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Author's Chapter Notes:

Tired of seeing young talent getting snuffed out before they had a chance to reach their full potential, Roxanne goes to confront Cynthia and try to get her to ban the shrinking technology.  When she returns, she’s in charge of a re-education pilot program with a class of shrunken men!

Contains: Not much since Roxanne doesn't want to hurt anyone!




There are many routes available to someone who wishes to be a Pokémon trainer.  While not as glamorous as setting out on a journey to travel across the land to gain experience and hone your and your team’s skills, Pokémon Trainer’s Schools offer a safe learning environment to acquire knowledge and practice with peers of your skill level.  Having branches in the Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola regions with plans of expanding to the Galar region, thousands of aspiring trainers enroll every year to learn the basics of what it takes to be a Pokémon Trainer.  However, the first school opened in the Hoenn Regions Rustboro city was by far the most prestigious of its sister locations and had grown considerably from its humble, single-building beginnings.  With the fame that came from an international recognition and becoming an official partner with the International Pokémon League, the campus has been drastically renovated and expanded to accommodate the influx of young hopefuls from across the world.


Though with the explosive success and increase in operations of the facility came more than a few new problems, some more noticeable than others.  And as she walked through the sprawling campus in search of a particular student, the resident top-scorer and local Gym Leader of the Rustboro Gym was experiencing one minor such problem.


“While it is great that we have grown so much… I somewhat miss when we were just a single building with so few students.”  Sighing as she looked around at all the students and staff walking around, going to and from classes, the brunette couldn’t help but notice how unbalanced the male to female ratio had become.  The few male students she did see were either accompanied by a female student or hurrying along to their next destination trying their best to not be seen.  “I know I was him coming to school this morning.  Where could he be?”  Pulling out her PokéNav, none of her recent outgoing calls had been answered nor had she missed a call or message from the one she had been looking for.  It was especially worrying with the current state of the world.  “Um, excuse me.  Have you seen this boy anywhere?”  Approaching two girls on their way between classes, she brought up the picture of a young brown-haired boy and showed it to the two.


“Oh, wow!  It’s Roxanne.”  The blonde lass exclaimed as the famous Honors Student came up to her.  “Looking for a snack, or are you looking for some fun?”


“You know she doesn’t do that.  That’s why there are so many foreign boys around town.  She’s old school like that.”  The other, smaller schoolgirl said.


Resisting the urge to point out to the two girls that there is nothing in the new League rules that state you have to claim a male trainer when you defeat them in battle, Roxanne couldn’t chastise them for exercising their right to either.  “I’m looking for this boy, Jonathan.  He’s been coming to me for advice on his Normal-type team and I found a Girafarig he can trade for.”


Looking at the photo, the blonde shrugged and shook her head.  “Nope, can’t say his face is ringing any Bronzongs for me.”


The younger brunette, however, took one look at the picture and burst out in a fit of giggles.  “Are you serious?  You cornered him this morning before classes started and challenged him because you forgot to eat breakfast.”


Doing her best to keep composed, Roxanne tightened her grip on her device.  “Are you sure it was him?”


“Oh yeah, there’s no doubt since he used a bunch of weak Normal-type Pokémon too.  She steamrolled him with her Pangoro.”


“I-I see.  Thank you.”  Allowing the two to go, Roxanne went over to a bench to sit down.


“I did?  Man, I was so sleepy this morning, I don’t remember any of that.”


“Geez, now I feel a bit bad for him.  Forgotten the moment you Gulpin him down.”


As they got further away, Roxanne couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation, but she didn’t need to.  It was a common enough occurrence ever since May so enthusiastically accepted Cynthia’s proposal.  At the time she didn’t feel it was necessary to oppose the adoption of the new regulations, mainly because she thought few people would take advantage of them and never fathomed the extreme acts that have become so commonplace now.  Even after the majority of the male student body and faculty vanished in the first week after the shrinking technology became available, with most of the teachers and student’s claiming responsibility if the rumors were to be believed, she said nothing at the Regional League meetings.  And it didn’t seem like her fellow Gym Leaders were all that bothered by the change either.


