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Chapter 235: The Advanced-Rank Trainer Certification
🕑 Added 2025-10-02 10:43:07 +0000 UTCChapter 235: The Advanced-Rank Trainer Certification
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
During this period, Basalt's life was so full it brought tears to his eyes.
Between classes, training his Pokémon, watching lecture videos, and grinding practice questions for the Advanced Trainer exam, his schedule was worse than a 9-to-9, 6-day work week; it was a 24/7 grind.
But his efforts paid off. After a month of high-intensity cramming, Basalt could now consistently score around a 70 on his practice exams.
With that, the final obstacle standing between him and the Advanced-rank was gone.
To be honest, it was his own fault.
Because he had received special exemptions for his Beginner and Intermediate certifications, the chickens had finally come home to roost. All the studying he'd skipped before had to be paid back now.
Besides his own progress, his four "little ones" had also improved considerably.
First was Excadrill. After deep study of the Double Team TM, it was now becoming proficient, able to casually create a dozen clones at once, making it great for cover and feints.
Next was Super Bell. It had easily learned Weather Ball, but it still hadn't mastered Sandstorm. Basalt had pretty much given up on it.
Then there was Lileep. Having mastered Giga Drain, its endurance had reached a new level, and its firepower was now so ferocious it made Basalt's own scalp tingle.
Finally, there was little Larvitar. Drinking its special nutrient fluid every day and occasionally having a diamond as an appetizer, its physique and strength were growing at a blistering pace. It had also taken to bullying the wild Pokémon in the Cinnabar Sanctuary and was now the little tyrant of the garden.
Now, all the pieces were in place. All that was left was for Basalt to take the practical exam.
"What? You're taking the Advanced Trainer Certification exam?"
When Basalt went to his class advisor to ask for leave, Mr. Burton's eyes went wide with shock. "All three of your Pokémon are at the Advanced-rank? Are you sure you're ready?"
He wasn't surprised that Basalt, as the Rookie King, had the combat power of an Advanced-rank trainer.
The problem was, to pass the exam, a trainer needed three Pokémon at the Advanced-rank. That was a hard requirement.
On top of that, the exam tested tactics for group battles and wilderness survival methods. The content was extensive and very practical. Without both hard and soft skills, it was impossible to pass.
"I should be more or less ready," Basalt said with a humble, goofy grin.
"This..." Mr. Burton was speechless. He had originally thought it would be impressive if Basalt became an Advanced-rank trainer by the end of the first semester. He never imagined Basalt would be ready to go after only a month of school.
"Alright, then. Go ahead. I'll approve your leave." Mr. Burton rubbed his hands together, his face full of excitement.
The stronger Basalt's potential, the better it was for him as the class advisor. If Basalt became the first freshman at Centralis University to reach the Advanced-rank, it would be a huge source of pride for him as well.
Basalt had only asked for three days off, but Mr. Burton, with a wave of his hand, gave him a full week and told him to go without any worries.
"This works out. After the exam, I can take Excadrill to Dr. Martin's place to learn that 'Plow' move. I've been putting that off for too long."
Basalt thought of Dr. Martin at the Metro City research institute and felt a pang of guilt. He had promised to cooperate with the doctor's experiment but had stood the old man up for so long. It was quite embarrassing.
...
After arranging his affairs at school, Basalt rode his Super Bell back to his home in Seaside County.
The straight-line distance from Centralis City to Seaside County was just over 200 kilometers. With Super Bell's flying speed, it was only about a half-hour trip, much faster than taking the high-speed rail.
He brought presents for his mom and dad and enjoyed being treated like a young master for a day.
The next morning, Basalt arrived at the city's Pokémon League Certification Center.
Generally, Beginner and Intermediate exams could be taken at the county level. Advanced exams had to be taken at a city-level center or higher. Pro-level exams required a provincial-level center. As for Gym Leader-level and above, you had to go to the Capital City, as only the League Headquarters was qualified to conduct those assessments.
Basalt had registered online a week in advance, so all he had to do now was show up with his Pokémon.
He had a habit of cutting it close, so when he arrived around 8:50 AM, dozens of other candidates were already waiting.
Judging by their age, they were all much older than him.
"Bless me, Arceus. Please let me pass the Advanced exam this time, and then pass the Ranger exam in one go, so I can finally get a stable government job. I'm already a senior in college. If I don't pass soon, I'll be in big trouble. Bless me, Arceus, bless me, Arceus!"
Basalt had just found a seat when he heard the man next to him praying under his breath.
"A senior who still hasn't passed the Advanced-rank?"
Basalt raised an eyebrow. But after a moment's thought, he realized this was the normal state of affairs in the real world.
