Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

However, judging from Poco's observations of the farm, Carl has taken very good care of it; at least in his opinion, both the soil moisture and the condition of the crops are excellent.

While Poco was surprised, he also realized that Carl was not as "ordinary" as he had said. At least, no ordinary farmer could cultivate hundreds of acres of land by himself, not even a super green man who could elbow Pokémon.

After discussing the current state of the farm, Carl and Poco arrived at the farmhouse. Shortly after they sat down, Espeon brought hot tea and placed it in front of Poco.

Poco looked at the elegantly shaped Espeon floating in the air, smiled and nodded at it, then picked up his teacup, blew away the steam rising from the surface of the tea, and took a sip.

"Hmm~ Good tea." The moment the tea touched his lips, Poco's eyes lit up slightly, clearly showing that he really liked the tea prepared by Espeon.

“Since you like it, Grandpa Poco, I’ll get you a box to take back with you when you go home. They’re all gifts from friends, they’re not worth much.” As Karl spoke, he gave Espeon a look, and Espeon immediately understood, using its psychic powers to place a box of unsealed tea leaves on the coffee table in front of Poco.

Poco wanted to refuse, but Karl clearly wouldn't give him the chance: "By the way, Grandpa Poco, from what I understand, the South Padiya region often experiences typhoons in the summer. Could you tell me the specifics?"

Poco knew that Karl was changing the subject. He sighed helplessly, feeling both admiration for Karl's "sensible" nature and a touch of pity for him.

Although Poko knew that Karl had been taken care of since he was a child, Karl's maturity spoke volumes.

“Little Key Town does experience typhoons in the summer, but most of the time they don’t have a significant impact on farmland,” Poco said after recalling the situation in recent years.

Upon hearing this, Carl frowned. Most of the time, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the farmland, which meant there was a possibility that it might affect the farmland?

Although Carl has always been very lucky throughout his life, as evidenced by the fact that he has been able to catch so many Shiny Pokémon.

However, Karl has always maintained a "steady" style of conduct, except for his occasional outbursts of madness.

For a newly established farm, the impact of summer typhoons could result in a complete crop failure. Whether it's heavy rainfall causing root rot or strong winds knocking down grapevines, it would affect Carl's plans.

Therefore, Carl secretly made up his mind that if the typhoon really affected the farmland, he would use the power of Pokémon to protect the farm.

Unaware of Karl's inner thoughts, Bo Ke smiled and said to Karl after seeing his worried expression, "Oh, little Karl, don't worry. We haven't seen any typhoons cause any problems in all these years, and there's no chance of a typhoon coming this year. Just relax."

Upon hearing this, Carl snapped out of his daze, smiled, and nodded, saying, "I understand, Grandpa Poco."

After discussing the typhoon, Poco inquired about Carl's daily life. When he learned that Carl had almost no social life except for attending classes at Orange Academy, he became somewhat worried.

However, Poco did not immediately express his concerns to Karl, but instead brought up another topic: "Little Karl, do you know about the Desert Festival?"

"Desert Festival?" Karl's expression froze.

“Every year in the second week of the first month of summer, the city of Glass Bottle, which is close to the scorching desert, holds a desert festival.” Poco said, taking out his phone and making a few gestures. Then Karl received a link from Poco.

Carl clicked on the link and discovered that it contained information about the Desert Festival in Boco.

For the people of Padiya, who love outdoor activities, there are various outdoor activities to be done in any season.

The Flower Dance Festival, which Karl participated in recently, is one of them, while the Desert Festival is a well-known festival throughout the Padiya region.

Because of the extreme temperature difference between day and night in the desert, the temperature at night is only suitable for outdoor activities in the summer, which is why the Desert Festival came into being.

Every year during the second week of summer, a summer festival is held outside Glass Bottle City to celebrate the arrival of summer. Because the venue is located in the desert, the festival is also known as the Desert Festival.

As is customary, the desert festival lasts for a week, with most activities taking place at night.

During the desert festival, some of the participating tourists set up various "torch tents" in the desert. On the last day of the festival, the tourists light the "torch tents" to celebrate the arrival of summer.

During the Desert Festival, many vendors from all over Padiya spontaneously travel to the festival site to set up stalls, and sometimes you can find some good stuff.

In short, the Desert Festival is a product of the Parthian people's "boredom".

After reading the introduction to the Desert Festival, Carl had a strange sense of déjà vu; he felt like he had seen something similar somewhere before.

