Mikael smoothly skated along the recently polished ice inside the rink, his clothes a simple light-blue long-sleeved shirt and a pair of snug black sweatpants. Much like it would do at Lake Acuity, Divvy monitored him closely from the ice, following him as he deftly sped across and keeping still with every death drop and camel spin he’d perform shortly after. With his headphones and music on, all he could hear of the outside world were the vibrations that carried from his blades to his head as the made contact with the ice.
With one final series of spins, Mikael pulled his feet apart and reached a hand to the sky, keeping his balance to maintain the perfection of his practice routine. There was very little time to enjoy what he felt he accomplished, however, when the sound of a single, rapid series of claps broke him out of his pride. Yanking his headphones down to hang around the back of his neck, Mikael and Divvy turned around to see Sam standing on the other side of the ice rink’s wall with Jacqui, the latter of which continued to clap with canned frustration on her face.
“Cool,” she shouted, “now that I got your attention, let’s go! I’m hungry and want to get to class!”
Mikael grimaced, annoyed. “Class isn’t for another couple of hours. I just wanted to get a good skate in before then.”
“Sorry, Mikael,” Sam called back. “I really wanted to introduce both of you to the new students, and it would honestly be really awkward without you there.”
“Won’t they get to meet me in class soon enough anyways?”
“I just thought it would be nice for you to meet all your classmates at once so you don’t feel like you have to keep introducing yourself all day. Plus, we still need to eat breakfast, and we can always pick something up from the stores along the way.”
Mikael relaxed, starting to understand and appreciate Sam’s logic. “What time are they showing up?”
“Trains have actually been arriving and unloading in Ponyville now. Folks are going to want to take time to catch up before starting class, you know?”
Mikael sighed, quietly skating over the gate to the main floor. “Alright, let me shower first.”
“Please do.” Jacqui’s head faced him the entire time as he exited and hobbled to the locker room. “I really don’t want to be standing next to you smelling like my panties.”
“Why not? You sleep next to them all night just fine.”
Jacqui clenched her teeth as her face went flush, completely unprepared for such a comeback. Mikael stood strong and tall as Divvy helped unravel the laces from his skates before holding them down for him to step out of. After clasping the insides of them, he slipped into the locker room entryway as Divvy stood guard outside.
Sam could only shrug as Jacqui continued to stand, petrified. “Still leaving your–”
“Don’t… ask,” she managed to spit, trembling with humiliation.
In Ponyville, massive crowds of Equestrians and creatures of many shapes and sizes were gathering near the school and counting. As numerous trains lined up from every direction waiting to let its passengers off at the Ponyville train station, the riders that got their turn all went straight toward the School of Friendship, only adding to the group’s massive numbers.
With the walkway forcing the students and their guardians to funnel themselves inside, the foyer of the school was much more sparsely populated by comparison, though it showed little sign of staying that way for very long. Even with the lack of creatures inside as opposed to out, a young, female changeling with light-blue skin and light-red wings weaved around the other gathered creatures as they bid farewell to their children or reunited with friends they had not seen since the start of summer.
With a barely audible whimper, the changeling struggled to find who she was looking for, and with the room only getting fuller, it would only become that much more difficult to look for whom she was searching. Unbeknownst to her, a young dragoness with orange scales and fuchsia spines quietly tiptoed up behind her and slipped her hands over the changeling’s eyes.
“You know you’ll never find any of your friends in the dark, right?” she happily jeered.
Upon turning around, the changeling instantly morphed its shape like a smoke, turning into a bipedal wolf creature with red claws and a large growth of fur coming from its head that was bound into a ponytail by a large blue bead. The sight of her friend’s transformation caused the dragon to yelp and back herself into another creature. Upon the two turning around, the dragon was elated to see that the changeling was the one who she bumped into.
“And you won’t find any of your friends walking backwards into them!” she chirped.
“Ocellus!” The dragon threw her hands up and approached for a hug.
“Smolder!” The changeling and dragon crashed into each other’s embrace. “I missed you so much!”
“Me too!” The wolf then approached Smolder, getting her attention with a tapping of its nose against the back of her arm. “Yep, it’s good to see you too, Zoroark!”
“Good job, Zoroark,” Ocellus praised, pulling one of three Poké Balls from a clip attached to a belt fastened around her waist. “You can come back in now.” Once the red beam from Ocellus’s Poké Ball connected to her Pokémon and brought it back in, she put it back onto her clip so as to continue reconnecting with her friend. “Did we get you good? I thought you’d like it.”
“I sure did! You’re certainly not the shy little bug I first met here last year.”
“I’m certainly trying. Hey, have you seen Sandbar, Gallus, or any of the others yet?”
“Nope. You’re the first one I’ve seen since getting here. Come on, let’s go look for them.”
Walking side-by-side, Smolder and Ocellus carefully scanned the room in search of more of their friends.
Back outside, as the crowds continued to grow, many of the winged creatures took to the air to give themselves some much needed space as well as a better spot to look for their classmates. One of these creatures was a pink-furred hippogriff with a downy blue mane wearing three Poké Balls of her own on her waist as well as a slim rope necklace with a pink pearl fashioned into the shape of a conch shell hanging down.
