Orientation Day at Nuvema University was pitched as a momentous occasion designed to inspire the leaders of tomorrow. In reality, it was a torture test designed to measure the human capacity for boredom in a room with broken air conditioning.

  Hundreds of sweltering freshmen packed The Grand Auditorium, filling nearly every seat. Nate and the rest of the team sat in the back section, per Hilda’s request, positioning themselves for a tactical extraction the second the speech ended. On stage, President Ferry, a man in a red suit that uncomfortably matched the velvet curtains, gripped the podium as if bracing for a hurricane.

  “Welcome,” Ferry boomed, his voice slapping against the back walls of the auditorium. “Welcome to Nuvema University. I look out at this sea of faces, and do you know what I see? I see brilliance, talent, and a thirst for knowledge. But above all that, I see the future. A future forged with the next generation of intelligent, hardworking young people.”

  From the row below, Hilda flung her head back onto the cushion of her seat, her bangs blowing upward as she huffed an inaudible sigh. She stared at Nate from her upside-down perspective, her face flushed from the heat.

  “Kill me,” she whispered.

  Nate let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. It was going to be a long morning.

  “...and thus, the paradigm of our institution rests not merely on academic rigor,” Ferry droned, his voice distorting through a feedback-heavy PA system. “But on synergy. Cross-departmental, fiscal, and intellectual synergy that will drive the engines of tomorrow!”

  He slammed his fist on the podium so brazenly the microphone screeched in high-pitched protest. As if on cue, the ‘S’ from the word Synergy that hung on the banner above the president fluttered pathetically to the floor like a dying leaf.

  Mr. Ferry ignored the ripple of laughter spreading through the teenage crowd. He twitched his mustache and plowed forward. “We must synergize our greatest strengths in order to succeed as a University.”

  The room grew hotter. Nate checked his phone through the opening in his pocket, shielding the screen. They had been trapped for forty-five minutes, and were currently being lectured about the importance of parking validation stickers.

  “...Now, I know there are rumors,” Ferry continued, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. “Rumors regarding the climate control system in this facility. Let us not call it ‘broken.’ Let us call it… an atmospheric motivational tool…”

  Nate slumped deeper into his plush seat, chin resting in his palm. Bianca sat next to him, eyes shut, head bobbing in a rhythm of near-sleep. In front, Hilda and Hilbert kicked their feet up on their seats, playing a game on their phones, blatantly disregarding the ‘no electronics’ rule. Rosa, seated beside Hilda, lazily drifted a pen across the notebook in her lap. Nate laughed as he noticed there were no notes, only an intricate doodle of Snivy wearing a top hat.

  Mr. Ferry raised a fist in the air, a gesture that lacked any real conviction.

  “Go forth. Excel. Conquer. Synergize.”

  He twitched his mustache, clearly just as done with this as they were.

  “Dismissed.”

  The sound of hundreds of chairs retracting at once sounded like firecrackers. Students scrambled for the exits like a herd of startled Bouffalant.

  “Freedom!” Bianca gasped as they spilled out onto the massive, sun-drenched quad. She shielded her eyes, taking a deep gulp of the fresh air. “I thought I was going to suffocate in there.”

  “Alright, listen up,” Hilda said, snapping into general-mode as she turned to the group. “Our next stop is the Culinary Arts showcase. No exceptions!”

  “Why?” Hugh asked, placing one hand on his hip.

  “Because, Hugh, free samples!” She shouted, ticking items off on her fingers. “There’ll be cupcakes and chocolates and brownies and cheesecake—”

  “Cheesecake?” Rosa’s head snapped up. She grabbed Hilda’s hand, bouncing on her heels. “I’m in!”

  “Yes, girl! We’re going!” Hilda dragged Bianca to her side. “You too, Blondie.”

  Bianca squeaked with excitement.

  “Free brownies, huh?” Hugh pondered, crossing his arms. “I think I’ll pass.”

  “Alright, Hugh’s lame. The rest of us are going!” Hilda signaled the charge, linking arms with Rosa.

  “Actually,” Cheren interjected, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding Hilda’s gaze. “I kind of wanted to check out the Science and Engineering department.”

  “Of course you do.” Hilda rolled her eyes. “Nerd.”

  She jerked her chin toward Hilbert. “C’mon Bert! Let’s ditch these dweebs.”

