Two days passed in a flash, and during that time, Eichi hadn't stayed home at all.
But outside, his name had already spread across the entire city.
The incident with the Rattata Poaching Group had been kept secret by the police, so almost no one knew about it.
This time, however, things were different.
During the practical examination, many people had seen Eichi's Beedrill.
The age matched, the Pokémon matched, and the strength matched; it had to be him!
And on top of that, Eichi had defeated one of the examiners in a single strike with his Beedrill.
That made him even more famous.
Of course, it didn't matter much anymore that his identity had been exposed.
The buzz around the topic had cooled down, and Eichi was now officially a student of Silver Academy.
Everyone knew he was a prodigy, so being accepted into Silver Academy had been practically guaranteed.
After all, wasn't it only natural that someone talented enough to achieve something like that would be admitted there?
When Eichi's classmates learned that he was the one who had used a Beedrill to defeat the poaching group, they all crowded around to ask him about it.
Eichi didn't go into much detail, only giving a rough outline of what had happened.
Still, it didn't stop their admiration. Their enthusiasm was so overwhelming that it almost made Eichi uncomfortable.
Normally, someone in his situation might have already let fame get to their head.
But Eichi didn't. After what happened with the poachers, he had changed completely.
He felt as though he had grown up, no longer the ten-year-old Eichi, but the mature Brandom he had been in his previous life.
Eichi now had great ambitions, though he wasn't sure if he could truly reach them.
Sometimes, he even wondered if he had been sent by fate itself to bring Bug-type Pokémon to glory.
But he couldn't be certain, so there was nothing to be proud of yet.
***
Soon, the day to see the results finally came. Eichi had to go to the Viridian Primary School to check his grades.
Computers weren't common yet; they were used mostly for business, education, or research.
Very few people had them at home. It would probably take a few more years before they became widespread.
So everyone had to go to the school to see their results.
Teacher Arno was punctual as always, waiting right at Eichi's door.
This time, not only Eichi and Teacher Arno went, but also Eichi's father.
Mr. Yoshino had taken the day off work to accompany his son.
They got into Arno's car. Eichi's father stayed quiet the whole way, but his small gestures betrayed his nervousness.
Finally, they arrived at the Viridian Primary School.
Many others were there too, all parents and children eager to see the results.
The front gate was crowded with cars and people coming and going, chatting noisily.
Viridian City had one hundred available spots this year, an unusually high number.
Other cities had forty or fifty at most, and some had only a few.
But Viridian was special, with a full hundred.
Fifty for Breeders and Researchers, and fifty for Trainers.
No one knew exactly why, though there were rumors that it had something to do with Team Rocket.
Eichi wasn't sure either. He followed the crowd through the bustling gate and into the announcement hall.
It was located in the first-floor lobby of the main building.
A huge projector screen stood at the front.
The representatives from Silver Academy would display the names of the hundred selected students there.
Their grades and rankings would also be shown, but those who hadn't passed wouldn't appear at all.
Before revealing the list, a representative from Silver Academy gave a speech.
The first speaker was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
He introduced himself as the head of the Academy's Battle Department.
As he spoke, Eichi noticed that Teacher Arno's expression grew a little strange, as if he recognized the man.
And during the speech, Eichi had the distinct feeling that the director kept looking at him. It wasn't his imagination.
Once the speech ended, the results were finally displayed.
One hundred names appeared on the giant screen.
Eichi quickly spotted his name at the very top.
Because he was ranked first.
It read:
Name: Yoshino Eichi
Written Exam: 99 Rank: 1
Practical Exam: 40 (Full Score) Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 1
Eichi's name stood in the most prominent position. He glanced at it, then looked away calmly.
He could finally relax. Then he turned to check the others' results.
Mr. Yoshino's face lit up with a smile when he saw that his son had taken first place.
Seeing his father smile made Eichi genuinely happy.
It had been so long since he'd seen his father smile.
Not even in his previous life had he seen his then father smile very often.
Back then, his father had always hoped he would get good grades, but Eichi's failure in the college entrance exam had crushed those hopes completely.
Now, though the father standing beside him wasn't the same one, he had finally managed to make him proud through his own effort.
Teacher Arno was also surprised. He had thought Eichi would make it into the top ten, but first place was unexpected, especially his written score.
This written test had been called the hardest one in history.
Yet Eichi had scored ninety-nine, just one point shy of perfection.
The second place, meanwhile, had only scored eighty-nine.
A ten-point difference between first and second.
Looks like I underestimated him, Arno thought. Maybe this boy really can achieve his dream.
As Eichi scanned the rankings, two names caught his attention.
Name: Sato
Written Exam: 86 Rank: 3
Practical Exam: 40 (Full Score) Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 2
Name: Konan
Written Exam: 84 Rank: 7
Practical Exam: 40(Full Score) Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 3
These were the rankings for the Trainer Department.
Others only needed to check their written test rankings.
Both of these students had outperformed most of the Breeder applicants in the written exam, and both had perfect scores in the practical.
In fact, anyone who managed to defeat their examiner's Pokémon received a full score.
In a corner of the hall, a tall, athletic boy with black hair and sharp features stared at the top name on the screen.
He was Sato, the second-place student.
He ignored the compliments from the elegantly dressed people around him.
All he cared about was the name Yoshino Eichi, the one who had nearly aced the written test and also earned a perfect score in the practical.
He had heard that Eichi's examiner hadn't used the standard provided Pokémon, but one of his own carefully trained ones.
And even so, Eichi's Beedrill had defeated it in an instant.
The thought made Sato's blood boil with excitement. A grin spread across his face.
"Now that's interesting," he muttered.
He had a feeling Eichi would become his greatest rival.
He reached down and touched the Poké Ball at his waist.
Quietly, he whispered, "You can't wait to battle his Beedrill, right?"
The Poké Ball trembled slightly, as if in response.
In another corner sat a girl with short pink hair and sporty shorts.
She stared at the two names above hers — Eichi and Sato.
"I'll definitely defeat both of you," she whispered.
Beside her, a refined lady smiled proudly at the determined girl.
Eichi didn't yet know that two people had already marked him as their rival.
But even if he did, he wouldn't be afraid.
When the results were finally over, some rejoiced, others sighed, the full spectrum of emotions filled the hall.
In a few days, the entrance exams for Indigo Academy would take place.
Those who hadn't made it into Silver Academy could still give it a try.
But Indigo Academy didn't have nearly as many openings as Silver did.