"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on our final approach into Puel Town," the pilot announced over the intercom. "Please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened, and your seats and tray tables are in their upright position."

Sighing, Summer closed up her notebook and stashed it into her backpack, her carry-on. 'Finally!' she thought. 'This flight feels like it's been going on for two days instead of six hours.' She held her stomach, still feeling nauseous.

Ever since the plane had left the airport, Summer had been feeling sick. This had been her first plane ride, and it had been a nerve-wracking experience. And the whole time she hadn't even bothered to talk to anybody for fear of throwing up.

"I can't wait to get off this plane," Summer muttered.

The old woman that sat next to Summer glanced over at her. "Do you not like flying?"

Summer glanced at the woman. This was now the fourth time she had attempted to speak to her. Because of the fear of vomiting, she hadn't bothered to speak but just nodded, shaken her head, or shrugged. If any of the woman's previous questions required a verbal answer, Summer hadn't responded at all. But since the plane would land pretty soon, Summer felt up to talking.

"Never been on one, actually. I've felt sick since taking off."

The woman nodded. "Understandable. Some people enjoy flights; others don't feel anything, such as myself. Yet some others only tolerate them, and many don't like flights at all. Quite a few don't like them at first, but then they get over it. Then they can't wait to get on another plane."

Summer sat up straighter in her seat. "Does that actually happen?"

"It does indeed. I know a young woman who was afraid of flying. For the longest time, she never got anywhere near a plane; if she even saw one in the sky, she'd look away. One day, she somehow found herself on top of a very friendly Flying-type Pokémon and experienced the joy that they find up there. As soon as she got back on the ground, that young woman knew that she loved flying, be it on a plane or a Pokémon."

"Whoa," Summer whispered. "That's so cool." Then she thought of something after a moment. "Wait. How'd she end up on that Pokémon in the first place?"

The woman shrugged. "I have no idea, young lady. She's never revealed to me that little minute detail. She's never even told her friends that she used to be afraid of flying."

At that moment, Summer felt the plane start to dip, and the pilot started to speak from the intercom.

"We are now beginning our descent into Puel Town. On behalf of Sunyshore International and our entire crew, we'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and look forward to seeing you onboard again in the near future. Have a nice evening."

"Oh, here we go," said the old woman.

Summer grimaced. 'Here we go indeed. Going down does not feel as great as taking off did.'

"There's my bag!" Summer quickly grabbed her bright yellow rolling suitcase from the conveyor belt, held it by the handles, and turned to the woman behind her.

A week ago, when Summer had finally gotten her acceptance letter from the school, they had stated in it that one of the teachers was going to pick her up from the Almia Regional Airport. The teacher who had been waiting for Summer at the terminal was named Miss April Powers. "But everybody just calls me Miss April," she had said.

"Is that all you have?" Miss April inquired.

"That's all," Summer responded.

"Then let's shove off." Miss April motioned for Summer to follow her.

"You know, Miss April, my older sister has the same name as you," Summer said as they headed toward the doors.

"Oh, really? How about that."

"Yep. She's a Pokémon trainer. But I don't really like that, though. I've never seen any point of Poké Balls."

"So you decided to have a Pokémon Ranger career instead of following the Trainer route," Miss April concluded.

"Pretty much. I like how Rangers 'capture' Pokémon though. By the way, what's that thing on their wrist called?"

Miss April smiled and laughed. "Sorry, Summer. You're gonna have to wait until later to find that out."

'Nuts,' Summer thought. 'I need to know what that thing is before I start lessons.'

A cab was waiting out front for Summer and Miss April. The teacher grabbed Summer's suitcase and put it into the trunk. "Go on in," she said after closing the trunk.

Summer climbed into the back of the car, still wearing her backpack. Miss April entered the cab door on the other side and sat behind the driver.

"How far is the school from here?" Summer asked, taking out a camera from her backpack.

"Almost a half-hour away, so enjoy the ride."

'Click!' said the camera.

Summer looked up at the building with amazement. There had been plenty of big buildings in Sunyshore, and the Ranger school wasn't as big as those. But despite the school's smallish big size, it was still just as impressive.

Miss April saw the look on Summer's face and chuckled. "Welcome to Ranger School, Summer. Now, before you start classes tomorrow, there's a little test that you have to pass."

Summer turned to the teacher. "A test?"

"It's nothing to worry about. It's a simple little test for the students who specifically plan on becoming Rangers."

Summer nodded. It wasn't just future Rangers who attended the school; some students wanted to become Mechanics or Operators. These were the three careers that were generally pursued at the Ranger Union.

Miss April started walking toward a much smaller building on her left. Summer followed.

"This here is the Training Building for the Ranger students," Miss April explained. "It is also where the test takes place."

As they went through the Training Building doors, Summer looked around it. In the back were several machines with screens. There were a few barrels and some crates, but other than that, it was mostly floor. In the middle was the Ranger Union insignia. There were also two people occupied with the machines and a yellow Pokémon between them.

"Hello Mr. Kaplan, Miss Claire."

The people turned around from the machines and saw Summer and Miss April. "Hello, April," said the man, Mr. Kaplan. "And who is this young lady?"

"This is Summer Montgomery, our new student."

"How lovely," said the woman, Miss Claire. "I just love it when we get new students here."

"Summer, this is Mr. Kaplan and Miss Claire. Mr. Kaplan will be the one to administer the test."

Mr. Kaplan's eyes shined, and he laughed. "Excellent, another Ranger student! This is for you." He took something out of his pocket and walked toward Summer. She stretched out her hand as he gave her a device.

'It's that wrist thing!'

"That is your School Styler. It's a simplified model of a Capture Styler that the Rangers use. You get the actual Styler from the Ranger Union once you graduate."

