After leaving Silver Town, Eichi and the others crossed a small plain and arrived at a forest—the same one Eichi had passed through when first coming to Silver Academy. However, this area was still a great distance from Mount Silver. To the north of this forest lay the mountain itself, where the levels of the Pokémon were generally extremely high. Only trainers whose Pokémon had all reached the Elite or Gym Leader ranks dared to enter Mount Silver.
After traveling for over an hour, they finally reached their destination. Director Yanagi came to a halt. Two of the teachers nodded toward him, and one of them shouted, "Alright, we split up here! Second-years, follow me! I repeat, second-year students follow me!"
Another older teacher added, "Third-years, keep up!"
With that, the two teachers continued onward, and the second-year students followed closely behind. As Senior Yuli passed Eichi, she said, "See you later, Junior Eichi."
"Mhm, good luck," Eichi replied.
Once the second and third-year students and teachers had departed, only Eichi's group remained. "All students, dismount," Director Yanagi ordered.
Eichi and the others climbed down from their Pokémon. Seeing this, Director Yanagi announced, "From here on, you walk."
He immediately flew off on his Flygon, followed by the other teachers. The students were stunned. What is this?
Eichi reacted the fastest, quickly chasing after them. The others followed his lead and picked up their pace. Although Director Yanagi and the teachers were on Pokémon, they weren't moving fast; any healthy person could keep up by running. However, while everyone could keep up initially, staying the course proved difficult.
Half an hour later, some students were exhausted. Even Tetsu was slightly fatigued, though he managed to endure thanks to Teacher Rondo's strict physical education classes. Seeing their condition, Eichi slowed down, trailing just behind Director Yanagi.
An hour later, Director Yanagi stopped beneath two strange-looking trees covered in scratch marks. The other teachers stopped as well. They turned to wait. A minute later, three heads appeared in the distance. As they drew closer, Eichi was in the lead, followed by Sato and Konan.
The three of them ran up to the teachers, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. Eichi was in the best shape, only breathing slightly hard while pacing back and forth. Sato and Konan were much more tired. Eichi was slightly surprised by their physical stamina; they were quite fit.
Meanwhile, Sato was thinking: This guy Eichi isn't human. How is his physical fitness so good? No way, I need to train hard when I get back.
A while later, four more people arrived: Matsumoto, Ishida, Tetsu, and Shinta. Upon arrival, they sat on the ground gasping for air. A few minutes later, the last three girls arrived. Indeed, out of the ten students, four were girls.
Seeing everyone assembled, Director Yanagi praised them, "Not bad. You all kept up. I thought a few of you would drop out and was ready to send people to drag you along. Teacher Rondo, you've taught them well."
Teacher Rondo laughed boisterously. "Everyone did great! It proves the daily training wasn't in vain!"
Seven of these ten students were in his physical education class, especially Eichi, who didn't look tired at all. Director Yanagi murmured to himself: Eichi doesn't look tired at all. His grades are great, and his fitness is top-notch. How does he do it?
"Alright, take a moment to rest," Director Yanagi added. "You have other things to do soon. Teacher Yamashita!"
A slightly plump teacher riding a Pidgeot looked at the Director. "Present!"
"Go and speak with them," Director Yanagi ordered. The plump teacher nodded and flew forward on his Pidgeot.
About five minutes later, the teacher returned and nodded to Director Yanagi. The Director turned to Eichi and the others. "Alright, from here, you're on your own. Keep heading forward. You must handle whatever happens yourselves. Just keep going straight. At the finish line, there is a large tree with the school emblem on it. We will be waiting for you there. You will be spending the next few days in the forest. Don't fear danger; teachers will be protecting you from the shadows."
"So, Director, we just walk from here?" Eichi asked.
"Correct," Director Yanagi replied. "It's a field trial, so naturally, you'll be fighting Pokémon. Go on."
Eichi checked the group. A few hadn't fully recovered their strength, but it wouldn't affect their ability to battle. He exchanged glances with Sato and Tetsu and started walking. The other students followed. As they moved forward, Eichi noticed the two strange trees from earlier.
Once the ten students disappeared from sight, Director Yanagi said, "Teacher Yamashita, you protect them from the shadows."
"Understood," Teacher Yamashita replied.
Director Yanagi then looked at the remaining teachers. "Follow me to the front to set things up."
"Understood!" they replied. Director Yanagi led the way into the depths of the forest on his Flygon.
Elsewhere, the second and third-years split at the foot of a mountain. The third-year director led his students directly up the slope. They were already close to Mount Silver; clearly, that was their target.
Eichi and the others walked through the grass, surrounded by shrubs and large trees, some of which were bearing fruit. The girls were walking a bit slowly, so Eichi and the others reduced their pace to accommodate them.
As they walked, Tetsu whispered to Eichi, "Eichi, do you know what we're supposed to be doing?"
Although Tetsu was quiet, everyone could hear him. They pricked up their ears, wanting to hear Eichi's answer.
"Now that we're here, Pokémon will likely attack us," Eichi said. "That will lead to actual combat. The goal is probably to increase our practical experience and teamwork."
"I was thinking the same thing," Tetsu replied.
Just as he finished speaking, they heard a strange noise. Suddenly, several Pokémon shadows lunged out from the thicket.
It was a pack of Houndour and Houndoom!