Canterlot, day.
After many months of building, the long-awaited Pokemon School was here.
A school for ponies to learn more information and knowledge about Pokemon that they never knew existed. The Pokemon World is vast and endless, so there are still a plethora of things that the ponies have yet to really experience. But that's why this school was made in the first place.
And the best type of teachers to instruct the ponies were the humans themselves. A gigantic majority of them were proficient and knowledgable in Pokemon. After all, they were born in the Pokemon World, meaning that they grew up around Pokemon their entire life. So it only makes sense for humans to be the teachers.
Celestia looked over her balcony, spotting the school in all its glory. Its appearance was similar to that of the Pokemon Summer Academy located in Sinnoh. The design was strikingly similar. The differences between the two are that this school was much bigger, had more than just two floors, the colour palette resembled that of the Poke Ball and had the Equestria Flag on top of the roof.
Ash wanted to get a good look at this place. Since it's the first Pokemon-themed school in Equestria, his curiosity came flying at him as always.
"So that's the Pokemon School of Equestria, huh? Reminds me of the Summer Academy." Ash said.
"Pikachu."
"I can't believe it's finally finished..." Twilight was starting geek out over the creation of the Pokemon School. "I'm so excited!"
"Wait, Twilight. Are you planning on studying there?" Starlight asked.
"Of course! I'd be insane not to! This is the biggest opportunity that everypony who wants to learn more about Pokemon has. The teachers are all humans so they're leagues above our knowledge of Pokemon."
"What about your Pokemon Lab?" Pinkie questioned. "Don't you have all the Pokemon information there?"
"I've got a lot. But not enough. This, however, is enough. I can't wait to sign up!" The young alicorn made her way towards the school with ecstatic energy behind her.
Ash noticed a familiar figure inside of the school by just looking in the window. This figure had a tall stature wore an all purple dress with an X on it, similar to that of Drifblim and even their hair was purple. That description fits only one person.
"Isn't that...?" Ash squinted his eyes to get a better look at this person. His eyes didn't deceive him. It was truly the person he was thinking of.
The Hearthome City Gym Leader and sophisticated Trainer.
Fantina.
"Coming out of the school, Fantina revealed herself to everypony as the first teacher to be inside the school. Her appearance was admirable by many ponies due to how simple yet effective her sense of style was.
"Hello, my little ponies!" She spoke in her usual chipper tone and accent. "Glad to see you and-" Fantina paused for a moment, noticing a familiar face in the crowd. That familiar face was none other than Ash and his Pikachu of course. "Ash!" She greeted him.
"Hey, Fantina!" Ash greeted her back.
"Pikachu!"
"Quelle nostalgie! How have you been?" Fantina asked.
"Been doing great! Thanks!"
"You two know each other?" Applejack asked.
"Mhm. Fantina's the Hearthome City Gym Leader all the way in Sinnoh."
"I should've introduced myself first." Fantina moved back for everypony to see her. "I am Fantina! The Alluring, Soulful Dancer! Ravi de vous rencontrer, my little ponies."
"She talks funny." Pinkie giggled.
"I didn't know you were going to be a teacher here, Fantina."
"Pika."
"Not just me, Ash. But many other Gym Leaders from across the regions. You will be seeing a lot of familiar faces here."
"Really, huh?" Ash thought of all the possible gym leaders that might be here. There was a lot of possibilities of who might show up.
"Oh! You must be the Mane 6 that I've been hearing about." Fantina turned to Twilight and her friends.
"Oh, you know us?" said Rarity?
"Mais bien sûr! Reading Pokemon Weekly made me aware of you and your town. Et je dois dire, it's fairly interesting!"
"Wait, Fantina. Are you gonna be teaching about Pokemon Contests?" Ash asked.
"Ah, vous avez raison. Everything they need to know about Contests will be taught by me. All for future ponies who want to become Top Coordinators."
"Everything?" Rarity shot up. "If that's the case, then Sweetie Belle could come here as well."
"Oh! Presque oublié!" Fantina clapped her hands together. "I have to prepare myself in a few minutes! But you can come inside for the school tour. A bientôt!" Fantina returned to the indoors of the school, heading off to attend important business.
Over the horizon, many ponies from across Equestria, mainly the younger ones had arrived just to sign up for this newly-created Pokemon School. First of its kind.
Originally, the biggest fear that Celestia had about this school was that it might get too overcrowded, but thanks to BigTime Ben, they managed to create enough space to fit around possibly a million students. News about the school being fully built reached them yesterday.
