At the summit.
When they saw Owen, Lynnea, and Leo's faces were flushed with embarrassment. Standing beside them, Zoe's expression was incredibly grim!
The rookie trainers of this generation were simply too poor! Even the two with the most potential were a letdown.
"What happened?" Owen asked, completely bewildered.
Cough.
Captain Arthur, the head Ranger, cleared his throat. Seeing that Owen had finally arrived, he pulled out his walkie-talkie. In less than a minute, the Ranger who had been escorting Owen also reached the summit.
The original group was now fully assembled.
Suddenly, Zoe spoke up:
"To be honest, even though this was just an introductory experience, I am not satisfied with your performance."
She looked first at Lynnea. "When you ordered Growlithe to use a move, did you take the surrounding environment into account at all?"
"If the Ranger trailing you hadn't intervened in time, even if you and Growlithe had escaped, you would have surely started a massive forest fire!"
Lynnea kept her head low. During a battle with a wild Pokémon, she and Growlithe had nearly ignited a blaze. It was only thanks to the Ranger's swift action to control the fire that the mountain didn't go up in smoke. Ironically, Owen's earlier joke about "setting the mountain on fire and going to jail" had manifested geographically through Lynnea.
"And you, Leo. Just how are you training that Munchlax of yours?"
"Why was it still sleeping while its trainer was in danger?!" Zoe scolded.
Leo looked frustrated and helpless. He had starved himself for a day, giving all his food to Munchlax just so it would have the strength to protect him. Who could have known that when danger struck in the middle of the night, no matter how much he called, Munchlax simply wouldn't wake up?
If the Ranger's Pokémon hadn't acted decisively, Leo might have been eaten by a wild Pokémon by now!
"The only one who provided me with some solace was Owen," Zoe concluded.
"Yes, this student is indeed excellent. His wilderness survival experience is very rich; he must have studied relevant knowledge elsewhere.
Moreover, his evasion of danger was timely and well-executed. He really put my mind at ease, and for that, he deserves praise." The Ranger responsible for Owen offered his affirmation, making Owen feel a bit sheepish.
Too kind, too kind... but really, it was all thanks to the 'God Eevee' carrying me. The MVP of this trip definitely went to Eevee.
The first week of the Rising Star Project's combat training—the wilderness survival phase—had officially concluded. As they left, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Lynnea and Leo were particularly downcast, the shadows of their failures still looming over them.
On the way back, Zoe couldn't help but sigh. "Once we return, the Association will analyze your performance. Next week's lesson will likely be a theoretical session at the Association."
"Spend this coming week adjusting your mindset. Face your setbacks positively and strive to ensure that what happened today doesn't happen again."
Theoretical lessons...
Leo looked up. "Does that mean we don't have to come back here anymore?" He would rather solve math problems than suffer out here again.
Zoe glanced at him. "Not only will you be coming back, but the tasks will become even stricter. Next time, it won't be as simple as just surviving."
"Surviving in the wild is the most basic requirement for a Professional Trainer. Once you become one, you'll face all sorts of missions!"
"Let's see... There are Beedrill and Spearow on that mountain. When the time is right, I'll have you collect Beedrill venom and gather Spearow feathers. That's the only way to get effective training!"
"..." Owen. "..." Lynnea. "..." Leo.
That's just asking for death!
"Those tasks are actually quite simple. If you can't handle this level of testing, how do you expect to become a Professional Trainer?"
Zoe chuckled at their miserable expressions. "However, don't worry. When executing these missions, you will work as a team. You won't be alone anymore."
"For a Professional Trainer, understanding teamwork is vital."
"Teamwork?" Owen asked.
"Yes. When Professional Trainers explore Rifts, they generally form teams of three to five people. Solo trainers are rare; only very specific missions are executed alone."
"In large-scale Rift explorations, to ensure survival rates, we might even deploy over a dozen Professional Trainers at once. For a trainer, a good team is equivalent to having several extra lives!"
"You must realize that the variety and number of Pokémon a single trainer can raise is limited. In that case, if your teammates can provide help in other areas—reconnaissance, supplies, healing, firepower, cover—your probability of survival is maximized."
"This is why university leagues and the World Pokémon League Championships feature team battles."
Zoe continued, "So, next time there's a high-difficulty mission, the three of you will likely execute it together.
If you coordinate well, a team can achieve a 'one plus one plus one is greater than three' effect! But if you coordinate poorly, you'll be dragged down. Getting killed by a 'pig teammate' doesn't just happen in video games."
Owen hadn't expected her to be so trendy as to use the term "pig teammate." However, he suddenly fell silent.
He glanced at Lynnea, who almost burned down a mountain, and Leo, whose Pokémon slept through a life-threatening crisis.
He felt a bit apprehensive. If possible, he'd rather be a lone wolf. Eevee could carry him, but adding two more... he wasn't so sure.
But Owen also knew Zoe was right. Even if he caught more Pokémon later, how many would he need to cover every single base? Six might not be enough; he'd need dozens. In reality, Rift resources are limited, and for most Professional Trainers, raising six Pokémon is the limit.
Furthermore, many trainers specialize in a single type, giving their teams huge limitations. In such cases, forming an all-purpose team alone is almost impossible.
Unless someone gifts me a Mew that can transform into every mode of transportation... Owen dreamed.
Fairview, Trainer Association.
Upon arrival, everyone except Owen went home. Owen stayed because he hadn't received his reward yet. Zoe's original words were: the person with the best performance gets an extra reward.
Now, that reward was naturally heading into Owen's pocket. Following Zoe into Fairview Plaza, Owen was taken back to the same floor as before. In the same room, he saw his prize.
"What is this?" Owen asked, staring at the box in front of him.
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