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Poke U: Meet & Greet

Rex laid on his bed, propping one leg on top of the other as he stared at his phone. In the corner, it read 10:00 AM, as he let out a big yawn. Rex loved his Mondays, since he had an open schedule and was free to laze around until lunch time. He browsed through his PokeBook, seeing what all of his previous friends were up to. As he scrolled up and down through his feed, a text shot up through his phone. It was a message from Heart.

Hey Rex! You finally awake yet? I hope I did not disturb you when I left

Hey there Heart. I'm good. Just lying in bed. What's up?

Still in bed? You do realize that your archery class tomorrow starts at 8:00 AM right? You better not sleep in or else Nocturne will jack your spot lol.

I'll be fine. I am sure you will wake me up anyway, especially with your practice starting at 8:00.

I'm not your alarm clock, nor your mother. Be an adult Rex, this aint elementary school.

Shut up you big dinosaur, lol. Anyway, you finished practice?

Soon. We are starting to wrap up, want to meet me at the Dining Hall at 11:00?

Sure, sounds like a plan. Cya soon then.

Yep, cya there as well.

Rex laid his phone next to his pillow as he slowly rose from his slumber, stretching his arms and legs and letting out another big yawn. He climbed down his ladder and surveyed the room, noticing how tidy Heart's half is. Rex thought to himself, For a big dinosaur like him, I am surprised the bed was able to fit him. Not to mention, everything on his side looks pristine. I guess his family must have raised him right and taught him to make his bed every morning. I honestly should do the same..._Rex sighed heavily and decided to make his bed, although it was not nearly as perfect as Heart. Afterwards, he reached into his bags and brought out his attire for the day as well as a towel. _I guess I should take a morning shower, maybe that will energize me a little bit. Rex opened the door to his room and slowly walked to the bathroom.

Upon entering, Rex heard the sound of running water everywhere, as well as the steam that clouded the entire room. Rex briskly walked past the sinks, where he saw some of his fellow classmates grooming themselves and brushing their teeth. In particular, Rex noticed a Garchomp who was brushing his fangs vigorously. As Rex turned the corner, he stood there and wondered, Wait a second. If a garchomp has fins and just one talon, how in the world do they hold a toothbrush. They have no hands or way to grip things._Rex 'pretended' to drop his bottle of shampoo and look in the Garchomp's direction. He saw a toothbrush tied to his finned talon as the Garchomp gargled and spat into the sink. _Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense. I guess everyone here has to be resourceful to figure things out. As Rex was staring at the land shark, he noticed him staring at Rex back through the mirror. Rex saw him give off a slight smirk before going back to his fangs. Rex blushed and quickly walked into the showers, but he bumped into a fellow Pokémon and fell on his butt.

"Ouch! Crap! I'm sorry!"

Rex looked over at who he bumped into and he saw a quadrupedal Pokémon slowly rise to his feet. The Pokémon looked to be a Bayleef, but it had a strange marking on its head. Normally, Bayleefs have a yellowish head, but this one had a black coloring with a white star on it.

"Hey, it's alright. Just be sure to watch where you are going next time. Okay?" The Pokémon smiled and walked past Rex, heading towards the sinks.

Rex turned his head back, watching the Pokémon slowly walk away and wondered, Is that a Bayleef? I never seen one with those colorations before. It doesn't look to be a shiny either. Hmm, I guess if I see him again, I'll ask him. I guess Poke U does accept a diverse group of us. Rex found an empty stall and started grooming himself, enjoying the warmth the shower had to offer.

After his shower, Rex quickly dried himself off and wrapped his towel around his waist before heading back to his room. Luckily, no one else was in the bathroom, and he made it to his room unnoticed by anyone. After getting dressed, he took out his phone and he saw another text from Heart.

Hey Rex. Finished practice and showering here in the lockers. I'll meet you at the Dining Hall.

Yep. See you there Heart.

Rex placed his phone back into his pocket, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

At the entrance, Heart waved to Rex as he smiled. "I'm so hungry Rex, football practice takes a lot of energy out of you."

"I see. You guys have to eat a lot to keep up, right?"

"You can say that, but the food here is top notch, I almost want to stop by and eat at every station."

"Oh? There's multiple places to eat here?"

