These new story starters just come one after another! I don't think I'll be able to keep up with them all at a decent pace!
Oh yeah... I own nothing!
"I can't believe Arceus sent us here!" Ben cried out. Ben was a thin but slightly muscled brown-haired boy, around 12 years old. His clothing was all colored red, white, and blue, except for his golden socks and scarf. He was wearing blue trousers, a white shirt, red vest, and multicolored shoes, gloves, and goggles. On his wrist was what looked like a huge watch, also red and blue, with a white strap.
"Pi-pichuuu," agreed his companion. Riding his shoulder was a small black and yellow rodent, with a blue ukulele strapped behind it.
"I can't believe he didn't give me time to pack properly," Charlotte complained. This 13 year old blond was wearing a pink frilly jumper and hat. She accessorized with a white backpack and a belt with six red and white balls, each one with a unique sticker.
"I can't believe I got saddled with you two weaklings," a young adult grumbled. Adam had short black hair, and was wearing almost all black cape-less battle suit that would almost make Batman jealous. Instead of a bat symbol, however, there were three dim jewels on his chest. He also had a hip pack, colored the same black as his armor suit. His physique was tall and very well built, easily towering over those he reluctantly called teammates.
Two days before, all three were summoned by Arceus, the God of Pokemon. He told them they were to be tested, and were hence sent to this world which has no Pokemon. Their job; sign up as a team for something called the Chunin Exams. Arceus also gave them headbands with a metal forehead protector. On the protector was a Pokeball symbol. Ben put his on as a belt, Charlotte stitched just the metal plate onto her backpack, and Adam properly put his on his head, content the headband was the same color black as his armor. Satisfied, Arceus sent them to the town with the Chunin Exams, known as Konoha. However, he sent them there a day early, forcing them to find a hotel. Luckily, Charlotte had a few Nuggets they could convert to this world's currency.
On the appointed day, the trio went into the building in which the first exam was to take place. After climbing up a floor, Pichu got excited. "Chu! Chu!" He cried, pointing to the end of the hallway. There, Ben and Adam saw the room they were looking for; Room 301. It had many other teams of three grouped in front of it, ready to enter when the two door-guards would let them through. Seeing how far behind the other teams they were, Adam and Ben started heading for that door.
"Wait a minute guys! Come with me, I got to show you something," Charlotte whispered, pulling them up the stairs.
"Ow ow ow! Not the ear!" Ben was complaining. Because he tilted his head harshly, Pichu had to jump off and follow on foot, which was hard to do with steep stairs. When she let go at the next landing, he rubbed his sore spot and Pichu jumped back up. "What was that for?"
"Chuuu," Pichu agreed, a little angrily, a few stray sparks coming out of its cheeks. The little Pokemon then pulled out its Ukulele and got ready to give it an electric whirl.
"It better not be because you smudged your makeup," Adam growled out, rubbing his arm. That girl, while skinny, had quite a grip.
Charlotte quickly pulled out a hand mirror to check while she explained herself. "Because that wasn't the real room 301," Charlotte told them, making sure that Adam was wrong about her looks.
"How do you figure that?" Adam asked, the edge in his voice replaced with mild interest.
In answer, she pointed down the hall with her free hand, towards the end of the hallway. "That's Room 301," she told them as she put her mirror away, satisfied with how she looked. Sure enough, there was another room labeled 301. "I've been in many Pokemon Musicals and Contests, so I know how buildings are laid out. For this one, the hundreds is the floor number. The Room 301 we first saw was on the second floor, and should have been labeled Room 201. Also, the room next to it was Rooms 203 and 200 was across from it; they didn't change those."
"They put an different sign over the door," Adam realized, "tricking those teams into missing the true exam." Maybe this fru-fru girl was useful after all, he thought to himself. Her attention to detail in her makeup applied to the real world as well, letting her notice things like that. She also knew not to reveal the deceit to the other kids, something Ben probably wouldn't have picked up on.
"Good eye Charlotte!" Ben praised. His Pichu tucked away its instrument, then gave her a big thumbs up.
"It was nothing," Charlotte said, blushing. "You should have seen the largest Pokemon Contest building I competed in. The thousands number was the floor, the hundreds the wing, the tens the hallway, the ones the room, and the letter which section of that room!"
"Now that we know which room it really is, lets get this over with," Adam demanded, reminding the two kids why they were here. Cowed, they followed.
When they entered, they presented their entrance forms, given to them by Arceus. Although the people in charge were skeptical that they didn't hail from a 'hidden village', they were nevertheless allowed in. Charlotte was seated in the back corner, Ben in the middle, and Adam the row ahead of him.
