Arthur.

Camille had come to fall in love with this little town.

When she got her teaching license more than a year ago, like the others with whom she underwent her training, she wished to be dispatched to a city. Not a large city, but one that is buzzing with activity day and night alike. She could have gone drinking with her friends after classes, to a cinema, or even to a gym for a Pokémon battle. On Friday or Saturday night, there would have been those nightclubs with new people to meet, and maybe she could have gotten herself a boyfriend. Camille was young, only 24 years old, and like any young adult, she wanted to live her life fully.

However, her hopes were dashed. She was sent to Otambourg, a little town she wasn't even able to place on the map. Worse, she was the only one dispatched there. She could only swallow her discontent and pack her bags. Camille knew that no request was going to place her in a city, and she didn't want to try her luck and end up in a village, worse than a town.

Otambourg had come as quite a surprise. It wasn't as backward as she thought it would be. Bisecting the town from north to south was an actual asphalt road, wide enough to allow two cars to go to and from it. The main road branched out into four other roads, of the same material but less wide, and they branched out to numerous cobblestones or dirt paths that reached every corner of town.

The houses were aesthetic. They were made of wood and stones and separated by green pasture and pine trees. And at night, the street lamps alongside the roads shone like stars, amidst the quietness of the place.

Camille had only problem with the town; its sparse population, which was either aging or very young, as she predicted. She knew young adults of her age would be either on their Pokémon journey or in cities enjoying all the entertainment they could offer. The young teacher was glad to have found Bety, a nurse of her age dispatched at the same time as her to the local clinic.

In sum, Otambourg was a boring town but a cozy one. Eventually she and her starter, a Dolliv, ended up enchanted by its charms.

Tearing her gaze from the vibrant scenery outside the window, Camille gave her attention back to the classroom. Her students, 11- and 12-year-old teens, were dutifully listening to the presentation happening at the front of the class. Well, all but one was. Her gaze turned toward the sleeping student.

He never changes, she sighed. She was used to Arthur's antics, but sleeping without a care when your teacher was two seats behind you... Such fearlessness needed a reward, but as she was about to take her first step, he abruptly woke up.

A glance left, a glance right, then a sneaky glance back and his eyes met briefly with her. Spooked, he briskly straightened his attention to the front. Camille failed to stifle her laughter. The focus of the class was broken.

"Miss?" asked the girl who was presenting her paper. "Is there an issue?"

"None, Mary. Sorry for the disturbance. Proceed with your talk, please."

The girl nodded and returned to her board full of collages and symbols. "Pokémon blocking," she began, "is a problem that every trainer has encountered at least once in their career. To understand it, we must go back to a fundamental notion of Pokémon science: evolution.

"It's well known what Pokémon evolution is, but for many years, none of the brightest minds in our world could identify the cause behind this phenomenon or explain why humans are unable to evolve. If these fantastic creatures can change drastically in shape and mind, it is due to their unstable genes."

"It was Professor Rowan of Sinnoh who finally answered those questions with his discovery of the genome and its properties. His research not only revolutionized Pokémon science but also human biology. Professor Rowan's work was so ground-breaking that it is said to have advanced our understanding of Pokémon by a century! Moreover, Professor Nicolas, who was having difficulties with his IMO project, was able to complete it thanks to these findings.

"According to him, Pokémon are born with an incomplete genome in the sense that part of the genetic material is inactive. This is the cause behind the instability. As they grow in their first evolutionary stage, the instability escalates, and bam!" laughter erupted in the class. "Evolution. Every Pokémon, trained or not, is destined to undergo its first evolution.

"However, there are exceptions, especially for some Pokémon that only have two stages in their evolutionary line, such as Magikarp. The genome of the Pokémon is incredibly stable; it could spend its whole life without ever evolving. Even with all the technological advances that Professor Rowan's studies have generated, researchers can't explain how they can evolve into Gyarados. Their genes don't match. There are only a few similarities.

"With the exception of Magikarp and Pokemon like Sneasel, which require a special object to evolve, all Pokémon with only one evolution will eventually reach their final form with enough time, but this may not be the case for species with three stages in their evolutionary line, that is Pokémon Blocking."

The girl proceeded by showing the other images of Pokémon suffering from severe cases of blocking, and there was a recurrence in each of them. Those Pokémon were bigger than the average, with traits more developed and some having features from their next evolution stage.

They could have passed for hybrids between their second stage and final one. A pikachu with a Raitchu tail and longer ears. A Nuzleaf with white foliage growing on his head. a Vigoroth with brown fur. a Sealo with a more pronounced saber tooth. Red Feathers on be the cockscomb of a Staravia. Camille could have also given an example, her Dolliv whose fruits had turned purple and her body brown. Only her arms were still green. It was her greatest shame as a trainer, but she didn't lose hope to see her starter one day reach her final form and finally accomplish her duty toward her Olivia.

