After several hours of torment from various outrageous questions, Hoshino still adhered to the principle of not giving up and finished all the questions.
Upon confirming the submission of the answer sheet, the Porygon in charge of grading immediately began scoring in the system, with results available in just one minute.
Looking at the bright 114 points, when the test was actually a thousand multiple-choice questions, he wouldn't have gotten such a low score even with his eyes closed. At this moment, Hoshino's mindset had undergone a slight change.
He lowered his head, his body seemingly drained of color, his hands hanging limply, as if burnt out in his seat, appearing to have understood something.
After taking a beating, Hoshino finally saw reality clearly. With this level, he still confidently thought he could develop Z-Moves? He might as well go to the construction site with Machoke and Gurdurr to mix concrete, and just give up on the Yorozuya.
Gengar floated outside, looking at him in this state, and then lay on the window, seemingly very worried.
"Gengar?"
"I'll take you guys to eat later, just let me be quiet for a bit…"
Hoshino responded, truly feeling his confidence plummet, but he quickly pulled himself together. At worst, he could take time during the winter break to study properly and retake the exam next year. After all, with his talent, he learned quickly.
Then he stood up, ready to leave, but his gaze suddenly caught Lillie and Moon talking ahead. However, none of that was important; the most crucial thing was the score displayed on the screen!
"Full marks…"
Hoshino, who had just recovered, felt his heart shattered again. This morning, he was still sympathizing with the other person, thinking she was like his past self… but it turned out he was completely outclassed in every aspect!
Feeling his gaze, Lillie turned to look. She seemed to be in a good mood today. Seeing Hoshino looking at her score, she asked curiously, "Your scores must be out already, right? I saw you carrying books all the time these past two days…"
Moon took over her words and continued, "Don't drag our class down! Although I don't have a good impression of you, as classmates, if you want to review, we can all help."
"No, thank you…"
He quickly responded, and Hoshino immediately slipped away. If he stayed any longer, he didn't know how much more he'd be discouraged. It was better to just go into seclusion and study.
Moon crossed her arms, shook her head, and sighed, "Still so annoying… I helped inquire from Hau, and he indeed has no family and has been a Trainer for less than two months. Before that, he was always wandering around."
"Is that why he developed this kind of personality…?"
Lillie had suspected it before but this was the first time she knew the truth. Then she looked at Moon and said with a smile, "No wonder you, Class President, offered to help just now."
"We're all classmates, and I heard he skipped grades by defeating Uncle Hala, so… I want to battle him again with all my strength!"
"That's your goal, isn't it!"
"Haha…"
Hoshino, who had already left, was unaware of their conversation. At this moment, he was taking Gengar and Cyclizar to the school cafeteria for lunch, and he was also looking up some things online.
Because there was another Pokémon breeding exam in the afternoon, the specific content seemed to be that the school would randomly assign a Pokémon to you.
Then, within a specified time, you had to simulate the most suitable breeding plan for this Pokémon, write it down, and submit it, and this was only one part of it.
Later, there would be Energy Cube production, a scoring session with Pokémon and the invigilating teachers, and a bunch of other things… in short, it was particularly troublesome.
"Making Energy Cubes? Blender, Berries, and speed requirements… Although I haven't done it before, it doesn't seem too difficult."
Although he was discouraged in the morning, Hoshino was very confident about this exam. There was no way he would fail again. No one understood Pokémon breeding better than him!
Time quickly moved to the afternoon. Gengar and Cyclizar went off to play again, while Hoshino and the other students gathered on the sports field.
He also observed that their entire grade had fewer than a hundred students!
"Alola's biggest school (exaggerated)"
Once the number of students was confirmed, the invigilating teachers from each class began to have each student come forward to randomly draw their partner for this exam, which was a Pokémon.
These Pokémon were wild, mostly living in Hau'oli City, very familiar with humans. They were recruited by the school to help with the exam, and they would also receive compensation, which they could then spend in Kabukicho.
"Wild Pokémon, huh…"
Hoshino was the last to come forward. He drew a card, opened it, and saw an Alolan Meowth, which gave him a strange bad feeling.
"City-dwelling? It can't be…"
He frowned slightly, and then he saw a gray Meowth, on all fours, tail raised, walking arrogantly towards him. Then the two stared at each other.
"Meow?!"
"I want to switch Pokémon!"
