With this chapter, we finally enter the third, and final, exam! Will Sango be able to get through it successfully?
Just a Bad Writer For Fun: Yesterday was pretty rough for me, too. Glad I was able to help.
Hellraiserphoenix: The third exam seems like it's gonna be a rough one, I'm not gonna lie. As for Sango's goals… well, we'll just have to see.
Pokemonking0924: Actually, she's based on the female player character from Shadows of Almia, but she got her partner pokemon in the plot of Guardian Signs. As for Marion's words… we'll have to see, won't we? And yes, Capture Stylers will serve a role in the third exam.
Guest: Pretty much this. We'll have to see what, exactly, Marion's words meant about Sango's dreams for the future.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 113
As the last touches of sunlight stretched out over the horizon, Petal looked out over the final examinees. They were standing in file on the beach, a small cove encircled by low cliffs, upon which stood the forest of the Nature Preserve, the trees lit in the dusk light by a roaring fire pit blazing in the sand.
Hmm… 28 managed to make it this far, huh. Not bad… a manageable number, at the very least, Petal mused. I suppose that it's best to call things her-
A drop of water landed on Petal's nose, breaking her concentration.
Oh? Petal looked up at the darkening sky, rain moving in from the distance.
"Look out!" A voice called from the sea.
"OUTTA OUR WAY! OUTTA OUR WAY!"
Petal whirled around and reached for her sword, a streak of blue shooting across the choppy sea, making a beeline for the shore.
The waves struck the sand, drenching Petal completely as a large Mantine crashed into the beach, flinging two girls through the air, the duo landing in front of her in a soaked and sandy mess.
"We're here…" Marion panted. "I knew it'd work…"
"Thanks… Silver…" Sango gasped, sitting up, the raindrop shaped pokemon nodding happily as he escaped her clutches.
Marion looked around frantically. "Did… did we make it?!"
"I think so…" Sango said, looking out at the sky hopefully. The last traces of sunlight were gone.
"So nice of you to join us…" The cold voice coming from above the girls' heads, the two looking up nervously. Petal, sopping wet, was staring down at them with a killer gleam in her eye, smiling the most threatening smile either of them had ever seen. The two girls shivered.
"So… we made it…?" Marion asked hopefully. Sango swallowed, not sharing her peer's boldness.
"Get in line…" Petal snarled.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Sango and Marion shouted, standing at attention and running to stand with the others. Marion waved to Mana one last time, the Mantine bouncing into the water happily.
"Well then… as we wait for the rain to pass…" Petal shot a meaningful glare at Sango, who nodded to Silver, the Castform releasing a beam of light into the air that illuminated the night sky, driving away the clouds and generating a faux sun in the air. Similarly, Silver changed with the weather, his head turning bright orange and shaping into the sun.
"Lovely… Now, welcome to the third exam," Petal said, turning back to the crowd. "The 30 of you are the finalists, the ones who've made it to the very end. This is your last test. You should be proud to make it this far, but here's where it all ends. Half of you will leave this island as Probationary Rangers. The other half… will return home, to try again in three months."
Sango glanced around. She and Marion were the only students from the Pokemon Academy, it seemed. The others must all have dropped out.
"Now, let me explain the conditions of the third exam. The first exam graded you on your knowledge and your willpower, to see if you had the right mindset to be a ranger. The second exam graded you on your preparation, your resourcefulness, your efficiency, and your ability to adapt to unfortunate circumstances. Now the third exam… will be a practical test of your abilities."
Murmurs rang out among the crowd.
"Now let me explain what that means. But before that, I have a little something for each one of you."
Petal stepped forward, a large sack in her hands. She reached inside and withdrew Capture Stylers, passing them out to each of the examinees.
Sango's eyes lit up with joy, turning the styler over in her hands. It felt much better than the rental she was using in her Campus Safety duties.
"You'll be using these stylers to capture a very special pokemon on this island…" Petal smiled wickedly. "We've made arrangements with the Nature Preserve, to branch out a large portion of this island for our exclusive use. However, there is a condition. We are not permitted to use the pokemon on this island in our test. You must only work beside your own pokemon, the partners you brought with you. You are forbidden from using these stylers to capture any other pokemon, whether for Field Moves or Poke Assists."
Sango glanced at Marion. Her partner pokemon couldn't really go on land… would she be okay? No, put that out of your head, Sango. This is a competition! You can't pity her!
She winced, shaking her head.
"Another thing. Protect this styler and its energy with your life. You won't be able to recharge it's energy! And if it drops to zero… that's it! You fail!"
"So what's this pokemon we're going to catch?" One of the examinees asked.
"I'm so glad you asked," Petal said, smiling wickedly. "Ritsu?"
"Pi!" Ritsu cheered, strumming her guitar, a chord echoing out across the beach. The bushes on the small cliff above the beach began rustling, and small yellow pokemon bustled out of them eagerly.
15 Pichu gathered around Petal's partner pokemon, swaying happily to the music as they played with each other merrily.
"Pichu?" One of the kids couldn't hide his laughter, but Petal silenced him with a glare. Sango glanced around, her eyes wide. Oh… that's clever.
