Equestria. Canterlot. The Pokemon School. Day.
A new day dawned on the Pokemon School. And there was a chance that it could be its final day. The students from across Equestria and Beyond returned for a second day. And as for the appearance of the Pokemon School, in just one night, it underwent a transformation that many noticed instantly.
The size of it has seen some growth, gaining new rooms just to fit the escalated number of students. The extra part of the building resembled that of a tower. It even matched the appearance of Twilight's Castle a bit. Now that her extra work was done, Twilight could rest as her eyes were baggy. The biology of the Rift Pony had left her body by this point, making her vulnerable to losing stamina and plenty of it has certainly been lost.
Everyone noticed it as it was hard to miss. Twilight succeeded in her mission faster than expected. And showing up to the school for one last time was Chancellor Neighsay.
"So, you've already succeeded in extending it?" said Neighsay, impressed that Twilight got this done so quickly. He expected a few weeks or months. But magic said otherwise.
"Last night. I had to make it bigger with magic. I used the same thing that made the Cutie Map and my Castle, adding an extension to the castle. It took a lot of Rift Magic to make it possible and I had to gain infinite stamina like when I absorbed Rift Magic for the first time just to get all of this work done."
"Hm. Well, you accomplished that. But what about everything else? Let's see how classes are."Neighsay said, walking past Twilight. All Twilight had to do was show Neighsay how smoothly this could all play out. "But before that...you should take this."
"Hm?" Twilight raised an eyebrow as Neighsay suddenly pushed a book towards Twilight with his magic, prompting her to catch it. "An EEA book?"
"You should do things by the book if you wish to keep this school around. I expect nothing to go wrong during this second day. Because it could be your last." Neighsay warned.
"By the book! Got it! I've always done things by the book so this should be just fine!"
Students of all kinds entered the classrooms, already having their first lessons noted. Each had different classrooms with different teachers waiting for them. For their classes, it would be split into two categories. Those who were completely new to Pokemon and had to start from the ground up and those who had some knowledge of Pokemon but were very lacking it and had ways to go.
For both classes, it was rather even. Plenty had some knowledge of Pokemon while an equal amount were lacking. That way, no one was really behind and they could all be caught up to speed. To catch them up, the teachers of both classes would be Nightmare Moon and Sombra respectively. Two ponies who dwell in Dark Magic. One has knowledge of everything Pokemon thanks to gaining Ash's memories while another had knowledge about Pokemon Battling since she was an alter-ego of Luna.
Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, Gallus and Smolder were the ones taking this class. And with this class starting, Nightmare Moon was about to go all out, using whatever she could to make sure the students would pay attention. But just as she was about to do that, along came Twilight, holding the book of the EEA.
She showed it to Nightmare Moon, informing her that it had to be by the book and nothing else. Nightmare Moon squinted, seeing what rules were laid out. It was a large book and there were enough rules to go through that would automatically change how this class functions. The alter-ego of Luna blinked for a moment, bewildered about what she had to do.
But unfortunately, even Princesses were not immune to the EEA, especially one that was just an alter-ego of a Princess. Nightmare Moon groaned, going along with it. She was about to teach them about Pokemon Moves and was even eager to have them use these moves for a better understanding. Alas, it was simply limited to talking about them.
Needless to say, this did not really work with the students. They themselves were expecting action. When it comes to Pokemon, there is always action involved somehow or at least something entertaining. The wonderful world of Pokemon thrived off of that but all that was done was Nightmare Moon simply writing down the names of moves and how they work, what typings they were an extra conditions.
Nightmare Moon may be a different version of Luna, but she was still made up for her desires. And one of Luna's desires was to become the Equestria League Champion, turning her into an avid battler. This meant that Nightmare Moon was perfect for showing the students how it's done but the book said otherwise.
Smolder sighed, unable to battle again with her Charmander like she did before. Things were not as practical as she was hoping. Neither got to really try new things with their Pokemon in this class. Ocellus knew there was more to this, but it wasn't being shown the best way it could be.
It wasn't any better in Sombra's class. He was about to share the history of the Pokemon World before anything else and the way he planned to do it was by using his Fear Magic. By merging it with Ash's memories, he could show the students just what Ash has witnessed while also using his magic to create illusions for them. What better way to learn about the history than see it for themselves?
The book, of course, shut that down as well. Even Sombra was shown the book by Twilight. He glanced over at his former enemy, looking her dead in the eyes as he couldn't believe what he was being shown. Apparently, using Dark Magic on students was forbidden.
Sombra groaned, pushing the book aside but he had to follow those rules as well. Thus, he had to do it in the traditional sense. Using history books that were already laid out by Twilight. While a lot can be gathered from the books, the students were looking forward to what Sombra had to offer.
It spoke volumes to how much they were losing interest if they were even interested in Sombra's actions. Students would swap classes, going to learn new things, only for them to be hit with boredom. The second day wasn't looking too good for them at all.
