"Now turn to page three of your specification." Williams said, flicking his own booklet to the correct page. Professor Williams was head of Battling and right now, Alex's class were in another one of his strictly silent lessons. They'd been at New Moon Academy for only a week but they'd really hit the ground running with all of the teachers in all of their lessons. Brock was much more laid back than Williams but Breeding was such a confusing subject that Alex had already fallen well behind the rest of the class. He just couldn't quite grasp anything that Brock taught, especially the usefulness of the Destiny Knot. History and Science weren't as difficult as he'd already studied those in regular school but this school had high standards and the teachers, Professor Johnson for History and Dr. Khan for Science, definitely promoted this fact, expecting nothing but the very best from all of their students.

"Alex, snap out of it, he's watching you." Alex heard a whisper from his left. It was Elliot Wright, one of the boys who shared a dorm with Alex. He was a smart but quiet guy, and was usually desperate to not get into trouble with teachers. Already he'd helped Alex out with homework on a number of occasions, even though they'd been at school for a week. Alex liked him and appreciated the help but had yet to see him battle and that was the area Alex was most interested in.

"Murphy, are you quite finished?" Williams asked. "This is no time for daydreaming, this is a lesson - and fix your top button."

"Sorry sir, I was just wondering why the exam board sets these specific Pokémon in the spec." Alex responded.

"What do you mean?"

"Well there's loads of Pokémon out there and our specification says that we need to know certain Pokémon like the back of our hand, whereas others we'll be given information for in an exam. So why these Pokémon? Why not something else?" Alex smiled at Williams. Most of the people in the class looked as though they had been thinking the same thing, as he saw several nods amongst the students.

"We study at least two Pokémon of each type, one being purely of that type and one having a dual typing. This aids in getting to know the type matchup chart better, as well as helping to learn main attacks of each type. This was narrowed down into these Pokémon as none of their abilities are the same and their move pools are all vastly different but often diverse." Williams answered. "But has it helped you I wonder? Tell me Mr. Murphy, what types are Super Effective against Tornadus?"

"Uh, well that would be..." Alex stuttered, racking his brain for the answer. He glanced at his specification, noting that Tornadus is the only known pure Flying type, making it unique but what was Super Effective against Flying?

"Come now Murphy, we only went over the type matchup chart extensively last lesson!" Williams laughed. "In fact, that's the only thing we've covered so far and you still can't remember it?"

"Yes I can." Alex said. "Tornadus is weak to Rock, Electric and... Water."

"Oh dear." Williams shook his head. "I do believe you've confused Water with Ice and that may just cost you one day. Please make sure that during the weekend you go over that chart, it is without a doubt the most important tool for any trainer."

"Yes sir." Alex sighed. He'd been close but he'd still been wrong. To his right, Lenny shrugged his shoulders and gave an encouraging smile. He smiled back, opening his book to copy down what Williams was writing on the board. He'd get the hang of this eventually, of course he would, he just needed some practical lessons to get his head around it and that was just what Williams seemed to have in mind at the end of the lesson and the end of the week.

"Before you all disappear," he called out as the bell rang violently, "I'd like to inform you that on our first lesson next week we have our first practical lesson, made better by the fact that we have a double lesson. I'll be pairing you up so that you can use your basic knowledge to battle each other. Over the weekend, make sure to get in some training, this course has as much value in class work as it does self study."

"Now that sounds more like it!" Alex grinned as he and the others exited the classroom and into the corridors of the academy. "You excited Lenny?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lenny smiled, "Who knows, maybe we'll get to battle each other?"

"What do you think we're doing over the weekend? Battling each other and training to prepare so that we can shoot to top of the class."

"What about that test in Science that we need to revise for?" Lenny reminded him as he pushed the large glass doors open and stepped outside into the sunshine.

"Well... that doesn't matter. It's only on the biology of Tepig." Alex stopped as they reached the red brick bridge. "Actually Lenny, you go on ahead back to the dorm. I've got some training with Cubone to do."

"Again?" Lenny asked. "You've been mysteriously vanishing every night to go and train your Cubone."

"That's because we're really close to something awesome and if we pull it off in our practical lesson it'd just be the coolest thing to see our hard work pay off." Alex explained.