Once entering through the doors of the school, they were to find the trainer who would tour them around the school. After all, they'll need some guidance on where to go, where each room connects to and the other ways they can exit without using the entrance.
But of course, they took some time to admire the interior of the school. The inside was made out of polished blue and white marble tiles on the floor, walls and even parts of the ceiling. They were given the Equestria style with sparkles coming out of them as a bonus.
This was only for the first and second floor. The others have varying differences that cater to the specific teachers of each classroom that have yet to be seen.
The one who would end up giving tours to the ponies was none other than the Rustboro City Gym Leader Roxanne, who was already a teacher herself. And just like Fantina, Ash noticed her in seconds. She still looked the same after all these years much like everyone else Ash has met.
"Welcome, everyone. Happy to have you all here. I'm Rustboro City's Gym Leader and the Rock-Loving Honours Student, Roxanne." She introduced herself with sophistication. "I must say, it's really quite an honour for me right now. To be teaching an entirely different world about Pokemon.
"Hello, Mrs Roxanne." The younger ponies said in unison.
"Are you going to teach us how to become Gym Leaders?" A filly asked.
"Well, if you any of you wish to become Gym Leader's I can kindly tutor you on that. I specialize in Rock-Types for those that are curious."
"Rock's always a good place to start. That and Grass-Type gyms..." Ash said.
"Pikachu." Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Hm?" The voice of Ash sounded familiar to the Gym Leader. Roxanne looked over at the crowd of ponies, spotting some old friends. Ash and Pikachu. "Well. If it isn't Ash and Pikachu."
"Hey, Roxanne. Good to see you again." Ash replied.
"Pika."
"Are you here to study at this school too? You're already an expert battler so I'm not sure you need it."
"Nah, I'm just here to see what this place is all about. Fantina said that I'd see a lot of familiar faces here in the form of Gym Leaders. And she wasn't wrong."
"Well, most teachers here are gym leaders with some exceptions here and there. And each of them have their own levels of experience. You can consider me as a first level."
"So, who are the rest, then?" A colt asked.
"Why don't you come along and I'll show you." Roxanne did the honours of showing everypony the rest of the school and what it has to offer.
The most glaring rooms were obviously the 18 classrooms meant to represent each Pokemon Type respectively. The first one they went to was Roxanne's classroom which had a rock-theme to it.
You had your standard table and chairs but they were made to look like a rock formation. Each table was circular with the Rock-Type symbol plastered in the middle. The classroom was still new and fresh so there weren't any decorations around.
The second classroom was a dojo of all things. That could only mean one thing. This class belonged to a Fighting-Type Gym Leader. And one that was familiar to Rainbow Dash as well.
The Dewford Town Gym Leader, Brawly.
"Brawly?!" Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"Hm?" Brawly placed a punching bag down, responding to Rainbow Dash's call. "Oh, you're Rainbow Dash, right? And I see Ash in the mix too. I'm getting a bit nostalgic here."
"Oh, you've already met this guy, Rainbow?" Pinkie turned to her pegasus friend.
"Mhm. Way back in the beginning when our worlds crossed over." Rainbow Dash nodded. "His Gym's the first one I ever went to."
"Uh-huh. I hear you decided to become a Pokemon Trainer yourself, hm? How's that been going so far? Win any Gym Battles lately?" Brawly asked.
"Good. Soon I'll take on my fifth gym which is all about the weather. And I've got this little guy to help me." Rainbow looked in her saddle-bag where Castform flew out.
"Cast!"
"By the way, Ash. Congrats on becoming champion by the way."
"You know about that?" Ash turned to Brawly.
"Pika?"
"I went over to Alola for a while to catch some sweet waves and I heard about some folks talking about a Champion named Ash and his crazy strong Pikachu. Knew it was you from the get-go."
"Oh, thanks, Brawly!"
"So!" Brawly clapped his hands together. "You kids wanna learn about a Pokemon's true strength? Just leave it to me. If anyone's a pro at direct physical action, it's yours truly."
"As if." Roxanne denied that. "Brute force doesn't determine a Pokemon's true strength, Brawly. There's more to it than just rushing in blind."
"Don't you attack with Rock-Types which is basically brute force?" Brawly lowered his eyes, replying to her.
"It's completely different. There's some distance involved with it." Roxanne smirked. "Speaking of which, you kids should fill out your Trainer Cards first."
"Trainer cards?" The young ponies collectively asked.
