But each candidate trainer could be challenged an unlimited number of times each day!
In a challenge, the loser gave half their points directly to the winner.
The Spirit Watch automatically deducted or added points.
In other words, this was an obvious loophole that anyone could see.
The scions of powerful families, like Murong Qianjin, for instance,
had their reserves prepare in advance.
By "reserves," they meant having candidate trainers accompanying them collect points as usual.
Then, at the crucial moment near the end, when they made their push up the rankings, all the reserves would lose Spirit Battles to the same person.
That person's points would skyrocket in an instant!
It was unfair, certainly, but when was anything ever absolutely fair?
After all, their reserves were following the normal exam procedures, too.
They weren't throwing the matches on purpose!
Later on, the candidates ranked in the top five thousand on the Trial Ranking didn't dare challenge anyone lightly.
One careless loss could cost them half their points, possibly knocking them out of the top hundred thousand.
"Charge! We've finally been given the chance! Hahaha! I've been saving my strength for this. Isn't this what I've been waiting for?"
"I've already locked onto my target. Heh!"
"I bet Su Yi's just like us—deliberately keeping his rank low and staying under the radar. He's been waiting for this moment. Aside from people from South Lake Province, hardly anyone knows him. One careless loss and he'll lose half his points. That's one sneaky bastard!"
"..."
Everyone was going crazy!
Millions of candidate trainers across the four Spirit Primal Forests in the southeast, northwest, and everywhere in between were going crazy, hoping to break into the top hundred thousand!
They frantically challenged the targets they'd already locked onto.
That day, Su Yi emerged from a cave with his four Pokémon.
For the past twenty-odd days, he'd eventually stopped returning to the Pokémon Center altogether.
He only went to buy supplies after he'd used up everything he'd brought with him.
He'd also run into other candidate trainers. Thanks to the System's Battle Drop Function, he often got some Gold Coins from them.
He'd figured out how the function worked: Gold Coins were the most common drops.
As Su Yi stepped out, several people were also looking for him!
Su Yi returned to the Pokémon Center.
Groudon had already gone back into the Master Ball.
He had Groudon to thank for keeping Pokémon above level 25 away from the cave for the past twenty-odd days.
During that time, Su Yi's Frogadier, Combusken, Trapinch, and Flaaffy had made tremendous progress.
Their bodies' instinctive reactions.
Their combat awareness.
Their execution of moves.
"Hello. Your four Pokémon have finished their checkup, and their stamina has been restored. They're all in perfect condition."
Su Yi took his four Advanced Pokeballs from the young woman at the Pokémon Center counter and was about to put them away when he noticed two people standing there, watching him without moving.
They'd clearly had their eyes on him for a while.
"Well, if it isn't the famous number one on the Knowledge Ranking—the national number one, no less. How come there wasn't an announcement when you came to the Pokémon Center? That's no way to live up to your reputation."
The Pokémon Center announcement referred to candidate trainers ranked in the top thousand on the Trial Ranking. When they arrived at a Pokémon Center, it detected their Spirit Watches and announced their presence to every candidate trainer there.
That was the pressure that came with being in the top thousand on the Trial Ranking.
Su Yi knew the two men were doing it on purpose.
He narrowed his eyes. These two were interesting. Who was behind them?
Someone was already so eager to hand him points. Su Yi was looking forward to it, too!
Their words had clearly made everyone at the Pokémon Center turn to look at Su Yi.
"Wow, I had no idea! The all-time number one on the Knowledge Ranking, with a perfect score! That's freaking amazing!"
"I think his Knowledge Ranking score is inflated. He hasn't even made the top thousand on the Trial Ranking. He's not living up to the hype."
"Maybe he's pretending to be weak so he can catch people off guard..."
The candidate trainers all started chattering.
"So that's Su Yi? He's only better-looking than me, ranked higher than me on the Knowledge Ranking, and more famous than me. If you ask me, I—"
"Pfft. Still dreaming? Is it really that hard to admit someone else is better?"
"What the hell does it have to do with you? If you've got a problem, let's settle it in a Spirit Battle!"
"..."
"Who's your master?"
The two men's expressions changed. He was insulting them.
But remembering the warning from the person behind them, they held their tongues.
