Chapter 41: The Provisional License Exam

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Finally, here's the continuation of the main story. This chapter is pretty much the beginning of the Provisional License Test proper. As I said before, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to push these chapters out consistently and quickly, but I'll definitely continue writing them. I still have plans I want to push through for this and future arcs.

On a side note, I got a question asking about how characters like Tokoyami and Ashido look in a world without Quirks. Basically, they just look like how you'd expect them to be translated into a more human form. For example, Ashido would look like a normal girl with pink hair, etc. This applies even to characters like Mineta and Asui who's appearances changed as a result of their Quirks.

Anyway, just wanted to answer that question since I thought it was fun lol. Enjoy!


Izuku and Blaziken gave each other a high-five, both congratulating each other for another successful attempt at Blaze Kick. All Might and the others noticed that the newly evolved Pokemon had some new support gear.

The moveset Izuku was planning to go with for the test was Fire Spin, Blaze Kick, Thunder Punch, and Aerial Ace. This provided a good mix of utility and attack for most situations. Right now, Blaziken wore two bands around the bottom part of his legs, close to his feet. There were vents there that were meant to heat up his feet, helping him successfully execute Blaze Kick more frequently. However, they would also allow him to store heat and fire inside. He had a very specific defensive measure in mind for that function.

The other piece of equipment he had was for Thunder Punch. Around his arms, he wore metal bands that could conduct the attack's electricity. If used correctly, it should simply power up his punches, allowing him to still hit hard without having to use more of One for All than they were capable of.

It wasn't much, but they were good enough to make him feel prepared for the test.

"Woah! What was that, Midoriya?! That was awesome!" Denki and his Electivire ran up to them. Electivire, just like the other Pokemon, had his own support gear. He wore a sort of black vest which could store electricity. By tapping into the stored energy, he could release even stronger Electric-type attacks, but he'd have to recharge it afterward.

Eijiro and his Lycanroc-Midnight form also ran up to them and began cheering. "When did your Combusken evolve?!" His Lycanroc simply had braces and pieces of armor that strengthens his defense. After all, that was the red-haired boy's preferred style, but it also aided with one of Lycanroc's strategies: Counter.

"Ah, Kaminari, Kirishima!" The young boy ran up to his friends and began explaining the entire process he went through at the dojo with enthusiasm, much to All Might's delight. "Most of this gear is more to help Blaziken use moves we haven't completely gotten used to yet, so it's more like a pitstop than anything else."

"No, I think it's much more than that at this point, especially for the exam." All Might said as he stepped forward and smiled.

"All Might, please don't get too close. It's dangerous around here." Aizawa walked over to them and let out a sigh of relief. All Might laughed and shook his head. "That's my bad! Sorry, Bakugo! Didn't mean to distract you!"

Izuku looked up at his rival, only to find him with a… somehow angrier expression than before. He scoffed and turned back, only for his Rillaboom to release three huge vine tendrils into the air and slam them into the ground. "Be careful next time, All Might!" He angrily yelled.

All Might didn't respond. He simply looked down and let what Katsuki had said sink in. Be careful… he thought he had come to accept it, but it was still hard not being so… capable anymore. Now, he was more of a person to be protected rather than one that protects.

He had thought once or twice about continuing Hero Work. After all, his Pokemon were still Pokemon. It's not like they had lost their ability to use powerful moves in battle, but there was more to it than that. After losing One for All, they became weaker and easily fatigued. Their age was beginning to show, and he didn't want to put them through more work like that. There was also the fact that it was pretty much impossible to be a Hero if you yourself as a trainer were so vulnerable, and by this point, All Might was as frail as a person could get.

However, his train of thought was cut off by Vlad King slamming the gym doors open with Class B behind him. "My class is scheduled to use the gym this afternoon!" The man yelled. Denki clenched his fist and let out a sigh. "Talk about shit timing…"

After everything had gone down, the relationship between Class A and B had become different. Some students from other courses thought Class A had dragged B into the whole Villain attack thing. This made certain students, like Neito Monoma… actually, just Neito, despise Class 1-A even more. However, most of the students just seemed to grow more competitive, especially with the upcoming exam. This was their chance to prove to the others that they were just as capable as 1-A, even if they lacked the same experience they did.

"We've still got 10 minutes left, Vlad. Manage your time properly." Aizawa said rather aggressively. It seemed that the growing rivalry between Class A and B extended to even the teachers.

