Chapter Twelve: The Entrance Examination

“H-hello?” Hope called out nervously, craning her head side to side as she did so. “W-where am I? I-is anyone there?”

She was standing in the center of a temple of sorts, which itself was high upon a cold and snowy mountain – at least, that’s how it felt like, from the sub-zero wind that was blanketing her fur, creating a painful chill that seeped into each and every one of her organs, and the pressure that was slowly building up within her eardrums, bringing with it a dull yet furious pain. The temple itself was made of pure white marble, with extremely long pillars shooting up from the floors like spears planted from the ground stabbing into the air.

Ten statues lined the center of the temple, two rows of five creating a pathway to the center. All of the statues were of pokemon – the first row had statues of a deer, bear, fish, weasel, and eagle pokemon, while the second row had statues of a mantis, plant, dog, sphere, and iceberg pokemon. Hope cautiously stepped forward to inspect the statues, her curiosity briefly overtaking her confusion. There was a lot of detail on the statues – she could easily make out the texture of the bird pokemon’s feathers, the fish pokemon’s scales, the bear and dog pokemons’ fur, the combined stone and ice textures on the iceberg pokemon. She could even notice that the sphere pokemon was made out of some kind of wood, even though its statue was pure marble.

As Hope’s gaze passed over the statue of the mantis pokemon, she instinctively fluffed out her tail and flinched. Its insectoid body and angular eyes, combined with the sharp stone axes at the end of its arms, reminded her way too much of Crim. At least this pokemon couldn’t grab her by the leg, snap it like a twig, and oh God it hurts it hurts so so much please make it stop make it stop make it go awa –

“HOPE.”

A deep, booming voice resonated from the sky itself, creating shock waves so powerful that the force it created sent Hope flying into the humanoid plant pokemon statue. Strangely, the impact didn’t hurt at all. She shook herself off and stood up, looking around wildly for the source of the voice.

“HOPE KATHERINE ABERDEEN. I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU ARE WELL. DO NOT BE SCARED. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.”

How the hell does this thing know my middle name? Hope thought to herself, trying to resist the second round of sound waves pelting her body as she did so.

She didn’t have time to ponder that further, however, as a bright light suddenly pierced her pupils. Hope squinted harshly and tried her best to look up at the source of the light.

A large orb of pure light was floating directly above her. It looked very similar to a sun, with seventeen rays of light sticking out from the main ball, each in a different color, giving it the appearance of a rainbow. The rays changed color every few seconds, creating a strobe effect of sorts. The orb slowly descended from the sky, inching down closer and closer until it was eye level with Hope.

“I COMMEND YOU ON DOING THIS WELL .” the orb of light boomed. “ I WILL BE HONEST, I WAS VERY FEARFUL WHEN YOU WERE LOCKED AWAY AFTER YOUR FIRST MISSION. I WAS EXPECTING THE WORST. I WAS QUITE RELIEVED WHEN MY LOYAL SERVANT TOLD ME THAT YOU HAD MADE IT OUT SAFELY. I KNEW I WAS RIGHT TO HAVE CHOSEN YOU.”

It sounded like it was trying to comfort her, but Hope felt the complete opposite of comforted right now.

“W-who are you?!” Hope screeched, her tail all fluffed out. “What do you want from me?”

The orb… chuckled ??? “ DO NOT BE AFRAID .” it repeated. “ I AM THE ONE WHO CREATED THIS WORLD, THE ONE WHO OVERSEES IT, AND THE ONE WHO MAINTAINS ITS FUTURE. I WAS THE ONE WHO CHOSE YOU TO HELP MAINTAIN THE FUTURE. I AM SIMPLY HERE TO OFFER YOU SOME ADVICE FOR THE DAYS TO COME.”

“You… chose me?” Hope stood there in silence for a few seconds before the realization hit her. “Were you the one who turned me into a Pokemon?!” she cried out. “Why did you do this? Why did you take my memories?”

The orb’s rays stopped changing color for a few seconds, giving Hope’s eyes a much-needed respite, and it tilted downwards slightly. “…IT IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE WORLD OF POKEMON, HOPE.” it intoned sorrowfully. “ YOU WERE SENT TO THIS WORLD TO FULFILL A GRAND DESTINY. IN ORDER TO FULFILL THAT DESTINY, YOU WILL NEED SOME ADVICE. I AM HERE TO DISPENSE THAT ADVICE TO YOU.”

Hope opened her mouth to reply, but the orb cut her off. “WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF LACKING KNOWLEDGE FOR THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS AHEAD, THE GLOWING ANTLERS WILL LIGHT THE WAY FOR YOU.”

“What does that even mean???” Hope wailed.

“YOU WILL KNOW VERY SOON.” the orb stated. “ I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST OF LUCK FOR THE TRIALS THAT AWAIT YOU. FAREWELL, HOPE.”

And with that, the orb began rising back up into the clear blue sky.

“Wait a minute!” Hope screeched, futilely charging forward towards the orb. “Come back here right now! I want some answers, and you’re not leaving until I get them!”

“HOPE…” the orb murmured. Somehow, its voice was now much higher in pitch.

“Yeah!” Hope snapped. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“HOPE… Hope… Hope? Hope!”

Hope suddenly jolted upwards, panting heavily as she did so. Her vision slowly unblurred, revealing that she was now in a room with rustic wooden walls, lying on a bed made of soft, fluffy wool. Judging by the faint amount of sunlight in the room, just enough to provide color vision, it was still extremely early in the morning. Two blurry round shapes were directly in front of her, and as her vision unblurred even further, the shapes slowly morphed into the very confused faces of Klaw and Dewey.

“Hope!” Klaw cried out. “Are you okay?”

“Y-you were t-thrashing around in your s-sleep a lot.” Dewey murmured.

“In… my… sleep?” Hope muttered. The obvious realization sunk into her slowly at first, but as the fuzz in her brain cleared and her thinking became more logical, the slow drip turned into a sudden downpour. “That was a dream?! ” she cried out. But it felt so real! It was like I was actually there!

Small smiles appeared on the edges of Klaw and Dewey’s faces. “Must have been one heck of a dream, then.” Klaw chuckled. “Did last night’s pizza get to you?”

“Hey! If anyone were to get weird dreams from last night’s pizza, it should have been you two!” Hope protested playfully, jumping to her feet. “I didn’t order the pizza topped with calamari, mozzarella sticks, and garlic knots!” Just thinking of that abomination made her stomach twist up.

Dewey grinned. “ M-man , was it good, though.” he gushed. Klaw nodded fervently beside him, both brothers’ eyes glazed over and small amounts of drool coming from the edges of their mouths. Hope rolled her eyes and lightly swiped her tail across their faces, snapping them both back to reality.

“Seriously, Hope, what were you dreaming about?” Klaw chuckled. “You were really thrashing around.”

“W-we thought that you were going to b-break the c-clock!” Dewey giggled, gesturing to the blocky gray digital clock directly next to Hope’s bed.

Hope flinched as the events of the dream replayed in her memory. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like it wasn’t a dream at all. It felt much too realistic. The chill of the wind, the smoothness of the stone floor, the sound of that strange orb’s voice… It lingered a little too strongly within her brain, almost like it had actually happened to her.

THE GLOWING ANTLERS WILL LIGHT THE WAY FOR YOU … The phrase kept echoing within Hope’s mind. “What could it possibly mean?”

“H-hope? W-what are you t-talking about?”

Hope snapped her head up to see that Klaw and Dewey were now staring at her with looks of concern.

“What does what mean, Hope?” Klaw asked softly.

Hope blinked slowly. “Did… I say that out loud?” she squeaked, staring at a particularly intriguing strand of wool sticking out from the edge of her bed.