"At least you know your place. You remember Ning Tao, the guy you nearly crippled at the Pokémon Center more than twenty days ago? He's the cousin of Ning Zhi, the Ning Family's young master. We won't make things difficult for you. Ning Zhi just happens to be over at the battle arena."
The two pointed toward the battle arena inside the Pokémon Center.
The other candidate trainers were thrilled.
That was Ning Zhi, ranked ninety-second on the Trial Ranking!
And Su Yi?
Su Yi was currently ranked somewhere in the thirty-thousands.
And that was before the points-challenge system had even kicked in.
If Su Yi's points didn't increase significantly over the next two or three days, he could easily be pushed out of the top hundred thousand!
Everyone was eager to see a Spirit Battle between a big shot ranked ninety-second on the Trial Ranking and the number one on the Knowledge Ranking!
Points delivered right to his doorstep? Why turn them down?
Su Yi nodded and accepted.
He remembered the Ning Family. Although they didn't have a Heavenly King Trainer in their ranks, they had plenty of Ace Trainers.
They were a powerful family, by any measure.
Ning Zhi was the person the Ning Family had raised by pouring all their resources into him.
His Starter Pokémon was also a Pokémon with Purple Qualification!
The Pokémon League couldn't determine a Pokémon's exact qualification; it could only sort them into broad categories.
Ning Zhi's Pokémon with Purple Qualification was a Seedot.
It had evolved into a Nuzleaf, and then he'd used the Sableye his family had prepared for him!
He was one of the few candidate trainers with a Pokémon that had reached its final form after two evolutions!
Ning Zhi already knew that Su Yi had beaten his cousin Ning Tao badly.
He wasn't particularly close to Ning Tao, but they were both members of the Ning Family. As the strongest of the Ning Family's younger generation, he naturally felt Su Yi had disrespected them!
The group made their way to the Spirit Battle arena inside the Pokémon Center.
When Ning Zhi saw Su Yi approach, he even nodded to him in a friendly manner.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to make things difficult for Su Yi this time.
He'd allied himself with several top-twenty candidate trainers, all exceptional talents.
After all, once the final five days were over, everyone would be ranked based on their Pokémon battles.
That was where private alliances and teams came into play.
They all wanted to test Su Yi and find out how much real ability the national number one on the Knowledge Ranking had.
Su Yi smiled. He still needed two more Pokémon for Side Quest 10, a few more for Side Quest 11, and two more trainers to complete Side Quest 12.
In Su Yi's eyes, these people weren't opponents. They were stepping-stones to the rewards for completing his Side Quests!
"Quick, quick! Su Yi, the number one on the Knowledge Ranking, is facing off against Ning Zhi, ranked ninety-second on the Trial Ranking! Come watch!"
"Wow, Ning Zhi's the real deal. But why is Su Yi only ranked in the thirty-thousands on the Trial Ranking?"
"He's pretending to be weak so he can catch people off guard. Classic big-shot move."
"..."
More and more candidate trainers gathered around the battle arena.
Ning Zhi glanced at the crowd. He figured there were enough people there to spread word of today's battle.
He took a Pokeball and weighed it in his hand, then smiled. These people would soon learn that the Knowledge Ranking and the Trial Ranking were two entirely different things.
"Your turn, Azumarill!"
"Azumarill!"
Azumarill entered the arena.
Su Yi stared at Azumarill.
"Pokémon": Azumarill "Qualification": Green "Level": Lv. 22 "Type": Water, Fairy type "Ability": Huge Power "Moves Learned": Tackle, Water Gun, Tail Whip, Water Sport, Bubble, Defense Curl, Rollout, Bubble Beam, Aqua Tail
Green Qualification?
But then again, it wasn't easy to find a Pokémon with Blue Qualification. Ning Zhi didn't have a Good Luck Card, either.
Thinking about it that way, Su Yi felt better.
The next moment, he sent out his pink-and-white Flaaffy.
Flaaffy's fluffy pink-and-white wool immediately drew everyone's attention.
It was a Shiny Pokemon!
A flash of greed crossed Ning Zhi's eyes. He felt a twinge of envy that Su Yi had managed to find a Shiny Pokemon in the Spirit Primal Forest.
But so what if it was shiny? What mattered was strength!
"The battle will be three-on-three. It will end when all three Pokémon on either side are unable to battle. Both sides may freely switch Pokémon. Let the battle begin!"
Someone from the Pokémon Center stepped in as the referee.
Before you continue