XYLOPHONE

→ on a boat

"The wind in my hair and the sun in my face... Did I remember to put on sunscreen?"

Xylo stood on the deck, leaning out over the fence with a pleased look on his face. He thought she could spot some pokémon down there in the water. Soon they would be his to catch! Then again, he already had good pokémon. Would he need any more? He turned around to look towards the center of the deck. Monk the Magby lay on a sunlounger, borrowing Xylo's sunglasses and seemed to be very content with his life at the moment. That was until he suddenly jumped up with a little scream.

He threw off the sunglasses and saw Duke the Elekid standing by his feet giggling. He had used a Thundershock on Monk to scare him. Duke laughed out loud now while Magby steamed. The next moment, the two pokémon were in a dogfight in the middle of the deck.

"HEY! What's going on here? Break it up!" a sailor came running. "No fighting on board!"

Xylo sighed. This happened almost every day. Walking up to the pile of moving limbs that was his pokémon, his experienced hands reached in and grabbed one ear (or something resembling an ear) of both the pokémon. The fighting immediately ceased.

"Sorry sailor!" he said with a happy and cute smile towards the man. He melted down before the angel like boy and hastily said that it was no trouble at all but that he maybe should keep a better eye on them.

"You guys," he said when the sailor had left and people had stopped looking at them, and released their ears (or that something resembling an ear). "Save that for our opponents on the island, will you?"

Duke nodded eagerly with a wide smile and Monk crossed his arms with an untrusting look at his partner, but nodded as well. Then another creature suddenly dropped down onto Xylo's head. It had been hovering above.

"Free!" the Butterfree called Princess said, jumping up and down and tugging on her trainer's hair. Luckily, he wasn't very sensitive there.

Xylo's attention was drawn to the horizon by Princess urging jumps. "Ah, Oak island!" They quickly came closer and Xylo's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Oh, there's probably many strong trainers there, but we'll manage just fine, right? I'll have to start battling right away so that people see that I can do it! But that might make me look like a showoff... Maybe I should just keep my pokémon out of the pokéballs so that people understand that I'm a trainer! But then again, most people are trainers there in some way... And what pokémon would I keep out? Duke? Or Monk? Princess would be cute... but that might make me look too cute-"

The sound of a horn blowing on the boat stopped his frantic thoughts. They had arrived. Returning Duke and Monk to their pokéballs and stepping onto the island, there were some teachers there to welcome him and the other trainers who were on the same boat as he was. Xylo hadn't greeted any of the other trainers yet. Some looked as nervous as he felt, but most of them looked creepily cool and calm. What was that about? He frowned but quickly changed into his cute appearance when he walked past the teachers.

"New Raikou Dorm students, here!" a voice called out and Xylophone saw the young trainers flock around three different people with three different standards. Each bore a special color and a special legendary pokémon. And there was his: Raikou. He walked up to it but couldn't help seeing some of the blue students smile naughtily at him. He only put up a nonchalant look and walked right past them.

At the yellow group, he realized why they all looked so yellow. They all wore the same yellow jacket. One was handed to him as well, much to his displeasure.

"Do we... have to wear these?" he said.

"Of course!" a girl beside him said. Her hair was red and she wore round, thin glasses and kept her hair in two pigtails. Under the horribly yellow jacket, she seemed to be wearing a light, peach colored top and beige shorts as well as a pair of sneakers.

"They look horrible," Xylo said truthfully and pouted.

"No can do. You're a Raikou now! Me too! I'm Arizona! Nice to meet you!"

Xylo raised a skeptical eyebrow at the hyperactive girl and then looked down at his own spotless appearance. Today he was wearing black pants and a black shirt, and on top of that a white vest and a white bow tie. He looked marvelous, to say the least. With this jacket... it would all be ruined.

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Oh, better not challenge destiny, Gary Oak could punish you himself!" Arizona said solemnly.

"Right," Xylo sighed and put it on. So begins his career as an Academy student. Why couldn't he have gotten a blue jacket instead, or even a red one...



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XYLOPHONE

→ raikou dorms

The house with the dorms looked elegant enough, but when Xylo entered his dorm room, he was a bit disappointed. It was ok, but his own fine home was much more stylish and better taken care of than this was. Were students meant to clean after themselves? Ugh... He unpacked his stuff and took off the yellow jacket. He didn't want to wear it more often than necessary.

"It's awesome! I love this!" he could hear Arizona shout from her own room down the hall. She sure was energetic. Xylo found that annoying. He wanted to be energetic too! No wait... he couldn't be like that. He was a fine boy. He had to behave.