"After the first evolution," resumed Mary, "the genome of the Pokémon stabilizes despite the presence of still-inactive genes. If nothing is done, it will remain in this stable state and, in the worst case, will stabilize even more, gradually sealing the chances of evolution. The easiest way to restore the instability of the genome is through intensive training, but this is most often ineffective.

"Today, Pokémon Blocking is the trainer's plague, and even though it has been revealed that the psyche can influence chances of evolution, such as some species who require affection to evolve, there is no real reliable solution to the problem. However, thanks to Pokémon mutation research by Professor Sycamore of Kalos and student to Professor Rowan, it has been revealed that excessive cross-breeding of Pokémon increases the chance of Blocking in the offspring, while pure-bred Pokémon are almost sure to reach their final form under the right training and conditioning."

Mary put down her paper and scanned the class. Camille knew then that the presentation was approaching its end. "Despite the various advances made in Pokémon research, it is obvious that our understanding of them is still lacking and many mysteries still remain to be solved. However, with a growing international community of researchers working day and night, hand in hand, we can hope that tomorrow we will finally understand these fantastic creatures. Who knows, maybe one of us will be the one to discover their secret!"

"Peter will!" shouted one of the students, and another round of laughter resounded. It was with a smile on her face that Mary finished her presentation."Thank you for your attention."

A thunderous round of applause was given, widening the pretty smile and prompting her to return the acclamations with a bow.

"Ok, everyone, that's enough applause. You're disturbing the other classes," reproached the young teacher. Observing her class, she couldn't help but let a smile fall on her lips; the cheerfulness was contagious. There was also mirth in her eyes as she noticed the dreamy looks on some of the boys. She knew those looked very good. Mary sure has many admirers, which is not surprising. With her inky black hair, the girl is as lovely as a doll, she thought.

"Thank you, Mary, for this superb presentation; I can see the time and efforts you put into it. Such a great lecture you gave us today. Did you make these collages yourself?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss, they come from the Pokeweb, and some of the graphics were drawn by hand."

"Excellent as always, Mary. I expected no less from my delegate!"

After the girl returned to her seat under more applause, Camille left the back, and as she was about to answer various questions the class might have had, one of them raised his hand. This briefly surprised her. It was Arthur's. Camille could count on one hand the number of times he raised his hand during an exchange. In fact, it was the first time since the beginning of the year, and the year is coming to an end.

Perplexed, she spoke to him, "Yes, Arthur, do you have a problem?"

"Miss, I believe there's still one more presentation to be made."

An abrupt silence settled in the class. Camille was left speechless. The twenty-five-years old teacher had asked him several times throughout the year to participate in class discussions, only to be ignored and given a written report. Arthur was her problem student, the first one of her starting career.

When the silence was about to become uncomfortable, she pulled herself together and finally asked, "Is there a reason you want to have your presentation?"

"This year will be my last in this school, and I thought I should make an effort this time."

"You may… come forward then."

As the troublesome teen left his seat, she lost herself in thought. Camille still remembered the conversation she had with the director of the establishment at the beginning of the year about a special student who would be placed in her care.

"The student in question is named Arthur. He is a 12-year-old boy who has been without parents since birth and is currently residing at the local orphanage," The middle aged man informed her while handing Arthur's file. The profile's picture depicted a young boy with chocolate skin and red eyes.

"Poor kid," she thought as she read the document, "life isn't always kind to orphans, and things don't get better with time… But with Mrs. Marthe as the matron, he shouldn't have any worries. It's only been two months since I moved here, but I've already heard a lot of good about the lady."

"Yes, but Arthur, unlike the others, had been mentally disturbed since he was six. Even though he was declared fit for regular education at the age of eight and was deemed mentally capable after his first year with us, he was already isolated by his peers."

"Ah, I heard some rumors about a "crazy" student, so it is him; I also learned that he was bullied by his classmates."

She heard the man cough, an embarrassed one. "They just took their games a little too far. They're kids; it happens."

"Yes... it happens." Camille didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Arthur... What was he suffering from?"

"Cough, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to divulge the the boy's medical history but I suppose there's a need for context. Marthe is a long dated friend of mine... She has been looking after Arthur since he was a babe. The newly born had been diagnosed with autism as he was unresponsive to the world around him.

Following Marthe's words, he wouldn't giggle when tingled, wouldn't cry when pinched and would remain silent when afflicted by a sickness or even hunger. Despite all this, the yearling showed clear intelligence as he wouldn't fail to put the squares in the squares and the circles in the circles. In fact, his intelligence was above his years, mastering his ABC before one year of age."

"Wow... that's impressive. A psychic?" The director shook his head. "What happened then?"

"Things went well and the boy began developing an emotional response at the age of 3. By four, he was no different than any other kid his age. Unfortunately, during an outing at the local parc when he was six, he evaded the attention of his guardian and found himself on the way of a mad Zigzagoon. The Pokemon tackled him and Arthur ended up hospitalized with a serious head trauma."

Camila gasped, "It's then that he..."

