By the second night, the trial had changed.
The first twenty-four hours had been about finding checkpoints.
Recruits had scattered across the wilderness, racing toward transmitters and trying to secure codes before the limited supply disappeared.
Now enough codes had entered circulation that the checkpoints were no longer the only targets.
The recruits themselves had become resources.
Adrian saw evidence of it everywhere.
Fresh tracks followed established trails rather than heading toward marked checkpoints.
Signs of Pokémon battles appeared around streams and sheltered areas.
He passed one clearing where the ground had been torn apart by what looked like repeated Ground-type attacks, and another where several trees were blackened by electricity.
People were hunting each other.
Adrian intended to make himself difficult to find.
He and Croagunk traveled south through terrain that offered little reason for anyone to visit.
There were no checkpoints nearby, and the closest marked trail ran several kilometers east.
That inconvenience was exactly what Adrian wanted.
His wrist displayed three codes.
Exactly enough to pass.
The temptation to find a defensible location and hide until the timer expired was strong, but Adrian had rejected it.
A fixed position meant eventually becoming predictable.
If someone found him, they could retreat, recover, and return later knowing exactly where he was.
Movement made that harder.
Not constant movement.
Unpredictable movement.
Travel for several hours.
Rest.
Change direction.
Avoid obvious water sources during peak hours.
Never camp beside a checkpoint.
Never follow a trail longer than necessary.
Croagunk seemed less impressed with Adrian’s strategy.
“Croa.”
“No.”
Croagunk pointed toward a distant ridge.
“We’re not looking for people.”
“Croa.”
“You fought Squirtle yesterday.”
Croagunk flexed one arm.
Adrian stared.
“You almost got knocked unconscious.”
Croagunk flexed harder.
“That doesn’t change what happened.”
The Poison-type dropped its arm.
Adrian smiled.
Croagunk liked battling more than he did.
That wasn’t necessarily bad.
A Pokémon that enjoyed competition was easier to motivate, provided Adrian kept that enthusiasm from becoming recklessness.
“After the trial.”
Croagunk looked at him.
“We’ll find stronger opponents after the trial.”
That satisfied it.
They continued.
Around midday, Adrian found another reminder that strength wasn’t everything.
The recruit was sitting beneath a tree.
Adrian noticed him before the boy noticed Adrian.
His clothes were torn.
A Pidgey lay beside him.
Both looked exhausted.
Adrian stopped approximately thirty meters away.
Croagunk became alert.
The boy saw them.
His hand went toward his Poké Ball.
Then stopped when he recognized Croagunk.
Adrian recognized him too.
One of the recruits from the first selection room.
He couldn’t remember the name.
The boy looked at Adrian’s wrist.
Adrian covered it.
“Don’t,” the boy said.
Adrian didn’t move.
“I don’t have any.”
That could be a lie.
The boy slowly raised his device.
Codes: 0/3
Adrian relaxed slightly.
Not completely.
“Then why are you sitting here?”
The boy laughed bitterly.
“Pidgey’s hurt.”
Adrian looked at the Pokémon.
Scan.
Species: Pidgey ♀ Level: 10.
Rank: Peak Baby Potential: Red Ability: Keen Eye Moves: Tackle · Gust · Sand Attack · Quick Attack Status: Injured.
Exhausted Evaluation: Ordinary Individual
Red potential.
Not Orange.
Not Yellow.
Red.
One of the least talented Pokémon Adrian had personally scanned during the trial.
The boy noticed him looking.
“She’s weak.”
Adrian’s expression hardened slightly.
“No.”
The recruit frowned.
“What?”
“She’s injured.”
“You know what I mean.”
Adrian did.
But there was a difference.
“How many checkpoints did you reach?”
“Two.”
“And?”
“First was empty.
Second had three Spearow around it.”
Adrian looked at Pidgey.
“You fought them?”
“I tried.”
That explained the injuries.
“Why?”
The boy stared at him.
“Because I need codes.”
“You needed the transmitter.”
“What difference does that make?”
Adrian almost answered.
Then stopped.
It wasn’t his job to teach another recruit during a competition.
The boy noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Say it.”
Adrian looked toward the trees.
“You didn’t have to beat the Spearow.”
The boy laughed.
“Right.
I should’ve asked them politely.”
“You could have distracted them.”
