Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Afternoon.
The Pokemon School had finally reopened with Twilight now taking the helm. The new students were free to enter and unlike how it previously was, a majority of them were now children. Prior to this, it was a mix of different ages. Children, teenagers and even some adults alike.
At this moment, the students were just getting a tour and a good look at the school. No lessons were scheduled today but tomorrow instead and as for the teachers, they had all gathered in the staff room. Windflash and a few of her siblings gandered at the room as it was beyond what they were used to. This whole time, they've lived in a meadow and a forest, never seeing the indoors of any location until now.
"That was a success!" Twilight said with glee. "Now, to really get things going. For tomorrow, of course, I can start with one of my plans. And this one is for today. And that's by handing out Pokemon."
"Really?" said Ash, looking down at a table full of Poke Balls. Already, Twilight brought plenty of Poke Balls as they were lined up perfectly. Next to that table were other Poke Balls with Pokemon within as Twilight was quick to stack up on them. Bringing the next row of Poke Balls was Starlight Glimmer who was the one the bring them here. "How'd you get so many?"
"And you pre-planned it too?" Rarity asked. "Something this big?"
"Mhm. When Cynthia said those words to me, I knew I had to be prepared. So, the first thing I focused on was gathering as many Pokemon as I could for the new students. And all of them come straight from PokePark. That place has its own life so you can imagine new Pokemon showing up there.
"With so many students...is this enough?" Fluttershy wondered as this did not seem like enough. Twilight's plan was so successful that all of these Poke Balls would not be enough for every single student who were in the hundreds from what was seen.
"This is just the first wave. Most of these come from the Arbor Area and Cove Town. It should be enough for I'd say...50 students at best. Possibly more. I'll have another wave ready. These'll be perfect for those who don't have Pokemon yet or are looking for one more Pokemon on their team."
"I see." Nightmare Moon was on the same page as her. "But what does it benefit other than being a way to give them more Pokemon?"
"Just for fun and to get them started." Twilight shrugged. "I took notes from what our previous teachers used to do. They'd have Pokemon that connect to whichever Gym they own and let us learn with them. This'll take it a step further by having them stay alongside their new trainers."
"Oooh..." Windflash, who was new to all of this, poked at one of the Poke Balls, enamoured by the appearance of it. The way the Poke Balls appeared was just enticing to look at. The rest of her family who spent their time in the forest and meadows would do the same out of curiosity. "There are Pokemon in here?"
"Give these out to the students. We'll make it so that they choose randomly. It's more fun that way rather than deciding who
gets what. We still have to know whose who though." Twilight ordered. "By tomorrow, they'll be taking part in lessons with them."
The Poke Balls would be sent out of the staff room by the new principal and some of the new teachers. Windflash and her siblings were just too enamoured by what they were seeing. It would take them some time to get used to this. At the same time, Ash would see if he could grab something to eat. The canteen should be open to feed the mouths of the students. At the moment, the students were just feeling out the place for the first time.
Those already familiar with the Pokemon School, aka the young ponies, already knew what to expect and where to go. Speaking of the students, Ash would instantly notice a familiar face in the crowd. One he has seen before. Not from the Hippogriffs, but instead, from the yaks.
"Hm? Hey, it's you!" Ash cried out to the little Yak in the distance, remembering her face. And even remembering her name. "Yona!"
"Ash!" It was Yona from Yakyakistan. The one Yak he got to know about after a rather turbulent experience back at the Crystal Empire.
"So you already know." And next to her was Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan who now knew that Ash and Yona were acquainted with one another. "This Yona Yak. She come to Pokemon School. Hah. Make it better."
"You got it." Ash nodded. "Well, I'm not gonna be here all the time anyway. Just visiting. You should probably get to the hall. There, you'll get your Pokemon. But you already have Piloswine, don't you?" He recalled Yona's Piloswine as she already had a Pokemon by her side.
