Pokemon: My Trainer Simulator

How many Pokémon did the Quicksand Squad cram into this place?

Kashiwagi was speechless. In less than thirty minutes, he had encountered three waves of Pokémon, with the last wave being caught on the spot.

What now?

Should he use his contingency plan?

He touched his pocket nervously, eyeing the Aron ahead of him.

But for some reason, the Aron didn't attack. Instead, it stayed put, observing him with curious, hazy blue eyes.

For about ten seconds, the two stood locked in a stalemate. When the Aron still didn't make a move, Kashiwagi hesitated for a moment before seeming to understand something. Slowly, he reached toward his collar.

At that moment—

A faint buzzing of wings came from behind him.

Not good!

The two Whismur had returned!

As if the situation weren't bad enough with just one Aron, now two more Pokémon had shown up.

Wasn't this practically pushing him into a dead end?

Kashiwagi looked at the Aron, which still hadn't assumed an attacking posture. A strange idea popped into his head: what if he hugged it and hid together?

Otherwise, even if he managed to hide, the Aron would be exposed.

But just as he moved to act, the Aron took a few steps back, stared at him for a few seconds, then glanced toward the direction of the buzzing sound. It suddenly darted to the rock wall, digging a small pit with incredible speed and agility, and squeezed itself inside.

Its swift, stealthy movements were nothing short of impressive.

This creature...

Hiding himself, Kashiwagi couldn't help but touch the ingot tucked into his chest pocket. Could the clue be pointing to this Aron?

But the test said acquirable Pokémon. How could he acquire a Pokémon released by the Quicksand Squad?

Could it be... an abandoned one?

It was possible, but only if the testing grounds weren't thoroughly inspected. That said, there was no guarantee the clue referred to the Aron. Plenty of Pokémon are drawn to metal ingots.

In any case, anything was possible.

Holding his breath, Kashiwagi reduced his movements to a minimum to avoid drawing the Whismur's attention.

These desert-dwelling Pokémon were incredibly aggressive and wouldn't spare any enemy they detected.

The constant buzzing sound was like a relentless alarm, grating on Kashiwagi's nerves. If not for his decent self-control, he might have already lost it by now.

He silently counted down in his head, holding his breath.

After some time, the two Whismur narrowly missed discovering him once again.

Only when the buzzing faded completely did he dare to move, glancing at the small hole the Aron had dug.

He thought it might poke its head out, but after waiting over a minute, there was no sign of it.

"Gone, huh... Was it really abandoned?" Kashiwagi muttered, fingering the shrunken Pokéball in his pocket.

The Whismur had returned too quickly for him to test his theory.

Had he missed his chance?

Rubbing his temples to clear his mind, Kashiwagi reminded himself that passing the assessment was the priority. If he failed, the official membership he needed wouldn't come with a Pokémon anyway.

Better keep moving.

Turning on the lamp attached to his miner's helmet, he adjusted the brightness to illuminate the dim path ahead without disturbing light-sensitive Pokémon.

Shortly after he left, the Aron peeked out from its hiding spot. Watching him disappear into the distance, it blew out a small puff of dust through the four small holes on its face and then began quietly following him.

Huff, huff, huff...

Seiichi Naruhiko was running frantically. The Rhyhorn chasing him was like a death sentence, driving him into a panicked flight.

His reckless disregard for traps was unquestionably foolish.

So it was only natural when his foot suddenly missed the ground, and he tumbled into a pit deliberately dug as a trap. Sharp rocks at the bottom easily tore through his skin, and blood soaked his clothes almost instantly.

"Heh, a bunch of worthless garbage thinking they could pass this assessment."

Above the pit, the Rhyhorn poked its head over the edge, flanked by a few smug faces.

One of them sneered. "If you tell us where Kashiwagi is, maybe I'll let you go. If I'm feeling generous."

"Keep dreaming! Just wait—Kashiwagi will make sure you regret this!"

Naruhiko glared at Shibata with hatred.

After getting separated from Kashiwagi, Naruhiko's group had been relatively lucky, avoiding most traps and encountering only a few test Pokémon.

When they reached the deeper area and spotted fragments of jade-like stones, they thought victory was near. But Shibata had been lying in wait with his cheating Pokémon, ambushing them before they could react.

One by one, his companions fell. Now he was the only one left, and even he had ended up in this trap.

"Let you go? Ha! I'd like to see how Kashiwagi will stop me!"

Shibata sneered viciously and motioned for the Rhyhorn to finish Naruhiko off.

Terrified, Naruhiko crossed his arms in front of his chest, closed his eyes tightly, and braced for death. Despite his fear, he gritted his teeth, determined not to show weakness as he prepared for the end.

But the expected pain never came.

When nothing happened, he cautiously opened his eyes.

"Huh? Where did they go?"

The Rhyhorn and Shibata's crew had disappeared without a trace.

Could they have spared him? Impossible!

Still confused, Naruhiko looked around.

Above the pit, Shibata stared stiffly as the Rhyhorn abruptly walked away. Despite being sent by his uncle to assist him, the Rhyhorn completely ignored his commands.

The disdainful look the Rhyhorn gave him before leaving stung deeply.

Damn it!

Even a Pokémon dared look down on him now?

Remembering the Rhyhorn's blatant lack of respect, Shibata's face contorted with rage. His clenched fists trembled as his body tensed. The others, afraid of his wrath, kept their voices down to avoid provoking him further.

"This is all Kashiwagi's fault! I'll kill him!"

To Shibata, everything was Kashiwagi's fault. If not for him, these worthless nobodies wouldn't dare defy him. He wouldn't have been scolded at home for failing such a simple task and embarrassing his family.

Yes.

It was all Kashiwagi's fault!

Returning to the jade mine, Shibata glanced at the groaning bodies of the defeated "nobodies" and grinned wickedly. "Hit them! Make them scream! The louder, the better! Let that little punk Kashiwagi know what's coming for him!"

"Uh, Shibata..."

"What?!"

The speaker averted their eyes from Shibata's bloodshot glare. The others exchanged nervous glances, wanting to point out that this might attract other Pokémon, but none dared to challenge Shibata in his rage.

In the end, they obeyed.

Screams of agony echoed through the mine, chilling the other Quicksand Squad participants to the bone.

What horrors could provoke such cries? Was this assessment really so terrifying?

Kashiwagi, moving cautiously, also heard the screams. He even recognized a familiar voice among them, prompting him to quicken his pace.

He didn't care about passing the assessment anymore; he just couldn't ignore the possibility of someone he knew being in mortal danger.

Unnoticed by anyone, a small humanoid figure resembling a living rune watched the participants from the shadows, holding a miniature camera.

In the nearby town of Yellow Ore, a refined man holding a wine glass watched multiple screens and sighed.

"The Quicksand Squad gets worse with each generation."

An organization originally created to protect the mines had fallen this far.

"Runerigus, keep an eye on things. Make sure the Yamask don't let too many people die."

"Hisss!"

The glowing violet eyes on a massive gray rock engraved with snake-like patterns blinked softly before vanishing into thin air.

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