  Hilbert groaned, taking two sheepish steps forward before stopping. “On second thought, I think I’ll go with Cheren.”

  “Hilbert! What the hell?”

  “I had two hotdogs before sitting in that oven for an hour! If I eat any more sugar I’ll just puke it out.”

  “Eww.” Bianca wrinkled her nose, stepping a safe distance away.

  “Uggghhh! Fine.” Hilda huffed. “I guess it’s just the girls, then.”

  Wait, what?

  Nate’s brain stalled. Hilda was already leading the troops down the walkway.

  “We’ll meet you by the Bisharp statue in the quad!” Cheren called out to the fleeing girls.

  “Kay!” Rosa shouted, throwing a look over her shoulder.

  Nate blinked. His eyes locked with Rosa’s just as she turned away. She gave him a fleeting, bright smile and a small shoulder shrug before Hilda dragged her into the throng of students.

  The thought of a cold, rich slice of cheesecake sounded wonderful. Sharing one with Rosa sounded even better.

  There was no point in even trying to speak out. Rosa was already busy laughing with Bianca and Hilda, totally unaware of the tragedy unfolding in Nate’s subconscious. It was stupid to keep his mouth shut, but he certainly wasn’t going to admit to Hugh and Cheren that he’d rather eat sweets with the girls.

  “So you guys want to come along with us?” Cheren asked.

  Hugh gave a brief shrug.

  “Yeah, definitely,” Nate lied, the words tasting like cardboard compared to the imaginary cheesecake. “Engineering sounds… cool.”

  The Science and Engineering department was tucked away in a quiet, isolated corner of the quad. It was a small sector of the campus, deliberately secluded from the boisterous energy of the main event. Looking at the bland brick buildings, Nate couldn't help but think the layout was designed to lean into the stereotype: keep the loud kids over there, and the quiet ones over here.

  Inside the main building there was an Engineering fair where the summer students were showing off their final projects of the semester. To Nate, most of it looked like junk. He took particular note of a makeshift arena made entirely by bungee cords that housed two robots with buzz saws and hammers trying to battle each other. Two students with remote controllers laughed as they smashed their creations into one another.

  “So, this is the kind of nerdy stuff you’re into?” Hilbert asked, picking a finger at a holographic display of the solar system.

  “It’s not nerdy,” Cheren defended. “It’s applied science. Innovation happens when scientific theory meets engineering.”

  “I’m not really seeing much innovation here,” Hugh whispered to Nate as they watched one robot slice the other with its buzz saw.

  Nate chuckled and folded his arms across his chest. He let out a sigh, mentally kicking himself for not speaking up about getting sweets.

  I wonder what her favorite flavor is. Strawberry? No. Perhaps chocolate? Maybe she likes…

  BONK!

  A small peck struck his temple that caused him to flinch.

  “Ow! Hey!” Nate recoiled, placing a hand where he was struck.

  On the floor by his foot lay a triangular frame made of balsa wood and aluminum foil. It looked like a kite made by Hugh’s eight-year-old sister, Tammy. It was tethered by hair-thin copper wires to a power supply unit the size of a mini-fridge.

  “Sorry about that!” A voice came from behind him.

  A boy, the same stature and Nate except with greasier hair, ran up to him. Hovering over his shoulder was a Magnemite, looking bored, with a heavy wrench stitch magnetically to its left magnet. It spun its magnet lazily, occasionally clanking the wrench against the boy’s head.

  “Ow! Quit it,” the student muttered, shoving the Pokémon away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fly that into you.”

  “It’s okay,” Nate said. He picked up the triangular… whatever it was.

  “Hey! Be careful!” the student warned. “It's delicate.”

  “Oh. Here.”

  Nate gently held the device to the student.

  “Thanks.” He grabbed it with both hands, cradling it as if it was a newborn Budew. “The name’s Hank, by the way! This is my Magnemite. You guys physics students?” He talked briskly and twitched after every sentence.

  “No, we’re just visiting,” Hugh muttered.

  “Oh. That’s too bad. Say, you guys like physics? I can show you my cool project. It violates the laws of nature.”

  Nate and Hugh exchanged looks. Hugh lifted one eyebrow, clearly wanting to, in the words of Hilda, “ditch this dweeb.” Nate, on the other hand, was more empathetic.