At an average university or college, the most elite students would, at best, pass the Pro-level exam. For the average candidate, the Advanced-rank was the ceiling. If they could pass the Advanced exam before graduation and then get a stable job, it was already an excellent outcome.
A normal university and Centralis University were on completely different levels.
After finishing his prayer, the square-faced man noticed Basalt. He was a little surprised. "Bro, are you also here for the Advanced exam?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Basalt asked, a bit taken aback.
"No, no problem. I'm just curious... how old are you?" The square-faced man ran a hand through his thinning hair, looking a bit melancholic.
"I'm a... sophomore," Basalt lied, adding a year to his grade.
"A sophomore taking the Advanced exam? Awesome!" The square-faced man gave him a thumbs-up. After looking Basalt over, he said, "You must be studying out of town, right? Even if I don't know all the students from the Metro City Academy, I'd at least recognize them. I'm sure I've never seen you before."
"You've got a good eye, big brother. I am studying out of town," Basalt said with a smile.
"I can tell your school must be at least a national key university. Otherwise, it couldn't produce such an outstanding student." The square-faced man first laid on the flattery, then chuckled. "Since you're taking the exam in Metro City, you must be a local, right? I am too. Since fate brought us together, why don't we exchange contact info? We can look out for each other on our home turf here in Metro City."
"Err... I don't think that's necessary," Basalt said, his face a mask of resistance.
Ring, ring!
Just then, the bell at the entrance of the certification center rang.
At the same time, the main doors opened, and the candidates could begin to enter.
"Good luck on your exam, bro. I'm heading in."
Basalt slipped away as fast as he could.
Watching Basalt's retreating back, the square-faced man sighed with regret.
Although Basalt was wearing a baseball cap pulled down low and a pair of lensless glasses, if he hadn't recognized who Basalt was, why would he have wasted so much breath?
Unfortunately, he had fallen short at the last moment.
...
The first step upon entering the center was to verify one's identity.
This was mostly a formality. In the modern information age, no one dared to cheat or have someone else take the test for them.
After his identity was confirmed, Basalt received a number tag and followed the crowd into a computer lab.
Here, like the other candidates, he had to first complete the theory exam.
The Pokémon knowledge theory exam was two hours long and consisted of four types of questions: multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and a short essay section.
After filling in his information, Basalt began the test.
The first question was multiple-choice.
1. Which of the following Pokémon cannot have the "Static" Ability?
A. Manectric B. Pikachu C. Shinx D. Mareep
Using the process of elimination, Basalt silently crossed out A, B, and D. The answer was obvious.
A freebie. No explanation needed.
The entire test consisted of fifty multiple-choice questions, thirty true/false, ten fill-in-the-blanks, and three short essays.
Overall, the questions weren't that difficult.
The trouble was, the range of possible topics was incredibly broad, covering everything from Pokémon abilities, habits, and moves to breeding methods, berries, and item identification.
Fortunately, you only needed a 60 to pass the theory exam. Theory was just the foundation; the real focus of the certification was the practical battle.
Basalt agonized over a few questions and put some extra thought into the essays, so by the time he submitted, it was 10:55 AM. Those with a solid theoretical foundation had finished in an hour, much faster than him.
Leaving the exam room, Basalt waited silently in the waiting area.
Some people were dejected, some were elated, and others were loudly discussing the questions with their friends.
Since there weren't many people taking the exam, the grading was quite fast.
At noon, everyone's scores were released.
"75? Looks like I did pretty well this time."
Seeing his score, Basalt let out a big sigh of relief.
Aside from two candidates who failed due to a poor foundation, the other 22 had all passed.
After the written test results were announced, a staff member announced loudly, "Candidates, the written test results have been posted. Those who have passed, please go home and rest well. At 2:30 PM, we will continue with the second round of the assessment. As you all know, the content is a three-on-three practical battle!"
A three-on-three battle was slightly more difficult than a double battle, but much less complex than a full six-on-six field battle. It was mainly a test of a trainer's group battle capabilities.
Advanced-rank trainers often had to go out into the wild. And in the wild, the ability to handle a group battle was a crucial measure of strength, a completely different concept from one-on-one duels.
In the real world, it was not uncommon for trainers who were brilliant in one-on-one battles to be terrible at group fights in the wild.
Wild battles required more courage from the trainer.
After all, one careless mistake, and the trainer could actually die.
It wasn't like a standard battlefield, where the trainers were always safe, no matter how fiercely their Pokémon fought.
"It's finally time to see the results of my training!"
Basalt's lips curled up, a look of anticipation on his face.
He had spent a lot of time recently training for 3v3 battles. He was confident that passing the exam wouldn't be a problem.
He left the certification center, went out for lunch, and rented a room for a few hours for a nap.
At 2:30 PM, Basalt returned to the certification center once again.
