Battle Tactics Class #1 - Instructor: Catherine Eisenberg

[Catherine Eisenberg]

There were a few students that refrained from answering, but the majority of them did, in fact, give an answer. Going by the majority of the responses, though, some already seemed to be on the right course, while others had already declared their personal favorites, even if they themselves had yet to realize it. That was good! Very good. What was not good when a question that was just so unbelievably stupid was uttered into the same space as all those heartfelt responses floated about. Just. . . how was she supposed to respond to that, exactly? Really, it should have been obvious that she was crippled. And, while being asked about it didn't bother her, it bothered her that a bulking individual, likely in the mid-teens, possibly lacked the basic problem-solving skills to put one and one together. In her head, she sighed. Outwardly, she maintained the casual, almost welcoming expression she had been.

”Young man,” She started, fixing Cameron with her gaze, ”I'm going to hope that that was a bad attempt at humor, as a degree of common sense and problem solving skills are necessary for this class.” Was it professional? Probably not. However, she was not trained to be a teacher, nor to be socially “acceptable”, so professionalism was not really on the top of her necessities, if something like that popped up. With that, hopefully, taken care of, she then focused her gaze on the student body as a whole. Some had slipped in. Only one or two did so without making noise. She didn't miss a beat, though.

”Back to the topic at hand, it seems that a number of you have already decided your favorite Type of Pokemon, and others seem to already be on the right course. The answer to my question is simple: There is no 'best Type' of Pokemon, contrary to what some elitists might tell you. As trainers, it is your responsibility to not get lost in a sense of mechanization with your Pokemon. The best Pokemon in the world are those that are your favorites. Whether your favorites are bound to a single type, or even just to a few select species, is irrelevant. What matters is that you've chosen your Pokemon because you want them, not because you desire to be the strongest.” She paused, letting that sink in for a moment, before whistling slightly. The Arcanine, despite having seemed to be slumbering, rose at attention, standing tall and approaching the woman.

”You might be wondering what the purpose of this class is, if I'm telling you to discard the ideas of 'best' and 'worst', but it's really quite simple. I'm not here to teach you a perfect setup that will, unerringly, lead you to win against all opponents. No, something like that is impossible. What I'm going to teach you is to think outside of the box, to utilize what resources you have, to best increase your chances of victory, no matter what opponent you may face. The purpose of this class is not to teach formulas, but concepts, as I believe a trainer that has stuck to their favorites, yet manages to overcome their trials, is superior to the trainer that puts together a team based purely on the 'superior strength' that the entrants have.” She leaned over to the side and stroked the huge canine's back.

”What I encourage is to adopt themes for your teams, or just to adhere to your favorites. Outside of Culaine here, every Pokemon I have, or have had, was Dark or Ghost-typed, or would eventually evolve into these two types. They are my preference- my 'favorite'- if you will will. The original theme of my team revolved around the neutralization and destruction of Psychic-type Pokemon. While this is no longer the intention of my team, the fact still stands that they can fill this role quite easily. Despite having primarily these two types, however, I've never lost a match- against students back when I was a student, against random trainers in my travels, and even against Gym Leaders during the Gym Challenge. Because of this, I'm telling you now that there's no need to cling to stereotypes when building your team. Select what you want and roll with it. After that, this class will help you to think outside the box and combat any shortcomings they may have. Battling is as much a science and art as it is a sport, and I'll help you perfect your talent to the best of my abilities.” She brought her hands together on her desk, folding her fingers together.

”If you disagree with my motto in regards to this class, then it may be best that you instead choose another instructor, when the option presents itself. Again, I will not be teaching you 'ideal' setups, only how to best utilize what you have available.” She allowed the silence to settle for a moment. She had spoken for a bit, but that was the nature of a lecture. ”Now, with that said, does anybody have any questions before I go on?”

[Oleg Kirrlov]

Oleg tapped his chin for a moment. Yes, that did make a lot of sense, when brought up in that light. Everyone had their favorite type, and he did begin to see how his personal preferences had affected his answer. He had specifically taken Walter as his starter because he just liked the electric type, and he had grown to love it even more simply by getting to know the elekid (now electabuzz) closer. He stroked his chin for a moment before nodding to himself. He then leaned back, happy at his little self revelation he had, glancing at the others, waiting to see if they had any questions.

[Tanya Christianson]

All sorts of different answers were chucked around the classroom and while Tanya did have other stuff to say in response to those statements, she decided against it. She raised her eyebrows in shock when one kid asked about why their teacher was in a wheelchair. What the hell was he thinking? You don't ask those type of questions. She almost didn't believe someone could say that to a teacher, especially on their first day.

