The written exam wasn't complicated. With the provided review materials outlining the scope, all those geometric shadow-related questions had standard answers in Rowan's eyes.
Although, some questions seemed completely unrelated to Pokémon identification in Rowan's opinion.
For example, questions about the location where a certain Pokémon species was first discovered by humans.
But that wasn't something Rowan had any say in. Not long after receiving the test paper, he had already completed his answers.
However, the earliest time for submitting the examination paper hadn't arrived yet, so Rowan could only remain in his seat, zoning out and observing the changes in the exam hall.
As long as he didn't turn around or blatantly crane his neck to look at others' papers, no one would care.
The school's motto, something along the lines of "Pursue Truth," could be seen among the wall decorations. However, the photos of famous figures now included several group photos of outstanding Trainers. According to the information displayed, this school had produced quite a few champions in various competitions in the past.
Aside from the rustling sounds of pens on paper, the exam hall was very quiet. Most of the examinees didn't even notice that a Haunter was floating above their heads, observing the room from a god's-eye view.
As a Pokémon with a job, even though Haunter couldn't always control its mischievous hands during inspections, it still knew the rules—during the exam, it wasn't allowed to interfere with the test-takers unless someone was blatantly cheating.
At this moment, Haunter was idly spinning in mid-air. When it noticed that Rowan had already stopped writing, it floated a little closer, seemingly curious to see how he had answered the questions.
However, just as Haunter moved closer, it suddenly felt an icy-cold gaze lock onto it. As a Ghost-type Pokémon, it even felt a chill run through its body, an unfamiliar sensation that made it shudder. Following its intuition, Haunter turned to locate the source of that stare.
"Grrkss…"
On the side of the classroom, the windows were positioned fairly high on the wall. Haunter spotted a Meowscarada hanging onto the window frame with both hands, staring straight at it.
So not only I cannot touch your master, now I can't even look?!
This was what Haunter was thinking, but physically, it made the honest decision to back off. Rowan had already finished his test anyway, so there was no point in looking at it.
There were many kinds of Pokémon, but in many aspects, they followed the same rules. Unless their species were natural enemies or they were particularly prideful individuals, most Pokémon adhered to a simple principle—whoever had the strongest fists was the boss.
Haunter was convinced that it couldn't win against Nekomi, so it simply chose to surrender.
"Your Haunter looks like it got scared. Back when it was a Gastly, it wasn't this timid, was it?"
"It didn't run into that Meowscarada when it was still a Gastly. That Meowscarada is far more impressive than the ones I saw while studying abroad at Naranja Academy."
Proctoring an exam was a boring task, and invigilators always needed something to pass the time. Occasionally, they would chat in hushed voices.
The written exam wasn't particularly complicated. Once the submission time arrived, students in the exam hall began handing in their papers one after another and headed to the stadium inside the activity center to prepare for the second phase—battling.
In the more professional Pokémon Identification Exams, candidates were required to battle against the examiner using a randomly assigned Pokémon. The final evaluation was based on the examiner's judgment.
Rowan's exam, however, was just a theoretical identification within the school; although it included a practical assessment, students were allowed to use their own Pokémon.
"For this part of the exam, each participant may use two registered Pokémon. You may switch them during battle, and after the battle, you'll need to answer questions based on the situation. Understood?"
"Understood. Nekomi, I'll leave it to you."
"Meow~"
Since this was just an exam, there weren't any spectators in the stadium—only the other students waiting for their turn, as their battles were scheduled later. When Nekomi stepped onto the battlefield, the examiner also released Haunter from its Poké Ball.
Yes, the examiner was the same person who had invigilated the written test, and the Pokémon had not been switched since they were registered with the school beforehand. Otherwise, knowing that Rowan's Pokémon was a Meowscarada, the examiner certainly wouldn't have chosen Haunter for this battle.
Pokémon battles had been popular for ages, dating back to the time when Pokémon were still referred to as "demon beasts." As a university instructor, he naturally had a thorough understanding of type advantages and disadvantages.
However, this was an exam, and the key isn't the battle's outcome—victory or defeat only accounts for part of the score.
The ability to identify issues during the battle was another key evaluation criterion.
Yet, the battle played out in a way the instructor hadn't expected.
"Get back here!"
"Geh-heh? Gwaaah!"
Haunter clutched its head with both hands, shaking as if it didn't understand anything. It wobbled its way up to the ceiling, showing absolutely no intention of fighting.
The other students waiting on the sidelines all turned their gazes toward the examiner when they saw Haunter ignoring commands.
The relationship between a Pokémon and its Trainer was a two-way street. Trainers sought out powerful Pokémon, and Pokémon could also reject unworthy Trainers.
Because of this, cases where Trainers abandoned Pokémon—and vice versa—were not uncommon.
In industry terms, people believed that Pokémon had "levels," but in the eyes of Pokémon, Trainers also had their own levels.
Situations like this were typically judged as the Trainer being too low-level.
However, this "ranking" is merely a metaphor—it's typically used to describe differences between Pokémon and Trainers. Each Pokémon is unique, and this world isn't a game with numerical stats. There are no explicit numbers for level.
A Pokémon refusing to obey is understandable for a rookie Trainer, but when it happens to an examiner, it's a bit embarrassing.
In the end, with a flash of red light, the examiner simply recalled Haunter back into its Poké Ball.
"You've trained your Pokémon well—this guy got so scared it refused to battle."
The examiner sighed and rubbed his forehead. He knew Haunter wasn't strong enough to defeat Meowscarada, but he had never expected it to avoid battle entirely.
"So, about the exam..."
"It's my fault. You win the first round. My second Pokémon is this one."
As another Poké Ball opened, a dopey-looking pink Pokémon appeared in front of the examiner. Standing on two legs, it had a large seashell clamped onto its tail.
"Slowbro..."
Looking at Slowbro on the field, Rowan couldn't shake the feeling that his opponent was going easy on him. Picking a Pokémon with this kind of type almost seemed intentional.
"Never mind, it doesn't matter. Nekomi, use Leafage."
Nekomi grabbed the flower bud and flicked it forward. As Grass-type energy gathered, countless small green leaves shot out from the bud, enveloping Slowbro in a storm of blades that vanished seconds later.
"....Duh?"
Slowbro slowly raised a hand and scratched its head, as if it didn't quite understand what had just happened.
"It's fine? Nekomi's levels didn't fully carry over? In that case… Nekomi, use Seed Bomb!"
Although Slowbro had high physical defense, it seemed odd that it had absolutely no reaction to an attack which is a counter to its type. Rowan found this unreasonable, and he also didn't understand why the examiner still hadn't given any commands.
But before Nekomi could launch another attack, Slowbro suddenly let out a loud cry, then closed its eyes and fainted on the spot.
The examiner, unfazed, silently recalled Slowbro before presenting a new question.
"Student Rowan, please explain why Slowbro ended up in this condition."