I honestly don't know how I feel about pokeballs, they're weird.

A small part of me hoped that the 'ideal environment theory' about what's inside pokeballs would turn out to be real, no matter how unrealistic and absurd said theory is. This 'Ideal environment' consists of an ample supply of a pokemon's favourite food and imagery of their native habitat along with other amenities like workout equipment, TVs and a bed. In essence the Sci-fi Virtual Reality experience. Literal paradise.

Yea, no.

In reality you just get shrunken down until you can fit in the pokeball and are suspended in some odd forcefield that keeps you in its center. My guess is that it also has some sort of 'stasis' feature in case the pokemon is injured. You wouldn't want them to bleed to death before they get to the pokemon center would you? That's purely speculation based on my knowledge of the anime though. Just because it's a thing there doesn't mean it's a thing here.

Shuffling around I try to feel the pitch black environment around me a bit. The forcefield just keeps me in place even though I manage to spin around.

The forcefield is Weird, Capital 'W' Weird, I've never felt anything like it. From what I can sense it applies pressure just on the surface of my body to keep it in place instead of affecting it in its entirety. I can't even begin to explain how bizarre such a force existing is.

Take gravity for example, a gravitational field affects every single point of a physical object inside its range equally without discrimination. It doesn't matter if it's your internal organs, your skeleton or your skin, gravity affects them equally no matter if they're on the inside of the body or not.

Meh, it's no use wondering about it at the moment. Better to get some real answers later than make flawed assumptions now. The time for that will come. I already have a mile long list of questions about anything and everything I've seen that is inconsistent with my old world. Like how in the hell do berries grow in a day or two? Or where does the energy I can somehow feed off of come from? I just have to be patient.

Derailing my train of thought I start to ponder on the reason why I'm inside a pokeball to begin with.

I had been quite interested to learn that my home for the last few months was on the grounds of a nature park in close proximity to Rustboro city. I was reborn in Hoenn of all places, my favorite Pokemon region. There's been a steady stream of kids from the city's trainer school coming to the pond on field trips. With a guardian of course.

Me and the gang have been regularly playing with them for months now. We'd playfight most of the time, doing hide and seek or 'Watergun dodge' in between. The kids had a lot of fun teaching us random tricks too. Like doing backflips, that was an experience and a half to learn. Backflips are hard.

They gave us a lot of food to incentivize us into learning. Old man Rohan threw a fit when they started doing that though. Apparently 'Junk food is bad for growing pokemon' or so he says. Later they transitioned from junk food to berries so he stops yelling at them.

The only thing that did was change the aggressor from Rohan to us though.

One of the brats had the brilliant idea to feed me literally the spiciest thing I've ever had the displeasure of laying my taste buds on, a Spelon berry. That statement holds true even though I've done the ghost pepper challenge. That thing is simply not made to be consumed as is.

I should've had enough wisdom to know that something like that would happen but you know, I got too into playing the role of the innocent puppy that has no idea what's going on but is happy anyways. The boy gave me food and I ate it without a second thought.

By the time I'd realised what he'd done to me it was already too late. The berry had begun to burn my tongue like a raging flame. However, that didn't stop me from rallying all of my mudkip minions and launching an all out assault on him.

He got to experience what it's like to get hounded by twelve very angry mudkip, getting bruises all over his body due to us attacking him with tackles and water guns. The teacher in charge of the field trip had to release his Linoone to break us up and dig him out of the pile of mud we'd buried him in.

Us beating him didn't solve the problem I had at hand though.

I'll be completely truthful, I spent the next few hours after the incident with my mouth packed full of mud, it was the only thing that kept me from fainting because of excruciating pain. By that point it had already spread from my mouth, through my torso and all the way to my appendages. The most agonizing thing that's ever happened to me before that was to get a broken leg, and that was only mildly painful compared to what that berry did to me. Midway through my miseries a Gardevoir showed up out of nowhere and did some weird spell that lessened my pain by about half, after which he or she immediately disappeared. I didn't even get a chance to say 'thank you'.

At least the other kids got a laugh from the brat getting pummeled into the earth, going by their reactions and what I had overheard, that bastard had it coming.

My siblings got a bit overzealous afterwards when it came to random food being offered. In Rocky sister's case that overzealousness turned to outright violence one time.

After a stern talking down by Rohan they stopped though. In about a week or two with no similar incidents their suspicion disappeared and everything went back to normal.

Back to why I'm in a pokeball. Well... it's because today Rohan sent us away. Just like that, there was no build-up, no warning, nothing. A man working for the trainers' school simply came early in the morning to take us.

Shortly after that man's arrival Rohan gathered us all together and explained in a child-friendly way that 'we're getting to leave the pond to go and play with the kids'.

Honestly those words came at me so suddenly that I didn't even have time to feel any emotions. Even now, several hours later I'm speechless. I knew we'd be sent away sooner or later owing to Rohan obviously being a pokemon breeder that deals with our species.

