#1 Pokemon Breeding 101─Deirdre Brennan

[Sonia Strugatskaya]

As more students poured in, Sonia continued to cuddle Dasha in her seat. The young Growlithe wasn't about to complain, considering it was enjoying the attention just as much. Time passed as Sonia waited and pretty soon the girl was just about completely asleep. The only thing that managed to keep her propped up was Dasha propping herself against the desk so it could see the whole classroom. The small fire Pokemon looked around happily as its passed out trainer clung to it like a stuff toy. She would wake up soon; hopefully.

As the class began, Dasha's ears perked up as the teacher began the formal introduction. It listened intently to the human teacher's words, even following what she was saying as she pointed to the various Pokemon in the room. Though, it had no idea how to answer the question in regards to the eggs that the Rapidash was caring for. That would have to wait until her trainer was awake.

+1 Eggs

[Alice Geissler]

Well, the teacher had asked a question about why her Rapidash was able to produce those eggs. "Well, I think it's because he has an ability that can warm the eggs faster and make them hatch faster. It's convenient for anyone who doesn't want to wait a long time for eggs to hatch." The floating sword perked up and blinked curiously at the Rapidash, determined if Alice's answer was the right one to the teacher, but she had also noticed that one student was asleep in class. That didn't matter as they were here to learn about breeding different types of Pokemon. Maybe the Rapidash did have the ability, Flame Body, which made it easier to hatch eggs faster. She learned that some Fire types have the ability too and it was interesting to learn about it from an expert breeder. Yes, expert breeders were capable of being the only ones who were able to tell what kind of egg group did each Pokemon belong to.

[Kyrie Vyler]

The class begun with another short intro as the teacher introduced herself and her pokemon. Kyrie did note how the lady seemed to favor one leg as she walked about, though she dismissed that as it being her own imagination. Instead her eyes were more focused on the back, on the rapidash who had that similar feeling of Asmodeus her mischevious little sableye. Somehow the larger pokemon just stank of mischief. Then the question for the lesson came. Why was the giant horse in the background cuddling eggs?

Was this a trick question? Probably not seeing as how several of the other students were all giving their own answers, although they all seemed to match up in the end. The end being that the fire horse's warm body kept them warm and therefore would allow them to hatch faster, or something like that. Kyrie couldn't really understand. How was it that the fire-type's body didn't turn the poor things into boiled eggs? She knew that fire-type bodies were often insanely hot just like how the internals of ice-types were absurdly cold. In the end she never gave an answer, merely contemplating on how such a thing worked.

[Adolfina von Brauer]

The teacher introduced herself, even though her name was on the board. It showed a degree of sociability. More than that, though, she introduced her lot of Pokemon. While that was arguably unnecessary, the blonde began to understand once the teacher pointed out the fiery horse. With the presented question, Adolfina just blinked. Well, eggs hatched with warmth. Really, she didn't have anything to say, since the others covered it rather quickly. A Fire-type's body would, naturally, be warmer than others, meaning that it could help to hatch eggs. It made sense. And then other students went on to talk about the finer details of it. Either way, all would be covered in due time.

Half-holding, half-hugging the Whimsicott as she shifted her gaze back to the instructor specifically, she just watched and waited. No need to comment unless she had a chance for glory, and it seemed like others had access to details she currently lacked. No need to embarrass herself. Sometimes, it truly was smarter to remain silent. That was a lesson that a number of people really needed to learn. Pursing her lips together, she instead focused on her thoughts, leaning back in her chair as Diablo leaned back against her. Despite the fact that the blonde was not the gentlest of people, Diablo had no issues with letting her guard down around the girl.

Maybe that was a sign of something?

[Annie Prince]

Annie had been doing just fine not seeing that Tanya girl who had sat by her in Battle Tactics. That Tanya came in and insisted on sitting next to her and asking intrusive questions, again, was irritating at best.

