Kumquat Island, located in the northern region of the Orange Archipelago, was the second largest island after Mandarin Island South. A very well-known luxury seaside resort, its main settlement included many hotels, beautiful beaches, and natural hot springs. Luana, one of the judges in the breeder competition, also lived here.
Hisoka was standing at the bow of the ship as it slowly made its way into the port. From a distance, he could see many tall buildings along the beach.
After the ship reached the port, Hisoka and the others got off the ship and walked toward the city center.
The Hunter Association headquarters was located near the luxurious Kumquat Hotel. It was a fifteen-story building with the hunter logo on the front; a white triangle with two X letters in the middle.
Suzuki took the lead and went toward the building. Before she pushed the door open, she looked at them and said, "Please keep quiet when you go inside. I will apply for your registration."
They simply nodded in response. They were already used to her cold demeanor.
After they entered the building, Suzuki led them to the front desk, which was manned by an old man in his fifties. He wore a black suit. His greying hair was neatly combed back, a polite smile grazing his face.
"Paul," Suzuki nodded politely.
"Hello, Miss Suzuki," he said politely.
He then took a glance at the four people behind her and said, "So, these people are all the hunters you led, right? You are the first one to arrive today. Let's sit down and talk."
After they sat down at a table, Paul looked at everyone and said, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience our sudden change of schedule has brought to you."
"Why?" Shelly asked in dissatisfaction.
"This is the order from above. I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell you the reason," he said apologetically.
"Paul will be the proctor for your first assessment tomorrow," Suzuki chipped in.
"Suzuki's right. The first assessment tomorrow will test your survival skills. Oftentimes, a hunter needed to head into dangerous areas to complete their mission. The wilderness is full of danger, after all. Gold-rank hunters are our most elite members. We want to make sure that your survival skills are up to standard."
"Is it a team assessment or individual?" Doran suddenly asked.
"Individual," Paul said bluntly.
Hisoka, Doran, Will, and Shelly nodded in understanding. Then, they looked at each other warily.
Paul smiled and said, "We've prepared your rooms. Please gather here at 5 tomorrow morning."
"Oh, and one more thing, you are not allowed to bring anything else except for your Pokemon," he added in a warning tone. "If you're caught cheating, you will be disqualified from the exam."
Then, he stood up and motioned them to follow him.
"Follow me. I will lead you to your rooms," he said.
After Hisoka entered his room, his phone suddenly beeped.
He tossed his bag on the bed and took out his phone from his pocket. It was a message from Suzie.
She told him that she and Daisy had entered the final round. The finals will be held tomorrow morning. Then, he sent a reply to her, wishing her all the best, and went to take a shower. After a light dinner, he went to bed.
He woke up at 4 a.m the next day. He got up from his bed and went to prepare himself. Making sure that nothing was missed, he walked out of his room.
"Hisoka."
"Good morning."
As soon as he exited his room, he saw Shell sitting leisurely on a sofa in the corridor, sharpening her nails. Opposite her was Will, still in the same unusual getup.
"Morning," he nodded politely.
Although they might be his opponents now, it wouldn't hurt to be polite. After all, they still had team assessment later. He would be a fool to ruin the bridge.
Then, Doran also came out of his room.
"Sorry, I overslept a little," he said embarrassedly
They waved it off. As long as they weren't late for the exam, it didn't matter to them. Together, they walked toward the lobby.
Hunter Association.
Twenty people stood in a row. In the empty lobby, only the faint sound of their breathing could be heard.
Paul stood in front of them with his hands behind his back. He nodded in approval, "Good. Now that everyone is here. Let's begin. I will be your supervisor for this exam. Please put your bags in the hallway. We will take care of it. I'm going to say this one more time. You're only allowed to bring your Pokemon. Otherwise, you will be disqualified."
After placing their bags in the hallway, four men in black security uniforms came toward them, holding a detector. It took a few minutes for them to make sure that all the candidates weren't caring anything else except their Pokeballs.
They all cooperated with the staff. They weren't stupid enough to go against the rules.