"XYLO!"

It made him jump. Turning around, he saw Arizona standing in his doorway. "You done unpacking? I heard classes are already over for today, so let's go explore and battle and stuff!" She waved her hands excitedly.

"Why me?" Xylo asked.

"Oh, not just you." The red head gestured behind her. Two boys with confused looks and another girl who looked very shy stood behind her. "These are Mortimer, Ragnar and Ursula. They are new too so let's go together!"

"Hm..." Xylo pretended to be considering her offer. Inside, he was almost bursting with excitement of his own. He'd love to go explore! "Alright."

→ oak town

The group of five left the Raikou dorms to see what the island was like. Xylo conversed politely with the other students and learned that Mortimer was from Johto, Ragnar from Sinnoh and the very shy Ursula finally squeezed out that she had come all the way from Unova. Arizona was a proud Hoenn-person, as she put it. He found that all of them had some really bad quality though; Ragnar was apparently very strong and sporty but not very bright; Mortimer was very bright and nerdy but not very athletic at all; Ursula was even shorter than Xylo was and very cute with her long blonde hair, but he didn't learn much more about her since she was so freakingly shy. And Arizona... she seemed to be all over the place and finding everything exciting, but she was incredibly annoying.

By the time they had reached the Oak Town center, Xylo wished that he had just pretended to be a loner and walked off on his own. Clearly, the Raikou dorm was filled with weird people. How did he end up there? He should have paid more attention in class, or trained harder in the practical areas...




​

XYLOPHONE

→ oak town

"Ugh... Enough!"

Xylo's sudden outburst surprised the other four and made them turn around and look at him. He hadn't seemed like the one to get sudden outbursts.

"What's the matter?" Arizona asked with a worried look.

"I came here to train, not to go shopping. Let's battle!" Xylo said and pointed straight at her face.

Arizona smiled. "That sounds like an awesome idea! And you're totally right! So, Ragnar, you up for a battle against Xylo?"

"Huh, I was challenging you!"

"Oh, I can't wait for my first battle on the island!" Ragnar said and rubbed his hands together wide an unnaturally wide smile.

"But..."

"We should go find an empty battle field," Mortimer said with a smart face.

"There's probably some battle fields on the school grounds! Come on!" Arizona said and led the way. Xylo followed, a bit fuming with having a girl take the lead while he was the one trying to take commando just now.

→ battlefield 8

The small, blonde boy by the name Xylophone Piano Oracion stood at one end of the simple battlefield, while the tall, muscular boy called Ragnar stood by the other. Arizona was the self-proclaimed referee and stood by the long side in the middle. Mortimer and Ursula watched, the former commenting now and then and the latter twisting a bit nervously.

"Are we really allowed to be here outside of class?" she asked Mortimer.

"Maybe not," he said nonchalantly, which made the hair on Ursula's already fluffy head stand up some more. But she fell silent.

"Two on two battle, decide on your first pokémon and when I say 'go', you send them out simultaneously!" Arizona said in a way too cheerful manner.

Xylo thought hard. What pokémon? Duke was quick and strong, but Monk was smart and strong as well. Princess... uh, he probably shouldn't let Princess fight his first battle here. She would be too nervous to move or something. So, fire or lightning, fire or lightning... He felt sweaty already, even though it wasn't too hot outdoors and a tree was shadowing the spot where he stood. Plus, he had forgotten his Academy jacket laying on his bed. Not that he cared; he looked much better in his black shirt, white vest and bow tie.

"I'm done," Ragnar said and clutched one of the pokéballs he carried on a belt.

I'm not! Xylo thought, panicking. How he fared in this battle could affect everything! His reputation! His-

"Come on, Xylo!" Arizona shouted. That made Xylo quickly pull up one of the pokéballs that were magnetically attached to his own white belt. He wasn't even completely sure of who it was.

"Good, then... GO!"

Both trainers sent out their pokémon. Ragnar's was a grumpy looking Geodude. Xylo's was Monk the Magby. The trainer let out a breath for no reason at all when Monk looked back at him with a wink as if to say 'trust me'. Ragnar clearly spilled no time, but called out an attack immediately.

"Rock Blast!"

"Double Team!" Xylo shouted out quickly. In battles, his usual indecisiveness seemed to melt away, in favor of some kind of battle sense. Not that it always helped.

Geodude summoned small rocks and flung them all in rapid succession at the fire pokémon. Monk blinked and suddenly there were 5 copies of him, spread out in a half circle. Geodude wasn't sure where to aim, so it aimed at all of them. Most Rock Blast projectiles therefore missed, but some hit the real Monk. When they did, the Double Team dissipated and he was discovered.