Klaw and Dewey sat down and curled their tails over their feet, staring at Hope expectantly yet encouragingly. Hope exhaled loudly. Guess there’s no way around this . She explained what had happened in the dream to Klaw and Dewey.

When she finished, Klaw and Dewey furrowed their eyebrows and looked at each other with worry. The silence was long and uncomfortable.

“…I’m going to be real with you, Hope.” Klaw whispered. “What you’re describing sounds scarily similar to Polaris’s… ‘teachings’.”

Every bone and organ within Hope’s body suddenly turned to ice. “W-what?” she exhaled.

“I-it was the very f-first l-lecture of P-polaris’s that we ever a-attended.” Dewey swallowed. “H-he b-believes that h-humans can connect with d-deities with their m-minds. O-of course, we thought it was all r-rubbish, but what you d-described…” Dewey looked at his brother and inhaled deeply before turning back to Hope and continuing. “I-it just s-sounds too s-similar to what he was t-talking about to be a c-coincidence.”

Hope’s mind was spinning at a million miles per second. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a voice.

“Mah Arceus, whut’s gotten into yawl kids? Yawl three look like you’ve been licked by uh haunter!”

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey whirled around to see a slightly small light brown bull pokemon with black dappling covering its body, three tails, and a white bandana wrapped around its thick brown neck mane staring at the trio with a mix of curiosity and concern.

Upon noticing them, the bull pokemon stepped back and laughed. “Oh, sorry bout that! Should hav’ given yawl three uh head’s up.” he chuckled sheepishly. “Mah name’s Billy. Ahm Esther’s grandson. Sorry ah wasn’t able tuh meet yawl last night – had tuh fetch supplies for breakfast an’ all thet. Speakin’ uh that, Grandmumma told me to come fetch yawl for breakfast. Come down soon – Grandmumma’s cookin’ iz best when it’s pipin’ hot! Nuthin’ beats Grandmumma’s Mountain Continental breakfast!” Billy gave the trio an awkward smile before slowly backing away and scurrying away.

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey looked at each other quizzically. “He seems like an interesting character.” Hope joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Thankfully, it worked, as Klaw and Dewey immediately relaxed their shoulders and smiled. “He’s not at all like the other tauros we’ve met.” Klaw grinned.

“P-pokemon really are n-nicer outside of the s-syndicate, huh?” Dewey agreed with a chuckle.

The mention of the syndicate made Hope’s muscles stiffen, so she once again decided to change the topic. “What time is it?” she asked. “Billy said breakfast is ready, but it looks like the sun is only just coming out.”

“I-it’s a-about… six-thirty in the m-morning?” Dewey mumbled, scurrying over to the alarm clock besides Hope’s bed to double check. “Y-yep, six-thirty in the m-morning.”

“Hold on… But you guys were awake before me…” Hope pointed a paw towards Klaw and Dewey. “Did you guys not get any sleep again?” she asked, raising her eyebrow playfully.”

Klaw and Dewey’s eyes widened. “We got some sleep!” Klaw protested. “We woke up only two hours ago!”

“That would be four-thirty in the morning, right?” Hope probed the brothers. “And what time did we get here?”

Dewey looked down sheepishly. “…M-midnight.” he muttered after a short pause.

Klaw stepped forward and playfully cuffed Hope’s ear with his paw. “If you’re going to chide us for getting less than eight hours of sleep, stop right there, because so did you.” he snorted.

Dewey looked at his brother in surprise. Klaw simply smirked and flicked his ears backwards. Dewey’s eyes widened for a couple of seconds, after which he nodded at Klaw with a matching smirk.

Oh no. Are they doing the silent twin communication thing again? Hope sighed and rolled her eyes playfully before stepping forward. “Let’s just go have breakfast, alright?” she said, flicking her tail towards the slightly ajar door of the room. “We don’t want the food to get cold. And besides, the faster we eat, the more time we have to prepare for the entrance exam!” she finished with a wink.

At the last two words, Klaw and Dewey’s eyes became as round as globes, and within a few seconds they had disappeared from the room, the loud whack of the door hitting the wall echoing after them.

Hope exhaled lightly and chuckled. Those two really are a riot, aren’t they? , she thought to herself. She really didn’t know what she’d do without those two, antics and all.

Yet, something about the interaction made Hope’s heart overflow with longing – longing for something she couldn’t even remember. It all felt so real, as if she had lived through a very similar interaction before, just in a different body.

“What kind of ‘grand destiny’ makes up for taking a girl away from her family?” Hope spat, quietly but with enough force to send small droplets of spit splashing onto the floor.

Hope stared at the spit droplets for a few seconds, her ears pricked intently as she did so. If Klaw and Dewey were right, and the orb pokemon that spoke to her in her dream was indeed some kind of deity, she didn’t want that deity – or the “loyal servant” it had mentioned – to hear her.

If that happened, her chances of going back to the human world would have been immediately reduced to zero.

No point in dwelling on it right now, at least . Hope thought to herself, letting out a long sigh as she did so. She shook herself off and padded towards the ajar door. But that so-called deity has a lot of questions it needs to answer the next time I see it .

The hotel corridors were painted with scenes of lush farmland, depicting crops of all kinds and colors growing and flourishing. That, combined with the calming classical music playing on low volume further down, drifting quietly into Hope’s ears, made her relax somewhat. As she continued down the hallway, the music became intermingled with the sound of lively banter, with Klaw and Dewey’s voices clearly recognizable. As she got closer, those sounds became mixed even further with the sound of hooves scraping on wood. Hope quickly started speeding up, stiffening her muscles in case she had to tackle someone.

“Hey, watch where yore goin’, kid! Yawl almost ran right into may!”

Hope came to a screeching halt, looking up to see a very pale pink and black cow pokemon wearing a heavily grease-stained apron staring down at her, its bottom lip curled in annoyance. The smells of cinnamon and sausage wafted off of the apron, making Hope salivate a little.

The cow pokemon raised her eyebrow. “Ah can see yawl droolin’, y’know.” she spat. “If you really wanna eat so badly, snap out uh it an’ head down tuh thuh dinin’ room as fast as yawl can! Othahwise, yur maniac friends are probably gunna eat thuh food an’ thuh containers at thuh same time !”

“S-sorry, Esther.” Hope mumbled, slowly slinking backwards.

“‘Sorry’ don’t git yawl fed.” Esther huffed. “Walkin’ tuh thuh kitchen as calmly an’ normally as possible duz. So yawl better start now!”

Hope quickly nodded and straightened back up, quickly walking around Esther and down to the kitchen. Esther glared back at her as she did so.

Laughter echoed from down the hallway, causing Hope to roll her eyes. “Very funny, guys.” she muttered good-naturedly, loud enough that Klaw and Dewey could hear her, but also quiet enough that Esther couldn’t hear her. She turned the corner and stepped into the dining room.

The hallways of the Farmstead Inn already gave off a comforting feel, but the dining room took that feeling and magnified it tenfold. The walls were painted a deep red and textured to look like wood, giving them a very similar appearance to a classic farmyard barn. Small, round stools lined the edges of the walls, with bowls filled to the brim with fake fruits and vegetables placed upon them. The atmosphere was quite rustic – the only thing that gave away the modernness of the building was the thin flat screen television positioned directly above the room’s sole window, which was currently displaying some sort of extreme sports competition.

The fake food looked pretty, but it had nothing on the actual food, whose varying smells immediately bombarded Hope’s nose as soon as she stepped into the room. Notes of all five basic tastes traveled through her nose and onto her taste buds, making her mouth water even more heavily than it had before.

Hope’s eyes drifted, trying to find where the food could possibly be, when suddenly, a voice caught her attention.

“Hope! Over here!”

