Everyone glanced towards the clock above the door. Everyone shifted in their seats, waiting for the bell, signaling their freedom. Madam Shirley droned on about all the different moves that buffed the user or debuffed the target. She organized all the different types into categories and showed many different spreadsheets on the Pokemon who could learn each move and when. Lilith understood that the lists she was shown were for level up and not by T.M. because they could be looked up with the Pokedex. It would be a waste of time to go over each of them individually, so they were left for the student’s own time.

The door to the class opened abruptly, as everyone but Shirley seemed to notice the disturbance. She didn’t even look up from her notes or away from the board as she continued her lecture. Cheren closed the door behind him and stood to the side, waiting patiently. Seconds later the bell rang. He had timed his arrival perfectly.

Loud screeches sounded out as chairs were pulled back and students packed up their belongings. They questioned him with their eyes, darting back and forth as they left. It wasn’t everyday that the principal came to the classroom. With nothing else to teach, Shirley closed her lecture notes before attention was finally drawn towards her guest.

“Ah, Mr Cheren, what brings you here?” She asked while glancing at Lilith.

She already had a guess what it was about, her question had been more a formality than actually looking for an answer.

“I’m here to see a student.” he replied.

The kids ears burned, wondering who was in trouble.

“Oh, who is it? They're not in trouble I hope.” She questioned.

“No, nothing of the sort. The person knows who they are. Everyone else can go.” Cheren’s mysterious words drew glances all around the room, searching for the target..

Everyone slowed as they watched to see who would stay behind. Gossip among people their age was infectious. Lilith took the hint as she sat back down.

‘What is he up to?’ Lilith wondered.

She was unhappy Cheren had singled her out like that.

Levy and Sam noticed her movements as they hurried out the door. Even more questioning looks were shot her way as everyone else cleared the room. Soon enough, there were only three people left.

Cheren dragged a free chair from across the room. He placed it right in front of Lilith before sitting down himself. Shirley took up a student's seat to her right. She tried showing Lilith that she was on her side, and that she was someone she could depend on. A triangle was formed as the discussion started.

“I would like to request your help. Monetary compensation will come with your service.” Cheren spoke once everyone was settled in.

“Wait, what?” Lilith asked, slightly confused.

There was nothing she could do that Cheren couldn’t accomplish himself. Her mind raced trying to figure out his angle.

“It pertains to our friend Tyler and his Bisharp. He is having trouble calming her down. That is when Denis suggested your help; he asked me, and now here I am. Tyler was skeptical at first, but your time with her left a deep impression. I believe you can calm the Darkness inside her enough to allow productive training” he finished.

“A Bisharp? They are far too dangerous! All Pawniard evolve around their 5th Star.” Shirley butted in. Her concern for her student was evident.

Cheren turned towards Shirley.

“How about you go with her in my stead, that frees up my time for other things.” his devious smile told them that was his plan all along.

A frown covered her face. Shirley had not liked the trickery, but she agreed to see to her students safety. The two conversed like Lilith had already accepted the deal. She obviously was going to accept, but it was more about the principle of things. They really were treating her like a traumatized child. The way they tiptoed around her was nauseating. She still wasn’t over the previous day’s incident, but that didn’t mean it had to define her. If nothing else, she was a less traumatized adult in a child's body than anything else.

“Can I bring Absol? I’d like her to start watching fights.” Lilith asked. She had watched plenty of fights, but the more Absol was exposed to Pokemon battles, the easier it would be to train.

“I don't see why not…” Cheren took a moment to consider.

Lilith had proven herself to be a smart and trustworthy individual. He took the opportunity at easing up on restrictions to make him seem more agreeable. Normally only the Pokemon battling were allowed in the arena, but Cheren saw her going far in the future. The earlier he jumped into her good books, the better.

“Then let's go.” She stood up and headed for the door. Everything she wanted was given to her.

***

Shirley walked home with Lilith. Bianca had proven to be a reliable person to watch after her Partner in her stead for the duration of classes. Her trial by fire had been passed.

Shirley and Bianca made small talk as Lilith got Absol from her room. It was her favorite place to hang out because it smelled like Lilith when she was gone. It was the place they hung around to kill time. They both walked into the living room and said goodbye to Bianca before leaving

Shirley, Lilith, Absol, and Sawsbuck all headed back to the Gym together. Lilith wanted her to get used to the outdoors so Absol walked along with them. Her size had grown considerably and reached about one meter tall. Lilith was unaware how large she would grow, but she had sprouted since the two days she had been born. The growth rate seemed staggering but she had nothing to compare it to.

Absol tried stopping and sniffing anything that looked interesting. She was still growing up mentally and got easily distracted. Some children no older than 6 came up to the group and wanted to pet the two Pokemon. At first Lilith had been against the idea, but Absol seemed to like the attention and the kids looked harmless. She would have kept her Partner in her Ball if Sawsbuck hadn’t been there to reassure her. People had once again proven themselves untrustworthy.

Lilith hated the idea of keeping her in a Ball out in public just to not scare the ignorant populus. Her species wasn’t native to Unova and had large migratory patterns that spanned even the Desolate Lands. Most people only knew the native Pokemon around them so it was a good chance most wouldn’t recognize her.

Lilith glanced around and watched all the people that got near them. She wouldn’t risk a repeat of the previous day. No adults approached, but some had looked from a distance. One’s eyes had practically popped out of their head in recognition but hurried away right afterward.

