that regard".

"Well, you don't seem convinced of that yourself, buddy", Teo laughs.

"Right, I admit, I did think I could be Lesley, I wanted to beat him, and I hate that I lost, but that's for personal reasons only", Ace scoffs, "objectively, he's ranked too high for me, so let's not act as if this was some earth-shattering result here".

"Right, spoken like a true coward", Teo frowns.

"Besides, what are your personal reasons here", Ves interrupts, "you two seem to get along quite well".

"Not that it's any of your bussines, but we went to school together", Ace retorts.

"I mean, technically, you still go to the school together", Sam adds.

"Don't remind me", Ace rolls his eyes. "Anyways", the boy lets out a deep breath, "I lost, that's all there is to it, no need to make it into anything else".

"You could've won", Joe points out, "easily".

"Don't start with me right now", Ace looks at him coldly, "I'm sure you would've done so much better".

"Right, I would", Joe nods. Turning on his heels, Ace ignores him, making his way for the exit.

The rest of the day goes as well as Teo had expected. Professor Nolan decoded to hold them hostage for five more minutes after the battle was over. Simply letting them go about their merry way was out of the question. Afterwards, he had to sit through the math class, which he passionatly hated. Biology was next, followed by English. When it was finally lunch time, he took an opportunity to dissapear from his teammates. The four boys were still bickering about Ace's battle, throwing around accusations, assesing who's going to drag them down the most. Teo wanted no part in it this time around. He was well aware he was a part of the problem. If things went down how they usually go for him, he'd just end up being blamed for everything in the end. Removing himself from it all was the best option. Picking out a take-out lunch, that had consisted of a surprisingly warm chicken sandwich and an orange juice, as well as some Pokemon food for Absol, he made his way out of the building. It was still summer outside. Heathed wind softly blew against his face. Unzipping his hoodie, he took it off, feeling better in an instant. Noticing a few other students sat at the benches in front of the main building, he was quick to walk away. He needed to be alone. Quickly, he ate his lunch while walking, finishing in a matter of minutes. He didn't need any distractions.

Making his way slightly off the cobblestone patch, he picked out a place that had seemed empty, save for a few well trimmed bushes and a singular oak tree. Breathing deep, he made sure the coast was clear. Emptying the sash with Pokemon food down on the ground, he took a few steps backwards. Absol's pokeball weighted heavy in his hand. Burning through his skin, he could almost feel his partner's anger. He pressed the button once. The pokeball expanded. Teo could only stare at it for a few moments. His heart was pounding. He remembered how his last attempt at feeding his partner went down. Joe was right though. If he didn't manage to find a way to find Absol soon, he'd be left without a partner. Agressive behaviour aside, he liked his partner. To a certain extent the boy emphatised with the Pokemon. Absol had just wanted to be left alone. He just didn't want anyone controling him. It wasn't a crime. Teo breathed out heavily. In his head, he went through the motions. He'll let Absol out near the food. Hopefully, the Pokemon's hunger has grown enough by now for him to focus on eating instead of attacking Teo. What if he wants to eat Teo? The boy shuddered at the thought. Some Pokemon did eat people, he knew it. Unlike humans, the only law Pokemon followed was the food chain one. Reassuring himself, Teo held on to the pokeball. He'll just recall Absol if it makes a jump for him. He can react in time.

Finally gathering courage, Teo extends the pokeball as far from himself as he can, making sure to aim the release behind the small mountain of Pokemon food. He holds his breath the moment he presses the button. In a flash of blue light, Absol appears. Ghostly looking, Teo immediately notices his furr grew spikier and his eyes seemed more sunken than yesterday. Hunger. His eyes still burned with rage, focused at Teo's feet. "Calm down", Teo spoke quietly, "just eat". Absol's head hung few inshes away from the ground, legs bent, ready to jump. But it didn't. Instead, the pokemon just stared intensly at his trainer. Feeling the sweat coming up, Teo decided to take a small step forward. "Just eat", he kept his voice low, barely managing to hide the quiver. "You can attack me later, just eat first", the boy repeated. Absol stood as still as a statue, still ignoring the food. His eyes caught Teo's.

