After the battle avatar's gambit failed, it didn't so much as twitch. In that same flat, unruffled tone, it gave a new command:
"Pinsir, spin in place."
Pinsir froze for a beat—then started twirling on the spot.
This was a favorite trick of the original trainer the avatar was modeled after: spin until the opponent mistakes it for [Swords Dance].
Under that kind of misdirection, you bait the enemy to close in to interrupt—or to take a swing and hand you free damage.
After all, while performing [Swords Dance], that very spin can knock aside a few weak, poorly-followed-through ranged attacks.
Then, once the enemy steps into the right range, you counter while they're off-guard and blindside them.
When his data was extracted for this exam pool, that combat habit got packaged along with it. Any time the selection landed on a Pokémon capable of learning [Swords Dance], the avatar would "activate" this routine.
For anyone who hadn't seen it before, the feint was massively misleading.
And even people who had seen it weren't necessarily immune to it. The avatar could just as easily commit to the bit—actually using [Swords Dance] to boost itself mid-spin.
Unfortunately for it, today it ran into Auron Vale—a man who could see the opposing move pool.
Auron was taken aback for half a second too when he saw Pinsir windmilling in place. His first thought was also [Swords Dance].
But he'd just checked Pinsir's info and knew it hadn't learned [Swords Dance].
So he didn't order Golbat to do anything. He simply folded his arms and watched Pinsir rotate.
Without instructions, Golbat watched as well. It didn't act; every so often it just flicked its wings to hold its altitude.
Auron and Golbat's non-response made the battle avatar "crash" for a moment. Its database had nothing for an opponent who just… stood there and did nothing.
That moment of lag had a predictable result: with no order coming down to stop the spinning, straightforward Pinsir kept going. And kept going—until it got dizzy.
Under Golbat and Auron's baffled stares, Pinsir's eyes turned into spirals. It staggered two steps and face-planted.
It hadn't lost the will to fight; it was just dizzy. The spirals in its eyes soon stopped, but it remained sprawled on the floor, heaving for breath and unable to get up.
Auron, naturally, wouldn't waste a chance like that. This was the entrance exam, after all.
"Golbat, [Sludge Bomb]!"
[Sludge Bomb] burst across a target that couldn't possibly dodge. Pinsir's eyes spun into spirals again.
But this time was different from simple dizziness—this time it really was out cold.
With [Nasty Plot] raising Sp. Atk by two stages, and with Pinsir already having tanked a [Shadow Ball], there was no world where it could then eat a STAB [Sludge Bomb] and stay standing.
That one hit wiped out the rest of its HP.
A hovering scanner zipped in to check Pinsir's status. A mechanical voice sounded from inside the device:
"Pinsir is unable to battle. Candidate is victorious. Uploading footage."
As the device spoke, the battle avatar gradually faded. The door slid open. The proctor stepped in, recalled the fallen Pinsir into its Poké Ball, and motioned for Auron to come out with them.
Unlike the written exam, you could leave right after finishing the practical. No need to sit and wait.
"How are you out so fast?"
The moment Auron stepped out, his mom hurried over, anxious and flustered.
She'd seen a few students come out early just now, and every one of them had been crestfallen; ask around, and the story was the same—they'd lost their practical match.
"Mom, I just got lucky and got slotted in the first group. And come on, your son's strong—I was always going to win."
At that, Mom exhaled in relief. She turned and gave Dad a light punch in the chest.
"See? I told you our boy would win. You just wouldn't believe me."
Dad rubbed at his chest, helpless, and didn't argue. He nodded along:
"Mm-hmm. Right, right. Your son is amazing."
Mom didn't dwell on his tone. Bright with excitement, she peppered Auron with questions.
"So? What difficulty did you pick? Did you choose to face a trainer? Did you figure out who it was? Were they strong? How many points do you think you'll get?"
Auron could only give a wry smile and answer one by one.
"I chose the advanced bracket. I picked to face a trainer. I couldn't tell who he was—just that it was a man—didn't seem all that strong. And I have no idea what score I'll get."
He got it all out in one breath—then, before Mom could rev up another barrage, he cut in fast:
"Mom, it's still early. I'm going to check on Jace. I'll head over to his testing site, okay? Won't be home for dinner. Bye!"
He snatched the Poké Balls for the baby Snorlax and Charmander from Dad's hands, slung the backpack off Chansey's shoulders onto his own, and turned to bolt.
Left behind, Gengar stood frozen for a second—then panicked. You're leaving me?!
Seeing how far Auron had already sprinted, Gengar snapped out of it, flapped its stubby hands at Dad in a quick wave, pointed after Auron, and dove into the shadows to give chase.
Only after Gengar had vanished did Mom come back to herself. Jaw dropping, she turned to Dad, astonished.
"Honey, our son… went to find Jace? Why didn't he go look for Serena… Is he actually…"
She flapped her hands, trying hard to mime what she meant, but no words seemed to fit.
Dad patted her on the head, helpless.
"What are you thinking? Don't you know your own son? How could he… be like that. He's probably going to Jace because they grew up together and he's more familiar with him, that's all."
Even with that explanation, Mom still looked worried.
"Let's hope so."
Watching their son already climb into a cab, the two of them stood there with very different thoughts.
Dad: "Mm. As expected of my boy—already tight with Gengar this fast. Feels like Gengar's closer to him than to me."
Mom: "Ugh, surely he's not really… no, no, how can I think that about our son… I hope not…"
Chansey, off to the side: "Wuuu… That awful Gengar! Off to eat with the little master again without me. Too mean!!"
Auron slid into the back seat of a taxi and leaned toward the driver.
"Sir, to Vantora Third Primary School."
"You got it."
Jace Rowan, Yin Hanling, and Su Tinxi all had their test sites at Vantora Third Primary.
How did Auron know? Because Su Tinxi had just posted in the group chat—and in the clip of Yin Hanling chasing Jace down the hall, the school sign was right there.
After giving the driver the address, Auron pulled out his phone and dropped a message in the group.
Auron Vale: I'm done. How about you guys?
A while passed. No reply. Looked like they were still taking the exam or getting ready.
Auron's test site wasn't far from Vantora Third Primary. They got there in no time.
As soon as he stepped out, he spotted Jace's parents. They were speaking with the middle-aged man Auron had seen by the entrance to the secret realm—a man who happened to be the father of both Youyu and Yin Hanling.
Beside them stood a quiet woman dressed with understated elegance. She had to be Youyu and Hanling's mother.
Auron hesitated, then walked over and called out a greeting.
"Uncle Sui, Aunt Sui. Uncle You… and this is?"
He greeted them each in turn. To avoid getting it wrong, he didn't address the quiet woman directly; instead, he looked to Youyu's father to ask.
Unlike Jace's dad—whose brow pinched the moment he saw Auron, with a hint of helplessness—Youyu's father spoke to him gently.
"You should call her Auntie. She's Youyu and Lingling's mother—my wife."
"Right—hello, Auntie."
Youyu's mother gave him a warm smile.
"Hello, Auron Vale. I've heard about you from both Youyu and Lingling for a while now. Thank you for not minding Youyu's temperament—and for being his friend."
Auron flapped his hands quickly. "No, no—Youyu's temperament is actually pretty good. We get along really well."
—I said it would be fast, and wow was it fast. Next up is brand-new material—plot I've been hiding in my heart for ages. I'm so excited!
(End of chapter)