Chapter 3 – We Are Team Earshot!

I relentlessly hit my opponent as I sail through the air, suspended by my ears from his talons.

He wants to kill my partner, there’s no way I could just let him.

He changes direction mid-air, now sailing towards the colossal tree in the center. Try as I may, I can’t escape his grip. He’s much larger than I am.

I brace myself for impact.

THUD!

The air escapes my lungs in an instant.

Pain ripples out from my back across my entire body.

I want to raise my arm and hit him again, but it doesn’t respond.

He releases me, and I fall along the tree to the ground below.

THUD!

My butt hurts, nobody to break my fall this time.

I can barely keep my eyes open.

Vincent is standing above Hopper. He’s saying something, but I can’t make it out. Hopper is just lying there. I guess he’s had enough.

BOOM!

The ground shatters below Hopper, and he strains from the impact.

“…You’re not dying today, bug. Neither is your runt of a partner.” I can make out a bit of what Vincent is saying. “…I’m not letting you become adventurers. You’re gonna hand over the berries.”

I can’t believe that this guy ruined our exam. I want to knock him senseless, but my body can hardly move. And even if I did attack him, there’s no way I could turn this around. We lost. I can’t believe it’s already over. We couldn’t even finish the exam.

At least he didn’t kill us. When Hopper forfeits… and we come to… we can just figure something else out…

He’s grabbing the bag.

He’s moving.

He’s… laying on top of it?

Vincent hits him.

…

Vincent hits him again.

“Is this adventuring dream worth it?” I can only make out so much of it. “…maybe I’ll kill you after all.”

What the hell is Hopper doing? Why won’t he give up the berries?

“It’s… not my dream…”

What?

“Then what’s the point?”

“…I won’t… let you ruin her dream.”

He’s gonna let Vincent kill him. Why won’t he just give up?

Vincent hits him again.

I don’t care how much I want to pass… I have to stop this.

…

Thank Arceus, it didn’t fall out. I fish the temporary adventurer’s badge out of my scarf.

I never wanted to use this.

I wanted to come home and be happy.

I wanted to celebrate with Hopper at his house.

I wanted to pass.

“I’m… not letting go. Even if you kill me.”

Vincent hits him again.

I press the button in the center.

Pipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipipi–

The noise is deafeningly loud, and all eyes are on me the second I click it. It snaps me out of my daze just a little bit.

“…I see one of you has some common sense.”

What an asshole. “I’m… not letting you kill him.” I’m still a little winded, it’s hard to talk.

“You think that thing will stop me? He’s already knocked out, a little more and he’s done for.”

“If you stick around… they’ll catch you…”

He stops for a second, turning to Bryon.

“Don’t you… have to help your partner…?” I give a faint nod towards Eloise.

He’s silent.

He walks past Hopper and towards Bryon. “If you used the distress signal, you’re going to fail the exam anyways. That’s plenty for me right now.” He grabs Eloise and jumps atop Bryon, the latter turning to walk away. “Ditch the bug if you know what’s good for you. If you stick with him, I’m not going to show you mercy next time.”

They leave. I won’t die, I’m just a bit hurt. Hopefully Hopper can hang on, too.

Pipipipipipipipipi–

My mind nearly blocked out the sound, but it hasn’t stopped this entire time.

Pipipipipipipipipi–

Surely, someone will be here soon.

Pipipipipipipipipi–

I see a figure overhead, wings stretched wide. It’s getting dark, so it’s hard to make out any details, but relief washes over me at the sight. It lands in front of me.

“You two are taking the exam, correct? Eri the Minccino, and Hopper the Pawmo.”

I nod. He takes the badge from me and turns off the sound. “We’re going to take you to the Guild. Sit still, please.” I finally get a closer look at him: he’s a Staraptor.

He lifts me up, then Hopper.

The wind runs through my fur as we fly. It’s relaxing. I’m safe. Hopper’s safe.

We’re… safe…

---

This bed…
These sheets…
A faded memory from the edge of my mind.

A young boy’s cries pierce through a quiet night,
and the moon pierces the dark.

“Grandpa… It hurts…”

What hurts?

That’s right. My ear. There’s a bit missing.

“I know. Just hold on tight.”
A rough, gravelly voice. Somehow, it’s comforting.

Minutes turn to hours.
Drip. Drip. Drip. The wind blows the red at my face.
My paw is red too. The rag is overflowing with red.

