Chapter 24: The Practicals

Author's Note: Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you've had a fun celebration! This chapter isn't anything too major, but it is the start of the Practical Exam arc. This was a good chance for me to show off some of the other students' Pokemon. Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Enjoy!

Aizawa organized his papers as he spoke to the class for their homeroom period. "The finals are in a week. You all better be studying." He said. "There'll be a written and practical exam. It's to test both your mind and your body. If you fail, you'll take extra classes, meaning you'll miss the summer camp. That's all for today." He walked out the door and closed it without any goodbye.

Unfortunately, neither Denki nor Mina had studied at all. They were the ones with the worst grades, placing 20th and 19th in the midterms respectively. Fumikage wasn't exactly too pleased with his academic performance as well, having been ranked 14th.

"We haven't had much time to study because of the internships and everything," Rikido said to Koji, both of whom just barely missed the top 10, ranking 12th and 11th respectively.

Minoru seemed very pleased with himself, having just made the cut for the single digits at 9th. "The exams are gonna be difficult, huh?" He said with a smug look on his face, angering Mina and Denki. "I thought you were one of us!"

Izuku, Tenya, and Shoto, the 4th, 2nd, and 5th placers respectively, decided to console the two. "We'll work hard! We all have to make it to summer camp!" Izuku said. Tenya gave them a thumbs up. "Yes! As the class representative, I expect you all to put in your best effort!"

"You wouldn't have failed if you actually paid attention," Shoto said, in a poor effort to comfort them.

"Maybe I'll be able to help you with the written test." Momo, the 1st placer, said. She was without a doubt the smartest person in their class so if anyone could help these two, it was her. "Though I'll probably be useless for the practical..." She whispered to herself, getting the attention of Shoto.

"I did pretty well, but can I get some help too? I'm having trouble with quadratic functions." Kyoka asked her best friend. She did pretty good, having ranked 7th, right below Tsuyu.

Hanta stepped forward as well and brought his hands together. "Sorry, me too! I don't get modern literature!" The boy had done pretty bad placing at a sad 17th.

"Me too, please. I feel like I'm falling behind." Despite being 8th, Mashirao seemed rather deflated. It looked like the workload and the internship took a toll on him.

Momo was incredibly flattered. These people all chose her? She was more than delighted to help all of them. "I'd be happy to help!" She cheered, jumping out of her seat. "Let's hold a study session this weekend. We can do it at my house!"

"Woah! I'm so excited to see your house, Yaomomo!" Mina said. "I'll call my mother and ask her to open the auditorium!" Momo said excitedly. The others simply stared as they processed her words. "Auditorium?"

"Oh, and everyone! Do you have a preferred tea?"

"Tea?!"

"Our family has a wide variety of Charizard Class drinks, so they'll be happy to serve you anything! Of course, leave the studying part to me!"

Everyone simply smiled awkwardly as Momo continued. They were just reminded of the harsh reality of the differences in social standings. But at the same time, she seemed so excited, so how could they go back now.

"What was it? Safari tea? I'll take it." Denki said. "You mean Saffron?"

Eijiro let out a small laugh. He hadn't done the best at the midterm, ranking 15th, but he was also decently happy with it. Still, he wanted to make sure he'd make the cut for summer camp so he asked Katsuki to help him, considering the aggressive boy ranked 3rd. "Maybe I should join them." The spiky-haired boy joked.

"Eh? You don't think I'm good enough? I'll beat it into you then!" Katsuki said.

"Everyone will pass anyway. There's no need to worry." Yuga said. Mezo, who placed 10th, only let out a sigh. "I think you should start worrying." He said. It was true, the blonde boy had placed 18th, being the third-lowest scoring student in their class.

But that was just about the written exam. They still had the practicals to worry about too. Aizawa hadn't given them any sign as to what they would be doing, so there wasn't any real way they could prepare in advance. "We really don't know what to expect," Izuku said as he took another bite of his lunch.

"I doubt they'll do anything too crazy," Tenya said.

