Following a hearty, nutritious lunch, Jason walked with Lillie and their class to the parallel battlefields near the campus entrance. There, ten training dummies that resembled various powerful Pokémon had been prepared for their lesson on Battle Strategy and the Practical Application of Pokémon Powers.
"It looks like we'll be taking this class alongside other classes," Kiawe noted, referring to the thirty or so additional students present, patiently awaiting the arrival of their instructor.
"If I had to guess, it's to promote healthy competition between classes," Jason speculated, scanning his presumed competition and their partner Pokémon. Most students had first-stage dog, cat, or bird-like Pokémon—the types most easily kept as pets. But there were at least three outliers worthy of caution.
'That's a Jangmo-o...' Jason noted, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully at the sight of a striking and confident-looking boy with two-tone silver and black hair. The sides were black and shaved short, while the top was a feathery mop of stylish, silver-grey locks that complemented his yellow eyes and nearly symmetrical features. His body was thin, but even with a black, long-sleeved shirt, a beige backpack, dark blue pants, and stylish, orange-sided, black-soled, and white-toed Omnishoes, it was evident he took care of himself.
Though the youth's partner, Jangmo-o, a pure Dragon Type, was only in its first stage, the pint-sized quadrupeds were known for their power and evolutionary potential. In its current form, it was a small, scaly quadruped with pale grey scales along its head, back, and tail, six yellow-tipped grey plates that protected it like a mantle, a coin-shaped tail spine, and a hard, bright yellow crest that resembled a heart. In the future, it would become a powerful, bipedal Dragon/Fighting-type with tremendous offensive and defensive capabilities—some of the best among all Pokémon...
As Jason was taking stock of those who might pose a threat to Ren and himself, including a somewhat cocky-looking boy with an Oshawatt and a short, notably apathetic-looking purplette with a Lampent, the instructor who would be leading the lesson arrived, Professor Kukui.
"Alola, everyone! Did you all enjoy your lunch...?" Professor Kukui asked, greeting everyone with a broad but relaxed smile and a casual raising of his right hand.
"ALOLA, PROFESSOR KUKUI~!"
Though only a handful of students greeted Professor Kukui with a shout, the combined responses of nearly forty students formed an enthusiastic chorus that resounded throughout the campus. Until then, most of those present had been prohibited from actively training and battling with their partner Pokémon. Now that their constraints were slowly but surely being removed, it was impossible for them not to be excited.
"Awesome! I can really feel how excited everyone is to be here! Let's all give today our best...!" Professor Kukui exclaimed, shifting his right hand from a wave to a tightly clenched fist. This earned him a round of cheers from the gathered classes, with only Jason and a few others choosing to remain silent. It wasn't that they weren't excited—at least in Jason's case. He simply wasn't the type to cheer at every opportunity.
"Alright, today's lesson is fairly straightforward," Professor Kukui began, explaining, "Before you, there are ten training dummies—provided to us by the Devon Corporation. Each has been infused with special energies corresponding to the Typings of each Pokémon they represent. Let's see, now..."
Locking eyes with Jason, Professor Kukui's smile broadened as he asked, "Jason Springfield. Would you and your partner be willing to assist me in a demonstration?"
Though he was taken aback by the suddenness of Professor Kukui's request, Jason didn't hesitate to respond, "That depends on my partner," before looking down at Ren and asking, "How about it?"
"Ren will go...!" Ren exclaimed, punching her right fist into the open palm of her left paw.
"Mmn. Then it's decided..." Jason affirmed calmly, stepping forward with Ren following excitedly at his side. Unlike him, she greatly enjoyed being the center of attention. Thus, while his skin prickled, Ren beamed happily at being the focus of forty-three prospective Trainers and nearly as many Pokémon.
Nodding approvingly, Professor Kukui explained, "The goal of today's training is to help everyone understand the importance of Type matchups and choosing the right move for the right situation. Each of the dummies you see here is connected to a sensor that will record the amount of force they receive from an attack. What I'm going to ask Jason and his Lucario to do is attack each dummy with the same move. Then we will all review the data, uploaded directly to your smartphones via the app we had each of you download yesterday."
As everyone pulled out their smartphones, Professor Kukui turned to Jason and Ren, his expression softening as he asked, "Is this something the two of you think you can do?"
"No problem," Jason responded, nodding.
"No problem~!" Ren repeated, pumping her fists and wagging her tail excitedly. Then, so as not to reveal too much of what they were capable of, he had Ren use Metal Claw to attack each dummy. Jason was a little surprised when Ren's average output came out at thirty metric tons, but since he'd seen her routinely squat over two tons, it suddenly made sense how she was able to send Wicke's Miltank flying backward tens of meters with a solid hit...
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Following their post-lunch practical lesson, Jason and company returned to their classroom for their final two periods: Pokémon Conservation and Pokémon Expression and Bond Phenology—instructed by Wicke and the spacey, paint-stained Mina. The former was similar to Pokémon Biology and Ecology, but with a focus on the influence humans have on Pokémon and the environments they inhabit. The latter was odd, with Mina tasking them with pulling out large, comfortable floor cushions to nap and cuddle with their Pokémon for an hour.
'If only things could remain this peaceful...' Jason thought to himself, his expression relaxed, almost contented as he stared up at the high ceiling of the classroom with Ren nestled up to him.
