Johan had thought running into Shelly would be the only surprise of the day, but that notion was quickly proven wrong.
"Good morning, Professor Johan."
When he arrived outside the classroom, he was greeted by Steven, Roxanne, and another red-haired girl, all standing there with books in hand, waiting for him.
"You guys?" Johan asked, a bit taken aback.
As far as he could recall, neither Steven nor Roxanne had enrolled in his "Pokémon Psychology" elective.
"Professor, we realized that we don't know enough about our Pokémon, so we added your elective," Steven explained with a smile.
Added? Johan raised an eyebrow, looking at them.
Did Rustboro Pokémon Academy even allow students to "add" electives after registration? He shook his head—clearly, the world of the rich was beyond his understanding. His eyes then settled on the tall, red-haired girl with a bright smile and athletic figure.
"And you are?" he asked.
"Hello, Professor Johan, I'm Flannery, from Lavaridge Town," she introduced herself with a sunny smile before Roxanne could.
Flannery from Lavaridge Town…
Wasn't she the future Gym Leader of Lavaridge? The fiery redhead known for her passionate nature? Yet another person with a significant background.
If Johan remembered correctly, Flannery's grandfather was one of Hoenn's former Elite Four members!
"Nice to meet you," Johan replied with a polite nod, but inwardly, he couldn't help but groan.
One future Champion, currently the heir to Devon Corporation. One future Gym Leader from Hoenn's biggest city. And one former Elite Four's granddaughter, also a future Gym Leader. What a 'completely ordinary' elective this is turning out to be…
The group didn't linger long outside the classroom. After a quick exchange of pleasantries, they filed in just as the bell signaling the start of class rang.
Standing at the podium, Johan surveyed the classroom.
Aside from the unexpected presence of Steven, Roxanne, and Flannery, everything seemed relatively "normal."
Though the classroom wasn't very large, it could seat 40 to 50 students. Even with the addition of the three newcomers, barely half the seats were filled.
In fact, besides Steven, Roxanne, and Flannery, the majority of the students sat in the back, leaving the middle of the room awkwardly empty, as if a metaphorical "gulf" divided the classroom.
For most students, "Pokémon Psychology" was simply an easy elective—a niche subject where getting credits wasn't too challenging. As long as they attended and didn't cut class, their grades would benefit from participation marks, making it easier to pass.
In reality, past "Pokémon Psychology" courses had been treated as such. The academy didn't place much emphasis on the subject, leaving most decisions to the individual instructor.
This was partly why Johan, despite being from Hoenn, had chosen to attend Silversoul University in Johto.
He began the class with a brief introduction, picking up the textbook to start his lesson in a standard, step-by-step manner.
Although the course was called "Pokémon Psychology," at its core, it was still psychology—a subject dense with theory and rote memorization. The material could get incredibly dull, so much so that even the students seated in the front, like Steven, Roxanne, and Flannery, began to furrow their brows after just a short while.
Especially Flannery, the normally fiery and energetic girl, was stifling yawns, her earlier enthusiasm nowhere to be found.
To be honest, Johan had suffered through the same dry, repetitive material during his own studies. Memorizing every single theory word-for-word was merely the key to unlocking the door of psychology. Without thoroughly understanding the content, it was as good as learning nothing at all.
But, being the first class of the semester, the students were still relatively disciplined. No one openly dozed off at their desks just yet.
For the few students who were clearly struggling to stay awake, with their eyelids drooping, Johan decided to "help" them out.
Suddenly, a tall, lanky boy sitting in the far corner of the room shot to his feet.
His forehead glistened with sweat, and his pupils were dilated as he panted heavily, as if he had just woken from a nightmare.
"Is there something you'd like to ask?" Johan asked with a calm smile, showing no surprise at the boy's reaction.
"N-no, sorry, Professor," the boy stammered, hastily sitting back down and wiping the sweat from his brow.
His reaction drew curious looks from the nearby students, who whispered among themselves. After some low murmurs, it was revealed that the boy had nearly fallen asleep, only to have a terrifyingly vivid nightmare the moment his eyes closed, jolting him awake.
This didn't happen just to that boy—it affected two other students as well.
So, unexpectedly, Johan's first Pokémon Psychology lecture went remarkably smoothly. No one dared fall asleep, which, for a psychology professor, was already a success.
When the bell rang to mark the end of class, Johan snapped his book shut, announced, "Class dismissed," and promptly walked out of the room without a backward glance.
Punctual to the second.
As for staying afterward to answer questions?
Not a chance.
This was university—if students wanted to learn, they needed to take the initiative. Knowledge wouldn't just walk into their heads on its own.
For most of the students, this was a huge relief. But for Steven and Roxanne, who had actually taken an interest in the subject, was this really all there was to Pokémon Psychology?
Flannery let out a long yawn, wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes as she complained, "Roxanne, this is the 'amazing' professor you mentioned? Honestly, he seems just like every other teacher—no, worse! He's even better at putting me to sleep!"
Roxanne closed her notebook and pursed her lips. "You're only seeing the surface."
Steven nodded in agreement.
"Didn't you notice? Despite how sleepy you felt, not a single person actually fell asleep in class," he pointed out.
Back in the consultation room, Johan closed the door behind him and let out a long yawn.
He couldn't really blame the students—even as the one teaching the dry, tedious theory, he'd been fighting the urge to doze off himself.
He decided to make himself a cup of coffee.
"Ka-kah~~"
As the grinding of coffee beans filled the room, Gastly floated out from Johan's clothes, its face twisted into a mischievous grin.
Need some help waking up?
Johan glanced at it, unimpressed. "You mean with your Hypnosis? You sure that'll wake me up?"
"Ka-kah!"
Gastly's face turned pale as it remembered the first time it had used Hypnosis on Johan… and the terrifying figure it had encountered in his dreams.
It quickly shook its head, laughing sheepishly.
Johan chuckled to himself but couldn't help sighing inwardly.
It had only been a few days, yet the energy cubes he had bought for Gastly were almost gone, and on top of that, there was the gas bill…
It was all adding up, and his funds were running low.
With his current salary, it was already becoming difficult to keep up with the costs of raising even just one Gastly.
He was seriously considering opening his own psychology clinic outside the school.
After all, it wasn't unusual for academy professors to have side businesses. Take Professor Cozmo, for example—despite his constantly frazzled, disheveled appearance, he actually owned a company!
However, setting up a clinic in a city like Rustboro wasn't easy. Finding clients was one thing, but just renting a space would cost a fortune, which gave Johan second thoughts.
Knock knock—
A staff member from the administration office entered suddenly, placed a piece of paper on Johan's desk, and left without a word.
"Professor Johan, here's this semester's teaching schedule."
"Ka-kah—"
Gastly immediately floated over with the paper, handing it to Johan.
Taking a sip of his hot coffee, Johan scanned the paper quickly.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
He was about to set it aside when something caught his eye.
Huh?
An autumn field trip?
The destination was… Mt. Chimney and the hot springs at Lavaridge Town?
And it was co-ed?