Walking to the exam site, they found that the assessment was being held in a school located a hundred meters away from the Pokémon Center. This school was originally a breeding academy, built very luxuriously. Called Goldenrod Breeding School, it was currently serving as a temporary testing center, and its location was quite close to the hotel. Consequently, the school did not arrange for special shuttle buses; teachers and students walked to the site together.
Along the way, candidates heading for the assessment could be seen everywhere. The sheer number was hard to imagine. By the time they reached the academy, many people had already arrived ahead of schedule.
Special reception staff waited at the main gate. Professor Kant presented the necessary documentation, and a teacher led Eichi and the others into the academy. The school was large, but only in comparison to surrounding buildings; it was still a bit smaller than Silver Academy.
Eichi and the others were led into a blue and white building. The overall style exuded a strong academic atmosphere, and the building appeared to be a teaching hall. They were brought to the first-floor lobby, which was clean, bright, and very spacious. Despite the many candidates present, the lobby was far from full.
Most people were standing, while only a small portion had seats in a designated area. As the top academy in the Johto region, Silver Academy naturally had reserved seating. Their group was the largest, with nearly two hundred people, and as they took their seats, they filled more than half of the available chairs.
Professor Kant sat down next to Eichi. "Someone will come by shortly to notify us of our exam locations, so don't be anxious," Kant said.
Eichi nodded. He was aware of this, as in previous years, classroom assignments were only arranged half an hour before the start of the exam. The passing rate for the Junior Breeder assessment was quite high, around fifty percent. According to what Professor Kant mentioned yesterday, there were five hundred candidates this time, and their academy accounted for nearly forty percent of them. Since the passing rate for their academy was typically ninety percent, almost all the students who came would pass the assessment. Therefore, everyone looked quite relaxed, unlike the nervous expressions on the faces of others.
While Eichi was lost in thought, Professor Kant suddenly spoke. "Eichi, I'm going to see a few old friends and seniors. Good luck with the assessment later."
"Mm," Eichi replied.
Professor Kant stood up and walked away, while Eichi remained in his chair, his mind continuing to wander. Soon, a teacher led a group including Eichi to a classroom on the second floor. Once that room reached its quota, the remaining students were taken to the next one.
The exam room was a fan-shaped lecture hall. Candidates were spaced out so that no one sat in the seats immediately adjacent to each other. Eichi found a seat and sat down. Looking around, he noticed cameras installed in the four corners of the room. It seemed the League took this assessment very seriously.
Before long, a female teacher entered the room. She skillfully cut open the sealed envelope and distributed the exam papers. Eichi took the paper and looked it over. After a quick scan, he began to work. The questions were designed quite reasonably, reminding him of the high school entrance exams from his previous life.
The questions were divided into three categories: simple, medium, and difficult. Most of the questions were of medium difficulty, with a few simpler ones at the start to build the candidates' confidence. However, they couldn't all be easy; the League needed to select geniuses, which is why the difficult-tier questions existed.
While Eichi was taking his exam, Professor Kant arrived at a spacious room decorated in the style of an office. A large circular conference table sat in the center, around which several middle-aged men and women were already seated.
One of them, a thin man with a thick beard, laughed. "Long time no see, Kant! You usually hate coming to places like this. What brings you here this year?"
Professor Kant smiled. "Can't I come out to see old friends like you, Nagayama?"
Nagayama laughed. He had short brown hair, an ordinary face, and wore glasses. He liked keeping a thick beard and was dressed in a clean black formal suit. Most notably, his hands were exceptionally long and elegant. Like Professor Kant, he was a Senior Breeder.
Professor Kant continued greeting the others. "Long time no see, Sakuraba, Sugisaki, and Senior Moriguchi."
Sakuraba was a great beauty who appeared to be in her twenties, but Professor Kant's form of address indicated her age was likely similar to his. She had long purple hair, wore a blue dress, and gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance. Sugisaki was a somewhat disheveled middle-aged man; his sallow complexion and deep dark circles suggested he hadn't slept well recently. Senior Moriguchi was a man who looked to be in his fifties with whitening hair, squinting eyes, and a hunched back.
Sakuraba greeted Professor Kant with a smile, while Sugisaki gave a casual wave. Senior Moriguchi simply nodded; though he wasn't actually that old, he gave off the vibe of a man in his late seventies or eighties.
Nagayama asked a teacher to pour Professor Kant a cup of water. Kant took a sip. "Nagayama, looking at you, being a principal seems to suit you well!"
Nagayama gave a bitter smile. "Don't look at my outward prestige; who knows the hard work behind it?"
"Who told you to become a principal?" Professor Kant teased. "Unlike me, I'm just a director. I'm just responsible for researching Pokéblocks every day."
Sakuraba laughed. "I envy you too, Kant. The Breeding House I run is busy to death every day. It wasn't easy to finally get out for a rest."
The group hadn't seen each other in a long time and spent some time chatting. Once the small talk died down, Senior Moriguchi suddenly spoke. "Do you think any good prospects will appear in this assessment?"
Sugisaki said expressionlessly, "You'll have to ask Nagayama. The exam is at his school, so he should know more."
Nagayama took a sip of hot tea and said with a hint of pride, "Speaking of which, I don't know about others, but take our school for example. We have thirty-five students taking the exam. Among them are two very promising prospects. They are only twelve years old but have already reached the level of a Junior Breeder. Getting their Junior Breeder certification this time will be absolutely no problem."
After Nagayama finished, Sakuraba began as well. "This time, I brought my niece along. She is only eleven this year, but after my tutoring, she should have no problem passing this assessment."