Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
A flock of Taillow flew across the clear sky, signaling that today was going to be a perfectly beautiful, sunny day.
Harold dashed along the stone path toward school. Commuting from Route 117 into Mauville City every day always took some time, but it was especially brutal this morning because Teddiursa had completely overslept.
After forcing his partner to quickly wolf down its breakfast, Harold had no choice but to recall Teddiursa into its Luxury Ball just to save time.
When Harold finally burst through the heavy wooden doors of the classroom, the room was already alive with the loud chatter of people and Pokémon.
The desks, which were usually arranged in neat rows, had been pushed against the walls to create a wide, open space in the center of the room, with backpacks stacked neatly on top of them.
Looking around, Harold noticed that a few of his classmates had already released their partners. A Silcoon was happily basking in the sunshine by the window, a hyperactive Zigzagoon was sniffing furiously around the floorboards, and a Meditite was floating gracefully in mid-air, lost in deep meditation.
"Hey Harold! Over here!"
Harold turned toward the window. Standing alone near the side of the room was a girl with light silver-blue hair, wearing a navy-blue school blazer over a pleated gray skirt.
It was Gemma Stone, his classmate who usually sat right next to him. It was impossible to mistake her for anyone else but a member of the Stone family; she was the younger sister of the newly crowned conference victor, Steven Stone, and the daughter of Devon Corporation's president, Mr. Joseph Stone. The main reason she chose to study here in Mauville City instead of Rustboro City—where her family's massive corporate headquarters was located—was because she desperately wanted to forge her own path, rather than live in the shadow of her brilliant brother.
"Morning, Gemma. Why don't you take a seat?" Harold smiled, noticing she was still on her feet.
"Since everyone else is standing, why should I treat myself as someone special?" Gemma offered a faint smile, precisely draping her matte-black sling bag over the back of the chair. "Besides, I actually enjoy watching all these cute, energetic Pokémon run around."
"You make a good point. I should let Ted make some new friends too!" Harold released Teddiursa from its Luxury Ball. It looked incredibly exhausted, letting out a tiny, soft snore the second its paws touched the floor. "Teddi~"
"Awww~ you are so cute!" Gemma bent over, gently scratching Teddiursa's cheek. "Did you stay safely inside the house last night? I heard the wind gusts over on Route 117 were incredibly intense."
"Teddiursa!" Teddiursa nodded confidently, puffing out its chest as if to say it had handled the storm like a champ.
"Good boy! You deserve some extra honey for being so brave." Gemma's words instantly lit up Teddiursa's mood. It immediately began acting cute in front of her, wide eyes sparkling as it instinctively activated the move Baby-Doll Eyes.
"You spoil him way too much, Gemma. He hasn't even finished the batch you gave him last time," Harold said, playfully flicking his finger against Teddiursa's forehead to tell it to turn off the charm.
"Those aren't just ordinary sweets, Harold," Gemma countered defensively, as Teddiursa nodded vigorously beside her in absolute agreement. "That is a specialized, organic blend imported directly from the Floaroma Meadow in the Sinnoh region. It's meticulously harvested by wild Combee colonies under the pheromonal guidance of a high-level Vespiquen. The pollen density gives it an unparalleled concentration of nutrients and natural enzymes!"
"Ha! Gemma, in human words, that just means it's healthy," Harold blinked, giving her a playful smirk.
"Hmph, that is just proper scientific terminology! Of course they're human words!" Gemma crossed her arms and playfully refused to look at Harold, choosing to play with Teddiursa instead.
Harold chuckled. "You're absolutely right. How could I possibly argue after you dropped a whole textbook statement on me?"
"You—" Before Gemma could fire back, a sharp, rhythmic clapping distracted them both.
Teacher Fiona stood at the front of the room by the chalkboard, a warm smile on her face. "Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to see you all again this Monday morning. Could everyone please settle down for me?" Even though she spoke with a gentle smile, nobody dared to make another sound.
"Wonderful, thank you for the cooperation." Teacher Fiona unclipped a Poké Ball and released a Ludicolo—the Carefree Pokémon—who served as her trusted teaching assistant.
"As I mentioned last week, every ten-year-old student has officially been approved to become a registered Pokémon Trainer. You must strictly remember and follow all the rules and regulations I have taught you. Failing to do so means answering to Officer Jenny, or worse, facing jail time."
A heavy silence fell over the classroom. Every student listened intently to Teacher Fiona, and even the Pokémon stopped running around, staying perfectly still.
"But anyway," Teacher Fiona added, her tone softening, "that's just a friendly reminder, so don't stress yourselves out too much! How about we begin our partner presentations now? Who would like to go first?"
"I will!" Gemma volunteered instantly. She was always the first to raise her hand to help out, which was exactly why the teachers adored her.
Teacher Fiona clapped happily. "Then let's welcome Gemma and her partner to the front!"
"I can't wait to see this," Harold whispered to Gemma as she stood up. "You've been keeping it a total secret." He had asked her a dozen times about her starter Pokémon, but she had always stubbornly refused to tell him, leaving him incredibly curious.
Gemma flashed a smile at Harold before walking up to the front of the room to stand beside Teacher Fiona. She unclipped a sleek Premier Ball from her belt and tossed it forward. "Come on out, Lileep!"
With a flash of red light, a Pokémon that looked like an ancient sea plant materialized right in front of the class. It wasn't very tall—barely a meter high—but its pink tentacles looked incredibly long, twitching as if they could stretch even further at any moment.
Teacher Fiona looked genuinely surprised. She walked closer to get a better look at the creature. "Gemma, would you mind introducing this Pokémon to the class? I haven't seen one before, not even in textbooks. Is it from another region?"
Gemma nodded politely. "I'd love to introduce Lileep to everyone. It's an ancient Pokémon that lived in the oceans of Hoenn roughly one hundred million years ago, and it was recently brought back to life using Devon Corporation's newly developed fossil resurrection technology. Just like other ancient Pokémon, Lileep is a Rock-type, but it's also a Grass-type as its secondary typing."
"Wow! It's practically a miracle that we're able to see one alive today! Those fossil machines are incredible!" A boy with spiky yellow hair stood up, eagerly moving closer to get a better look.
"Elliot, wait!" Gemma shouted.
But it was too late. Startled by the sudden movement, one of Lileep's thick pink tentacles shot directly toward Elliot.