Stacking The Balls - Chapter 2.1

Honestly, Rotom's explanation about the history of the academy and how it came to be in the first place, was a lot to take in.

Sitting on the edge of…his bed Ronan had his hands stapled together and his chin resting on them, stared unseeingly into the mirror across from him, his mind wandering.

He was of half a mind to think this was just all an elaborate dream, but no, it felt all too real. And if he was dreaming, the feeling of pain or the realisation he was dreaming would have woken him up by this point.

So…as surreal as this situation was, it was all too real.

He narrowed his eyes at his all too new and foreign reflection, studying the handsome teenager being reflected back at him, looking at himself closely, he could see…a few resemblances to his actual real self, the shape of his face, nose and eyes were just about the same, as was the skin tone. But, the one looking back at him looked more like a much more upgraded version of himself, with a different colour of eyes and hair…and much better teeth.

And his skin was so much more clear, not a blemish in sight.

'So weird, but not really worth wasting my time focusing on right now,' Ronan thought to himself, eyes narrowing to almost pinpricks at his reflection, 'I need to find out more about…who I am here, beyond apparently being an orphan here as well. Just my luck really. First things first is cementing my position here and figuring out what kind of status I'm working with here.' he mentally sighed.

Just as he finished that thought though-

His vision shimmered and before his eyes a screen of some sort popped up in his vision, floating over the top of his reflection in the mirror. Pitch black, with crimson red writing in the middle of it.

Name: Ronan Cobalt
Age: 15
Occupation: First Year Student - Trainer

Strength: 25
Skill: 21
Intelligence: 30
Charm: 22

Current Party

….Eh?

What….the absolute fuck!?

It looked like a status screen, right out of a game of some sort? Listing his name, his occupation and even stats of some kind?

So weird.

But honestly, for all he knew this could be normal here. Why did it even appear? He wondered. His thoughts maybe?

Because he thought the word status?

Well, whatever.

'What do these stats even mean?' he wondered.

Strength, Skill, Intelligence and Charm. It was very much an odd set of stats or parameters or whatever. One wouldn't generally see a gathering like that normally except maybe in a dating sim or something.

He focused and stared at them for a moment, his eyes lingering on the Strength stat, it seemed the most straight forward.

As he did though, he had to blink as another screen appeared in his vision, smaller in size and beside the first.

Strength
The measure of ones physical parameters, ranging from not only their
physical strength, but endurance, running speed and more.
One point in this parameter is equal to being able to lift 10 pounds.

Ronan just stared for a moment, gaze blank.

…So if he focused on things on the status screen or menu or whatever it gave him an explanation of them then? That was convenient and seemed quite easy to understand.

And it seemed the strength parameter was an all rounder stat that was a measure of ones entire physical ability.

…Wait, his was set at twenty five, did that mean he could lift two hundred and fifty pounds!? He'd need to test that…because that was crazy. He was a pretty active and fit guy, but he couldn't lift two hundred and fifty pounds!

He still wasn't really sure what to think on this to be honest, so after shaking his head, he let his eyes wander down to the next in line, skill.

And as he focused on it, the box explaining the strength parameter disappeared and was then replaced by another.

Skill
The measure of ones general physical skill parameters. Ranging from playing sports, to fighting, keeping cool under physical stimuli and more such as throwing balls.

…Another really broad term as far as a skill parameter went and just how many things it covered. It was also quite specific there at the end about throwing balls.

As in…Pokeballs maybe?

There was a whole thing in the manga where the technique and strength behind a throw of a pokeball could influence the capture chances. And in the games there was that whole, critical capture thing as well.

There was a lot to unpack there as well. And he could think on that later as well and see if he could understand anymore about it.

Rotom said initiation was soon, so he couldn't exactly spend too much time like this. So he moved down to the stat or parameter or whatever.

Intelligence
A parameter that is not simply the measure of ones innate intelligence or IQ. But also a measure of ones accumulated useful knowledge and experience.

Alright, that was easy to understand and so far, the simplest of the parameters he'd saw so far. It didn't just measure how innately smart someone was, but he supposed also their wisdom? Their experiences and what they'd went through in their lives and learned, that could then be applied by them.

….Was thirty good? God he hoped so.

Ronan shook his head, 'Right one more left.' he thought, and directed his gaze towards the fourth and final parameter.

Charm.

Charm
A parameter that measures not only ones physical attractiveness, but their charisma, social skills, desirability, overall likeability and even ability to lie under pressure and be believed.

And once more Ronan's gaze turned blank as he read the effects of the parameter. It seemed very much to be a skill or parameter that was…really straight out of a dating sim.

Until the very end at least when the ability to lie came up. Wasn't it a well known thing that a lot of serial killers tended to be handsome and charismatic and loved by those around them and were literally the best when it came to lying and being believed?

…He did not know what to think of that one at all.

Ronan sighed, rubbing his forehead and looked away from the mirror, and as he did he noticed the status screen disappear.

"Rotom," he spoke up as he looked to the pokemon possessing a pokedex, "How long before I need to show up? And is there a uniform I need to wear or something?"

"There is approximately seventy eight minutes until you need to arrive for your first day," Rotom explained, floating over towards me, "And Pokemon Academy does indeed have a uniform, but it is not required to be worn except during formal occasions, today is not such a day."

…Alright so just over an hour, and he didn't need to worry about what he wore. Kind of weird the school actually had a uniform but didn't require it to be worn.

But whatever, it wasn't like he'd really know all that much about the culture here.