"Impressive," Mortimer commented. Ursula was still nervous and quiet. Arizone, who was supposed to be an unbiased referee, cheered like crazy for both sides. Monk didn't seem completely content with getting hit. He had to retaliate. Xylo thought the same.

"Fire Spin!"

"Magnitude!" came Ragnar's counter attack.

Monk took a deep breath at the same time as Geodude raised his hands to slam them into the ground with the mysterious force of Earth. A stream of fire came out of Magby's mouth (or beak??) and flew straight at the rock pokémon. Geodude did slam down into the earth, letting go of his powers. The result was that the ground shook, and fiercely at that. Arizona, who stood close, wiggled and fell. Ursula grabbed Mortimer's arm in fright but Mortimer just sat still and nodded in approval.

"Whoa, I hope you didn't break any part of the school with that strong Magnitude," Arizona laughed, turning to Ragnar, who looked at bit ashamed. "But look!" she then said and pointed at the pokémon.

Monk was badly struck by the Magnitude, the waves going through the Earth somehow affecting him badly and making him fall over. Geode was currently hidden in a spinning inferno of fire. Its screams could be heard from inside it and it wouldn't leave the pokémon even if it moved to the side. The Fire Spin became smaller and smaller with the passing of time though. Soon his arms were visible.

"Don't fret! You can take some heat!" Ragnar said. "Smack Down!"

Xylo had spaced out when he saw Monk get hurt, but he heard the command and snapped out of it. "Monk, Iron Tail!"

Geodude summoned a larger boulder this time, strained itself to endure the pain from the fire spinning around him, and threw it skillfully straight at the Magby. Monk focused his energy in his tail and made it harden until it shone like if it was made out of metal. Then he moved forward with a determined look towards the boulder that soared through the air. He aimed, jumped up and flung his tail around to smash the boulder to bits... and missed. The boulder hit him hard and smacked him down against the ground. The fire pokémon fainted immediately, the tail losing its shine.

"Whaaaat, unbeliavable!" Xylo exclaimed.

Ragnar smiled and patted Geodude, who's fire spin had subsided. "Good work, mate!" he said to it.

Xylo was in rage now, as he sent the fainted Monk back to his pokéball. "You were great anyways," he told it before putting it back onto the belt.

"It was quite obvious that a rock type would win against a fire type after all," Mortimer said from the bench where he and Ursula were still sitting. Ursula didn't look as frightened anymore; rather she looked interested. Xylo didn't like that they patronized him so much.

"Monk can win over any rock type, any day!"

"But apparently he didn't," Mortimer said without facing the younger boy, who's rage was starting to fume over.

"Take it easy, pal," Ragnar said. "It was just one battle. You've got another pokémon, right?"

Xylo looked at him, realizing that the battle wasn't over yet. "Um, yeah! Duke!" He sent out the Elekid, who jumped up and down in excitement over getting to battle. It had been days since last time!

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XYLOPHONE
→ battlefield 8

"Hey, you're supposed to wait for me to announce that you can choose and then that you can send out your second poké-"

"I don't care!" Xylo interrupted Arizona rudely. But she didn't seem to take offense. She sighed and smiled and nodded to Ragnar as a sign to commence.

"Geodude, Magnitude!" he immediately said, knowing well what weakness a pokémon like Elekid would have.

"Duke, Quick Attack!" Xylo called out, and Duke was so quick to follow the order that it dashed away and tackled Geodude's arms right before they hit the ground. The result was that the rock arms hit the ground with a very faint power and created a weak Magnitute. Duke held his ground and wasn't too badly scarred from it. Mortimer nodded in the background while Xylo let out a breath.

"Rolling Kick!" he quickly said, knowing what Duke's favorite attack was. Sure, the pokémon loved its electric energy, but nothing seemed to amuse it more than to fiercely deliver a round house kick to an unsuspecting enemy.

"Tackle!" Ragnar shouted, out. Apparently it was the only close range attack that Geodude knew. And it wasn't enough. The rock pokémon hit Duke easily on such a close range, but right after the impact, Duke swung his legs up and kicked the pokémon hard several times, as if he was spinning upside down. A cracking noise was heard... Geodude had gotten a crack in its skin! It fell to the ground, moaning.

"Seems like Geodude has no will to fight..." Arizona said, intensively staring at the pokémon.

"Argh... retreat!" Ragnar said reluctantly and returned Geodude to its pokéball. "I guess that's a win for you then. The next battle will be decisive!"

"Bring it on!" Xylo said, any delicate and polite part of his personality completely buried under his battling state.