Heart nodded. "Yes! You see, Chef Vern is an expert in world cuisine and he wants every student to have a taste of all the places he has traveled to. There is a gourmet salad bar, a soup station, off the grill sort of stuff, and a sandwich bar. But the best part is the bistro section, which has a different regional dish every day. I heard today they are specializing in the Kanto region, so I expect to see some traditional dishes."

Rex looks down at his stomach, it growling softly. "Mmm, all of that sounds tantalizing, let's head in than Heart." Rex grabbed onto Heart's wrist and they both walked their ways into the hall.

They both momentarily split up, grabbing food to fit their needs before reconvening at a table they found by the window. Rex placed his food down, a delicious burger and fries as well as a healthy salad with vinaigrette dressing and a bowl of Kalos Klam Khowder. From the Kanto section, Rex managed to grab two Onigiris. Heart placed his food on the table as well, and it was monstrous compared to Rex. He grabbed two burgers and fries, a giant salad bowl with ranch, four Onigiris and a wet burrito.

Amazed at the amount of food Heart had to consume, Rex commented, "Wow, you were not kidding were you Heart. That would be way too many calories for me to consume. I would feel bloated."

Heart chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But trust me, I burn all of this so easily, especially when I hit the gym. Anyway, did you find it weird with the name they had for the Kanto Onigiris?"

Rex nodded his head. "Oh yes, I noticed that. I thought they were called Onigiris, but why did Chef Vern label it as Jelly Donuts?"

Heart shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, I bet someone who did not know how to translate food messed up somewhere. Anyway, we can talk while we eat."

Rex and Heart exchanged words with each other as they consumed their meal. Overtime, they went back for second and even third helpings, trying out as much of the food as they can. After some time has passed, they grabbed dessert, with Rex getting a bowl of vanilla frozen yogurt while Heart grabbed a slice of Red Velvet cake. As they were eating, Rex noticed a particular Pokémon walk by them, holding a plate of cookies and moving his head back and forward in a sing-song manner.

"Oh, Mr. Bayleef." Rex waved to the Pokémon.

The Pokémon looked over and saw Rex waved at him, as he brought out a vine from his neck and waved back. "Oh, hi there Mr. Dinosaur."

Rex bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry about running into you earlier, if you have some time, would you like to sit with my roommate and I?"

The Bayleef looked up at the sky, as if calculating something, but nodded. "Sure, I have some time before my next class." He walked on over and sat next to Rex.

Heart smiled and waved at the new Pokémon. "So Rex, care to introduce me to your new friend here?"

"Oh right, sorry. Heart, this is a Bayleef that I bumped into in the showers earlier today. His name is..."

Munching on a cookie, the Bayleef responded, "Nico. You can call me Nico, and I really love cookies."

Heart chuckled, seeing how many cookies were actually on the Pokémon's plate. "I can see that, more power to you."

Nico looked over to his side and grabbed a glass of milk with his vines before gulping it down quickly. "Ahhh! Love cookies very much. Anyway, nice to meet you Heart and Rex."

"Pleasure is from me too, Nico." Rex turned his attention to Heart. "I met him in the bathroom, and I guess he's on the same floor as us."

"Yep, that is right. I'm on the 7th floor of building Rong. To be honest, I have no idea how I ended up on the dragon building. I heard that most of the Pokémon here are of dragon descent. The closest I got is that I am a dinosaur, like you two are."

"Eh, I guess it's more of the questionnaire we all had to answer, but it's good to meet new friends here, right Rex?"

"You got it Heart. I guess Nocturne is right about finding people with some similarities on the floor. I hope we can make more friends together. Anyway Nico, I know you have to go soon, but which class are you headed to next."

"Let me see..." Nico used his vines and reached into his backpack to pull out his phone. After examining it, he said, "I have psychology with Professor Leo."

Rex gently slammed his hand on the table. "Professor Leo?!? Me too Nico."

"Oh? We can head there together then. Cool that we share a class together."

Heart laughed heartfully. "Heh, see Rex, you are making new friends so easily, and you were worried when we spoke yesterday that you wouldn't make any. Rather lucky, aren't you?"

Rex blushed, hiding his face in shame. "Oh shut up Heart, don't you have practice to go to?"

"Tsk, that was this morning Rex. But I do have my English class next. I'll catch you later tonight in our room. Maybe all three of us can go grab dinner together. Until then, I'll leave you two. I do have to make that half-mile trek across campus and head towards the Quad." Heart rose from his seat, gathered his belongings and left the two, waving goodbye as he headed towards the exit doors.

