All my life, this is what I wanted to do, but now I can barely make it out of bed. With my alarm buzzing and the sun beaming in from my bedroom window, I finally get my bearings together and remember what today is. My name is Kal, I am 18 years old, and today is the day I enrolled at the prestigious Pokemon Trainers Academy. I’ve wanted to become a trainer all my life and if I lived in any other part of Kanto (or the world for that matter), I could have become a trainer at 10. However, we have a strict law here that forbids anyone under the age of 18 from getting a trainer’s license. Which I can understand, I don’t think I could even tie my shoes, much less go out into to the world at 10.
I live in Evergreen Town, which is also the home of the Pokemon Trainers Academy. It has recently developed a huge reputation for churning out elite trainers. In fact, the last five Pokemon League Champions have attended this academy in the past. I remember watching the Pokemon League Championship last year, the trainers who attended the academy look completely synced with their Pokemon. Commands were followed instantly and trainers adjusted their strategy on the fly. In fact, the top three trainers from last year were all past students of the academy. Now because of this, the academy has been flooded with applications from around the world from prospective students. However, they are only three ways to get in. You can pay the insanely high tuition price, take the almost impossibly difficult entrance exam, or have been born and raised in Evergreen town. My family has never been that well off and I not exactly Professor Oak when it comes to Pokemon, so I guess I am pretty damn lucky to have lived here. The only other requirements are the applicants cannot be older than 21 and must have a high school diploma.
Now today is the day that I get to join it. I rush to take a shower, get some clothes, grab my bags, and make my way to the kitchen where my parents are waiting. They were making me a HUGE breakfast. Hot pancakes with butter and syrup, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and some buttered toast. I could of ate all of it in one bite, but decided to enjoy what will be my last meal with my parents for a while. While I am eating, I thought I saw what look like a… smirk? a smile? coming from my parents. They have been giving me that looked lately. I know they know something about the academy. They both graduated the same year and even went on to have pretty decent careers as trainers before settling down as farmers. “Son, are you ready for your big day?” my dad said while trying to cool off his morning coffee. “I am as ready as I’ll ever been, a little tired though. Couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night.”. “Now honey, if you don’t want to go, you can always just stay at home and work for your old mom.”. “NO WAY, I have to go. Y’all both graduated there. I… need to go there and become an awesome trainer.” “Well, then…” My dad finished his coffee in one gulp. “...it is time to set off. We will be late for the induction ceremony if we stay any longer.” And with that, we started the mile long walk to the academy.
On the way to the academy, my mind started to wonder. What makes this academy so special? What do they do differently that helps them create such strong trainers? Every time I’ve asked my parents about this, all they ever say is “You’ll see.”. And it is not just them, anyone who has ever attended the academy will say something similar… what is it…. I guess I’ll find out in a little while. The academy came into view and there were a couple of hundred people standing around. After asking around fruitlessly about where I and my parents should go, our answers came to us via the intercom. “Can I have your attention please! New students must line up in a single file and wait for further instructions. Also, the parents must take a seat in front of the entrance for the induction.” A lady with thick brimmed glasses and a lab coat big enough for two was making the announcements. So my parents and I said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. While I was waiting in line, I saw my old school friend Allie arrive. Allie and I have been buds since kindergarten and we have always dreamed of coming here together. I was always a little introverted at school and while I always got along with everyone, Allie was the only person I really only hung out with. I even sorta develop a crush on her… unfortunately for me, she doesn’t exactly go for guys. Oh well, guess that would complicate things. “Kal! Are you excited man! I just couldn’t get any sleep last night” “Same here, but hopefully we can get some sleep once we get set up inside”.
The thick brimmed glasses lady then went up to the podium and a silence fell over the crowd. She had the very commanding aura around her, almost as if she was a drill sergeant. “Good morning parents and prospective students. I am Professor Pine. I am sure you are all very excited to begin, however I must go over some things first. To begin with, only teachers and students are allowed to enter the building, no exceptions. I do not care I much money you have, who you are, or how smart your precious child is. Any rule breakers of this will be escorted off campus. Secondly, there will be no forms of outside communications with the exceptions of letters and even those will be scrutinized before they are sent out. So that means no computers, cell phones, or anything of that sort is allowed. Finally, this is the final opportunity students to bail out. This academy is extremely rigorous and I will not tolerate any foolishness… is that clear? Good. Professors, let the students enter.”
As we entered the building, we went into what looked like a gymnasium. Seats were nicely aligned and all faced the stage. Allie and I took our seats next to each other.”What do you think the classes will be like?” Allie asked, even though we have asked ourselves this a hundred times, I couldn’t help but speculate with her. “Maybe there is some type of virtual reality training we will be doing.” We went back and forth with our crockpot theories that included everything from hypnosis to military-style training. After a while, the crowd was growling restless when at last, a young guy with red hair wearing what looked like a corduroy suit and carrying a remote control took the stage. “Attention students… welcome to the Trainers’ Academy. I hope you will all enjoy it here. I am Professor Redwood. Now, before you go to your dorms we must first go through your induction. Firstly, I will like to say that any and all information, education, and fibulation… I made that last one up, but anywho, you basically cannot not tell ANYONE else about what you learn here at this academy. It would be most unfortunate if we would have to resort to using Hypno to wipe away some memories because of some blabber month. Not only that, but you will have your trainer’s license revoke permanently. Next, we will be sorting you out between different dorms based on gender and something else that you will know of shortly. At last, I know Professor Pine has already asked this, but is there anyone that has any doubts or is not sure they can make the commitment, I ask now that you please leave. You will be here for a long time and there will be no easy way out. Anyone?” The room was unsurprisingly silent. “Good! Now you might have been asking yourself this… what makes this place so special? Why have so many elite trainers attended this school? What gives this school the advantage over everyone else? Well, knowledge of course! We will teach you every move, type, strategy, breeding method, and secret that will lead you to becoming a champion.” The room filled with groans. That was it? That was the big secret? Just knowing more stuff? “What? You were expecting something else? Okay, okay, there is one more thing we do.” At that moment, he pressed a button on his remote and the cloth that was covering the back of the stage was lifted. Revealing what looked like six silver cylindrical telephone booths. “The real secret of battling is getting to know your Pokemon, understanding their strengths and weaknesses. And I am not talking about types and moves. I mean their personality, their aspirations, and what is it that motivates them. No book out there is going to teach you this and not even the most skilled trainer cannot show you how to do it. So how are we going to do it? Simple, we will turn you into a Pokemon.”
… what?