Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

"Bang—" The sound of the attack being blocked rang out, but what was blocked was... an ordinary dragon claw with a slight hint of dark green energy.

The little bear recalled that day's Garchomp, whose Dragon Claw followed by Flame Fang had given him a double chance in return.

That time, just like... this very moment!

However, the difference is that this opponent is about the same height as himself.

The protective barrier disappeared, and in the next instant, the little bear cub's tiny body was directly bitten into the Gible's Flame Fangs!

Next came the merciless meteor shower!

A fierce bite sent a shower of stars flying, leaving the bear cub seeing stars and teetering on the brink of collapse.

Taking advantage of the bear cub's lack of protection, the Gible pressed its advantage, unleashing Dragon Claw, Flame Fang, and more.

I'm not dodging anymore; I'll just break tiles, engage in close combat... you can fight whatever you want.

Even a buffed bear cub couldn't withstand the Gible's desperate, life-or-death fighting style after taking a dragon's breath and a fierce meteor shower.

In the end, they were defeated.

"The cub bear is unable to fight, the winners are Gible and Yan Yan!"

…………

"I thought the domestic violence scene would be Xia Shen beating Yan Yan, but it turned out to be the other way around..."

"Is the bear cub throwing the match? Make it any more fake!"

Some onlookers expressed surprise, while others were quite dissatisfied, believing that Xia Shen deliberately lost in order to fall into the loser's bracket.

Because once Xia Shen falls into the loser's bracket, no one can stop him from dominating the battlefield...

------

"Miya..." The little bear lay in Xia Shen's arms, feeling very guilty about its behavior.

"It's okay, you played very well." Xia Shen patted her fluffy head.

To be honest, that feint that tricked the Gible into coming out was quite impressive.

Although in the end, I lost to the same scam I had fallen for not long ago.

Come to think of it, Yan Yan and Gible had never seen Garchomp use this move before, yet they managed to use it themselves. They really are on the same wavelength...

But losing isn't so bad, at least you won't run into tough characters like Jiang Chuan or Teacher Ye.

As the old saying goes, once I accept my own weakness, then I am... invincible!

Xia Shen, who completely slacked off in the practical training exam, unsurprisingly dominated the next three matches, causing chaos in the loser's bracket.

In the end, they achieved a respectable record of one loss and three wins in the practical training course.

Second only to Jiang Chuan, who had four wins and no losses but didn't meet Teacher Ye, and the other students who had three wins and one loss in the winners' bracket, which was even more impressive.

The midterm exams for this semester are now only two days and one night away, with a field assessment starting the day after tomorrow.

……

Before school ended, Teacher Ye announced the specific rules for the field assessment.

"This year's field assessment is a little different from usual. It's a unified exam for all second-year high school students in the Pokémon Battle Department in Zhijiang City. Including our school, there will be more than a thousand people taking the exam."

"The examination venue is no longer that small hill in the city, but Yunlin Mountain in the suburbs of Zhijiang City. Because there are a lot of people, this assessment is conducted in groups of five to eight people. The points earned by each group are then divided equally among the members as the final score of the assessment."

"The scoring method is also very simple. Scattered throughout Yunlin Mountain are items of varying value, but each of them is also surrounded by powerful guardian spirits of corresponding strength."

"Furthermore, the longer you survive in the assessment, the more points you will earn. When a Pokémon loses its ability to battle, the rotating Rotom following each group will determine that it is eliminated. When all the Pokémon in your team are eliminated, your assessment will end."

"Most importantly, this assessment allows teams to engage in Pokémon battles within the rules, and the winner will receive half of the loser's points."

"Okay, I'll send another copy of the detailed rules in the class group. Everyone, prepare well over the weekend, and see you next Monday!"

(Thank you so much for the generous donation from the user "I am Hisoka"! It's too much of a waste of your money, I'm so grateful!)

Please continue reading!

## Chapter Sixty: First Visit to Yunlin Mountain

Yunlin Mountain is located in the west of Zhijiang City, and to the east is Yunze, the third largest lake in China.

Located about 40 kilometers from the city of Zhijiang, it is a relatively well-developed and explored area for the conservation of spirits.

The altitude is not high, less than 500 meters, but it covers a large area, with the main peak and secondary peaks connected, stretching for several kilometers.

This is also a great place for amateur trainers near Zhijiang City to team up and search for and catch Pokémon.

The wild spirits living here are mainly common birds and insect spirits, most of them are docile, and they are used to the humans who often appear here.

However, such lush forests also harbor some ferocious Pokémon that pose a high risk to amateur trainers.

……

Monday, November 7th, early morning.

It's late autumn, the weather is sunny and the temperature is pleasant.

