The dream of becoming a Pokémon master

After lunch and a short rest, the announcement that the practical exam was about to begin came over the loudspeaker.

Kyosuke led Ash around the testing center for half a day, and finally, with the help of passersby, they successfully found the place to pick up the Pokémon for the exam.

"I told you I should have led the way," Ash complained. Ash had been suggesting that he lead the team, but Kyosuke had refused outright. Misty and Brock also preferred to trust Kyosuke rather than Ash, whom they had spent so much time with. Thinking about this, Ash felt like he had met a fake teammate.

Kyosuke looked at Satoshi with a serious expression: "I was just worried that you wouldn't be able to find your way and that we'd be in trouble if we got lost."

"But we're still lost!" Ash was getting a little frustrated. He would have rushed at Kyosuke if he wasn't outmatched.

Kyosuke wasn't embarrassed at all; he was used to being shameless when he was with Satoshi and Gary: "If you had led the way, we might still be lost right now."

"You two, get your act together!" The burly examiner watching from the sidelines couldn't stand these two late and muttering rookie trainers any longer! What's worse, they were completely ignoring his presence!

All the other candidates lined up here when the start of the practical exam was announced, respectfully received their exam Pokémon from him, and began the exam one by one. But these two kids were completely nonchalant. They were late and didn't even realize it. Instead, they chatted more and more enthusiastically.

Just as the examiner was about to give these two people, who had no sense of time, a good talking-to, he discovered that they were not ordinary people.

One is a genius who can easily answer all sorts of amazing questions and knows everything about Pokémon; the other is a "mentally challenged" person who has absolutely no common sense about Pokémon and "needs to work harder." How did this amazing combination come about?

"Ahem, you're Kyosuke, right?" the examiner asked, looking at Kyosuke. The entire staff at the testing center was filled with curiosity about this trainer who had achieved a perfect score on the written test.

Kyosuke stopped his pointless conversation with Satoshi and turned to give the examiner an approving look.

"Although your written test was perfect, we hope you will also take the practical exam seriously and avoid being overconfident and underperforming. Otherwise, it will make things very difficult for our testing center."

Kyosuke nodded after hearing this.

He wasn't going to hold back. A trainer always gives their best in every battle; that's what makes them.

"And you, you're Ash, right?" The examiner looked at Kyosuke, the top student, who seemed like a well-behaved child, and then sternly criticized Ash, who looked like a bear cub, standing beside him: "You completely exposed your lack of knowledge in the written test without reflecting on it, and you didn't take the actual battle seriously at all. Did you really come here to get the qualification badge? Did you give up on the actual battle because of your failure in the written test? If not, I hope you can show the style of a trainer in the battle later."

Ash was also taken aback by this change in attitude, nodding frantically to assure everyone that he would fight seriously and use his best skills to qualify for the badge.

The examiner simply let Ash be. After all, if Ash, who basically scored zero on the written test, passed the practical test and obtained the qualification badge, he could retire early.

He beckoned the two to the table, which was covered with belts, each with three Poké Balls attached to it.

"In short, choose one you like and prepare for the exam," the examiner said.

"Hmm... which one should I choose?" Ash started to struggle with the decision.

The main problem is that there are just too many belts on the table, making it really difficult to choose.

"Can't we find out what kind of Pokémon is inside?" Ash asked.

Kyosuke punched Satoshi on the head: "So you really didn't listen to any of the rules I told you this morning!"

The Pokémon used by the examiners were definitely of a higher level than those of the examinees. Kyosuke reminded Ash so that he could prepare more at noon, but Ash didn't listen at all.

But perhaps Kyosuke had already guessed that he just wanted a reasonable reason to "beat up" Ash?

The examiner explained, "It's precisely because we can't know which Pokémon we've chosen that it's a test. What we want to see is whether you can give commands appropriately regardless of what Pokémon appears."

Kyosuke doesn't quite agree with this view.

After all, it is a trainer's responsibility and obligation to raise a Pokémon that understands their heart.

Being able to send out the right Pokémon for the right situation is also a reflection of a trainer's skill.

If it weren't for the perfect timing and his collecting instincts kicking in, making him interested in the qualification badges, Kyosuke wouldn't have come to this "League-specific tournament gathering center."

Most of the people who come here are those who want to participate in the tournament but can't even challenge the eight weakest gyms. The fact that they don't use their own Pokémon in the actual battles and that a scoring system is adopted suits their tastes perfectly.

Ash, oblivious to the intricacies involved, randomly picked a belt and held it up: "Okay, I'll choose this one. I'll definitely beat the examiner."

Kyosuke also reached for the belt next to the one that Satoshi had chosen earlier.

All the belts and Poké Balls are almost identical, so it's impossible to know what Pokémon are inside. Therefore, there's no difference for Kyosuke.

Just as Kyosuke's hand was about to touch it, as if by some strange twist of fate, Kyosuke chose another path.

"Now that you've made your choices, come over here and start the challenge." The examiner wasn't going to give the two a chance to familiarize themselves with Pokémon, and directly led Kyosuke and Ash to the battle arena next door.

Unlike usual battlegrounds where large areas are always empty, here the battleground is fenced off, and the surrounding area is full of spectators.

Some were people who had taken the exam before, some were their relatives and friends, and most were just passersby.

This is a small-scale simulated tournament scenario designed to test the trainer's judgment and decision-making abilities under conditions of environmental interference.

However, Kyosuke still thought it was too simple and crude.

The Quartz Convention is a grand event in the Kanto region; how can it compare to a gathering of just a few dozen people?

However, there are usually more than 200 participants in the tournament each year, and not many of the qualified badge participants can make it into the top 128. Every year, they are mostly cannon fodder for the Indigo League, along with students from Pokémon School. Perhaps the League feels that paying too much attention to them is not very meaningful.

"Ash! Kyosuke! Go for it!"

"I absolutely must get the badge!"

"Pikachu! Pikachu!"

"Chocolate, chocolate!"

Kyosuke heard the cheers and looked in the direction of the sound. Xiaoxia and Xiaogang were cheering for him with Pikachu and Togepi.

With such a great partner, Ash, you can't afford to embarrass yourself!