[PKMN OPEN] The Pokémon Trainer Academy (T) [Best Veteran 4Q '11]

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

As the sun slowly started to rise over the island, Amber stumbled off the boat onto dry land, feeling uncomfortably moist from all the salty sea spray. Her Zubat was perched on her shoulder, and he shook himself indignantly. Clearly they both held the same opinion of their waterlogged state. Hefting her bag of freshly stolen clothing and other supplies over her shoulder, Amber trudged up the shore towards the dorms. She went inside and made her way to an open room, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Being subtle wasn't really her style, but she was currently vulnerable to counterattack if she started causing trouble immediately, being new here and all. She threw her stuff down on the bed and grabbed a new change of clothes out of the bag, along with a comb which she had carved from a bone. She slipped out of the room into the bathroom to take a quick shower, while Valor perched nearby, keeping a lookout for danger yet very politely not watching Amber.

Feeling much less disgusting now that she wasn't covered in salt water, Amber slipped into a new change of clothes. Turns out beggars can be choosers; she had made sure not only that they all fit, but that they all looked cool. She had a reputation to maintain, after all. She ran her comb through her hair, styling her hair in her usual fashion. Her loose ponytail fell over one shoulder, the purple ends of her hair mixing with the blond hair. It was all held in place by her lock picks disguised as normal hairpins. Once she was satisfied with her appearance and made sure that her knife was still secured and hidden, Valor settled himself back on her shoulder and she headed back out into her new room. He didn't stay perched for long however. He fluttered impatiently above a printed out schedule for the day, drawing Amber's attention to it. Amber looked over the schedule and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? 'Advanced Mining'?" she muttered. "Bet it's a snooze fest, eh Val?" she remarked to her Pokemon, smirking. Not like she planned on going to class anyway. That was just one more reason to skip out. Once she was all prepared for the day, she headed in the general direction of other students, hoping it would lead her towards breakfast. Halfway to the cafeteria, the intercom blared to life, announcing the tournament that would take place. As fun as it sounded, Amber decided not to risk embarrassing herself in front of everyone; they'd all been there for much longer, so it was a safe bet to assume they were much stronger trainers. She perked up at the mention of free food though. Getting to watch strong trainers and also getting free food? That sounded like a win-win to her. Especially if it meant learning all of their weaknesses...

She finally reached the cafeteria, and had to consciously hide her wonder. She'd never seen so much food in one place before; at least, she'd never been able to get into one! Blending in was going to be much harder than it seemed. Barely resisting the urge to pile as much food as possible onto her plate, she grabbed what seemed to be a socially acceptable amount of food and sat down out of the way of too many others. She scanned the room as she ate, trying to find something or someone interesting in the sheer volume of students. Most of the students seemed rather bland and boring, not even worth mocking, although a few stood out slightly.

Of particular interest were two trainers a few tables away from Amber who seemed to be bickering. One was a boy who looked rather embarrassed about something, the other was... wow. Amber not-so-subtly looked her up and down, eliciting a wing smack over the head from Valor. Amber glared at her Zubat before straining her ears to pick up something over the general babble of the cafeteria. She managed to catch the words "tournament" and "Advanced Mining", but not much else. Were they both in the same class as her?

She finished her meal in silent deliberation. Deep thinking wasn't really her style, so on impulse she decided to go to class, despite it's boring nature. Clearly, it was because she didn't want to cause a stir on her first morning. It definitely had nothing to do with the rather attractive student she'd seen. Nope. Not at all.

 

[Megaman765]

After heading out from the Cafeteria, Mark and Sammy headed off to their class. According to the class schedule, it was set in its own building within the academy pretty far off from the rest of the larger buildings. Seemed kinda odd since they were just going to be hiking up some mountains... or where they? Clay had a knack for this sort of thing so who knows what he had planned for this class? Mark just knew he had a good feeling about it. Something awesome was gonna happen for somebody in this class.

The building itself was fairly medium sized, enough to fit in a large amount of students in it anyways. There was certainly alot more space then most normal classrooms. On top of that, the desks looked metallic and were bolted right into the floor. Clay was there too, greeting all of the new students entering the door. Even though he hadn't been anywhere near the Unova Region, he knew very well of Clay's feats. The Miner King, some would call him. He began mining when he was about the students age, possibly younger. Mark didn't know the specifics. He just knew this guy was serious business. After all, he did own Twist Mountain over in Unova. A whole mountain! Not only that, he managed to dig a gigantic tunnel through the outer regions of Unova. If there was anybody to talk to about Mining, it was Clay.

