It Begins! Enter Alex!

As a Pokémon trainer, I have travelled through the regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. As the Sinnoh League came to a close, so did my journey. Or so I thought. My name is Alexa, Alex for short, and I am about to embark on another one of life’s journeys. However, I had no idea that this one would change my life…forever…

“Capture on!”

FWING!

A small grey spinning top flew across the air and started to surround the unsuspecting Pikachu with a white line of sorts. Controlling the direction of the spinning top was a strange-looking green handheld control with an abnormally long antennae, which was in the hands of a young adult girl wearing a strange uniform of some kind; the uniform consisted of a green pseudo-cardigan, a navy blue shirt, a yellow tie, fingerless gloves, shorts (both the gloves and the shorts share the same shade of blue as the girl’s shirt) and brown boots, almost as tall as her knees. Whilst her right hand grasped the strange device, controlling the spinning top, she used her left hand to flick her golden blonde hair away from her shiny fuchsia eyes. Her pale lips appeared to be neutral, but, upon closer inspection, one could detect a faint smirk.

“Hiiiii-YAH!”

The girl spun her device in a clockwise circle – thus allowing the antennae to do so as well – to form a white ring. The ring circled around the Pikachu and shrunk around it. The ring soon completely disappeared, causing the Pikachu to briefly shine in the late ring’s white light.

“Capture complete!”

“Congratulations, you’ve passed the entrance exam with flying colours!” an official praised. The student girl relaxed and lightly exhaled.
“Thank you,” she answered. Her voice was soft and gentle, yet mature, with a hint of a proper British accent. “I’m finding myself rather overwhelmed at the moment.”
“That’s not surprising,” laughed a woman’s voice. A brunette woman dressed in a green coloured blouse with a white skirt covering her knees approached the new student. “Congratulations. As of now, you are my newest student. Welcome to the Ranger School.”
“Thank you very much, Ms April,” the girl modestly thanked. “I will do my very best during my time here.”
“Since you’re already a powerful Pokémon trainer,” the male official began. “Trying your very best is a given, right?”
“Yes, sir, Mr Kaplan,” the student sniggered.
“Now, if you will follow me, I will show you to your class,” Ms April said, starting to leave the room. The student girl followed on and kept up with the teacher nicely.
“Enjoy your school life!” Mr Kaplan shouted.

