Battle Assessment Begins

After spending another five thousand on a batch of Moomoo Milk, Ye Lan checked his account balance. There was still over thirty thousand left, enough to cover next week's expenses.

Ye Lan was no longer as strapped for cash. Tomorrow's assessment offered a fifty-thousand bonus for first place, thirty thousand for second, and twenty thousand for third—a way to motivate ordinary students as well.

Though Ye Lan wasn't arrogant enough to believe he would definitely take first place, he was still confident about making the top three.

After finishing the delicious dinner his mother had made, Ye Lan took a hot shower and crawled into bed, exhausted from head to toe.

While Snivy trained, Ye Lan hadn't been idle either. He had not only needed to practice throwing Poké Balls, but also work on his physical fitness.

After all, becoming a qualified Trainer required decent physical conditioning. In the future, he would often have to trek long distances through the wilderness.

Early the next morning, Ye Lan woke up feeling suffocated. Seeing Snivy wrapped around his neck, he nearly fainted again.

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

After a round of struggling, Ye Lan finally recalled the reluctant Snivy into its Poké Ball and hurried toward school.

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

Looking at the four formations on the field and the scattered, marked-out battle areas, Ye Lan walked toward Class Two's group.

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

More than 160 people competing for twenty spots—the competition was undeniably fierce.

"Most of you are here now, so I'll go over today's battle assessment rules."

Principal Liu Qingshan's voice instantly silenced the previously noisy training grounds.

"In a moment, you will be mixed up and divided into ten groups for 1v1 elimination matches. Once the top ten have been selected, you will proceed to ranking battles. Students who fail to reach the top ten need not be discouraged. You will enter a second round of elimination matches to compete for the remaining ten spots."

Seeing the solemn expressions on the students' faces, Liu Qingshan smiled in satisfaction.

"Very well. The battle assessment officially begins!"

Once the principal finished speaking, the homeroom teachers of the four classes began carrying around draw buckets for the students to draw lots in turn.

Looking at the slip in his hand marked "Arena 7," Ye Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ye Lan, lucky for you, you're at Arena 7. Otherwise, Charmander and I would've eliminated you in the first round!"

"Char!"

Watching Chen Yang hold his Arena 5 slip and laugh wildly alongside Charmander, Ye Lan sighed helplessly and headed for Arena 7.

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

"Char! Char!"

Ye Lan did not turn around to indulge the fired-up duo behind him, because he knew their hopes would probably be crushed.

Just moments ago, Ye Lan had seen Lin Yan heading toward Arena 5 with his Charmander as well...

When he reached Arena 7, Ye Lan looked around. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately walked over to a familiar face to strike up a conversation.

"Well, if it isn't Young Master Li Wen. What a coincidence. If the two of us meet later, you'll have to go easy on me!"

Seeing Ye Lan's beaming smile, Li Wen suddenly shuddered. After meeting Snivy's gaze, the Machop beside him hurriedly hid behind Li Wen as well.

A few days ago at the training grounds, they had personally witnessed this harmless-looking little snake split a target in half with a single Iron Tail.

The training targets were extremely durable. Machop did not even dare imagine what would happen if that Iron Tail struck its body. It would probably be sent flying right out of the battle arena.

Li Wen was sweating profusely too, cursing his rotten luck. Why had he been assigned to the same arena as this jinx?

In truth, after failing that Pokémon knowledge assessment, Li Wen still hadn't thought much of Ye Lan. To him, that was all textbook knowledge. A Trainer was only truly strong if they were strong in battle!

It was only after seeing Snivy battle Charmander during battle class that he understood Ye Lan not only possessed knowledge, but was absurdly strong in battle too!

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

By now, nearly all the senior students knew that while there were ostensibly twenty elite-class spots, once the female Trainer with Squirtle, Ye Lan, and Lin Yan were accounted for, there were damn well only seventeen spots left!

"Ahem, Brother Ye, you're joking. I hope you'll give me plenty of guidance later."

Li Wen wore a fawning smile, with none of his former arrogance in sight. Li Wen bullied the weak and feared the strong, and he was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid! If he acted tough now, Machop would be the one suffering on the field later!

Watching Li Wen leave with his deeply moved Machop, Ye Lan turned to educate Snivy.

"See that? Only when we're strong will others respect us. We need to keep training hard in the future!"

Snivy nodded in agreement, but then seemed to feel as if Ye Lan had been lecturing it. It promptly turned its head away again.

"Snivy!"

Ye Lan had long grown used to Snivy's tsundere behavior. Now, he found it especially adorable.

Aside from training, Ye Lan had not neglected Snivy's ideological education either.

During breaks after training, he would often describe Rayquaza's strength and appearance to Snivy. Every time the little fellow heard these legends, its eyes would shine as it trained even harder.

"Student Ye Lan from Class Three, please come to the side of the arena and prepare."

Hearing the announcement, Ye Lan walked to the edge of the arena. On the battlefield, a Poliwag and an Oddish were currently battling.

In the end, Poliwag lost its ability to battle under Oddish's Absorb. After all, when there was little difference in strength, type advantage became the decisive factor.

When it was Ye Lan's turn to take the field, his opponent was a dark-skinned boy with a buzz cut. As the boy pressed the switch on his Poké Ball, a Pidgey appeared on the field.

The buzz-cut boy's heart had already gone cold when he saw that his opponent was Ye Lan.

Ye Lan and Lin Yan were already famous throughout the school, having earned the title of "training maniacs." Rumor had it that no matter when one visited the training grounds, there was a high chance of seeing those two.

My Pidgey can fly. Maybe it can restrain his Pokémon.

The buzz-cut boy considered his tactics. With a whistle, the referee's command rang out.

"Battle begin!"

"Snivy, use Glare, then follow up with Iron Tail!"

The instant the match began, Ye Lan gave the order without any hesitation. He would not underestimate his opponent.

The moment Snivy heard Ye Lan's command, it unleashed Glare. Just as Pidgey was about to take off, its entire body went numb. A flash of white light followed, and it instantly lost its ability to battle.

"Pidgey has lost its ability to battle. The winner is Ye Lan!"

As the referee blew the whistle, the buzz-cut youth stared blankly at Ye Lan, who had already left the battle arena. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.