Chapter-10
The next morning the camp finally started in full swing, we were first grouped into four (North, South, East and West) teams with two cabins to a team. Naturally it was one boy's cabin and one girl's cabin to a team. Heart, Soul and I were in the same team-Team South- no surprise there. The day started off with a morning assembly after breakfast then for the grand opening event we witnessed a grand 6 on 6 Pokémon battle between Mr. And Mrs. Hale it was indeed very flashy and the match ended with a tie of three wins and three losses a piece.
We were then split further into groups of 32 with 8 from each team for an expedition out into Greenfield. We trekked across the plains and meadows of Greenfield enjoying the beautiful scenery as well as admiring the local Pokémon, the guides responsible for each group began to lecture us about the local Pokémon as well as some of the plants, especially focusing on those that could be used as medicine and those we must steer clear of, the lecture proceeded to more general topics of Pokémon, plants, minerals and other specialities of the of the Jotho region itself. While most kids just listened some chose to completely ignore the lecture and ogle at the sights -*cough* Heart- there were also some who were diligently taking notes every now and then, surprisingly Soul was one of them as his hands were furiously moving over a book while seldom looking around. I didn't know what he wrote in that book but I'd seen him engrossed in similar activities even back home, Heart kept trying to peek at what he was up to but had no success so far.
We reached a spot by the edge of a meadow with a stream running by very close to it and we were made to set up camp nearby for lunch. The instructors provided little help only offering directions very now and then as their motto was to enable us to accomplish these tasks on our own or we'd make poor and inexperienced trainers who wouldn't be able to accomplish much. After a hearty lunch the first group competition was under way; fishing, each of us were given a fishing rod and a set of lures to fish with in the stream. The time limit was set as three hours, one could dropout at any time and they would also be disqualified if they were careless in managing their lines and lost all their lures. The award system was as follows- 5 points for every Magikarp as they were very common, 10 points for a Goldeen/Poliwag or similar Pokémon and 20 points for a Seaking/Poliwhirl or any other rare Pokémon, the results of each individual present here would be recorded and added together to obtain each team's final score.
We all spread ourselves out along the banks of the stream to get started. It wasn't even five minutes since we started when-"Where are all the water Pokémon? Why aren't they biting yet? Its been ages already."- Heart really didn't have the patience for fishing and her constant fidgeting with her rod and agitating the waters all but guaranteed she and anyone else fishing near her wouldn't catch anything soon. So following Soul's advice I quietly fled for a better fishing spot while Heart kept yelling "traitors" at us.
Soul and I quickly came by a spot by a bend in the stream with a shady tree to provide us some cover from the sun and we resumed our fishing. Soul was amazing as he was soon able to reel in a Seaking, I could see that he had some skill as an Angler and upon questioning closer he told me he knew an old retired Angler by the name of Toby Fishlegs back in Goldenrod who taught him a thing or two. As the dead line soon came up it was evident that Soul had learnt more than just a thing or two as his score alone reached nearly 800 points. I had started to copy his actions in casting the line and reeling methods since early on and with a bit of advice every now and then I finally managed to reel in a Poliwhirl towards the end. When we got back we were treated to a burning glare from Heart who had only managed to catch less than ten Magikarp, I still don't know how she managed to catch so many. Anyhow she still seemed smug about her achievement but when the points were tallied up and it was found that Soul's points alone constituted more than double of our team of eight's total she was totally dejected. Only after much coaxing and promises of fishing lessons did she cheer up a bit. When we got back to the main campus and the overall team points were tallied, it was found that our team South won and by quite a good margin at that. Soul also won the Junior Master Angler prize as the MVP of our team.
After some refreshments, Pokémon grooming and general care classes were conducted, while all the kids were excited at the idea of giving massages to Pokémon the same couldn't be said for the Pokémon themselves. I don't know where the instructors got such patient Pokémon as they were still very cooperative after being squashed like play dough by most kids. It almost made me want to give them a good squeeze and see how they liked it, although there were the occasional kids with really gentle hands who following the Instructor's words were able to give the Pokémon a good experience. Heart, Soul and I all had an easier time as we were quite experienced in this due to having practiced on our Parent's Pokémon as well our wild Pokémon friends from the Ilex Forest.
During dinner we all sat with our cabin mates discussing what lessons we would like to focus on over the week. There were many classes being held and the kids could pick any class as long as there were still any vacancies, needless to say that the Pokémon battle class was completely filled up within five minutes and sadly only Blake, Jill and Clair from our group managed to get a spot in that class. Although I was slightly upset I didn't let it get me down as I was confident that with my already plentiful battle experience and knowledge from my past life I wasn't missing out too much. Truth is I was slightly more interested in the side skill classes that we couldn't really explore in the games in my past life. There were classes on Pokémon medicine and first aid, Pokémon daily care and grooming, Cooking, Arts and Crafts, Pokémon fashion, Photography and Cinematography, Pokémon Theatre and performance arts, Music and Dance, etc. so besides the basic fundamental classes on general Knowledge everyone had to attend, the campers were required to pick at least three classes.
After much deliberation I decided to apply for Pokémon medicine and first aid, Pokémon daily care and grooming, Cooking and simply to try something new, Music and Dance (I swear I had no sense of rhythm in my past life and my friends always teased me saying that I danced like a constipated gorilla on hot coals *sigh* here's to hoping to change and new beginnings.). Soul also picked Pokémon medicine and first aid and Pokémon daily care and grooming like me but he also choose Arts and Crafts and Photography and Cinematography. Heart picked Pokémon daily care and grooming, Pokémon fashion, Pokémon Theatre and performance arts and Music and Dance.
