Movie "Review": Les Miserables

Okay, so:

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of viewing the movie based off of the hit musical, Les Miserables.  This is the first experience I have had with the Les Mis phenomenon, and thus wasn't sure what to expect walking into the theater.  However, I was most impressed - and I hope to present an accurate picture of the film through my perception in this review, touching on its cinematic, musical, and dramatic aspects.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THIS MOVIE WAS MADE OF AWESOME

FANTINE FEELS

JAVERT FEELS

EPONINE FEELS

BARRICADE BOYS FEELS

ALL OF THE FEELS

AND GAVROCHE

GAVROCHE WHY

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING

I WISH I COULDN'T FEEL A DAMN THING

...

Anyhow.  Maybe I should continue this in lowercase.

Seriously, though, this movie broke my heart several times.  It almost felt like my emotions were being stabbed, allowed to partially heal, and then shanked again with a little twist of the knife thrown in.  A tragedy, a moment of hope, then another tragedy, in an endless cycle throughout the story, until it finally ended on an indescribably beautiful note.

The character that shredded my feels the most was probably Javert.  I felt so...sorry for him.  So many chances to learn mercy, understanding, and yet he couldn't escape the cage of his black-and-white, good-and-evil, law-and-chaos mindset.  And in the end, he chose death rather than to change his outlook.  His world had been ripped away with no mercy or explanation when ValJean spared his life in the barricade, and he was simply lost.

(I thought I would be crying at this point, but I think I have to hear the music too.  And I honestly don't think it would work for me with any other version than Russel Crowe's.  Seriously, what is wrong with his singing according to most of the comments I've seen?  I see no reasonable explanation, just "he was terrible".  His voice might not be flashy and operatic like the various musical versions, but it fits the character in my opinion.  Simple, cut-and-dry, yet still melodic and effective.)

The most memorable song for me was "Do You Hear The People Sing?"  The funeral procession scene where it was first sung was stunning.  You could've heard a pin drop in the theater.  Quiet, building little by little into a beautiful display of courage and resolve.  In a word, PERFECT.

I could go through the rest of the story and music and why it hit me right in the feels, but I don't think my fragile mindset could handle it at this point (made fragile, of course, BY THIS PAINFULLY AMAING STORY).  Thus, I will end my tirade here, with but one more comment:

GO SEE THIS MOVIE IF IT IS THE LAST THING YOU DO.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel the sudden urge to overthrow my government while performing an epic musical number.

Ramblings: Faith vs Doubt

I believe I said - wrote, actually - at one point that things like legends, stories, fiction echo truth in ways that nothing else can.  I've always believed that - heck, stories have taught me more about morals than most other sources.  But tonight, the meaning of that statement hit home for me right where it hurts - again.

I blame Supernatural - Season 4, Episode 16, entitled "On The Head Of A Pin".  Thanks for throwing me out of my comfort zone, Castiel.  This character, a character most likely based off of the Enochian angel Castael (an angelic soldier), is also an Angel of the Lord, and also part of a garrison of angelic warriors stationed on Earth.  He has never met God, his Father, and yet follows orders from his superiors without question, assuming they were channelled down the line directly from Heaven.  This episode is where his doubt in his orders' morality finally reaches its breaking point and is revealed out loud - doubt, the ultimate act of disobedience for an angel.

What if something is wrong in Heaven? I could see him wonder, simply from looking into his face.  What if these orders are coming from someone...else?  What if God really IS ordering these terrible things?  Is...is my Father even there?

Oh, I could go out on a tangent about how much I can relate.  In fact, I think I will.

Bible Literacy class effectively destroyed what was left of my faith in the Judeo-Christian concept of God.  Ironic, isn't it?  It was the only time I ever read the Bible and THOUGHT about it, actually.  And what I found disgusted me.  (Seriously, guys, read Leviticus.  Read it beginning to end and tell me that you don't want to throw up.)  A God who loves everyone, commanding that parents stone their children for petty offenses, killing priests daughters because she went a round with a man, forcing rape victims to marry their rapists, condoning - no, ordering - genocide.  Among other things, but I'll stop there.  I already feel kind of sick.

