Lanora Region Tales: Team Starstrike and Times Past

Tale 1: A Tail of Lizard Love

On a quiet morning in Ashwood City, an ordinary bus pulls up to the station at the city's famed Pokémon Combat Academy. The students step out of the vehicle and head to their first class of the day, leaving a single Salandit standing alone on the curb as the bus drives away. She's wearing a quaint yellow dress and sporting a rather nervous look on her face. Luckily, she wouldn't have to stand there for long, as a friendly-looking Clefable was on her way to welcome her.

"Heya, you're the new transfer student, right?" she asked the Salandit.

"Uh-huh. My name is Sizzle..." she responded with a shy nod.

"Huh. Your voice sounds a little deeper than I expected," said the Clefable, causing Sizzle to blush and turn away.

"Um, well, it's..." she stuttered, unable to explain herself out of embarrassment.

"I didn't mean anything bad by it. I was just surprised, that's all. C'mon, let me show you to your dorm," responded the Clefable, placing her paw on Sizzle's back in an attempt to comfort her.

The two made their way into the school and through the hallways, passing by what must have been dozens of students on their way to the dorms. Sizzle had never been good with crowds, even at her old school, but she certainly never had to deal with anything like this.

"Are we getting close?" she asked, growing nervous from all the eyes she was attracting.

"We're almost there!" exclaimed the Clefable, leading Sizzle into the bustling courtyard at the school's center.

True to what she had been told, the Salandit would only have to walk a few steps further before they made it to the dorm building where she'd be staying. From there, the Clefable took her up a flight of stairs and down one final hallway until they made it to her room.

"Here you are, Dorm 2515. Looks like you'll be with Team Toxic Terror," she told Sizzle, handing the Salandit her room key.

"Umm... thank you... I don't know what I would have done without you," she responded, graciously wagging her tail.

"Anytime! If you ever need anything, just ask for Clara at the Student Resource Office, okay?" said the Clefable, performing a little curtsy as she bid her new friend farewell.

After saying goodbye to her guide, Sizzle inserted her key into her dorm room door and hesitantly let herself inside. Team Toxic Terror was quite a scary name for a team, especially for one that she was now a member of, so she made sure to keep her guard up as she entered. Surprisingly, the dorm was empty, making her tensing up rather embarrassing in hindsight. From where she was standing, Sizzle could see posters for various poison-themed bands, bunk beds made to look as if they were constructed from bones, and a big, black throw rug that appeared rather soft. It was eerie, but also inviting. Before she could make it any further, however, Sizzle was startled by someone arriving right behind her.

"Hey, new stuff. Why don't you let yourself in? We don't bite," said a cool, sultry voice coming from above the Salandit.

Turning around, Sizzle found that the voice belonged to a Salazzle, one that was almost twice her size and clad in a sports bra and workout jeans. She did want to say something, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Sizzle was completely besotted. The Salandit had never seen anyone so beautiful in all of her life.

"What's wrong? Torracat got your tongue? C'mon, let's go inside," said the Salazzle, as she placed her hand on Sizzle's shoulder and led her through the doorway.

She had no means of protesting with her voice refusing to cooperate, but the Salandit wasn't exactly panicked, just infatuated. The Salazzle couldn't see it from behind Sizzle, but her face was entirely flushed red.