Fandom Azurecoast Academy IC

[Evie Maiden Of Apples]

Jack Wilson / Triana Barkley
dialogue chain between Aura-Slash and Evie Maiden Of Apples

---

Jack attempted to find something to watch on television but found himself getting bored again and again, as there were no notable battle leagues going on. Realizing this, Jack decided to leave his room, wanting to explore more of the campus.

Taking only his backpack, Jack went downstairs and looked around at the campus. He wanted to find where the recreation center was so he could start training a bit, so he pulled out a map on his PokePhone and started walking over there.

Once she made sure the majority of students who had arrived vanished into their respective dorms, Triana finally felt better about exploring her new temporary home. She held her Leafeon Clover in her arms, just in case, and dared to venture out into the campus to scope out the area. She was more used to exploring forests and jungles, though she had gone to school growing up...but that caused so many issues for her in the long run. Trauma she couldn't shake off, no matter how hard she tried.

Letting out a sigh, she looked up in determination. "No use living in fear forever, Clover. I have to find a way to at least ingratiate myself with those like myself...I just wish I knew how." Clover, of course, looked up at Triana in worry, but that was suddenly interrupted when the latter collided with a person she didn't even see due to being so lost in her thoughts.

"UWAH?!"

“OH FU-“ Jack fell to the floor somewhat harshly, causing a bit of pain in his back. He grunted a bit, but nevertheless seemed fine. He stared at the person who he collided into, seeming certainly pissed off.

“Oi, watch where you’re fucking going, dumbass!” Jack yelled at the woman. He got off the ground quickly, looking at the brunette woman in an intimidating manner.

Triana herself stumbled back, with Clover tumbling out of her arms and landing on the ground, thankfully on her feet. Triana was not so lucky, landing on her rear harshly and hissing in pain. She blinked and looked at the guy she ran into who seemed to be threatening her, and her self-preservation instincts kicked in.

She lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, taking out her pocket knife and holding it to his neck, glaring at him and baring her teeth like an angry but frightened animal. "I won't allow you to HURT me, don't even fucking THINK about it, or you're a goner." Her tone was a growl, cold and low. She genuinely thought based on his tone and aggressive nature he was going to bring her harm...she had enough of that in her life. Never again.

Jack seemed frightened for a second. His eyes widened, and he actually feared for his safety for a second. But then, as he looked around, he remembered this was a public place, and she could easily be arrested for pulling this off. This, coupled with the fact that Jack could actually feel fear coming from her voice, prompted him to act, seemingly losing the frightened state he had earlier.

"Go ahead. Do it. Do it," Jack smirked, seeming to "encourage" Triana. Considering Jack's physical capabilities, he could have a good fighting chance against Triana. In fact, he could likely break out of the struggle. But, noticing the fear she had, he knew that she wouldn't actually follow through. Jack certainly might be a meathead at times, but in situations like these, his perception was certainly on point.

"There's a student over that block there, a staff member there, a camera over there. Surely they won't witness this, right?" Jack asked Triana, pointing in random directions. Since most of the students were in their dorms, the area was mostly empty, but there was certainly a chance a witness could be watching this.

Triana stared down at Jack for a long moment as he challenged her, only to point out that there were cameras, and someone could be watching. Her emerald hues narrowed as she let out a light growl, and only the feeling of Clover tugging on her shirt sleeve between her teeth took Triana out of the moment, her clarity returning. She blinked a few times, then looked down at the guy as if she had just woken up from a frantic dream.

"Oh...you're that weirdo from earlier who thinks he can battle well."

She murmured and pulled her pocketknife away, closing it and putting it in the pocket of her capris denim pants before getting up. Without even asking him, she pulled him up with both hands back to his feet, dusted him off, and then went to grab Clover and carry her in her arms as if nothing happened just now.

But Jack clearly seemed a bit pissed off from that. This woman, this, whoever was only millimeters away from slitting his throat. He looked around, noticing there weren’t any bystanders. Sighing, he stared at the woman in a less intimidating manner and more of a serious matter, walking a bit away to keep a distance.

