Tommy walked into the amphitheater for morning class with Darius beside him. The two of them had exercised in the gym after Tommy had dropped his sister off and now it was almost time for class to start. Jon, Aubrey, and Nessa were already seated near where they had been sitting yesterday, so Tommy and Darius made their way over to sit with them. As Tommy sat down he noticed there were bags under every chair in the amphitheater with signs taped to them that read: DO NOT OPEN.

“What’s up with the bags?” He asked.

Aubrey shrugged. “No one has been stupid enough to open it yet, not even Jon. Are you going to open it?”

Tommy shook his head and watched as three students sprinted in through the classroom door just before Professor Hemlock walked in and closed the door behind her.

“Good morning everyone,” Professor Hemlock said. “We will begin this week with a short review of all of the things you have covered through your last three years of schooling. Next Monday you will have your first exam over all of this material. At the end of class today before I dismiss you for lunch, I will inform you of your battle assignments. Are there any questions before we begin?”

“What are these bags underneath our seats?” A student on the far side of the amphitheater asked.

“I will inform you of their purpose at the end of class,” Professor Hemlock told the student. “For now, please leave it alone under your seat and pay attention to the lecture.”

The next two hours were spent covering a broad range of material from the first three years of school. Tommy was glad that they were getting to review everything because it turned out he had already forgotten quite a bit from previous years.

After a couple of hours, it was finally time for lunch so Professor Hemlock started to wind down her monologue.

“We will continue with our discussion tomorrow,” she informed the class.

“Now for what I’m sure everyone has been dying to know about, you are about to receive your battle assignments. Before we get to that though, I have a few things that the school has seen fit to give to each of you,” she began to tell them. “Under your chairs are brand new trainer bags as well as some travel gear. There are some essentials in there like a travel sleeping bag and tent for our camping excursions this year, some gender neutral items of clothing like thermal socks and a jacket, as well as some various other things you may find handy to have around. Everything in the bag is yours to keep, even if you are expelled from this course, so feel free to look through the bag on your own time and see everything that is in there. There are a few extra bags up here against the wall if you don’t like the color you received, or you may switch with a friend. I don’t care either way, just be sure to take only one bag and don’t bother me about it.”

“Now the other thing I have for each of you is your own personal PokéNav,” she said as she held up a rectangular piece of electronic equipment about 12 centimeters long. It had a flat screen that made up the majority of one side and there were two straps on the backside of it.

“The PokéNav can be found inside of the bag that was located under your chair. Go ahead and open your bags and take them out now.”

Professor Hemlock paused her instructions as a plethora of shuffling drowned out what she was saying.

“You strap it to the outside of your left forearm like so,” she said as she demonstrated how to wear it. “This leaves your right arm available for a forearm clasp, the standard greeting for every professional trainer.”

“The first thing I will say is do not lose or break this PokéNav. It is new technology still under development and these are prototypes. You will have to pay for a replacement and I promise you it is not cheap,” she informed the class. “The PokéNav has a lot of incredible features such as a calendar, a clock, a map of Johto, and blank notes pages that you may fill in with whatever you like; for example you may choose to fill in a list of all of the things you need to bring on the expeditions we will travel to as the year progresses. In addition to all of these features the most incredible one is a digital version of the Pokédex that you would normally find in the Pokémon Center. This will allow you to recall any information about a Pokémon without having to visit a Pokémon Center. These are just a few of the features in the PokéNav and a complete list can be found in the manual that was placed in your bag.”

“Go ahead and power the machine up and complete the registration process. When you are done with that I will show you how to operate it.”

Professor Hemlock paused, walking around to help any students that asked, while the students registered their gear by filling in their personal information.

Once everyone was done she returned to the stage and continued with her directions.

“The standard default view for the PokéNav is called the Home Screen,” she continued. “You can see all of the different features of the PokéNav pictured on the Home Screen. As I said there are applications for maps, notepads, the Pokédex, and many others that I will leave you to explore on your own. The button on the far right side of the screen returns you to the home screen if you have an application open, and if you hold that button down for 5 seconds your device will shut down allowing you to conserve battery. The battery life is long, at least a month even if you use it constantly, but it won’t last forever. There is a charging cable inside of your bag that will allow you to recharge the battery of the PokéNav.”