"Alright then." Lenny nodded. "I'm going back to finish off my homework early, I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, see you later man!" Alex waved, as he turned onto the bridge and headed for the forest where after a few minutes he found his regular training spot. It was a small and crumbling building in a clearing that looked as if one day it could've been a temple. In any case, all it was now was derelict housing only one thing of interest and that was an odd green slab in the centre.

Alex stood at the door of the temple and looked out at the clearing. There were several pointed stones sticking out of the ground and behind them, a row of trees which made for perfect target practice. "Cubone, Butterfree, let's go." Alex sent out his two Pokémon who immediately recognised this spot and got into formation for the exercise. "Remember you two, keep it fast and fluent. A good showing from you here Cubone will earn you the privilege of fighting for me in our first practical lesson."

"Cubone, bone!" Cubone smiled through its skull as the exercise began. Alex watched from the side, not saying a word, merely noting down in his notepad what was occurring. He noted Cubone's slight flaws in its movements, the chinks in its armour as well as noting how much Cubone had improved since he originally captured it. He grinned at the results when the exercise he'd set up finished. Cubone was ready for a real fight now, he could sense it. He just wondered who his opponent would be.

*

When the answer came on Monday, he couldn't have been more thrilled.

"On the board now is a projection of our schedule today." Williams said, pointing at the big screen. They weren't in their regular classroom and they weren't in the main battling arena either. They were in the training arena which had six different battlefields which could be used simultaneously which was much more useful for training as there was less sitting around and watching and more battling.

"Who've you got Lenny?" Alex asked as he scanned the board for his own name. Each person had also been given a ranking based on the result of their baseline test which they had taken in their first lesson.

"I've got Lucy, that girl who Bella hangs with." Lenny said. "She's slightly above me in rankings so it should be a fun fight. What about you?"

"I've got... Bella." Alex grinned. "She's ranked first and I'm ranked last. Now this should be interesting."

"Wow, good luck." Lenny said. "She'd destroy me, that's for sure."

"No way." Alex replied. "You could take her any day of the week."

"Alright then students, that's enough talk." Williams shouted over the chatter that had burst out when everyone saw their opponents. "As you can see, the battles have been ordered so as to optimise our time. Please stick to the schedule or things could get very confusing. If you are yet to battle or have already finished, sit in the stands and pay close attention to the ongoing battles as they may prove to be a very useful learning guide from those who are better than you."

Alex looked back at the screen. He and Lenny were both on their battlefields last so they wouldn't even get to watch each other properly. That was a shame but it couldn't be helped. Right now, he just needed to prepare as he took his seat in the crowd. He barely paid any attention to the fast and furious battles taking place as blows were exchanged and new rivalries were born, he was too busy focusing on everything that he and Cubone had worked on for the past two weeks. By the time it was his turn to battle, he was ready.

"Hey Alex," Bella said, "You ready to go?" Alex snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked up at Bella who was standing at the end of the row of seats that he was sitting at. She looked ready and determined.

"I was born ready." He grinned, jumping out of his seat and walking with her down to the battlefield where they took their places at either end. He glanced over at Lenny who had just started his own battle and smiled. "Good luck Bella."

"Good luck to you too." Bella smiled, "You'll need it. Now go, Riolu!"

"Cubone, let's do this!" They both threw their Pokéballs onto the field, casting a brief blanket of light over them both before revealing their choices. As expected, Bella was using her Riolu, the Pokémon that she used in her demonstration of catching a Pokémon. However, clearly she hadn't been expecting to see Alex's bone wielding warrior on the opposite side of the field.

"Not using your signature Butterfree?" she asked.

"Nah, I wanted to give Cubone a chance to battle." Alex explained. "Ladies first." Alex gestured for Bella to start the battle which she gladly accepted.

"Riolu use Quick Attack!" Riolu was fast off the line, speeding towards Alex's side and heading for Cubone.

"Headbutt!" Alex yelled and Cubone nodded, before charging at its attacker but Bella was smarter than that and when the collision came, Riolu dug in its heels to sharply turn and avoid the attack.

"Now Force Palm!" Bella ordered. With Cubone completely off balance from its miss, it was all too easy for Riolu to land its strong Force Palm attack in the back of Cubone's neck. Cubone cried out in pain and fell to ground.

"Cubone, get up!" Alex urged. Cubone used its bone to push itself back up to its feet but clearly it was already tiring from its first actual battle.

