Capítulo 17: **Chapter 17: The Examination Begins**
The special training during the day focused primarily on resilience and unloading techniques for Ditto. Of course, there were occasional teenage trainers who would come to Kane, eager for a battle to test themselves.
Even though these battles were essentially one-sided with Kane winning in a single move, they didn't hold much practical value for him. Nevertheless, Kane didn't turn them down. Ditto was different from other Pokémon; it needed to face a wide variety of opponents. Only by transforming into and battling different Pokémon could it gain valuable experience, making future encounters smoother and more efficient.
Throughout the day, Thunderstorm was noticeably downcast as he trained with his Machop. He would occasionally glance at Kane, but his usual confidence was absent.
There were still a few items Kane needed to buy, so he decided to head back to Ecruteak City earlier than usual.
As Kane began packing up to leave, Thunderstorm hurried over to him, clearly flustered.
"Hey, Kane..." Thunderstorm called out, stopping Kane in his tracks.
"What's the matter?" Kane asked without turning to face him, still organizing his things.
"Well... you remember our promise last night?" Thunderstorm hesitated, clearly nervous.
After last night, Thunderstorm had initially thought Kane was simply intimidating him. But now, after witnessing Kane's strength firsthand, doubts had crept in. In Thunderstorm's mind, Kane had the power to break their deal unilaterally if he wanted to.
Seeing Thunderstorm's conflicted expression, Kane smirked. He knew he had the upper hand. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Kane patted Thunderstorm on the back.
"Don't worry. As long as you stay honest and follow through, you'll get through this just fine," Kane reassured him.
Though Thunderstorm was stronger than most kids his age, however he lacked the maturity and mental toughness Kane possessed. Without waiting for a response, Kane hopped on his bike and headed back to the city.
Once back in Ecruteak City, Kane bought two archery targets before heading home. Since Tatsuo had already managed to procure a Venipede, there was no rush to buy a Skorupi. After all, if he brought it home now, he'd have to feed and take care of it, further stretching his limited resources. And with the little cash he had left, it would barely cover the cost of the Skorupi anyway.
That night, Kane decided to conduct a secret special training session he called the "Flying sword attack."
He set up the two targets, stood five meters away, and addressed Ditto.
"Ditto, I want you to transform into a dagger. I'm going to throw you at the center of the target. We need to be perfectly in sync. If we can master this move, it'll come in handy later."
Ditto nodded and transformed into a dagger, which Kane gripped firmly.
What was the purpose of this technique?
Kane had thought it through. If Kane ever faced an enemy stronger than him, sometimes the best option was a sneak attack on the enemy trainer. If he could perfect this throwing technique with Ditto, hitting a target accurately within twenty meters, it would serve as a valuable backup plan in dire situations.
However, five meters was still a short distance for now.
Despite their efforts, Kane and Ditto's synchronization wasn't perfect yet. They mostly hovered around the seven and eight rings of the target. It wasn't until around 11 PM that they made any noticeable improvement.
Mastering this skill would take time—there was no shortcut they could take.
Tomorrow was the big day—the examination at Ecruteak Gym. Deciding not to push himself too hard, Kane opted to get some rest early on.
After taking a shower, Kane felt a headache coming on. He lay in bed, reflecting on his recent efforts.
"Quiet nights like this, with the moonlight streaming through the window... it's peaceful."
Yet, despite the serenity, Kane couldn't help but think of all the things he had crammed into the last few days. It felt like he was trying to accomplish everything he had missed in his previous life, all within the span of a few days.
Finally, he managed to get a good night's sleep.
The following morning, Kane arrived at the school where the written exam for the Ecruteak Gym trainees was to take place. Due to the overwhelming number of applicants, Chiyama had requisitioned the school's conference room for the first round of tests.
Kane glanced over the test paper. It was divided into 80 marks for multiple-choice questions and 20 marks for essay questions.
To Kane, these questions were child's play. However, for the average seven or eight-year-old to even teenagers, it was no easy feat. The reason Chiyama had included so many multiple-choice questions was likely to ensure that the final scores didn't look too bad.
Kane could see the frustration on the faces of most candidates as they struggled with the questions. This gave him a bit more confidence. He also noticed Thunderstorm sitting nearby, calmly and steadily working through the test with little hesitation.
He was clearly prepared.
Kane began with the essay question, which naturally related to the Ghost-type Pokémon, given Ecruteak Gym's specialty.
The essay prompt was: *What are the similarities and differences between Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar?*
Kane wrote:
"Gastly evolves into Haunter through accumulated battle experience. Haunter, in turn, evolves into Gengar under the influence of special radio waves. (Since Professor Oak's discovery regarding trade-based evolution won't be published for another five years, this explanation is the only one currently available.)
Both Gastly and Haunter possess the Levitate ability, but when Haunter evolves into Gengar, it gains the Cursed Body ability.
Upon evolving from Gastly to Haunter, there's no significant change in weight, remaining at 0.1 kg. However, upon evolving into Gengar, there's a drastic increase, with Gengar weighing 40.5 kg or more, over 400 times the weight of Haunter."
Kane had always found this curious—how could an evolution cause such a dramatic weight change when the body size remained relatively similar? Where did the extra mass come from?
Although Professor Oak would later attribute this phenomenon to genetic mutations caused by the radio waves, Kane found this explanation somewhat far-fetched. After all, how did Gengar evolve in ancient times, long before the existence of radio waves?
It was truly fascinating.
After finishing the essay, Kane quickly worked through the multiple-choice questions. Once he was satisfied with his answers, he reviewed the paper one last time to ensure he answered all the questions correctly. Confident in his performance, he handed in the test.
At this point, several other candidates had also finished, as the multiple-choice section allowed for quick completion.
The results would be posted tomorrow at Ecruteak Gym, where the top eight candidates would be announced.
Kane left the school with the rest of the group.
Outside the school, a black sedan was parked. As students began to emerge, the car's window rolled down.
A man wearing sunglasses in the passenger seat turned to the driver.
"Can you get your hands on the test results for these candidates?" he asked.
The driver hesitated. "Mr. Kurosaki Satoru, I'm afraid Ecruteak Gym Leader Chiyama isn't someone who can be easily swayed. He's a tough one."
Kurosaki Satoru frowned slightly but remained calm. "No matter. The top eight will be announced tomorrow. Send someone to keep an eye on all of them. Notify me as soon as you find one who meets our Shadow Squad's standards. We're already halfway through the year, and we haven't reached our goal of one hundred recruits yet. We need to speed things up."
The driver quickly nodded. "Rest assured, for the sake of the Shadow Squad, I'll give it my all."
Kurosaki's expression softened. "You'll be well rewarded handsomely if you do."
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