Jazz Heartland sighed and looked around her bedroom. She couldn't decide what else she would need today. So far she had gathered her books, a notepad, a few Pokeballs, and a blank manuscript pad...

Today was the first day of Pokemon School for the semester. That would make this... her 19th semester of school. It wasn't as though she needed it, though. Very few students stayed in school this long. No, but Jazz needed to know everything known about Pokemon history. That was what she loved, see. That, and her three Pokemon Eevee, Growlithe, and Piplup.

Speaking of which...

"Piplup!" chirped the tiny Pokemon, hopping to her knee. In its paw was a little locket charm. "What's this, Piplup?" she asked, looking inside. Then she smiled.

This was a locket from two years ago, and included were five people: her, Tekno, Elie, Myra, and Skyler. Oh, Skyler... such a pity he'd left. Still, she had her closest friends, and that was what was important.

She shoved that in the bag and walked to the front porch, where her bike lay. After sending Piplup back to its Pokeball, she looked at Growlithe, who was still waiting alongside the fallen bicycle. "Okay, Growlithe, you can run."

And so the fire Pokemon ran next to her bike for two whole blocks. This was the manner in which she had reached school everymorning for over three years, and she loved every second of it.

"Ponyta, Flamethrower!!"

The fire pokemon let out a huge pillar of fire, causing the unlucky pokemon on the receiving end to faint. "Aha!" Eli cried, lifting both hands into the air. "I did it! I won the pokemon league challenge! I am the greatest pokemon master to ever live!"

knock, knock, knock...

"Huh? What's that?" Eli was puzzled, he saw no doors that could be knocked on. The knocking became a loud banging noise.

"Elijah Marshall, you better wake up RIGHT NOW! You're already late for school!" A voice came from no where.

"Mom?"

---

Elijah woke up. "A dream? Aww man.."

"Eli, if you don't get your butt to school, i'll take your pokemon for a week!"

Eli knew the threat was empty. Not even his mom could take his pokemon from him, he earned them himself. It wasn't like a car that his parents had paid for. Nevertheless, he got ready in a hurry, not wanting to anger her any more. After showering, eating breakfast, and brushing his teeth, Eli grabbed his backpack from his bed, and then snapped his poke-ball belt on. He walked out the door without saying anything to his parents, not wanting them to lecture him about being late again.

"Alright Ponyta, let's go!" He threw the poke-ball out, and out came Ponyta. "Neigh!" Eli patted Ponyta before jumping on. "Alright Ponyta, it's off to school for us!" Ponyta neighed again before taking off. "Wooooooo!" Elijah yelled as they took off. Ponyta was his favorite pokemon, and also the first one he caught. The two were extremely attatched. He could have used Abra to teleport straight there, but riding Ponyta was much more fun. The two reached the school in hardly any time at all.

"Good job ponyta." He said, hopping off and preparing to enter the building.

The Pokemon School in Violet was always a quaint little place, Tekno thought to himself. It always had a nice little charm to it...even after it had expanded. No matter how large it got, no matter how many students it would hold, the academy would still always have the same humble quality to it...to him.

This was a small mantra he had been reciting to himself a little earlier as he nearly punched the screen out at the computer he was working on. It was only the first day of school, yes, but 17-year old Tekno Lahjik was already in the classroom before the first period bell had even begun. He had wanted to get a jump start on the semester and had woken up especially early, showered, dressed, and got something simple to munch on before leaving his parents a note and slipping out the front door a little after dawn had broken out. Tekno, unusually for most children, actually liked school quite dearly and often looked forward to what the day held for education, and applying the knowledge he learned to his personal projects.

However, at the same time, school didn't really offer him much that he didn't already know--at least in terms of mathematics and general science. He already knew all of the simple basics, and quite a significant portion of a lot of advanced stuff. As such, he was in advanced classes, near college level and was actually already taking a couple of university-level courses as it was. His intelligence was such that he could have easily gone to--and probably aced--Pokemon Tech in Kanto...but he and his parents preferred a significantly more simple life in Johto, and Tekno was more respective of the laid-back environment the city offered him rather than the stressful one that PT was rumored to offer.

