The Gliscor’s tail stinger relaxed slightly.
Shane pressed a hand against his own throat, then gestured toward the Gliscor’s throat.
“It hurts here, right?”
He keenly caught the flash of pain in the Gliscor’s eyes.
Having confirmed the general situation, Shane began to soothe the Gliscor.
Comforted, the Gliscor lowered its guard, allowing Shane to begin examining its body.
Through his protective gloves, he gently touched the Gliscor’s cold carapace.
The signs of poisoning were clear, but what made Shane frown was the abnormal stiffness and tension in the muscles beneath the shell.
This didn’t seem like a simple case of poisoning.
Furthermore, the Gliscor’s symptoms looked more like severe nausea than pure pain.
“Paralysis stacked with poisoning…
Is it the Poison Heal ability?”
Shane could have directly probed the Gliscor’s status, but doing so would trample on his past four years of hard study.
As Shane rapidly analyzed the possible causes in his mind, his fingertips suddenly brushed against a hard lump in its stomach.
The Gliscor violently arched its back and gagged.
“Relax, just throw it up and you’ll feel better.”
Shane supported the Gliscor’s violently trembling jaw with his left hand, steadying its head, while his right hand swiftly grabbed the nearby trash can.
“Just let it out, trust me!”
He held the Gliscor steadily, his fingertips feeling the spasms in its jaw muscles and the violent contractions of its throat, guiding it with patient determination.
“That’s it, just like that, push…”
Finally, a crisp clatter rang out!
A deep purple Toxic Orb, radiating an ominous aura and mixed with viscous stomach acid, rolled into the bottom of the bucket.
The nausea was caused by indigestion from swallowing an entire Toxic Orb.
With the crisis resolved, Shane breathed a sigh of relief, but his hands didn’t stop moving.
He quickly picked up a Lum Berry he had prepared earlier and skillfully tossed it into the portable Pokéblock blender.
The machine began to run with a soft hum.
At the same time, he grabbed a sterile cotton ball, dipped it in warm water, and gently yet efficiently wiped away the stomach acid clinging to the Gliscor’s teeth and mouth.
The Gliscor definitely wouldn’t be able to stomach a Pokéblock right after vomiting, so Shane helped it rinse its mouth with water and waited for it to recover a bit.
“Feeling better?
Want to try this?”
When the emerald-colored block was offered to its mouth, the Gliscor hesitantly gave it a sniff.
‘It smells amazing.’
The Gliscor opened its mouth and swallowed it whole.
The purple spots on its carapace faded away like a receding tide, and its tail pincers happily tapped out a cheerful rhythm.
Shane looked at the revitalized Gliscor and let out a sigh of relief.
The emergency first aid and treatment were a success.
With this task completed, the Gliscor was guided away by the association staff.
Shane moved on to the next assessments: advanced breeding item production and practical breeding operations.
These two tasks were relatively simpler than the last.
Relying on his solid fundamentals and clear thinking, Shane smoothly produced five types of advanced Pokéblocks.
He then successfully completed a physical examination and care plan for a newborn Pokémon, followed by successfully facilitating the breeding process for a pair of Pokémon. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
The second phase of the exam concluded perfectly.
By the time Shane stepped out, the three Breeders looked at him with newfound respect.
He truly lived up to his reputation as the most talented Breeder in the Donghuang region; he had executed all three tasks flawlessly.
Shane’s results were uploaded to the terminal, and the scores for the two phases were quickly released.
Written Exam: 97 (out of 100)
Practical Exam: 93 (out of 100)
Only the final phase remained: the comprehensive assessment.
Candidates could only participate in the third phase if their scores in the first two phases were both above eighty-five.
The details for the comprehensive assessment were soon revealed: an ecological survey of the Magic City Forest.
It had to be completed within two months and could be conducted with the assistance of two Trainers.
The final grade would be based on various data points, including Pokémon populations and environmental conditions.
Shane took out Whimsicott’s Poké Ball.
With a flash of red light, the little guy landed lightly on his shoulder.
“Whimsi?” *’Is the exam over?’*
Shane smiled and rubbed its fluff.
