After that exploration to Mt. Bristle, a week has passed.
The morning after their exploration, Chatot just repeatedly warned them about exploring the dungeon without even leaving a notice. Something about how dangerous it was if they fainted and no one even knows which dungeon they entered.
Chatot let the both of them try Sentry duty, and with Dante's Pokemon knowledge, he easily identified every Pokemon that entered. At other times, however, he and Pikachu just take tasks from the Job List and Wanted List.
Different from the PMD games, there were much more dungeons that they could go to. However, it is a rule among exploration teams that they can only accept tasks in dungeons which they've already fully explored.
Therefore, they mostly do tasks in the Beach Cave, Drenched Bluff, and Mt. Bristle. But after further exploration, Dante discovered that only the Beach Cave contained the most Gummies. Therefore, he and Pikachu mostly accept tasks located in that dungeon.
Only if the reward for the tasks is tempting will Dante consider accepting tasks for Drenched Bluff and Mt. Bristle.
Because there were way more Dungeons available, it is very rare for two or more tasks to be assigned to one dungeon. Therefore, Dante and Pikachu could usually complete only 1 task per day.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Dante and Pikachu spent the time studying (Dante mostly) and relaxing. Dante also tried looking for channels in which he can sell the Diancite.
After looking at his options, Dante finally decided to put it up on the Official Alliance Auction site. Not only will he be able to remain the most anonymous during the process, he can also get the highest price without having to negotiate.
Although Dante has become more confident of himself after going through many dungeons, he isn't delusional enough to think he would be able to take advantage in a negotiation against someone older and more experienced than him.
However, Dante encountered a problem as he was about to sell the Diancite. In order to put up something for auction, he had to pay a token price of 10,000 Alliance credits. Looking at the less than 1,000 credits in his pocket, Dante frowned.
After some thinking, he decided to put the Mega Stone up for auction after he won the Rookie Competition and got the 30,000 prize money. Atleast at that time, Pikachu's strength will be stronger and he can more confidently handle it if an unexpected situation occurs.
Today is currently May 7, the start of the registration for the Rookie Competition. The competition will be held on the 30th of May to the 1st of June.
Getting back from the PMD world, Dante and Pikachu quickly slept and then woke up at 8 in the morning. After eating breakfast and readying himself, Dante greeted his mother and then headed out of the house.
The registration for the competition was held at the Branch Alliance where Dante took his Trainer examination. According to the poster, the actual competition will also be held there.
Dante and Pikachu arrived at about 9 in the morning. Dante expected there to be a long line of new Trainers hoping to register for the competition, but as it turns out, Dante only saw less than 30 people in line.
He walked to the end of the line and was a little surprised to find that he recognised the one in front of him. It was the green-haired girl who took first place in the exam!
DIfferent from when she took the exam, she was currently wearing a more casual clothing of loose black-violet t-shirt, slim jeans, and a jacket wrapped around her waist.
"Is something the matter?"
Perhaps because she noticed Dante and Pikachu staring at her, the girl raised her eyebrows and asked.
Being caught staring, Dante felt a little embarrassed.
"Ahem, it's nothing. It's just that, you were the girl who took first place in the written exams, right? I took the test the same time as you and only barely passed, so I was particularly impressed."
"Oh…um, is that so? My name is Kuki Shinobu, nice to meet you."
"Ah! Nice to meet you too Kuki. My name is Dante, and this is my partner, Pikachu."
At Dante's call, Pikachu raised his hand to make a salute while yelling out "Pika pika!". Seeing his antics, Shinobu's lips quirked into a smile and then she took out a snail-like Pokemon from the jacket around her waist.
"Please, call me Shinobu. And this is my partner, Shelmet. Say hi to them too, Shelly."
Shelmet looked at both of them with piercing eyes, especially at Pikachu. After Pikachu tilted his head, he turned his head away and then nodded at the two of them before retreating back into its shell.
"Shell Shell!" (These two feel so strong! I have to train harder!)
As Shelmet's trainer, Shinobu can also roughly understand what Shelmet just said. Learning that Shelmet considered Pikachu as a threat, her interest for Dante and Pikachu was piqued.
After that, Dante and Shinobu made some small talk about their experiences as new Trainers, how they train their Pokemon, the hardships they encountered, etc.
Of course, Dante won't tell her about the PMD world. He changed the wording of training Pikachu in the dungeon to having him train in the wild. Meanwhile, Shinobu admitted that she is still training Shelmet with more focus on improving his stats by exercising.
Dante asked her if she wanted to have some sparring before the Rookie Competition, which Shinobu agreed to after some thinking.
"However, my Shelly is about to reach his racial limit. Why don't we spar a week before the competition? I also think me and Shelly need some combat experience before we participate. Is that okay?"
"That's alright with me. Why don't we add each other on facebook? I also want to ask you for advice regarding exercising Pikachu."
"Pika?" (Huh, exercise? Aren't we already exercising in the dungeon?)
Dante ignored Pikachu.
Shinobu also agreed enthusiastically. From her previous talks with Dante, she realized that he was someone that really trained against wild Pokemons and not just lying out of his ass to impress her.
Shinobu herself is currently focused on theoretical knowledge and has little to no practical experience in the wild. It would be great to be friends with a fellow new trainer who is willing to risk going into the wilderness just to become stronger.
After the two of them added each other as friends and exchanged numbers, they continued talking until it was Shinobu's turn to register. Waving her hands at Dante, she turned her head and proceeded to finish the registration.
Dante was after her. Taking out his Trainer ID for verification and filling out some papers, the registration was smoothly done. Dante was told to wait for an email regarding his first match.
Getting out of the Alliance Branch, Dante didn't see a trace of Shinobu. Shrugging his shoulders, Dante went on his way home.
Dante and Pikachu spent the rest of the day doing their usual relaxing activities, with Dante now occasionally having to spend some time talking about their Pokemons with Shinobu online.
At midnight, Dante and Pikachu punctually got into bed and traveled to the PMD world.
Their routine for the rest of the day stayed the same, attending the morning assembly, choosing a task for Beach Cave on the Job list, and then proceeding to complete it.
Dante and Pikachu were walking back to the guild to submit their tasks when the both of them noticed a Pokemon standing in front of a large stone, near the crossroads of the guild and the town.
It was a panda-like Pokemon with dark and light orange patterns around his body and an eye the shape of a spiral.
When Dante saw this Pokemon, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly walked towards him. The Pokemon in front of him should be Spinda, the owner of Spinda's Cafe. Dante has been waiting for a long time for the Cafe to open.
"Hello, is there something troubling you? We're the Omnipotent Travelers, maybe we can help solve your problem."
Dante used the most common method he knew of in order to initiate a conversation. Hearing his words, Spinda turned around to look at him.
"Hello Explorer! Don't you worry, everything is under control!"
"Hmm, what are you doing?"
"This? This is…my hopes and dreams…"
A/N: By the way, don't forget to vote for Dante's next Pokemon on my patreon: patreon.com/Ked2002
the voting is FREE! So come head over and vote now!