The public unveiling of the Poké Ball instantly pushed the atmosphere of the entire venue to its peak.
By the time Aven returned to the VIP area, a large number of nobles had already rushed up to him.
They eagerly questioned him about the Poké Balls, each one desperately hoping to obtain one for themselves.
Even if acquiring a Poké Ball required paying an enormous cost in both resources and money, none of them were willing to give up the opportunity.
Based on what they currently understood about the Poké Ball, these devices were not only capable of storing their own Pokémon inside but could also be used to seal wild Pokémon as well.
Some of the nobles even knew that His Highness Aven had once used a Poké Ball to successfully seal Darkrai, a guardian deity.
"As long as you become an official Trainer, you will be eligible to buy Poké Balls," Aven replied with a cheerful, squint-eyed smile.
The lords before him clearly wished to use their noble status to obtain Poké Balls, but the rule Aven had set was ironclad: only official Trainers could use and purchase Poké Balls. This rule would not be broken for anyone.
If these lords wanted a Poké Ball, they too had to register as apprentice Trainers and pass the official Trainer examination, there would be no exceptions.
Hearing this, the lords were still reluctant to give up, but Aven refused to budge an inch, leaving them helpless and frustrated.
"This round of official Trainer examinations is only the beginning. In the autumn, the Pokémon Domain will host another official Trainer assessment."
"At that time, as long as you are already a registered Trainer, you'll be able to participate. Perhaps you might want to give it a try as well," Aven continued explaining.
Upon hearing this, the lords' expressions shifted subtly. The thought of having to take the exam alongside commoners made several of them feel uncomfortable.
But they also understood perfectly well that the spread of the Trainer system had already become an unstoppable trend. Even if they refused to become Trainers themselves, they could not stop their own people from doing so.
Under such circumstances, they had to integrate into the Trainer system and become the managers of the Trainers within their territories—otherwise, their Trainers would inevitably drift toward the Pokémon Domain.
Thankfully, His Highness Aven intended to make the official Trainer assessment open to all Trainers in Aspiration City, not just those within his own territory.
If Aven had chosen to allow only Trainers from the Pokémon Domain to participate, every Trainer in the entire city would gather toward his land even more rapidly.
Meanwhile, knights like Captain Kevin wore eager expressions on their faces. They had long since begun enjoying the many benefits of being Trainers, so instead of resisting, they were visibly excited.
"Everyone, let's focus on the official Trainer combat examination that's about to begin," Aven said with a smile, shifting everyone's attention.
During this preparation period, the examination arena had already been fully set up.
There were still many people who had passed the written test. All of them waited inside a closed-off waiting room where no outside communication was allowed. Only when their number was called would they be permitted to enter the arena.
"Whew… it's about to start." Darius took a deep breath. In his hand was a number tag—Number 1.
Before the examination began, all examinees had been assigned number tags backstage, designating the order in which they would take the test.
At that moment, they could hear the staff inside the arena calling out the first examinee's number, instructing him to enter the battlefield and begin the exam.
Seeing this, Darius stepped forward without hesitation and walked into the battlefield. A Bibarel followed closely at his side—the Pokémon he planned to use for the assessment.
His entrance immediately drew the attention of the entire audience. Their eyes were filled with envy and admiration.
Anyone who successfully passed this examination would become an official Trainer. Not only would they gain many benefits, but they would also earn the right to obtain a Poké Ball.
"Hmm? He's using Bibarel?" Aven narrowed his eyes slightly.
Darius possessed several powerful Pokémon, yet Bibarel was definitely not one of them.
Clearly, this Bibarel was a Pokémon he had caught and trained after arriving in the Pokémon Domain—meaning that from a certain perspective, it was one of the Pokémon he had captured as an actual Trainer.
For this examination, Darius was clearly choosing to rely on his own abilities rather than those of the strong Pokémon he had raised in the past, so that he could demonstrate his true competence as a Trainer.
"The assessment is about to begin. I am the chief examiner, Sutter," Sutter announced as he looked at Darius below. "You should already be familiar with the rules, yes?"
As he spoke, Sutter pointed toward a table behind him. Upon it rested a large pile of Poké Balls. According to the rules, examinees were required to select six Poké Balls from this batch.
Darius bowed respectfully to the examiner, then approached the table and casually selected six Poké Balls, handing them back to Sutter.
"Come out, all of you." Sutter pressed the buttons on the Poké Balls one by one.
White light flashed in the arena as six Pokémon appeared in succession.
They were: Geodude, Gloom, Mothim, Bibarel, Gastly, and Nidorino.
The examinee then had to select one Pokémon from the six to serve as their opponent. The evaluation criteria behind this choice contained many layers of complexity.
"I choose Geodude as my examination opponent," Darius declared without hesitation.
Although he had great confidence in Bibarel's strength, he understood that a Trainer's responsibility was to choose the opponent most advantageous for their Pokémon.
Geodude, being a Rock/Ground-type, was completely countered by Bibarel's Water-type moves. Under normal conditions, Bibarel would easily defeat it.
The official battle assessment then began. It was important to recall that all the Pokémon Aven selected for the exam had peak low-level strength and had recently undergone Aven's training, resulting in another significant boost in power.
In fact, helping these Pokémon break through to the intermediate-level was Aven's promise to them. By the time the examinations ended, most of them would be on the verge of reaching that breakthrough.
Because of this, defeating these exam Pokémon was still extremely difficult. Beyond choosing an appropriate opponent, the examinee's own Pokémon also needed sufficient strength.
Of course, this was not a problem for Darius. With his already formidable abilities, the four-times type advantage, and his skillful command, Bibarel successfully defeated the Geodude under Sutter's command without much trouble.
"Congratulations on passing the official Trainer combat assessment," Sutter declared, giving him high praise.
For someone of Darius's strength, passing the assessment was nothing special—but using a newly trained Pokémon he had caught himself made this a remarkable achievement.
It was clear that during his time in the Pokémon Domain, Darius had fully integrated himself into the Trainer system and had already developed professional-level Trainer qualities.
From choosing the most suitable opponent at the very beginning to the execution of his commands during the battle, his performance was nearly flawless.
"Thank you," Darius said with a smile of his own.
Only he knew just how much he had gained during his time in the Pokémon Domain. He had completely fallen in love with this place.
Now he only needed to visit the Trainer Association to complete the final stage of registration, and he would officially become a fully certified Official Trainer!
With Darius setting such a strong example, the remaining examinees felt significantly more confident. One after another, they entered the battlefield to begin their own assessments.
Those who passed the written exam generally understood Pokémon and type matchups fairly well. Most could choose appropriate opponents, leaving the outcome up to the strength of their own Pokémon.
As expected, the real combat round became the stage with the highest elimination rate. Even if they chose the correct opponent, many examinees still failed due to their Pokémon being too weak—or due to poor command.
(End of Chapter)