On November 3rd, at the Trainer Association in Imperial City, within the Trainer Rank Assessment facility.
In a less-noticed corner of the grounds, the final battle was underway.
"Ralts, use Magical Leaf!"
"Ralts~"
In an instant, shimmering magical leaves materialized before Ralts. Under its precise control, they shot forward rapidly toward its opponent.
"Graveler!"
"Bang~"
A thunderous crash echoed through the arena as Graveler, struck by the Magical Leaf attack, was launched backward into the wall at the edge of the battlefield. The Rock-type Pokémon lay unconscious, while Ralts' blue and white form remained standing on the field.
"Graveler is unable to battle. The winner is David."
As the Rotom Referee announced the result, Ralts vanished from its position in an instant using Teleport, reappearing beside David the next moment.
"You did great, Ralts. Well done."
David extended his hand and gently stroked Ralts' head, praising his partner softly.
"Ralts~ (It was nothing, David~ The opponent was just too weak.)" Ralts responded to David's praise with a modest twist of its body, appearing a bit shy.
Seeing this reaction, David couldn't help but chuckle to himself. If the now-unconscious Graveler had heard Ralts' words, it would probably have woken up from sheer indignation.
At that moment, a staff member approached and handed David a badge.
"Congratulations, Trainer David. You've passed your Veteran Trainer assessment."
"Thank you."
David accepted the badge from the staff member and thanked him before leaving the Trainer Association with Ralts.
"He's so young! Looks like a high school student, doesn't he? I wonder which school he attends..."
"It's probably Imperial Capital No. 1 High School. Looking at that unusual Zorua at the beginning... he might be this year's Imperial City Novice Cup Champion..."
"Such talent at a young age! It took me three tries to pass the Veteran Trainer certification."
Watching David's retreating figure, the surrounding spectators who had witnessed the battle began discussing among themselves. Some had already recognized David's identity based on the distinctive appearance of his Zorua.
However, David paid no attention to these discussions.
Walking through the doors, David tossed the badge lightly in his hand. Nearly two months had passed since school started, and he had finally moved beyond his identity as a Rookie Trainer, he mused.
The system notification echoed in his mind.
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the Veteran Trainer assessment. Current level rewards are being issued...]
[Ding~ Rewards are being claimed]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining... Special Item Summoning Ticket × 2, System Points × 1000... Please continue your efforts, Host...]
David examined the rewards: two summoning tickets—he'd save those for now. One thousand system points, which he could only describe as better than nothing.
The rewards were quite ordinary, David thought with a slight pout, but he didn't complain. After all, this was merely an Veteran Trainer rank, not like the Rookie rank which offered a bonus for taking the first step on the Trainer's journey.
He'd expected the rewards wouldn't be particularly impressive.
Regarding officially recognized Trainer ranks—students like David, after catching their first Pokémon, are automatically considered Rookie Trainers. Once they have three or more Pokémon, and provided those Pokémon's strength meets the required standards, they can pass the League's assessment to obtain a higher Trainer rank.
The official assessment and certification of Trainer ranks carry far more weight than the tier rankings in competitive battles. Not only does each rank have specific requirements, but each promotion requires a practical combat assessment conducted by League professionals.
A Trainer might skip participating in ranked battles, but they'll definitely pursue official Trainer rank certification.
For instance, the Veteran Trainer rank that David just achieved requires participants to have at least three Pokémon of corresponding Veteran-level strength before they can participate in the subsequent practical combat assessment.
The same principle applies to the Professional rank afterward. Moving forward, the difficulty for the Professional rank increases even further, requiring at least six Pokémon of the corresponding level. This means a Professional Trainer must possess at least six Professional-level Pokémon.
Otherwise, even if you can field one Professional-level Pokémon, you cannot be considered a true Professional Trainer.
David's older sister, Aria, faces this exact situation. Her main ace, Dragonite, is only one step away from reaching Professional Stage 2, but her overall team doesn't yet include six Professional-level Pokémon, so she can only be classified as an Superior Trainer.
Alternatively, she can be called a 'Quasi-Professional.' For Trainers who haven't fully met the requirements but are very close, there's a customary term among Trainers—for a better-sounding designation, they're referred to as 'Quasi-XX Trainer.'
If you have one Professional Tier Two -level Pokémon plus five or more Professional-level Pokémon, then you can be called a 'Quasi-Elite.'
David only became an Veteran Trainer after both Riolu and Ralts broke through to the Veteran rank.
Originally, these two could have broken through earlier, but David made them absorb Pokémon Enhancement Potions first, just like his Zorua had done, before allowing them to evolve. After acquiring his third Pokémon, David found himself short on enhancement potions. Fortunately, they were available for purchase in the system's shop. He'd saved quite a few system points before, and with his hard-earned savings during this period, he barely managed to cover the cost.
However, buying a bottle directly from the shop cost 500 points. David spent over 6,000 points in total, essentially depleting all the savings he'd accumulated over half a semester.
But there was no alternative. To treat his Pokémon equally, he had to make the purchase. Still, when David saw his hard-earned points reduced to zero, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Additionally, during this period, Riolu absorbed a Fighting-type Type Gem, while Ralts absorbed both a Fairy-type and a Psychic-type Type Gem. Including his Zorua's consumption, one-third of the complete set of Type Gems gifted by his older sister had already been used.
However, the only good news was that there was an adequate supply of Ralts' held items at home, sparing him the trouble of searching for more.
"Since the assessment is complete, I'll head home and rest. Tomorrow, I'll return to school. I heard the class representative mention the midterm exam earlier, so I'll go back and check it out," David thought as he walked.
More than a month had passed since he caught Ralts as his third Pokémon. At that time, everyone in Class 1 was incredibly envious when they saw David with another Shiny Ralts at his side.
After all, this was a Shiny 'waifu Pokémon'!
Ralts' rarity and value were already comparable to that of a typical pseudo-legendary, let alone David's Shiny variant.
Over a month had elapsed, and before the midterm exam, both Riolu and Ralts had already broken through to Veteran rank, meeting the requirements. That's why he decided to pursue the Trainer rank certification.
Speaking of which, he'd taken leave to attend this Veteran Trainer assessment.
Originally, his homeroom teacher's expression had darkened upon hearing David wanted time off again, especially since midterms were approaching. However, the moment he learned David was going for the Veteran Trainer assessment, he immediately approved the request.
The teacher even thoughtfully granted him an extra day off so he could rest properly after the assessment.
However, since David had nothing to do at home, he decided not to use the additional day off. He still planned to return to school tomorrow and find out what this midterm assessment entailed.