Before long, torchlight.

“Stay with me. It’s not bedtime yet.”
“But I’m tired, Grandpa…”
“Please, don’t sleep.”

Him pleading like that is abnormal. Even so young, I understood that.
“Ok… I’m awake, Grandpa…”
“Thank you.”

It was all a rush.
Grandpa’s rough voice. A mighty voice. A soft and gentle voice.
They all sound so serious.
Gray gravel. Orange tent. Blue room. White sheets.
It was too much for me to take in.

“Eep!”
Something pierces my ear.
“Don’t move. It’ll just hurt more.”
I try my best for the gravelly voice.

“Don’t play with it, or it won’t heal.”
“Ok, Grandpa.”
“Good boy.”

I always played with it anyway…

Huh?

It’s bright, far brighter than usual. I can hardly open my eyes. Did I sleep in?

And why does my bad ear itch?

As I begin to turn and rub my eyes, I hear a groggy mumbling to my left.

“Bwuhuh?”

Silent for a second…

“Ah!”

Just as I finally get my vision back, I’m suddenly enveloped in a hug. “E-Eri? Is it you?” There’s no response, but I can tell by the color of her fur and the distinct blue coat hung up in the corner of this room: it’s definitely her. I reach around to pat her back. “Eri… I’m glad you’re okay-”

I’m interrupted by my partner lightly knocking at my head. “Hopper, you idiot!” It sounds like she’s speaking through tears, which I begin to feel welling up on my shoulder. She pushes away and returns to her seat beside my bed. “I can’t believe you, Hopper! What in the world did you think you were doing yesterday?” Yesterday? My memory is hazy.

Or at least it was hazy. Once I tried propping myself up and felt how sore my side was, it all came back to me. “I… I didn’t want us to fail the mission… We were so close, I didn’t want it to go to waste…”

Eri seems incredibly frustrated, letting out a deep sigh as she considers what to say. “You really could have died, you know. If Vincent had knocked me out, he might have really killed you…”

Wait, Eri was still conscious? Come to think of it, how did I even get back here? “You weren’t unconscious? Hold on… you didn’t carry me back, did you?”

“No, Hopper, I didn’t carry you. You’re hardly any shorter than me, there’s no way I could carry you that whole way.” I feel her frustration melting away a bit, but she still seems upset. “I used pretty much all the strength I had left to sound our distress signals on the temporary badges. We were rescued by a Staraptor from the Guild, and I passed out right after.”

“Staraptor…?”

“Your grandfather really didn’t give you much of an education, did he? Normal and Flying-type Pokémon. We’d ought to see if there’s a library in Radiant Square…” Mid-thought, it seems like Eri remembers that she’s upset with me. “Anyways, I’m serious Hopper. Don’t ever put yourself in that kind of danger again. There’s no way I’m letting you kill yourself on a mission.” Eri is stern as she speaks, but I can tell she’s more concerned than angry.

“I’m sorry… Vincent just struck a nerve, I guess. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

She mulls over what to say for a second before scooting her chair closer and gently holding my paw. “Just… Be more careful next time, alright? Failing a mission isn’t the end of the world, and it’s definitely not worth dying for…” Her tear-stained face – visibly exhausted from a morning’s worth of worrying – invites a wave of guilt to wash over me. At least she doesn’t seem mad.

“Oh, wait a second, what happened with the exam? Did we at least pass?”

What had become a relieved smile turned to a more anxious expression. “Ah, uh, I’m actually not sure… As soon as I woke up, I came to see you, so I haven’t spoken to anyone but the nurse yet…” Her face turns a little red as she finishes.

Wait, nurse? “So… we’re inside the Guild, I take it? This certainly isn’t my house…”

“That’s ri-”

SLAM!

“Correct you are!”

---

I’m interrupted by a booming voice that swung open the door to the room. Like the door to town hall, the doors in this place are quite large to accommodate many different species of Pokémon. In fact, to small Pokémon like Hopper and I, everything in this room is a bit… uncanny. It almost feels like I’ve stepped into one of my sister’s dollhouses. What kind of Pokémon could possibly have swung open the door with that much fo-

Arceus almighty. There’s no way. That’s not possibly who I think it is. At the other end of this room… is a large canine Pokémon… with orange and cream-colored fur… accented with black stripes… about five times my height…

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You’re… Blitz… the Arcanine…” Holy shit, I must look so stupid right now. Pull it together girl!

