"!!!"
Looking at their new classmate, who was severely injured, the other students were mostly speechless.
They couldn't understand what he could have done to sustain such serious injuries; even being attacked by a wild Bewear wouldn't be this bad.
And that wasn't even the most important thing. If he was so injured, why wasn't he in the hospital? Was attending school really that important to him?
"Uh…"
Professor Kukui was the first to recover from his shock, then he asked with concern, "This… you're Hoshino, right? Although I don't know what you encountered on your way here, I should take you to the infirmary first."
"Just battle damage, it's nothing serious…"
Hoshino waved his hand, then looked up, allowing the students to finally get a good look at him. His forehead was wrapped in a bandage, and his face had some band-aids, which didn't negatively affect his decent looks, but his demeanor became more "amiable."
Just as they saw his appearance, the student previously called Sun by the class monitor seemed to recall something and exclaimed in surprise, "He seems to be the one I told you about before…"
The petite blue-haired girl sitting at the desk next to him paused slightly at his words and subconsciously asked, "Is he the one who was speeding, attacked a police officer, and then committed a hit-and-run?"
"Yes!"
Their conversation was a bit loud, and almost everyone had heard it. But just then, the bob-haired girl wearing a red hat… who was the class monitor, suddenly seemed to think of something as well.
"Do you remember last week's news? It said a student from our school was beaten up, but because he was a minor, his name wasn't mentioned."
"Hmm, what about it?"
"There aren't many students in our school; we see each other all the time. I don't know about the university campus, but as the class monitor, I'm familiar with all the students here. Yet, after that incident, everyone still attended school normally, and we didn't see anyone missing."
"Wait, could he be…?"
All the students were a bit shocked. This was Alola's biggest incident this year since the explosion at the Aether Foundation headquarters two months ago, which caused no casualties, and the person involved was right here!
At this moment, a sunny young man who somewhat resembled Kahuna Hala suddenly spoke, "My grandpa mentioned this incident. In this case, the student actually made the first move!"
"As for why he was severely injured, it was because he accidentally injured himself when he tried to make his Pokémon attack someone else. But because he was a minor, he got away with it completely and even received a large sum in compensation. However, don't go spreading this around…"
Although he said that, everyone had already heard it. Originally, they had been looking forward to their new classmate, but now they suddenly felt a bit panicked.
Even those who had previously said they wanted to battle the new classmate felt the same way now.
"What a ruthless person this is!"
Attacking a police officer and committing a hit-and-run, actively provoking a vicious Trainer, and even making his Pokémon attack the opponent—although it didn't succeed, he successfully extorted compensation using the special buff for minors and sent the other party to jail, while he himself got away scot-free…
The only one who didn't speak was the girl sitting by the window. She had been carefully observing Hoshino, as if trying to recall something.
"Could this person be…?"
Hearing her murmur, the class monitor, sitting at the front desk, turned her body and looked at her, asking curiously, "Lillie, you know him?"
Lillie nodded, then shook her head, responding, "Earlier, when I was rushing for the bus in the morning, I saw him collapsed by the sea, so I dragged him back and had Professor Burnet take care of him. But when I went back after school in the afternoon, I heard he woke up and anxiously ran away…"
"Is that so… He was rescued and then immediately fled. Clearly, there's a problem!"
After a moment of silence, the class monitor made a decision. She then stood up and declared with a serious expression, "Teacher, although it might be rude to say this to his face, I do not agree to this new student joining our class. He is too dangerous. As the class monitor, I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of every classmate!"
"Even if you don't agree…"
Professor Kukui was in a difficult position now. How was he supposed to know this guy was so outrageous?
Although this class had plenty of problem students, who would have thought that someone whose very existence represented a problem would also show up?
He didn't know why Hala hadn't explained everything clearly, but since he had agreed to it, he couldn't refuse now. So he could only ask about the situation first.
But before he could ask, Hoshino scratched his hair, his eyes half-closed, and said listlessly, "It seems everyone doesn't really welcome me, huh? Maybe I should just go back…"
"Wait!"
Professor Kukui quickly stopped him, then turned to the class monitor and said, "Moon, since Hoshino has been assigned to our class, everyone should get along well!"
He then looked at the rest of the class and continued, "Besides, you haven't truly gotten to know him, have you? You've only heard things, right? A person's good or bad cannot be judged by mere impressions or rumors; it requires interaction and time!"
"…"
At these words, the classroom instantly fell silent, including Moon, the class monitor, because they indeed hadn't interacted with him to understand him.
But Moon was still uneasy. After a moment of thought, she said to Hoshino with a serious expression, "Please allow me to apologize for what I just said about you. It's true that one cannot judge a person's character based solely on impressions, but one can through Pokémon!"
"…"
"The raising of a Pokémon is related to the Trainer's dedication, and one can also see the bond with the Trainer through battles, and so on. Therefore… please have a Pokémon battle with me!"
Hearing Moon's words, the other students, including Lillie, were instantly surprised, because the class monitor was the strongest among them.
Whether it was during daily battle practice or after-school sparring among classmates, she had never lost.
Professor Kukui, however, breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard the story of someone defeating Hala, so he put his hands on his hips and asked with a smile, "Hoshino, what's your answer? Moon is very strong!"
Hoshino hadn't anticipated this turn of events and replied, "A Pokémon battle? What a coincidence, I've never lost either (referring to having only fought one battle)."
"Oh~"
Moon's interest was instantly piqued. A slight curve appeared at the corner of her mouth as she smiled and said, "Then I look forward to your performance. Let's go to the field now!"
"Wait!"
Professor Kukui quickly interrupted their conversation, then said in a stern tone, "It's class time now. The battle can wait until after class!"
"Alright…"
Moon was slightly disappointed, but it was just until after class, which would be soon.
Seeing this, Professor Kukui turned and said, "Then Hoshino, please introduce yourself so your classmates can get to know you."
"Okay, my name is Hoshino. Nice to meet you."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Then you can choose your own seat. Any empty seat at the back of the classroom is fine. Textbooks and other things will be prepared for you shortly."
"Okay."
Hoshino still looked listless. After nodding in response, he swayed unsteadily, dragging his injuries as he walked towards the back.
All the students' attention was on him, as if they were afraid he would suddenly come closer. No one responded to his self-introduction just now.
"Completely isolated, huh…"
That's why he disliked school. Even in his previous life, he was always a loner, without friends, and his life later was the same. He had long grown accustomed to it.
However, this had nothing to do with his love for Pokémon. It wasn't that he was introverted; it was simply a matter of personality. Humans generally couldn't get along with him.
Hoshino walked directly to the empty seat behind Lillie, and even explained, "I like sitting by the window because I can look at the scenery when I wake up."
"…"
The others were speechless again. Was he here to sleep at school? Of course, this was just an excuse Hoshino deliberately made. While standing by the podium earlier, he had heard all of everyone's conversations.
He also knew that the young lady Professor Burnet mentioned when he first woke up, who had picked him up from the beach, was Lillie!
So, as he passed by her, it was the first time he showed any other expression since entering this classroom. He smiled and softly said, "Thank you."
"Huh?"
Lillie was slightly stunned, thinking she had misheard something, and subconsciously turned her head to look.
However, Hoshino had already triggered his instinctive reaction and quickly lay down on the desk to sleep…
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