"Nice to meet you, Wendy," Seulgi chuckled. There was already something about the other Trainer's personality that she already liked. Cheesy lines and all.

Wendy smiled brightly, pointing at the red tie that Seulgi was wearing. "You're also a competitive battler too, huh? So am I, but I lost my tie and can't get a new one until next week."

Seulgi absently at her tie. "I thought everyone had to wear theirs at all times?" The last thing she wanted to do was stick out like a sore thumb on her first day. For once, she was content with being the new student no one really talked to.

Wendy nodded but added in a conspiratorial whisper, "Yeah, but when you're the daughter of an Elite Four member, rules are a little easier to break. My dad is one of the Elite Four over in Kanto. He sent me here to finish my schooling in the hopes I'll take his place one day."

Seulgi was starstruck. It was only her first day here and she had already met a Hall of Famer, a Champion Coordinator and the daughter of an Elite Four member! "That sounds like a cushy gig."

"Eh, if you dig sitting around a lot waiting for challengers to appear," Wendy shrugged. "Truth be told it's not really my thing, but I have a few more years to decide. Might as well live them up while I have them."

"Hey, Son," Taeyong jeered from across the room. "How would your father take the news if he heard you didn't want to be an Elite Four member like him? He'd probably be SUPER disappointed in you. You gonna be a loser?"

Wendy growled, "Shut up you mouth-breathing troglodyte! Why don't you come over here and I'll show you what a real loser can do!" She made to walk over to the bully and give him a verbal smackdown when she felt a warm hand on her arm. Seulgi shook her head and Wendy calmed down. It wouldn't be a good impression on the pretty transfer student if she got in a fistfight.

"Aw, the fierce Wendy already has a girl to keep her in line," Taeyong called, clearly not smart enough to see the rage in the shorter girl's eyes. "Which reminds me...new girl! Have you completed the Academy Initiation challenge yet?"

Wendy's eyes widened and she lunged at the taller boy, who jerked back just in time to avoid getting a fist to his perfectly-proportioned face. "Don't you dare think of asking her to do what I think you're going to. That's just asking for trouble!"

Seulgi was tired of Taeyong and the others, and seeing Wendy defend her made her want to stand up to him. "What is it then?" She was not about to let her newfound friend risk detention for starting a fight. "I'll do it."

Taeyong sneered, "Every new person has to break into the kennels by the security office and grab one of the guardPokémon's tennis balls. Bring the ball back here and then we'll see what you're made of." He glanced at the clock above the doorway. "You have ten minutes."

Seulgi nodded and turned away from Taeyong, giving a thumbs-up to Wendy, who looked deeply concerned and walking out the door. The Security office wasn't far from the building she was currently in, so she ran outside to complete the dare. Nine minutes.

She stood outside the door, weighing the pros and cons of what she was about to do. Mightyena were terribly territorial on a good day, and these had been trained since birth to guard and protect the school. In fact, a large "Beware of GuardPokémon sign had been hung up where even the stupidest person in the world could see the warning. Seven minutes

Inhaling deeply, Seulgi threw caution to the wind and ran full-tilt towards the locked gate, easily vaulting over the fencing. She landed on the other side with a muted thump and swore under her breath. Well. Too late to back out now. Six minutes.

A low growl made Seulgi's hair stand on end, as the biggest Mightyena she had ever seen woke up and starting padding towards her. She closed her eyes and shrunk in on herself, preparing for the worst. Five minutes.

But the large wolf Pokémon didn't attack her. As if it sensed her motives it merely wagged its tail and gave a happy woofle. The Mightyena approached Seulgi and gently her cheek, pushing its huge furry head under her chin, begging for attention. Four minutes.

"What? Taeyong said you were--why aren't you? Never mind. Listen Mightyena, I have a favor to ask of you. If I can borrow one of your toys for the day, I promise I'll come back tonight to play with you. Please? I need to prove myself here and this was the only way." Three minutes.

The Mightyena whined, then turned tail to walk back to its kennel, returning seconds later with a ragged saliva-coated tennis ball. It fell to the floor with a wet squelch. Seulgi let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding and thanked her new friend before climbing over the fence and heading back to class. Two minutes.

