Jason Yew

Jason stifled a groan as the morning sunlight hit him in the face. Being a natural night owl for the last several years had ensured he always had a hard time getting up in the morning. He was about to turn over on his couch and go back to sleep when the alarm on his Rotom phone suddenly blared to life! Immediately, Jason bolted up and swatted at the floating device. It flew across the room; only stopping inches from the fr wall. Now awake, Jason yawned and stretched. He pressed a hand against his lower back as a dull ache began to spread.

"Ugh... Fell asleep reading again," he muttered as his eyes fell to the discarded textbook on his apartment floor. Hearing a skittering sound underneath his couch, he quickly snatched the book before Toxin's claw could grab it. The Salandit hissed in a mocking manner before returning to the perch Jason had installed in the corner of the room.

"Books aren't for you, buddy." Jason pushed himself to his feet and began the slow process of his morning routine. First, coffee. Once he cleaned out last night's stale brew, he began warming another pot. While it boiled, he went into the bedroom and dug around until he found a set of clothes that didn't look completely disheveled. Cramming for the last week of Summer vacation had left his laundry situation pretty abysmal. At the very least, he had a - mostly - clean lab coat to start the new semester.

Once he got dressed and put some food in his system, Jason went about shoving notebooks and reference guides into a satchel while Toxin watched with interest. When he finally got to his pokeballs, he paused. Jester was too much of a liability for day one... The would-be professor shuddered remembering the day his Haunter had broken into the faculty lounge for a "prank" last year. Headmaster Rowan said the refrigerator hadn't worked right since.

"Doku and Luna will be good today. Tox, you're welcome to ride as usual." Jason offered a shoulder and the white Salandit happily jumped on. Satisfied, Jason slung on his bag and stepped out into the Jubilife City sunshine. The student apartments were a relatively short walk from the Laventon Institute Campus. On the way, Jason mindlessly scrolled through his Rotom Phone as he checked the schedule for the semester. A sigh escaped his lips upon seeing his first class in the morning would be TA-ing in Pokemon Ecology 101. Not that it was a BAD class, but it would be a lot of repetitive information. He made a mental note to keep his tongue in check.

The campus was just coming to life as Jason approached. Morning classes were typically reserved for first years meaning second and third year students awake at this hour would be working their theses. Jason envied getting that extra time, but he needed the credits from the TA position. He navigated his way to the Ecology Lab on the third floor; getting there before most students arrived.

With about twenty minutes until class began, Jason pulled out his laptop to run through Professor Birch's syllabus. It was virtually identical to his first year. Not surprising for the professor who had to spend half his time doing fieldwork in the Hoenn Region. Once the class was filled, Jason got up to address his peers.

"Good morning, students. If you don't know me, I'm Jason Yew and I'll be your TA for this semester. Unfortunately, Professor Birch won't be joining us for the first few classes as he's been called away last minute to do research on the Desert Underpass in Hoenn." Jason forwarded the syllabus to the class. "You'll find the first round of assignments online and we'll begin by exploring basic habitats and biomes. Any questions?"

Ryoka"Hrm. The eyes still need some work, not that Typhlosion eyesight is anything to write home about, but otherwise I'd say it's a success."
At those words, The Typhlitto or whatever you would call it began to vibrate before partially melting like something out of a horror movie. Eventually Alkahest had to give up and revert to their natural Ditto form. They still haven't mastered putting other pokémon heads on the body of a Ditto, but they've been making slow and steady progress, and the data generated was already valuable by itself.

Ryoka turned to her laptop to see that Archidoxis, her Porygon-Z, gave the transformation a stability rating of about 75%. Such a data point might have been useful if she didn't already know that Doxis was just making numbers up based on vibes. "Come on, don't you think that's a little harsh? It's certainly better than Shinx-Ditto. This transformation is at least an 80%. It's a solid 'B' grade in my book. We'll keep that version for now."

