4

Blake found his next class, Pokemon Caretaking, after walking across campus to Kangaskhan Hall, located next to Chansey House. The building was quite large, and right on the edge of campus, nearly swallowed by the forest around it.

As he walked through the halls of the building, he found the room he was looking for, luckily located on the first floor.

Blake entered, looking around the classroom. He spotted a familiar face, Sango waving at him frantically and gesturing to an empty seat in front of her.

"So how did your talk with the Professor go?" Blake asked, sitting in front of her. "Bah, the guy wasn't in his office," Sango sighed. "Still, I bet he'll let me go, he has to! I'm the daughter of a great adventurer after all!"

"Is that so?" Blake asked, turning to face the front of the classroom.

The door opened, and a young woman walked in. She had dark blue hair tied up in a ponytail and brown eyes, wearing a slightly unprofessional outfit of a white shirt and blue overalls.

"Hello, class," the woman said, smiling. "I'm Professor Leanne Reese, but you all can call me Leanne.

Leanne's smile was warm, comforting, and supportive, causing the entire class to be relaxed.

"Now then, for our first lesson, I think it would be most effective if we had class outside, in the garden," Leanne said. "Please, everyone, grab your things."

Leanne opened the back door to the room, the class filing out after her. "Hey, guys," Sango and Blake turned to see Julia standing behind them.

"Oh, hey, are you in this class too?" Sango asked, her face brightening. Julia nodded.

"Awesome! This class is going to be so much fun!"

The group finished walking through the small pathway into the forest, arriving at a large space that had been fenced in. There was a large hilly field covering most of it, as well as a small pond with a river flowing through it that no doubt connected to Marill Stream further down the campus. There were fenced in gardens of several kinds of flowers, and berry trees were growing from patches of loamy soil all over the field. The fence went into the forest closing in on both sides of the field, telling Blake that there was a much larger area covered than what was being seen.

"Whoa, it's like a fairy tale!" Sango said, excited. "Okay, class, welcome to Floette Fields!" Leanne said, smiling, opening the gate and gesturing for the students to enter.

"This is the largest of the daycare facilities on campus, where we let trainers' pokemon interact with the wild pokemon native to this area."

"It's pretty cool," Julia said, looking out over the field. Tall grass was rustling all around them, signs of pokemon.

"Come on then, class!" Leanne said, clapping her hands together. She led the group deeper into the field, until they were next to the river.

A girl was kneeling in front of the river, feeding several Goldeen from a bucket of Pokemon Food. She had black hair that fell to her shoulders, covered with an orange beanie, and green fingerless gloves. Instead of wearing the school uniform, she was wearing a blue and red shirt and black jeans, with a red apron.

"Everyone, this is my teaching assistant, Serefina Kagefusa, a fellow student of yours," Leanne said, Serefina standing up and turning to face the class. Blake took note of her surprisingly tall height, and certain… curved features of her body.

"Hello," Serefina said, waving at them, her green eyes flashing. "I'm Serefina, and I'm a sophomore."

"Even though she's just a sophomore, Serefina here has logged over twice the necessary number of hours to join the caretaker course in her freshman year alone," Leanne said, smiling. "There are a few other students helping out here as well, but Serefina here is my best."

"I'm not that good," Serefina blushed. "Now then, it's time I explain to you something important about this class," Leanne said, her expression turning serious. "This is a two-semester class, and by the end of each semester, you must log in 15 hours of time taking care of the pokemon living out on this field.

There will be sign-up sheets for dates and times in increments of one hour on the back wall of the classroom, and there is a limit of five students per increment of time."

One of the students raised his hand, asking why she was requiring something like that.

"Well, in this class, we don't have any book work or written tests, so the only way to properly study and judge your skills at caretaking is hands-on experience," Leanne explained.

"And even if it's only an hour a week, by taking care of pokemon both belonging to trainers and out in the wild, I hope that you all will come to understand the purpose of this class, and pokemon caretaking in general."

Leanne turned to Serefina. "Go get them, please." Serefina nodded, turning and heading deeper out into the field.

Leanne turned back to the class. "Now then, for today, I thought I would take it easy for you, since it's your first day. I've left a syllabus on each of your desks, to go over later. But for now, this will be your first assignment."

Leanne whistled, Serefina running over to them, a pack of Poochyena following after her.

"These Poochyena live on the grounds, and belong to the faculty," Leanne said. "They've been raised around humans so they aren't dangerous, but because they live out in the wild, they do get to be a little rough and dirty."

Serefina walked up to the students holding a bucket filled with brushes, giving a hair brush to each student.

"Each of you will get a Poochyena to take care of," Leanne explained. "For the rest of the hour and a half of class time, I want you all to brush your Poochyena's hair to the best of your ability. When you're done, you may use the remainder of your class time as free time to spend with your pokemon and the pokemon here."

Julia raised her hand, Leanne turning to her.

"If we have our own Poochyena, can we use them for this exercise?" Julia asked.

