Ringggg!
"Alright, don't forget your assignment for next week. Class is dismissed."
The professor chuckled as he glanced at the agitated expression of the students before him. Today was Friday, with him teaching the last class. During the whole period, he could already hear whispers of where they plan to spend the weekends.
""Thank you, Professor!""
After waiting for the professor to leave, the classroom instantly burst into activity. Some rushed to leave the class, while the others gathered with their friends. Dante fell in the 2nd category.
"Hngghhh~ lucky them. We still have to train under Professor Jomar."
Candice said enviously. Currently, she, Shinobu, Dante, Focalors, Kachina, and Kathy were walking together towards the Training Grounds.
Kathy is the girl with Xatu. Even though she prefers to be alone, with the excuse that all of them were part of the freshmen team, Dante and the others managed to convince her to walk with them.
Right now, her current closest friends in the group are Kachina and Candice. However, even when she was talked to, most of her response was just a nod or a single-word sentence.
Their group chatted about the usual topic, such as the Professor's assignment, going to Dante's house tomorrow, next week's trip to the portal, and the upcoming Tournament.
Amidst this conversation, they soon arrived at the Training building. But when they entered, an unexpected figure had them stop in place.
"Dean!"
There, standing right beside their coach, was this University's Dean Ronaldo. He had an amiable smile on his middle-aged face, which only widened when he saw Dante and the others.
"Good evening as well, students. And Mr. Dante! It's great you've decided to attend today's practice session. My trip wasn't in vain."
"What do you mean, Dean? I only missed yesterday's practice."
Dante said with a laugh. Even though the training here doesn't really serve much purpose for him, he still chose to attend it to accompany Shinobu and Focalors. And because the two almost never missed a day of training, Dante himself was similar.
He just rotates between the Pokemon he brings, so that the ones left in the mansion can do whatever they want. After all, their primary purpose in the human world was to relax.
"Haha, I see. Well, I didn't come to point out your missing practice sessions. Students, can I talk with Mr. Dante for a moment?"
"Sure, Dean!"
Dante remained as Shinobu and the others walked towards the distance and started training. However, he could still feel their eyes glancing in his direction from time to time.
"Ahem, Dean. What do you wanna talk about?"
Dante asked while staring curiously at their school headmaster. At the beginning of the school, the two of them had already exchanged phone numbers. For him to come in person, this must be something rather important.
"Ah yes. But before that. Mr. Dante, could you tell me what you think about your recent trips to the Pokeportal?"
"Hmm?"
Dante raised an eyebrow in doubt. However, seeing no harm in telling it, he told the summary of their class' dangerous trip to the Snowy Portal, and then the fruitful trip to the Jungle Portal last month.
"...and next week will be our third trip. According to Professor Berto, we'll still go to the Jungle Portal."
"Hmm. And aren't you curious why you only went to the Snow Portal once?"
"Wasn't it because of an ongoing riot there? Due to the bombs Hunter J hid in the portal?"
Dante asked, his tone a bit confused. He still remembered his surprise when he saw that news. Apparently, the Pokemon stampede was so bad that the Philippines even asked for help from the other countries.
"No. That was just the excuse the Alliance gave for the common people. The reality is much more complicated than that."
The Dean suddenly stepped closer. He placed his hand beside his mouth and whispered.
"There IS an ongoing riot, yes. However, the real cause isn't something so inane as Hunter J's bomb. No, no, it was because of the opening of a ruin."
"A ruin?"
Dante resisted the urge to shout out loud in surprise. Based on how the Dean was acting, he clearly didn't want others to learn about this.
He pricked up his ears to listen, and got the full story after almost 10 minutes of the Dean's uninterrupted talking.
Apparently, during the follow-up investigation of Hunter J, the police found out she had two other accomplices inside the portal. These two criminals were quickly located thanks to the Police's special Slurpuff Squad which tracked their scent.
However, in the ensuing chase, the two blew up a mountain as a distraction- having apparently used the bomb Hunter J left for them. Even so, they were still quickly caught. But the explosion they caused opened up a hole which led to an undiscovered ruin.
As for why Dante is so surprised? That is because of just how rare and precious ruins are. In fact, there is an unofficial statement floating around the Pokenet, which said that the discovery of each ruin is equivalent to another advancement for civilization.
Although a bit exaggerated, this saying is mostly true. How to create Pokeballs, Different Pokemon Stats, Healing Machines, and Mega Evolution- all these were discovered thanks to the ruins.
Because of their importance, each country even signed an agreement that before the exploration of every ruins, at least three high-ranking Trainers from other countries, as well as an official Alliance personnel, must accompany them for safety and transparency.
This was the reason how the Healing Machine can be distributed equally to all countries, and no monopoly has yet to be made.
Of course, it's not like the Alliance could enforce this rule all the time. In fact, most countries prefer to explore it on their own if possible. But due to how high profile Hunter J was, the international police were involved in investigating her.
And when these police discovered the ruins, they didn't waste any time reporting it to their superiors in the Global Alliance Headquarters.
"Thanks for telling me this Dean, but…why tell me at all?"
"Hohoho, now this is the fun part. You see, the Alliance has planned to begin the official exploration of the ruins next week. And our University was lucky to be allotted 1 student who can accompany them."
"Wait, really?!"
"Indeed. And as the 1st rank student, I can't think of anyone else more suitable to join- that's if you want to, of course."
Dean Ronaldo stared at Dante with a good-natured smile.