Luckily, she was spared having to come up with an answer by the start of class. Ms. Brennan introduced herself and her Pokémon, which to Annie's amusement seemed to all be named for fruit, and asked them about why the Rapidash was curled up with eggs that didn't belong to him.

Thankfully, this class seemed to be off to a saner start than the Battle Tactics class had been; all the answers that people offered made at least some sense and no one said anything outrageously rude. Annie couldn't think of anything to add to the conversation, so she simply listened, paying attention.

[Seria Floria]

The teacher spoke loudly, but Seria still felt some sort of gentle aura from her. Regardless, she introduced herself as Deirdre Brennan, even though Seria already saw her name on the board. Seria just decided to go with 'Ms. Brennan.' Anyways, she pointed out that the Rapidash in the back, named Quince, was with three of their eggs, one of which belonged to the other two Pokemon accompanying the teacher. Then, she posed a question - why exactly indeed was the Rapidash taking care of the three eggs, when they didn't belong to him? Seria scratched her head and turned to face the flaming horse, who had been tapping a hoof on the floor.

Seria was still cradling Severa in her arms, and then soon realized that eggs would hatch over time on their own, but of course, warmth to some degree with facilitate that process. "Oh, that's right... Warmth helps eggs hatch faster, don't they? I can see why he would take care of them like that. Actually, that kinda looks pretty cute."

[Crispin Yates]

It didn't take long before the teacher stood, hobbling to the front of the room to speak.  He wondered absently what had caused her limp, but before he could think too much into it she started speaking.  It was pretty basic; her name, which they already knew, of course, and the names of her Pokemon.  He didn't see how the latter came into play, much, but figured she must have a reason for it.  She was the teacher after all, right?  As she continued, he assumed it must just have been to put faces to the topic of her question.  Still, it seemed... peculiar.  The others around him gave off answers, all of which seemed to be correct.  It made sense, after all!  The heat must have acted as some sort of an incubation system.  Wasn't it almost too simple, though?  Surely her first question of the class couldn't have been answered just like that.  Crispin clicked his tongue as he thought, frowning.  After a moment, and as more of the same answer was given, he shrugged it off.  If none of the students around him had any other ideas, that must've been that.  It was possible the teacher was just bluffing it as she went along.  If all she would be doing was giving off common sense questions throughout the class, he had a feeling he would end up quite disappointed. 

[Deirdre Brennan]

The students took almost no time in answering the question she had put forward. One had already taken out a notebook, and seemed to be scribbling away furiously. Deirdre wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or worried, but eventually settled on flattered. Eventually as it went around the room, it seemed like the group had the same general consensus. Her eyes sparkled as mischievously as her Rapidash’s, but she said nothing as they elaborated on their chosen answer in different ways.

After it seemed to have quieted down, she nodded in agreement. “You are all… mostly correct. It’s true that Quince has the ability ‘Flame Body’, which, while handy in combat is also a must have for anyone who plans on breeding often. The heat he produces helps the Pokemon grow faster in their eggs, cutting the time they need to develop in half. The ability ‘Magma Armor’ gets the same results. Even Ice and Grass types need the heat while they’re growing, as strange as it sounds. However, there’s another concept that’s easily overlooked in the breeding process. Like I had mentioned, one of the three eggs belong to these two next to me. It takes a huge amount of trust to simply let another watch over your unborn child─trust that takes time and energy to develop. On the other side of the coin, it takes a bond for one to even want to be bothered watching over eggs that aren’t theirs.

“Breeding Pokemon is more than just hooking up a couple of them and taking what results. Sure; you can get Pokemon that way. But without trust between you and your Pokemon, and among your Pokemon themselves, it can be a challenge.” As she spoke, she hobbled over to the desk and raised her arms up in front of her. Before they had even lifted all the way, Plum lept into them, her ribbon feelers waving happily. “The bonds you form can mean the difference between your Pokemon fighting among one another, and happily working together as a team. This concept works hand in hand with both breeding and battling.” Pausing for a moment to let her words settle across the room, she ignored her pounding heart. This was the one thing she was passionate about; the one thing she felt she knew well. The only problem was trying to help others understand the same feeling.