The next few days passed by like a breeze, in addition to the daily classes there were early morning treks through the surrounding plains, daily team competitions such as a tug of war, track and field, quiz and debates, there was even a grand treasure hunt to be organised on the last day. Besides all those competitive events, even in the regular classes though there were no official competitions every camper sought to outdo the other and put their best skills on display. One event in particular caught my eye; It turns out that Soul was a natural born artist, according to Mary who also attends the Arts and Craft class, our team mates got into a little argument with team North when the competition got a little too heated and the teacher decided to settle it with a "Sketch Off" and when Soul's sketch was revealed in front of the class even the instructor was stunned by the beautiful sketch depicting a camper reeling in a Goldeen from a stream. The entire scene looked so realistic even if it was only black pencil shading, later when the Instructor asked for Soul's sketch book to take a look through, she was amazed by the many sketches depicting cityscapes, forests and vast plains; looks like we finally know what Soul was up to when he had his head buried in his notebook.
Soul wasn't the only one showing promise as Heart had taken to the stage like a hungry Caterpie to syrup coated berries; she had truly taken to the performing arts showcasing her great sense of style and fashion, the costumes she designed were all the rage in camp. I wasn't too shabby myself especially in the Music and Dance class, no choking cat like singing or constipated gorilla dancing. Thanks to my Innate Skill [Insight] although I wasn't great at singing, learning to play instruments was easy and I put quite a lot of work in practicing and learning to play the flute, as for dancing my Aura training and Innate Skill helped out a lot as my coordination and reflexes were really good so all in all it was going great, though I was a little too stiff in my movements it was just due o my nervousness. The place that I really excelled at was cooking and Pokémon daily care and grooming, seeing as I often helped out in the kitchen at home and even before that in my previous life at the orphanage where I had to accommodate for some really picky eaters, my culinary skills were excellent. As for Pokémon care and grooming, I started infusing a little Aura into my movements as I massaged or brushed the Pokémon so they really loved it. In fact there would always be a large crowd of Pokémon around me during class hoping I'd give them a grooming session.
The other team events went great too and our team South was solidly placed first thanks to the efforts of Heart, Soul and I. All three of us were quite fit and we easily secured first place in any physically exerting challenge and thanks to all the time I spent reading books in the library, events like debates and quizzes weren't a problem. Not to say that we hogged all the glory and it was a one man show, we worked very hard to fully integrate with our other team mates and pulled through together leaving no one behind. The three of us put in extra effort when we got to participate in mock Pokémon battles, seeing as we more experienced than our friends we were very open when someone wanted to spar and even gave helpful tips and advice to bring out our respective Pokémon partner's full strength to bear.
Before we knew it the Summer camp was drawing to a close and all that was left was the treasure hunt which was very fun and had us trek through a large region around the camp in the hunt for certain herbs, information on certain Pokémon and their habitats as well as collecting the various markers along the way. Finally in the evening every one sat around a large campfire in the amphitheatre for dinner under the starry summer sky as a few Instructors and campers put on a cultural show for everyone, needless to say Pokémon participated too. Finally just before everyone went to tuck in for the night Professor Elm decided to make the announcement that everyone was waiting for, we would finally get to know who the lucky three to get the Jotho starters will be. Everyone was waiting with baited breath as the lucky registration numbers were being called out but everyone save for three were let down, Heart was especially super depressed as one of the winning numbers differed by the final last digit with hers and she was nearly jumping off her seat with excitement as it was being called out all to be doused by the last digit.
Finally with many sighs and much muttering about the raffle being rigged and conspiracy theories we all went to bed. The next morning we said our goodbyes to our friends who hailed from different towns and cities with promises to keep in touch and visit if we happened to be in town. The three of us picked up our luggage and got on our bus as the attendant was doing a roll call. We found seats near the back of the bus and settled down.
"*sigh*, so close... so very close."- Heart laments.
"Give it a rest Heart it wasn't meant to be. In fact even the chance of getting the starters when we come of age and applying for them formally is low. We need to be prepared for whatever comes and take it in stride, its not like we can't get any good Pokémon around town and if you're still determined to get a region starter we could always search for them in the wild ourselves when we become trainers."- I try to console her.
"Yeah stop being a wuss, I personally wouldn't mind if I had to start off my journey with a Caterpie, Weedle or Rattata even."-Soul adds on.
"Don't jinx it, I still have hope. Just wait, when I get an official starter and you don't we'll see then."- Heart retorts.
*sigh* these two don't ever stop it seems. I couldn't really pick a side in this argument either as they were both right, it wouldn't do to give up on obtaining an official starter and it also wouldn't do to pin all our hopes on it either. I just wish they'd see the middle ground sometimes; I lean back against the seat and gaze out the window at the passing scene of a group of trainers dismantling their camp and continuing their journey. I become lost in thought as I recall all that I've learnt in camp and wondering how I can best utilize it to help my own journey one day.
"There's still more than two months of summer vacation left, what are we going to do? After summer camp it all seems so boring."- Heart continues whining.
"Yeah, I really wish we could have continued at camp for the rest of summer."- On a rare occasion Soul agrees with Heart.
"Come on you two there are still many more batches of kids all over Jotho who are desperate to attend camp. Besides I'm sure we'll find something interesting to do over summer to keep us occupied."- I chide them. I was also thinking of ways to make this summer more productive and the things I learnt at camp and the Pokémon Trainer group I just saw gave me a brilliant idea. If it all worked out I could make our vacation a whole lot more interesting and also make some money out of it thanks to the Pokémon centred economy of this world. I start going over the things I might require mentally and organise everything and form a proper plan that I'd be able to start on as soon as I reach home.