"The written test is just the classroom lectures, so I think I can handle that," Izuku said. Ochako felt a chill run up her spine. "You'll be fine, huh?" She asked, recalling her sad 13th placement in the class.

"Aizawa said it'll be a compilation of everything we learned this year," Toru said. Ochako had to think for a minute. "So we've been doing both combat and rescue. That has to be in it somehow, right?"

"Not to mention, we have to be prepared physical- ow!" Izuku felt something hit the back of his head. He turned and saw Neito from Class B. "Sorry, your heads so big I accidentally hit it." The boy said.

"What the-"

"You guys ran into the Hero Killer, right?" Neito asked. "In addition to the Sports Festival, you're class keeps getting a lot of attention, huh? But don't be mistaken. That attention isn't connected to the expectations people have for you. It's more like your class is dragging the rest of the school into harm's way. It's as if you're a plague cursing all of us! HAHA-"

Itsuka came in and karate chopped Neito at the back of his neck, knocking him down. "Monoma, this isn't a joke. You heard what happened to Iida. Chill out." She shook her head and smiled at the group. "Sorry about him. I'm pretty sure there's a hole where his heart should be."

She held her hand up to her head and nodded. "I was listening to your conversation. You guys are pretty worried about the final practical exam, right? I heard it's gonna be combat against robots like the entrance exam. I have a friend from an upper batch who filled me in. It might be cheating, but you gotta do what you gotta do."

"No, it isn't cheating." Izuku brought his hand up to his chin and began rambling. "That's right, we need to know how to gather information. Should we have also asked the upperclassmen? Maybe a teacher? But who…" Itsuka was a little caught off-guard by the boy's quick speech.

"This was finally our chance to pull ahead of them Kendo. We finally had the advantages over that class of idio-" Itsuka hit Neito on the head once more, finally knocking him out. She dragged him along on the ground and let out a sigh. "They're not the idiots." She said. As expected of Class 1-B's Class Representative.

Izuku and the others relayed the news of what the exam would be to the rest of the class. Because they literally had to do this to get into UA in the first place, the only real challenge was going to be the written exam. With the help of Momo, everyone would likely pass.

"Whether it's humans or robots, you beat them up all the same," Katsuki said. "Why the hell are you idiots saying this'll be easy?"

"Hey, don't call us idio-"

"You should be able to control your power, regardless of who you're fighting! Isn't that right, Deku?" Katsuki quickly turned to Izuku. There was now a lot of tension between the two. The boy had shown off that he had finally learned to control his special ability, much to Katsuki's annoyance. "Something about you's always bugged me."

"What's he talking about?" Mina asked. "The way Eevee moved was just like Bakugo's Torracat and Primeape at the Sports Festival," Ochako explained.

"I don't need half-assed results just like the Festival. Whether we like it or not, the final exam'll show the true standing of our class. I'll show everyone just how much stronger I am, and beat you dead! That goes for you too, Todoroki!" With that, Katsuki walked out of the room, leaving everyone speechless.

"It's been a while since we've seen Bakugo so serious," Eijiro said, rubbing the back of his head. "Is it irritation or hatred?"

Aizawa listened quietly from around the corner. Bakugo was getting worst than he thought. Something in him must have snapped. This was going to be useful information for the preparations for their practical exam.

Eventually, exam week arrived. The exams were split into four days, with three for the written tests and only one for the practicals. Each subject had its written test, save for Hero Basics, so they had to split them into each day. Fortunately, while they hadn't gotten the results back, it seemed like Momo's tutoring really helped those who needed it. The only thing left now was the practical exam.

On the fourth day, all the students got into their costumes and were brought to the "Practical Exam Site Center" building. Waiting for them there were their teachers: Aizawa, Present Mic, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, and Midnight. In addition, the Support Expert, Power Loader, as well as Snipe were there as well.

"Now, we'll begin the final exam," Aizawa said. "Remember, even if you passed the written exam, failing the practical will still give you an overall failing grade. If you want to go to training camp, don't fail."

"There's a lot of teachers here," Kyoka said.