“The final thing I will highlight is that one of your applications has a list of all your classmates and their rankings,” she told them. “If you click on any of your eligible classmates in this application you will be able to look over their battle information such as win/loss record, any known Pokémon they have used in battle, and so on. There is also an option to issue a challenge which will cause them to receive a notification on their PokéNav. Once the battle has been confirmed it will appear in your calendar. If you open the calendar now you should see the time and date of your first battle and the name of the person you are battling.”

“You may only keep this device if you are a student that graduates, if you are otherwise expelled you must return it to the school before you leave,” she said. “There are tracking devices inside of them so do not attempt to steal it; we can always find it. If you successfully graduate and get to keep this device the tracking feature will be turned off.”

“Lastly, do not even think about using this during any written exam in our course. I guarantee you I will expel you so fast your head will be left spinning.”

“Everyone may now be dismissed for lunch,” she smiled. “See you tomorrow at 9:30. Be sure to read the manual by Monday, if you get my drift.”

“These devices are pretty amazing,” Nessa said to the group as the five of them made their way towards the cafeteria for lunch. “We didn’t have anything like this back in Galar.”

“They are pretty awesome,” Darius agreed. “What time do you guys fight this week? Are any of us fighting each other?”

Tommy checked his PokéNav and saw that his match was on Friday at 2:00 against a person he had never heard of. Nessa was fighting today, Jonathan on Wednesday, and Aubrey and Darius were both fighting Thursday. They were all fighting at different times, much to the disappointment of Aubrey.

“I’m nervous for my fight tomorrow,” Jonathan said. “I feel like one day isn’t enough time to prepare. Everyone is going to come cheer me on right?”

“Don’t stress about it Jon,” Nessa smiled at him. “It will be nice to get it out of the way first. Then, one way or another, you won’t have to worry about it for the rest of the week.”

“Are you nervous since your match is the first of the day, Nessa?” Tommy asked.

She turned her smile towards him, “Make sure that you get good seats. You won’t want to miss it. Now come on, let’s finish eating and make our way to the stadium.”

The five of them arrived at the stadium with plenty of time to spare and Nessa parted ways with them to go prepare for her match.

“We‘ll be sure to find a good spot so we can cheer you on!” Tommy yelled, as Nessa made her way to the women’s locker room.

Nessa waved her hand up but didn’t look back.

“Come on, hopefully there are some good seats left,” Aubrey said. “I have a feeling this is going to be a good match.”

Tommy and his friends headed into the stands and were able to find seats right in the middle of the pitch, just a few rows back from the front. The stadium was packed but hardly anyone was talking; everyone kept their eyes on the pitch and their thoughts to themselves. After what seemed like an eternity, Professor Larkspur walked out towards center field.

“Today’s matches will be our showcase matches,” Professor Larkspur began. “Each of the trainers fighting today have two Pokémon so all of our matches will be 2v2 single battles. There are a total of 9 matches scheduled today and I ask that all students stay to watch the fights. Other than the 4 students with 3 Pokémon who are not fighting this week, these 18 trainers here will start out with our highest ranks. The rest of the matches will be 1v1 single battles and will be held at various times throughout the week. Some will be before school hours and some after school hours; you should have received your PokéNav with your battle time on it. Be sure to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled battle time.”

“Starting tomorrow for the remainder of the week you will be allowed to use your afternoon class time as you see fit. The stadium will be open for all students to come observe matches or you may use your afternoons to do other things around the campus. Don’t forget that the greenhouse is now accessible to you since you are fourth year students and have your own Pokémon; you can make PokéBlocks there and plant berries of your own to cultivate. There is also a park behind the campus where you may spend time with any Pokémon you have caught. This is the only place on campus where Pokémon are allowed outside of their Pokéballs and I will remind you again that the consequence of any unsanctioned battle is expulsion. You may not take any rental Pokémon into the park with you, but any fourth year student is free to walk around in the park, even if you have not caught your own Pokémon yet. There are no wild Pokémon available for capture in the park.”