"I'm getting a pretty different vibe from this Classroom..." Mark said.

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber stood up as other students began filter out of the cafeteria. Following her earlier strategy, she trailed behind the two students she had eavesdropped on, at a far enough distance to keep an eye on them without being spotted. The classroom seemed very strangely out of the way, although it would make sense considering the topic of the class. She'd only vaguely heard of this "Clay" before; Amber hoped she could just hide in the back and ignore the lesson. That's how school usually works, right? She certainly hoped so.

The classroom was just as strange as the location. As Amber walked into the room, Valor slowly scanned it for trouble, making clicking noises as he rotated himself around on her shoulder. The room was rather open, with metal desks scattered about. It probably would've been stranger to Amber if she wasn't so new to the whole actually-going-to-school thing.

"So, I guess this is the place, Val..." she muttered to her Pokemon, trying to hide her mild confusion.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Once Sammy and Mark had arrived at their classroom she took a look around before sliding into one of unusually secure seats, keeping a tight hold on her egg case. Something was up with this place, that was for sure, something familair that she couldn't quite place her finger on. It wasn't the fact that it was a classroom, she hadn't really been in enough of them to figure out what was and wasn't normal yet. So it had to be something about this room that was different to the rest of the island, but the same as somewhere else...

She blinked and gave her desk a nudge with her foot, taking notice of the fact that it wasn't budging. "Uh, Mark? It's like a ship, I grew up with rooms like this. On ships stuff tends to be secured like this so it doesn't slide around all over the place, y'know? Why would someone outfit their classroom like that?"

It seemed strange to her, but it was oddly comforting to have found a room set out the way she was used to. She hadn't changed the way her dorm room was set out, partly because it was too small, but mainly because the idea of actually moving your furniture around was alien to her. But it was funny how quickly she'd adapted to life on land, her old man would probably laugh to see her being such a land-lubber. She hadn't even been out on the water since the boat ride here.

Again Sammy, stressing out about things she couldn't change right now. Deal with the stuff at hand, that was the promise she'd made to herself. All there was to do now was wait for Clay to turn up so the class could get started. With any luck it would be over quickly enough that she could squeeze in some last minute training before the tournament later.​

 

[GastlyGibus]

Samantha Lee - Raikou Dorm
The first day of the rest of your life
*****​

"This is the takedown... this is the takedown... here comes the takedown! SWEEP THE LEG!"

Samantha brought her head off the pillow on her bed, waking up to the sound of techno music blaring from her alarm clock. She leaned over, switched off the alarm, then quickly hopped out of bed. Normally, she wasn't a morning person, but she was so excited to start her very first actual day of classes that she felt no fatigue of any kind. She stood up straight, stretching her arms out wide before quickly dashing to the bathrooms to get ready for the day.

"You can't stop me, you can't drop me, you can't block me! You can't break me, you can't shake me, go on and make me!"

Samantha sang loudly to herself in the shower, the refreshing hot water putting an extra spring in her step. Once she was suitably clean, she stepped out, drying her hair and tying it up in her usual pony-tail. She stepped back into her room, seeing her Duskull floating casually near the window, staring outside at the academy grounds below, his single red eye shifting back and forth with a certain curiosity. Samantha looked at the Duskull with a smile, walking over to her dresser and getting her clothes for the day, a simple bright-yellow tank-top and pair of jeans. Once she was dressed, she walked over to the Duskull, the ghost-type remaining motionless as it eyed the movements of the students intently.

"Nervous?" Samantha asked teasingly, patting the Duskull gently on the head. She looked outside the window as well, taking in the sights. Several students were wandering out, some heading to classes, some heading to the cafeteria, and some heading to nowhere in particular. She looked down at her Duskull, a small grin on her face. "Don't worry, Sid. It's the first day of our new life, so to speak. It'll be fun, I promise!"

Samantha reached for her belt on the nightstand, tying it around her waist and grabbing the pokeball latched on it. With a tap of the button, she recalled Sid into his pokeball, securing the capture device securely to her belt once more. She turned, grabbing her backpack and pulling out a small granola bar. She'd have time for a proper meal later; for now, she was too excited to stop by the cafeteria and get food. Slinging the pack over her shoulders, she exited her room, locking the door behind her and slipping her headphones over her ears as she headed to her class.

