As Malic reentered the room, he felt the stares of the other applicants on him—more specifically, on his gently snoring Pokemon perched on his back. He assumed it was because he had been the only one to return with their Pokemon outside their ball, but only as he was passing through the crowds did he understand the true reason for their looks.
"Poor guy. Imagine getting a Slakoth as a starter."
"I mean, can they even do anything?"
"They're pretty much useless. A waste of a Pokeball."
"Guess that's one guy we know who isn't gonna pass."
"Do you see how he looks? The only thing more fitting would have been a Trubbish." A boy around Malic's age snickered with two others, all wearing branded clothing that cost more than the orphanage used in a month. The boy swiped a hand through his slicked-back blonde hair and smirked in Malic's direction.
Malic clenched his fists, stuffing them into his jacket pockets. Though he longed to say something, to speak up in defense of the little Pokémon on his back, he knew it wouldn't do any good to argue with people like that. They already had their opinions set, both about him and Slakoth. Malic settled for lightly shoulder-checking the arrogant snob as he passed through, settling in a quiet corner near the back of the crowd. After all, it wouldn't do to wake up his new partner so early into their nap.
The arrogant blonde was called a few minutes after Malic. Though Malic couldn't hear his name over the dull hum of the crowd, He didn't miss the sour expression on his face as he stomped back to his buddies. The names were called for another half hour until Birch stood in front of the loosely organized mob.
"It seems that we have now provided everyone with a starter Pokemon. As of now, the Pokemon you have in your possession are your responsibility. By accepting that Pokemon, you are considered a Pokemon trainer, albeit an unofficial one. Its care, feeding, grooming, and training fall unto you, as do the penalties if you don't." The ever-present murmur of the group took on a nervous tone. Malic couldn't blame them. Like himself, many of them had only peripherally interacted with Pokemon. He had no idea how to care for Slakoth, much less how to train.
Birch seemed to anticipate this. "I am well aware that this will be new information for many of you. I don't expect perfection. Many trainers figure things out during their journeys, and even once you know the basics, there will always be more to learn. Still, some things need to be understood even before you set out. My colleagues and I will hand out one of these to each of you." He holds up a small book, a simple white Pokeball design in the center of the green cover.
"This is what most trainers refer to as The Guide. It's a collection of basic information, like type interactions, common berries, and other tips and tricks that will be useful to novice trainers. You will also get a pamphlet specific to your starter Pokemon in the storage room. They will provide an outline of the care their species should receive. I suggest you study them closely but do not be afraid to experiment and see what works best with your Pokémon."
As Professor Birch spoke, the aides entered the crowd, silently passing out the Guides. Malic felt the tension bleed out of him as he was handed one, the thin booklet paradoxically heavy in his hand. Just knowing that he wouldn't be thrown into training with no knowledge was a huge relief. He tucked it into an interior pocket of his jacket, resting comfortably at his hip.
Birch waited to resume speaking until the aides returned to his side. "Once you receive your supplies, we will begin the official qualifying test for the PHL Trainer Initiative. Your task will be simple. You must prove your ability to survive in the wilderness while maintaining an acceptable level of care for your Pokemon. To do this, you must camp in the Birch laboratory enclosure you saw on your way here. To pass this exam, you must live off the land for 3 days. We will provide you with the equipment you would receive in the trainer starting kit. Are there any questions?"
A forest of waving arms and raised hands sprouted up, blocking Malic's view. It took a few moments before the first question rang out. "Professor Birch, will there be Pokemon while we're camping in the enclosure?"
"Excellent question! The short answer is yes."
"What do you mean by the short answer?"
"Well, as you may know, Birch Labs is both a lab and an artificial nature preserve. Using Devon Tech, we have created several biomes to allow me to further study habitat-specific adaptations and behaviors. Wild Pokemon populate these areas, and some can be rather territorial. For the exercise and your safety, the stronger wild Pokemon will be confined by the rangers to the depths of their respective territories, while the weaker ones will be free to roam as they typically do."
