On the evening Cynthia left, Austin Black used all three Pokémon item lottery tickets stored in his backpack.
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for drawing Salac Berry×3."
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for drawing Dusk Stone×1."
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for drawing Iapapa Berry×3."
Dusk Stone: Allows specific Pokémon such as Murkrow, Misdreavus, Lampent, Doublade, and others to evolve. It can also be consumed directly by Ghost-type Pokémon to enhance Ghost-type energy.
Without a doubt, the most suitable Pokémon in Austin Black's team was Drakloak, with its Ghost and Dragon typing.
Salac Berry: When made into Pokéblocks, poffins, or Poké curry, it can slightly improve a Pokémon's speed and agility.
Iapapa Berry: When made into Pokéblocks, poffins, or Poké curry, it can slightly improve a Pokémon's stamina and recovery ability.
Both fruits were extremely rare. Austin Black decided to keep one of each for planting.
For cultivation, they had Ao, a professional berry planter who specialized in this field.
If any problems arose, he could also consult the old man.
"Drakloak, eat this."
Austin Black tossed the Dusk Stone toward Drakloak.
Sensing the dense Ghost-type energy within the cold, dark purple stone, Drakloak's eyes lit up. Drakloak's scarlet tongue curled around it, and the Dusk Stone, worth over a million on the market, was swallowed whole.
"Drakloakk~"
Austin Black did not forget Lucario, Agni, and Zenith either.
He held a Salac Berry in one hand and an Iapapa Berry in the other.
"I'll make Pokéblocks for you after I return from the assessment tomorrow."
"Lucario!"
"Gross!"
"Nine~"
…
That night, lying in bed, Austin scrolled through the chat group, where the discussion was still heated.
Ethan: "The opening is Cynthia VS Lance, and the second match is Steven VS Diantha. This lineup is insane."
Lt. Surge: "It's not your match. Why are you so excited?"
Red: "It is interesting. I'll be watching."
Blue: "Same here."
Like Red, Blue chose not to participate in this year's competition.
His reason was not the same. He felt traveling around was too exhausting.
Ethan: "This is a battle between group members. Too bad it's not Cynthia VS Diantha. That would be better."
Steven and Diantha were both in the group, though they rarely spoke.
One was usually mining. The other was often filming movies.
Whitney: "?"
Crystal: "?"
Steven: "?"
After a long silence, Steven finally appeared.
Steven: "I am also preparing for the battles."
Blue: "Didn't expect you to join."
Steven: "Traveling the world to study different ores is also worthwhile."
If it had been the previous competition format, Steven would not have been interested. He could still participate, but only lightly. The new format had changed his interest.
Lt. Surge also planned to participate. If there was prize money involved, there was no reason to refuse.
Blue: "@Austin Black, has Cynthia left?"
Austin: "She just returned. She needs to prepare for the opening match."
Lance: "So serious? I cannot afford to slack either."
Lorelei: "Try not to get beaten too badly in the opening match."
Ethan: "Tell a brother. Is there something going on 👀😏"
Ethan has been muted by Blue for 5 minutes.
Lt. Surge stared at the muted message and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Typing slower did have advantages.
Blue: "How is Feebas doing?"
Austin: "Much better than before. Its activity range has expanded, and Cynthia's Milotic is still here. It is only a matter of time."
Blue: "Good. That means the method is working."
The group discussion continued around the Emerald League, but Austin did not stay involved.
He needed to sleep early. The Senior Breeder examination was scheduled for early the next morning.
. . .
The next day.
At 7:30 AM, Austin Black finished washing up and prepared breakfast.
"I'm heading to the assessment. You all stay at home."
The breeding house had been especially busy over the past two days, so leaving Ryu and the others behind would actually help.
They could also use the opportunity to get in plenty of move training.
"Kloak!"
"Arcanine!"
Ryu said through aura.
(You can leave it to us)
Zenith personally escorted Austin to the train station.
"You don't need to pick me up this afternoon. I can walk back by myself."
The station was only a little over a kilometer away from the breeding house.
"Meta."
Only after watching Austin Black board the train did Zenith finally turn around and fly back.
...
The Senior Breeder assessment was still being held at the Pokémon Center. The receptionist was the same Joy as last time, and she recognized Austin immediately.
Not only because he had left a deep impression during his previous assessment, but also because...
"Could I ask for your autograph? I'm a fan of your PokéStream channel, and Joy Shirley is my cousin."
Joy proudly showed him her follow list.
Joy Shirley was the Joy working at the Pokémon Center in Austin's breeding house.
Austin Black blinked in surprise before smiling.
"Of course. And thank you for helping me register for the Senior Breeder assessment."
This was hardly the first autograph request he had received recently.
Over the past few days, quite a few people had approached him for signatures.
Taking Austin's Trainer ID, Joy began entering his information.
While working, she patiently explained the examination process.
"This assessment is a little different from the Intermediate Breeder test. The first round is still a written examination, and you need at least eighty points to pass. The second round is a randomized Pokémon battle against an examiner."
"Got it."
Austin had already researched the Senior Breeder assessment beforehand.
The second round primarily tested a breeder's understanding of Pokémon, including their typing, abilities, characteristics, and move pools.
There was also a certain amount of luck involved. After all, nobody knew what Pokémon they would receive. Some Pokémon were cooperative, while others were notoriously difficult to command.
Without properly understanding a Pokémon's condition, defeating the examiner could be extremely challenging.
Even so, Austin remained fairly confident. Breeders were not professional battlers. The assessment was designed to evaluate a breeder's knowledge and understanding of Pokémon rather than pure combat ability.
Under normal circumstances, the difficulty would not be excessively great. Even if he failed, it would not be a major issue. He could always take the test again.
He was still young.
Compared to the Intermediate assessment, the number of Senior Breeder candidates was significantly smaller.
Including Austin, there were only four candidates in total.
Two of them even turned out to be his fans.
The examination was starting to feel more like a fan meeting.
"You're only taking the Senior Breeder certification now?"
"My family already runs a breeding house, so whether I have the certification or not doesn't really make much difference."
If not for the rewards tied to the assessment, Austin Black would not have been particularly interested in obtaining the certification now.
"That actually makes a lot of sense."
This time, he did not run into anyone as talkative as Dai Yui.
The staff member was still the same pretty young woman from his previous assessment.
She knocked lightly on the door.
"The exam will begin shortly. Please proceed to the computer room and prepare for the written test."
. . .
Please do leave a review and powerstones, which helps with the book's exposure.
Feel like joining a Patreon and subscribing to 30+ advanced chapters?
Visit the link:
[email protected]/GRANDMAESTA_30
Change @ to a