I can see why Castiel was having doubts - "God" ordering that Dean Winchester torture a demon, its innocent vessel and all, doesn't seem to deviate too much from the Old Testament God's history.  (It was later revealed that God did not order this act, but the same God is also not interested in stopping the Apocalypse, a.k.a. destruction of his own creation and billions of his "beloved children", so...)

The sad thing is that I'd been blissfully oblivious to the dark history of my faith for sixteen years.  I'd go to church every Sunday and youth group every Wednesday, lifting my hands and singing about my freedom in Jesus when I was actually a slave to blind faith.  Let me repeat that - a slave to blind faith.  When I first discovered this in the second semester of my Junior year, I nearly had a nervous breakdown, collapsing and crying and begging for God to show me what He was really like because He couldn't be like what I had just read in the book I had believed for so long, he just couldn't be!

My image of the Divine is so different now, and thank whatever Power That May Be for that.

Learning to doubt, to question, was scary.  Choosing my own path was terrifying.  And yet...

"For the first time in a long time...I am unafraid."

Just like Cas, I am no longer afraid to doubt.  I believe that the Divine wants what most of us believe ourselves to be:  children, not slaves.  Students, not soldiers.  If the Divine can sustain the universe, it can certainly handle humanity's doubt.

If there is a God, and he is just, He will not care how devout I have been, but rather welcome me by the virtues I have lived by in life, what He Is - Love.

If there is a God, and he is unjust, then I don't want to worship him.  If blind faith and obedience gets me to Heaven, while reasonable doubt and thinking for myself sends me in the other direction...

I'd rather face the flames.

Fanfiction: Never Again (Marvel's Thor)

To clarify: Marvel's Thor with smatterings of legit Norse mythology thrown in, hehehe >:3


"..."

"Aw, come now, brother, cheer up!  You have regained Mjolnir, have you not?"

"Even so, brother...the circumstances under which I did so are considerably less than desirable."

Loki had to fight to restrain his laughter, clapping Thor on the back as the brothers made their way back to the Bifrost site.  "Well, it was an adventure at the very least."

Thor grimaced as he looked down at the now-ripped and smudged wedding dress he wore.  "An adventure I do not ever care to repeat.  You should be the one to impersonate women from now on when the need arises."

"Perhaps I should," Loki chuckled.  "Tricking is what I do best, after all~"

Of course, Loki could have easily impersonated Freya - but was it really that bad to want to see his oh-so-manly big brother in a dress just once?

Fanfiction Poetry: Equivalent Exchange (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Father ran,
Mother dead,
Who’s left?

One mistake,
One failure,
Another loved one lost.

One is all,
All is one,
But I’m only half.

Life for life,
Blood for blood,
Debt repaid.

A bound soul,
His weak brother,
Mere humans.

My arm,
My leg,
My heart.

Nothing I won’t give.

My brother…

You’re all I have.

Original Poetry: Reflection

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

Can you picture me at all?

Why is my reflection someone I don't know?

Fair hands sliding down silvered glass

Reveal a smiling face - but a mask.

This reflection is an imposter -

Its true form hides in the shadows,

Fearing exposure.

Beauty without or beauty within?

A pretty face can hide so much sin.

A soul that may think itself pure

Can't lie to its reflection.

Poetic Ramblings: Heart Song

Each heart sings a song, a quiet melody, barely audible.  Some may say that the human soul longs to find its other half, its partner for their heart's duet.

But we are all one - one in spirit, one in heart.

The world is not a series of duets.

At the touch of a kindred spirit - the sound of a pathmate's song - every heart rises to join it in chorus.

Everyone becomes a poet.

Gakuen Pokémon: Chapter Two - Prepare For Trouble

Sooooo, here we are - Chapter 2 >:D  I had a few more ideas for this installment, but they can be put off until Chapter 3.  Enjoy~!

PIA Term 1 Schedule - Aria Higure - Year 4
Period 1 - Pokémon Sociology 401 - Professor W. Jesse, General Classes Room 423
Period 2 - Advanced Contest Appeals - Professor J. Newton, Gymnasium Room 200a
Period 3 - Comparative Regional Mythologies - Professor S. Graves, Arts / Humanities Room 325
Period 4 - Advanced  Pokémon Battling 301 - Professor S. Jesse, Gymnasium Room 200b

"Well, whaddya know?" An amused voice drew Aria's attention away from her schedule just before a poke to her sensitive side sent her stumbling sideways with a loud squeal.  The Teddiursa that had been sleeping over her shoulder peacefully suddenly cried out as he sought purchase on his flailing Trainer's jacket with his claws.

