hiding away the nerves ,

[Alyssa Hart]

Almost horror like stories had been told about this place, about how some of the staff members in the lab refused to test the new students, often giving them less than amazing pokemon and the lowest rank they could. Alyssa was standing just outside of the lab, pondering if she should go in while her nerves and worries squirmed around in her mind, poisoning her and making her believe that she would probably get the same treatment as some of the other students. It didn't exactly help that a student had just come out of the lab, looking rather tearful and upset, deciding to tell Alyssa that she hadn't even been tested properly and was basically shooed out as quickly as she came in through the door. It wasn't exactly something Alyssa needed to hear right now, that her first and very important day at the school could ultimately ruined just because the person inside was in a bad mood.

She stood out there in the summer sun for a good fifteen minutes until her feet and heart managed to win the battle within her mind, urging her to stride towards the door to the lab. Worries still flew around her mind though and she stopped at the door, closing her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath in and then out again to try and calm herself. Appearing unconfident and nervous wasn't going to help her at all, she was going to have to appear confident.. But not overly confident of course. Nobody was fond of a cocky new student.

After her calming breaths and putting on a much used confident expression on her features, practically perfected over the years from how much she had practiced looking like a secure person, she pushed open the door and strode in. She may have looked cool and collected on the outside, but within Alyssa her heart was racing faster and faster, while doubts still churned like poison in her stomach. She walked silently into the first room and her aquatic eyes surveyed the rows of chairs. All of them were empty and Alyssa wondered if she should wait here until someone collected her or make her presence known to whichever staff member was probably lurking about. Deciding that she might be waiting for who knows how long if she stayed quiet, Alyssa wondered over to the front of the empty room and called out in a voice which was loud enough to let her presence be known, but not loud enough to be considered shouting.

"Hello? ..I'm a new student, I was told to come here to receive my starter pokemon and pack?"

[Yang]

[/i] long? What on Earth could she have been doing? "Sometimes I'll never understand students..." He thought with a small sigh. The instructor took a few steps towards the girl and nodded over in her general direction. What else could he do? It would be rather awkward to ask what exactly she had been doing outside for fifteen-or-so minutes while he just stood inside waiting.

""I wont ask what you were doing, standing outside for that long..." Yang said with a smile unconsciously curving across his pale, almost porcelain lips. "But, I'm positive you have an exam to take. You're lucky I don't take points off... I'm putting my own time on the line for this. You know this, correct?" He murmured; turning away from the girl and heading towards one of the larger rooms of the laboratory in hopes she would follow.

By the time Alyssa would have made her way into the room, Yang would have already been holding a tray of pokeballs in his arms. The room that they both stood in was entirely empty- most likely reserved for battle exams. The ground was paved with gravel, and an odd jasmine-like scent wavered throughout the air. It wasn't anything particularly interesting, but what Yang held in his arms certainly was.

""Please take one of these pokeballs and release them. I'll be doing the same. Upon receiving your rental Pokemon, I expect you to attack first. How you do will determine which rank you are to be placed in, and I certainly hope you're prepared. I don't plan on going easy on you." He told her plainly. The instructor released his Pokemon, a Spearow, and stood at the other side of the field with a rather disappointed look in his eyes after seeing Alyssa's rental Pokemon.

If she were to call it out, it'd be a light blue Pokemon- obviously a water or ice type. It was entirely round with two beady eyes, and probably could have made a group of fangirls squee.

"Oh, I almost forgot... Here, take this card. It lists five moves your Pokemon may use. If you know any of the others you may use them, though I'll have to read over your file to see if you've had a history of Pokemon later..." He murmured; handing the girl the card and taking his place back on the other side of the field once more- eager to begin.

Moves Listed on Spheal's Card:
Power Snow, Rest, Snore, Encore, Body Slam

VS

Ooc: For future references, your Pokemon may use any move they are capable of learning naturally. This does not include egg moves and most certainly not TMs.

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[Alyssa Hart]

“Ah.. Sorry.” Alyssa mumbled, feeling a small stab of guilt and panic, hoping she didn’t annoy him to the point that he would refuse to test her on what rank she should be placed in. She didn’t want to say anything else, she didn’t exactly have a decent excuse to tell him after all, it wasn’t like she could tell the white haired man she had been standing out there panicking, he would probably think she was a weirdo. Noticing that he was walking away, Alyssa hesitated for a brief second, he hadn’t told her he wasn’t examining her, so she guessed that meant she was going to be allowed to prove herself. Quickly she paced after him, making sure to keep up as she tried to force the worry away with a small smile. She had to make it up to him for making him wait, she’d make sure she’d give one hundred and ten percent to prove that she was deadly serious about this school and everything that came with it.