“Blitz? Arcanine…?”

“HOPPER! You seriously don’t know?”

“Easy now! I didn’t expect you’d be such a big fan!”

Blitz the Arcanine just spoke to me! The famous Guildmaster Blitz, he just called me a big fan! “Y-Yes, sir! My father has told me all about you!”

“A great father he must be, then!” Blitz lets out a hearty laugh. “I’ve been told a bit about you two. Eri the Minccino and Hopper the Pawmo. Sounds like you two got a bit roughed up during the exam.” He walks closer to the bed, tracing it to Hopper’s right. “I’ll be! That’s quite the cut, son! What kind of an exam mission did they possibly send you kids on?”

Hopper and I are both silent for a second. “Hopper, it’s probably best you explain…”

He seems a bit surprised, and having Blitz’s full attention clearly has him nervous. “A-Ah, well, we were going to retrieve Rawst berries, but we had a run-in with an acquaintance of mine who… may or may not have wanted to kill us…?”

For a moment, Blitz is speechless. “It was quite a while ago, but I certainly don’t remember my exam mission being nearly so… climactic.”

“Um, Blitz sir? Do you happen to know the results of our exam? Hopper, as much as I disagree with your methods, you did protect the berries, right?” Hopper nods in response.

“About that… While you did retrieve the berries, the folks at town hall have been deliberating on their verdict since last night. I… wouldn’t count on them ruling in your favor.”

Hopper turns to me, looking as upset as I am. “W-Well, we tried our best, right? I can always try someplace else…” My voice cracks as the words fall out. It’s not ideal, but we clearly weren’t ready for all this.

“No way!” Hopper doesn’t seem so ready to move on, though. While I was right that he looked upset, it would be more accurate to say he was passionate. “It’s one thing to fail the mission, but I’m NOT letting Vincent sabotage your dream! I didn’t take a bunch of Fury Cutters and earn myself a new scar for nothing, Eri!” He jumps up in his bed, like the pain from a moment ago vanished. His whole body whips towards Blitz. “Blitz, right? Please, if there’s some way we can still get our licenses, tell us!” I can’t believe Hopper just spoke to Blitz like that, but he’s managed to get me a little fired up.

Blitz, meanwhile, looks astounded. Seems neither of us expected Hopper’s little outburst.

Suddenly, a huge smile takes shape on his face. “GAHAHAHAHAHA! I like the way you set your soul ablaze, son! Who’s to say it’ll work, but you can certainly run down to town hall and try to appeal the decision. If you need it, I’ll back you kids up!”

“You heard him, Eri! C’mon, let’s hurry!” Not skipping a beat, Hopper jumps down from his bed and grabs my paw, practically dragging me towards the door.

“H-Hey! Slow down, Hopper!” He’s nearly out the door by the time I can grab my coat and scarf from their hanger.

“Hold a moment, son!” Hopper peeks back into the room. “Don’t forget this!” Blitz is holding Hopper’s armband in his mouth and tosses it across the room to him. He stumbles forward a bit to catch it, and I help him tie it around the wound on his arm. “Good luck, kids! Chase your dreams ‘til your little legs give out!”

“Yes! Thank you, sir!” Hopper and I both shout back to him with a bow before exiting the room.

---

Eri and I raced down the same path we did yesterday, arriving at the gigantic doors of town hall. Before entering, we stopped for a moment to catch our breath.

“Déjà vu, huh?” We bolted from the Guild to town hall so fast that Eri could barely slip out the words between breaths.

“Haha…” I take a deep breath to try and stabilize my breathing. “I’m sorry that Vincent ruined our exam yesterday, Eri.”

“What? Come on, you don’t need to apologize for that. It’s not like you told him to beat us up.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t been the-”

She pushes my cheeks together to shut me up. “None of that. I knew about Vincent first-hand when we became partners, and don’t forget that I hit him yesterday too.” Eri crosses her arms as she speaks with a firm tone. “We’re partners, so he’s just as much my problem as yours, and don’t you dare blame yourself for it.”

“There’s no way I’m changing your mind, clearly. If you say it’s no problem, then I’ll try not to worry.”

“Hm hm hm!” Eri’s smug laughter is accompanied by an equally smug smile. “Let’s do our best today, alright?”