“Don’t ever do that shit again.” Jack ignored Triana’s previous comment, holding onto a Poke Ball for self-defense. He was about ready to take his Pokemon out in case

“Listen here, primate. You’re treading on dangerous waters here, and I’d advise you never step near me again. You’re lucky I didn’t want to break out of that,” Jack stared at Triana. He seemed ready to leave, but in his mind, he wanted this ‘primate’ to pay.

For a long moment in silence, Triana simply stared at the guy as he spoke to her, telling her to steer clear of him. In her arms, Clover growled in defense of her owner, ready to battle if it came to that. But Triana gave Clover a little reassuring squeeze to settle her down, then she looked up at the guy with a furrowed brow of confusion.

"It's not Primate. It's Triana."

The way she said that was so simple, earnest, and yet serious in its own right.

"You shouldn't approach others in such a hostile manner to begin with, how was I to know of your intentions? You could have killed me. I have the right to defend myself." She pointed out calmly.

Jack was considering leaving during the moment of awkward silence and was just about to walk away, but then the “primate” spoke. He noted her name. Jack was already planning a potential revenge, as he wasn’t simply “going to let this slide.”

“You only have the right to use equal force back, dumbass. In this case, you have the right to yell back, not threaten me with a lethal weapon,” Jack growled.

“You realize this is a damn campus with plenty of students? Why would I even consider killing you? I’m here to fucking improve my skills, to become the damn champion, not to go to jail just because someone crashed into me.”

“Arceus, damn, not only do you have no eyesight, but you also are mentally fucking dumb.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, primate, I have more important matters to attend to.”

"Hm. You're arrogant, mean-spirited, and the fact that you keep getting my name wrong shows that you have the IQ level of a brainless amoeba. You don't even have the qualities of a decent champion, how do you expect to become great?" Triana pointed out, her voice still calm, her gaze studying him as if he were a new species of animal behind a wall of glass.

"You're just like every other human being I've come across. Selfish, heartless, cruel and brutish. You're all the same. You'll hurt anyone to get ahead, and you don't have to be physically violent to do so. I thought I would find better here...seems not."

She looked down at Clover, who looked worryingly back up at her, then she stared at Jack for one more moment.

"Mm, it is important to practice the victory speeches you'll never get to deliver. Good evening." She turned on her heel and swiftly walked back to her dorm. Nope, trying to explore the place was a bad idea. Maybe in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep she'd try again.

Jack barely listened. He only opened and closed his right hand to motion someone ‘yapping’, a symbol of disrespect. The reason why he did this was simple; he didn’t want to waste more energy and time talking to this primate. He barely paid attention to anything she said, only chuckling a bit.

Jack didn’t even spare an additional word. He just walked away, focusing on finding the recreation center. He’d have to walk a bit further, as he walked, he pondered something.

Am I the only fucking good trainer here? Am I forced to stand alone against these degenerates?

Jack sighed. As much as he loves teasing and bullying others, he still is a bit realistic with himself. He doesn’t know anyone here, and he’s in an unfamiliar land. Considering how his first two interactions went, he wasn’t hopeful for the others. He was certainly going to be outnumbered.

Jack sighed. He’d rather be in Galar, perhaps challenging the league right about now.

Azurecoast fucking sucks.

 

[Aura-Slash]

TIMESKIP - 1 HOUR LATER

“Greetings, Azurecoast students. The orientation will start in 20 minutes. Please start heading your way to the auditorium,” a female announcer stated, broadcasting through all speakers and intercoms on campus.

With the announcement, students began flocking to the auditorium. The auditorium, a somewhat big and new building, is located not too far away from the dorms. It is usually repurposed for things like plays and the occasional contest. It seats about a thousand people.

---

Jack Wilson
Interactions: None, but open
Mentions: Evie Maiden Of Apples (Triana)

---

Jack had used the past hour to train. There weren’t many people in the recreation center, apart from students just checking out the place, as many were currently off in their dorms and generally exploring the campus and even parts of Seabreeze City itself. He was probably the only person training at the moment.

