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Ivy's strongest Blaziken had been defeated in an instant. It wasn't that her ace Pokemon didn't live up to its reputation—it was simply a matter of type compatibility and fighting style.
Blaziken's greatest strength was its speed. All of its training, tactics, and techniques revolved around being fast. If an opponent couldn't keep up with Blaziken's speed, it was absolutely impossible to defeat it. Conversely, once something could match its speed, Blaziken's advantage disappeared entirely.
After Electivire had fully mastered mega-level voltage control, the lightning coursing through its body was no longer a chaotic, random discharge. Instead, it stimulated cells in an orderly and stable manner according to Electivire's will. This efficient use of electrical energy made today's Lightning Armor far superior to previous versions in terms of both speed and defense.
Not only that, but the controlled bursts of electricity throughout its body could greatly increase nerve conduction speed, dramatically improving its reaction time. Electivire's greatest natural assets were its raw strength and vitality. After donning the Lightning Armor, its speed and defense had been greatly enhanced, and now its final weakness—reaction speed—had also been perfected.
This made it a true close-combat tyrant. Combined with its "Legendary Pokemon" level life force, it was equivalent to an ordinary Pokemon maintaining permanent Mega Evolution. Its base stats had reached a crushing level compared to regular Pokemon, making it the strongest member of Roy's team.
Whether it was Lucario or Metagross, only after Mega Evolution could they compete with Electivire for a short time. Once they returned to their normal forms, they were no match for it.
Metagross had been depressed for several days. It had worked so hard to reclaim the glory befitting a pseudo-legendary Pokemon, and within just a few days of occupying the throne as the team's strongest, Electivire had challenged that position. It considered Electivire its lifelong rival.
"Student," Ivy walked over, looking at Electivire with a complicated expression, and said quietly, "Why did you lie to your senior?"
"Huh?" Roy was confused. "When did I lie to you?"
"You still claim that's not a Mega Electabuzz?!" Ivy's eyes widened in accusation.
Roy was speechless. The scope of Electivire's "evolution" was too dramatic. In the eyes of outsiders, this definitely wasn't the kind of improvement that ordinary evolution could bring. Only Mega Evolution could explain such a transformation.
Of course, Roy couldn't exactly explain that this change came from Zekrom's power. Just as Ho-Oh had created Entei, Suicune, and Raikou, it wasn't difficult for a powerful legendary Pokemon to elevate another creature to legendary status.
Unable to provide a proper explanation, Roy could only silently leave the arena to make room for the next candidate.
Candidate Number 25 entered the field. Perhaps seeking psychological balance after her earlier defeat, Ivy demonstrated her full strength and won every match within mere moments.
Candidate 25 stood there bewildered. "Wasn't this supposed to be an exam? Why does the examiner look like she wants to destroy me?"
The results of the first test were announced shortly after. In Roy's group, all five candidates had passed. Although Number 25 had been thoroughly dominated, he still met the strength requirements.
As for being dominated... that was actually what should happen to a normal professional-level trainer. Which ordinary professional-level trainer could achieve three consecutive victories against a master-level opponent? Well, except for Roy, but he was clearly an exception.
"Everyone passed..." Roy wasn't surprised by this outcome. The first stage of the professional-level assessment was essentially a formality, as long as each Pokemon demonstrated professional-level strength and performed adequately in actual combat.
The main purpose was to screen out trainers and Pokemon who relied solely on time and resources but lacked combat experience, unclear tactics, and had no real fighting effectiveness.
Roy patted a brand new Poke Ball on his belt—that would be you next time, Salamence.
Salamence sensed Roy's telepathic message and let out an aggrieved dragon's roar from within its Poke Ball. "Aww~" After being neglected for so long, there was nothing it could do about the situation.
The Poke Ball next to Salamence belonged to Blastoise, who immediately stood up and offered comfort. "It's okay, as long as you can fly."
Blastoise was quite envious of Salamence's wings. When it wanted to take to the air, it could use the force of Hydro Pump to reach high altitudes, but strictly speaking, that was jumping rather than true flight.
Metagross expressed doubt. "Flying? No way. Surely no Pokemon here can't fly, right?"
Ninetales mentioned that it could use Psychic abilities to become airborne.
Mimikyu immediately chimed in that as a Ghost-type, it could float naturally.
Electivire chuckled. "Fortunately, I understand anti-gravity fields."
Lucario initially didn't want to engage in such a childish topic, but seeing that everyone else had spoken up, its competitive nature emerged. It stated that aura power could also achieve levitation.
Salamence was devastated: "..." (My only advantage is gone?)
Blastoise sighed: "..." (I'm the only one who can't fly...)
All team members could communicate through aura power, and this kind of "Poke Ball chat group" interaction happened every day.
The difficulty of the professional-level assessment skyrocketed dramatically starting from the second stage.
After thoroughly defeating Candidate 25 and regaining her confidence as a master-level trainer, Ivy smiled as she announced the rules for the second stage to the candidates.
"The second stage is a 6v6 full team battle mode," she explained. "However, unlike the group battle formats you've experienced before, we won't be using a 'competitive' ruleset, but rather an irregular format—actual combat!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the first-time assessment candidates showed surprised expressions. As a national military force and an officially recognized instrument of power, professional trainers absolutely needed the qualities to adapt to real combat situations. There was no question about that.
But an actual "combat" test... weren't they afraid something might go wrong? In real battles, it was often impossible to hold back.
Ivy continued: "All members will engage in 6v6 combat. The victory condition isn't to defeat all of the opponent's Pokemon, but to render the opposing trainer unable to continue fighting."
"Don't worry about personal safety during the assessment—everyone will use 'Substitutes' for the test."
Roy frowned. Substitutes? What did that mean?
Without keeping him and the other candidates waiting, Ivy brought out the so-called "Substitute." It was a metallic humanoid figure with a helmet.
Ivy picked up the helmet and put it on. Soon, the metal dummy's prosthetic eyes lit up and quickly assumed the same posture as Ivy. The dummy waved to everyone, moving exactly like Ivy. Even its voice was identical when it spoke.
"This is the Substitute," Ivy explained through the dummy. "If the Substitute's eyes are glowing, it means it still has the ability to move. If they go dark, it loses all function."
"This Substitute will replace the trainer and participate in the 'combat' phase, with each trainer controlling it remotely. By the way, you don't need to worry about interference from Electric-type Pokemon. Unless the connection is deliberately severed, it won't be broken."
Everyone was amazed. This was technology that had never been demonstrated to civilians—clearly military training equipment. It was unfortunate that this equipment operated through brainwaves, making it vulnerable to Psychic-type Pokemon. Otherwise, it could be deployed in actual combat, greatly reducing the risk of trainer casualties.
"In the second assessment, I will personally evaluate everyone's 'combat' and 'team battle' abilities," Ivy announced. "Winning or losing doesn't necessarily affect the results—"
Halfway through her explanation, Ivy spotted Roy among the candidates and immediately revised her statement: "If you manage to defeat me, you'll naturally pass the test. As for those who lose, I'll score them based on their actual performance. You need more than six points to pass."