June 7th.June 8th.June 9th.
The College Entrance Exams in Azure Province lasted for three days. It wasn't until the Pokémon Battle exam concluded on the afternoon of June 9th that the current high school graduates were considered to have officially left their "Rookie Trainer" phase behind.
Now, all that remained was to wait for their scores and fill out their university applications.
"Interesting..."
Owen sat in the Fairview No. 1 Psychology Club room, leaning back in his chair as he leafed through a set of Breeder Exam materials with keen interest
. On the table, two Eevees (one a Substitute) were lying down, each staring at a smartphone. Occasional sounds of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" and "Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" drifted from the speakers.
Sounds like... a shooting game?
Owen ignored the noise and focused on the test papers, reminiscing about the past. A year ago, Senior had shown him a sample of the Breeder Exam.
Back then, he had glanced at it and given up immediately. But a year later, looking at the new questions, the fog had cleared.
Having been a trainer for a year, he could now view these questions through the lens of practical experience.
While he couldn't provide a professional academic dissertation for every answer, his battle experience allowed him to answer most of them accurately.
For example, a question about the individual differences of Gloom:
Some exceptionally talented Gloom develop a resistance to poisonous plants that cause status conditions. On this basis, they can secrete a nectar that helps other Pokémon overcome those specific ailments—a rare, all-natural medicine.
During the High School League, Owen had encountered a Gloom with exactly that kind of talent. It had even been trained to resist freezing and burning, allowing its body to withstand fire and frost—a massive surprise for its opponents.
Owen smiled. The battle experience accumulated over the past year was no different from "traveling ten thousand miles" to gain knowledge.
Of course, this only applied to a few specific questions; the deeply technical ones were still a headache.
"Why aren't they here yet?"
Owen checked his phone frequently. He had agreed to meet Leo and Lynnea after their exams to celebrate officially graduating from the rookie stage... but those two were taking forever.
Thump... thump... thump...
Finally, the door swung open. Leo had arrived. He was wearing a blue snowflake-patterned tank top and oversized white shorts, looking as cool as possible. The only thing missing was a pair of sunglasses.
"Hi!" Leo squinted, his face crinkling into a smile.
"Everyone's here, right?"
A moment later, Lynnea arrived. Though she leaned against the doorframe, her posture was straight and tough—a sharp, heroic contrast to Leo's relaxed vibe.
"Your ponytail..." Owen pointed out. "It's rubbing against the wall. You're going to get white dust on it."
Lynnea: "..."
"Vee..." Eevee, whose ears were deaf to everything but its game, finally looked up after Owen pinched its tail. It scanned the room. Everyone's here. Time for food.
"Let me tell you..."
Leo spoke through a mouthful of food, recounting his morning battle. "My opponent had a Chinchou. Water and Electric moves together usually make for a strong combo, but unfortunately for him, he ran into my Munchlax."
"Haha! That Water Gun had so little power it was basically a shower for Munchlax. The Thundershock didn't do anything either—Munchlax just tanked it all."
Leo conveniently omitted the fact that he had Munchlax use Amnesia to buff its special defense.
He was busy basking in his victory. Unlike the High School League, the Gaokao battle exam didn't have rankings; it was simply a pass/fail assessment of a trainer's growth over the year. For someone like Leo, it was an easy full score.
Lynnea didn't mention her battle, but given Growlithe's strength, she had undoubtedly passed with flying colors as well.
"Mun-cha!!" Munchlax rolled its eyes at Leo while it continued to vacuum up food. If it hadn't been the one actually doing the fighting, it might have believed Leo's "tanking it" story.
"Vee-vee!!" Eevee chirped at Munchlax.
Once again, Eevee was challenging Munchlax to a localized eating contest. In the past, the only area Eevee had ever lost to Munchlax was stomach capacity.
Now, Eevee had a new plan. It summoned a Substitute, and both "Eevees" began eating simultaneously. Soon, the Pokémon table was nearly empty, leaving Lindsey's Growlithe staring in disbelief.
"Awoo..." Growlithe's eyes turned red as it glared at these two gluttons. It was one thing to eat a lot, but using a Substitute to double your intake? That wasn't a "Good Eevee" move.
"After we're done... let's have a battle?"
Lynnea suddenly set down her chopsticks and looked at Leo and Owen—though her eyes were mostly on Owen. Even though she called him "Boss," she had a competitive streak and desperately wanted to bridge the gap in their strength.
"I'm in," Leo nodded.
"Sure, why not..." Owen rubbed his nose.
That Afternoon. The Battle Court.
Lynnea's Growlithe and Leo's Munchlax took turns stepping up, but neither Pokémon could last more than a minute against Eevee.
This was even with Owen and Eevee holding back; otherwise, the matches would have been over in seconds.
"As expected..."
Lynnea sighed, rubbing her forehead as she recalled Growlithe into its Poké Ball. Ever since the Young Ho-Oh Cup, the gap between them had only widened. It seemed nothing had changed.
Maybe... things will improve after Growlithe evolves? After all, once a Growlithe becomes an Arcanine, its base stats are among the highest for non-legendary Pokémon.
"Let's go again before the semester starts," Leo muttered. He had spent a year raising Munchlax with the best food and care.
While it wasn't a "monster" like Eevee, its strength had reached a significant peak. Leo felt Munchlax might evolve before university started. He planned to spend the three months of summer break "whaling"—spending massive amounts of money to take Munchlax on a culinary tour of the country to trigger its evolution.
"Three months or a year, it doesn't matter. I'll be waiting for you," Owen said with a smile as Eevee hopped onto his shoulder.
Just then, Owen's phone rang. It was Mr. Lee.
"Shh—" Owen gestured for his friends to wait a moment and took the call.
"June 10th?" "That soon!" "Okay, I'm free. No problem."
Owen nodded repeatedly. After hanging up, he grinned. "That was Mr. Lee. On the 10th, we're going somewhere to help Magnemite 'level up' and prepare for its evolution."
Lynnea and Leo knew exactly what "leveling up" implied. Owen already had his summer break perfectly scheduled for special training. And it wasn't just for Eevee; he was already laying the groundwork for Magnemite's growth.
June 10th. Heading to the Danger Zone: The Electric Wilderness.
Owen didn't know if Magnemite would evolve smoothly, but he knew one thing: this trip would be an incredible harvest.
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