“Now, we’re going to begin our first showcase match,” Professor Larkspur told the students waiting excitedly in the crowd. “Our first match will be between Nessa, who was our transfer student, and Jackie.”

As he finished speaking Tommy saw Nessa walk out onto the pitch from one side of the ring while another girl, Jackie, walked out from the other side. They met in the middle and clasped forearms together.

“This will be a 2 on 2 Pokémon battle with each side being allowed only a single substitution,” Professor Larkspur spoke through his microphone. “Take your place on either end of the pitch.”

As they walked to opposite ends of the pitch four Abra set up a barrier to protect the spectators from any stray moves.

“I hope Nessa does well,” Aubrey said nervously. “She’s at a big disadvantage.”

“Why is that?” Darius asked.

“She said only one of her two Pokémon is able to battle, remember?” Aubrey said.

Tommy saw Nessa was turned towards where he was sitting so he waved at her. She gave a contagious grin and a thumbs up, then turned to face her opponent.

“Student Nessa, ready?” Professor Larkspur called.

“Ready.”

“Student Jackie, ready?” He asked again.

“Ready.”

“Then begin!”

Both girls threw a Pokéball into the ring at the same time.

“I’ll choose Growlithe!” Jackie spoke through her microphone.

“Go Shellder!” Nessa yelled. Tommy cheered excitedly as the little blue mollusk appeared from the Dive Ball that Nessa had thrown out.

“Growlithe, use Howl!” Jackie said. “Then charge Shellder with Tackle!”

A bone-chilling howl echoed around the arena as Growlithe’s blazing orange fur stood on end. He then started running as fast as he could across the pitch straight at Shellder. Nessa stood there unperturbed, her arms folded across her chest, waiting expectantly for the perfect moment when Growlithe was almost on top of Shellder.

“Stand your ground and use Protect!” Nessa yelled.

Shellder stuck his tongue out and a blue shield shimmered into existence directly in front of the charging dog. He was running too hard and fast to stop so he slammed into the barrier and bounced off to the side.

“Don’t let up Growlithe you can do it!” Jackie yelled. “Use Bite! Break open his shell!”

“Shellder, dodge to the side, then use Clamp,” Nessa spoke calmly through her microphone.

Growlithe ran forward again and tried to bite down onto Shellder who was able to move to the side at the last second. As Growlithe was running by, Shellder clamped down hard onto Growlithe’s back leg and refused to let go.

A sickening crunch reverberated around the arena followed by a high-pitched whining. Tommy felt sick as he saw the bone in Growlithe’s back leg had completely shattered. Growlithe’s back leg hung loosely and dangled back and forth sickeningly as the poor puppy tried to limp around unsuccessfully on three good legs.

“Now that Growlithe can’t move, finish him with Water Gun!” Nessa yelled.

Shellder stuck his tongue out again and a stream of pressurized water collided into Growlithe’s side. A deafening hissing noise could be heard as Growlithe’s entire body steamed and began to cool rapidly from the frigid water Shellder was spraying. Growlithe was knocked backwards and slammed into the side of the ring where he collapsed in a heap.

“Growlithe, return!” Jackie called. A white light streaked across the battlefield and enveloped Growlithe’s body, returning him to his Pokéball until he could be healed at the Pokémon Center.

Tommy was on his feet cheering. He looked around and saw Darius and Aubrey standing up next to him; they all had their hands cupped around their mouths and were yelling at the top of their lungs.

“For my second Pokémon I’ll choose Bellsprout!” Jackie said.

She threw her Pokéball into the ring and out popped Bellsprout.

“Student Nessa, are you substituting?” Professor Larkspur called through his headset.

“No, we’re ready,” Nessa replied.

“Begin!”

“Bellsprout, use Growth!” Jackie yelled. There was a grin on her face, confident that she was going to win the battle now that she had a type advantage.