He had his whole Pokemon team with him when he trained: his Thwackey, whom he named Tempo; his Duraludon, whom he named Chrome; his Honedge, whom he named Arthur; and finally, his Gyarados, whom he named Nessie.

Unlike the usual jerk personality he displays with other people, Jack is relatively respectful and cares for his Pokemon. He treats them with respect and takes care of them often. He trains often, but he takes breaks from time to time to prevent actual exhaustion. He does his best to give his Pokemon the best quality food possible. Additionally, he’s willing to dedicate time to perfect moves and complements his Pokemon frequently.

That being said, he’s not a perfect trainer or entirely nice, either. He doesn’t appreciate weakness in any form - he’s had to release one or two Pokemon before for their refusal to train. After a loss, he does blame it on his Pokemon, but not extremely.

Still, it is a very good improvement from his normal personality.

After hearing the announcement, Jack decided to finish things off.

“Alright, good work, you four. We’ll train later today. You all seem to be improving, though, so we’re on a good pace,” Jack smiled.
His Pokemon appreciated his compliments. Jack fist-bumped Tempo, gave Nessie and Arthur a head pat, and finally high-fived Chrome before returning them to their Poke Balls.

After that, he left the recreation center. On his way there, though, he recalled all of the interactions he’d had so far.

None were positive, and none were really encouraging. Heck, he hasn’t even met a single battler yet.

In an hour, he almost beat the snot out of someone for calling him a weirdo, insulted a Plusle who almost attacked him, met his roommate and immediately argued a bit, and lastly, got threatened by a knife and argued more with some ‘primate.’ Yeah, it's not really encouraging for the young man. He’d likely now have a bad reputation as word spread of his actions, and while Jack didn’t really mind that, he actually wanted to have a friend. Or, perhaps, an ally at least. Although he tried his best to get some of his friends in, he ultimately failed in doing so - most of them got waitlisted for some of the worst grades possible. As such, Jack did feel a bit isolated, as he was normally chilling and training with his friends back in Galar. That didn’t really visibly affect him yet, but he was wishing someone he knew was here.

As he walked, one interaction circled his mind again and again. That damn primate. What was her actual name again? Treeana? Tryana? Tridiot? Triana?

Oh yeah, Triana. That sounded right, right?

Whatever. Jack was still pissed off from that. It was a slight insult to his honor, in fact, and Jack wished that girl was caught on camera or something. He couldn’t just report it outright, as that would seem outrageous to the administration.

He had to think of some way to get this damn primate off campus. Of course, killing or physically harming her would be stupid, and Jack didn’t want to resort to that.

As he thought of ways he could do that, he arrived. Immediately, he went to the back row and immediately went on his PokePhone to check out some battle news. He hoped this orientation wouldn’t be too boring - but he always had something to occupy him in case of that.

 

[DracoNightshade]

Roxanne/Quintin

Having finished unpacking and wishing to explore, Roxanne left her dorm to look around the place. On the outside, it just looked like more of the same. She had yet to see the interior of most of these buildings, but she was happy enough to be back outside walking with Panzer. She was not walking for long when she noticed a guy with a Ratatta on his head and decided to try talking to him. "Hey, there's a Ratatta on your head."

At the sudden sound of another possible interaction which he was not prepared for just yet.

Quintin gave a small yelp and threw a berry at Roxxane. "Ah!" *yeet.* Joey the rattata also followed suit, though not for the same reason. "*Rattata. . .*" He threw a berry at the woman and giggled.
". . .Hi I'm Quintin?"
He said with some embarrassment.

"Whoa!" Roxanne caught the first berry while Panzer jumped and caught the other, the ground shaking when she landed. "Sorry for startling you, Quintin, I'm Roxanne Stone."
Roxanne extended a hand in greeting while Panzer ate the berry she caught.

"Oh that berry isn't... Nevermind." Quintin reached out to shake her hand, his fingers awkwardly maneuvering around her arm before overreaching by grabbing her wrist instead. ". . . Good enough!" He shook her wrist enthusiastically. "You already heard my first name! Last name Blake! Quintin Blake!"

