1st Place (Please Bookmark, Please Vote)

Two days passed in a row, and Eichi had not stayed home during those two days.

Outside, however, Eichi had become famous throughout the city.

Because the police had covered up the Poaching Gang incident last time, no one knew about it. But this time was different.

During the practical assessment, many people had seen Eichi's Beedrill.

The age matched, the Pokémon matched, and the strength matched. It had to be him!

On top of that, Eichi had used his Beedrill to defeat the examiner in a single strike.

Eichi became even more famous. Of course, it did not matter much that he had been exposed now.

The matter was no longer as popular as before, and Eichi was already a student at Silver Academy.

Everyone knew Eichi was a super academic prodigy, so getting into Silver Academy had been a sure thing.

Wasn't it perfectly normal for a genius from Silver Academy to accomplish something like that?

When Eichi's classmates learned that he was the person who had used a Beedrill to defeat the Poaching Gang, they all came to ask him about the details.

Eichi did not explain it that clearly. He merely gave them a rough account of what had happened.

But that did nothing to curb their admiration for Eichi. Their enthusiasm became so overwhelming that Eichi could barely take it.

Normally, someone in Eichi's position might have been floating on cloud nine after going through all this.

But Eichi was not. After the Poaching Gang incident, he had suddenly changed completely.

Eichi felt that he had matured. It was not ten-year-old Eichi who had grown, but Wang Sheng, the unremarkable man from his previous life.

Eichi had lofty ambitions, though he did not know whether he could achieve them.

Sometimes, he wondered whether Heaven had sent him to lead Bug-type Pokémon to rise to prominence.

But Eichi himself did not know whether he could accomplish it, so there was nothing to be proud of.

In the blink of an eye, the day the results were announced arrived. Eichi had to go to Tokiwa Academy to check them.

Computers had not yet become widespread. They were generally used for business, teaching, and research.

Very few people even owned computers. In a few years, they would probably begin entering private homes.

So everyone had to go to Tokiwa Academy to check their results.

Teacher Arno was waiting punctually outside Eichi's house.

This time, not only Eichi and Teacher Arno were going, but Eichi's father as well.

Today, Eichi's father, Yoshino, had not gone to work. He had taken leave to accompany Eichi to see his results.

The two got into Teacher Arno's car. Eichi's father did not say a word along the way, but his little movements revealed just how nervous he was.

They finally arrived at Tokiwa Academy. Like Eichi, many others had come to see their children's results.

Outside Tokiwa Academy, all kinds of cars were parked around, and all kinds of people came and went amid a bustling clamor.

Tokiwa City had one hundred slots every year, which was highly unusual.

Other regions had as many as forty or fifty slots, while some only had a few.

Only Tokiwa City was different, with a staggering one hundred slots.

Fifty were for Breeding and research, while fifty were for Trainer Major.

No one knew why. It was said to be related to Team Rocket.

Eichi did not know much about that either. His group passed through the lively school gates and followed the crowd to the place where the results would be posted.

It was a hall on the first floor of the teaching building. At the front of the hall stood a huge projector.

The representative from Silver Academy would display the hundred admitted students on the screen.

Their scores and rankings would be included. Naturally, the names of those who had not been admitted would not appear on the screen.

Before the results were announced, someone from Silver Academy would give a speech first.

Only then would the results be posted. The first speaker was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

He said he was the Director of Silver Academy's Battle Major.

While he introduced himself, Eichi noticed that Teacher Arno's expression was a little strange. It seemed Teacher Arno knew him.

Moreover, during the speech that followed, Eichi kept feeling that the Director was looking at him. It was probably not an illusion.

After the Director finished speaking, the results were finally announced. First, the names of all one hundred people appeared on the huge screen.

Eichi quickly found his own name at the very top, because he was 1st Place.

It read:

Name: Eichi

Written Test: 99 Rank: 1

Practical: 40 (Perfect Score) Rank: 1

Overall: 1

Eichi's name was in the most conspicuous position. After taking one look, he stopped reading.

He could finally relax, then he went to check everyone else's scores.

When Mr. Yoshino saw that Eichi was in 1st Place, a smile finally appeared on his face.

Eichi was happy when he saw his father's expression as well. It had been a long time since he had seen his father smile. It had been the same in his previous life—his father had always hoped he would get good grades, but Eichi's failure in the college entrance examination had completely disappointed him.

Though this was not the same father, he had finally made him happy through his own efforts, hadn't he?

Teacher Arno was somewhat surprised when he saw that Eichi had taken 1st Place. He had thought Eichi's strength would be enough for the top ten, but he had not expected him to take 1st Place, especially in the written test.

This written test had been hailed as the hardest one in history.

Yet Eichi had scored a 99, just one point short of full marks.

The written-test score of 2nd Place was 89. There was a ten-point gap between 1st Place and 2nd Place.

It seemed he had still underestimated Eichi. This kid might really be able to achieve his dream.

As Eichi looked through the others' scores, two of them caught his attention.

Name: Sato

Written Test: 86 Rank: 3

Practical: 40 (Perfect Score) Rank: 1

Overall: 2

Name: Kona

Written Test: 84 Rank: 7

Practical: 40 Rank: 1

Overall: 3

This overall ranking was for Trainer Major.

For everyone else, they only needed to look at their written-test ranking.

Not only had these two scored higher than the Breeding Major students on the written test, they had both received perfect scores in the practical assessment. In fact, anyone who defeated the examiner's Pokémon received full marks.

In one corner stood a handsome young man in a fitted tracksuit, with black hair. He stared at Eichi's name on the screen.

He was Sato, ranked 2nd Place. Sato ignored the praise from the extravagantly dressed people around him.

He only knew that Eichi had taken 1st Place. Not only had his written-test score been nearly perfect, but he had also received full marks in the practical assessment.

He had heard that during the practical assessment that day, the examiner in Eichi's venue had not used the ordinary Pokémon provided, but one he had carefully raised himself.

Yet that Pokémon had been instantly defeated by Eichi's Beedrill.

At the thought of it, Sato's blood boiled, and an excited smile appeared on his face. "Finally, things are getting interesting."

Sato had a feeling that Eichi would become a formidable rival. He could not help touching his Poké Ball.

He muttered, "I really want to battle his Beedrill. Don't you?"

His Poké Ball shook slightly, as if responding to him.

In another corner sat a pink-haired Girl wearing shorts. She stared at Eichi and Sato's names above her own.

She muttered to herself, "I'll definitely defeat both of you."

The elegant, richly dressed woman beside her looked at the Girl with a pleased expression.

Eichi did not know that two people had already marked him as a formidable rival, but even if he had known, he would not have been afraid.

After seeing the results, some were delighted while others were troubled. Such was life.

However, Indigo Academy's Entrance Assessment would take place over the next few days. Those who had not been accepted could try their luck there.

But Indigo Academy had nowhere near as many slots as Silver Academy.