When the exam was about to start, a scuffle started near the door. Then, a man with a scarred face and a cloth cap stood up and took his place at the front of the room. He seemed dead serious, a trait Adam shared and admired. It and his appearance, however, frightened Charlotte and Ben. "Greetings. Sorry for my tardiness. I will be your first examiner, Ibiki." His smile, both cruel and promising torture, scared everyone but Adam. "Fighting each other outside of the exam regulations is an automatic fail. So get to your seats!" The squabblers in the back took their seats. One of them, a blond, sat next to Ben.
"Let us begin," Ibiki told him. "But first, the rules. Nobody is allowed to ask questions while I explain this exam. At the start of the exam, each person will be handed the same ten questions on a paper exam." Hearing that they'd have to take a written exam terrified the blond and Ben, but the girl on the blond's other side calmed the latter boy down. Ibiki then started writing rules on the blackboard, without even glancing at it. His eyes were trained on the entire group, making each individual feel spotlighted.
"First rule: each teammate will start with ten points. With each incorrect answer of the test, you lose one point. If you reach 0, you fail." So far so good, thought Adam. But why say 'we start with ten points and be reduced,' rather than 'start with 0 and get increase'?
"Second, for each time you're caught cheating, you will lose two points." So that's why, Adam realized. Rather than count up to ten, they count down, then consider your written score and number of cheats. But why have this kind of system? What if you got caught cheating three times and got five questions wrong? How would they tell, mid quiz, that you reached or passed 0? Adam puzzled it over.
"Third, you pass or fail as a team." A pink-haired girl distracted the room with a forehead bang and a shout of exclamation. "If a teammate loses all ten points, all members of the team are banished from the exam." Uxie help us! Why was I stuck with those two Rhyhorns? Adam swore. They will make me fail! Unless I somehow cheat to help them... But that could get us thrown out!
"You are in this exam to become ninja. So act like one of the highest rank," Ibiki continued. Adam thought that over. Why be like a ninja? The Ninjas I know are sneaky, underhanded Trainers who attack from bad terrain disguises and resort to the most deceitful and cheating... Wait! That's the answer! Adam realized. Cheating wasn't forbidden, but warned against. We're supposed to cheat! He then turned back towards Charlotte, who was watching the instructor in fear. Ben, in the same position, was freaking out that he'd fail his team and be at the mercy of the scary Adam, who was giving him what he thought was an evil eye. Neither of them had caught on yet, Adam figured. How am I supposed to tell them without revealing the secret to everyone else?
"Fourth, one problem isn't on your exam paper," Ibiki growled out. "It will be given orally 45 minutes into the examination." He then watched the clock, waiting for the second hand to announce a new minute. "... Begin!"
Okay... how to cheat... Adam thought to himself, head bowed towards his paper, not caring about what was actually on the page. He carefully reviewed what they shared with each other the night before. I likely can't get up from my chair and pass a note to either of them without anyone noticing, nor can Charlotte or Ben. Charlotte told me what Pokemon she brought with her, but any of her Pokemon's attempts to cheat would be easily spotted. I can't speak Pokemon, and Charlotte can only understand hers, so Ben's Pichu can't get all three of us the answers... But Ben... Ben can cheat! If only he knew what he was supposed to do... But who to cheat from? If we're supposed to cheat for answers, then where are the answers? Wait, I know who can figure that out.
A few minutes later, in the back, Charlotte was sweating, which was ruining her complexion. I can't solve these questions! I'll fail the team! Adam will kill me! She risked a glance up at said fear. To her surprise, he was looking directly at her. Satisfied that he had her attention, his eyes darted to the fellow exam takers, gazed back at her, smiled, then turned back to front. Okay... what was that about? He looked at a few people, but why? Looking around, she saw some questionable activities mid occurrence. A pup was looking at other's papers then barking to the boy he was perched on, almost like a talking Lillipup. Another, with red hair, was covering his eye, and a sand eye was over a desk near him. Another boy, with his collar up, was talking to a fly, and many more were around the room on test papers.
They... they're all cheating! Wait, not all of them, Charlotte realized. Of the 125 people there, a few aren't cheating, and quite a few more are doing nothing. Did Adam want me to find out who was, or was not, cheating? And why?
After fifteen minutes, a painted cat-boy got up and said he had to use the restroom. At the same time, Adam got up to do the same. However, when he was in the back of the class, he bumped into Charlotte's chair. In truth, he was tossing tiny wrapped notes into the lap of his partner.