While they were talking, Mush the marshstomp waddled up beside Quintin. He chewed on his leek as he looked at what he thought to be an ancient woman. Mush was bad at judging age.

"Nice to meet you too." With a flick of her wrist, Roxanne tossed the berry to her other hand and gripped Quintin's wrist in return before letting go. Just then, Panzer let out a small burp as she had finished her little snack.

"Excuse you!" Roxanne teased the Rock type before turning back to Quintin. "This is Panzer, she's my first Pokemon."

"Panzer. How fitting to name such an innocent creature after a vehicle of mass destruction. . . I like it!" Quintin paused.
"Do you feel like I'm forgetting something?" He said while still shaking her wrist.

"Trust me, she likely won't look quite as innocent when she evolves." Roxanne teased. "Is that your Marshtomp? It's nice to see another Hoenn Pokemon this far from home."
In response to his question, Roxanne flexed her fingers and tapped them against Quintin's wrist. "I don't know, is it maybe the fact your hand is still clamped around my wrist?"

"I don't know. . . This still feels pretty natural to me. . . But then again, I am sometimes stupid. . . I'll let go in case it's one of those moments!" Quintin stared at her wrist. ". . .Oops! Wrong hand!" He finally let go of Roxanne's hand. "I don't suppose your name is a play on words is it?" He asked as he scratched Mush's head.

Quintin smiled as she mentioned Mush. "Yeah, I always did like the Hoenn region. That's not where I found this guy though, sadly. . ." His last words were a whisper as Mush dribbled down saliva. "*Marshhh. . .*"

Roxanne gave a nervous chuckle before explaining. "According to my mom, it was my dad's idea. I have a twin sister and they both agreed that they would have free reign to decide our names. As luck would have it, my dad got to call me Roxanne while my mom named my sister."
Managing to catch his whisper, Roxanne asked. "Is something wrong?"

". . .Only if I let it." His ears perked up as he heard the intercom announcing their orientation. He looked at Roxxane and said.
"A story for another time then?"

"Only if you're still up for it by then." Roxanne nodded in agreement, having heard the intercom as well. "I think we oughta step on the gas. Don't want to miss orientation."
With that said, Roxanne turned and headed to the auditorium, Panzer somehow keeping up with the faster human that was her trainer.

 

[LatinKnightz]

Quintin Blake.
Interactions: None, but open.
Mentions: Joey the Rattata.
-------------------------------------------------------------

fter realizing that he might become late if he didn't pick up the pace. Quintin began to accelerate to the point where Joey could only barely hang on.
Joey had to grab the tufts of Quintin's hair as he also caught the bootleg psyduck hat which fell off.
Here's a small drawing I made to illustrate the chaos.


As you can see. Joey is screaming. Please note that Quintin wouldn't have done this normally if he didn't know that Joey enjoys this sort of thing.
Despite how the illustration might appear to you.

 

[Evie Maiden Of Apples]

Triana Barkley
Mentions: Jack ( Aura-Slash )
Interactions: None (Open to them)

It took all of Triana's willpower and much convincing from her urgent Leafeon to even get the future Paleontologist out of bed, let alone head to where orientation was being held. She had already made an enemy barely over an hour ago in Jack, and wanted to avoid him at all cost. That man was...cruel. Disgusting. Full of himself. Everything bad about people that Triana had to deal with during childhood and hated, the kids that verbally and physically abused and bullied her were a LOT like this Jack guy. Triana saw no good qualities in that guy, and the less she saw of him, the better.

Finally Triana got herself cleaned up and changed into a new outfit; grabbing Clover, she headed out of her room and towards the auditorium where orientation would be taking place. Just as she walked in, her green eyes darted over to a familiar figure - Jack. Fuck. Luckily, his back was to her, and it seemed he was preoccupied so he wouldn't notice her. Staying low and keeping Clover close to her chest, Triana darted to the second row of the auditorium and sat in the third seat in order to try and blend in with the crowd. She sighed in relief, "That was close, Clover." She whispered down to her Leafeon companion, "Let's stay low and out of sight, okay?" Clover nodded with a concerned hum.​

 

[luciferin]

nathaniel “newt” hotch.

