"Welcome back, kids. I'm Lucian—an Elite Trainer and your main instructor for the next four years, or until you hit sixteen and think you know everything," he said, arms crossed with the calm confidence of a man who'd seen one too many hyper beams to the face.
"Today, we'll start things off with a battle. If anyone wants to volunteer, now's your moment to shine—or crash and burn spectacularly in front of the entire class."
The room buzzed with nervous energy. Everyone wanted to battle, but nobody wanted to be the poor soul who got flattened on Day One. So naturally, heads started turning, looking for either the brave or the dumb.
Rodnick turned to Michael, wearing a grin wider than a Gengar's.
"Oh no," Michael muttered, dread sinking in.
"Oh yes," Rodnick laughed, not even trying to hide his excitement. "I told you your luck is cursed!"
Rodnick had gotten his Charmander egg a full three months before Michael's Bagon hatched. His Charmander was already level 19, compared to Michael's Bagon at level 15. Not a massive gap by any means—they were still rookie Pokémon—but Charmander had the benefit of time, training, and an annoyingly large move pool. Michael wasn't exactly confident.
Rodnick shot his hand into the air. "Mr. Lucian! We'd like to volunteer!"
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "We?"
Before Michael could object, Rodnick leaned over and pushed down on his head like a broken bobblehead. "See? He's nodding!"
Lucian sighed, but smiled. "Alright, looks like we have our first match. Everyone, to the arena! And do not go near the safety barrier unless you want your eyebrows singed off. Even rookie Pokémon can cause damage."
"Man, my luck really sucks," Michael groaned as they walked to the battle area.
"I told you," Rodnick said with a smirk.
Michael shot him a look. "You're acting way too smug. What makes you so sure my Bagon can't beat your Charmander?"
"Oh please," Rodnick scoffed. "My Charmander's a higher level and it knows better moves. Plus, let's be real, I'm just a better trainer."
"Don't get too cocky," Sersi chimed in from the sidelines. "Michael's totally gonna thrash you." Her voice wavered slightly with uncertainty, but her heart was in the right place. She just couldn't bear to see Rodnick acting all cocky, not now.
Rodnick raised an eyebrow. "That's fair, but do you really need to show bias openly"
But deep down, her challenge only fueled his competitive fire.
"You do realize I always beat you in simulated battles, right?" Michael shot back. "Rattata versus Growlithe? Ring a bell?"
Rodnick visibly twitched. "That was a glitchy simulator! Let's see how you fare in a real battle."
"Mr. Lucian! Can I be the commentator?" a voice piped up from the back.
All eyes turned toward the source.
"Oh no. It's Marcus," someone whispered. "Yup. Checks out," another kid muttered.
Marcus Camby—youngest son of Lucius Camby, a big-shot businessman—had no desire to follow in his brother's footsteps as a prodigy trainer. Instead, he idolized his uncle, the over-the-top commentator for the National Elite League. Lucius had nearly fainted when his youngest son, Marcus announced he wanted to "scream about battles for a living." They still hadn't recovered.
Lucian sighed with a familiar kind of teacherly exhaustion. "Go ahead, Marcus."
Before Lucian could even begin explaining the rules, Marcus leapt onto a suspiciously wobbly referee stand, pulled out a microphone from somewhere, and cranked it to eleven.
"Welcome back, folks!" Marcus bellowed. "You're watching the Trainer School Battle Circuit, where the stakes are high, the trainers are eleven, and the Pokémon are only slightly more mature than their humans!"
The class erupted into laughter.
"Today's electrifying showdown: Michael versus Rodnick! It's Bagon versus Charmander—a battle of scales, and shaky starter stats! Who will emerge victorious in this clash of overconfidence and pure chaos? Stay tuned!"
Rodnick groaned. "Oh God, he's serious."
Michael only grinned. "At least if I lose, everyone will remember the commentary, not the battle."
"Bold of you to assume you won't be the meme."
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Before anyone starts cursing me out for the short chapter—hear me out!
This one's mainly for statistics and pacing. Once I've uploaded a solid batch of chapters, I'll start publishing longer ones. That said, don't worry—if a chapter is short, I'll be releasing them in bulk. So the total word count will still even out.
The next chapter will feature the full battle, so buckle up—it's going to be a fun ride! It'll also be my first proper battle scene, so please drop your thoughts and feedback afterward. I'd really appreciate it!
Now, real talk :
What's your favorite Pokémon?
More importantly… should Micheal catch it? 🤔
Got a cool idea? Toss in your fav Pokémon with a backstory, quirks, weird habits—heck, even give it a dramatic slow-mo entrance if you're feeling spicy. If it fits the vibe, I'll totally try to weave it into the story!
Enjoying the ride?
Hit that Add to Library button so you don't miss the next chapter!
Got theories, feedback, or just wanna geek out about Dragon-types and dratini eggs? Drop a comment—I read 'em all.
And lastly...
POWERSTONES.
Feed 'em to this story like they're Rare Candies and help it evolve into its final form!( •̀ ω •́ )✧