And now it was time for the hardest part! The meat and potatoes of the contest - the search for the badge! Eva remembered this part well. It was also her favorite part of the contest as a whole. The Aerodactyl settled in behind her as she plopped down in one of the soaked chairs at the mess of a judges booth. The prehistoric pokemon purred and nudged her arm with his large snout. Eva gave the beast a firm pat on the head. The doctor wrapped her hands around a piping hot cup of tea. The Kabutops delicately set a plate of little snacks on her lap before crouching down beside the Aerodactyl.

Eva rocked back and forth in her seat, tossing a cracker into her mouth, “Gotta say, I’m pretty pumped to see what these guys and gals got!” she admitted with a smile, crunching down on her cracker before diverting her eyes to the Minior Monitor.

glitch maverick was the first to catch her attention with his daring dive into the frigid lake, “Whoa!” she gasped, moving to the edge of her seat when the contestant disappeared beneath the water with the help of their pokemon.

Eva cringed at the sight of Kazimir Wynter’s Lycanroc licking Kilinklang dropping . . . gross. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when he came across a pokemon statue that looked eerily similar to a legendary that had popped up in her reading recently.

A shiver ran down the doctor’s spine when Laurence Anderson was engulfed in a swarm of Golbat. As much as Eva loved all pokemon, being surrounded by them in a dark narrow corridor didn’t sound like fun.

The cringing didn’t stop there. When chryssa glasgow ran into a dead frikken body at the bottom of a crater in a lake, Eva gulped down her bite of sandwich and gently set the plate aside as the body rose from the water, “What the hell,” she muttered to Zac, eye wide in surprise. Eva wasn’t too squirmy. She dealt with dead pokemon quite frequently. Dead humans? That was a whole other thing. Humans were gross.

skyler dross’s Lapras proved time and time again to be indispensable. The way the Captain and pokemon worked together was flawless!

kyle lopez’s pokemon blew Eva away with their teamwork! There were no regrets from her having awarded them the boon. The frozen bridge across the vast darkness large corridor was breathtaking.

Eva gave Zac Ramsay a firm slap on the arm when oscar clayton’s pokemon dove into the depths of the unknown. From their battle with the Salamence to solving an ancient puzzle, Eva was on the edge of her seat, “Wouldya look at that!!” she gasped, squeezing Zac’s rock hard bicep with tiny hands (she could see why everyone was thirsting over him now – helloooooo, Zac). She couldn’t help herself, she was literally about to explode from the excitement! She couldn’t believe what Oscar’s pokemon came across and the way they handled themselves and worked together against the menacing Salamence.

The doctor’s heart was pounding when she realized she had a vice grip on Zac’s arm, “Woops! Sorry, Zac.” she laughed nervously, giving his arm a gentle pat before reclining back in her chair as glitch maverick approached. His perspective on the Limestone was very impressive! As well as his realization and growth from the contest. Eva gave the young boy a bright smile, “What a great realization! We do need to be cautious with nature. There is a fine balance that we must respect. You did wonderfully, glitch maverick! Thank you for participating!”

Eva leaned forward was Kazimir Wynter approached, eager to ask about the Regice statue he found in the depths of the cave. Perhaps she’d have to ask him to take her back there. Eva examined the selfies before giving him a solid nod, “Extraordinary find, Kazimir! Perhaps you’ll show me exactly where?” she asked hopefully with a sparkle of adventure in her emerald eyes, “Excellent job, as well!” Eva praised before the next contestant approached with their findings.

skyler dross, unsurprisingly, made Eva laugh, “That is an impressive set of abs!” she agreed with a smirk, “You and your pokemon are certainly masters of the sea! Even when it sneaks its way into a cave!” There was no arguing that.

The recipient of her boon approached next, “kyle lopez! You certainly didn’t let me down! Your pokemon make a hell of a pair!”

Eva leapt out of her seat when she saw oscar clayton, “Man! What a WILD ride! I was stunned by your pokemon’s findings! I certainly agree it was educational and thrilling seeing how everyone used the biome in their own unique ways! Fantastic job, Oscar! I was really impressed,” she shot the man a wink before sitting back down in her chair.

“This 'aint gonna be easy,” she sighed, glancing over at Zac to begin their deliberations.