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  Newt Talks to the One (1) Guy He Shouldn’t
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  Drifblim Out! // Meowth, Numel
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  Jack ( Aura-Slash )
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

Newt has never been anything but perfectly on time. Even for the baby showers or funerals he was scheduled to perform rites for as a medium, he always arrived in that window from that perfect minute to the next, simply because he was capable of calculating travel within his hometown down to the minute.

Today, he finds himself breaking his rule—for something as small as an orientation, too. Still, there’s nothing to be done but leave early. After all, he was raised knowing the impoliteness of tardiness, and, coming from a small town, he’s not confident about navigating the school’s extensive grounds even with a map.

Nevertheless, when Newt arrives, it’s before the announcements begin, leaving him to sigh before directing his Drifblim to turn. Through its eyes, he gazes across the filled seats, lifting a hand upward to give it a slight stroke to the sound of a pleased breeze before he settles in the back row. As he sits, his Pokémon descends in unison, its warm presence relaxing onto his shoulder with a loosening of its strings.

Even so, it’s still a little taller than his head—the reason for his seating choice. After all, blocking someone’s view is just as offensive as arriving late.

Newt doubts that the student he’s sitting beside is here for the same reasons, but he’s never been in the habit of using his phone, so he speaks to the other student nevertheless.

“Have you seen anything interesting on campus yet?”

Newt asks, turning his body to face the other. It’s a motion that he’s recently familiarized himself with, though one that he continues to find unusual, having grown up with a lack of vision.

“I haven’t had the time to take a look around yet, but I’ve heard good things about the food and facilities here, especially for battling.”

cry for love

백현

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[felideli]

Elsie Beaumont

interactions ; n/a | mentions ; n/a​

---

Elsie had talked to her roommate only for a little bit longer, although she wanted to talk more she had a lot of things to do before orientation. After parting ways she went to go start unpacking her belongings as she had brought with her a decent amount of things, her Riolu trailing behind her touching anything he could get his little paws on as she made her way to her assigned room. Opening the door to the room, she took notice of how nice and spacious the room was and she was intrigued at the prospect of being able to decorate her room with pictures and little trinkets she'll probably end up buying in the future. The room came equipped with a desk for studies, a bed, and a dresser to put some of her clothes in, as well as a closet. The blue hair nurse in training quickly got to work unpacking knowing that time was steadily ticking and orientation was bound to be happening soon. Once she was done, she rested for a few minutes, sitting on the floor interacting with a few of her Pokemon who were finally awake from their long nap. With her Braixen walking around the room inspecting the new environment, her Goomy, Alolan Vulpix and Riolu all sitting in a circle on the floor eating some treats that Elsie had taken out figuring that her Pokemon were probably famish from sleeping for so long. Elsie smiled at all of them glad that they seemed to be comfortable, and she couldn't wait to start her courses here, and maybe learn a bit or two more about battling, because she knew she defintely lacked in that area and she didn't want to fall behind her classmates who at least had some experience. She had to admit, she was jealous of her other classmate's battling skills after seeing a few of them battling earlier as she was passing by. Maybe she could train later during her free time, perhaps?

She hoped the professors were at least nice, to make this school year at least somewhat bearable, she'd been homeschooled her whole life so Elsie wasn't sure how they'd be like. Though her roommate did seem nice enough, though Elsie did notice she hadn't met her other roommate. She shrugs to herself thinking that she'll probably meet them eventually, no need to rush anything. Startled out of her thoughts by the announcement of orientation, Elsie quickly gets up not wanting to be late for orientation (though twenty minutes was more than enough to walk a few paces to the auditorium) and ushers all of her Pokemon into their Pokeballs all of them following instruction though albeit sadly since they all wanted to play and explore.