Aizawa took a step forward. "I'm sure you've all already asked some of the upperclassmen what the exam is. Don't worry, gathering information is part of the test." He said.

"Woo! Fighting robots!" Denki cheered. "Let's go!" Mina jumped up and down.

"We're changing things this time around though!" Principle Togedemaru jumped out from under Aizawa's scarf and hopped onto his shoulder.

"Changing?"

Togedemaru slowly climbed down the homeroom teacher and walked over to the students. "We're going to start focusing on drills and activities that are more similar to real combat." He said. "As such, all of you will be split into ten pairs, each taking on one teacher."

Everyone gasped in shock. "We're fighting the teachers?!" While they were mostly known in UA as educators, nobody could forget the fact that these were still real-life Pro Heroes. Not only that, but these were the best of the best Hero Society had to offer.

Aizawa nodded. "We've strategically picked out your partners as well as the teacher you'll be facing. There were a lot of factors taken into consideration. Your Pokemon, academic record, closeness, and more. I'll announce them now." He cleared his throat and brought out a piece of paper.

"First of, it's Todoroki and Yaoyorozu will be in a team." He smiled and looked up from his paper. "You two are going against me."

This pair was chosen mostly because Shoto tended to brute force his way out of situations and Momo's inability to make quick decisions at the moment. Having Aizawa's Pokemon use Disable on them would force them to work in ways they weren't used to.

"Next up is Midoriya." Izuku thought for a moment. Of all their classmates, who would Aizawa choose for him? Maybe someone like Eijiro or Rikido to fight against Thirteen? Their Pokemon primarily focused on Physical Moves, so having to go against Dusknoir would be difficult. Maybe Ochako or Tenya too since they were pretty close.

"You're teamed with Bakugo."

"What?!" Both of them cried out. Aizawa smiled once more and he looked at them in the eyes. "You're opponent is…"

All Might suddenly emerge from the sky and crashed onto the ground. "Me!" He said, standing up tall, now looking more intimidating than ever. "You two. Work together to defeat me." He said bluntly.

Izuku and Katsuki only looked at each other nervously. The odds were stacked against them. Even before the practical test had even started, it looked like they were destined to fail.

Of course, this pair was chosen for plenty of reasons. First of all, it was extremely obvious that Katsuki did not like Izuku. While he was rude to pretty much everyone, Izuku seemed to get the worst of it. Their strained relationship would surely prove to be an obstacle they'd need to overcome to pass.

The reason they were paired against All Might was because of their admiration for him. It was no secret that Izuku and his fighting style was very inspired by the number one Hero himself. Katsuki meanwhile wanted to surpass him, though it was also evident that he looked up to All Might.

The other pairs were announced soon as well. Eijiro and Rikido were taking on Cementoss, Ectoplasm was against Tsuyu and Fumikage, Tenya and Ojiro were paired to fight Power Loader, Yuga and Ochako were to take on Thirteen, Principle Togedemaru was versed against Mina and Denki, Koji and Kyoka were matched against Present Mic, Toru and Mezo were paired against Snipe, and finally, Minoru and Hanta were to take on Midnight.

"I'll explain the rules now." Principle Togedemaru said. "The test will last 30 minutes. Within that time, you must handcuff your teacher's Pokemon using one of these." He held up a pair of special handcuffs designed by the Support course. "However, that isn't your only option. Remember that in any kind of attack, running away and getting support is always a valid strategy. As such, you will also pass if you manage to escape through the specified gate within the time limit."

"Remember, this isn't just regular combat training either! Your opponents aren't robots or Heroes-in-training anymore! It's us, high-ranking Heroes." Present Mic said.

"Deciding which option to go for will also be judged. Imagine in a real Villain attack, if you can't deal with your opponent alone, then it's better to run away and call in support." Snipe said.

All Might let out a hearty laugh. "Yes, you're judgment will be graded! However, given your opponents, you might think that running away is your only option. To remedy that, the Support course created this for us!" He pulled out four bracelets and held them up. "Iron Ball Weights! It's made with technology that's supposed to simulate the weight of an Iron Ball. We'll place these on our Pokemon to give you kids an advantage."