After making sure that everyone was clear, Paul told them to head into the car that had been prepared outside the building.
"We'll be heading to the test site," he said loudly.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a pier. Everyone could see a few small boats lined up in a row. It turned out that the test site for the first phase of the exam would be held in the islands around Kumquat Islands. Most of them were uninhabited. Only a few people went there, which made them a perfect testing ground for the hunter exam.
"Hisoka!"
Listening to the boat driver calling for his name, Hisoka quickly stood up. He strapped a small knife given by Paul earlier to his leg and made sure that his Pokeballs were secured on his belt.
Taking a deep breath, he jumped off the boat and walked toward the beach. When he turned around, the boat had already left far away.
Shrugging his shoulders, he first decided to find a high place to check out his surroundings and figure out where he was at the moment.
***
"This place is deserted."
Hisoka sat on a large rock, rubbing his chin in thought. Earlier, he had scanned his surroundings and found not a single Pokemon on the island. There weren't many clean water sources, and they were barely any food. Although he could rely on Milotic's Water-type skills to get clean water, he still needed to worry about food.
"Looks like we have to go fishing, Gardevoir," he said to Gardevoir, who was keeping watch over the surroundings.
"Someone is coming here, Hisoka," her voice rang inside his head.
"Weav!"
A black figure was quickly approaching from a distance. It was Weavile, who he had sent to patrol around the island earlier.
She jumped down from a tree and landed in front of him. She raised her hand and pointed to where he came just now.
"Weav!" She cried, looking anxious.
"You found something?" he asked, curious.
She nodded repeatedly.
He thought for a moment and said, "Take us there."
Under Weavile's lead, Hisoka and Gardevoir walked along the beach until they found several footprints on the sand. The footprints led all the way into the forest. It seemed someone had been on this island earlier than them.
"Judging from the shape of the two footprints, one of them is a human," he murmured.
"Look at this. I think it must have been a woman based on the footprints," Gardevoir added after she observed them.
"I think the other one must have been Chansey's," she pointed at the other set of footprints.
As a Psychic-type Pokemon, she had a stronger memory than humans do. She had no doubt that the other set of footprints belonged to Chansey.
"Chansey? Are you sure?" he looked at her.
"Yes," she nodded. "I'm sure it's Chansey's."
"Well, let's make sure of that," he said, grabbing Chansey's Pokeball from his belt and throwing it out.
"Chansey!"
The Pokeball popped open, and Chansey appeared. She then walked toward him, leaving a series of footprints behind her just like the ones in front of them.
"Chansey?" She tilted her head curiously.
"Nothing, Chansey," he patted her head.
"Should we follow the trail?" Gardevoir asked.
"Let's follow it. Someone might be in trouble," he said firmly.
***
"Chansey, just leave me alone. You need to escape now before they find us."
Deep in the forest, a woman wearing a blue swimsuit was leaning down against a tree, panting heavily. She was tanned and athletically built with pink hair.
Although she looked a little different from the usual Nurse Joy, there was no doubt it was Nurse Joy.
Her face was slightly pale. She pressed her hand on her belly, and blood stained her clothes. Apparently, she was seriously injured.
"Chansey!"
A Chansey stood in front of her with tears flowing down her eyes. It had some burn marks on her body.
It shook its head vehemently. Raising its pink, glowing hands, it stepped forward and gently pressed the wound.
"It's useless..." Nurse Joy smiled lovingly. "My internal injury is too heavy. Heal Pulse can only do so much."
After she said that, she let go of her hand. Although the wound had healed and was no longer bleeding, there was a long scar left on her body.
Unlike other Nurse Joy, she has received stricter physical training since she was a child. But no matter how much she trained, she was no match for Pokemon.
Earlier, she was sailing around the islands with her Chansey as usual. While they were looking for sick Pokemon, they stumbled across a group of criminals. After taking some pictures for evidence, they were accidentally discovered by them. Fortunately, they managed to escape under their siege. Otherwise, they would have been caught.