"DJ!" she wailed, wrapping an arm around herself to block any further assaults and then resettling her Pokémon.  "What was that for?!  You nearly sent Dolce flying!"

"For the fun of it!" the sophomore laughed, then addressed Dolce.  "Sorry, little guy.  So, you and Duce have fourth period together, it looks like.  Why are they even putting Junior Trainers and Senior Coordinators together, anyway?"

Aria shrugged, folding the paper neatly and slipping it into the outer pocket of her field bag.  "I guess the staff figured it would be good for maintaining relations between study programs.  It's a requirement for both, so why not?"

"Speaking of awesome, did someone say my name?"

"And who stepped on that Lillipup?"

Duce and Les had wandered over to join the two, making a square of sorts amidst the mass of other teenagers leaving the Student Center.  The start-of-term assembly had just let out, and most students would at this point either depart for their dorms on Trinity Island or continue to hang about Central Island and see how much mischief they could get away with on the first day.

"Speaking of awesome," DJ replied to Duce's comment, "guess what's not?  Narcissism!"

With a shrug, Duce said, "What can I say?  I am awesome."

"No you're not, dude, don't lie!"

"And guess what I'm not?" Aria glared at Les.  "A tiny brown-and-purple puppy!"

"Ursa!" Dolce seemed to agree.

"You sure sounded like one!" Les laughed.

"Oh, shut it!"

By now, the whole square was laughing, but collected themselves quickly in favor of more important matters.

"SCHEDULE COMPARISON!"  Les glanced around at the schedules of the others, then studied his own with dismay.  "Crap!  I don't have any classes with you guys!"

"What did you expect?" DJ asked as he glanced over Duce's paper.  "You're in all basic classes this semester except for your first elective - pretty much standard for freshmen.  Whoa, awesome, Duce, we've got a practice battle period together!"  The two boys high-fived while Les looked on, crestfallen.

"Basics?!  Why?  Aren't we already supposed to know all the basic crap?"

A slight change of tone accented Aria's voice as she answered.  "Well, yes, but more advanced classes later on are probably going to be more effective if you reinforce fundamentals in a formal setting - "

"Alright, alright, I get it!"

Aria was quick to drop the subject, instead turning to Duce as she matched her classes against his, just to be sure of the period they shared.  "Hey, Duce, I saw you talking to Headmistress Keck a few minutes ago.  What was that about?"

"Yeah..." Duce took a deep breath, suddenly seeming a bit distressed.  "You guys should probably know about - "

"DUCE KAZUHIRA!"

"Oh, great," he sighed as the rest of the square jumped in surprise and spun around in the direction of the approaching voice.  A curly-haired sandy blonde was flouncing down the Student Center hallway towards them, a blue-ringed Umbreon following close behind.  Her uniform was identical to Aria's, aside from her deep golden yellow shirt, matching accents on her blazer, and the crest over her heart depicting a bolt of golden lightning surrounded by pale blue clouds in an endless knot.

"Georgia!" Aria squealed, Dolce hopping off of her shoulder as she ran towards the girl, seeming much more interested in playing with the newcomer's Umbreon.  "Hey!"

"Hey, girl!" Georgia responded with an enthusiastic hug.  "I'll talk to you in a sec.  I've got to deal with these two first."  Duce and DJ winced almost simultaneously as her suddenly steely eyes locked on them.

"Wait, what'd they - "  Aria blinked owlishly as she was left standing, Georgia's attention diverted.

"ANYWAY," she barked, hugging a bewildered Les quite fiercely in a way reminiscent of an overprotective mother.  "I hear you and you practically assaulted this poor little rookie earlier!  WHAT do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Um, Umbreon!" her Umbreon punctuated confidently, looking up from its game of tag with Dolce for a moment.

"Why does everyone keep flipping this situation around?" Duce facepalmed.

"HE started it!" DJ asserted.

"Wrong answer!"  Now released, Les stumbled over to join a now equally bewildered Aria as Georgia planted a strong smack on the back of DJ's head.

"OW!"

Now smiling, Georgia skipped back over to Aria.  "My work here is done!  C'mon, I have a ton to catch you up on and you HAVE to meet my new Pokémon!"