Archidoxis made its eyes appear on-screen for the express purpose of rolling them at her before bringing up an image of the Typhlitto and zooming in on its upper half, highlighting how its mimicry of Typhlosion coloration make it look like it's wearing a goofy hat.

"Those are arms, Dox. Well, half of it is, anyway."

Archidoxis responds by generating a poorly photoshopped image of Alkahest wearing a gaudy fur coat that was lazily color shifted to match Typhlosion's fur. The Ditto's small dot eyes were replaced with humanoid eyes with exaggeratedly extended eyelashes, and a handbag with a small Lillipup inside was edited over one of Alkahest's arms.

Ryoka simply gave her laptop The Look™, and Archidoxis silently deletes the image before bringing the compiled details about the Typhlitto back to the forefront. It was a collection of all the data they had gathered about the form recently, along with ballpark estimates of its relative capabilities.

"Let's see... Fire/Normal, has Flash Fire like Mom's, though a different sample would likely yield different results. We haven't been able to do much testing on the form's capability, but what we have found is consistent with the biased split we've found in Dittosion, only backwards. It seems Ditto-bodied pokémon aren't very physically inclined, though I suppose that was to be expected, and they likely make up for it elsewhere..." Ryoka is pulled out of her thoughts by some wibbly wobbly sounds, which she realizes is coming from Anthroparion, her Reuniclus, who non-verbally informs her that she's spent too much time on this instead of breakfast. Oops. She grabs a granola bar, her laptop, her bag, and everyone's pokéballs, and is soon out the door and on her way to class.

Pokémon Ecology was far from the top of her priority list, but if she put it off until her third year and her research had a breakthrough that prompted a visit from some government bigwig looking to farm Nine-tailed Slowpoke or to give beached Pyukumuku feet so they could walk themselves back into the ocean, she'd probably want to squeeze in a more advanced Ecology class in her third year to be able to give them a proper action plan. For that, she'd need to take the 101 class first, and if nothing else it was a graduation requirement, so she'd need to get it done sooner or later for the Professor title that some people cared more about than actual results.

She found a seat, took out her laptop, and began compiling the results of some of her previous experiments until some guy in a stained lab coat announced that he was the TA for Professor Birch and would be acting as a substitute until the Professor returned from Hoenn's Desert Underpass. After finding it, she opened up the class syllabus and began reading through it while mentally criticizing Professor Birch's inconcise wording and, simultaneously, listening to the TA just enough to register what he was saying. Basic habitats and biomes didn't seem like it would contain much new information, though she supposes classes always need to start off like this to make sure people don't get left behind. If it proved to be too boring, she could always just tune out the redundant information and start making plans for future experiments. In fact, she already had one, which she promptly began composing a message to Professor Birch for. DNA samples from uncommon regional pokémon weren't easy to come by, after all. Surely a professor wouldn't mind gathering a small piece of Trapinch carapace for a student, would they? Whatever else he can get his hands on would also be nice, but a Trapinch's jaw strength was truly something to behold.

Jenny

Jenny arrived shortly after Jason. She sat down towards the front of the class, but still at the very edge of the room. She reaches into her faded bag, producing a spiral bound notebook decorated by an illustration of a Tangrowth playing the drums. Her three Pokemon were with her, but rested in her pouch within their Pokeballs, out of sight. They rested along side some gum, a few empty Pokeballs, some snacks, and some other odds and ends. She reaches past them to fetch a pencil. As she waited for class to begin, she gazed out of the window, looking down and soaking in the campus from her view in the third floor. She had been on the third floor only once before, and had not really had the opportunity to admire the grounds from a higher vantage point.

Jenny was excited to take this class and would have likely taken it if it wasn't a requirement. Many of the introductory classes had fascinated her, and she couldn't wait to peruse a wide variety of subjects. Her mind raced with possibilities, distracted until Professor Birch - er, no, his TA - spoke. As soon as he addressed the class, she sharply turned her attention to the man.

