The first day of class was officially in session at the sound of a shrill bell that rang through every corridor and room of the prestigious academia. Twenty or so students were already in their seats, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their homeroom instructor who was to assign each of them their Pokemon companion for an entire year, or possibly more. The teacher, who also doubled as a Pokemon researcher in her spare time, entered the classroom carrying a covered basket that was undoubtedly filled to the rim with Pok Balls. The red-and-white design of the contraptions glimmered through the cracks, each Pok Ball sheltering a random Pokemon that was soon to be a student's roommate and possible friend for the rest of the semester.
Just minutes after the bell rang, the professor centered the basket on top of her front podium and settled the rowdy classroom with a clap of her hands. "Hello," she greeted with a youthful, exuberant smile that belied her old age. "My name is Professor Willow. I will be your homeroom instructor for the rest of the year. I had each and every one of you fill out a brief information sheet and check off an attendance list this morning, so we won't go through an official roll call." Even she was aware that all the students were not interested in passing around classroom syllabuses and discussing boring classroom procedures. What they were interested in was the basket on top of her desk.
"Instead, I'll call your names and the type of Pokemon you have been assigned for the rest of the year," she explained, causing a clamor in the classroom as she picked up the first Pokeball in her hand. "The partner assignments are random, so I hope that all of you will try your hardest to master the elemental type of your Pokemon. Who knows? You may even come to become a type specialist like some famous Gym Leaders."
She tossed the first Pokeball onto the ground and it split open to reveal a Poochyena Pokeboy. "Lilly Lee," the instructor called the Pokemon's partner by her full name, summoning the shy girl to the front of the classroom. "Your partner will be a Poochyena, a Dark type Pokemon. Poochyenas are known for their tenacious nature." She added tips and bits of information to each and every Pokemon's introduction to rouse the interest of her students, which she succeeded in doing. She came to the twelfth name on the roster and bounced another Pokeball from the tips of her fingers. This time, a Glaceon appeared in a blink of red light, her sleepy gaze turning towards the classroom once the glimmering aura faded.
The professor called the name of a male student to the front, much to everyone's disappointment who wasn't called to claim the rare Pokemon. "You're very lucky," Professor Willow told him. "Only twelve percent of Glaceons are born female in the wild. Why don't you say hello to your new partner, see if she likes you?"
It was the moment everyone held their breath for. Some students had already experienced the humiliating moment of being rejected by their Pokemon in front of the classroom. One Helioptile had scoffed in disgust by her assigned tamer and returned to her Pokeball, leaving the student embarrassed and with an aggressive Pokegirl under his care.<|im_end|>
Red was still finding it hard to believe where he was, even if he'd officially moved his stuff into his dorm room the day before. It was a long ways from Pallet Town, after all. And before this he'd been a public school sort of kid. Everything was new to him. Even the air smelled different, somehow. Not even the explanation of what, exactly, went into taming a Pokegirl could keep down his excitement. Somehow he'd managed not to pick up on just how much sex was going to be involved (maybe they didn't want children knowing about it?). His face still burned if he brought up memories of that rather frank orientation. But, being a red-blooded young man, he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him at least a little excited for entirely different reasons.
So, like most of the students in the room, Red was practically on the edge of his seat. He'd brought out a pen and notebook in case he needed to take notes, but found himself drumming the pen on his desk in an antsy, rhythmless manner. He didn't notice the glares his nearest neighbors were shooting him. He didn't even notice the smug, shit-eating grin his rival Blue shot him after randomly drawing a Charmander, one of the most coveted starters in Kanto. Instead, Red was totally engrossed in daydreaming about what sort of partner he would be given. Someone beautiful? Someone strong? What if he got randomly paired with a Pokeboy? What if he was like Helioptile Guy?
Before his racing thoughts could carry him down any stranger paths, he heard his name being called. He jumped, just a little, as if startled...and that was when he saw her. She couldn't keep his eyes off her as he made his way up to the front of the room. She was obviously some sort of Eevee (the diamond-shaped ears were a dead giveaway), but one he'd never seen before. Kanto's temperate climate didn't bless it with a variety of Ice-types.
The young man that stood before Glaceon was lean and athletic, the sort of build that naturally came from living in a remote town where one walked or biked everywhere. Though he was wearing the dark-colored men's uniform, he also wore, somewhat contrarily, a red baseball cap. Underneath the cap's brim was a mop of somewhat unruly brown hair and a fairly ordinary-looking face, but for the earnestness that practically radiated from his brown eyes. He'd stayed up late the night before trying to come up with a cool line, but nothing came to him. That just wasn't his style. So instead he favored her with an easy smile as he held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Red. Nice to meet you, partner."
Red was somewhat unprepared for the encounter. He hadn't quite grasped that, in some ways, he now owned this girl. But he could relate to the idea of making a new friend, at least. Even if it was a friend with benefits, a traitorous part of his mind whispered.<|im_end|>