Although, as it was, it was nothing but stress that Tekno was currently experiencing at this moment. He was in the school's computer lab and, wanting to know what the curriculum had been planned for this semester--had hacked into the school's mainframe from the teacher's station to gather study guides, session outlines, and homework assignments for all of the core subjects--Math, Science, and History included--with the intention of reading ahead and getting them done weeks in advance. Unfortunately, in his enthusiasm to download the information, he had inadvertently deleted it and was in the process of attempting to recover it. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, the database decided to crash on him and Tekno was left with a downed system he was desperately trying to save.

The first day of school and even before it had officially begun, the young man was sweating bullets imagining him in a deep amount of trouble. What would the teachers say? What would the administration say? What would his parents say?? ...Hell, what would Jazz say if she learned of this?! Groaning and faceplaming, he knew his good friend would quite possibly be more than a little upset.

Now armed with a new resolve, the brunette redoubled his efforts to get the mainframe back online before the faculty and students proper arrived.

(Uh, just so everyone knows, I forgot to mention that Skyler is Jazz's twin brother. He left on a Pokemon journey a year ago and no one's heard from him since. Also, who exactly is Myra's best friend that she's staying with? I'm pretty sure it's Jazz, but I just wanted to make sure.)

Jazz chuckled quietly as she saw Elie galloping toward the school on his Ponyta. She'd thought that she'd been a sight with Growlithe running alongside her bicycle, but Elie took the cake. Hopefully, between the two of them, they hadn't scared away any of the kids that were eight or younger!

Speaking of young kids, the Rightly twins giggled adorably as they walked past the two much-older teenagers. At seven years old apiece, each had a young fire Pokemon to match their flaming hair. Kayla, who had slightly longer hair, had a Vulpix, and Jennifer, with the boycut, had a baby Cyndaquil. Since they lived in the house next to Jazz's, she babysat them sometimes, but her favorite was watching them 'train' their POkemon in the forest clearing just behind her house.

After they entered, Jazz greeted Elie, then entered to find her first class, which happened to be her least favorite class of all time: science. To her, it was a waste of time. She didn't care how Potions were constructed chemically, or why different Pokemon made different sounds. Only two things made that class bearable: first, since there were so few kids who still were in school at such a high level, she always ended up in the same class as Tekno, who could help her avoid flunking, and Elie, who enjoyed it as little as she did.

Second, and probably more important, she was extremely interested in Pokemon Professor Darwin's theory of selective reproduction. The guy had owned a ridiculous amount of Spearows, but for a specific reason. His idea was that Pokemon who had a choice would preferably mate with the strongest Pokemon, and so their young would be equally strong. But the most interesting part of this theory was on legendaries: that, not able to reproduce in the traditional sense, had created all other Pokemon, humans, and nature as a part of their souls.

Jazz sighed, thinking of history. It all really was just theorums, based off of cave art and ancient memories. Just a mystery.

The only mystery Jazz truly cared to understand.

Still, there was a long way to go before she could become the "Great Historian, Writer of the Ultimate Pokemon Epic". First, she had to survive science. So she sat in the nearest desk, Growlithe crooning on her knee, and waited for the others to arrive.

Racing against the clock, Tekno was finally able to at least get the general mainframe back online before anybody had actually arrived...and working as fast as he could, had been able to locate and install a backup module regarding the information about a lot of information he had already downloaded.

Unfortunately, as he quickly scanned the information to make sure that nothing was out of place, his face and spirits dropped as he realized that this had been an older update: most of the information was out-of-date and mainly pertained to last semester. Groaning, a brilliant idea struck him right before the bell rang. While he knew this would likely cause him to be late (and possibly earn him a detention), he quickly plugged his PDA back into the computer and re-copied all of the information he had originally scanned to replace the old backup copy. Once he was done, he deleted the old backup and made a second, more current and up-to-date copy of the information before unplugging his PDA, logging out, and shutting down the computer. From there, he made a mad scramble to the classroom hoping against hope he wouldn't arrive late...and that nobody would have found any evidence of his tampering with the system.