"No, sorry, the purpose of this exercise is to teach you all how to take care of pokemon you've just now met," Leanne explained.

"Because the pokemon you will most need to take care of will usually be pokemon you've just caught. It shouldn't be as difficult to take care of a Poochyena you've had with you and you've been maintaining yourself, right?"

"I guess," Julia said, nodding. "Well, don't let me keep you," Leanne said, smiling. "Each of you can pick out your own Poochyena now. And if you have any questions, go ahead and ask me or Serefina."

Blake looked down at the small pack of Poochyena, who were all patiently sitting and staring back at the trainers.

He noticed one with three black spots of varying sizes right above its front left leg, and knelt down to pick it up.

The Poochyena looked at him and licked his nose, Blake laughing.

"Cut it out, girl," Blake said, pulling her abck. "That's a boy," Julia said. "How can you tell?" Blake asked, turning to her. "I can tell," Julia said. "Trust me." She knelt down and lifted up her own puppy, cradling it in her arms like a baby.

Once Sango had picked out her Poochyena, the three walked over to one of the smaller hills by the riverside, sitting down on the grass. After a few minutes of brushing, Sango noticed something.

"Look at her," Sango said, pointing at a young girl a few feet who was sitting by herself under the shade of a tree, gently brushing the fur of her own Poochyena.

The girl was small and delicate, like a doll. Her skin was a pale white like porcelain, and looked like it might break if it was touched. She had bright red eyes and long, smooth looking white hair that was flared out behind her on the ground.

Sango was already in motion, Silver on her heels. Blake and Julia followed after her.

"Wow, you have amazing technique," Sango said, sitting down next to the girl. "…Thanks…" the girl said, turning to her slightly, frowning.

"I'm Sango, this is Julia, and that's Blake," Sango said, smiling. "What's your name?" "I'm Kitty Kuroso…" the girl said, not taking her eyes off of the Poochyena.

"You really are good," Julia said. "…Thanks," Kitty said, smiling. "I… I've been taking care of pokemon as long as I can remember."

The four brushed the fur of their Poochyena in silence, Serefina coming over to see how they were doing.

"So, how are you all doing?" Serefina asked. "Almost done," Kitty said, smiling. "Wow, your Poochyena looks like she's ready for contests!" Serefina said, kneeling down to pet him. She turned to Blake, her eyes widening.

"Your Poochyena…" Serefina gasped. "Yeah?" Blake asked. "He's beautiful," Serefina said, sitting next to him.

The fur on the Poochyena, which had once been a tangled mess, was now straight and soft, like velvet, and seemed to almost shine.

She ran her hand over the side of the Poochyena, smiling. "It is amazing!" Julia said, surprised. "You've done this before too," Kitty said, surprised.

"No, not really," Blake said, shaking his head. "None of my pokemon have fur." "No, you have," Serefina said, nodding. "I can tell, you're really skilled!"

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?" Julia asked. "Well, I mean, not with pokemon," Blake said, shaking his head. "But I used to brush hair all the time back when I was young."

Desperate to change the subject, Blake turned to Sango. "How are you doing, Sango?" Blake asked.

"Well…" Sango said, looking down at the pokemon in her lap. "…You might need to practice some more…" Serefina said, staring at the mess of hair Sango was dealing with. "It's a 'rugged' look," Sango said, frowning. "I don't see what the point of making pokemon look good is, anyway."

"…We can tell," Julia said, noting her messy hairstyle. "Sango, is it?" Serefina asked, Sango nodding.

"Listen, when you take care of a pokemon, you aren't just raising it to be strong, you have to focus on its looks. When pokemon are well groomed and well taken care of, they become happier and bond with their trainers better. And when pokemon have a stronger bond with their trainers, they become stronger than pokemon who don't, do you understand? It's in the interests of the trainer and the pokemon for the trainer to maintain the good appearance of their pokemon." "…I understand," Sango said, nodding. "But I'm just not good at it…"

"Well, let me show you," Serefina said, placing her hand over Sango's hand, using her hand to gently brush the Poochyena's fur. "Thanks…" Sango said, smiling.

Suddenly, several flashes of light came from one of the bushes. "Huh?" Blake cried, turning to the bushes.

"Ah-hah!" a girl jumped out of the bush, smiling. She had messy red hair and bright brown eyes, and in her hands was an expensive looking camera. "Exposed! The secret love affair between Serefina Kagefusa and a freshman student!"

"Dakota!" Serefina cried, frowning. "What are you doing?" "I've got the perfect scoop," Dakota said, smirking, taking a few more pictures. "This is going right on the front page, just you watch!"

"Um, who are you?" Blake asked, frowning. "My name is Dakota Evans, master reporter!" Dakota said, wiping her hair from her eyes. "My motto is '50 feet or more? My camera lens can take pictures farther than that!' Nice to meet you!"

"…Is she for real?" Blake asked, turning to Serefina, who nodded. "This is my roommate, Dakota," Serefina said, shaking her head.

