(Interior — Pokémon Home — Main Lobby)
Orion arranges brochures on the front desk, each one advertising the upcoming festival in Central Park. The line of customers stretches past the display racks. He answers questions about Poké Ball types, Berry nutrition, and whether their apartment allows Pokémon. Between each customer, he glances at the festival checklist on his tablet. Permits, staffing, vendor booths, emergency protocols. The list grows faster than he can check items off.
The next customer asks about evolution stones. Orion explains the difference between a Fire Stone and a Thunder Stone, then mentions the festival's Evolution Exhibit. "You'll see live demonstrations," he says. "No Pokémon are forced to evolve. It's their choice." The customer nods, satisfied, and moves on.
The line shifts. Two familiar faces appear near the back.
Beast Boy leans against the counter, grinning, Rockruff bouncing at his feet. Raven stands behind him, arms crossed, Misdreavus floating silently beside her. Her expression says she did not choose to be here.
Orion schools his expression. "Welcome back."
Beast Boy slaps the counter. "Orion! Dude! We saw the festival thing online. Rockruff and I totally want to help. I can do a demo. Like, a transformation showcase. People would lose their minds."
Raven exhales through her nose. "He has been talking about it for three hours."
"Two hours," Beast Boy corrects. "And it's a great idea."
Misdreavus lets out a faint, amused hum. Rockruff tilts its head, ears perked.
Orion considers the offer. Having trainers run demonstrations would ease his staffing problem.
Orion taps his cane against the floor, a quiet rhythm while he thinks. His gaze shifts between Beast Boy and Raven.
"Are the others joining?" he asks. "A coordinated demonstration from all five Titans would draw significant attention."
Beast Boy's grin widens. "Oh, they're joining. I'm gonna make them."
Raven closes her eyes briefly. "He means he will not stop talking about it until they agree."
"Exactly!" Beast Boy pumps his fist. "Cyborg's already on board. Something about testing the arena's sound system. Starfire thinks Togepi will be a crowd favorite. And Robin… well, Robin said he'd 'assess the tactical applications,' which is Robin-speak for yes."
Misdreavus bobs in the air, its red beads catching the light. Rockruff wags its tail.
Orion allows a small smile. "Then I accept your help."
Orion's smile fades, replaced by a measured calm. He rests both hands on the top of his cane.
"Before you demonstrate anything," he says, "you need to understand what you're working with. Your battle experience is valuable, but your knowledge of Pokémon is still insufficient. Type matchups, behavioral reading, dietary needs, move synergy, habitat requirements. You've learned some of it through experience, but experience without foundation is a cracked pillar."
Beast Boy's grin collapses. "Wait. What does that mean?"
"It means," Orion continues, his tone even but brooking no argument, "that every trainer helping at the festival will attend a seminar. A crash course. I will host it here, three days before the event. Attendance is mandatory."
Beast Boy's shoulders slump. "A seminar? Like… studying? I don't really do the whole studying thing, Orion. My brain kinda shuts down when someone starts talking about stuff."
Raven's lips twitch. The closest she comes to a smile in public.
Misdreavus lets out a low, teasing giggle that echoes faintly through the lobby. Rockruff nuzzles Beast Boy's ankle, unsympathetic.
Orion does not soften. "You have no choice. The festival will host over a hundred thousand visitors. Children. Families. If a trainer gives incorrect information, mishandles a Pokémon, or fails to recognize distress signals, people get hurt. I will not allow that."
He meets Beast Boy's eyes. "You want to help. This is how you help. Learn first. Perform second."
Beast Boy groans, dragging a hand down his face. "…How long is this seminar?"
"Three days," Orion says. "Four hours each session."
Beast Boy's face goes pale green. Maybe greener than usual. Hard to tell.
"FOUR HOURS?"
"Plus a written assessment."
Beast Boy looks genuinely pained. Raven places a hand on his shoulder, her expression flat.
"Welcome to responsibility," she says.
* * *
(The Seminar Room)
The private room smells like dry-erase markers and anxiety. Rows of desks face a whiteboard covered in Orion's cramped handwriting. Pikachu sits on Orion's shoulder wearing tiny spectacles and a drawn-on mustache that's already smudging.
Orion adjusts his professor's gown.
"Welcome to Pokémon Studies 101. I'm Professor Oak. This is my teaching assistant, Professor Pikachu."
Pikachu adjusts its glasses.
"PIKA."
Evelyn is already taking notes. She's on her third page. Her pen moves so fast it's practically vibrating. Abra sits on the desk beside her, teleporting her pen away and returning it with a different color each time.
"Actually," Evelyn says, "the type effectiveness chart assumes a binary damage modifier, but what about dual-type stacking interactions? If a Pokémon is both Ground and Rock type, a Water-type move would receive a fourfold multiplier, but the damage calculation algorithm—"
Orion blinks.
"We'll... cover that in advanced seminar."
Evelyn looks personally offended.
Jax sits with his arms crossed, Litten curled in his lap. He's leaning back in his chair at a dangerous angle.
"So basically," Jax says, "my Litten's got fire. Fire beats grass. Grass beats water. Water beats fire. That's the whole thing, right?"
"That's... a simplification."
"That's what I said. The whole thing."
Litten yawns.
Lena has Oddish sitting on her desk. She's sketching the type chart in her notebook with little flowers in the margins. Her handwriting is careful and round. Oddish sways gently, looking at the drawings.
Marcus is three desks ahead, sitting up straight, highlighting passages in the guidebook Orion provided. Lillipup sits at his feet, ears perked, staring at the whiteboard like it's holding secrets.
The Titans are clustered in the back row.
Beast Boy is upside down in his chair.
"So if I turn into a Pokémon," he says, "do I get type advantages? Like if I'm a Charizard, am I weak to Rock?"
"You're not a Charizard."
"But IF I were."
Raven sits beside him, arms folded, Misdreavus floating above her desk. She's already read the entire guidebook. She hasn't said anything. She doesn't need to.
Robin is taking notes in shorthand. Pawniard sits perfectly still beside him, studying Orion's movements with unsettling focus.
Starfire is leaning forward, completely absorbed. Togepi is asleep on her desk.
"The bond between Trainer and Pokémon," Orion says, "is not about dominance. It's about mutual respect and understanding."
Starfire raises her hand.
"Yes, Starfire?"
"In my culture, we have a word for this. It means 'the fire that burns between two souls who choose each other.' Is this the same concept?"
Orion pauses.
"That's... actually more accurate than what I said."
Starfire beams.
Cyborg has his laptop open, cross-referencing Orion's lecture with three databases simultaneously. Whismur sits on his desk, occasionally letting out a tiny Echoed Voice that no one asked for.
Cyborg whispers to it.
"Buddy. Inside voice."
Whismur squeaks.
Damian catches Robin's eye and mouths "this is ridiculous." Robin's mouth twitches. Almost a smile. Not quite.
Orion draws a Poké Ball on the whiteboard.
"Now. Capture mechanics. When you throw a Poké Ball, the device converts the Pokémon's mass into energy using a quantum stabilization field—"
Jax raises his hand.
"Can I just throw it hard? Like, really hard?"
"Please don't."
"Just asking."
Evelyn's hand shoots up again.
"Actually, the quantum stabilization field would require a localized spatial compression ratio of—"
"Advanced seminar, Dr. Cross."
Evelyn sits back. Abra pats her arm consolingly.
Orion looks at the room. The wrestlers, the scientists, the Titans, the florist, the accountant. All of them here because they chose to be.
He sighs.
He keeps going.
***
Give power stones to support this book.
Advance chapters in P@T0n Najicablitz.