With a swing of the front doors, she exited the dorms, a look of confidence in her eyes as she bobbed her head to the music.

"You've got a smart best friend, and she's okay. Have you had a smile today? Close the door, take your seats, or else you need to play for keeps!" Samantha walked out the doors, feeling the warm morning sun give her a certain feeling of vigor. She took in a deep breath, before letting it out and walking joyfully towards her first class, head bobbing and singing loudly to herself as usual.

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

After an insistent tug from Valor on her shoulder, Amber realized she'd look pretty stupid if she sat there in the doorway for too long. She made her way along the outer wall of the classroom before picking an empty seat. She was slightly behind the two trainers she had followed, on the other side of the boy, leaving him between Amber and the girl. It let her observe the two more closely without the risk of being seen.

The boy... he seemed like a vulnerable target. He seemed to be the nice guy type; perhaps innocence and gullibility came with that. He also seemed to be close with the girl. Amber would deny it completely, but she was definitely a bit jealous. Taking him down a notch would be quite satisfying.

Valor hopped off her shoulder and onto the desk, constantly scanning the room. Amber leaned back in her chair, mulling over her thoughts and plans as she waited for the teacher to begin class.

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams - Raikou Dorm
Cafeteria

Shawn finally roused himself from his daydreaming, realizing that the previously full cafteria was now emptying. "Classes must be starting shortly," he thought as he threw away his trash and grabbed his blue-and-white backpack. Slinging it quickly over his shoulder, he walked out of the cafeteria and found the board with the class list. Like an idiot, he looked at the class, but not the teacher or location. He had heard a bit about Clay from his talk with Skyla that fateful day. He planned on studying as much from him as he could...maybe he can get tips on how to get the most from Rocky. He quickly noted the classroom number and headed there straight away.

It wasn't long before he saw the large gym leader near the door, greeting everyone as they went in. Shawn's entrance was to be no different, as he engaged Clay with a firm handshake. However, the grip was more intense than he thought as he winced from the teacher's grasp. Slightly shaking his hand, Shawn went inside and sat down at a desk near the oor. Setting his bag down near his feet, he looked around at his surroundings and noted the unusual look of the room. It almost like this room could sail away if it wasn't attached. What drew his attention from that were the few people in the room with him.

One of them he remembered to be Mark, who was from a previous battling class he had. He seemed to know a lot about battling and wanted to keep him in mind when the tourney started later. "I gotta take notes about his battles," he thought as his gaze shifted to the one Mark was talking to. She was dressed very nicely for a mining class, though. She seemed familiar to him, but couldn't think of where... "Weird," he thought. His gaze shifted to the third, another female, who seemed to be watching the other two. Another new person, this one didn't seem to register with Shawn at all. As much as he wanted to make himself known, he decided it would be best to be the silent observer for now. He pulled out a notebook and a pen and sat in silence as he waited for class to start.

 

[Megaman765]

Mark couldn't help but get the uneasy feeling that thet were being watched. Either that or he was just being paranoid after yesterday's events. Sammy explained how similar the classroom was to a ship. That's one way to compare it. But why like this? For mining? And why give it a separate building? They were going to the mountains right? Seemed unnecessary... Mark sat down on his desk, being close enough for Amber to at least observe both of the trainers as she pleased.

Once everybody had arrived, Clay entered the door, locking it up tightly. Now he was locking the door to the classroom? Maybe he was just strict about those who were arriving late. Fair enough. It IS advanced mining.

"Well, Welcome to Advanced Mining! As I'm sure ya'll know, the name's Clay. I'm the Gym Leader of Driftveil City in the Unova Region. But I'm sure ye didn't come to this class for a history lesson right? Your here to discover some treasure hidden in this here ripe earth, and maybe get some pointers on both Rock and Ground from yours truely. Two things before we start though. You'll notice some hard hats on your desks. I'd put them on right about now if you don't want to have any rocks fall on your head while we're out on our adventure. And second, I'd like all of you to return any Pokemon you have back into their Pokeballs. Don't worry, as soon as we start you can let them right out. I'll explain when we begin." Clay explained as he sat in his desk. Also bolted into the ground.