When the teacher started talking though, Tanya payed complete attention. She was impressed by the way that she handled the kid and she tried her best to suppress her giggling. She was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of her ire, because the look she was giving the boy was like she could've killed him.

Listening to her teacher speak, Tanya was entranced by the words. She had an air about her, one that made her want to listen to her. She was glad to know that the question they were given was a trick and that there was no best type. That was a bombshell averted. She smiled, completely focused on the words that she had to say.

Tanya didn't fidget. She didn't want to talk to anyone, all she wanted to do was listen to her teacher. She hung off every word she said, her eyes sparkling with wonder when she revealed that she never had lost a single pokemon battle. Thinking out of the box was what she wanted to do. She wanted to surprise people with unorthodox tactics and she wanted to be the best trainer she could be. She could completely get behind what Miss Eisenberg was teaching.

At this point, Tanya was too starstruck to realize that she had finished speaking. Shaking her head, she snapped herself back into reality. While she did want to ask why she wanted a team to crush Psychic pokemon, she didn't want to receive the same death glare that the other kid did, so she elected to stay silent, instead, bouncing subtly in her seat as she waited for the rest of class to start.

[Deleted]

William listened as the teacher explained how they were all right, yet wrong. That's how he understood what she had said anyway. It was fairly interesting so far. Apparently Miss Einsenberg hadn't lost a single match against any other students back in her day, which must have been quite a feat. However Will did question if she lost against any Wardens she might have faced off, for they probably knew quite a bit more than her at the time. Either way however, she appeared to be a force to be reckoned with. Surely however, she would lose against the Headmaster. For he had to be a force to be reckoned with. After all, he was the founder of this school, as far as Will knew at least, so he had to be a skilled trainer.

[Kyrie Vyler]

Oh, so there was no real answer. Well then, not only did Kyrie manage to let everyone in the class know she was a dimwit about this stuff but also make herself sound incredibly dumb compared to the other's more thought out explanations. She was also pretty sure that the ones that didn't answer were judging the rest of them too. Wonderful. Kyrie let out a soft sigh, placing her head on the desk as the teacher went on with the lesson. She hadn't the slightest idea of 'perfect way to battle' might've been so she just ignored that part. Actually she ignored most of what the teacher said, staring sideways at the arcanine instead. The most she got out of that was 'the teacher is dangerous, don't make the teacher mad' - (and yet here she was ignoring her for the most part).

It wasn't just the teacher she ignored but pretty much every new student that entered the classroom. Although one did catch her attention, the one who asked the cripple why she was cripple; but he was dismissed easily as 'the one who lacks common sense'. Otherwise, Kyrie had gone to petting her espeon companion while the teacher talked and the students listened.

[Crispin Yates]

Apparently before he had gotten into the room, someone had said something the teacher didn't find too funny.  He frowned, looking around at the other students, wondering what it could have been.  Judging by her words it was something really dumb.  It couldn't've been about her wheelchair, could it?  That would have just... no, he shook his head.  Surely no one would have had the gall to say something like that to a teacher.  More likely it was just a smart ass response to her question.  

As she continued on, he found himself not wanting to get up and wander off, for the first time in a long while.  He was admittedly worried when he had first heard of the class, expecting someone to tell him exactly what Pokemon he was expected to train and what moves he was expected to teach him.  Something like that would have given him his decision to leave the class right then and there.  What joy would he get from having to only use a specific set team?  He got antsy just thinking about it.  

Her words made him think to other things, though.  What was his favorite?  Did he really have one?  Sure Jove spent the most time out of his Pokeball, but that was just because he hid so easily in his hair, wasn't it?  Cecillia felt like she was the most reliable to fight with, but that was just because she was so stubborn.  He hadn't had the chance to find very many others, other than his Abra, but... she wasn't really his favorite, either.  At least he didn't feel that way.

He tapped his desk idly for a moment.  She did say to pick what he liked and roll with it, didn't she?  That didn't mean he had to settle on one specific favorite.  Supposing that was that he nodded, leaning back casually into his seat.  He tried to think of a good question, but came up with none.  Chances were some would come to him later, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

The teacher gave a response back to the class in regards to the typing choices. As it would seem, Sonia's choice of words weren't too far off from what the teacher was looking for. To her, there was no best type. Moreover, the woman suggested that each of them develop a "theme" for their own teams. Could she really make a theme out of her own team? There didn't seem to be anything all of her Pokemon "revolved around" one bit. Luckily, themes were something she could worry about later.

The teacher went on to describe her own journeys as a trainer a little bit, as well as giving a bit of insight as to her team's theme. Ghost and Dark types seemed to be her focus above all, minus her Arcanine. However, one thing puzzled Sonia. This woman, undefeated and well-traveled, certainly couldn't have gotten around all of those regions in a wheel-chair, could she? Sonia raised her hand, asking a question. Out of curiosity, how did you travel around? It seems unlikely that you traveled around in a wheelchair the whole time. She wasn't sure what she was expecting as an answer. But she was expecting just so; an answer. Perhaps she was expecting something cool?

