Chapter Text
The day started out like a dream, and Izuku almost thought it could’ve been. Honestly, the idea that he would actually be walking to the gates of U.A? It was like someone had ripped it from a good night’s sleep and placed him in front of it. Even as he waited silently on the train, his hands were shaking. His grip on his bag was vice, but he tried not to move it too much. That could risk either his prototype being destroyed or one of his partners releasing, and neither option was a good one.
Biting the bottom of his lip, he patted his cheeks gently. Right now he really needs to get his head into the game. The sea of students pushed him forwards, immersing him in the different types of students. Sometimes he could pick out the obvious courses, like the confident hero types or the studious business students. Before he could make any more observations however, something collided with him, sending him tumbling forwards.
Flailing, he fell towards the concrete, cursing his luck. Yet his face did not connect with the ground, and instead he was left floating. There was a huff of effort from someone to his right once he was released, leaving him stumbling. Turning, he came face to face with a girl with brown hair. Giving her a blinding smile, he rubbed the back of his neck, “T-Thank you for th-that! So-sorry if we bother-bothered you.” Whipping around, he gripped at Mei’s cheek and began to tug her towards the trickle of other support students. He missed the gaping expression of the hero hopeful, instead turning his focus solely onto Mei, “You could’ve given me a little warning!”
She pouted, shaking out her hair, “But where’s the fun in that, Izu?” Her cheeks were puffed as her grip shifted, falling solely onto her device. Izuku’s gaze fell to it, eyes lighting up, “You went with that?” Once the attention was directed away from him tripping, Mei lit up as well, “Yep! Do you have the new or the old one with you?” Rifling through his bag, Izuku carefully held up the blue and red ball, “The new one, I’ll just use the old ones that my partners’ are in as examples. Who do you think I should bring out?”
Together the two walked to where the Support Exam would be administered, since they performed their written exam separately. Mei had a slight skip to her step while Izuku hunched his shoulders, “You haven’t taken Ivy out much, right?” Once upon a time, while they were scavenging, Izuku had introduced Mei to all of his pokemon. Giving her a curt nod, he plunged his hand into his bag and felt at the keychain, “Yea, she only just agreed to being captured. Do you think it would be a good idea?”
His friend seemed certain as she nodded, brows drawn inwards, “I think this would be a great time, honestly. There’s not too many people and not too many pokemon either.” Izuku bit the inside of his cheek, gnawing gently, “I don’t think there’s any pokemon here at all, actually. I haven’t heard anything about it, at least.” Mei shrugged, “You never know, maybe Nedzu changed his procedures over the summer?”
He couldn’t fault her thinking, seeing as the world was slowly progressing onwards and acclimating pokemon into every aspect. Their discussion fell away as they entered the building, disappearing into the waves of the other students. The two clung together, desperately trying to not get separated until the testing started. Together they were pushed towards seating, and quickly claimed a place.
Everyone stayed ten feet away from them, especially since Mei had begun cackling and tinkering with her submission. Though, surprisingly, another boy came over and took the seat to Izuku’s left. He had quite the hair and Izuku was almost going to ask, when he noticed what the boy was holding. Gasping, Izuku raised a trembling hand, “Is that an Espurr?”
The boy jolted, causing the espurr to wince and garble something in pokemon language. Purple eyes roved over Izuku before the boy relaxed, a small smile spreading across his face towards the cat-like pokemon, “Yea, she was a gift from my mother, for testing today.” Izuku clasped his hands together, eyes growing starry, “Is it true that they really have an intense amount of psychic power?” Pushing his hands over his mouth, Izuku let a wry smile grace his lips, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Midoriya Izuku, I’m trying out for the Support Course!”
The boy stared at Izuku’s now offered hand, a single purple eyebrow raised as he gripped it, “Shinsou Hitoshi, I applied for the General Education track as a backup for the hero course.” Izuku nodded, hands returning to his lap, “So you’ll be in the second wave of hero applicants to do the practical?” Shinsou’s hand reached the back of his neck, rubbing at it, “Yea, how’d you know?”
Pursing his lips, Izuku tapped his fingers together, “I briefly considered applying for both the hero course and Support course, but I wouldn’t have been able to use my pokemon to help in any way.” That got Shinsou’s attention as he stared down the boy, “Pokemon as in, plural?” Beaming at the question, Izuku nodded, bringing out Ivy’s pokeball, “Yes! I have six currently, but part of my showcase for support is this.” He placed the pokeball into Shinsou’s hand, “Don’t open it, my togepi is extremely shy.”
Shinsou abided his request, being careful with the latch at the front. The other boy twisted the pokeball around, staring at it with such wonder that Izuku could’ve sworn that he had given him the moon. Soon the boy’s purple eyes landed back on him, hardening to what they had been before, “So how does it work?” Latching onto the sentence, Izuku began to fall apart into rambling.