Despite the counsel of those around him, Jason couldn't help but think about and accordingly stress over the future. He knew there wasn't much he could do with his existing power and influence. But since it was more probable than not that he, Ren, and those close to him had been marked by Team Rainbow Rocket and those behind them, his mind was oriented toward the future—specifically on the task of completing his Grand Trials and proving himself to the Tapu.
"Hmmn...you and your Pokémon have a beautiful bond. But why is your aura so heavy...?" Mina questioned, positioning herself precariously near Jason's head, staring down at him.
'Another woman with no concept of distance. At least she's wearing pants...' Jason thought, his expression and tone neutral as he closed his eyes and responded, "I just have a lot on my mind..."
"Mmnn...you're an artist, aren't you...?" Mina questioned, catching Jason a little off guard. The only people who knew he was an artist were Lillie and those he was closest to back on the beach. Yet, as he opened his eyes to meet Mina's gaze, there was a degree of certitude in the woman's wistful, otherwise unfocused blue stare.
"I dabble..." Jason responded noncommittally.
"Jason is a great artist~" Ren appended sleepily, drawing closer to Jason with a happy smile on her face. She very seldom got to nap with him since evolving into a Lucario, so she was enjoying their mandated snuggle time quite a bit.
"I see...you're someone who struggles with being honest with himself..." Mina noted, turning her attention to her sketchpad and hastily scribbling away with a piece of charcoal as she revealed, "I teach a weekend class on Environmental Impressionism. We travel around to different islands to draw, paint, or photograph Alola's landscapes, people, and Pokémon. You should sign up."
'That would allow me to familiarize myself with Alola's other islands in advance...' Jason noted, seriously considering the notion. Lusamine had previously suggested that he become an artist after viewing the sketches he had drawn of Lillie, so it wasn't a dead-end path. Competent musicians and Artists were highly esteemed by the socially affluent, so if he wanted to be accepted by them, making a name for himself as an artist wasn't the worst way to go about it.
"I'll consider it..." Jason responded, choosing to reserve his answer until after he discussed the matter with Lillie, Maeve, Nanahoshi, and possibly Lusamine. He seriously doubted they would be opposed to the idea, but since he was a person of interest to the League, he presumed they would need someone to keep an eye on him.
"Mmn...mmn...sounds good..." Mina responded, her tone utterly devoid of enthusiasm as she pulled out the sheet of paper she was drawing on and extended it to Jason, stating, "This is for you..."
"Okay...?"
Accepting the piece of thick, somewhat rough-feeling paper, Jason was surprised to find an accurate charcoal recreation of him and Ren relaxing together. He knew Mina was a talented artist, but completing a charcoal sketch in minutes was on another level...
"Enjoy your rest..." Mina appended coolly, giving a quick, snipping peace sign before moving to the next cushion to draw Kiawe reclining against the side of his Charizard, flanked by his Turtinator and seated next to an Alolan Marowak.
'So she's approaching and drawing all of us...' Jason noted, closing his eyes, relaxing his head, and exhaling from his nose. He had thought that Mina had seen or noticed something different about him compared to his classmates, but she was evidently just making her rounds and seeing how each of them was doing.
'Remember...you're not this world's Protagonist...' Jason reminded himself, feeling marginally unburdened by the affirmation. His circumstances were like something out of a poorly written fanfic, but he wasn't a character in a novel. He was alive. His actions had consequences for himself and others, and he wasn't the only one in his situation. As far as he knew, there were tens, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Aspirants in a position similar to his. If he deceived himself into believing he was some kind of chosen one or had plot armor, the odds of him or someone he cared about getting killed were, as far as he was concerned, 100%. And that was 99.9999999% more risk than he was willing to take...
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Following Mina's mandated nap time, Jason and his classmates received a spirited congratulations from Professor Kukui, who thereafter explained to them the minimum requirements for graduation—completing survival trails on all four of Alola's main islands and accruing 100 hours of supplemental, out-of-class credits.
For someone like Mallow, whose dream was to take over her family's restaurant, this included things like working there after school or on the weekends. For Lana, who dreamed of exploring the deep ocean and one day encountering Kyogre, Professor Kukui recommended that she enroll in a deep-sea diving class. In essence, their supplemental lessons could be any out-of-school activity, so long as they kept a proper account of their progress and were actively working toward their dreams.
With their homework being to think about their futures and write a 1,000-word plan of action to achieve their goals, Jason and Lillie hung back with the rest of their class to chat about their dreams. The bell releasing them for the day rang at 3:50 PM, but the campus and its facilities, including its cafeteria, remained open and free to use until 6:30 PM. As such, the latter was the perfect place to meet up and hang out without having to relocate to a cafe or someone's house.
"My future has already been decided. But before I take on my mother's responsibilities as President of the Aether Foundation, Jason and I plan to complete Alola's Island Challenge and travel through various Regions to participate in their annual conferences, beginning with the Kalos League," Lillie explained poisedly, responding to Mallow's question about her plans post-graduation.
"Wow. It sounds like you and Jason already have your entire lives plotted out," Kiawe noted, visibly impressed.
"Only the next ten to fifty years~" Lillie chimed playfully, leaving nearly everyone at the table at a loss for words. Jason was also silent, but it had nothing to do with Lillie's words. He had noticed Ren glancing curiously in the direction of another group, so he joined her in looking over—his eyes meeting the vibrant blue gaze of the cocky-looking, blue-and-black-haired youth with an Oshawott as his partner...
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