-085- Entrance Examination (2/3)

"Since everyone is here, let's begin."
The homeroom teacher, Xia Yan, stood up and adjusted her glasses, sweeping her gaze over the room.
"First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Xia Yan, and I'll be your homeroom teacher and nurturing course instructor for the next four years. Since there aren't many students who applied to the Nurturing Department, there are only twenty-nine of you in total. Among you... there is only one male student, Tong Si."
At this, Xia Yan's gaze fell upon Tong Si, and the other girls instinctively glanced at him as well.
Tong Si couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling somewhat awkward.
It was the original owner's idea to apply for the Nurturing Department.
Tong Si had not expected that the department would consist entirely of female students, leaving him in a rather embarrassing position.
If he had known, he would have switched to the Combat Department instead.
"On the first day of school, I hope everyone can relax a little. However, exams must be taken as scheduled—that's the academy's rule. Since everyone is present, I'll hand out the test papers. The morning will be devoted to the written exam, and the afternoon to the Pokémon battle. I hope you all perform well. The combined results of both exams will determine your entry ranking."
With these words, Xia Yan began distributing the test papers.
"Tong Si... hello, my name is Xu Shanshan."
While Xia Yan handed out the papers, the girl sitting next to Tong Si greeted him.
"Hello."
Tong Si nodded slightly, not showing much enthusiasm.
"Um... you can put your backpack here."
Xu Shanshan noticed that Tong Si kept his backpack on, and couldn't help but remind him.
"It's all right. I like carrying it."
Tong Si thanked her for her kindness, but inside the backpack was his pseudo-legendary Pokémon egg—the very reason he insisted on keeping it close.
Once the test papers were distributed, the exam began, and the classroom fell silent.
Tong Si carefully flipped through the paper—six pages in total, a daunting number of questions.
The first section comprised multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions.
At the end came the essay questions.
Looking at the questions, Tong Si began writing without hesitation.
Question one: What is the type of Azurill?
It was a multiple-choice question, with options:
A: Water type
B: Fairy type
C: Normal type
D: Normal and Fairy type
Tong Si selected D without a second thought.
If someone was misled by appearances, it would be easy to answer incorrectly.

Though Azurill appears to be a Water type, it is actually a dual Normal and Fairy type Pokémon.
Before the Fairy type was discovered, it was purely Normal type.
The next few multiple-choice questions were of a similar nature.
Soon, Tong Si moved on to the fill-in-the-blank section.
First blank: Which Pokémon's base stats remain unchanged after evolution?
Tong Si didn't even need to think—he wrote "Scyther."
This was a niche fact; anyone unfamiliar with base stats would struggle to answer.
Second blank: Which Pokémon's weight remains unchanged after evolution?
Another obscure question, but Tong Si happened to know the answer.
He quickly wrote "Grimer."
There were also questions about the Pokémon with the lowest base stats, and other similar fill-in-the-blank questions.
When he reached the short answer section, Tong Si noticed a change in format.
Short answer one: How does Karrablast evolve?
Tong Si pondered briefly, then wrote: "Find a Trainer with a Shelmet, and use the communication device at the Pokémon Association to trade and evolve."
He had to admit, the questions were quite interesting.
From multiple-choice on Pokémon types, to fill-in-the-blank about base stats, and short answer on evolutionary methods—
It was a comprehensive test of the students' grasp of basic Pokémon knowledge.
Finally, there were three essay questions.
The first: If you have a Pichu, how would you nurture it? Please describe your method in detail (no fewer than eight hundred words).
The second: As a beginner with one million League coins, how would you select and nurture your starter Pokémon? (no fewer than one thousand words)
The third: As a Pokémon breeder, what do you believe is the core of nurturing Pokémon? How can one become an outstanding breeder? Please include your insights from the previous two questions. (no fewer than fifteen hundred words)
Faced with the three consecutive essay questions, Tong Si frowned slightly, but soon began writing his answers.
With his pen flying across the page, he filled out the entire exam in just over half an hour.
He glanced discreetly at Xu Shanshan, who was still on the third fill-in-the-blank question.
Tong Si couldn't help but laugh—she didn't know the Pokémon with the lowest base stats? Surely, it's Wishiwashi, isn't it obvious?
Tong Si stood up and walked directly to the teacher's desk to submit his paper.
The girls in the class stared in confusion as Tong Si made his way to the front.
"It's only been half an hour, how is Tong Si handing in his paper already? The exam lasts two and a half hours!"
"Did Tong Si give up because he couldn't do it?"
"Tong Si, please keep working on the questions, don't give up..."
"..."

The girls in the class all had different thoughts.
Only Chu Xuanxuan, who had participated in the Pokémon knowledge competition with Tong Si, saw things clearly.
"This guy! Did he really finish already? That's fast!"
Chu Xuanxuan, busy writing her essay, was a little irritated.
In terms of speed, she had lost to Tong Si.
"Tong Si, are you sure you want to submit your paper? There's still more than an hour and a half left before the exam ends."
Even Xia Yan, the homeroom teacher, was puzzled by Tong Si's actions.
"I'm sure."
After leaving his exam on the desk, Tong Si walked straight out of the classroom.
Passing through the corridor, he saw that, besides his own Nurturing Class, other departments were also taking their exams—
The Archaeology class, the Research class, the Astronomy class, and so on.
Each department had only one class, so they shared the same floor as the Nurturing class.
"Let's get some fresh air on the rooftop."
With that thought, Tong Si headed to the top of the academic building.
He had to admit, the air was much better up high.
After taking a nap there, the exam time finally ended.
Tong Si received a call from Jiang Tao, inviting him to lunch.
They met up and headed straight for the cafeteria.
Along the way, many people recognized Tong Si.
The title "Best Rookie" was too striking, so everywhere he went, he was recognized.
"Tong Si, how did the exam go this morning?"
Jiang Tao asked casually.
"Of course... just so-so."
Tong Si had originally wanted to say it went fine, but as for the art of boasting—
The best way is to claim mediocrity despite doing well, and then amaze everyone when the results are revealed.
Jiang Tao, however, rolled his eyes in disbelief.
...(To be continued)