Neito ran into the gym and laughed. "Hey, 1-A! Did you know? The test only has a 50% passing rate, so you should all just fail and make way for us!" Izuku began laughing nervously as Itsuka walked up to them and apologized. "Sorry for him…" She said.

"He has a point, though," Fumikage said as Hydreigon landed beside them. "We're all taking the exam at the same time so that just means we'll have to go against each other, doesn't it? We'll be risking a lot if 40 people work with each other the whole time."

Aizawa crossed his arms and nodded. "That's why we applied for two different locations." He said, catching them all off-guard. "The exam takes place across two different days in three different testing sites. It's recommended for all schools to separate their classes between these days and locations to avoid students from the same school fighting and targeting each other." Vlad King continued.

In all honesty, Neito let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to get beaten by 1-A… again, but he didn't want to show it. "Well, I suppose that just means we can't destroy your class! What a shame!"

"The other schools, huh?" Hanta said. "I guess I haven't really thought about it, but we're going up against all the other Hero courses." Izuku nodded. "On top of that, we're the ones taking a fast track to compete with them."

Aizawa smiled mischievously and nodded, confirming their fears. "To add to that, very few first years actually try to get their licenses. That means you'll be going up against students who have trained longer, with Pokemon and strategies you have no way of anticipating. Combined with the fact that we know almost nothing about the exam itself, and you're going to be in for a hard time. It'll do you no good to worry about it too much, but keep it in the back of your head."

And with that, the day of the Provisional License Exam was about to begin. The students were asked to hand over the rest of their Pokemon, save for the one they were taking, to Aizawa in the bus as to not cause any problems. Once they stepped out and stood in front of the training site, it finally settled in that this day had finally come.

"Gah, I'm so nervous!" Kyoka said as she gripped Obstagoon's Pokeball tight. "Man… I wonder if I'll even get close to passing…" Minoru said, but he was surprised to find that Aizawa overheard him. "Mineta, don't just wonder. Just pass." He stood and faced the rest of the class. "This is going to be the ultimate test of everything you've learned at UA so far. Do your best."

Tenya nodded and turned to face his class. "Okay, everyone! One more time before heading in! Plus…"

"ULTRA!" Another boy came in suddenly and completed the UA catchphrase before anyone from their class could. The strangest part? This boy was obviously not from UA. He wore a completely different uniform than them. Rather than the gray jacket, he wore a plain white collared shirt and a cap with a blue cap with a golden symbol at the front.

The boy himself was very tall, about slightly taller than even Mezo. He had a shaved head and overall, looked fairly plain, but there was a lot of energy exuding from him as he smiled there proudly.

"Don't barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa." A boy with purple hair wearing the same uniform said. Beside him was a girl with blonde hair and another boy with longer hair. "A-Ah, right!" The boy, Inasa, said. "I am so sorry!" He bowed down, crashing his head into the ground, startling the UA students.

"The hell is up with this guy?" Denki whispered, but something caught them off-guard. The hats… Aizawa knew who they were dealing with right away. "I see…" He whispered. Katsuki recognized them as well. "The top two Hero Courses… UA in the east, and Shiketsu in the west." The only school to rival even UA's reputation. "I just wanted to be able to say Plus Ultra once! I love UA! I'm so excited to compete against you!"

"Let's go, Inasa." The purple-haired boy said as they all walked into the venue. "Inasa Yoarashi…" Aizawa said to himself as he watched them walk away. "I'd be careful around him if I were you." He warned the class. "He's a skilled trainer. Last year, he was recommended and got the top score in the entrance test, but he turned it down for some reason."

Everyone was completely shocked at the statement. Only four students were accepted via recommendation every year. As far as they knew, Shoto was the strongest trainer out of all of them for their batch, but if Inasa got the top score… that meant he was stronger even stronger.

Things seemed to be getting worse for the students. Not only was Shiketsu here, though that was to be expected, they were also dealing with potentially the strongest trainer of anyone their age…

"Hey, Eraser!" Everyone's train of thought was cut off by a woman's voice calling out to their teacher. Upon looking at his face, everyone was shocked to see an expression of dread take over. "It's been a while, hasn't it!" The woman said.

She had sea-green hair and a fairly muscular build. The man refused to even turn her direction, only giving her a "No." After she asked to marry him. She began laughing as she slapped him on the back. "Oh, c'mon!" She said, unable to stop laughing. Aizawa let out a sigh as he turned away once again. "Hard to talk to as always, Joke."