Following the young man into the jasmine scented room, which Alyssa thought smelt alluring and fresh, she took a moment to appreciate the size of the room before her attention was quickly stolen by the tray of pokéballs in his grasp. Instantly excitement burst within her, making her almost forget about the negativity in her mind for a moment as she gazed at the crimson and ivory spheres with interest. Her attention was undivided as she looked up at the young man with the white hair, nodding once or twice as she listened carefully to what he had to say. “I don’t expect you to go easy on me.” She chuckled softly in good humour as she took one of the pokéballs into her grasp, staring at it with wonder for a moment as she pondered over what kind of pokémon could be within the confines of the capsule.

As soon as Yang released the tan bird pokémon, Alyssa tossed the pokéball up into the air and watched as her own rental pokémon was freed from its capsule in a burst of dazzling light. It took a mere second for the pokémon to reveal itself and it took Alyssa a few moments to remember the name. Spheal, wasn’t it? A soft smile appeared on her features at the sight, not just because of it’s cute face, but because of how fat and squishy it looked. Taking hold of the card with some moves upon it, Alyssa surveyed the writing with concentration. She hadn’t been around a Spheal before and therefore, she didn’t know any extra moves the pokémon had, that meant she’d have to rely on this card. Thankfully, most of the moves weren’t a complete mystery to her. Some however, she wasn't so sure about. For example, encore? What was that?

Well, she guessed she shouldn’t keep Yang waiting and after giving the list one last look she turned her attention towards the battle field and the two pokémon that would be fighting. “Okay, let’s try a powder snow.” She ordered, she wasn’t completely positive what that move was but she figured she’d have to find out sometime, besides, using rest or snore wasn’t really an option right now. Responding to Alyssa’s order, the plump blue and cream pokémon let out an excited cry before opening its mouth wide and releasing a stream of glittering cold snow towards the Spearow. Alyssa looked on with interest and excitement, that was certainly a good move, especially that it could reach long distances, that would be helpful since Spearow could fly!

[Yang]

• • •

Yang watched as both Pokemon prepared themselves for battle. Spearow let out a triumphant caw before jumping into the air and levitating by flapping it's small wings continuously. However, as soon as Spheal released a stream of snow, it's tiny eyes widened and it let out a bleak cry as the attack knocked it down onto the ground, dealing a rather massive amount of damage due to the difference in Pokemon types and it's unmistakably low defense. Yang hadn't exactly been lucky when he sent out his Pokemon, but he wasn't about to complain. If he lost, he lost, and that's just how things were.

"Spearow, use Agility to get close to it and follow up with Peck." Yang ordered; his eyes glued to the field as Spearow hissed over towards the seal-like Pokemon. It shuddered before hoisting itself back into the air. It took a little while, but the Spearow started to flap it's wings rapidly. It took only a few moments until the Spearow started zooming though the air until it's speed increased. It then flew behind the Spheal; ready to attack with a series of pecks.

"Spearow!" It cried.

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[Alyssa Hart]

Alyssa held her breath in suspense as she watched the pretty looking powder snow fly towards the brown bird pokémon, her heart was racing rather fast and her worries still plagued her mind, however for the most part all of that was pushed back by the excitement and the thrill of the battle. Even though it was just getting started. Seeing that the Spheal’s attack had hit its target, Alyssa resisted the urge to let out a little shout in glee however she kept her lips tightly shut and simply smiled in delight. She had battled once or twice with her brothers at the breeding farm but it never felt this heart racing and thrilling before, perhaps because back then it was all just play while this was serious, it meant something important and meant a whole lot to Alyssa. This was a battle that could shape her future in the academy!