Jazz, who had been one of the first, had her pick out of all the seats in the science classroom. Not wanting to sit front and center, she took a seat close to the door, three desks back from the teacher's desk.

Slowly but surely, all the students in the class showed up, greeted her, and sat in a similar array. First the seats in the middle were taken, then the seats at the back, and, finally, the few kids who were later had to sit near the front. The desk in front of Jazz remained empty, as did a seat on the opposite end of the classroom, next to the annoying kid. But Jazz was looking around in confusion. Where were Tekno and Elie?

Finally, as the bell was ringing, Tekno skidded to a halt just inside the classroom door, looking panicked. A few kids laughed, but there was no real harm to his tardiness; the teacher wasn't there yet, either. But as he made his way to his chosen seat, she hissed at him, "Why are you late?"

Tekno scrambled to a stop as the bell rang, skidding partially to avoid sliding to the opposite end of the room and just barely coming to a halt past the entrance. Glancing around the room, eyes white, sweating bullets with slightly visible stains under his arms, he heaved a deep sigh of relief upon finding that the teacher was not yet there. His 500-yard dash hadn't been in vain.

Spotting Jazz, he gave her a weak smile and went slightly pink in his face. Ignoring the laughter from the other students, he sauntered over to plop himself down at the desk right in front of her, eager to be sitting close to his friend. However, he winced at her tone...and decided to forego the explanation for now. He didn't want her any madder at him than she already was.

"It's a long story," he mumbled, before noticing another member of their happy group was missing. "Where's Eli? I thought he would've been here by now."

Eli looked down at his watch. He was so caught up in his Ponyta that he missed the bell. "All that and we're going to be late anyways? I don't think so, Ponyta. Let's go!"

He jumped back on Ponyta, who lifted up onto its hind legs, neighing loudly. And just like that, Ponyta was kicking up dust, running faster than before. After going up the stairs leading to the door, Ponyta busted through the double doors. The hallways were empty, meaning he was clear to go. Ponyta took off again, hooves making a loud clapping noise which echoed through the school. He reached the other end of the building, where his science class was, in a matter of seconds. Was any of that necessary? Absolutely not. Eli enjoyed it though, and so did Ponyta.

"Alright Ponyta, funs over for now." He said, as he returned it to its poke-ball. He walked into the classroom casually. "Hey guys, what's up?" He smiled and waved, some of the kids staring at him like he was crazy. He walked over to Jazz and Tekno "Can you believe we're back here already? Break flew by so fast." He took the sit directly behind Jazz, one of the only ones left.

Eli looked down at his watch. He was so caught up in his Ponyta that he missed the bell. "All that and we're going to be late anyways? I don't think so, Ponyta. Let's go!"

He jumped back on Ponyta, who lifted up onto its hind legs, neighing loudly. And just like that, Ponyta was kicking up dust, running faster than before. After going up the stairs leading to the door, Ponyta busted through the double doors. The hallways were empty, meaning he was clear to go. Ponyta took off again, hooves making a loud clapping noise which echoed through the school. He reached the other end of the building, where his science class was, in a matter of seconds. Was any of that necessary? Absolutely not. Eli enjoyed it though, and so did Ponyta.

"Alright Ponyta, funs over for now." He said, as he returned it to its poke-ball. He walked into the classroom casually. "Hey guys, what's up?" He smiled and waved, some of the kids staring at him like he was crazy. He walked over to Jazz and Tekno "Can you believe we're back here already? Break flew by so fast." He took the sit directly behind Jazz, one of the only ones left.

Jazz looked up from her brief exchange with Tekno, who had chosen to sit in the seat in front of her, to see a scatterbrained Elie, galloping on Ponyta, burst through the doorway to the science classroom. "Hey guys, what's up?" he said, sauntering over to the seat behind Jazz, who couldn't help but smile. He was a bit of a spaz, but that didn't mean that it wasn't fun. "Can you believe we're back here already? Break flew by so fast."

