I already have the main characters. The problem is that I need help fleshing out their goals and motivations.
Fleshing out implies they already have some, but without knowing what's already set all we can do is suggest new ones. For example:
Winning the biggest tournament, and becoming a famous warrior; or reach the highest adventurer rank.
Fighting the Umbra, and making the world safe forever.
Tradition demands it, my family is a line of powerful warriors. I want them to be proud.
Because the alternative was to farm or cower in fear from monsters.
Because I needed to broaden my horizons, to make friends, and see the world. Impossible without power.
Fighting or crafting machines is fun or cool, and the only place to learn is the academy.
I just sort of ended up here, but now I have to fight or I'll die. It's... Too much for me.
I was following in the wake of someone I cherished, but they're gone now. I have nothing.
I have teachers. Just trying to figure which subject each teacher should focus
This one's hard. You'd need to decide how specific you want your classes, and how popular each course would be. A popular course might have multiple copies of the same class, while an unpopular one might be practically deserted.
After that, you'll need to know the motives of each teacher. Some of them might just be teaching because it keeps them out of the fight, or because they find it easy and need the money.
If you have Barrier Magic, it might be divided into one or several classes. For example, classes about practical skills like manifestation, energy conservation, and decision making about when and where to deploy barriers.
If you have Summoning, it might focus on what creatures you summon, when to summon, or it may just be one class devoted to learning to summon your sole familiar and then doing it as the final lesson. Then you would need to learn how to use it, take care of it, and the vulnerabilities of a summoner and the best countermeasures.
If you have Automata, then you'd learn Theory and Practical skills. How to craft them, where to find the best materials, how to use them effectively, how to maintain them, and what to do if you're ever caught without the right type for the current situation.
I'd also assume there's classes about the Umbra, since you'd need to know your enemy to defeat them. History and other practical knowledge might be offered or even required to prevent your nitwit warriors from getting killed in dumb ways.
There should also be practical classes devoted purely to working with other people. Learning to protect a tinkerer is very different from protecting a summoner. This is something that should be separate from the five-man-band thing that the school sets up, as well. After all, you never know when you'll get separated from your team or forced to work with another team or even faction during an extended battle.
Trying to come up with names for a potential tournament arc. The students usually study at the library, some of them hang out.
I can't help with names, but for extracurricular activities, there might be duels/Pokémon battles, barrier-based contests, casual monster hunts/sports, material gathering trips, and entertainment like cooking, sports, games, and other non-battle-based stress relief activities.
I kind of meant after they leave school, though. Like, what kind of job opportunities are they looking at? It'd be a waste if they just became janitors, but they might have the option of hunting monsters, guarding cities or merchants, scouting potential city locations, dedicated sports like tournaments, fighting criminals. Or just teaching the next generation.
Actually, if ALL magic and automata crafting is taught at this academy, they might also have civilian jobs that take advantage of the strengths of their skills, like construction with heavy lifting pokemon, automated public transport, barrier magic used to help with experimental actions that would usually be too dangerous.
Whatever jobs are available will determine the classes being taught, and help figure out character motives too.