Faces were hitting the decks, hooves and claws were smushing the jaws of many out of pure boredom. The class of Windflash and her siblings would be different from the rest as they were assigned to cover something they were more comfortable with. And that was the wilderness that the Pokemon live in. They spent their time on the forest and meadow, knowing how the creatures act and live, especially the Shaymin who have suddenly shown up.
But since they had no experience as teachers in the slightest, the way they would try and go through with this. Thus, they would try and hands-on approach, much like what Sombra and Nightmare Moon wanted. But alas, much like them, they were hit with the book as well, forced to read it as this would be their first tutorial on how to teach. At least, in the EEA way.
Windflash and her siblings scratched their manes, rather flabbergasted by what they were reading. And thus, the students were robbed of pure excitement once more. The teachers would sit there, trying to figure out how to approach this the best they can.
"Is this what's it like here?" Gallus asked.
"I promise it's so much better," Scootaloo replied as her words had weight. It was much better but the best part of the Pokemon School wasn't showing itself.
"I think things are completely fine the way they are." Cozy Glow, who was in the same class as them, uttered but no one heard her, too bored to even pay attention to anything.
"It wasn't like this when Twilight and the others were learning here," Ash commented, noticing how different things were. While he never went to the Pokemon School, he has visited it sometimes and heard about what goes on in there. And when Roxanne and the others were teachers, the students had plenty of fun.
There were explosions, possessions, battles and more. All things that a Pokemon Trainer loves or even fears. The Human teachers made it so much fun for them. But now that other creatures were learning here, that fun had been drained.
"It is weird, isn't it?" Fluttershy replied, spectating it with the others.
"Weird but needed." Replying to them was none other than Neighsay himself. "It was different from how the Pokemon School was before."
"How so?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Since this is the first time other species are learning in a school together, especially situated in this part of Equestria, things must be taken easy. Completely by the book. We have no idea what would happen if we had them repeat what you all did. I've heard what happens in this school and it can escalate rapidly beyond belief."
"That's what makes it so much fun though!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "Come on? Let them do what we did."
"I think not. I let it pass in the beginning because of the fact that we were two separate worlds. Now that is one larger world, it applies here and I won't be so lenient." Neighsay said, keeping his stern energy. "By the end of this, this will be the best possible Pokemon School in Equestria, even though it is the only one so far."
Students were leaving their classes, bored out of their minds as they were not looking forward to what was coming next. Or even tomorrow. Yesterday was so much better by a mile. Watching this were none other than Team Rocket, Undergoing their staff disguises, they heard what Neighsay said, commenting on the scenario as they haven't been approached by him just yet.
"What a stick in the mud..." Jessie spoke. "Back when I was at school, I had the benefit of causing a ruckus as much as I want."
"At this rate, they might be too bored to notice that their Pokemon will be gone," said James. "I feel bad for them, honestly."
"Hey. But I know how we can turn those frowns upside down. What's the one thing every school has?" Meowth was already cooking something up in his mind, ready to take full advantage of this boredom. Jessie and James soon clicked with what Meowth was getting at, going through with his plan.
"Is this what boring is? Am I bored?" Silverstream, who was an excitable Hippogriff, wasn't really in her usual mood now thanks to how the lessons have been going. She and the other students were walking through the hallway, heading for their next class which involved Potion Nova. But there was a good chance they might not get to try those potions based on the previous lessons.
"Ugh, please." Gallus groaned. "We haven't sent out our Pokemon. Not once. This is supposed to help us get used to the Pokemon World and be safe in it?"
"Well, we're still learning something, aren't we?" Sandbar added.
"I could learn more about Pokemon back home," Smolder complained. "And I have! Me and Charmander already know a lot so this is just one big waste of time!"
"Our teachers are a little different than I expected," said Ocellus.
"Ugh! Pony Pokemon school waste of time! Yak school teach how to braid yak hair! Braiding yak hair is best!" Yona threw in her own complaints. She would trip on herself while getting a bit riled up, rolling on the floor. This prompted her to crash and land right on Smolder.
"Ough! Is there anything in Yakyakistan that isn't the best?" Smolder grumbled, crawling away from Yona who almost broke her back.
"Yes! Wait. No! Yaks best."
"No claws, no wings, no fire. What is it exactly you're proud of?" Smolder scoffed, looking down at Yona and Yaks in general as there was some tension building up.
"Whoa, cool it. No need to harsh Yona's love for her heritage, okay?" Quickly defusing this was Sandbar.
"Awww, are we not being sweet and friendly enough for you, pony?" Gallus said sarcastically, mocking Sandbar as he was not fond of this place at all, making him rather grumpy.
"That was sarcasm, right? Because you weren't being sweet or nice!" Silverstream exclaimed.
"Maybe dragons and griffons are just too tough for friendship." Smolder expressed. "I can learn about Pokemon in the same way the toughest trainers do. Not this."
"Yaks tough, just not nasty."
"Who you calling nasty, klutz?" Gallus glanced at Yona. Very soon, the tense atmosphere would only worsen as these different species were beginning to go at it.
Sandbar failed to break it up and Ocellus was too shy to really do anything about it. At this rate, this small spark of conflict could spread and affect the other students who were feeling similar emotions right now. It was only the second day and everything was already starting to come crumbling down.
