Wallace

Clearly, the result had shocked Terrance and Jun. A score of 98 was close to perfect; the points had probably been lost over a minor flaw in an essay answer, one so small it could almost be ignored.

Especially when they saw how old he was: a green-haired boy in a sailor suit, about fifteen or sixteen. He was bowing to everyone with a smile, one hand held elegantly behind his back.

At the same time, he said, "It's a tremendous honor-"

"So that's Wallace..." Terrance glanced at Wallace, who was also quite young, his thoughts stirring. Wallace looked somewhat familiar, as though he were an important figure in the original story, but Terrance couldn't quite remember. Beside him, Jun looked a little dejected.

"Hahaha, don't worry about it. By the time you reach his age, you might even be intermediate Breeders." Katsumune ruffled Jun's hair, unconcerned.

As he saw it, Jun and Terrance's talent wouldn't lose its value just because they were so far behind the person in first place.

"Besides, that boy is no ordinary youngster." Master Katsumune looked thoughtfully at the bowing boy.

"Teacher, do you know him?" Jun raised her head.

"You could say I know him, more or less. Wallace is the Gym Trainer of Sootopolis City's official Gym, the Sootopolis Gym. He only recently took over from his master, Juan. He's quite an impressive boy. His master specializes in Water-types and is also an outstanding Coordinator, so Wallace has shown remarkable talent both as a Coordinator and with Water-type Pokémon. He's also been called a newcomer 'close to Elite Four level.'" After thinking back, Katsumune introduced him to the two children.

"He's a Gym Trainer and a Coordinator? Does that mean being a Breeder isn't his main profession?!" Katsumune's explanation caught Terrance off guard, leaving him with a somewhat strange expression.

"He's a Coordinator too. Interesting..." Though Terrance was surprised as he watched Wallace's dazzling figure, he didn't feel inclined to look up to him.

Whether in his skill as a Breeder or as a Coordinator, Wallace intrigued him. He seemed like a good person to try to catch up to.

"Feeling the pressure?" Master Katsumune asked with a laugh.

"Close to Elite Four level? That's amazing." Jun's attention had settled on that remark. She understood very well what being a member of the Elite Four meant.

The Elite Four were the four strongest Trainers in each region's Pokémon League. In theory, their strength was second only to the League Champion's, but in fact, quite a few Trainers were no weaker than the Elite Four. Even so, the Elite Four stationed in each regional League were sure to have their own exceptional qualities.

Every member of the Elite Four counted among the Pokémon League's top combat forces and was a prominent figure in society. If one of them wanted to support a town, it would be easy, let alone a small orphanage like Qinggu House.

Yet Wallace had been deemed close to Elite Four level at only fifteen or sixteen. His talent spoke for itself; perhaps being a Breeder was merely a secondary pursuit for him.

"He's very strong, you know. If you want to surpass him, you'll have to work hard." Jun came from a prominent family and understood far more than Terrance about what it meant to be a member of the Elite Four.

"Of course." Terrance smiled. He had a feeling that Wallace would become a formidable rival in his quest to dominate Pokémon Contests, perhaps even the greatest threat.

The fact that Wallace was very likely an important figure in the original story made him take him all the more seriously.

Terrance regretted not making time to revisit the classic from his childhood, with the result that he had forgotten many of the plot details completely.

"Look, they've announced the subject of the second test." Someone pointed at the screen. After the rankings were announced, the subject of the second test appeared.

As usual, the second test was generally practical, with only one task, also graded out of a hundred.

Those who passed the first written test generally wouldn't score too low on the second, but to officially pass the junior Breeder assessment, they needed an excellent score of 85 on the second test.

Task: Emergency rescue!

"Are you going to wait here, or...?" Master Katsumune asked. The second test would begin in an hour. Its duration depended on the difficulty of the task, but it generally didn't exceed an hour. For emergency rescue, it might be even shorter.

"Let's wait here," Terrance said. He had nothing to prepare for the second test. What could he do in such a short time? Besides, he didn't think emergency rescue would pose a problem for him.

Jun nodded as well.

"In that case, I'll head back and wait for your good news." Master Katsumune smiled, said goodbye to them, and turned to head back and wait.

The results would be announced immediately after the second test ended, so the junior Breeder assessment was completed in a single day.

"Look, the people who passed are already heading over there." Jun tugged at Terrance and pointed to the crowd.

"Then let's go too," Terrance said.

The two of them then made their way through the crowd to join those who had passed. Clearly, this was where news of the second test had first been received, so most of those who had passed had gathered here.

They were now gathered around Wallace, praising him. A nearly perfect score of 98 was simply incredible. In past assessments, very few people had even scored 90.

"It was just a coincidence."

Wallace answered their praise unhurriedly, looking completely at ease.

"This guy acts a little strange," someone remarked.

But someone else immediately countered, "What do you know? Lord Wallace is known as the rising star of Coordinators. He's a genius Coordinator who embodies both splendor and elegance!"

Some people knew Wallace's background and began sharing what they knew.

"He's very popular." Jun wasn't particularly surprised by the sight.

"Mm." Terrance murmured his agreement, then suddenly noticed Wallace looking their way and walking toward them.

"You must be Miss Nurse Joy Jun and Mr. Terrance." Wallace bowed politely in greeting and smiled.

Wallace's sudden greeting startled Terrance and Jun, but they returned it politely. Jun's features were quite distinctive, and the two of them were the youngest people there, so they weren't hard to recognize.

Wallace had evidently looked into them.

"I'd heard there were two young examinees this time, but I didn't expect it to be true..." Wallace looked at the two youngsters in wonder, also greatly surprised by their results.

Even with all the accolades surrounding Wallace, he couldn't deny that becoming a junior Breeder at ten seemed like a miracle.