The exam room.
The room was in chaos, and the assessment had to be temporarily suspended.
The judges, including Joy, came over from the next room.
The Oran BerryEnergy Cubes Li Wei made were enough for several servings.
Electrike, Marill, Cherubi, Glameow, and Skorupi were all happily eating the Energy Cubes.
These Pokemon, supposedly very picky eaters, showed no signs of pickiness now.
Joy's Blissey, Da You's Incineroar, and Rui Xi's Glameow also ran out.
Incineroar grabbed a handful with his left hand, then another with his right, and narrowed his eyes.
"Hiss—roar!"
The notification sounds in Li Wei's mind came one after another.
"Ding, gained 999 Energy Cube proficiency."
...
"Ding, gained 999 Energy Cube proficiency."
The proficiency notification sound was now changed by Li Wei to a single total notification.
"Ding, Energy Cube craftsmanship has been upgraded to Advanced."
Li Wei took a moment to look at the skills on his personal panel.
Energy Cube (Advanced): You can create high-quality Energy Cubes that Pokemon praise endlessly, with a certain probability of producing perfect quality.
(1,023 / 100,000)
The most excited elder picked up a crystal-clear Energy Cube and ate it.
Sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and astringent flavors bloomed on his taste buds, making the elder recall his youthful days...
"Roar!"
(Don't snatch it from me!)
The elder named Yasong gave Li Wei a thumbs-up, "My Energy Cubes aren't as good as yours."
Li Wei humbly said, "This time was an exceptional performance; it's not usually this good."
Yasong smiled kindly, "That also shows you have such strength. Your future is limitless; perhaps you can surpass your grandfather."
The glitching system dinged again, and a new main quest appeared.
Main Quest:
Blue is out of blue and better than blue (Optional): Surpass your grandfather and become a Master ClassBreeder recognized by the Alliance!
Because the Host passed the Intermediate Breeder assessment, Junior and Intermediate Breeder rewards are now issued: Random Pokemon Item Lottery Ticket * 3.
Third Stage Quest Goal: Become a Senior Breeder recognized by the Alliance.
Third Stage Quest Reward: Random Pokemon Item Lottery Ticket * 3, Random Skill Improvement.
The rewards were indeed abundant, but the difficulty was also present.
After that, there were Senior, Top, and Master Class.
Finally, there was the Grandmaster Class.
His grandfather was a Top Breeder recognized by the Alliance, so it wouldn't be easy for Li Wei to surpass him.
Li Wei chose to accept.
Li Wei looked at Elder Yasong.
"Do you know my grandfather?"
Yasong nodded, "Old friends. We were even competitors back then, but I wasn't as good as your grandfather."
Li Wei didn't follow up and exchanged contact information with Yasong.
"Please guide me more in the future, Elder Yasong."
Elder Yasong stroked his beard and smiled, "It's not about guidance; perhaps you'll surpass me very soon."
Joy smiled, "Mr. Li Wei, you've passed your Intermediate Breeder assessment, and the second round was a perfect score."
Originally, there was supposed to be a discussion process, but there was nothing to discuss with Li Wei's result.
After eating the nearly perfect Energy Cubes made by Li Wei,
the Pokemon food made by the other four people was like leftover dregs to Marill and the others; they disliked it immensely.
After much persuasion from Joy, Marill and Skorupi reluctantly tried it.
Da You whispered, "I should have known to tell you to make it later."
Li Wei awkwardly said, "This time was truly an exceptional performance."
Da You waved his hand, "It's fine, not as skilled as others, it's normal."
Before the results were out, Elder Yasong looked around at the four people and pointed at the empty basin, asking, "What did you learn from this Energy Cube? There will be bonus points for correct answers."
Elder Yasong's words made the remaining four people see a glimmer of hope.
Although there were bonus points for correct answers, if they couldn't think of anything, they just couldn't.
Meiyue, who was relatively confident, tentatively asked, "As long as it tastes good enough, there are no taste issues?"
Elder Yasong shook his head and then nodded, "Not entirely correct, but partly right. Is the taste of Pokemon important?"
Da You nodded, "Of course it's important. Otherwise, why would we make so many different flavors of Pokemon food?"
Elder Yasong looked around at the Pokemon eagerly watching Li Wei, his eyes full of smiles.
"Important, but not entirely important."
"Aside from the absolute bottom line of dietary restrictions, such as genuinely being unable to eat spicy or bitter foods, there really aren't any taste issues."
"Not all Pokemon have telepathy, and often we can't fully understand a Pokemon's taste preferences.
Sometimes even Pokemon themselves don't understand their own tastes. You are the one making the Pokemon food, so the decision on taste is yours."
"You should consider Pokemon's tastes, but not entirely; you still need to start from your own strengths."
"Li Wei did very well; he didn't pay attention to the staff's reminders and just did what he was good at, but you were constrained and felt somewhat restricted."
Meiyue, Da You, and You Zi, who were called out, recalled that they indeed felt somewhat restricted.
Rui Xi, who was frantically taking notes, put down her pen and bowed.
"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Yasong. We have benefited greatly."
"Thank you, Mr. Yasong."
Elder Yasong smiled kindly, "Alright, then I'm leaving. We need to discuss the assessment results."
Da You whispered to Rui Xi, "Can I copy your notes?"
"Yes."
You Zi quickly raised her hand, "Me too!"
As they were copying, a "click" suddenly sounded, and the flash lit up.
Li Wei showed his phone.
"Actually, there's something called a camera."
"..."
You Zi's face suddenly flushed, from her neck to her ears, "We know!"
Da You grumbled, "You're so smart, you won't have any friends."
Meiyue also secretly took a picture.
The results came out quickly; only two people ultimately passed the assessment: Li Wei and Rui Xi. Da You did not pass.
Eleven people came to participate in the Intermediate Breeder assessment, and two passing was already very good; most of the time, it was difficult for even one person to pass.
Rui Xi, who had neat short hair, showed her phone.
"Let's exchange contact information. Is your Breeding House still hiring?"
Li Wei exchanged contact information with her. "Yes, we're hiring starting tomorrow."
"Remember to send me the address."
After confirming they were friends, Rui Xi quickly left.
Da You nudged Li Wei and whispered, "Can I interview for a Junior position?"
"Yes, even without a certificate, as long as you love Pokemon, you can learn slowly."
Da You laughed loudly, "I like that. I'm leaving now; I need to go back and prepare for the next exam."
Incineroar also waved at Li Wei.
"Gaoo!"
Incineroar had already started planning for Da You to join the Breeding House.
That way, he could eat the Energy Cubes Li Wei made!