While Jason was getting better acquainted with the boys in their class, Lillie, Ren, and Runa were getting to know their female classmates. Ren wanted to be with Jason, but her clothes and ability to speak had made her the central focus of the girls' group.
"Your squishy paw pads are just too adorable, Ren~" chimed a girl with tanned skin, long green hair kept in three-split twin tails, pale green eyes, and a naturally sunny disposition. Within her hair was a large pink flower, fixed in place by a vine-like headband. Clothing-wise, she wore a salmon-pink tank top, light grey, shorts-style overalls with a small pouch near the collar, spiky white frills at the legs, and a large ribbon at the back, affixed to the band of her shorts. Below that were healthy brown legs, feeding into leaf-green socks and sleek Omnishoes that were leaf-green on top, white-toed, white-soled, and sporting leaf-like ribbons in place of strings.
"Bau bounce~" appended the Pokémon atop the girl's head, a large and healthy Bounsweet. The fragrance it emitted as it happily spun the leaves atop its head like a propeller made the spacious room smell of freshly cut fruit.
"Ren is definitely cool. But so is my Popplio..." remarked a short girl with fair skin, blue eyes, short blue hair, a modified serafuku top, and baggy, ocean-print pants over a dark blue school swimsuit. She had bangs that framed her face and tapered to a point above her nose, above which was a yellow string headband that vaguely resembled a fishing net. And in her arms was a somewhat chubby Pokémon resembling the cub of a sea lion, albeit blue, with larger forepaws, a tapered tail with flippers, a prominent, pale-blue ruff, and a white snout tipped by a rounded pink nose.
"Pipla piii~" sang the seal-like Pokémon, a first-stage Water Type and one of the Alola Region's starters, Popplio.
"Hey, now. Not everything needs to be a competition, Lana. Your Popplio, my Bounsweet, Lillie's Ralts, Selene's Rowlet, and Stella's Goomy—all of our Pokémon are awesome~!" asserted the green-haired girl, her sunny disposition spreading through the group as a pleasant warmth.
Surprising everyone but Lillie, Ren nodded and affirmed, "Mmn. Mallow is right. Jason tells Ren that all Pokémon are incredible. But Ren likes strong Pokémon and strong Trainers best."
"Well, you can count on Rowann and me to become super strong! Then we can have a Pokémon Battle...!" exclaimed a girl with shoulder-length black hair, pumping her fists. Atop her head sat a red, flower-like toque, and alongside a bag that resembled a slice of melon, she wore a loose, pale, cream-colored top with light pink and gold flowers—fastened at the front in a large bow. It wasn't visible, but beneath that she wore a white, tank-top-like swimsuit, matching the bottoms under her bright, teal-green short-shorts.
"Row row raoooooooow...!"
Sharing its Trainer's, Selene's, enthusiasm, the latter's Pokémon, a nearly spheroidal owl with sand-colored feathers and a recessed face like a barn owl, flapped its wings and cried spiritedly. It didn't look like it at a glance, but as evidenced by the leaves forming a bow-tie above its breast, it was a Grass Type and another of the Alola starters, Rowlet.
"That's good. Work hard and become as strong as you can. That way it will mean more when my Gooey and I defeat you," stated a slender girl with inordinately fair skin, long, icy-blue hair that extended to her lower back, and sharp, pale blue eyes. She was the most sharply dressed of the girls present. In place of casual clothing, she was wearing a cropped, ice-blue bomber jacket over a fitted, white, skirted blouse with dark blue slits. Below that, she wore navy-blue bike shorts with icy-blue stripes down the sides—matching her fingerless gloves and the faintly pulsing headphones adorning her neck.
Seemingly oblivious to the venom in the icy-haired girl's remark, Selene pumped her fists, her smile broadening as she affirmed, "Right! Rowann and I will train super duper extra hard to give you and your Goomy a run for your money, Stella!"
"Right...it's good that you know your place..." Stella muttered, her cheeks gaining a faint trace of red as she averted her eyes to stare at her partner, Gooey the Goomy. It was a pure Dragon Type, but it resembled a pale and dark purple slug with green circles around its neck, beady black eyes, and four rounded, horn-like antennae.
"Goomnn mnn~"
Seeing its Trainer and partner staring at it, Gooey smiled and made happy humming sounds. In response, Stella adopted a smile of her own, exhaled faintly through her nose, and pulled out a spray bottle to give it a series of moisturizing spritzes...
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As Jason was wondering where their homeroom teacher was, the raven-haired, slate-eyed youth, whom the former recognized as the male protagonist of the Sun and Moon games, trailed nervously by the short, notably chubby youth with messy orange hair.
"Hey, do you mind if the two of us join your conversation...?" asked the raven-haired youth.
"Of course!" Hau responded cheerfully.
"In fact, if you hadn't come over on your own, I was going to drag you over myself," Kiawe teased, standing cross-armed with a relaxed grin as he stated, "The name's Kiawe. These two are Hau and Jason. It's nice to meet you both."
"Alola. My name is Elio. I'm Selene's twin brother. And this Litten here is my partner, Magnus," responded the raven-haired youth, gesturing to a small feline with soot-black fur broken up by fiery-orange stripes on the legs, cheeks, and forehead. It had orange eyes that glistened like coals, and in place of ordinary sclera, the whites of its eyes were bright yellow and emitted a faint, lantern-like glow.