"Sandslash!" Ragnar said and out from the new pokéball he was holding came a sturdy looking pokémon that Xylo thought he had battled before, back in Kanto. But he didn't remember much about it, other than that it's defenses were strong.

"Go!" Arizona shouted, just because she could.

Again, Ragnar waisted no time. "Crush Claw!"

"Quick Attack! Evade!" Xylo commanded.

Sandslash's claws glimmered, powering up while the pokémon started running forward. Duke, wearing a mischievous grin, ran off as well, but at a greater speed and in zig zags towards his opponent. Sandslash was confounded by the speed because when it struck down with its Slash Claw, it missed the Elekid! Duke, however, managed to sneak under the pointy claws and strike the mouse right in the stomach. It was pushed back a bit and Duke leaped back as well, to put some distance between them.

"Again, impressive opening," Mortimer commented importantly. Ursula actually smiled a little now, while Arizona watched the battle with a gaping mouth.

"Not bad," Ragnar admitted.

Xylo gave him a challenging smile. He was pumped up now! His first battle on the island would be a good one, even though one of his champions had already fainted.

"Shock Wave!" he called out.

"Chill out," Ragnar said after a second, when Duke's attack was already charged up.

Sandslash did as it was told and Arizona and Ursula gasped while Mortimer just shook his head and Xylo raised an eyebrow. Duke sent the quick but powerful jolt out; since it was a wide shock rather than an aimed and thin one like with Thundershock, it easily hit its target. However, Sandslash just stood there, maybe grimacing a little when its body sparkled for a moment, but then opening its eyes and leaning its head to the side as if to ask if Duke was planning on fighting for real soon. That of course enraged Duke endlessly.

"Type advantages," Mortimer pointed out before Xylo could say anything to make a fool out of himself.

Xylo's face turned red. He'd forgotten about Ground types being virtually immune to electric attacks due to their closeness with the isolating earth. How stupid... his self esteem went down many levels, until he heard Duke calling out for him. The pokémon was making a frustrated kind of dance in the middle of the battlefield.

"He's giving up?" Ragnar asked with a too wide smile, arms crossed. Sandslash's arms were crossed too.

"NEVER!" Xylo yelled. "Duke's telling me that he can win in other ways. And I know it's true! Rolling Kick!"

Without warning, Duke now ran towards Sandslash again, jumping up to deliver the massive kicks. Ragnar didn't have much time to come up with a counter attack.

"Rapid Spin!" he shouted out though, and his pokémon barely had time to begin spinning on the spot when the roundhouse kicks fell in from the Elekid. The two rolling bodies repelled each other, and neither attack did much damage as they both bounced away.

"Rollout!" Ragnar immediately shouted, well back into the game now. Sandslash did just like its trainer and wasted no time, but instantly rolled up again after having let its feet touch ground briefly between the attacks. It bounced again first, then rolled quickly and forefully straight at the electric pokémon.

"NOW, ICE PUNCH!" Xylo almost screamed. His insides really screamed, screaming a wish for the last devastating attack to not fail majorly, like Monk's Iron Tail had done.

Duke's right arm powered up and shone in a light blue color, before he swung it with all his might at the oncoming ball of pokémonness. The impact must have been hard on Duke's muscles, because he didn't budge much from his spot when it came. It must also have stung Sandslash's body a lot, because the Rollout stopped. Instead, a crackling, freezing power spread itself across the back of the mouse. Terrified, it straightened out before getting frozen over and caught like a ball.

"Haha!" Arizona cheered. Mortimer did nothing but Ursula looked happy.

Ragnar clenched his teeth. "Rollout again, to shake that ice off!" he said to Sandslash, but the pokémon was getting cold and worn out and was slow to commence the attack.

"Finish with Rolling Kick!" Xylo said triumphantly. Duke let out a happy cheer, leaped up and kicked the mouse hard in its head. It fell unconscious to the ground and Duke proudly rose up after landing.

Ragnar grunted and sent Sandslash back into its pokéball. Xylo and Elekid cheered as the winners they were. Then Xylo suddenly realized that the other four Raikou trainers were looking at him with varying facial expressions. He straightened up and cleared his throat, Duke also ceasing his wild state.

"So..." he began. "Where would I be able to find the pokémon center, you suppose?"

Mortimer sighed and Ragnar let out a laugh. "Back to his prude self!" Arizona said, interested. Ursula smiled quietly. Xylo didn't find the fun in it. He might have made himself look wild and childish in the battle just now, but he didn't mean for them to believe that was who he was normally. Because it wasn't!... right?
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