Alex stood at the Canalave City harbour wearing his brand new navy blazer. The top pocket had a thin crescent shape on it, symbol of New Moon Academy, a moon just before it reached the stage of being a new moon. His tie was a deep sky blue, resembling the house that he would be in at the school: Azelf. The tie was very loosely tied around his neck, his plain white shirt was untucked and his top button was undone. The look was a half-hearted attempt to look smart but had ended up slightly scruffy and oddly handsome.

"Alex," his Dad said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thanks Dad." Alex smiled. His Mum and Dad stood either side of him, seeing him off onto the ferry headed for New Moon Island. It was the last time he'd see them for a whole year so for once he was making the most of their company.

"Did you remember your spare tie?" his Mum gasped. She was slightly scatty but she was a lovely person who only had Alex's best interests at heart.

"Yes, I did," Alex sighed. She gave him a tight hug, plunging his face into the depths of her dark brown hair. After a few seconds, she broke away, wiping a tear from her hazel eyes.

"Stay safe." she whispered.

"I will."

"Whatever happens in that school Alex, just remember that we're proud of you purely for making it in." his Dad smiled. "Now get on the boat before it leaves!"

"Sure thing." Alex laughed, turning away and walking towards the ferry with his bag slung carelessly over his shoulder. "Bye!" he called out to them, waving.

Alex reached the boat with only a few minutes to spare. Flashing his ticket at the guard, he walked along the gangplank, boarding the giant, white vessel. He rushed up to the deck which was packed with first year students, all wearing brand new blazers, looking out onto the harbour. Alex joined the crowd, fighting his way to the front.

The deafening sound of the boat's horn filled everyone's ears and with it, the boat very slowly began to pull away from the land. Alex saw his Dad's bald head glistening in the sunshine and he gave his parents a wave before the boat managed to pick up speed as it passed by the open bridge. Soon, the harbour was out of sight.

"Students!" a loud, voice cried out through a speaker. Alex recognised it immediately as Professor Williams' voice. "We have left Canalave and will be arriving at New Moon Island in a few hours. For the time being, please head to the respective rooms for your house and attempt to make friends or whatever the youth of today does."

The crowd began shuffling slowly inside where several teachers were shepherding them towards parts of the boat.

"Everyone in Azelf – that's the blue one – turn right!" a teacher called out. He wore a bright orange shirt and a green waistcoat. His hairy was brown and spiky but his ethnicity was slightly unidentifiable. Alex decided to go with mixed race.

Alex split off from the main group, leaving those wearing yellow ties for Uxie and pink ties for Mesprit to carry on walking. He followed the rest of the people in Azelf into a large open room containing everything he could ever need to be entertained. Television screens, table-tennis tables, luxurious recliner chairs... you name it, this room had it!

"Alright, first years gather round!" the teacher shouted. Once everyone was present and silent, he continued. "My name is Professor Brock Harrison, head of Azelf house, as well as head of teaching breeding. For at least the next year, you'll all be living in the same house so do your best to get along. The Headmistress will give you more information when we arrive at the island so for now make use of the facilities on board the boat. Oh and no battling until we reach the island please." With that, Brock walked off and slumped into one of the recliners. The crowd of first years split and most of them exploded into loud chat about how they would be number one at the new school. Alex knew none of them could as long as he was around though.

"Alex!" a voice called out. Alex turned to see Lenny, the guy he'd met at the trials a few weeks ago when he'd just barely managed to defeat Williams to even be allowed to enter.

"Hey Lenny," Alex grinned, "How've you been?"

"Not too bad," Lenny replied, sitting down on a sofa. Alex sat down next to him, glad to know somebody in the same house as him. "My family were a bit shocked that I passed. It made my Dad feel proud of me for the first time."

"The First time?" Alex blurted out. "What kind of Dad feels ashamed by their own son?"

"Well my Dad won the Pokémon World Tournament a few years ago so his expectations of me were always really high but apparently I've never shown any potential to be a great trainer." Lenny explained.

"So your Dad is one of a select few who have actually managed to win the Pokémon World Tournament?" Alex asked. Lenny nodded. "Wow, that's got to be awesome."

