Sonata
Trickling away
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- Seen Feb 17, 2025
In the Pokemon world, there is a single academy which year after year has consistently produced champion level trainers. Each of its graduates have moved on to become Gym Leaders, members of the Elite Four, or teachers for the academy itself. However, the school has come under criticism a number of times for its peculiar teaching methods and the way in which it treats the students who fail their exams.
Located in the Astia region, the academy known as Orse thrives within a lifeless desert. Every year, thousands of potential students flock to it from across every region in hopes of climbing its twin towers and earning the title of graduate. At entry, the students are divided into groups by the academy?s headmaster. These groups become the classes, and immediately go through a rigorous entry exam. For most hopefuls, this is their first and final step into the academy. For this reason, most of the inner workings of the academy are a mystery to the leaders of the Pokemon world.
?Wow?? Turs stared at the academy from atop a sand dune. Even from thousands of feet away, the building still struck him with an overwhelming sense of awe. Its twin towers rising high into the sky and then wrapping around each other as they tore through the clouds made his heart beat even faster. He fidgeted with his fingers as he tried to imagine what it was like to be inside something so extravagant.
The boy fixed his thawb and wrapped the keffiyeh around his face as he stepped down from the dune. A plane soared overhead, presumably carrying a number of other potential students. Turs' smile widened, wondering what kind of people he?d end up having classes with. His mother had attended the academy for two years when she was younger, but never spoke much about it, only commenting on the experiences she gained as a cook from being around so many different people. Turs broke out into a sprint once he reached the bottom of the dune, hoping to make it to the academy before too many others had arrived.
After about ten minutes, the boy had arrived at the entrance to the academy. Hundreds of people from all regions and of all ages were already crowding around the doorway which they were supposed to enter. A handful of beefy guards stood with their arms crossed and a resigned look upon their faces. Turs tried jumping to get a better view of what was holding the line up, but with such a surprising number of adults around waiting to take their entrance exam as well it turned out to be a futile attempt.
Several more minutes passed, and with it two more planes and several buses arrived. Each vehicle was filled to the brim with even more hopefuls which spilled out into the sea of sand, unsure of their footing and mostly undressed for such a climate. The wind brushed up the fine grains into mouths, eyes and various carry-on bags and caused many of them to cough and shy away from the assault.
?Well then, if that?s the last of ?em...? A cane rose quickly into the air from the center of the swarm of hopeful students which had surrounded the door to the academy. A man slowly rose along with it, splitting the sea of men and women as a platform lifted him higher into the sky. ?Hurry on then!? The man waved his cane at the people still piling out of the planes and buses. ?Really now. What a waste of? anyways. Welcome! Just look at all of you hopeful students! I know we don?t have any sort of age restrictions here, but I can see that some of you are even older than myself! Isn?t that something??
The man chuckled lightly, but received no such response from the rest of the crowd. Turs quickly looked around him, just now realizing that there were actually a handful of people who seemed to be old enough to be considered grandparents. If there really was no age limit, Turs wondered if he wouldn?t eventually find a student that was even younger than himself.
?Now that I?ve all of your attention, let me introduce myself. I am the Headmaster here at Orse Academy, Netrel Orse II. My father built this academy and died during its construction, but had hoped that one day it would become the greatest, most prestigious Pokemon trainer school in all of the world. I believe, that if he were still here today he would find that his dreams had indeed been realized. The only proof I?d need, is all of you here today just waiting to get your chance.?
The Headmaster waved his cane around, motioning to all of the hopeful students in attendance. Turs? smile grew as he watched the man turn, hoping that he?d notice the young boy out of the sea of applicants. However, before Netrel Orse?s body had fully turned towards young Turs, he continued on with his speech and repositioned himself in front of the denser section of the swarm. But even if the Headmaster?s eyes hadn?t fallen on him, Turs couldn?t shake the feeling that he was being watched by someone.
?Now, I know that you?re all likely tired and hoping to move on with the application process so you can get out of those sandblasted clothes of yours, but if you don?t mind I?d like to address a few things before I grant you all entry. First off, I can see that the majority of you have brought your own Pokemon from home. I am glad to see that you all have managed to capture your first Pokemon and made your first friend, or friends in some cases, that will carry you on throughout your life. However, in Orse Academy we won?t be battling with living Pokemon. When you first enter the building to my right, you?ll be confronted by a number of Nurse Joys who will mark your pokeballs and keep them safe for you until the time which you must leave the academy for whatever reason.?
