The First Trial

After one more night on the plains, the group finally reaches The Center. The largest city in the region is surrounded by a towering metal wall. Standing fifteen feet high and ten feet thick, the wall were made with protection in mind. The walls need to thick because extremely strong Ferals live there.

On the other side of The Center is the Final Challenge, a huge mountain standing in the center of the region that is home to the Final Challenge of the Trials. Thankfully, not only does The Center have its walls and defense force, one of the strongest in the region, it is also lead by one of the strongest and intelligent beings alive, the legendary Mewtwo.

Almost a thousand years ago, when humans and Pokémon were altered, the Legendaries were unaffected. Already unable to reproduce, there was no need for them to them to be changed, so they remained mostly unaltered. The only change that came about them was a new ability, one that a few already had. They could alter their appearance to look more human and blend in easier with the new Pokemorphs. Most Legendaries picks a gender and stick with it. Years ago, Mewtwo had gathered together Pokemorph that valued intelligence and founded the city that would become The Center. He is still the leader, hundreds of years later, and has proven to be an excellence one, defending the city from the most powerful Ferals and rouge Legendaries.

The group stares around them as they enter the city, buildings rising up a hundred feet or more, towering over them. Ratchell is sitting on Mike's shoulders to get a better look around and is gasping at every new sight. Mike starts looking at the various Pokemorphs walking around while Ratchell grips his hair in awe - not hard enough to cause pain, though - and gets Gwen's attention.

"See sis! There's a Pokemorph walking around without shorts!" Mike says, gesturing to a Zoroark Pokemorph. Gwen looks at the Pokemorphs. He is indeed naked but has a crazy look in his eyes. Then Gwen sees two official looking Pokemorphs, a Lucario and Heracross, walk up behind him and restrain him, clapping handcuffs on him.

"Yeah, he's perfectly normal." Gwen says, smacking Mike, "Just don't try it. Besides, I don't want our family to look like idiots."

"Heh, so this is the city… Wonder if the girls here are as tough as you." Feng whispers to her, thinking of his fight with Gwen. He does like women tough, there is a reason he doesn't hold back when fighting girls and why Gwen giving him a hard time has him grinning even after his battle with Mike.

Gwen chuckles, "If you want a rematch, make sure you can take the punches."

"Ouch, I think that actually hurt." Feng said in mock-pain.

Ratchell pats Mike's head, "So, will we get pizza after the trial?"

Mike grins, "Yeah, we will probably work an appetite, so we can celebrate with some really big slices…" saliva starts to drip down his chin.

"See Felicity?! Everything's so shiny and sparkly! Isn't it pretty?!" Kitty says loudly, drawing some funny looks from the people around them. Gwen groans and face-palms.

"Let's just go register already." She says, picking up her pace.

Before long, the group is standing outside of the Trials Registration building, also home to the first Trial. They enter the building, walking up a dozen carved stone steps, and get in the short line to register.

Gwen grabs a brochure on the Trials, just to freshen up. The age limit is ten to enter in the Trials but most Pokemorphs wait until they are older. Every Pokemorph is registered individually but can, and are encouraged to, form teams to complete the Trials. Even after registering, anyone can join any team whenever they want to but you can only take part in a Trial you have yet to pass. In other words, you can't help a team that hasn't passed a Trail if you already have.

There are eight Trials in total, each one very different from the last. They can vary from survival to a simple tournament or, as in the Trial in The Center, a written test. Trials can change often, as the Trial Leader makes his or her own Trial and Leaders can change randomly, weather from stepping down, getting board of being a Trial Leader, or even death. You never know what Trial you are going get until you get there.

Gwen puts the pamphlet down as it's her turn. After quickly filling out some paper work, she is given a card with her name, Pokemorph Species and eight blank spots for the Trial Marks. Then she joins the group.

"So are we going to jump right in and challenge the first Trial?" Feng asks.

"I don't see why not." Mike answers, eager to get started.

"Does anyone even know what it's going to be?" Gwen asks. Everyone is surprised when Kitty speaks up.

"Oh I know! It's a test, like a written test." Kitty says.

"Well that's not a surprise, all the smartest Pokemorphs gather here." Gwen says.

"W-wait, it's a t-test!?" Feng stutters nervously.

"Looks like it. Hey man, you okay?" Mike asks him, looking at Feng's white as a sheet face.

"Y-yeah, it's j-just I know I'm going to fail this Trial." Feng says, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Relax, it's just a test." Gwen says, clapping him on the shoulder. "Basic knowledge and things like that."

"I hate tests." Feng says simply. "The guys taught me a few things at the ranch; I never passed one of their tests."

"Don't worry; I've never even taken a test." Ratchell says, trying to cheer him up. "I'm not scared." She puffs out her small chest.

"Let's just get this over with." Feng says in defeat and the group heads down a hallway to the test site.

It opens into a room that looks like a class room, a large desk by a white board with a dozen smaller desks facing it. At the large desk is a Pokemorph. Judging by his tan skin, pointed ears and three toed bare feet, he's part Alakazam. He also has bright, intelligent purple eyes and stands at least six feet tall. In a deep voice he addresses the group.