"Brawly. If you would." Roxanne turned to her fellow Hoenn Gym Leader.
"Hm? Oh, right. Check this out." The Fighting-Type Gym Leader held out cards that were completely blank but had six slots that represented a full Pokemon Team.
He gave them out to all the students to let them see what these cards were all about whilst Roxanne explained it.
"These are Trainer Cards. They're what helps us teachers identify all of you whilst also acting as an information card. They display your trainer ID number, name, the amount of currency you have, your badges or ribbons, Pokemon etc."
"They'll help you get around the school too. Especially for cafeteria food. You can use the currency on your card to buy whatever you want. "
"Ugh...Cafeteria food..." A colt felt like throwing up in his mouth.
"Don't worry. This is good cafeteria food. We've got some pretty adept chefs along with a bunch of Slurpuff's to make sure that it's at the best quality." Brawly replied.
"I'll take his word for this." Pinkie nodded.
"So, fill out your trainer cards and that'll confirm you all as students of this school," Roxanne said.
The students got to filling out their Trainer Cards in their own unique way. The cards at the moment were all the same, but later on, they can customize it however they want.
After they had signed up officially for the school, they came across the third class which was centred around Poison-Types. Not only that but the interior looked like a music club. Ash could tell who this class belonged to.
The Virbank City Gym Leader, Roxie. Along with two random drum players.
"Bit early don't'cha think?" Roxie jammed out on her guitar. "But that's fine! Sup kids. Name's Roxie! I'll be your teacher in all things Poison!"
"Is that it? I thought this was a classroom for music lessons." A filly scratched her mane with her wings.
"If you want, I can teach you. But if you're gonna learn some music from me, you gotta have Poison days and poison on the stage, got it?"
"I guess a lot of the people I've met really have stayed the same, huh," Ash spoke to Pikachu.
"Don't think I don't see you there, Ash." Roxie pointed out.
"Have you met every Gym Leader? Ash?" Twilight turned to him.
"Every last one of them. Well...there's still the Galar Gym Leaders which are new to me."
"Pika..."
The fourth class belonged to one of the more powerful Gym Leaders in the Pokemon World. A man who was once dejected since no worthy challengers had been able to defeat him until Ash came along.
That man was none other than Sunnyshore City's Gym Leader, The Shining, Shocking Star and Electric-Type specialist.
Volkner.
And as always, he was sitting by himself with his hands in his pockets. Volkner used to be a bit aloof and somewhat cold during his earlier days as the Sunnyshore City Gym Leader, but after Ash, he returned to his usual cheery self. Perhaps, sitting alone is something he naturally enjoys.
"Bit early, don't you guys think?" Volkner said to them all.
"Yes, Volkner we know. But we're just giving the students a quick tour at the moment." Roxanne explained. "Are the others here?"
"Not yet. It's just you, me, Fantina and Brawly in this school. The others haven't even shown up yet." He stood up from his seat.
"They're running late?!" Roxanne gasped. "They were all supposed to be here by 7:30. It's now 8:10."
"Ah, they've probably got a lot of things they need to do first, ya know." Ash spoke to Roxanne."
"Hm? If it isn't Ash. Looking sharp as always." Volkner pointed out.
"Thanks, Volkner."
"Pikachu!"
"Wait. How many gateways are near Canterlot, actually?" Rarity thought about something for a moment. "You're all Gym Leaders from separate regions, correct?"
"Well, some of us come from the same region but yeah. Some are different." Volkner nodded.
"How were you able to arrive here so early?" Rarity asked.
"Turns out...the gateways that connect to this place are closer than you think. It didn't take long for Volkner, Brawly, Fantina and I to arrive here at all thanks to where they're placed." Roxanne explained.
"Weird...I've only seen one gateway close to Canterlot and that's Pewter City. Where did the others come from?" Twilight wondered.
"Don't even worry about it," Volkner replied. "The important thing right now is that you're all ready for next week. We'll be starting classes officially, so get ready."
"Alright, but uh...who's the Principal here?" A colt moved his head around the room.
"That would be Cynthia. She was given that role." Roxanne answered.
"Cynthia?!" The Mane 6 gasped all of a sudden.
"I was just as shocked as you all. Turns out even as a champion, she's got a loooot of free time on her hands." Volkner sat back down. "So you've got a pretty good gist of what kind of people are gonna be the staff members in this school."
"Shouldn't you be a teacher here too Ash? You're an expert trainer and a champion." Applejack asked him.