"Yak still wants another." Even so, that wasn't going to stop her from getting another Pokemon. Any youth will be thrilled to have more Pokemon by their side.
"We get to have more than today?" This caught the attention of a young pony, who ended up bumping into another youngling. This time, it was a young griffin. "Whoa, sorry! I'm Sandbar. Are you a student here, too?"
"No, I just figured I'd randomly stand here and see how many ponies would walk into me." The young griffon sarcastically said.
"Gallus!" Screaming the name of the griffin and startling him was another griffin that was recognizable. At least to Rainbow Dash. Making an appearance here was the gruff and rough-speaking griffin, fittingly going by the name of Grandpa Gruff.
"Grandpa Gruff?" Rainbow Dash spoke after noticing him.
"Rainbow Dash, right? Gilda told me about you. Are you a teacher here? Huh. Thought you'd be... cooler." Gruff added.
"Well, no. I'm just visiting for my friend who's the principal here. I'm not cut out to be a teacher. I've got other things to do anyway." She explained. "Most of us just have other things on our plate to teach about Pokemon."
"Great. But what's this about more than two?" Gallus asked.
"Just head down that hall and you'll get a Pokemon by your side. I mean, even if you have one already, no shame in befriending another one." Ash answered, insisting that they should give it a swing even if they have a Pokemon already. Some trainers limit themselves to one Pokemon so it wasn't too out of the ordinary. But the fascination with Pokemon led the newer generation to want more than one. Why wouldn't they?
"But dragons are better than this! Why am I here?" Not everyone was thrilled about being here. While the adults were fine with this for the meanwhile, some children were rather hesitant to come here. Not because they weren't interested in Pokemon but because some just did not wish to go to school. Even if it was a school about Pokemon. A young dragon who was currently next to Ember was one of them.
"Because as Dragon Lord, I'm ordering you to be here!" Ember sternly said. "Hey, Spike! Come meet Smolder."
"Here!" Spike would quickly rush over. "I actually didn't think you'd show up here. I thought you would've skipped out on this."
"See?" Smolder said to Ember who merely lowered her eyes.
"Whatever. Please tell me you work here, because I can't be here to keep an eye on all the dragons that'll learn here." Ember questioned.
"Well...I work alongside Twilight so sure. I'll try my best but if that's an issue, there's always the School Councillor."
"Councillor?" Both Ember and Smolder said, unaware as to what that was. Many of these species would be rather lost on certain things here. Whether it was certain positions and subjects that would come their way. Some already had decent knowledge of schools. Such as the Changelings.
Showing up here with the Changelings was of course Chrysalis. In a way, she was the one with the most children here since she was their mother. Dropping this many children off was something else as usually parents drop off one or two. Maybe three. Not an entire town's worth of Changelings.
The Changelings would do fine here at the Pokemon School but there was one who was currently in disguise. Currently, this changeling was disguised as a Female Frillish, attempting to conceal her disguise. But it wasn't fooling the Queen of Changelings who knew a disguise when she saw one.
"Ocellus!" Chrysalis exclaimed, prompting the Changeling to gasp as she instantly reverted to her original form. "I told you, stay in your own form. It's the polite thing to do."
"What is that?! No way! I didn't know ponies could turn into... um... What are you?" Present here as well after just encountering those from Equestria days ago were the Hippogriffs. And considering they spent a good chunk of their lives underwater because of the Storm King, being back to the surface meant that they have been absent from communication with the rest of the world. Such was the case for a young Hippogriff who seemed more excitable than Princess Skystar once she saw Ocellus transform.
"A Changeling," Chrysalis answered before looking around. "Where is that hall anyway? Perhaps where Ash can be found if he's still in here."
"The King of the Sea? Aren't we lucky to have him here? Silverstream by the way!" She held her hoof out, trying to greet them. Chrysalis would gladly greet her back with a hoofshake but Ocellus would refrain.
