The next morning the six of us were woken up and taken to the computer room. The room was empty except for an old trainer waiting patiently.

"Take a seat," he said.

We all sat down at a different computer station and looked at him. The old trainer passed out small notebooks and pens to each of us.

"My name is Carlos Schmidt. I am a B-rank Pokémon trainer born and raised here in Fiore." He told us. "Yesterday, you all had a day to yourselves to get used to the idea of being Pokémon trainers. Today is the day that you officially begin your training week.

Over the next five days we will help prepare you for your new futures as Pokémon trainers. On the sixth day is when you will have to take your Ordeals. To be an official Pokémon trainer you will have to pass these Ordeals. Take any notes you feel are important and don't be afraid to ask questions."

He paused. "First, I'll begin with the topic that I'm sure you all have stuck in your minds, your Ordeals. After the Cataclysm, when the League and city states decided to institute the Selection Day policy, the chosen trainers were given a starter Pokémon as the new trainers were given on Pre-Cataclysm trainer days.

Unfortunately, the League did not consider the viciousness that even small and weak Pokémon now exhibited as a result of the Cataclysm. Even the supposedly tamed starter Pokémon could turn on all their inexperienced trainers if they felt the trainer was weak. The Ordeals came about as a result of this."

He paused to stare at each of us. "After much deliberation, the League instituted a new policy regarding prospective Pokémon trainers. Instead of being given a starter Pokémon, the prospective trainers would have to go into the wilds, without an escort, and attempt to capture a wild Pokémon. They would then have to tame this Pokémon themselves. That Pokémon would then be their official starter."

Albert spoke up at this point. "Why would they do that?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just give prospective trainers a starter and help them tame it? The odds of surviving in the wilds and catching a wild Pokémon without help are extremely slim."

"And that is why the League felt that the Ordeal was the best course of action to take." He replied. "They felt that the Ordeal would prove to them and the new trainers that they could handle the dangers of taking missions.

As a Pokémon trainer, you may have to take mission that will require you to leave the city state and go beyond the walls. While you may team up with other trainers in order to complete missions, this would require you to split the pay with any other trainers you team up with. Unless the mission is very high risk, most high rank trainers choose to solo their missions and claim all the money themselves."

"As for why they couldn't help the new trainers tame their starters," he continued. "The League understood that the Pokémon would not respect and listen to their trainers if they needed help from more experienced trainers. This would increase the likelihood of the Pokémon turning on their trainers and attacking them. They felt that the trainers themselves had to struggle through the taming process in order to become real Pokémon trainers."

"And that is how the Ordeal came to be," he said. "While the civilians all felt that the League should go back to old methods of Pokémon training, the League knew that these methods were needed in order to prepare new trainers for their risky lives." He paused. "Make no mistake. The Ordeal is no walk in the park. Every year we sent out a group of prospective trainers out into the wilds. There have been very few years that all prospective trainers made it back to the city state alive. Some years none of them made it back at all."

The children paled at this insight with Albert and Vivian turning ghastly white. Caitlyn looked ready to break down again. Emile almost ready to pass out.

Finally, Caitlyn spoke up.

"What happens if we return to the city state without a captured Pokémon?" she asks.

"Those of you who fail your Ordeal but make it back to the city state alive will be sent out the next day to try again. You will continue to go out every day until you return with a Pokémon or don't return at all," he said grimly. The room descended into chilling silence as he let that sit in.

"You must all work hard the next five days to prepare for your Ordeals," he continued. "I would really hate to be the one to tell your families that their children were most likely eaten by Pokémon in the wilds."

Carlos continued to lecture us for a few hours. He spoke about trainer basics and what we needed to know about common items that trainers used. He explained how to use Pokémon medicine such as potions and antidotes. Finally, he went over the most important item used by Pokémon trainers, the pokeball.

"This is a pokeball," he said after pulling one out of his pocket. "This device is used by all trainers to capture and store their Pokémon. While inside the pokeballs, Pokémon are put into a state of suspended animation where they can rest and slowly heal from any injuries they acquire.

Keep in mind that the pokeball's healing process is extremely slow. The devices next to the computers can speed up this healing process so your Pokémon can recover from even life-threating injuries in a matter of minutes."

"Note that whilst the pokeball does provide healing, it does not provide sustenance. Once a day, you should let your Pokémon out of the pokeball and provide them food. Any Pokémon that you have in the computer storage system should be taken out at least once a week for the same purposes."

He dropped the pokeball in front of him and released the Pokémon inside. Like the others, I moved away from the Pokémon as it began to materialise. Unlike the others though, I did not jump to the other end of the room or shriek and fall off their chair.

"Graveler," the Pokémon grunted. The Pokémon looked like a large boulder with a face carved out in front. It had two legs and four arms sticking out of its body.

"Sit down," Carlos said unimpressed. "He won't attack you. Unless I order him to." He added as the others slowly got back to their seats.

This was not the first time I had seen a Pokémon, nor was it my first time seeing a live one up close. And yet, as I stared at the Graveler, I could feel my heart beating at a rapid pace.

At the edge of my vision, I saw Bradley staring at the Graveler with an odd look on his face, Caitlyn's and Albert's expression as white as a sheet. Vivian seemed to be hanging on by a thread, and I felt like Emile would faint any time soon.