“Right! Let’s go!” I smile and nod to my partner as we push the door open together, just like yesterday.

Inside is the same receptionist as before, who looks surprised and concerned when we arrive. “Oh my, you’re the kids from yesterday! I heard you got hurt real bad, are you sure you should be out and about already?”

“Thank you for your concern, ma’am, but I recover quick. That aside, we have urgent business!”

Eri chimes in. “That’s right! We’re here to see the results of our exam, if they’ve been decided that is.”

The receptionist’s expression turns sour. “Oh, right, about that… the mission was to retrieve the berries, but I… well, I just can’t license you two in good conscience after the beating you took…” She shuffles around a few documents as she speaks up again. “Say, what even happened on your mission? I’ve never heard of any Pokémon so violent living in that area.”

“We were, uh… we had a bit of an encounter with an acquaintance of mine. I know it sounds like an excuse, but he wanted to sabotage our exam.” I feel my face turning red as I talk. I know that what I’m saying is true, but I can’t deny how fake it sounds when I hear it out loud. “We spoke with Mr. Blitz at the Guild, and he told us we may be able to get our result appealed if we explain our situation.” Eri nods in affirmation.

The receptionist looks understanding, but her face is one of some skepticism. “Hmm… It’s not a story I’ve heard before, but I guess it’s not impossible.” No way, she believes us! “Even so, I’m not sure if I can change the result on that alone…” She thinks for a second. I feel a bit bad, hitting her with such an unusual scenario. “Normally we have some limits in place regarding retakes, but if it’s as you say, then it’s only fair to allow you a redo…”

Eri and I look at each other excitedly. “Thank you so much! Are we going to be retrieving berries again?”

“Normally you would, but what would that even be assessing at this point? Forget the busy work, I have a much better idea.” She shuffles through a few more documents. “Oh, but it’ll take just a bit to get coordinated. How about you two get a bite to eat in the meantime and come back?”

---

“Thank you for waiting!” An Indeedee girl presented our drinks on a platter with a smile. Hopper and I had settled on a little juice bar not far from town hall. Each of the servers were Indeedee, with the butlers treating guests rather cold and the maids being compassionate and kind. There’s a niche for this kind of venue, I guess. “A Nanab Juice for the lady… and a Liechi Juice for the gentleman, correct?”

Hopper and I happily take our drinks from her platter. “That’s right, thank you very much.”

“Of course. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask!” The girl leaves our booth with a little curtsy. We appear to have arrived just before the lunch rush as a wave of Pokémon are now waiting to be seated.

“Alright, Hopper, time to get serious.”

He shoots me a nervous glare as he swallows some Liechi Juice. “Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, per se, but…” I lean towards him from across the table, and he follows suit. “…We’ve got to figure out a team name!” My point is punctuated with a light slam on the table, startling Hopper a bit.

He presses his paw to his chin and lifts his gaze above my head. “Hmm… I’ve tried thinking about it here and there, but I’ve got barely anything…”

I’d be lying if I said I’d made much more progress than Hopper. “I dunno, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Something catchy.”

He glances around the room a bit, as if to say ‘Nope, nothing going on in this head. Let me look for something.’ “Uhh… How about…” Finally, his eyes land just below his nose. “Team… Liechi…?”

“Come on. Really?”

“Hey, I don’t see you saying anything better. Or anything at all!”

“Okay, okay, what do you think of…” Dig deep, Eri. You’ve got your whole life to dig through for a name, there’s gotta be something good there… “Teammmmm… Nanab?”

Hopper is unamused. “On second thought, I don’t think I want my entire identity tied to berries.”

“No, no, hear me out!” I think back to a conversation Hopper and I had at his house, some small talk about our favorite foods. Hopper loves sweet stuff, and he grimaced when I said I lean towards bitter flavors. “A berry that’s a little sweet and a little bitter! Nanab berries!”

“I never should have started with the berries.”

“At least I put a little bit of thought into mine.”

“Liechi berries are sweet and bitter too, you know.” He takes a sip to confirm his assertion.

“Yeah, yeah. Either way, no more berry names. Just try to think of something catchy.”

We both went about our brainstorming, occasionally bouncing an idea or two but otherwise keeping to ourselves.