"Quick Attack again!" Bella commanded and once again, Riolu's response was immediate, darting right back into the danger zone, slamming into Cubone who couldn't even get an attack in at this rate.

"Headbutt it before it gets away!" Alex shouted and Cubone's response was perfect, jutting out its head to make contact with Riolu's chest with its hard, sturdy skull. However, before Alex could even say another word, Riolu had escaped and retreated back to Bella's side of the field.

"You see what work and preparation does Alex?" Bella asked. "Devising a good strategy before a battle and making sure that both you and your Pokémon are fully aware of what that strategy is, is essential to winning a battle."

"True to an extent." Alex nodded. "But what about when your opponent finds the chink in your armour and counters your strategy? What if it doesn't work?"

"That's why you work on it as hard as possible." Bella sighed. "To ensure that there are no weak spots."

"I suppose you should work harder then, because I've just found yours." Alex grinned.

"Really? Then try stopping this Quick Attack!"

"Cubone, use Bonemerang!" As Riolu came rushing at Cubone again, Cubone was ready, hurling its bone with all its might at its attacker.

"You just don't learn do you?" Bella laughed as Riolu repeated its previous action to dig in its heels and change course, completely evading the projectile. "Now use Force Palm!"

"Actually, you just did exactly what I wanted." Alex grinned as Cubone's bone spun and came right back around, colliding directly with Riolu's head and knocking it to ground. "Nice shot bud."

"Cubone!" Cubone squeaked as it collected its weapon. Now both Pokémon had sustained a lot of damage and it was swinging in Alex's favour.

"Get up and use Force Palm!" Bella ordered. Riolu jumped back to its feet before running at the celebrating Cubone, palms raised.

"Block it!" Alex smiled as he unveiled Cubone's signature attack that he'd been working so hard to improve. As Riolu's powerful palms drew closer, Cubone used its bone like a sword to block off the attack.

"Keep using Force Palm!"

"Keep on blocking!" Time and time again, Riolu attacked with Force Palm at great speeds, varying the direction, sometimes feinting and attempting to strike elsewhere but there was no way through. Cubone simply swiped its bone up, down and across, hitting every single palm perfectly, deflecting every attack until Riolu had nothing left to give. "Finish this with Bone Club!"

"Riolu no!" Bella cried as Cubone brought down its weapon on Riolu's head, sending it to ground immediately, knocking it unconscious and finishing the battle.

"Great job Cubone!" Alex cheered as he and Cubone punched the air in unison. "Now that is practice making perfect."

"Riolu, you were excellent, have a rest." Bella smiled at her fainted Pokémon as she called it back to its Pokéball. "Alex, I'm impressed. I didn't think you would be able to find my strategy's weak spot. I didn't think you worked hard enough."

"Working hard in class in theory is one thing. But every day after lessons have finished I've been training Cubone's bone wielding skills. I've worked as hard as anyone, maybe even harder." Alex said. "So you don't need to be quite so judgemental just because I got bottom of the year on my baseline exam."

"Cu?" Alex looked down at his victorious Pokémon.

"Look, he's practically glowing with happiness."

"Alex, that's not happiness." Bella gasped. "That's evolution." Cubone's body began shining brighter and more vivid until the blue light emanating from it was blinding and Alex couldn't help but to turn away. By the time the light died down and Alex looked back, Cubone was bigger and bulkier, looking much tougher than before. The skull on its head now completely covered it and its bone was much thicker.

"Marowak." Alex's new Pokémon said in a new, deep voice.

"So it evolved then? Into a Ma-ro-wak?" Alex asked. He had heard of evolution before but witnessing his own Pokémon evolve was something new, exciting and totally awesome.

"Yeah, it evolved." Bella nodded. "I suppose you really did train it well for it to evolve so soon after you caught it."

"I told you Bella, I work as hard as anyone."

"It's Arabella actually." She reminded him.

"But Bella has a nicer ring to it. It's nice and short."

"Alright then fine." She conceded. "But don't get annoyed when I start calling you Al or Lex."

"I won't." Alex grinned. As he left the battlefield, he turned to say one final thing. "Hey Bella, let's battle again someday!"

"I look forward to revenge!" She said back. Alex had the feeling that this battle had just started a friendly rivalry with one of the best trainers in the year. Now that sounded exciting.