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Upon hearing that they would be hiking into the mountains and couldn't use their Pokémon, Kyle's face instantly turned pale with worry.
He had just witnessed how harsh the environment in the town was, and he figured the mountain conditions would be even worse. So Kyle directly purchased a large bottle of cola and Sprite to carry with him, along with plenty of snacks for the journey.
Originally, he had planned to have his Lycanroc carry the supplies into the mountains for him, but now he was stuck carrying everything himself.
"Brother, Brother." It must be said, Kyle was a pragmatic person, able to adapt to any situation when needed.
He usually called him 'Jacob, Jacob,' but now that he needed help with something, 'Brother, Brother' rolled off his tongue smoothly and with obvious flattery.
"Kyle, is something wrong?" Jacob asked with a smile, looking at Kyle with amusement.
"Brother, could you help me carry some of this stuff?"
"Alright, I'll help you carry it," Jacob said with a knowing smile. "Once we get there, you'll share your snacks with me."
The four students followed behind Beckett, walking up the mountain along a winding, narrow path. There was only one small, twisting trail leading to the camp, carved into the mountainside over many years of use.
Beckett was already accustomed to such treacherous paths, walking as if he were on flat ground, but it was the first time for Jacob and the others to navigate such a winding and steep mountain trail. It was extremely difficult, especially when looking at the deep cliffs below. Anyone with a fear of heights would have fainted long ago from the sheer terror.
Even with Jacob's physical fitness, which far surpassed that of his peers, he still found it somewhat overwhelming to walk such a mountain path for the first time. Coupled with the high altitude and thin air, it wasn't long before everyone was panting heavily and struggling to catch their breath.
"Your stamina isn't good enough," Beckett turned to look at them, speaking in a teasing tone. "You need to strengthen your training significantly. This is the first lesson I'm giving you: in the Patrol Team, you must remember one crucial principle: a person's physical fitness is extremely important. The best way to win a wilderness battle is to eliminate the Trainer first."
Listening to Beckett's serious and somewhat ominous words, the four remained silent, constantly gasping for breath as they tried to process what he had said. Except for Jacob, who had truly experienced real battles before, the other three had not yet experienced a genuine life-or-death struggle in the wild.
Continuing their ascent up the mountain, fortunately, the journey was not too far. It took them a full hour to finally arrive at the Patrol Team's camp, but they were all still panting heavily from complete exhaustion.
Especially Amelia, as girls inherently have less physical stamina than boys. This stretch of difficult mountain road had already left her drenched in sweat, her long hair damp and clinging to her face, and her cheeks flushed red from exertion, making her look particularly adorable despite her exhaustion.
"Boss! I've brought the people!" Beckett's tone was fierce and commanding, making him sound less like a professional Patrol Team member and more like a mountain bandit calling to his chief.
Beckett's loud shout immediately attracted everyone's attention throughout the camp. Besides the team members who were on patrol duty this week, members of the second and third Patrol Teams, and even the two camp cooks, all came out of their tents and buildings to see the new arrivals.
All the Patrol Team members were male, except for one young woman who had been transferred from another City to support the Patrol Team for a two-year assignment. However, she wasn't present at the camp today; she had gone on patrol with the first team earlier that morning.
"What a beautiful young girl."
"This girl is quite attractive."
"Girl, are you in a relationship with anyone?"
"What are you howling about? What are you all staring at? Get back to work immediately!" The leading man roared with authority.
Jacob's gaze also fell on the man in charge. He wasn't particularly tall, had single eyelids, a thick beard, and his fierce gaze swept over the four newcomers with obvious scrutiny.
"Come inside first, everyone. My name is Roger, the captain of the Patrol Team." Roger's Mandarin wasn't perfectly standard, but at least Jacob and the others could understand him clearly enough.
Before coming to the mountains, Rory had mentioned that the Patrol Team's captain was a King-level Trainer, whose strength might not be directly comparable to the Elite Four, but he at least had three King-level Pokémon under his command.
The four students followed Roger into the main building and found the environment inside quite simple and spartan. Roger held an iron mug in his hands, its paint long since peeled off from years of use, with the faded words "Unity is Strength" still visible on its body.
