If you asked little Maria what her favorite class was, she probably couldn’t tell you. Art, perhaps, though she wasn’t especially good at it; or maybe Physical Education, where she got to explore in the gym or play outside.

One thing was certain, though: it definitely wasn’t Pokemon Studies.

Maria knew that pokemon were an important part of her world; that trainers and battlers were superstars, and that pokemon played key roles in everything from transportation to entertainment to farming. But she herself had never really been that interested in them. During Pokemon Studies, she usually sat at the back of the class, scribbling in her notebook in crayon under the delusion that her teacher wouldn’t notice her.

Still, she was called on every now and then.

“Maria! I asked you a question!”

The young girl jumped in her chair and looked up, blinking. Mr. Cross lived up to his name, with his arms folded and his face unamused. “Um… yes?”

He sighed. “I asked which pokemon have reputations for trying to live as humans, rather than simply alongside us.”

“Um… uh…”

He looked disappointed. “Anyone?”

“Ditto!” One boy in the front row piped up. “And the Zorua family!”

“Correct.”

“Pfeh!” Maria scoffed, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “Ditto can’t even talk when they change, and half the time their faces are weird-lookin’ anyway. And Zorua can’t change anything about their real bodies. There’s still fur and stuff underneath the illusion!”

“I can understand the urge to dismiss them,” Mr. Cross said in the tone of the lecturer. “But vigilance is key. There are reports of Zoroark living uninterrupted human lives for years at a time before being found out. In fact, one high-profile trainer from Unova claims that a Zoroark carried on an entire conversation with her before deliberately revealing itself!”

Maria rolled her eyes. What a bunch of baloney. “Y’know,” she said, “I bet you’d have to be a real dope to get tricked by a Zoroark.”

---

Over twenty years had passed since that day in class, and Maria was no longer a young girl scribbling in the back of the classroom. Now she was a confident woman in the full flower of her adulthood. She worked an office job in the big city; nothing to write home about, yet nothing shameful, either. Her work gave her enough money for a decent duplex apartment in a good neighborhood and left her enough to take nights on the town—

And at the moment, she was having a blast.

Night Daze was a relatively new club, still attracting a hip crowd and bustling with energy and entertainment. Maria wasn’t always in the mood for clubbing, but when she was, Night Daze had quickly become her destination of choice. The venue was kept dark, with purple and maroon lights casting everything in warped shadows, and subwoofers on every wall that blasted the latest music. Tonight’s track of choice was deep, fast-paced hip-hop out of Alola with a thrumming, hypnotic bassline.

Pokemon were part of Night Daze, as they were part of everything everywhere. Even her own office had Porygon to serve as the first line of defense against malware attacks, Timburr and Gurdurr to help with construction, and an office Minccino to tidy the break room. (Her name was Taffy, and she was quite plump due to the staff’s propensity to reward her with treats for the slightest thing.) At the club, things were a bit different. They often had a pokemon on hand to help pump out the music; today was a Loudred, though she’d seen an Exploud and even a Noivern before. A Mr. Mime was on hand to create barriers to immediately separate any rowdy patrons… or to provide sudden privacy to anyone who needed it. A Zebstrika stood by the DJ, flashing its lights in a hypnotic pattern in time with the music, far more effective than any light machine. A Misdreavus floated overhead, its dark body nearly invisible in the club’s dimmed confines. The jewels around its neck glowed faintly with power as it levitated drinks to patrons. And while she’d never partaken herself, Maria had it on good authority that there were Munna and Musharna in the back room, with dream mist ready to send any patrons on a voyage of somnambulant bliss. (Night Daze denied using them, of course; dream mist was strictly regulated. But then, who had time to chase one of the most profitable venues in town?)

Personally, Maria didn’t care for the pokemon one way or another. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, she could do with a little less of their presence in the club. But they were hardly a dealbreaker, especially on a night like tonight.

Sometimes Maria went clubbing with her galpals, but she had nothing against going alone. Tonight was such a night—and she was happy for it. After all, she’d caught his eye.