“What I hope to accomplish in this introductory class is help you learn to form that bond. It takes time and the drive to want to form it, but I feel that as long as that want is there it can be done. I’ve had Pokemon that others abandoned because they decided they were too ornery to ever possibly train well, calm to the point they could be partnered up with a child just starting off. It takes a caring hand, on which note, if any of you don’t feel that that’s something you can have with your Pokemon, then this would not be the class for you. Beyond that, I plan on helping you learn more of the basics beyond just having a Pokemon with Flame Body or Magma Armor, such as compatibility between types, natures, and the like. Were there any further questions about what I’ve just gone over?”

She was glad for the bundle of fluff in her arms and the calm she provided. While she was confident in her mini-speech and everything it meant, it was the first time she had ever put that fervor into words with the intent to teach. Yes, the earlier question was just a little tricky, but it should have gotten her point across. Always think of more than one possible result; the first one you think of may not always be the only one.

[Oleg Kirrlov]

Oleg blinked as the teacher went into a rather passionate explanation as to why the rapidash was taking care of the eggs. He could understand that, but was that not a bit too deep of a thought into it? Oleg was no expert, but he had never heard of that much trust and bonding going into egg breeding. From what he knew, they just made the egg and you warmed it up, simple as that. He shrugged to himself slightly, deciding to not question the teachers. It was simple. He was a student, they taught him. He could question them once he graduated.

[Tanya Christianson]

When the teacher started speaking again, Tanya realized this was going to be a subject that she was going to suck in. The words she was saying made little sense to her, so instead she just tried writing the key points of what the teacher was saying. Eggs? Half the time due to abilities? Her head was spinning a little as she tried to understand what benefit there was to getting the eggs hot.

As she started to talk about bonds, she started to become a bit more comfortable. Making bonds was something she was comfortable with. She liked being friends with her pokemon and she tried to make sure that the pokemon were feeling comfortable with her. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. If she just needed to worry about bonding with her pokemon, this could be cinch.

Oh how wrong she was. Compatibility? Natures? She had to think about these things when breeding as well? A part of her wanted to bury her head in the sand. When asking questions, Tanya's hand immediately shot up into the air.

"Why does heat cause eggs to hatch quicker? Like you said that Flame Body and Magma Armor decreased the time required for the egg to hatch, but why does that happen?"

[Kyrie Vyler]

Now Kyrie still didn't get why gets didn't get boiled over when they were put next to a pokemon whose ability was quite literally something that burned another pokemon. She got it that eggs were meant to keep warm to hatch but other than that, the girl just couldn't wrap her head around it. It was another girl who voiced the very same questions that were buzzing in her head, saving Kyrie having to do it herself. That was, if she was going to actually ask.

Then the teacher moved to bonds. That Kyrie understood even less. Her pokemon already had this sort of 'hierarchy' with Mammon being the leader. Now he could battle and do whatever without her order. Did that mean she had a particularly strong bond with him? She didn't know. She did know that the rest of her pokemon only listened to her because of Mammon. Well, except maybe a few but the most of them were like children in front of their parent.

But what really got her was 'compatibility'. Pokemon were like humans in the sense that each had their own personality and as such they could dislike each other just like people could. But the compatibility, did that mean the obvious 'rocks can't breed with mice' sort of thing or was it something else? Kyrie puzzled herself on that, thinking that there may have been a deeper meaning to it all. Her head choosing to ponder on it rather than actually raise her hand and ask the questions like she have.

[Adolfina von Brauer]

Adolfina listened to the lecture the teacher, Miss Brennan, was giving. It seemed, while informative, that it was also drenched in that moral “best circumstances” view. Frankly, Adolfina did not see these things- bonds and the like- as necessary. It was probably nice to have, and likely improved compatibility and success rates, but it was not something that the girl believed was inherently necessary. After all, she had forced two of her own together. More than that, she sold the egg to another student. Both Pokemon still served her faithfully. Within reason. Two others had been forced together with a strange student's Pokemon, and that worked out well enough. Outside of not actually getting an egg she desired.

