Chapter Thirty-Three: Midterm Exams

Cheng Cheng had already been at the Breeder Academy for two months, and he had completed the second assigned task.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing Task Two. Now beginning data collection on the host's Pokémon. Collecting... Collection complete. Now comparing before-and-after data for the host’s Pokémon. Comparing..."

Over the past two months, aside from practicing meditation during classes, Cheng Cheng spent most of his time nurturing his Pokémon. He was confident that this time, he would achieve a better score on the task.

"Ding, the data is as follows:
Chimecho, nurture score: 60.
Abra, nurture score: 50.
Gothita, nurture score: 70.
Natu, nurture score: 60.
Slowpoke, nurture score: 80.
Spoink, nurture score: 60.
Ralts, nurture score: 80.
Lunatone, nurture score: 30.
Mr. Mime, nurture score: 70.
Sigilyph, nurture score: 20.
Total: 580 points.
Congratulations to the host for earning 580 achievement points.

Sigilyph had only recently hatched, so there hadn’t been much time to nurture it, and it couldn’t be overtrained; it needed time to grow on its own. As for Lunatone, Cheng Cheng truly couldn’t find many ways to improve it, and its level was already quite high.

Cheng Cheng checked his stats again:

Gender: Male
Age: 15
Achievement Points: 700
Psychic Ability Level: Bud
Bound Pokémon: Chimecho, Ralts, Abra, Gothita, Natu, Spoink, Slowpoke, Mr. Mime, Lunatone, Sigilyph.

Now, Cheng Cheng only had 700 achievement points left; nurturing these Pokémon had cost him quite a lot.

In another five days, the Breeder Academy’s midterm exams would be held. Cheng Cheng needed to review thoroughly, otherwise he might not even pass the midterms, let alone take the exam for the Junior Pokémon Breeder qualification.

Of course, Muzi was just as troubled as Cheng Cheng. She hadn’t paid much attention in class either, though she was doing a bit better than him.

This exam consisted of seven subjects, with a total of fourteen tests. Each subject was divided into a theoretical and a practical part.

Cheng Cheng wasn’t worried about the practical part, but the theory was his headache. Fortunately, there were five days left to cram, and maybe he could pull off a decent score.

For the next few days, Cheng Cheng was constantly reviewing, rarely tending to his Pokémon. The five days flew by, and the exams officially began.

The exams spanned seven days. Every morning was dedicated to theory tests, with practical exams in the afternoons.

The first day was the Pokémon Encyclopedia course. The morning was the theory exam—nothing much to say about that. In the afternoon, it was practical identification of various Pokémon and their data. While Cheng Cheng wasn't skilled, he could cheat! Muzi, on the other hand, performed quite well. If not for his system, Cheng Cheng might not have outdone her.

The second day was the Pokémon Language course. Cheng Cheng nearly handed in a blank exam in the morning theory, but in the afternoon, he easily solved the Pokémon’s problems with his psychic powers. To his surprise, Muzi managed just as easily—could she be the real protagonist?

The third day was the Pokémon Food and Pokéblock Making exam. The fourth day tested Pokémon Diseases and Treatment. The fifth day was for Daily Management. The sixth day was Pokémon Appearance and Personality Nurturing. The final day was Pokémon Battles.

For the theory exam that morning, Cheng Cheng filled out his answers based on his own battling style, unsure if they were correct. The afternoon brought the practical battle exam, which brought its own challenges—Pokémon for the test were assigned randomly. Cheng Cheng requested to use his Psychic-type Pokémon, but was refused, which left him rather annoyed.

"Teacher, may I ask, what is the purpose of learning to battle with Pokémon?"

"Naturally, it’s to better deploy Pokémon in combat."

"If that’s so, what does it matter what type of Pokémon we use? The Four Elite Champions each specialize in a single type. They mostly use Pokémon of the same type. I do the same, using only Psychic-types, so I’d like to use my own in the battle assessment."

"If you can’t understand other Pokémon, how can you be a better battler?"

"Teacher, understanding other Pokémon doesn’t necessarily require battling them. As long as you know each Pokémon’s level, abilities, and all their moves, it’s fine even if you’ve never used them before."

"You can recognize all of that?"

"Of course, for any Pokémon."

"Very well, I’ll bring out a Pokémon, and if you can list all its moves correctly, you may use your own Pokémon."

"No problem," Cheng Cheng agreed.

"Take a look at this one."

The teacher released a Pokémon, and Cheng Cheng read its data:

Pokémon: Crobat
Type: Poison, Flying
Level: 34
Rank: Deep Yellow
Rarity: Common
Ability: Inner Focus
Held Item: Toxic Orb
Moves: Uproar, Leech Life, Astonish, Supersonic, Bite, Wing Attack, Confuse Ray.
Learned Moves: Toxic, Hidden Power

Cheng Cheng deliberately paused for a moment before saying slowly, "It should have Uproar, Leech Life, Astonish, Supersonic, Bite, then Wing Attack, and Confuse Ray."

"Is that all?"