Seeing that Karl had put down his phone, Poco continued, "So, Karl, the Desert Festival is a favorite holiday for young people. Are you planning to go and have some fun?"

“Of course, it looks very interesting,” Karl replied without hesitation.

After learning about the "burning tents" custom at the Desert Festival, Carl has already started researching the Desert Festival's rivals (just kidding), and has begun researching what kind of tents to set up.

Upon hearing Carl's reply, Poco nodded in satisfaction: "Young people should act like young people. What kind of behavior is it to always stay on the farm? You're still so young, take your time with running the farm."

Upon hearing this, Carl realized that Poco seemed to have misunderstood something. He didn't consider himself a well-behaved person; he had been planning to travel to the Unova region in a while, and he was not a shut-in.

Just as Carl was about to clarify the misunderstanding, the door to the farmhouse was opened from the outside, and Dr. Yamanashi, wearing gloves and a white coat, walked in.

Dr. Yamanashi paused for a moment after seeing Poco sitting on the sofa, then turned to Karl and asked, "Karl, who is this?"

“Doctor, you’ve come at the right time. Let me introduce you. This is Mayor Poco of Little Key Town, an old acquaintance of my grandfather from his youth.” Carl stood up immediately upon seeing Dr. Yamanashi and introduced him, “When I first came to Padia, Grandpa Poco helped me a lot. He came to the farm this time to remind me not to ‘offend’ you.”

After hearing Carl's introduction, Professor Yamanashi gave a friendly smile, walked up to Poco, and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, Poco, I'm Yamanashi, a Pokémon researcher. It's nice to meet you."

Upon seeing this, Bo quickly stood up, grasped Dr. Yamanashi's hand, and said with a smile, "Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Yamanashi."

After the two greeted each other, Poco spoke first: "Dr. Yamanashi, is there something you need? If so, you can go ahead and do your thing, don't worry about me."

"It's nothing serious, I just came back to pick up something." Dr. Yamanashi said, pulling Poco to sit down. "But since I've run into you, Poco, it's okay if I go back a little later."

Although Poco repeatedly tried to dissuade Dr. Yamanashi from going about his business, after his attempts failed, he started chatting with Dr. Yamanashi.

Karl, sitting to the side, watched the two white-haired old men chatting more and more enthusiastically. He blinked and quietly listened to their conversation.

The scene before him gave Karl a very familiar sense of déjà vu. It was like when relatives came to visit during the Chinese New Year in his previous life, and Karl, the "adult," was like a child listening to the adults chat.

After chatting for nearly ten minutes, Dr. Yamanashi got up to say goodbye, but before leaving, he told Carl to make sure Poco stayed for lunch.

After Dr. Yamanashi left, Poco turned to Carl and said with a smile, "Dr. Yamanashi seems to care about you a lot."

“Dr. Yamanashi is one of the few elders I have in this world. After my parents passed away, he took me into his home and raised me,” Carl explained softly.

"That's good, that's good."

Chapter 267 Final Exam (Part 1)

Since Poco's visit to the farm that day, Carl returned to his peaceful daily routine.

Every day, I get up on time to eat breakfast, and after patrolling the farm with my three dog bags, I take my Pokémon, which are about to compete in the final exams, for training. Occasionally, I take my Charizard, which is a little depressed because of its nutritious meals, out fishing.

In short, the early summer days were very relaxing and pleasant for Karl.

As the spring semester at Orange Academy draws to a close, Carl announces the lineup for the final exams to the eagerly awaiting students.

Most students were somewhat surprised to see that Karl had included four Saltstones in the team, but at the same time, they were also relieved that Karl had "gone easy" on them.

Most of the students who took this course thought that Carl would put them through some intensive work during the final exam. After all, this course was essentially an "advanced class," and they should be given "high-quality" assessments while enjoying high-quality teaching.

However, Piper, a student who had received private lessons from Karl, felt nauseous after seeing Karl's lineup. Knowing what tactics Karl intended to use, he silently mourned for those students who breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, students like Nemo and Shinji, who aim to become powerful trainers, only care about the members who will participate in Carl's second-class assessment.

Carl did not disappoint them, as he included several members of his team in the list of Pokémon to be used in the second type of assessment.

The moment Nemo saw the list of available "examiners" for the second type of assessment, she was already excitedly waving her flag.