"You don't have to bicker among yourselves." At that moment, Jessie chimed in, springing into action. Team Rocket made an appearance, but they weren't wearing their staff uniforms at all. Instead, they showed up in what seemed to be a different variation of their Team Rocket uniforms.
It was their uniforms but stylized to fit a school. They were fully rocking the delinquent look. Black clothes all around, rather fancy and sharp shades plus stylized hair. Jessie made hers into pigtails while James managed to get his short hair into the style of a pompadour. Somehow.
"When you can form a team and get rid of that bad mojo you're feeling," James said, sliding in.
"We can?" The younglings uttered in unison.
"That's right. If you're not feeling this, then deviate away from the rules. Then all that boredom gets thrown away and you can do whatever you want in this school." James grinned.
"Oh, you've got a point!" That sounded beautiful to the ears of Smoler and Gallus. As Dragons and Griffins, they did share some similarities to School delinquents, at least in their behaviour.
"Wait, what?" Sandbar blinked, realizing what they were getting at.
"Then join us. Team Blastoff! How does that sound?" Meowth whipped out a sign that showed the Team Rocket logo but altered. They really did everything in their power to make sure that they weren't Team Rocket but still managed to be them. And more importantly, recruiting new members.
"You want us to...break the rules?!" Sandbar gasped.
"As a bonus, you can decide not to turn up to school. It's the freest occupation anyone could want." Jessie nodded. "How does that sound?"
"You look a bit old to be students though." Silverstream pointed out, noticing their age. She based them on Ash's appearance and while Ash was old, he still looked young here and there.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD?!" Jessie replied, taking offence to being called old. She preferred to be seen as a young and dainty woman. "Ahem. So anyway? Are you in?"
"Are we! Yes!" Smolder already accepted. So did Gallus. This even interested Silverstream, who, while positive, was eager to do something else than be drowned in boredom. Even Yona found this to be far more interesting. Team Rocket grinned as convincing the children was simple considering they knew how desperate they could be around boredom.
"But we have another class to join. You're not...skipping class are you?!" Ocellus gasped.
"That's exactly what we're doing," Smolder confirmed. "Come on. This will be way better than what we could possibly do next. Do you really want to sit through another class of just reading? We could do much more and we haven't even sent our Pokemon out yet."
"I guess..." Ocellus scraped her hoof on the floor as she was indeed bored. Even someone as shy as her was expecting something entertaining. As a Changeling, she has seen some of the wildest things out there and nothing wild was happening here, that's for sure.
"I guess I'll tag along, too. Make sure you don't get into... trouble." Sandbar opted to come along but for a different reason.
"Great! Wear these while you're at it!" Jessie would then whip out exactly six outfits, already having them prepared. Each were catered to the respective species, build and size. They cooed at the outfits that were meant for them as they appeared in all black having the symbol 'B' on it.
It was really the Team Rocket Symbol but the bottom part has been altered to match a B. Little did they know, they were essentially being made as rookie Team Rocket Grunts. The newest ones yet.
1 hour later.
"This is pathetic. Sticking to the book?" Back in the staff room, Sombra and the others had gathered around, expressing how they felt about the lessons and how they went. "Ridiculous."
"Truly. What good are our skills if we can't fully utilise them to their absolute best potential?" Nightmare Moon groaned. "Is there even a point to us being here?"
"Not exactly what we were expecting, honestly," said Windflash, holding an Ultra Ball in her paw. "Those poor children...I didn't really get to speak with them that much. That book was... a lot to take in."
"I know it looks bad, but trust me. I'm sure it'll all work out. If we follow what's in the book, this school will be in the clear." Twilight pleaded for them to have patience.
"I haven't gotten to use my potions yet." An upset Potion Nova expressed as her class was as boring as it could be. No potions yet. "I only got to say what they could do. I can't believe not using potions isn't allowed?!"
"It is but...Not for children, apparently." Twilight sighed.
"You have only a few hours, Princess Twilight." Entering the room was Neighsay. He would immediately receive harsh looks from the two Dark Magic users who were not pleased with the rules he was throwing at them.
"So far, everything seems to be perfectly fine. Things are going by the book perfectly."
"That's right. Very soon, we'll be done here, Chancellor Neighsay." The young alicorn squeed. "You won't have anything to worry about."
But following up that bright smile was the sound of an explosion in the distance. Twilight's eyes widened as her pupils shrunk, knowing exactly what an explosion sounded like. And at this moment, she didn't want anything like that at all. An explosion of this volume was heard by many and could not be ignored. Neighsay narrowed his eyes, wondering what could have caused that and if it had something to do with the Pokemon School.
Judging by the sound of it, it sounded like it was very nearby as Sombra put on a rather devious smirk, knowing what could have caused this. A part of him wanted to say it was Ash but another part of him was telling him that it was someone else. Someone who was trying to be daring in this boring atmosphere. At this time, the students were praying something truly exciting to happen as soon as possible as the journey continues.
Chapter 221 End.