They were lucky. In support for the next generation of Trainers, the Alliance had allocated quotas for each college based on their ranking in the last University Tournament.
The 1st place International Pokemon University got 10 quotas, the 2nd place Philippines Pokemon University had 5. The 3rd and 4th place had 3 slots, and the remaining 5th to 8th place had 1.
Their University was 8th place last year, barely managing to get a position.
In fact, Dean Ronaldo himself felt it was a pity. If the ruins exploration was held after this year's Tournament, with Dante's presence, getting 2nd or even 1st place wouldn't be a problem. At that point, there would be more slots for the students of their school.
However, with the importance of the ruins, there was no way the Alliance would delay its exploration just because of the university competition.
"Of course I will! This opportunity is quite hard to come by."
Dante said with a grin. A hundred years have already passed since the first portal emerged, and almost all the ruins have already been discovered.
In this period, ruins are likely to be found only when a new portal emerges somewhere in the world. When and where that will happen is up to anyone's guess. Therefore, a chance to explore one isn't something Dante would pass up.
After getting his agreement, the two casually chatted more about the ruins. And right after, Dante proceeded with his practice, while the Dean walked around the training grounds and gave every student some praise and pointers before heading back.
Although he wanted to communicate with his school's star students more, due to the approaching Tournament and the trip to the Pokeportal next week, the amount of paperwork he needed to sign has surged in volume.
The practice session also soon ended. And with everyone's cheer, Coach Jomar decided to treat the whole team to a meal in Gilig's restaurant.
…
"See you, everyone! Take care!"
"Bye bye!"
Dante waved goodbye as everyone went their separate ways. Some, like Roman, climbed onto their Pokemon's back to directly return to their home to spend the weekend.
Meanwhile, Dante and their group decided to hang out in the mansion. However, since they planned to visit his home tomorrow, they would just do some light drinking tonight.
Furina and Dawn had already gone ahead right after their class ended. They were let in by Pikachu, who was in charge of watching the house today.
"It's a pity Kathy didn't join us."
On their way back, Kachina murmured. Even though the two of them were friends, the only time they hung out together was either at lunch or after training. Even during the weekends, Kathy refused her invitation due to training her Pokemon.
"It's fine~ she's just like Shinobu in terms of being a workaholic. I bet if she gets a boyfriend like Dan, she'd start to loosen up!"
"Excuse me? Even if I hadn't had Dan, I would not become such a workaholic. I became a Pokemon trainer to gain freedom. If I sacrifice my time to hang out with my friends to train, that's putting the cart before the horse."
"Damn! That's your reason? For freedom? I train to become the Ice-type Gym Leader, but how come you're more driven than me?!"
"Oohh! Now that we're on this topic, I'm curious. Why did you guys become a Trainer? I'll start with mine!"
Mualani had a beaming smile as she looked at everyone.
"Sharky and I made a promise to surf around the world one day. But…ehehe, I forgot that it is illegal to cross other countries' waters without special permissions. And those permissions can only be obtained by the Elite Four and the Champion."
"So I decided! I'll make a team of Pokemon that would make surfing the seas easier, and train them to be strong enough to become an Elite Four!"
Mualani said with a hand on her hips, and a confident grin on her face. She looked at everyone with an expectant expression. However, except for Kachina and Candice who clapped, Dante, Shinobu, and Focalors just stared weirdly at her.
"Mualani…how did you learn about the special permission?"
"Hmm? From the Alliance page, of course. Why?"
"...you know, when it said that only Champions and Elite Four can get a special permission to cross the seas, it doesn't mean you have to become one. As long as you can obtain their guarantee, most countries will allow you to pass."
"Huh?" Mualani froze, the smile on her face becoming stiff.
"If you want, I could ask Father to endorse you to other countries right now?" Focalors offered.
"Huhhh???!!"
Mualani suddenly kneeled on the ground. Her head hung low, and her soul seemed to be escaping her body as she muttered "my dreams…my goals…."
"Pfft! Then I'm next. I said it before, but I want to become the strongest Pokemon Trainer. And after achieving that, I'll give a certain someone permission to surf around the world."
"Hahahah!"
The whole group laughed amidst Mualani's pout. Soon however, the tanned girl cheered up and she started laughing along.
Next, the others also began to state their reason. Kachina, just like during the class introduction, told everyone how she wanted to become a Trainer so she could earn money so her parents wouldn't have to work so hard anymore.
With her getting the first Gym Badge and the subsidies that came with it, one can say she was well on her way to achieving her dream.
And finally, there was Focalors.
She had the usual placid smile on her face. However, with his keen senses, Dante was surprised to detect a hint of malice from her- not directed at them, but at someone or something else.
"My reason is likely the most boring among everyone. I became a Trainer simply to become stronger. And if possible, maybe I could grow more powerful than Father and relieve him of his burden."
"Replace Mr. Neuvillette and become the Champion? Please~ If that dream is boring, then what about my goal of becoming the Ice-type Gym Leader?"
"Yeah! And my dream of surfing around the world still requires your approval."
Focalors laughed along with everyone as they finally reached the mansion's gate. But on the side, Dante had a pensive frown as he stared at her back.
She didn't say she wanted to become the Champion, but to relieve Neuvillette of his burden. The malice she emitted earlier also made him more puzzled. It couldn't have been directed as Mr. Neuvillette. After all, as far as he could tell, Focalors had nothing but love and respect for her Father.
Shaking his head, Dante walked inside and just kept it to the back of his mind for now. The two of them were lovers. He'd ask her about it when the opportunity arose.