Suddenly, Hopper jolts up while drinking. “Oh! Oh! I’ve got one.” I make eye contact and nod, urging him to continue. His ideas thus far have been… less than stellar, but it’s not like I have anything great either. “How about Team Wayward?”

Wayward? “I mean, it’s a little catchy, but what does ‘Wayward’ have to do with the two of us?”

This time, Hopper doesn’t stop to think up some explanation. It seems he actually thought it out in advance. “We’re, like, forward on our way. Wayward!”

“Hopper, that’s not what wayward means at all. It’s catchy, but kind of unapproachable…”

He seems a bit sad as I veto his idea. “Something approachable…”

Another period of silence. It’s so difficult to find one name to convey so much. Needs to be approachable, catchy, positive, and meaningful. Not only that, it’s gonna be our identity to the people we help every single day, so it has to be good. What do Hopper and I have in common, anyways? We’re both rather small Pokémon, we both attack physically, we both… Hmm…

“Hey, Hopper, I’ve got kind of a dumb idea.”

“Hm?”

“The other night, Vincent said we both have big ears, do you think we could do something with that?”

“I didn’t really notice until now. What names work with that theme, though?”

“Team Audio is a little lazy…”

“Team Acoustic doesn’t work, just makes me think of a guitar.”

“Vocal?”

“Sound Wave?”

We stop for a second to run down our options, before both shaking our heads. No good. At this rate, we’re never gonna come up with anything. “Whatever, the ear thing was worth a shot. Thanks for humoring me.”

As I go to take another sip of my drink, I can’t help but notice Hopper staring at me. At first he has a blank face, but then it changes to a look of… wonder? I guess? “Uh, something wrong?”

“That’s it, Eri!” He slams the table with both paws in excitement.

“What’s it?!”

“That’s it! The ear thing was worth a shot. Ear, shot. Earshot!”

Earshot, huh? Well, it’s certainly approachable, and it has a nice ring to it. Not exactly positive, but certainly not negative either. Not too meaningful, though, unless… “Something like, ‘Whenever you’re in trouble, we’re within earshot’…?”

Hopper nods his head excitedly. “Yes yes yes! I hadn’t even thought of it that way, but that totally works, right?”

Team Earshot. I never would’ve thought we’d land on this, but it’s not too bad. It’s a big decision, but…

“Oh, why not. We can always change it later if we change our minds.”

---

With our new team name in mind, Eri and I left a tip for our waitress and returned to town hall. Inside, we of course found the receptionist Pokémon, but she was joined by two unexpected guests.

“Ah, Eri and Hopper, perfect timing! Have a seat, I was just about to brief these two as well.” In front of her desk were those two Pokémon from Radiant Square’s front gate. The quiet one just seemed a bit confused regarding the situation. The one with the freaky eyes – Hugh I believe – gave us a nasty side-eye.

“What’re these two doing here?” Eri’s question seems to agitate Hugh even further, but the receptionist doesn’t skip a beat.

“Hugh and Ernest are going to help administer your makeup exam.” She pauses for dramatic effect, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “Eri the Minccino! Hopper the Pawmo! Your new exam objective is… to defeat these two in a friendly battle!”

“B-Battle? You didn’t tell us we were gonna fight…” The quiet one – I suppose his name is Ernest – spoke in a frantic tone. “Hugh, are you really okay with this?”

His partner seems to think it over for a second, before giving a nonchalant shrug. “Not a problem to me. These two failed their exam, right? I don’t see a problem fighting them.” He gives me a smug little look, like he’s saying ‘We beat you before, we’ll beat you again.’ How annoying! We didn’t even fight you!

“Do you two find this acceptable, then?” The receptionist turns to Eri and I.

“Uh, it’s unexpected, but I don’t see an issue… Hopper?”

Like I’d have a problem with it! I wanna wipe that stupid look off of that stupid Pokémon! “No problem, let’s do it!”

---

The Maractus at town hall instructed us to be ready for our battle in the center of Radiant Square in fifteen minutes. All four of us made our way there immediately, giving Hopper and I plenty of time to strategize. I had to brief him on what a Patrat and Teddiursa are, but our approach was fairly obvious once he got the gist. Pokémon classified as ‘Normal’ in type usually can’t handle Fighting attacks particularly well, and my partner here is conveniently Fighting-type.

“Okay, makes enough sense, but which of them should I go for first?”

