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Chapter 15: School?!!
🕑 Added 2024-11-12 19:00:28 +0000 UTCThe sun had barely peeked over the horizon when Erza's voice rang through the house, shattering the peaceful morning silence.
"Gladion! Gwen! Come down here, please. Your father and I need to talk to you."
Gladion groaned, burying his face deeper into his pillow. As a reincarnated individual, he'd hoped to avoid this particular aspect of childhood. Beside him, his Larvitar nudged him gently, sensing his reluctance.
"I know, I know," he mumbled. "We'd better go see what this is about."
Downstairs, they found their parents sitting at the kitchen table, wearing suspiciously cheerful expressions. Gwen stumbled in moments later, her Gastly floating sleepily behind her.
"Kids," Ben began, his voice overly bright, "we have exciting news!"
Gladion and Gwen exchanged wary glances. In their experience, "exciting news" delivered in that tone rarely lived up to the description.
Erza clasped her hands together. "You're both going to start school next week!"
The silence that followed was deafening. Gladion felt a headache forming already. School? Again? Hadn't he suffered enough in his past life?
Gwen was the first to break the silence. "But Mom," she whined, "we don't need school! We're going to be Pokémon trainers!"
"Yeah!" Gladion chimed in, desperately grasping at any excuse. "We've been learning so much at home already. And with our Pokémon, we—"
"Will benefit greatly from a structured educational environment," Erza finished firmly, her smile never wavering.
Gladion's shoulders slumped. He recognized that tone. It was the "this-is-not-up-for-debate" voice that mothers seemed to perfect across all universes.
Still, he had to try. "But Mom, think about it. I'm practically a walking Pokédex already. And Gwen's ghost powers—"
"Are precisely why a proper education is crucial," Erza interjected. "You both have unique abilities that need to be honed in a controlled setting."
Gwen's Gastly chose that moment to demonstrate said powers by playfully passing through the kitchen table, causing Ben to yelp and spill his coffee.
"See?" Gwen said triumphantly. "Gastly's teaching me everything I need to know!"
Erza merely raised an eyebrow. "And will Gastly also teach you mathematics, history, and proper social skills?"
Gwen opened her mouth, then closed it again, looking stumped.
Gladion, however, wasn't ready to give up. He stood up straight, channeling every ounce of his adult mind. "Mother, Father," he began in his most mature voice, "while we appreciate your concern for our education, I believe Gwen and I have demonstrated sufficient autodidactic capabilities to—"
"Autodidactic?" Erza interrupted, looking impressed "See? This is exactly why you need school. To learn words like... whatever that means."
Gladion deflated. Even his extensive vocabulary was being used against him.
"But—" both twins started simultaneously.
"No buts," Erza said, her tone final. "You're going to school, and that's that. Now, who wants breakfast?"
And just like that, the great school debate of the household came to an unceremonious end.
----After Breakfast---
Ben and Erza watched their kids finish their breakfast and immediately going to train with their respective Pokemon.
"They already have a starter and are quite knowledgeable about Pokemon and the dangers in the wild. Is it really necessary to let them go to school when they don't want to go to one?" Ben asked Erza, a little nervously.
Erza glared at Ben "I don't want my kids to be anti social like you. They need to make friends. Besides, it's just three years of school and they could start their journey at 10. They were not going to wait anyways after they reached that age."
While the age of 10 was considered to be the legal age to become a Pokemon trainer and go on a journey, not many parents sent their kids at that age due to the various dangers associated with becoming a trainer.
"Both Gwen and Gladion would sneak out of the house to go on their journeys if we stop them, it is best to have them better prepared instead. The school would help them teach about all the dangers in the wild and the other necessary skills and information to survive out there." Erza said before continuing,
"No matter how mature or knowledgeable Gladion is, he still has a lot to learn. And if we just let Gwen go to school, she would think that we are preferring Gladion over her." She said, leaving no room for discussion.
---
The following week found Gladion and Gwen standing at the gates of Moonwood Pokémon Academy, matching expressions of resigned doom on their faces.