Using her talons to shield her eyes from the sun, she spied downward and giggled, excited to see dozens of new faces as well as anticipating finding the ones she knew quite well. Just then, a blue griffon with a creamy-yellow chest and stomach flew up in front of her face and hovered there for her to get a good look at.
“Hey there, friendo,” he said, a smug grin on his face. “I was having trouble looking for this pink hippogriff that I had class with last year. If you happen to see her, could you–”
“I’m here!” the hippogriff happily squawked as she locked her arms around his neck. “I’m here, Gallus! It’s me, Silverstream!”
“I know…” Gallus began to wheeze as Silverstream slowly began to crush his throat. “Just… joking…!”
“Oh, sorry!” Silverstream pushed herself away, allowing the griffon to breathe and face his longtime friend. “It’s so good to see you again! Are you looking forward to our next fantas-gical school year!?”
“I dunno’,” Gallus replied with a crossing of his arms and a rolling of his eyes, “not sure if I’m up to it. And I’m certainly not looking forward to meeting those new human students I’ve heard about.”
Silverstream gasped loudly. “That’s right! We have human classmates now! Come on, we have to go find them!”
The hippogriff dove down toward the entrance, her eyes on a large enough empty space for her to land. Gallus, nodding that his sarcasm produced the exact result he desired, flew down to follow her.
Back inside, a large brown yak wearing a turquoise colored blanket and whose two large braids of brown hair were wrapped and tied into rings rummaged the foyer in search of her friends. With the room filling up now, she had great difficulty telling apart many of the ponies with the one she was looking for.
“Sandbar!” she cried. “Ocellus! Yona is here!”
Just then, she noticed as a tree looked to be heading toward her, the Equestrians separating them quickly moving out of the way. Looking up, she was soon face to face with a massive green-and-brown turtle creature with a grassy shell whose left side grew the tree that she spotted
Yona squinted, the sight of this creature ringing familiar to her. “Grot…? Wait, no! Grotle evolve into Torterra! You’re Sandbar’s Toreterra!”
With a happier croak, the Pokémon swiveled around and headed inside the room, leading Yona through the crowd. Only a few yards in, the turtle stopped, confusing her as she looked around, unable to find this “Sandbar.”
“Wait a minute!” she grumbled. “Sandbar not here! Where Sandbar?”
“Yona!” The yak looked to the direction of the call, smiling nonetheless to see Ocellus and Smolder running at her.
“Ocellus! Smolder!” With Yona’s size and stature, both the changeling and dragon were able to jump onto her without pushing her back. “Yona was wondering when friends show up!”
At that moment, a light-green earth pony stallion with a messy mane and tail of two darker shades of green wearing his own Poké Balls galloped into the scrum, laughing as he struggled to hug all three of them.
“Hey,” he gleefully shouted, “looks like Torterra found you okay!”
“Sandbar!” All three of them began to smother him with their affection.
“It’s good to see you all again, too!”
Up above, Gallus and Silverstream spotted the unmissable sight of their other friends as they reunited.
“There they are!” Silverstream squealed, pointing down. “Guys, we’re coming!”
Silverstream and Gallus both dove down and landed between the four of their friends and Sandbar’s Grotle. Upon making their appearance known, Yona, Ocellus, Sandbar, and Smolder shouted for joy and pulled them into their tight-knit hug.
“Welp!” Gallus began to get choked out once again. “The gang’s all here!”
From the right hallway entryway, Sam accompanied Mikael, Jacqui, and Divvy as he led them into the entrance hall. Upon seeing Yona towering above most of the other ponies and creatures inside, Sam smiled and attempted to wave her down, only for her to ignore him as she continued smothering the friends she went many weeks without seeing.
Sam could tell she wasn’t going to humor him. “Come on, here are some students I’d really like you to meet!”
Sam began walking out into the hall, his appearance turning the heads of nearly everyone he walked past. As he was inundated with hoofshakes or some quick words of welcome, Mikael felt his feet bolted to the floor, his body trembling.
“Hold up,” Jacqui egged, “so you weren’t expecting to meet a bunch of Equestrians on the first day?”
“If it means anything…” Mikael gulped. “This looks like way more than just a ‘bunch.’”
“Even better!” Jacqui spanked Mikael hard on his behind, forcing him out into the open.
Mikael bit the inside of his cheek to keep from yelping out, already getting stared at by many of the Equestrians now acknowledging his existence. As the others began to smile, happy to see the new human face, Mikael once again could not get his feet to move.
“Keep moving,” Jacqui warned, walking forward with Divvy beside her, “or I’m smacking the same cheek.”
Mikael suddenly found the strength to move, also working up enough forced courage to wave, smile, and greet the Equestrians that spoke out to him. Sam, already far enough ahead, approached Sandbar and his group as they all got to their hooves, feet, and claws, ready to catch up.
Before they could begin, Silverstream pointed at Sam, her eyes glistening. “Look, it’s Mr. Brier!”
With a collective clatter, Sandbar and his friends all hopped toward Sam, each one taking their time to give him a hug as well. Finally, Mikael, Jacqui, and Divvy got a fuller sight of the six distinctive creatures Sam was conversing with. As Mikael’s feet began to get heavy with reluctance, he suddenly felt a presence behind his left ear.
“I’m winding back…” Jacqui whispered.
Mikael continued to walk, watching as Sam pet the top of Torterra’s head.