“Hmm…” Hopper has a good question. I would’ve expected him to go all in on that Patrat, but he’s being more careful than I expected. “The Teddiursa, Ernest, he’s pretty timid. If we take down his partner first, he’ll probably fold before long.”

He tries to conceal it, but I can tell the approval to go for Hugh satisfies him. “Understood!” He excitedly nods his head and shoots me a thumbs up.

With our strategy sound, we’re left with a few idle minutes. I do my best to clear my mind, but I’m fixated on just how many Pokémon have gathered around since we arrived. Not just townsfolk, either. So many of these Pokémon bear the apparel of adventurers, some of them even of Guild members. Scyther, Electabuzz, Roserade, Donphan, Umbreon, even an Absol!

And, of course, standing tall amidst them is Blitz. Our eyes lock for a second, and he gives an energetic nod and a wide, encouraging grin. No pressure, right?

“ATTENTION! PLEASE GIVE US YOUR ATTENTION!” A deep voice erupts from behind the crowd, loud enough to break a window with ease. The crowd parts in front of the source, revealing an Exploud standing beside the Maractus from earlier.

“Thank you!” She bows and smiles at the Exploud as they file to the front of the crowd, which has formed a sort of border for our imminent battle. “As you all may know, we will be conducting the makeup examination for Eri and Minccino and Hopper the Pawmo. Their mission objective is to defeat Radiant Square’s own Hugh the Patrat and Ernest the Teddiursa. Town and Guild officials are here to monitor the battle, and we ask that any spectators be courteous of the occasion.”

Whispers break out amongst the masses as she briefly stops speaking. After giving them time to chat, she continues. “Combatants, take your places!”

The crowd falls silent, and I look to Hopper at my side. He gives me a look that says ‘Are you ready?’

My nervous face must say something like ‘Uh, probably…’

Hopper grabs my shoulder with his paw and shakes it a bit, as if to say ‘Don’t worry, we can do it!’ Yeah! He’s right! We can do it! Together, we step forward, and see Hugh and Ernest do the same. The former is glaring intently at Hopper, while the latter looks far more serious than we’ve seen him.

“Eri and Hopper! Are you ready?”

“Ready!”

“Hugh and Ernest! Are you ready?”

“Ready!”

“Understood! I declare this fight… begun!”

I dash past Hopper from behind, swiping my paw across his fur as I move. It’s not even a second of contact, but I feel the energy I built up flow to him by the time I release. I begin to trace the perimeter of our makeshift arena, closing in on Ernest.

The instant that my Helping Hand releases, Hopper jumps to Hugh. As Hopper winds up an Arm Thrust, Hugh doesn’t move an inch, just watching him closely. One arm launches, but Hugh dodges it effortlessly, throwing Hopper off his balance and interrupting the attack for just a second.

Just as Hopper whiffs his first attack, Ernest jumps at him with a roar, grabbing him and tumbling forward. Their scuffle is obscured by a deep smoke screen. I immediately recognize that abstract-looking – but also rather violent – attack as Play Rough. Before we know it, the smoke screen clears, and Hopper struggles to his feet. It seems even Ernest lost track of him in the action.

We rush to each other, now standing around the center of the arena. “Nice try, but I can detect your every move! Brains over brawn, you should consider it.” What a wiseass.

“I’ll show you some brains, Freaky Eyes!” Of course, Hopper fell for the taunt. Riling up the opponent to worsen their judgment: Swagger. Hopper’s retort was a bit embarrassing too.

With Hopper acting irrationally, going for another Helping Hand isn’t worth it for now. Closing the gap is risky, and I may as well hit them both to be safe, so Swift it is. I wave my paw in front of me, calling forth four beams, splitting up to hit both Hugh and Ernest. They both dart their gazes to me, but Hugh calls out to his partner. “Don’t lose focus!” With a nod, the Teddiursa returns his attention to Hopper, who is dashing straight to Hugh.

Well, he dashes past Hugh, actually, and falls on his face. “What’s the matter? Confused? Don’t knock yourself out on a rock or anything.” While Hopper scrambles off the ground, I hear a few scattered giggles from the audience.

Alright, too far! “What’s your deal? You’re gonna act like this during an exam?”

“No rule against a little smack talk. If this is enough to make you lose your nerve, you’ll never make it as adventurers.” It pisses me off that I can’t refute him. “In fact, you’re just seconds from losing.”

