Chapter 376: The Background Character
"Basalt? Who is Basalt?"
Not only Zayne Zhang, but all the candidates present were confused. The person whose data was so impressive that it made the evaluator gasp in surprise... wasn't Zayne Zhang?
Seeing Zayne freeze, the evaluator frowned. "You're not Basalt?"
"Evaluator, my name is Zayne Zhang. My father is..."
Zayne was used to introducing himself, but remembering this was an exam venue, he stopped abruptly. If he really pulled the "do you know who my father is" card, he'd be headline news tomorrow. His father would kill him.
"Oh? You're Zayne Zhang? Not bad, I suppose."
After matching the file with Zayne, the old evaluator gave his assessment.
"Not bad, I suppose?"
Veins popped on Zayne's forehead, and his breathing quickened. His data and Pokémon lineup only warranted a "not bad"? Then what kind of lineup did this Basalt have?
On the evaluators' platform, the other evaluators, who hadn't paid much attention to the files initially, immediately picked them up to read carefully. When they saw Zayne's file, they were slightly surprised. But when they saw Basalt's, exclamations rang out one after another.
A shiny Excadrill, a super-sized Bronzong, the Fossil Pokémon Cradily, the pseudo-legendary Pupitar, a muscle-bound Swampert, and a Numel. Although the Numel seemed a bit underwhelming, the other five were either extremely rare or very unique. In summary: extraordinary.
No wonder the old evaluator was so surprised. For one person to collect so many unique Pokémon at such a young age... if you said his skill level was average, the evaluators wouldn't believe it even if you beat them to death. Zayne's Porygon2 was excellent, of course, but compared to Basalt's team, it paled in comparison.
"Which one of you... is Basalt?"
The gray-haired evaluator put on his reading glasses, scanning the crowd with anticipation.
"I am Basalt!"
Basalt raised his hand, stepping out from the crowd and taking off his baseball cap.
"So young! He looks... even younger than Zayne Zhang."
"So handsome!"
The crowd gasped in amazement. At the same time, they marveled at how low-key Basalt was. No one had really noticed him when he entered. In comparison, Zayne's flashy entrance now seemed trivial.
"Are you a freshman?" The old evaluator looked Basalt up and down, nodding in satisfaction. A fine young man!
"Almost a sophomore!" Basalt smiled, effectively admitting it.
"A freshman? Reaching Pro-level at twenty? Seriously?" A thirty-something candidate's eyes widened. Compared to Basalt, he felt like he had wasted his life.
"Which university? Capital or National?" another evaluator asked. A twenty-year-old Pro-level trainer belonged to the super-genius category. Apart from Capital University and National University, the other top 10 schools combined only produced one every few years.
"I'm from Centralis University."
"What? Centralis University?"
Hearing this, some evaluators' expressions changed slightly. Centralis University and Saffron University had always been rivals. If Basalt was from Centralis, things might not look good for Saffron University once he matured.
"Cough, cough~"
The old evaluator was the chief examiner. He coughed lightly, interrupting the other evaluators' questions, as time was tight. He smiled kindly at Basalt. "Do your best. We look forward to your performance!"
As for Zayne Zhang, standing next to Basalt, he had completely become a background character, ignored by everyone.
"Damn it!" Zayne clenched his fists. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life.
"Candidates 1 and 2, please take the field. Candidates 3 and 4, prepare." The staff began arranging the battles according to the candidates' numbers.
Candidate 1 was the thirty-something man named Lin Peng. Candidate 2 was Zayne Zhang.
"Huh? Just my luck..." Lin Peng smiled bitterly at first but quickly regained his confidence. He was an experienced trainer; he believed his command skills were definitely superior to Zayne's. Besides, everyone was here for the exam, meaning their strength was just barely at the Pro-level line. What was there to fear? Genius only meant potential, not current strength. Ginger gets spicier with age!
"Go, Machamp!"
"Go, Pidgeot!"
Both contestants sent out their Pokémon.
"Tch~ Bad start?" Lin Peng frowned. He had thought Zayne would send out Porygon2 first. To win by a large margin, sending out the ace at the start was the right way.
"I knew you'd send out a Fighting-type." Zayne smiled, then sneered. "Pidgeot, Hurricane!"
"Pid-geot~"
Pidgeot shrieked, flapping its wings to gain distance. A massive storm formed under its broad wings, sweeping toward Machamp.
Lin Peng's expression changed. An ultimate move right off the bat? Zayne really doesn't pull his punches.
"Machamp, Wide Guard!" Lin Peng had no choice but to use his defensive trump card. Getting hit by Hurricane was no joke. Machamp would almost certainly be knocked out.
Wide Guard blocked the Hurricane, but Machamp had no time to celebrate. The Pidgeot that had been in the air was gone.
"Aerial Ace!"
Zayne laughed wildly, a look of cunning on his face. The Hurricane was just a distraction; the swift attack hidden behind it was the real goal.
Slash!
Aerial Ace connected. Machamp was sent flying, heavily injured. Flying-type moves were very effective against Fighting-types.
Then, Pidgeot followed up with the unavoidable STAB move Hyper Voice, and Machamp lost its ability to battle.
"Go, Luxray!"
Gritting his teeth, Lin Peng recalled Machamp and sent out Luxray. It was a quadrupedal, lion-like Pokémon with blue and black fur, a mane, yellow eyes with red sclerae, and a long tail ending in a yellow star.
"Lux-ray~"
Luxray crouched, a fierce expression on its face. Seeing this, Pidgeot involuntarily took a few steps back, a dim light flashing across its body.
"Intimidate Ability?" Zayne sneered. Such tricks wouldn't work on him.
The match resumed.
Zayne commanded first: "Pidgeot, U-turn!"
U-turn, a move that allows the user to switch out after attacking. Clearly, Pidgeot was preparing to retreat.
Slash!
At Zayne's command, Pidgeot folded its wings and struck Luxray with lightning speed. Before Luxray could react, Pidgeot turned into red light and returned to its Pokéball.
Lin Peng's Luxray had been charging an Electric-type move, racing against time, but it was still too late. In terms of tactical flexibility, Zayne was far superior to Lin Peng.
"Now, let me show you my strongest partner!" Zayne looked at Lin Peng with a cruel smile. "I hope you're mentally prepared to be crushed."
After speaking, he pretended to glance casually at Basalt, but the provocation was unmistakable.
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