She still had no idea what became of Wattson, he disappeared before Sylph Co.’s shrinking app became available but he, Brawly, Norman and Wallace had all been replaced shortly after too.  Well… Norman, Wallace and Tate were still present, just under the ‘protection’ of May, Lisia and Liza respectively as Zinnia took over Norman’s vacancy, Lisia filling in for her uncle and Courtney and Shelly appointed Brawly and Wattson’s positions.  Brawly however… made the mistake of openly challenging May’s decision to adopt Cynthia’s new regulations with a match to take her seat as Champion.  It was likely the televised conclusion to their match that emboldened all the other girls in the region to shrink their opponents without concern, as May was quite thorough in humiliating the Fighting-type expert, or as she put it, ‘showcasing what one is allowed to do with their prize’.  Honestly, she still wasn’t sure if she was relieved or saddened when she saw the bulge Brawly’s body made travel down their Champion’s throat, but it was clear that those that endorsed the changes were serious about it.


Maybe I should have considered that man’s offer, the one with the rainbow ‘R’ on his shirt.  Wondering where it all went wrong, where she went wrong, Roxanne remembered a mysterious man approaching her after her reputation for sparing and helping to improve the trainers that came to her gym had become well known.  He never met her face to face, but he told her of a resistance movement forming in the hopes of overturning the new world order that Cynthia ushered in.  At the time she naively thought of them as foolish at best and potentially devolving into terrorism at worst, so she rejected the offer so she could continue to tow the line.  If I had, could I have sent all those others… could I have sent Jonathan somewhere safe?  I can see now that this isn’t right in any sense of the word.  I wanted to trust in Cynthia because she has to have a greater goal in mind that would benefit everyone, but I can’t fathom what it could be to justify all that has happened.  If not for Liza’s bond with Tate, she’s admitted that she would have probably eaten him by now, and while May and Lisia say they’re treating Norman and Wallace well, they’ve never clarified what ‘well’ for a shrunken family member is…  And I can’t remember the last time a challenger made it to May, the others are not shy about claiming the trainers they defeat.  It seems no matter how well I prepare them, if they even last that long in the city, they all fall prey to one girl or another…  Maybe it would be better if I did start shrinking the trainers I defeat, at least then they would be safe.


The warning bell signaling that students should start making their ways to their next class broke the Rock-type specialist out of her train of thought.  Getting up, rather than go to her next class, she headed for the new headmistress’ office.


No, that wouldn’t solve anything and there is a limit to how many trainers I could shelter.  Not to mention that even if it was for their own good, I’d still be robbing them of their freedom.  What I need to do is go to the source, Cynthia.  I need to hear what her objectives are.  Her resolve only strengthened seeing the old headmaster in a cage on the headmistress’ desk as she got permission for a leave-of-absence, Roxanne flew out to Sinnoh before the day was out.



A Week Later


By the time Roxanne returned to Rustboro city from flying out to talk with the Sinnoh Champion, rumors had spread like wildfire speculating what she could have gone to discuss if a simple phone call wouldn’t suffice.  The twin-tailed brunette felt no need to elaborate on imaginative theories, and when she got back there was a sizable backlog of trainers waiting to challenge her for the Stone Badge… or at least by the list she received there was, but in the days following her return, only about half of the men on the list came at all.


Returning to her home after finally clearing her challenger queue, Roxanne had to wonder just how few of them she’d ever see again.  Whether they passed or failed, she hoped that the male trainers could somehow protect themselves.  Cynthia said I didn’t have to start shrinking my challengers myself, but I wonder when the first group will get here?  Wondering if shrinking those that she was able to beat was in fact a better option for her moral dilemma, Roxanne noticed a big envelope addressed to her in her mailbox as she passed it.  Grabbing it, she quickly ran up to her room after seeing it was sent from the Sinnoh Pokémon League’s office.  Inside were papers and documents that she had been waiting on, neatly organized in a printed folder labeled ‘Male Education Accelerated Learning Plan’.  I’ll give Cynthia credit, she works fast.  It hasn’t even been a week and she already has a curriculum written out and my first class should be here in the next few days.