"Not exactly," Lenny sighed, "My Dad's constantly pushing me to be better, wanting me to follow in his footsteps."

"But now, you're in New Moon Academy, that'll show him."

"I guess it did a bit." Lenny smiled. "As a present for passing, my Dad took me out to help me catch my own Pokémon but I doubt it's as good as that Butterfree that you used to trounce Williams."

"No way." Alex said confidently. "It doesn't matter how good the Pokémon is, as long as you work well together, you'll go far."

"Really?" Lenny asked.

"Really." Alex replied. "Technically speaking, my Butterfree isn't the greatest of battlers. In fact, Williams told me that they were going to release it because it was too weak to remain being a tester Pokémon but apparently, I managed to bring out its true power."

"That sounds impressive." A voice said to Alex's left. He turned to see a vaguely familiar face smirking at him.

"Hi there," Alex said, "I see you're already a fan of my work."

"I saw you defeat Williams' Regirock at the trials." The boy said. "Good to know I'll have a little competition around here."

"Oh, you were at the trials too!" Alex cried out, suddenly recognising his face.

"That's right." He nodded. "I'm Edward King, the future champion."

"A competitive spirit, that's what I like to see!" Alex grinned. "We'll have to have a battle sometime."

"I think we will," Edward agreed, "But don't think for one second that your weedy little Butterfree will have a chance at beating my team of elite Pokémon."

"Hey! That's a little rude."

"All I'm saying is that my parents travelled around the world to catch some of the strongest Pokémon out there, all so that I could be the best at this school. So that I could become the best in the world. No Butterfree, however good the trainer, will be able to bring them down."

"Oh yeah?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Well say that to Butterfree's face then!" Alex unzipped the front compartment of his bag and tossed the single Pokéball out of it, into the air.

"Free!" Butterfree chirped as it emerged from the ball, surrounded by a brief flash of light.

"It's smaller than I expected." Edward smirked.

"Guys, calm it down, people are starting to look!" Lenny whispered. Alex looked around at the various eyeing them down. Some of them looked at them disapprovingly but some of them looked as though they needed some popcorn. These people wanted to see them battle.

"What do you say to us having our battle right now?" Alex asked.

"I'd say that I can't say no to a challenge." Edward replied. His hand moved inside his blazer, retrieving a Pokéball from within. "Go-"

"Stop!" a voice from the crowd said. Alex and Edward both froze and turned to see a blond girl with blue eyes around their age walking towards them. She wasn't a teacher like Alex had first thought when he heard her voice but instead she was a first year student, just like them.

"Why hello there," Edward said smoothly, dropping his raised arm down to his side. "And what might your name be?"

"Save the smooth talk." She snapped. Edward looked taken aback to be talked to by a girl like that. Then again, his parents probably had to travel the world to find him a girlfriend as well his Pokémon.

"Well excuse me for trying to be friendly." Edward said.

"You guys heard the rules that Professor Harrison told us about. No battling."

"Aww, that's no fun." Alex whined.

"That's the rules." She stated. Begrudgingly, Alex agreed.

"Alright fine then, no battle." Alex sighed. "I'm Alex by the way. Alex Murphy."

"My name's Arabella. Arabella Hughes." She replied. Now that Alex had agreed to follow the rules, her personality had completely changed. She'd become sweet and now, Alex could see the pretty side of her that Edward had just failed to chat up.

"Isn't Arabella Hughes a bit of a mouthful?" Alex asked. "Why not shorten it to Bella?"

"My name is Arabella." She repeated.

"Well my mouth doesn't have the time for all those syllables." Alex shrugged.

"You'd better learn then." Bella stated before turning away and walking back to a group of girls who were talking in a hushed whisper about the commotion.

"See you around!" Alex called out to her. Almost immediately, the attention that had been surrounding them evaporated and the crowd wandered away.

"Well she was nice." Lenny said. Alex hadn't noticed it before but now that he looked, Lenny's face was bright red.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty cool." Alex agreed. "Maybe a little too close to the rules for my liking but I guess for some people rules are good."

"Not my cuppa tea." Edward stated.

"Really?" Alex grinned. "It sure didn't seem that way when you tried chatting her up."

"Yeah, she didn't look like she liked you much Edward." Lenny grinned alongside Alex. Alex could already start to tell that he and Lenny were going to get along really well.

