The entire space was occupied by all forms of terrain—forests, deserts, snowfields, rocky terrain, cemented side streets, grass fields, lakes, rivers, caves, and more. These environments were also occupied and maintained by Pokémon.
The forests housed Bug-types like Caterpie and Butterfree, as well as Grass-types like Oddish and Bellsprout. The desert had Ground-types such as Diglett and Sandshrew.
The rocky fields were home to Geodudes and Rhyhorns, while the cemented streets had Rattatas and Meowths. The grass fields contained Mareep, Wooloo, and Gogoats.
The lakes and rivers were teeming with Magikarps, Goldeens, and Tentacools, and the caves sheltered Geodudes and Digletts, among others.
"Welcome to the Terrarium, cadets. Here, you will learn about tracking, emergency response, crowd control, and the handling of hazardous situations," the instructor announced, spreading his arms wide.
They made their way to a grass field occupied by a herd of Mareep, Wooloo, and Gogoats.
"It's also where the academy makes money on the side to maintain its operations. Thirty government-funded students per year just isn't enough, after all," he said as he released his Pyroar. The Pokémon immediately bolted to the center of the herd and let out a powerful roar, causing them to scatter.
The herd ran with all their might, fleeing in every direction and seeking refuge in different terrains, reacting instinctively to the perceived threat.
"This field, in particular, is where you will refine your tracking and crowd control skills. Along the way, you will also learn emergency response and how to handle hazardous situations. People, surprisingly, are quite similar to a herd of Mareep when they panic. Your task is to round up every single one of them and bring them back here within the hour," the instructor declared, finally sitting down beside his Pyroar with an unbothered expression.
The cadets snapped out of their daze and immediately sent their Pokémon to retrieve the scattered Pokemon, sprinting after them.
"Don't forget to avoid pissing off the field caretakers!" the instructor shouted as the cadets scrambled.
Alex picked a direction and started walking. He thought about how to get this done, but nothing in particular came to mind, so he decided to simply walk around and explore.
The instructions were simple enough, but it was obvious that they didn't know what they were doing.
Read the ground for tracks? How? This wasn't a game that let you highlight tracks with the press of a button.
Have the Pokémon track their scent? They weren't given the chance to familiarize themselves with it.
Have Altaria scout? Sure. That could work.
Alex called out Altaria and Frosmoth and asked them to scout ahead without picking a fight and look for the scattered Pokémon while Alex ran after them. The entire floor was large, but not large enough to force Alex to need a ride.
Alex ran after Altaria and Frosmoth, who made sure to keep close to each other. They continued past the grass field and ended up in a cemented side street, complete with fake buildings and lampposts.
There were Rattatas and Meowths hanging around, with the occasional Grimer peeking out of the drainage. Spearows clung to the lampposts, chilling.
Alex thought these Pokémon were quite docile compared to the ones in the wild. Perhaps they were trained but never adopted?
Alex released Raticate and asked him to ask around. Raticate, being far stronger, would not be ignored by these loitering Pokémon. Sure enough, Raticate was told there were three spotted hiding in this field.
Alex asked Raticate to lead, and he was brought to all three hiding spots, where Alex released Alcremie and asked her to calm them down before Raticate, with Alcremie on his head, herded the Mareep with Arcanine in the back.
Matcha-flavored cream was apparently the favorite Alcremie flavor of grass-eating Pokémon.
Alex managed to clear out the cemented streets field and bring back the three Mareep to the grass field, where the instructor was starting to get surrounded by the scattered Pokémon who were herded back by other cadets.
Some of the cadets ordered their Pokémon to simply pluck them up and bring them back. Others made them faint when they couldn't get their cooperation. There were quite a few Gogoats knocked out on the side.
Quite a few of the Flying Pokémon were also knocked out as their targets decided to fight back the harsh treatment. Apparently, Flying-types are weak to the Electric-type Mareep… Who knew?
"You're still missing 10 Mareep, 3 Wooloo, and 2 Gogoats," the instructor said without even looking up.
Alex decided to go back to searching when Altaria and Frosmoth came back. They had apparently found a few more, so Alex headed over to the cave field, where there were distinct tracks of hooves leading into a few caves.
Alex called out Forretress, as he was the toughest Pokémon he had, before entering one of the caves. Inside, Alex saw that the cave systems were all interconnected. Deeper into the cave were multiple pathways that all led farther in until Alex reached an open cavern with multiple Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon hanging around an underground lake, with Water-type Pokémon floating nearby. Right by the lakeside were five Mareep.
If Alex hadn't known any better, he could swear he was in the anime version of the Pokémon world and not a messed-up version of one. Here were Pokémon who were just chilling and enjoying their environment together.
Alex called out Alcremie again, who managed to convince the Mareep to follow him back to the grass field while being bribed with her cream.
As Alex made it back to the field, the cadets were already in formation, so Alex ushered the Mareep to their herd before joining the formation.
Right as Alex stood at attention, the instructor began giving his lecture.
"Congratulations on completing the exercise. You all did as can be expected, though there were some altercations. Sometimes, they can't be avoided," the instructor began.
"Tracking doesn't just mean reading the terrain and looking for broken twigs. That is mostly for the Rangers to learn about. Tracking can also mean asking bystanders for information, scouting with a bird's-eye view, following the path of least resistance, and understanding the lay of the land. We'll talk more about that later."
"Crowd control is also a touchy subject when you attempt to do so with humans. No matter how much they act like a panicking Mareep, we do not subjugate civilians or knock them out to gain their cooperation. Sometimes, respecting their illogical choices is the right call. Humans are really big on free will and are willing to die on their hills."
The lecture continued until the instructor started giving an actual lesson on how to track using examples from different environments.
In terrain with dust and dirt, it's easy to tell as the imprints are obvious. Where there are plants, look for unnatural disturbances, as plants tend to recover after a few days. Where there is water, if they have tracks getting in, they will have tracks getting out. In the cemented streets, not much can be done; hence, it is best to ask the locals. They always know what's happening inside their own neighborhoods.
The lecture and examples continued for an hour until we were brought to a room on the same floor.
"This will be the final part of your training, where your Pokémon will learn to maximize their different senses. Pokémon have amazing senses depending on their egg groups. Field egg groups are best when it concerns smell or hearing, Flying and Bug egg groups are best for sight, and Mineral egg groups are best for vibration, though the Field egg group also has strong contenders," the instructor explained as the cadets walked into a hallway with multiple doors.
"Inside each room is a special training facility for your Pokémon. Each room represents a sense they can train to hone and master. From this targeted training, they can spot enemies coming from miles away or in the dark. They can hear incoming enemies or smell where they have gone."
"Most importantly of all, they can learn to read the energy in the atmosphere. Think of a Pokémon using moves as releasing paint onto a canvas. The energy they release lingers in the atmosphere, and Pokémon can be trained to recognize these energy signatures depending on the senses they specialize in. Canine types have the best sense of smell and can track their prey not only by scent but also by the energy they naturally emit. We will train your Pokémon to be able to do so and train you, the trainers, to utilize them effectively."
The lecture went on until all the cadets were asked to pick a door for their Pokémon to train in.
Alex decided to have Raticate enhance his hearing, Arcanine his sense of smell, Altaria and Frosmoth their sight, Forretress and Aegislash their sense of touch, and the rest their energy.
This way, Alex had all his bases covered, though he regretted that he didn't have a better option for the sense of hearing. Having a Noivern or Crobat would be ideal as they would be able to easily pick up sounds.
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