As for Shinji, he had already begun to study which Pokémon Carl would send to battle him when he saw the list of "examiners".

Meanwhile, after Karl handed Qishu's business card to the Tianxing Society's external communication staff, since all the founding members of the Tianxing Society had performed quite well and passing the final exams was a piece of cake for them, they were already busy preparing for the Tianxing Society's first official event.

Although Carl, as the mentor, mostly acted as a "mascot," he would occasionally check on the latest developments of the Tianxing Society through group chats among its members.

After lurking in the group for a while and confirming that there was nothing for him to worry about, Carl put the Tianxing Society's affairs out of his mind and enjoyed the peaceful early summer.

As the days went by, the day of the final exam soon arrived.

When Karl arrived at the battlefield that the academy had arranged in advance, the students who were already waiting there all turned their gazes toward him.

"Kids, are you ready?" Karl asked in a relaxed tone, meeting the various gazes of the students. "Those who are ready, line up and register with me. I will assess you according to the registration order. The earlier you take the test, the earlier you can go on vacation, right? I think you are as eager as I am to start your summer vacation, aren't you?"

As Carl teased them, the tense atmosphere on the battlefield immediately eased. One of the bolder students shouted at Carl, "Mr. Carl, what are your plans for summer vacation?"

"Hey, Matt, that's a good question." Carl looked at the group of curious students and replied with a smile, "Putting everything else aside, after today's assessment, I plan to head to Glass Bottle City to participate in the Desert Festival. If any of you are also planning to participate in the Desert Festival, you might run into me there. Don't ignore me just because you didn't do well on your exams, or I'll be very sad."

After answering this somewhat personal question, Carl clapped his hands: "It's almost time. Everyone line up and register with Nemo. After registering, wait in the lounge next door. When you hear your number, the student with that number should wait outside the arena. Once the previous student finishes their assessment, you can go directly to the arena."

With Carl's command, Nemo, who had received the registration form in advance, struggled to complete the registration task assigned to her by Carl amidst a group of classmates, and then handed the registration form to Carl with a resentful look.

Carl put Nemo in charge of the registration work mainly because Nemo was the strongest student in the course, so Carl brought her in to do the work for free since she was already guaranteed to pass.

In return, Karl will have to engage in a fierce battle with her after he has assessed all the other students.

As for why Karl didn't let Shinji handle the registration, it was simply because Karl had been too comfortable directing Nemo before, so that's how it was arranged; there were no other reasons.

As for why Nemo looked at Karl with a resentful expression, it was because she had been looking forward to fighting Karl as soon as possible, but Karl had put her last in the queue.

In Nemo's view, Karl, who had tested so many students, was definitely not in his best condition when he fought against her. To Nemo, it was like she had planned to eat a small cake with excellent ingredients and craftsmanship, but this small cake had to be left for a long time before she could eat it.

Ignoring Nemo's resentful gaze, Karl gestured for the first student to register to step onto the battlefield. This student with clear eyes had no idea what kind of torment awaited him...

About ten minutes later, the door from the lounge to the battlefield opened, and the number one "lucky one," who had been looking forward to the holiday, walked out of the door amidst the expectant gazes of the students.

When the students waiting in the lounge saw the look of utter exasperation on the other person's face, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Bohr, what's wrong?" A classmate who was on good terms with this number one "lucky one" asked first, "Did Mr. Carl give you a hard time?"

When the "lucky guy" named Boer heard the question, he was taken aback at first, and then a complex expression appeared on his face.

After a moment of stunned silence, Bohr slowly spoke, "Well, the test that Teacher Karl prepared wasn't difficult, but rather, well, it was very special, yes, very special, well."

Listening to Bor's disjointed and illogical speech, the students who had initially thought Karl was going to "water down" the situation began to have subtle changes in their expressions.

As time went by, all the students who completed the assessment, without exception, showed some degree of "disarray".

Their performance gradually made the students waiting in the lounge more and more nervous.

Meanwhile, after tormenting yet another student, Karl casually picked up his water glass from beside the battlefield and gulped down a large mouthful of water.

Given Karl's abilities, most students couldn't put pressure on him, but directing for two consecutive hours was quite a strain on his voice.

However, compared to the insignificant discomfort in his throat, Karl was undoubtedly in a very pleasant mood at this moment.

Although most of the students who participated in the assessment sent out Pokémon that were much stronger than the Pokémon in their teams, especially the Salt Rock Pokémon, which had been trained for a shorter period of time.