Hope’s ears perked up, and she turned around to see Klaw and Dewey waving her over, standing next to a long, large table covered with several different food containers at the far end of the room. The brothers were somehow already on their third serving of breakfast, their previous plates lying on the table closest to them as they piled piping-hot scrambled eggs, strips of bacon, pancakes drenched in maple syrup, and cream-cheese covered bagels onto their newest plates.

They definitely didn’t eat this much when we were all at the syndicate… Hope thought to herself, her eyebrows slightly creased with worry.

Two more bull pokemon were standing next to them. They both looked very similar to Billy, but their fur was completely black, and they were both fairly larger than him. The bull pokemon standing next to Klaw had red lines on its mane, a small rock with bright pink crystals jutting out of it tied to its left horn, and flame tattoos covering its left flank, while the bull pokemon standing next to Dewey had blue lines on its mane, a small rock encased in a deep turquoise crystal tied to its right horn, and storm cloud tattoos covering its right flank.

As Hope approached them, the two bull pokemon rolled their eyes, huffed, and scraped their hooves on the ground, all in perfect unison, before fixing their gazes onto Hope.

“ This is the leader of your rescue team?” the red-lined tauros snorted at Klaw.

“Not gonna lie, little dude, you and your bro can do way better.” the blue-lined tauros sneered at Dewey.

So this is what Klaw and Dewey meant earlier when they said Billy was different from other tauros , Hope thought to herself with a quiet, exasperated sigh. She padded up to the far end of the table and grabbed a plate before going to stand next to Klaw and Dewey, making sure to lightly bump against the two black tauros’ front legs as she did so. She was very pleased to hear them emit tiny cries of displeasure as she did so.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing, pipsqueak?!” the black bull brothers shrieked simultaneously.

“Oops. Sorry.” Hope mockingly apologized. “Just being a little clumsy.”

Klaw and Dewey scrunched their faces up and bit down on their cheeks, trying their hardest to suppress their laughter and somewhat succeeding, though not without sounding like deflated balloons. In response, the black tauroses looked at Klaw and Dewey with pure betrayal on their faces.

“A-anyways,” Dewey sputtered, grabbing a napkin to wipe the built-up spit off the side of his mouth as he did so. “T-these are…” He trailed off briefly, looking to the black tauroses, who continued to glare at Hope silently. Seeing this, Dewey cleared his throat and continued. “T-these are M-mateo and D-diego.” he began, gesturing to the red-lined tauros first and the blue-lined tauros second. “T-they’re Esther’s g-grandnephews, and they c-come to the inn straight from c-college on w-weekdays, so that’s why t-they weren’t here last n-night.”

Hope stuck a paw out and smiled coyly at Mateo and Diego. “Nice to meet you two.” she snickered. Mateo and Diego stared at Hope for a few seconds before exhaling loudly and stomping aside. Hope pranced up to the buffet and gingerly picked up a plate with her teeth, before scurrying over to the main table and surveying the wide variety of food available.

Eventually, she settled on a little bit of some of the more filling yet healthier items she could find – a large scoop of baked beans, some fried mushrooms, a bunch of small fried tomatoes still attached to the vine, some grilled potatoes, and a slice of whole wheat toast with a spoonful of bright red berry jam. Hope then grabbed a spoon, fork and knife and gently set it on the plate before carrying the plate over to where Klaw and Dewey were sitting and placing it down gently in front of them.

“Thanks a lot for that, Hope.” Klaw whispered as Hope sat down.

“Thanks for what?” Hope mumbled in confusion.

“Getting Mateo and Diego off our backs.” Klaw explained quietly, shooting a discreet glance over to the two twin bulls to make sure they weren’t listening. “They were pretty funny… but they were also making us feel really uncomfortable. They were talking about our dads a lot, saying stuff about how they thought they were so cool and tough and how they envied us being their kids…” Klaw trailed off, his tail slowly swishing and his claws unsheathed. Next to him, Dewey chewed his lip uncomfortably.

Hope was surprised she didn’t break her fork with how hard she squeezed it. “No problem.” she choked out, shifting in her seat so Mateo and Diego couldn’t see her fluffed-out tail. I knew those two were trouble, but this? She stabbed her fork into a tomato, getting a few droplets of its juices onto her toast before stuffing it into her mouth.

The negative feelings almost immediately dissipated at the taste. The tomato had been cooked just long enough to break the juices down into sugars, but not long enough to remove all of the acidity. The tiny salt crystals on the tomato’s skin combined with this to create the perfect blend of sweet, sour, and salty.

The experience made a powerful wave of nostalgia wash over Hope. She could faintly smell mothballs and old tea and faintly hear quiet soft rock music, not from within the room itself, but from somewhere deep within her memories. She lowered her head so Klaw and Dewey couldn’t see the tears that were beginning to well up within her eyes.

“Yawl like that, huh?”

Hope choked down the tomato and looked up to see Esther and Billy standing over her, the former smirking proudly and the latter smiling widely and awkwardly. “That’s no surprise – mah cookin’s da best in all da’ continent.” Esther drawled smugly. “Much better than that fish-sniffer Kory, dat’s fo’ sure!”

Hope opened her mouth to ask who this ‘Kory’ was, but Esther cut her off. “Ah, naw need tuh thank may.” she crooned. “Ah know how good ah ahm. Now, if yuh excuse may, ahv gotta git thuh cinnamon rolls frum out of thuh oven.”

Hearing the words cinnamon roll caused what felt like a cup’s worth of saliva to well up underneath Hope’s tongue. A quick sideways glance told her that Klaw and Dewey weren’t much better, the saliva actually cascading out of their mouths like a rushing river, Esther let out a scratchy, hoarse cackle of pride before turning and walking back around the corner.

“Yawl three are rilly in for uh treat!” Billy exclaimed. “Grandmumma’s cinnamon rolls are thuh best! Shay only makes them on Wednesdays, too, so yawl guys got lucky comin’ when yawl did!” Judging by the repetitive, energetic kicking movements he was making with his back hooves, he was just as excited for the cinnamon rolls as the trio was.

Hope leaned down and began to dig into the rest of her meal, the buried remnants of her memories once again being lost to the void. Klaw and Dewey quickly and eagerly followed suit.

“Hey, kids, slow down!” Billy cried out. “Yore all gonna choke!”

“Knock it off, you big crybaby!”

“Yeah, why are you so sensitive all the time? Grow a spine.”

Hope’s ears pricked up, and she glanced over to see Mateo and Diego standing at the other end of the table, grinning at Billy maliciously. Billy shrunk back and tucked his tails between his legs, a low and guttural groan of primal fear emanating from his throat. This only succeeded in making Mateo and Diego erupt into laughter.

Hope immediately leaped out of her seat and padded towards Mateo and Diego. The two black tauros immediately lost their grins upon seeing her, backing up so quickly their tails lashed against each other’s flanks.

“Who’s sensitive now, jackasses?” Klaw whispered triumphantly. Beside him, Dewey pretended to wipe his mouth so he could hide his giggling.

Hope let out a satisfied chuckle and hopped back into her seat, picking her fork back up, stabbing it into a mushroom, and popping it into her mouth.

Billy exhaled in relief. “Thanks fer that, kiddo.” he mumbled. “Ah really hate tuh have tuh force yawl tuh handle it, but ahm not very good at standin’ up fer mahself…” He trailed off nervously, glancing back at Mateo and Diego, who were whispering amongst themselves and glowering at Hope. “Ahm older than them by uh long shot, but ahv never been able tuh stop them frum pushin’ may around. Been like thus since calfhood. It wuz better when ah only saw them durin’ holidays, but now thet thay’re livin’ with may an Grandmumma full time so thay can go tuh college…” Billy blinked slowly. “Oh, sorry. Hav’ ah been ramblin’ too much?” he squeaked, staring down at his hooves.

“You’re alright.” Hope said, her ears twitching.