"Hello, everyone, why don't you have a seat? We can start when you are ready." The group is slightly startled at him knowing exactly what they were here for but decide to sit anyway.

"So, can y-" Gwen starts to say but the Pokemorph cuts her off.

"Yes Gwen, I can read your minds. My name is Nicholas and I will be administering your first Trial." He tells them, Gwen looking slightly upset he cut her off. "Yes, Ratchell?" He says before Ratchell is able to get her hand up to ask her question.

"Um, if you can read our minds, why do we have to take a test?" She asks.

"I may have misled you. I can't see everything you have ever done or thought, my ability only extends to what you are thinking about at this particular moment." He explains. A stack of papers start to glow purple and float to each of the group's desks.

"Guh…" Feng nearly whimpers at the sight of the paper before him.

"Now, I know you're wondering exactly what will be on this test. Well I can't tell you, only know that you won't be graded on whether your answers are right or wrong. Instead, I will be grading you on many other qualities. This test is not purely academic; rather to test if you have the mental strength to challenge the Trials ahead of you. With that said, you may begin. Also, there is no time limit on this test, take your time and think about your answers." With that, the test begins.

Gwen flips over her test and looks at the first question. Although Nicholas said it wouldn't be academic, the first question didn't reflect that: What is Pi? Gwen knew the answer, having paid attention in school unlike her brother, and wrote down as much of it as she remembered, 3.1415.

Felicity also knew the answer, her Master before she left home was very intent on making sure Felicity knew as much as she could learn, so she wrote 3.1415926535. That was the most she could remember.

Mike looked at the question and scratched his head. He vaguely remembered it was something to do with math, mostly because Gwen pestered him about it. The most interesting thing he saw in math class was the back of his eyelids or the cleavage of the Raichu teacher whenever she felt like giving her students "extra credits" at her home. Since he did know it had something to do with math he wrote that it was a number, the Raichu Pokemorph gave him enough points through grading his tongue.

Feng was sweating. He hated tests and math. The combination was threatening to send him into a fit. The brothers had taught him something about numbers, but only enough to help out on the ranch. On one of his trips into the Center, Bill had bought a math book. Feng had taken one look at it, tossed it into the corner and watched it rot. Not knowing what else to put, he wrote, a dessert.

Ratchell didn't even know Pi was a number. In fact, she thought someone had made a spelling mistake, forgetting the e in pie. She knew exactly what pie was, but she wanted to be creative. It helped that the teacher was hot; she kept glancing at him every few seconds. She took a second to get her words together before writing, 'I know what pie is and I have a hot moist pie for you to eat right here'. She giggled at the words and moved one.

Kitty surprised herself; she actually knew what the answer was, kind of. There were a lot of smart Pokemorphs in The Center and she had some fun times roleplaying as a schoolgirl in need of assistance with a lot of them. Some time, when they were snuggling up in bed afterword, they would talk about their jobs. She could remember one of the guys, or was it a girl, talking about numbers and Pi stuck in her head because it sounded like pie. She wrote down 3.1.

After the first question, there were two more pages. The question varied from things like how to build a fire to how many Trials there are. The group steadily worked their way through the test.

One question stopped Feng in his tracks. He had been doing his best, surprising himself on knowing quite a few of the questions. When he got to a question close to the end, he had to stop and think. It read simply, 'Why are you challenging the Trials?' At first he thought the answer was simple, he wanted to get stronger, but he started thinking. When he first started training, it was to become stronger. Living at the ranch helped with that, not only training but helping around the ranch. Then there was an incident that happened when he was eleven.

(Flashback)

It was a normal day on the ranch, everyone was out working. Then he heard someone yell, it sounded like Jax, and he ran in the direction of the sound. When he approached he saw Jax kneeling down, holding one leg. Feng ran up and saw a large gash on his thigh, bleeding heavily. Jax old Feng to watch the sky while he tended to his leg. Feng did so and quickly saw what attacked Jax. It was a Feral Braviary Pokemorph, human shaped, with wings instead of arms, a beak instead of a mouth, talon feet, and covered in feathers.

When Feng saw it, it was circling around to attack again. Feng smiled, seeing someone to test his training on. Jax saw him settle into a fighting stance and yelled at him, for the Feral was too strong for him to fight. He told Feng to run back to the house and fetch Bill. Of course, Feng ignored him, watching the Braviary start to dive.

At just the right time, Feng brought his foot up, talons out, and aimed a kick at its face. Feng's blow struck home but the Feral didn't seem to even notice the attack. It continued the dive, slamming its wing into Feng's abdomen, sending him sprawling and breaking some of his ribs. As Feng lay there, clutching his broken ribs, the Braviary got ready to attack. Feng could hardly breathe, let alone move and could only watch as the Feral dived at him.

Just before it landed a strike, Jax tackled it from the side, sending it into the ground. The Feral was at least as big as Jax, if not bigger, and stood its ground. Jax was smart enough to know attacking it, even on the ground, was a bad idea but with Feng hurt he didn't have a choice. He rushed the Braviary, horns lowered, but with a quick flap it jumped to the side and struck Jax with its wings, knocking him to the ground. It immediately jumped on Jax, burying its sharp beak deep in his shoulder.