“You certainly got big since we last met,” he told it before looking to Sandbar. “When’d he evolve?”
“Just a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Brier,” he responded. “I thought it’d be a nice surprise to show you.”
“You have to check out my Pokémon next!” Smolder stepped forward and took all three of her Poké Balls off before dropping them on the floor.
The three balls opened up and released the draconic Pokémon inside. The first was dark-gray from the stomach down and green from the stomach up, and it had two large blades that protruded out from the corners of its mouth. The second was slender and light-grey with particularly large golden scales growing down its arms as well as the top of its head and the end of its tail. The last Pokémon was dark-blue with a red underbelly and had a strong resemblance to a shark.
“Very nice!” Sam complimented. “They’re all only one evolution away now!”
“And I hope to do so by the end of the year!” Smolder pumped her fist, excited to take on the challenge she set up for herself.
Sandbar looked over to find Mikael and Jacqui approaching, smiling upon realizing who they were. “Look, our human classmates!”
Once their eyes were on him, Mikael and Jacqui both stood next to each other as they let the six creatures walk up to them, each one muttering something inquisitive about him or Jacqui.
“Here we go,” Mikael breathed past his lips.
“Yes,” Sam confirmed, “I would love for you all to meet your new human classmates: Mikael Wallström from the Sinnoh region, and Jacqui Sweeney from the Unova region. Guys, I’d love for you to meet some of my best students: Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream.”
“And what about that big bell behind you?” Gallus asked.
Mikael turned around, realizing that Divvy was behind him once again. “Oh, him? This is my Bronzong, Divvy. Before you ask, yeah, he prefers to live outside of a Poké Ball.”
“It’s beautiful!” Ocellus flew above and around it. “I’ve never seen one up close before!”
“T… thanks.” Mikael felt his walls softly erode with the changeling’s kind words. “He’s been my best friend for years.”
“And what kind of Pokémon do you have?” Smolder asked, pointing at Jacqui. “Anything as cool as mine?”
“As cool?” Jacqui pulled all three of her Poké Balls off her clip. “Try cooler!”
Lobbing her balls up, they opened and streamed their energy out, getting Smolder and her friends excited. One bolt of energy formed on the floor as her Leavanny, while the other two wrapped around her wrists, becoming two identical yellow spiders that held onto her forearms tight.
“Oh wow!” Silverstream put her face near Jacqui’s arms, getting the two spiders to vibrate intimidatingly. “Double Joltik action! And look at your Leavanny! So amazing!”
“Amazing my tail,” Smolder sneered. “How can those three bugs be cooler than any of my dragons?”
Jacqui shrugged Smolder’s insult off. “That’s only because you haven’t seen what they can do. I’d be happy to take you on in a battle sometime.”
“Wow, so you’re just going to challenge a dragon you just met to a Pokémon battle?” Smolder then gave Jacqui a wide toothy grin. “Yeah, you’re alright by me, Jacqui! I look forward to that battle.”
Reaching her hand towards her, Jacqui firmly put her palm in Smolder’s as the two sealed their friendship with a shake. As Mikael watched on, he was approached by both Sandbar and Yona.
“I’m sorry,” Sandbar spoke up, “but I don’t think Sam said which part of Sinnoh you’re from. Guessing from your Bronzong, you’re somewhere near Mt. Coronet?”
Mikael betrayed a frown that let Sandbar know that he wasn’t quite correct, but impressively close. “Snowpoint City, actually. I mean, you can definitely get to Mt. Coronet from there, so you’re not entirely wrong.”
“Yona always want to go to Snowpoint!” she blurted. “Any place with snow like home in Yakyakistan is simply best place in whole world!”
Mikael nodded, searching for the words to both calm her down and satisfy her as well. “I’m sure my aunt would love to meet you if you ever get the chance to visit!”
Yona gasped. “Is that it? Did Yona and Mikael just become friend?”
“Sure sounds that way,” Sandbar agreed.
“YES!” Yona slammed her head into Mikael, forcing him to push against her and cradle her chin in his arms.
Despite the strange intimacy of her actions, he couldn’t help but admire the softness of her fur and jaw in his hands, making him feel comfortable enough to scratch the top of her head, which she seemed to enjoy just as much. Sam watched on, stroking his chin in thought.
Finally, with everyone having arrived, the Equestrians all stood in neat rows as Twilight Sparkle stood before them all at the back end of the hall. To her right were her other seven friends, and to her right were Sam, Mikael, Jacqui, and Divvy. Scattered along the edges of the hall and at the very front of the crowd were several photographers, reporters, and cameramen ready to capture the historic moment about to commence.
“Thank you all for being able to come early this morning,” Twilight addressed. “It gives me high hopes for what to expect this year after getting to see so many of you connecting and reconnecting after an entire summer apart. And as excited as I am to see so many new and familiar faces in this crowd today, I would be remissed to not introduce you to two particularly special students who will be learning alongside us this year. Would you please extend a warm, Equestrian welcome to our first ever human students: Mikael Wallström and Jacqui Sweeney.”
The majority-pony audience stamped their hooves on the floor to thunderous effect while Smolder simply cupped her hands over her mouth to shout out Jacqui’s name.