“With what?”
“Food.
Another wild Pokémon.
Noise.
You could have waited for another recruit to fight them, then approached after they left.
You could have learned when the Spearow hunted and returned later.”
The recruit fell silent.
Adrian remembered Eli.
Level-nine Weedle.
Orange potential.
Three codes.
The difference wasn’t the Pokémon.
Not entirely.
The boy looked down at Pidgey.
“I thought if I trained enough…”
“You had a month.”
“Exactly.”
“No.” Adrian shook his head.
“You had a month to figure out what your Pokémon could do.”
That was different.
Trying to turn every Pokémon into a direct battler was foolish.
Pidgey had wings.
Keen eyesight.
Speed.
Scouting capability.
It could reach places many terrestrial Pokémon couldn’t.
Its low potential limited how far it might eventually develop.
It didn’t erase what the species could do.
The boy looked at Adrian.
“Easy for you to say.
Your Croagunk’s strong.”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Because that part was true.
Croagunk was exceptionally talented.
Adrian had been lucky.
The system had allowed him to turn what should have been a random selection into a choice.
Pretending otherwise would be dishonest.
But luck wasn’t the only reason Adrian had three codes.
Darius had possessed a talented Squirtle.
He currently had none.
Eli had an unimpressive Weedle.
He had passed.
The boy sighed.
“I’ve got twenty-eight hours.”
Adrian checked the timer.
Close.
“What are you going to do?”
The recruit looked at Pidgey.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian nodded.
“Then figure it out.”
He walked away.
The boy didn’t ask for help.
Adrian wouldn’t have given it.
This was a solo trial.
The rain began three hours later.
Not heavy.
Enough to turn the forest floor slick and cover tracks.
Adrian welcomed it.
Rain made following someone harder.
It also made camping miserable.
He and Croagunk reached the first shelter Eli had marked shortly before sunset.
The cave was real.
That increased Adrian’s confidence that the other information had been genuine.
He didn’t enter.
“Wait here.”
Croagunk frowned.
Adrian approached carefully.
He checked the mud outside.
Footprints.
Recent.
Someone had already found it.
Adrian backed away.
Croagunk followed.
No reason to investigate.
A shelter was useful.
An occupied shelter was a potential battle.
They continued south.
Thirty minutes later, Croagunk’s Anticipation activated.
Adrian froze.
Not again.
Croagunk turned sharply.
A shadow moved overhead.
“Down!”
Something slammed into the ground.
Adrian threw himself aside.
A long purple body landed where he’d been standing.
Nidorina.
Adrian recognized what that meant.
Rhea.
“Found you.”
The girl’s voice came from behind the trees.
Adrian stood.
Croagunk stepped between him and Nidorina.
Rhea emerged wearing a waterproof jacket.
She looked around Adrian’s age.
Maybe sixteen.
Short dark hair clung to her forehead from the rain.
Her eyes went to his wrist.
“Three.”
Adrian didn’t bother covering it.
Too late.
He looked at hers.
She kept it hidden.
“How many do you have?”
Rhea smiled.
“Enough.”
Adrian scanned Nidorina.
Pokémon Scan
Species: Nidorina ♀ Level: 15.
Rank: Mid Beginner Potential: Green Ability: Poison Point Moves: Scratch · Tail Whip · Double Kick · Poison Sting · Bite · Fury Swipes Status: Healthy Evaluation: Exceptional Individual
Adrian’s attention sharpened.
Level fifteen.
Same as Croagunk.
Green potential.
One of the strongest Pokémon in the recruitment class.
That was more like it.
Blue potential made its growth exceptional, but training quality, starting level, species, resources, and battle experience mattered too.
Rhea had spent the month seriously.
“You’ve been looking for me?” Adrian asked.
“Not specifically.”
Her smile widened.
“I’ve been looking for anyone with three.”
“Why?”
“Why walk six kilometers to a checkpoint when the codes can walk to me?”
Adrian couldn’t fault the logic.
“How many people have you beaten?”
“Four.”
That explained why Eli knew about her.
“You don’t need more codes.”
“Neither did you when you took two from Darius.”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
So Darius had talked.
Rhea laughed.
“Everyone knows.”
That was unfortunate.
“He wasn’t quiet about it.”
“I assumed.”
“He says you cheated.”
“How?”
“Wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Of course.
Darius couldn’t explain how Adrian had known when to avoid certain counters or exploit Squirtle’s patterns without admitting he’d simply been outplayed.
Rhea pointed toward his device.
“One code.”
“No.”
“I only want one.”
“No.”
“You’d still have two.”
“Which means I fail.”
“Only if you don’t get another.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Then why don’t you get another?”
Rhea grinned.
“Because this is easier.”
Nidorina lowered itself.
Croagunk’s throat expanded slightly.
The rain continued falling between them.
Adrian considered his options.
Croagunk was mostly recovered from the Squirtle battle.
Not completely.
Nidorina was fresh.
Fighting carried risk.
Running carried risk too.
Nidorina’s physical speed wasn’t extraordinary, but Adrian didn’t know how long Rhea would pursue.
There was another consideration.
Poison Point.
Direct contact could poison Croagunk.
Croagunk was Poison-type itself and resistant to poison, but that didn’t mean Adrian wanted to gamble unnecessarily on status effects during a seventy-two-hour trial.
“Last chance,” Rhea said.
Adrian slowly removed his backpack.
Rhea smiled.
“Good choice.”
Adrian dropped it.
“You’re misunderstanding.”
Croagunk stepped forward.
Rhea’s smile disappeared.
Adrian looked at Nidorina.
“You’re not getting a code.”
“Double Kick!”
Nidorina attacked first.
Croagunk didn’t meet it.
“Back!”
The first kick missed.
Nidorina rotated.
The second came higher.
Croagunk blocked with both arms.
The impact pushed it backward.
Rhea followed.
“Bite!”
“Poison Sting.”
Croagunk fired at point-blank range.
Nidorina twisted away.
The attack barely clipped it.
Adrian noticed something.
Rhea was cautious about poison too.
Nidorina resisted Poison attacks, but nobody wanted unnecessary status accumulation.
“Close!”
Croagunk moved.
“Fake Out!”
“Nidorina, take it!”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
Croagunk’s palm struck Nidorina’s shoulder.
Rhea smiled.
“Double Kick!”
Nidorina countered.
One kick struck Croagunk’s stomach.
The second hit its chest.
Croagunk flew backward.
Adrian understood.
Rhea was willing to trade.
Nidorina had a sturdier body.
If every exchange became one Croagunk attack for two Nidorina attacks, Rhea would win.
“Don’t trade.”
Croagunk stood.
Rhea heard him.
“Fury Swipes!”
Nidorina charged.
“Move.”
Croagunk sidestepped.
Nidorina followed.
First swipe.
Croagunk ducked.
Second.
Blocked.
Third.
Croagunk retreated.
“Keep pressure!”
Nidorina chased.
Adrian watched.
Rhea’s style was aggressive.
Darius had adapted repeatedly.
Rhea wanted to overwhelm.
That meant Adrian could use momentum against her.
“Mud-Slap!”
Croagunk kicked the soaked earth.
A heavy spray of mud struck Nidorina’s face.
“Eyes closed!
Keep going!”
Nidorina continued forward blindly.
Exactly what Adrian wanted.
“Left.”
Croagunk moved.
Nidorina passed it.
“Fake Out!”
Croagunk struck from the side.
Nidorina staggered.
“Cross Chop, quarter!”
The attack landed against its ribs.
Rhea responded.
“Double Kick!”
“Back.”
Croagunk was already moving.
Both kicks missed.
Rhea frowned.
Adrian had changed the exchange.
Hit.
Leave.
No trading.
“Nidorina, Poison Sting!”
Purple needles filled the space between them.
“Move!”
Croagunk dodged.
Another barrage followed.
Then another.
Rhea was doing what Adrian often did.
Controlling movement.
Adrian recognized it.
“Don’t let her choose.”
Croagunk stopped retreating.
“Poison Sting!”
The two barrages collided.
Needles scattered across the wet ground.
“Again!”
Both Pokémon fired.
Neither trainer gave ground.
Rhea smiled.
“Double Kick!”
Nidorina charged behind its own attack.
Adrian had seen a similar combination from Darius.
“Fake Out!”
Croagunk moved forward.
Rhea expected it.
“Stop!
Bite!”
Nidorina halted its charge.
Its jaws opened.
Adrian’s eyes widened slightly.
A feint.