He had tried so hard to avoid rambling to anyone, but maybe if he got it out now then he could avoid it during his presentation. Once his voice began to fail, Shinsou picked up the conversation, “That’s quite the accomplishment. You’ve never thought of just going to the Japanese Pokemon League and presenting it to them?” Izuku shuddered a little, understanding where Shinsou had been coming from. Biting his lip, he averted his eyes, “I frequent online forums for support device makers and I’ve seen so many horror stories attached to stuff like that I just…” His voice trailed as Shinsou’s eyes met his, watching as a spark inside lit the jade color with passion, “I want to be recognized for what I’ve done. I don’t want to be the undiscovered inventor of them for some indie teen to find some day in the future. My name should be attached to it, whether I have to force them to recognize it or not.”
Shinsou, in that moment, didn’t know what to say. The boy before him had seemed so demure, ready to cry at the most minor inconvenience. Yet now, as he stared down at the pokeball in his hands, he looked ready to conquer the world. If Shinsou wanted to be alive in that world, he knew what he had to do. Fidgeting around in his pocket, the lavender-haired boy held his phone out, “Here.”
Izuku jolted, looking between the phone and Shinsou, “..huh?” With shaky hands, the green haired boy took the phone, “Do you want me to…?” Blinking a little, he stared at the now bashful Shinsou. The boy grunted, waving an indecisive hand, “Yea, put your number in there. That way I can tell you more about Espurr and you can make me one of those ball things.” Even Izuku could see how weak the argument was but he didn’t, instead just following the boy’s request. Once the digits were input he quickly handed the phone back over.
Just as Shinsou opened his mouth, Ectoplasm entered the room, “All Support Course applicants, your practicals have been moved. Please come to me and take a card then proceed to the waiting room.” Mouth falling open, and feeling like a gaping fish, Izuku began to flail. They were doing the support practicals now?? He honestly hadn’t even mentally prepared himself for them, and was planning to do so after the written exam.
Shinsou shifted in his seat, making an obvious reach for Izuku, only to be cut off by Mei slamming to her feet. She gripped Izuku’s elbow hard, pulling him along, “Come now, business partner! We must be off and ready to present!” Yet Izuku still flailed, now tugging at Mei’s arm, “Mei! Let me go! I need to say-” Mei said nothing, only turning to where Shinsou still sat, “Greenie says bye, lavender head!” Now shutting his mouth with a snap, and trying to ignore the rising heat of embarrassment, Izuku trudged alongside Mei.
Soon enough they were in front of Ectoplasm, who gave the two a weary look, “Names?” Planting her hands on her hips, and releasing Izuku in the process, Mei slammed a thumb at herself, “Hatsume Mei, future CEO of Hatsume Industries!” Ectoplasm already looked ready to quit then and there, “Right, Powerloader will have fun with you. You’ll be Examinee number 3, Hatsume. And you?”
Standing a little straighter, Izuku gave Ectoplasm a small bow, “M-Midoriya I-zu-zuku, Ectoplasm sir!” This got a dry chuckle out of Ectoplasm, “Right then, you’ll be examinee number 5, Midoriya. You two go ahead to the waiting area.” Gripping the card that was now in Izuku’s hands, the boy practically skipped away from the pro hero. This was it! This was the moment that would make or break Izuku. What would he even do if he failed?
Pausing in the hallway, Izuku gulped dryly. He hadn’t even thought of that. What would he do? Shaking his head, Izuku brightened his expression. Thoughts like that would just ruin his performance. He had to keep a cherry demeanor, especially in front of the judges.
The other examinees went through, numbers flooding Izuku’s head until finally Ectoplasm was standing at the front, calling out, “Examinee number 5, it’s your turn.” As he stumbled to his feet, Izuku’s hand shot into his bag. Moving everything within it, he gripped his prototype. Lucky enough to find it, he released his vice grip and gave a breathy sigh. All he had to do was make it through the day and then he would be a-okay.
The moment he paused before the door, however, he could feel the crushing weight of his paranoia settling on his shoulders. His mouth felt like the desert, dry and burning. Clenching his hands, and subsequently digging his nails into his palm, Izuku tried to ignore the weight. It would not benefit him to collapse inwards and fall to self-loathing. Instead of letting his brain shutdown, he gripped the doorknob and dragged the door open.
Squeezing the straps of his bag he made calculated steps into the room, trying not to look at the judges yet. Once he had found his place behind the table, he finally chanced a glance upwards. What he saw, however, stole his breath away.
Right beside Power Loader and the other judges stood one of the Champion heroes of the Pokemon League. However, Cynthia was in her own league, even amongst the Champion heroes. Izuku could’ve begun rotating in place like a microwave plate, especially when he saw Cynthia’s Garchomp beside her, rubbing it’s foremost fins together in a small nervous fidget. He couldn’t ramble, however, especially because he had to begin his presentation.