"I did better than you at least." Edward hit back at Lenny. "You didn't even say a word."

"I'm just a little shy around girls." Lenny nervously said, his face once again going red.

"Come off it you two." Alex said. For a few moments, the three of them were silent.

"Free?" Butterfree squeaked. Butterfree was fluttering around Alex's head, trying to tell him something.

"Hungry?" Alex asked. Butterfree nodded. "Well now that you mention it, food doesn't sound bad does it?" Alex laughed as his stomach growled.

"Good idea," Lenny said, "We'll have a pizza, watch a movie and before we know it, the ferry should've arrived!"

*

Before they knew it, they arrived.

Alex, Lenny and Edward stood amongst the other first years who had gathered on the deck, looking out across the small stretch of ocean remaining. By now, they could clearly see New Moon Island in the distance. The island was roughly the size of a large city and from where the ferry currently was, they could just about make out the school itself.

It was a modern building, three storeys high with many windows. The shape of the building was ovular, with the front and back entrances being curved but the main bulk of the building being straight. The roof gently sloped up from the edges to join together at one point in the middle.

As the ferry ploughed on through the water, creeping slowly closer to the island, they could begin to make out the symbol of New Moon Academy, the thin crescent, on the portico at the front entrance.

"Attention all first years!" Williams' voice cried out through the speakers. "In a few moments, we will dock at New Moon Island. The second and third years will exit the ferry first and then you will follow suit. However, they will be heading to their dormitories whereas you will head to the main hall for a talk with the headmistress. After she has finished, you will follow your head of house to your own dormitories where you will be living in for your time at the academy."

The boat's horn sounded just as Williams finished talking. Alex looked back out towards the island. By now, they were only a few metres from the dock and with one final lurch of the water, the ferry pulled in completely.

The crew on the boat dashed around, checking that they had safely docked. A member of the crew gave a signal to another crew member who then allowed all of the older students off the boat first before all of the first years were also let off.

Alex stuck close to Lenny and Edward as they followed some teachers to the front entrance of the school. Up close, the shadow of the building was cast over them like a blanket and they got a real sense of the true size of the building. It was huge.

After a few moments of walking, they entered a large circular room with a battlefield in the centre. They took their seats around the edge of the battlefield, not even close to filling half of the seats. This had to be the main battling arena in the school. In the middle of the field, a tall, blond woman in all black stood still, holding a microphone.

"Welcome," she smiled once everyone had taken their seats, "My name is Cynthia and I'm the headmistress here at New Moon Academy. Now, I once sat where you now sit. I was a pupil of this school and just like you do today, I sat there, listening to the head of the school go on and on about the high standards of the school. I was scared - worried that I wouldn't be able to cope. In reality, not only did I cope but I was one of the best students the school had ever had and went on to become the champion of Sinnoh."

She paused briefly.

"I was going for some kind of applause but that's fine. We'll gloss over it." Cynthia smiled. "Anyways, as I was saying, I was very concerned that everyone else would be better than me and that I would get kicked out. However, in reality, everyone felt exactly the same. In reality, the high standards and expectations of the school could easily be achieved as we had already demonstrated our natural ability in the trials. I can't lie and say that one or two pupils failed to put in any sort of work and so failed their exams and so they were kicked out but that was due to their own laziness. If you truly want to do well here, it is vital that you put in the work – in all subjects; not just in battling. You will be taught Breeding, Technology, History, Science and of course Battlingas well as optional subjects such as Drama, Cookery and Art. I should also mentionthe nature of the island itself. It is an incredible island, hosting many different environments including mountains, forests, deserts and even a volcano. It is believed that every species of Pokémon could live here, making the island exciting for young trainers but also dangerous. It is for this reason that tomorrow, instead of normal timetabled lessons, you will catch your own Pokémon with the aid of your teachers so that you will be able to defend yourselves."

"Headmistress," Williams said, "The time."

"Oh, of course Mr- I mean Professor Williams." Cynthia said. "I've slightly overrun my little talk and now you may be late for your first dinner at New Moon Academy so I'll just say one last thing before letting you go. Believe in yourselves and your Pokémon. Goodnight."