Hoshino instantly panicked, because all the stray Meowth in Hau'oli City were part of the same group as those Meowth that often chased him outside Kabukicho!
He recognized the Meowth, and the Meowth also recognized him. Since its companions weren't around, it instinctively wanted to escape, but in the next second, it reacted, then showed a cunning smile and continued to approach…
"Meow~"
"!!!"
Switching Pokémon was impossible. This was for honest students who usually studied hard and diligently, who could handle any Pokémon with ease.
Even Lillie, who was afraid to touch Pokémon, started to take it seriously after maintaining a distance of about two meters from an Audino in front of her.
All the students had already started familiarizing themselves with the Pokémon in front of them, but only Hoshino didn't need to familiarize himself; he even wanted to run away.
"Meow~"
The Meowth walked directly to his side and lay down, then wagged its tail, but that cunning expression made it clear that it was about to cause trouble.
"What kind of luck is this?!"
Hoshino was defeated. Who would have thought that these guys who guarded Kabukicho every day would also come out to work part-time, and he just happened to run into one!
However, he could only bite the bullet now. Since it was impossible to get points from the Meowth, he would get them from the invigilating teacher. This should not be a problem.
Breeding an Alolan Meowth was not difficult. Its move pool wasn't deep, so he could just arrange a top-tier plan for it. The key was the production of Energy Cubes. Would this guy even eat them? It would probably just spit them out…
So he decided to make the Energy Cubes into a dish, using what he learned from Nai-chan. It could finally be put to use.
"Although there are only Berries, it's enough!"
Hoshino immediately went to the other side to look for Berries to use as ingredients and seasonings. He didn't notice that Cyclizar and Gengar were hiding in the nearby bushes, cheering him on.
After selecting the Berries, he immediately went to use the blender to grind some into powder, then put the remaining Berries he needed into it, and then operated it using the method for making Energy Cubes.
He was quite meticulous in this aspect. At the very least, the finished product had to look like an Energy Cube. As for what was inside, that didn't matter.
"Meow?"
Meowth didn't understand what Hoshino was doing, so it quietly approached, but a cat's nose is always very sensitive, not to mention the Meowth family. It could naturally tell that this was not an Energy Cube…
"Just one last step of seasoning…"
Hoshino became completely serious. He had specially formulated a scent that would attract Dark-type Pokémon. He didn't believe that Meowth could eat it and then spit it out.
But just as he was completing the last step, the Meowth, which had been waiting for a long time, leaped from behind, snatched the dish directly, and then ran off with it, leaving someone completely empty-handed.
"???"
"I knew it…"
Hoshino stopped what he was doing. It didn't matter anymore. There wasn't enough time to make it again. If he failed, he failed. His luck was too bad, there was nothing he could do.
Compared to the blow in the morning, this afternoon's situation was still acceptable. It was expected, but he didn't expect that guy to snatch everything.
The commotion here was basically seen by the other students, but they were all busy with their own affairs and couldn't watch the show. They could only continue the exam…
"Meow~"
The escaping Meowth was really happy. It had gotten revenge and a free meal.
Then, in the small woods where it was escaping, it ran into Cyclizar and Gengar.
…
In a blink of an eye, the day ended. Hoshino was also feeling dispirited in every aspect. He had failed two subjects. Tomorrow there was a battle, which was his last hope. This one day had truly made him realize many things.
"As expected, I really need to study hard. I'll go back and read."
"Gengar~"
Gengar waved its small fists, cheering him on, and the Cyclizar beneath him also let out a cry.
They had just bought groceries from the commercial district and were on their way back to Kabukicho, while also thinking about how to deal with those Meowth.
"Those guys…"
Cyclizar was very fast. While Hoshino was still planning, the Wanderer District was already almost reached.
But just then, a chorus of cat meows caught their attention, and Hoshino immediately became alert, ready to deal with any sudden situation.
However, Cyclizar seemed to have discovered something, suddenly quickened its pace, and let out a cry. Gengar was the same; they both found something.
"Cycli!"
"Gengar!"
"Hmm?"
Hoshino was slightly stunned, then Cyclizar uncharacteristically stopped on its own, and their gazes followed, looking into the distance.
They saw a group of gray Meowth gathered by the wall on the street, making various joyful sounds, seemingly having a very good time.
And in the middle of them, there was a white Tandemaus, quite similar to that "Miffy Rabbit," trembling…
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