At that moment, the teacher chose to walk in from her office, which was in a separate room behind the blackboard. "Good morning, class. I'm Mrs. Gillyworth, and as this town is much smaller than some others, I know most of you." She made eye contact with a few key faces. Some received a more warm expression, like Jazz, while Elie got more of a cold glare. "Today, we'll be looking at ecosystems. Now, who can tell me the type of relationship between..."

Two hours later, the class wearily walked out. Jazz, in particular, was bored out of her mind. That could have been a fairly interesting lesson, if the teacher had just stuck to pointing out how wild Pokemon in a community provide for each other almost as much as humans do. But all that nonsense about 'mutualistic relationships'... what a load of hogwash.

She turned to Tekno, who was walking near her toward their history class. "So where were you this morning? And don't tell me you were just running late. You're almost never late..."

Tekno took an active part in that morning's lesson, being the one to offer up answers. He wasn't surprised when Mrs. Gillyworth started asking other students as opposed to relying on him after about the third consecutive question he answered. He absorbed the lesson, taking to mind that most Pokemon and their trainers acted best when in synch. As a result, he considering releasing Vesuvius to hang out and participate in lessons with him...however the school had a standing rule that all Pokemon remain in their PokeBalls at all times.

Already, he had a notebook out and was scribbling as they walked, jotting down some ideas he had regarding problems he was experiencing with a personal project of his. Not looking at her or Eli, he spoke--his tone suggesting he was a bit distracted. "I was in the computer lab this morning. I got a little caught up with a bit of a early-morning work here before school started and lost track of time."

As they walked, something about Tekno's tone suggested that he was distracted. And surely enough, he was jotting notes into his spiral notebook. No doubt some new idea that he planned on selling to Devon Corporation or some place like that. He was always working on some sort of project of that nature.

She decided to drop the issue about where he'd been. Tekno had always been a good friend of hers, but, like every other person around, he required some "alone time". The only difference was, he needed a bit more alone time than some others. Like Elie.

Telling the boys, "I want to go talk to Mr. Ricardo for a sec," she ran ahead of the other students to get to their history classroom ahead of time. Mr. Ricardo was the history teacher, one of her favorite people outside her group of family and friends. "Hi, Mr. Ricardo!" she said, walking into the classroom.

He was sitting at his desk, reading over a stack of papers. Probably a report on the Ruins of Alph or something. "Oh, hi, Jazz, how was your summer? I got some new books that you might want to read." And sure enough, on the corner of his desk was a stack of hardcover novels. "I've finished with them, so you can go ahead and take them all." The books were entitled "The Importance of Geography", "A Philosophy on Origins", "Unveiling Legends", and "The Religions of the World".

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Ricardo!" Jazz exclaimed, looking at the four books in awe. The history teacher often let her borrow his latest books, as she was the best history student in the school. He smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Don't mention it. Oh, and by the way, your mother was at my potluck dinner the other night. Her cassarole is fabulous."

Jazz chuckled. It had actually been Myra's cassarole, made for the occaision, but she wasn't going to tell the teacher that. "I'll let her know," she remarked, sitting down as the rest of the class reached the doorway.

Tekno murmured a incomprehensible response, still scribbling away and not looking up.

This particular habit proved a bit painful for him as, not watching where he was going either, he subconsciously missed turning down the hall where he was supposed to turn and approached the staircase down towards a lower level where the gym was held at. A misstep caused Tekno to go falling forward, the notebook flying out of his hands with a yelp, and getting a face full of stairs a couple of times as he took a rather nasty tumble.

Mentally kicking himself for doing something so stupid, he dragged himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, leg, ankle, and chest. Heading over to pick up his notebook, he attempted to drag himself back up the stairs--intent on getting to his next class before he really was late this time, even though common sense told him to get his rear to the school nurse to be checked for any major damage.

