Pokémon: Hard work pays off, moves can be upgraded infinitely.

"Beep-- The Level 1 Pro Trainer Certificate Examination has begun. The rules for the battle examination are as follows."

As Master Hou pressed a button, a small, spherical robot with a propeller on its head slowly flew out and hovered on one side of the battlefield.

"A total of three Pokémon are required for each battle. Switching Pokémon is not allowed during the battle. You are not allowed to use moves that allow you to switch Pokémon or force your opponent to switch Pokémon. You must switch Pokémon after each battle..."

The robot referee rattled off a whole bunch of things.

But apart from the first few points, the rest are basically the same as Pokémon battles in official competitions.

"The rules have been explained. If you have any questions, please reply with '1'. If you understand, please say 'I'm ready!'"

Am I SpongeBob SquarePants?

Mu Yun was speechless, but still honestly replied, "I'm ready."

"Beep beep-- The person being assessed is ready. Please release the sprite first!"

"Go, Iwadono Ikani!"

Master Hou flicked his wrist at his waist, and a Poké Ball was quickly thrown out.

Crabtree is a bug-type Pokémon that resembles a hermit crab.

As for its dwelling place, it is a large, square rock that it has cultivated itself.

It's a Pokémon with excellent physical defense but relatively slow movement speed.

"Level 39, peak professional level..."

Mu Yun glanced at the Crab Palace panel and could only describe it with one word—utterly unremarkable!

No level, no potential, no bonuses – a truly "three-no" sprite.

But that's normal. Who with real ability would be a Level 1 examiner in a trainer association in such a small place?

"Shin-chan, it's your turn now."

Since the opponent was only a professional-level opponent, Mu Yun did not release Xiao Du, who was at the overlord level, to bully him.

Let's just let Shin-chan do it, and see the effect of Dark Strike while we're at it.

The rock-dwelling crab has high defense and a thick shell, making it very suitable for experiments.

"Magical Masked Meow? And a starter Pokémon at that? But doesn't this kid know that Crabtree & Evelynn is a counter to physical attackers?"

Master Hou frowned slightly, his opinion of Mu Yun dropping a few points.

The reason why the examiner is allowed to release the Pokémon first during the battle is to give the examinee the advantage of making a second-turn judgment.

Unexpectedly, this kid has all the skills of the three top families, but his knowledge is lacking!

Or perhaps, it's simply because there's only this one Pokémon?

Considering Mu Yun's age, Master Hou felt it was not impossible.

"Beep beep-- Both Pokémon are in position, the assessment begins!"

The robot referee didn't care about all that. After detecting that both elves were in place, it faithfully performed its functions as a referee and camera.

"The one being assessed goes first, come on..."

Master Hou was just about to explain the unspoken rules of the assessment as usual when the Magic Masked Cat suddenly rushed over without waiting for the trainer's command.

"Well, another one who doesn't follow orders. These new recruits these days... holy crap!!"

Before Master Hou could finish criticizing himself, he saw his own Rock Palace Crab fly away with a bang, like a small pebble on the roadside.

His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open, as if he couldn't understand why this was happening at all.

Shin-chan was also confused.

"Meow?"

Shin-chan looked at the faint black light on his hand, then at the Rock Palace Crab whose rock layers had cracked open, revealing its true form, and was completely bewildered.

No, is the opponent really that weak?

She really only threw a light punch; she didn't use much force at all.

..............................

[Ding! Magic Masked Cat (37) defeated Rock Palace Crab (39). Permanent Quest 1: Battle Completed. The opponent's level is equal to yours. Congratulations, host! You have gained 39 points. Magic Masked Cat's growth level has been slightly increased!]

..............................

[Ding! Through continuous efforts, Magical Masked Cat's growth level has increased. Current level: 38!]

..............................

"I almost forgot, Dark Nether Strike has a 100% critical hit rate, plus various buffs, what other Pokémon of the same level can withstand it?"

Hearing the system notification, Mu Yun thought to himself.

Although the Rock Palace Crab has extremely high physical defense, it can't withstand Shin's even higher damage.

In addition, since Dark Strike has a built-in piercing effect, high physical defense is actually not very useful.

"Beep beep--, Crabtree is unable to battle. Please have the examiner and the examinee change their Pokémon!"

The electronic referee didn't care about anything else; after confirming that Master Hou's Pokémon had lost, he immediately spoke.

Upon hearing the electronic referee's words, Master Hou finally snapped out of his daze and put away the Rock Palace Crab.

"Something's wrong, this boy is acting very strangely!"

After all, he had been an examiner for over a decade, and he could tell the strength of his opponents in a single battle.

The rock-dwelling crab that could instantly kill him must be a genius!

"I never expected that a genius could emerge from our Songjiang City. It's truly a rare find."

After his initial surprise, Master Hou immediately released a second Pokémon.

It was a spirit with a body resembling a carapace, covered in many holes, five of which produced five yellow, strip-like objects.

Pot!

If the Rock Palace Crab's defense is decent, then the Tumbler's defense is excellent.

Even among all the elves in the world, it is almost unparalleled.

"Boldness, it's up to you now."

Xiaoxin has already fought it, so Muyun naturally has to change the Pokémon according to the rules.

"roar!!"

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Dadan immediately let out an excited roar.

"An armored warrior? A bug-and-water type spirit?"

Master Hou was stunned again after seeing the armored warrior clearly.

A Grass/Dark type Magic Masked Cat, a Bug/Water type Golem, what a strange combination!

Master Hou didn't understand.

But what puzzled him even more was that the armored warrior's combat power was also incredibly exaggerated.

He could use moves of various attributes with ease, leaving his pot-shaped pot completely powerless to fight back.

However, they were defeated in a short time.

Isn't it said that armored warriors are cautious by nature and don't like fighting?

Why does this armored warrior look like a berserker?

Master Hou didn't understand and was deeply shocked!

..............................

[Ding! Armored Warrior (30) defeated Pot Pot (39). Permanent Quest 1: Battle Completed. The opponent's level is equal to yours. Congratulations, host! You have gained 39 points. Armored Warrior's growth level has been slightly increased!]

..............................

[Ding! Through continuous efforts, the armored warrior's growth level has increased. Current level: 31!]

..............................

After being thrashed in two consecutive matches, Master Hou had long since lost his initial contempt for him.

Of course, whether he took it lightly or not didn't affect his loss in the third game.

..............................

[Ding! Kodora (32) defeated Graveler (39). Permanent Quest 1: Battle Completed. The opponent's level is equal to yours. Congratulations, host! You have gained 39 points. Kodora's growth level has been slightly increased!]

..............................

[Ding! Through continuous efforts, Kodora's growth level has increased. Current level: 33!]

..............................

"Congratulations, you have successfully passed the assessment. Where is the results check machine? The match replay request button is here. If everything is correct, I will upload the match record."

Despite losing the game, Master Hou was not discouraged.

For people in his line of work, failure is the norm; they've gotten used to losing so much.

It's like a fishmonger who's been butchering fish in a supermarket for ten years; he's long since become indifferent to the coldness of the knife and the heart of the fish.

If Mu Yun hadn't been so young, he wouldn't have felt a single ripple in his heart.

As he was thinking, his fingers suddenly stopped, and his eyes widened in surprise.

On the screen, in the "Score" section, two words were clearly written: --

"Perfect score..."

This was the first time in all these years that he had seen a perfect score.

However, considering the miserable state of my own Pokémon during the battle just now, a perfect score seems reasonable.

"Is this what they mean by 'heroes emerge from among the young'...?"

Master Hou gave a wry smile and sighed.