The examination room had descended into chaos, forcing the assessment to be temporarily suspended.
The judges, including Joy, emerged from the adjacent monitoring room to investigate the commotion.
The Oran Berry Energy Cubes Wayne had created were plentiful enough for multiple servings, and the room's atmosphere had transformed completely.
Electrike, Marill, Cherubi, Glameow, and Skorupi were all happily consuming the Energy Cubes with obvious satisfaction. These Pokémon, who were supposedly extremely picky eaters, showed absolutely no signs of their earlier choosiness.
The situation escalated further when Nurse Joy's Blissey, Alan's Incineroar, and another examiner's Glameow burst into the room, drawn by the enticing aroma.
Incineroar grabbed a handful of Energy Cubes with its left paw, then another handful with its right, and its eyes narrowed in pure contentment.
"Hiss—roar!" it rumbled with satisfaction.
Notification sounds echoed repeatedly in Wayne's mind.
[Ding! Gained 999 Energy Cube proficiency.]
The notifications continued one after another in rapid succession.
[Ding! Gained 999 Energy Cube proficiency.]
Wayne had previously changed the proficiency notification settings to display a single total notification rather than individual alerts.
[Ding! Energy Cube craftsmanship has been upgraded to Advanced level.]
Wayne took a moment to review the updated skills on his personal status panel.
Energy Cube (Advanced): You can create high-quality Energy Cubes that Pokémon praise endlessly, with a certain probability of producing perfect quality. (1,023/100,000)
The most excited among the judges, an elderly man, picked up one of the crystal-clear Energy Cubes and tasted it himself.
Sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and astringent flavors blossomed across his taste buds in perfect harmony, causing memories of his youthful days to flood back...
"Roar!" Incineroar protested loudly.
(Don't take them all!)
The elderly judge, whose name was Beckham, gave Wayne an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "My Energy Cubes aren't even close to being as good as yours."
Wayne responded humbly, "This time was an exceptional performance. They're not usually this high quality."
Beckham smiled warmly. "The fact that you're capable of such an exceptional performance demonstrates your true potential. Your future is limitless. Perhaps you'll even surpass your grandfather someday."
The system chimed again, and a new main quest materialized before Wayne's eyes.
Main Quest:
Blue Surpasses Blue (Optional): Surpass your grandfather and become a Master Level Breeder recognized by the Alliance![T/N : Blue Surpasses Blue Means a student has surpassed their teacher, or a successor has outperformed their predecessor]
Because the Host has passed the Intermediate Breeder assessment, Junior and Intermediate Breeder rewards are now issued: Random Pokémon Item Lottery Ticket × 3.
Third Stage Quest Goal: Become a Senior Breeder recognized by the Alliance.
Third Stage Quest Reward: Random Pokémon Item Lottery Ticket × 3, Random Skill Improvement.
The rewards were certainly generous, but the difficulty level would be substantial as well.
The progression path included Senior, Top, and Master Level rankings, with the legendary Grandmaster Class at the very pinnacle.
His grandfather was a Top Breeder recognized by the Alliance, which meant surpassing him wouldn't be an easy feat by any measure.
Wayne accepted the quest without hesitation.
He turned his attention to Elder Beckham with renewed curiosity.
"Do you know my grandfather personally?"
Beckham nodded knowingly. "We're old friends. We were even competitors back in our younger days, though I never quite matched his skill level."
Wayne didn't press for more details, and instead exchanged contact information with Beckham.
"Please guide me in the future, Elder Beckham. I have much to learn."
Elder Beckham stroked his beard thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "It's not a matter of guidance. At the rate you're progressing, you'll probably surpass me very soon."
Nurse Joy stepped forward with a professional smile. "Mr. Wayne, congratulations. You've passed your Intermediate Breeder assessment with a perfect score in the second round."
Originally, there should have been a deliberation process among the judges, but with Wayne's performance, there was simply nothing to discuss or debate.
After tasting the nearly perfect Energy Cubes that Wayne had created, the Pokémon found the food prepared by the other four examinees utterly unappetizing by comparison. To Marill and the others, it was like being offered leftovers after a gourmet meal. They showed their displeasure quite clearly.
Only after considerable persuasion from Nurse Joy did Marill and Skorupi reluctantly agree to try the other foods.
Alan leaned over and whispered to Wayne, "I should've told you to make yours last instead of first."
Wayne replied awkwardly, "This time really was an exceptional performance. It doesn't usually turn out this well."
