Arrival

"Finally, Rustboro Academy."

The European-style academy before him was even more breathtaking than it had looked in the invitation's picture.

Following the directions Professor Birch had just given him, Roy made his way to Rustboro Academy.

Unlike in the games, Rustboro Academy was located on the outskirts of Rustboro City. He had originally wanted to take a stroll around Rustboro City first, but decided against it.

Just as Roy was wondering whether he should go straight in or go straight in,

he noticed a fair-skinned woman pacing anxiously back and forth outside the school gates, as though something had her terribly worried.

The woman wore Rustboro Academy's teaching uniform on her upper body and had her hair tied in a high ponytail, which did nothing to conceal her mature aura.

Damn, those had to be Ds. They had to be!

Roy: Ma'am, please go out with me.

This female teacher should be one of Rustboro Academy's instructors.

Roy politely stepped forward and greeted her.

"Hello, may I ask where students are supposed to register?"

Roy's sudden question instantly broke the woman out of her thoughts. Looking at the sunny-looking boy before her, she thought that if only he were her student, she would not have had to worry herself sick at the school gate.

"Which class are you in?"

"I think the junior class at Rustboro Academy."

Roy took out his admission invitation and handed it to the woman. After confirming that it was indeed Rustboro Academy's admission invitation, she looked at the name below and pointed toward the left side of the academy.

"Roy, after entering the academy, turn right first and head to the largest teaching building..."

The woman stopped halfway through her sentence. The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. Wasn't Class One the class she was temporarily teaching?

And wasn't she waiting for a student named Roy? In other words, was this boy the student she had been waiting for?

"Are you Roy?"

Roy looked at the woman in confusion.

Who else would I be?

Wasn't his name written at the bottom of the invitation? Besides, she had just called him by name.

Lina realized that she had asked a stupid question. Mainly because the Roy before her was far too different from the Roy she had imagined.

She had previously met several trainers of Ghost-type Pokémon. Most of them gave off a half-dead, gloomy, unsettling feeling.

But the Roy before her was clearly different. At a glance, he was a sunny, cheerful young man. Even his smile seemed filled with sunshine, soothing to the heart.

When she had first heard that a student with Ghost-type Pokémon would be joining the class under her care, she had been a hundred thousand times unwilling.

Unfortunately, her objections had been useless. The academy board had forcibly placed Roy in her class, leaving her no choice but to accept it.

"Sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'll be your class teacher from now on. My name is Lina. Just call me Teacher Lina."

Lina had the air of a newlywed young wife, with fair, glowing skin and a face like peach blossoms.

So this woman was going to be his teacher.

"Teacher, I'm Roy from Mt. Pyre. Please take care of me from now on."

As the school's first trainer of Ghost-type Pokémon, and since she would be his teacher for the coming years, Roy formally greeted her with great politeness.

Lina was still observing this sunny Roy when she finally asked the question she herself was not entirely sure about:

"Are you really a Ghost-type Pokémon trainer?"

Roy shrugged, and a tiny flame poked out from Litwick on his shoulder.

All right, he really was.

Lina's initial worries vanished in an instant. Judging from his appearance and behavior so far, Roy was no different from an ordinary person. She only hoped he did not have any other strange hobbies.

Once the worries in her heart had faded, Lina began showing Roy around the academy. The academy had several major areas: the teaching district, battle plaza, dormitory district, breeding laboratory district, and medical building.

They were mainly intended to accommodate Pokémon-related professions such as trainers, breeders, coordinators, rangers, and researchers.

As for sommeliers... Lina said, weren't those people responsible for mixing drinks in bars?

All right, it seemed that profession did not exist yet.

The towering cluster of buildings before him dazzled Roy. He did not know where to look. It felt far larger than the university from his previous life, probably ten times as large.

Especially the open-air battle arena at the center of the academy. It was the size of two football fields and could host all sorts of activities, including battles and training.

It had even hosted quite a few small and medium-sized tournaments the year before last.

As Lina showed Roy around the campus, she explained the academy's rules and some of its assessments.

Rustboro Academy had three levels of classes corresponding to a three-year program: junior, intermediate, and advanced classes. It used a selective promotion system.

If, by the time you graduated from the junior class after one year, your Pokémon had not reached level 30 and you had not earned a Junior Trainer Qualification Certificate or a Breeder Certificate,

then sorry, you might not be suited to work in a Pokémon-related profession. The only path awaiting you would be expulsion.

Once students reached the intermediate classes, they would be divided according to profession into breeder classes, trainer classes, and researcher classes.

Rustboro Academy's junior classes only had three lessons in the morning. In the afternoon, students were free to pursue anything they were interested in.

The academy offered all kinds of interest classes, such as Pokémon care, breeding, battling, and coordination classes, along with a wide variety of clubs.

Since Roy's highest-level Pokémon was only level 28, he was enrolled in Rustboro Academy's junior class.

After graduating from Rustboro Academy's advanced class, students would have the right to directly participate in official Pokémon League competitions at every level, without needing to challenge Gyms in different regions to earn badges.

Roy felt no pressure at all. His Litwick was already level 28 and only needed two more levels to reach level 30. Duskull was the same, and he also had his cheat, though he had no idea what the shop would sell him.

During this time, Roy also met the academy's academic affairs director, a greasy fat man with a Mediterranean haircut. Mediterranean Director did not look pleased by Roy's arrival.

Yet he seemed wary of something as well and did not dare scold Roy. He merely warned Roy to keep a close watch on his Pokémon.

He disliked Ghost-type Pokémon deep down. If that person had not made the request, he would never have allowed an unstable factor like Roy into Rustboro Academy, even if it killed him.

Roy seemed to sense something and turned to look outside the academic affairs office window. A figure had been peering through the window and had not expected Roy to suddenly turn around.

The person was so frightened that they fell to the floor with a loud bang. Without even bothering to cry out in pain, they hurried away.

Inside the academic affairs office, Mediterranean Director seemed to recognize the figure at a glance. He said nothing and simply had Lina take Roy away.