Watching the Spearow with bright blue eyes, she watched patiently, wondering what attack Yang would order next. Would it be something like tackle? Perhaps something along the lines of leer? Oh how wrong she was. The sudden chain of commands left her feeling slightly bewildered as she heard them, her bright eyes widening in shock as the Spearow raced off into his agility attack at an incredible speed which left Alyssa almost speechless, the words she had wanted to say catching in her throat. “D-Dodge it!” She cried out to the plump Spheal, unfortunately the command was far too late and the water and ice type was too slow to roll out of the way, leaving him to be pecked across the back. The cry of pain the Spheal released caused Alyssa to bite her lip as she watched with guilty and panicked eyes. What should she do?! The Spearow was too close, it was a much safer bet to get some distance and fight long ranged so Spheal wouldn’t get physically attacked so much.. But how was she going to get Spheal to get some distance back?

“Fight back Spheal! ..Body slam!” She managed to choke out in her worry and excitement, looking on at the battle with fierce determination within her eyes. “Then try and roll away as best as you can.” Yes, distance was good, fighting up close wasn’t a good option when the Spearow had, what seemed to be, a strong peck attack. Obeying his temporary trainer, Spheal bounced forward in an attempt to land on the Spearow as best as he could before trying to roll back and create some space between him and his opponent.

[Yang]

• • •

Yang realized that fighting with Spearow against Spheal was a mistake as soon as the ice-type hurled itself into the air and slammed into the flying type. The sparrow Pokemon let out a harsh cry as it fell through the air and hit the ground with a light 'thud'.

Well, that could have gone better... Yang chuckled rather nervously under his breath. He certainly hoped she wouldn't be disappointed...

"So, Spearow didn't exactly have an advantage..." The instructor explain with a light shrug. There wasn't a point in making excuses. The girl had won fair and square, and she was bound to make a nice trainer. Yellow rank would do just fine. For some reason, he figured the girl might enjoy living in a tree house for a little while...

"I think I'll put you up in Yellow Rank." He told her; walking out of the room for a few moments to pick up two others pokeballs along with a yellow phone strap and bracelet. He stepped back into the wide room and held the objects out towards the girl, as well as the two different orbs.

"You may either keep that spheal as a starter, or pick from these other two. I hope you don't mind living up in the trees for a while... It should be an interesting experience. Sorry if this battle was shorter than you expected." He told her; releasing the other two Pokemon so she could see them.

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[Alyssa Hart]

She couldn’t believe her eyes when the Spheal crashed into the Spearow and made him collide with the ground. She stood there, staring with her mouth opened ever so slightly in shock as she watched the two pokémon, practically holding her breath as she wondered what was to come next. But nothing happened and the flying pokémon stayed still and on the ground while Speal. Bless his little heart, still did what he was told and rolled some distance away. Had she won? The idea of it sounded strange, it felt like the battle had only just begun and her nerves had only just given way to the excitement of a real pokémon battle. She wanted to feel that feeling of terror yet happiness pulsing around her again but it looked like she had somehow, for some strange miracle, had managed to gain a premature win against the examiner. She couldn’t believe it, she hadn’t even got to see what encore did!

Alyssa’s attention snapped up to Yang as he started to talk and she felt a rather large smile pulling onto her lips when he mentioned that he was putting her into the yellow dorms. Personally, she didn’t think that she had shown enough battle skill to be there but she wasn’t going to argue with his decision, after all, why would she ask to be put in a lower rank just because of her negativity? Gratefully, she took the yellow phone strap and bracelet, looking at them with a mixture of pride and wonder. With all the horror stories she had heard about this place, she was pretty surprised she had even got to go through with the test let alone get a middle class rank! “Thank you.” She chimed as she slipped the sunny coloured bracelet onto her right wrist.

“In the trees? ..You mean I’m going to be living in a tree house?” Her tone wasn’t one of annoyance but instead wonder and curiosity, living in a tree house would be really amazing, sounded far more interesting than just a normal house. Now, she had to pick her starter pokémon and Alyssa watched as two more pokémon were released for her to look at. She knew the Bulbasaur of course, they were well known and of course she knew what the Spheal was but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure what the two headed bird was. Her parents hadn’t bred every single pokémon after all. Looking carefully between the two, she pointed towards the Bulbasaur after a few moments of pondering. “I’ll take the Bulbasaur.” She informed Yang, she knew the grass type was a popular choice but she figured it would perfect for battling and contests, plus unlike the poor Spheal, she wouldn’t have to worry about mobility issues. Besides, who could say no to a Bulbasaur’s cute little face and its evolved forms.

“Thank you very much!”