As Proctor Erika realized the identity of the boy and remembered what Proctor Eric said about him- that Anthony Dover is a very confident person- she scooted over and let the boy sit beside her. Anthony, in order to show his politeness, silently walked towards the bench and sat on it. As Anthony expected, Proctor Erika immediately asked him a question.
"What will you do with your breeding license?"
As Anthony heard that, he didn't actually need to think that long for some random bullshit. Mostly because he has decided to become a breeder, a researcher, and a trainer at the same time and take them all seriously.
"I... will become a PhD holder; as for what field, my only experience is environmental science, and I would want to publish more research in differing fields and decide either what I like the most or what's the easiest to be focusing on."
In all honesty, Anthony doesn't know if this is a good direction; after all, 'random bullshit go' only works if he has plot armor in some manga or novel. He, however, felt that this was a viable option since he's only 10 years old and can figure out what he wants to be a PhD holder of for the majority of his life from teenager to adult years. His only goal is to be as happy as Cynthia in publishing papers in her field.
Hearing this, Proctor Erika nodded slightly at this whilst throwing another clump of dried nuts to the Taillows, all of whom happily flocked towards them.
_He's indeed a very confident person, huh; maybe he hasn't even realized it himself, but with his answer, it makes him look like someone who never considered himself failing in this part of the exam. Interesting, I wonder how the surname Dover will recarve itself into the annals of Pokemon World history besides two couples having the most disappointing and seemingly illogical decisions in their career..._
While Proctor Erika has only become a breeder to get a stable income for her necessities and indulgences to be fulfilled without hitches and added a civil servant credential to her resume for good measure, she still looks forward to the great things being implied by the boy named Anthony.
Or if his confidence will be his greatest or weakest link.
Anthony, however, is truly not that confident; he just has a very good intuition that he can do something at a huge, or potentially high, level due to his lots of experience in his previous life and a lot of rejections he has had to endure. If Anthony felt like he couldn't do something, then he would not do it. Though this time around, with his job description, he may not have a choice but to do things while being stupid and afraid.
"That's good. I hope you get to live up to your own standards."
Specifically because Proctor Erika already does, though she doesn't really desire anything big, so her standards are easier to attain even when she was still a child. The proctor and the examinee continued their talk, which immediately pivoted to the work of a Pokemon breeder that Anthony carefully and gradually swerved into, because he's not really inclined to slowly go up the ranks until becoming a PhD holder in Pokemon breeding and wanted to use his 'special exemption' as an associate field researcher to skip some steps.
Thus, he asked what kind of experiences Proctor Erika gathered, and learned that Proctor Erika is not a 24-hour on-field breeder but rather was part of a mobile unit that has a base and a part of forests around Route 5 (which she apparently requested herself), and in there, they would be tending to the calls of Pokemon Rangers when there's a need to check up on their partner Pokemons or they need immediate care for a Pokemon that can't be touched due to its injury from a fight, and more. This stable job came after the internship in a daycare center and more requirements until she was able to become an indoor office worker and a proctor yearly.
Anthony, of course, also shared all his experience, though it's obviously not as much as what Proctor Erika has experienced. After about 30-35 minutes of talking, the 2nd to 9th examinee to finish the exam and go back to the entrance of the ranch finally appeared; Anthony and Proctor Erika greeted them before scooting over to let them sit, though they were quite shocked to see that someone had already finished way before them, given that the Pidgeot has really made them run for their money.
Though they were able to identify the boy immediately as one of the topnotchers of the written exams and also the son of the infamous Hana and Ben Dover, so he might have some special and hands-on training and is more experienced than them. Thus, everything worked out in the end; all in all, the whole group of examinees were able to gather around without any accidental injuries for about an hour and 30 minutes. When Proctor Erika was able to confirm that all 100 examinees were accounted for, she clapped her hands together 3 times.
"Alright, that's the end of it. Thank you for going your way and taking the exam. It's understandable and obvious that some of you will not be able to pass this exam; I mean, if you can all pass, then we will have to revise the exam and make it harder next year. That being said, I hope that all of you will still love Pokemons enough to make this kind of effort."
As Proctor Erika finished her speech, she started to walk towards the exit of the ranch; she then waved her hand whilst the examinees also started to follow her and get out of the ranch of Flying types.
"The results of the practicum will be announced tomorrow, and the total results 3 days after tomorrow. And, you already know this, but you have to present your exam number when getting your Breeder's license when you pass. Which will need another 3 days of waiting, as they will be printing it right after all of you see the results."
Proctor Erika then sighed and slightly slumped her shoulders as if tired of what she was doing right now, though she still continued.
"Don't worry, when you renew your license, you will only need 30 minutes or less of waiting since we already know what you look like. Any questions?"
Proctor Erika looked around at the students who were either so tired or had large sludges of slimy saliva stuck on their hands, all of whom shook their heads.
"No more, ma'am."
All the examinees were dispersed.