While she wasn’t able to accomplish either of her primary goals in meeting with the charismatic blonde, Roxanne didn’t leave Sinnoh entirely in defeat.  Though Cynthia’s goals were still unknown to her, she assured Roxanne that everything was necessary in order to achieve them.  As a compromise though, Cynthia created a new initiative and named Roxanne the director in charge of its operations.  Though limited just to the hard working honors student for now, if she produced favorable results Cynthia would expand the program to other regions as well.  All she had to do was teach classes of shrunken trainers about their new positions in society and ship them off to May, or whoever the Champion at the time is should she be replaced.


However, given how cunning the blonde was, Roxanne was expecting the material she had to teach and the minimal grades her students needed to meet would be ridiculously difficult, since Cynthia only agreed to set this program up if she promised to dispose of any of her students that failed.  “If they are unable to learn and behave within such simple guidelines, there is no place for them in my vision.”  She had said with what seemed to be a concerned or troubled expression.  But looking over the information and what was required of her, Roxanne was pleasantly surprised.


“This is it?  Just some new laws, the risks of being small, and a bit of common sense?  Well, there’s a lot to cover, but it’s all pretty simple.  Maybe Cynthia really does have a place for men in this new world she’s trying to bring about.”  Not only was the material simple and easy to understand with a bit of self-awareness and self-preservation, but the minimal grade Cynthia set for a pass was only 40%!  At her discretion, Roxanne was authorized to set it higher if she wished, so she’s likely bump it up to 50% given how easy it should be to understand the material, but it seemed to her that older blonde was doing everything she could to give these shrunken trainers the best shot at a new life.  Going to her desk and laying out all the information, Roxanne quickly drew up a lesson plan that shouldn’t take her more than two weeks to cover everything.  Needless to say, she was really impressed with Cynthia’s handling of her concerns.



Two Days Later


Returning home from classes to find her first class waiting for her, Roxanne was… less than impressed again.  She knew that, since they were being shipped to her and needed accommodations, that she’d be receiving some sort of case or cage to secure them in.  However, the 18 by 15 by 4.5 centimeter case she unwrapped from a handkerchief bore a striking resemblance to a particular item she used almost daily.  Sure, this one was brown with a diffusely transparent lid to allow in the light, and was light and easily portable, but whoever decided to design it like this had poor tastes.


Well, not much I can do about it…  Sighing, she carefully picked her tiny class up and went into her room, setting it on her desk.  Fixing her hair and ensuring the pink ribbon of her uniform was straight and in the middle of her collared white blouse, she took a breath to calm her nerves.  Come on Roxanne.  It’s not like this is your first time teaching someone.  Just do that…  Glancing at the student roster provided, her heartbeat quickened seeing how many there were.  …but only 15 at the same time.  A-And if you fail, you have to… or rather they’ll…  Coming to terms with the fact that she now held the fates of fifteen other people in her hands was a frightening thought.  No, what do I have to worry about?  They’re the ones most terrified since some gigantic, strange girl they’ve never met before has their lives in her hands.   I need to make them feel at ease or else they’ll be too nervous to learn anything!  Framing her circumstances like this, Roxanne was able to get her apprehension under control and carefully removed the lid to meet her class.


Heavily modified to accommodate fifteen one-centimeter tall men, the box was sectioned off into four main areas, with a classroom and desks, a shared sleeping area, a place to eat meals and what looked to be a functioning toilet and showers.  The occupants of the miniature boarding facility looked up at her in fear and awe, none moving a muscle as she stared down at them with her deep, red eyes.


“H-Hello, good evening everyone.  My name is Roxanne and I’ll be teaching you all everything you need to know to Rock Smash the boulder of knowledge you’ll need to fit into our new society.  Now, everyone to their seats so we can start Rock Polishing you little diamonds.”