  “Is it safe?” Nate asked, eyeing a bundle of exposed wires held together by duct tape.

  “Legally, I can’t answer that,” Hank grinned, wiping sweaty palms on his jeans.

  “Hey, cool Magnemite!” Hilbert pointed, appearing from Nate’s peripheral. Cheren walked beside him. “You know it has a wrench stuck on it, right?”

  Magnemite buzzed a low frequency tune and spun the wrench. Knocking Hank on the top of his head.

  “Ow. Yeah I know. It won’t let go of it. Probably so it can keep doing that! It’s always being mean to me.”

  “What’s that you got in your hand?” Cheren eyed the suspicious looking triangle of failure.

  “Oh, this? It’s a cool hover craft. I built it myself!”

  “That much was obvious,” Hugh muttered. Nate again chuckled under his breath.

  “I was just about to show your friends here what it does. Want to see?”

  “Sure,” Cheren replied.

  Great. Thanks, Cheren.

  They followed Hank to a table which supported the weight of the mini-fridge sized power supply and a control console that looked like it was salvaged from a submarine.

  “Watch this,” Hank said with a fat grin.

  He flipped a switch on the console. The power supply let out a low, ominous groan, vibrating the table.

  “Don’t worry about the noise! It’s just the capacitors screaming,” he shouted over the hum.

  As the machine spooled up, a faint violet glow hissed around the wire edges. Silently, the flimsy triangle lifted out of Hank’s hands. It hovered perfectly still in the air, defiant and ghostly.

  “Woah,” Hilbert said, leaning in, mesmerized. “How’s it flying like that?”

  “The Biefeld-Brown effect!” Hank proudly stated. “I’m creating lift by ionizing the air between the emitter wire and the foil collector.”

  “Uh-huh. And for people who don’t speak science?” Hugh asked, crossing his arms.

  Cheren grinned, pointing to the purple glow, “Think of it as a waterfall made of lightning. Using electricity, he can strip electrons off the air molecules, turning them into ions. Those ions are attracted to the foil skirt and as they move, they collide with the air molecules, creating wind.”

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  “Percisely!” Hank exclaimed with a maniacal grin. Magnemite whacked Hank again with the wrench which was met with an uncomfortable “Ow!”

  “It’s silent,” Nate observed. “And steady.”

  “It’s a tricky gadget. It requires a massive amount of electricity. Highly inefficient. But damn is it cool!” Hank beamed.

  “Exactly how much power are you using?” Cheren asked.

  Hank let out a guttural laugh. “More than needed to light this building! If you wanted to lift a person, you’d need a nuclear reactor. Or a thunderstorm in a bottle.”

  Magnemite buzzed another low hum of boredom. It gently glided next to the table spinning its magnets. The wrench accidentally hit a soda can Hank left on the table. The can tipped. A wave of sugary, carbonated orange soda washed across the table and soaked the copper tether wires.

  ZZZRRTT-CRACK!

  The sound was like a whip crack inside a library. A jagged blue arc of electricity snapped between the wet wire and the aluminum foil. The violet glow vanished instantly. The balsa wood frame fell in a sad, smoking death-spiral and face-planted into the puddle of soda.

  “ARGGH! My baby! Magnemite what did you do?” Hank scolded, grabbing a rag to frantically dry the table.

  Magnemite let out a guilty, drooping whirr and hid behind the smoking power supply.

  “What happened?” Nate asked, blinking spots from his eyes. “Did it die?”

  “It shorted out!” Hank sighed, resetting the breakers on his console which had popped with a loud BANG.

  He poked the dead, soggy kite. “Electricity is lazy, man. It wants the easiest path to the ground.”

  Cheren stared at the fallen kite, his eyes narrowing. He looked from the soda puddle to the dead machine.

  “So,” Cheren murmured, half to himself. “The system is powerful enough to defy gravity but a simple short crashes the whole thing?”

  “Exactly,” Hank grumbled, wringing out his rag. “One cup of water is enough to ground the whole system.”

  Nate looked at the massive, heavy power supply, then at the floating Magnemite peeking out from behind it.

  “Why don’t you just use Magnemite?” Nate said, pointing at the Pokémon.

  Hank paused, mid-wipe. “Huh?”

  “It generates electricity naturally, right?” Nate reasoned. “If you hooked Magnemite up to the kite, wouldn’t you have a battery that isn’t susceptible to water?”