A little while later…

Ms April entered a spacious classroom. There were six desks, all lined up horizontally. There were five students occupying these desks, with the boys and the girls on opposite sides. To the west side were three girls; one is a black-haired girl who appeared to be somewhat quiet, the second is a brunette girl who was talking to the rather giggly blonde haired girl. To the east side were two boys; one was a plain red-head boy, who appeared to be talking to a crimson haired boy, whose hairstyle was somewhat striking; it was rather spiked with four strands of hair dropping down in front of the forehead, two on either side of his head. Ms April faced the other students with her back against the green blackboard.
“Sorry to keep you all waiting, class. Today, we have a new student with us,” she declared.
“A new student? I wonder what they’re like,” the brunette boy asked. The crimson haired boy squinted at him.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Is it a boy? Or is it a girl?” the black haired girl asked.
“Is the student cute? Cool, maybe?” the brunette girl asked. She then gasped with excitement. “Maybe they’re like a celebrity!”
“That would be so cool!” the blonde girl squealed.
“Alright, settle down, everyone,” Ms April interrupted. “You can all see the new student for yourselves. Come on in!” she shouted.
The other five students looked back as the class door opened. The new student casually walked into the room.
“Gosh, isn’t she even slightly nervous?” the blonde haired girl whispered to her neighbour.
“I’ve faced larger crowds,” the new student replied as she walked passed the whispering girl. The abrupt answer startled the girl. Her neighbour sniggered. The new student stood next to Ms April.
“Our new friend came to our humble Almia region to become a Pokémon Ranger,” Ms April began. “Why don’t you introduce yourself to your fellow students?” she asked the new girl.
“With pleasure,” she complied. The faced the rest of the class; the expression on her face hadn’t changed since she completed her Pikachu capture. “My name is Alexa, but most people just call me Alex for short. It’s very nice to meet you all.”
“My, what courtesy,” the crimson haired boy sniggered. Ms April got frustrated, but Alex took a casual approach.
“Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from it,” she teased sarcastically. The girls sniggered while the crimson haired boy was left speechless; he hadn't expected such a comeback.
“Um, Alexa? C-can I ask you something please?” the blonde haired girl asked nervously. Alex faced her.
“You technically have done already, but go ahead,” she permitted. The brunette haired boy hid his laughter.
“Um, you said you’ve faced larger crowds not too long ago,” the blonde girl continued. “W-what did you mean by that?” she asked. Alex folded her arms and raised her head up slightly, as if in thought.
“A crowd of five? That’s nothing. A crowd of thousands? That’s something,” she replied.
“No way! You’ve never faced a crowd of thousands!” the crimson haired boy said in disbelief.
“Keith, can you not interrupt?” Ms April asked sternly. Alex faced the boy Ms April addressed as Keith.
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever partaken in an official Pokémon League yourself then?” Alex asked.
“Of course not, I’m not a Pokémon trainer,” Keith answered. Alex smiled, which confused the boy.
“Can you put two and two together?” she asked. “If you can, then the right answer should be as follows; I myself am a Pokémon trainer.”
“Really?” Keith asked in astonishment.
“Indeed. I would talk about my experiences, but I wouldn’t want to digress. Not at this point in time anyway. Isn’t that right, Ms April?” Alex asked towards her teacher.
“Huh? Um, y-yes, that’s right. Um, you can have a seat now, Alexa,” Ms April said, somewhat tensely. “Is it alright for you to sit next to Keith?”
“Perfectly,” Alex replied, making her way to the empty seat. “Personally, I think he’s fun to talk to,” she added, finally taking her seat next to Keith. Unbeknownst to Alex, Keith was looking at her with shock.
“Okay, class, it is now time to treat you all like students, people a teacher can take pride in.”
“As can the principal,” Alex whispered quietly to herself, with a small grin on her face.
“And let’s not fail at achieving your dreams of becoming Rangers, Operators and Mechanics,” Ms April added.
“YEAH!!” the class rejoiced.
“Be the best you can be!” Alex shouted happily.
“That’s the spirit, Alexa! Alright, I will change the class specifically for today; this will be a free-study class.” Ms April faced the blonde haired girl. “Rhythmi, can you take Alexa for a tour of the school please?”
“Oh! Yes, definitely!” Rhythmi complied with excitement.
“Thank you. I’ll be in the staff room, so I shall leave you to it.” Ms April then made her way out of the room. Once she left the room, everyone left their seats and they gathered around Alex.

“Wow, you’re a real life Pokémon trainer?” the brunette girl asked. “This is so exciting!”
“It’s nothing really; I come from a family of Pokémon trainers,” Alex answered casually.
“So cool!” the brunette boy exclaimed.
“Um, Alexa? No offence, but you look awfully familiar,” the black haired girl began. “I know we haven’t met, but that’s the feeling I get…”
“I get that a fair bit,” Alexa shrugged.
“You know something, Alexa? You’re weird,” Keith commented. Alex squinted at him.
“And you’re fun,” she countered.
“Oh, Keith’s just a show off, you’re better off ignoring him,” Rhythmi sighed.
“Aw, ignore Keith? That’s not very nice,” Alex teased. “Especially when he made my day more interesting.”
“Uh…!” Keith was lost for words; Alex was not someone to be underestimated.
“Anyway, I should take you for the tour now, Alexa,” Rhythmi advised, changing the subject.
“Guys, please, enough of this Alexa stuff!” Alex laughed. “Just call me Alex! Huh; I wonder how many times I’ll say that. Anyway, where do you want the tour to start?”
“Oh, well, um…you’ve already met our teacher, Ms April…and there’s the class next door; Mr Kincaid teaches there. He’s very uptight and strict. ‘No running in the hallways’ must be his pet saying or something.”
“Then that makes running in the hallways his pet peeve,” Alex said sarcastically. Keith laughed.
“Something like that!” he replied.
“Okay, Alex, let’s explore the rest of the school building!” Rhythmi said with enthusiasm.
“Okie dokie. I’m interested to see what this school has to offer,” Alex agreed. She and Rhythmi exited the classroom.
“So, Keith, what do you think of the new girl?” the brunette boy asked. “I think she’s funny.”
“W-well…um…I haven’t met anyone like her, so I don’t know what to think,” Keith admitted.
“She’s the first to leave you speechless, huh?” the black haired girl asked playfully.
“I think she’s amazing!” the brunette girl exclaimed.