"Look on the bright side," Gwen mumbled as they walked in. "At least we get to bring one Pokémon with us."
Gladion nodded, feeling the reassuring presence of Larvitar's Pokéball at his belt. Small consolation, but he'd take what he could get.
Although he was not sure about the fact that the school let seven year olds bring a Pokemon, even if that Pokemon was to be one of their parents or registered under them like in Gladion's and Gwen's case since you were not allowed to have an official Pokemon under your name until you become ten years old.
As they entered their classroom, all eyes turned to them. The teacher, a jovial-looking man with a Noctowl perched on his shoulder, beamed at them.
"Ah, you must be our new students! I'm Mr. Hoot. Why don't you introduce yourselves to the class?"
Both Gladion and Gwen had joined in the middle of the first year of the school. Mostly because Erza and Ben wanted them to get over their Grandpa's death before they were sent to school.
Gladion stepped forward first, figuring he might as well get it over with. "I'm Gladion. This is my partner, Larvitar." He released Larvitar, eliciting gasps of 'cute' from girls.
Gwen followed suit. "I'm Gwen, and this is Gastly." Her ghostly companion materialized with a mischievous grin, prompting a mix of excited chatter and nervous squeals from their classmates.
"Wonderful!" Mr. Hoot clapped his hands. "Now, let's start with a little ice breakerquiz to see where everyone stands in their Pokémon knowledge."
As Mr. Hoot began rattling off questions, Gladion found himself automatically answering without even raising his hand.
"The evolution of Eevee that's caused by exposure to a Water Stone?"
"Vaporeon," Gladion replied instantly.
"The primary type advantage against Dragon-types?"
"Ice," Gladion answered while keeping the Fairy thing to himself.
"The ability that prevents stats from being lowered by opponent's moves?"
"Clear Body, though some Pokémon have similar abilities under different names," Gladion explained
With each question, the class's eyes grew wider, and even Mr. Hoot looked increasingly impressed.
"Well, well!" the teacher exclaimed after Gladion had rattled off the entire evolutionary line of Tyrogue, complete with level requirements and stat conditions. "It seems we have quite the Pokémon expert in our midst!"
Gladion felt his cheeks grow warm as his classmates stared at him in awe. He hadn't meant to show off, but years of accumulated knowledge from two lifetimes had just poured out of him.
"Dude," whispered the boy sitting next to him, "how do you know all that?"
Gladion shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I, uh, read a lot?"
For the rest of the day, Gladion found himself bombarded with questions from his curious classmates. What's the best way to train a Magikarp? How do you tell the difference between a male and female Pikachu? What's the secret to making really good Pokéblocks?
By the time the final bell rang, Gladion was exhausted but oddly exhilarated. He'd forgotten how good it felt to share knowledge, to see the spark of understanding light up in someone's eyes.
As they walked home, Gwen nudged him playfully. "So, Mr. Know-It-All, still think school is a waste of time?"
Gladion considered for a moment. "Well, it's not as bad as I thought it would be," he admitted. "Though I still maintain we could learn just as much on our own."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Sure, but would it be as fun? Did you see Timmy's face when you explained how Magnemite can learn Thunderbolt? I thought his eyes were going to pop out!"
Gladion chuckled, remembering the boy's comically shocked expression. "Okay, you might have a point there."
As they approached their house, they saw their parents waiting anxiously on the porch.
"Well?" Erza asked as soon as they were within earshot. "How was your first day?"
Gwen launched into an excited recounting of the day's events, while Gladion hung back, a small smile playing on his lips.
"And you, Gladion?" Ben prompted. "What did you think?"
Gladion thought about the eager faces of his classmates, the challenges presented by Mr. Hoot's questions, and the unexpected joy he'd found in sharing his knowledge even if it was already known.
"It was... not entirely terrible," he conceded, unable to keep the hint of enthusiasm out of his voice.
Erza and Ben exchanged knowing smiles. "Well, I'm glad to hear that," Erza said, ruffling Gladion's hair affectionately. "Because you've got about 200 more school days to go this year!"
