The Dark Noon- A Pokemon Story

Chapter 2

The next day, I was sitting on the bus, watching the scenery pass by as I waited to get to Jubilife. I had Swinub staying in his Pokéball, for I didn't want to deal with the likely chaos that would ensue if I let him out.

The environment was a lot different than what was in Snowpoint. The land was a lot smoother; the trees, a lot greener. There were more Pokémon out and about throughout these warmer routes, and it was nice to see them all so calm, despite the bus passing them.

In order to pass the time, instead of looking out of the window, I decided to pull out a book and try to read. The Art of Type Matchups. I had already read it a few times, but I felt as if reading more would help me remember the facts in stressful situations.

"If a two-type Pokémon has a type that resists a type that the other type is weak to," I muttered under my breath, becoming lost in my calculations of type matchups, "but, if the second type is only neutral to the type, then---"

"Um, is anyone sitting here?"

I looked up quickly, trying to supress my slight jump at the sudden voice talking to me. I hadn't even realized that the bus had stopped, but when I glanced outside, I was relieved to see that we weren't at Jubilife yet.

"No, I'll move my stuff." I turned back to the source of the voice, giving a slight smile before moving my bag to my feet.

The source of the voice was a girl my age; her grey hair pulled back into a bun. She sat down after I moved my bag, returning the small smile I gave her.

"What were you reading?" She asked, peering over my shoulder a little bit at the book.

"The Art of Type Matchups. I'm getting ready for the Trainer School in Jubilife." I closed the book slightly, looking down at my feet as I spoke.

"Trainer School? That's where I'm heading!" The girl grabbed my shoulder, prompting me to look at her again. "Are you staying in the dorms?"

"Well, yeah, I don't have any family in Jubilife." I tried to not shy away from her touch, but I wasn't quite used to the contact. "May I ask, who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Eris. And you are?" The girl, Eris, took her hand off my shoulder, giving me a goofy grin.

"Clara." I looked back down at my book, fiddling with its pages.

"Well, hopefully we could be roommates. My grandfather was really nervous for me to come, and, well, he just thought everyone was going to be a lot younger than me," Eris began to ramble, using her hands for emphasis. "But, I have to ask, do you have a Pokémon yet?"

"Yeah, a Swinub." I closed my book, a bit apprehensive at the idea of him. "I'm not taking him out, though, he's a bit too energetic."

"Well, that's fine. My Rotom can get a bit crazy sometimes, too. But, maybe if we have time, we can maybe try a battle?" Eris gave me a smile even goofier before, and even though I only half saw it, I couldn't help but give a small laugh.

"Sure." I finally looked at Eris fully, though I could still feel my shoulders tensing up. Her eyes didn't seem to be just one color; there was a dark blue on the outsides, with green almost on top of it, as if her eyes were planets.

Once I realized I was beginning to stare, though, I quickly looked back down at my book. We fell into a strange silence. On one hand, it was comfortable, but on the other, it was suffocating.

But, alas, we ended up getting to Jubilife.

Two hours late.

"Come on, they're probably wondering where we are!" Eris grabbed my arm just as I barely got off the last step of the bus, prepared to drag me all the way to the dorm building. It wasn't that far of a walk; I could even see the building from where we were, but Eris was taking any chances. So, I was dragged down what was basically the main street of the city, all the way from the north to the south.

By the time we got to the dorm building, which was a small, apartment-looking building across from the Trainer School, both Eris and I were completely out of breath.   

"Why, why couldn't we have just, just walked?" I asked, struggling to even my breathing. I leaned on my suitcase, which I barely was able to hold on to. It wasn't what people would call too hot in the city, but it wasn't the most comfortable thing for me. I picked at my sweater, realizing that it wasn't going to cut out here in Jubilife.

"That would've taken longer." Eris stood up straight, pushing away a piece of hair that fell out of her bun.

"Hey, are you guys here for Trainer School?" I turned towards the apartment building, where a boy with a mop of brown hair stood next to a green and blue Shellos.

"Yeah, our bus arrived a bit late," Eris spoke for the both of us, which was a good thing for me, still being out of breath. 

"Oh, so you guys are Eris and Clara, right?" The boy asked. I stood there, almost a bit dumbfounded at the fact he already knew our names, but he just continued on. "You guys should probably come straight to the school, since we're doing introductions, how we can start our journey and leave here, all that jazz." He picked up his Shellos, hopping down the stairs and dashing across the street to the Trainer School.

"Really Markus? Really? You're not waiting for me?" I saw another kid rush out of the building, yelling out after the boy, Markus. They sped past Eris and I, as if we weren't even there. I looked over at Eris.

"So, I guess we're going there first?" I asked, picking my sweater away from my skin again.

"That's what he said," Eris gave a small smirk, "wanna race?"

"No--" I began, but Eris ran anyway, much to my dismay. Sighing, I walked over to the school, much too tired and uncomfortable to run after her.

I met up with the others behind the school building, where there was a battlefield set up. I stood next to Eris, facing the rest in a lumpy fake-circle, with the teacher in the middle.

"Hello class," the teacher began, a soft smile almost plastered onto her face, "welcome to Trainer School. Now, to begin, why don't we send out our Pokémon and introduce ourselves?"

Of course I was going to have to send out Swinub. Everyone else was already sending out their Pokémon with ease; some even had them out of their Pokéballs to begin with.

Swinub, please don't jump all over everyone now, I thought.

Then, I sent him out of his Pokéball.