As I was leaving the Gym, I ran into Clarie who was going to her own practical exam.

“You are just leaving? Did your test run long?” she asked, looking confused.

“Something like that. Good luck with your own trial.” I grinned, deciding that telling her the details wouldn’t help. And helping her with a test of character would be wrong, so I simply waved her off when she asked, simply telling her to do her best, no matter what.

While she wasn’t too happy with me, there wasn’t enough time to fully pester me, she had to go to her own exam.

After a quick glare at the protestors, a part of me revelling in their shouts, standing defiant as they were screaming and screeching, I gave them a malicious, grim smile and walked away. The protesters had their life and livelihood defended by the very thing they despised. A part of me wanted to laugh at them, another to smack them. Letting out a deep breath, I decided to ignore them, especially in the future, or I might do something conflicting with the rules I had just read.

Instead of letting the protestors bother me further, I strolled around Jubilife for an hour, planning to meet up with Claire after her practical. That way, we would be able to set our appointment as early as possible, so we would be able to get back onto the road. Jubilife was a nice town, but I was slowly getting sick of it. In the short-term, there was little to do, especially as I wanted to save as much of my stipend as possible. Reading at the Gym or Pokécentre was interesting, but there was only so much time I could spend buried in a book.

When Claire left the back-area of the Gym, she looked a little shaken. Waving at her in greeting, I lined up at one of the counters, waiting for her to join me.

“How was it?” I asked, as she stepped up. For a moment, she simply stared at me, before shaking her head.

“Interesting.” she admitted, in a soft voice. “I never thought something that big could move that fast.” she added, a visible shudder running through her body.

“So, you fought Gym-Leader Bree, too.” I acknowledged, getting a nod in reply. “You passed the exam, right?” I asked, realising that standing in line would only work if she did.

“She said so, yes. We are supposed to meet her tomorrow.” she replied, looking back to the training-area.

“Which is why we are in line. I’d like to get going, right after we get our task. I want to get back on the road, idling in town isn’t for me.” I admitted, getting a grin in reply.

“I noticed. We can have a nice meal today, maybe go dancing or something. Celebrate.” she suggested, before adding “Ivie suggested it.”

“How did that come up?” I raised an eyebrow, curious as there was a faint blush on Claire’s face.

“Oh, we were just talking.” she waved off, her blush intensifying. For a moment, I considered prodding her, but then, the people in the line before us were finished and we could step up to the counter.

“Good Afternoon, how can I help you?” the attendant asked.

“Hello. We are two of the travelling trainers who have been tested today and Gym Leader Bree told us to make an appointment for tomorrow. Can we do that now and would it be possible to set it as early as possible, so we can get back on the road?” I asked, getting a nod of acknowledgement.

“Your names please?” she asked, looking down on some papers. We gave them, and after a bit of shuffling, she looked back up.

“Well, you are in luck. There’s an opening in her schedule tomorrow, at eight in the morning. If you want it, I’ll pencil you in.” she explained. Claire and I exchanged a look, followed by a nod.

“That would be wonderful, thanks.” I thanked her, before wishing her a nice day and leaving.

The rest of the day was spent making sure that we really had everything we needed, especially those necessary consumables like Potions, Food and simple medicine, before getting some studying in. It turned out, Claire’s exam-performance had been relatively similar to mine, with less specialised knowledge but a better foundation. Things I had forgotten, or maybe never known in the first place, were just common sense to her.

Finally, in the evening, we met up with a couple other trainers and joined together in a raid on a popular, local club. It was amusing to have a group, all dressed in a similar style of practical, outdoor clothing walk into a club together. Neither CLaire nor I drank a lot, but it was great fun, dancing, listening to music and trying to talk with other trainers.

The next morning, we managed to get to the League on time, carrying our packs and ready to leave town. For once, there were no protestors at the door, maybe it was simply too early for them, and the lobby was almost completely deserted.

We got sent up quickly, into a well-appointed meeting room. Bree was already waiting for us, quickly telling us to take a seat.

“Now, your task. It’s fairly simple, there are a couple of good water-sources near the Route to Floaroma City and the path to one of them has been blocked by fallen trees. Dani, your Charmeleon should easily be able to destroy them with its claws, while even your Turtwig should soon learn to use Razor Leaves for that purpose. There’s an interesting territory near that water-source, one that I believe would benefit both of you.” Claire frowned a little, while I perked up with interest.

“Could you tell us more? About that water-source and the territory?” I asked, anticipation filling me.

“Of course. The water-source is about a day before you reach the low reaches of the Coronal Mountains you need to cross. There are a couple of landmarks that guide you, but really, the path should still be easily visible, there even was a sign for a while.” she explained, before carefully detailing the landmarks. While a sign might break or get overgrown, the likelihood that a distinctly shaped outcropping of rocks simply disappeared was much lower.

“Now, the Pokémon-territory is nearby, between that water-source and the mountains. It’s a little swampy, with a lot of bug-types, a few plant and water-types and even some rock and ground-types that wander down from the mountains. Very much a mixed back, giving you good exercise and, maybe more importantly, the opportunity to catch a rare partner, if you meet a suitable one.” she explained and I felt my lips curl into a smile. That did sound interesting.

“Do you accept this task?” Bree asked, getting a nod from both of us.

“Good. In that case,” she paused, before rising to her feet. We both followed suit, a little unsure about her sudden formality.

“As the Gym-Leader of Jubilife-City, I hereby bestow the Origin Badge on you Dani. May you wear it proudly and always remember where you came from.” I had to fight in order to control my facial expression at her words. How could I remember where I came from, when the memory had been taken from me. Regardless, her words had the sound of tradition, so I managed to keep my composure, despite having to struggle.

Taking the square-shaped badge of sky-blue and gold from her, I stepped back, letting Clarie take the centre-stage.

“As the Gym-Leader of Jubilife-City, I hereby bestow the Origin Badge on you Claire of Twinleaf-Town. May you wear it proudly and always remember where you came from.” Claire took her Badge, giving a polite smile and bow.

“Thank you, Gym Leader.” she said, while I managed to squeeze out something similar.

“Now, I’ll quickly finish up the paperwork, and you can be on your way.” Bree told us, sitting down and reaching into her briefcase, pulling out some forms.

As promised, it took her only five minutes to finish those forms up, before handing them to us, to be added into our badge-case.

“It was a pleasure to meet you. Until we meet again, be safe out there.” she told us, as we were leaving the meeting-room.

“We are done here.” Claire grinned, as we were walking out of the Gym.

“That we are. Onwards, to the next adventure.” I laughed and she joined in.

Jubilife had been an interesting experience. Not one I wanted to repeat all that often, but an interesting one.