My musings about how the pokeball works were just a way for me to run away from my thoughts for a while…

I guess I didn't really have that much of a bond with the place or Rohan? All of his interactions with us bar a scant few can be described in three words - Feeding, Herding, Healthcare. That's it really. Other than that he largely left us to our own devices.

A part of me feels that I should be deeply upset, but in reality I just feel nothing. Complete apathy. Was it because I already expected something similar? Maybe. Should I be upset? No, not really. Rohan hasn't done anything wrong, unless this world's morals and practices are wildly different from those in my previous one. This is probably a standard practice from breeders. And even if he warned us beforehand…what would we even do? How would that help us? Most likely we'd just get stressed about being sent somewhere else.

Eeeeh, screw this. I'm not a damn psychologist. I'll simply stop worrying about it and that's that.

At least my siblings bought Rohan's words without even questioning them, they were even enthusiastic about such an event. That's fair considering that unlike me they actually do have the naivety of kids. 'I get to go and have fun with people for more than thirty minutes a day?! Well sign me up!'. That's what their reactions were like.

I try to dig up any memories I have from the anime about the Rustboro trainers' school but I don't come up with much. School that trains kids to be trainers? Yep, it's in the name. School has pokemon? Yea, obviously. The school is led by Roxanne? Ye. That's basically all the knowledge I have about the subject. Not very detailed.

I'm more interested in what happens to the pokemon who belong to the school. My brain's been doing an unhealthy amount of contemplation on the subject. And for good reason too, I have no idea what's going to happen to us and if it's anything bad I'll have absolutely no way to stop it.

Will the school now own us until we die from old age with no chance of us leaving? What if we grow too strong for a child to handle? I doubt I'd be allowed to be around children if I evolve into a Swampert, but then again what do I know. I've only lived on a random forest pond for around six months, I know nothing about this world and in turn I have no Idea how things like this will play out. Maybe parents will actually trust the five foot tall mud monster that can easily snap their kid's spine in half to play nice and act with care.

Hmm, maybe a pokemon can get adopted by a kid that has a strong enough emotional connection with it? That sounds like a realistic enough option…

I'm not even that creeped out that we're getting treated like common animals, being sent to the school without any input from us whatsoever and all that. I came to terms with the fact that something like this would happen eventually on week one. I'm no longer human, I'm a pokemon, Period. Of course I'll be treated like one.

I just didn't expect it to happen so soon…

*Yawn*

Anyways, another thing I've discovered about pokeballs is that they make you incredibly sleepy. No idea if it's intentional or not. You get placed in an environment that is warm and dark, curling up on yourself is easily done and the only thing that has a chance of disturbing you is the muffled noise barely audible from outside the pokeball, how can you not get sleepy?

*Yawn*

Spending what feels like several hours awake inside of a pokeball really drains you doesn't it?

Oh, well. In the end I'll deal with the school question as it comes at me. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Closing my eyes I let my dreams embrace me.

- o - o -

I'm woken up by the sudden spike in noise coming from outside of the pokeball.

I can faintly hear the words "Come out little guy." before I gently get thrust out by the forcefield of the pokeball.

I materialize on a patch of grass, the sudden light shift temporarily blinding me. I stand rooted in place waiting for my eyes to adjust to the new environment.

"Hey, Cool bro."

Moving my head to the side I see Silent bro walking towards me and sitting by my side.

"Hey." I reply.

Looking around a bit I gather that we're on what looks suspiciously much like a golf course. A large field full of perfectly cut and vibrant green grass and some artificial ponds. The entire thing is surrounded by trees and buildings. I make an educated guess that the place we find ourselves in currently is the trainers' school's campus.

A short distance away from us I see my other brothers and sisters being released by the same guy who picked us up from Rohan this morning.

"So, Silent bro. You have any idea what's going on." I ask him.

"No."

"..."

…Ah yes. Truly, Silent bro is a mudkip of many words. Really living up to his name there.

*Clap* *Clap*

"Gather around for a bit please, gather around." The School's employee claps his hands to gather our attention after he's released all of us.

We organize into a messy semicircle around him.

"Now. I'll keep this simple." He says as he lowers himself to sit on the grass.

"Today is a day called Sunday, it's the final day of a seven day cycle we call a 'week'. Sadly it's also the only day where none of the kids show up on the grounds of this 'School'" He puts more weight on the word school, while doing a gesture with his hands, showing the surrounding area.

"What!?"

"Oh, come on!"

"Why bring us here if we aren't going to play?!"

...

My siblings start raising a fuss immediately after, obviously unhappy with such a development. Even silent bro is annoyed, going by his scrunched little face, though he doesn't say anything.

I try not to giggle at the thought of how we must sound to the man. Drowned in a cacophony of agitated "muds" and "mudkips".

"Now now, please don't get angry." Smiling as he says that, he raises his hands to scratch some of us on the head. Doing so he briefly looks at me. Probably because I'm the only one who's had no reaction to his words and am currently looking at him with a neutral expression.