The Zhijiang City Trainers Association announced early on that the Yunlin Mountain area would be closed on Monday and Tuesday as a testing location.

Therefore, Yunlin Mountain appears exceptionally quiet today.

Normally by this time, you could already hear wild Pokémon with bad tempers, such as Spearow, Beedrill, and Rhyhorn, interacting closely with their trainers at the entrance.

The No. 1 entrance in the northeast direction is the starting point assigned to Zhijiang Middle School.

At this moment, Teacher Ye was giving the students of Class One their final words of advice before parting.

"I won't go into the details, but most importantly, safety first! This is just a midterm exam. If anything happens that endangers your lives or the lives of the elves, be sure to call for help immediately from your rotating Rotom, understand?"

Hearing Mr. Ye, who was unusually serious, emphasize this point, the students stopped laughing and joking and all expressed their understanding.

At 9 o'clock sharp, nearly a hundred people marched into Yunlin Mountain to officially begin their mid-term exams.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xia Shen and his group walked through the not-so-quiet mountain forest, chatting with great interest.

"I heard the school has prepared generous rewards for the top-ranked students this time. I wonder what they are." Xia Shen was very interested in the rewards prepared by the school, which is usually stingy.

However, the four rich kids around him clearly didn't care much about it. Only Zhou Yuanyuan replied, "After all, it's a city-wide unified exam. It's normal to bring honor to the school."

Then he asked with some concern, "Won't it be too much of a disadvantage for us to have only five people? It seems like each of their groups has eight people."

Xia Shen curled his lip, "It's just sticking together for warmth. I guarantee that the elite groups in other schools are definitely composed of five people. Those people will definitely not allow extra people to share their points."

Jiang Chuan agreed, "Besides, an eight-person group is a bit too bulky. Not only are they not flexible enough, but most of the time we don't need that many people."

The explanations from the two core members of the team put Zhou Yuanyuan at ease.

In short, just lie down comfortably.

As the group chatted, they gradually drifted apart from their classmates.

Because the pattern of this assessment is generally that the further you go in, the higher the value of the items you find will be.

Therefore, Xia Shen and his team devised a strategy to directly penetrate deep into Yunlin Mountain.

Don't waste any time fighting with others on the periphery for petty gains.

……

"Is that purple sign a test item for this assessment?" In the dense forest, Zhou Yuanyuan, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot the clue.

On a tree not far away, a bright purple sign was hanging in a conspicuous place.

After comparing the item with the photo on her phone and confirming that it could be exchanged for 30 points, Xia Shen smiled.

It wasn't because of these meager points, but rather to confirm that the assessors hadn't deliberately hidden the point-earning items, turning the assessment into a treasure hunt.

However, they didn't act rashly, since there were always spirits guarding the points items, a rule that Teacher Ye had clearly stated.

Arranged according to the order of white, blue, purple, and orange, which represent increasing values, there should be a powerful Pokémon guarding the purple item.

Since they were unsure of the number and strength of the guarding Pokémon, the group discussed the matter and decided to try to outsmart them first.

Xia Shen summoned the bear cub from its Poké Ball and pointed to the sign hanging on the tree branch.

"Quietly go over and retrieve that purple sign. Stay alert to your surroundings at all times, and remember to activate protection immediately if anything seems amiss."

Xia Shen assigned the task to the smallest bear cub, which also had a good ability to protect itself.

"Miya!" The little bear nodded in understanding, then tiptoed toward its target.

The others also pulled out their Poké Balls and held them in their hands, ready to support the little bear at any time.

In the dense forest, the green bear cubs blended almost seamlessly into their surroundings, getting closer and closer to the large tree with the target hanging on it.

There wasn't even a sound of the breeze; the forest was eerily quiet.

The unusual silence made Xia Shen's expression grow even more serious as he hovered his finger over the button on the Poké Ball containing Garchomp.

Ten meters...

Five meters...

Xia Shen held his breath and focused intently on observing every movement around the bear cub.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the bushes that were as tall as a person next to the tree, and a gaping maw suddenly lunged at the bear cub.

It's a giant carnivorous plant, as tall as a person!

"Protect it quickly!" Xia Shen shouted as he threw out a Poké Ball.

"Garuda, Fire Fang!"

"Gible, we'll use Fire Fang too!"

Fearing that Garchomp wouldn't be enough on its own, Yan Yan also threw out Gible to help.

So, the three elves opened their mouths and bit into a ball...

When the bear cub saw the reinforcements coming, it jumped up and smashed a tile at the top of the giant carnivore's mouthparts.

The four spirits were locked in a fierce battle, reminiscent of the Three Heroes battling Lu Bu.

"Jiang Chuan, let Hakron fly over and take down the sign first, then we'll decide whether to keep it or not."