That's when Izuku recognized the woman. "That's the Smile Hero, Ms. Joke! She uses her Mr. Mime to set up barriers and confuse Villains!"

"They seem pretty close." Tsuyu said, getting the attention of both Pros. Aizawa seemed way more upset than normal, while Ms. Joke seemed to be having the time of her life. "Our offices used to be really close to each other. Working side-by-side, our love bloomed into a-"

"No, it didn't. Just shut up already."

"Ah, I like your quick comebacks! You're so fun to tease, Eraser!"

"Joke, I know why you're here. That just means…"

"Oh, right!" Joke stood back up straight and gestured to the group behind her. "Everyone! Come here! It's UA!"

A group of students excitedly walked up to them. They were older, likely around second year, and wore gray short-sleeved uniforms. "This is my class. Ketsubutsu Academy, Class 2."

One boy with black hair walked up to Izuku and shook his hand. "I'm Shindo! It's such an honor to be meeting you guys!" He went across the class, enthusiastically shaking everybody's hands. "It's been a rough year for you guys, but you're still here! That's seriously cool! You guys have strong hearts, and that's what Heroes really need nowadays! Especially you, Bakugo! You were at the center of the whole Kamino incident!"

Katsuki turned back and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You've got an extra-strong heart! Today, I'll do my best to try and learn from you." Shindo stretched out his hand, but Katsuki simply hit it away. "Don't fuck with me. I can see it in your eyes. You don't mean a word of what you're sayin'."

"Hey, cut it out, man!" Eijiro stepped in front of Katsuki and bowed. "Sorry. He can get like that sometimes." Shindo smiled and shook his head. "No worries! I get it, we're competing after all."

"Okay! Time to get dressed! Meet back up at the briefing." Aizawa said. The class greeted him goodbye and ran off to the changing rooms.

"Meeting students outside is kinda weird…" Kyoka said. Denki laughed and agreed. "Sometimes you kinda forget how famous UA students are."

Ms. Joke overheard the conversation and her eyes widened in shock. "Eraser… you didn't tell them?" Aizawa didn't respond and simply walked away.

When Class A walked into the gathering room together, along with their Pokemon, they were astounded at how many students were there. They were told there were going to be a lot, but there had to be hundreds of people taking the test today.

"Let's just get this provisional license thing over with." The man on the podium said. "I'm Mera, representative of the Hero Public Safety Commission. It's nice to meet you…" He seemed extraordinarily tired as if he was about to collapse any minute.

"Okay, let's get this started. About the exam, there are 1,540 participants here, along with their Pokemon. You'll all compete in a free-for-all competition. Our society is pretty loaded with Heroes, and ever since Stain's arrest, people have been doubting their credibility."

Of course, that's the entire point. Stain wasn't a traditional Villain in the sense that he wasn't inherently evil. His methods, yes, but his motives could be considered noble by some. He saw problems with Hero society and sought to fix them, even if he had to kill people to do so.

"As a citizen, I think it's pretty inhumane to tell others who risk their lives not to ask for any reward. Regardless, whether they're doing it out of the good in their heart or for glory, there are a lot of Heroes are out there working to help people and take down Villains. As such, the time between a crisis starting and being resolved has gotten incredibly short. Because of this, you'll be tested to see if you can keep up with that."

Mera smiled and stood up straight. "Only the first 100 of you to meet the requirements of this test will pass."

Everyone let out gasps of shock and fear. "But there are 1,540 participants… we were told the test had a 50% passing rate," Momo said. Tsuyu let out a sigh and shook her head. "Now we're down to less than 10."

"Alright, let's talk about what the test is actually gonna be." Mera held up a strange disk-like device and a red ball. "You'll be placing three of these targets each on yourself as well as your Pokemon. They can go anywhere as long as it's exposed, so no armpits or the bottom of your feet." Mera said.

"You'll also get six of these balls. The targets are made so they light up specifically when hit with these balls. If all three targets on either you or your Pokemon are lit up, you're eliminated. Take note that only the person to hit your last target gets the elimination, so even if you take out a person's first two targets, if you don't get that last one, you don't get the point. You pass this round by eliminating two people."

Izuku looked up at Blaziken and nodded. "They've only given us the exact amount we need to take out two people. I'm not sure what our strategy should be here…" He whispered as he and Blaziken put the targets on their bodies. "Are they telling us to steal somebody's third target? This is gonna be a lot more difficult than I thought."