Starting with a bow and a shaky smile, Izuku held in his sigh, “Thank you all for coming to my presentation today. For my device, I decided I would tackle a more niche audience.” Pulling two of his creations out, he placed them onto the table. Almost instantly all the eyes in the room shot to them. Grinning a little sharper, Izuku waved his hand palm up towards the balls, “These are pokeballs. They are a creation made for the storage and transportation of pokemon. On the left is one of my original designs, but it is currently holding my togepi, Ivy.” Grasping the red pokeball, he activated the release mechanism and watched as Ivy bounced onto the table.
One of the judges cooed while Cynthia hummed thoughtfully, “May I speak?” Jolting into a straightened position, Izuku gave the woman a curt nod. In response she gave him a slight smile, “This…ball doesn’t it seem too compact to contain most pokemon?” Brightening a little, Izuku gripped the prototype, “That is a very valid concern, but don’t worry the pokemon are comfy inside.” Clicking open the great ball, he placed it onto the desk, “Within the ball is a net-like filament that is also my own creation. While I was tinkering with ways to transport pokemon I came across an interesting discovery.”
He whistled, catching Ivy’s attention. She totted over, placing herself by Izuku, who began to scratch at the back of her head, “Pokemon can turn themselves into code. So I imbued the filament with a similar code that would hold the pokemon and transform the interior of the capsule into an approved environment.” Taking Ivy’s pokeball, Izuku clicked the mechanism, watching as the togepi disappeared into the red light. The pokeball gave an audible click, confirming the return, which left Izuku to stare at the judges.
Cynthia was giving him a thoughtful look while Powerloader was in awe over the filament inside of the great ball. He didn’t care much for what the other judges thought, because these two were the ones he really had to impress. Reaching a hand out for the great ball, Izuku relished in the feeling of the cold metal of the bottom, “There are two of my creations, otherwise known as pokeballs, before you. The original pokeball, the capsule with a red top and metal bottom, is quite weak still. So, today, I’m bringing you my newest prototype. This is the Great Ball.”
He held the blue and red capsule up, “I worked hard to improve the capturing portion of the pokeball, especially because some pokemon may be wary towards the idea of being kept within here. Originally I was going to show you how it works with Ivy, but a few weeks ago she allowed me to capture her with one of my original pokeballs.” Placing the great ball down, he looked over the crowd, startled to see that Cynthia had her hand up once more.
Giving her a quick nod, Izuku stepped away from the table. Her eyes drifted between the great ball and her partner, “If I may, I would still love to see this invention in action. May I use it on Garchomp?” Freezing, Izuku’s mind began to blank. That was a question he had never expected. Robotically, he took the ball from the desk and held it out towards her.
With a gracious smile she plucked the device from him, turning to motion for her garchamp to step forwards. She allowed for the shark-like dragon to sniff the device, looking back at Izuku, “Now then, how does this work?” Finally jolting into motion, Izuku stood beside the acclaimed hero. Clearing his throat softly, he used Ivy’s pokeball to start the demonstration, “So my suggestion, since you’re so close with your Garchomp, is to extend the great ball out towards them like you’ve done. Now Garchomp,” successfully catching the pokemon’s attention, Izuku continued, “if you’re ready you can go ahead and click the button on the center of the ball.”
Garchomp blinked, a low rumble emitting into the room. One of the judges took a step back, but Izuku didn’t mind. Once the pokemon was ready they extended their arm, pressing the button with the cone-like claw on the end of their arm. Just as Ivy had done, Garchomp disappeared into the pokeball. “Just a warning,” Izuku wanted to get it out the way quick, “the ball will shake to signify the pokemon settling and accepting the capture.” And then the first shake came. Cynthia blinked, watching as it shook the final two times.
Once the device gave it’s affirmative click, Izuku released the taut line in his chest, “Ah, that means Garchomp was captured. Now once you click the button it’ll release them.” Following his words, Cynthia quickly pressed the button, watching as Garchomp returned to the physical world in another bolt of red code.
The pokemon rumbled again, turning to look at Izuku. They looked him up and down before seemingly finding something, turning away to look at Cynthia with a nod. That got a small laugh out of the trainer, “Well it seems that Garchomp’s quite happy with the device after all.” Powerloader stepped forwards from where he was, clasping the claws of his costume together, “That was quite the presentation, I’m honestly quite sorry to say that your interview time is up, Midoriya. We’ll get back to you in a few weeks if you’ve been accepted, alright?”
Stepping to grab his bag, Izuku nodded fervently, “O-Of cou-course! Than-thank you for ha-having me!” Once he had gotten all of his materials together, and put Ivy’s pokeball away, the boy turned tail to leave. He didn’t hear the low conversation of the judges, only focused on getting out of there.
For once, though, he felt actually good about doing a school presentation.