Paradise Pokeball System

PP SYS Ch 36: Trivial, At Best

I just sat there, and I was handed a plate of hot food from the big muscled mustache man, and everyone started to argue about me. I just ignored them all and looked down at the plate I had been given that had some green vegetables and a white sauce, with some kind of fish on the side. I took a bite, and it was surprisingly delicious, but before I could ask what it was called, everyone started to debate again.

"I think he is too old to be here!" The purple-haired woman said.

"Nonsense, Raifort! He has proven himself capable despite his age!" Jacq yelled back as Saguaro just chuckled and scooped up more food onto my plate from his own pile of leftovers from earlier in the day.

The argument went on for another few minutes until Geeta cleared her throat and clapped her hands together once for attention. As the previous defending champion for the elite four, she had a commanding presence.

"Enough! We have all seen Landon's potential, and we must trust that he is here for a reason. He has already been through so much in his short time here, and I believe that he will find his way." Geeta said before smiling at me gently as everyone else followed suit. "Now, eat up!" She added with another laugh, and the conversation shifted to other topics again as I ate my lunch quickly before heading back to class with Hassel.

"That was quite the show, Landon! I am sure that you impressed everyone at that table," Hassel said with a laugh as we walked back.

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"They all seem like nice people, though," I said, and Hassel smiled again.

"Yes, they are all amazing people who have been together for years on this island. They are family to me." He replied with a sigh before snapping out of it and patting my back before pushing me into the classroom gently. "Now, let's get back to work!"

I set back to work, but this time I didn't question what I was doing. I just worked and poured my heart out as the sweat started to roll down me. Even with the fan, the marble dust was starting to coat my moist skin. I worked with precision as I chipped and sanded out every detail of Lusamine. She was from the waist up, and her elbow was in her hand with her other hand on her chin as she smiled warmly. I didn't know what she was going to think about it, but I gave it my all.

When I was done, I looked up at the clock, and there were still ten minutes left in class, so I sank back into the chair. The statue was close to a replica of Lusamine, but I still needed more practice if I wanted to make something that was more life-like. Still, this did look good.

"W-What is this?! Who could be this amazing goddess?! This statue is the incarnation of art in its most exquisite form! Landon, you are an artist!" Hassel cried out before going over to the statue and touching it almost lovingly.

"Thank you, Sir," I said with a small smile as I wiped my face off with a towel that had been left on the table.

"Now, we must make sure that this sculpture is placed in one of our galleries here at Uva Academy! It's only right for something like this to be seen by everyone! You have truly created something amazing here today Landon," Hassel said before patting me on the back and motioning for us both to leave, but not after cleaning up first.

My heart nearly leaped in excitement, but then suddenly, Lusamine came out of the Paradise Ball, and both Hassel and I froze. He did because he had no clue what was going on, but I was terrified about what was going to happen next.

We had not settled any differences yet, and if Lusamine wanted to, she could make my life here very hard. Thankfully she wore non-revealing clothing, but I was more worried about what was going to come out of her mouth.

I watched as Lusamine slowly walked around the table, making Hassel trip over his own feet. I was so stunned that I just watched it happen, frozen in place, waiting for a bomb to go off.

"This work is trivial, at best, Landon. I think that you should put this in the garbage, so people do not have to see this poor excuse for art. If you are going to do art of me, they at least make it a fraction of my beauty if you expect to impress me even slightly," Lusamine said and then looked at Mr. Hassel on the ground. "This disgusting creature is your teacher, and he approved of this?" Lusamine demanded, and Hassel spoke up.

"Yes! But you are much more radiant! I had no idea the canvas that he was pulling from! You are a goddess like no other!" Hassel acclaimed while still on his knees, but Lusamine looked down on him with disgust.

"Flattery will get you nowhere. I must say, I am still unimpressed with the work," She said before looking back at me. "And you, Landon! You are not even trying to make something that resembles me! What is wrong with you?!"

Suddenly, Lusamine spun and kicked the statue, making it explode. As the dust fell, Hassle started to sob, and Lusamine stared daggers at me. I gulped and then cleared my throat; this was definitely not how I wanted our second conversation to go.

[Don't panic, just stay calm.] Cryo said in my head. [Lusamine may be intimidating, but she is also a woman who wants what is best for Pokémon; you might not understand it yet, but this is progress. Like you thought, she could have done something that could have caused you serious problems, but so far, she has been what I would consider reasonable.]

Cryo's words gave me the courage to try and talk; I knew that he was right. Lusamine wasn't here to make my life miserable; she wanted what was best for Pokémon, even if it meant being hard on me. That made her more of an ally than a foe in my book.

"I'm sorry," I said before looking up at Lusamine and meeting her gaze with a straight eyebrow. "This is only my first attempt at sculpture making, so please be patient with me as I learn."

Lusamine seemed taken aback by this answer but then nodded, slowly returning back into her ball after giving me one more narrowed-eyed look. She had also used her fingers to point at her eyes and then at me, and it didn't take much to know what that meant. At least it seemed to be making some headway with her, even if they were baby steps.