It didn't seem like anyone noticed, but Sango did. To pass the second exam, crossing the ocean was required. This meant that nearly every prospective ranger here had with them a pokemon that was either water or flying type. Pokemon whose capture assists would be incredibly difficult, bordering on ineffective, for capturing an electric type. This really was a clever test…
"Yes, these here are 15 Pichu," Petal said. "There are no other wild Pichu on this island, just the 15 you see here. Your task is very simple. These Pichu will go hide across the Nature Preserve. Your job is to capture a Pichu, any Pichu, and bring it back here, unharmed, in three days. Understand? You have a time limit of three days. No longer, no shorter. If you bring one back before then, it won't count. You will need to look after it until the time limit is over."
"Three days?" One of the examinees asked. "But what are we going to eat?"
Petal rolled her eyes, as if she was shocked the girl had made it this far. Sango shared her surprise.
Petal swept her hand out, gesturing to the wilds behind them.
"There's a whole forest behind you. Figure it out."
Gulps and looks of worry broke out threw the line. Petal smirked, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing an energy bar. Sango wiped some drool from her mouth. She hadn't had anything to eat all day, and even something that meager looked delicious. It was the chocolate-covered kind, too…
Petal mockingly ate the bar in front of the hungry examinees' envious gazes, staring at them with a challenging stare. She finished up the bar, wiping her fingers on the wrapper, and neatly placing it in a small bag to throw away later.
"Uh… what about if we get injured?" Another examinee asked. Another eyeroll.
"Take care of it yourself," Petal answered. This answer led to gasps of shock and outrage.
"Take care of it ourselves?!" One of them exclaimed.
"We could get killed!" Another cried.
"Don't worry about that," Petal said. "We've got countermeasures in place."
The test takers sighed in relief, leading Petal to turn her mouth up in a smirk. She turned and held up a rock, tossing it into the water.
"We're in international waters right now, so we'll just weigh you down and push your bodies overboard on the way back."
Gasps of shock rang out, Petal throwing her head back and laughing. It wasn't a nice laugh. At least it was a joke… right?
Sango gulped.
"Now, you have until the sun sets three nights from tonight," Petal declared. "Now, Pichu! Get going!"
Ritsu strummed her guitar, capturing the Pichu's attention.
"Pichu!" The small electric pokemon cheered, scattering off and running in different directions into the forest. When the last had vanished from sight, Petal raised her hand, and snapped her fingers.
"Get moving!" She declared, sitting down on a large rock out on in the sand. "I'll be here if you need any assistance… or if any of you decide you just can't hack it and need to run back home to mommy."
Sango clenched her fist in anger, ignoring the top ranger's condescending words. She turned and ran toward the cliffs, heading toward a more shallow slope to climb up into the forest. Silver followed eagerly after her.
However fast I can capture a Pichu… I'll still need to survive for three days, she reasoned. First and foremost, this is a test of survival. Accomplishing the mission can come later. We weren't allowed to bring any food or drink to the test… I guess this is why. They're also testing how well we can live off the land here… My first goal… I need to find a source of water. The proctor said we should be able to last for three days by living off the land… so there must be a source of drinkable water around here somewhere…
She stepped into the forest, looking around. Of course there wasn't a river or stream in sight, that would be too simple. She'd have to find a lake or river somewhere, and set her base camp up there. She could work on building a shelter and foraging for food. It would be tricky, but she probably could handle it. But first, the water would-
"Sango!"
Sango whirled around in shock, staring into the darkness. A shadowed figure broke out of the forest, waving to her.
"Marion?"
"Yup yup!" The shadow bubbled. It was her, alright. Silver lit himself up a little brighter, casting the trees in a soft glow so they could finally see each other.
"You again?" Sango sighed. "What are you doing here? Following me?"
"Well duh, silly!" Marion smiled. "Best buds like us gotta stick together, after all!"
Sango wouldn't really call them "best buds" but in the face of the shimmering blue eyes glistening in the darkness she didn't have it in her to break the poor girl's heart.
"You realize this is a competition, right?" Sango asked. "We're supposed to track down these Pichu ourselves."
"Yeah, but it doesn't have to be," Marion said, her frown clear even in the dark. "See, it's easy! We can help each other, right? You can help me find a Pichu, and then I can help you find a Pichu! That way, we both get to pass! It'll be way easier than both of us looking by ourselves, right?"
"I caught myself a cute little Weedle. So, I figured that since I was done, I could come help you guys out."
Sango burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she remembered her own words, which felt like they had come a lifetime ago.
"What's so funny?" Marion asked.
"No, no, don't worry," Sango said, smiling wistfully. "I just… thought back to a good memory, is all. Yeah… I can't deny something I've said myself… yeah, let's do it. We can work together and help each other out. After all… I'd feel a little guilty if I got to pass but you didn't." She held her hand out in friendship to the older student.
"Same," Marion beamed, nodding. "We both have our dreams riding on this, so let's both give it our best and pass this test together!"
The two shook hands, cementing their partnership.
"So, first thing's first…" Marion said. She turned back in the direction of the beach. "Fishing!"
