About a week earlier

  [Monday] Nate could partially still do his job, getting a signal from his dorm so he could read over Aether reports before they were sent on to Interpol or to pass info from interpol to Aether. There seemed to be three ultra beasts still roaming in the region, a bug, a clown, and a vandal?, one that had been mistaken for a smeargle at first. From Creigs advice beast balls were in development with pokeball manufacturing corporations being advised by Kurt and prof.Burnet. There was also some discussion about asking Creig what he knew of the three ultra beasts and how friendly they were.

  Speaking of Creig Nate could see he was being moved to the next island for a patrol survey, with a decent scout, Maggie requesting to partner. That sneasel that had joined him would be good help in the heavily foliaged island, especially with the snakes Creig really disliked. Creig was a lot more wary of animals than pokemon, which was strange to most trainers, especially since in a general sense it was easier to predict the actions of animals. Creig would point out that between people and pokemon there could be a mutual understanding of boundaries, animals saw you as part of pack or a threat.

  [Tuesday] Nate had picked up his pace almost catching up to where Rosa had managed to. With his pokemon gradually getting stronger his previous training and experience were starting to show themselves, with only Jenny being a concern to beat him as head of the pack. He could also tell that a spread was starting, not just from talent, but because those who had to walk back more often were losing more time. He noted his practical experience with this effect for when he needed to investigate trainers in the future, or to recruit one for help.

  At this point Rosa was only doing part time at the centers, Akala looked to be gearing up to take all her time. She was also finding that most trainers didn't carry status heals around with them, partially because of limited funds. She was wondering if catching a dedicated healer might be a good idea to save some of her own money as well as a more robust medic. Long term goals were nice, but in the short term she was approaching the first Grand Trial which she understood would be a spike in difficulty. For her it was weird, a strong desire to overcome the perceived wall was burning in her heart.

  [Wednesday] Both Nate and Rosa had made it to Nanu, maybe Nanu was unused to this type of holding back, they were both rebuffed. Listening to some gossip, it seemed that nobody had passed on first challenge. Nate was getting reports that pointed to the patrol workload lightening up as trial takers could take care of themselves better and were close to being out of the zone of actively hostile forces. They swapped some notes before going off to analyze and train for a rematch. Rosa chased off a couple of teens who had slipped past the cordon.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  [Thursday] Malies' battle fields were swamped, an impromptu and unofficial ranked tournament was happening. It was a coincidence of nearly all the trial takers looking for a practical practice day. The fields had organically been organized by strength and competitiveness, all of Sampson Oaks' students were in the competitive fields, Ulu and Kiawe being the ones not in the top strength category. With a bit of looking, Nate identified approximately one percent who seemed like they would drop the first Grand Trial, and perhaps the trials altogether. Rosa spent part of her time helping a few people with perspective so they didn't crush themselves comparing themselves to the top competitors.

  [Friday] They were rebuffed again, it was better than last time, but still just not enough. With the extra time, and without all the people willing to battle, watching the few battles that interpol had recorded and sent over was their best bet. The Kahunas were playing them so people could see the differences between the trials and the league as well as have more understanding of the recent visitors. Maybe it was because they had inside information, but Nate and Rosa noticed that certain trainers were a focus, rather than just the gym leaders. Rosa noticed that N was taking a command style that mixed how she did things and how Creig did things.

  Nate also got a report on Crazy Joy following Creig around, Nate didn't know what to make of that. Creig had helped to recruit her as a trial captain, so he was to some extent capable of communicating with her. The wackiness made him think of Bruno showing up to fight Creig. Creig was intentionally avoiding big events, but he seemed to have what he would call minor protagonist effect. It also made Nate a bit worried for his own future troubles considering that he was a prime protagonist, with only Ash Ketchum being significantly bigger.

  [Saturday] Nate and Rosa were finally on their way to the next island. Most of the other passengers on the ferry were those who had reached Nanu and decided that the Grand Trial was too difficult for them, so they moved on to the next island trial. Nate looked at the programme and saw that the next trial had to do with farming, it seemed most battling would happen getting to the fourth trial. Rosa wondered if she would be able to help look over farm pokemon who needed help, if there were enough on participating farms for such a chore.

  [Sunday] Not much to say for this day, finding and coordinating with the trial captain for assignment

  [Monday] After doing the days work Nate was working through his weariness to check his other responsibilities. He forgot he was tired when he saw several emergency messages and two urgent reports. Reading through he saw that the incident was resolved without casualties. Still, Creig was in the hospital having fainted with two broken bones after encountering a minor legendary, that was hostile, which could be considered lucky. Nate couldn't help think of the fact that in the future he would have to deal with legendaries a tier or two higher.

  Nate double checked and the incident had auto-uploaded and been acknowledged. There was a small blip for him letting him know to continue his journey without worry. That left him the question of whether he should tell Rosa or not. He would not have a good day tomorrow.