Chapter 2-
~~ Compared to the previous night, Adam slept like a baby. It was a deep, dreamless sleep that he didn't usually get. Odd considering the task that lay ahead of him. When he woke up, Donnie was still sleeping soundly next to him, as was his Pidgey in the corner. Adam rose and went over to the mini fridge in the corner, pulling out a jug of milk and setting it on the counter. By the time he had gotten a box of cereal and a bowl and spoon, Donnie had awoken, and was climbing out of his bed.
"Morning Adam. Are you ready for the test today?" he asked, his sleepiness still showing in his voice.
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Adam replied as he sat down at the small table in the corner.
Donnie joined him after he had prepared his breakfast, toast and juice.
"So you don't have any idea what the test is about?'
"Mmph-not a clue." Donnie mumbled with a mouthful of toast.
"I'm sorry if I'm bugging you, I'm just kind of nervous. My mom went to this school, and she never mentioned anything like this."
Donnie swallowed his food, than spoke up.
"And I'm sorry that I'm not very talkative. You're my first roommate."
Adam smiled to the other boy, but he didn't return the favor. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Adam rose to his feet and went to the bathroom to ready himself for the day's events.
~~ Donnie finished his breakfast just as he heard the shower turn on. He put his dishes in the sink and walked over to pet Pidgey, who cooed happily, but remained sleeping. As he stood up, he happened to look out the window and saw a few of the academy's staff heading towards the woods. One of them held what looked like a metal rod, another one had a steel cage. He watched them until they disappeared, then he sat down against the wall next to his Pidgey.
~~ Adam came out of the bathroom and saw that Donnie had fallen asleep again. He smiled and grabbed his duffel bag off the floor, slinging it over his shoulder and heading out the door. As he shut the door, he backed into Meghan, who was coming out of her room as well.
"Oh hey Adam. Are you ready for today?" she asked.
"I'd be more ready if I knew what was coming."
"I'm sure you'll do just fine. I've only known you for a short time, but I just have this feeling about you."
She patted him on the back and started down the hall, motioning for him to follow.
~~ When they arrived at the fields, there was already a large crowd of people gathered, waiting for him.
"I'm not late am I?" he asked quietly to Meghan.
"Nope, your test doesn't start for another ten minutes." she replied. "But this is pretty exciting for us Adam. Look, even the Saffron City news team is here!"
She pointed to a purple van that sat on the road, and the camera crew that was a short distance away from the crowd.
"Oh great, that'll definitely help my nerves."
"Don't worry Adam, you'll do fine. I'm going to go get Donnie. We'll be back, okay?"
Adam nodded, and headed off alone the front of the group, where the headmaster stood waiting for him. He could hear the news team in the distance.
"This is Ricky Sullivan, Saffron News, live on the scene at the Kanto Pokemon academy, where a young boy is about to be the first person to take the Academy's "Backup Test" in over two decades. The test has only been administered three times in the history of the academy, and it's different every time, so let's get a closer look and see what Headmaster Campbell has in store for this boy."
"Good morning Adam, I trust you had a good sleep?" the headmaster asked as Adam approached.
"Y-yes sir."
"No need to be nervous son, it's just a simple test."
"Yeah, a test that'll determine my future." Adam thought, but outside, he simply smiled and nodded.
"I bet you're wondering what challenge you will be facing. Well wait no longer. Your test shall take place in the depths of a cave in the forest to the east."
He pointed, and Adam could see the dark, foreboding trees looming above him.
"Once you reach the deepest part of the cave, your task shall be to retrieve the precious object that is guarded by a Pokemon."
Adam gulped. What kind of Pokemon would be waiting for him in that cave? Seemingly noticing Adam's look of fear, the headmaster chuckled and leaned down so he could speak in private.
"Don't worry Adam, if at any time you feel scared or that you can't handle the test anymore, just press this button, and we'll get you out of there pronto."
He handed Adam a small device with a blue button in the center, which Adam clipped to his belt.
"Once you retrieve the object, return to this spot, and we shall declare that you have passed the test."
Adam put on a determined look and headed towards the forest. He turned to look back at the crowd just as Meghan and Donnie arrived, Donnie still looking dead tired, but Meghan as cheery as ever. She waved and gave him a thumbs up, and Adam felt his spirits lift, knowing that someone was cheering him on.
~~ After a few minutes of trekking through the forest, Adam arrived at the cave. Just standing in the entrance and looking inside, it was pitch black. He took out his Pokegear and turned on the screen, illuminating a couple of feet around him. His first steps inside the cave weren't bad, but as soon as his Pokegear was his only source of light, he began to get scared. There was suddenly a beep that echoed throughout the cave and made the boy jump. He looked at his Pokegear and saw that the battery was about to die.
"Why didn't I charge this last night?" he asked himself.
It lasted a few more minutes, then plunged Adam into pitch blackness. Just as Adam was about to call it quits, the cave was illuminated by a series of lights above him.
"They must only work in pure darkness." he thought out loud.
More walking, and Adam finally came upon a large central portion of the cave. It was enormous, and there was a wooden bridge lined with old ropes that led to a platform in the center of a pit. Adam cautiously stepped on the first plank, and when it didn't break, he put another foot on. He was slowly making his way across when, suddenly, the plank he was standing on crumbled, and his left foot slipped through the newly formed hole. When he hit the bridge, the button clipped to his belt slipped off and plummeted into the pit. Adam whimpered a bit, then pulled himself up, making it the rest of the way across the bridge without another incident.
In the center of the platform sat what looked like a perfectly spherical rock. Adam lifted it and felt that it weighed less than two pounds. He was puzzled, but assumed that this is what the headmaster was speaking of, since he couldn't go any deeper into the cave.