…A thought occurred to him.

If he could see his own status, could he see that of someone else's or even a pokemon, maybe?

A bit of experimentation was in order.

He narrowed his eyes and focused on Rotom, 'Status.' he thought.

And to his surprise-

The air above Rotomdex shimmered and a familiar black screen with crimson red writing appeared on it.

And Ronan could not help but blink at what he saw, for he did not expect this at all. It was wholly different from the one that appeared for him, and…vastly more useful in his opinion.

Species: Rotom
Gender: N/A
Type: Electric/Ghost
Ability: Levitate
Level: 10

Astonish
Thunder Shock
Double Team
Confuse Ray

He could see…the status of pokemon! He could literally see their ability with a glance and what attacks they knew. That would be incredibly helpful for sure. He wasn't even sure what he was going to do here going forward, but such a thing would be an incredibly advantage.

Not only that…but he could see levels. Levels were a thing here apparently?

…Wait!

Ronan's eyes widened, 'What if this is normal here?' his thoughts came to a crashing halt with that single train of thought.

…Well good thing he had Rotom here to give him all the information he needed, "Hey Rotom, can people see the levels of pokemon and their attacks just by looking at them?" he asked bluntly.

The eyes atop the pokedex blinked and gave him an odd look, "…No data found," Rotom replied, "I have never heard of humans having such an ability. And levels for a pokemon were debunked decades ago."

Okay…just him then.

This could be good, amazing even.

Well it was something at least, he hadn't even seen a single lick of this world outside this bedroom to be honest.

"Alright, thanks Rotom." Ronan replied with a nod and stood up from the bed. He supposed he should see about getting ready and actually leaving this bedroom and take those brave steps into an all new world.

He'd always dreamed and fantasized of ending up in the world of pokemon, he just never expected it to happen.

Now that he had…he should do all he could to make sure he could live well in this world and enjoy it as he always dreamed.

Even if it was completely surreal and still felt like a dream.

_______________

Thankfully, the previous him of this body, seemed to have taken the time to get all his ducks in order.

Or should he call that Golducks in order or something? Would he seem weird if he use a pokemon name in that saying and just use animals from is old world?

…So confusing.

Much to be pondered upon.

Either way, his other self had gotten all of his belongings settled away before he went to sleep last night and promptly disappeared and left him in his place. He found a meagre selection of clothing and a few sets of what appeared to be the school uniform.

It was fugly.

Well the shirt and tie being a light blue and red respectively weren't bad, but there wasn't even proper trousers or pants or anything to go with it. It was literal three quarter lengths or not even shorts, but knickerbockers.

And they were orange with yellow stripes.

They looked like they were taken straight from the Paldea games. Which, maybe somewhat made sense? The biggest school design seen in any of the games, anime or manga could have been repurposed for the biggest academy of all…maybe?

Well whatever.

"Rotom, what is on my lift of to-do's exactly?" he asked, turning to the pokemon and god was that surreal to think, after getting dressed in a simple pair of sneakers, black cargo pants and a sleeveless zip up hoodie.

"There is no classes for you today exactly," Rotom helpfully began explaining, "There is only three tasks you must complete today. The first being, that as a student that has no pokemon of your own, you are to meet with the principal of this academy and obtain your starter pokemon. After that, you are to attend the entrance ceremony to welcome new and returning students, after which you will meet with your assigned mentor student, and that is all for today."

For a moment, Ronan stood completely frozen as he processed the words of the possessed pokedex, before he blinked rapidly, mouth parting open in shock, "Starter…pokemon?" he repeated.

Somehow, getting one hadn't even occurred to him for some reason. It didn't even occur to him he would be gifted one. He hadn't even seen a real pokemon yet.

Rotom didn't count, or well it did but still it was in a pokedex!

"Yes, as a scholarship student the pokemon league has high hopes for you," Rotom helpfully continued explaining, "That is why you will be allowed to choose from a vast group of assembled starter pokemon as your first pokemon."

His legs trembled as if they were suddenly made of jelly and he couldn't help the sense of excitement that shot through his veins. His hands twitched as if adrenaline was running rampant in his body, and his breathing almost became erratic once more.

…A starter pokemon!

A pokemon of his own!

This was incredible, amazing! A dream come true!

He didn't even care what it was, it could be a pidgey or rattata for all he cared, even a caterpie or a sunkern. It didn't matter to him, it was a pokemon of his own after all!

The dreams of hundreds of millions of children, had come true for him!

It took him longer to calm down than he would have liked, but honestly who could blame him after what he was just told?

Once he did though, the rest of what Rotom told him clicked for him.

"A mentor?" he asked, eyebrows rising.

"Indeed Ronan, all first year students are assigned a third year student as their mentor, to help guide them during their early time in the academy and get used to it, and of course to help them get started on their path as a pokemon trainer." Rotom replied and informed him easily.

"Right, okay makes sense I guess," Ronan nodded, filing that information away. Actually, it was an interesting concept, and would go a long way to helping rookies advance quicker, and would be good wells of information for what to look out for in classes and temperaments of teachers and such, "Wait though, the way you said it though makes it sound like I already a mentor assigned?"

"Yes, all student mentor pairs were processed last night," Rotom informed him, "Your student mentor is third year student Serena Yvonne, a Pokemon Coordinator class student, Rank B, from the Kalos Region."

….SERENA!?

Wait…wait wait wait wait!

If Serena was a thing, and here. Considering her age group, did that mean the likes of Ash Ketchum and such would be here as well?

Holy shit!