Two Weeks Later


While her introduction was a bit… rockier than she had hoped, experiencing what it is like to be a teacher to a group rather than one-on-one tutoring was invaluable to Roxanne.  For the first few days, her tiny students were all too worried everything was some sort of cruel game to her, which is understandable given the rumors she has heard and the actions she has seen.  However, her gentle nature, patient instruction and compassion for their plight had laid to rest any worries they had that she was anything like the women that had reduced them to the state they were in.


And with the trust that Roxanne had their best interests at heart, the shrunken men also began to believe that there was hope for them, that there was a future where they fit in.  Each day the school uniform-clad girl lifted the roof to teach, they were happy to see her, and eager to learn…  or at least, most of them were.


It seemed that no matter the circumstances facing them, or threat looming over their heads since the brunette often reminded them that poor performance would be met with drastic, permanent punishment, one man was able to convince four others to follow his lead and not apply themselves to their studies.  While they respected her authority enough to not disrupt class, they neither paid attention nor did the projects she assigned.


They were the worst type of people, shrunken or otherwise, that Roxanne despised the most.  They took advantage of the trust she was fostering with the others, since if she punished them by using her size against them the others would fear her.  That wasn’t a learning environment that the good students deserved, so as long as they kept to themselves she focused on the ones that put in the effort, the ones that had earned her respect.


As she sat at her desk in her room, she finished grading the final tests for her tiny class as the day came to an end and the sun began to set.  She had been in a good mood in the beginning, the students that had put in the effort showed great results, getting no less than an 85%!  It filled her with so much pride to see them accomplish such great results… which only made the scores that Charles, John, Lawrence, Robert and Walter got.


They did get 40%...  IF YOU ADD THEM TOGETHER!  Fuming as equal parts embarrassment and rage shook her body, Roxanne had never been so humiliated.  Do they not understand that their lives are on the line here?  Do they think I’m going to go easy on them and raise their grades to pass?  Just because I don’t treat them like playthings, snacks or pests doesn’t mean…  How did they even get so low of a score?  Robert got a 22% and Charles didn’t write a single thing on his paper, not even his name!  I’m not sure who cheated off of who, or maybe they cheated off of each other for the answers they didn’t know, but Walter and John have the exact same answers.  They didn’t even bother switching the wording around to try to hide it and how the answers are worded feels like two different people wrote on the same page twice.  And Lawrence, 2%...  2%!  How do you… did he even listen to a word I said?  These answers are a joke!  The more she looked at the tests, the angrier that Roxanne became.  Beyond embarrassing, it was infuriating to think that her teaching methods were in some way inadequate.  Or perhaps they believed she’d go easy on them and give them a second chance?  Just the thought alone of the five of them laying in their beds, smug and content in their poor performances made her blood run cold.  And then the words Cynthia told her echoed in her mind.


“If they are unable to learn and behave within such simple guidelines, there is no place for them in my vision.”


Glaring at the makeshift boarding housing, Roxanne narrowed her eyes.  She’s right…  Men who can’t even adapt to the new rules to save their lives… don’t deserve to live in it.  Reaching towards where all her students slept, it would be easy for her to pluck the five slackers out and deal with them right then and there… but she stopped herself when she thought of the fearful faces the good students would make if she showed them such a furious visage.  Taking a calming breath, she instead grabbed her PokéNav and sent a report to May.  [The final grading is complete, five students have failed.  The remaining ten will be awaiting pickup.]


Within minutes she got a reply.  [Great!  Remember your deal with Cynthia and have your graduates ready in the morning.  Contact Cynthia when you’re ready for your next class!]


Closing her communication device, Roxanne sighed in an almost reluctance at what she had to do.  Not in front of the others at least.




That night, as long after Roxanne had dismissed and moved their dwelling to the side of her desk, five of the shrunken men were ignoring curfew in favor of chatting with one another.


“Hey, Charles, are you sure this was a good idea?”  One of the men asked, looking at a brown-haired man in his late twenties to early thirties.