"So you're handicapping yourself so we can fight you? You're underestimating us." Katsuki said. All Might let out a laugh, only to cut himself off suddenly and look at the young boy in the eyes. "We'll see about that."

Once the pairs had met up, Aizawa discussed the plan. "Okay, the practical exam will take place in the specified training site for each team. You'll only be allowed to take one Pokemon with you so choose carefully. Sato and Kirishima, you're up first. Get ready."

The rest of the students were allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted. They could watch the exam in the monitor room, discuss strategy with their teammate, or whatever. Most of them decided to start coming up with plans, but a few weren't so willing. Izuku went on ahead inside since there wasn't much else he could do.

"It's gonna be a long day." Recovery Girl said, sitting on a chair and observing the different screens. Ochako walked in as well and was surprised to see Izuku there. "You're here too, Deku?" She said.

"Yeah. It's not every day you get to see us fighting against teachers." He said. "Plus, even when I tried to talk strategy, it looked like Kacchan didn't want anything to do with me."

"Me too," Ochako said with a nervous laugh. "Let's just say… we don't communicate too well. That's why I want to use everyone's fight as a reference. If I can't strategize with my partner, then I want to be able to get a better idea of what we have to do."

With that, Eijiro and Rikido's exam was about to begin. "Start!" The speaker announced. Their selected Pokemon were Druddigon and Bewear respectively versus Cementoss' Crustle. They were in a city area with tighter corridors. There wasn't anywhere else for them to go so they simply followed the road.

"So we'll get a higher score if we capture instead of running away, right?" Eijiro asked. "I think so," Rikido replied. Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake. All four of them jumped to the side right before the ground began cracking and breaking, making it much more difficult to traverse.

Cementoss and Crustle simply waited at a distance, just standing there. "Cementoss isn't fast. Let's aim for a high score and go for a frontal attack!" Eijiro said. Druddigon let out a powerful roar in response.

"Let's do it!" Rikido shouted. Bewear slammed his foot on the ground and yelled, getting himself fired up. They all began running toward Crustle, getting a sigh from Cementoss. "A direct attack, just like we were expecting. Okay, Crustle, go for Rock Slide."

The Stone Home Pokemon began hurling large boulders toward the two students and their Pokemon. To fight this, Eijiro had Druddigon use Dragon Claw and Rikido had Bewear using Hammer Arm to destroy the rocks. The only problem was that the rocks didn't stop coming.

From the monitor room, Ochako continued cheering them on. However, Izuku knew something was wrong. "They can't keep going like this." He said, surprising the girl. "Kirishima and Sato have powerful Pokemon, but there's a limit to just how far they can go. Meanwhile, Crustle is putting in minimal effort by just assaulting them with Rock Slides. The longer time goes on it'll only get worst for them." He explained. "They purposely teamed up pairs against teachers that would give them a disadvantage."

"You're right." Recovery Girl said. "While you're waiting, try to think why your pair and teacher were chosen. Think about the compatibility of your partner and how your teacher might exploit your weaknesses." They could only watch nervously as Druddigon and Bewear couldn't get closer to Crustle.

"It doesn't end!" Eijiro shouted. By this point, Druddigon was out of Dragon Claws and had to resort to Dragon Tail. "No matter how much we break them down, more rocks keep coming!" Due to Crustle's endless assault, they couldn't even get near their teacher.

"Bewear can't last much longer!" Rikido said, noticing how his Pokemon was beginning to slow down. Each hit was now just barely breaking the rocks thrown at them.

Eventually, both Pokemon gave in and all four of them were knocked out by Crustle's Rock Slide, ending the battle. "Team Sato and Kirishima have been knocked out." The announcer said, shocking everyone in the waiting room.

"That fight… it was completely one-sided," Ochako said. "Their Pokemon were at an extreme disadvantage." This exam was going to be more difficult than any of them could have imagined. Not only that but if Eijiro's test was this hard… Izuku himself was teamed up with the person who hated him most against the number one Hero… how were they going to do this…?