"Nah." Ash shook his head. "I'm gonna become a Pokemon Master so a teacher ain't the role for me."
"Let's get a move on. I should show you the rest of the school." Roxanne continued the tour.
The ponies were led to an outside area in the school where there were two spots. One for Pokemon to hang out and the other a battlefield for those who want to partake in a Pokemon Battle.
"Right here for those battle-hungry trainers is our school battlefield. If you want to test out your skills as a trainer, this is the place to be. And right over there is the Pokemon Hangout spot. Specifically for Pokemon to hang out and relax." Roxanne explained.
"Can we let our Pokemon hang out now?" A filly asked.
"If you want to. Go ahead." Roxanne allowed it.
The young ponies all released their Pokemon from their Poke Balls, causing the entire outside to be filled with Pokemon of all sizes. They told their partners to go along and have fun at the hangout spot in the meantime. With how long this tour is looking to be, they might be here for a while.
"We'll finish the tour in at least 20 minutes. So by the time we get back, your Pokemon would already be worn out and tired. Now allow me to show you the cafeteria. Brawly wasn't lying at all about the quality of it all."
As Roxanne continued the tour of the Pokemon School, a certain trio was currently present inside of this school. That trio obviously being Team Rocket. But this time, they were assuming completely different roles that they've never tried before.
"Excellent!" Jessie exclaimed as she was in a teacher suit. "I look like a well-mannered and proper teacher, don't I?"
"Why do we have to be the janitors again? For the second time in a row." James grumbled as he and Meowth were in janitor outfits.
"What kind of babble are you gonna be teaching anyways?" Meowth asked.
"I won't be teaching anything. I signed up for the role of the Guidance Counsellor. Those little ponies with issues are going to come running to me with whatever problems they may have. I even have my own Trainer Card." Jessie showed off her Trainer Card.
"This plan seems like it might drag out too long, don't you think?" James said.
"That ain't too bad. We spent time at that Summer Academy didn't we?" Meowth reminded him.
"It'll be a swimming success! We just have to play it like officials! And we'll be bagging beasts far as the eye can see!"
"Wobbuffet!
Roxanne's tour went on for 15 minutes with only 5 minutes left until it ends. The next place they arrived at was a room where there was a bunch of Pokemon Eggs just laying there.
"Right here is our breeding room. This is exclusively for Pokemon Breeders who take good care of them. And if you're curious, yes, you can ask for the eggs."
"How long have they been like this? Have they hatched yet?" Pinkie asked.
"These are new so they have yet to hatch. But with our expert breeders, the Pokemon will come out in no time. We have people like Brock to help us with that."
"Brock works here too?" Ash shot up. "At this rate, everyone I've met is gonna be here."
"Feeling nostalgic, Ash? I-" Roxanne's attention turned over to the clock, making her realize something. "Oh! I almost missed the staff meeting! Sorry, my little ponies. But we'll have to cut this tour short. Hope you've enjoyed it anyway."
"We have! Thanks, Ms Roxanne." Some of the young ponies thanked her.
After the tour had ended, the ponies went out to fetch their Pokemon as some were planning to head home for the day. Whilst that happens, Twilight's excitement for next week was building up. She couldn't wait to start this school.
"I can't wait! There's so much to do and learn! What about you girls? Are you joining?"
"Maybe." Applejack considered it. "But I'm gonna have to see if its gonna occupy most of my day. Still got duties over at Sweet Apple Acres after all."
"We're all curious. But how long is it going to last?" Fluttershy wondered.
"A Pokemon school's schedule normally lasts 6 hours. So...it won't take up most of your day."
"6 hours huh? That doesn't sound so bad." Rainbow Dash nodded. "I might consider it."
"I as well. Although...am I too old for school?" Rarity questioned herself.
"It's great that you're all considering it. With this school, we might learn more about Pokemon that we've yet to discover." Twilight squeed. "I feel like a little filly again!"
"I can't wait to see who else works here. Gonna be a lot of memories coming back, huh buddy?" Ash was referring to the various Gym Leaders who worked here.
"Pikachu!"
The Pokemon School had been officially established. Classrooms focusing on all 18 types, club activities, egg breeding rooms, enrichment rooms, the list goes on. Roxanne didn't have the opportunity to show them all the rest of the school.
But one thing's for sure when next week comes along, the ponies will have a lot to experience here. Their knowledge of Pokemon will be heightened and put to the test to see how far they've all come as the journey continues.
Chapter 246 End.