Twilight fanned her hoof to the audience, prompting them to quiet down. “It is my hope that through these two this year, we can show both of our worlds that we are capable of living together in harmony. However, they won’t have to carry that burden alone. As part of the opening of our new campus in the world of Pokémon, we have also created the commune of Poniose Town, which is available to all students and staff here to explore and experience at their leisure. Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of a very special friend, so could you please give just as warm a welcome to our next guest, Rosanna Sixsmith of Macro Cosmos.”
Coming in from the left hallway, Rosanna stepped out into view to the applause, cheers and whistles of the crowd, the flashes of cameras also hitting her face and body. Her outfit, while also entirely black, was far more formal than what Mikael remembered meeting her in. Twilight stepped aside to let her stand in the center and before the colorful array of creatures looking up to her. As if her presence was a gesture alone, the crowd quieted themselves to let her speak.
“Thank you all again for attending,” she began. “When our worlds first made contact with each other, I knew straight away that I wanted to help lead paving the way towards the unification of our worlds. Before I continue, I’d like to thank the EarthQuestria foundation for both providing Macro Cosmos with the resources to connect Equestria and the Galar region together and to make the construction of Poniose Town and its new campus at all possible.”
After a few moments of applause, Rosanna continued. “Twilight and her friends have been most generous in allowing Mikael and Jacqui to learn the wisdom and knowledge of their world, so it is my hope through Poniose Town that I may get to share some of the great aspects of our world to Equestria.
“Included in the welcome pamphlets you will soon receive, along with your class schedules and syllabuses, is a map of Poniose Town and a list of all the amenities it has to offer. And, as a gift to the students from Macro Cosmos, you will also receive a pre-loaded points card that you can use to purchase food, clothes, or anything else you’ll need while you’re here, which will also be entirely replenished at the start of each school week.”
A wave of “Oohs” and “Ahhs” swept over the audience before abruptly breaking into even louder cheers than before.
“While the education of our youth is undeniably the most important thing for any great society, it certainly wouldn’t help to let them have a little fun as well.” A small bout of laughter allowed Rosanna to clear her throat inaudibly. “Most of the stores, restaurants, and establishments will be open by the time school ends today, and I encourage all of you to visit them… after you’ve finished your homework of course.”
Even more laughter erupted as Rosanna relaxed herself, preparing to leave. “Now, you all have very busy first days ahead of you, so I will leave any and all parting words back to Twilight Sparkle. Thank you.”
Twilight Sparkle approached Rosanna as the two engaged in a hoofshake that was captured multiple times by the paparazzos encircling the hall. Once she felt that enough pictures were taken, Rosanna stepped out into the left hallway from where she came, leaving the floor back to Twilight.
“Thank you again, Rosanna,” she spoke. “I really have nothing much more to add than that. Classes start in approximately one hour, which I certainly hope is enough time for everycreature to get their folders containing their pamphlets, schedules, and points card in time to make it to their first classes. Without further to do, to both new and returning students: Welcome to the School of Friendship!”
With a final cheer from the crowd, Twilight and her friends began to line up behind a long table containing several tall stacks of small purple folders organized alphabetically. Meanwhile, Sam motioned for Mikael and Jacqui to stay put while he went back to a smaller table further behind, upon which rested two folders set side by side.
Grabbing them, Sam made his way back and held the folders out to them. “I took the liberty of getting your schedules and everything out for you.” Mikael and Jacqui took the folders, already starting to flip their way through the contents. “You’ll see that I’ve placed you both in the Pokémon II class, because last year mostly covered things about our world that you already know by… well, living there. Now, if there’s nothing else you need from me, I’ll see you in class today! Have fun, you two!”
With a two-fingered salute to both of them, Sam went to join Twilight and her friends in doling out the remaining folders. Having finished with inspecting the folder, Mikael and Jacqui went back to the beginning and plucked their postcard-sized schedules out. They began scanning their eyes down the list of periods, slowly memorizing it better with each repeat.
“When’s lunch for you?” Jacqui wondered, her concentration making her sound monotone.
“Fifth period,” Mikael answered, his voice equally expressive. “Same?”
“Yep. How about that Pokémon class?”
“Last one of the day. You?”
“Same. Here can I see yours?”
Mikael handed his schedule to Jacqui, who glanced back and forth between both sheets of paper as she compared their schedules. Mikael looked off into the crowd, able to see his six new friends with Yona towering above the rest. With a meditative hum, he could only predict which classes he’d share with them.
Mikael, Jacqui, and Divvy walked through the doorway and into Sam’s classroom, which was already about three-quarters full. The three of them stood at the top and looked over the interior: a colorfully-painted lecture hall with a sizable dirt field in the back-center of the floor and a wooden desk tucked away in the left corner. Behind the field was a large garage door that was painted as close the rest of the walls as possible.
“Are we really going to be expected to battle in this class?” Mikael wondered.
Jacqui leaned to Mikael’s ear. “I thought you’d figure that out on your own.”
“Mikael! Jacqui!” Both humans were frozen stiff by Silverstream’s arms suddenly contricting around their torsos. “I just knew we’d get to end the day together! Come on! We saved you some seats!”
Silverstream slowly flew forward, pushing Mikael and Jacqui down the aisle. Several rows down, Sandbar, Gallus, Yona, and Smolder sat beside each other while Ocellus sat directly behind Sandbar, the three seats to her right left vacant. Upon getting to Ocellus’s row, Silverstream let Mikael and Jacqui go to shuffle their way to their desks.