The boy wasn't ready. He saw the movement. His hand flew forward on instinct. The wrong hand. As Absol leaped up, Teo's legs were earthquaking. He felt himself loosing ground. The hand he held the pokeball in was on the ground. The wrong hand was covering his face. A faint sound came behind him. A light green blur appeared in front of him. Absol was out of a sight for a split second. The next moment, Teo saw his partner down on the ground, few feet away. He could hear somebody laugh above him. A giant green manatis flew in front of him looking down on the. "That was enough Schyter", a calm voice spoke behind him, "you can stand back now". Following Schyter, his eyes met with two boys standing a few steps behind him. When did they get here, he wondered. He din't see them. He didn't hear them. One of them was tall and bulky, with a serious look in his eyes. The other boy was a bit shorter, blond, and laughing, presumably at Teo.

"Great, this one can't even control his partner", the blond boy's voice was annoyingly deep, "I mean I thought passing the first year would be easy, but this is slowly starting to look like a joke".

Teo slowly stood up, still eying the Absol. His partner wasn't knocked out, but it was struggling to get up from the ground. Not eating for 3 day definitely took a tool on him. Deciding Absol wouldn't be attacking again any time soon, Teo turned to the matter at hand. "What did you do that for", his hands reached for the taller of the boys. Teo never reached his target. In an instant, Schyter was behind him, his blade-like arms crossed over the boy's hands.

"You would've gotten killed", the boy responded calmly, "you're lucky we were around".

"It was none of your bussines", Teo scoffed at him, unable to move even an inch, "you and your friend should've just went your merry way".

"Hey, I did tell him to leave it all to you", the blond boy raises his hands, his voice filled with cockiness, "don't drag me into this, it was all Dominic". Teo notices an Axew sitting on the boy's shoulder.

"I can't just let someone get killed right in front of me", the taller boy responds, "it's just the matter of principle".

"I could've handled it myself", Teo snarks.

"Sure looked like that", the blond boy pokes.

"What are the two of you even", Teo wants to spit in his face, "you're first years as well, right, so don't act all high and mighty".

"Oh, Dom, he didn't hear about us yet", the blond boy laughs again, "well, I guess you'll learn in time". Teo wants to reply, but the other boy's blue eyes turn sharp in an instant, and he sees the Axew standing up straight on his shoulder, mouth agape. He hears a shuffle behind him. Schyter loosens his grip, and Teo turns around just in time to see his Absol knocked out from mid-air by a blast of deep blue energy. Dragon Rage, he realises. He watches helplessly as his partner is knocked out. "What a pesky little dog", the blond haired boy notes, "and its a shame as well, you know, Absol's pretty rare, and strong, too bad his trainer is useless".

Teo shakes Schyter off, his fist flying towards blond boy's face. His attempt is stopped few inches away from its mark, as Dominic blocks his path. "Just calm down", the boy says, "this doesn't have to be personal, and I promise you don't want this to turn into a physical altercation".

"Why not?", Teo pulls his hand back, gritting his teeth.

"You're outnumbered", Dominic shrugs, "and we have two Pokemon on our side as well, while yours is knocked out over there".

"And whose fault is that?", Teo says dryly.

"Yours, primarily", Dominic shrugs, "I mean, you are the one not capable of controling your partner".

Teo takes a step back. However much he hated to admit it, Dominic had a point. Even if it was one on one fistfight, dark-haired boy would be a problem. He was a bit taller, and looked much stronger than Teo. "Well, next time mind your own bussines", Teo doesn't want to give in that easily, "who are the two of you even".

"You already know my name", Dominic shrugs.

"And I'm Mikey", the blond boy returns to his smuggish tone, "but I'll let you find out everything else on your own".

"How very nice of you", Teo says through his teeth.

"I'd recommend paying a visit to the Pokemon center instead of wasting your time acting like a fool", Dominic says calmly, "your partner doesn't look to be in good shape". Great, Teo, thought, another overtly calm overbearing guy. Just what he needed. He was beginning to think this school was filled with those. Still, he recalled his partner, gripping tightly to his pokeball.

"Would be nice if you introduced yourself", Mikey winks at him, "not that I care much, but that would be a respectful thing to do, don't you think".

"I'm Teo", the boy responds. All he wants is another shot at ruining Mikey's grinning face.

"Glad to meet you", the boy says cynically, "though I doubt we'll be friends Teo, after all no use wasting time on someone who's clearly going to fail a year".

"Will you just stop running your mouth", Teo scoffs.

"Why would I?", Mikey shrugs innocently, "you don't exactly have any leverage right now, and besides, it's not like I'm saying something untrue".