Billy’s chest deflated like a balloon, the exhale of relief that came out of his mouth being as loud as a freight train’s whistle. “…Thank you, kid.” he squeaked. “Ah thank ahl leave yawl an’ chur friends tuh hav chur breakfast now.” He flashed one more uncomfortable smile at the trio before scampering away, nearly knocking over Mateo and Diego as he did so. The black bull twins scrambled back to their feet, looked at each other, and huffed before stomping out of the room themselves.

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. “…Interesting characters, huh, guys?” Hope joked feebly.

Klaw and Dewey nodded absentmindedly, but they were both now staring at the television.

Hope craned her neck over to see what they were so transfixed on and was greeted with a truly fantastical sight: a green and black lizard pokemon darting to and fro on a skateboard ramp so fast it looked like a speeding motorcycle, the illusion being furthered by its tail being curled up and its throat sac being puffed up in a way that resembled wheels. The lizard pokemon charged to the other end of the ramp and sprung up, spinning its body elegantly in midair four times before landing back down on its hind feet, rearing up, uncurling its tail, striking a pose, and sticking its tongue out cockily.

“So cool…” Hope exhaled.

“I know, right?” Klaw murmured, his eyes still locked firmly onto the screen. “We’ve heard about sports stars like that cyclizar before, but we’ve never been able to see them in action, you know?” He took his bagel and bit into it, cream cheese oozing out of its sides.

“P-papa and D-daddy didn’t a-allow us to watch t-television.” Dewey explained tersely, cutting off a piece of pancake and popping it into his mouth as he did so.

Hope scooped up a large portion of baked beans and stuffed them into her mouth so she could keep the string of expletives she felt bubbling up inside of her at bay. She choked them down before deciding to change the subject. “So, what do you guys think is going to be on the guild exam?” she asked.

Klaw and Dewey looked at each other in confusion. “W-we have no i-idea.” Dewey faltered.

“We’ve done so much research on the guild and the requirements to join, but they never said anything about an examination.” Klaw explained. “It does make sense, but we have no idea what to expect.”

“Well, from what I can understand, the guild mainly focuses on expeditions into mystery dungeons to save pokemon, right?” Hope inquired. Seeing Klaw and Dewey nod affirmatively, she continued. “We’ve already gone through two of those mystery dungeons already – two of the most dangerous ones in the continent! We’ll be more than fine.”

She made sure to smile as widely as possible, hiding her own anxieties. After all, she, the leader of the group, was still quite new to being a pokemon. That lack of experience would surely come to bite her in the tail during the examination. And if she failed, Klaw and Dewey would certainly be failed as well, no matter how well they did.

What would happen to them if they failed? Would they be sent back to the syndicate? What would Polaris, Scorch, Riptide, and the Pursuers do to them? What kind of painful punishment would be inflicted on th-

“Hey! Kids! Cinnamon rolls are ready! Come git them quick before mah grandnephews eat ‘em all!”

Upon hearing Esther’s words, Hope sprung to her feet, her fears momentarily dissipating in the wind, as she scurried towards the back room, Klaw and Dewey hot on her heels.

The next few hours went by in what felt like a manner of minutes, the tastes of the cinnamon rolls and the baked beans and the toast topped with what Esther proudly referred to as her “homemade mago berry preserve” all mixing together within Hope’s mind.

It was all so good, but the closer the clock got to ten thirty, the more her anxiety over the examination grew. Judging by Klaw and Dewey’s pacing – they must have made four laps around the entire perimeter of The Farmstead Inn in a single half hour – they shared her anxiety.

They all knew what was at stake. They couldn’t afford to fail. Somehow, that only made the fear of failing that much stronger.

“Uh… Hope? Klaw? Dewey?”

Hope looked up to see that Billy had returned. “The guildsfolk are here to tuh take yawl tuh thuh exam room. Let’s go – ah don’t wanna keep ‘em waitin’ for too long.” He turned back towards the dining room entrance and flicked his tail, encouraging the trio to follow him.

Well, this is it . Hope swallowed uncomfortably. It’s now or never .

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey followed Billy through the rustic halls of the Farmstead Inn all the way to the main lobby, which was painted bright red to resemble the interior of a barn. Three pokemon were standing in the center of the lobby, laughing heartily while sipping coffee. Hope immediately relaxed when she saw the first member of the group – Sparky the boltund. He had been the nicest of the rescue team leaders by far last night, so she was very thankful that he was one of the guild members who had come to pick her and her friends up.

The two pokemon beside him were completely unfamiliar to her. The first was a large, draconic, black and purple bat pokemon, a pair of turquoise mirrored sunglasses perched beneath its gigantic ears, which looked a lot like loudspeakers. The second was a slender white and purple ermine pokemon with long arms, a red shawl draped across its body. The group looked up as Billy led Hope, Klaw, and Dewey to them.

“Hey, guys! How are you doing? Did you sleep well?” Sparky yipped cheerily as he came up to meet the trio.

“We slept as well as we could.” Hope admitted, staring at the ground bashfully.

“I get it.” the bat pokemon laughed heartily, adjusting his glasses as he did so. “Nerves from anticipating the exam, huh?”

“…Pretty much.” Hope chuckled. That was only half of the reason, at least for her.

“Happens to the best of us.” the ermine pokemon murmured calmly. “I know these two goofballs were shaking in their boots when we had to take the exam.” She lightly swatted at the bat pokemon’s belly, who responded with a shrill squeak of indignation.

“Guys! Knock it off!” Sparky protested feebly before turning back to Hope, Klaw, and Dewey. “These are my teammates.” he explained. “Sir Squeaks-A-Lot to my left is Soren, and Miss Flappy Hands to my right is Tai.”

Soren and Tai looked up at Sparky and narrowed their eyes indignantly, causing the boltund to suppress a laugh. “We’re Team Revolvers, the fastest rescue team around! Outlaws don’t stand a chance at escaping from us!” he finished with a howl.

“And who are you kids?” Tai inquired.

“I’m Hope, and these are Klaw and Dewey.” Hope said. She could have sworn that she saw Soren and Tai stiffen for just a few seconds upon hearing Klaw and Dewey’s names, but they relaxed soon after.

“Nice to meet you three.” Soren laughed, extending his wing out to Hope, who placed her paw in the fingers at its edge and shook it. “Let’s get going now, shall we? I don’t know about my buddies here, but I, for one, am very excited to see what you three are capable of.” he quipped.

“I, too, am excited to see what you three have in store for the guild.” Tai smiled softly.

“If we wanna see what these guys have going for them, we’ve got to go now. Otherwise Jet’s gonna chew us out.” Sparky reminded his companions. Soren and Tai nodded.

Billy scrambled to the wooden door and headbutted it, causing it to swing open with a loud thud as it hit the side of the wall. “G-g-g-good luck, guys!” he stammered. The smile on his face was large, but he was shaking like a leaf.

“Thank you, Billy.” Hope smiled.

Sparky, Soren, and Tai looked at each other and nodded before walking out the door, Hope, Klaw, and Dewey following directly behind them.

The group began walking across the Honor Town plaza, passing by many of the shops that Candy had introduced them to during their tour yesterday. Hope recognized Underworld Banking, Cloudy Postal Service, and Grand Tunnel Storage among the rows and rows of shops she walked by.

Was it really only yesterday? So much has happened since , Hope thought to herself. She looked up and realized that she was walking past the Xiong Dojo. Hei’an and Shui were currently standing outside the building, talking to each other in hushed tones. Hope stopped and waved at them, but they seemed too distracted by their own conversation to notice her.

“Um… Hope? Are you okay? Why did you stop?” Sparky asked, his head tilted and a concerned look on his face.

“Sorry, Sparky!” Hope yelped, immediately resuming walking at a much faster pace than before. “Was just trying to say hello to someone, that’s all!”

