The Peerless Prodigy Who Shook the Nation — Ethan**
"Examiner, does that mean I've passed?"
Ethan looked at the Swellow lying unconscious on the field, then at Examiner Wang Feng, who was still standing there in a daze, and calmly asked.
Wang Feng finally snapped back to reality.
"Y-Yes… yes, the assessment is complete."
"Candidate 0132, Ethan—congratulations. You are now a Professional One-Star Trainer."
As those words fell, a faint smile appeared on Ethan's face.
He turned to Riolu. "Well done, Riolu. Looks like the last half month of special training wasn't wasted."
Riolu grinned from ear to ear.
Over the past two weeks, it had trained harder than ever before—high-intensity sessions every single day.
Under Metagross's ironclad supervision, Riolu was often pushed until it couldn't even stand up anymore.
If it weren't for the recovery-focused meals prepared by Ning Yunmei, this kind of training would've destroyed its body long ago.
But effort always brought reward.
In just half a month, Riolu had broken through to Elite level.
And its actual combat power had risen even faster.
The Swellow Wang Feng sent out was also an Elite-stage Pokémon, especially gifted in speed.
Yet it hadn't even seen Riolu's movements before being kicked straight out of the sky and knocked unconscious.
That alone spoke volumes.
Having completed the one-star assessment, Ethan didn't linger on the field.
Under Wang Feng's still-shocked gaze, he led Riolu back through the contestant passage and returned to the waiting room.
The moment Ethan entered, every single person in the waiting room turned to look at him.
The room was packed, and the people inside were a mixed bunch.
Students like Ethan were actually rare.
Most were working adults—some even middle-aged—people who had spent years, sometimes decades, preparing just to challenge the Professional One-Star Trainer exam.
To them, Wang Feng was a near-godlike examiner.
And yet, that same examiner had been taken down in a single move—against type disadvantage—by a Pokémon belonging to a boy barely out of his teens.
Disbelief filled the room.
Then Fang Lai's voice shattered the silence.
"Holy hell, Ethan, that was insane!"
"That Swellow—your Riolu just one-shot it?!"
Ethan, however, remained calm.
"It was nothing special. Just good timing."
"Riolu moved too fast—the examiner didn't get a chance to react."
Riolu nodded along enthusiastically.
"Riolu~!"
But no one there believed it was "just luck."
They had all seen it.
Riolu's speed was so terrifying that even those watching on the screen hadn't clearly seen what happened.
Even the examiner himself looked completely lost.
If that counted as luck…
Then none of them had any business taking this exam.
"Haha, you're way too modest," Fang Lai laughed.
"No wonder you're from Donghuang Academy—this level really is different."
"We hit it off instantly. How about grabbing a meal together once my exam's done?"
Fang Lai wasn't just a Tianyun Academy student.
He was also the heir to the Fang Family of Mingling City—a powerhouse clan specializing in Pokémon equipment manufacturing and sales.
Despite their enormous business empire, the Fang family had always been weak on the trainer side.
Fang Lai himself was considered talented by family standards, yet after four attempts over two years, he still hadn't passed the one-star exam.
He knew his own limits.
To him, even becoming a one-star professional trainer would already be a huge achievement.
At first, he'd approached Ethan simply because he found him agreeable.
But now?
He realized he'd stumbled upon a monster.
Ethan didn't reject the invitation.
"That works," he said.
"But I came with friends. We were planning to eat together."
"How about this—we exchange numbers. Once I'm done with all my exams, I'll call you and we'll eat together?"
Fang Lai burst out laughing.
"Of course! As long as you don't mind hanging out with me."
Then he suddenly paused.
"Wait… Ethan, didn't you just finish the one-star exam?"
"What other exam are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you also signed up for the Professional Breeder exam?"
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
"I'm planning to take the Two-Star and Three-Star Professional Trainer exams today as well."
"If I don't clear them in one go, I won't be able to apply for the Four-Star assessment during this cycle."
"Then I'd have to wait until next year. That would be a waste of time."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Not just Fang Lai—everyone in the waiting room froze.