"Okay!" Aria complied, sending an apologetic look back towards the boys.  "See you guys later?"

As the two girls disappeared into the stream of students still leaving the Center, DJ groaned and rubbed the back of his head.  "Gah!  Why did I get the smack and not you, bro?!"

"Well, she and I are cousins."

"And I thought Raikous were supposed to be nurturing, not violent!"

"She seemed pretty nurturing to me," Les said with an awkward laugh.

Duce laughed with him, but beneath the surface his mind was churning.  Aria was the only other one among them who would understand the full seriousness of his encounter earlier - DJ and Les, both from Unova, had encountered at worst a crazed Pokémon liberation movement, not a full-on crime syndicate.  Sure, the headmistress had said that she would take precautions...and yet...

___________________________________________________________________________


"Team...what now?"

Duce had spilled the whole story to DJ on the way back to their dorm room.  As darkness was fast approaching, the best place to be was inside rather than risk getting in trouble for breaking curfew.

"Team Rocket," Duce sighed.  "They had complete control over Kanto at one point, and when their empire was crumbled by a freaking 16-year-old, they went into hiding for three years and when managed to get Johto into their clutches...and were brought down by another teenager.  Surely you've heard about that?"

DJ shook his head.  "Only in passing - Unova's kind of detached from the other regions.  Our biggest problem was Team Plasma - they did kind of freeze over my home city.  We barely had time to pay attention to the rest of the nation's crime problems."

 "True.  The point is, the Rockets are back, and they're here - at least one of their spies is, or was.  Headmistress Keck said she would do everything she could to protect the school, but the higher-ups of two entire regions couldn't keep them out.  And think about it - who brought down Team Plasma in your region?"

"Two teenagers...so you're saying that this is up to us, huh?"

"Not just yet.  They haven't made any significant moves...but something tells me that if they do, only us students will be able to retaliate.  Almost everyone here has been plagued by one organized crime syndicate or another, no matter where they're from...come to think of it, if they came out in the open, they'd be wasted within one day!  Why here?"

DJ shook his head.  "I don't know - but if they ever do show themselves at full strength, I'll sure be ready."

The two were so busy with their discussion that they didn't notice a rustling in the bushes, a tiny blue and white form waddling out and following them with innocent curiosity.  In fact, DJ only noticed when he felt two tiny limbs wrap around his calf.

"Osha?"

Suddenly freezing up, DJ slowly looked down to see a small Oshawott clinging to his leg, blinking up at him with wide eyes.  "Oshawott!"

"OH MY SWEET FREAKING ARCEUS, GET IT OFF ME!"

A few desperate flails later, the tiny otter Pokémon had been sent flying and nearly crashed into a nearby tree, but managed to land on its feet, albeit seeming disoriented.  "Osha?"

"Alright, you little pest!"  DJ flung an Ultra Ball at the ground, and it snapped open to release a colossal Garchomp.  "Do you WANT to get Dragon Pulsed?!"

"O-Oshawott!" The Water-type quaked in fear, quickly turning on its tiny feet and dashing back into the woods and presumably towards the shore.

With a sign of relief, DJ raised the Ball to return his partner.  "Thanks, buddy."

"Gar," Garchomp replied, happily returning.

Duce blinked.  "Bro...I know you have issues with Water types, but wasn't that a bit much?"

"What?  Those things are flipping creepy!"

Gakuen Pokémon: Chapter One - When the Newbies Come Marching In

Alright, this story has been in the works since the second semester of my Junior year and I have only recently revamped it, as relationships between me and the friends I'm basing characters off of have changed and new friendships have been forged.  This is a Pokémon "real-life-insert" fic, somewhat canon and somewhat alternate universe, with characters based off of myself, my friends from school, and teachers at my school, all flung in to the Pokémon universe.  Although I am mainly posting this for the enjoyment of the aforementioned parties, anyone should feel free to follow and enjoy our adventures! ^_^ 

“Gah – this thing is so confining!”

A swift tug of the young teenage boy’s hand had most of the buttons of his black Nehru jacket undone in one go.  Sighing, he ran a hand through his already-messy ginger hair as he surveyed his new surroundings, still a bit overwhelmed.