"Right, well, maybe slow down on fortune-telling buddy", Teo makes a grimace at the boy, "it's only the first day of classes you know, besides passing the year is a team sport here, if I remember correctly".

"Still, it's easy to tell", Mikey shrugs, "your partner just tried killing you, I doubt you'll contribute much to your team, so anless the other four are some kind of prodigies, which I doubt, I'm pretty sure you won't be stickimg around for too long".

"You really talk a lot", Teo rolls his eyes, "right, no prodigies on my team, but I do have a sociopath who's ranked 4th, you know, and he's good". Using Joe as leverage did not feel great, but if it's going to make this guy shut the fuck up, then Teo had no problem with doing it.

"Doubt that one's gonna help you too much", Mikey laughs, "but good for you, I guess".

"Is that guy any good?", Dominic's face is coloured with interest, "did you watch him battle? Is he good? Or is he just book smart?".

"He's good", Teo says insecurely. It hits him in a moment. He didn't see Joe battle. Not really. Attacking two unassuming opponents was not the same thing as being in a battle. Even though he did handle the situation frighteningly well, it was not the same thing as a battle. Teo's not admitting that to these two. "Why would you care, you scared?", he eyes Dominic carefully.

"Not really", the boy shrugs, "he's also in top 5 students so I'm interested to know if he can battle or not".

"What do you mean 'also' in the top 5?", Teo raises his eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm 2nd, and Mikey's 1st", the boy explains nonchalantly, "you know, your teammate's the only one in the top 5 we haven't met, so I'm interested in knowing if he's any good". Scratching his head he adds: "I mean, these first rankings are weird, you know, being all about written tests...". He makes a stop, looking for words. "To put it nicely, these rankings don't always match with the battle abilities", he explains, "so you know, I'm just asking, since you're on a team with him, if he's good".

Teo ignores the river of nonsense coming from the boy: "wait, are the two of you teammates?".

"Yes we are", Mikey says conclusively.

"How are the first two ranked guys on the same team", Teo gives him a mistrustful look, "doesn't sound fair".

"Hey, don't blame me, blame the personality test, I guess it just likes putting winners together", Mikey laughs, "besides, the 3rd ranked student is also on our team, so, you know".

"Oh, really, is he now?", Teo's voice flattens. This whole ordeal sounds fishy.

"Yeah, she is", Mikey gives him a little wink. Teo's surprised to find out that it's a girl, if they are telling the truth, then they are the mixed team for the year, he realises.

"Yeah, Vinnie's good, not as good as the two of us, I'd call our rankings pretty realistic", Dominic says mostly to himself, "the girl ranked 5th is not our team, but she's in our class, and to be honest, she got that high of the ranking just cause she's smart, she's not exactly good at battling". He gives Teo a look of importance: "so you say your teammate is good?".

"Yeah", Teo steps back, "he is".

"That's good then", the tall boy thinks out loud, "would be nice to actually have some competition".

"That's a bit overconfident buddy", Teo chuckles. Dominic doesn't seem intimidated.

"Well, we'll see I guess", Dominic says simply. But Teo sees it already. He's not blind. Dominic seems calm and confident, and he's seen first hand how agile that Schyter of his is. The worst thing is, he's sure Dominic isn't overconfident. He's just confident. Mikey being ranked first is much more surprising. The boy doesn't seem especially strong. "Either way", Dominic says, "I think we should all go now, the lunch period is almost over, and you should really have Absol healed up soon".

"Right", Teo steps away from them. "Just so we're clear, I don't give a shit about your rankings, just stay out of my bussines next time".

"That's a done deal buddy", Mikey grins at him, "we don't exactly find you interesting".

"And stay away from Joe as well", he looks at Dominic. All this talk has gotten to his head. These two were still a mystery to him, their motivation uncertain. He didn't want them going after Joe, not because of him. It would be his fault.

"Alright, it's not like we're about to hunt him down", Mikey responds, "if he's really worth something, we'll get to battle him in the tournament".

"Just giving you a fair warning", Teo raises his hands.

"You're not in a position to give warnings", Mikey reminds him.

