These questions were quite obscure and certainly couldn’t be underestimated.
A Pokémon Breeder needed an extremely deep understanding of Pokémon.
Merely possessing some superficial knowledge was far from enough.
Perhaps this knowledge didn’t seem particularly impressive even to those who knew it, but this was only the basic foundation required of a Junior Pokémon Breeder.
If someone wanted to properly raise a Pokémon—or make a living through this profession—the amount of effort required was by no means so simple.
At every Pokémon Center stationed in cities and towns, even the minimum requirement for a Pokémon nurse, in other words, a Nurse Joy, was to possess knowledge at the level of an Intermediate Pokémon Breeder.
The knowledge tested in the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination was far from representing the full extent of what a Breeder needed to know.
Compared with the knowledge possessed by those Master Breeders, this material was practically child’s play.
Wally continued answering the questions.
Before long, he had finished all ten fill-in-the-blank questions without wasting much time.
Only twenty minutes had passed, and he had already reached the final two written-analysis questions.
The written-analysis questions required an answer of at least 150 Chinese characters.
The questions were generally closely related to practical situations and required the examinees to connect multiple areas of knowledge.
They would often even go slightly beyond the current examination level, effectively giving the examinees an opportunity to demonstrate a higher level of understanding.
Each question was worth 20 points.
The graders would award points based on the key points covered in an examinee’s answer.
Generally speaking, obtaining more than 10 points was already considered a decent result.
The examination contained questions of varying difficulty, but the final two questions were the real test of an examinee’s level.
Written Analysis [Illustration]: Marill’s white cheek patches have turned light green, and it appears to be in extreme pain.
How should it be treated?
Even Wally paused after seeing the first written-analysis question and began organizing his thoughts.
The written-analysis questions were different from the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions before them.
They weren’t simply testing knowledge of a single Pokémon.
The written-analysis portion of the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination involved two different Pokémon.
Fortunately, this was only a written examination.
After years of experience setting examination questions, people had gradually figured out certain patterns in how to answer them.
Wally had studied examination papers and answer analyses from previous years many times, so he had also figured out some of the underlying logic.
It was more or less similar to the examination principles of his previous life.
However, a written examination was ultimately still a written examination.
If one encountered a real situation, whether a Breeder could respond to it appropriately and take emergency measures was an entirely different matter.
Marill.
Light green.
Pain.
After thinking carefully for several minutes, Wally finally began writing.
Starting from the observed symptoms, Marill’s painful condition could mean that it had suffered an injury or had been afflicted by a status condition, such as paralysis, poisoning, or burn.
The white areas on Marill’s cheeks had turned light green, suggesting that some substance had altered the condition of its body.
Perhaps it was a status condition.
But the light green coloration shown in the illustration initially gave Wally no obvious clue.
The knowledge tested by the Junior Pokémon Breeder examination wouldn’t normally be excessively difficult.
It generally focused on relatively common Pokémon.
From what Wally remembered, both poisoning and paralysis could potentially cause Marill discomfort.
Marill generally enjoyed playing in the water and was commonly found in forests.
With that in mind, Wally narrowed his search to certain Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon.
The first Pokémon he thought of was the Wurmple evolutionary line.
However, after thinking about it, he immediately ruled them out.
Beautifly’s Stun Spore was brownish-yellow.
The toxins delivered through its bite were brown mixed with purple, while the toxins in its poisonous stingers were dark purple.
Dustox was similar.
The symptoms caused by its toxins tended toward a reddish-purple coloration, which also didn’t match the situation.
As for Grass-type Pokémon, Oddish, Shroomish, and others didn’t seem to fit either.
However, after organizing his thoughts about the habitats and characteristics of various other Pokémon, Wally ultimately turned his attention to Shroomish.
Although Shroomish’s Stun Spore and Poison Powder didn’t match these symptoms, Shroomish possessed another distinctive characteristic: its unique spores.
These released spores were different from Poison Powder and more potent toxins.
Shroomish generally treasured these spores and would only release them when it was in considerable danger.
The spores also contained certain toxins, ultimately forming a special powder unique to Shroomish.
These spores could be used against enemies, but they could also be used to produce certain medicines, making them valuable medicinal materials.
Most importantly, Shroomish loved eating the damp soil and decaying leaves found on forest floors, which meant that it particularly favored humid environments.
With that, Wally’s train of thought became clear.
Marill and Shroomish.
Those were the key to solving the question.
But at this point, he had only answered half of it.
Knowing the cause was one thing.
The question also tested how a Breeder would actually deal with the situation.
Someone without a clear understanding of the problem might simply write something like, “Use an Antidote.”
But the question certainly couldn’t be that simple.
If treatment was begun before the situation had been properly identified, it could even cause secondary harm to the Pokémon.
Wally’s answer was as follows:
First, Marill should stop moving.
Its tail should then be gently squeezed until the color of its cheeks changed to a deeper green.
After that, the best course of action would be to use a Pecha Berry or the other specified Berry to counteract the poison, with an Antidote being the next-best option.
If nothing was available, Marill should conserve its energy as much as possible and avoid using moves.
It should seek out an antidote as soon as possible.
After the poison had been neutralized, Marill should then release its stored energy through repeated use of its moves until it was completely exhausted.
This would be the safest way to resolve the problem.
Marill’s large, round tail stored sufficient nutrients for its growth.
Once poisoned, the toxins would first invade its tail, and those nutrients would become contaminated as well.
To prevent the toxins from penetrating deeper and negatively affecting Marill’s future growth, Marill first needed to stop using its tail for movement and keep the toxins in a relatively stable state.
Next, its tail should be massaged.
Taking advantage of the tail’s unique elasticity, most of the foreign toxins could be squeezed toward the cheeks.
This was where the medicine would first take effect, and it was also the most effective point of treatment.
However, the matter still wouldn’t be completely resolved.
The toxins hadn’t yet been entirely expelled.
Although Marill would no longer be in serious danger at this point, it was still necessary, as a precaution, to have Marill repeatedly use its moves to expend energy and release as much of the toxin that had infiltrated its energy reserves as possible.
Only then could the problem be considered essentially resolved.
Of course, different toxins and different Pokémon suffering from poisoning would require different treatment methods.
That was precisely the difficult part of being a Pokémon Breeder.
After writing all of this down in relatively precise language, Wally breathed a sigh of relief.
Clearly, even solving a question like this required considerable mental effort from him at his current level.
Without wasting any time, Wally immediately turned his attention to the second question.
How can a Meowth be taught the following moves?
Choose one to answer:
Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Double Team, Water Pulse…
This was an entirely different type of question.
It concerned the training and teaching of Pokémon moves, which was likewise one of the fundamental skills shared by both Pokémon Breeders and Trainers.