Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20170816155108/@comment-25936766-20170816165932

There's also other options, besides the ones Spirit gave:

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Option 4: Similar to your Option 2, Spirit.

Basically, the remaining 3-or-less students end up in reserve, like in your idea. But instead of being transferred to another Academy with a similar situation, they end up having to wait until the next Initiation happens. The first group of remaining students would combine with the second group, then the Headmaster sees if there are enough students to form complete teams.

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Option 5: Merciless option.

The remaining students team up. Even if they don't have enough members to make a 4-person Team. They study, they train, go on missions, etc. The fact that they aren't a "complete" team changes nothing beyond what they would be expected to be able to handle.

The logic behind it is, anything can happen during a mission, and if something happens to the team, they have to bear and deal with the consequences. If a 4-people Team went on a Search-and-Destroy mission and the target Grimm killed one of the team members, the other 3 have to deal with the Grimm anyway.

I like this option the most, since, as we know, Huntsmen, while trained in Teams of 4 (at least in modern times), they don't have to work in Teams after graduation. They can go solo if they want.

So while they are trained in Teams, that might not be demanded or required. If anything, the only reason they are put in Teams is for them to develop Teamwork, and even then they can still go solo later if they feel like it.

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Option 6: True Merciless option.

They fail the Initiation.

Students are expected to not just pair up, but work as a group, a squad, a team. If a Team ends up with one of their members dying in the very Initiation, what does that say about their skill and ability to work with others?

Academies aren't there to make Mediocre people Good. That's what Combat Schools are for. Academies are there to make Good people Great. If you are not Good, you don't yet have what it takes.