Whispers passed through the crowd as the Headmaster spoke. The announcement had completely thrown them all off guard. If they weren?t going to battle with the Pokemon that they?d brought with them, then what would they be doing?
?Now have no fear, my friends. Your Pokemon will be kept in a secure, underground location. It?s so secure in fact, that even if the towers themselves were to fall, and all of you were to die, your Pokemon would still be healthy and safe in their underground containment park until workers could come and clear the debris away from the location.?
Netrel continued to smile, as if nothing he?d said had been wrong or shocking in any way. Some of the people around Turs however, were slowly building up the courage to voice their opinions. One such voice, broke out over the rest.
?Hey, that?s not right? what do you mean if the towers collapsed? That?s not? that?s not something that could happen, is it??
?Oh, but of course my children. At any point in time, both of these towers could fall into each other, destroying hundreds of floors which are home to thousands of students, staff, and Pokemon alike. These buildings are not connected to anything on the ground, nor are they technically structurally sound. These pillars which breach the sky, and measure in as the tallest and second tallest buildings in the world, are held together by a team of Psychic Pokemon who work around the clock to ensure your safety as students.?
?But that?s? that?s so cruel? how could you force Pokemon to do something like that endlessly??
?Oh? Hear you me. What we offer here at Orse Academy is certainly not for all trainers. If you do not wish to attend, then you are more than welcome to wait on the bus or plane in which you arrived. In roughly two hours, our entrance exam will have concluded and all of those who have been denied access to our full curriculum shall join you on your travels back to whichever city, town or region from which you came.?
?But that has nothing to do with what I-?
?We here at Orse Academy believe that all Pokemon and people are created exactly the same. While we do have a large amount of Psychic Pokemon under our employ, we also have an even larger number of human staff here to look after both our students and those Pokemon?s health and wellbeing. We have a large and ever-growing R&D department which since our founding has been searching for a way to make our Academy and soon, the rest of the world that much less dependent on Pokemon labor. Now, do you have any other questions or can I continue on with my announcements??
The whispers slowly subsided, but were replaced with muffled curses directed at the Headmaster, who couldn?t have looked like he cared any less about them.
?Now, moving on to the second announcement. Once you enter the building and give your Pokemon to Nurse Joy, you will be broken down into eight groups by a range of ages. To the farthest left, ages one through twelve will line up. Then, there will be twelve to fourteen. Followed by fifteen to seventeen, eighteen, nineteen to twenty-five, twenty-six to thirty, thirty-one to forty-five, and finally everyone forty-six and over will make up the group on the farthest right. Each group will then enter the rooms in front of which they?ve been arranged, and then split two more times. First, they?ll be split by gender, and then again by whether or not they?re native to the Astia region. This is all to ensure that we have a proper mixture within our students and prove that we show no bias based on region, age, or gender.?
The Headmaster tapped his cane on the edge of the platform which he was standing, causing it to slowly retreat back into the sand-covered ground from which it had come.
?Now then, one - technically two - final things. After you?ve been broken down into these groups, you?ll be given a number starting with zero. The entrance exam in which you?ll be participating will be a practical exam, so these numbers as you may have guessed will be to determine where you will go in a matchup. And with that, the doors to the academy are now open! Please, move single file into the reception area and then follow the instructions of the Joys as they direct you to the proper line.?
Turs watched as the Headmaster disappeared once more into the crowd of hopeful students. Something about what the man had said made the boy scratch his head. The boy looked around him at the shifting sea of people and tugged on the hand of the first adult that he saw. ?Um, excuse me, sir? but? he said that we couldn?t take our Pokemon into the Academy with us, right? And that we wouldn?t be using live Pokemon at all??
The man looked down, confused. ?Uh, yuh. Why?d?ya ask??
?Well, if the entry exam is supposed to be a practical exam? then? what does that exactly mean??
?Well, a practical exam is s?pose?d?t be a measure of yer actual skills. But for a practical Pokemon exam without the Pokemon? heck, I dunno. That?s a real head scratcher, ain?t it? Guess we?ll just have?ta wait ?n see.?
