Wally: "U–um, Ash? Can I ask you a question?"
(Wally's voice was hesitant.)
(Ash grinned.)
Ash: "You just did."
(Wally's shoulders slumped a little, but Ash quickly added.)
Ash: "I'm joking! You totally walked right into that one. Anyway, what's up my guy?
(Wally's face brightened as he took a breath to get the courage.)
Wally: "Ash, how do you stay so confident about everything? You're smart, you ask a ton of questions, and you're never afraid of anything. You even want to be a Pokémon Trainer."
(Ash shrugged, glancing down at Pichu who was playfully tugging at his sleeve.)
Ash: "Why do you wanna know? I don't mind telling you, but you gotta tell me, do you want to be a Trainer too?"
(Wally looked down, fiddling with his sleeve.)
Wally: "That's always been my dream... but I'm too sick, and I'm scared my body would give out before I even got my first Pokémon. Even if I wanted to, my uncle and aunt wouldn't let me. They're scared something bad will happen."
(A hush settled over the classroom as the other students tuned in, curious about the conversation unfolding.)
(Ash took a breath and thought.)
Ash [in mind]: 'Alright, time for my best cheesy inspirational speech'.
Ash: "Well... honestly, I'm scared too."
(he admitted.)
Ash: "I'm scared something might happen on my journey, scared I won't beat the first Gym, scared I won't even get through Viridian Forest. But that's okay. I don't ask questions because I'm smart, I'm smart because I ask questions."
(He paused, meeting Wally's eyes.)
Ash: "If you want to be a Trainer, talk to your family. They'll understand if it's really what you want. There's nothing wrong with being scared. What's wrong is doing nothing about it. Being scared and feeling weak—that's how we learn about ourselves. It's part of life. We will be scared and weak sometimes, but we learn and grow from it. If you're scared right now, and you feel bad about it... don't. Enjoy it, because this is who you are at this moment. There's nothing wrong with that. You'll grow out of it. I know this because you already recognize your fear—that makes you braver than most people."
(Ash gave a small smile as Pichu chirped, hopping onto his shoulder and nudging his cheek.)
Ash: "So what if you're sick? So what if you fail? At least you'll know you tried. That's better than spending years stuck wondering what could have been, wishing you'd been brave enough to take the first step. But hey, what do I know? Probably nothing. So you can listen to me... or ignore me. Totally up to you."
(Before Wally could reply, Professor Oak entered the room, calling everyone to attention.)
(As the class settled, Oak announced.)
Oak: "Today, I've invited Professor Sycamore from the Kalos region."
(A man stepped into the classroom, black, curly hair, bright bluish eyes, and a neat beard trimmed under his ears.)
(He wore a blue shirt, black trousers held up by a yellow belt with a circular buckle, orange socks, and brown trainers with gray stripes.)
Sycamore: "Hello everyone, I am Professor Sycamore, and I study Mega Evolution. Now some of you may know what this is, and some of you won't, but to put it simply, Mega Evolution allows a Pokémon to achieve a form greater than their previous form—hence 'mega.'"
(He looked over the class and smiled seeing Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor since he's the one who recommended for them to come here, but he didn't say anything more about it.)
(He pulled out an orange orb with yellow and red stripes, holding it up for the class to see.)
Sycamore: "For a Pokémon to Mega Evolve, you need two things: first, a Mega Stone of the respective Pokémon."
(Then, from another pocket, he revealed a shimmering rainbow orb etched with a strange symbol.)
Sycamore: "And second, a Keystone."
(The students leaned in, fascinated by the glowing spheres.)
Sycamore: "A Pokémon and their Trainer need to each have one of these, plus a strong bond, to unlock the Mega Evolution form."
(Professor Sycamore's eyes gleamed with excitement as he held up a picture.)
Sycamore: "This is Mega Charizard."
(He paused, then pulled out another orb, a blue one with black stripes, and flashed a different picture of Mega Charizard in another form.)
Sycamore: "What makes this especially interesting."
(he continued.)
Sycamore: "is that some Pokémon can have multiple Mega Evolutions with different Mega Stones. What I research is what Pokémon may Mega Evolve. We've discovered a lot of Mega Stones, but two big questions remain: their origin, and which Pokémon can Mega Evolve. Any questions?"
(A wave of hands shot up instantly.)
(Students bombarded him with questions about where to find Mega Stones, how to use them, and which Pokémon could Mega Evolve.)
(Sycamore smiled and answered patiently.)
Sycamore: "You can find Mega Stones in the mountains, or sometimes by asking someone who already has them."
(For a long time, Sycamore kept answering questions, even the edge lords Paul and Silver wanted to learn more, since this just seemed like a cheat code for more power, Paul sure, but yeah Silver too, even though he was starting to chill out thanks to Green being his frend, well more like Green adopted him as her younger brother, which he didn't say no too.)
(After a while, Professor Oak gently ushered Sycamore out, thanking him for his visit, but he had other classes to visit, not just this one.)
(As the classroom began to settle down, Ash found himself lost in thought.)
Ash [in mind]: 'Now that I think about it... how am I supposed to get a Keystone? Mega Stones I can find, maybe by meditating with my Pokémon or visiting Mega Island, but Keystones? Those are different. Ash got his during Journeys, and I really don't want to wait that long. Maybe I could use a Mega Stone to help me search for one, but that sounds like a stretch... Well, problems for my future self.'
(With the school year wrapping up, Ash, Green, and Gary busied themselves making preparations for Oak's summer camp, since they agreed to go to the camp together, especially after hearing Ash got Pichu in the so called trip they refused to go to, this was the place where Ash had met Serena, and also where he had once sprinted like mad to make it on time.)
(Speaking of which, Ash managed to help Green, you know not get kidnaped, but that was a story for another time, right now there where more important things to talk about.)
(Pichu, was just going along for the ride as long as he had Ketchup he was happy, he just thought in his head.)
Pichu [in mind]: 'I'll stay a little longer'
[To Be Continued...]