“So, Rhythmi, this leads to Mr Kincaid’s class?” Alex asked, standing outside a different door.
“Yep, that’s right,” Rhythmi confirmed. “Let’s go in!”
“Wait, are you sure we should? I don’t fancy disturbing him,” Alex advised.
“I do,” Rhythmi said simply, opening the door. She and Alex entered the room and found five students along with Mr Kincaid; the teacher was dressed in a yellow shirt with a red body warmer and black trousers. He also had long blonde hair styled in a single curve facing the right hand side (from Kincaid’s perspective).
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr Kincaid, I’m taking our new classmate a tour of the school,” Rhythmi explained.
“So I see,” Mr Kincaid commented. “And is the new student enjoying her time here?”
“W-well, I’ve only been here for a couple of hours, but so far so good, yes, sir,” Alex answered.
“I admire your modesty,” Mr Kincaid complimented.
“Thank you, sir.” Alex took a hold of Rhythmi’s wrist. “Come on, Rhythmi, let’s not waste any more of his time.” She then took Rhythmi out of the room.

“Alex, what’s the matter?” Rhythmi asked.
“Honestly? I do not like that man,” Alex admitted. “For some reason, I’ve got this feeling that I shouldn’t trust the guy.”
“Really? I know he’s uptight and strict and everything, but why do you think you shouldn’t trust him?” Rhythmi asked.
“I don’t know…I just have a certain vibe around him,” Alex answered. ‘An all too familiar vibe at that,’ she thought to herself.
“Anyway, shall we tour some more?” Rhythmi asked.
“Well I won’t let a hunch stop me from familiarising myself with my new environment,” Alex replied.
“Okay, next we’ll look at the library!” Rhythmi stated.
“Maybe some other time; I know what a library is,” Alex sighed. “And the staff room. And the dorm rooms. What’s the basement?”
“Off limits, for one thing,” Rhythmi began. “Mr Kincaid’s lab is down there, but we’re not allowed down there without permission.”
“Why would a teacher have a lab? I could understand it if Mr Kincaid was a science teacher, but, come on; this is Ranger School. What could Mr Kincaid possibly do with a laboratory?” Alex asked; her tone of voice clearly revealed suspicion about the basic fact she asked about.
“I don’t know, I’ve never been down there,” Rhythmi answered plainly. “Anyway, let’s go outside now.” Rhythmi and Alex then left the school building.

Outside, the two girls were en route to the large shed that stood over on the right hand side of the courtyard.
“So, Alex, do you know about Pokémon captures and target clears?” Rhythmi asked. “Because Mr Kaplan and--”
“No, Rhythmi, I know everything I need to know about the captures,” Alex declined abruptly. “And I know the mechanics behind target clear; I did a study session on my way here, so it’s all good, really.”
“Aaaagh!!” a feminine scream interrupted the conversation. A lady dressed in brown was surrounded by a pack of nine Bidoof. The Bidoof then scattered across the schoolyard.
“Janice needs help with those Bidoof!” she exclaimed. “You have to catch them all!”
“Hey, Alex, why don’t we turn this into a race?” Keith asked, having exited the school building in time to witness the dilemma. “Whoever can capture the most Bidoof is the winner! Ready, set, go!” he raced into action with his weird remote.
“Oh, that Keith…! Alex, please, use your styler to capture the Bidoof!” Rhythmi pleaded.
“I’m on it,” Alex sighed, readying her own styler. She raced across the schoolyard.