Birch had barely finished before an energetic voice spoke up. "If these Pokemon are wild, can we catch them?"
"No."
"Aww, come on, you said they are wild, which means they're free game, right? I bet you have some super rare ones, too!"
"No. They are attached to a nature reserve, which means they are protected under Hoenn law." Birch massaged his forehead, not that the source of the voice seemed to notice.
"But–"
"Mr. Hawley, if you continue this any further, you will be dropped from this program! Do you understand?"
"...yes."
"Good. Now, any other questions?"
After a few seconds of side glances and hushed murmurs, Birch claps his hands with his customary grin. "Excellent! Please follow us to the supply room then". Birch and his aides filed out of the room, followed closely by the more eager applicants. Malic remained in place, waiting for the crowd to funnel out of the room before starting towards the door. He kept his pace slow and his body steady, minimizing the jostling of his passenger. He trailed behind the group, finally breathing a bit easier.
He had never really interacted with people his own age. There were few in Grovewood, and with him spending so much time at the orphanage and helping out Ms. Chloe, he never really found the time to spend trying and making friends, not that he made much of an effort. He was perfectly content to be alone, just him, his sketchbook, and his thoughts.
'Although,' he thought to himself as a particularly loud snore brought a wry smile to his face, 'I don't think I'd mind some company.' He carefully adjusted Slakoth into a more secure position and continued behind the crowd.
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The so-called supply room was actually an enormous warehouse nearly the size of the Lab. Much like the previous one, a door with a keypad was next to giant metal roll-up doors. As they were led into the building, they could see metal shelves stretching almost to the ceiling, each lined with various labeled crates and stacked pallets. Birch strode confidently into the maze of shelves, and the group hurried behind him.
They reached the center of the building, where a large platform of pallets held a mountain of colorful backpacks. Off to the right side was a smaller set of boxes being opened by a man and his machoke. The Pokemon's powerful fingers ripped the nailed top off easier than the man with a crowbar. Each box held stacks of thin hardcover books with a Pokemon's name and the PWO logo on the spine.
"Please form a line to receive your backpack and your Pokemon introductory manual.," one of the aides called out. It took a few minutes for a rough line to form, with Malic sliding into the back of the line. As the people ahead of him got their backpacks and booklets, they were directed outside through a back door. The pace of the line was decent, slowly speeding up as fewer books remained until it was just Malic, the aide, and Professor Birch.
The aide held out the last bag. It was a sling pack, much like the brown leather one he already had, but this was a vibrant green with a silver clasp in the front shaped like a Pokeball. The back was segmented into five sections, two larger sections on top and three smaller sections on the bottom. The larger and smaller segments were separated by a white band that ran widthwise along the center of the bag, with two yellow half-rings on either side of the band, providing a Pokeball-like appearance.
"How much does this bag hold?" Malic asked as he took the offered bag. The aide appears surprised for a few moments before smiling slightly. "This is a standard bag that is given to all starting trainers per PWO regulations. It holds two-hundred fifty pounds." Malic nodded, holding the bag instead of disturbing Slakoth to put it on. "What does it already have in it?" This time, the aide met his question with an approving look. "There is a collapsible one-person tent, a sleeping bag, a compass, a small survival knife, a set of water purification tablets, fifty feet of nylon cord, a twenty by twenty-foot plastic sheet, and a map of the enclosure. Altogether, that's about thirty pounds."
Malic nodded, cataloging the materials even as he took his original bag and fit it into his new one. They sounded like they could make a solid basic setup, although he couldn't be sure with his limited experience. Hopefully the Guide would have information on things like camping. He pulled himself from his thoughts and walked to the opened book crates, fingers skimming along the spines until he found one with Slakoth. While the equipment and the Guide would be helpful, Malic felt that the small book in his hands would be invaluable.
