Eichi didn't tell Beedrill to dodge. Instead, he said calmly, "Block it."
When the three teachers nearby heard his command, they all thought Eichi had lost his mind — asking Beedrill to block that attack.
Then they saw Beedrill raise its arms.
Bang!
The sound echoed across the field.
Keita's face twisted in disbelief.
"This is impossible!"
Gliscor's attack had been completely blocked, without Beedrill taking any damage.
"Could it be…"
The teacher with glasses widened his eyes, suddenly recalling the Beedrill that had defeated the Rattata Poaching Group.
"Damn it!"
Frustrated, Keita shouted another command.
"Gliscor, use Sludge Bomb!"
The Gliscor swayed in the air, then spat out clumps of sludge from its mouth.
Each blob shot forward like cannonfire.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They slammed into Beedrill, yet Beedrill didn't move, taking every hit head-on.
It didn't even take a step back.
Seeing Beedrill absorb every blast without flinching, Gliscor's confident expression crumbled into panic.
It looked back at Keita, uncertain and afraid.
Keita began to panic too.
He didn't know what to do; his mind went completely blank.
Eichi's face stayed cold.
"Beedrill, use Agility."
Beedrill vanished in an instant.
Gliscor looked left, then right, but Beedrill was nowhere to be seen.
Then, suddenly, a shadow appeared behind it.
"Gliscor, behind you!" Keita shouted in alarm.
Eichi remained expressionless as he gave the final order.
"Twineedle."
Beedrill's eyes flared red.
It raised both arms, and in a flash, its twin needles struck.
Gliscor turned its head just in time to see them hit.
The strike triggered Beedrill's Sniper Ability, boosting its power by 2.25 times.
A sharp cry filled the air.
Gliscor fell to the ground, unconscious and unable to continue.
When it hit the ground, the entire arena fell silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Then Keita's desperate voice broke the silence.
"Gliscor, get up!"
But the referee had already seen it.
Gliscor had lost its ability to fight.
"The winner is Yoshino Eichi!"
The three teachers exchanged glances.
The teacher with glasses hesitated, then said, "That Beedrill… could it really be that Beedrill?"
The tall teacher nodded.
"A ten-year-old boy with a powerful Beedrill, it must be."
The female teacher looked stunned.
"I thought that story was just a rumor, but it's even stronger than they said."
"Keita's Gliscor is no pushover.
He's only had it for a few months, but its strength is impressive. Otherwise, we wouldn't have given him permission to be an examiner."
"But it was completely crushed. None of its attacks even scratched Beedrill."
"In the end, it was defeated in a single move."
The three teachers were speechless.
They looked at one another and nodded in silent agreement.
Each of them marked a perfect score on Eichi's evaluation sheet.
Eichi recalled Beedrill, glanced briefly at Keita, then walked back to his seat — his face as calm as ever.
From the crowd, a student suddenly shouted,
"Could he be the one who defeated that poaching group?"
The entire hall erupted at once.
"It must be him! That Beedrill's insane!"
"Who else could it be?"
"He's taking the exam in our hall?"
As Eichi walked past, everyone stood up and applauded.
The closer he got, the louder the clapping became.
Many students felt grateful that he had humbled Keita.
Some even showered him with praise.
Eichi didn't respond.
His face stayed calm, though inside he felt a little embarrassed.
He was the last to take the exam, and once it ended, everyone followed the teachers out of the hall.
Several students tried to talk to him, but Eichi ignored them and went straight to the Pokémon Center to wait for Teacher Arno.
When he arrived, the place was empty.
It seemed his group had finished earlier than anyone else.
After all, Keita had been reckless, going all out from the start, holding nothing back.
Most students had been knocked out quickly, unlike in other exam halls, where teachers used standard Pokémon provided by the Silver Academy to test students' potential.
Keita broke the rules, and running into someone like Eichi was just bad luck. He had brought that on himself.
When Eichi reached the Pokémon Center, Teacher Arno was already there.
Seeing him arrive, Arno asked, "How was the exam today?"
Eichi thought for a moment.
"The examiner was strong."
Arno smiled. "So, did you pass?"
"I did."
Of course he did, he had won with a single blow.
Arno had never doubted Eichi's ability, though he hadn't expected him to pass like that.
Then Arno mentioned he had met an old friend while Eichi was taking the test.
Eichi didn't ask who it was. Instead, he wanted to know when the results would be posted.
"Probably the day after tomorrow," Arno replied.
"It takes some time to process, but the results should be ready by then."
After a pause, Arno added, "The graduation exam is only a few weeks away. You should spend some time with your friends before then."
At that, Eichi suddenly realized he hadn't contacted Aki or the others in a long time.
He had been too busy training Beedrill and studying for exams.
He'd slowly drifted away from them.
Eichi was aiming for Silver Academy, while his friends could only apply to ordinary schools.
Soon, they might walk completely separate paths.
The thought left him with mixed feelings.
***
In an office at the Viridian Academy, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses sat across from a sharp, beautiful woman with long purple hair.
The man, sitting straight behind his desk, asked, "How did the examination go this time?"
The purple-haired woman replied, "Director, everything went smoothly."
"Good."
After a brief silence, the director continued, "Any promising candidates this time?"
"Yes," she said. "Three in particular stood out, especially one of them."
"Oh?" The director raised an eyebrow. "That's rare for you to say. Who is it, and what makes them so special?"
She smiled faintly.
"Keita's Gliscor was defeated in a single move."
The director looked genuinely surprised.
"Keita's Gliscor? That's the one his family specially prepared for him. It was taken down in one hit?"
He leaned forward. "What Pokémon did the opponent use?"
"A Beedrill."
"A Beedrill?"
The director froze, then his expression changed.
"Don't tell me it's the same Beedrill that took down a poaching group recently?"
"It is," she confirmed.
The director stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"A Beedrill, huh… Interesting."