"Do I have to?" I whined, tugging on Dad's arm.

"Rose," he sighed.

"I can stay home and help you unpack!" I begged.

I looked up at him with my big round eyes. Honestly, I don't know how he resisted; I'm adorable. Nevertheless, he laughed, knelt down and tousled my head-fur.

"I know you don't like meeting new Pokémon, but hey, maybe they don't wanna meet you."

"How's that supposed to help?" I replied, annoyed.

"Well, if you don't want to meet someone you can avoid them and if they don't want to meet you, they can avoid you. Everyone wins," he explained, smiling.

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically.

"Anytime."

He stood, kissed me on the forehead and turned to leave.

"Dad!" I called.

He turned back with a sad smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure no one will want to meet you."

I tried to glare, but a small smile appeared on my face. A quiet laugh escaped my lips. Dad smiled and walked away, flicking me a wave over his shoulder. Just like that, he left me alone under the school gates.

I turned, looked at the Pokémon walking in around me and went in. I was feeling confident because of what Dad had said. Huh, you don't get it? Well, what he meant was, it's okay if I don't make friends straight away. I enjoy being alone; it's nice being left to my thoughts, and that's okay. Though I wouldn't mind a few close friends...

I marched into school. It was probably the biggest building in town. It was all under one massive roof. Inside, long corridors snaked between the dreadful classrooms of doom. Lockers lined the walls and doors were labelled with different numbers.

There were signs on the walls, and I followed them to the principal's office. Eventually, I found a door labelled 'Principal'. I knocked on the door and a voice from inside called me to enter. I walked in and saw a Delphox sitting behind a desk. She smiled at me.

"Hello. Rose, correct?"

"Yes," I said with a nod.

"Well Rose, welcome to Treeline Academy. You'll be in room thirty-six, with Mr. Ludicolo."

"Okay," I replied quietly.

"How about I show you the way?" She offered gently.

Delphox stood and walked around her desk. She escorted me down the halls and showed me my locker before continuing to the class. She knocked on the door before pushing it open. A Ludicolo grinned at us.

"Principal Delphox! What can I do for you?" Ludicolo said loudly.

"Mr. Ludicolo, this is Rose. She's a new student here and will be joining your class as of today."

Ludicolo grinned hugely. "Right, right, I remember now! Welcome Rose! Thank you Principal Delphox. Don't worry, she's in good hands."

Delphox smiled, nodded and walked away, waving me goodbye.

"Rose, come in and introduce yourself!" Ludicolo called.

I sighed and walked into the room. I stood up at the front of class. A large blackboard covered the wall behind me. Posters and maps were pinned up all around the room. I looked through the rows of desks and saw maybe twenty Pokémon offering me bored looks. In the third row back a familiar Zorua stared out the window.

I took a deep breath in. My knees knocked together. I'm not so good in front of crowds.

"H... hello everyone. I'm... Rose."

I looked around and saw Ludicolo gesturing for me to say something more. I struggled to think of something and had to swallow a lump that had grown in my throat before I could speak again.

"I look forward to meeting you all," I blurted out.

Okay, yeah, that's a flat out lie. I don't like being around others. Well, there is a few exceptions: Like my Dad, and... nope, just my Dad. Dad's the only Pokémon I like. Though, that Zorua has got me curious.

Ludicolo smiled. "Thank you, Rose. It's nice to meet you. Welcome to Treeline. I'm sure you'll find everyone here to be nice enough, but if anyone does mess with you, feel free to smack 'em."

The class laughed. My jaw dropped open. Ludicolo saw my expression and panicked.

"That was a joke! Please don't go around punching people on your first day... On your second day you can punch whoever you'd like."

My brows scrunched together, and I gave him a weird look.

He just chuckled and shook his head. "Anyways, let's get started. You can take a seat over there."

I did as told and sat on the far side of the fourth row. Ludicolo started teaching and before I knew it, I was staring out the window on the opposite side of the room. Right in my line-of-sight sat a certain Zorua. He was watching Ludicolo teach through interpretative dance.

I drifted off and found myself fantasizing about Zorua's secrets. I pulled a blank workbook from my bag and started writing.

I faced him down, glaring threateningly.

"Who are you? What's your name?" I demanded to know.

He grinned at me. There was a flash of light and he was gone... or was he? Zorua can create illusions. He could be hiding himself by creating an illusion in front of me right now! How can I know if any of this is even real?

I grit my teeth and looked around. Any old tricky fox Pokémon can create illusions, but this Zorua, he doesn't just create illusions: He lives them. What is the truth behind him? What's his story? I must know. I must uncover his secrets. I must learn, who is this master of illusion?

A bell echoed through the room, ripping me from my thoughts. I flinched and looked around. Pokémon were filing out of the classroom. I joined them in the lunchtime rush.

I hurried to my locker, grabbed out my lunch and moved outside. I found a nice, shady tree and sat under it, enjoying my food. I finished my sandwich and was just sitting there, but that's when I felt it; an Aura, a presence close by.

I focused on the aura and saw where it was hiding. I looked up into the tree branches above me.

"Hello," I said.

I couldn't see anything, but I heard a noise and a moment later a Pokémon appeared next to me.

"H... hi," it whispered.

I smiled. "I'm Rose."

"I know... I'm in your class," it replied shyly.

"Oh, sorry," I said, embarrassed.

"That's alright," she said.

Wait, I know what you're thinking: Plot-holes, am I right? Well, you're wrong. I'm not good with crowds, but I'm okay one-on-one even though I do like to be alone. Anyways, continue.

"I've never seen a Pokémon like you before," I said.

She smiled. "I'm a Sobble. My name's Lily. Like a water-lily."

"That's cool. Don't tell me, let me guess; you're a... normal type?"

Lily giggled. "No, I'm a water type!"

"Argh, I said don't tell me!"

Lily giggled again. After that we just sat and talked and quickly became friends. Funny, already I liked Lily better than any of the Pokémon at my last school. This place might not be so bad after all.

Just as that thought was crossing my mind, I spotted a red and black Pokémon sitting alone.

"Hey Lily, who's that?" I asked, pointing at the Zorua.

"Hm? Oh, that's Fable."

"Fable? You mean like a story?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Everyone calls him Silent Fable because he never speaks."

"Never?"

"Nope. He sometimes performs in town, doing illusions and stuff and he's pretty good, but he never speaks, so no-one ever knows what he's thinking."

"Does he get bullied?"

"No, everyone just sort of avoids him. No one really knows anything about him," she explained.

"H'm, interesting," I mused thoughtfully.

"Interesting? Rose, are you a creep?" She said jokingly.

"What? No! I-I just... I..."

"Oh, I see," giggled Lily.

I blushed. "It's not like that! I've never even met him!"

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you," she teased.

"Ugh," I groaned.

Lily laughed again. I rolled my eyes with a small smile.

You know, despite everything, I think I'm gonna like it here.

A/N: Righto, so now we have Main Character, Supporting Characters and... Mute Character? How do they fall in love if he doesn't speak! What have I gotten myself into...