Smolder looked back to the approaching humans and formed two of her claws into the shape of V to greet them. Mikael waved as he sat down next to Ocellus. Before Jacqui could sit down next to Mikael, Silverstream slipped into her spot, forcing her to take the seat beside the excited hippogriff. With both humans now beside her, Silverstream beamed as she patted both of their shoulders, excited to share their first lesson together.
Divvy, seeing the spot behind Mikael open, floated over to it and attempted to position itself onto the seat. With the width of its bottom being too wide to fit between the back of Mikael’s seat and the seat behind it, Divvy opted to simply let itself rest where it could, which resulted in setting itself awkwardly on top of the desk. Several Equestrians behind it parted ways so their view was no longer obstructed.
Finally, the sound of the classroom doors were pulled open, and as the class turned to see who it was, they smiled as Sam, in his typical tank top, jeans, and around-the-waist jacket training outfit, continued his stride down the steps with his Aegislash following behind him. Once he reached the bottom step, he looked at the projection of his Holo Caster and saw that it was exactly 2:20. With a sigh of preparedness, he put his device back into his pocket and faced the class from the center of the field.
“Good afternoon, class!” he greeted.
At once, each student, minus the two token humans, replied happily with, “Good afternoon,” followed by either Mr. Brier or Sam.
“I bet it’s nice that you get to end your day with me, right? Now, it’s good to see so many of you back here again, though if you weren’t able to make the pre-class reunion and meet-up this morning, you may have noticed two new faces who I’d love for them to introduce themselves. Mikael? Jacqui?”
Fanning his hands upwards, Sam compelled Mikael and Jacqui to stand from their seats, looking around over as much of the other students that they could.
“Hey guys!” Jacqui began, waving. “I’m Jacqui, I’m from Castelia City the Unova region.”
“And I’m Mikael from Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region.”
“Thank you, you two,” Sam replied, prompting them to sit back down. “Now, being that the vast majority of you are from last year’s Pokémon I class, I assume that you’ve been taking good care of the Pokémon you caught?”
Another chorus of, “Yes, Sam,” or “Yes, Mr. Brier” sounded off.
“Great!” Sam stepped back until his back was against the wall, Aegislash joining him. “Then how about a fun little ice-breaker? Mikael, please stand back up.”
Mikael looked left and right first before slowly standing up, confused. “Sam? Sir?”
“Since you and Jacqui are the only new students here, I thought the best way to introduce your Pokémon to your classmates is to battle one of them. Now, who would like to do the honors?”
Sam kept a level eye as he watched a wave of claws and hooves shoot up toward the ceiling, though turned his direction to the hoof he saw first. “Excellent! Sandbar, Mikael, to the front of the class!”
With all eyes on them, Sandbar enthusiastically scooted his way through the rows until he reached the stairs and trotted down them. It wasn’t until Silverstream began nudging the petrified Mikael that he also made his way to the aisle, his Bronzong lifting itself up so that it could accompany him. Soon, Mikael and Divvy were both next to Sandbar and Sam where all students could see them.
“Good,” Sam said. “Guys, go ahead and pick your spots.”
Sandbar trotted to his right, standing on the end there.
Mikael then leaned to Sam, whispering in his ear. “You do know I only have Divvy with me, right?”
“That’s okay,” he responded just as discreetly. “Even I could see how strong its Zen Headbutt was when it attacked Aegislash when we first met. Trust me; this battle’s going to be more evenly matched than you think.”
With an exhausted sigh, Mikael and Divvy went to the opposite end of the field, allowing them to face Sandbar, who already had his first of three Poké Balls out and bouncing off the flat bottom of his right hoof.
“So,” he spoke, a mildly concerned frown on his face, “that’s really your only Pokémon?”
Suddenly, something clicked for Mikael. “And you’ve had each of your Pokémon for only one year at the most. I’ve had Divvy for each year you’ve spent with each of your Pokémon and then some.”
“So it’ll be a real battle of quality over quantity then.” Sandbar felt his smile grow, Mikael’s sudden confidence filling him with similar warmth. “Sounds good! Go, Torterra!”
Thrusting his ball out, it opened up to allow the energy within to morph into the large green tortoise that had greeted Yona earlier that day. Mikael hissed out through his teeth, already intimidated by the might of the Grass and Ground-type.
“Looks like I’m in too deep now,” he resolved. “Divvy! Go!”
Divvy swung out in front of Mikael, separating him from Sandbar’s Pokémon.
“He may be a big guy,” Sandbar exclaimed, “but he’s not slow! Torterra, attack the Bronzong with Crunch!”
Torterra roared and bounded at Divvy, who awaited its trainer’s instruction.
“And he may be slow,” Mikael retorted, “but he can take a hit! Divvy, hit him with Bulldoze!”
Divvy swooped down near the ground, causing the dirt to be displaced as it traveled beneath the Pokémon on its way to Torterra.
“Torterra!” With its trainer’s call, Torterra kept its focus tight on Divvy as it approached.
Upon scooping itself up, Divvy crashed underneath Torterra’s chin and brought its muddy force with it. Before Divvy could fly away, Torterra grabbed a tight hold of Divvy’s handle-arm, refusing to let go as it struggled and moaned futilely.
