Ridiculous Final Exam Questions

"Can't touch Pokémon? Wasn't she fine just now... Could she have some kind of psychological trauma?"

After hearing Selene and the others, Xingye immediately thought of that. Then, all of Lillie's previous behavior seemed understandable.

She liked Pokémon but couldn't touch them, so she could only substitute them with Pokémon plushies. That was why she had worn that expression while clawing for stuffed toys.

"Gengar?"

The little Gengar didn't understand why she had suddenly become like this, and Xingye picked it up.

Only then did Lillie finally snap out of it. Clutching her chest, she looked as though she had just survived a fright. At that moment, she resembled a frail young lady, making people feel sympathy for her and want to protect her.

"Um... sorry. I didn't know you had this thing about being afraid of Pokémon..."

How could Xingye have known beforehand? He had simply seen that she didn't have any Pokémon and liked plushies, so he had sympathetically let her hold little Gengar for a moment. He had no other intentions at all.

But upon hearing that, Lillie subconsciously took a step back to keep her distance from Gengar. Then she looked away and forcefully explained, "I just consciously... choose to avoid Pokémon... I'm not afraid of them, don't get that wrong..."

After saying that, she returned to her seat and lay facedown on her desk. The slightly chilly sea breeze drifted in through the window beside her, making her loose golden hair shimmer softly as it swayed in the wind.

The classroom fell silent. Every other student's gaze landed on Xingye at the same time. No one looked angry; they simply watched him in silence.

He had never cared much about what others thought. If he bullied someone, then he bullied them. But this feeling was simply too uncomfortable.

"Hey, why do I feel guilty? I didn't bully her, did I..."

"Gengar..."

Xingye didn't understand, and Gengar, held in his arms, understood even less. They both felt as if they had done something wrong, even though they apparently hadn't done anything at all.

Fortunately, the class bell rang at that moment. As Professor Kukui walked in from outside, the strange atmosphere in the classroom gradually dispersed.

"..."

Xingye temporarily put what had just happened out of his mind. Lillie, sitting in front of him, also sat up, but he couldn't see her expression from behind. Just looking at her back, though, he could tell she wasn't feeling well...

"Two days without seeing you, and everyone's still so lively. Though it seems someone went and caused trouble again, bullying little kids and all that. We'll leave that aside for now..."

Professor Kukui glanced at Xingye's seat. It was merely a reminder—the school already knew about the matter, but Xingye didn't need to worry about it.

Then he continued, "Winter break starts this Friday. Whether you want to take part in Royal Battles during the break or train your Pokémon, that's not something I can control. Just stay safe. What I need to talk about now is the final exam!"

"..."

The moment he said that, everyone listened attentively. Only Xingye was instantly filled with black question marks. What was a final exam? Why did that word feel so familiar? Was a term that had died years ago suddenly coming back to attack him?!

As he wondered, Professor Kukui continued, "If you fail, you'll need to apply for a makeup exam next year. This concerns your graduation three years from now. Of course, students who study seriously every day don't need to worry about that. But if someone hasn't studied for three years, then even if they skipped grades and classes, they'll still need to make up those lessons. Work hard."

The meaning was obvious. That had been directed at a certain someone. Coast through three years? Impossible. If he dared fail, he wouldn't be allowed to graduate. Simple as that—he was being directly targeted.

"???"

Xingye spread his hands, his face full of question marks. He had spent nearly the past two months sleeping and hadn't studied at all. With only a few days left, even cramming would be too late!

Retribution had arrived, and there was no stopping it. Slack off, slack off, slack off, and in the end, fail everything. He didn't even know how many subjects there were, let alone what would be on the exams. There should be battling, right?

"Boss Slowking, save me!"

He could only rely on his talent to speed up his studies now. With his understanding of Pokémon, it probably wouldn't take too long, but having to retake the exams from the previous three years—that was the truly fatal part.

Time was of the essence. He couldn't be bothered listening to Professor Kukui any longer. There wasn't much time, so he should pull out all the books and look through them first.

"Gengar?"

Little Gengar lay on the desk with its tail raised, curiously looking along with him. This was easily the most unique scene in the entire class...