She raced up to her classroom, tennis ball in hand, and burst through the door just as time ran out. Everyone's eyes turned to her as she triumphantly held out the toy so that everyone could see. "Next time try something a little harder, " she called to Taeyong, throwing the spit-soaked ball at him and hitting him right in the face."

Wendy looked seriously impressed, as she bowed her head in recognition of her deed. "You know I think you and I are going to get along very well, Seulgi."

XXX

"So here's how thing's basically work around here," Wendy said, carrying Seulgi's luggage for her as they made their way back to the dorms. Seulgi tried to refuse the shorter girl's help but evidently that didn't work. "Each dorm is home to the students who are studying a major track. Red are the Battlers, Blue are the Coordinators and Green are the Breeders."

"I figured as much," Seulgi replied, "You know I can carry my own bags." But Wendy waved her off with a smile.

"Here's what they didn't tell you. There's a competition coming up in a few days, and that's when things can get really nasty here. Rivalries explode this time of year. Dorm One, where we live, has Groudon as its mascot. As Trainers who specialize in battling, we're the experts at strategy. The Coordinators, also known as Team Kyogre, take pride in their creative energy, and that gives them a real advantage in things that aren't strictly battle related."

Seulgi pulled out a notebook from her backpack and began writing down everything Wendy said. "And third?"

Wendy frowned, "Third are the breeders, Team Rayquaza. They're known for being very clever. Last year they almost won the competition because they found a loophole in the rules and exploited it. The judges figured it out in time and disqualified them, but they're definitely not a team to mess with. They have a new Captain though so hopefully their cheating days are over."

"Sounds like they have a score to settle with you guys then," Seulgi jotted that down in her notebook and Wendy wondered if the taller girl was this cute all the time.

"Damn straight," Wendy puffed out her chest as the two of them approached Dorm One. "Well, here we are. Need me to walk you to your room?"

Seulgi shook her head, "No, but thank you Wendy. I didn't think I'd make a friend here at the Academy so soon." She gathered her things from Wendy.

"Hey, you seem like a cool person. Besides, anyone who can make Taeyong off is a hero in my book. If you ever need anything I'm just down the hall. I promise me and my two roommates are normal."

Seulgi grinned and turned in the opposite direction. She found her room without too much difficulty, and opened the door, nearly dropping her things as she took in the sight before her. Someone had already moved their stuff in, but even so the room was huge. One of the desks in the study area was already filled with pencils, pens and other supplies, so Seulgi dumped her bags on the other desk. She took a moment to wander around her new room and tried to to get a feel for what her new roommate would be like. "She likes photography," she said out loud, peering at a photo of a large Charizard in flight.

Seulgi spotted photos of a Zebstrika, Alolan Ninetales and a beautiful picture of the Academy at sunset and decided that she liked her roommate at first glance. She bustled into the bathroom that she would share and placed her toiletries on the shelf next to the other girl's. "Mmm, nice shampoo," she murmured, gazing at the row of beauty products. There was a fair bit of variety in her roommate's things, but Seulgi noticed that she didn't overdo it with the makeup and hair products.

"I think we'll get along well," Seulgi decided, climbing the spiral staircase to the second floor loft and unpacking the rest of her bags.

XXX

Irene was on her way back to her room that evening when her cell phone vibrated and she reluctantly answered it after looking at the caller ID. Leeteuk.

"Hello?"

"Joohyun where are you? We were supposed to meet an hour ago to talk about your photoshoot. Did you forget that it's happening tomorrow?"

Irene winced; time had gotten away from her and she had completely forgotten. "Yeah, I remember about tomorrow, I just totally blanked on tonight. It's been a hell of a day."

She heard an irrittated sigh coming from her mentor and fellow Champion. "Well do you at least have your full team ready for tomorrow? You need a team of six to maintain your title." Irene didn't answer. After what happened to Dante, she just couldn't bring herself to replace her beloved team member. Her belt still only held fivePokémon after all this time. "Joohyun, Joohyun are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here. Look, I'll see you at the shoot tomorrow, Leeteuk." She pressed the 'end call' button before her mentor could respond and shoved the phone