The next day Creig went over things while doing patrol, Sleigh was actually walking beside, able to stand the temperature better. Sleighs' moves and abilities were drastically different than the others so far, having no team synergy, Creig thought of is as a ninja/assassin type. Wisp really was better than Will, and had great potential as a caster, Will just retained regeneration in hail and flinch resistance making him a harrying berserker archetype, without the ability to do much damage, Creig DID see how it could be psychologically harrowing. Speaking of team synergy, Shrift awakening Snow Warning was a big boon, even the professors didn't know about awakening it, most "Abilities" were really just personality or physical traits, Snow Warning was a mystic type.

  It was a bit difficult to discuss things with his team while walking along, though he made do, in the case of the snorunts he did it while going down a paved street whilst holding them so they benefited from his cold aura, Evegryt was also along for their sakes. Both Sleigh and Wisp felt complicated hearing the strategies, for different reasons and Will was kind of sad, Creig would have to comfort everyone later. During the pokemons' food breaks they encouraged each other, bonding as a group. Shrift and Wisp started to bond, both being glass cannon casters, while Toboggan and Will started headbutting each other in some sort of handshake, probably a tanker thing. While the pokemon were doing that, Creig and Aether were checking news on the updates channel for the patrols, half the trial takers would be on island by the end of the day, necessitating the planned increase in patrols. The offending teens had finally chose a theme of Team Revenant, but with the Kahuna in the south and increased patrols in the north the couldn't get to town in force, and the pressure they had been putting on Team Skull in Po town backed off because of the Drampa Creig had met, that made him and Aether smile.

  Creig did not win his scheduled match, reason: Z-move. For practical practice Creig switched up to starting with Shrift, every advantage he could get. When Toboggan had come out he managed to get full buffs, in defense and speed, his opponent realized quickly, and pulled out the Z-move using a special attack base. Toboggan didn't go down from that, but the injury disadvantaged them just enough to lead to the loss. The person who had lost to him yesterday did not do a rematch, but moved on and would be rematching harder opponents than Creig currently was, tomorrow after getting through the rest of their scheduled matches that day. After shift Creig took the ferry back to Melemele, and had several people he knew say hi, Creig only confronted Kakui on checking on his reaction to losing, especially as an otherworlder, Creig may have gone from full adult to teen just before twenty, but he wasn't hormonal, disappointment, sure, but he was always more concerned with health of his team than competition, he had more of a reaction a couple days ago when Shrift had taken that hit to the side. Hala who had been there cause he was interested too, laughed when Creig stared down Kakui with a flat look while pointing out the fallacies of the questionnaire the combined professors had come up with for this eventuality.

  Creig had his pokemon begin training with the couple hours they had before sleep, while he fielded calls and texts for part of the time from his mentors, peers, and what should he refer to the third parties as? well wishers? interested parties? acquaintances? it was people like Looker and Rangers he had connected to that weren't too high on the totem pole to be busy, but not so low as to not have access to his status, the professors were bothering Kakui as their medium in this case taking some pressure off Creig. Most common words during the communications: Tired, end of my day/Everything's good/Thanks for concern. The training went as such, group weather training via sparing, team training casters and tanks, with Sleigh helping by checking awareness. Creig was done with his stuff in time for individual training where he directed their effort, when done, they had changed the terrain to an obstacle course/playground which was their final training, and Creig pointed out they had made the terrain together, in his attempt to console them from earlier.

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  Nate was consternated, Creig had sent him pictures of the pokemon he had caught, but it also meant that the routes' he had scouted in the morning were wrong, to put together a proper look and find worthwhile differences from the regular route. He saw Creig giving his pokemon breakfast while doing that and asked if he was back to regular route. Turned out, with more trial takers, there were more patrols in smaller areas, so no, rather his previous work AND this mornings work was almost worthless. At least this wasn't an important case, he had gone through that stress and there trying to act on unsure info would cause backlash (he remembered a few firings, due to criminals getting away) so stepping back was better on the job, but that wasn't the trial. He used the rest of the morning to make estimates and stuck around to watch Creigs' match.

  Nate had gotten used to Creig explaining things, or going over training results with a team, watching him not speak threw Nate for a loop, but it also proved that well laid plans and thoughts lessened the need for communication later. When Creig did call orders, it was before the opponent tried something, he predicted, mostly right, before his opponent came to a choice. Nate focused closer, Creigs' eyes were moving like he was in REM-sleep, but there were no gears turning, just acceptance of information, Nate could only conclude it was an effect of Creigs' autism, it was also a bit scary. The difference Nate saw Creig had from a lot of trainers was that rather than a cheerleader, he could be called a coach, when the Z-move hit Creig first reacted with concern rather than denial or despair, then with reassurance, even most top trainers judged with their eyes if their pokemon could keep going. Nate could see that Creig took defeat gracefully.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Nate got back to doing the trial, letting what he saw settle within. Less than half his guessed locations worked out though. Looking at what he did end up getting, he estimated it was 2/3 of what he needed. He would analyze his map tomorrow and hopefully find the rest.