Feng screamed and struggled to his feet. He tried to tackle the Feral but was easily brushed away with a sweep of its wing. He could only watch in horror as it went in again, taking a chunk of flesh out of Jax's shoulder. It went in again, this time aiming for a killing blow.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and a dozen shards of rock rose out of the ground and impaled the Feral, knocking it off of an unmoving Jax. Feng heard a roar and saw Bill charging across the field, eyes filled with rage. More rocks tore themselves out of the ground and cut into Braviary, causing massive damage. It started to rise but Bill rammed his horn into its chest, impaling it and flinging it to the ground. The Feral tried to get up, despite being close to death. Bill walked over to it and lifted a heavy foot, stomping down on its chest, finishing the job.

Feng crawled over to Jax, looking at the huge chunk missing from his shoulder and the large pool of blood soaking into the ground. Bill rushed over and picked Jax up, telling Feng to stick close to him. Feng struggled to his feet, fighting the pain, and followed Bill to the house. Bill bandaged Jax's shoulder and asked Feng what happened.

Feng told him. Bill was furious but held his anger in check, seeing the look in Feng's eyes told him he was suffering enough. It was very close, Jax almost died from blood loss, but he started to recover. Feng did everything he could to help make him comfortable and Jax eventually healed, but with a large scar on his shoulder. Even though Jax told him everything was okay and that he forgave him, Feng never forgave himself. Every day he trained harder, wanting the strength to protect his family.

(End flashback)

As his thoughts drifted back to the test in front of him, he thought about what to write. In the end he wrote that he wanted to protect his friends. Little did he know, Nicholas had been watching the scene play out in his mind. This was why he was in charge of the first Trail.

As the test went on each member of the group answered that question differently.

Mike wanted to grow stronger as well but he also wanted to see everything the region had to offer with his friends.

Gwen's reason was much the same as Mike's, although the need to battle was much stronger.

Ratchell was tired of being alone. Having never had any real friend at her home, she set out on her own to find adventures. After traveling by herself for a while she started to become lonely. Since finding the group she has been having a wonderful time with her new friends. She didn't want that to end.

Felicity was happy to finally be with Kitty. She never wanted to be away from her again and would do anything to be with her and protect her.

Kitty just liked seeing new things, much like Mike. She was also to be happy to be traveling with her brother and sister.

When everyone was done with the test, the papers floated off their desks and piled themselves on Nicholas's desk. Throughout the Trial, he had been watching each of their minds. As he had said, this Trial was about much more than intelligence. It was about each individual's passion and reason for challenging the Trials.

Even the most battle hungry Pokemorph had deeper reasons for their challenge and it was his job to find them. Only a few times had he seen a truly evil Pokemorph. They were quickly dealt with when they proved themselves irredeemable, even if it pained him in more ways than one.

After watching this group of Pokemorphs take his test, he knew they had potential, he even suspected they would come to help the entire region. They had all easily passed the test.

"I am happy to tell you, you have all passed the First Trial." Nicolas tells them.

"But you didn't even look at our tests." Ratchell says, confused.

"He was watching us as we took it, reading our minds." Gwen told her, a little creped out.

"You are correct; I have found each and every one of you is fully qualified to continue on with the remaining Trials." He informs them, "As proof of passing this Trial, I present each of you with the Mark of Motivation."

A drawer on his desk opens and six metal, golden M's float out and hover in front of each of them. They grab them out of the air and pin them to their new Challenge ID. They say good bye to Nicholas and leave the building, gathering on the street.

"So, we passed out first Trial." Feng says.

"Yeah, feels kind of anti-climatic." Gwen says.

"You're right, it's depressing." Mike comments.

"Well I know how to put some excitement into out day." Kitty says grinning. "I told you I was going to throw a party when we got here. I think tonight is a good night to party."

"Sounds like fun." Ratchell says.

"Yeah, we could use some excitement." Felicity agrees. Kitty starts off down the street and the others follow her.

"Wait, what about some pizza first?" Mike asks, holding his stomach. It gave a low growl. Feng laughed at that.

"Hah hah hah! Sure, I know the best place. Jax took me there once…" He goes quiet before putting on a grin, "Best pizza in the city, just get a slice and you'll want more."

"Sure, but…" Gwen starts, staring at Feng, "You did notice that odd question about why we were doing this. I know everyone's reasons here except yours."

"Oh? Hah hah hah, isn't it obvious?" he asks, grin still there, "I want a rematch, so I'm not letting you or Mike die if I can help it."

Gwen smiles, that was a good enough answer for her.

Author's Note: Okay, I know and I'm sorry. This chapter was a little dry but I had to get it out of the way. A little background and an explanation on the Trials. If anything is unclear, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't, feel free to PM me. The next chapter will be all about the party Kitty is throwing and there will be a lot of lemony fun, so hang in there. Thanks to those who voted in my poll, it looks like the group is going south to warmer weather. Also, I've started a one-shot series, check it out if your intrested. That's all I have for now, please review and as always,

Happy Fapping!