Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

…………

At this moment, an ordinary amateur assessment match is taking place on one of the battle arenas inside the venue.

"Charmeleon, use Dragon Breath!" the trainer lazily commanded.

"Whoosh—" The Charmeleon in front of him also let out a purple breath with a wan expression. Although it was not fast, it still accurately hit the little Rattata who had no idea how to dodge.

Rattata, who had received almost no combat training, fell down without hesitation.

This scene doesn't look like someone coming to fight elves; it looks more like someone trying to scam someone.

And so, amidst the resentful shouts of "Little Rada, stand up!" from that overworked office worker, this ordinary amateur assessment came to an end.

"Next, candidate K094, Xia Shen, please come up to the stage as soon as possible."

As Rotom's repetitive mechanical voice rang out again, the trainer picked at his ear, muttering to himself that he hoped to get a slightly more capable trainer, so that this match wouldn't be so boring.

Looking at the handsome face of the young man who walked onto the stage, he straightened his expression slightly.

It wasn't because of the candidate's appearance; after all, he wasn't from Nantong.

Judging from his appearance, he should be a proper student in the Pokémon Battle Department. Even if he's a terrible student, he should at least know a little about battles.

But why does this person look so familiar...?

As the trainer was trying to recall where he had seen this rather handsome candidate before, referee Rotom had already sounded the simulated whistle to signal the start of the battle.

A flash of white light, and a massive, robust bear appeared before the Charizard.

The young trainer's expression froze instantly.

This Pokémon is... the currently trending Ursaring?

As a trainer of the new era, he had naturally seen this Pokémon evolved from Ursaring in the news.

Rather, he's almost sick of seeing pictures and videos related to Moon Bear lately.

No wonder this person looks so familiar, Xia Shen... isn't he the trainer who suddenly appeared in the Jiangnan Division Breakthrough Tournament and has been the subject of much discussion recently!

But you're telling me that this rising star in the Pokémon world, who just won the breakout tournament and discovered a new evolution of a Pokémon, is coming back to take the amateur trainer exam?

Isn't this a bit too...surreal?

……

"Excuse me... teacher, may the assessment begin?" Xia Shen asked with a light cough.

On the other side of the battlefield, the examiner, who looked not much older than Xia Shen, suddenly came to his senses.

"Oh, sorry, we can begin now. Charmeleon, use Dragon Breath!"

The battlefield for amateur assessments is smaller than that of the standard one, so the distance between the two Pokémon is only a dozen meters.

Charmeleon looked at its opponent, who had gone from being a small Rattata that it could easily look down at to a Ursaring that it now had to look up at, and its mouth twitched slightly.

In a competition at the same level, the gap between the two opponents encountered one after the other is simply too large...

There was no time for further reflection; he focused his energy on mobilizing the dragon-type energy within his body.

Then, a breath of dragon's breath shot out from its mouth, heading straight for the Moon Bear, which showed no intention of dodging and charged straight at it.

The breath, imbued with intense Dragon-type energy, struck Umbreon squarely in the face, but Umbreon didn't even flinch and continued forward without stopping.

Charizard was dumbfounded. The dragon's breath had hit him, hadn't it?

Is this weird bear a fairy-type? At least give it some reaction!

He stubbornly tried to gather the dragon energy within his body again, but before the energy could be gathered into a breath, the Moon Bear had already rushed up to him.

Moon Bear's speed is indeed not fast, but the distance between the two is only a dozen meters.

However, the Charmeleon, which was used as an amateur "test question," was really slow in unleashing its moves.

So, before he could unleash his second move, a voice accompanied by the charging Moon Bear reached the field.

"Moon Bear, use Endurance!"

Then, Charmeleon saw a bear paw almost half the size of its own body, radiating a terrifying white light, slapping towards its face.

And this was the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness.

……

"You flatter me, teacher."

Xia Shen didn't recall the Moon Bear, but instead asked, "I remember that if a candidate passes the amateur level 1 assessment, they can choose to continue the challenge, right?"

The examiner paused for a moment, then nodded, confirming that such a rule did exist.

After all, there are always some outstanding students whose abilities have already surpassed the first-level amateur level before the amateur assessment in March.

For example, this oddball in front of me...

He calmed himself down a bit and asked, "Yes, there is such a rule. So, which section of the assessment challenge do you want to apply for?"

While asking the question aloud, he also tried to guess in his mind: to be on the safe side, sixth dan or seventh dan?

After all, he had watched the battle videos of Umbreon's matches. Xia Shen had indeed defeated Gallade, who had the strength of an eighth-dan player, and Cinderace, who had the strength of a ninth-dan player.

However, that Gallade had used Teleport multiple times and was not in good condition.

As for the Cinderace, it goes without saying that not only was its condition greatly depleted by Alakazam, but the entire battle was also conducted in Trick Room.

