It is the week after Midterms for the professors at Rainbow Rocket University. It's also the week where they mentally prepare themselves for a surge in office hours visits and angry emails concerning grades or general complaints about the class.

In Cyrus's case, he extends his availability and refrains from opening his email for that week. He knows no one will come to his office after the test, much less any given day. It'll give him time to himself.

So when Dawn and Lucas approach him with that question, all the careful planning in the world is rendered useless in the face of college-student-level stupidity.

"Professor Cyrus. What's your opinion on Professor Giovanni?"

Cyrus makes sure that he heard the question correctly. "He is a very capable lecturer. I am fortunate enough to know him as a colleague."

He doesn't like the smile on Dawn's face. "Yeah, but do you have any… uh… special thoughts about him?"

Cyrus blinks. Lucas tries to keep a straight face and fails terribly. Cyrus's seasoned teaching instincts scream at him to stop before things will become too late to fix. "What exactly is happening here?" The students flinch at his icy tone. The two shoot each other a glance before scampering along.

Yes, while the Professors prepare for post-Midterm aggravation, the students are celebrating a fan-favorite occasion of their own: Shipping Week.

"Hey, Professor Maxie."

"Yes? May?"

"Is Archie the water to your dirt?"

Maxie's glasses slip off his nose. "Excuse me?!"

Elsewhere in the University, students are forming groups to prepare for the Shipping Wars. The veterans have diagrammed charts and recorded all interactions amongst the professors, especially those seldom moments when their co-workers are mentioned. The most popular groups focus on four professors in particular…

"You can't seriously ship Ghetsis with anyone," Dawn huffs while proudly donning a black bandana with "ACS" in giant, gold letters.

Hilda rolls her eyes. "Oh, honey. We're still here, aren't we?"

Posters of said Shipping Week invades the institution overnight, slapped across school boards and anything else with a surface. The students manage to evade the other faculty's suspicion by petitioning that Shipping Week be a temporary, school-wide event beforehand. Yes, months of careful planning for five days of rampant nonsense. There had never been so much support for a student-led initiative in the school's history. What's more surprising is that this sentiment of shipping transcended across polar ends of the student population.

Lysandre happens to come across a frozen Archie one day. The marine biology professor is staring into the paper like it's a new specimen waiting to be labeled.

"Lion-man." Archie shows him the pamphlet. "Why is Archie and I looking at each other like that?"

Lysander honestly has no answer. "What is a 'Hardenshipping?' Maybe it's because you both like Bug Pokemon?" That's a stretch, considering there's no mention of a Cascoon or Metapod on the flyer.

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, Leaf is about to leave class when Professor Giovanni beacons at her to come closer. She exchanges looks with Red before sheepishly shuffling to the front.

"Lately, there's been a flood of students wearing that shirt." Giovanni's brow furrows. "I've never seen such underhanded marketing techniques for a brand to gain popularity overnight. Is that a new band?"

"Uh… yes?" Leaf coughs loudly.

"What does 'ACS' stand for?" Giovanni leans closer to inspect the fine print, much to Leaf's embarrassment. "Hmm… 'Absolutecontrolshipping ef – tee - w?'"

Leaf squeaks like a boiling kettle. Giovanni jerks back in alarm. Red hurries over to his friend, grabs her hand, shoots Giovanni a terse nod, and runs.

"What the hell…" Giovanni mutters to no one in particular.

"Colleagues," Giovanni announces once everyone is back in his condominium and sitting at the dinner table. "It has come to my attention that a new craze has captured the students by storm. Whatever this 'ACS' band is, they make the most seasoned businessmen bow in shame."

Cyrus looks up from his coffee cup. "Oh. So 'ACS' is a band? I was under the impression that it was a new catchphrase."

Giovanni turns to Cyrus. "Oh. So you've seen it too?"

"Yes. I have noticed some students following me with said shirts and flags. I assumed they wanted to talk about their midterms, but they ran as soon as I attempted to make conversation…" He trails off, expression darkening.

"A student made an inappropriate comment about Archie and me." Maxie massages his temples. "Though I don't know if her statement was indeed malicious… that look on her face made me worry."

Archie suddenly gasps. "Yo, Maxie! Look what I found outside my office!" He shows the earlier pamphlet to everyone in the room. Maxie's eyebrows scrunch together like hairy Caterpie.

"What in Groudon's name is a 'Hardenshipping?'"

