After having their photos taken, their Pokémon registered, and their ID cards issued, Jason, Lillie, Ren, Dex, and Runa—now released from her Poké Ball—followed a series of brightly colored signs toward the campus gymnasium. They had to cross one of three bridges to reach its notably tall and wide side entrances, where neatly arranged rows of white folding chairs faced a raised stage. More notably, there were around fifty to sixty students present, happily chatting and getting to know one another with their Pokémon out of their Poké Balls.
"Oh, wow! Talk about a treasure trove of data...!" Dex chimed, zooming forward and proceeding to take pictures of the many Pokémon present.
"I'm beginning to feel a little nervous..." Lillie expressed, hugging Runa, who was carried in her arms. The crowd of new students before her was far from the largest she had seen, but the equivalent amount of Pokémon was causing her to feel anxious—even with the majority being first-stage or baby Pokémon.
"Ren feels excited..." Ren muttered, her red eyes gleaming at the prospect that she would be able to battle everyone present.
"Hey, did that Lucario just talk...?" asked a random female student with short black hair and a pink-furred, cat-like Skitty.
"It definitely did," affirmed a boy with spiky brown hair and a black-and-beige Alolan Rattata.
"And they have a Rotom Phone with them. They must be super rich..." remarked a conspicuously bare-chested boy with a half-vest, a mostly shaven head, a short, fire-orange mohawk, and a cub-like Litleo.
As Jason, Lillie, Ren, and Luca quickly found themselves the focal point of many gazes, a boy with dark, notably tanned skin, kind obsidian eyes, and dark green hair fixed into a spiky ponytail approached with a broad smile, greeting, "Alola! You two look really interesting! Are you visiting Alola from another region?"
Though he recognized the youth immediately, Jason did his best not to make it apparent as he adopted a smile of his own and stated, "You look pretty interesting yourself. And to answer your question, I came to Alola from the Kalos Region. Lillie here was born and raised here on Melemele Island."
"Oh, for real? I'm also from Melemele Island—specifically, Iki Town. My name is Hau Kealoha. And this is my partner, Koko," expressed the youth, confirming Jason's suspicions about his identity. At the same time, a head popped up from Hau's bright orange backpack.
"Pikaa pii~!"
Waving its right paw, Hau's partner revealed itself to be a very energetic-looking Pikachu. Jason had expected him to have one of the three Alolan Starter Pokémon, but he supposed that Hau's Grandfather, Kahuna Halu, was waiting for him to graduate before giving him one.
"My! What an adorable Pikachu!" Lillie chimed, her nervousness nowhere to be seen as she beamed from ear to ear, held up Runa, and introduced, "And this is my partner, Runa. I hope the two of you are able to get along and become good friends~!"
"Wow. It's really rare to see a Ralts around these parts. And don't even get me started with this Lucario. You must be a really amazing person to have taught it how to speak," Hau remarked, taking a knee, holding up his left hand, and wiggling his fingers playfully at Ren.
"Jason...?"
Not sure how to respond, Ren looked up at Jason, who gave her a nod and affirmed, "Go ahead. Though it's our first time meeting, I'm certain this is someone we can trust."
"Mmn~!"
With Jason's permission, Ren extended her right paw and placed it flat against Hau's hand, a happy smile adorning her face as she exclaimed, "Ren is Ren~!" with her tail wagging behind her.
"Ahaha~! What an awesome Pokémon! And those clothes really suit you!" Hau hummed happily, his and Ren's interaction inspiring others to gather around.
"Hey, Hau. Are these friends of yours...?" asked another dark-skinned youth, this one conspicuously shirtless and notably muscular. His eyes were sharp, golden, and full of confidence. And his hair, shaven short at the sides, resembled black flames at the top with fire-like tufts lining his scalp and temples. His eyebrows were similarly black and red, and while he was shirtless, he wore a pair of red shorts with maroon and feather accents, a pair of matching sandals, and a corded necklace with a clover medallion, silver and redstone accents, and black feathers that adorned the youth's muscular shoulders.
"Oh, hey, Kiawe. Let me introduce you to Jason, Lillie, and their Pokémon, Ren the Lucario and Runa the Ralts~!" Hau responded, his smile infectious and his tone bubbly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you~!" Lillie greeted.
"Likewise," Kiawe affirmed with a nod, his gaze shifting to Jason, Ren, and back to the former in quick succession.
"Jason, huh? I get the feeling the two of us are going to be great friends and rivals," Kiawe expressed, his eyes gleaming with a battle-hungry grin as he extended his right hand to Jason for a handshake.
"I look forward to it," Jason responded, nodding and accepting Kiawe's firm handshake with a smile. The latter was nearly as tall as him, and his build was even more muscular, making it clear that Kiawe was dedicated to training and self-improvement. Jason also knew Kiawe had a powerful Fire-type Pokémon, Turtonator, as his partner. But since there was a non-zero chance that it could trigger an explosion if someone bumped into the spear-like spikes on its back, it was presumably required to be kept within its Poké Ball for safety...
"Hey, hey. Can I touch your Lucario's paw as well...!?" asked a girl with vibrant green eyes, pale red hair, and, of all things, a Stufful in her arms. Jason's pupils briefly contracted at the sight of the disarmingly cute but dangerous Pokémon. But since he knew it wasn't the one that seemed to want him dead, he forced a smile and responded, "Of course..." before he and Lillie found themselves inundated with introductions...
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As the final few students trailed in, a handsome, well-dressed man with fair brown skin, pale pink hair, and droopy, light blue eyes asked everyone to take their seats. His appearance made many of the female students act like starstruck fangirls, but the man, Ilima, took it in stride and asked them to save their autograph and photo requests for later.
Once everyone was in their seats and settled in, several presumed staff members made their way up to the stage. There were ten in total, but two stood out to Jason as he knew them personally.