"Right, see you!" Eli said as Jazz walked away. It was no secret she had a thing for history, and it was probably no secret that Eli dreaded the class as well, just not as much as science. The stuff really was interesting, but sitting, reading, hearing a lecture... it wasn't quite how Elijah Marshall wanted to learn it. Almost every class was the exact same way. Eli looked forward, seeing the exit. A voice in his head told him to skip the rest of the day, go find Myra. She didn't have to go to school... She was the lucky one.

Lost in his thought, Eli was unconsciously following Tekno, which probably wasn't the best idea. The guy could sure lose himself in his projects. It wasn't long before Tekno tumbled down the stairs. Eli winced, the fall looked painful. He hurried to help the guy up. "Come on, we should get to class before you have another accident."

When they reached the class, Eli took his usual seat by the window, which was also right beside Jazz's seat. It was probably the best thing about the class. Right next to a best friend, and a perfect view of the town.. particularly the Pokemon Center. Eli had beaten most trainers in the town, but a pokemon battle was exciting to watch, even if you weren't participating. It was like watching sports, except more exciting.

"Jazz, I'm tired of this place." He said, putting both arms behind his head and leaning his chair back, day-dreaming of what it would be like to finally leave on a journey of his own.

Jazz smiled at her friend, who was eager to escape school's dreary life. She understood; personally, if it hadn't been for her history class, she probably would have skipped out awhile ago too, perhaps to go to Ecruteak City; that was where all of Johto's history was, anyway.

And frankly, today's lesson wasn't worth the trouble. The rest of the class was not quite as advanced or interested in history as Jazz, to say the least. So the lesson was something basic about the founding of the Pokemon League in Hoenn. Boring. Jazz couldn't help but daydream about getting out, doing something she enjoyed...

Finally, the bell rang, and Jazz looked at her schedule. Lunch break, and then math class and gym... blech. She said to Elie and Tekno, "Do you guys want to get out of here for the day? I don't think I can put up with this today."

Tekno had accepted his friend's help to his feet, although he winced as he tried to stand, giving a light grunt of pain. "Thanks..."

Eli's words helped to give him a little bit of confidence that he could make it to class. He'd be fine, he figured, and he could have the nurse look at his bruises if he felt they were painful later on. He knew he'd probably be tender for a few days afterward, however, and he'd probably get a small earful from his mother about watching his step.

But then again, pain in general was nothing new. When one dealt with explosions in one's face on a disturbingly frequent basis, a fall down the stairs was an irritating--albeit still rather hurtful--annoyance. This time, paying attention to where he was going, he was able to get to class and practically collapsed in a chair behind Jazz, still wincing a little from the battering he took. Rubbing at his sore spots, he moved to pull out his history textbook--a subject that he found interesting, but only when it related to ancient science--and began to idly browse through it, only lifting his head when Eli spoke.

The lesson soon started after that, and to Tekno, was over just as quickly as it began. As Jazz turned to offer her question, Tekno's eyes went wide.

"Get out? You mean...leave?" Tekno was a bit taken aback, he had never deliberately skipped out on classes before, unless he felt really sick or it was some sort of family emergency. As his bruises throbbed a bit, though, he considered that it probably would do him a little good. Besides, his gut feeling told him that this was a rare opportunity , he should probably take it while he could. "...Sure. Why the hell not?"

*(Quick edit ftw!)*

So, with Tekno's support, Jazz turned to a passive Elie. "You can come, or stay here. Your choice." With Tekno following, she walked into the courtyard, where many of the students had already began to eat their lunches, and past it, towards a little cafe near Sprout Tower, a favorite place of the group's to eat. "Listen, you stay here and sit down and see if Elie's gonna follow, and I'll see if I can find Myra. I have a feeling I know where she would be..."

Walking toward the Pokemon Center, Jazz wasn't disappointed. There she was, using Vulpix to battle a much larger Pokemon. As usual. She watched the rest of the battle, which Myra won, then said, "Hey Myra, want to come eat with me and Tekno and possibly Elie? We're skipping out on classes the rest of the day."