When Xia Huanao learned that applying for a Junior Trainer certificate required an exam, he felt terrible. He had decided to travel precisely to escape the pressure of exams, only to find that traveling also involved exams!
After confirming with the front desk staff that he would be taking the exam, he was led to the examination room by a pretty young lady. On the way, Xia Huanao asked, "Miss, may I ask, will the exam be very difficult?"
Although Xia Huanao was in his second year of high school, he looked young for his age. Coupled with his not-so-tall stature, people would believe he was a middle schooler.
The staff member, looking at Xia Huanao's clean-cut face, found him to be a cute younger brother. "Don't worry, the exam won't be too difficult. This is the examination room, good luck!"
Before Xia Huanao stood a massive hemispherical building. He was stunned by its size and the fact that this giant sphere was supposed to be an examination room. What kind of test could this be? It couldn't possibly be a battle, could it?
Pushing open the large doors, he entered. Inside the hemispherical building was a professional battle arena, exactly like the ones Xia Huanao had seen in anime.
"Holy crap, are we really going to battle? That's going to be troublesome. I should have brought Xiao Meng out."
The arrival of a new person quickly drew the attention of everyone present.
"Yo, another newcomer taking the exam. Can such a young child pass?"
"Yeah, I've been taking this exam for over a decade and still haven't passed."
Xia Huanao looked around at the people present. There were those a few years older than him, and even uncles in their thirties and forties were here for the exam. This made Xia Huanao's heart skip a beat: "Is this exam really that hard? Even such old uncles are here to take it."
Just as Xia Huanao stood stunned at the entrance, another person entered from outside.
The person who entered wore an expensive suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and held a diamond-studded Poké Ball. Seeing Xia Huanao blocking the way, he shoved him aside: "Don't you know you're blocking the path?"
Xia Huanao couldn't be bothered to deal with him and walked down to join the end of the queue. The man in the suit, though he wanted to cut in line, could only "submit" to the rules of the Pokémon League.
The rules of the exam were as follows: the examiner would only use one Pokémon, while the trainer could use a maximum of six Pokémon. If the trainer could defeat the examiner within the scope of six Pokémon, they would pass the exam.
Of course, in Jinghai City, very few people brought six Pokémon to take the Junior Trainer exam. In all these years, the most Pokémon the examiner had encountered a trainer bring was three.
The person currently taking the exam was a girl, who was battling fiercely with her Torchic against the examiner's Bellsprout.
In the end, the girl narrowly secured the title of Junior Trainer. Everyone present offered their congratulations with applause. Only the man in the suit behind Xia Huanao scoffed, "Tch, taking so much effort for a Junior Trainer exam."
...
As time passed, one trainer after another was defeated by the examiner. The Pokémon the examiner brought out were varied, including some very rare ones.
Those who passed the Junior Trainer exam generally left with joy, while those who failed chose to stay and watch, hoping to gain some experience from others' exams and pass. After all, as long as you registered, you could keep taking the exam until 6 PM that day, but you had to re-queue each time.
About an hour later, it was Xia Huanao's turn.
Looking at Xia Huanao, the examiner's expression changed. He then took out a Poké Ball from behind him and threw it: "This is the Pokémon I will be using."
Looking at the Roserade before him, Xia Huanao began to question his existence.
The usual procedure was for the trainer to send out a Pokémon first, then the examiner would send out their Pokémon, and the examiner's Pokémon would generally be at a type disadvantage. Of course, if the trainer sent out a Normal-type Pokémon first, there was nothing the examiner could do.
But this time, not only was the usual procedure not followed, but the examiner also managed to send out a Pokémon that was not at a type disadvantage right from the start. Was this too ridiculous?
"System, appraise its level."
Name: Roserade ♂
Level: 14
Ability: Poison Point
Stat Adjustments: +Speed -Attack
Stats: HP 45, Attack 25, Defense 27, Special Attack 53, Special Defense 38, Speed 47.
"I feel like I've been set up, but there's no choice, I have to go for it. It's decided, Rotom!"
When deciding to travel, Xia Huanao had also brought his Rotom along. After all, it was too much to ask of a Level 1 Froakie.
However, after releasing Rotom, Xia Huanao suddenly realized he didn't know Rotom's moves, and knowing its other stats was useless.
"System, tell me Rotom's moves."
Name: Rotom ♂
Level: Lv8
Moves: Thunder Wave, Confuse Ray, Trick, Uproar
Current Held Item: Blaze Orb
Seeing Rotom appear, the man in the suit behind Xia Huanao scoffed, "A bumpkin is a bumpkin. How can someone who doesn't even train a Fire-type Pokémon come for an assessment?"