"Oh ok, see you later tonight Heart." Rex waved at him.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Heart." Nico waved with his vine.

Rex turned to Nico. "So, ready to head to class?"

"Mmhmm, let's go."

The two packed their stuff and head their way to Psychology class with Professor Leo. Along the way, Nico and Rex talked about their interests, with Rex learning that Nico is planning to major in economics. Nico, though his family is from the Johto region, emigrated to the Kalos region since he was little. He enjoyed the culture and the cuisine, and planned on opening his own bakery shop one day.

"Oh, so that is why you like cookies so much then Nico?"

"Oui, Oui. I love baking in general, and cookies are my absolute favorite. I hope to learn as much as I can in general, and utilize all of that to open my own shop, so I can share my love of cookies with the rest of the world."

"I see...Oh, looks like we are here Nico, let's go find a place to sit." Rex and Nico both enter the classroom and found a seat next to each other. Upon scanning the entire building, Rex was amazed at the size of the class. He saw various Pokémon all enter the building from the multiple doors around. "There has to be at least 200 Pokémon in here..."

"You can say that again Rex, a lot of people here, all the more to share my cookies with one day."

"Heh, you are really excited about that. But hey, we have a few more minutes before class starts, and I have a question that has been bugging me."

Nico tilted his head, placing his laptop on his desk and asked, "Oh? What is it then Rex?"

Rex placed his laptop as well, and opened the word document to prepare himself for taking notes. "I was wondering, about your star, and the black markings."

"Oh that? My mom is a Meganium, but my dad is an Umbreon. When I hatched from my egg as a Chikorita and evolved to a Bayleef, it was just there."

Shocked, Rex tried to analyze how those two Pokémon would be able to create offsprings. "Uhh, how did that happen? Aren't those two species in different egg groups?"

Nico shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows. All I know is that they got together and both my sister and I were born. And about the star, you see it-."

"Ok class, settle down, I know you all pretty much ate lunch, so just focus for the next two and a half hours and we can get on our way."

Everyone stared down at the center of the stage and saw a Latios in a business suit hover to the lectern, speaking into the microphone.

"Hey Rex, I'll tell you later after class."

"Yes Nico, I would love to learn about that, if you are okay sharing it."

"Mmhmm, you're my friend, so I can tell you." Nico turned his attention back to the Latios, his vines at the ready to begin typing.

Rex blushed, not used to making friends so easily in his life before, but ever grateful. He turned his attention back to his professor, his claws at the ready on his keyboard.

The Latios walked over to the white board behind him, his eyes flashed red momentarily as a marker floated in mid-air, starting to write his name on the board. As the pen was writing, Rex looked down towards the Professor torso, seeing him floating in the air, with nothing below him and wondered, How does he do that...

After some time, the name Professor Leo Signer was seen. "So class, you can all address me as Professor Leo, and welcome to Psychology 101. I know most of you plan on being in the health field, while others are just taking this course as a general requirement to fulfill a science course. Whichever your own personal reasons are, I hope that you will all be able to take something with you at the end of the day." Professor Leo then starts to circle around the stage, placing on a headset. "Ugh, I hate using these things, but I also hate hovering in front of a piece of wood all day too. Moving around is better for me. Anyway, today will just be an introduction to the class, so I will go over the syllabus that I hope you all read at least once. And if you haven't, then all of this will be new to you. So, I recommend following along the document if you can."

Rex looked to his laptop and opened the pdf of the course syllabus, turning on the notation program in the reader. He slouched back in his seat, feeling all the food he ate had him a little bit tired, almost to that of a food coma. _Maybe, I can shut just my eyes for a few seconds as Professor Leo just introduces himself...it'll only be for a minute tops..._Rex closed his eyes as Professor Leo continued speaking.

"So class, first things first, the important date..."

...

"...And that will wrap up today's session. Any questions? If not, then I will see you guys in two days. And, let me leave one lasting impression, on those who chose to have other plans..." Professor Leo closed his eyes before opening them, the red in them glowing bright as a white light emerged in front of him, illuminating the entire class and waking Rex up in the process. Smirking, Professor Leo said, "And that is a Luster Purge, one of my species signature moves. Try not to sleep again, and if you do, just go back to your residency and take a nap. I don't take kind to seeing sleeping student in my class. Now then, you may all go."