“Good job, Torterra!” Sandbar punched his hoof out in Mikael’s direction. “Now, hit him hard with Earthquake!”
With Divvy still held in its maw, Torterra picked itself up off its front legs before leaping up on its hind legs. In a quick move, Torterra let Divvy go and pinned it underneath its front feet, letting gravity and its own weight thrust it down to the ground. Torterra slammed Divvy into the floor, creating an explosion of hardened dirt that threw Divvy back up. The audience of students gasped as their eyes tracked Divvy on its way back to the ground, several clumps of earth falling on top and around it.
“Divvy!” Mikael cried. “Come on, get up!”
Divvy pushed off the ground with its arms, shocking Torterra and Divvy with the energy it still possessed despite the hits it already took.
“Like I said,” Mikael repeated, “he can take a hit. Divvy, use Bulldoze again!”
Divvy once again flew low to the ground to carry another torrent of mud, now picking up the large pieces of the field that were left from Torterra’s Earthquake. Divvy slammed into Torterra along with its barrage of rock and dirt, managing to throw it onto its stomach, resulting in a painful roar and a terrible shockwave reverberating around the classroom.
Once the rumbling settled down, Smolder was able to relinquish hold of her desk. “Wow, this match is actually getting exciting!”
“Yona say!” she agreed.
Sandbar, panting as he regained his balance, smiled at Mikael. “That was a nice hit, but Ground-types still trump Steel-types any day! Torterra, another Earthquake!”
“Divvy,” Mikael quickly called, use Zen Headbutt!”
A dome of magenta formed around Divvy’s head as Torterra lifted itself back up to stomp. Just as Torterra began to come back down, Divvy blasted off at the large tortoise and collided into the top of its chest, creating a small psychic ripple that dissipated before it could hit the students in the front couple of rows. The strength of the hit was such that Torterra was tipped back and over, getting stuck on its back while its tree and the stones jutting from its shell propped it up.
“He flinched!” Mikael bellowed. “Perfect! Now, finish him off with Signal Beam, Divvy!”
Divvy got high above Torterra, the eyes of Sam and the other students unable to look away. With a slight tilt of its bottom to aim at its target, Divvy let loose a wave of green, circular auras that reverberated into Torterra, making it grunt and whine as it struggled to withstand it. Finally, Torterra’s head and legs went limp as it fainted, making Sandbar breathe out in shock.
Sam threw his arm in Sandbar’s Pokémon’s direction. “Torterra is unable to battle! Divvy is still in this.”
“Woo!” Jacqui began clapping, leading the others around her to do the same, quickly gaining some respect for Mikael and his lone Bronzong.
Mikael felt a wave of comforting warmth wash over him as the tide of the battle began to turn in his favor. With Divvy floating back to his level, it turned around to seek its trainer’s support and congratulations, and Mikael gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, which Divvy smiled at.
Sandbar returned his Pokémon into his ball and placed it back on his belt. “Not bad, man. This may actually be close.”
Mikael slightly nodded. “So I’ve heard.”
“Now, let’s see how your Bronzong matches up against this!” Sandbar grabbed another ball from his belt and lobbed it out. “You’re up, Carracosta!”
The ball opened up on the field, and from the energy zapping out from it appeared a large blue turtle with a black, stony shell and mask covering its face.
Mikael suddenly made note of Sandbar’s cutie mark featuring three small sea turtles. “Interesting. I’m guessing your other Pokémon’s some kind of turtle too?”
Sandbar seemed surprised by this insinuation, but suddenly looked back at the mark on his flank. “Aha, uh, yeah. Good eye.”
“Thanks. Now, let’s get back into this. I’m feeling real confident all of a sudden! Divvy, attack his Carracosta with another Zen Headbutt!”
Divvy rushed off at Sandbar’s second Pokémon, striking it in the upper chest as it had done with his Torterra. Despite stumbling back, Carracosta was able to keep itself on its feet, regaining its balance and staring down the suddenly frightened Divvy.
“Yep, now it’s your turn!” Sandbar stood on his back legs and threw his right arm out to point at Divvy. “Carracosta, attack the Bronzong with Bulldoze!”
Pushing off the floor with its feet, Carracosta skidded along the ground and picked up speed with its fins. As it got closer, it picked up more and more dirt that it prepared to hit Divvy with. Divvy, trying to retreat, could not outrun Sandbar’s Pokémon as it slapped the ground and launched itself at the Bronzong. At once, Divvy was blasted with both mud and the weight of the Carracosta ramming it, sending both to the ground. Mikael opened his mouth to speak, but kept silent, suddenly realizing something.
“Alright!” Sandbar exclaimed. “That should close our speed gap! One more time, Carracosta! Bulldoze!”
Carracosta pushed off the ground again, speeding through the thick ring of mud still surrounding Divvy and bashing him once again. Divvy tumbled and rolled back to Mikael, who recoiled to avoid his Pokémon from hitting him. Divvy got back up and shook the mud clinging to exterior off, though even Mikael, Sam, and the students could see that his movements were far more lethargic than when it fought Torterra.
“He can certainly take a hit,” Sandbar commented, “but all Pokémon have their limits. What’ll it do now? Another Bulldoze to even things out?”