She grabs her pencil from where it lay in waiting on the desk. Jason Yew = TA she jots in her notebook before opening her Rototop to pull up the syllabus. She will scan it for any major information she feels needs emphasized on her notebook.

Flaming Feebas! That poor guy looks sleepier than a Slaking! she thinks to herself.

She raises a hand and, if called on, she will ask the following: "Sir, will we be traveling as a class, individually, or in groups? And what constitutes a 'basic' biome or habitat?"

Ethan

The sound of pens and pencils scratching was common in learning institutions across the globe. In this particular classroom, the sound hadn't subsided since even before the class itself officially began. The seat it came from was filled with a bookish looking young man, dressed in a spring sweater atop a pressed dress shirt. The crisp clothing distracted some from the rest of his appearance, like the shadows beneath his eyes and the hair that curled slightly in any direction at the tips despite many passes from a comb.

Ethan pushed his glasses up to sit again on the bridge of his nose. He did not lift his head when the other students began filing in. Only his eyes briefly darted from the pages in front of him to the faces of his classmates. With students of the Laventon Institute starting at various ages and generally able to choose when to take their required courses, it was difficult if not impossible to tell who was in what year. Other information could be easily gleaned from just a glance, but Ethan did not consider a first impression complete until an actual conversation had taken plus. Thus, his opinion on each individual in the room was decidedly neutral.

His pen jumped to the next page in his current notebook, a fresh one for this class although it already had a few pages filled now. He had indeed found the class syllabus online prior to today, although his own laptop remained tucked into his bag (which was tucked beneath the table he sat at). Hand written notes made the information stick to the brain so much better. Now though, after copying the assignments over and writing cursory notes around each one already, he swapped to more personal notes. Names especially were always recorded, although Ethan never had many issues recalling names whether it was due to writing them down or not.

His head was still dipped as he wrote out his thoughts on the 'TA and professor situation' and Jason's introduction of the class. As such his first questions were asked by another student, which saved him time. Ethan finally looked up, glancing over at Jenny with a nod first before looking back to Jason.

"Excuse me. Ethan Cypress," he said first, returning the introduction with a polite tone to his voice. The tone then almost immediately dropped into his flatter, more natural one. "In addition to further explanation on what separates a basic biome from an advanced one and how we'll travel them, I'd like to know which, exactly, we'll be headed to first so that I may prepare."

He paused for only the briefest of moments before adding, "...I assume collecting research material for our individual theses during these explorations will be admissible?"

Callum took a seat somewhere in the middle of the room, setting his bag down by his chair and opening his notebook. He already had a pen out before most people had even sat down, which he was trying not to think too hard about.

Aria settled beside his bag, looking around like she was judging the entire class.

“Don’t,” Callum muttered under his breath.

She blinked at him.

He nudged her lightly with his shoe. “Just… don’t.”

That seemed to satisfy her, for now.

When the TA introduced himself, Callum glanced up. Jason Yew. The name sounded familiar, though he couldn’t immediately place why. Something to do with evolution research, he thought. Or poison-types. Possibly both.

He looked exactly like someone who hadn’t slept enough.

Callum did not comment on that. Not out loud, anyway.

When the syllabus came through, he skimmed it quickly on his Rotom phone. Nothing surprising. Mostly foundational stuff. He’d expected that much. Still felt a little strange being here, though. Second year, sitting in a first-year class because of a scheduling mess. He fidgeted with his hands for a moment. Then relaxed. Chances are, no one actually cared.

When Jason asked for questions, Callum hesitated.

He had a few. More than a few, actually. Most of them were the kind of questions that would immediately make him sound like a know it all that everyone hated. So he picked a normal one. He raised his hand. “Callum Hazelwood. Second year,” he said. “I missed this class last year because of thesis fieldwork, so I’m making it up now.”

He paused, looking down just in time to see Aria inching toward the strap of his bag.