"What are your names?" Roger sat down heavily on a wooden chair after entering the room, pulling at the collar of his thick fur coat, and looked at each of them with calculating eyes.
The diurnal temperature range in the mountain camp was extremely wide and challenging. During the day, due to direct sunlight beating down on the exposed rocky surfaces, the temperature could reach up to forty degrees Celsius. After the sun set at night, however, the temperature dropped dramatically to minus ten degrees Celsius, so everyone had to wear thick fur coats during the evening and cover themselves with heavy quilts every night to avoid freezing.
"Jacob."
"Parker."
"Kyle."
"Amelia."
After listening to their brief self-introductions, Roger looked at them with a frown, clearly sizing them up, and said, "Although you're only staying here for one month, once you're here, you'll listen to me and be under my direct command. No exceptions."
"Jacob, you go to Team One."
"Parker, you go to Team Two."
what's-his-name, you go to Team Three."
"Captain! My name is Kyle!" Kyle shouted loudly, clearly frustrated by the mispronunciation.
"What are you yelling about!" Roger dug at his ear with his weathered hand. "You're making my ears go deaf with all that noise."
"Little girl, which team do you want to go to?" Roger was notably more polite to Amelia than he had been to the boys. There were very few women in the Patrol Team. Besides the two elderly cooking grandmothers, there was only one young woman transferred from another City who would return after completing her two-year support assignment, and she had about half a year left to serve. "There's another young girl in Team One. She went on patrol today and will be back later this evening. You can share a room with her tonight. Just tell me which team you want to join; you can choose freely."
"Team One!"
"Come to our Team Two instead!"
"Team Three would be better!"
Laughter and competitive shouting came from outside the main building as the team members tried to recruit her.
"Get lost, stop howling out there like wild Pokémon." Roger yelled loudly at the door.
"Team One." Amelia didn't hesitate much and directly chose Team One, probably because she wanted to room with the other girl.
"Jayce! Felix! Beckett! Come and collect your new people!" Roger roared loudly across the camp, "Give each of these four a proper coat and an extra quilt. They'll freeze to death tonight without proper gear."
"Coming right away, Captain!"
The three Patrol Team leaders walked into the building. Besides Beckett, who had been there initially, the other two were Jayce, who was tall at about 1.85 meters, with a well-proportioned physique and distinct muscle lines that spoke of years of physical training.
Felix, on the other hand, was burly and robust, looking like a massive brown bear in human form.
Jacob and Amelia both belonged to Team One, so they naturally followed Jayce to Team One's designated camp area.
"Looking at your delicate skin and educated appearance, you should share a room with the vice-captain. You're both educated people, so you'll definitely get along well," Jayce arranged for Jacob, then threw the thick cotton coat in his hand to Jacob. "The vice-captain's room is the third door on the right side."
"Okay, thank you."
"Girl, you'll share a room with Maya. Maya is also a young woman, but she went on patrol earlier today and isn't here right now." At this point, Jayce's tone suddenly shifted, and he said to Amelia with genuine concern, "Girl, you're very pretty. You should be careful normally and try not to dress up too much. We're all rough people here, and we've never seen such a beautiful girl like you before."
"Mhm." Amelia nodded, blushing slightly at the compliment and warning.
After the four were assigned to their respective teams, they returned to their designated rooms to settle in for the night.
After Jacob washed up with the basic facilities available, he carefully put down the mosquito net around his bed. There were many mosquitoes in these mountains, and without proper protection from a mosquito net, he would surely wake up the next morning covered in itchy bites.
Lying on the simple but clean bed, Jacob checked his phone out of habit, but there was no signal at all; it was completely useless in this remote mountain location. Helpless, Jacob could only choose to go to bed early, thus spending his first night at the Patrol Team camp and wondering what challenges tomorrow would bring.
The mountain air was crisp and clean, unlike the polluted air of the cities, and despite the harsh conditions, Jacob found himself falling asleep relatively quickly, exhausted from the day's difficult hike and the new experiences. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, but for now, he needed rest to prepare for whatever the Patrol Team had in store for them during their month-long training assignment.