“I’ll do you one better.” Mikael’s nervous frown turned into a smirk. “Divvy, use Gyro Ball!”
Jacqui quietly pounded her fist on her desk. “There you go.”
Sandbar gasped as Divvy spun around, transforming into a shimmering tornado that aimed its point right at Carracosta. With the tip running into the large turtle, it tried as hard as it could to both push it off and push against its force. After a few futile moments, Carracosta could not resist Divvy’s strength, getting thrown back as Divvy continued to push forward. Once it reached halfway across the field, Divvy stopped its attack and floated upright as Carracosta collided with the ground, tumbling limply at Sandbar’s hooves. The young stallion winced to see his Pokémon, just like the one before, taken down by Divvy’s might.
Sam once again threw his arm out at Sandbar. “Carracosta is unable to battle. Sandbar has one remaining Pokémon left.”
Mikael panted, the lovely glimmer of victory on the horizon. “Don’t worry, Divvy. We got this.”
With a tired, metallic grunt, Divvy nodded in agreement.
Silverstream squealed as she hugged Gallus tightly from behind. “Isn’t this so exciting, Gallus!?!”
“Silverstream!” Gallus managed to slip out of Silverstream’s grasp, only panting a small amount. “I may be part cat, but I certainly don’t have nine lives for you to keep choking out.”
“It is rather incredible,” Ocellus said, her nearby friends listening in. “Sandbar’s Pokémon are all incredibly diverse both in type and their available attacks, but Mikael’s Bronzong is making short work of all of them. Either that Pokémon is extremely powerful, or they share a bond the likes of which I’ve never seen between a trainer and their Pokémon.”
“And it took you this match to see that, Poindexter?” Gallus remarked. “Those two have been attached at the hips since we met them.”
“Do Bronzongs even have hips?” Silverstream loudly and excitedly asked. “I’ll have to ask before class is over!”
As Sandbar returned his second fainted Pokémon back to its ball, Mikael called back out to him. “Grass-type, and a Water-type. If consistency’s what you’re going for, I’d guess that a Fire-type is next, which means that Torkoal’s gonna’ be your last Pokémon, isn’t he?”
Sandbar chuckled as he shook his head. “You really do have a pretty good head on those shoulders, you know that, Mikael? For what it’s worth, no matter how this match turns out, I’m really looking forward to spending the year with you.”
Mikael’s smile, at first confident and cocksure, softened into one of genuine appreciate and elation. “Me too, Sandbar.”
Sam smiled too, glad to see Mikael so quickly getting into the right spirit.
Sandbar’s warm grin turned cheeky and slightly devious as he brought his last Poké Ball out. “Still, I’m really looking forward to winning this! Let’s finish this, Torkoal!”
Hurling the ball up, it opened and spit out its energy, transforming into a reddish-orange turtle with a smoldering black shell that plumed with smoke from the spout on the back-center of it. Mikael smiled, glad to see his intuition was as reliable as ever.
“And thanks to those Bulldozes your Bronzong took, my Torkoal’s probably faster now!” Sandbar’s assumption resulted in some impressed gasps and sighs from the students. “But, I don’t think he’s fast enough! Torkoal, use Shell Smash!”
Mikael gasped as Divvy was physically taken aback. Torkoal concentrated hard as the black of its shell grew red, then yellow, then blisteringly white. It then shattered and broke apart, leaving its two halves by its side as they cooled on the ground. Torkoal now had a singular red reptilian body with a single spout on its back where it would be on its shell.
“Hoh…” Mikael breathed out. “Going for a hail-mary, are we? Fine, let’s finish this off quick! Divvy, hit Torkoal with Bulldoze!”
Divvy flew close to the ground and collected as much of the dirt it had already been assaulted with during the battle.
Sandbar and his Torkoal carefully watched the Bronzong’s encroachment. “You got this, buddy! Hit Divvy and soften the blow with Body Press!”
Torkoal ran at Divvy and leapt, aiming the top of its back at the top of Divvy’s head. Both Pokémon hit each other, resulting in an explosion of dirt that threatened to splash all the students of the classroom. However, each splatter struck an invisible barrier that pulsed with magic where each bit hit, the crystal gems embedded into the fronts of the desks glowing and maintaining the students’ protection. The students watched the mud fall harmlessly back to the floor with amazement, especially Jacqui. Both Torkoal and Divvy were thrown back to their trainers, each on tumbling themselves back upright and ready to continue fighting.
“That’s what I like to see, Torkoal!” Sandbar yelled. “Now hit Divvy with Fire Blast!”
Torkoal stood on its front legs and aimed its spout in Divvy’s direction. With the inside brightening up, a small orb of red-and-yellow light launched out from it before it expanded into a large star-shaped fire. Divvy was so overwhelmed by the size and speed of the flame that it simply stood in place and covered as much of its eyes and mouth with its arms as it could.
The flame hit Divvy front and center, managing to shield its trainer from as much of the heat and fire as possible as the rest bounced off and shot to the left and right of it. Once the flames dissipated, Bronzong was left panting and smoking in several places as it tried to stand tall and strong. The class watched worriedly as Divvy slowly came to the ground, resting on its bottom as it continued to breathe heavily.