“You can say hello to them after the exam.” Tai murmured gently. Besides her, Soren nodded in agreement.

“I guess.” Hope agreed half-heartedly. I hope they’re alright, though…

A thought suddenly struck her. Does it have something to do with Bai? She remembered the child’s sudden mood swing from yesterday, the way he had looked at her, Klaw, and Dewey with anger she couldn’t begin to imagine a child his age had the capability to carry within him. I hope he’s doing alright…

“Well, here we are, kids.”

Hope’s head snapped up, and she screeched to a halt. The group had arrived in front of a simple stone building painted in a glimmering metallic silver, nestled snugly away from the hustle and bustle of the main plaza. Sparky stepped forward and twisted the doorknob.

The door opened with a loud creak , and Hope, Klaw, and Dewey stepped in the building with trepidation.

The interior of the building was just as simple as its exterior, being painted the same metallic silver. Rows of metal desks filled the singular room, and a chalkboard was hammered onto the front-facing wall of the room, a wooden desk positioned directly in front of the chalkboard.

Is this… an old schoolhouse? Hope thought to herself incredulously.

“Sparky, Soren, Tai. Thank you so much. I’ll take it from here.”

Hope whirled around to see Taj step into the schoolhouse, his giant feet clinking against the metal floor and his giant body just barely not skimming the ceiling. He held a stack of papers and a bundle of pencils in his trunk.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Klaw whispered. “I didn’t think they meant a literal pen-and-paper exam.”

Suddenly, all of Hope’s worries were drained from her body. This was the best possible scenario! She didn’t know exactly why, but something deep within her was telling her she was made for this.

“Dewey Bloodcrown. Klaw Bloodcrown. Hope…” Taj trailed off, squinting at Hope.

“Aberdeen. Hope Aberdeen.” Hope quickly jumped in.

Taj’s eyes brightened, and he nodded. “Hope Aberdeen.” he finished, his voice professional yet warm. “Welcome. My name is Taj Toughfoot, and you are now beginning the Ironheart Guild entrance examination. This is the first of three parts: the mental examination.”

Three parts?! Hope could feel her anxiety returning.

Taj continued. “In the mental examination, you will take a written exam. This exam has sixty multiple choice questions and will test your knowledge on literature, math, history, and science. After all, knowledge is the seed from which all good rescuers bloom.” He chuckled before continuing, “There will be twenty questions for each subject. You will have ninety minutes to complete this exam. Please take your seats, and I will pass out the exams to you. As soon as you receive your exam, you may begin.”

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey quickly leaped into three of the desks in the front row. Taj chuckled heartily and plopped an exam and a pencil in front of each of the trio.

Hope grabbed her pencil eagerly and wrote her name on the top, before flipping the page. As soon as she saw the first question, however, she froze.

Ironheart Guild Entrance Examination, Part One: Literature

In the classic 17th century novel “Sunset Over Fogbound Lake”, what is the species of protagonist Laura Waterwood’s love interest, the misunderstood “sea monster” Typhoon?

A: Dondozo

B: Basculegion

C: Swampert

D: Toxapex

Hope’s head began to spin, and she had to grip her desk to prevent herself from sliding off of it. She thumbed through the rest of the literature section, praying desperately to see a familiar book title, but they were all books unique to this world. Ascending Sky Tower, Secrets of Revelation Mountain, Flowerbeds, The Tale of the Sierra Ten, Stalwart Souls, To the Break of Dawn … all books she had never heard of before in her life.

There was no hope of her passing this test.

Hope began to look around wildly, begging someone, anyone , to somehow give her the answers, to help her pass this test. It was the only thing keeping her, Klaw, and Dewey from guaranteed safety. Her gaze trailed over to the window directly across from her desk… only to see a face there.

Hope blinked, almost certain that her anxiety was causing her mind to play tricks on her. But when she opened her eyes, the face was still there. It was the face of a cervid pokemon, its fur pale gray like a light rain cloud and a beard as white as snow. Two golden antlers sprouted from the top of its head, shimmering in the early morning light.

The deer pokemon’s eyes glowed, and a flash of white light completely obscured Hope’s vision for a singular second.

When the light cleared, Hope looked down at her paper. Her mouth nearly crashed through the floor at the sight that greeted her.

All of the literature and history questions and about half of the science questions – the ones relating to important pokemon scientists – had been answered already. Hope picked up her pencil shakily and stared at the tip. It had clearly been worn down somewhat, and faint paw pad marks were visible on the wood, so she had definitely answered all of those questions herself.

WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF LACKING KNOWLEDGE FOR THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS AHEAD, THE GLOWING ANTLERS WILL LIGHT THE WAY FOR YOU…

The memory of the loud, echoing voice boomed into Hope’s ears, almost making her fall out of her seat. That voice was being literal. The glowing antlers really were glowing antlers . Bits and pieces of her conversation with the otherworldly being began to fall back into her head. It mentioned being told she had escaped from the syndicate’s clutches by a loyal servant… Could that pokemon have been that loyal servant? And something about the pokemon’s face felt so familiar to Hope. She felt like she had definitely seen it before…

Hope looked over at Klaw and Dewey, her eyes wide and begging for answers, but they were laser focused on their exams. She then looked over at Taj, but he too was distracted, reading a magazine and sipping some black tea. Was I the only one who saw that pokemon?! , she thought to herself before looking back down at her test. I can’t focus on this now. Running out of time with only sixty percent of the questions answered would be just as bad as getting all those questions I was struggling on wrong .

She sighed and picked up her pencil once again.

Thankfully, the rest of the exam went by without much trouble. Math was never Hope’s strong suit, but at least she already had an understanding of how to work out the problems. It seemed that no matter what world she was in, math would always be a constant. And the rest of the science questions were very easy – biology had always been Hope’s favorite subject. Still, she ended up being the last of the group to finish – Klaw and Dewey had turned in their exams a solid ten minutes before her, and they were now staring at her expectantly.

With a sigh, Hope finished working out the last math problem, circled her answer, hopped out of her chair, and turned the exam into Taj.

“All finished now, are we?” Taj smiled. He reached into his suit pocket with his trunk and pulled out a bright red marker.

Is he going to grade them right now?! In front of us?! Hope prayed for the deer pokemon to come back and open up a black hole to suck her away right there and then.

Taj took only ten minutes in total to grade all of the exams, but for Hope, Klaw, and Dewey, it felt like ten hours. A large pool of sweat had formed beneath the three by the five-minute mark, and Hope swore that she saw Dewey’s tail become transparent around the eight-minute mark.

Finally, Taj turned to the trio, who sucked in their breaths in bated anticipation.

“My, my, my!” Taj chortled. “It seems that we have a truly bright trio on our hands! All of you received eighty percent or higher!”

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey exhaled simultaneously.

“I do have to give special attention to you, little lady.” Taj continued, kneeling down in front of Hope. “You got every single question right on the literature, history, and science portions of the exam! Must have been studying hard, hm?” he winked.

Hope felt her stomach drop into her chest. “Y-yes sir.” she said through gritted teeth. She hated lying more than anything else in the world, but if she told him the truth, she and her friends would certainly be disqualified. Besides, it wasn’t like Taj would believe her explanation even if she did tell the truth.

“Could have studied a little harder on the math section – you only got ten questions right there.” Taj winked at Hope teasingly before turning to Klaw and Dewey. “You boys should be proud too.” he continued. “You both got a ninety four percent – the highest score I’ve seen on any written exam in eighteen years!”

“Congratulations!” Hope squealed, knocking over Klaw and Dewey in joy.

“T-thanks, Hope.” Dewey trilled with delight.

“You know, if you wanted to, you could have just asked us permission to let us look at our answers.” Klaw whispered smugly. “We know you’re unfamiliar with most of the subject material. We would have been more than willing to help.”

