"Well done!" Emma excitedly stood up and shouted, while Ethan also gave generous applause.
Jake's move was indeed excellent. By leveraging the impact force of Geodude's Tackle and the propulsion from Poliwag's Water Gun, the combined effect resulted in a speed far exceeding its own, allowing it to escape the landing spot of the Tackle. Even the instructor overseeing Jake's assessment had to nod in praise at this maneuver.
"Very good, congratulations, you've been admitted!" The instructor retrieved Geodude, handed it to a student to be sent for treatment, and then said to Jake.
"Thank you, Teacher! Thank you, Teacher!" Jake shouted excitedly, then made a victory sign towards Ethan and the others in the stands.
...
After leaving the assessment center, a senior student then led them to choose their initial Pokémon. Unlike Ethan and the others, Jake came from a merchant family and did not have the opportunity to choose from the starter Pokémon. Therefore, his initial Pokémon could only be selected within the university.
"Hey? What kind of Pokémon do you think I should choose?" Jake asked excitedly as they walked.
Ethan and the others, as accompanying personnel, naturally followed him. Although they didn't need to take an entrance exam, they still needed to complete their enrollment procedures. It would be convenient to do so after Jake chose his initial Pokémon, as these two locations were together.
"It depends on your personal preference. You're so burly, I think Fighting-type Machop and Rock-type Geodude would both suit you well!" It was the senior student walking in front who spoke. The excitement of the new students entering the university made him feel as if he was reliving his own past, and his heart couldn't help but soar.
The initial Pokémon prepared by the university for students were not particularly rare. While Machop and Geodude were both very common Pokémon types, their three evolutionary stages made them excellent choices among initial Pokémon. If Jake hadn't passed the assessment early, he might not even have had the chance to choose these two Pokémon.
"Hmm, no, no, you have a pile of Machoke at your family's construction site. People will think I'm going to move bricks! As for Geodude, it looks clumsy, so no." Before Jake could speak, Emma had already interjected.
"Uh, how about a different one, a different one!" Jake, who was about to nod in agreement, thought about it after hearing Emma and realized she had a point. He immediately decided to give up on those two choices, while Ethan, standing behind, had an understanding expression.
Perhaps Machop was indeed as Emma said, but Geodude was clearly a flimsy excuse. It was obviously because it countered her Fire-type, making it harder for her to control Jake in the future. However, this was between the young couple, so he just smiled.
"Uh, besides those two, the next best options are Pidgey and Poliwag. Any others basically only have two evolutionary stages, and their growth potential isn't as high as these Pokémon." The senior student said with a wry smile. As they spoke, they had already entered the university's Pokémon training center.
Immediately, their eyes were drawn to the various Pokémon inside: jumping Geodude, Poliwag playing in the stream, and flying Pidgey. Before Jake even finished registering, they were already playing with these Pokémon.
"The Pokémon here are the initial Pokémon provided for you new students. You can choose any one of them to take with you." After finishing the registration, the senior student led Jake over and said.
"Ah!!! Emma, Emma… Quickly help me choose one, what should I do, I want them all?!" As he officially began to choose his initial Pokémon, Jake was already so excited he was a little incoherent.
"Look at you, so little ambition. Let Ethan pick for you!" Emma said nonchalantly, holding a Pidgey. However, she turned her head and winked at Ethan when no one was looking.
"Right, right, Ethan, you have so much Pokémon knowledge, quickly help me pick one!" As if finding a lifeline, Jake grabbed Ethan's arm and said.
"Hiss~ I think you should let go of me first!" Ethan gasped, raising an eyebrow at Jake.
"Uh, sorry, sorry, I got too excited!" Jake froze, released his hand with an embarrassed expression, but the anticipation in his eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.
"Honestly!" Ethan rubbed his arm, glanced at a Magnemite floating in the sky, and asked, "Can that Pokémon be chosen?"
"Magnemite? Of course, but are you sure you want him to choose this one?" The senior student asked with a surprised expression. Magnemite's main uses currently were for generating electricity and monitoring, etc. In terms of combat ability, it wasn't strong, and it only had two evolutionary forms. Among the initial Pokémon, it could be said to be the worst choice, only slightly better than Caterpie or Weedle.
"No way? Ethan, Magnemite…" Jake looked at Ethan with an embarrassed expression; he clearly knew about Magnemite's weakness.
"What kind of Pokémon does she have?" Ethan didn't say much but raised an eyebrow and quietly asked, gesturing towards Emma, who was engrossed with the Pokémon.
"Charmander!" Jake said. As the daughter of a Fire-type Gym Leader, Emma naturally specialized in Fire-types.
"Its type?"
"Fire-type?"
"It's weak to Water-type, right?" Ethan continued to ask. Jake nodded blankly.
"But would she let you choose a Water-type or a Rock-type?" Ethan's next question completely stunned Jake.