Bellsprout immediately started to grow bigger; where he started the same size as Shellder, he quickly grew to be at least twice as big. Nessa still stood unmoving in the same spot, no worry evident on her face while Shellder watched calmly beside her.

“Now, use Vine Whip!” Jackie said.

Two vines shot out from behind Bellsprout’s arms across the battlefield towards Shellder.

“Shellder, Withdraw!” Nessa yelled.

Shellder began to glow blue and then completely closed up his shell sealing his entire body away from the grasping vines. Not even a second later, the outer portion of his shell was pummeled repeatedly by the vines and he was flung about the arena. After a few seconds, Jackie called Bellsprout off so she could assess the damage that had been dealt. The instant the vines stopped hitting Shellder, Nessa capitalized on the momentum shift.

“Shellder, use Whirlpool!” Nessa shouted.

As Bellsprout recalled his vines, Shellder opened his mouth and shot out a small vortex of water towards the slow moving plant.

Jackie’s eyes widened as she tried to think of a counter.

“Quick, use Ingrain! Take the attack!” Jackie cried out.

Bellsprout planted his feet into the ground as he was enveloped within the vortex. He was battered back and forth but held firmly in the ground and when the whirlpool died he stood tall, having weathered the storm.

“Vine Whip again!” Jackie said. “This time combine it with Wrap and pry open his shell.”

The vines shot forth from Bellsprout once again and this time they grabbed Shellder, one vine on his top shell and one on the bottom shell. The vines began to slowly pry open his shell.

“We’ve got you now!” Jackie yelled, triumphant grin splayed across her face. “Hit Shellder with a Stun Spore!”

Nessa just shook her head.

“Finish this with Aurora Beam, Shellder!” Nessa said.

From the small gap in Shellder’s armor a beam of rainbow light shot out across the battlefield, straight at Bellsprout. The attack blew the Stun Spore away and since Bellsprout had his feet ingrained into the ground, the beam also slammed directly into Bellsprout’s midsection. He wailed in pain and dropped Shellder from his grip, flailing back and forth as he tried to shake the chill from his body.

“Ice Shard,” Nessa said. “Aim for his ingrained feet.”

The edges of Shellder’s shell started to grow blue icicles and he hurled himself across the battlefield, generating velocity with each passing second. He slammed into Bellsprout who was still flailing about from the previous Aurora Beam and Bellsprout’s legs were immediately severed from the rest of his body. The little plant was flung to the ground where he collapsed unconscious.

“Bellsprout return!” Jackie sighed.

“The match is over!” Professor Larkspur said to the students in the crowd. “Please give a round of applause to our victor Nessa!”

Tommy and his friends were on their feet clapping and whistling.

“And now a round of applause for Jackie for putting up an excellent fight!” Professor Larkspur continued. “Meet in the middle of the pitch to clasp arms!”

The two girls met in the middle to congratulate each other then each of them turned and left through the edges of the ring.

“We’ll take 10 minutes to reset the pitch then we will have our next match!” Professor Larkspur said.

“Man, that was an awesome battle!” Darius said. “I knew Nessa was an amazing trainer. She beat two Pokémon just using one of her own. Thank goodness for that, that way she didn’t even need to use her second one!”

“Yeah she was definitely incredible,” Tommy agreed. “Aubrey, you were right when you said that you didn’t want to battle against her.”

“Jon, you were uncharacteristically quiet that entire time,” Aubrey teased him. “You’re such a battle junkie, I’m surprised you weren’t on your feet screaming with the rest of us.”

Jon looked up at the three of them as if he was coming out of a daze.

“Guys, seriously who the fuck is Nessa? How can she be the same age as us?” Jon asked. He was frowning down at the ground and chewing on the ends of his fingernails. “I can’t believe what I just witnessed.”

“Yeah, she did good,” Tommy said. “Really good. That’s what we were just talking about.”

Jon just shook his head. “You don’t get it do you?”

“Well enlighten us then, Mr. Genius,” Aubrey pouted. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Jon looked at each of them before sighing heavily.

“Her Shellder didn’t even take a single point of fucking damage.”