Hope looked away guiltily and blushed. “T-thanks, guys.” she muttered. The fact that Klaw and Dewey would have been willing to sacrifice their freedom in exchange for helping her both warmed and chilled her heart.

“Ah, to be young and to have fun with your friends again.” Taj chuckled. Hope could have sworn she saw tears forming at the edges of the guildmaster’s eyes. “Now, let’s move on to the second part of the examination, shall we?”

The trio nodded in agreement, and Taj opened the door with his trunk and stepped outside, beckoning for the trio to follow him. Hope, Klaw and Dewey quickly obliged.

They followed the guildmaster a little further off the outskirts of town to a large arena made out of cobblestone, surrounded by a large chain-link fence, multicolored chalk lines traced neatly to indicate the boundaries of the arena.

Hope’s stomach dropped when she saw Jet standing in front of the chain-link fence, preening his feathers. As the group approached, Jet looked up at them, and his eyes narrowed.

“Well, well, well. You actually managed to get past the first part of the exam.” Jet sneered.

“They all passed with flying colors, in fact.” Taj corrected. “Klaw and Dewey here got the highest scores we’ve seen since Team Aurum, in fact!” Klaw and Dewey puffed out with pride upon hearing the comparison to Team Aurum.

“W-w-whaaaaaaattttttt?!?!?!?!” Jet squawked, his carefully preened feathers puffing out and flying all over the ground. “That’s impossible! Those two surely have to have cheated!”

Hope’s spine stiffened, but Taj simply shook his head. “I watched them with my own eyes, Jet. They all passed fair and square.” Hope exhaled in relief.

“O-o-o-of course, Guildmaster. My apologies.” Jet apologized, though there was a clear veneer of insincerity atop his tone. “I am certain that they will not pass my portion of the exam, however.” he bragged, before spreading out his wings. “My name is Jet Hawker, and you are now entering the second part of the Ironheart Guild entrance examination… the battle examination!”

Klaw and Dewey immediately relaxed upon hearing this, looking at each other and smirking like they had already passed. Hope definitely wasn’t feeling as confident as she was when she heard about the written examination part, but she wasn’t feeling completely hopeless… at least until another worry popped into her head.

Didn’t Klaw and Dewey say that I shouldn’t be able to learn most of my moves until I evolve?! , she thought to herself, digging her paws into the dirt. Jet’s not as kind as Taj. He’s definitely going to think that me using those moves is cheating!

“For this portion of the examination,” Jet continued. “I will pair you up with members from our newest trainee team in three one-on-one battles. If you three can defeat all three of our trainees, you pass the battle exam.” He then swept his left wing outwards. “Come, Team Legends!” he cried.

The chain keeping the arena closed unlocked with a clink , and it swung open, revealing three pokemon standing behind the door. Hope had no idea how she didn’t notice them sooner.

The pokemon in the center resembled an owl, with white and dark brown plumage covering most of its body, two reddish-orange leaves curled around its head, and a scarlet bowtie pinned neatly to its chest. Its eyes were closed, and it smiled smugly at her. To the owl pokemon’s left was a quadrupedal mustelid pokemon with dark purple fur, a cream colored underbelly, wispy purple flames erupting from its forehead and rear, and a purple bandana tied around its neck. To the owl pokemon’s right was a bipedal otter pokemon with dark blue fur, red whiskers, a black fur fringe around its waist with two red and black scallops attached to it, and a black scarf wrapped around its neck. They stared at Hope, Klaw, and Dewey with curiosity.

“These are Douglas, Cinder, and Storm of Team Legends.” Jet crowed, gesturing to the owl pokemon, the mustelid pokemon, and the otter pokemon in turn. “They are our newest rescue team, and our strongest, if I do say so myself.” A twisted sneer formed on Jet’s beak. “Let’s see how you stack up against them, shall w-?”

“Y-you three are H-hisui morphs.” Dewey interrupted, staring at Douglas, Cinder, and Storm in pure shock and awe. Klaw was doing the same thing besides him.

“Hisui morph?” Hope intoned, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

Jet, Klaw, and Dewey opened their mouths to answer, but Douglas beat them all to the punch. “I’m glad you asked.” he crooned, running his feathers through his leaves. “Hisui morphs are reserved for those few species of pokemon who first came to this continent and braved the harsh climates, taming this land into the paradise it is today.” He continued to preen at his feathers before continuing. “The deities of space and time themselves granted us the Hisui morphs to signify that we had been blessed by the mountains themselves – Hisui means mountain in the ancient tongue. Over time, the land grew calmer, and the need for Hisui morphs diminished. But every few generations, a pokemon is lucky enough to be blessed with the Hisui morph… and my friends and I are three of those lucky souls.”

Douglas finished by stretching out his wings and pulling Cinder and Storm into an embrace. Cinder looked away and blushed, while Storm grunted indignantly and struggled to escape from the embrace.

“It doesn’t matter what they are! Let’s just get this part of the exam over with!” Jet screeched indignantly.

Douglas released Cinder and Storm, the latter two immediately shaking themselves off. “Sorry, Sensei.” Douglas apologized, facing Jet and bowing. “I just cannot help but be proud of my lineage. It is what my father taught me, after all, and as the greatest philanthropist on the continent, his wisdom must be spread.”

Jet slapped his face with his left wing and let out a long, loud sigh. “Let’s just begin now.” he groaned, before dropping his wing and scanning the crowd. “For Round One… I think I’ll pit the younger Bloodcrown twin against Storm.” he mused.

Hope stepped aside so Dewey could step forward, the sobble’s normal uneasy look replaced by an expression of sheer determination. Storm stepped forward as well, his face remaining completely emotionless.

The two pokemon headed into the center of the ring, standing on opposite sides of the yellow chalk barrier.

“Give me a good fight, Son of Bloodcrown.” Storm intoned, sliding his scallops off of his fringe and spinning them in his hands while assuming a fighting position.

“Oh, you’ll get a good fight!” Dewey explained, flattening his body to the ground and stiffening his tail.

He’s not stuttering?! He must be really passionate about this , Hope realized.

“You can do this, bro!” Klaw cheered.

“Teach this ruffian a thing or two, eh, Storm?” Douglas crowed.

“Round One of the Ironheart Guild Battle Examination: Storm Rainpelt of Team Legends versus Dewey Bloodcrown. Three, two, one… begin!” Jet boomed.

Storm looked at Douglas and nodded determinedly. Then he launched himself at Dewey, charging towards him at the speed of light. As Storm ran, water began to surround his body, and he leaped forward like a rocket at Dewey.

“Going right on the offensive with Aqua Jet, eh?” Klaw remarked, sitting down and curling his tail over his paws.

Hope held her breath, but Dewey simply smirked and rolled out of the way, causing Storm to instead crash into the chain-link fence. He got to his feet and regained his balance, but Dewey immediately took advantage of those few seconds of weakness, firing a Mud Shot directly into Storm’s face.

The otter pokemon grunted in anger, trying to rub the mud off of his face, but it was too late. Dewey’s body became surrounded in a light green aura, and he leaped at Storm with lightning-fast speed, smacking him in the face with his tail before returning to his starting position just as quickly as he had initiated the attack.

Storm tried his best to stay upright, swaying back and forth, but he eventually crashed onto the ground, creating a large dust cloud. When the dust cleared, his eyes had become swirls.

“S-storm R-rainpelt of Team Legends is unable to battle. Dewey Bloodcrown is the winner of Round One.” Jet announced, his eyes darting around with fear.

“Alright! I knew you could do it, bro!” Klaw cheered. Dewey bolted out of the arena, and the two brothers exchanged a high-five. Hope ran up to Dewey and pressed her forehead against his in congratulations.

“Storm! Are you okay?” Douglas called out, flapping over to his friend. Cinder glanced over at them, chewing on the edge of her paw anxiously.