He had made his way to the other side of the bridge again when he heard a roar that shook the cave. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to the chasm, looking for the source of the voice. Suddenly, the bridge snapped and fell into the abyss, and a large grey hand grabbed the edge of the cliff, pulling itself up. It uttered that cry again, and spun the horn on its forehead, making Adam cry out in fear. It was a Rhydon, and it did not look happy.
It charged at him, and Adam managed to roll out of its way, causing it to slam into a wall. Adam rose and bolted past the angry Pokemon. He was forced to stop again however, when it stomped its foot, causing a crevice in the floor of the cave to open in front of him. Adam skidded to a stop, but tripped, landing just in front of the pit. The stone he had been holding flew out of his hands and landed on the other side of the crevice. Adam rolled onto his back and tried to sit up, but he was petrified with fear as the Rhydon approached.
Adam was in for another surprise, when something flew across the gap and rammed into the Rhydon, making it stumble backwards. The thing landed on the ground and got into a fighting stance, growling at the imposing Pokemon. Adam recognized it as the Houndour he had seen the previous day! Apparently, it had been following him since then. The dog raised its head and spat a stream of fire that made a line in front of the Rhydon, making it shield its eyes. Houndour turned to Adam and barked, and Adam rose. With the Houndour giving him a new boost of confidence, Adam managed to jump the gap with the Houndour following him. He retrieved the stone and continued the trek out of the cave.
~~ Once outside, Adam put a hand in front of his eyes until they adjusted to the light again. He left the forest with Houndour by his side, and was greeted with thunderous applause from the crowd.
"Are you seeing this people? Not only has young Adam returned from the challenge victorious, but he has emerged from the cave with a Pokemon by his side! This is unbelievable!" The newscaster was almost screaming louder than the crowd of students.
Adam approached the headmaster and handed him the sphere, which he took and examined. Everyone waited for the headmaster's approval.
"So Adam, you think that this rock is the precious object I sent you in there for?"
Adam was sweating, and his heart was pounding.
"Y-yes sir."
Silence, and then the response.
"Well then, you're correct."
The crowd broke into more applause, and the headmaster held up his hand.
"I also see that you found a friend while you were there."
Adam looked down at Houndour, who was staring up at him and wagging his tail.
"Yeah, I did."
"That's perfect! Would you like to have Houndour as your partner Pokemon?"
Adam was shocked, but nodded.
"That would be great sir! Thank you!"
"It's not the decision of you or me that matters though Adam, it's Houndour's. Since he is technically still wild, you'll have to catch him before he can be your partner."
The headmaster handed Adam a pokeball, and Adam looked at Houndour again. He was looking at him like he was confused. Adam then turned to Meghan and Donnie. Meghan was crossing her fingers, and Donnie was nodding to Adam. Adam walked a few feet away from the crowd, and Houndour followed. Then, he expanded the pokeball in his hand and took a deep breath. He had been practicing with the pokeballs his father had gotten him for years, but he was never able to actually catch anything. But today was hopefully going to change that.
"Alright Houndour, let's see if this works."
He stood on one foot and tossed the pokeball as hard as he could. It spun before it struck Houndour square between the eyes and opened in midair, making the dog disappear in a flash of red light. Then it closed and landed on the ground. It wobbled once…twice…three times…then…stopped. Finally, the button in the middle glowed red, and the crowd went wild once more. The headmaster walked over to Adam as he was picking up the pokeball.
"Congratulations on your first catch Adam. You are unique from the other students in that you had to earn your partner Pokemon. I would now like to take this opportunity to formally welcome you to the Pokemon Academy. You passed your test with flying colors."
"Thank you sir. You have no idea what this means to me!"
The ground suddenly started shaking, and a hole appeared in the ground a few feet away from them. From the hole emerged the Rhydon that Adam had encountered in the cave. Adam slowly stepped away from it, but the headmaster laughed.
"Don't worry my boy, you were never in any real danger."
The headmaster pulled out a pokeball and held it up to Rhydon, who disappeared inside it in a beam of light.
"You mean, that was your Pokemon the whole time?" Adam asked in shock.
The headmaster nodded, then turned to the crowd of students.
"Alright kids, the show's over. You may return to your regular schedules."
The crowd groaned and headed back to the school, while the camera crew packed up the van.
"Good luck with your classes Adam." the headmaster said before he joined the crowd streaming into the academy.
Adam stood at the back of the pack with Donnie and Meghan.
"That was awesome Adam! You passed the test and caught a partner Pokemon!" Meghan exclaimed.
"You can let him out inside the academy you know." Donnie stated.
Adam pulled out the pokeball from his pocket and released Houndour, who immediately started walking by his feet.
"Wow, he likes you already!" Meghan smiled.
Adam smiled and reached down to pet his first Pokemon.
"So what do you have for your first class Adam?" Donnie asked.
Adam retrieved his schedule from his back pocket and scanned it.
"It says I have Catching 101."
"That's fitting." Meghan laughed.
"I've got it too. Here, I'll show you the classroom." Donnie said, leading Adam past the stairs and down a corridor.
Meghan waved goodbye as the boys approached a grey, metal door.
"Here it is. We're a little late, but I think Mrs. Gregory will understand."
Adam groaned.
"Isn't Mrs. Gregory the one who tried to kick me out of the academy?"
Donnie shrugged.
"I guess. I'm sure she won't have a grudge or anything though."
They entered the class and the familiar woman at the front of the class immediately turned to them.
"Both of you are late. Five points off your final grade for the quarter."
Their jaws dropped, and a few kids in the room snickered as they took their seats.
"I can already tell that this is going to be a fun year." Adam grumbled.