And then someone asked why the heat aided hatching. Wasn't that common sense? Incubation helped further development. It was how a chicken hatched, so it only made sense for it to help with Pokemon. In regards to their resistance to heat, well, they were inherently stronger than an animal, Pokemon that is, so it only made sense that their eggs fostered the same kind of ridiculous resilience. Slowly, the girl nodded to herself, lightly squeezing Diablo. There wasn't much to say, given that they were all simply asked if they had questions. It was similar to the class with Miss Eisenberg. There was just less to say, though- and she didn't even say much in the previous class, either.

[Lilith Sinclaire]

Lilith's long, shimmering black hair danced behind her in the gentle breeze, as the young Mana dormer rushed out of her dorm room and into the directions of the classroom centers. She still couldn't believe that she had overslept, and was now running late for one of the classes that she was the most excited about attending this year. She came to Gray Garden Academy to become a stronger trainer. However, she also has desires to become a professional Pokemon Breeder and Pokemon Research. Therefore, she felt that Pokemon Breeding 101 would be the ideal class to enroll in. After a couple of minutes of jogging nonstop, Lilith finally arrived inside of the massive building that held all of the various classrooms. "We're almost there, Bellatrix!" She smiled, glancing down at the tiny Espurr resting in her dainty arms. Luckily, she didn't have a difficult time with finding the classroom.

Unfortunately, the professor had already started her lecture. A soft sighed escaped from Lilith's lips as she stood outside of the classroom door. She disliked arriving at places late. In fact, she viewed tardiness as being a rude manner. However, she was already late and she couldn't go back in time to arrive early, which meant that she would just have to suck it up right now. Taking in a deep breath, she would quietly make her way into the classroom and find an empty seat in the back of the classroom to prevent disrupting the professor's lecture anymore than she has already done. Hopefully, the professor wouldn't make it a big deal about her being late on the first day. Once taking a seat in the back of the classroom, she would place her Pokemon onto her lap then dig into her bag to pull out a pen and notebook to jolt down some notes.

[Alice Geissler]

And it seemed that her assumptions were correct. The Rapidash of the teacher's was called Quince and he had the ability, Flame Body which would make it easier to hatch eggs. She realized that her Honedge was dozing off in her own dream world, but later snapped awake as she heard the teacher talk about eggs and breeding. Isabeau blinked curiously at the Rapidash as she had never seen a fire horse in the classroom. That was to be expected since Quince the Rapidash was apparently from a region that had some Pokemon she had never seen before. Maybe that region had some interesting lore there too, but she could travel to regions like that. She noticed a girl about her age run into the classroom and took a seat in the back. Seats in the back were good for canceling noise. And her Pokemon partner was a furry cat-looking thing. The staring eyes didn't faze her however as she liked creepy things in general.

[Seria Floria]

Seria blinked as the teacher began to explain all sorts of things about the intricacies of having bonds and trust between one's Pokemon. She pondered over all these sorts of things for a moment. She was still idly cuddling and pampering Severa a bit with affection, which might be the reason why the kitty was mewling ever so quietly (as to try not to distract others, it seemed Seria had told her not to distract anybody beforehand). But regardless, Seria had heard similar things from her parents growing up. A strong friendship with Pokemon can unlock further power and determination, so they said. And it seemed that this teacher shared similar sentiments, though it was with more emphasis towards breeding.

Seria scratched her head. She hadn't actually ever tried breeding before, though. Perhaps she could learn some things from this class, even if it seemed... secondary to her own main goals. Seria still enjoyed learning new things. As she looked around, though, she spotted some people looking a little bored. Maybe this class isn't for them... Seria thought to herself, looking unimpressed with the kid who was spinning his eraser.