Mark took a look around the room again, while returning Snype back into his ball and placing on the hard hat that was on the desk. He tapped his foot on the ground and noticed something felt off about it. He noticed from the layout that the whole center of the room seemed... separate from the walls of the building... maybe he was just over analyzing things but he wondered what on earth Clay had planned?

Clay meanwhile noticed that one of the students, Sammy, was in possession of a Pokemon Egg. "I noticed you had a Pokemon Egg there. We're going to be heading into some pretty rough territory so if you'd like, I can hold onto it for the class. If you don't trust me with it, which I'll understand, then you can tag alongside me to keep an eye on the egg if you wish." Clay asked. He didn't want to endanger a newborn Pokemon and all. "That goes for any of the others. If anybody here has a Pokemon Egg or any sort of valuables in their possession, I'll hang onto them and make sure they aren't damaged."

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper

​

Sammy looked at the hard hat with resignation - it figured that the one day she actually did something with her hair other than tie it out of the way was the day she had to wear a helmet for class. She didn't have any of her Pokemon out of their pokeballs, so there was no one to call back, but why would Clay make them keep their Pokemon stowed just for the journey? The whole thing was seeming more and more suspicious to her, especially after all the antics of the previous day. She was just reaching for the hard hat when Clay started speaking to her.

"Uh," she answered eloquently, trying to figure out what he meant. She could let him look after the egg or she could keep it, so long as she stuck close by him? Normally she would have handed it over, Gym Leaders tended to be trustworthy after all, and it wasn't like she even cared about the stupid thing that much... but still... it didn't seem right to just pawn it off on someone else whenever it became inconvenient. "I'll hang onto it I guess. I don't want it hatching when I'm not around." She wasn't sure what difference it made in the long run anyway, it wasn't as if she was going to go galavanting through the mountains by herself. It was Clays class, she kind of had to stick close to him anyway.

She lifted the hard hat and set it on top of her head. Considering the effort she'd put into her appearance it didn't actually make her look any worse, just like she was advertising the latest line in miners chic. She held onto the egg case a little tighter, now extra aware of it thanks to Clay drawing attention to the damn thing.​

 

[Blastin'Tyruntz]

Lysandros Durand

As Lysandros entered the school building, he was sure someone is gonna come any minute and slam him onto a locker or shove him outside the way. A few dozens of students were going to different classes and hallways. He picked up the pace of his walking until he reached a door saying: "Self-defense class"-Maylene.
Wait, Maylene? He was sure he heard this name before. Maylene was a fighting-type gym leader of the Sinnoh region and a girl considered a fighting genius. "She also has a body to die for" he thought to himself.

Lysandros opened the doors and just stood, amazed. He took a quick glance at the room, which looked like a dojo, and then his eyes rested on the shadow before him. In front of him, in the flesh, was standing Maylene herself. He immediately took a seat on the floor nehind her and waited for more people to arrive, not taking his eyes off her frame for a milisecond, practically staring at her backside silently.
​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber was snapped out of her thoughts when Clay entered the classroom and began giving instructions. Amber rolled her eyes at the hard hats, but put one on anyway despite her gut reaction to do the exact opposite of what Clay had asked her to do. Blending in was definitely getting annoying. His next direction was much more disagreeable. She pulled Valor's Pokeball off of her belt and held it out to him. Valor was not happy. He clicked and squeaked angrily on the desk as Amber tried to recall him.

"Come on, man! I don't like it either, okay? I'll let you back out in a minute." she quietly pleaded with the obstinate Zubat. Eventually, he sullenly retreated into his wings and allowed himself to be returned back into the ball. Amber wondered with irritation why they had to put all their Pokemon back into their Pokeballs, as if wearing hard hats wasn't enough.

She looked up again as Clay spoke with the female trainer in front of her. An egg? Amber watched with mild interest as she pulled the egg closer protectively. Before she could ponder that further, Clay mentioned valuables and Amber's hand instinctively went to her heart pendant around her neck. She nonchalantly moved it to inside of her shirt so it was relatively hidden from view. There was no way she'd let him go near it.

She also had another pleasant thought at the mention of valuables. They were going to be mining in this class. Maybe she'd find something rare! Or at least, someone else would. It'd be going to her pocket either way.

