Chapter 026

"Are we there yet?" asked Joseph, for the maybe twentieth time.

"We still have 10 minutes to go" said Roger.

Alex and Joseph smoothly passed the second round of the PIT. Jack and Lily also passed, but they barely did so. They were satisfied with their current results and decided against attempting the third round, and instead focus on passing whatever tests their decided academy had for admission.

Alex and Joseph, who passed comfortably, were attempting the third round of the PIT. The third round couldn't take place in Hurik Town. Only certified examination centers could hold the third round, and the nearest to Hurik Town was Celadon City. Celadon City was not that far away from Henrik town.

The two boys escorted by Roger decided to depart the night before the exam. Roger had contacted an old friend in Celadon City, in whose place they could spend the night. They had to be in the examination center by 9 the next day.

Roger pulled out his old bike from the garage to take them. Alex thought it looked like a quad from his previous life, only the seats had enough space for two. Considering that Joseph and Alex were 10-year-old kids, they could sit behind Roger while he drove.

The whole ride was uncomfortable to say the least. Just because the bike could seat the three of them never meant it should. Alex spent most of the almost 2-hour ride clutching the back of the vehicle, hanging on for dear life at every bump. Joseph resorted to crushing Roger's ribs and yelling if they were there yet every time they slowed down.

The three reached the edge of Celadon City 10 minutes later. Roger steered away from the main path and took a gravelly path to the left. He kept going across through some twists and turns and finally reached their destination.

"Daffodil Grove" read Alex from the crookedly placed sign at the front. Seeing the sign and the building, he knew this must be the local orphanage.

"Welcome old friend" said an old man who came out of the building.

"Hello Archie. These are Alex and Joseph. They are the ones taking the third round of the PIT this time" said Roger.

"Ah yes! Come in, come in" he said, walking inside. The three from Hurik Town followed him in. "This is Niya and Max. They too will be attempting the third round tomorrow" said Archie, introducing a young boy and girl to them.

"You must be tired" he then said facing the boys. "Why don't you have some food and then go have some sleep? You will need to wake up bright and early if you want to be on time and prepared for your exam! Niya, why don't you show them to the dining room and the guest room? Roger and I have some catching up to do."

The girl acknowledged Archie, nodded towards the two boys and started walking. Alex and Joseph followed her. She led them to a room in the building that had two mattresses, pillows and blankets arranged in it.

"This is where you sleep" she said. She then walked further into a room with a long table and said, "This is where you eat. I will go get the food from the kitchen now."

Alex and Joseph awkwardly took their seats. A little while later, the girl came back with a covered dish, two plates, and two bottles of water and put them in front of the two boys.

"Good night" she said as she walked away.

"She was weird" said Joseph.

"Or maybe she is just shy. Let's eat and sleep. I can't wait for tomorrow's test" said Alex as he helped himself to the food.

Joseph followed suit.

After a while, Archie and Roger walked in.

"Where is Niya?" asked Archie.

"She showed us our rooms, got us food and then went back upstairs," said Alex.

"We are finished and going to sleep now. Good night uncle Roger. Good night Mr Archie" said Alex as he got up along with Joseph and went back to the room they were shown earlier.

They got into the mattresses, switched off the lights and went to sleep.

"Ohh! We are finally here! Tomorrow we write our exams! I can't wait to finally become a Pokemon trainer! I am going to go on a wonderful adventure and meet lots of Pokemon!" said Joseph excitedly.

"All the best! I am sure that both of us will pass" said Alex with a smile.

"Say, Alex. If we both get an adventure scholarship do you think we should travel together? I mean people do that right? Team up on adventures?" asked Joseph.

"Don't count on it Joseph. We all have our own paths. Unless they intersect it is pointless to travel together. It is far better to have our own adventure" said Alex, as he considered this the politest no possible.

"And do I really want to go on an adventure?" He wondered.