"This is my Graveler, Granite," Carlos said. "He was the Pokémon that I caught on my Ordeal. Of course, back then he was just a small Geodude. Geodude is a dual Ground and Rock type Pokémon commonly found in caves and on the mountains just north of the city state." He reached into one of his pocked and pulled out a fist sized rock. He handed it to the Pokémon who proceeded to eat it.

"As I mentioned before, you should release your Pokémon at least once a day to give them food. This is very important as even tame Pokémon you have had for a while may turn on you if they get hungry enough." The Graveler finished his meal and turned to look at his trainer. When he saw that no more food was coming out, he sat down and just stared at us.

"The Pokemart sells dry Pokémon food for different varieties of Pokémon. If you can't afford to get some food or if you have Pokémon that refuse to eat the dry Pokémon food, you will have to take your Pokémon outside the walls where they can hunt or forage for their own food. Luckily for us, trainers may come and go from the city state at will. At your own risk of course," he said.

"Other than releasing your Pokémon to feed," he said, "you will obviously have to release your Pokémon while you are training them. If you don't work on training your Pokémon at least once a week, it won't grow stronger. If it doesn't get stronger, it won't be able to use strong attacks and will eventually not evolve. You should consider releasing your Pokémon occasionally so it can relax outside its pokeball. This may help your Pokémon become more loyal to you. Keep all this in mind."

"The last two items I would like to cover are trainer ranks and missions," he said. "While none of you are technically civilians anymore, neither are you considered official Pokémon trainers until you pass your Ordeal. As such, you possess no trainer ranks. Once you return from your Ordeals with a captured Pokémon, you will officially become E-rank trainers.

There are six trainer ranks. The low ranks are E-rank and D-rank trainers. The middle ranks are C-rank and B-rank trainers. Finally, we have the higher ranks, the A-rank and S-rank trainers. The A-rank trainers are more commonly known as elite trainers. The S-rank trainers are the Pokémon Masters. All Gym Leaders and high-ranking League officials are either elite or master trainers. While some trainers get stuck in the lower ranks, most make it to the middle rank and go no further."

"How many Pokémon a trainer is allowed to own depends on ones ranks." He remarked. "E-rank trainers may own a maximum of two Pokémon. One of these Pokémon you may always keep with you, however the second Pokémon must remain in the computer storage system. This is to ensure that trainers never have more than what they can handle at a time.

As you go up in rank, the number of Pokémon you may own goes up by two. With each additional rank, trainers may keep one more Pokémon on their person then they would at their previous rank. So, a D-rank trainer may have a maximum of four Pokémon but may only have two Pokémon with them at any given time. The pokeballs themselves keeps track of this system. If you are a D-rank trainer and you caught a third Pokémon, that third Pokeball will remain sealed shut. You will not be able to release the Pokémon within until you store one of your other Pokémon in the storage system."

"Trainers can take any mission, that are their rank or one rank lower. A trainer may only go out on a mission one rank higher of they are teamed up with a trainer with the appropriate rank. Missions are classified as either D, C, B, A or S based on mission difficulty." He continued.

I interrupted at this point. "If there are no E-rank missions," I said, "how are we supposed to sign up for missions once we pass our Ordeals and reach E-rank?"

"You don't," he responded. "E-rank trainers are not allowed on missions, even if they are accompanied by a higher-ranking trainer. Before you may begin taking missions, you must each earn a promotion into the D-rank." He let that sit for a moment. "Fortunately, for you, it's relatively easy to be promoted into D-rank. In order to reach D-rank, you must prove to the Gym Leader that the Pokémon you caught will obey your commands and attacks on command. In other words, you must first tame your Pokémon and prove that it will protect you in the wilds. When you have proven that the Gym leader will promote you to D-rank and you'll be eligible for D-rank missions.

"E-rank is the proving grounds for all rookie trainers. It's where you must show us whether you can become real Pokémon trainers or become washouts who must try to survive on whatever scraps we throw your way. Trainers may only retire from taking missions after being active for 20 years. After that, you may apply for a position here in the trainer district or in the mission office in the central district. Unfortunately for you, once chosen on Selection Day, all civilian positions will be barred from you. With that in mind, I hope you all understand the importance of being able to successfully tame your first Pokémon.

If, for any reason, you can't tame your first Pokémon then you can request to retake the Ordeal. Your first Pokémon will then be put down or put to work if it can be of use to the city state." He looked around us. "I hope you will succeed in taming your first Pokémon. It would be a damn shame if you made it back from your first Ordeal only to not return from your second."

He looked back at the clock on the wall. "Let's end this lecture here. I'll be available to you all up until your Ordeals if you have any questions. Most other trainers in the district will also offer advice if asked. Over the next few days, you should make good use of the Pokedex app on those computers. Familiarise yourselves with all the Pokémon that are commonly found around Fiore. Also look up which of these Pokémon are easier to catch then others and where they are most likely to be found.

As a general rule, evolved Pokémon cannot be caught without weakening first so you should avoid these Pokémon on your Ordeals. Your target Pokémon should be small and young unevolved Pokémon that can't put up much fight when they are sucked into the pokeball."

He wished us luck and left the room. This time the rest of our cohort did not go straight to the barrack upon being dismissed. They opened the Pokedex app on their computers and began looking up information on Pokémon. Bradley and I looked at each other before following their example with Vivian quietly following suit.

Only five days left to prepare to enter the wilds for our Ordeals. It was time for us to get to work.