Time flew by. Rustboro Academy's final exams ended, and the students were about to welcome summer vacation.
For Young Master Mao and his three young students, however, their test had only just begun.
Fortunately, Brendan hadn't dropped the ball. With exactly 60 points, he had smoothly scraped past the passing mark for his academic classes...
Next, all Young Master Mao had to do was sweep the Inter-School Exchange Tournament, and he could retire with a job well done.
He had to admit, he had earned this money with a clear conscience. Just how many brain cells had he burned through?
His three personal students hadn't disappointed Gary, either. Both Kimarō and Wally had already attained strength far beyond that of their peers.
As for Brendan, that went without saying. He was timid in academic exams, but when it came to rolling up his sleeves for a fight, he pulled no punches.
Even Paul, who had started his journey earlier, could lose to him during training if he let his guard slip.
"The exchange tournament is in a week, at the Driftveil International Arena in the Unova Region.
"I was originally going to come along, but the Gym has had so many challengers lately that I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to lead the team yourself," Roxanne said apologetically over the phone.
"Ah... no problem. I had to make a trip there anyway. Just one question: the school will reimburse the travel expenses, right?" Young Master Mao asked uncertainly.
"Of course. The school will cover all expenses during the tournament," Roxanne immediately explained.
Then the kindhearted young woman cautiously added, "Um... for the teachers' competition, it would be better not to use Legendary Pokémon... It's a friendly tournament, after all. Too much bloodshed wouldn't help foster unity..."
Gary was speechless.