Just how many Pokémon had the Quicksand Team crammed into this place?
Ayato was speechless. It hadn't even been thirty minutes since he entered the mine, and he'd already run into three separate waves of wild Pokémon. This last one had even managed to catch him flat-footed.
Now what?
Should he use his contingency?
He reached into his pocket, eyes locked anxiously on the Aron.
But for some reason, the creature didn't attack. It simply watched him, blue eyes shimmering with a vague curiosity.
They held each other's gaze for ten long seconds. Just as Ayato was beginning to feel unsettled by the lack of aggression, something seemed to click in his mind. Slowly, he began reaching toward his collar.
And then—
The faint buzz of wings behind him.
Shit!
The two Vibrava had come back.
Just perfect. Dealing with one Aron was already tricky. Now, throw in two aggressive Vibrava and it was like the universe was herding him straight into a dead end.
Ayato's mind raced. He glanced at the Aron, who still hadn't moved to attack, and—on a strange impulse—considered grabbing it and diving into cover together.
Otherwise, even if he managed to hide, the Aron would give him away.
But then, the Aron took a few steps back, gave him a few thoughtful looks, turned toward the direction of the wingbeats, and began clawing into the rock wall with swift, deft strokes. Within moments, it had dug out a narrow hole and slipped inside.
Its stealth and agility were impressive.
That little guy...
Still crouched in hiding, Ayato instinctively touched the iron ingot tucked close to his chest. Could this Aron be what the clue had referred to?
But the description had said "can be obtained." How was he supposed to "obtain" a wild Pokémon released into the test field by the Quicksand Team?
Unless... it had been abandoned?
That was possible—if the site hadn't been thoroughly vetted before the trial. Still, the clue might not refer to Aron at all. Plenty of Pokémon were drawn to iron ingots.
Anything was possible.
Ayato held his breath and did his best to stay absolutely still, praying the Vibrava wouldn't notice him.
Desert-dwelling Pokémon like those were notoriously aggressive.
Bzzzzzzz—
The noise stabbed at his nerves like a drill. If not for his decent self-control, he might've snapped from the tension already.
He silently counted down in his head.
Finally, the Vibrava passed without noticing him.
Only when the buzzing faded completely did Ayato dare to move again. He turned toward the small hole the Aron had dug.
He half-expected the creature to poke its head out—but a full minute passed, and it didn't reappear.
"…Gone, huh? Was it really abandoned?"
Ayato touched the shrunken Poké Ball in his pocket.
The Vibrava had returned too quickly—he hadn't even had a chance to try.
Had he missed his shot?
Shaking off the thought, he pressed two fingers to his brow, chasing away the distraction. The priority right now was to complete the assessment. If he passed, he'd be assigned a Pokémon anyway.
No use getting hung up on a missed opportunity.
He flipped the light on his miner's helmet back on and adjusted the brightness. Enough to illuminate the path ahead—but not enough to attract any light-sensitive Pokémon.
Then he moved on.
Not long after he left—
Aron poked its head from the hole, stared in the direction Ayato had gone, let out a soft puff of dust from the four black holes on its face, and slowly began to follow.
——
Huff, huff, huff…
Hiroyuki ran in a blind panic. The Rhyhorn barreling after him might as well have been a death sentence, driving him to flee without the slightest thought for his footing.
There was no question—he'd been an idiot to think the traps were just for show.
As if on cue, he stepped straight into one.
A deep pit, clearly manmade. Jagged rocks at the bottom tore open his skin the moment he landed, soaking his clothes in blood.
"Heh heh heh… Bunch of useless trash think you can pass this test?"
From above the pit, a Rhyhorn's head appeared. Beside it, several familiar faces leered down at him.
One of them sneered, "Tell me where Ayato is, and maybe—maybe—I'll let you live."
"Dream on! Ayato won't let you get away with this!"
Hiroyuki glared up at Shibata, hatred burning in his eyes.
After he and Ayato got separated, he and the others had been incredibly lucky. They'd avoided most of the traps and barely encountered any Pokémon.
Then, just when they spotted the glimmer of scattered jade ore and thought victory was near, Shibata and his crew sprang out from ambush—waiting with underhanded Pokémon brought in just for cheating. The surprise attack had wiped them out.
One by one, his companions fell.
Now even he, the last one left standing, had been caught in a trap.
"Let you live? Ha! I'd love to see what Ayato's gonna do! You're all a bunch of broke-ass nobodies! Rhyhorn—kill him!"
Laughing with rage, Shibata raised his arm, commanding his Pokémon to strike Hiroyuki down.
Terrified, Hiroyuki crossed his arms over his head, clenched his teeth, and braced for death. His eyes squeezed shut, not wanting his final moment to be one of pathetic, screaming fear. Silently, he begged Ayato to avenge him.
But nothing happened.
No pain. No impact.
Baffled, Hiroyuki peeked through his arms.
"…Huh? Where'd they go?"
Shibata, his lackeys—and the Rhyhorn—had vanished.
He'd been spared?
That didn't make sense!
Confused and still lying in the pit, Hiroyuki struggled to process what had just happened.
Above, Shibata stood frozen, watching the Rhyhorn's retreating back with a stunned expression. That Pokémon had been a gift from his uncle, sent to help him cheat. And yet, it had outright ignored his command.
And the look it gave him as it left—pure contempt.
Dammit!
A Pokémon… looking down on him?
Shibata's face twisted with fury, fists clenched, body rigid. That Rhyhorn had treated him like he wasn't even worth obeying.
Around him, his lackeys shrank back, exchanging nervous glances. No one dared speak too loudly. The last thing they wanted was to draw his ire.
"All because of that bastard Ayato… I'm gonna kill him!"
In the end, Shibata blamed everything on Ayato. If that poor bastard hadn't been so damn stubborn, these nobodies wouldn't have gotten so bold. And maybe then his family wouldn't be chewing him out for failing something this minor. For embarrassing them.
Yeah.
This was all Ayato's fault.
Back near the jade deposit, Shibata stared at the heap of groaning poor peoples lying around, and sneered, "Beat them. Make them scream. The louder, the better. I want that punk Ayato to hear it all the way from wherever he's hiding!"
"Uh, Shibata…"
"Huh?!"
The speaker flinched away from Shibata's bloodshot glare. None of them had the guts to point out that this might attract other Pokémon. But with Shibata like this, no one dared question him. They just did what they were told.
A moment later—
Agonizing screams echoed through the underground tunnels, so harrowing that even Quicksand Team grunts elsewhere in the mine went cold.
What the hell did they run into?
Is this test supposed to be that terrifying?!
Ayato, still cautiously making his way forward, heard it too. His ears twitched—he recognized those voices. Familiar. Familiar enough to make his heart speed up.
He quickened his pace.
He didn't care whether he passed or failed the exam. But if someone really died out here… he wasn't cold enough to ignore it just because it was "none of his business."
And while no one else noticed—
In the shadows, a strange glyph-faced figure peeked from behind a rock wall, holding a tiny camera in its stubby hand. The symbol-like creature, seemingly born from the slate itself, quietly observed the chaos unfolding among the test-takers.
Far away in Pyrite Town, a distinguished man sipped red wine as he watched multiple surveillance screens, sighing deeply.
"Quicksand Team… each generation worse than the last."
What had once been a proud group, formed to protect the mines, had fallen to this disgraceful state.
"Runerigus. Tell the Yamask to keep an eye on things. Make sure not too many die."
"Grrrsshh…"
From atop a massive slab of stone marked with twisted serpentine runes, glowing violet eyes blinked once, and vanished.