Lysandre sighs. "I too, have felt unsafe in my own office in the last few days. Everywhere I went, I have the feeling of impending doom over my shoulder. Now I'm too afraid to leave this house because I fear the students are waiting to ambush me as soon as I open the door." He wraps his arms around his torso and shudders from a nonexistent chill.

The roommates stare at him for a second. "I mean," Archie begins. "If something like that manages to get under Lion-man's skin, then we should take this issue more seriously."

"I think you all are being overly dramatic." Ghetsis waves his hand dismissively. "This is just a silly charade that is sure to die soon enough." Then he throws his head back and cackles. "As luck will have it, I am the only one left unscathed by this—"

Giovanni shoves another pamphlet into Ghetsis's smug face. No one dares speak as Ghetsis's eyes shred through the paper. Then the veins pop to his forehead, and Ghetsis lunges forward, only for Giovanni to pull the flyer back with a triumphant smirk.

"Someone will PAY!" Ghetsis roars. "They dare to defile my perfect image with something so… so…" He struggles for the right words. "So humiliating!"

Cyrus also studies the flyer in question with a frown. "I have also come to notice that we, the staff, are associated with the band names." He looks up at the group. "For example, Archie and Maxie are listed under the term of 'Hardenshipping,' according to the students. A student had also asked me about Giovanni's capabilities as a colleague not long ago." Giovanni shoots Cyrus a strange look. "I can confidently state that Giovanni and I are somehow associated with the term 'AbsoluteControlShipping.'"

Lysandre laces his hands. "Shipping? As in packaging materials?"

"Maybe they're a shipping company!" Archie says.

Maxie scowls. "No, idiot. Why would hormone-inducing nineteen-year-olds embrace a shipping company as the new craze?"

Ghetsis rakes his hand over his hair, almost yanking at his roots. "Curse the band and their sadistic marketing agency!"

Giovanni claps his hands to bring the group's attention back to the issue. "All right, everyone. I know that we don't usually see eye-to-eye, but it's time we put aside our differences for a common goal. Everyone gather as much information and evidence on this thing so we can finally unravel their nefarious scheme."

And for the first time since they lived under the same roof, the roommates all nod their heads.

"Miss Dawn."

Dawn's head snaps up at the Professor's stony voice. He's looking at her expectantly. With another sigh, she heads over to the podium.

"Yes, Professor Cyrus?"

"Regarding what you've told me earlier, what is it that you want to know about Giovanni?"

"O-oh. Uh…" She quickly moves her gaze away, but Cyrus's eyes grow cold and freezes her in place. "A-ah. I-I-I mean… like… if you had any special thoughts about him."

Cyrus frowns. "Special thoughts?"

"Y-yeah. Like… If you had to compliment him, what would you say?"

Cyrus tilts his head, thinking. "I'd tell him that he has excellent work ethic. While he can be brute, I know he has his mind set in the right place."

Dawn bites her lips. "Not like that!" Cyrus is taken aback at her sudden rise in volume. She sounds almost… disappointed. "I mean, if you had to say something nice about his eyes. His face. The way he eats, maybe."

Now Cyrus is completely lost. "I'm… not sure. I've never noticed such trivial things before."

Dawn huffs and crosses her arms. "At this rate, I'm gonna lose," she mutters half-to-herself. Then she raises her head. "Do you like Professor Giovanni?"

Cyrus blinks. "I don't hate him?" His tone slips uncertainly between irritation and disbelief.

But Dawn appears to have found what she was looking for. She claps her hands. "That's good enough for me! I gotta go, Professor! Byeee!" She flashes him a bright grin before tromping out of the classroom.

A dreadful feeling begins to weigh in Cyrus's gut.

Leaf barges into Giovanni's office hours as if she'd just finished a marathon. Giovanni gapes as the student drops into the opposing chair with a giant scowl as if she'd just had her Pokemon stolen.

"Can I help you?" Giovanni says slowly. Is she angry about her midterms?

"Professor!" Giovanni stiffens. "What do you think of Mister Cyrus?"

"Ehh?"

Leaf slaps her hand on her thigh. "Professor, I am losing here! I need all the support I can get! What. Do. You. Think of Cyrus?"

Giovanni's brain is still struggling to process the situation. "Eh… he's a treasured friend and colleague?"

Leaf's eyes are glinting in a way that sends gooseflesh up his neck. "Treasured? Friend?" It's like she just ignored every other word. "Is he a special friend?"

"Eh… maybe?"

Leaf shoots up to her feet, causing Giovanni to recoil. "Thank you, Professor! I won't give up until I crush all those non-believers!" She bows vigorously and flies out of the room like a Hurricane.