“What?” Despite his bold proclamation, he doesn’t move an inch. Not towards me, not towards Hopper. I look around our little arena to figure out what they’re up to, but I can’t find Ernest anywhere.

“Inattentive. That’ll cost you.”

Just when the final word leaves Hugh’s mouth, the ground ruptures beneath Hopper, who is launched to the air. “Urk!” Unable to gain his bearings midair, he rolls past me as he falls back to the ground.

---

“Urk!” A claw pushes through the ground and into my back, and before I know it the wind is rushing through my fur. I see only the sky for a second, gravity quickly dragging me back down and sending me rolling across the dirt.

“Hopper!” Eri calls out to me, clearing the last of the haze in my mind. Her faint footsteps draw closer until she stops and shakes my shoulder. “Can you stand?” She offers me a paw.

“Yeah… Sorry for losing my focus.” It was like I couldn’t control my body, I just locked onto that freaky-eyed guy and moved automatically.

“It’s alright, you gave me time to figure them out.” Eri drops her volume to nearly a whisper. “Slight change of plans. I’ll go for Hugh, you take Ernest. Telegraph your attack to them.”

“What? Why would I telegraph it?” The Patrat watches us closely as we talk, allowing his partner a second to emerge from his hole.

“Just trust me. After you attack, wait for my cue.” She looks at me expectantly, as if waiting for confirmation.

I nod. “Alright, I trust you!” With our plan set, we face our opponents and prepare to attack.

“Ready…” Her voice is quiet. “Now!”

We jump towards our respective targets, who stand firm as we approach. “Not so fast! Ernest, defensive maneuver!”

“Okay!” Instead of dodging or preparing an attack of his own, the Teddiursa lowers himself and raises his arms to cover his face. His partner has that same analytical stare he had when I first attacked him.

Left arm forward. My controlled palm connects with his blocking arms. Left arm back, right arm forward. A fist this time, my second paw connects. Right arm down, left arm raised. I chop at his arm with my paw, but his guard remains resolute. As I step back, he peeks through his guard. He has this exhausted look in his eyes, and he’s breathing heavily. A gust of wind could knock him down at this point.

Eri’s paw misses Hugh, but she doesn’t so much as stumble. Is this what she predicted?

“Hopper! Don’t let up on him!” She stands her ground against Hugh, not even turning as she shouts her command.

“Got it!” As she wishes, I jump at Ernest once again. He tries to reassert his guard, but it’s too late. My palm collides with the one arm he was able to raise, and I pull it away from his face. “This’ll make us even!” My right arm flies towards him, my fist digging into his cheek before sending him down.

“Encore, please!” Eri points at the Patrat as she shouts, locking him in place as she finishes. He looks between us nervously. “You’re the brains, Ernest is the brawn. We’re not all too different there.” Huh? Hey, I have brains too! “Mastering so many support techniques is crafty, but what can you do when your partner goes down if you can’t reliably attack?”

A nervous gulp falls down his throat, betraying the furious look on his face. His gaze moves between us again before fixating on Eri, who can’t help but shoot him a smug smile. After a few seconds, he closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh, throwing his paws in the air. “Alright, no need to beat the win out of me.” He looks to his partner. “Do you agree, Ernest?”

“U-Uh huh…” His voice is restrained, and he just lays sprawled out in the dirt.

“That’s it, then.” Hugh turns his attention to the crowd. “They won fair and square. We forfeit.”

“MATCH DECIDED! THE WINNERS ARE…” The loud Pokémon from before turns to the receptionist. “S-SORRY… WHAT’S THEIR NAME AGAIN?”

“Hmm… Good question!” She pushes her way to the front of the crowd. “Eri! Hopper! Did you two decide on a team name?”

“A-Ah! Uh…” Eri and I both walk up to the receptionist, and she whispers in my ear, “We’re positive about this team name, right?”

“Well… I don’t have anything better. Let’s do it!” I whisper back, and the two of us nod as we turn to face the receptionist.

“We are Team Earshot!”

The loud Pokémon chuckles. Not a condescending or insulting chuckle, but one that’s somehow reassuring or motivating. “THE WINNERS ARE… TEAM EARSHOT!”

…And the crowd went wild.

