Opening Ceramonies

After three trains, four buses, and one unconformable Numel ride, the day long boat trip to Island Ragnarock was the most enjoyable part of Eliza Longleer-Hawkings' nine day trip from Snowpoint City. During that time, the 18-year-old was able to quiet some of the nervous waves in her stomach and eager excitement took its place creating an uneasy mixture. She adjusted the straps on her backpack before hoisting the tribal-patterned bag over her shoulders, being careful of the DSLR camera hanging around her neck that was full of pictures from the nine day trip. She took a steadying breath and merged into the flow of moving students off the large ship.

Eliza muttered apologizes as she bumped into other students as the herd gathered into a ball in front of two in charge looking students dressed in the Ragnarock Academy uniforms. Eliza felt like a tourist in her knitted red and blue sweater, dark jeans and Chucks. She wondered if dawning on the uniform would help her feel more like she belonged here. Among the others. She adjusted her backpack strap again.

Eliza's ears perked up at the sound of Student Body Council. It was the leadership mark she had desperately wanted on her college applications in her senior year, and after losing the election she had to settle for prom committee. Not that her fat resume mattered now, she reminded herself bitterly. But, perhaps joining the ranks of a higher level council now would fill the hole of that defeat. Maybe, she thought.

"Thanks," she replied quickly after accepting the folded paper from Violet. She took a quick glance through it before slipping it into one of the mesh side pockets of her bag.

Today was the first day of the new chapter of Eliza's life, her grandma would have told her something about the Great Snow Spirit watching over her while her mother would have told her to just be herself and have a good time. Sighing, and with a final tug on her back pack strings, Eliza decided there was no turning back now. She was here and she wasn't leaving without a degree, or at least a powerful team of Pokemon.



2d6·2d6

Time passed by fairly quickly, in Rex’s opinion. Between wandering to each side of the ship, peering down into the waters below and snapping pictures for his followers online to help him identify, Rex spent the entire ride ogling the beauty of the word and the pokemon that surrounded them. Majikarp, luvdisc, tentacruel - a sharpedo that one time – Rex photographed them all and sent them to his mother and saved them for later admiration.

When the ship made to dock and the announcement blared across the ship, Rex scrambled to remember where he left his things. In hindsight, seeing the amount of luggage others brought, he might have brought too much. Regardless, the three backpacks stuffed to the brim were easily hefted onto his back as he joined the group. He’d have to pay attention, keep his grades up and work hard on the rugby team to earn his keep.

“Welcome First Years!” swings nobly in the breeze and Rex has to fight against the excited squeal in his throat. Finally a taste of freedom to make his own history and reputation other than the one given to him back in his hometown. Rex’s eyes were drawn to the birds flying off in the distance and he brings a hand up to protect his eyes from the sun, squinting as if it would help him get a better look. The group near the ramp starts to leave and he bolts after them, easily catching up in time to hear the two welcoming committee greet them and wish them well.

He’s prepared to greet them personally with a firm handshake and a smile but the flash of something skittering into the trees draws his attention. He knew he would love this place. So many new pokemon he’d be able to see first-hand, so many friends to make and experiences to be had. Spinning in a slow circle Rex gasps and points at a massive plume of water out on the ocean, a torrent of water that spewed high into the air and misted the area around it. Flicking through the pictures on his phone until he finds a match, a Wailord, he spins around to see if anyone else saw but they’re already moving on. The group of freshmen are led along a path by the two kind souls and Rex’s cheeks heat at his actions.

He’d have to remind himself he’d have time to nature-watch later. Now was the time to focus on school. He adjusted the bandana round his neck, a gift from a certain perfect pink pokemon, and quickly jogged after them. Rex Ramos knew this was where he would figure out what to do with himself.





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"Standard rules?" Eliza pipes up after Ken's first round of explanations. Her cheeks dusting in pink as a few members of the crowd turn to her. "What do you mean they've just been thrown out?"

The native Shinnohian girl didn't think she had arrived at a barbaric and lawless college, but after the events of the last six months she wasn't sure what to expect in her world anymore.