Charlotte's note had two words. "Plant, who". Now she understood. The people who didn't need to cheat were those who knew the answers already, and were planted to be cheated off of. Adam is as cunning as a Weavile, she thought to herself. Armed with this info, she looked around, trying to figure out who the plants were. While there were a few not cheating and answering questions on their own, only one stood out. A girl many rows in front of her, the only one in the room with bright pink hair.
Charlotte now had a message to pass on. She wrote down 'pink hair has the answers' on a piece of scrap paper. But how to pass it on? She then realized how bad her makeup became and pulled out her mirror to fix the damage, as well as to watch for her partner. When she saw Adam returning in the mirror, she asked to go to the restroom and fix her makeup. A female proctor got up to lead her out. She and Adam bumped shoulders along their paths, and she discreetly passed him the note. Once he reached his desk, Adam wrote another message on the scrap and secretly tossed it to Ben.
Ben easily got the first message; the girl with pink hair had all the answers. The second one took awhile, but he understood that all three of them needed the answers, and that he should use '#93, R165'. Do they really expect me to cheat? Ben asked himself in terror. After the warning the proctor gave us about being kicked out? Not to mention, Arceus may be mad at us if we failed this Chunin Exam.
To his surprise, the girl opposite the blond offered softly to share her answers with the blond. It was then that Ben realized that everyone was cheating. He also saw that Adam was glaring at him again, a look that promised pain if Ben didn't comply.
Azelf help me, Ben quietly prayed. Ben turned on his Capture Styler to Stealth Mode, a new feature to Ranger Stylers, and silently drew an invisible arrow under his desk. Summoned from his past lithograph partners came the Pokemon Adam asked for - number 93 in the National Pokedex Charlotte and Adam used, and number 165 in the Oblivia Ranger Browser Ben used - Haunter.
Connected by the Capture Styler, Ben didn't have to give any vocal commands; Haunter immediately understood its mission. It went invisible, read the pink-hair's answers, then guided Team Pokemon's hands in writing down the answers. Now, all they had to do is wait for the final question, not that they needed it anyway. Even if they were caught, the number of cheats each one hoped they had individually was at most three.
Many minutes and quite a few failed teams later, Ibiki got up to make his announcement. "Forty-five minutes in, and many of the incompetents have been eliminated. Here is the final question. But this question has its own special rule. You can choose whether or not to take this question. Those who opt out fail and will leave this exam. If you take it, and fail, you cannot apply for the Chunin Exam... ever again."
This statement scared Ben. Was my cheating for nothing then? Arceus wanted us to participate in this Exam. So if we can't participate in another... Wait! Ben calmed down. Even if we can't do another, we can still do this one! I'm in!
Charlotte thought of almost the same reason. Adam was just too determined to pass to be scared of failure. Everyone else though... "That's a dumb rule!" the boy with the pup shouted out. "I see people who've taken this exam before, in this very room!"
To this, Ibiki laughed, sending chills in everyone's spines but Adam. "They haven't had me for an examiner yet," he replied. The room went deathly silent, and a couple teams left. So..." Ibiki stalled, drawing as much fear out of his audience as he could. "Who is willing to risk everything? Or will you try again during the next examination?"
SLAM! Ben jumped as a hand came down right next to his paper. The blond, who was the source of the noise, then spoke up. "Nice try, but I'm not backing out! Even if I fail, even if I'm a Genin forever, I will become Hokage!"
Those words seemed to inspire those still in the room. While Team Pokemon didn't understand the words Genin and Hokage, they understood the intent behind his small speech. They were the same words the famous Ash Ketchum said while on his journey. He said it when he woke up late for his first Pokemon, every time he bumbled a basic Pokemon strategy or common knowledge, and every time he was faced against opponents stronger than him.
"I will only ask once," Ibiki threatened. "Will you take the question, or go home safe?"
"You don't scare me! Just give us the question already!" the blond challenged back. These words inspired those around him. Those that were previously nervous and about to leave now had the confidence to stay.
Ibiki turned to his fellow Chunin along the walls. Charlotte noticed they all had smiles on their faces. But unlike the smile Ibiki was giving them for over fifty minutes, these ones were warm, celebrating. "For the first exam, everyone still here... has passed."
"WHA!" Ben and the blond couldn't help but blurting out. Charlotte and Adam were confused as well. But now, Charlotte saw that Ibiki's face was of true happiness. He wasn't kidding them, but what just happened?
"What about the tenth question?" The pinkette stood up and asked, voicing the thought on everyone's mind.