Placing the Pokeballs into a small light blue colored fanny pack she secured around her waist, she then quickly took a peek at her appearance in the bathroom mirror to check if she still looked okay. Elsie reapplied a layer of lipgloss, nodded to herself in satisfaction, then hastily slipped out the door to the main lobby of the dorms. She waved at a few of her peers that were passing by her with a huge smile and a small skip in her step as she walked her way to the auditorium. When she had arrived she walked in and was immediately taken back on how large the auditorium was, her hometown didn't have the luxury to have something such as this, and the only building that she could compare was her town's gym but even then this was bigger. Elsie finally made her way to the front of row of seats eager to listen to everything being said, and to maybe meet others like her who are also eager to learn.

 

[LumeNym]

Marissa "Pear" Delbern & Roxanne Stone
Interactions: Roxanne ( DracoNightshade )
Mentions: Newt ( luciferin )

• Dorm Room
• Auditorium

• 
  
  Xtransceiver Archive​
  GrowAPear :
  You'll be happy to know that I ruined my first interaction with one of my roommates
  Super awkward and cringe
  It was fine until he said he could help me hang my stuff because he's taller
  fml
  
  : Looking4Treble
  I'm sure it wasn't that bad lol
  You'll have more chances to get on good terms
  Try your best not to worry about it Pear​
  Welp I'm worrying about it
  Just going to take a nap. I don't feel like doing any unpacking right now
  
  Alright, try to get some rest
  I'm sure you'll feel better afterwards
  ​
  ​
  Pear flopped down onto their new bed with a thud and laid there starting at the ceiling for a moment, resting the back of their hand against their forehead. Why did they have to go and mess up their first interaction at this new school? Really, Newt was just trying to be nice, but now how were they going to approach him? It was already all a big mess, and they closed their eyes with a prolonged exhale. Key was sitting on Pear's desk investigating things, and Mento had jumped up on the bed next to Pear, nestling up against them with a quiet murmur. At least now there was a moment of peace until their other roommate arrived. They should probably just avoid them altogether to make sure they didn't mess up with them too. Worrying about interactions to come, Pear drifted off into a fitful slumber.
  
  . . .
  
  *Poke poke*
  “Greetings, Azurecoast students. The orientation will start in 20 minutes. Please start heading your way to the auditorium.”
  "Gwaaah!!"
  Pear snapped into complete consciousness, nearly knocking Mento off from where she was perched upon their side. Putting a hand to their heart and trying to slow their panicked breathing, Pear looked over to the startled Pokémon, noticing the worried expression on its face.
  "There there, Mento. *huff huff* Thank you for waking me up. It wouldn't do to be late for the very first thing we need to attend."
  The pudgy Pokémon smiled at their words, letting out a chirp before rolling off the bed onto the floor with a light thump. Pear followed their lead, though with somewhat more grace, and began to collect the things they would need. Key seemed to still be sound asleep on their desk, so she was quietly returned to her Pokéball for the trip.
  "Alright, let's get a move on, Mento."
  "Clefairy!"
  Slowly opening their door, Pear peeked their head out and made sure nobody was around, before slipping out the door, down the few flights of stairs to the ground floor, and out into the plaza.
  
  
  
  ​
  
  
• 
  Tapping away at their Xtransceiver screen, Pear grasped blindly at the handle to the auditorium, missing twice before securing a firm grip and hurtling it open. They slunk inside with a sigh, glad to be out of the sun and back in a more comfortable, air-conditioned environment. They half-heartedly glanced down to make sure Mento was still with them, making it a few more paces towards the seating area before snapping to attention and looking down again at the empty space beside them. Of course the little bugger had to get distracted and go off somewhere immediately! Pear stood as tall as they could, looking between and around students in the desperate hope of catching a glimpse of a small pink backside.
  
  . . .
  
  "Phew. Let's stop for a bit Panzer."
  Roxanne was almost at the door of the auditorium when she decided to crouch down and check on her portable incubator.
  "Hmm, looks like we have to wait for a while longer."
  Roxanne sighed as she stood back up, not even bothering to repack the small machine as she entered the building in front of her.
  "This is going to be interesting."
  Just through the door the pair were greeted by a small pink Pokémon stumbling towards them.
  
