Jace heard Auron out, then turned to look at him. "True, luck was on our side. So… how about we go get our Junior Trainer cert this weekend?"
"Sounds good to me. What about the rest of you?"
"Sure."
"No problem here."
"Alright, weekend it is. For now, eat up—there're still plenty of meat left."
"Cheers!"
Snorlax, sitting nearby, perked up at the sound of Auron's voice. Its eating speed kicked into a higher gear yet again.
…
The week passed in its usual unremarkable fashion—classes, heading home, training. Nothing of particular note occurred, except for one thing: Soren Li.
On Wednesday, Soren Li came looking for Auron again. Auron dealt with him using Deoxys once more, and Soren Li stormed off in a fury, already scheduling their next encounter.
"Morning."
"Morning. You're last again, as always."
Jace flared up. "Hell, I clearly came in with Tim Wynn!"
Tim Wynn offered a faint smile. "But I made it through the door before you."
Jace was speechless. Everyone burst out laughing, then walked inside together.
At the exam center's lobby, they took a number and settled into their seats to wait, chatting idly until their numbers were called.
"You all know the exam rules, right?"
They all nodded. If they were going to sit for the exam, of course they'd done their research beforehand.
The first exam was a written test—just like the college entrance exam's written portion, but a good deal easier. Mostly common-sense questions.
The second was a practical battle. The examinee would use their two Pokémon against the examiner's two Pokémon.
This section was meant to verify that each Pokémon had met the standard. Both Pokémon had to reach Junior Pokémon level for this part to pass.
The third was a Trainer Assessment—testing the trainer's own competence. Three Pokémon would be randomly selected, and the examinee would face the examiner's three Pokémon in a best-of-three match.
The second and third exams were scored together.
Fail any one of them, and the Junior Trainer certification wouldn't come through.
After all, once you were a Junior Trainer, you could enter the Secret Realm and take on missions issued by the nation.
If the exam was easy, the missions might cost you your life.
Soon, their numbers came up. Since they'd booked appointments together, they also entered the written test together.
The written exam held no challenges. Auron and the others finished quickly and walked out.
Like the driving theory test, the results were available the moment the exam ended. They'd all passed the first stage.
With the written exam cleared, the second exam came fast.
Auron followed a staff member to a battle room—a perfectly ordinary arena, no water features, no rocks, nothing fancy.
"Please release your Pokémon."
On the referee's command, Auron sent out Crawbrawl.
This battle used a random draw from his team—Golbat, Snorlax, Crawbrawl, and Charizard were in the pool.
Electabuzz was still too green. Minidraco and Shuckle didn't count as combatants, so they weren't included.
And using Deoxys for this exam wasn't just cheating—it would have been genuinely wasteful.
The random draw landed on Crawbrawl and Golbat.
With his Pokémon released, the examiner sent out theirs.
A Sneasler—Grass and Dark dual-type.
The examiner selected Pokémon from the machine in a way that was meant to counter the examinee's type coverage. Grass and Dark meant both of Crawbrawl's STAB types were resisted.
This was why some candidates, even with the strength to pass, still failed.
"Whoosh!"
The flag fell. Battle commenced.
"Crawbrawl, Aqua Jet!"
Time was tight. Auron barely had a chance to scan Sneasler's movepool before committing to a tactic.
"Sneasler, Sunny Day!"
"Called it."
Auron smiled faintly. Seeing that the opponent's Sneasler had the Chlorophyll ability and knew Sunny Day, Auron had known exactly what was coming.
The examiner would almost certainly open with Sunny Day to charge up a Solar Beam.
So Auron went for the aggressive intercept instead.
Crawbrawl didn't let him down—it broke through Sneasler's charge before the move could complete.
"Close Combat!"
The moment Crawbrawl was in range, Auron gave the next command.
Close Combat had no STAB bonus and no Adaptability boost. But against a Dark-type Sneasler, it dealt double damage.
When Crawbrawl's claw connected, Sneasler was already down.
The referee raised the flag without blinking.
"Switch Pokémon!"
Auron recalled Crawbrawl, then took out Golbat's Poké Ball and released it.
The examiner, after a brief moment of surprise at Sneasler's instant knockout, recovered quickly. Seeing Golbat deployed, the examiner input something into the machine and produced another Poké Ball.
Auron narrowed his eyes.
Pokémon: Great Magnemite
Gender: Male
Type: Rock, Steel
Ability: Defiant (cannot be knocked out in one hit; moves that guarantee a one-hit KO have no effect)
Quality: Blue
Base Moves: Tri-Attack, Magnetic Flux, Electric Surge, Gravity, Wide Guard, Tackle, Iron Defense, Block, Stealth Rock, Rock Tomb, Thunder Wave, Rest, Spark, Rock Blast, Power Gem
Egg Moves: Rollout, Block, Flail
Auron could have groaned. Rock and Steel both resisted Flying and Poison. Steel also resisted Flying and was immune to Poison.
Golbat's Flying-type moves dealt quarter damage at best. Its Poison-type moves didn't even register.
Both of Golbat's STAB types were completely shut down.
"Whoosh!"
The flag dropped. Battle Start.
"Golbat, Swagger!"
"Great Magnemite, Thunder Wave!"
Both commands went out simultaneously—but Golbat was faster, and its Swagger landed first.
Another read, another interrupt. The examiner glanced at Auron with genuine surprise. It had been a long time since he'd seen an examinee this sharp at such a young age.
"Great Magnemite, Tri-Attack!"
Just as the examiner was recovering from that read, with Golbat's Swagger already landed, Auron was already issuing the next order.
"Golbat, Swords Dance!"
Rock and Steel-type resistance, combined with Great Magnemite's defensive stats—without a stat boost, Golbat couldn't put a dent in it.
But…
Auron smiled mysteriously. All this time, Golbat hadn't been sitting idle either.
"Great Magnemite, Tri-Attack!"
The examiner was already calling it out as Golbat's Swords Dance completed—but the Tri-Attack was already in motion. Golbat took the hit squarely.
Still—the boost had landed.
"Now it's our turn!"
Auron and Golbat exchanged a look. Both smiled.
"Golbat—Heat Wave!"
Golbat's wings swept forward, and a visible red-and-orange gale rolled toward Great Magnemite.
(End of chapter)