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The next morning, David arrived at school quite early. Seeing the empty classroom, he wasn't surprised. After putting his belongings away, he headed straight for the training grounds.
Half a semester had passed, and the half-day training sessions every morning had become routine.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, they trained with their own Pokémon. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they participated in outdoor practical battles. On Fridays, under Teacher Dominic's guidance, they reviewed lessons and received targeted instruction. This combination, though demanding, significantly improved the strength of everyone in Class One.
By now, the first thing everyone in Class One did after arriving at school each day was put away their belongings and head straight to the training grounds for warm-ups. It had become habit.
Seeing David appear on the training grounds, his friends looked a bit surprised.
"David, why are you back already?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, David, didn't you say you took leave to get your Trainer certification? Why are you back so soon? Shouldn't you still have another day off today?" Miles asked.
"How did it go? What's the result?" Luke asked with interest.
Facing everyone's curiosity, David cleared his throat, then calmly reached into his jacket's inner pocket and pulled something out, placing it before them.
"Ta-da! You'll know when you look at this."
On the round Poké Ball-shaped badge, two golden stars were encircled by colorful flames—it was the Veteran Trainer badge officially issued by the League.
"Let me see... Nice, David! You've already passed the Veteran Trainer certification. You're way ahead of us."
Luke draped an arm around David's shoulder, took the badge from his hand, and examined it carefully, a hint of envy in his voice.
"Exactly. With David on our side, other schools definitely won't stand a chance during the midterm exam," Miles chimed in.
Actually, Luke and the others weren't making slow progress. Most of the students in Class One's first tier had basically started raising their third Pokémon, preparing for the High School League next semester. The School Team's main players would definitely be drawn from this group.
But compared to David, they seemed far behind.
First, Ralts was an exceptional case. New Trainers, when choosing Pokémon, typically hatched their own eggs or caught relatively young wild Pokémon.
In other words, they all started cultivating from scratch. Many were still stuck at level 19 with their second Pokémon, and it was already impressive if their newly caught third Pokémon had reached Ordinary level.
But David's Ralts was different. Although it had been heavily corrupted by dark energy during its egg stage and nearly failed to hatch successfully, due to this blessing in disguise, the newly hatched Ralts had already reached the upper limit of the normal level.
Furthermore, because it absorbed a large amount of residual energy, its growth rate was incredibly fast. Its level had surpassed Riolu's, with only Zorua, who could steadily rely on the Dawn Stone for additional training benefits, still maintaining a lead.
This meant David's third Pokémon barely needed training time—it was already a fully functional fighting force. The others were still far from becoming Veteran Trainers. It would be an achievement if they could reach that level before the semester ended.
"Hehe, just average—pure luck! By the way, Miles, what did you mean just now? What does our midterm exam have to do with other schools?"
David chuckled modestly, then, realizing what Miles had mentioned, asked with curiosity.
"Yesterday, while you were on leave, Teacher Dominic briefly mentioned that some schools proposed to the League to conduct a city-wide joint midterm assessment, and the League approved it..."
Emma took over the conversation and explained.
"Joint assessment..."
Just as David was processing this information, the class bell rang, and Dominic arrived at the training grounds. Everyone who had been warming up naturally gathered and formed lines.
Looking at the students before him, the sharp-eyed Dominic immediately noticed David in the group. As he looked at David, a hint of complexity appeared in his expression.
Originally, when he came to teach Class One, the principal told him to treat everyone equally, though Dominic was specifically reminded to pay more attention to outstanding students when possible. David was at the top of that list.
Unfortunately, after half a semester, he discovered there wasn't much he could teach David, aside from combat experience and techniques. When they first went to the Battle Facility for practical training on the opening day, the reason he said they didn't need to achieve ten consecutive victories was because he'd considered the students' strength levels.
The Pokémon at the Battle Facility generally had higher levels than these newcomers who had just obtained their first Pokémon. Although those non-Trainer employees weren't particularly strong in battle, these newcomers were equally inexperienced.
Not to mention the possibility of encountering the rare Superior-level Pokémon there, and considering stamina consumption and potential injuries to their Pokémon, achieving ten consecutive victories in one day would be quite an accomplishment.
Who knew this batch would produce an extraordinary talent like David? Relying on a Ordinary-level Riolu as his second Pokémon, he easily defeated nine Veteran-level Pokémon in a row, achieving victories against stronger opponents. Even an Superior-level Pokémon fell to his strategy.
He achieved ten consecutive victories in a single day and advanced to the Great Ball tier, which was simply remarkable.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Dominic dismissed the scattered thoughts in his mind and began discussing the midterm exam details.
After listening to Dominic for some time, David finally understood the situation.
This midterm exam adopted a city-wide joint examination format, with content divided into written tests and practical battles. The written test was straightforward enough—the focus was on practical battles.
The practical battle assessment for the Trainer major had undergone significant changes compared to past years.
This practical assessment would take place in the wilderness. Students from various schools would be placed in a designated wild area, where they'd be required to survive for a certain period. The assessment results would be expressed through a point system.
The longer one survived, the more points they'd accumulate. Additionally, points could be earned by defeating other contestants, battling wild Pokémon, or discovering certain resources.
"Sounds interesting..."
After listening, David smiled. This practical assessment reminded him of a Pokémon-themed battle royale—the League's administrators were quite creative.
After hearing Dominic's explanation, those with strong abilities naturally rubbed their hands together eagerly, while those with weaker abilities frowned in concern. It was quite the display of varied reactions.