The third exam — Practical Battle Assessment
"Clang—"
As the bell signaling the start of the third round rang out, Nurse Joy and the examiner on the battlefield simultaneously sent out their Pokémon.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Nurse Joy ordered.
A stream of water shot out from Squirtle's mouth and sprayed directly onto Charmander. Afraid of water, Charmander immediately let out a terrified cry.
"Squirtle, use Skull Bash!"
Nurse Joy decided to press the advantage, not letting go of any opportunity to attack, and swiftly commanded Squirtle to strike.
"Bang—"
Squirtle's head slammed into Charmander, knocking it to the ground and winning the match.
"Go, Nurse Joy, that was amazing! Todd, now's the moment—those shining beads of sweat are perfect for a photo!"
In the audience, Brock excitedly leaned toward Todd, urging him to quickly capture Nurse Joy's heroic moment.
Of course, Brock wasn't urging Todd just to keep the photo…
"Yeah, yeah—"
Todd shot Brock a sidelong look of disdain and replied perfunctorily, but didn't press the shutter. He didn't want Nurse Joy to mistake him for some kind of creep.
(To be honest, when revisiting this episode, Pikachu and Misty's expressions were absolutely hilarious—it really made me laugh.)
After Nurse Joy's match ended, Red and the other two stepped forward to the examiner, preparing to choose their Poké Ball belts for the battle.
"Come on, pick any one you like," the examiner said.
"Which one should I choose…?"
Ash stared at the seven belts on the table, hesitating for a long time, unable to decide.
"Can't we know what Pokémon are inside?" Ash asked.
"That's what makes it a test. These Pokémon are trained for battle—they will listen to your commands."
The examiner explained to Ash.
"What we want to see is whether a trainer can adapt no matter what kind of Pokémon appears."
"So we're challenging the instructor?" James asked.
"That's right," the examiner replied.
After understanding the rules, Red was the first to take the rightmost Poké Ball belt. Ash and James soon made their choices as well.
Through the drawing rules, Red became the first among the three to challenge the examiner.
"Clang—"
The bell rang, and both Red and the examiner threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
Two flashes of white light faded, revealing Wartortle and Butterfree before everyone.
"Not bad—it's actually Wartortle." Red nodded in satisfaction.
"Luck is also a kind of strength," the examiner said helplessly, already suspecting that Red might sweep his team with just this single Wartortle. As the examiner, he naturally knew what kind of lineup his belt contained.
"Wartortle, use Water Pulse!"
Water condensed into a sphere and shot instantly from Wartortle's mouth toward the Butterfree flying above.
"Butterfree, use Confusion to send it back!"
Butterfree's compound eyes glowed blue as it controlled the Water Pulse and reflected it back at Wartortle.
"Use Ice Beam, then follow up with Iron Tail!" Red calmly ordered.
Ice Beam instantly froze the Water Pulse into a solid ice sphere. Wartortle spun and struck it with Iron Tail, shattering it into shards that rapidly hit Butterfree's body.
Even if Butterfree wanted to dodge, it couldn't escape the barrage of ice fragments.
"Excellent tactics—as expected of Dr. Red!" the examiner praised, revealing Red's identity.
"Right now I'm just an ordinary examinee. There's no need to go easy on me," Red said seriously, urging the examiner to take the battle properly.
(Go easy? That requires having something to hold back in the first place!)
The examiner complained internally. He really hadn't planned to hold back at all.
"Use Icy Wind to freeze Butterfree in the air!"
The freezing wind instantly blew over Butterfree. Before it could react, its entire body was frozen solid and fell to the ground, where it was finished off by Wartortle's Iron Tail.
"Butterfree has lost the ability to battle!" the referee announced.
"Even though he's never used Wartortle before, Red can still give commands so skillfully—just as expected of Red!" Brock exclaimed.
"Click! Click!"
Todd, the devoted fan, had already picked up his camera and was frantically taking photos of Red commanding Wartortle.
Seeing that Wartortle still had plenty of stamina, Red chose not to switch Pokémon and continued the battle.
The examiner then sent out his next Pokémon, looking somewhat helplessly at the Venomoth flying above.
Red raised an eyebrow, seemingly guessing what the examiner's third Pokémon would be—the one he was most familiar with.
"Clang—"
The bell rang again, and the examiner took the initiative to attack, commanding Venomoth to fly high and scatter Stun Spore from its wings.
"Stay in place and use Rapid Spin to create airflow!"
"Wartortle! Wartortle!"
Wartortle retreated into its shell and began spinning rapidly. The airflow generated by Rapid Spin blew away the falling Stun Spore, and some of it even drifted back toward Venomoth, which quickly avoided it.
"Use Ice Beam to freeze its wings!"
Wartortle spun into the perfect position and fired a precise Ice Beam, freezing Venomoth's wings into ice.
With its wings frozen, Venomoth couldn't maintain flight and was forced to crash to the ground, where Wartortle rushed in and used Skull Bash, knocking it down in a single strike.
"Venomoth has lost the ability to battle!"
Due to Red's overwhelming dominance, the audience erupted in cheers for his strength.
"I didn't expect so many people to support brother," Ash said with emotion, clenching his fists and vowing to make his upcoming battle just as thrilling.
The examiner threw his final Poké Ball, and the last Pokémon to appear was Beedrill.
"As expected…" Red shook his head helplessly.
"Red's luck is really something…" Misty commented.
"Even without luck, brother would still win."
As Red's biggest supporter, Ash immediately objected, refuting Misty's words.
"Yes, yes, my mistake."
Misty chose to surrender the argument on the spot, not daring to debate with the excited Ash.
The clash between Wartortle and Beedrill ended with Wartortle's absolute domination.
"Beedrill has lost the ability to battle! Therefore, the winner of this match is contestant Red!" the referee announced.
"Congratulations, Red do…—contestant Red. Please make sure to accept this qualification badge!"
After the match, Red and the examiner shook hands. The examiner then handed over the qualification badge.
"I'm still very curious—why would someone of your status come all the way to this Pokémon League Admissions Exam center to take the test? With your strength, you could already defeat many Gym Leaders."
The examiner asked, puzzled by Red's purpose.
"Just for interest. Collecting League badges along the journey is also part of the fun," Red replied, fastening the qualification badge beside his collar.
"A Green Badge?!"
The examiner stared in shock at the first badge on Red's collar—it was the Earth Badge from the strongest Gym in the Kanto Region, the Viridian Gym.
"Just got it by chance," Red said lightly, offering no further explanation. He then let out a relaxed breath and walked toward the audience where Ash and the others were seated.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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