As an ecology teacher, Zane didn't have classes every single day.
On his days off, he would go to the school library, borrow a stack of books related to Pokémon, and take them back to his dorm to read. While he read, Cramorant would just stand beside him, a silent and dopey companion, occasionally preening its feathers or staring blankly into space.
Zane had no idea what a wild Cramorant's daily routine was supposed to look like. All he knew was that his Cramorant would stay awake with him late into the night. It would only close its eyes to sleep after he had put down his book.
It gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, reminding him of a cat he'd had in his past life. When he was a student, the cat would curl up on his test papers and purr while he was trying to study. After he started working, the cat got old, but it never broke the habit. It would just climb onto his laptop keyboard instead.
The cat eventually died of old age. Zane had buried it under a tree with its favorite cat treats and had been heartbroken for a long time.
Zane reached over and scratched Cramorant's chin. He turned off the desk lamp, lifted the silly bird onto his bed, and went to the bathroom to wash up. Cramorant opened its eyes, its gaze as vacant as ever. Seeing it was just its trainer, it closed them again and settled down to sleep.
With Cramorant as his silent study buddy, Zane was rapidly absorbing the knowledge of this new world. He'd noticed another side effect of his de-aging: being ten again hadn't just changed his appearance, it had restored his memory to its absolute peak.
If his goal when he first arrived was just to find a job to fill his stomach, it had now changed. He wanted to see the grand, magnificent world of Pokémon with his own eyes.
But before that could happen, he needed to save up some money.
The next morning, Zane received a notice. The school was arranging for teachers to take the students on a field trip into Petalburg Woods to observe wild Pokémon in their natural habitat. As the ecology teacher, he was naturally at the top of the chaperone list.
"Are there enough teachers for that many classes?" Zane asked, looking at Tsuyoshi, who was already geared up and ready to go. Petalburg Woods was crawling with wild Pokémon. Even if a class only had twenty students, it would be a disaster if something went wrong. They'd never be able to explain it to the parents.
Tsuyoshi grinned, his expression animated. "Don't worry, it's not the whole school! Just a few of the second-year classes."
That was a relief. Zane nodded, but added, "You know I'm not a trainer, right?" He had next to no combat ability.
Tsuyoshi puffed out his chest. "Don't you worry! You're looking at a guy who's competed in the Hoenn League Conference!"
This was the first Zane had heard of it. "Oh yeah? How'd you do?" he asked, curious.
The smile on Tsuyoshi's face froze. "I did great, of course!" he said, forcing a laugh. "Who do you think I am?"
Zane just stared. "..."
"Pfft!" Rika walked over, a hiking pack already on her back. "Don't listen to him," she laughed. "He got knocked out in the qualifying rounds."
Tsuyoshi looked like he'd just been stabbed. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't expose me!"
"Come on, the students are ready," Rika said, smiling. The three of them were assigned to the same class.
Zane went downstairs and immediately spotted May in the crowd, a backpack on, and her face lit up with excitement and anticipation. If he didn't know this was the Pokémon world, he would have thought they were just going on a normal school picnic—which, he supposed, it basically was.
"Is everyone ready?" Rika called out to the group of twenty-odd kids.
A chorus of energetic young voices shouted back, "Ready!"
"Then let's head out!" Tsuyoshi announced.
Zane walked along the left side of the line of students, explaining some essential safety rules for being in the wild as they went. "For example, if you ever run into a Beedrill and you don't have a Pokémon with you, remember to run towards the nearest river."
"Teacher, that sounds really scary. Is it actually that serious?"
The question came from a sweet-faced boy. Zane had taught them for a while now and knew him to be the kind of kid who saw the good in everything and everyone.
He nodded, his expression serious. "It's absolutely that serious. I want all of you to remember this: the world of Pokémon is an amazing place, but not all Pokémon are as friendly to humans as Eevee or Skitty.
"Some Pokémon are extremely territorial," he continued. "When a person trespasses on their land, they will immediately attack you, ferociously. It doesn't matter if you mean no harm. In their eyes, you are a threat. That's a Pokémon's survival instinct."
"So, I hope you all remember this. When you turn ten and go out on your own journeys, your first and most important job is to protect yourselves. Only after you can do that should you start thinking about meeting new Pokémon partners."
The little boy looked thoughtful. This was the first time in his life anyone had ever spoken to him so bluntly about the dangers of the world. He committed the words to memory, his face grave. "Thank you, Teacher," he said. "I'll remember!"
Zane smiled and ruffled his hair. He was really starting to like these kids.
"Teacher, you're the same age as us. How do you know all this stuff?" another, more boisterous boy asked, scratching his head.
"Because I've experienced it firsthand," Zane said, his face stern. "Not long ago, I accidentally wandered into a Beedrill nest. As I was running away, one of them hit me with a poison sting. I was about to collapse, but luckily, I saw a river up ahead and was able to escape."
"And then what happened?" a few other kids asked eagerly.
"And then?" Zane's expression softened into a small smile. "Later, I met a kind Skwovet. It gave me a Pecha Berry, which cured the Beedrill's poison."
"Wow!" a little girl cheered.
Chatting idly, the group arrived at the edge of Petalburg Woods before they knew it. The number of wild Pokémon around them began to increase—Weedle, Caterpie, Shroomish, and more.
At noon, they stopped for a picnic in a clearing.
Zane found a spot under a large tree and let Cramorant out of its Poké Ball. He took the food he'd prepared out of his backpack and spread it out on a picnic blanket.
Just then, he felt a strange sensation, like someone was watching him.
His hands froze. He whipped his head around, but saw nothing.
"GAH?" Cramorant tilted its head, looking up at the sky.
Zane figured it was thinking about flying off to catch another fish. "You are not running off today!" he said firmly. He tore a piece of his sandwich into small bits. "Open up, say ah!"
High above them, hidden among the leaves, Ralts leaned against a branch, letting out a silent sigh of relief.
It steadied itself on the branch and looked down with curiosity at the human and the food he was sharing with his strange bird Pokémon.
###
Read Advance Chapters On Patreon.com/MightyJahseh