"A-And I'm Sophocles. This is my partner, Togedemaru. I-It's nice to meet you all...!" appended the orange-haired youth, holding up a Pokémon that resembled a spherical hedgehog with a white face and underbelly, a steel grey overcoat, doll-like eyes, yellow circles on its cheeks, and a pattern of flattened, yellow and brown spikes on its back. It had an appendage that resembled a lightning-bolt-shaped tail protruding from its upper back, but it was actually a special organ that conducted electricity.
"Togetei! Togete tei~!" Togedemaru pealed, smiling and waving its tiny arms at Hau's Pikachu, in particular. Togedemaru were Electric/Steel-types, but they couldn't generate electricity themselves. Instead, they absorbed the electricity of other Electric-types, allowing them to store it for long periods and discharge it through their spikes.
"Alola. It's nice to meet you both," Jason reiterated with a smile and a nod. He couldn't help thinking that Togedemaru wasn't the wisest choice for a partner, as it was a Pokémon with no evolutions and limited growth potential. On the other hand, he respected that Sophocles was able to put such sentiments aside to raise Togedemaru regardless.
"That Lucario is your partner, right? You must have worked really hard to teach her how to speak," Elio remarked.
"Y-Yeah! I had heard that Pokémon in the Human Egg group could learn how to speak, but I've only ever seen them on TV! You're really amazing, Jason...!" Sophocles exclaimed, looking up at Jason as if he were eyeing a TV celebrity.
Shaking his head, Jason calmly asserted, "The one who worked hard was Ren. I consider myself incomparably blessed to have such an exceptional Pokémon as my partner."
"You really have an unusual way of speaking, Jason," Kiawe noted, his right brow rising slightly as he asked, "Are you and Lillie from a wealthy background? The two of you arrived together, and you seem really close to one another."
"I noticed that as well. It's time to spill the truth—the two of you are dating, aren't you...?" Hau questioned playfully, his bright, obsidian-black eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"Pikaa~!" appended Koko, raising its right paw in concert with Hau raising his hand.
"Lillie and I are engaged," Jason revealed, seeing no reason to keep the matter a secret as it was already public knowledge—at least to those who paid attention to such matters.
"N-No way! Isn't it too soon for things like that...?" Sophocles questioned, his expression and jaw slack with disbelief. Meanwhile, Hau's and Kiawe's eyes gleamed with even greater intrigue as they invaded Jason's personal space and began bombarding him with questions. Elio was also interested to know how Jason and Lillie had met and gotten engaged. But instead of asking questions personally, he sat at a desk with his Litten curled atop it and began brushing Magnus's fur using a black brush with heat-resistant bristles. Litten had hidden spurs on their backs that could emit more heat than a stove top, so grooming them took patience, caution, and attention to detail...
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After nearly an hour, the conversations between the boys and girls in Jason's and Lillie's class came to an end with the arrival of a tall, bare-chested man with tanned skin, short black hair that formed a small man bun at the base of his head, and expressive, confident features. He was wearing the characteristic white lab coat of a Professor, but he also had on green-rimmed blue-blocker glasses, a long-brimmed white cap with a rainbow pattern on the front, baggy, calf-length sweat pants with a green band, and green, croc-style Omnishoes.
"Alola, everyone. I trust that you've all had plenty of time to introduce yourselves and become better acquainted?" asked the man, recognizable to everyone present as he was widely regarded as Alola's representative Professor, Kaimana Kukui.
"Awesome! I was sure this was how things were going to end up when I learned we were in the special class, but to think we'd be learning from the Professor Kukui! Now I'm really fired up!" Kiawe exclaimed, pumping his right fist, his eyes gleaming as if they had flames burning within them.
"Nice energy...!" Professor Kukui shouted, giving Kiawe an approving thumbs up before adopting a more casual, hands-in-pockets demeanor and stating, "But we've got a lot to go over, so let's try to dial it back while we're in class."
"Yes! Understood, Professor...!" Kiawe responded, performing a spirited quick salute before joining everyone as they took their seats.
After everyone settled in, Kukui pressed a button on a remote, causing the digital blackboard behind him to display the same schedule everyone had received during orientation.
"Alright, Class. I assume most of you know me, but my name is Professor Kaimana Kukui. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next few months, as well as your instructor on Pokémon Powers and Z-Moves," Professor Kukui explained.
Following his brief introduction, Professor Kukui explained that, aside from optional weekend classes and holidays, each school day was split into six classes and several break periods—Monday through Thursday. On Friday, sometimes extending to Sunday, they would go on outings or camp out in the forest adjacent to the Pokémon School. Furthermore, as a Trainer's journey took them to a multitude of environments and frequently required them to endure harsh weather, the end of each month would be marked by their traveling to one of Alola's four main islands to camp outdoors and experience different climates...
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As it was only their first day and classes didn't officially begin until the second, Professor Kukui followed his explanation with a comprehensive tour of the campus. After that was an early lunch, giving all classes the opportunity to meet and converse with one another before they were free to leave for the day. Jason, Lillie, and especially Ren garnered substantial attention, but most of the people who approached them were friendly and polite. There were a few, particularly other boys, who expressed to Jason that they wouldn't lose to him and Ren, but none were particularly rude or antagonistic. As such, Jason's, Lillie's, Ren's, Runa's, and Dex's first day of school ended largely without incident...
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