Storm’s eyes slowly returned to normal, and he groaned before slowly forcing himself into an upright position. “I am alright, Master Firwood.” he groaned before turning his gaze onto Dewey. “Excellent job, Son of Bloodcrown.” he praised, causing Dewey to straighten out his tail in pride.

“I told you, Storm, don’t call me Master.” Douglas admonished, though he was doing an incredibly poor job of hiding the pleased look on his face.

“Enough dillydallying!” Jet screeched.

Taj covered his mouth with his trunk, stifling back a very obvious laugh.

Jet glanced at his superior with betrayal before turning back to the group. “For Round Two, the matchup will be the older Bloodcrown twin against Cinder! Take your places, now !” he squalled.

Klaw smirked and swaggered his way onto the center of the field. Cinder gulped and trailed after him, taking her place on the opposite side of the border.

“Ummm… Just so you know… I’m not the best at battling… So, please, go easy on me, okay?” Cinder pleaded, clasping her paws, blushing, and looking away.

“I can’t promise that. My ‘going easy’ is still pretty good.” Klaw taunted, lowering his body to the ground and wiggling his hindquarters as if preparing to pounce.

“Y-you can do this, b-bro! I-i know you can!” Dewey cheered.

“Stay calm and relaxed, Cinder. I have faith that you can beat this scoundrel.” Douglas asserted, his voice much softer than before.

“Round Two of the Ironheart Guild Battle Examination: Cinder Sparkwhisker of Team Legends versus Klaw Bloodcrown. Three, two, one… begin!” Jet declared.

Cinder’s head snapped upwards upon hearing Jet’s announcement, and she took a deep breath before curling herself up into a ball and lighting entire body aflame. She then began to spin around in a circle, though oddly, she stayed in place.

“S-she’s using F-flame W-wheel to p-prevent Klaw from coming c-close to her.” Dewey observed. “A-a more d-defensive s-strategy than Storm. T-that’s interesting.”

“How’s he going to hit her, then?” Hope asked.

“Just watch and see.” Dewey smirked.

He didn’t stutter again! He must really be confident in his brother .

Klaw simply stood still, watching Cinder spin around and spray purple embers everywhere, still maintaining his pouncing position. Eventually, Cinder began to tire out, the flames slowly flickering away.

Klaw immediately took his chance and pounced, springing towards Cinder and striking her with a Double Kick to the chest. Cinder cried out and staggered backwards, but Klaw was onto her, sinking his teeth into her outstretched right arm with a Crunch.

Cinder cried out in pain as Klaw sprung away from her, but she steadied herself, arching her back and preparing for another Flame Wheel.

This time, however, Klaw was ready for her. His body became surrounded with the same light green aura that surrounded Dewey before, and he lunged at her, slashing her in the face before returning to his starting position near instantaneously, just like Dewey had before. Cinder immediately crashed onto the ground, and when the dust cleared, her eyes had become swirls.

“C-cinder S-sparkwhisker of Team L-legends is unable to battle. Klaw Bloodcrown is the winner of Round Two.” Jet stammered, looking like he was about to throw up. “Sweet mother of Shaymin, those two are strong!” he whispered to himself fearfully.

“Awesome job, bro!” Dewey cheered as Klaw raced towards them, the two then repeating their high-five from the end of the previous round. Once again, Hope ran up to Klaw and pressed her forehead against his in congratulations.

“C-cinder?! Are you alright?!” Douglas squawked, some of his feathers flying off of him as he raced over to Cinder. Storm was hot on his heels, a hint of desperation shining through his usual stoic expression.

Cinder’s eyes slowly returned to normal, and she slowly stood up, using Douglas’s outstretched wing to help balance herself. “I’m alright, Douglas. Kind of expected this outcome anyways.” she muttered dejectedly. Her eyes then scanned the room, and when they landed on Klaw, she perked up. “That was really cool, though! I spent a lot of time working on that technique, so it was awesome to see how you broke through it! H-honestly!” she complimented. Klaw purred pridefully in response.

Jet was now pacing back and forth in front of the arena entrance. “This is bad… This is bad… I can’t let them get into the guild… I can’t!” he muttered to himself fearfully. Taj looked over and raised an eyebrow at him, causing the bird pokemon to freeze and quickly begin preening his fluffed-up feathers back into order.

“Don’t fret, Sensei.” Douglas quipped, flapping over to him and plucking a loose feather from his right wing. “There’s still one more matchup left to go, am I correct?” he finished, sneering confidently.

Jet looked down at the owl pokemon and blinked, quickly regaining his cocky composure. “Indeed, my young disciple, you are correct.” he trilled, causing Douglas to squawk in surprise and almost fall over. “The matchup for the Final Round of the Ironheart Guild Battle Examination will be… Douglas Firwood IV of Team Legends versus…” He squinted at Hope. “I apologize, but I seem to have forgotten your name.” he sneered crudely.

“Hope. My name is Hope.” Hope reminded Jet firmly.

Jet blinked in mock regret. “Ah, yes, it was Hope! My apologies.” he mocked. “Take your places.”

Hope swallowed and got up to head for the arena, but she was stopped by the gentle touch of cold metal on her shoulder. She looked up to see Taj smiling down at her.

“I don’t know about Jet,” Taj chuckled, “but I, for one, am very curious to see what you can do in battle. Good luck, young Hope.”

“T-thank you so much, Guildmaster!” Hope stammered gratefully.

“No need to thank me. I just want to make sure that my students know that I see potential in them.” Taj proclaimed warmly, a twinkle in his eye. “Now run along, won’t you? I don’t want to give Jet an aneurysm.” he joked.

Hope blushed furiously at the further praise before scurrying off into the arena and taking her place on the right side of the battlefield. Douglas had already taken his place, preening his feathers for what seemed like the millionth time in that hour alone. He looked up at Hope and smirked confidently.

“Go, Hope, go! Show them what you can do!” Klaw and Dewey cheered as loudly as possible.

“You got this, Douglas!” Cinder called out encouragingly.

“I have nothing but faith in you, Master Firwood.” Storm added calmly, crossing his arms.

“Final Round of the Ironheart Guild Battle Examination: Douglas Firwood IV versus Hope. Three, two, one… BEGIN!” Jet cawed loudly.

Hope immediately charged towards Douglas, leaping towards him and preparing to launch a Tackle. The owl pokemon stood still, watching her get closer and closer to him with a smug smile on his face. Just as Hope sprung into the air and prepared to strike him, Douglas unfurled his right wing, revealing a set of reddish orange leaves intermingled with his feathers. He launched the feathers at Hope without even blinking, striking her straight on the stomach.

Hope cried out and dropped to the floor. Douglas immediately took his chance, unfurling his left wing and slashing Hope on the cheek with it. She hissed at the sensation. It felt like she had just gotten five paper cuts from five pieces of paper at once.

“Hope!” Klaw and Dewey cried out.

“That’s it, Douglas! Keep going!” Cinder and Storm cheered.

Hope slowly got to her feet and growled. Douglas was staring at her confidently, polishing his inner wing feathers, no doubt preparing to launch them again. “What’s the matter, used up all your tricks already?” he taunted her.

Hope stood there for a few seconds before smirking. “Actually, I think I’m just getting started.” she responded cockily. She really didn’t want to have to do this, but it was her best shot at winning. She started at Douglas and concentrated as hard as she could.

“What are you doing? Trying to stare me to dea-” Douglas was cut off by the purple-pink aura of Confusion surrounding him, lifting him up into the air. Hope continued to keep her gaze on him, trying her hardest to ignore the headache building up inside of her.

“W-W-W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!? THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” Jet screeched in horror, flapping his wings around like he had just had his head cut off.