 

[siiadams]

Shawn Williams
Advanced Mining "classroom"

Shawn noticed that something seemed off right away when Clay locked the door. It wasn't long before he was told to put on a hardhat that somehow escaped his observation from before. Unnerved by this, he obediently plopped the large accessory on his head. He watched as the new girl had a slight difficulty returning her Zubat to the pokeball. He had that problem at first with Sting, as well, until they had a long talk about it. It took a while, but he finally got through and Sting started accepting being returned...sometimes.

It wasn't until Clay was talking about pokemon eggs that Shawn once again observed the girl that was talking to Mark. She was carrying around an unusually-colored egg. He saw that the girl refused the teacher's offer to watch the egg for her, but he also noticed the other girl seemed to eye the egg, as well. There seemed to be something going on, but he couldn't get past the fact that the girl with the egg was so familiar to him. Trying to recall this, he turned back around to being the silent observer and tried to brace himself for whatever was about to happen.

 

[Megaman765]

Mark Wilson
Advanced Mining Classroom(?)

(I received permission from Synth to do some minor bunnying so don't mind me :p)

Clay nodded to Sammy. Expected the trainer would want to take care of the egg every step of the way and very responsible of her. He could respect that. "In that case could you come with me for a second? Just stand against the wall there for a moment." Clay explained. Sammy relucantly stood up, giving a glance over to Mark before standing against the wall. There was plenty of distance between the set of desks in the center of the classroom and the walls of the building. Clay would follow Sammy over to that location.

"Now... Yer' all seated and equipped right?" Clay said. Mark simply nodded, along with a majority of the other students. "Good. In THAT case..." Clay would press a button on the wall, revealing a set of controls and a gigantic lever. With the push of a button, Every student in their desks were suddenly buckled up tightly to their chairs and a harness would drop down over them to keep everyone steady against the seat. Mark instinctively tried squirming around in his seat a bit but wasn't going to be getting out anytime soon. A large safety rail also appeared around the series of desks, practically caging everybody in there. Clay tipped his hat and placed his hand on the lever.

"I'll see ya all down below! HANG ON TIGHT AND HAPPY MINING!" Clay shouted as he pulled the gigantic lever right down! Suddenly, the room began to vibrate, Mark felt like he was sinking but it turned that they were on some form of platform, separate from the rest of the room! Immediately afterwards, The platform would start to rocket deep underground, several gears could be seen along the walls and it was obvious what the classroom really was. This wasn't a set of desks, this was a freight elevator! The class was starting off with one heck of a ride! The elevator itself was darned fast too!

"AAAHHHHHH!!!" Mark yelled out as him and the rest of the students were sent down to the depths of the earth, and likely, where they would be sent on their excavation. After getting over the initial shock, Mark was just having a blast! This was like one of those rocket seat rides in amusement parks!

Clay would be giving off a loud playful laugh at the students reactions. "Haha! Now that's a wake up call! I didn't call this class advanced mining for nothing! Now comon, I got a personal elevator we can take to catch up with the class. It's a bit slower so yer egg there doesn't splatter up in the sky. Haha. Sorry I kept it a secret for so long but I didn't wanna ruin the surprise." Clay said to Sammy, pressing another button on the small console and revealing a hidden door that would lead to another elevator. A bit smaller but still sizable enough to fit a decent number of people or say, a hospital bed in case of emergencies. He'd step inside and wait for Sammy to join him before sending the elevator underground.

When the elevator would eventually make its stop, they would be in yet another room, with a caged exit in front of them. The door would open up, revealing an entire cavern expertly dug out as well as Clay's personal elevator not too far away. Mark was busy catching his breath as the harness and seat belts holding them in would free each of the students. Mark's eyes were wide open as he leaned out of his chair, catching his breath. "Whoa... ha... that... was AWESOME!" Mark shouted enthusiastically. He wondered if he could go again after class? The inner child of Mark was starting to show.

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Amber didn't even have time to scream before she plummeted into the earth. It was worse than being in a boat. It was even worse than flying! She was suddenly very glad she'd put Valor away; he'd be having a heart attack at the seemingly dangerous situation. The gut-wrenching decent seemed to last forever before the elevator jerked to a stop deep below the surface and she was freed from the ensnaring safety equipment.

