Chapter 30: Pokémon League Qualification Exam
Chapter 30: Pokémon League Qualification Exam
After helping Aerodactyl recover its strength, Ron took out his phone and called Professor Oak. He had only bought this phone after coming into money; otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted cash on something as trivial as long-distance communication.
He informed Professor Oak about the discovery of fossil Pokémon in Grampa Canyon and asked him to notify the League to protect them.
Professor Oak acknowledged the information but quickly ended the call, saying he didn't want to be disturbed while researching the fossil Pokémon.
Not long after, a team of League officials arrived in Grampa Canyon. They evacuated the fossil diggers and assured Ron that the area would soon be designated as a Fossil Pokémon Protection Zone.
Ron smirked to himself. Without an Aerodactyl encounter, would Ash's Charmeleon still evolve into Charizard?
After bidding farewell to the League staff, Ron and Lillie continued their journey. Their next destination was the Pokémon League Qualification Exam, where winning a single badge would grant them direct entry into the League tournament.
When Ron mentioned this to Lillie, she became interested and decided to participate as well. Even though she wasn't confident about ranking high, she believed participation was more important than winning.
Grampa Canyon was vast. By the time night fell, they had only reached the Pokémon Center on the outskirts. After a night's rest, they resumed their journey. Passing through Doll Town, Lillie bought a large number of plushies to send back home.
After six more days of travel, they finally arrived at the Pokémon League Qualification Exam site.
Ron and Lillie registered for the exam. Ron was assigned number 12, while Lillie got number 16.
After handing over their Pokémon to the examiners, they were led into the testing hall. Ron quickly realized that he was seated far from Lillie, likely to prevent cheating among acquaintances.
---
The first round was a written exam, testing their knowledge of Pokémon.
Ron felt confident—his years of playing Pokémon games had prepared him well.
Sample Questions
"The heaviest known Pokémon is Snorlax. O or X?"
Ron hesitated. Did they mean Kanto-only or all regions?
The actual heaviest Pokémon was Cosmoem at 999.9 kg, but if the question was Kanto-specific, then Snorlax, at 460 kg, was the heaviest.
After some thought, he marked O (true).
"Lickitung's tongue is twice the length of its body. O or X?"
Easy. O (true).
"Hitmonchan is known as the 'Kicking Fiend.' O or X?"
Wrong—Hitmonlee is the one known for kicking. Answer: X (false).
---
The exam was straightforward. Anyone who had played Pokémon games should be able to answer most of them.
The second section of the written test was "Guess the Pokémon from the Image."
The first image displayed a spiral pattern.
Ron immediately recalled an episode of the anime where clockwise spirals belonged to Poliwhirl and counterclockwise spirals belonged to Poliwag.
Since the spiral was clockwise, he confidently wrote "Poliwhirl."
The answer was revealed—it was indeed Poliwhirl.
The next image was a flame. The examiner explained that it was the tail flame of a Pokémon.
Ron glanced at it and immediately wrote down "Charizard."
Again, he was correct.
The rest of the image-based questions varied in difficulty, but Ron managed a decent mix of right and wrong answers.
---
After finishing the written exam, Ron and Lillie left the testing hall to await their results.
Lillie sighed, looking frustrated.
"That was hard… I don't think I did well."
Ron patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Didn't you say participation is the most important thing?"
Shortly after, the results were posted.
Ron scanned the list.
The rankings were divided into three categories:
1. "Excellent"
2. "Good"
3. "Below Average"
Ron first checked the Below Average section—neither he nor Lillie were there.
Next, he looked in the Good section and found Lillie's name.
Lillie cheered and high-fived Ron—she had passed the written exam!
Finally, Ron checked the Excellent section—his name was there.
---
After a lunch break, the practical battle exam began.
Participants were led to a station where they were provided a belt with three random Poké Balls attached.
"The next round will be a three-on-three battle," the examiner explained. "Best two out of three wins, but your performance in battle will also affect your score."
Ron and Lillie nodded in understanding and each picked a belt.
Since Ron's match wasn't scheduled yet, Lillie went first.
She held her first Poké Ball tightly and whispered:
"Come on… be something good!"
With a flash of light, a Venusaur appeared.
Lillie beamed with excitement. "Venusaur! Wow! We got lucky! Let's do our best!"
The examiner then sent out his first Pokémon.
Everyone gasped.
It was a Caterpie.
The examiner scratched his head in embarrassment.
Ron facepalmed.
"She got insanely lucky. This isn't even a fair fight."
The battle lasted exactly one move.
One Vine Whip. One KO.
---
Second round
Lillie's next Pokémon was Blastoise.
Ron felt an ominous premonition.
The examiner released his second Pokémon.
It was a Weedle.
The audience erupted in shocked whispers.
"What kind of insane luck is this?!"
"Why don't I ever get matchups this easy?!"
Again, one Water Gun. One KO.
Even the examiner chuckled awkwardly.
"This student sure has good luck. But luck is also a form of skill. Do you still want to proceed to the third match?"
Lillie smiled and nodded. "Yes! I want to fight all three battles."
For the final round, Lillie got Charizard.
The examiner released his last Pokémon—a Scyther.
Ron smirked. "This is a guaranteed win."
Having watched Ron train Charizard for so long, Lillie knew exactly how to command it.
With Fire/Flying typing, Charizard had a clear advantage over Scyther.
Even though the battles were random, it was now clear that Lillie had simply been incredibly lucky with her matchups.
She won easily.
The audience murmured in disbelief.
---
With Lillie's battles finished, it was now Ron's turn to fight.
He confidently walked onto the battlefield and prepared to release his first Pokémon.