Arriving at the dome Eliza made a pit stop at the bathrooms, doing a quick mirror check before entering the crowd again. She took her time before finding a seat, making a mental list of potential friends. Four years alone would be rough. She took note of a girl with wild dark hair and robotic stickers on her luggage, Eliza recognized one from her high school friend's own bag. It would be a long shot, but Eliza hoped the small connection could go along way. The second student was a tall man with an adorable tiger backpack. He had been taking photos on the ship, and if Eliza hadn't been too busy with her own she would have approached him then. His tall height would make him easy to find later in the festivities.

After stopping by the food vendor and grabbing a bag of chips, Eliza settled into a seat in the upper left of the auditorium. She slid her backpack under the seat, opened her snap and waited for the room to quiet down.

Oh, Rex had so many questions. Too many questions. He’d need one-on-one time or some kind of official handbook to weed out the obvious ones and learn more about the other inquiries later. He’s glad the group is talking, no awkward silences to answer Violet his hand pops into the air and while he’s a bit concerned his question of “How will the pokemon be assigned to us and will we be keeping them until we graduate” be a foolish one, he hears at least one person murmur about the pokedex itself.

He’s prepared for another one – just two questions this time he’s narrowed it down – but decides it’s better to be quiet when he nearly smacks an adorable out of place looking girl with his arms in his excitement to get answers. She didn’t seem to notice but he quickly distances himself from the group with an awkward laugh. Just in case he bumped into anyone else.

The dome is magnificent, of grand architecture he considers the high ceiling, decidedly impressed, and finds himself alone when the group scatters to find places to sit or get food of their own. There are more than enough groups he’s sure he wouldn’t mind his presence, he’d like to think he’s a pretty friendly guy.

Rex wants a good angle from the band to admire their work but not sit close enough to where the music is too loud. He sees a smaller girl, one with wild hair and dark skin, eyeing a group of people wearing jerseys from different schools and regions. The love of sports calls to him and deep down he wants to join. They’d accept him easily, they like sports and so does he, but that would be the easy way out. He wants a challenge while he’s here, something different than his old life.

The girl takes a seat next to the one he nearly bumped into and he goes to join. They look harmless enough, and they’re not sitting in a big group so talking will be easier if it’s just the three of them. When they greet one another and one turns to peer in his direction his feet lead him away from their spot and into an empty place on the bleachers a few spaces away, suddenly nervous. Maybe after the celebrations have died down he’ll find someone to talk to. A little bit of time to steel his nerves wouldn’t hurt.

Eliza looks up to the girl gesturing to the empty seat next to her own, of all things it was the girl she had noticed before. Quickly wiping the chip crumbs from her mouth and lap, Eliza offers a kind smile.

"It sure is," she says a little too eagerly. "I'm Eliza Longleer."

Their exchange of pleasantries was cut short by the welcoming ceremony commencing. Head Master Yagamaki looked much more at home in the center stage than he had sitting at Eliza's dining room table those six months ago. His flair for dramatic hand't changed however. At first, Eliza thought the display of Pokeballs was a little over the top, but seeing the wow-full expressions of her new schoolmates, she found herself slipping into the magic of it as well. Just the few 40 seconds it took for her Pokeball to find her, Eliza's heart pounded fearing that she might not receive one. Once it hovered in front of her, she snatched it and cradled it against her chest. The metal ball was cool to the touch and Eliza couldn't wait to see what was inside. Something strong she was sure, if what Yagamaki had said was true, he knew that Eliza wished to have a team capable of word traveling and protecting the young girl.

Following the crowd to the top of the stage she ran over her possibilities. The Pokemon inside could be a speedy flying type able to fly her to country to country, or a fierce fire type able to defeat any trainer that might block her path, or maybe a stunning normal type able to adapt to any potential trouble that Eliza might find. She had to find out!

Walking to the center of the stage when it was her turn, Eliza launched the Pokeball into the air and white light blinded her vision. Once cleared she saw her starter, her first Pokemon, the one that would be her partner forever.

The oceanic blue eyes of a Seel happily looked up at Eliza and the Pokemon clapped his fins together in excitement. "Seel! Seel!"

Eliza heard the soft laughter of the students behind her.

The feather hanging at her neck chilled against her skin and the sudden flashback of a dream no, a memory she had during her travel here rocked her stomach. This had all happened before. Eliza instinctively braced for the Seel's forceful leap into her arms. The blubbery baby landed an icy lick on Eliza's cheek before cheering again. In the vision it hadn't been this cold.