A little while later…

Alex and Keith successfully captured all nine Bidoof. Keith caught five, and Alex caught four.
“Okay, that’s all of them. I caught five, which means Alex caught…” Keith trailed off to count Alex’s caught Bidoof. “Four. I win!” he exclaimed. Unbeknownst to Keith, Rhythmi and Janice, Alex walked away.
“Thank you so much for bringing them all together for me,” Janice thanked. “Now I must set things right with the Bidoof. See you later on.” She and the Bidoof then left.
“Alright, I’m glad we got that sorted out! Right, Alex?” Keith asked. He and Rhythmi found that Alex had left them. She was not too far away, however; she appeared to be on the phone, but she soon put the phone down, meaning that she has just ended a phone call.
“Sorry about that, guys,” Alex apologised, turning around to face her friends. “My dad wanted to know where he put his favourite cufflinks.”
“I see…anyway, Alex, there’s another place I want to show you down at the bottom of the school,” Rhythmi added.
“You mean Ascension Square?” Keith asked. “I’ll go with you.”
“Oh, alright then…! Come on, Alex, let’s get going; to Ascension Square!” Rhythmi said enthusiastically. She and Keith then raced off in a southeast direction. Alex sighed, but followed her friends regardless.
Once she caught up with Keith and Rhythmi, she found a large stone monument in front of her.
“This is called the Pledge Stone,” Rhythmi began. “Principal Lamont says if you make a strong pledge in front of this stone, it’ll be sure to come true.”
“Then let’s make one then!” Keith exclaimed. “But…what should we make a pledge about?”
“Why don’t we each make our own pledges?” Alex suggested. “I’m sure it’ll be easier for the powers-that-be to make individual pledges come true rather than a group one,” she explained playfully.
“Great idea, Alex!” Rhythmi agreed. “Okay, um…I’ll pledge that I’ll succeed at being an Operator!”
“And I’ll pledge that I’ll be the best Pokémon Ranger I can be!” Keith vowed. “What’s your pledge, Alex?”
“Hmm…” Alex is in thought, attempting to come up with a good answer to Keith’s question. “I think I’ll make a pledge I should have made a long time ago,” she answered finally.
“Oh? And what might that be?” Rhythmi asked with curiosity.
“Actually, pledge isn’t the right word,” Alex corrected herself. “I’ll call this a promise.” She looked over at the large circular statue. “I promise that I will protect my friends if and whenever they’re in harm’s way. I don’t care who it is that tries to do them harm, nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it.”
“Wow. That’s deep,” Keith said quietly. Alex held out her right hand in front of her; this action confused Keith and Rhythmi.
“I think it’s a nice touch if we seal the deal, don’t you?” she asked. Keith held out his right hand and carefully placed it on top of Alex’s hand.
“You’ve got that right!” he agreed. “There’s no way I’m forgetting my pledge! Or your promise, Alex.” Rhythmi placed her right hand on top of Keith’s.
“Neither will I!” she corroborated. “Our promises all have their own meanings, so they will all come true.”
“Right!” Keith and Alex concurred in unison. The two then faced each other with confusion, having just realised they spoke in unison. They both blushed with embarrassment.

DING! DING! DING!

“Oh, that’s the school bell!” Rhythmi exclaimed. “Come on, let’s get back to school!” she raced off towards the stairs leading out of the square. Keith and Alex faced each other again.
“Alex?”
“Yeah, Keith?”
“About that promise you made. Do you really mean it?”
“Friendship is very dear to me. So, yes, I do.”
“Come on, you two!” Rhythmi cried. “Let’s go!!” Alex and Keith retracted their arms quickly and they followed Rhythmi; they were still blushing, but neither one of them noticed.