"Yes. At first the boy seemed fine but six months following his leave, he began to... behave differently." The director sighed. "Long story short, The child developed a personality disorder as a result of the accident and his past various mood swings and violent tendencies are the origin of the isolation he suffers today."

"Poor kid." uttered the young adult before grimacing at the chuckles that escaped her superior. "Sir!? How could you!"

"Sorry, sorry Camille. But, in my defense Arthur of today is anything but poor. Mark my words, he will put your patience to test."

"huh? what does it mean?"

The man only smiled. "Let's get back to the point. At first, I was also skeptical of Arthur joining this school— I believed it was too soon for him as he had just finished his therapy and the following year, he could have been with new mates with whom he didn't had bad history. But with the support of Marthe, I gave him a chance on the condition that he would not receive any favoritism in his examinations. He should have at least a passing grade to continue."

"And how did he do?"

"Well, he passed his exams and all the others, or we wouldn't be having this discussion. And… he barely succeeded his exams with passing marks."

Camille shrank back into her chair, feeling cheated. "Why the suspense?" she pouted, not really realizing it. "I expected something more incredible! That he was the best in his class, for example!"

Jeremy smiled, amused by her reaction. "Quite the opposite, in fact; he is currently the last of the class. He has always been."

"So..." she frowned, thinking about the purpose of the meeting, "you want me to pay special attention to him? It would be a shame if he failed at the end of the road."

"No. I have no doubt that he will succeed his final year. You see, up until now, Arthur has failed to develop a sense of camaraderie and trust with his fellow classmates. Combine that with his troubling experience and you end up with an eccentric student; he comes to class when he feels like it, does his homework from time to time, and sometimes falls asleep all day in the presence of his teacher. Whenever he is criticized for his attitude, he pulls out the mental difficulties card," replied Jeremy, tired

"Arthur is a difficult student. What I want from you is to be flexible with him, Camille. You can even ignore him. I've already received enough complaints from other teachers."

"I will, but... what am I supposed to do if he doesn't do his homework? If he misses a pop quiz or doesn't write his exams?" she asked, a little baffled by his words.

"Whatever you want. You can make him do a catch-up session if he misses a test like Mrs. June did in his second year, or just give him a zero like Mr. Hubert did last year. Ultimately it was a matter of him not expecting favoritism on these exams and tests."

"You put him under Mr. Hubert's charge last year!" She was surprised. Despite being new to this school, she already had a feel for the other teachers. Mr. Hubert is an old-school teacher who is strict and rigid. The worst teacher for someone like Arthur

"Yes, we thought that with a little more discipline he could be less of a hooligan, but the plan failed terribly," said the director, smiling at something he only could see. "In addition to his attitude, Arthur is incredibly stubborn. The relationship between the two quickly deteriorated to the point where he hardly ever came to class. And Hubert was determined to fail the young boy, not hesitating to give him zeros at the slightest opportunity."

"And you're telling me that he passed under all these conditions?" she uttered, disbelieving.

"Yes, he passed with the minimal score last year, ten (over twenty)" Jeremy replied, his smile amusing; "you should have seen Hubert's face," he laughed, "he was convinced Arthur had cheated."

"Did he?" asked Camille, hoping for some astonishing revelations.

"Who knows? In defense, Arthur replied that it's not cheating if you don't get caught... We had to stop Hubert... or he would have smacked the truth out of him." Jeremy could not stop himself and laughed like a maniac, unconcerned by the presence of his guest.

Camille was already tired from that new student, but she was ready to take on the challenge as her first as a teacher. "I will do my best, sir!"

"Good. If you are patient with him, everything will go well enough, as it did with Mrs. June." He thanked her, relieved not to have to face any more complaints from the teachers and the reproaches of his longtime friend Marthe.

As Mr. Jeremy had warned her, Arthur was a troubling student. Arriving when he wanted, handing in his homework every other day, and ignoring her presence in class for the sake of whatever was taking her attention and answering "I don't know" to every question asked. Miss Camille soon realized why he was placed in her charge. Few teachers can be tolerant of him.

She wanted to scold him severely several times but always refrained. Either Mrs. June was a saint, or had he become more eccentric during the last year? She didn't know. But her patience finally paid off. By the middle of the year, he had calmed down considerably and started being less of a hooligan, though he was still an absentee and occasionally ignored the class.

A call from him, "Yes?" jolted Miss Camille out of her reverie.

"I'm ready to start, Miss," replied Arthur, sitting in front of his PC.

Observing the PC, she was once again astonished, not expecting a slide presentation. "Are you going to have your presentation projected?"

"Yes, I am done with the preparations."

"I didn't know you knew you were that skilled with computers. If everything is set up, you can start." She left him at the front and went to the back by the window.

Taking a second to ready himself, the teen began his presentation: "Good evening, Miss, and dear classmates. Today I am going to speak with you about a subject that is weakly discussed among the general public, especially us young people, namely 'The realities of trainers in our society'."