"It's not all bad, look around you for a bit and you'll see all the other pokemon in this school. Just like all of you they're also waiting for the kids to show up, but aren't sad. They're talking and playing together, having fun."

"Look at that pond for example." He points and looks at the closest pond to us. All of us turn to look at it with him.

What I see is a whole bunch of Wooper there, around twenty of them. Some of them are tackling each other, some are having a mud fight. Most seem content to just lay on the grass and talk though. I think I see a few nidoran with them as well.

One of the Wooper pushes a male Nidoran into the water while on his mad dash around the pond, is he doing stamina exercises or something? Oh, the Nidoran's really pissed about it.

"Those pokemon are called Wooper. They're a really jolly bunch I'm certain you'll enjoy being around." He says after we've observed them for a while.

"Really? Does he think we didn't see how one of the Wooper pushed that pokemon into the water." I whisper to Silent bro with a deadpan expression.

Silent bro kind of shrugs with his frontal legs and turns his head back to the man.

"For today you can simply enjoy yourself and have fun with the other pokemon. Explore and see what you can find on the school grounds that interests you."

Standing up, he dusts himself.

"The following days however will be much more different. I don't know if you lot have been told about this but soon each of you will be chosen by a different kid who will most likely become your future trainer. That will happen tomorrow or the day after considering how popular you've all gotten because of the field trips."

He starts digging around in his backpack but has trouble finding whatever it is that he wants to find.

"Ah there we go, I was told that you lot really love these." He moves some Mago berries from his bag to the ground, placing more and more in front of us until they form a small mound. I don't even know how he managed to fit so many in his bag considering the volume of the berries overshadows the volume of the bag.

"Welcome to the Rustboro Trainers' school!" He states to us, a smile on his face.

"..."

I'm speechless…

This isn't gonna end well is it?

"Woooah, I've never seen so many Magos before." I can hear Rocky sister calling out from the side. She has actual stars in her eyes while looking at the pile. Not that I'm any different.

" " "Yeah!" " " We collectively respond at her words.

Every mudkip, including me, piles onto the berries. Hey, what can I say? Magos are tasty and I'm petty enough to fight for food with everyone. We most definitely look like a school of piranhas, but instead swarming and eating meat we're swarming the pile of Mago berries.

"Whoah, calm down there's enough for everyone…" At this point I've tuned out the man's voice, wolfing down every berry that I manage to set my sight on.

- o - o -

"So, Cool bro. You know what a trainer is?" Rocky sister asks me as she flops to the ground next to me, overfed on Mago berries.

"A Human who trains us, duh." I answer back. Normally I'd already be up and running away from her. Acting sassy towards Rocky sis is a recipe for disaster. In light of certain circumstances though…

"Screw you bro." She barely manages to make an angry face before she grimaces. "Blergh, I think I'm gonna throw up. I never thought that I'd get sick from eating too many Mago berries."

*Chuckle*

I hear a chuckle coming from Silent bro who's on his back next to us, moving his legs like he's making a snow angel. I can faintly hear him say "Same". Rocky sis really has no energy to respond to him.

"Anyways." I say. "For real, I have a somewhat faint idea of what a trainer is."

Both of them turn towards me, paying extra attention to what I'm about to say.

"With the way that guy was talking about it, it's obviously something very important. I think that we'll be spending a lot of time with the one who chooses to be our trainer, probably the majority of the day when it isn't Sunday, but I'm not…" I stop midway through my talking.

"Actually, I'm stupid." I suddenly blurt out.

""We know that already""

Ignoring their words, I continue.

"What I want to say is, why don't we just ask around? Maybe go to the pond and talk with the Wooper? They'll probably know what a trainer choosing us is about. We can just ask them instead of wasting our time making false assumptions."

Rocky sis snorts in my direction "Good luck with that Cool bro, I don't see you taking more than five steps before falling weakly to the ground."

"Well unlike someone I know, I didn't actually eat until my body bloated into a round ball." I immediately stand up, 'offended' at her statement.

"Your loss Cool bro, don't come to me later regretting that you didn't eat as many Magos as I did." She snickers.

"Wait! No! Not the belly, not the belly!" I launch a precisely aimed water gun right at her stomach with just enough power to churn it's contents a bit. I make sure to give her a couple of headbutts in vulnerable places to get back at her for atrocities she did to me yesterday...

Oh, she's unconscious. Well, no point in attacking her if she can't feel anything.

Leaving Rocky sis after I've had my fun, I turn to Silent bro.

"So, you coming?" I motion with my head towards the pond.

"Yes, give me a second."

He puts a bit of strength into his limbs and flips around so his belly is facing the ground. Gathering himself, he shakily lifts himself off the grass and makes his way towards me, a slight wobble in his step.

"I'm ready"

"Alright then" I say as we start walking towards the group of Wooper and Nidoran.