"Wicke! Over here~!" Ren exclaimed in recognition, waving her paws and beaming happily from the back of the gymnasium—where she and many of the larger Pokémon stood as a group.
Reacting to Ren's shout, Wicke looked over, her expression blossoming into a broad, slightly mischievous smile as she waved back and directed a wink at Jason.
Though Wicke's presence left him at a loss, Jason was marginally more confused by Ren's lack of reaction to the pink-haired, blue-eyed beauty following her onto the stage. He had thought it was Skyler, but since she joined the other staff in looking over, her brows raised in curiosity rather than recognition, it was very likely a different, albeit identical member of the Joy family.
Just as Jason was wondering why Wicke was on the stage, Lillie leaned toward him and whispered, "The Aether Foundation sponsors classes on Pokémon conservationism at various Pokémon Schools, Academies, and even Colleges. Wicke asked me to keep it a secret that she was going to be leading the course this year."
"I have been bamboozled..." Jason hummed softly, a faint but pleased smile adorning his face. He was certain that Lusamine or Wicke herself had pulled some strings to have her take over the class during his and Lillie's enrollment, but he was happy they had.
"Alooooooola, students! Welcome to the Melemele Pokémon School~!" exclaimed a man who was nearly a carbon copy of the famed Professor Oak, standing behind a podium with his arms raised and a broad, ear-to-ear smile. Two notable differences were that his skin was tanned to the point of appearing naturally bronzed, and his sand-grey hair was much longer, growing past his shoulders and flaring outward like a wide, shell-shaped mullet.
Grabbing the sides of the podium, the inordinately bronzed man spiritedly announced, "As many of you already know, my name is Professor Samson Oak—not to be confused with my cousin, Samuel! Though like him, I am a Pokémon Professor, as well as Alola's foremost expert on Alolan Pokémon Ecology! I am un-Bayleef-ably excited you all could make it!"
"Did he just make a pun...?"
"I think so...?"
"How weird..."
Despite the awkward laughs, hushed remarks, and exasperated sighs his pun had inspired, Professor Oak exhaled a hearty laugh before adopting a more dignified posture, his tone professional as he stated, "Though they have likely been a part of your lives until now, I would like to welcome and congratulate each of you on taking your first steps into the wider world of Pokémon..."
As Professor Oak went on to deliver a speech remarkably similar to those the Player received at the start of a Pokémon game, Jason was surprised to find himself shaking with excitement. Alongside Hau and Kiawe, he had identified five other students he recognized—two of whom resembled the Protagonists of Pokémon Sun and Moon, Elio and Selene. That aside, now that he had a Provisional Trainer License, he was allowed to battle against others with provisional licenses and capture an additional Pokémon. That last part had him very excited...
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Following Professor Oak's welcome speech and brief introductions from the faculty, students were ushered to one of three tables to find out their homeroom assignments. Jason and Lillie were naturally in the same class, and either by providence or Lusamine pulling strings, their classroom was located on the top floor of the central school building—the 'special' class for advanced or high-profile students.
"Man, how lucky are we? To think we would be in the same class! This is going to be awesome!" Kiawe exclaimed, clasping hands with Jason and Hau in turn.
"I know, right? I was a little worried that I wouldn't know anyone. Talk about a load off my shoulders~" Hau expressed, prompting his Pikachu, Koko, to chime, "Pikyaaa—!" and rub its cheek against his from his right shoulder.
"Yeah, you're right. No matter what, I would still have had you, Koko~" Hau hummed happily, cupping the side of Koko's face and reciprocating its cheek rub.
"Oh, right! There's plenty of room here! Jason, let me introduce you to my partners! Come on out, guys...!" Kiawe shouted, producing three ordinary-looking Poké Balls and tossing them into the air. Their classroom was tens of meters wide and only had ten students, so there was ample room for all but the largest of Pokémon.
"Grroaaaw...!"
"Marow-mah...!"
"Turtonator...!"
Earning the attention of everyone in the class, Kiawe's three Pokémon happened to be a somewhat old-looking Charizard with tattered wings and battle scars, a regional variant of a Marowak, and a two-meter-tall Pokémon with turtle-like features, a star-shaped crown plate, a long nose that could discharge fire, an eight-pointed red-and-yellow shell covered in crimson spikes, and a long, multi-segmented tail formed from diamond-shaped plates.
"Oh, boy! A brand new Pokémon for me to document...!" Dex exclaimed excitedly, flying over and circling the turtle-like Pokémon as he recited, "Turtonator, the Blast Turtle Pokémon—a Fire/Dragon Type! Turtonator are said to live deep inside volcanoes—where they primarily consume sulfur and other unstable minerals! Because of that, even their droppings are said to be dangerously explosive...!"
"Turta..."
Seemingly embarrassed by Dex's comment regarding its waste, Kiawe's Turtonator turned its head and covered its face with its long, flipper-like hands.
"Aww, it's okay, Turtonator. Rotom here was just reading off your Pokédex entry. No need to feel ashamed..." Kiawe reassured, placing his right hand on Turtonator's shoulder.
"Aha! This Turtonator must have a Timid nature! How fascinating!" Dex chimed, snapping multiple pictures of Kiawe and his Turtonator before Jason grabbed him from behind and sighed, "Dex...let's try to be a little more considerate of our new friends..."
"H-huh? Did I perhaps cross a line...?" Dex questioned, his eyes wide in shock. Fortunately, Kiawe and Turtonator didn't take his carelessness to heart, readily forgiving him. Meanwhile, the other two boys in their class, a short and stocky boy with messy orange hair and another, much taller boy with handsome features and medium-length black hair, observed the group of Jason, Hau, and Kiawe with a clear desire to approach and join them...
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