  The student looked at his Pokémon. The Magnemite looked back, its single eye widening in sudden panic.

  “I guess, theoretically?” Hank scratched his chin and then shook his head. “I don’t know. Hooking a living thing up to a machine like a battery? Feels a little… cold, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess so,” Nate shrugged. “Just an idea.”

  Hugh patted Nate on the back. “Leave the science to the nerds, Nate.”

  The Bisharp statue at the center of the quad stood as a symbol of the University’s strength. Bisharps lead Pawniards into battle. They are smart, cunning, and brave, bound by a strict code of honor. Ideally, the students sitting at the tables beneath it were like Pawniards, waiting to be led by a valiant leader. However, the statue cast a convenient shadow, making it the perfect spot for the girls to devour their sweets in the cool shade.

  “Hey! Over here!” Bianca waved enthusiastically.

  “There,” Nate said, pointing them out.

  The two groups reconvened. Bianca and Hilda were demolishing a large cookie, while Rosa picked delicately at a strawberry-flavored cheesecake with a fork.

  I knew her favorite was strawberry!

  The boys took their seats. Hugh managed to slide into the spot next to Rosa before Nate even had a chance to react. Nate silently protested, his shoulders slumping as he took the consolation prize seat next to Cheren.

  “How was the science fair? Did you learn about the science?” Hilda asked with a mouth full of chocolate chips.

  “Oh, yeah, lots,” Hugh replied, rolling his eyes.

  “We got you guys cupcakes!” Rosa smiled, pointing to a box in the center of the table.

  Hilda grabbed a cupcake and reached across Rosa. “Here, Hugh. This one’s for you.”

  Hugh looked at the cupcake, then met Hilda’s eyes.

  “C’mon. Don’t be lame.” She shook the cupcake in front of him, inching it closer to his mouth.

  Hugh cracked a smile and took it. “Thanks.”

  The team enjoyed their sweets as the afternoon wore on. Clubs started to set up tables and banners along the quad perimeter, preying on impressionable freshmen.

  “Any of you guys want to join a club?” Hilbert asked, scanning the area. “There’s the Pokémon Fan Club.”

  “I think that’d be fun!” Bianca beamed. “I’ve heard they’re based in Icirrus City.”

  Hilbert let out a quick laugh. “Bianca, I was kidding. They only like ‘cute’ Pokemon.”

  “That disqualifies you, Bert! Scraggy ain’t going to cut it,” Hilda teased.

  “Shut up, Da! Scraggy is way cuter than Cottonee.”

  Hilda gasped, clutching her chest as if she’d been stabbed. “You take that back! Cottonee is my precious little flower!”

  “I thought I was your precious little flower?” Rosa smiled with wide eyes.

  “Oh, honey!” Hilda placed an arm around Rosa as she rested her head on her shoulder.

  “No. It’s Cottonee.”

  “Oh my god, Hilda! You’re the worst!” Rosa playfully shoved her off, and Hilda fell back into her seat laughing.

  “Take a look at that one,” Nate said, pointing to a banner. “The Battle Club. ‘All Trainers Wanted,’” he read aloud.

  Two boys the size of Machokes were yelling at passing students to “test their strength.” Behind them, a Sawk and Throh flexed their muscles, posing like bodybuilders.

  “The Battle Club?” Hilbert repeated.

  “Hey, now that sounds like fun,” Hugh said, jumping up, a spark twinkling in his eyes.

  “Let’s check it out. Could actually be something useful,” Hilda said. She, too, looked genuinely intrigued.

  “Sounds right up your guys’ alley,” Bianca said, hesitating. She took a bite of her cupcake and adjusted herself in her seat. “I think I’ll just stay here.”

  “Oh, c’mon Bianca. It looks fun!” Hilda pleaded.

  “Well, alright.”

  As they got up to move to the Battle Club booth, the team was stopped cold by a sharp voice.

  “Hey, you’re Cheren from the Research and Development Team, right?”

  A girl with a sharp bob cut and a notepad materialized from behind the Bisharp statue, blocking their path. A Chatot sat on her shoulder, its head cocked at a severe angle.

  “Umm, yes. Hello,” Cheren said, looking for an exit. With the girl standing directly in the path to the Battle Club, he had no choice but to engage. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”

  “Milly. I’m a reporter for Nuvema Daily.” She offered a hand.