Having shy students was common for any school and it was no different here. It was a contrast to those who complained about going to school. Both sides have their own reasons for not wanting to be here but were rather powerless to do anything about it. Fluttershy would notice this as she recalled times of her being too shy to come to school a lot of the time. Most of the time, she would just hang out with the animals so she could understand where some of the students were coming from.
"I am General Seaspray of Her Majesty Queen Novo's navy. I would like to introduce the queen's niece, Silverstream. Please..." He would gently slide over to Fluttershy, having one single request. "In light of recent events, we request that you keep an eye on her. Whatever she is saying now about the other species does not compare to what she thinks about Pokemon."
"Oh. Okay." Fluttershy nodded, understanding clearly.
"This place is amazing! I've spent most of my life in a coral reef underwater. I was a seapony, but now I'm a Hippogriff. Long story. Anyway, wow! Is that a yak?!" She would zip on to the next thing that caught her attention.
"Oh yeah. This'll go swimmingly well." Twilight smiled with great confidence, standing next to the entrance of the hall. Great things were incoming and she just couldn't wait.
A good chunk of the students had arrived at the hall, here to receive their Pokemon. Many Poke Balls were laid out, randomized for each trainer. There were no predetermined Pokemon here which is what made it all the more exciting. The students were scattered, gathering around the tables of Poke Balls as some of them have never even seen Poke Balls before. They still had their Pokemon out, much like Yona and her Piloswine or even a majority of the Griffons since not all of them had the currency to afford a Poke Ball.
"All these Poke Balls are completely randomized. Whoever you get will be your partner. Second or first. Or maybe third depending on how many Pokemon you already have. If you're struggling to move around with multiple Pokemon by your side, Poke Balls are an easy convenience for that." Twilight explained.
"So we don't know what's inside?" Gallus would tap the Poke Ball in front of him, trying to sneak a peek in there. He thought that there had to be a way of knowing what Pokemon was in there but there was no clear indication. The only way to find out was by unleashing the Pokemon inside.
While all of them gathered around the Poke Balls, Ash was sitting down, having something to eat as he was craving some food. Him and Pikachu would have their light snack while watching all of these students ponder on what they wanted to choose. So many of them wished to know what was inside but not knowing what was inside raised the excitement even more.
For most. Some obviously had preferences. Ash and Pikachu saw how there were some Dragons crossing their claws, praying for Dragon Pokemon. It was no secret that the Dragons from the Dragon Lands wished to only have Dragon-Type Pokemon or at least Pokemon that are in the Dragon Egg Group but don't really have it as their typing.
"Uh, which one of these have Dragons inside?" Smolder asked, wanting a Dragon more than any other typing or egg group at the moment.
"Well...I don't know." Spike shrugged, unable to answer that. "I couldn't tell you, sorry. Uh, Rainbow Dash. Maybe your Luxray can look inside with his X-Ray vision."
"No way. It doesn't work on Poke Balls. You're just gonna have to get lucky." Rainbow Dash couldn't help here either. It was all down to luck. "Besides, I'm sure whatever Pokemon you'll get, you'll bond with it."
"Mmm...But I want a Dragon..." Smolder grumbled. For the other species, this wasn't an issue. The Changelings. Griffins, Yaks and Hippogriffs had no problem with what Pokemon they would potentially have. While some were catered to Pokemon that fit their natural habitat and resemble their species, they weren't too picky compared to the Dragons.
"Most of them look pretty worried." Starlight pointed out. "Maybe we should've drawn or painted symbols on the Poke Balls to make it easier for some of them.
"I figured this would happen. But no need to worry. I planned for this too." Twilight winked, expecting this indecisiveness to pop up at least once. "So I used Rift Magic on each of the Poke Balls here. If someone is indecisive. The magic from it will cater to what they want to most and they'll gravitate towards it without even knowing."
"Oh. Well...I guess that works out for them."