[Alice Geissler]

She listened intently to the teacher's speech and it was good that she appreciated her answer. Many answers from other students seemed to satisfy the teacher as well. There were some who gave out a different answer like how different types had the potential to do different types of damage. Ghost types were her favorite though as she was interested in the paranormal and other creepy stuff. She seemed to be open to different types as well, judging that she had used a Surskit, Aerodactyl, and Snivy. Well, it was for a balanced team, but other Ghost types could fill in the gap. Like for example, Frillish and Gastly could be perfect contenders for a team full of Ghost types and other Pokemon could fit the bill as well. Well, some people might have a way to counter these Ghost types and it would be a good idea to make a different strategy for this team.

[Seria Floria]

Seria blinked as the teacher seemed to take stock of everybody's answers. Then, she began to explain how there was really no such thing as 'best' or 'worst' after all. Then the importance of just choosing what you liked or choosing some sort of theme was emphasized. She explained how the better trainer was one who could up the odds in the face of adversity, over someone who just chose their lineup based on sheer power and superiority. Seria scratched her chin and thought of her own Pokemon. Truth to be told, Seria just based everything she knew from the time she spent with her parents, and she only really liked Pokemon she considered cute. She didn't really look intentionally for strength in Pokemon.

She would indeed try her best to take advantage of her own Pokemon's strengths, and attempt to compensate for their weaknesses, and judging from what Miss Eisenberg said, this was a class about teaching concepts and fundamentals, versus teaching what was 'ideal,' so Seria was perfectly fine with this. She could definitely respect this kind of teaching versus someone who wanted to provide a win button. Seria quietly continued to pay attention to the class, without having any questions in mind.

[Astrid Sherinian]

Ah, so that's how it was. Astrid suspected a trick question, but she didn't know which way it was going to go. In her mind it could have been almost anything, whether it was to teach humility to those who thought a very powerful type was the best, to encourage those who thought of an unorthodox answer, or if there really was an answer that no one had thought of. Either way, it seemed like her unspoken answer was better than the one she had actually given, and she had been over-thinking it. Electric types, along with steel, flying, fairy, poison...maybe dark...any one of them Astrid could call one she liked so far. And if her choice really was more important than an "ideal" team, then it seemed that she would do just fine in the class.

Then it came time to ask questions and, well, there wasn't much to ask. A few things came to mind, like if there was any type that just wasn't viable favorite or not, or if she had plans to teach about overcoming great and obvious differences in strength, but those would probably come up in time anyway. And the other thing she thought of, which she wasn't going to ask anyway after muscle boy's outburst, instead got asked right away by a kid up towards the front. So Astrid just stayed quiet and kept listening.

[Adolfina von Brauer]

It seemed that the teacher had managed to handle the super-sized idiot just fine. A bit too gently for Adolfina's tastes, but she couldn't complain with the air about it- it was basically calling him stupid, but, at the same time, taking into account the rudeness that was there, had he been intelligent enough to realize what he did. Of course, when the instructor began to explain the answer to the question, the blonde found herself pleased. She herself was thinking too hard, it seemed, as the message really was one of equality. While she could appreciate the Types her dorm was aligned with, she was more than aware of the fact that she couldn't get stuck on just those types. It wouldn't get her very far, after all.

It seemed that this was the class for the refined, though. Truly, the best path in battle was one that utilized every resource, no matter how unlikely. When faced with something that seemed “lacking”, the strong usually grew cocky and careless. Being weak was a strength in and of itself. Turning over her thoughts, Adolfina had to consider if she did have any questions or not. There was plenty she could ask, but a number of the questions were either entirely inappropriate for a class setting, or just rude and invasive. In other words, none of the lot were truly right to present.

And then another student, a girl, asked another invasive question. These students were so utterly and completely rude! E-even if she was also curious, but that was entirely beside the point. The point was that they asked personal questions as though there were no reason not to! What manner of imbeciles were these people?! Seething with rage and annoyance, the blonde kept everything bottled up, her eyebrow twitching. These lesser beings were certainly foul. That much was true.

[Amanda Dupomme]

Hands folded neatly in her lap, sitting quite ladylike. Amanda listened patiently to all the questions the other students posed. Unable to think of any herself. Instead, she found herself contemplating what the teacher had said. She hadn't really ever considered any particular type of Pokemon significantly more powerful than others. Rather, she answered simply on what she knew about the various Pokemon types and their dominance in matches. 

