#num open

"One medium hot chocolate to go, please." She took out her wallet, taking a five dollar bill out of it. Usually she would just use her card, but since she had some actual bills, she decided to use that instead. She placed the money on the counter as she waited for her drink.

Her Pachirisu popped out of his Pokeball and appeared on her left shoulder. He poked his nose in the air and took in the smell that the cafe, Coffee Creations, held. His tail soon started to wag, hoping that his trainer would allow him to have a sip of her sweet, hot drink.

Platinum reached over the counter and took her freshly made drink and turned towards the door, allowing the worker to have the three dollar tip. With the drink in one hand, she opened the door with the other, immediately welcomed by the autumn cool air. Quickly, she readjusted her scarf, working around the electric squirrel that was still sitting on her shoulder. Once she was set, she turned on her heels and headed right back to the school. She felt her small rodent companion curling up under her hair and around her scarfed neck.

"Come now, it's not even that cold. We've been in colder weather compared to this." She laughed, planting both hands firmly around the cup, taking in the warmth. Even though she didn't mind the cold, didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy the bit of warmth either.

"Chi!" The Pokemon squeaked with a small pout. It was obvious that he didn't care for the cold and would rather be at home curled up in Platinum's bed. 

A soft chuckle emitted from her throat. "Don't worry, we'll be going back to our room soon." She reached up and scratched Pachirisu's head, right behind the ear, too. "First, though, I wanted to walk around and get to know the place a bit better." Her response was a mere huff. The Pokemon knew that it couldn't argue against her about that, so he might as well suck it up and go along with it (too bad he didn't stay in his Pokeball). 

Now since that was taken care of once they arrived at the school grounds, Platinum glanced around to figure out where to go to next. She hardly saw other students, so she could only assume that they were out in the city, in class, or studying in the library or in their dorm rooms. 

The school yard was empty. Leaves of many colors scattered everywhere on the ground, covering just about every surface it could. She looked up and noticed that the nearby trees were close to being bare, causing the area to look more open. 

A sudden cold wind whipped through, soon reminding her that she had a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. She was more than happy to take a sip of it and feeling it warm her insides. A soft, small smile appeared on her lips as she walked on across the school yard and to a bench that was placed underneath one of the bare trees. Platinum leaned down and brushed away the fallen leaves before taking a seat.

It was autumn in Nimbasa City and the university campus was littered with vibrant leaves painted shades of orange and red. It was a beautiful sight, to say the least, but the chill that ran through the air couldn't help but make Crystal shiver. Regardless, she liked autumn a lot, mostly because she loved to wear sweaters and pumpkin-everything was in which was also a bonus. Rubbing her cheeks that were tinged a light pink from the cold, she walked about on campus, contemplating where to go due to the fact her next class was cancelled.

Crystal sighed, looking at her schedule on her phone. Her next class wasn't for another 3 hours and she didn't even have any studying or assignments to do. 

She could always go and get a cup of coffee, the bluenette contemplated. Then she shrugged; she already had three cups this morning, perhaps it was best not to push herself with the caffeine. Sighing once more, Crystal found herself sitting on a bench, messenger bag sitting on her lap. Digging through it for a moment, she pulled out one of the many books she had inside. While not a class assigned book, Crystal enjoyed reading and had nearly forgotten that she had The Hobbit by Tolkien stuffed away in there. It was a classic, one she had read countless times, but despite that she always found it as a great book to read when she was feeling stressed.

A tremendous pale white tree, which acted as a bridge across a once lively creek, now served as a sitting stage for the ever patient, ever prim Wallace. He'd placed ads around campus, asking students and teachers alike to visit the wooded area near the outskirts of the city limits, but no one seemed to show up. His flyer wasn't particularly particular with the why, stating only that he was ensuring a "soul-breathing and mind-refreshing experience." Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. He was likely banking on the idea that the vagueness would gather a crowd of more curious individuals.

Evident by the erosion-eaten walls and land layers, the creek below, now nothing more than a piss stream, was once a great source of nourishment for Pokemon. The remains of stringbean tree roots sprouting from said walls lending more to Wallace's solemn demeanor—as he knew they would never reach full adulthood—dying off just as others peek out from the soil.

With lots of a new students showing up on campus, this could only mean one thing...... New potential opponents. Picking them up, one by one, the ponytailed trainer points out the newer faces.

Loose fabric pieces lead a trail from a duskdim hallway to a classroom  tucked in a corner of Nimbasa University's Arts ward. The light of a small flexible lamp peaking out from an otherwise dark room, giving vibrancy to the colored scraps nearest the doorframe.

At the large table situated in the front of the classroom sat Wallace, shuffling through slabs of folded cloth and reels of hair-thin to skin-thick thread. The wafty nature of his movements cause the shadows thrown up by the lamp to dance in reflected hues; a sight to be seen even when not perfectly placed against the blackness of night.