Once everybody had placed the targets on their bodies, Mera smiled and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the walls and roofs began unfolding, revealing that the room they had been in was right in the middle of the giant arena.

The arena itself was similar to the USJ in the sense that it was filled with a variety of different terrains. Water areas, buildings, mountains, everything. It was definitely daunting, but they didn't have time to stand there amazed.

"Start moving!" Mera called out. With that, the students and their Pokemon began running.

Izuku and Blaziken jumped to the front of the group and got the attention of his class. "Everyone! Stick together"

"You gotta be kiddin' me! This ain't some school trip!" Katsuki said as he and Rillaboom ran off, with Eijiro and his Lycanroc as well as Denki and Electivire following close behind. "I'm going off on my own too! It's hard for me to fight in big groups like this." Shoto said as he jumped on Charizard and flew off.

"W-Wait, Todoroki!"

"Midoriya! There isn't enough time! We gotta get moving!" Minoru said. Izuku nodded and led the group forward as they tried to get away from the large group of people.

Meanwhile, Ms. Joke continued to annoy Aizawa in the spectator's seats. She pestered him with jokes that were really starting to get on his nerves. Eventually, she dropped the jokes for a second and looked at the students.

"Y'know, it's amazing you still have 20 students. You'd usually have at least half of them expelled at this point. You must really like your class this time."

Aizawa let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "Not particularly." He said. Ms. Joke smiled and shook her head. "Oh c'mon, no need to be like that… well, to be fair, if you did like them, then something is pretty weird. There's no way you wouldn't have told them about that thing." She said, her smile becoming more mischievous. "I mean, it's basically a tradition at the test at this point."

"I don't think it's a good idea to act on your own, especially us as UA students," Izuku said as they continued running. "Huh, why?!" Minoru asked while Sudowoodo carried him.

"Because everyone knows our Pokemon and our fighting styles."

"Of course! The Sports Festival!" Tenya said as he and Excadrill kept up with Blaziken.

Izuku nodded as they took a quick turn around to a more mountainous area. "I'm pretty sure the other students have figured out that sticking together is the best plan. This is probably gonna turn into a battle between the schools. That means they're also probably thinking about which schools to take out first."

Mina and Goodra looked at the boy out of shock and fear. "Wait! Don't tell me-"

Suddenly, a loud siren could be heard followed by Mera's voice. "The test has now begun!"

Out of nowhere, dozens of students appeared, jumping out and ambushing the UA students. Izuku recognized them. They weren't all just from one school. The schools were all teaming up against them.

"If you liked them, you should've told them, Eraser." Ms. Joke said. "The thing that always happens at this test: The Crushing of UA!"

Shindo, the boy from Ketsubutsu, seemed to be leading the group. He looked Izuku in the eyes and smiled as his Golurk pulled its arm back. "Sorry, this had to happen! See ya!" He shouted as they all threw their balls right at Class-A's targets.

"Everyone! Protect your targets!" Izuku shouted as Blaziken jumped in the air. He used Blaze Kick, colliding his foot against one of the balls and releasing a blast of heat from inside the device around his leg that blasted more balls away.

"Hydreigon, use Dark Pulse!" Fumikage's Pokemon dashed forward and released a beam of Dark energy, destroying the balls ahead of him and keeping them safe.

"Galvantula! Bug Buzz!"

"Ampharos! Discharge!"

Hanta and Toru's Pokemon ran forward and released their special attacks, destroying the balls in a large area around them and allowing more of Class-A's Pokemon to run forward and clear the path.

"Goodra! Dragon Tail!"

"Heracross, go for Megahorn!"

Mina and Rikido's Pokemon used their close-ranged attacks to swat the balls away from them, also acting as shields for Pokemon who specialized in ranged attacks.

Overall, Class-A seemed to be doing an amazing job of keeping themselves safe, something which made Aizawa smile.

"Joke, it wouldn't have mattered if I had told them about the Crushing. One way or another, they'd still have to find a way to overcome it. A real Hero is somebody who can turn a crisis in their favor. When they become Pros, everybody's going to know about their Pokemon and styles anyway. Sorry that we're looking just a bit further into the future than everyone else." He said, and for once, it seemed to get on Joke's nerves.

Izuku and Class 1-A piled together and covered all sides with their Pokemon. "Everybody! This is what we've been training for! We can do it! Let's keep going like this!"

Everyone nodded and got ready to continue. "Yes, sir!" They all shouted.