Eliza smiled walking across the stage to the set of steps leading back down. Instead of wiggling around looking at the new things like several other Pokemon had, her Seel just stared up at his new trainer with his dopey grin.

Perhaps speedy, fierce or stunning wasn't what Eliza could describe Seel, but love could definitely top the list.


2d6·3d6

Even though Rex knew one of the pokeballs were for him, he couldn’t believe there were so many. Multitudes floated and lingered beside their supposed partners, one student already popping theirs out of the capsule the moment it landed in their hands. How could Yagamaki know which one was his? His specifically? His breath caught in his throat when one hovered before his face a foot away and he held out both hands, watching as it dropped gently into his palms. His partner. Whatever was in the ball would be based on his personality, through unforeseen observation his perfect partner chosen.

For a fleeting moment Rex could only feel dread at the possibility of it being a fighting type. Not wanting to wait any longer, he squeezed himself in beside the group of rugby players all boasting about their partners and cradling them in their arms.

He made his way to the middle of the stage when the most eager of the students passed by, cooing and aah’ing at the starters. Rex stood tall and gently pressed the button on the capsule. Out in a shimmering blast of white a creature floated mid-air. Blue tentacles at the bottom and a gelatin like head with a pink interior, the pokemon blinked at him curiously and wiggled two of its tentacles.

“Ink!” Rex held his hand out, wanting to hold the little squid. He had no idea what it was but whatever it was—its little smile was melting his heart. It puffed itself up at his movement and after a second of consideration, happily nestled its body in his hand. Rex held it close and walked off stage, heart thundering at the little cheeps it made against his chest.

Looking out at the others he tried to pick out the ones he did know the specie of. Finding a large amount of them new and exotic, Rex opened his phone and began researching, his pokemon pressing random buttons on the phone while he looked.

2d6·3d6

Patting her little blubber baby on his head, Eliza returns the Seel back into its Pokeball before heading to the line forming at the registration table. In chaos of receiving her starter, Eliza lost Charlotte in the crowd but hoped she would find her again. She made feeble small talk in the line, complementing people's things and snapping photos of the large dome and its contents. Once she was at the front of the line, Eliza filled out her form and received her uniform. The blue accents matched her feather and she wondered if there was any connection to her people's snow guardian.

"Of course not," Eliza thought. "Its just a color."

She accepted her Pokedex from the upper classman working the booth and listened to the basic tutorial. She pinned the map section onto the home page and made her way toward her dorm. She would need to unpack the heavy trunk she brought with her, and maybe meet her roommate if she was already there. What type of person would they be, Eliza wondered. She had dreamed envisioned getting Seel, she wondered why she hadn't had more about her coming here.

"That's a good thing," she reminded herself. "It's better if they stop happening all together."

Feeling proud of getting to her dorm without getting lost, Eliza made a final adjustment to her backpack and walked inside following the numbered doors until she reached hers. She awkwardly knocked before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Charlotte hesitates when she sees her peers returning their Pokemon, staring at her own Pokeball skeptically. Can they be hacked? If so, could you lose your Pokemon? She can’t help but bite her lip as she considers the mechanics and the bio-IDs that it would take for all the science that could be corrupted so easily. Realistically, she knows Pokeballs are made of firmer stuff than your run of the mill electronic, but she still tucks it into a side pocket of her duffle and unzips her backpack.

“In you go,” she clicks her tongue, plopping elgyem into the bag where it blinks up at her calmly.

Shouldering her bag, Charlotte makes her way over to the registration table where she picks up her pokedex and uniform. It’s convenient that you get more than one so you don’t have to do washing every day, but maybe more than just two and an extra wash-day set would be more efficient.

Furtively she glances around before flipping out her phone, shooting a quick snap to 5P3C73R of her new pokemon with a caption shes cute rite? before she heads towards her dorm. The campus is obscenely big and honestly she can’t help but wonder what the policy is on teleporting?

Pursing her lips she resists the urge to grab her pack of gum – it helps her keep her mind on track if she’s got something else to focus on. On the downside, it doesn’t really make a great first impression and she’s not entirely sure what to expect when she rolls up to her dorm room and unlocks the door.


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