Turs nodded his head, letting go of the man?s hand. The boy pulled the keffiyeh from his head and ran his hand through his braided hair, twirling one of the braids around his finger as he thought. ?Guess we will just have to see then, huh?? Turs took a few steps forward, falling into the line as he awaited his turn.
Located in the Astia region, the academy known as Orse thrives within a lifeless desert. Every year, thousands of potential students flock to it from across every region in hopes of climbing its twin towers and earning the title of graduate. At entry, the students are divided into groups by the academy?s headmaster. These groups become the classes, and immediately go through a rigorous entry exam. For most hopefuls, this is their first and final step into the academy. For this reason, most of the inner workings of the academy are a mystery to the leaders of the Pokemon world.
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?Wow?? Turs stared at the academy from atop a sand dune. Even from thousands of feet away, the building still struck him with an overwhelming sense of awe. Its twin towers rising high into the sky and then wrapping around each other as they tore through the clouds made his heart beat even faster. He fidgeted with his fingers as he tried to imagine what it was like to be inside something so extravagant.
The boy fixed his thawb and wrapped the keffiyeh around his face as he stepped down from the dune. A plane soared overhead, presumably carrying a number of other potential students. Turs' smile widened, wondering what kind of people he?d end up having classes with. His mother had attended the academy for two years when she was younger, but never spoke much about it, only commenting on the experiences she gained as a cook from being around so many different people. Turs broke out into a sprint once he reached the bottom of the dune, hoping to make it to the academy before too many others had arrived.
After about ten minutes, the boy had arrived at the entrance to the academy. Hundreds of people from all regions and of all ages were already crowding around the doorway which they were supposed to enter. A handful of beefy guards stood with their arms crossed and a resigned look upon their faces. Turs tried jumping to get a better view of what was holding the line up, but with such a surprising number of adults around waiting to take their entrance exam as well it turned out to be a futile attempt.
Several more minutes passed, and with it two more planes and several buses arrived. Each vehicle was filled to the brim with even more hopefuls which spilled out into the sea of sand, unsure of their footing and mostly undressed for such a climate. The wind brushed up the fine grains into mouths, eyes and various carry-on bags and caused many of them to cough and shy away from the assault.
?Well then, if that?s the last of ?em...? A cane rose quickly into the air from the center of the swarm of hopeful students which had surrounded the door to the academy. A man slowly rose along with it, splitting the sea of men and women as a platform lifted him higher into the sky. ?Hurry on then!? The man waved his cane at the people still piling out of the planes and buses. ?Really now. What a waste of? anyways. Welcome! Just look at all of you hopeful students! I know we don?t have any sort of age restrictions here, but I can see that some of you are even older than myself! Isn?t that something??
The man chuckled lightly, but received no such response from the rest of the crowd. Turs quickly looked around him, just now realizing that there were actually a handful of people who seemed to be old enough to be considered grandparents. If there really was no age limit, Turs wondered if he wouldn?t eventually find a student that was even younger than himself.
?Now that I?ve all of your attention, let me introduce myself. I am the Headmaster here at Orse Academy, Netrel Orse II. My father built this academy and died during its construction, but had hoped that one day it would become the greatest, most prestigious Pokemon trainer school in all of the world. I believe, that if he were still here today he would find that his dreams had indeed been realized. The only proof I?d need, is all of you here today just waiting to get your chance.?
The Headmaster waved his cane around, motioning to all of the hopeful students in attendance. Turs? smile grew as he watched the man turn, hoping that he?d notice the young boy out of the sea of applicants. However, before Netrel Orse?s body had fully turned towards young Turs, he continued on with his speech and repositioned himself in front of the denser section of the swarm. But even if the Headmaster?s eyes hadn?t fallen on him, Turs couldn?t shake the feeling that he was being watched by someone.
?Now, I know that you?re all likely tired and hoping to move on with the application process so you can get out of those sandblasted clothes of yours, but if you don?t mind I?d like to address a few things before I grant you all entry. First off, I can see that the majority of you have brought your own Pokemon from home. I am glad to see that you all have managed to capture your first Pokemon and made your first friend, or friends in some cases, that will carry you on throughout your life. However, in Orse Academy we won?t be battling with living Pokemon. When you first enter the building to my right, you?ll be confronted by a number of Nurse Joys who will mark your pokeballs and keep them safe for you until the time which you must leave the academy for whatever reason.?