“I’m telling you, Roxanne is probably one of the nicest girls in the world right now.  Girl’s never even shrunk a challenger yet, but if we get shipped off, Arceus knows what might happen to us.  I don’t even want to think about that girl with the Arcanine that almost caught me, and there are worse out there.”  Once again having to explain his brilliant idea to the few that listened to him, Charles felt confident after watching the Rock-type Gym Leader for the past two months.  “She says there’ll be punishments for failing, but the most she’d do is keep us back to repeat a course or something.  You’ll see, Robert.”


“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right.”  To them, the brunette had been like a caring Audino, watching over them with a compassionate sternness.  If it meant staying with her a bit longer, failing was a risk worth taking.



The Next Day


While there were no classes for the day, Roxanne still had her duties as a Gym Leader to attend to, so she woke up early regardless.  After getting dressed, she tapped on the lid of her class to signal she was about to lift it up and gave them a couple moments as she put up her hair.  Sitting at her desk to address them one last time, she lifted their ‘roof’ and smiled to the ten students seated in their desks.  Since she had a bird’s eye view of the layout, she could see the five slackers still laying in their beds and suppressed a glower.  “Good morning everyone, I had a bit of bitter-sweet news for you all.  Because everyone did so well on their final exams yesterday, May will be here shortly to come and pick you up.”  The bright faces instantly darkened at the thought of who had essentially become their goddess giving them to someone else.  “Oh, don’t worry.  I’ve been assured that those that pass this course will be treated with the privileges appropriate to those who know their station in society.  However…”  Looking at the sleeping area, she frowned a bit.  “...Charles, John, Lawrence, Robert, Walter, come here.  Since you five failed you’ll be held back for remedial lessons.”


Lowering a piece of string that she had tied five knots into, Roxanne waited for the five flunkers to get ready.  They seemed almost proud that they failed, which only made her all the more angry, but if she let it show now it would only serve to frighten the others.  She wanted to see everyone else off with a smile, though there were more than a couple teary eyed students.  They didn’t want to leave, and a part of her wished she could keep them with her as well, but she wouldn’t be able to look after everyone if she started keeping her classes.  She just had to hope that May found good places for them.  As she was saying her good-byes though, the sound of her doorbell rang though her home and she received a message on her PokéNav from May saying that she was there.


Before she had a change of heart and decided she wanted to keep her class after all, Roxanne pulled the five not leaving from the portable dwelling and then closed the lid, wrapping it up in the handkerchief that it came with.  Answering the door, she exchanged pleasantries with the young Champion, stressing to the brunette how proud she was of her class and that she hoped May would find them good homes.  May assured her that she had everything in order and quickly left with her Swellow.


As she watched May fade into the distance, Roxanne went back into her home to grab what she needed before heading to the gym, but first she had a handful of five, one-centimeter tall failures to take care of.  While before she needed to keep a happy face for the sake of the graduates, she could now show her full disappointment.  None of the men in her hand showed any sign of guilt or embarrassment either, if anything, they seemed happy that they failed.


Well, let's see how much you like it now.  Holding them up to her face, the general cheerful atmosphere they had disappeared the moment her stern expression fell on them.  For the first time since they first arrived, Roxanne saw fear slowly creep into their eyes.  “Do you have any idea how humiliating it was to tell May that five of you failed such an easy test?”




Congratulating each other for a plan well executed, Charles, John, Lawrence, Robert and Walter watched as their gentle caretaker handed the rest of their class off to an uncertain future in the hands of the Hoenn Champion and flew off.  None of them trusted that such an enthusiastic supporter of the changes that came with the shrinking technology would leave their classmates unmolested/undigested by the time she reached wherever she was going.  They were just thankful they weren’t going with her…  That is until Roxanne brought them back inside and looked at them like one would an unwelcome pest.  The anger and shame she felt at their poor performance made her compassion drain away, and in its place was a cold stare that reminded each of them of the multitudes of other girls out in the world.