“Looks like Divvy’s got one last hit left in it,” Sandbar said. “The fact he’s lasted this long on his own is pretty radical, man. However, he’s still going to need to make one heck of a hit himself if he wants to take my Torkoal down, even without its shell.”
Mikael breathed out, accepting whichever outcome was soon to arrive. “Yeah, we sure will. Divvy, don’t give up! Let’s do another Bulldoze!”
Lifting itself as much as it could, Divvy swooped down with a loud growl and flew along the floor. As it picked up more dirt to attack with, its tired body couldn’t help but skim the ground as it made its advance.
“I guess that’s all you can do.” Sandbar aimed his hoof at Divvy as it came closer. “Torkoal, another Body Press, quick!”
Torkoal charged out at Divvy and threw the top of its back at it. With a loud roar, Divvy pushed harder than ever right before they slammed back into each other. To Sandbar’s shock, the recoil on his Torkoal was far greater than Divvy’s, the former getting thrown back to its trainer. The sight of this suddenly ignited both Mikael and Divvy’s spirits, both of whom looked about as pumped and energetic as they did upon starting the match.
“Whoa,” a pegasus mare pointed out, “look at those two! It’s like they just got better all of a sudden!”
“How much you think it’s going to hold up?” a unicorn stallion wondered aloud.
The rest of the class was in a clamor, though the noise of the outside world didn’t seem to affect Mikael or Divvy in the slightest; their only focus was on Torkoal and the victory it guarded.
“That’s it, Divvy!” Mikael bellowed, throwing a tight-fisted uppercut into the air. “That should do it! Another Bulldoze!”
Divvy slung itself forward and flew along the ground, its trajectory alarmingly straighter than hit had ever been. Sam’s eyes went narrow and his mouth went slack to see such a turnaround happening before him. Swinging up and over, Divvy’s wave of dirt, rock, and mud swept into Torkoal, throwing him out even closer to Sandbar, who could only stand and watch as his chance of winning quickly disintegrated.
“We got our speed back now, Divvy!” Mikael wound his arm back before throwing a punch in Torkoal’s direction. “Finish him off with Zen Headbutt!”
Following the motions of his trainer’s arm, Divvy continued its momentum and looped back and around before shooting itself at Torkoal, a cone of magenta forming around its top.
“Torkoal!” Sandbar leapt to the side, aligning itself with Torkoal and Divvy.
Divvy drove straight through the pile of mud that the still conscious Torkoal laid on top of. Torkoal was dislodged and flew right at Sandbar, who leapt up with its arms out. His Pokémon crashed into Sandbar’d stomach before he held onto it tight, getting knocked back and tumbling back with it toward the wall behind him. Sam immediately rushed to Sandbar as many students stood up to see if their classmate was hurt.
As the rush precariously wore down, Mikael froze to see Sam tending to Sandbar and the fainted turtle still in his grasp. “Sandbar!”
Mikael ran past Divvy, who also tired out and fell straight down to rest, its eyes half closed. Mikael slid to a stop beside Sam, his breathing quickening as he tried searching for any wounds or injuries.
“Sandbar!” Hearing Mikael’s voice, Sandbar lifted his head to look up at Mikael. “Sandbar, are you alright?”
Though breathing slow as his own energy wound down, Sandbar slowly smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m just fine.” He then patted Mikael’s shoulder with the side of his forearm. “Awesome battle, man. Congrats!”
Mikael, still on his knees, leaned back to sit on the backs of his calves, completely uncertain how he got so lucky to win. The applause from the students was awkwardly gradual, but once it became clear who won, it grew steady and consistent. As Sandbar returned his Torkoal into its ball, both halves of its shell left behind also re-entered the Poké Ball in two separate streams.
“Go ahead to the nurse’s office,” Sam instructed with a supportive pat of Sandbar’s back. “They’ll get your Pokémon healed right back up.”
“You got it, teach!” Sandbar galloped for the stairs, Divvy waving him farewell as he passed. “Good job too, Divvy!”
Sam then walked by Mikael and patted him on the shoulder, prompting him to stand back up. Sam took a blue Max Potion bottle from his pocket and generously doused Divvy with it, giving him a more natural perkiness that Mikael was happy to see.
Mikael and Divvy hugged upon his approaching it. “I don’t know what got into us back there, but you were awesome! Thank you!”
“Yes, thank you, Mikael!” Sam pointed his hand toward Mikael as they made their way back to their seats. “That was truly marvelous. Now, while we wait for Sandbar to return from the nurse’s, we have one last introductory battle to have with Jacqui. Now who–”
Smolder immediately raised her hand before anyone else could. With Sam wordlessly motioning for them to come on down, Jacqui smiled as she stood from her seat and made her way to the aisle. As Smolder pumped her fist and went to her closest aisle, Jacqui passed Mikael and Divvy on the way down.
“Good job,” she purred. “Where was that Divvy and Mikael during our Chaser Battle?”
“Maybe we’ll have to have another go so you to meet them properly.” Jacqui huffed in humor as Mikael and Divvy returned to their seats and the cacophonous praises of Silverstream, Gallus, Yona, and Ocellus.
As Mikael and Divvy settled down, watching as Jacqui and Smolder stood in their own positions for battle, Mikael took a deep breath out and leaned back in his seat.
He knew he made the right decision to accept.