Detailed information on Pokemon took a lot of work to find. Anyone with a computer could see pictures of them and get a basic description. Still, unless you had the backing of another trainer or a Pokedex, you were confined to your own experiences and the tips you could get from other trainers. It seemed to be an unspoken rule surrounding Pokemon training; keep your discoveries to yourself. Powerful trainers didn't share their methods, preferring to keep them secret to maintain an edge over their competitors.
The only exception to this rule was the Class Guilds, a collection of trainers united under a common philosophy or type preference. Bug Catchers, Hikers, and Fishermen were just a few of the more popular ones. According to what he could find, the guilds pooled their resources and knowledge together to advance their members' standing. The more high-ranking members they had, the higher their Guild was ranked and the more benefits they received from the Hoenn League.
Malic winced as bright sunlight ambushed his eyes, momentarily blinding him. His feet seemed to have carried him to the back door while he was lost in thought. He heard a gruff voice off to his left. "Well, I guess there was one more after all. Not a problem." Malic turned toward the voice, but he felt something lightly grasp his arm, and suddenly was a few feet in the air, right above a small pond. He had just enough time to wonder what had just happened before he and Slakoth plunged into the water.
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"Phew! Guess that's all of them." Bruce groaned as he stretched, his back popping like snapping tree branches. Even though he had been in the shade of the building, a light layer of sweat was coating his darkly tanned skin, a common enough sight after spending time in the Hoenn sun. Holding a too-small pencil, he marked off the last name. "Malic, huh? He almost turned around in time. Some impressive reflexes…or maybe you're getting slow. Might need to lay off the poffins Grace."
An indignant squawk was followed by a series of smacks to his arm as Grace, his sweets-obsessed Gardevoir, pouted beside him. If the hits actually hurt, he would've been convinced she had somehow learned Double-Slap. Maybe he had let her watch too many sit-coms.
Bruce stumbled forward as his body was shoved, a faint blue glow surrounding him. "H-hey Grace, no need to break out the Psychic. You know that I was just teasing you." Grace huffed and turned her head. "C'mon, you know you're beautiful, gorgeous even. A truly perfect example of a Gardevoir." Grace seemed to consider this momentarily, then smirked mischievously at Bruce.
A small gesture of her hand sent him falling into a small pond a few feet away, splashing into the shallow water with a yelp. He sat up a second later, a small Lotad perched on his head, and spat out a mouthful of pond water. "I need to stop letting you hang out with my wife. You're getting to be too much like her."
Grace giggled, skipping circles around the pond and pumping her fist into the air like a boxer who had won a championship. He sighed as he pulled out her Pokeball and returned her, clipping it back onto his belt. Standing up, he gently plucked the Lotad from his head and placed it back into the pond. "Sorry about that little guy." The Lotad gurgled something under the water and drifted away.
Stepping out of the pond, boots wetly squelching on the grass, Bruce headed back towards the Lab. "I wonder how many of those kids will actually make it. It was pretty dirty of Birch not to tell them when the test was going to happen. Oh well, it's not my problem."
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Malic sputtered as his head erupted from the water, trying to breathe and cough up the water pooling in his lungs. Thankfully, the pool was shallow, letting him sit in the water until he could breathe normally again. "Slaaaaaaa." Slakoth, despite their sudden appearance in the water, seemed quite at ease, floating in the water with only its head showing.
Breathing under control, Malic stood, his clothes clinging tight to his soaked frame. Surprisingly, he hadn't lost hold of the bag in his hand, which remained dry, the droplets of water skating off the canvas surface. The water was only knee deep, making it easy for him to trudge through the lily pads and cattails to reach the bank. Slakoth followed along, small motions of its clawed hands nudging it forward until it joined Malic on the damp grassy bank.
The small pond he had been dropped in was surrounded on all sides by large trees and thick shrubbery, light falling through the leaves in an ever-changing pattern. There was no sign of the Lab, no path or trail, just the pond and the trees. A shiver ran down his spine. Though Hoenn was warm this time of year, the shade from the trees made his wet clothes feel quite chilly.