“…Interesting. Very, very interesting indeed.” Taj mused, pulling his glasses out of his vest pocket with his trunk and putting them on, squinting at the scene unfolding in front of him.

“Yeah! That’s it, Hope! He never saw it coming!” Klaw and Dewey gushed happily. Cinder and Storm simply stared at Hope and Douglas, their jaws slack with shock.

Douglas’s body was frozen in midair by the psychic energy, but he had an expression on his face that Hope could only describe as flabbergasted. Hope grinned before releasing her psychic hold, dropping Douglas to the ground with a loud THUD ! Then, she fluffed out her and inhaled, sending a Thunder Shock directly towards Douglas, hitting him straight on the wing.

“WHAT KIND OF GIRATINA-INDUCED SORCERY IS THIS?!” Jet shouted. His face was pale, and he looked like he was about to faint. Taj simply stepped forward to get a better look, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

Douglas moaned and tried to straighten himself up, but Hope was already on the attack, charging towards him with another Tackle. She crashed into him, falling on the ground herself from the impact. Douglas’s body immediately went slack, and his eyes morphed into swirls.

Jet stared at the scene that had just unfolded, opening and closing his beak repeatedly without making a single sound. Taj looked over at his coworker’s stunned silence, chuckled, and took over. “Douglas Firwood IV of Team Legends is unable to battle.” he announced, looking at Hope proudly. “The winner of the Final Round is Hope Aberdeen. Hope, Klaw, Dewey, congratulations. You have all passed the Battle Examination.”

Hope turned towards Klaw and Dewey, but her knees buckled before she could, her head pounding and her entire body feeling scratchy and itchy. Klaw and Dewey bolted towards her, yammering indeterminable words of congratulations.

“Do you need this, by any chance?”

Hope looked up to see Taj standing over her, extending his trunk out to her, grasping an oran berry gently.

“Yes… Thank you so much…” Hope rasped, leaning forward and taking a large bite out of the berry. Her weakness immediately dissipated, and was quickly replaced with the sheer joy of what she had just accomplished. “We did it!” she squealed, bouncing up and down like a toddler. Klaw and Dewey quickly joined her.

Douglas was still lying on the ground, but his eyes had returned to normal, and he was now staring at Hope, his beak agape with wonder and admiration. Cinder and Storm bolted over to him.

“Master… are you alright?” Storm inquired, his voice quivering. Cinder nodded anxiously in agreement.

“I’m alright…” Douglas rasped, continuing to stare at Hope like she was a star that had fallen down from the sky itself. “That was… incredible…” he muttered weakly. Cinder and Storm simply looked at each other exasperatedly before taking one wing each and dragging Douglas away.

“Good battles, guys!” Hope called out cheerfully. Cinder and Storm looked at her, with Storm nodding in agreement and Cinder flashing a thumbs up at her.

“So… pretty…” Douglas mumbled quietly, his gaze remaining locked on Hope as he was dragged out of the arena and out of sight.

Jet had been watching the entire interaction speechlessly, but as soon as Team Legends left, he regained his composure and whirled to face the trio. “Don’t think you’ve won just yet!” he spat, his eyes burning with fury. “You’ve still got one more part of the examination, and with your past , you’re certainly not passing it!”

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey stared at each other quizzically.

“Ah, thank you for reminding me, Jet.” Taj chuckled before turning back to the trio. “The third and final part of the Ironheart Guild Entrance Examination is the so-”

“TAJ! TAJ! TAJ!”

The entire group whirled around in confusion to see Hei’an and Shui bolting down the path directly towards them, their faces twisted with anxiety. Shui had a piece of paper tightly clasped in his hands.

“Hei’an! Shui! What happened?” Jet called out, genuine worry on his face as he flapped over to meet them, the other four not too far behind.

“Jet! Taj! There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you two!” Hei’an panted. Then, his gaze landed on the trio. “Hope? Klaw? Dewey? You’re here too! This is perfect!” he cried out.

“Of course they would be here. They were taking their examination.” Jet explained.

“…Hei’an? Shui? What happened?” Hope asked fearfully. She had an idea of what was going on, and it was not good.

“Go on, you two.” Taj encouraged.

Hei’an and Shui’s faces became even more panicky. “I-it’s Bai! He’s been kidnapped!” Shui wailed.

Hope, Klaw, and Dewey looked at each other with shock. They figured Bai was a troublesome child, the kind of child to run away from home once or twice. But kidnapped ?!

“With all due respect, how can you be so sure that he has been kidnapped?” Jet asked. “Bai is a brilliant child, and one I greatly look forward to teaching, but he’s also… mischievous , for lack of a better word. How do you know he hasn’t run away?”

The anxiety on Hei’an and Shui’s faces was quickly replaced with anger. “Because we found this on our front lobby desk first thing in the morning.” Hei’an snarled. He gestured to Shui, who placed the letter into Taj’s outstretched trunk.

Taj gently uncrumpled the letter with his trunk and began to read. Jet fluttered down beside him and leaned over to get a better view. Both pokemons’ eyes widened as they read further.

“What does it say?” Hope asked.

Taj and Jet looked over at Hope with uncertainty. “I think it’s best if you three read the letter for yourselves.” Taj murmured, setting the letter in front of her.

Klaw and Dewey quickly crowded around Hope, and the trio began to read.

Dear Dojo Masters,

You might have noticed that your nephew Bai is missing. How do we know this? Because he has been kidnapped by us – the Raiders! We are currently holding him hostage in our evil lair, which is located in the depths of Aipom Puzzle Forest. We will return him to you on one condition – if, and ONLY if, you send the trio of little twerps who beat our asses up in the plaza yesterday to rescue him! You know the ones – the sons of Scorch and Riptide and that pesky little eevee who used moves she shouldn’t be able to learn! We’ve got a score to settle with that cheating little brat, and some words for those boys as well!

We expect to see them at our lair no more than twenty four hours from now. NO MORE, you hear us? Otherwise, that little brat’s gonna GET IT! So we better be seeing those twerps at our doorstep sooner rather than later!

Looking forward to doing business with you 😉 ;P

~Lupo Duskfang and Sal Thunderscream, Co-Leaders Of The Raiders, The Greatest Up-and-Coming Crime Group Of All Time!

The letter was emblazoned with an image of a half-red, half-purple skull and crossbones, crudely drawn in crayon. Hope assumed that was meant to be the Raiders’ logo.

“The Raiders?!” Klaw questioned, his eyebrow arched. “I thought they were just petty criminals!” Dewey nodded in agreement besides him.

“That’s what we thought, too, until they took our Bai from right under our noses!” Shui snarled.

“Petty criminals they may be, but they’ve committed their most dastardly crime yet.” Taj mused, turning to the trio expectantly. “And it seems like you’re the only ones who can stop them.”

“G-guildmaster! You can’t send them out! What about the third part of the exam?!” Jet squawked.

“Hmm…” Taj tapped his trunk to his face in deep thought before turning to Jet. “You mean the fourth part of the exam. This rescue mission is the third part of the exam.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!?!? THAT’S AGAINST THE GUILDMASTER’S CODE!!!!” Jet howled, looking like he was about to keel over from a heart attack at any moment.

“The Guildmaster’s Code only states that a Guildmaster cannot remove sections from an entrance examination. There is nothing about adding sections to an exam.” Taj reminded Jet coyly.

“B-b-b-b-bu-bu-bu-” Jet spluttered.

“No but’s or if’s, Jet.” Taj scolded gently. Jet promptly exploded into a coughing fit.

Hei’an and Shui looked up at Hope, Klaw, and Dewey hopefully. “So you’ll do it?” Shui asked.

“You saved our pelts once before. I’m certain you can save Bai’s.” Hei’an chuckled.

Hope stepped forward and smiled confidently. “Of course we can!” she exclaimed. “Let’s head over to Aipom Puzzle Forest, pronto!”