What Miss Catherine said made sense, she reasoned. A skilled trainer needed to know how to battle regardless of what Pokemon they used. Simply relying on powerhouses or type advantages could easily lead to defeat, as a more skilled tactician could use a superior bond with their Pokemon to secure a victory. This was something she had learned, watching the many battles at the Chateau when she was younger. All of the higher ranked trainers there often won that way.

[Annie Prince]

Much to Annie's relief, there proved to be no one correct answer to the question. And, better, the teacher explained that the best way to train Pokémon was to pick the ones you liked and make them be the best you could. That went over well with her; Annie had been drawn to Ice-types for a few reasons (including that she had heard they were good for countering Flying-types), and she was glad that this seemed to be a class to teach them to fight well with their own preferred Pokémon.

Annie largely ignored the other students' questions; some of them didn't even make any sense. Especially the... less-than-topical ones concerning the teacher's being in a wheelchair. If it had been relevant, surely the teacher would have mentioned it? As it stood, the questions were merely distracting.

[Catherine Eisenberg]

Silence settled on the group. Were they contemplative, considering their interest in the class, or just rethinking their beliefs with Pokemon? Either way, when a question was finally launched, it didn't even pertain to the primary topic at hand. Well, if nobody had a question regarding the topic, that was fine, too. It just meant she could finish up with what she had planned. Without a word, she reached over to Culaine again, stroking the dog's side. Her expression softened a bit. She was, honestly, slightly more relaxed than she was when class started, despite the small upsets.

”Well, that wasn't really what I meant by questions, but I'll go ahead and cover that now, I suppose. My alternative method of transportation is the thing I'm currently petting.” She calmly summarized the Arcanine's old duty. ”Culaine is strong, plenty fast, and loyal. While it's not the focus of the class, I'll just go ahead and say this: Battling is not everything you can do with Pokemon. Some enjoy just living with Pokemon, while others rely on Pokemon for support, just as Pokemon rely on humans. Ours is a mutually beneficial relationship, and one driven by faith and friendship. Remember that, regardless of whether or not you remain in my class.” She scanned from the right to the left. Then, she nodded.

”I have to say, I'm a little relieved that you're all well mannered. I wasn't sure what to expect, when they suddenly asked me to take this role. Ah, Dracula, you can come down now.” With that, something poked out of the ceiling. It looked like an overly large bandaged leg. As though caught on something, just the leg flailed about awkwardly before the figure suddenly popped free of the ceiling, dropping to the floor and stretching out. It was a Dusclops, and the only Pokemon that Catherine had on her team that wasn't fully evolved. There was, of course, a reason for that, but that was a topic for another day.

”Now then, that concludes everything I wanted to tell you today. This was partially a chance for us to meet, and partially just me setting the purpose of this class straight for you all. However, I believe in rewarding those that work hard.” While the Dusclops took his place at the other side of the woman's desk, she shifted her hand to the side of her chair. The kids could not see it, but she dragged a rather large briefcase to her hand using the telekinetic power she did have. No need to advertise it to the students, though. That was better kept a secret until later. Hefting up the case with what seemed like little difficulty, the woman set it flat on her desk.

”This contains numerous TMs that you can use on your Pokemon. For students that come to class within a reasonable amount of time and also refrain from raising a ruckus, I plan to allow one free usage of a TM of choice on a single Pokemon. Some days, I'll allow special rewards, typically dependent on assignments, or something of that sort. For now, though, please come up one at a time. You can use any one TM in this case on any one Pokemon. They don't disappear, so there's no limited quantity. It doesn't matter who comes first or last, you'll all be able to get a new Move you'd like. Take a moment to think about it, if you want. After that, you're dismissed. Or, if you don't want to use a TM, you can leave now, if you'd like.” She calmly noted before clicking both locks on the case open.

Note: All current students are free to accept the reward, as everyone was on-time and nobody did anything terribly stupid. For TM usage, you are, naturally, restricted to Gen VI TMs. You can not teach a TM move to a Pokemon that could not normally learn it. Furthermore, these are TMs only, and not HMs. If you plan to get a free Move, please specify what Move and on which Pokemon in your closing notes, similar to this block of text here.

[Oleg Kirrlov]

Oleg watched as the TM case was taken out and opened. He considered his options for a long while before standing up and heading to the case. He then went trough the case for a moment before picking up TM 13, Ice beam. He nodded his head in a thanking notion to the teacher, sitting down back to his desk as he released Rinnie the Swablu. He then petted the Swablu slightly before using the TM. Rinnie blinked afterwards, letting out a happy coo as he then recalled her, rising up from his desk and nodding his head once more to the teacher before leaving class. [Oleg has left the class]

Note: Used TM 13 Ice beam on Rinnie the swablu.