"That was the tenth question. 'Will you take the question, or go home safe'," Ibiki revealed.
"But what about the previous nine questions?" A girl with four short ponytails asked.
"They were to test how well you can gather information," Ibiki revealed. "I explained the rules in a way that allows cheating, and pressured you to see if you would cheat intelligently. Both the Chunin along the wall and the difficulty of the questions were to force you into a hard choice; cheat or fail. We even placed two Chunin who knew the answers among your midst, from whom you can cheat. Did any of you notice that, even though only three-man teams are allowed into this test, the number of people total wasn't a multiple of three?"
As the two Chunin waved, Charlotte realized that indeed was true; 125 divided by 3 equals 41 with two remaining. She also realized the pink-haired girl wasn't one of the plants; she was just an intelligent team member.
"But those who didn't cheat well enough failed," Ibiki said, removing his cap, "and here's why." At the sight, even Adam gasped. Ben almost got sick. Charlotte did get sick, and wondered why he didn't use a little makeup to cover all those gash scars, burns, bruises, and screw-holes. "Information can be the most valuable thing you'll gather as a ninja. More important than your life. Remember this, for if you gather incorrect data, your life, and the life of your village, will be in dire peril." Those words left those in attendance in awe.
"The world of ninjas isn't safe," Ibiki pushed on, putting his cap back on. "You'll go on many missions where it's either do or die. You don't have the option to play it safe. That was the purpose of the tenth question; to see who had the nerve to press on against all odds. ..."
He would have continued what would undoubtedly have been a great speech, but a bundled blur hurled into the room, shattering a window. The bundle threw two kunai; there was a person wrapped inside so the glass wouldn't damage him. The blanket unfolded with the kunai, becoming a banner.
Second Examiner, Anko Mitarashi, has arrived.
"Alright lilylivers, listen up!" the woman, identified by the banner as Anko, announced. "Your second examiner is here! Let's get on to the next examination! Follow me!"
Great Ditto, Adam thought, another Ben. Just what I needed.
How can she wear such unfashionable clothes? Charlotte wondered to herself. Seriously, a trench coat and fishnets?
This. Lady. Is. AWESOME! Ben mentally cheered.
"Hello Anko," Ibiki greeted her, peering around her banner. "You're early."
"Eighty-four?" Anko seemed to ask. "Did you really let 28 teams pass? Ibiki, you've gone soft!" she accused Ibiki sharply, earning her a few points with Adam.
"The fields were large and ripe this year. Be glad you'll harvest so many good students," Ibiki replied.
"Either way," Anko continued, "I'll be cutting their numbers down by at least half! This will be fun to watch... There's too many of you to do the second exam today. So meet me tomorrow at Training Ground 44 at one on the dot!" As fast as she said 'dot', she vanished. Her parting words spooked Ben and Charlotte, but Adam regained his drive and gained some respect for her.
A few hours later, Anko met up with Ibiki. She was there to ask about how the teams did for the first nine questions. After hearing how well many of the teams did, and surprised her with how one kid had a blank paper, Ibiki revealed a shocker. "Finally, there was one team that didn't use any form of jutsu I'm familiar with."
"What do you mean by that?" Anko asked him.
"They passed two notes, with three messages, between each other, then the scrawny kid drew an invisible arrow with his metal top," Ibiki revealed. "After that, they wrote the answers down one at a time. We managed to retrieve the notes from the exam room's trash can. One message told who had the answers and to get them for all three teammates, the second had numbers to 'use', and the last said 'plant, who'."
Anko thought this puzzle over, trying to guess how such an Intel gathering jutsu was possible, based on what the team did. However, none of the ideas made sense, besides a possible Summoning Jutsu. But Summons appeared with a bang, and needed a blood sample, two things that didn't occur during that exam. "Interesting kids. Mind telling me who they are? I'd like to keep an eye on them during my exam."
That night, Team Pokemon gathered in their hotel room. They discussed what happened that day over a good meal. Charlotte told them her observances on the people there: What team - or at least what insignia - everyone was part of, what Pokemon-like Attacks they could do, and about how long it took them to start cheating after the point she started paying attention. Adam was grateful that she also had an almost photographic memory; it really helped them understand what they were up against. Adam and Ben dutifully wrote down everything she said for future reference, and she supplied beautiful, detailed sketches of each person in question. Armed with this information, Team Pokemon now believed themselves ready for whatever the next test was to be. But what they didn't know was that they attracted the attention of two different interest groups.
Exam 1/4 complete!
AnonymousGX