The Battle Assessment Begins

After spending another five thousand on a batch of Moomoo Milk, Ye Lan checked his account balance. He still had over thirty thousand left, enough for the coming week.

Ye Lan was no longer so worried about money. Tomorrow's assessment offered a prize of fifty thousand for first place, thirty thousand for second, and twenty thousand for third—another way to motivate ordinary students.

Ye Lan was not arrogant enough to assume he would take first place, but he was confident he could make the top three.

After eating the delicious dinner his mother had made, Ye Lan took a hot shower and crawled into bed, exhausted.

While Snivy trained, Ye Lan had hardly been idle. He had practiced throwing Poké Balls and worked on his fitness.

After all, good physical conditioning was essential for a qualified Trainer. In the future, he would often have to travel long distances through the wilderness.

Early the next morning, Ye Lan woke to the feeling of suffocation. When he saw Snivy wrapped around his neck, he nearly passed out again.

"Snivy, don't use Bind on me!"

After a struggle, Ye Lan finally returned a reluctant Snivy to his Poké Ball and hurried to school.

Since today was the battle assessment, all the students had gathered at the training grounds early.

Ye Lan looked over the four class formations and the battle areas marked out around the grounds, then headed toward Class Two.

There were four classes in their senior year, each with around forty students. Only the top twenty could enter the elite class.

More than 160 students were competing for twenty places. The competition was fierce.

"Everyone's more or less here. I'll explain the rules for today's battle assessment."

Principal Liu Qingshan's voice brought the noisy training grounds to an abrupt hush.

"In a moment, you'll be shuffled into ten groups for one-on-one elimination matches. Once the top ten are decided, they'll fight for their rankings. If you don't make the top ten, don't be discouraged. You'll enter a second round of elimination matches for the remaining ten places."

Seeing the solemn looks on the students' faces, Liu Qingshan smiled with satisfaction.

"Very well. The battle assessment begins now!"

Once the Principal finished speaking, the homeroom teachers of the four classes brought out drawing containers and had the students draw lots in turn.

Ye Lan glanced at the slip marked "Field Seven" in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ye Lan, lucky for you, you're on Field Seven! Otherwise, Charmander and I would knock you out in the first round!"

"Char!"

Ye Lan watched Chen Yang, holding a slip for Field Five, laugh wildly alongside Charmander. With a helpless sigh, he headed for Field Seven.

"Huh? Why are Ye Lan and Snivy ignoring us? Fine, we'll make the top ten and show them!"

"Char, char!"

Ye Lan did not turn back to acknowledge the fired-up pair. He knew their plans might not work out.

Just now, he had seen Lin Yan heading toward Field Five with his Charmander...

When Ye Lan reached Field Seven, he looked around. His eyes lit up, and he promptly walked over to an acquaintance for a chat.

"Well, if it isn't Li Wen! What a coincidence. If we end up facing each other later, go easy on me, all right?"

Li Wen shuddered at the sight of Ye Lan's beaming face. Beside him, Machop met Snivy's gaze and quickly hid behind Li Wen.

A few days earlier at the training grounds, they had seen this harmless-looking little snake split a target in two with a single Iron Tail.

Training targets were built to take a beating. Machop did not dare imagine what would happen if that Iron Tail struck him. He would probably go flying right out of the battlefield!

Li Wen was sweating too. He cursed his luck. How had he ended up assigned to the same field as this menace?

In fact, even after failing that Pokémon knowledge assessment, Li Wen had still thought little of Ye Lan. To him, that had only been book knowledge. A Trainer's real strength lay in battle!

Only after seeing Snivy and Charmander fight during battle class had he realized that Ye Lan was not just knowledgeable—he was absurdly strong in battle too!

Even the battle class teacher did not interfere with Ye Lan and Lin Yan's training. During breaks, the teacher even had other students watch their battles.

By now, practically every senior knew that although there were supposedly twenty places in the elite class, the female Trainer with Squirtle, Ye Lan, and Lin Yan had already claimed three of them. That left only seventeen damn places!

"Ahem. Brother Ye, you're joking. I hope you'll give me some pointers later."

Li Wen smiled ingratiatingly, with none of his former swagger. He might bully the weak and fear the strong, and he might be arrogant, but he was not stupid! If he showed off now, Machop would be the one to suffer on the field later!

Ye Lan watched Li Wen leave with a visibly moved Machop, then turned to give Snivy a lesson.

"See? People only respect us when we're strong. We have to keep training hard!"

Snivy nodded in agreement. Then he seemed to realize Ye Lan was lecturing him and turned his head away.

"Snivy."

Ye Lan was used to Snivy's proud little mannerisms by now. He found them rather adorable.

Training was not the only thing Ye Lan worked on with Snivy. He had not neglected the little Pokémon's outlook, either.

During breaks after training, he often described Rayquaza's appearance and power to Snivy. Every time the little fellow heard those tales, his eyes shone, and he trained even harder.

"Class Three student Ye Lan, please report to the side of the field and prepare."

Hearing the announcement, Ye Lan went to the edge of the field. A Poliwag and an Oddish were battling there.

In the end, Oddish's Absorb left Poliwag unable to fight. When their strength was similar, a type advantage became the deciding factor.

When Ye Lan's turn came, his opponent was a dark-skinned boy with a buzz cut. The boy pressed the button on his Poké Ball, and a Pidgey appeared on the field.

The moment the buzz-cut boy saw that his opponent was Ye Lan, his heart sank.

Ye Lan and Lin Yan were already well known at school as "training maniacs." Rumor had it that no matter when anyone went to the training grounds, there was a good chance of finding those two there.

My Pidgey can fly. Hopefully, that'll keep his Pokémon in check.

The buzz-cut boy was working out his tactics when a whistle sounded, followed by the referee's call.

"Battle, begin!"

"Snivy, use Glare, then Iron Tail!"

Ye Lan gave the order without hesitation. He would not underestimate his opponent.

The instant Snivy heard the command, he used Glare. Pidgey, just about to take flight, felt paralysis seize his whole body. A streak of white light struck next, and he lost the ability to fight.

"Pidgey is unable to battle. The winner is Ye Lan!"

As the referee blew his whistle, the buzz-cut boy stared blankly at Ye Lan, who had already left the field. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.