Even though they were extremely careful, wild Pokémon still found them. Before long, a herd of Donphan appeared. As soon as they showed up, they used Rollout. To protect the trainers, the students' Pokémon took the hits head-on and were sent flying, immediately losing their ability to battle.
The students withdrew their fainted Pokémon and released their second ones. Eichi also recalled Scizor and sent out Heracross; it was time for this fellow to get some exercise.
Eichi currently only had three Pokémon on him. He glanced at Sato, Konan, Matsumoto, and Ishida, whose belts were fully loaded with six Poké Balls each. It was clear they had come prepared. After finally driving the Donphan away, the sounds of battle attracted even more wild Pokémon.
Eichi's expression changed. He led the group in a hasty retreat, and the others, spotting traces of more approaching Pokémon, followed closely behind him.
They continued like this until evening. Eichi used his Bug Force to find a safe spot near a water source. Once they reached the location and confirmed it was secure, Tetsu flopped onto the ground, listlessly saying, "I'm exhausted... Why are there so many Pokémon in this forest?"
The others also let out groans of fatigue. Eichi pulled a tent from his backpack, prompting the others to take out theirs as well. Matsumoto and Ishida were the fastest and already had their tents pitched. However, Tetsu suddenly called out, "Eichi, come help me for a second!"
Eichi went over to assist. It was Tetsu's first time pitching a tent, and he was quite clumsy. Although he knew the theory, his practical skills were lacking. Several other students were in the same boat, but fortunately, Kelly was there to proactively help them out.
Sato was actually quite impressive. It was clearly his first time as well, but he learned fast. He started off awkward, but as he grew familiar with the task, he worked faster and faster until it was finished. Konan was in a similar situation.
Once everyone had finished their tents, Tetsu asked loudly, "Does anyone here know how to cook?"
As soon as he finished, Kelly was the first to raise her hand, followed by another female student. Eichi knew her; she was quite pretty and, like Eichi, came from an ordinary background, though slightly better off.
"Leave dinner to me," Kelly said. She and the other girl began setting up a stove. While Konan and the remaining girl didn't know how to cook, they stepped in to help with the prep work.
Eichi had originally intended to say he could cook, but he dropped the idea once Kelly volunteered. It was better to leave such things to the girls.
While the two girls prepared dinner, the boys released their Pokémon. One by one, various Pokémon appeared around the campsite. Eichi activated his Eye of the Bug Emperor and scanned them. He had to admit, these guys' Pokémon had excellent potential.
Eichi saw Sato's Pokémon as well. Aside from the Charizard, Electabuzz, and Seadra he already knew about, the remaining three were Kadabra, Slowbro, and Haunter. Unsurprisingly, their talent grades were all Outstanding. What a bunch of rich kids, he thought. Matsumoto and Ishida were much the same.
Half an hour later, Kelly finished the meal: a thick soup and mixed rice. Kelly walked over carrying a bowl of rice, looking a bit shy. "Class monitor, this is for you."
"Thank you," Eichi replied with a smile.
Kelly's face instantly turned red. She mumbled a quick "You're welcome" and ran off. Tetsu caught this scene and looked at Eichi with a knowing smirk.
A moment later, Kelly brought over a bowl of soup. "Class monitor, have some soup."
"Mhm." Eichi took a spoonful and drank it, nodding. "Delicious. You did a great job, Kelly. The mixed rice is very tasty too."
"Thank you for the praise," Kelly said. "By the way, monitor, you worked hard today."
"It was alright," Eichi replied dismissively.
After the meal, they cleaned up and prepared for bed. Today had been far too taxing for them. Tetsu said goodnight to Eichi and crawled into his tent to sleep.
Eichi, however, sat by the small river to think, reflecting on the day's events and this wilderness trial. During the battles with the wild Pokémon, he had noticed a teacher protecting them from the shadows in the sky. Only Eichi had noticed; the others were oblivious. Currently, that teacher had pitched a tent not far from them.
As he was thinking, someone suddenly sat down next to him. It was Sato.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Eichi asked. "It was a long day."
"Why aren't you sleeping then?" Sato countered.
Eichi smiled. "Me? I'm not tired yet. Just sitting here for a while."
Sato looked at the lake. The blue waves rippled under a gentle breeze. The scenery was beautiful. Suddenly, he spoke up, "What do you think about Director Yanagi making us walk on our own?"
"How do I see it? With my eyes," Eichi joked. "Alright, jokes aside, what else could it be? You probably know too—it's to train our practical combat and teamwork."
"I know," Sato said. "But today I realized I have too many shortcomings. Seriously, Eichi, compared to you, I still have a long way to go."
"Don't say that," Eichi replied. "We aren't that far apart."
Sato fell silent. Then, Eichi added, "Did you notice? The Pokémon appeared far too frequently today."
Sato paused, then thought for a moment. "Did they? I thought that's just how the wilderness is."
"It's not normal," Eichi said seriously. "I've traveled in the wild before. Didn't you notice? They were all coming for us. While they attacked, they all stopped at a certain point. They only attacked the Pokémon, never the trainers. In other places, wild Pokémon won't just attack your Pokémon; they won't let the trainer off either."
Sato seemed to realize something. "You mean..."
"Exactly," Eichi said. "I think the wild Pokémon in this part of the forest must have reached some kind of agreement with the teachers to attack us for training purposes."
"I see," Sato murmured. "Everything is for the sake of training us."
"We'll have to work harder tomorrow," Eichi added. "In fact, we didn't cover much distance at all today."
"I'm off. Going back to sleep." Eichi stood up and headed back to his tent. Heracross and his other two Pokémon found their own trees to sleep in.
Sato stayed by the lake for a while longer before returning to his tent.
In the tent closest to them, Konan opened her eyes as their conversation ended. She looked out into the darkness as if she could see the two of them through the tent fabric. After a moment, she closed her eyes again.