  "Clefairy Clef!"
  The chubby-cheeked fairy grinned from ear to ear as she pranced up to Panzer with a hearty greeting.
  
  "Oh, hello there!"
  Roxanne suddenly stopped in her tracks as the little Fairy type Pokémon approached. When it walked over to greet Panzer however, the Aron gave a disinterested snort and turned back to her trainer.
  
  Mento seemed taken back by the gesture, a pouting expression spreading across their puffy face. Then a single finger was raised into the air, and waved back and forth.
  
  The Clefairy closed its eyes and dropped its stubby arm, seeming to be collecting itself. Suddenly, those normally heart-stoppingly-adorable eyes burst open into a threatening glare, gazing down at Panzer as though it were a stain on the ground.
  
  Clef.
  
  Its threat lingering in the air, the Pokémon suddenly dissolved into red energy, flying back into the Pokéball of the nearby Pear. Another red light struck out from the student's pocket, materializing in front of the Aron as a sleeping Corsola.
  
  "Oh Arceus, I'm so sorry, did that Clefairy do anything to you?" Pear came running over with labored breath, reaching down to retrieve the pink and blue Pokémon before raising their eyes to meet Roxanne's gaze.
  
  "No, I think she just wanted to make friends. Panzer just didn't feel up for it at the moment."
  "Arr."
  Panzer let out a yawn as she curled up and went to sleep.
  "Now I see why."
  Roxanne returned Panzer to her Pokéball, allowing her to nap.
  Attaching the ball to her belt, Roxanne switched the incubator to her left hand as she extended her right.
  "Roxanne Stone. Nice to meet you."
  
  Pear's face switched to one of relief, and then equally quickly to one of excitement as their eyes landed on the incubator in Roxanne's arm.
  
  "Wait, you brought an egg to orientation!? Do you know what's in it? What are its parents!? Will it hatch soon!? Can I see!?"
  Questions came firing out of Pear's mouth like a hyper beam guided by their excitement. An egg! Finally something to bring their mood back up.
  
  "Uh, y-yeah." Needless to say, Roxanne was quite taken a back by Pear's one-eighty and flinched a little.
  "I don't have the heart to leave it behind anywhere and I want to be there when it hatches. As for what kind, I have no idea."
  Roxanne tried extending her right hand again.
  "I don't think I caught your name."
  
  Noticing the woman flinch at their excitement, Pear's face dropped a little. Of course they seemed to put everyone they meet out of sorts. When Roxanne extended their hand again, though, they took it.
  
  "Sorry, um, my name is Pear. Pronouns are they/them."
  They let their hand slide out of Roxanne's, before turning their gaze away awkwardly and squeezing the sleeping Corsola in their arms.
  "Sorry again for the trouble..."
  
  After pausing a moment, Pear looked up again, trying their best to maintain conversation.
  "I, um, don't suppose you're a Pokémon Breeding major too, what with that egg..?"
  
  Roxanne tilted her head at the mention of pronouns before mentally shrugging.
  "Nice to meet you Pear, and sorry but, I'm a Paleontology major."
  Releasing her grip, Roxanne then explained.
  "I just happened to find this egg in the wild, alone and unattended. I haven't a clue as to what will hatch but I hope it's a Rock type."
  Pausing for a second, Roxanne then added.
  "Though, I guess an Electric type wouldn't be bad either."
  Pear's mouth opened a little in surprise at Roxanne's explanation, then nodded in agreement with her last thoughts.
  
  "Yeah, rock types are great, like little Key here!
  You can actually sometimes tell if an egg holds a rock type if you get a hand lens or microscope and look at the shell. You'll often see signs of atypical mineral deposits, though that can also be characteristic of ground types, so it's not surefire. Electric is way easier, though, it's pretty common to get minor static shocks from them when they're close to hatching and the Pokemon's organs are well developed."
  Pear caught themself as they started to get lost in their monologue, quickly returning to reality with a sheepish grin.
  "I don't suppose I could have a look at it..?"
  