---

“On behalf of Radiant Square, I declare Team Earshot – led by Eri the Minccino and Hopper the Pawmo – officially licensed as an Adventuring Team. Congratulations!” The Maractus slams a stamp down on our application, leaving a red print reading ‘APPROVED’. “Here, these are your permanent badges!” She presents us with two badges, similar in appearance to the ones we had on our exam, but constructed with a more premium metal shell. “Like your temporary badges, they can send out a distress signal that reaches across the Radiant area, and they’re registered to you individually. Try not to lose them or mix them up! With those, you are certified to take on F-Rank missions.”

Wait a minute, what?! “F-Rank!? What does that mean?”

“Please understand. You did well on your make-up exam, but… Well, since you failed the first one, it was decided that you’d start from the bottom…”

“That’s not fair at all! Our exam was sabotaged!”

Hopper shuffles a little in his seat next to me. “S-Sorry Eri… If it hadn’t been for Vincent, then…” Crap, I didn’t mean it like that.

Making my paw a fist, I give my partner a light knock in the head. “Quiet, dummy. I forbid you from taking the blame.”

“Dummy…” He quietly mumbles as he rubs the spot where I hit him, as if that could have possibly hurt him.

“Listen, between the three of us I agree with you, but it’s not something I can overturn.” She looks a bit sad as she says it, even beyond the customer service-ey ‘Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that!’ type of thing. “But hey, with how you two fought, I’m sure you can claw your way up the ranks real quick! If you perform well consistently, you can always submit an application to change rank.”

Nothing we can do about it now. “Well, what matters is that we’re licensed at all. Right, Hopper?”

We turn to face each other, and I shoot him an optimistic smile. He still seems a little upset about things, but it seems this cheered him up a bit. “R-Right! We’ll do our best regardless!”

Before we left, she gave us a run-down of some basic adventurer information. As independent adventurers, town hall is our center for resources. All missions and any applications for promotion go through here, and she gave us a thorough walkthrough of where to find everything. As F-Rank adventurers, we can only take on F-Rank missions, but we’ll have access to more over time. Missions are submitted by citizens, and assigned ranks by town hall’s staff based on their perceived difficulty.

“…That should about cover it. I’ll finish processing everything before closing tonight, so you two will be set to start tomorrow if you wish.”

“Thank you so much, we really appreciate it.” Hopper and I both give a small, appreciative bow. “Oh, before we go, we didn’t catch your name before, ma’am.”

She looks a little surprised at Hopper’s inquiry. “Ah, it’s Lisa. So nice to meet you both!”

---

“Congrats, kids! That was one heck of a fight!” A familiar, towering figure was waiting for us just outside the doors. “I take it you’re registered now?”

“A-Ah! Blitz, sir, hello!” Eri digs our new badges out of her bag. “Yep, we’re all set!” Following her lead, I present mine as well.

“Hmm…” He looks us both up and down. “Those badges should have a pin or a clip. Instead of throwing them in your bag, try displaying your badges on the outside.”

“On the outside?” I follow his instructions, allowing the badge to hang on my armband. Eri follows suit, clipping it to her scarf. “How’s this?”

“Perfect! Now you two look like a couple of real adventurers!” He lets out a hearty laugh. “F-Rank is discouraging, but you two worked hard, so be proud of it!”

“Thank you, sir…” Eri sounds a little embarrassed…

“Yes, thank you.” …to be fair, so do I.

“Of course! Now, I was so enthralled with your battle earlier that I neglected some work at the Guild.” He begins to walk off, but throws in a final comment as he leaves. “Work hard and you might even make the Guild someday.”

He leaves as suddenly as he appeared. I don’t know how a guy like that finds time to spectate exam missions and whatno-

“D-Did you hear that…?” Eri stares straight ahead as the words fall out.

“Huh? Hear what?”

“Blitz the Arcanine just said we could make the Guild…”

“Oh, yeah, I guess he di-”

“Us, Hopper! Us in Blitz’s Guild, wouldn’t that be incredible?!”

“I… I guess so…?”

“I’ve decided! I’m going to become a great adventurer, and make it into Blitz’s Guild!” After how bummed she was before, seeing Eri this optimistic is refreshing. “And… Even at the Guild, I’ll still need a partner…”

Eri faces me with a grin I couldn’t possibly say no to. “O-Of course! As the co-founder of Team Earshot, I accept. F-Rank today, Guild membership tomorrow!”

“Let’s do our best!”