She'd barely regained her breath when a rather irritating and naive voice declared that horror to be "awesome". It was that boy again. Amber glared daggers at him for a moment before regaining her composure. She'd deal with him later. With slight difficulty, she fixed her typical smirk on her face and spoke somewhat loudly to the group of startled students, hoping her voice wasn't shaking or anything embarrassing like that.

"The look on your faces! Bunch of scared-y Meowths; they'd hear you screaming all the way on the mainland!" she remarked with a derisive laugh, sounding much more confident than she felt. With any luck, the rest of the class would be much easier than the mode of transport to it.

 

[Synthet]

Samantha Felicity Cooper ft. Clay

​

Sammy pressed her back against the wall as the classroom elevator, her eyes stretching about as wide as they could go while she watched the rest of her class plummet into the earth. What the hell was wrong with Clay, was he insane? She followed him to the more reasonable elevator in a kind of daze, unable to say anything until the doors had closed.

"You scare the total ♥♥♥♥ out of me," she said, eyeing him from across the elevator, "If that's how we were supposed to get to class what the hell have you got planned for the rest of it?"

Clay simply gave a small laugh. "I was expectin' ya to call me crazy or something. That was just to get the students on their toes and wide awake for the upcoming expedition! You can't find good dirt if you don't dig deep after all. You'll see what I mean when we meet up with the class" Clay simply replied. Pressing another button that was conveniently shaped like a big down arrow, the lift would start to make its way down.

"Just glad I warned ya beforehand. I don't wanna be the cause of an accident with that egg of yours. Mighty responsible to hang onto it, especially with a lot of the incidents going on up there. If I were you, I'd have made the same choice." He'd add, showing he already had a bit of respect for Sammy.

Sammy wasn't entirely sure how to take that compliment - she still thought Clay was completely nuts after all. She knew now that he'd been offering to take the Egg with him in this lift while she rode the doom-elevator with everyone else, and she couldn't say she wasn't glad that she'd declined his offer. Mark was probably crying like a Blissey right now. But she didn't want Clay to think she was some sort of responsible mother-figure, she was just the babysitter.

"It's not mine," she admitted, "It belongs to another student who got... y'know, transformed in the raid yesterday. So Nurse Joy asked me to look after it until they recover. It's no big deal, I mean, I can't say no to a nurse, y'know?"

"Yer's or not, its being the guardian of a child essentially. But I'm sure you already know all of this so I won't preach to ya about the responsibilities. You seem to have that under control from what I've seen. Take that as you will from a crazy miner like myself. Haha!" Clay replied. The elevator would be about halfway there. The cavern wasn't to ridiculously deep. He didn't want to totally crush every students head from air pressure!

"Hey if it happens to hatch during class though, your more then welcome to be excused early on to take care of things." He'd add as an extra note.

"...Thanks. That's kinda nice of you, even if I do still think you're dangerously insane." She frowned down at the egg for a second before looking back to Clay. Uh, listen. I don't like asking for help with stuff, but I guess since you're here and everything... I've got a Cubone. Any... y'know... pointers or anything? I'm doing pretty well with him so far, but you're supposed to be an expert and everything, right?"

Clay's face started beaming. "Well, I'm not a Ground Type Gym Leader for nothin'! Cubone huh? Well I guess first thing's first. Do ya happen to have a Thick Club for him? If you really want to bring out a proper smackdown on your opponents. Just holding onto that thing boosts its attack power ten fold!" Clay advised.

"A... Thick Club?" This was why she hated asking for help with things, it just made her look stupid. But helping Cubone out was more important than her own pride. "You mean like his bone club? He's just got the one I had when I, y'know, captured him. I never thought about what difference getting him a better club would make, but I guess it makes sense. Where do you find them?"

"Well, some Cubone already have them in their posession so for all we know, ya might already have one. They're alot more... ahem... "thick" looking. But if not, its always possible to dig up something like that down here. All sorts of stuff has been found in these caverns, from rare items, and even Fossils! The mystery of what you might dig up is all a part of the fun of mining. You never know what you'll find... ha, but I'm ramblin. Anything else you'd like to know?" Clay said.

Sammy was fairly sure Cubone didn't already have one of these Thick Clubs, and really, what were the chances she'd just happen to find one her first time mining? But he had said some Cubone already had them, and it increased their attack power, so it made sense that the leaders of wild Cubone and Marowak groups would have one to help them stay on top... she made a mental note to try and get into the mountains at some point and pick an incredibly stupid and reckless fight with a herd of wild Marowak.