And the effects were already showing. An indecisive Smolder hovered her claws over the row of Poke Balls in front of her, struggling to choose. That is until she stopped in front of a Poke Ball that was smack-dab in the middle. That was the Poke Ball that called out to her as she selected it.
"Hm. I guess I'll take this. That makes it two Pokemon for me." Smolder said, still unsure. This Pokemon she just chose would be her second Pokemon ever as she already had one. And that could be found in the bag that was right next to her. The Dragons were one of the few species that have been introduced to Poke Balls after all.
"I have a good feeling about this one." Compared to others, they would rapidly select their Poke Balls. Since they weren't struggling that much with choosing their Pokemon, the magic wouldn't kick in for them as any Pokemon would do just fine.
Noticeably, Windflash was up there as well. She nad some of her siblings were also partaking in this selection, picking up some Poke Balls. But they were quickly advised by Twilight not to do so as those were meant for the students. In this case, Windflash and her siblings may also need some tutoring as well. Not just the students.
Soon, many students received Poke Balls as more were promised to come in tomorrow or days later. But for the most part, everyone here had a Pokemon. Whether it was just one or two. New or old. And with this selection, they would all unleash them. That went for those who already had a Pokemon or those just now receiving a Pokemon.
Out of Sandbar's Poke Balls appeared two Pokemon. The one he's always had by his side was a Galarian Ponyta. And the newest one turned out to be a Lillipup. For Smolder, she already had a Pokemon that was obviously of the Dragon Family but was not a Dragon-Type.
That Pokemon ended up being a Charmander and the newest one would be a Salandit. It was certainly in the Dragon Family without a doubt and had access to Dragon-Type Moves. Smolder was pleased. Granted, this meant that she had two Pokemon that were not Dragon-Types at all but she would go along with it either way. Smolder even struck gold as her Salandit appeared to be a Shiny one. Not just a regular Salandit so that added some weight to her choice.
Unleashing their first Pokemon ever would be Gallus and Silverstream. From their Poke Balls emerged Tailow and Spheal. One catered for the sky and another for the sea.
Yona unleashed her second Pokemon, using the Poke Ball in a different way. Since Yaks have never used Poke Balls, they didn't exactly throw them. Yona and all the other yaks would instead slam the Poke Balls into the ground as hard as they could. Lo and behold, that worked out.
But this also meant the way Pokemon arrived would be rather up close as seen by how a Bouffalant appeared next to Yona, picking her up with its majestic hair. For Ocellus, her experience with Pokemon has been limited to just Bug and Fairy-Types and the one who emerged from the Poke Ball would be a Bug in this instance. So it was something that was still familiar with her and in this case, it turned out to be a Surskit.
A nice selection of Pokemon were present here and every single one of them came straight from PokePark. They were originally Twilight's Pokemon but now they belonged to these students. Peeking at this were Team Rocket, currently in their school disguises. Their eyes shot up at all these Pokemon that were present here. It far surpassed what the ponies originally had. With more species here, the number of Pokemon shot up to a new level.
"That's part one done." Twilight put her hooves together. "This is just the start. I can already see you all having more Pokemon in the future. Whoever they may be. And the best part...everything is going swimmingly."
Just as she said that someone would slam the doors open, making an entrance that alerted many. Plenty of heads turned to see the arrival of a student who was rather late. And the one who did this had a powerful push for someone so small. Everyone here had already selected their Pokemon.
The pony who showed up here was none other than Cozy Glow.
She had the most innocent look on her face before trotting indoors, making herself seem like she's been here already. Alas, Ash and the others did not recognize her. The only friends they had that would recognize her were currently not present here at all, making Cozy Glow enter here safely.
Saying nothing, she would quickly grab a Poke Ball here, already choosing a Pokemon without a second thought. Afterwards, everyone just went back to what they were doing. No one thought much else of it, other than the fact that this filly had quite the hoof strength.