  While hesitant, Roxanne relented and handed over the incubator to Pear.
  "Sorry, I just never hatched an egg before so I'm kinda nervous."
  
  Pear gingerly accepted the incubator, gently setting down Key and looking with excitement over the egg within as they continued to talk.
  "It's really not too bad, there's plenty of optimizations that can be done, but in general the little ones know how to make their way into the world safely without too much assistance. Oh, this is actually a lot lighter than I was expecting! Could be a flying type? Or just a small Pokémon, maybe. If I had my pocket lens on me I could try to take a look at the shell, but it looks pretty healthy overall."
  They looked up at Roxanne with a beaming smile on their face.
  "You're doing a great job with it, and you clearly care for it a lot, so I'm sure it will hatch just fine."
  
  "Wow, I hadn't really thought about that. I grew up on a ranch that raised Numel and Camerupt, but I was too nervous to try interacting with any eggs we happened to find."
  Roxanne smiled as she gently took back the incubator.
  "Thanks. Um, if you want, do you think you can give me some pointers some time? In case I somehow get another egg."
  
  Pear crouched down to scoop Key back up into their arms.
  "Oh wow, that's super cool! I wish I had grown up on a Pokémon ranch, surrounded by all those little ones!"
  They were practically glowing with excitement, but realized as such and calmed themselves down.
  
  "I'd be happy to help in any way I'm able, just send me a message whenever and I should respond pretty quickly. I spend more time on my Xtranceiver than I probably should."
  Pear reached into their pocket and pulled out their Xtranceiver, quickly pulling up their number before extending it towards Roxanne with a slight smile.
  
  "Trust me, newborn Numel are still huge. Not quite as big as the adults, but big enough to badly injure a human by accident."
  Seeing Pear extend the Xtranceiver, Roxanne pulled out her PokéNav.
  "I'm not sure if it's compatible with a PokéNav, but I guess we'll find out."
  
  "Well, big or small, they're all little ones to me. And sure there's a degree of danger, but watching them play and grow up is part of the fun! Like with little Mento, the menace of a Clefairy that you met. She's always been a handful, every since she hatched as a Cleffa. Metronome this, metronome that. Almost caught the Day Care on fire once. But that's part of why I love her so much, the little bugger!"
  Pear looked thoughtful for a moment, then let out a small laugh.
  "I actually don't know either, you're the first person I've made friends with outside of my hometown. But it's worth a shot, right? Surely these days there's some cross-compatibility, and if not I can always contact you using my laptop."
  
  "Let's see if our devices are compatible first."
  Roxanne typed Pear's number into her PokéNav and tapped the call function.
  "Here goes."
  
  A moment later, Pear's Xtranceiver began to rumble in their hand.
  "See, works just fine! I'll make sure to add you to my contacts so I know it's you."
  They slid their device back into their pocket and gave Key a few pats on the head, eliciting a contented burble from the still-sleeping Pokemon.
  
  "Um, would you like to sit together for orientation? If not it's totally fine, I just figured I may as well ask, since, well.. I don't really know anyone else here..."
  Pear made a point of not mentioning the man in the back row that they in fact did know and had noticed immediately upon entering the building, but he seemed preoccupied with talking to someone else and, of course, they didn't want to have to talk to him again after how awkward things got before.
  
  Roxanne quickly registered Pear's number in her contact list before answering with a smile.
  "Sure. It's nice to have a friend. Maybe I'll introduce you to the rest of my crew later."
  
  "That would be awesome!" I look forward to meeting them!"
  Pear was glowing with happiness, with the earlier failed interaction temporarily swept under the rug. At least things were starting to get off on the right foot. Hopefully things could go as smoothly with Elsie once they met.
  "Do you have a preference where we sit? I normally just grab something near the middle."
  
  Roxanne was glad to have made a friend.
  "Just a little warning, they're a bit more on the ancient side of things."
  She then gestured to Pear.
  "Works for me. Lead the way."
  
  
  ​
  
  

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