"Capture Styler... So that's what it's called," said Summer.

"Your test is to do something called a 'Capture' on a Pokémon. Your target will be this Pikachu." Mr. Kaplan pointed to the Pokémon, and the Pikachu ran to the middle of the floor. It looked at Summer with anticipation.

A sudden image formed in Summer's mind: a blue-haired woman pressing a button in the middle of the Styler, moving her arm in a circular motion to do a Capture on an angry Electivire.

"Understand?" Mr. Kaplan asked.

Summer looked up at Mr. Kaplan. She didn't know what he had been explaining about but guessed it was how to operate the Styler. Thanks to that one Pokémon Ranger, Summer already knew how it went.

She took two steps toward the Pikachu, then stuck her arm out while gripping the Styler in her right hand. Summer pressed the button and began to move the Styler in a circle. White loops of light surrounded the Pikachu and grew brighter with each loop. The Pokémon was so surprised at how fast Summer was moving the Styler that, at first, it didn't even think about attacking. As soon as it thought about it though, the light that surrounded Pikachu disappeared. It smiled at Summer, then went back to Mr. Kaplan.

All three teachers smiled and clapped.

"Congratulations! That was the most perfect Capture I've seen this year," said Mr. Kaplan. "You are officially a member of our secret army, Team School. And we shall rule the world!"

Summer giggled. That was refreshing: a teacher with a sense of humor.

"Must you always do that, Kaplan?" Miss Claire asked, sounding only a quarter serious.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaplan, for your usual performance," said Miss April, rolling her eyes and smiling a little. "Always fun to watch." She turned to Summer. "That really was an impressive Capture that you did, Summer. You will clearly do very well here."

"Thank you, Miss April," said Summer, turning slightly red.

"Well, now that you've taken the test, it's time to show you the dormitory," Miss April said. "We'll see you later, Mr. Kaplan, Miss Claire."

"You bet," said Miss Claire.

"Have fun!" Mr. Kaplan called.

"That Team School thing of Mr. Kaplan's is kinda funny," said Summer.

"It's his tradition to do his act in front of new Ranger students," Miss April said as they walked through the school doors.

Summer glanced around the inside. Near the entrance were a few rooms that she assumed might be the classrooms. On the walls were portraits, most of them with different sceneries. Summer's favorite was of the ocean with a large boat, a blue fin that showed itself on the water's surface, and many Wingull and Pelipper in the sky.

Miss April noticed where Summer was looking. "All of those portraits show different areas of the Almia region." She looked at the ocean one as well. "That one is of Puel Sea."

"Cool." Summer stared at the portrait, imagining that she was on the boat and watching the Pokémon.

"Bidoof!"

Summer turned and saw a brown beaver-like Pokémon running towards them. She recognized it as the Plump Mouse Pokémon, Bidoof.

"Whose Pokémon is that?" Summer asked.

"That's one of Janice's Bidoof," Miss April answered. "She's the caretaker here."

"One of?"

Miss April nodded her head. "She has nine Bidoof and lets them all wander around the school."

When the Bidoof reached Summer and Miss April, it stopped and stared at them.

"Hello, little Bidoof," Miss April smiled. "Having fun today?"

"Come back here, Bidoof!"

"Bidoo!" The Pokémon's eyes widened, and it started to run again. Summer and Miss April watched it go and turned around when they heard running footsteps.

A boy with red hair turned the corner and chased after the Bidoof. "Come on!"

"Keith!" Miss April yelled, but the guy named Keith paid no attention. He ran past them and accidentally struck Summer on her arm.

"Ow!" Summer whined and rubbed her arm. She glared at Keith, but he hadn't even noticed what he had done.

"Keith!!" shouted Miss April, louder this time.

"Not now," Keith yelled back, obviously not realizing who he was talking to. "Bidoof, get back here! I need to do a Capture on you!"

Bidoof went through the slightly opened doors and away from Keith. He followed, pushing the school doors wide open and disappearing.

Miss April sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "That Keith... even on the weekends, he can't follow hallway rules."

"Who is he?" asked Summer, still rubbing her arm.

"That's Keith Dazzle, one of your classmates. He's studying to be a Ranger, just like you."

'That figures,' Summer thought. Aloud she said, "Please tell that he's a little more polite than that."

"He is," answered Miss April. "Well, now that you've briefly met Keith, it's time for you to meet your other classmates. Most of them are up in the dorms. The staircase up here leads up to them."

Miss April started to walk in the same direction that Keith had come from. But instead of turning, she kept going straight and climbed up a staircase at the end of the hallway. Summer followed and started to climb.

Summer looked around as she and Miss April reached the top of the stairs. Many students were up there doing different things. Most of them were eating dinner, and a few were writing letters. A brown-haired woman, who Summer guessed was Janice, was near one of the tables and keeping an eye out for any trouble.

"This here is the commons. You may do whatever you want in here, as long as it's not against the rules."

"Hi, Miss April!"

A curly-haired blonde girl at one of the nearby tables ran up to Summer and Miss April.

"Hello, Rhythmi," Miss April greeted. She turned to Summer. "Summer, this is Rhythmi, another one of your classmates. Rhythmi, this is Summer Montgomery, our new student."

"Nice to meet you," Summer smiled at Rhythmi, who smiled back.

"Nice to meet you, too, Summer," Rhythmi said.

"Rhythmi, would you mind showing Summer the girls' dorms? I'm afraid I have things to do before bed."

Rhythmi nodded. "Of course, Miss April."

"Summer, you have me as your teacher, so I'll see you there tomorrow."

Summer nodded. "Okay. See you tomorrow, Miss April."

Her teacher smiled and climbed down the stairs.

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

Word count: 2179

Words spoken by the pilot are courtesy of https://airodyssey.net/reference/inflight/#takeoff