"Not that I can think of, thanks though." She smiled as the lift started to slow down.

Clay smiled down at her. "Heh, if ya need anything, feel free to let me know! Now then, you should probably join the rest of the class. I betcha' they're still in shock after all. Haha!" Clay said, tipping his hat and heading off the lift. It was right beside the classroom sized one as the door for that was opening up as well. A couple of students we're already making their way out only to see that they were in a gigantic cavern. Even now, there were Pokemon still digging up new tunnels, mostly Excadrill's. Possibly helping Clay expand his cavern further! Just how far did this tunnel go? It was rich and ready to mine, some of the walls were giving off a faint glow, showing they were ripe and filled with ore. The students would have a field day down here!

Sammy stepped off the elevator and looked around. She had to admit it was impressive just how much work had gone into this and how much was still going into it, but she'd far rather be above ground. Or better yet, on the water. All the other students seemed to have made it down unharmed, although some looked a little worse for wear. Mark looked like he was pitching some sort of fit, she didn't think she'd seen him that excited since Commodore evolved.

"I'm really glad I took the normal way down..."

Mark quickly ran over to Sammy. "Aww Sammy you missed out! It went down so fast! I swear there was a ride somewhere that did something like that.. I don't remember what it was but there were like, a bunch of seats and they'd rocket up and down super fast! Kinda like that, but going straight down! And faster!" Mark paused a moment, realising he was acting waaayyy to geeky for his own taste. He just blushed and rubbed his head nervously. "Ha, sorry, just having some flashbacks there. Hey at least you got to hang out with Clay a little while! That's pretty darned cool!" He added

"We didn't talk about much," she shrugged, "I just told him about your team and he walked me through how to beat it. Y'know, Gym Leader stuff."

Mark smirked. "Ha. Sure." He said, giving her a nudge on the shoulder.

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam - Self Defense Class
Let's Try Again​

Liam quickly finished the rest of his breakfast and took a few mouthfuls of tea before packing away his notebook and pen as well as picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Looking around he noticed that Sammy and Mark had left. He cracked a smile once again when he thought about Sammy's new look. She was looking great today, certainly better than yesterday. He shook his head and walked out of the cafeteria.

"Hmm … Self Defense. I think I have a fair idea where that room is. I remember seeing it a few days ago. I just hope it's the right one" muttered Liam as he picked up the pace, worried about what the teacher might think if he was late. The last teacher wasn't exactly forgiving when he walked in late and he wasn't going to have a repeat of that.

Liam walked through the area which contained many of the classrooms. He headed to the one which he believed to be the Self Defense classroom and surprisingly he was actually right. He peered in from outside and could see someone sitting on the floor, presumably another student as well as a shadowy figure at the top of the room. It was difficult to make out but one could only assume that was the teacher. Liam took a deep breath before he turned the handle of the door and headed inside.

The room was eerily quiet. Closing the door behind him made an ungodly noise as it felt as though the sound was amplified a thousand times due to this deathly silence. Looking around he could see that this room was a dojo of sorts. This was definitely Self Defense class alright.

Man this looks like something straight out of a Kung Fu movie though Liam as a faint grin appeared on his face. He continued to slowly walk across the room until he reached, what he assumed to be another student. He removed his bag and plopped it down on the ground and then proceeded to sit down next to this student. Looking ahead Liam could see Maylene, of course Liam had no idea who Maylene was so this just added to the mystery surrounding her. He was unsure if he should speak or not. Perhaps the teacher might find it rude? Ah screw it. She can't be that harsh right?

"Hey there. How's it going?" whispered Liam to the student he sat alongside.​

 

[Blastin'Tyruntz]

Lysandros Durand

Lysandros was sitting still, checking out the backside of Maylene till he heard a sound next to him.
He looked right at the other student who was sitting next to him and just pointed at Maylene, pronouncing with no voice: "Hot teacher", then quickly pulled his hoodie on, thinking no one would like to interact with a guy with a scar over his face. "Perhaps i should speak?" he thought to himself while still gazing at Maylene.

He had a thing for Maylene, alright. He already knew how to defend himself, but he thought getting into the class and showing off his skills would impress Maylene. As far as Lysandros knew, there wasn't a rule forbidding dating your intructor, right?