  Chatot squealed in a sharp, scratchy voice. “Nuvema Daily.”

  Cheren flinched and moved to shake her hand, but she retracted it immediately to scribble something down.

  “You’re hard to find,” Milly said. She didn’t smile. She had the look of a hungry Lillipup spotting a bone. “I heard the Electric-types are back in the pasture. Fully recovered.”

  “Yes,” Cheren said, trying to step around her. “The treatment was successful.”

  Milly stepped in front of him again. “That’s great. But I’m not interested in the cure, Cheren. I’m interested in the cause.”

  She tapped her pen against her notepad. “There’s chatter on the Ranger forums. They’re saying the magnetic spike at Chargestone was… unnatural.” She raised her eyebrows, grinning a mischievous smile.

  Nate exchanged a worried look with Hugh.

  How did she know that?

  “We are analyzing the data,” Cheren said, his voice dropping into a rehearsed monotone. “Environmental factors are often unpredictable—”

  “Stop,” Milly said, holding a hand inches from Cheren’s face. She stepped closer, invading his personal space. “You’re lying, Cheren. R&D has the scoop, and I want to know. So, the anomaly…”

  Cheren hesitated, a bead of sweat tracing a line down his forehead.

  “Hey, give it a rest, Milly!” Bianca shouted, stepping up next to Cheren. “We’re not going to discuss details of an ongoing investigation!”

  The team looked at Bianca with utter surprise. A frown was cemented on her face and her shoulders stiff.

  Milly didn’t faze. She smiled, an unfriendly, predatory smile. She moved Chatot from her shoulder to her finger. “Here’s the thing. The University loves its reputation. But right now, budgets are tight. You guys are the golden children of the department. But what happens if the headline in Nuvema Daily isn’t ‘Students Save Pokemon,’ but ‘University Employs Inexperienced Teens’?”

  She leaned in. “You’d be a laughing stock. No one will take you seriously.”

  Chatot’s voice echoed, metallic and mocking. “Laughing stock.”

  “How… How did you know about that?” Bianca stepped back, unease settling over the group like a cold fog.

  “Oh, I know things, Bianca. Yes, I know who you are,” Milly smirked, gesturing to Nate and the others. “Look at you. You’re freshmen. If I write a piece asking why the Dean is sending amateurs to investigate a potentially man-made ecological disaster instead of professionals… how long do you think your funding lasts? How long until they shut you down to save face?”

  Cheren stared at her, paralyzed. He couldn't lie. He couldn't tell the truth. His silence stretched out, thick and incriminating.

  “That’s enough,” Hilda snapped. She stepped up, shoving a finger in Milly’s face. “You write whatever you want. But if you harass us again, I’ll kick that stupid smirk off your face.”

  “We’re done here,” Nate added, his voice firm.

  They grabbed Cheren’s arm and pulled him away, walking briskly toward the club fair. The rest of the team followed.

  Milly stood still, watching them leave with a smirk on her face. She called out to their backs, “Don’t worry! You didn’t say a word, Cheren, but your face confirmed everything. Thanks for the scoop!”

  “I hate her,” Bianca whispered as they stormed off.

  “Forget her,” Hilbert said, though he looked rattled.

  “But how could she have known all of that?” Rosa asked. “It’s not like any of us told her.”

  “I don’t know,” Cheren muttered. “But she did.”

  They reached the Battle Club booth, the atmosphere shifting from tense to electric. A large banner hung between two trees: THE BATTLE CLUB.

  Underneath it, the Sawk and Throh were sparring, the sound of their impacts drawing a crowd. A student with a megaphone was shouting.

  “Do you have the guts? Do you want the glory? Sign up for the Battle Club!”

  Another student next to him hyped up the crowd with over-the-top chants.

  “Now this,” Hugh grinned, the tension leaving his shoulders, “is what I’m talking about.”

  They approached the table. The student with the megaphone, a large upperclassman with biceps the size of Nate's head, beamed at them. “Fresh blood! You guys look like you know how to throw a Poké Ball. Interested in the Spring Retreat?”

  “Spring Retreat?” Nate asked.

  The other student clapped a heavy hand onto Nate’s shoulder. “Come Spring Semester we’ll host the Trainer’s Camp. One Week. Out in the wilderness. Training. Battling. Connecting with Pokémon. And to top it all off, a Tournament of Champions!”