Rex stumbled in his seat, as the blinding light momentarily made it hard for him to see. He looked over to his right as he saw Nico slowly packing up his belongings. "Hey Nico, how long was I out for?"

Nico finished packing his backpack before he turned his head to Rex. "Umm...I would say the entire lecture. You passed out after Professor Leo talked about the important dates-"

Shocked, Rex screamed, "I what! Nico, why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because you look so peaceful and cute sleeping in your seat, I couldn't wake you up."

"Ugh! Nico!" Rex pouted for a second, wanting to scream, but calmed down. "I can't blame you though, this is all my fault. I knew I overate. But that Luster Purge of Professor Leo, that is really strong."

Nico tilted his head, confused about that statement. "Hmm? Strong? It was fine to me. I just saw a bright light on the stage, but that was it."

Just as confused, Rex pondered, "Wait...that was not blinding to you at all?"

"Nope, I feel perfectly fine Rex."

"Hmm...I guess Professor Leo must have scanned the entire class while he was talking and focused the attack on anyone of who were sleeping. Oh man, that means he must have noticed me..."

Nico chuckled, using a vine to reach into his backpack and pulling out a cookie. "Maybe next time you should not fall asleep then Rex. Or else he will hit with another attack of his."

Rex rolled his eyes, packing his belongings inside of his backpack. "Oh whatever Nico, say, what do you have after this?"

"Hmmm...I just have my French class after this. But after that, I should be free for dinner if you want to meet up again."

"Oh ok. Normally I would have my chemistry lab after this class, but this being the first week, Professor Sol e-mailed us and informed us to skip the lab session for this week and to come to lecture tomorrow morning. If you would like, I can accompany you to your next class and we can finish what we were talking earlier."

"Sure Rex, I don't mind. We got about fifteen minutes before class starts and it's only a few blocks away."

Rex smiled as both he and Nico exited their seats and made their way towards the aisle and the exits soon after. As they entered the aisle, Rex felt a sharp pain in his head. He collapsed to the ground, grimacing in a little bit of pain as he clutched his head.

Nico turned around and saw his friend on his knees. He brought out a vine in concern to hold him. "Hey Rex, you okay?"

Rex tried to look up at Nico to try and tell him something, but instead he heard a voice and it said, You. Mr. Blue Dinosaur. Come to the center stage. I want to have a word with you. Rex turned his head and he saw Professor Leo staring back at him, his eyes glowing red. Rex slowly nodded his head before he turned his attention back to Nico. "Uhh...I'm alright Nico. I think Professor Leo would like to talk to me. He just telepathically asked me to come see him."

Nico frowned, unsure of how he should feel about this. "Umm...okay, I guess I will see you at the Dining Hall for dinner then. It feels a bit wrong if a professor is using their abilities on us. I know we signed a document when we enrolled here that we cannot use any of our attacks or abilities on each other, but I would think all the professors are bound by that law too."

Rex slowly got up to his feet and patted Nico on his back. "Yea, I agree. But I will see what Professor Leo wants. I'll catch ya later then Nico." Rex waved goodbye to Nico as he slowly descended down the steps to see Professor Leo. Nico waved goodbye with his vine, a look of concern in his eyes before he exited the building.

Rex took a deep breath before he walked down the stage, passing by other Pokémon who looked rather eager to get to out of the building. Professor Leo kept his gaze at Rex, those red eyes never once blinking. Once Rex managed to get to the stage, Professor Leo smirked, his gaze continuing to stare at Rex, as if he was sizing him up. Rex took a big gulp and said, "Did you want to see me professor?"

Professor Leo's smirk never faded as he responded, "Hmph, I have never seen your kind before, and you stuck out like a sore thumb sitting next to that Bayleef like fella. At least with him, he was paying attention, you looked like you were enjoying your siesta."

Rex bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry about that professor. I think I may have ate a little bit too much. I promise it won't happen again."

Professor Leo slowly hovered around Rex body, his red eyes still staring uncomfortably at Rex. Rex could not even move a muscle, something about the gaze of the dragon and psychic type rendering him immobile. Thoughts started racing through his head. What does Professor Leo want with me? Why is no one else saying anything? It was just a little nap, I didn't mean to offend the professor this much. Oh Arceus, please help me. After Professor Leo made his one rotation around Rex, he hovered in place, his hands on his face as he was thinking about something. Rex wanted to say something, but was unsure of what to do. I hate psychic types, they do a lot of these mind games with you.