The path connecting his dormitory to the main path of Trinity Island was surrounded by deciduous trees, their leaves muting the bright sunlight that fell from above.  The trickle of a stream called Aurora flowed beside two different dorm buildings – the Raikou dorms – that sat on the bluff of a cliff, over which the stream flowed in a thin, short waterfall of sorts.  Cries and chirps of wild Pokémon could be heard in the distance.  New students like himself nervously came and went from their dorms, some seeming lost and others already tag-teaming to explore, while older-looking returning students gathered in groups and caught up with their friends from the previous year.  The students were of all different ages, varied widely in appearance, and encompassed both genders – the only feature they all seemed to share was the school’s uniform, standard black aside from accenting colors and crests that designation each student’s dormitory.  He was somewhat relieved and encouraged to see that most of the students in his immediate line of sight wore the deep red and red-and-gold flame insignia of his own dorm, Entei.

He nearly laughed in sheer excitement as he continued down the path, leaving the thicker part of the crowd of students behind.  He had made it!  That long and grueling exam process had been more than worth it to get into the most prestigious academy in the Pokémon nation.  Somehow, he already knew that this would be an amazing year.  From the occasional excited shakes of the six Poké Balls at his waist, his Pokémon were in agreement and couldn’t wait to show the school what they were made of.

“You guys want to come out already?” he laughed as his Serperior’s capsule gave a particularly violent quiver.  He had just reached the base of the aforementioned cliffs, the faint white noise of Aurora Falls coming into better earshot.

“Were you talking to your Pokémon or did you really know we were here?” a faint voice from above replied to his question.  He whirled around in surprise just in time to see two more boys vault down from a nearby tree.

Both were obviously taller and seemed older than himself, and it showed clearly in their demeanor as well as in their appearance.  One, who seemed the older of the two, was tan with short inky black hair and eyes so dark brown they almost appeared onyx as well.  The other was more fair-skinned, with somewhat floppy dark chestnut hair and brown eyes that more closely mirrored the color of the freshman’s own.  Both were from the Entei dorm as well, judging by the flame crests appliquéd over the hearts of their Nehru jackets.

“Talking to my Pokémon, duh!” the ginger laughed.  “You guys scared the crap out of me!  What were you doing up there?!”

“I surprised him,” the black-haired boy jerked his thumb towards his companion with a slight smile, “the same way last year.  You must be new.  Duce Kazuhira, junior – Celadon City, Kanto.”

The brunette chimed in with a short wave.  “DJ Sensou, sophomore.  Opelucid City, Unova.  Nice to meet ya!”

Okay, so standard greeting – name, grade, hometown and region.  I’ve got this!

“Awesome!  I’m from Unova too – Verbank City!  Les Honda, freshman!”

Les held up a hand for a high-five, and DJ would have responded had he not frozen in surprise at the mention of Les’s surname.  “Whoa, wait!  Honda?  As in former Unova champion Honda?!”

“That’s right,” Les replied proudly – he had expected such a reaction.  “I’m Alder’s nephew.”

Something seemed to spark in Duce’s eyes at the mention of a champion’s relative – whether it was envy or sudden determination, Les couldn’t tell.

“That sure is interesting,” Duce half-smirked.  “You up for a battle?  I’d like to see if you live up to that lineage.”

Les’s brown eyes nearly lit up with indignation.  “Are you trying to imply that I got into this school on name alone?”

“Whoa, I’m not implying anything,” Duce shrugged.  “I just want to know how good you are.”

“If that’s all, then how about I take both of you on at the same time and show you?!”

DJ seemed excited at this development.  “Why not?”  He elbowed Duce in the side playfully.  “I think we can set our differences aside long enough to teach this freshman the ropes, don’t you?”

“I’m game if you are, bro.”  Duce’s excitement was starting to show as he turned back to Les.  “Two of your Pokémon against one of each of ours.  First side to lose both Pokémon wins.  Sound good?”

“Let’s do this!” Les smirked as he grabbed two Poké Balls and let them fly.  “Serperior, Lucario, I choose you!”

The upperclassmen glanced at each other knowingly, then nodded.

“You’re in charge, Alakazam!”

“Ninetales, let’s go!”

The capsules opened in midair at their hinges, and with a warping crack released their occupants who materialized from fizzing red energy.