  He released Nate’s shoulder and let off a howl that sounded like a Stoutland getting its tail stepped on.

  He looked at Hugh. “Tournament of Champions, huh?”

  “Sounds like a deal to me!” Hugh grinned back.

  The two boys grappled hands and locked wrists like they were in an action movie.

  “Where do we sign?” Hugh asked.

  “Fill out your name, department, and contact info here!” the recruiter yelled into the megaphone, blasting Nate’s eardrums.

  “I’m in,” Nate said, rubbing his ear. He needed this. He needed something simple. A battle he could understand, not a conspiracy he couldn’t control.

  Cheren quickly moved to grab a sign-up sheet, eager to put the Milly encounter behind him.

  Even Hilda signed up. “Easy win,” she scoffed, slamming the pen down on the table. “Bert!”

  She looked next to her and saw Hilbert already hunched over the table filling out the sheet.

  “You know you’re not going without me, Da,” Hilbert said.

  “That’s my Bert!” She patted his shoulder.

  Nate smiled and shook his head.

  Of course they’d sign up.

  He turned to see Rosa holding Bianca’s hand near the edge of the crowd. She caught his eye, pursing her lips in thought, then tugged Bianca along as she closed the distance between them.

  “One week training camp, huh?” Rosa murmured, stopping beside him.

  “Yeah. Should be fun.” Nate’s neck felt warm. He glanced from the clipboard to her.

  “Should be,” Rosa echoed softly.

  Behind them, the Throh hoisted the Sawk into the air and drove it into the dirt with a ground-shaking THUD!

  Rosa didn’t flinch. She stared at the display of raw power, her grip tightening on her bag. “I think I’ll sign up.”

  She briskly made her way toward the table.

  “M-me too!” Bianca squeaked from behind her.

  Rosa paused, turning to her friend. “Bianca, you really don’t have to—”

  “No, I want to,” Bianca insisted, puffing out her chest.

  She snatched the pen and scribbled her name with a shaky flourish. The ink was barely dry, but the pact was sealed. They were all in this together.

  They left the club fair feeling lighter. The sun was beginning to dip, casting long shadows across the brick pathways. They passed by the Arts & Humanities building on their way back to the dorms.

  The doors swung open, and a boy walked out. He was tall, wearing a loose linen shirt and flip-flops, carrying a guitar case on his back. He had a mop of messy blonde hair and a smile that seemed permanently affixed to his face.

  “No way,” the boy said, stopping in his tracks. “Hilda? Rosa?”

  The boy gave a wide smile and briskly made his way toward the group.

  “Oh my god, Rosa! Hide!” Hilda grabbed Rosa by the arm. She yanked Rosa behind her, looking ready to defend her from an army of Durant.

  Rosa peaked out from over her cousin’s shoulder and blinked.

  “Curtis?”

  “In the flesh!” Curtis laughed, strumming an air guitar. “I haven’t seen you guys since, well, years! You look—wow! University suits you, Rosa.”

  Hilda rolled her eyes so hard Nate thought she might sprain something. “Hello, Curtis. Still playing rock songs at nursing homes?”

  “Haha! Classic, Hilda,” Curtis winked, entirely unbothered. He turned to face Hilbert. “Hilbert! My man! Wassup, bro?”

  Curtis pulled him into a complicated bro-hug.

  “Just the sky, Cutiefly!” Hilbert returned the gesture.

  “Cutiefly, Ha! That’s a good one!” He rubbed his nose. “Cheren, Bianca. Wow, the gang’s all here!”

  “Yeah, and we’re trying to get back to our dorms, so if you don’t mind…” Hilda began pulling Rosa along.

  “Well, then let me walk with you!” Curtis invited himself along.

  Nate stood a few feet back, hands buried in his pockets. He suddenly felt very invisible, and very uncool. Curtis was charming. He was a musician. He radiated a "chill guy" energy that Nate definitely did not have.

  Curtis walked next to Rosa, with Hilda aggressively inserting herself between them. “So, you joined the research team. Beauty and brains. Dangerous combination.”

  Nate’s heart jumped into his throat. He mentally listed off all the Flying-type Pokémon he wished would swoop down and carry Curtis into the stratosphere.