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  Rosa was confident that Nate was ahead of her, he was an active detective after all. It had only been a couple days, but she was worrying about her dorm and the pokemon that liked to come by a bit, who wanted healing, who needed a scolding... before she would never have thought to scold pokemon. She felt she really no longer saw pokemon as just victims of humans, but as beings of their own. She had left picture notes, in page sleeves to protect from weather on Creigs' suggestion. Oh, Nate had sent her pictures and a couple jifs from Creigs latest battle, he looked relaxed during the whole thing, it was a bummer he lost, but inevitable to lose sometime, and it looked like he took it well.

  The jifs were creepy though, the first was Creig having Shrift dodge before the opponent gave orders (Crieg orders->Opponent orders/Shrift moves->Opponents pokemon misses/Shrift counterattacks), she was pretty sure Creig wasn't precognizant like a psychic. Nate quickly texted that he hadn't meant to send her the second one and mentioned he hadn't realized he recorded it, she had wondered why he sent a zoom-in of Criegs' face where his eyes were flicking around rapidly, on the other hand she could see signs that his aura was getting more controlled the parts of the snowflakes' covering his iris' were becoming silverish, and the tips of his hair were showing orange. Since it was medical related she forwarded it to the Joy she usually worked with for her opinion, who came back with: his relaxed posture and eye movement had to do with neurological differences in information acquisition and processing due to his autism, and the colors coming out was actually going a bit slow.

  Having that solved, and off work, she got around to looking for the rest of the ledyba with her new friend, petilil. Between when she had been working she, with some help from the Nurse Joys', worked on petilils' egg moves Healing Wish, Ingrain, and Sweet Scent. Healing Wish still needed a lot of work, since it was hard to practice being a sacrifice move. They got a lot of practice with the move they would use to help find ledyba, Sweet Scent, it helped calm pokemon, making them easier to work with. Alley by alley they went looking finding the last few and denoting it.

  "So, I hear you didn't ask for directions" asked Guzma "how did you know to come here?"

  "Foongi told me" Rosa cutely responded

  "You've always had Foongi with you, why didn't you come the first day?"

  "Wasn't part of the trial finding all the ledyba?"

  "Nope, just had to find the hideout"

  "Oh, Eh,hehheh"

  "You're the tenth today, welp, time for the battle, Plumeria, ref?"

  "YEAH, Fo sure"

  "This is also a totem fight so you can full team"

  Guzma sent out his wimpod to start, Rosa was considering Foongi who was strong and had sparred putting petilil in the hotseat, or petilil first when it was sure to be taken out as soon as ledian came out. If petilil could use Healing Wish she could have done Foongi, petilil, Foongi, but they couldn't so they couldn't. She went with petilil and started with ingrain while wimpod rushed in used sand attack and rushed back. The rest of the strategy for Rosa was Stun Spore field and Mega Drain, while wimpod was go in, strike, get out. Wimpod lost momentum from paralysis, letting petilil stay healed, Creig referred to this as "stall strat". Ledian, apparently was more of a special attacker, taking out petilil with one swift, it also seemed to be holding back. Deciding to save Foongi, who was her strongest for last she fielded popplio, who was eager for the battle. Ledian was too quick for water gun on its own, but after switching to disarming voice ledian would show an opening they could try to hit. Ledian didn't look like it had been battling even when popplio went down, Rosa was a bit intimidated but kept going. Rosa wasn't actually sure what all Foongi was capable of, since he was a friend, not a dependent, so she cheered him on. He got around not being fast by using astonish to phase over, then attempting a move. Rosa identified Stun Spore, Growth, and Mega Drain since petilil also had them, but the pure healing and light haze moves he used she didn't. Foongi was eventually knocked out, and ledian gave Guzma a thumbs up.

  While Rosa was looking sad Guzma cut in. "Ledian is actually too powerful for all but the craziest trial taker could take out at this stage, so we didn't set winning as the win condition, but more of a skill level."

  "Eh, really, this trial is really not within the bounds of basic sense"

  "Well, at least we aren't testing outside the box thinking, almost all the newbie would fail" Ledian brought out the bug crystal, handing it to Rosa "Now watch this" Guzma and Ledian showed Rosa the Z-dance and the resulting move.

  "Cool ain't it?" cut in Plumeria " and what's also cool is that your our second classmate after Jenny to come here and you both passed!"

  "Nate hasn't been here yet? I thought for sure he would be ahead of me!"

  "Trust me, tracking is usually a slow process, you got lucky in a few ways while properly making use of what you had" put in Guzma.

  Rosa went back to her room in the pokecenter thinking about how the days lessons. Mostly that handling ambiguity was determined by mindset, and that she might need a more flexible one. She texted Creig with the how question. He sent back: Ask(like you just did), practice for years asking others(if you can) or yourself, it's about hearing. When Creig wasn't explaining things, he DID tend to look and listen a lot, and he never had concrete conclusions usually, but theories with philosophical conclusions. She had though it silly that he sometimes re-read simple sentences three or four times over, but maybe he was making sure it didn't trick him into adding unsaid things, or checking for wordplay. She fell asleep while voicing her thoughts to Foongi. The little fungus thought on it himself, in the dark, having turned off the light for Rosa to sleep well.