[Ding! One draw chance deducted. The Big Wheel is starting...]
Under Su Yi's watchful gaze, the pointer began spinning again.
It passed through the Gold Coins, Card, Scroll Area, and Question Mark Area in turn, finally stopping once more on the Card Area.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've won a Good Luck Card!]
Good Luck Card description: For the next twenty-four hours, the target living being that uses this card will enjoy good luck.
A Good Luck Card?
It seemed pretty useful.
Su Yi rubbed his chin and nodded.
"Keep going, keep going. There's one last chance. Use it!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've won a Size Control Card!]
Size Control Card description: Use this card on a designated target living being to control its own size.
Restrictions: Can only be used on Pokémon. The target cannot exceed its original maximum size or shrink below one meter.
Whoa...
That meant if Groudon used this card, it would be able to control its size at will, from its original size all the way down to one meter!
Nice!
Su Yi suppressed his excitement and focused on the system's Spatial Storage. Inside it was a reward called Mysterious Item.
[Mysterious Item: A mysterious object that might contain anything]
It was something like a treasure chest.
Open!
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've obtained a Shining Stone!]
An Evolution Stone—a Shining Stone.
Su Xiyan's Roserade had been waiting for a Shining Stone to evolve. This was perfect.
Next, he'd use the Size Control Card on Groudon!
"System, use the Size Control Card on the designated target, Groudon!"
Because Groudon was so huge, it couldn't come out and help Su Yi with anything right now.
Groudon had been bluffed by Su Yi, but if it couldn't come out at all, wouldn't Su Yi be screwed?
[Ding! Designated target: Groudon. Size Control Card used successfully!]
At the system's prompt, Su Yi quickly focused on the Master Ball the system had given him.
Inside the Master Ball, Groudon clearly felt a peculiar power arise within its body.
Then Groudon heard Su Yi's voice from inside the ball.
"How is it, Groudon? Try controlling your size. Shrink down as much as you can, then suppress all your aura. I'm going to let you out."
Su Yi spoke to the Master Ball.
After a while, the Master Ball slowly bobbed up and down, as if nodding.
Su Yi looked around. To be safe, he walked out of the cave.
He didn't see any Wild Pokémon nearby.
"Come on out, Groudon!"
Bang!!!
A grayish-red figure, one meter tall, appeared. It was Groudon.
But the moment it appeared, Groudon's feet hit the ground, and the whole area shook. The ground cracked open!
"Come back..."
Su Yi recalled it again...
This pocket-sized Groudon wasn't going to work...
Groudon rocked the Master Ball twice, seeming a little aggrieved.
There was nothing for it. Su Yi had forgotten how heavy Groudon was...
Its size could change, but its weight couldn't...
It was like compressing ten cubic meters of something into one cubic meter. Its volume had changed, but its weight hadn't...
The ground couldn't bear Groudon's weight...
"Don't worry, Groudon. You can control your size now. You never thought of that before, did you? Soon, you'll be able to fly."
Su Yi consoled Groudon, sneaking in a little more bluffing. Groudon seemed to think he made sense. It could control its size at will—why hadn't it ever thought of that before?
"You're a Ground Type. Sense your surroundings. Are there any decent Ground-type Pokémon in the outer area of Spirit Primal Forest?"
He had a Creator of the Land. He might as well put it to use!
From inside the Master Ball, Groudon pointed in a direction.
Su Yi focused on the system, designated himself as the target, and used the Good Luck Card.
With Groudon's help over the next twenty-four hours, what Pokémon would he encounter?
Right, first he'd improve Torchic's aptitude.
"Come here, Torchic."
Su Yi called Torchic over.
"Chim?"
Torchic looked up at its Trainer in confusion.
"Good. Don't move."
He crouched and gently stroked Torchic with his palm. For a more balanced development, Su Yi focused on the system, designated Torchic as the target, and used the Qualification Upgrade Card.
He should be able to draw another Qualification Upgrade Card later. Then he could use it on Frogadier or one of his other Pokémon.
As for Groudon, it was a legendary Pokémon known as the "Creator of the Land." Its aptitude was naturally top-tier.
