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[COLOR=gray]Silas Mangrove had arrived early — of course he had. His first class, a morning spent discussing evolutionary niche shifts in aquatic Pokémon. Just the thought of it had kept him awake half the night with his mind swimming.

He sat near the back, just beneath a wide window where sunlight poured in, illuminating his neat but slightly rumpled clothes. His yellow bandana was tied snugly, the fish-eye pattern catching the light. On his desk, instead of a notebook or datapad, lay a small drawstring pouch of faded canvas. As other students trickled in, their chatter growing louder, Silas calmly untied the pouch and tipped it out onto his desk with quiet ceremony.

Seashells and smooth, water-worn pebbles scattered across the surface — each one from a different coastline, a different memory. Lavender sands from Kanto’s southern shore. Dark volcanic stones from Alola. A coral shard from Hoenn. And nestled at the very center, a small, gleaming gray pebble, perfectly oval, from the tidal pools of his hometown on Sinnoh’s northern coast. He picked it up, feeling its familiar weight in his palm, and smiled faintly.

The noise around him was more noticeable now. Some students whispered to each other, openly glancing his way.

“Who brings rocks to class?” one girl muttered just loud enough.
“He’s… different,” said another boy, frowning slightly.
“Looks like he just came from the docks,” another student added, though not unkindly — there was even a hint of curiosity.

One particularly sharp-eyed classmate murmured, “Wait, is that… is that a coral shard from Hoenn? Those are rare…” and the others quieted a little at that.

Silas didn’t seem to notice, or perhaps he simply didn’t mind. He kept his attention on the pebble from home, running his thumb across its smooth surface as though tracing memories into it. The faintest sound of waves seemed to echo in his mind. His family. The windswept cliffs. The endless horizon.

He exhaled slowly, feeling his nerves settle into calm resolve. This was why he was here. To honor where he’d come from — and to uncover the stories hidden beneath the tides of the world’s oceans.

When the professor finally arrived and the chatter died down, Silas quietly gathered his collection back into the pouch, slipping the hometown pebble into his pocket instead. He straightened in his seat, eyes calm but bright.

[color=#ADD8E6]“Alright… let’s make this count,”[/color] he murmured to himself, just above a whisper.

Whatever doubts he’d carried in with him this morning, they were gone now — washed away like sand under the tide. He would become the professor he’d always dreamed of being. Not just for himself, but for the stories of the ocean still waiting to be told.[/COLOR]