"...Interesting..."

"Come again professor?"

"I am just saying, you are quite the interesting Pokémon. Tell me, what is your name?"

"My...name is Rex...uhhh...Rex Owens, professor..."

Professor Leo smiled, but the smile felt half sincere, half sinister. "That's a nice name you got there. So tell me, what do you think of Poke U so far?"

"Uhh...It's nice so far professor. This is my first class of the semester, and I look forward to learning as much as I can from you."

"Hmph, I see. Well, where was that spirit earlier? Doesn't matter, I see something special in you, Rex."

"Oh? You do professor?" Rex stared nervously at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the Latios's red eyes.

"Of course. You can say, I have a keen eye for spotting out potential in my students. And I believe you have a lot of potential in you. Now tell me, you don't happen to live in Rong, do you?"

Rex's eyes widened momentarily, enough for Professor Leo to notice. "Umm...yes I do. Why do you ask that professor?"

Professor Leo grinned, his eyes slanting a little bit at the response. "I see. Well, I assume you have seen the symbol right? The one that represents the building?"

"Yes professor...it was a...wait, don't tell me."

"That is right. My sister and I originally stayed in that building. You can say we are alma maters and enjoy giving back what Poke U gave us. They named that building after us, and everyone who stayed in that dorm moved into successful careers."

Rex managed to look up, his eyes now fixated on Leo's. "I see professor, that is cool that you and your sister stayed there. So far, my resident advisor is very nice and my roommate is really easy to live with."

"Mmm, making friends already I see. You look to be like a little social bug."

"I wouldn't say that professor. I'm still a bit anxious and nervous about this. All the Pokémon around me are just nice to me. I think I am just lucky."

"Heh, luck is important in things. But I guess you weren't lucky enough to sleep in my class and aboid getting caught. Anyway, I was wondering if you happen to have any free time during the week."

Rex tilted his head slightly, unsure of where the professor is going with this line of questioning. "Umm, I sort of do professor, why do you ask?"

"Well, I want to give back a little more to my students, especially those that stayed in the same building as I did. Not only am I your psychology professor, I am actually licensed as a psychiatrist. And seeing how I have never seen your species before, I was wondering if you would like to come join me once a week in my office. You can think of it as office hours as sorts, but just for you. I understand if you do not want to and I don't want to push anything on you, especially since you are new here, but I really would like to get to know my students a lot better. So, what do you say?"

Rex tried to avert his gaze from the professor, but those he felt those red eyes continue to stare at him dead on no matter which way he turned his head. What should I do? Professor Leo wants to meet with me. This seems a bit out of place. But then again, this is Poke U and they wouldn't hire bad Pokémon, right? Maybe Professor Leo just wants to get to know me better, since my species is indeed that rare. Maybe I'll just go to one session, and if I don't like it, I don't have to go anymore.

"Oh, one more thing Rex. If at any point in my office hours you want to leave, you are more than welcomed to leave. I just want to make you feel as comfortable as possible here at Poke U. And I can sense that you are nervous about a few things. Maybe over the course of your semester, or even your time here, I can help get you as comfortable as I can."

Rex smiled nervously. "I appreciate that professor. But uhhh, I won't have any free time until next Monday morning. Would that be ok?"

"Of course, my doors are always open Rex, just stop by whenever you feel like it."

"Thank you Professor Leo." Rex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he grabbed it and quickly scanned the text. "Oh, if you don't mind professor. I have to go meet with someone."

Professor Leo nodded. "Go right ahead. I have no right to keep you hostage here. My office is located in this building, through this door behind me, down the hall and to the left. I'll post my hours of availability on in front of my door. So if you don't see me, you'll at least know when I will be back. Anyway, see you Wednesday for your next lecture."

Rex bowed before he briskly walked up the steps and out the building. Rex made a B-line back to Rong, planning to meet with Heart back in his room. However, Rex could not stop thinking about his encounter with Professor Leo. That felt really weird. I don't know if it's psychic types in general or it's just Professor Leo. Something is off about him, but I can't think too much. I should talk to Heart, Nocturne, or even Nico about this. Maybe they can help me put this together. Wait a second...he used the word hostage...that is a really, really weird word to use...