“Whimsicott, it looks like we’re taking another trip to the Magic City Forest.
It’s a pretty big assignment this time.”
Whimsicott immediately perked up.
“Whimsi-cott!” *’With me here, don’t worry, it’ll be a breeze!’*
This assessment required ample preparation, but Shane was in no rush.
“Whimsi?” *’Are we going right now?’*
Whimsicott looked up and nuzzled his chin, its orange eyes reflecting the darkening sky outside the window.
“We’ll go next month.” Shane buried his face in the fluff and took a deep breath.
“We spent two whole months surveying the ecological data of the Magic City Forest with Professor Doran last year.”
He remembered the flow of the forest streams, knew exactly which meadows the Skiddo herds inhabited, and could even map out the distribution of fruit trees gnawed on by Furret with his eyes closed.
This familiarity turned the comprehensive assessment from a daunting challenge into a routine review.
A week would be more than enough.
His phone screen lit up, the blue light at 6:48 PM piercing through the twilight.
His missed call list was flooded with Kade’s name.
“This guy…”
The dial tone rang for barely half a second before it was cut off by a booming voice.
“Shane!
You went viral again!”
“What?”
“Check W-Tube!” Kade sent over a video that was clearly spliced together from two different clips.
One part showed a side profile of Shane sitting quietly with Whimsicott in his arms while waiting in the Breeder Association lobby, and the other was his battle against the Conkeldurr in the battle restaurant.
The comments under the video were surging like a tidal wave:
“Taking the Advanced exam at twenty-one?!
“My shiny female Machamp is holding a Big Root and asking me why I’m watching a video on my knees again…”
“Is he seriously that handsome?!
Let me pet that Whimsicott!”
However, the tactical analysis threads were stirring up an even bigger storm:
“Leech Seed + Protect + Leftovers = Perpetual Motion Machine?”
“Dirty!
So incredibly dirty!
Elite Four Percy finally has a successor!”
“A new rising star for Donghuang’s stall teams!”
Elite Four Percy was a tactical master from the Dian Province.
His defensive core of six Pokémon—Amoonguss, Gastrodon, Togekiss, Corviknight, Rillaboom, and Porygon2—had crushed the Elite Four dreams of countless Trainers.
He was a Trainer who had truly taken obnoxious disruption and team synergy to the absolute limit.
Shane took a glance.
The uploader hadn’t stopped there; they had actually created a Shane Fan Club group chat.
They were clearly Shane’s ultimate superfan!
Kade was laughing hysterically on the other end of the line until Shane forcefully cut him off.
It was just an unofficial fan group.
Many star Trainers had them, so Shane didn’t pay it much mind.
“How was the exam?” Kade asked, stifling his laughter to change the subject.
“Written exam 97, practical 93.” Shane ran his fingertips over the tips of Whimsicott’s ears.
“All that’s left is the ecological assessment in the Magic City Forest.”
“You can bring two Trainers, right?
Want me to drag my dad along…”
“Don’t!”
Shane could practically picture Elite Four Marcus’s exasperated face if he were dragged over by his son to act as a bodyguard.
“Having you with me is enough.
The rules don’t restrict levels, but having an Elite Four member act as my escort?
How would that look?
We can just find a random student from the battle department; I can afford the compensation.”
Kade’s father, Marcus, was another Elite Four member of Donghuang, specializing in sun teams.
While the rules indeed didn’t restrict the levels of the two assisting Trainers, dragging an Elite Four member to participate in a junior’s exam would be a massive loss of face.
Besides, becoming an Advanced Breeder meant a fifty percent discount on resources.
TMs for Whimsicott’s new moves, items for future Pokémon breeding…
he could save a massive amount of money.
Not to mention, the title of the youngest Advanced Breeder was an unparalleled bargaining chip in itself.
Was there any fear of not being able to hire someone?
“Got it!” Kade grinned, looking as fired up as a Charizard spitting sparks.
“Leave the candidate to me, I’ll recommend someone for you when the time comes!”
“Alright, thanks.”
“Ha, no need for thanks between us.”