  Maybe an Unfezant. No, they’re too docile. Perhaps a feral Skarmory.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” Rosa said politely.

  “So, what have you been up to, Curtis?” Hilbert chimed in.

  “Oh me? I’ve been with the Music Department for two years now. Freshman year was tough, but I’ve been having a blast writing songs and doing live performances.”

  “You’ve been writing your own music?” Rosa asked with a hint of intrigue. Nate felt a sting in his gut.

  “You bet! I’m working on my own record this year. I’m hoping to get it released before the end of the semester!” Curtis exclaimed with a proud puff of his chest.

  “Great. I can’t wait to not listen to it,” Hilda scoffed.

  Curtis let out a short chuckle. “Well, if you want to get a sneak peak, you guys have to come to Accumula Town next Friday. The Music Department is hosting the ‘Welcome to Fall Semester’ concert in the town plaza. I’ll be performing some of my songs there!”

  “Oh, that sounds fun!” Bianca chirped.

  “It will be!” Curtis replied. Then, he lowered his voice, looking directly at Rosa. “You know, I can get a plus one for free. Even get you a front-row seat and free drinks with a VIP ticket.”

  “Curtis, that’s really nice, but I think I’m okay.” Rosa continued walking.

  Curtis’s face betrayed a hint of rejection. “You sure? Not even to see the concert? You don’t have to go as my plus one if you don’t want to.”

  Rosa stopped, forcing the rest of the group to stop with her. Hilda groaned and shook her head.

  “You said next Friday?” she asked.

  Curtis nodded briskly. “Yup. The whole Music Department will be there.”

  “Cheren? Is Friday free?”

  “I… uhhh,” Cheren fumbled.

  “Yup, we can make it Friday!” Bianca interrupted.

  Hilda facepalmed.

  “Perfect!” Curtis opened his arms out. “I’ll put ya’ll on the list. I can forward the details to the R&D department email. Sound good?” he asked with two thumbs up.

  “I’ll be checking for it!” Bianca smiled.

  “Wicked! And if you change your mind, Rosa, the VIP pass has your name on it. Think about it.”

  “Thanks, Curtis.”

  He winked and strolled away humming a tune, flip-flops slapping against the pavement.

  “I cannot stand that guy! How the hell did we meet him here? Of all places!” Hilda screamed at the sky.

  “He seems nice,” Rosa said. “He’s just trying to reconnect with us.”

  “You mean to reconnect with you!”

  Rosa shrugged.

  Nate cringed. He watched Curtis walk away and felt a sting of jealousy he couldn’t quite squash. He knew why, though. Of course he knew.

  Nate slided up next to Hilbert.

  “Hey, who was that guy?” He nudged.

  “Curtis? He’s an old friend of ours. He grew up in our neighborhood,” Hilbert explained.

  “Our?”

  “Yeah, our neighborhood. Cheren’s my neighbor, and Bianca is Hilda’s. We all grew up on the same block, except for Rosa.”

  Nate knew that Hilbert and Hilda had grown up together, but he had no clue Cheren and Bianca were also part of that history. It made him feel like an outsider looking through a window.

  “So, why does Hilda act so weird around him?”

  Hilbert laughed. “Didn’t you see him flirting with Rosa? The guy is practically in love with her. Always has been. It drives Hilda crazy. She thinks he’s annoying.”

  Yeah, no kidding.

  “You seem fine with him,” Nate shrugged.

  “I think he’s a cool dude. Plus, it’s really funny whenever Hilda gets all mad around him and I just act like nothing is wrong. It makes for an interesting dynamic.”

  “Yeah, but, don’t you always support Hilda?”

  “Hell no! I do it purely because it makes her upset. What’s life without a little chaos, you know?” Hilbert chuckled to himself.

  Nate looked around at his friends. Bianca was laughing with Hilda. Hugh was showing Cheren the brochure for the training camp. Rosa was humming the tune Curtis had been whistling.

  For a moment, despite the ups and downs of the past several days and creepy reporters, he felt normal. He felt like a normal University student.

  But as Nate turned back to the campus behind him, he couldn’t shake the image of the ion hovercraft crashing onto the floor, starving for power. Or the look on Cheren’s face when Milly cornered him.

  Orientation was over. And the looming threat of Chargestone Cave was just over the horizon.

  End of Part 2.