The journey was an overwhelming success, as no one bothered them. The Gym security recognized Shirley and directed them through immediately. One quick walk down the hall and 34E stood before them.

***

The actual assignment was much less lively than Cheren made it out to be. Her job was to sit to the side with her chaperone. Lilith took notes on their battles as an Audino jumped in and healed both parties' wounds every once in a while.

Absol watched with rapt attention. She had been unable to participate in any battles. Lilith acted a little over protective of the newborn due to recent circumstances. That didn’t stop her from trying to mimic the moves the two Pokemon practiced.

Bisharp sent Night Slashs’ towards Lopunny from a distance as Absol jumped around. It appeared she was having a good time watching the fight with Sawsbuck.

Lilith’s job was to step in and calm the Dark energy whenever it got too destructive. Lopunny would have to knock her out before she could walk over and touch Bisharp. Audino would then fix her up as good as new and the process would repeat. No one understood why she had to make physical contact or what the purpose even was, but everyone believed in Cheren so they did what he suggested.

‘Should I really be doing this?’ she wondered.

In her opinion, Bisharp wasn’t her responsibility nor would she follow Tyler around. Lilith wouldn’t be there for her every time she couldn’t control herself. The reaction was only temporary but it was unknown how long it would last. Tyler should be learning how to handle his Pokemon and not use her as a crutch.

Despite her misgivings, money was money. Lilith would have watched the fights even if no money was thrown her way. After careful consideration, it felt like Cheren was indirectly giving her the cash; like the job was just a cover to get remuneration. Both Denis and Lopunny outclassed Bisharp enough for Shirley to deem their practice sessions safe enough to be watched without supervision. Time went by until everyone decided to head home.

***

Class - Next Day

The rumor mill had obviously churned out much gossip. People hung around in groups and watched Lilith as she took her seat. They would lean in and whisper something before tuning their attention back to her.

Lilith glared daggers at all that dared look her in the eye. Whenever she looked at a particular noisy group, they would all look away before she could say something. Shirley walked in and her presence shut everyone up.

“Alright that’s enough class, it's almost time to start.” She shouted while making way to her desk.

Kids groaned as they took their seats and Shirley got down to business. A click of a button, and her lecture was projected onto the wall.

“Egg moves and T.M.s! Last class we talked about moves that Pokemon learn naturally. This class we will go over all the artificial ways for Pokemon to learn moves. Through trial and error, some Pokemon were found to be able to manipulate their energy in the same pathways of a move despite not learning the pathway naturally. Thus Technical Machine’s were born.”

“Let’s take Toxic for example. A blank T.M. records the Pathways from a Pokemon who naturally learns the move, say a Foongus. This allows other Pokemon who normally wouldn’t learn Toxic to feel how the move works. This allows them to learn the moves themselves at a later date. There are still limitations, however. A Water type pokemon can’t learn fire-based Moves and vice versa. They have to be similar to the target Pokemon’s usual moveset.”

“Protect! Only a small number of Pokemon have been discovered to not learn the move. Each one of you was given the T.M. at your acceptance into this school, and for good reason. It is the most often used move by a landslide, and I can’t stress enough how important it is! Before we get all jumpy, it is also an incredibly hard move to learn. Protect's natural pathways are complicated, and the user needs to have complete control over their Normal energy before even attempting to learn it. There are some niche moves that function like Protect, but most only start attempting to learn well into their second Star.”

“That brings us to Egg moves and breeding Pokemon. Pokemon can breed across species. Egg Groups are a collection of all known matchups that bear fruit. Humanoid Pokemon more readily breed with similar mates. Anything more in depth would be a waste of time to learn.”

“So what happens when a male Throh who knows Wide Guard mates with a female Conkeldurr? We get a Timburr that knows Wide Guard, a move that even a T.M. can't teach Timburr. The male Pokemon passes its instinctual information on to the child as the Pokemon species is passed down by the female. Once in the line, a female Pokemon with a special Egg Move can then pass it down to her offspring. The same can be said for the males. If the Timburr in our last scenario was male, and he grows up and makes babies with another of his line, then those Timburr will have Wide Guard as well. This is theorized as to how Pokemon learned to utilize Moves, and how an Egg Move turns into an Instinctual one. Cross breeding is rare in the wild, and a new field of study, so many egg moves are unknown.”

“Don't fret! Just because this happens naturally doesn’t mean that we can’t reproduce the same phenomena. Professor Juniper has dedicated her life to the Origin of all Pokemon, and she stumbled upon a way to induce unnatural Egg Moves during her research. If we have a Timburr that doesn’t know Wide Guard, then a special serum harvested from a willing Throh can be Spliced into them. Pokemon can now learn Egg Moves that they were not born with. The DNA is changed, allowing them to now use moves like Wide Guard. Please be careful, because poachers have been harvesting wild Pokemon and selling them on the black market. You should only even buy from a supply chain you trust completely.”

“Now we are going to move onto the most important and mysterious Pokemon when it comes to breeding, Ditto. They have no gender, and can reproduce with almost any known Pokemon. They are unable to reproduce with themselves, casting many questions on their origin. They are the hardest Pokemon to find in the wild, and each one is worth a fortune. They allow Pokemon without genders and fully male Pokemon species to reproduce. The Braviary line is 100% male! Dittos have to be brought to Mistralton to allow the City's signature Pokemon to be born. Their exclusivity and strength makes them popular amongst Trainers.”