Alan waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. When you're not as skilled as someone else, that's just how it goes. No hard feelings."
Before announcing the final results, Elder Beckham surveyed the four remaining examinees and pointed at the now-empty basin where Wayne's Energy Cubes had been. He asked thoughtfully, "What did you learn from observing this Energy Cube? There will be bonus points for anyone who answers correctly."
Elder Beckham's words sparked a glimmer of hope among the four examinees who were still waiting for their results.
Although bonus points were available for correct answers, the problem remained: if they couldn't figure out the right answer, they simply couldn't.
Iris, who had been relatively confident until now, tentatively offered, "As long as the taste is good enough, there aren't any real taste preferences to worry about?"
Elder Beckham shook his head, then nodded slightly. "Not entirely correct, but you're partially on the right track. Let me ask you this: How important is a Pokémon's taste preference?"
Alan responded immediately, "Of course it's important! Otherwise, why would we create so many different flavors of Pokémon food in the first place?"
Elder Beckham glanced around at the Pokémon who were still watching Wayne eagerly, hoping for more Energy Cubes. His eyes filled with knowing amusement.
"Taste preferences are important, but not as critically important as you might think."
"Aside from the absolute bottom line of dietary restrictions—such as a Pokémon genuinely being unable to tolerate spicy or bitter foods due to biological factors—there really aren't any insurmountable taste issues to worry about."
"Not all Pokémon have telepathic abilities, which means we often can't fully understand their taste preferences with complete certainty. Sometimes even Pokémon themselves don't truly understand what they like or dislike. You are the one creating the Pokémon food, which means the final decision on taste and flavor profile ultimately rests with you."
"You should certainly consider a Pokémon's preferences, but you shouldn't be completely constrained by them. You still need to work from your own strengths and expertise."
"Wayne did exceptionally well in this regard. He didn't pay excessive attention to the staff's reminders about each Pokémon's supposed pickiness. Instead, he simply did what he was best at. Meanwhile, the rest of you felt somewhat constrained and restricted by those preconceptions."
Iris, Alan, and Autumn, who had been called out by name, reflected on their approaches and realized they had indeed felt unnecessarily limited during the assessment.
Claire, who had been frantically taking notes throughout the entire discussion, finally put down her pen and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your invaluable guidance, Mr. Beckham. We have benefited greatly from your wisdom."
The others quickly echoed her sentiment. "Thank you, Mr. Beckham."
Elder Beckham smiled kindly at the group. "You're all very welcome. Now then, I should be going. We judges need to discuss and finalize the assessment results."
After the elder left, Alan whispered to Claire, "Can I copy your notes?"
"Yes, of course," Claire replied.
Autumn quickly raised her hand as well. "Me too, please!"
As they were busy copying the notes, a sudden "click" sound rang out, accompanied by a camera flash.
Wayne held up his phone with an innocent expression.
"Actually, there's something called a camera function that works pretty well for this."
"..."
Autumn's face immediately flushed bright red, the color spreading from her neck all the way to her ears. "We know that already!"
Alan grumbled good-naturedly, "You're way too smart. At this rate, you won't have any friends."
Iris quietly took a photo of the notes as well, trying not to draw attention to herself.
The final results were announced relatively quickly. Only two people ultimately passed the assessment: Wayne and Claire. Despite his best efforts, Alan did not pass this time.
Out of the eleven candidates who had come to participate in the Intermediate Breeder assessment, having two people pass was already considered an excellent result. Most assessment sessions saw only one person pass, if any at all.
Claire, who wore her hair in a neat, short style, held out her phone toward Wayne.
"Let's exchange contact information. Is your Breeding House currently hiring, by any chance?"
Wayne exchanged contact details with her. "Yes, actually. We're accepting applications starting tomorrow."
"Please remember to send me the address," Claire requested.
After confirming they were now contacts, Claire quickly departed to handle other matters.
Alan nudged Wayne gently and whispered, "Can I apply for a Junior position at your place?"
"Absolutely," Wayne assured him. "Even without a certificate, as long as you genuinely love Pokémon and are willing to learn, you can start as an apprentice and develop your skills gradually."
Alan laughed heartily at this response. "I really like that attitude! Alright, I'm heading out now. I need to go back home and prepare for my next attempt at the exam."
Incineroar also waved one of its massive paws at Wayne in farewell.
"Gaoo!"
Incineroar had already begun formulating a plan in its mind. If Alan joined Wayne's Breeding House, it would have regular access to those incredible Energy Cubes Wayne made!