Whispers passed through the crowd as the Headmaster spoke. The announcement had completely thrown them all off guard. If they weren?t going to battle with the Pokemon that they?d brought with them, then what would they be doing?
?Now have no fear, my friends. Your Pokemon will be kept in a secure, underground location. It?s so secure in fact, that even if the towers themselves were to fall, and all of you were to die, your Pokemon would still be healthy and safe in their underground containment park until workers could come and clear the debris away from the location.?
Netrel continued to smile, as if nothing he?d said had been wrong or shocking in any way. Some of the people around Turs however, were slowly building up the courage to voice their opinions. One such voice, broke out over the rest.
?Hey, that?s not right? what do you mean if the towers collapsed? That?s not? that?s not something that could happen, is it??
?Oh, but of course my children. At any point in time, both of these towers could fall into each other, destroying hundreds of floors which are home to thousands of students, staff, and Pokemon alike. These buildings are not connected to anything on the ground, nor are they technically structurally sound. These pillars which breach the sky, and measure in as the tallest and second tallest buildings in the world, are held together by a team of Psychic Pokemon who work around the clock to ensure your safety as students.?
?But that?s? that?s so cruel? how could you force Pokemon to do something like that endlessly??
?Oh? Hear you me. What we offer here at Orse Academy is certainly not for all trainers. If you do not wish to attend, then you are more than welcome to wait on the bus or plane in which you arrived. In roughly two hours, our entrance exam will have concluded and all of those who have been denied access to our full curriculum shall join you on your travels back to whichever city, town or region from which you came.?
?But that has nothing to do with what I-?
?We here at Orse Academy believe that all Pokemon and people are created exactly the same. While we do have a large amount of Psychic Pokemon under our employ, we also have an even larger number of human staff here to look after both our students and those Pokemon?s health and wellbeing. We have a large and ever-growing R&D department which since our founding has been searching for a way to make our Academy and soon, the rest of the world that much less dependent on Pokemon labor. Now, do you have any other questions or can I continue on with my announcements??
The whispers slowly subsided, but were replaced with muffled curses directed at the Headmaster, who couldn?t have looked like he cared any less about them.
?Now, moving on to the second announcement. Once you enter the building and give your Pokemon to Nurse Joy, you will be broken down into eight groups by a range of ages. To the farthest left, ages one through twelve will line up. Then, there will be twelve to fourteen. Followed by fifteen to seventeen, eighteen, nineteen to twenty-five, twenty-six to thirty, thirty-one to forty-five, and finally everyone forty-six and over will make up the group on the farthest right. Each group will then enter the rooms in front of which they?ve been arranged, and then split two more times. First, they?ll be split by gender, and then again by whether or not they?re native to the Astia region. This is all to ensure that we have a proper mixture within our students and prove that we show no bias based on region, age, or gender.?
The Headmaster tapped his cane on the edge of the platform which he was standing, causing it to slowly retreat back into the sand-covered ground from which it had come.
?Now then, one - technically two - final things. After you?ve been broken down into these groups, you?ll be given a number starting with zero. The entrance exam in which you?ll be participating will be a practical exam, so these numbers as you may have guessed will be to determine where you will go in a matchup. And with that, the doors to the academy are now open! Please, move single file into the reception area and then follow the instructions of the Joys as they direct you to the proper line.?
Turs watched as the Headmaster disappeared once more into the crowd of hopeful students. Something about what the man had said made the boy scratch his head. The boy looked around him at the shifting sea of people and tugged on the hand of the first adult that he saw. ?Um, excuse me, sir? but? he said that we couldn?t take our Pokemon into the Academy with us, right? And that we wouldn?t be using live Pokemon at all??
The man looked down, confused. ?Uh, yuh. Why?d?ya ask??
?Well, if the entry exam is supposed to be a practical exam? then? what does that exactly mean??
?Well, a practical exam is s?pose?d?t be a measure of yer actual skills. But for a practical Pokemon exam without the Pokemon? heck, I dunno. That?s a real head scratcher, ain?t it? Guess we?ll just have?ta wait ?n see.?
Turs nodded his head, letting go of the man?s hand. The boy pulled the keffiyeh from his head and ran his hand through his braided hair, twirling one of the braids around his finger as he thought. ?Guess we will just have to see then, huh?? Turs took a few steps forward, falling into the line as he awaited his turn.
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