As the assembly came to a close and students began separating out toward their various classes, Alex remained in his seat for a moment. [i]Steven Stone,[/i] he thought to himself. [i]I wonder how many trainers actually recognized that name.[/i] Even without the headmaster's doing anything but speaking, Alex had clearly seen the effect the man had had on the other trainers: the aura of power and experience that rolled off of him, keeping all eyes on him with rapt attention. Alex had been paying attention as well, but not like the other students. He had been considering what he knew of Steven from the time he had been the Hoenn Champion. After all, if Alex was going to be the most powerful trainer of them all, he would one day have to defeat the headmaster in a battle. To that end, he had spent time studying all the former Champions of the various regions, as well as gym leaders and Elite Four members. "Know your enemy," he told Houndoom, who glanced up at him in response. Alex sat for another moment, then rose and began walking to class. He arrived outside the door - room 108, taught by one "Mr. Adams" - to find several other students already waiting outside. Some were holding awkward attempts at conversation, but overall, it was rather quiet in the hall. Which suited Alex just fine. He leaned back against the wall a short distance away from the other students. He considered them beneath him. After all, they were only here to become stronger. He, however, was here to become the strong[i]est[/i], and that meant that all of these students were just another battle to win. As time began to tick by, all that was left was to wait.

((And yes, give us the bad guys! It'll make life SO much more interesting around here!))