A few minutes later, getting kind of bored and...friendless, he took out his pocket knife and started to make conversation, whispering.
"So far so good. And i mean...SO good." He pulled down his hoodie, revealing the scar over his left eye and smiling big. "Lysandros", he said, folding the pocket knife after he calmed down, "And you?"
​

 

[WooliestSteam]

Liam - Self Defense Class
Not Totally Convinced​

Liam wasn't very sure about this guy. First of all, he has a scar over his left eye and then he pulls out a pocket knife? I mean what kind of student carries around a pocket knife? Nevertheless he was stuck here now so he may as well make conversation with him.

"I'm Liam. So … Self Defense class then?" whispered Liam with a slight tinge of hesitation. He scanned around the room looking for any other students which where perhaps sitting away at the back of the room but alas it was no joy. It was just him and Lysandros.

Is this it? I dunno if I wanna be stuck with this guy for the whole class thought Liam as he put his hands together and twiddled his thumbs.

For some strange reason Liam's mind was alive with facts and speculation relating to pokémon. Liam was never one for studying or even paying attention at school so the fact that he was still pondering over evolutionary forms and move sets made it very strange indeed. He tried to put his mind at rest but suddenly the excitement of showing Sammy his Kirlia started to grow larger and larger. He assumed she would be at the tournament, being a strong trainer that she is, so that's where he could thank her properly. How to thank her though was another thing. A simple thank you didn't seem to suffice. It was almost like a gift was needed. He shook his head free from these thoughts and decided to focus on the class for now.

He looked over at Lysandros once more and could see that he seemed to be entranced by this teacher. His statement of her being a 'Hot Teacher' did seem to reinforce the fact that he was indeed drawn in by her. Why was she so motionless though? Was she waiting for the whole class to arrive before she could spring into action?​

 

[Blastin'Tyruntz]

Lysandros Durand (self defense class)- The touch of an angel

"I can defend myself pretty well" Lysandros replied, stretching his pocket knife and closing it as he began being nervous. 'Keep it together, you don't wanna cut anything by mistake' he thought to himself, folding the knife and pointing at his scar.
"Fighting match, someone had made an...illegal move. Got this scar now", he came closer to Liam.

"I'm a wrestler and a street fighter" He said with a smirk, now lowering his voice even farther. "I'm only here for...HER." he added, pointing at Maylene.
He could've swore the guy was paranoid, checking his slightest move. 'I'm not THAT scary...but i guess a guy with a scar and a knife, wearing a hoodie in an almost empty dojo could be kind of suspicious' Lysandros thought to himself.

Maylene suddenly turned around.
"You there! The guy in the hoodie. Do you want to spar with me before the rest of the students come here?" She said, backing off a few steps.
"Sure thing, princess, just don't cry too hard if i beat ya" Lysandrs smiled, taking off his hoodie and puting his knife aside.
A few minutes later, Lysandros was on the floor, breathing heavily as Maylene looked down on him. "The name...is...Lysandros..." he said inbetween breaths. "Maylene" she answered.
'Oh i know...i know.' he thought to himself as he watched her walking off to the side of the classroom, getting a towel.

"Don't call me princess." Maylene said to him, helping him get up as the other student watched in shock. "You are pretty good though, do you have any martial arts background?" she asked him.
"Y-yes ma'am!" he stuttered lightly. Losing and stuttering? What was going on? Lysandros was trying to impress her, something he hasn't done successfully, he guessed.

Maylene chuckled as her gaze turned to the other boy, still sitting down on the floor.
"Ready for your turn?" She asked the other kid, smiling.
​

 

[Gemini8910]

Amber Frost​

Now that the shock of falling down into the earth had worn off, Amber took the time to examine her surroundings. They were in a large underground cavern, which glowed and shimmered faintly. Amber grinned; shininess was usually a good sign when it came to rare or valuable items. She actually felt excited to get started now.

She noticed the female trainer and Clay get off a much slower looking elevator, a bit annoyed that she had been stuck on the terrifying one while she got a free, relaxing ride. Her irritation only grew as the childish trainer exchanged friendly banter with the girl. Was it friendship? Rivalry? More than that? Amber found it very irritatingly hard to tell.

She tried to keep her mind off of it as she waited for Clay to continue with the class activities.