A dull thud drew his attention, and Malic saw Slakoth was no longer on the ground but slowly shambling over to a patch of sun that fell on a larger rock near the pond's edge. Slakoth made its way up the rock and draped itself atop it, sighing as it started to doze again.
Malic chuckled at the content look on Slakoth's face as he headed over to the rock. He removed his jacket, shoes, socks, and pants and slapped them over another rock near the one that Slakoth was on, leaving himself in just his black tee shirt and boxers. He sat down with his back pressed against Slakoth's rock, the warm sunlight helping to ease the chill of the cold pond water. He pulled his bag into his lap and opened it, relieved to find the inside just as dry as he had hoped. A quick flick through his bone dry sketchpad set his mind at ease, and he slowly went through the rest of his supplies.
The tent and sleeping bag were generic and gray, but seemed fine to his inexperienced eye, same with the cord, tarp, and water purifying tablets. The only thing that surprised Malic was the survival knife. Bladed on one side with a saw-like back, the knife also had a compass built in, and after some fiddling, he found the handle had a small compartment that held some matches as well.
Confirming that everything the aide had said was in the pack, Malic opened the map, only to find a piece of paper among the folds.
Greetings, Pokemon trainer hopefuls. As I'm sure you are now aware, I have yet to tell you everything about this test. To be a Pokemon trainer is to venture into the deepest and most dangerous parts of our world with nothing but you and the Pokemon by your side. As such, the goal of this exam is twofold. You must survive off the land for three days while caring for yourself and your Pokemon, as previously explained, but within those three days, you must also navigate back to the Lab. Good luck!
–Professor Birch.
P.S. Beware wild Pokemon
Malic glanced over the map. The Birch Lab was located almost directly in the center of the enclosure. However, the enclosure stretched several miles in any given direction from the Lab, forming a rough circle about 20 miles in diameter. The enclosure was quite varied in climate. Steep cliffs and craggy mountains made up the southern end, and a huge lake and beach were to the north. Forests and grasslands occupied the east and west, which, from the looks of his surroundings, was where Malic had found himself.
Malic heard a faint rustling off to the side as he studied the map. He paused, focusing his attention on the sound as it seemed to draw closer. Malic slowly stood up, peeking over from behind the large rock as his hand went towards the survival knife. He didn't notice Slakoth perk up behind him, an odd gleam in its eyes.
From the bushes a few meters away, a small four-legged Pokemon emerged. The first thing Malic noticed was the gray fur covering the majority of its body, with the exception of its face, paws, and belly, which were black. Its ears were pointed straight up, swiveling around as it slowly padded forward. The red eyes and nose almost seemed to glow against the darkened fur. A bushy gray tail and two gleaming fangs protruding from its lower jaw completed the look of a Poochyena.
Malic bit back a swear. Poochyena had been among Grovewood's more frequent pests. More than a few times, the children had been confined to the orphanage when a wild Poochyena was spotted within town borders. As the saying goes, when you see one Poochyena, there are always two more behind you.
He began to quietly gather his equipment, grateful that the rocky outcrops they were at shielded them from the Poochyena's view, at least for now. He had managed to collect everything and was about to grab Slakoth when he heard a low growl behind him. The saying apparently had some truth to it, as he slowly turned around to see a second Poochyena emerge from the underbrush, teeth bared and hackles raised.
The growling attracted the attention of the other Poochyena, who ran over to investigate. Once it saw Malic, it crouched down and started growling as well. With another Poochyena present, they seemed emboldened and slunk closer, creeping forward on either side of Malic. He backed away, pressing his back against the rock where Slakoth had been perched. At least this way he could keep both in front of him. He looked up but couldn't see Slakoth. Had another Poochyena already gotten to his Pokemon?
They approached closer and closer until one of them leaped at Malic with a snarl. Malic held up his arms in front of his face, trying to protect his head from the inevitable assault. Instead, a meaty thud and a pained whine rang out in quick succession. Malic cautiously peeked out from behind his arms to see Slakoth in front of him, slowly swaying from side to side.