"May I touch it?"

"You may."

Cheng Cheng walked over and gently stroked Crobat.

"It should also have Toxic and Hidden Power."

When Cheng Cheng mentioned the last two moves, the teacher was visibly surprised. Those moves weren’t Crobat’s natural ones but had been taught via TM.

In truth, this was a pitfall for Cheng Cheng—normally, no one could know which TMs a Pokémon had learned. Luckily, Cheng Cheng had his system, or he’d have been caught out.

"Since you answered correctly, you may use your own Pokémon, but don’t use anything over-leveled—that wouldn’t be fair."

"Thank you, teacher."

With the teacher’s approval to use his Psychic-types, Cheng Cheng was elated. As long as Muzi didn’t use her own Pokémon against him, he was sure to win.

"Now, we begin the Pokémon battle assessment. Each pair of students will randomly select a Poké Ball, then battle. The teachers will grade you based on your battle performance—even if you lose, you can still earn high marks. So, make sure to use all the techniques you’ve learned."

"First match: Xiaomao vs. Xiaotian."

...

"Next, second match: Muzi vs. Naliang."

"Watch closely."

"Good luck."

Muzi picked a Poké Ball and walked onto the battle platform.

"Come out, Pokémon!"

The Pokémon assigned for this round were much stronger than in the previous practical. Muzi drew a Shiftry, while her opponent had a Grovyle.

Type-wise, they were fairly matched, but fortunately, Cheng Cheng didn't face Muzi—Shiftry’s Dark type would have been a huge problem for him.

The match ended quickly; both Pokémon were close in strength, but Muzi was no ordinary person.

"Next match: Cheng Cheng vs. Tianming."

Tianming picked a Poké Ball and sent out his Pokémon. Cheng Cheng instantly received its data:

Pokémon: Ludicolo
Type: Water, Grass
Level: 28
Rank: Yellow
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Rain Dish
Hidden Ability: Own Tempo
Moves: Astonish, Growl, Absorb, Nature Power, Fake Out, Fury Swipes, Water Sport, Bubble Beam.

From the data, Ludicolo hadn’t been raised very well; it had evolved too early.

After reviewing the data, Cheng Cheng decided which Pokémon to use.

"Come out, Slowpoke."

Pokémon: Slowpoke
Type: Water, Psychic
Level: 25
Rank: Blue
Rarity: Rare
Ability: Oblivious
Hidden Ability: Regenerator
Held Item: None
Moves: Curse, Growl, Water Gun, Confusion, Bind, Headbutt.

Though Slowpoke’s level was lower, Cheng Cheng was confident he wouldn’t lose. If he’d used the higher-level Chimecho or Mr. Mime, it would have been unfair.

"Begin!"

"Slowpoke, use Curse."

Cheng Cheng had Slowpoke use Curse to boost its Attack and Defense.

"Ludicolo, use Nature Power!"

Slowpoke was hit by Nature Power. Still, with its high defense, it wasn’t much of a problem.

"Slowpoke, use Water Gun."

The Water Gun shot out, hitting Ludicolo.

"Don’t you know Ludicolo is both Grass and Water type? Your move is useless!"

Of course Cheng Cheng knew, but so what?

"Ludicolo, use Astonish!"

Astonish seemed to have no effect on Slowpoke—its intelligence was too low to be startled.

"Slowpoke, use Water Gun again."

"I told you, Water Gun is pointless. Ludicolo, use Fury Swipes!"

Ludicolo lumbered over to attack, but as it approached, Cheng Cheng acted.

"Slowpoke, use Headbutt!"

Slowpoke was slow, but managed to land a Headbutt, interrupting Fury Swipes.

"Now, use Bind!"

Slowpoke wrapped itself around Ludicolo, who tried frantically to shake him off, but couldn’t.

"Slowpoke, keep using Water Gun."

The Water Gun soaked Ludicolo, but did little damage.

"Ludicolo, throw it off!"

At last, Ludicolo broke free.

"Slowpoke, use Water Gun again."

"If you like water so much, let’s see how you handle this. Ludicolo, use Bubble Beam!"

"Now! Slowpoke, use Confusion!"

Slowpoke’s Confusion gathered up all the water on the ground, forming a swirling vortex, and sucked in the Bubble Beam as well.

"Attack now!"

Slowpoke controlled the vortex of water and bubbles, smashing it into Ludicolo, trapping it inside. This move was inspired by Dragonair’s Twister—while water moves might have little effect on Ludicolo, the sustained assault still wore it down.

"One last hit—Headbutt!"

Slowpoke charged forward, landing a Headbutt that knocked Ludicolo out of the fight.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle. The winner is Slowpoke!"

The teacher gave Cheng Cheng a long look before marking his score and moving on to the next match.

Thus, the final subject exam ended, and everyone earned half a month’s vacation. Though the courses were tedious, the school’s holiday policy was quite generous. It was just in time, too—Cheng Cheng was set to watch Ash compete in the Hoenn League.

Grand Spectacle, here I come.