“Do you have any idea how humiliating it was to tell May that five of you failed such an easy test?”  They hadn’t considered that she’d be angry at them for failing, maybe disappointed, but her tone indicated that she took their poor performance as a personal attack against her character.  “Well, I have one more lesson to teach you, and this time you will pay attention.  And don’t worry, not even you can fail this one.”


Tilting her hand slightly, they all fell from her palm and plummeted to the floor below.  Thankfully their smaller sizes made the fall non-lethal, but it still hurt quite a bit.  However, all of that was forgotten when a shadow fell over them and they looked up to see the underside of Roxanne’s school regulated shoe hovering over them!


“I told you there were consequences for failing.  I didn’t want to scare everyone so I left it vague, but what did you expect?  This course was to get you ready to fit into Cynthia’s new world vision.  If you can’t fit in…  You made me do this.”  Chastising them emotionally, if there was one thing that was clear to them other than the imminent fear of death her sole promised, it was how little she actually wanted to be doing this.


Thankfully, the fall had spread them out a bit, so as the brunettes massive loafer came crashing down, John, Robert, and Walter were able to dive to safety as Charles stared up in disbelief that his plan backfired so catastrophically and Lawrence was just a step behind running for his life.


It was quick, painless and effective.  Normally such force would be seen as excessive, but it was simply a girl lowering her foot with a bit of force quickly, an aggressive step at best, and two lives came to an abrupt end because of it.  Staring up the pink stocking-clad legs to the underside of the girl’s wide skirt, Robert was frozen in fear as she lifted her foot and looked at her sole.




Two small splatters of blood and viscera filled the treads of her shoes, and the remains of what were once two of her students, two men, were barely recognizable.  If she hadn’t been aware of what she stepped on, Roxanne would have thought she crushed a berry of something instead.  Is that all?  I was expecting a bigger mess.  Grabbing a couple tissues from nearby, she wiped her shoe clean and cleaned up the remains on the floor.  So I got Charles and Lawrence?  I couldn’t even tell.  She was almost surprised by how calm she was, given how opposed she had been to the idea of shrinking and hurting men before.  But, unlike the senseless violence and cruelty that other girls imposed on shrunken trainers, she wasn’t doing this for her own satisfaction.  As she stood back up, she saw the remaining three on the floor begging and crying, likely for mercy or a second chance now that they’ve seen what’s awaiting them.  “It’s too late for that now.  I gave you all so many chances…”  Lifting her foot again, the least she could do was end this swiftly for them so they didn’t suffer.  Hopefully I never have to do something like this again.  This has been as much a learning experience for me as it has for the-!


As Roxanne was about to crush the three, an idea came to her mind and she stepped over them to go get a small jar.  It took very little time and she was back before John, Robert or Walter could attempt to hide.  Plucking the three up, she dropped them into the jar.


“On second thought, I could use your help with my next class, since it is obvious that I didn’t impress on you the severity of the consequences you would be facing for failing my course.  Can I count on your help when the time comes?”  The unanimous agreement of the three spared a sudden death at her feet was as quick as her foot would have fallen on them if they hadn’t, and she secured a perforated lid to make sure they couldn’t get out and nothing could get in.  Taking them back to her room, she tucked them away in one of her drawers before heading out to fulfill her role as Rustboro’s Gym Leader.  Those five…  As flawed as I believe the saying ‘there are no bad students, only bad teachers’ can be, there is truth that I failed to get them to understand who severe the punishment for failing was.  If they had put in the bare minimal effort but still got the same scores, Charles excluded, then this would be all my fault.  By trying to not scare them at all, I failed as a teacher.  Reflecting on how she could have done better, Roxanne began to understand the flaw in her thinking that was likely the root cause of this entire incident.  If I had provided an example or two, maybe those five wouldn’t have slacked off.  I won’t make the same mistake twice.  I’ll learn and grow from this.  There are so many other shrunken trainers out there, waiting for society to learn and adapt to accept them.


To be continued…





Chapter End Notes:

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