"No, she would definitely want you to choose a type that she counters, so she can keep you in line later."
"So you can't choose those two types. To escape her clutches, you must think long-term."
"Charmander's final evolution, Charizard, will also gain the Flying-type in addition to its Fire-type. I don't need to tell you what the weakness of the Flying-type is, do I?"
"Electric-type!" Before Ethan could finish, Jake gasped in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth, afraid of being overheard by Emma. He glanced over, thankfully! She hadn't noticed.
"That's right, Electric-type is a rare type. Among the initial Pokémon, who else has the Electric-type besides Magnemite?" Ethan continued. Jake's gaze swept around, and indeed, there were no other Electric-type Pokémon among the initial choices besides those few Magnemite.
"But, Magnemite isn't…" "Too weak?" Jake's words weren't spoken aloud, but Ethan knew what the other party was thinking. He leaned in conspiratorially and whispered a few words into Jake's ear, immediately making Jake's eyes light up.
"Senior, I'll choose Magnemite." Jake said excitedly, simultaneously giving Ethan a meaningful look.
"Huh? Are you sure?" The senior student looked incredulous. Just to avoid being henpecked, he chose Magnemite? Even if Electric-type truly countered Flying-type, could Magnemite really defeat Charizard?
"Yes, I'll choose Magnemite!" Jake nodded without hesitation, his gaze filled with fervor as he looked at Magnemite.
Seeing Jake's expression, Emma turned around, a hint of surprise in her eyes, while Emily simply gave Ethan a faint glance before turning back.
"Uh, Jake, do you want to look again? Isn't Magnemite a bit too weak?" Emma put down the Pokémon in her hands and came to Jake's side, asking with concern. Though she was sulking, this was a choice that would affect his entire life.
"No, Magnemite it is!" Jake said, smiling at Ethan, which made Emma look puzzled. She was about to say something else but was pulled by Emily from the side.
"Trust him!"
Emma nodded, slightly bewildered, then quickly understood. "He" naturally didn't refer to Jake. And for Ethan, not just Jake, but she also had absolute trust. Since he had made preparations, all she needed to do was trust him.
The Pokémon distributed by the school naturally had no selection privilege; what quality of Magnemite Jake would receive was entirely up to his luck. Fortunately, the Pokémon trained by the school were generally not too bad, though not exceptionally good either.
This method of obtaining an initial Pokémon was called "the choice of destiny" among new students: you choose a certain Pokémon, then by destiny's arrangement, you meet it and become partners, and then you walk together forever.
Of course, these were just youthful fantasies. In reality, very few initial Pokémon stay with their trainers until the end. Most are gradually eliminated due to insufficient talent and improper nurturing, or are killed in wild battles, or even abandoned due to being too weak or having certain defects… Such examples are everywhere.
However, obtaining an initial Pokémon is still the most important event in everyone's life. It is the first partner in one's life, it determines whether you can embark on the path of a trainer, and even influences your future achievements.
Upon receiving his initial Pokémon, Jake was instantly ecstatic. Ethan used the latest Pokédex to check it for him. It was a newly hatched Magnemite with an initial level of only 4, mastering only two basic moves, Tackle and Thunder Shock, but its aptitude reached Excellent quality.
Aptitude testing, like energy levels, was the greatest invention of recent years. Through a large accumulation of data, the data of newly hatched Pokémon within the same species group is summarized and organized to derive the average values for each group. Then, the physical condition of the newly hatched Pokémon at its initial level is compared against these averages to determine its growth status relative to its entire species group. It's somewhat similar to individual values in Ethan's previous life's Pokémon, but not entirely the same.
This testing method is generally only used for Pokémon up to level 5. For Pokémon of higher levels, the influence of acquired factors is too great. Through this method, the Alliance divides Pokémon aptitude into 7 grades: Innately Deficient, Weak, Normal, Excellent, Elite, Epic, and Legendary. Normal represents the typical level of the species group, while Weak generally refers to relatively timid individuals within the group. As for Innately Deficient, that refers to those born with certain defects, just as humans can have congenital diseases.
Weak and Normal are the most common aptitudes, accounting for about 90% of a species group, just like ordinary people among humans. Not everyone can or wants to become a powerful warrior; it requires a certain talent and persistent effort. Of course, this kind of talent is almost universal among Pokémon; it just depends on whether they are willing to develop it. Generally, active or self-motivated Pokémon at the newborn stage can break through Normal and reach Excellent.
Relatively speaking, Excellent is already considered a relatively strong individual. As for Elite, that is the highest peak that a normal newborn Pokémon can reach under normal circumstances, requiring at least extremely powerful parents to be born.
As for Epic and Legendary, they are basically never seen, just like Awakened individuals among humans. Only one Epic might appear among hundreds of thousands, or even tens of millions, of individuals, and a Legendary can only emerge from countless years of accumulation. This is simply not something a new trainer can encounter.