Callum rested a hand lightly on her head to stop her. Then looked back up. “I just wanted to ask… Are we allowed to bring partner Pokémon during field observations? As long as they’re not, you know… interfering with anything.” He hesitated for a second, then added, a little quieter, “You know… Hypothetically speaking…”

Jason Yew

Jason did his best to answer each question in turn. He turned to Jenny, "Good enough to start off. We're going to be spending the first few weeks indoors actually." The usual collective groan went up from the students. "Basic biomes will be covering the standard areas in which Pokemon may be encountered. Think tall grass, water routes, mountains, etc. We'll be getting into sub-categories at a later date. This course, while entry level, is supposed to help you learn basic ecology and understand how different environments shape the Pokemon living there. Not the most exciting, but it's 'foundational' to your future studies."

Next up was a kid who couldn't have been more than a first year. At least he looked as tired as Jason felt. "Ethan, There really isn't so much an "advanced" biome as there are sub-categories within the main groups. As far as traveling, unless you have a scheduled research trip, Professor Birch will typically have a class trip to Hoenn sometime by week three." When Ethan asked his last question, Jason hid a smirk, "Yeah. If you can get any thesis work out of this class, you're better than about half of the student body here." It was no secret the Ecology class was a little redundant.

Lastly, was Callum. "Right. I think we had a class together last year? Class trips, when they happen, are treated the same as your actual classes." Jason pointed to Toxin who was currently curled up by his bag on the TA desk. The white Salandit stretched as flames sparked out of his mouth. "So long as they aren't a distraction, they're your partner. Be a shame to leave them behind."

With that, he scanned the rest of the room. The rest of the students were either bored or had their heads shoved in their laptops like one girl who hd been messing with a ditto. Jason didn't bother being to strict. It was only day one after all. Seeing there no other questions, he quickly hooked up his laptop to a projector and pulled up Birch's slideshow for the day.

Callum nodded when Jason answered, glancing down as Aria bounced beside his bag again. “Good to know,” he said. “Thank you.”

Aria perked up at the mention of being allowed along, puffing up a little like she’d just been personally approved for something important.

Callum rested a hand lightly on her head before she could take that too far. “Don’t get excited,” he murmured under his breath. “That was conditional.”

She looked at him like she disagreed.

Callum exhaled quietly and straightened in his seat, flipping his notebook open to a new page as the slideshow came up. He wrote the date at the top, paused for a second, then added a small note beneath it: Partner Pokémon allowed. Within reason.

He glanced up toward the front again, just briefly, then back down at his notes.

Aria leaned a little too far onto the edge of the desk.

Callum slid his notebook an inch to the side before she could sit on it. “No,” he said softly.

Aria pouted.

“Yes, I know,” he added sarcastically, already writing again. “Very unfair.”

Jenny hears Callum whispering, and her attention is drawn towards him. Her eyes light up as she reaches into her bag, producing a Pokeball and an additional notebook with a group of Combees illustrated on the cover.

She quietly has Milkshake the Growlithe leave her Pokeball as she opens up the notebook and uses an orange highlighter to create brackets around the lower portion of a page to draw attention to it, then hands the book to Milkshake. As Jenny turns her focus back to the lecture, Milkshake leisurely delivers the book to Callum. As it flops open, he would likely notice how the book contained a list of fellow students with their thesis statements jotted down; it seems Jenny had been researching other people's research.

Attention had been drawn to Callum's project, one with a fairly extensive amount of notes.
What if Pokémon traditionally labeled as less than cute were treated in the same way cute Pokémon were? Or cute Pokémon treated as if tough? stood out as a more cohesive thought.
Most of the notes were a bit more scrambled, though:
Disguises? Ditto aided disguises? Feebas in pink? Trubbish in a contest? Cuddling a Stonejourner?
In the margin was an illustration of a Pachirisu with an eyepatch and beefy arms that resembled a Machoke