"She's been following me for a while…" "When someone is as pretty as she is, scandals aren't far away," Dakota said, smirking. "As a member of the newspaper club, it's my responsibility to take capture the scandal for everyone!"

"You're in the newspaper club?" Sango asked, surprised. "Of course!" Dakota said, smiling smugly. "I've written many amazing stories for them, it just goes to show how talented I am!"

"She's a hack."

Everyone turned to see another student walk up. He had dull brown eyes and messy brown hair, and his blazer was unbuttoned, a curved pendant hanging from his neck.

"Who's a hack?" Dakota seethed. "You are," the boy said, frowning. "Half your 'scandals' aren't even that interesting, and the other half are incredibly exaggerated. You're just a stalker."

"…Akira…" Dakota hissed, lunging at him, Serefina holding her back.

"Nice to meet you…" the boy, Akira, turned to Blake and waved at him.

Akira, what are you doing here?" Dakota, slightly calmer, demanded. "What are YOU doing here?" Akira asked. "Investigative journalism!" Dakota declared.

"So, stalking then?" Akira asked. He took her silence as an affirmative response. "I see. I, on the other hand, am here for volunteer service. SO, it seems that I belong here, while you do not, would that be accurate?" "…" Dakota leered at him, frowning.

"Hey, Blake," Sango said, grabbing his wrist. "Yeah?" Blake asked. "Doesn't she seem familiar?" "Let's see… thin… red hair… no sense of personal space… hyper…"

Sango took out her phone, and called Cynthia.

"Hey, Cynthia, it's me," Sango said. "Do you have class right now?"

"…No? So do you mind coming over to the Floette Fields?" "…Why not? What are you doing?"

Sango paused, her face turning bright red.

"You do realize my bed is UNDER YOURS, right?" Sango exclaimed, embarrassed.

Blake grabbed the phone from Sango. "Cynthia, it's Blake," Blake commented. "There's a really hot chick here with a great figure."

A minute later, Cynthia appeared in front of them, panting, her clothes slightly disheveled and her face flushed a bright red.

"Blake… I came… as soon… as you told me…" Cynthia panted. She looked up at Blake. "Then I ran here as fast as I could…" "…" Blake rolled his eyes. "See what I did there?" Cynthia asked, grinning. "Yes," Blake said, nodding. "See, I said came like arrived." "I know," Blake said, nodding again. "But I really meant it like-" "Oh, I got it," Blake said, nodding.

"So, where is she?" Cynthia asked, looking around eagerly. "See that girl?" Blake asked, pointing at Dakota.

"…" Cynthia turned to Blake, rolling her eyes.

"Blake, we need to discuss the terms 'really hot chick' and 'great figure'."

"She wasn't who I was talking about," Blake said, pointing at Serefina. Cynthia turned and looked at Serefina, scanning her up and down.

"…Nice…" Cynthia said, blood spurting out of her nose. She walked up to Serefina.

"Um, do you need help?" Serefina asked, worried. "Can I touch your-" Blake clamped his hand over Cynthia's mouth, muffling what she was saying.

"Hey, she licked me!" Blake exclaimed, pulling his hand away from Cynthia. He glanced at it. "Gross, your nose blood is on my hand!"

"So amazing…" Cynthia said, wiping her nose. "It almost brings me to tears… "She's not that great," Dakota said, frowning.

"Those boobs are completely pointless." Serefina blushed, holding her arms over her chest. "Lies…" Cynthia said, pinching her nose.

"It's super annoying," Dakota said, shaking her head. "Plus, she's always walking around our room topless, or in her underwear."

A torrent of blood surged from Cynthia's nose, as she fell to the ground. "Cynthia!" Blake cried, holding her up.

"Blake…" Cynthia said weakly, staring into his eyes. "I… I've seen paradise… the light… it's amazing… those breasts…" "Don't die, Cynthia!" Blake cried. "There's so much you have left to see!" "More… boobs…?" Cynthia asked. "Definitely," Blake said, nodding.

"Okay, did you guys rehearse this or something?" Sango asked, frowning. Blake and Serefina helped Cynthia to her feet, Serefina handing her a rag to wipe her nose.

"Thanks," Cynthia said, smiling. Cynthia turned to Blake. "Blake, you understand, don't you?" Cynthia asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. "How beautiful this woman is… due to her amazing rack… Truly, you are my brother in arms, are you not?" Serefina blushed, both irritated and flattered at the same time.

"…Personally I don't care," Blake said, frowning. "…" Cynthia looked at him like he was crazy. She turned and walked over to Sango, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Looks like there's still hope for you," Cynthia said, smiling. *CRACK*

Cynthia rolled on the ground, holding her nose, Sango wiping her fist. "I think you broke my nose!" Cynthia fake-cried. "It's bleeding!" "Your nose has been bleeding all day!" Sango said, frowning. "Why did we even call you here?"

"Blake…" Akira said, placing his hand on Blake's shoulder. He smiled proudly, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Don't act like we're comrades," Blake said, frowning.