Therefore, he believes that the most accurate rank for this Moon Bear right now is probably amateur 7th dan.

"I want to apply for the amateur 9th dan assessment challenge." Xia Shen's tone was calm and firm.

"Ninth Dan?!"

------

Xia Shen and Yueyue Xiong were now awkwardly standing on this ordinary battlefield, enduring the various gazes cast by the other examinees below the stage.

It's not that the challenge was rejected, but rather that the Trainers Association never considered that anyone would apply for an amateur 9th dan challenge in an amateur assessment specifically for new trainers!

This resulted in them not having a player with the skill level of a standard amateur ninth dan on-site.

It should be noted that, going back several decades, only Yan Yu had applied for the amateur 8th dan challenge during her first amateur assessment.

Others, at most, can only challenge the amateur sixth dan or even fifth dan.

Therefore, Xia Shen's challenge today can be considered as the excrement of the Dragon King Scorpion, one of a kind.

As a result, this explosive news spread like wildfire, attracting the curious attention of nearly a hundred people in the audience within just a few minutes.

Although the competition had not yet started, the audience was not bored at all, as it was a rare opportunity to observe the renowned Xia Shen and Yueyue Xiong up close.

……

Finally, under the scrutiny of nearly a hundred gazes, Xia Shen finally met his opponent for the ninth-dan challenge assessment.

"I'm sorry, Xia Shen, the only amateur ninth-dan assessment Pokémon currently available in the arena are Breloom and Ludicolo. Their type advantages... might be a bit disadvantageous for you. Are you sure you want to continue the challenge?"

----------

Author's Remarks

I didn't expect so many people to disagree with my ideas from the previous chapter... My intention was to write something interesting, or rather, a bit unconventional. Also, regarding the necessity of the Dragon Crystal, the Dragon Crystal was a secondary concept I created based on the Pokédex's description of Regidrago. Long-term consumption can permanently enhance the power of Dragon-type moves, essentially giving Zoroark and the others an extra STAB move. However, since everyone is against it, the plan is temporarily shelved. And for those saying Zoroark has too little screen time, it's about to evolve and will be the protagonist of the next chapter!

2022-06-19 18:00

Chapter 135 The World's Focus Is on You!

Inside the Zhijiang Elf Battle Arena.

Xia Shen looked at the examiner who was slightly out of breath, pondered for a moment, and replied, "In that case, I choose the Hat Hat Mushroom."

In fact, according to the assessment rules, the "exam questions" generally try to avoid the elemental advantage/disadvantage relationship between the two Pokémon.

But since there were only these two Pokémon to choose from, Xia Shen naturally chose Breloom, which was easier to fight.

In the rain, the speed of the Happy Kappa was simply too fast. Without the help of the Trick Space, Xia Shen didn't really want to fight such an opponent.

While the Poison Healing Mushroom is also disgusting, Xia Shen felt it was still within the range of Moon Bear's attacks.

Furthermore, Ursaring has an important advantage over Breloom: it won't get dirty from Breloom's move [Spore] or its ability [Spore].

There is a mechanism in games where abnormal statuses cannot be stacked, and this is also true in reality.

Since Umbreon comes with its own Flame Orb, it is naturally in a burning state and will not be affected by the dirtiest move in the entire move list - [Mushroom Spore].

Without mushroom spores, it's no exaggeration to say that the hooded mushroom is half ruined.

…………

Upon hearing this, the examiner solemnly reminded him, "Have you thought this through? If you fail the challenge, this assessment will be over, and you will only be able to achieve the amateur first rank this time."

Xia Shen nodded without hesitation, "Of course, I know the rules."

For him, there is no difference between amateur 1st dan and amateur 9th dan, and he doesn't lack any resources now.

The reason for challenging myself to go beyond the designated level is twofold: firstly, to see where my limits lie.

Secondly, the highest record for the first amateur assessment challenge is the amateur eighth dan set by Yan Yu ten years ago.

He wanted to see if he could break the record set by China's youngest master.

After all, what teenager would refuse a moment when "the world is watching you"?

……

Without changing the venue, this unprecedented and special challenge began in an ordinary way.

With a whistle from referee Rotom, a flash of white light appeared.

Opposite the Moon Bear, a green kangaroo that looks like it has mushrooms growing on its head appeared on the battlefield; it was the Breath of the Lizard.

Xia Shen narrowed his eyes, quietly observing the newly appeared straw mushroom.

His body was slightly purple, but his face showed an expression of enjoyment and pleasure.

It's either a masochistic tendency or a form of toxic therapy.

Xia Shen clicked his tongue slightly. Poisonous Hatchomp... I have to be careful not to get tricked by it.

"Flammulina, use Sonic Punch!"