"Alright. If you want to hang around here a bit longer, you can do just that or you can head home with your new partners." Twilight suggested. "Every room here is available. Minus the egg room, of course."
"I know what I want to do before I head home." Smolder and other students had something in mind. There was one location in the Pokemon School that plenty of them recognized and would try and take full advantage of.
And that was the field outside. The fascination of Pokemon Battles warranted a location for it and during this school's creation, that location had already been built. It was easy to tell it was a place for battling thanks to the signature Battle Symbol that was painted on the ground.
With their Pokemon out, there were two sides to this. Those who wanted to just casually hang out with their Pokemon and those who just wanted to battle with them. It was very easy to see who wanted what and a majority of students chose the first option instead of the second one.
"Ash!" Going up to Ash were a few students of different species. Those that wished to partake in active actions would go straight to the one who was most known for it.
"Hm?" Ash, who was still eating at this point, turned around to see the students gathering around him.
"Do me a favour Join me in a Pokemon Battle?" Smolder requested.
"No, me first!" Another Dragon would reply, wanting a swing at Ash first. All of them wanted an opportunity to battle him instead of choosing someone else. They could just battle other students who were new to Pokemon, helping them gauge their strength but they just went for the strongest Trainer here instead.
"Mm-mmm-mm!" Ash spoke, having his mouth completely full. They couldn't exactly understand what he was saying, until he swallowed his food. "Aaah! I said, you can always try battling your fellow classmates."
"Huh? That doesn't sound as fun though."
"It totally can be fun. I mean, I'm not one to turn down a Pokemon Battle, but it wouldn't hurt to battle someone who's still learning. Anyone around your level always makes for a great time." Ash instructed, passing this advice on to them. "That way, whether you win or lose, you'll feel like you really earned that victory."
"Oooh..." The students cooed.
"But. Like I said. Not one to turn it down, so I'll accept one." Ash grinned, wanting to battle as well just for fun.
"Just...Go easy on them, Ash." Twilight teleported to his side, already knowing how Ash was. "I know you love to give it your all but they're new and young. Don't go too hard."
"I know, I know. I won't." Ash scratched the back of his hair, promising to hold back.
"You're going to do it now?" Someone else responded to Ash and Twilight's conversation, grabbing their attention. And to Twilight, it was the one pony she was hoping not to see here at all. Ever.
Chancellor Neighsay of the EEA.
"C-Chancellor Neighsay?! You're here?!" Twilight gulped.
"Yes. And you seem unprepared. If there are problems..."
"N-No! No problems here! But I didn't think you'd show up. I mean, you didn't show up the last time the Pokemon School opened up." Twilight squeed, sweating a bit. "What brings you here today?"
"I showed up because of this." He pointed his hoof at all of the students here. "This is way beyond what was previously here."
"Well, the student count has gone up, yes. The school does need an upgrade to make it easier for other students to reside in. In the meanwhile, some can work outside which is also effective when it comes to Pokemon."
"Not that. Previously, it was fine because of the fact that other ponies from across Equestria were showing up to learn here. Now, it's gone past that and you have other species here. You should have come directly to us about this."
"I didn't think I'd have to. But this isn't a problem, is it?"
"Not at all. Unless everything is going perfectly." He said, narrowing his eyes and making Twilight shudder. "This is the first time a school for all creatures, at least the ones we know of, has been opened. So, much like before, I have to investigate everything here."
"You're free to do so." Twilight squeed. "And uh...if something goes wrong here?"
"The whole school will be shut down." Neighsay said, striking fear into Twilight. He had the power to bring the whole school down as now the Pokemon School's position in the world was left open thanks to all these species showing up.
Twilight hoped that the best would come from this. With so many species gathering in one area, even she had to know that something could go wrong if not careful. The worst possible scenario had to be avoided at all costs. The first day was both the most exciting and the most terrifying because it could also potentially be the last day as the journey continues.
Chapter 219 End.