"Just stay away", Teo says firmly, turning to leave. Watching over his shoulder, he sees the pair taking a different path. Good. Picking up pace, he heads back to the main building, he doesn't want to run into them again. This interaction wasn't the most pleasant. Checking on his phone, Teo confirms what the two boys had said was true. They were really the top two ranked students in their year right now. The third one was really a girl named Vinnie, perhaps they were telling the truth about her as well. He stares at Joe's name, hanging just a spot under that trio. Wild running, his thoughts start crashing into each other. Joe's not his favourite guy. He might've just put a target mark on his back though. That was not what he wanted. Contemplating telling him about all of this, he decided against it. Would Joe kill him if he found out? He seemed like the type. Maybe he'd just settle for being annoying, it's not like he could afford losing a teammate when a tag team tournament was in front of them. Perhaps he'd just go after the duo himself, he did seem somewhat competetive. Eye's starting to hurt, the boy mathed out the situation the best he could. Dominic was undeniably strong, he's seen Schyter in action, and he's seen how the boy carries himself. Mikey was first. Dominic called their rankings realistic. Main building appeared in his sight, standing tall and white against clear blue sky. No use calculating anymore, Teo let out a breath. He couldn't know what those two would do. And he didn't know if Joe stood a chance against them. The only thing Teo knew for certain was that he stood no chance against any of them. Not until he can get through to Absol.

PE was next, and Teo was more than happy to skip it. Walking into the Pokemon center, he felt a bit weak. One thing that kept surprising him was the air. The familiar hosital smell rose throughout the room. He could never put the finger on it. It's not like pokemon medicine was same as the human one. It made no sense. He eyed the sofa's placed throughout the space to accomodate for waiting students. To his luck, the classes were in session so the place was completely empty. He'd have to make a few confessions, and the lack of the audience made things easier.

"Hello", he sheepishly adresses the nurse at the reception, "could you heal my Pokemon, please". He hovers Absol's battle over the counter.

The red haired nurse eyes him suspiciosly: "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now sweetie, what happened?".

Teo sighs heavily, ready to explain everything. He needed some help. "I was trying to feed my Absol, and he doesn't exactly like me", he decides telling the full truth would be for the best, "it attacked me, some two guys intervened and knocked him out, so could you please heal him?".

"Alright", the nurse's expression changed as she took Teo's pokeball, "it attacked you, you say, are you alright?".

"Yeah, I'm fine, I don't even have a scratch", Teo nods slowly.

"Giving an Absol to a first year sounds...questionable", she says as she starts her work in the back, "this will take a minute sweetie, you should get comfortable, there's some candy in the drawers so help yourself".

"Alright, thank you", the boy watched as the nurse placed Absol's pokeball onto one of the Ray-Recovery Machines. He alsways wondered how those worked. "Actually, I had another favour to ask", he adds in a low voice.

"Well, go ahead honey", the nurse starts up the machine, turning her attention back to him.

"Could you feed Absol?", Teo almost pleads at her, "I... he wouldn't even take a bite of the food for the past three days and I have no idea what to do".

The nurse looks at him, wide eyed: "three days?". Her expression grows worried. "Alright, I guess I can give it a go, Happiny probably can calm it down enough to eat with her healing pulse", she firmly looks at Teo, "you should've come in sooner".

"I know, I'm sorry", the boy lowers his chin, "and thank you".

"It's not a problem sweetie, this is my job after all", the nurse gives him a soft smile, "now, we'll see how long this takes, you've already missed one class, right?".

"Right", Teo confirms.

"Well, sit and relax for a bit then", she nods, "and if your next class starts before Happiny is done feeding Absol, you should go, it's not good to miss too many classes".

"Right, right, I will", Teo clears his throat. Skipping classes was the only bright spot in his day. "Could I ask one more thing?", he adds, "before I go and start relaxing".

"Alright", the nurse gives a little laugh, "ask away".

"What can I do to get Absol to like me", Teo says, "or you know, just to get him to eat from now on".

The women leans over the counter, thinking. "It's tricky", she admits, "building a relationship between a pokemon and the trainer".

"Yeah, I've noticed", Teo laughs slightly.

"Unfortubately, there is nothing I can do to help you with that right now", she says, "the healing is all automatized nowdays, so the school doesn't really stock up on any other supplies".

"So, I take it, there is something I can do than?", Teo discerns.

"Right, there are soothing berries", the nurse nods, "if you can get your hand on one of those somehow, they might be helpful".

"What are the soothing berries?", Teo wonders.

"Oh, Grepa berry, Hondew berry, Tomato berry", the nurse starts counting.

"Oh, aren't those friendship berries", Teo remembers the stuff he had to learn for the entrance exam.