_____________
At this point, most if not all of the examinees have learned the names of all the topnotchers, and while some have remarkable credentials as accomplished Pokemon Coordinators or Trainers, those 'some' are just the 3 in the bottom, and the ones that really stuck in them are the first 7 that have to be ranked based on a .001 or even less of a percentage difference. This is due to the fact that they have a common background: all of them are interns on the controversial, in the recent year associate field researchers program of Prof. Oak, complete with their tandem-authored research papers on the scholar page.
This is what the bottom 3 lack: experience in how Pokemon Breeders take care of Pokemons. While technically, they're more well-versed in terms of experience, these 3 specifically are self-taught and don't have the head of environmental science research of Kanto Region (in terms of Anthony and Mary) as their guide or the two of the most decorated trainers in recent memory who are also adept breeders as parents. Thus, as the names of the topnotchers for the practicum rolled, it came as no surprise that the 3 non-inters were still in the 8th to 10th place, and the top 7 remained indomitable in their spot.
Though a man named Anthony, who's sniffing a hot chocolate in a mug whilst sitting in a cafeteria with his friends Mary and Andrew, who are both doing the same thing as him, has his normally neutral-looking eyes slightly widened. Anthony is indeed quite shocked as he stares at the list of topnotchers.
1. Anthony Dover
2. Andrew Moretti
3. John Gustav
4. Mary Hane
5. Benson Hood
6. Samantha Stacy
7. JJ Coleen
8. Benjamin Porker
9. Felix Todoroki
10. Anthony Stank
_I became the top 1 in this, huh... it seems like the jolly nature of the Pidgeot I groomed yesterday has given me that..._
Anthony also noticed that Mary's rank went up too, while John Gustav is immovable in third place. Of course, his two friends' attention is on his name at the top.
"Woah you just shot yourself up to the top 1. Must be nice."
Mary nodded at this achievement of Anthony, seemingly in approval. Anthony felt like this girl never got upset about people being better than her, which is quite odd for a 10 years old, Anthony looked at Andrew, who was sighing as he clicked his tongue.
_That's more like it._
At the same time that Anthony was observing his friends for his amusement, chatter also reverberated throughout the whole place.
"As expected..."
"Those kids didn't falter at all!"
"I wonder if I should also become an intern... but the controversy of the program is quite scary..."
For a moment, all the people that are waiting for their names to be flashed on TV forgot their objectives and started to chatter about the amazingness of the top 10 of their batch. Anthony was also once again impressed by their unfair advantage and wondered if all interns of their batch would take the first 20 spots if they didn't get pulled out by their parents because of the attempted kidnapping of him.
_2 days after, I will officially pass the breeder's exam, and in another 3 days, I'll be getting my license. Well, I felt like this isn't how I should start my journey as a trainer, but it's still quite fun..._
Anthony watched the names being rolled on the screen as well as the nervous faces turning happy and sorrowful depending on whether or not they saw their names on the TV. Anthony suddenly looked at the sudden bombardment of vibrations from his phone.
_Damn, they catch up fast._
It seems like people who knew him and have enough clout in the league have come virtually to congratulate Anthony once more.
_________________
In front of the Day Care base, where around 2000 people either admired their newly acquired license or cried with their friends, both old from their childhood or work and new from the recently concluded Breeder's exam, are 7 gigantic Flying-type Pokémon ranging from Pidgeot to Fearow, alongside their individual trainers are looking at the 7 people that they're tasked to fetch. In the saddles of these Pokemons are the words 'For Interns of the Pokémon Laboratory. Interview will be accepted or rejected by the interns in their own discretion at a later time.' and was signed by Prof. Oak, which made all interviewers stay away from them.
Anthony, who watched telecasts of this place for 2 years every time the exam results and license-giving were up, immediately knew that this didn't exist before and seemed to be a countermeasure by the Professor from anything that might happen to them. Obviously, the attempted kidnapping of Anthony is still lingering in the mind of Prof. Oak. He, however, doesn't mind such treatment honestly since he doesn't want any attention other than what his surname will give him soon already.
If ever, he will only do interviews about his top-notch spot in radio broadcasts and not on TV.
Whilst Anthony was thinking as such, the leader of the flock of Flying-type Pokémon, Jeremy clasped his hands.
"Alright guys, we will be going to the lab once more to pass your requirements and get approved as an associate field researcher. There, you will also be receiving your very first mission."
Hearing this, all of the interns eagerly nodded as they were coaxed to go out themselves in the saddles on the bodies of their Pokemons. Jeremy inspected the straps of the ex-interns one by one to make sure that no one was cutting corners, and when he confirmed that all safety gear was already present, he once again clasped his hands.
"Alright Flying-types, let's go back to the lab!"
As Jeremy said as such, all of the Flying-type Pokémon parked in an appropriately designated area made their respective 'Pidgeooot!' and 'Feaaarowwww!' sounds before spreading their wings and flapping hard as they took off towards the skies.
Their destination was once again Pallet Town.
____________
Read my novel Sophia Demiurge, remove the open and close parentheses
http://wbnv.in(remove this)/a/3ak49Kj