Tyson smirked as he stepped out of the break room and felt the heat of Mt. Battle's magma wash over him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten this far in the hundred battle challenge. With the final arena before him, and the red-haired youth began the descent into the volcano's crater. The nine previous area leaders stood on the outer railing cheering him on. It was always a big deal when anyone had got to challenge Battlus. The hulking figure of the Mt. Battle Master stood menacingly across the arena. In spite of his intimidating size, there was a large grin across his face.

"Tyson, my boy! Good to finally see you back home! Think this will be the day you finally take me down?" Battlus let out a laugh that could have shook the entire mountain. "If it's anything like the old days, I'll take your little dragon out with one earthquake."

"You'll be wishing for the old days soon, Battlus. I've got a secret weapon of my own now," said Tyson as his grip tightened around Ace's PokeBall. The mega ring on his left arm glinted in the afternoon sunlight. This was the ultimate sign of his growth as both a trainer and professor. His bond with Ace was stronger than ever since they mastered Mega Evolution. With this win, Tyson and Ace would go down as legends in the Orre Region.

"Very well! Let's battle!" Battlus threw his PokeBall and the air seemed to get heavier as his Salamance crashed onto the field. The blue dragon opened her mouth before Tyson even had a chance to send out Ace. Instead of a mighty roar however... she was beeping?!



"AGH-" was all Tyson was able to shout as he fell out of bed and crashed to the floor of his apartment. The piercing sound of his alarm clock cut through his grogginess long enough for him to slam his fist down on the snooze button. Fuming about missing out on his dream, Tyson was about to go back to sleep when he saw the time: 7:30 AM. "Crap! First day of classes!" Tyson rushed through the apartment, pulling on his clothes, brushing his teeth, and trying to gather his papers for the semester all at once. Classes started at eight o'clock sharp every day at the Laventon Institute. Being late for a new semester was one thing, but it was his fourth and final year. Given his track record for being disorganized and distracted, Tyson couldn't afford giving the faculty any reason to assume he was backsliding.

Running into the kitchen area, Tyson almost tripped over Coro who was curled up on his bed. "Sorry, buddy," said Tyson as he grabbed a Red Tauros from his refrigerator. The Flaaffy just yawned and turned himself over; not caring about his trainer's early morning struggle. Shoving the drink into his messenger bag, Tyson grabbed his lab coat from the rack before bolting out the door. He wouldn't need his full team today since he would mostly just be holed up in classrooms. If he was lucky he might be able to get some battle research with Ace and Moxie on the Institute battle courts during lunch.

Upon reaching the street, Tyson briefly considered sending out Ace for a quick joyride to campus. Despite the fourth year student apartments only being a short walk from the school grounds, a mach one flight through the streets might save him fifteen minutes. Good judgement won out however and the would-be professor just decided to book it.

Tyson thankfully made it to campus with ten minutes to spare. He didn't bother checking his schedule for his first class because it was one he'd been dreading since getting his first semester schedule during vacation: TA Pokémon Ecology 101 w/ Professor Birch. It wasn't a BAD class, but it usually meant dealing with a bunch of cocky first years or third/fourth years who'd been getting lax with their credits. Not to mention, being a TA to Professor Birch meant getting subjected to the same corny jokes he made every year. Tyson sighed and cracked open his Red Tauros. It was going to be a VERY long first period.

"Good morning, class," said Tyson as he stepped through the classroom door. Already he could see his suspicions about the class were correct. First years in the front, older students in the back. Some of the latter already had their Rotom Phones out; likely planning their next research trip or something else more interesting. "Ahem... I'm one of your TA's this semester. Tyson Redwood. To those of you who are new, welcome to the Laventon Institute. Unfortunately, Professor Birch won't be joining us in person this week. He's been called on assignment to the Hoenn Region for business regarding Rusturf Tunnel digging. He'll be joining us via Varoom today." Tyson booted up the computer and turned on the video chat app. Professor Birch appeared on the screen with his goofy bearded grin.

"Hello, students. Before we start, I want you all to know that... yes. I am that Professor Birch who got attacked by a Poochyena on RoTube. It was very funny, so let's get it out of the way now." Tyson just slumped in his chair in the corner. First corny joke down.

Rosie Hawthorn adjusted the lavender lapel of her custom lab coat, smoothing down a nonexistent wrinkle before stepping into Room 2C. She was early, of course. Anything less than punctual felt like a personal failure.

A few heads turned as she walked in, and went to her seat. Some curious, some amused, one already rolling their eyes. Rosie didn’t mind. She had been used to this. Between her lavender lab coat, pink hair decorated with cutesy hair barettes, pink glasses, and glittery rainbow colored notebooks and folders, she often stood out amongst the more “serious” students. Let them underestimate her. Let them try and match her citations in the class discussion.

The classroom filled slowly. Some students came in laughing, others still rubbing sleep from their eyes. Rosie didn’t acknowledge anyone unless spoken to. Although she did subtly scoot her chair away from a classmate who smelled like smoke for some reason.

Then, the projector screen flickered to life, displaying:
Cognitive-Behavioral Pokémon Therapy: Welcome & Introduction
Underneath, in smaller font:
“A well-adjusted Pokémon is a well-supported partner.” – Dr. Fennel

Rosie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, finally. A class that gets it.”

"mmmph....h-huh...?"

Himari's eyes opened with difficulty to see Ichika, her Kantonian Ninetales, millimeters from her face. On impulse she began petting the majestic Pokemon behind its head, as her brain attempted to boot up. "...oh yeah!" she finally said, and with that Ichika hopped off the bed with a satisfied look on her face as Himari groggily sat up. Himari was used to Ichika waking her up; in fact, she had never owned an alarm clock as Ichika would never let her be late. It was a nice perk of having an incredibly smart Pokemon as a companion. Getting nuzzled awake by a kitsune was much better than getting aurally assaulted by the screech of an alarm clock. But it had been a few months since Himari needed to wake up early for school, and clearly she would need to get used to that again.

Still, she was awake with plenty of time. Maybe a few too many minutes later, Himari had chosen a cozy outfit after a good amount of deliberation, freshened up, filled her purse with necessary materials, and put on her lab coat. She was ready to get to campus. As always, Fuyuko was still sound asleep, which made Himari smile as it always did. She knelt down and gave Ichika a loving hug, promised she would be back later, and headed into campus. She didn't need her Pokemon with her today, and they both seemed content to loaf around for the day anyway.

A short walk later, she arrived on campus and made way towards her first charge of the day: TA-ing Professor Birch's ecology class. She wasn't really sure why she was asked to TA as only a third year, but she didn't mind as she enjoyed Professor Birch's lectures. As was often the case, she was the first to arrive to the classroom and took a spot in the back. She knew a fourth-year TA, Tyson Redwood, was responsible for kicking things off today, so she didn't need to sit in the front. Tyson had garnered a bit of a reputation for tardiness, so Himari was curious to find out if he would get to class on time.

Soon enough, after what seemed to be the whole class had filed in and taken their seats, Tyson walked in the door with time to spare. He got straight to business, connecting Professor Birch via Varoom. Himari noted that she hadn't recognized a single person in this class. Guess that's what happens when you TA as a third year, she thought to herself.

Unlike Tyson, Himari chuckled at Professor Birch's comment about the Poochyena. She and all the other upperclassmen had heard it dozens of times, but Himari still found it amusing. She noted Tyson's reaction with interest. This is going to be a fun way to start the day, she thought with a little grin.

@RisingRobin