"So, Liko, you're from the Paldea region?"
"Yes. What about you, Jin? Where are you from?"
Shortly after the incident at the bus stop, the bus heading to the academy arrived, and Jin and Liko boarded it. Initially, Liko seemed a bit awkward, but Jin's proactive conversation helped her regain her composure.
"I'm from the Hoenn region. A Pokémon Professor I know recommended that I come here to learn various things."
"I see."
(Hoenn region... He's come from quite a distance. And he mentioned knowing a Pokémon Professor so casually—isn't that a big deal? Who exactly is Jin?)
"Liko?"
"Oh! No, it's nothing!"
"I'm not upset or anything, but are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
(I messed up again~~)
Despite being in the middle of a conversation, Liko had a bad habit of getting lost in her own thoughts, something she'd struggled with for a long time.
"Huh? Oh, look, Pokémon!"
As they exited the long tunnel they had been traveling through for a few minutes, they saw Mankey, Onix, and Tauros. In the sky, there were Fearow and Butterfree—Pokémon native to the Kanto region.
"Wow~"
Seeing the Pokémon, Liko's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Is this your first time seeing Kanto Pokémon?"
"Yes... It's my first time seeing Kanto Pokémon... It's amazing."
"I see."
These were familiar Pokémon to Jin. Although they weren't boring to look at, seeing Liko's excitement at her first encounter with Kanto Pokémon was more entertaining to him.
Shortly afterward, the bus arrived at Indigo Academy, and the two got off, unloading their luggage and moving to the front of the academy.
"This is Indigo Academy."
"Yeah, it feels like we've finally arrived."
"Oh! You're really pumped, huh?"
"Am I...?"
Indigo Academy is a boarding school. The living quarters are separated into boys' and girls' dorms, and, of course, members of the opposite sex are not allowed in each other's dormitories. Considering the room preparations and meeting their roommates, it was unlikely that Liko and Jin would see each other again until the entrance ceremony.
"Well, let's part ways for now."
"Yeah, see you at the entrance ceremony."
---
"201... This must be it."
After parting ways with Liko and moving to the boys' dormitory, Jin arrived in front of his assigned room. According to the information he had, he would be sharing the room with a roommate from the same grade.
"Well, I wonder what kind of person he will be?"
Jin had mixed feelings of both anticipation and anxiety regarding his roommate. He hoped for a good friend to share the time with, but he was also a bit anxious about the possibility of living with someone whose personality might not match his.
"...There's no point in worrying about it."
He shifted his focus and opened the door to the room. There was...
"No one here?"
(Am I too early, or is the other person running late?)
"Oh, Jin-kun."
The person who spoke was one of the academy's staff, who was also in charge of the dormitory. This was the same person who had explained the dormitory rules to him shortly after he had parted ways with Liko.
"Yes?"
"I just remembered something I forgot to mention. It seems that your roommate has suddenly decided to withdraw from enrollment."
"What?"
"Therefore, I'd like you to use this room by yourself for now. If any transfer students come in the future, they will be given priority as your new roommate, but there are no such plans at the moment."
"........Understood."
Originally, the room was supposed to be shared by two people, but now Jin would have it all to himself. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but despite his initial excitement, Jin's expression showed his complex feelings about not having a roommate after all.
---
After placing his luggage in the room, Jin aimlessly wandered around the academy. Originally, he had planned to spend time getting to know his roommate before the entrance ceremony tomorrow, but now he had to spend his time alone.
"Oh, a Pokémon battle."
With no plans, he strolled around and discovered a battle taking place in the courtyard's battlefield between a Machoke and an Espeon.
"Is that... Liko?"
Among the students watching the battle, Jin spotted Liko. Next to her was another girl with a distinct feature of fangs and loose socks.
(Is that Liko's roommate?)
"Hey, Liko!"
"Oh, Jin."
"Who's that? A friend of yours, Liko?"
"Yeah. Uh, friend? This is Jin."
"I'd prefer it if you said 'friend' without the question mark."
"S-sorry! I'm still not good at understanding the distance with friends..."
"Then let's officially be friends. Nice to meet you."
"Haha! So you are Liko's friend. I'm Ann, Liko's roommate. Nice to meet you!"
As Jin had guessed, the girl was indeed Liko's roommate. Ann cheerfully introduced herself and extended her hand for a handshake.
"I'm Jin. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you too!"
Jin responded with a handshake, and Ann enthusiastically shook his hand up and down.
(She's a lively one.)
(Ann... definitely seems bold.)
"Liko, looks like you got a great roommate."
"Yeah, I think Ann and I will get along well."
"What about you, Jin? Do you think you'll get along with your roommate?"
"Well, my supposed roommate apparently withdrew from the academy, so now I have a room to myself."
"What?! That's so lonely."
"Yeah, it is."
(If my roommate hadn't been Ann, I might have preferred a room by myself.)
"Continue with 'Psychic'!"
While Jin and the others talked, the battle continued. Espeon used 'Psychic' to lift Machoke into the air and then slammed it to the ground.
"Wow! Did you see that?"
"Yeah."
(Will I ever have a battle like that someday?)
"Yeah, but the best part was the timing of the 'Reflect' used earlier."
" "Huh?" "
As Liko and Ann chatted, they took their eyes off the battle, but Jin was keenly observing it from the corner of his eye.
"The battle just now—after blocking Machoke's 'Dynamic Punch' with 'Reflect,' Espeon used 'Psychic' to finish it off in the gap that created. 'Dynamic Punch' has poor accuracy, but if that Machoke had the 'No Guard' ability, then using 'Dynamic Punch' was a valid choice. However, considering the type disadvantage and Espeon's superior speed, attempting such a powerful move without any preparation was impractical. If Espeon had simply dodged, Machoke might have had other options, but being blocked by 'Reflect' and losing its stance sealed its fate."
" "..........." "
Jin's calm analysis of the battle left Ann and Liko staring at him in astonishment.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"No, no, no! No one would normally understand that!"
"Yeah! Jin, you're amazing. Like a battle expert."
"Is that so? Well, I do have a bit of battle experience."
"Really? Then after the entrance ceremony tomorrow, can you teach us more about battles? Liko, you'd like that too, right?"
"Y-yeah."
(Am I going to be okay? I barely understood what Jin was saying... I hope I don't disappoint him...)
"Of course, I'd be happy to. But is there something special happening at the entrance ceremony?"
"Of course! We're getting our partner Pokémon!"
"Partner Pokémon? Oh, right, the school is giving Pokémon to the students."
Jin's tone indicated he had just remembered. Unlike Liko, who couldn't stop being nervous ever since she learned she would be getting a Pokémon, Jin had tried to avoid thinking about it.
"Uh, didn't you have an online interview with a teacher when your enrollment was confirmed?"
"I didn't have an interview. I got into the school through a recommendation from someone I know, so they waived the interview."
"So, what about your Pokémon?"
"I already have a partner, so I don't need one from here."
(Plus, a Pokémon needs to match well with its trainer. Any Pokémon on my team has to enjoy battling. Most importantly, I want to choose my own Pokémon.)
This was the main reason Jin didn't want a Pokémon from the school. However, since Liko and Ann were going to receive their partner Pokémon the next day, he thought it wouldn't be appropriate to explain this to them, as it might cause unnecessary anxiety.
(Jin already has a Pokémon. Tomorrow... I'll have my own partner... I'm nervous.)
The entrance ceremony was tomorrow. Liko would receive her partner Pokémon then. She didn't yet know that this would mark the beginning of her enjoyable yet challenging journey as a Pokémon Trainer and student.
//END