Les gulped – his Grass and Fighting Pokémon were at a definite disadvantage against the Fire and Psychic types opposing them.  However, it was too late to back out now.

“Serperior, use Frenzy Plant against Alakazam!  Lucario, hit Ninetales with Aura Sphere!”

“Hit ‘em both with Psychic!”

“End this now with Fire Spin!”

“Allegro, quick!  Use Whirlwind and break it up!”

“Huh?!”  All three students gasped but quickly had to brace themselves against the sudden gust of wind that deflected the released attacks into the air – and sent all four Pokémon back into their Balls!

“What the heck was that?!” Les cried, his eyes finally landing on the source of the unwanted interruption – a Togekiss, circling above them a few times before gracefully landing before a girl advancing towards their battle site from one of the two dorm buildings beside the base of the falls.  Only one of her blue eyes were visible – the other was covered by a sweeping shock of golden blonde hair streaked with ash blonde, the rest of which was cut above her shoulders to be longer in front and shorter in back.  She wore the same black pleated skirt as all of the female students, but the collar of her uniform shirt was deep blue, peeking out from her black blazer accented in the same color, and the emblem over her heart was a mellow blue raindrop accented with tendrils of royal purple.  A dark blue armband circling her upper left sleeve was marked with “prefect” in lighter blue hiragana script.

A different dorm…Suicune? Les thought.

“Way to be a buzz kill, Aria!”  DJ rolled his eyes, dusting some blown dirt from his jacket but not seeming too upset.  Duce, on the other hand, seemed genuinely disturbed at the lack of battle happenning, but quickly shook it off and said nothing.

“Guys, if I’m not mistaken,” Aria said, petting “Allegro” behind its head plumage, “Pokémon battles aren’t allowed on campus until after the headmistress explains the rules of out-of-class battling at the welcome assembly.  Sorry.”  She seemed a bit sheepish, as if she didn’t want to offend the boys.  They listened, but didn’t seem distraught at her warning in the least bit – Les deduced that they knew each other.

“You know,” Duce teased, “just because you’re a senior prefect now doesn’t mean you can randomly break up battles between students from different dorms.”

“And,” Aria retorted, “just because you two are at the top of your classes in the Battle Training program doesn’t mean you can gang up on freshman who don’t even know the rules of battling here~!”

“Aw, that’s cute – of course the rich kid sides with the famous kid!”  Duce wasn’t relenting at all.

“Oh, shut up!” she huffed.  “I’ve only been hearing that from you for the past three years!”

“Come on, Aria, you know I’m only kidding.”

“Mm-hm, sure you are.  Honestly, it’s kind of hard to tell with you.”

“Wait,” DJ cut in, pointing to Les, “what did you mean ‘gang up on freshmen’?  He’s the one who said he’d take on both of us at once!”

Aria went from glaring at Duce to glancing at the fourteen-year-old – and then blushed with embarrassment.  “Whoops…um, it might not be a good idea to take on upperclassmen until you’ve been in classes for a while.  Just trust me, ‘kay?”

Les pouted, but acquiesced, nodding.  “Okay…”

The senior smiled.  “Okay, good.  Allegro, could you return?”  She held up a Premier Ball and the speckled bird Pokémon gladly returned to it in a stream of red energy.  Beginning to turn on her heel, she bid them farewell.  “I’d better meet Hayley back in our room to finish unpacking – see you guys later!  And no more battling until after the assembly, ‘kay?”

“Hey, wait up!” Les cried.  “I didn’t even meet you yet!”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah!”  She whirled around again with a sheepish laugh, holding out a hand.  “Aria Higure, senior, as you know.  Violet City, Johto.”

“Les Honda, freshman, like you said.  Verbank City, Unova.”

“Nice to meet you, Les!  You’ve probably already heard this, but congratulations!  Only the best of the best get into Pokémon Interregional Academy.  What are you studying?”

“Uh – law enforcement training.  I want to be a Ranger.”

“Huh?”  DJ blinked.  “You come from a League champion’s family and you’re not studying battling?!”

Les shook his head.  “I love battling, but going pro isn’t really my thing.  Excitement and exploring is where it’s at!”

“That’s cool!” Aria commented.  “Most prospective Rangers go to actual Ranger academies, so our program is kind of small.  Definitely in-depth, though, from what I’ve heard – you’ll love it!”