"Right", the nurse sighs, "well, that's what the training literature calls them, though us medics and apotecaries don't exactly agree with the terminology".

"Why, that's what they're called in simulations as well, isn't it?", Teo questions.

"Right, it is", the nurse says, "you kids and your simulations". She takes a deep breath in. "Those kind of berries have soothing or calming effect on pokemon that eat them", she explains, "they contain certain chemicals that cause muscles to relax and brain functions to become more streamlined, to put it like that".

"How is that?", Teo inquers.

"Well, I'm not about to start explaining neuroscience to a fourteen year old", the nurse laughs.

"I am fifteen", Teo stays adamnt.

"Alright, well, firstly, these berries contain components that are a part of hormones naturally produced by an organism", she explains with a smile on her face, "so, when a Pokemon eats them, those chemicals induce the metabolic pathways through which those hormones are synthesised, it's a very natural occurance".

"Right, that sounds a bit complicated", Teo admits.

"It's really not", the nurse raises her finger sternly, "it's wuite simple, the organism recognises the components that are specific to the make-up of certain hormonal molecules and it uses those chemicals to build those molecules, it's like when you have lemons so you decide to make lemonade".

"I don't drink lemonade", Teo scratches his head, "I use my lemons for tea, usually".

"Right", the nurse laughs, "well, either way, the berries are a natural way to soothe the pokemon's nervous system, since that's the effect the hormons synthesised from their components have on the organism".

"Alright, but what if Absol doesn't want to eat the berries?", Teo questions.

"Well, that would be a big problem", the nurse admits, "but you should try it at least, the berries have aromatic components as well, so just their smell alone should have some calming effect".

"Okay, I'm not going to ask how that works", Teo says.

"To bad, I was looking forward to explaining that as well", the nurse laughs.

"Right, and where can I find those berries?", the boy asks.

"Well, you're not going to find them on this island, that's for sure", the nurse shrugs, "maybe look for some when you go home, or when you go on one of the school trips".

Teo nods slowly. He's not exactly looking forward to going home, and he was not sure when they will go to a school trip. "Alright, thank you", he says, losing a little bit of hope. Maybe he could ask around. Some of the older students are bound to have those berries. Or maybe someone could get them for him.

"No problem", the nurse says, "and you should think about getting a Soothe Bell for Absol as well", the nurse says, "once you manage to get Absol to wear it, it should make things significantly easier".

"Wait, that's real?", Teo says in surprise, "I thought that was made up for the simulation".

The nurse laughs. "Yeah, well, the Soothe Bell has a thin shell made out of special nickel legure, and an iron ball inside", she explains, "the sound of those two metals clashing creates a freequency that has calming effect, and it's not too loud, basically only the Pokemon wearing it can hear it".

"Well, do you have any of those?", Teo asks, "could you put it on Absol".

"I'm afraid I do not", she scratches her head, "as I said, the school doesn't really get supplies like that, you'll have to look for it somewhere off the island".

"Right", Teo says dissapointedly, "well, thank you very much for helping me out and explaining all of that".

"No problem, as I said it's my job", the nurse smiles, "besides, I love it when students are interested in stuff like this, you know, pokemon medicine is very fun, and it can help you become a better trainer, you know, not everything is like those simulations they run".

"Right, well, the simulations are pretty straight forward", Teo scratches his head.

"They are, and they misinterpret many things", the nurse nods, "friendship mechanics, per say, are a very big problem".

"What do you mean?", Teo wonders.

"Well, they exist in simulations as a stat, something that has a numerical value, something that can be influenced with berries and bells", the nurse says a bit distantly, "but that's not how it works in real life, the bonds between people and pokemon are built on shared experiances and mutual understadning, don't you think?"

"Right", Teo says thinking about his teammates, "well, you shouldn't be friends with everyone though".

"Well, that's true", the nurse responds, "but, you know, sometimes life just brings people into your life".

"Right, and sometimes a school board assigns you a partner that hates your guts", Teo laughs dryly. And groups you together with four idiots, he refrains from adding.

"Yeah, sometimes", the nurse says, "but overcoming differences is a part of it all". Giving Teo an understanding look she adds: "you know, sometimes you don't get what you want, you get what you need".

"Right, guess you're right", Teo doesn't believe a word of it. "I'm going to do that relaxing right now", he states turning to leave, "thank you again, for everything".

"It's no big deal", the nurse says behind him, "it will all be good".