"NO fishing!" Sango snarled, grabbing the girl by the shoulder.
"But… but… first it was no fishing in the first test… then you wouldn't let me in the second… I wanna fish! I haven't fished all day! Look! I'm breaking out!"
Marion held her tanned arm up for Sango's inspection, a weird rash having spread across the brown skin.
"Not fishing gave you hives?" Sango dryly questioned.
Marion nodded eagerly.
"We can't waste any time here with fishing," Sango said. "Don't you get it? We have to survive out here for three whole days! That means our first priority should be finding a sustainable source of water and a safe location to camp out! And we won't find those out on that beach!"
"Okay, fine," Marion huffed. "So we just need to find water, right?"
"It's not 'just'," Sango said. "It's a big problem!"
"No, no, it's fine," Marion chuckled. "Relax~"
Marion closed her eyes, and inhaled. Her eyes then opened, and she turned and pointed off in a random direction.
"Thatta way."
Sango stared at her with more than a little suspicion.
"How…"
"Hmph," Marion smirked, giving Sango a condescending look so unfitting for an idiot like her that Sango wanted to punch the smug right off of her. "You really underestimate my abilities like that?"
It wasn't that Sango underestimated them as much as she doubted their existence entirely, but there was no point.
"Well it's true, I'm completely useless!" Marion laughed. "But you should know better! When it comes to fishing, I'm the expert of experts, the pro of pros! And you must realize… where fish live, of course?"
"You can't mean…"
"Freshwater fishing!" Marion cheered, pushing past Sango and happily charging through the brush, Sango begrudgingly tromping after her, gesturing for Silver to follow.
After about a ten minute trek, the two girls made it out of deep forest and found a small clearing backed up against another cliff, roaring water dropping from above and piling up into a small lake, a long stream leading out of it.
"We made it!" Marion cheered, removing her fishing pole from her back and running toward the lake, Sango slowly following after her while looking around the clearing.
Not bad… we can build a lean-to against that cliff… and here we'll have an excellent source of water… now, if only there were some berry trees nearby, we'll be able to secure some food…
"Marion…" Sango called out to the girl, but Marion was already ignoring her, eagerly staring out over the dark water as she held her fishing pole angled out.
"…Fine, I guess I'll get to work on the fire…" Sango began searching the clearing for dried grass to use as kindling, but the environment was flourishing with life. It seemed if she wanted to get a good fire going she'd have to venture out into the forest.
"Wait here, Silver," she whispered. "Come find me if someone else comes by. I don't know if Marion will be much use… but we have to look after this place."
There was an uneasiness welling up in Sango as she searched the dark ground for dry twigs and leaves to burn. She and Marion were fast friends… but there were other examinees to worry about, ones who would not be quite as friendly. Ideally, none of the ranger candidates would be the kind of person to attack two girls in the dark, but… this was a time for survival. And she had to fortify her odds by whatever means she could, and that meant she needed to be prepared for whatever came her way.
They might be out to injure us so we're forced to drop out… or even worse. We need to be on our guard. Sango didn't want to think about what "or worse" meant, but it still hung around in the back of her mind, looking over her shoulder as she gathered more materials for the fire. She placed the twigs, sticks, and brush in the pockets of her back, holding the longer, thicker sticks tightly in her hands. Finally, she'd gathered enough to hopefully start a decent fire, especially with the aid of Silver's ember attack. She strained her ears and listened for the sounds of the roaring waterfall that would lead her back to their camp, and made her way slowly back. Her stomach was aching insistently, causing her to walk a little faster. She was growing more and more aware of the fact that she had not eaten all day. Hopefully, once she'd started a fire to ward off wild pokemon, she could work on grabbing bigger branches to assemble their shelter, and finally, finally get to searching for some food. This was a nature preserve, after all, so there must be berry trees somewhere on this island, right?
She stepped out into the clearing, and of course, Marion was right where she'd left her, fishing away without a care in the world. Sango knelt down and gathered some wet rocks from the bottom of the lake, lining them around in ring on the dirt. She piled up the twigs and brush in a small pile in the center of the ring, and began leaning sticks against each other, building a small cone that nestled the kindling within it. She gestured for Silver to come over, the pokemon spitting out some small flames to get things started. A few moments and some more twigs and kindling later, and Sango had worked the embers into a decent fire. She sighed in relief. Now, to keep it going. Unfortunately, with Marion… occupied, there wouldn't be anyone to tend to it while she gathered the materials needed to assemble their shelter.
"Hey, Silver, can I leave this up to you?" Sango asked sweetly.
"Cast!" Silver beamed, nodding. He floated down and picked up some twigs in his mouth, dropping them onto the fire to show he had it covered.
"That's a good boy, thanks a ton," Sango said, patting him on the head as she rose to her feet, glancing at Marion one last time before she headed back into the forest.
I need to keep both of them safe… they're my friends. If I can look after them… we'll all be able to get through this together!
And with those thoughts in her mind, Sango set out on the first long night of the third exam.
So, it begins. Will Sango be able to make it through three days on the Nature Preserve? What will she learn about being a ranger? What will she learn about herself? Hopefully, we'll find out!