DJ rolled his eyes.  “Don’t let her fool you, Les, it’s part of her job to make the school sound good.  She’s in Coordinating and Performing Arts – she doesn’t know anything about the law enforcement program.”

“Well, for goodness sake, don’t tell him that!” Aria giggled.  “See you all around!”

As she turned and jogged back to her dorm, the three boys turned back to each other.  “I guess that battle will just have to wait,” Duce said.

“I guess so,” Les agreed.  “That sucks that we have to wait!  But I’m not going to lose when we do finally get to do this!”

“We’ll just have to see about that,” DJ smiled.  “You may be related to a champion, but that doesn’t mean anything.  We all start off on an equal playing field at this academy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind – but I’m still gonna beat you!”

___________________________________________________________________________________

There’s certainly an interesting mix-up of new students this year, Duce pondered as the shore of Trinity Island came into view along with the suspension bridge connecting it to Central Island.  The start-of-term assembly was starting soon, and as DJ had forgotten something in their shared dorm room, he had insisted that Duce go on ahead without him.  This is going to be an interesting term, no doubt about that…

The sharp-minded Trainer had already made several observations from his and DJ’s encounter with the new kid and the senior and determined likely turns of events.  One, DJ had no intention of ending their rivalry but genuinely desired a deeper friendship with him – something he wouldn’t even think about denying, as he knew the consequences of putting rivalry above all else.  Two, Aria was still attempting to keep up her typical people-pleasing “hide-everything-with-a-smile” attitude that she had kept in place for the past three years, which would lead to consequences that weren’t his to decide.  Three, that Les kid was definitely still a rookie – a big talker with an impressive family and a lot of confidence in himself, but a rookie.  Should they ever finish their battle, he would become both enraged and distracted easily, and thus easily defeated.

The thought was enough to make him a bit disappointed he had been denied a good challenge.  Once again, he should have no trouble in keeping up his status as the best Trainer in his year, one of the best in the school.  His intelligence and easygoing self-confidence gave him qualities of the archetypal Suicune, but in battle, he was Entei through and through – fiery and inexorable, and for good reason.  He had to become the strongest, and stay that way.

His fist clenched at his side unconsciously.  Yes, someday he would show everyone what true strength looked like.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice the rustling in the bushes beside him – following him – until he felt a vicious shake at his belt.  Looking down, he saw that it was his Persian’s Luxury Ball – it was almost a silent plea screaming “Let me out!”

“What’s wrong, girl?” he inquired, releasing the Classy Cat Pokémon.  Immediately, Persian reared up on its hind legs as if preparing to pounce, growling at the bushes.  With a ferocious mrow! the Pokémon leapt into the greenery bordering the path, sending a figure in black scrambling out of the bushes with a howl of pain, fresh scratch marks seeming to crisscross its face.

“Great,” Duce muttered – his Persian would never attack anything that wasn’t its opponent or a potential threat – then raised his voice. “Hey! Who are you?”

“Gracious!”  The figure leapt to its feet, revealing a short teenage male with long dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes – and with a red R emblazoned across his shirt.  He seemed to have a slightly crazed, or maybe simply apathetic, look about him.  “You need to learn to control your Pokémon better, sir!”

That logo spoke for itself – no more mercy.

“How about this?!” he yelled angrily.  “You learn to stay out of my way!  You have a lot of nerve showing up here, after all you’ve done and how many times you’ve been brought down!  Will your gang ever stay dead?!”

The Rocket laughed, confirming the crazed vibes Duce had picked up from him.  “Stay dead?  Team Rocket never dies!  In fact, I’m here to do a little recruiting.  How about it?  A kid like you could become pretty powerful rather quickly in our operation!”

He had heard enough.

“CLEFABLE!”  Another Poké Ball was snapped open, and another of his trusted partners appeared at his side.  “MEGA PUNCH!”

The Fairy Pokémon seemed more than happy to obey, drawing back its glowing fist menacingly before charging forward with a cry and sending the Rocket flying with one powerful blow.  Faintly, Duce thought he heard a scream of “I’m blasting off aga…I mean for the first tiiiiime!” echoing through the sky, before a faint splash sounded in the distance.

Returning his Pokémon without a word, Duce continued his march to Central Island.

The headmistress would most definitely be hearing about this incident.