Good.
“Down!”
Croagunk dropped.
Bite passed over its head.
“Cross Chop!”
Croagunk struck upward.
The blow caught Nidorina beneath the chest.
Nidorina lifted from the ground.
“Land and Fury Swipes!”
Rhea didn’t hesitate.
Nidorina hit the mud, rolled, and came up attacking.
One claw struck Croagunk.
Then another.
“Back!”
Croagunk escaped the third.
Both Pokémon separated.
Rain ran down their bodies.
Croagunk was breathing harder.
Nidorina had taken more direct damage.
Still even.
Rhea wiped rain from her face.
“You’re better than Darius said.”
“He’s emotional.”
She laughed.
“True.” Then her expression sharpened.
“But you’re still thinking like this is an arena.”
Adrian frowned.
Rhea suddenly pointed past him.
“Nidorina!
The bag!”
Adrian’s eyes widened.
Nidorina didn’t attack Croagunk.
It ran toward Adrian’s backpack.
Croagunk turned.
“Stop her!”
Nidorina slammed into the bag.
Supplies scattered across the mud.
Food.
Medicine.
Pokéblocks.
Water containers.
Rhea grinned.
“Fury Swipes!”
Nidorina tore into the supplies.
A water container burst.
Food packages ripped.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
There was no rule against destroying supplies.
Only devices.
Rhea wasn’t trying to beat Croagunk.
She was making the remaining day harder.
“Cross Chop!”
Croagunk attacked.
“Move!” Nidorina jumped away.
The strike missed.
Rhea laughed.
“Now you understand.”
Adrian looked at the ruined supplies.
Not all of them.
Enough.
His anger lasted approximately two seconds.
Then disappeared.
Emotion wouldn’t fix anything.
Rhea expected him to become reckless.
He wouldn’t.
“Croagunk.”
“Forget the bag.”
Rhea’s smile faded slightly.
“Poison Sting.”
Croagunk attacked.
Nidorina dodged.
“Again.”
Another barrage.
“Again.”
Rhea realized.
Adrian wasn’t aiming at Nidorina.
He was cutting off routes.
“Move right!”
Too late.
Nidorina shifted.
Croagunk was already there.
“Fake Out!”
The strike landed.
“Cross Chop, half!”
Nidorina was driven backward.
“Double Kick!”
“Back!”
Croagunk escaped.
Adrian continued.
“Poison Sting!”
Rhea’s eyes narrowed.
The rhythm changed.
She’d tried to turn the fight chaotic.
Adrian made it structured again.
Force movement.
Control distance.
Punish aggression.
Croagunk knew this pattern.
They’d practiced it hundreds of times.
Nidorina hadn’t.
Three minutes later, the difference began showing.
Nidorina was stronger than most Pokémon Croagunk had fought.
But Croagunk’s move control was better.
Quarter Cross Chop.
Half.
Full only when the opening justified it.
Fake Out wasn’t merely an attack.
It interrupted.
Mud-Slap wasn’t merely weak Ground damage.
It blinded.
Poison Sting wasn’t about raw power.
It controlled space.
Adrian had spent a month squeezing utility from four moves.
Rhea had spent a month becoming dangerous.
Both approaches worked.
One was beginning to work better.
“Cross Chop!”
Croagunk landed a full strike.
Nidorina crashed against a tree.
Rhea’s expression changed.
“Nidorina!”
It stood.
Slowly.
Croagunk remained upright.
Bruised.
Breathing hard.
But ready.
Rhea looked between them.
Then at Adrian’s wrist.
Three codes.
She clicked her tongue.
“Fine.
You made your point.”
Adrian didn’t relax.
“One of yours.”
Rhea’s head came up.
“Excuse me?”
“You lost.” Adrian nodded toward Nidorina, still shaking off the last hit.
“You said it yourself.
Four people.
That’s four sets of codes you’ve been sitting on top of your own three.
I’m not leaving empty-handed because you decided attacking me wasn’t worth finishing.”
For a moment Rhea looked like she might argue the point on principle alone.
Then she seemed to remember whose Pokémon was still standing.
“You’re worse than Darius.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
She raised her wrist.
A transfer request appeared.
Adrian confirmed it without lowering his guard.
Codes: 4/3
Rhea recalled Nidorina.
Red light consumed it.