Giovanni scrambles to regain his composure. He suddenly feels as if he'd been beaten by a mere ten year-old in a Pokemon battle.

"We're being followed, Archie."

"Yeah. I can see them, Maxie."

"On my count, we turn and ambush them. One… two!"

The students disperse when the professors turn around and give chase. Thanks to Archie's stamina, he manages to catch the ringleader.

"Ex… explain yourself!" Maxie pants. Oh Groudon, when was the last time he ran?

"You won't understand!" May protests. "This is a matter of sink-or-swim!"

"You've been following Maxie and me around all week!" Archie crosses his arms, towering over the student like a Mega-Sharpedo. "Harassing your teachers can lead to suspension and a stain on your record! The last thing I want to do is report you to the Dean of Students!"

May blanches. She shakes her head violently. "I'm not stalking you! This is field work if my team is to win Shipping Week!"

The Professors exchange a glance. "Shipping Week?" Maxie echoes.

"Ooops." The color of May's face is as pale as a Shedinja. Archie holds her in place with a menacing glare. "F-fine. It's… it's a student-led event where the team with the most evidence of their ship wins the OTP Award."

"Old Tepee?" Archie looks at Maxie again. "What is that? A soup?"

May has suddenly gone very, very red. "Uh… It's… It's like…"

"Need I remind you that you are facing suspension, Miss May?" Maxie's eyes gleam behind his glasses.

"It's like your One True Pairing!" May gasps and buries her face in her hands. "If it wasn't for those Absolutecontrol freaks, then we could've taken the prize home for Hardenshipping!"

There's a lot for the professors to process. Maxie holds up his hands. "Wait. What is 'Absolute shipping?' What is 'Harden shipping?' What does this have to do with Archie and me?"

May nervously twirls a lock of hair with her finger. With great reluctance, she explains to the professors the basic fangirl/boy terminologies, the intense rivalry of Shipping Week, the fanart and fanfiction and propaganda elements… More than once Archie and Maxie look at each with shock, disgust, and general bewilderment.

"Can I go now?" May cries, her cheeks spilling red to her whole face. Maxie is too stunned to respond, so he just waves her along.

"Hey, Maxie." Archie refuses to look at him.

"Yes, Archie?" Maxie is also content to stare at the wall.

"I still don't get it."

"Huh. I thought I was the only one."

The six roommates listen intently as Maxie finishes recounting his harrowing tale. No one speaks for a solid minute. Not even Ghetsis.

Then Lysandre clears his throat. "So… 'Shipping Week' is an attempt to rally support for fictional relationships between the faculty body?" He looks at the parties in question. "And 'ACS' is the term for Giovanni and Cyrus, while 'Hardenshipping' supports the relationship between Archie and Maxie? Whoever garners the most relevance in the end will be awarded the 'Old Tepee' achievement?" Lysandre stifles a snort. "This is so ridiculous that it's hilarious."

"Is this what young people do nowadays instead of contributing to society?" Ghetsis grumbles.

"I do not understand why students picture Giovanni and me in impractical situations," Cyrus says, his expression troubled. "Their questions have made feel as if I'd ingested expired milk."

"I still don't know how the 'Absolute' thing started." Giovanni sighs. He feels another headache threatening to pass by. "And don't get me started on you two." He glares at Archie and Maxie, who are just as content to not pour more fuel into the fire.

Lysandre shifts his legs. "So… what now?"

Maxie looks at him and crosses his arms. "Surprisingly enough, I find this little event to be… intriguing. I've never had this many students seek me out at once."

Cyrus nods. "I agree. I was surprised when the students talked to me without being asked first." Archie lays a sympathetic hand on Cyrus's shoulder. The latter quickly brushes it off, looking generally confused.

Even Giovanni resigns himself to a smirk. Things have indeed gotten exciting. It's been a while since something had left him stupefied like that. It reminds him of his younger days, where the only thing that mattered was the thrill of adventure.

As Giovanni watches his roommates bicker about their experiences with Shipping Week, he stumbles upon a revelation. It was the first time any of them–including Ghetsis—had agreed on something and had acted as a team to pursue their mission.

Maybe living together with these idiots isn't so bad after all.

The students are visibly battered at the end of the week. All sides seem to have lost their vigor to continue the fight until they receive the surprising announcement that approved Shipping Week as a legitimate, university-wide event. Even more shocking, though, that the very professors that fell victim to such hormonal urges were the ones who endorsed the petition.