A few feet away, the attacking Poochyena whimpered as it struggled to its feet, seeming to favor its left side and shooting a glare at Slakoth. The other Poochyena snarled but backed up until it was level with the newly injured Poochyena.
Slakoth looked back at Malic, its eyes still half closed, its face still in a dopey smile, but a different feeling seemed to surround the Slakoth now. Maybe it was the way its eyes darted back and forth between the two Poochyena or the way its body was held to its full height, arms topped with sharp claws glinting menacingly as they gently swayed from side to side. Whatever the case, Malic suddenly felt much more confident in their odds.
"Slakoth, thank you for saving me. Can I count on you to help me out some more so we can get out of this mess?" Malic asks as he straightens up, staring directly at Slakoth.
Slakoth remained motionless for a few seconds, then slowly nodded its head and turned back towards the Poochyena. The dog Pokemon stood side by side, only a few inches between them, as they charged forward, abandoning their previous tactic for speed and closing the gap between them and Slakoth.
"Okay, Slakoth, use…" Malic trails off, his unopened Slakoth guide taunting him on the ground. He didn't know any of Slakoth's moves, so how could he command him to fight? The Poochyena leapt forward, uncaring of Malic's blunder. Their fangs were bared in unison as they loomed down on Slakoth. "You have to dodge Slakoth!" Malic cried out, but even he could tell his command was too late. His lack of knowledge and the Poochyena's sudden burst of speed from the Poochyena had caught him off guard, and Slakoth would pay the price.
Slakoth didn't attempt to run or jump, but merely slumped backwards with a sigh, its back bending until its head touched the ground. The Poochyena flew right through where Slakoth's upper body had been, and were caught mid air when Slakoth's arms slammed up and smashed into their stomachs claw first, sending them skidding backwards.
Slakoth slowly raised itself back up, resuming its previous stance like nothing had happened. The Poochyena lay there, wheezing and whimpering briefly before staggering to their feet. One seemed more angered than hurt, but the one that Slakoth had hit before yelped and scampered back into the bushes. The remaining Poochyena quickly fled after realizing its packmate had run.
When the other Pokemon remained out of sight, and the sound of the rustling bushes faded into the distance, Slakoth changed back into its previous posture, slouching wearily with dull, tired eyes. It shambled over to the rock, giving a slight nod to Malic before resuming its sunning.
Malic released a shaky breath, feeling his heart slow with the absence of threatening Pokemon. Technically, that had been his first battle, but could it even be called that? He hadn't even managed to call out a move, much less help Slakoth. All he could do was watch from the sidelines and hope Slakoth could handle it.
He walked over to his sun-drying clothes and checked to see if they were still damp. Thankfully, today was sunny without being overly humid, so they dried enough to be put on comfortably. He quickly redressed, shrugging on his repacked bag, the exception being the survival knife now attached to the strap crossing over his chest for easy access. A tug on his pants signaled Slakoth's ascent up his body until it was perched on his back, head resting on his right shoulder.
Malic raised his hand and softly pat Slakoth's head, getting a soft snuffle as Slakoth nuzzled back into his hand. "Thank you, Slakoth. I don't know what I would have done without you here."
Slakoth slowly blinks, his dopey little smile seeming to grow slightly before humming contently.
Malic removed his hand and started walking in the opposite direction the Poochyena had run off in. Within seconds of walking, soft snores filled Malic's ears as Slakoth quickly fell asleep. Despite being attacked only minutes into the surprise exercise, Malic found himself almost hoping it happened again if only to be of more use the next time around. The experience of being helpless was a somewhat novel feeling and not one he enjoyed.
A particularly loud snore, which managed to sound a lot like a growling Poochyena, made him jump, glancing around at the bushes before realizing where the sound came from. He shook his head, not noticing the slightly cracked eyes of Slakoth that held a small mischievous spark as Slakoth's arms wrapped around Malic slightly tighter.