Nevertheless, Karl's tactics were able to make up for the lack of raw strength. Even though some of the more astute students had researched the Salt Rock fortress beforehand, under Karl's command, the Salt Rock fortress was still able to demonstrate its advantages quite perfectly.

Of course, Carl did encounter some trouble. For example, Elliches, the student who used the Magic Masked Cat as his ace, was the first student to break through the "wall" of Saltstone.

In fact, most of the students who participated in the assessment defeated Salt Rock, but they all paid the price of at least one Pokémon.

Ellich was the first student to defeat Salt Rock without using any Pokémon, and Carl gave him a high score for that.

However, this does not mean that Alexis was not "tortured" by Karl. It's just that after realizing Karl's tactics, Alexis decisively switched to Magic Masked Cat and used his full strength as soon as he entered the game. This decisive decision allowed him to quickly end Karl's "torture".

As time passed, the lounge gradually quieted down. As students who had finished their assessments left, the few students who remained in the lounge regained their composure.

Of course, the person who had already been "tortured" by Karl was surprisingly relaxed at this moment, which surprised the other students.

"number 24."

The moment Nemo called out the number, Piper, who was sitting in his seat, jumped up. He took a deep breath, and then, amidst the "take care" looks from everyone, walked toward the door leading to the battlefield with a death-defying air.

In fact, after Carl announced the list of candidates for assessment, Piper had already considered how to get through the "walls" that Carl had set up.

As a student who had received private tutoring from Carl, Piper knew very well how Carl would command Salt Rock, and Carl had also explained to Piper the shortcomings of the "substitute poison" tactic.

Piper understood that although any tactic has its flaws in theory, it is ultimately implemented by people, and Carl's command could completely cover up the shortcomings of the tactics.

However, Piper also believed that Carl wouldn't set an impossible challenge, since it was just a final exam, not a significant battle.

Upon arriving at the arena, Piper noticed Carl's gaze directed at him. However, Piper did not engage in any pre-match conversation with Carl; he simply smiled at him and stepped onto the arena.

Before the impromptu referee Nemo announced the start of the match, Piper mentally reviewed his pre-planned tactics one last time. With Nemo's command, the "brothers" battle began.

Following the assessment rules set by Carl, he was the first to throw out a Poké Ball. As a white light appeared, a Pokémon that Piper knew all too well appeared on the battlefield.

'It really is Saltstone Fortress.' Piper breathed a slight sigh of relief the moment he saw Saltstone Fortress, after all, his tactics were designed around it.

Under Carl and Nemo's watchful eyes, Piper slowly exhaled, then took out a Poké Ball and threw it. As the Poké Ball opened, his Mastiff Godfather, who had accompanied him through his childhood, appeared on the battlefield.

As both sides' Pokémon entered the arena, Nemo, acting as the referee, slowly raised her hand, then suddenly swung it downwards: "Battle begins!"

The instant Nemo finished speaking, Piper immediately shouted the command he had prepared beforehand: "Godfather Mastiff, use Taunt!"

Upon hearing Piper's command, the mastiff godfather in the arena immediately unleashed a series of roars towards the salt and stone fortress on the other side of the battlefield.

As the Mastiff Godfather roared, the energy representing evil surged towards the Salt Rock through the roar.

Karl raised an eyebrow, and almost the instant Pipa finished speaking, he responded: "Saltstone Fortress, hold it."

Upon hearing Karl's command, the silent Saltstone Fortress immediately erected a semi-transparent light barrier, representing protection, and steadily blocked the evil energy from the Mastiff Godfather's roar.

Piper had anticipated that Carl would be able to respond so quickly, after all, using provocation to counter this tactic was a technique that Carl had personally told him.

However, as is well known, Guard cannot be used consecutively, or rather, if Guard is used twice in a row, the success rate of Guard will be greatly reduced.

Piper was well aware of this, so he chose the most straightforward tactic – repeating the "combat skill".

Since his first provocation failed, he would provoke again. If he could successfully provoke Yanshilei, he would achieve his first tactical objective.

Upon hearing Piper's command, Carl gave a helpless smile, but he knew that Piper was planning to use the "replace the poison" tactic's skill rotation.

In Piper's view, as long as the skill cycle is broken, Carl's tactics will be half useless, and his subsequent battles will be much easier.