One day.
Three consecutive jumps.
One-star → Two-star → Three-star.
And then applying for Four-Star?
That was the level of provincial Gym Trainers.
An entire year might pass without a single person nationwide even qualifying to attempt it.
And this teenager was planning to challenge it?
Had he lost his mind?
To everyone listening, Ethan's calm explanation sounded utterly unreal.
But Ethan didn't bother explaining further.
Belief or doubt meant nothing to him.
He followed his own path—nothing more, nothing less.
After exchanging contact info with Fang Lai, he left the waiting room.
That night, as the first day of the Mingling City professional assessments concluded, the stadium lobby buzzed with conversation.
"Did you hear? A student cleared three certifications in a single day!"
"One-star, two-star, and three-star—back to back!"
"And he's a freshman from Donghuang Academy. Name's Ethan."
"Ethan? You mean the one with the shiny Gliscor?"
"You know him?!"
"Of course! I was in the two-star exam with him!"
"Ten of us in the group—nine couldn't even beat the examiner's second Pokémon."
"Then Ethan showed up."
"That Gliscor of his hit like it was cheating—one strike knocked out a mid-stage Golem."
"Then came Rhyhorn… then even the examiner's ace, Aggron—none of them held up."
"From start to finish, the entire exam took under three minutes."
"That shiny Gliscor is at least Overlord-tier."
"What the hell?! Overlord-tier Gliscor?!"
"That's nothing—you didn't hear about his Garchomp?"
"Overlord-tier Garchomp too!"
"And during the three-star exam…"
"They faced Du Hai, the 'Devil Examiner' from the Tianhai Gym."
"His Poliwrath got one-shot."
"Then Blastoise—three moves and it was foaming at the mouth."
"Du Hai lost it and sent out his strongest Pokémon—Dondozo."
"And Ethan answered with a two-and-a-half-meter-tall Garchomp."
"One Dragon Dance, one Scale Shot—Dondozo flipped belly-up in the water."
"Monster… absolute monster."
"And he's a freshman?!"
"Is the world broken… or are we dreaming?"
Nearby, Fang Lai stood frozen, listening.
Overlord-tier Gliscor.
Hatterene crushing Blastoise.
Garchomp obliterating Dondozo.
Three certifications in one day.
He swallowed hard.
"What kind of monster… did I just become friends with?"
That very night, the news spread like wildfire.
The entire Donghuang Alliance erupted.
Countless people began digging into Ethan's background.
Alliance Headquarters. Conference Room.
"I believe everyone knows what happened today," an elderly man at the head of the table said calmly.
"That Ethan… is extraordinary."
A middle-aged woman spoke next.
"I watched every one of his matches."
"Riolu aside, the others—Gliscor, Hatterene, Garchomp—are all cultivated to an absurd degree."
"Even the weakest among them is already approaching late Overlord tier."
"That level of balance… they're practically flawless."
Around the table sat Gym Leaders, Elite Four members—
And at the head: Zuo Shenghui, former Champion of the Donghuang Alliance.
"Has his background been confirmed?" Zuo Shenghui asked.
"Not yet," a staff member replied.
"Information is extremely limited. We only know he's from Donghuang Academy."
Zuo Shenghui frowned slightly.
Ethan felt… familiar.
But he couldn't remember why.
"Chairman," someone asked, "Ethan has applied for the Four-Star Professional Trainer Assessment. Who should be assigned as examiner?"
Before Zuo Shenghui could answer, a man spoke confidently.
"It doesn't matter who goes."
"This kid has gone far—but his Pokémon's strength clearly exceeds what his age should allow."
"Even if Ye, the Jinling Gym Leader, acts as examiner, I doubt Ethan can go much further."
The speaker was Li Yao, the newly appointed Elite Four member of the Donghuang Alliance.
His words had barely settled—
When a calm voice drifted in from outside the conference room.
"Elite Four Li… aren't you judging that child a little too narrowly?"
"The goal of his four-star assessment—"
"…is to defeat you."
The room fell dead silent.
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