"You... you people..."
Quincy heard every word the students were saying.
His face twitched.
He looked at the students laughing at him.
Then at Tyranitar lying broken at the bottom of the crater.
Then back at the students.
"No..."
His expression slowly went blank.
"No, no... this isn't happening."
The humiliation, the ruined Tyranitar, the laughter, the realization that the entire university had just watched him get humiliated by a freshman...
It all seemed to hit him at once.
Quincy opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
His brain had apparently decided it was done for the day.
His eyes rolled back.
Then—
Thud!
Quincy collapsed flat on his back.
The students froze for half a second.
"Oh crap! Quincy blue-screened!"
"Someone call the infirmary!"
"Wait! I've got this!"
One student suddenly threw out a Poké Ball.
"Jynx, emergency mouth-to-mouth!"
"JYYYYNX!"
A Jynx appeared in a flash of light and immediately puckered its enormous lips.
The surrounding students stared.
"Dude... that's not a move."
"It is now!"
Somewhere inside the fog of unconsciousness, Quincy heard every word.
His eyes twitched.
Wait...
Jynx?
Mouth-to-mouth?
No.
Absolutely not.
He desperately tried to wake up.
Unfortunately, his body refused to cooperate.
Through barely opened eyes, he saw a purple face looming closer.
Closer.
Closer.
"Jynx~!"
Mwah!
Quincy's entire body jerked.
Then he went completely limp.
This time, he was truly out cold.
A single tear escaped from the corner of his eye.
...
The Trainer Camp was finally over.
Quincy suffered a complete stress-induced collapse and ended up being rushed to intensive care.
His life was never in danger, but apparently humiliation had done more damage than anyone expected.
By the next morning, his face was still pale.
By lunchtime, the rumors had already mutated beyond recognition.
Some people claimed the incident had permanently destroyed Quincy's stamina.
Others swore he could no longer last more than five seconds.
No one seemed particularly interested in clarifying five seconds of what.
His Tyranitar had suffered the far more serious consequences.
The battle had permanently damaged its foundation, causing its strength to fall all the way from Class Champion-level to Elite-level.
In a single afternoon, Quincy's strongest Pokémon had become one of his weakest.
All because of an assessment he had designed himself.
He really had brought this on himself.
Naturally, the battle caused an uproar across Crown University.
A freshman had defeated a Class Champion-level instructor's ace!
The story shot straight to the top of the campus trending page.
Aaron became the university's biggest celebrity all over again.
At this point, practically everyone on campus knew his face.
Even some sophomores would nod respectfully whenever they passed him.
A few had even started calling out—
"God Aaron!"
Every single time, Aaron could only force an awkward smile and nod back.
Eventually, he gave up.
Now he wore a mask whenever he left the residence.
...
Back in the living room of Residence 1, Aaron and Braveon sat with a bottle of beer each.
They clinked bottles and took a drink.
Braveon grinned.
"Look at you now. Biggest celebrity on campus."
"Heh... I wonder how many upperclass girls start drooling the second you walk past."
He gave Aaron a teasing look.
"So? Ever thought about dating an upperclassman?"
"Maybe one who's into school-uniform cosplay?"
Braveon took another sip of beer.
"Man... just thinking about it gets the blood pumping."
Aaron slowly turned toward him.
"Braveon..."
"I never knew you were such a freak."
Braveon nearly choked.
"What the hell?"
"So that's your type, huh?"
Aaron looked him up and down with mock disgust.
"And here I thought you were respectable."
"Oh, come on."
Braveon did not look embarrassed in the slightest.
"What guy wouldn't be into that?"
"It's perfectly normal."
"Then go for it."
Aaron shrugged.
"You're number two on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. With your reputation, you could probably land a professional cosplayer, never mind an upperclassman wearing a school uniform."
Braveon went quiet for a moment.
Then he gave a faint, mysterious smile.
"Aura Guardians walk a lonely path."
Aaron stared at him.
"...Oh, spare me the tragic monk routine."
"Who says an Aura Guardian has to die single?"
Braveon just shook his head and stood up.
"Anyway, President Edmund said we're getting two days off."
"The university is holding a Freshman Selection Tournament to choose five representatives for the Intercollegiate Freshman Tournament between Crown City's three premier universities."
"You and I don't have to participate in the selection."
"We're being given two of the spots directly."
"The other freshmen will compete for the remaining three."
He stretched.
"Three days from now, the five of us will head to the Intercollegiate Freshman Tournament together."
Aaron nodded.
"President Edmund already told me."
"Works for me. If they made me fight through the Selection Tournament too, I'd die of exhaustion."
Braveon gave him a look.
"Yeah. That's what would exhaust you."
"Anyway, I'm heading out."
He waved and walked toward the door.
Aaron watched him leave.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"...Hey."
Braveon had taken several bottles of beer with him.
The door closed.
Aaron stared at it in silence.
First, people stole his Coke at home.
Now Braveon was walking off with his beer.
A man had to draw the line somewhere.
...
Once the residence fell quiet, Aaron leaned back against the sofa.
"System..."
His voice went completely flat.
"Where are my quest rewards?"
"Tch. Good memory, Little Mouse."
Aaron: "..."
Little Mouse?
Since when did I have another nickname?
Aaron was speechless.
"Fine, fine. Here are your rewards."
"I'm not stingy."
Aaron immediately replied,
"You are."
"You absolutely are."
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host, on completing the Quest: Pass the Trainer Camp Assessment.]
[Ding~ Perfect Show-Off Score achieved! Rewards: Pokémon Candy (Elite) ×3.]
[Common Pokémon Skill Sharing Card ×1.]
...