“You realize someone else will come.”
“I know.”
“Darius wants his codes back.”
“I assumed.”
“There’s another guy with a Beedrill who’s been collecting them too.”
Useful information.
Whether intentional or not.
Rhea stepped backward.
“See you at extraction.”
Adrian watched her disappear into the rain.
Croagunk remained still for another thirty seconds.
Then sat heavily.
Adrian walked over.
“Good work.”
Croagunk gave a tired croak.
Adrian looked toward the destroyed supplies.
Approximately half the food remained usable.
One water container.
Most of Croagunk’s Pokéblocks had survived because their case was harder than the food packaging.
Medicine.
Adrian checked.
One Potion broken.
Antidotes intact.
Enough.
Rhea had hurt them.
Not enough to end the trial.
Adrian repacked everything that survived.
Then looked at the timer.
19:06:42
Nineteen hours.
Four codes.
One tired Croagunk.
Reduced supplies.
And now at least several recruits knew Adrian was worth hunting.
He pulled on the backpack.
“New plan.”
Croagunk looked up.
“We disappear.”
For the next twelve hours, Adrian avoided every location a sensible person would choose.
No trails.
No checkpoints.
No marked shelters.
No obvious campsites.
He refilled water at a narrow stream and purified it.
They ate sparingly.
Croagunk rested inside its Poké Ball for most of the journey.
Adrian moved slowly enough to preserve his own energy.
Near midnight, he found a depression beneath several large tree roots.
Uncomfortable.
Wet.
Hidden.
Perfect.
He slept for four hours.
No one found them.
When Adrian woke, the timer showed less than seven hours.
Croagunk’s condition had improved.
Not perfect.
Good enough.
They moved again before sunrise.
The final hours were the most dangerous.
Recruits who still had zero, one, or two codes were becoming desperate.
Adrian saw one sprinting through the forest with an injured Rattata.
Another shouted challenges near a trail, openly offering a battle for one code.
Someone else had started a small fire to draw recruits toward them.
Adrian avoided all three.
At 02:11:37, a Fearow flew overhead.
Wild.
Adrian ignored it.
At 01:32:18, he heard a Pokémon battle less than a kilometer east.
He went west.
At 00:48:09, Croagunk’s Anticipation activated.
Both froze.
Nothing happened.
They waited ten minutes before continuing.
At 00:21:44, Adrian stopped traveling entirely.
They found thick brush near the southern boundary.
He crouched there.
Croagunk sat beside him.
No fire.
No talking.
No unnecessary movement.
The timer fell.
00:10:00
Ten minutes.
Adrian’s wrist still showed:
4/3
He thought about the month.
Two hundred recruits.
Random Pokémon.
Ten deaths on the first night.
Thirty days of freedom.
Missions.
Battles.
Croagunk.
Pokéblocks.
Ten levels of growth.
Croagunk had started at five.
Now fifteen.
The difference felt larger than ten numbers.
00:05:00
Croagunk shifted.
Adrian looked at it.
“Nervous?”
Croagunk shook its head.
“Good.”
Adrian was.
Not because he expected something dramatic.
Because five minutes was enough time for something stupid to happen.
They waited.
00:01:00
Adrian stood.
Croagunk did the same.
00:00:30
Nothing.
00:00:10
Adrian watched the numbers.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
00:00:00
The wrist device vibrated.
For several seconds, the screen went black.
Then the red Rocket insignia appeared.
A message followed.
Second Trial Complete
Adrian waited.
The screen changed again.
Verification Codes: 4 Required: 3 Result: Pass Surplus Code Bonus: +50 TRP
Croagunk stared at the display.
Adrian exhaled.
“We’re in.”
The Poison-type grinned.
Across the wilderness, signal flares began rising into the morning sky.
Red.
One after another.
Extraction points.
Adrian looked toward the nearest.
One month ago, he’d walked into a forgotten bar in eastern Cerulean and asked for an opportunity.
Team Rocket had given him a Croagunk and told him to tame it or die.
Then they’d given him thirty days and watched what he did.
Now the trial was over.
Adrian adjusted his damaged backpack.
“Come on.”
Croagunk walked beside him.
For the first time since entering the wilderness, they no longer had to hide their wrist.
They had passed.
Now Adrian wanted to know what Team Rocket intended to do with the recruits who remained.