"Numbers 006 through 010..."
Each examiner led five candidates to the first round of assessments.
Roy was number 24. Before long, he met his examiner.
The moment he saw this familiar examiner, Roy wondered if he had been given special treatment. "Senior Lin Qing."
"Ah..." Lin Qing was equally surprised. She had never expected Roy to take this year's assessment. Wasn't this far too soon?
"Ahem. Please call me Examiner Lin now."
Noticing the curious, gossiping looks from the other candidates, Lin Qing promptly established her position.
Led by Lin Qing, the group arrived at the battle arena behind the Trainer Association. After she explained the rules, the assessment began immediately.
They proceeded according to candidate number, starting with number 21.
Unlike a normal competitive match, the two sides did not throw out their Poké Balls at the same time.
The candidate revealed their combat Pokémon first, then the examiner made a targeted selection afterward.
This also ensured fairness in the later tests... Otherwise, if the first candidate to battle figured out the examiner's whole lineup, wouldn't the later candidates have an advantage?
What was more, as candidates 22 and 23 took the field, Roy began to see the pattern.
The candidate groupings had been deliberately arranged as well.
Senior Lin Qing was a Trainer specializing in Fire-types, yet none of the first three candidates had an attribute advantage against her.
Two of them were even at a severe disadvantage against Fire-types.
As for Roy...
His main lineup covered multiple attributes, so there was no absolute attribute counterrelationship.
But overall, he was weak to fire.
Lucario, Metagross, and Ninetales—three members of his main lineup all had Fire as a weakness.
After candidate 23 finished, it was Roy's turn.
Naturally, there was a half-hour break in between to let Lin Qing's