[Ding! Qualification Upgrade Card used successfully. Torchic's aptitude has increased from Blue Elite to Purple Rare!]
"Pokémon": Torchic "Aptitude": Purple "Level": Lv. 14 "Type": Fire "Ability": Blaze "Moves": Scratch, Growl, Ember, Sand Attack, Peck, Fire Spin
Torchic's aptitude had changed from blue to purple, and it had awakened a move it could only learn after evolving: Fire Spin!
If Torchic had known Fire Spin when they fought those guys earlier, it could've finished them off in one move.
After all, it covered a fairly wide area.
With Frogadier and Torchic, now able to use Fire Spin, in tow, Su Yi headed in the direction Groudon had indicated.
National Senior-Year Graduate Pokémon Trial Ranking!
Everyone could only take their Starter Pokémon into the trial, which made the Trial Ranking especially meaningful.
Winning a Pokémon Battle against another examinee earned ten points.
Catching a Wild Pokémon earned twenty points.
Only a few hours had passed so far.
Some examinees hadn't even figured out where they were. They'd gotten their Starter Pokémon and were still trying to get used to them.
They'd have plenty to do over the next month.
Meanwhile, everyone outside was searching for one person's name.
Su Yi—the one who'd scored full marks on the national senior-year graduation knowledge exam. How many points had he earned?
How was his practical ability?
Trial Ranking, fifteenth place: Su Yi, 70 points.
What was going on?
The number-one scorer in the national Knowledge Ranking, with full marks on the Pokémon Exam Paper, had only earned that many points in the Trial Ranking?
Questions filled countless people's minds.
They all felt something was off.
"What's going on with Su Yi? He's only got 70 points. Zhang Kuang, who's second on the Knowledge Ranking, already has points—twice as many as Su Yi!"
"Zhang Kuang is the young master of the Zhang Family in Shangjing City. The Zhang Family ranks among the country's top clans. It's only natural for him to have that many points."
"Heh, with things turning out like this, Su Yi's Knowledge Ranking score looks pretty suspicious. I heard his older sister is his homeroom teacher. Could there be something shady going on?"
"Ugh, are you stupid? No one—not even a Champion—can find out the contents of the Pokémon Exam Paper in advance. If you're not good enough, don't be jealous. His older sister is an Elite Four member, so he's been immersed in Pokémon knowledge since childhood. He's had better access to Pokémon and better conditions than we have. Of course he knows more."
"..."
Countless examinees and scions of powerful families were discussing Su Yi's Knowledge Ranking and Trial Ranking results.
Most people felt that Su Yi had failed to turn his high Knowledge Ranking into practical strength in the Trial Ranking, and they were deeply disappointed.
The country's top Pokémon universities were also keeping an eye on Su Yi.
A Pokémon university academy brought together all kinds of Trainers.
As soon as the Trial Ranking began, the presidents of various universities had organized teams to study the rankings.
The country's top Pokémon universities immediately set their sights on the top thousand Trainers.
Many of those thousand were scions of powerful families. Their high rankings came from advantages other examinees didn't have.
Their potential had been developed long ago.
The Trainers without powerful family backgrounds were the universities' real targets!
Jingtian Academy.
Among the country's Pokémon universities, Jingtian Academy seemed to be in the lead.
The president of Jingtian Academy had personally organized a group of teachers to handle recruitment for this senior-year graduation Trainer exam.
He had personally selected a group of examinees with strong overall scores.
Su Yi was at the very top of the list.
"Su Yi, eighteen years old. He ranks first overall on the Knowledge Ranking. His older sister, Su Xiyan, is an Elite Four member. She's currently stationed at South Lake Province First Spirit Academy at the request of the South Lake Province Pokémon League."
The projector displayed a photo of Su Yi.
"Although Su Xiyan is an Elite Four member, the family isn't part of any powerful clan. Their parents are ordinary Trainers. So if Su Yi's ranking stays in the top hundred on the Trial Ranking, we must recruit him into Jingtian Academy at any cost."
Before you continue