That night…

In a pink decorated room that consisted of several bunk beds, Alex lay peacefully on her bed on the lower bunk.
“So, Alex, how’re you enjoying this place so far?” Rhythmi asked. Alex turned her head to face Rhythmi.
“It’s a lot different to what I’m used to,” she began. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like a change of pace. Besides, being a Pokémon League Champion or a Battle Frontier Brain really isn’t my idea of a good profession; battling all the time gets kinda…humdrum if you battle too often.”
“Well I’m glad you like this place,” Rhythmi stated. “Say, let’s sneak out for a bit,” she suggested, leaving the room. Alex sighed as she climbed out of bed.
“Where the hell did that come from?” she asked herself. When she exited the room, she found Rhythmi, Keith and a few other students gathered around a table. “Okay, can this get any weirder?” she sighed.
“Okay, everyone’s accounted for,” Rhythmi began. “It’s time for Alex’s initiation to welcome her to the school.”
“Keep it down, but yay,” the other students rejoiced quietly. Rhythmi’s words startled Alex.
‘Initiation?!’ she sighed quietly to herself. ‘Well, that answers my first question…’
“Okay, the rules are simple; four of us have hidden our stylers in four locations around the school,” Rhythmi began. “They are Ms April’s classroom, Mr Kincaid’s classroom, the library and the staff room. Alex, you need to find the stylers and put them outside the door in the basement.”
“Rhythmi, you must be off your rocker if you think I’m going down there at this time of night,” Alex said, sounding fairly annoyed.
“Don’t worry, Alex, the student next to the initiate has to go with you,” Rhythmi cheerfully reassured.
‘That wasn’t entirely what I meant,’ Alex thought to herself. ‘Ah well; no bailing out of this then.’
“Damn; you mean me,” Keith sighed. “Okay, Alex, let’s get this over with,” he said unenthusiastically. He and Alex left the dormitory.

When Alex and Keith got downstairs, they found the ground floor deserted. The two of them looked around carefully.
“The school’s creepy at night…don’t you think?” Keith asked. Alex took a second look around before she shrugged.
“It’s not exactly Lavender Tower, is it? But I have to admit the atmosphere is somewhat ominous in its own way,” she replied quietly.
“What’s Lavender Tower?” Keith asked.
“It’s in Lavender Town in Kanto,” Alex started. “It’s basically a Pokémon graveyard in tower form.”
“G-g-graveyard!?” Keith stuttered with fright. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, let’s get this over with.”
“Okay, we’ll start with the one in the library; it’s the one closest to me,” Alex suggested as she made her way to her right hand side. Keith followed closely.

Several minutes later…

Alex and Keith exited Mr Kincaid’s classroom; Alex was holding four stylers in her arms.
“Okay, this initiation thing is just too easy,” Alex muttered.
“I know; where’re the Pokémon to make it harder?” Keith pondered.
“They’re diurnal,” Alex answered. “They don’t come out at night, in other words.”
“Oh, okay. Let’s just take the stylers to the basement and get this over with,” Keith said impatiently.
“The less said about this the better,” Alex agreed. She and Keith made their way down towards the basement.

Down in the dark narrow basement, Alex and Keith, taking caution in their stride, slowly made their way to the door at the end of the corridor. Alex placed the four stylers on the ground next to the door rather than in front of it; she wouldn’t want them to be damaged should the door be opened.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah…!” a haunting moan broke the silent atmosphere and came close to intimidating Keith.
“Wh-what was that?!” he asked quietly. His question was soon answered; four Gastly materialised from thin air in front of him and Alex.
“Whaaa!” Keith yelled. Alex readied her styler.
“Capture on!” she said quietly as she released the spinning top from her styler. The top circled the four ghost Pokémon and with one rotation of the styler, the Gastly were captured. Alex then released the four Pokémon and they disappeared.
“Oh, whew…they were just Gastly,” Keith sighed with relief. “Nice capture, Alex.” The door suddenly opened.
“WHO’S THERE?!” Mr Kincaid yelled furiously. Alex and Keith both let off a startled scream upon the angry teacher’s entrance. “The basement is off limits to everyone but myself!”
“Run for it!!” Keith took a firm grip on Alex’s wrist and he ran away, pulling Alex with him.
“Is everything alright, sir?” asked a young male voice from inside the room. Mr Kincaid squints back.
“It’s nothing; just a couple of Zubats causing trouble in the hallway,” he answered calmly.

Alex and Keith raced up the stairs and stopped when they arrived at the ground floor. They panted to catch their breath, but soon stopped to face one another. At first, they were somewhat startled. Before too long, they started smiling and attempted to contain their laughter. However, they failed to do so, as they both laughed out loud.

To be continued…