Although the incident with Lillie had happened, perhaps because the final exams were approaching, no one in class paid attention to Xingye. Everything remained as usual, including Odd Jobs' business.

He had recently been busy studying and had no time to deal with much else. Winter break was almost here anyway; whatever it was could wait until then.

Still, Gengar's punching practice had been arranged. The books explained how to help Pokémon learn certain moves—using particular materials or assistance from other Pokémon could help them comprehend the moves faster.

Cyclizar was more than happy to serve as a punching bag. Since Gengar couldn't hurt it anyway, it let Gengar's soft little fists land on its body, thoroughly spoiling it.

Finally, Thursday arrived in the blink of an eye!

From eavesdropping on his classmates' conversations, Xingye learned that today's exam covered Pokémon breeding and written tests. Tomorrow would be team battles, graded by teachers from other classes, where they would have to use everything they had learned this semester.

The atmosphere was different from usual as soon as he entered the classroom. Everyone was rather quiet. Some looked nervous, some confident, and some were still secretly cramming.

Xingye returned to his seat with Gengar in his arms. As he passed by, he discovered that Lillie was still seriously studying and hadn't even noticed him walking past.

"Ha, poor thing..."

He didn't know what to say. She had to study so much theoretical knowledge about Pokémon, and she clearly loved Pokémon deeply, yet because of some unknown psychological trauma, she couldn't touch them.

How should he put it? It was like his previous life. He had called himself a Pokémon scholar who understood Pokémon extremely well and loved them dearly, yet he could only stare blankly at screens, plushies, and figurines.

That was why Xingye sympathized with her. And his situation had at least been better, because Pokémon truly hadn't existed in that world. But in this world, they were right before her eyes. That was the real torment.

"Gengar..."

Gengar was also looking at Lillie. It still cared deeply about what had happened last time and felt that it was because of itself that she had such a stress reaction...

After waiting quietly for a while, a teacher from the neighboring class entered as the proctor, accompanied by two Gumshoos helping supervise the exam. The teacher announced that everyone was to put away their Pokémon and phones, and that the exam was about to begin.

With no choice, Gengar could only go play with Cyclizar. It really liked quietly listening to class here, but there was nothing to be done.

Xingye quietly waited for the test paper. He had heard it would be a comprehensive exam, but in the next instant, a blue projection-like display suddenly appeared on his desk. It told him to touch it with his Trainer ID, then scan his face to confirm his examinee information.

"This desk is high-tech too?"

He was genuinely surprised. This was the only Pokémon School in the Alola Region, after all. How could it possibly be ordinary, even if there were indeed very few students?

After confirming his information, exam questions began appearing on the screen. It felt a little like answering online course questions, only more advanced. Unfortunately, Rotom Phone couldn't use many functions in panel mode, or he could have searched up the answers right there...

"Let me take a look first. Damn, there are a thousand questions... I've only studied for a few days, but as long as I pass, it should be fine."

Xingye was quite confident about this. With so many questions, most of them naturally had to be multiple-choice, so there really wasn't much to worry about. He had thought it would be difficult.

"Let's look at the first question..."

〔In a wild mountain forest environment, when Nidoking and Nidoqueen enter mating season, what method does Nidoking generally use to resolve the situation? (1 point)〕

〔A. Court her directly, B. Slowly develop a romantic relationship first, C. Don't think about it—just force himself on her, run after Nidoqueen lays the eggs, D. Nidoqueen is too terrifying, so go back and find a Ditto instead〕

"???"

A devastating opening question. Xingye froze on the spot. Was this kind of question really okay? And how was he supposed to choose? Every option felt correct! What class even taught this kind of knowledge?

The very first question was one he couldn't answer. Without hesitation, he skipped it. It was only one point; if he lost it, he lost it. Next question!

〔As everyone knows, the heat and smoke released from Torkoal's shell are highly suitable for barbecue and making smoked foods, making it a great camping helper. Which of the following ingredients produces smoked food with the best energy-replenishing effect when prepared by Torkoal? (1 point)〕

〔A. Sitrus Berry, B. Seedot, C. Slowpoke tail, D. Kyogre〕

"???"