Desolate [Pokémon Arven x Protagonist]

The First Day Into the Academy

I couldn't remember the last time I fell in love. Not even in a familial or platonic sense. As a kid, I knew I was subject to a broken home. My friends and peers would come to school and would talk and talk about their family night and birthday parties and how they would come home and bake cookies with their mom unprompted by anything other than 'I was in the mood for some cookies'. I never had any of that. I would sulk home every day after school and sneak into my tiny room, back against the wall trying to avoid running into my parents because when I did, my next few hours would be a living hell of blind, unawarded servitude.

"Lugosi, make your father dinner."

"Lugosi, why aren't my clothes ironed and in the closet yet?"

"Lugosi, what the cuss are you doing? There are dishes in the sink!"

My friends didn't think it was anything abusive. They called them chores. They did it, too, they said. Abuse would be—like—burning your arms, they said. It wasn't abuse if the bruises faded away the next morning. I liked my friends, but they invalidated my experiences, so I couldn't love them. I was afraid of my parents. Whenever I saw them, I would be writhing in pain soon after. I was afraid of them, so I couldn't love them either.

The academy was my light at the end of a long, burning tunnel. Naranja Academy, the famous Paldean school specializing in Pokémon battling, sponsored by the region's champion, La Primera Geeta, herself, accepted students of any age. The school offered core classes for graduation while also tying Pokémon knowledge in with elective classes. It was a fascinating experience that required students to live in dorms in the gigantic building in order to embark on the twenty-four-hour on-site adventure. I didn't care much for Pokémon battling, but the idea of finally living on my own, to not wake up every single day in petrifying fear of being beaten, to finally experience what it was like to be free, was exhilarating. My mom told me she wasn't going to sign me up until my high school years. She said it would take my focus away from the important classes, so I had to wait 15 long years before I could taste salvation. She died when I was pretty young, so it didn't matter anyway. I wasn't able to sign myself up for the academy until I was 17. The house was finally quiet and safe, but I couldn't help but hear her voice down the hallway. Just being around the house gave me intense anxiety.

The first day of the academy was heavenly. It was so bright outside and the Pokémon were singing all around me as I left the house in my new uniform. My neighbor, Nemona, joined me on the path and let me know about the director's special initiation for every student. Every new student was gifted one of three starter Pokémon native to the region: quaxly, fuecoco, or sprigatito.

"Do you have any idea who you're gonna choose?" Nemona asked me as we walked alongside each other towards the walled town in the distance.

I shrugged. "I've never had a Pokémon. Couldn't afford a ball."

"Lucky for you, La Primera makes sure every single student in the academy is able to have a full team of their own. We all get our own belts, look!" She lifted the edge of her white shirt to show me her black belt with three red Pokéballs attached to either side.

"Wow," I admired. "Aren't Pokéballs expensive? And for every student?"

Nemona giggled. "La Primera is the champion of Paldea. Of course, she has the money. Plus, some of the best trainers have come out of the academy because of her curriculum." Nemona attended the academy all her life. Her parents were what informed mine about it. According to her classmates I had met when they visited the neighborhood, Nemona was the most ambitious trainer the director had ever seen. She made her way up to school president and had recently begun a path to defeat the Pokémon League. She had told me that Geeta, herself, visited the school to help send her off on that journey. It felt like everyone in the academy was rooting for her.