...
Xia Huanao's mind raced. As soon as the referee announced the start of the battle, Xia Huanao attacked first.
"Rotom, use Trick!"
The examiner also knew the effect of the Trick move, which could swap the items held by both Pokémon. However, the examiner didn't understand why Xia Huanao would use Trick as an opening move.
Although Rotom's speed was less than twenty, it successfully swapped its Blaze Orb with Roserade's under the offensive move.
"How should I put this? Fortunately, the Blaze Orb didn't go to Shen Yu?"
The effect of the Blaze Orb required time to activate, and Xia Huanao acted quickly, so Rotom was fortunate not to be affected by its effect.
The examiner was also unsure of the effect of the Trick, so he cautiously ordered Roserade to use Growth.
Seeing Roserade use Growth to boost its Special Attack, Xia Huanao chuckled inwardly: "Good, keep boosting. Preferably until you burn yourself to death."
The light on Roserade not only had the color of Growth but also the burning effect from the Blaze Orb.
Seeing a flash of red light disappear, the examiner realized he had been afflicted with a status condition and quickly ordered Roserade, "Roserade, use Magical Leaf!"
Magical Leaf is a move that is guaranteed to hit, no matter where Rotom went, it couldn't escape.
"Rotom, dodge it head-on first, then float towards Roserade."
Magical Leaf missed Rotom and, after passing it, turned to fly behind Rotom. At this point, there was still a considerable distance between Rotom and Roserade.
"Roserade, move forward and use Poison Sting!"
Poison Sting is a physical move, but using it up close not only made it easier to hit but also more likely to trigger the Poison Point ability.
The best way to avoid this was to create distance, but retreating would mean being hit by the incoming Magical Leaf.
Seeing Roserade's hand, formed by three roses, about to hit Rotom, Xia Huanao quickly commanded, "Rotom, land and use Confuse Ray!"
Rotom's Levitate ability allowed it to float in the air, avoiding Ground-type moves. However, if Xia Huanao's Rotom successfully landed, it would lose its Levitate ability and be unable to avoid Ground-type moves. Ground-type moves are super effective!
However, the fact that Roserade had no direct attacking Ground-type moves was good news.
Although Rotom was hit by Magical Leaf after successfully landing, it avoided Roserade's Poison Sting and Poison Jab combination attack.
Rotom, hit by Magical Leaf, was in a terrible state. Fortunately, Confuse Ray hit, and Roserade felt dizzy. Then, Poison Jab struck itself...
Roserade, being Poison-type, ignored the poisoning effect. Moreover, under confusion, its self-inflicted attacks had reduced power and no type advantage.
"Roserade, retreat first."
"Don't think about escaping. Rotom, pursue and use Thunder Wave!"
The difference between a battle in reality and the Pokémon games was that you could stack various status conditions infinitely. This was something Xia Huanao had only discovered by watching videos a couple of days ago.
However, the confused Roserade was still faster than Rotom. Rotom, though floating in the air, couldn't catch up to the jumping Roserade as it retreated.
"Rotom, retreat for now."
Xia Huanao was not in a hurry. After all, under the conditions of confusion and burn, he still had a slight advantage. Even with unfavorable levels and stats, there was still a chance to win.
"Wait a moment, System, what effort value do I get for defeating this Roserade?"
"Special Attack, 3 effort points."
Hearing that defeating Roserade would increase Special Attack effort value, Xia Huanao began to consider whether to switch in Froakie to gain some experience. However, if he didn't win, it would be troublesome.
To be safe, Xia Huanao decided to end the battle quickly, avoiding any further complications.
"Roserade, use Giga Drain!"
"Not good, Rotom, create distance and use Uproar!"
In the clash between Uproar and Giga Drain, the higher-leveled Roserade ultimately had the advantage. A stream of green light emanated from Rotom and drifted towards Roserade, while Rotom collapsed to the ground.
He recalled Rotom with its Poké Ball: "Rotom, you did your best."
The system agreed: "Yes, it should have fainted when hit by Magical Leaf. But Rotom held on."
"Held on?"
"Yes, this is the effect of the friendship mechanism. You rarely pay attention to these stats, so you wouldn't know."
"We'll talk about it after the battle."
On the opposite side of the battle arena, the examiner asked, "Do you have a second Pokémon? If not, the assessment is concluded."
Xia Huanao gritted his teeth and took out a second Poké Ball: "In that case, it's all up to you, Froakie."
The second stage of the battle was about to begin.