Chapter 45: Beat the Clock
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! As I promised, here's the conclusion of the first phase of the Provisional License Exam. I don't really have much to say but I do have the next chapter ready to go for tomorrow. Chapters won't be daily but I've gotten a sudden burst of motivation to at least finish this arc within the next few days. Hope you enjoy!
"Hey, slow down!" Denki shouted as he and Electivire struggled to keep up with Katsuki and Eijiro. They were currently running along a bridge, trying to find opponents to tag. "He's right, Bakugo! You need to calm down!"
"Shut up!" Katsuki shouted. He wasn't having any of this right now. He wanted to go off on his own with Rillaboom but now he's got two people on his tail. As is, he was a bigger target than he wanted to be, but with two other UA students, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone found them.
Little did they know, they were about to find someone instead. As they continued running, they spotted something in the distance. "Who is… Shiketsu?" It was a boy with a Shiketsu High hat, a piece of clothing every student from the school wore with their hero outfit. Behind him was… a massive pile of colorful sludge?
As they approached, they couldn't really understand what was going on. However, a blast of colorful goo suddenly shot out of the mass. "Watch out!" Eijiro and Lycanroc pushed Katsuki out of the way, only to get hit by the sludge instead. It pulled both the trainer and Pokemon into the mass, revealing itself to be an Alolan Muk, owned by the Shiketsu student.
"W-What the hell just happened?!" Denki stumbled backward as Electivire stepped forward. "That your Pokemon, huh?" Katsuki shouted as Rillaboom pulled out his drum. "You'll pay for that!"
Katsuki recognized the boy. He was the one who calmed down Inasa back at the bus. He felt something off with him but chose not to provoke him. Now was his chance to score a few targets though. The boy with purple hair. His name was Seiji Shishikura
"We Shiketsu students must wear our uniform hats while on the field. That is because every action we take must be crowned with Shiketsu High School's legacy." The boy said as Muk continued to restrain the students trapped within it. "This is just a demonstration. The difference between those who valued dignity and discipline from the start… and you ordinary, vulgar folk who aspire to be Heroes."
"I-I don't get it…" Denki said, scratching his head, but Katsuki wasn't very pleased. He let out a devilish smile as Rillaboom roared. "I hate this kinda guy. He just said that his eyes are so thin he can't see our strength!"
"I'll have you know my eyes are handsome and elongated!" Seiji shouted.
"He's self-conscious! Don't piss him off more!" Denki implored, yet Katsuki just scoffed. Seiji just stepped forward as Muk followed behind, dragging along the people it had trapped. "UA High. I can respect that. I appreciate the fact that our schools are seen as equals."
He snapped his fingers and more tendrils erupted from Muk and surrounded Seiji. "Yet you keep tarnishing its good name!"
Katsuki crossed his arms and looked at the boy with determination. "Dignity? Discipline? You're all bark and no bite. Show it with your actions, not your mouth, dear equal."
"You're the worst of them, Bakugo!" He reached out his hand and the tendrils shot out, but Rillaboom slammed his drum into the ground, causing a wall of vines to pop up and block the attack.
"An impulsive mind that reacts based on what others say. That truly goes to show the pride a person has." Seiji said to himself. "In that case, we'll break him ourselves and show him the true power our schools have."
"What the hell is with this guy!" Denki said, motioning for Electivire to start charging up electricity. "Just a guy who talks too much! I'll kill him!" Katsuki reached out his hand and Rillaboom began charging forward, clashing with Muk's tendrils with a powerful Wood Hammer.
However, Muk was shockingly fast. His sludge had nearly wrapped up and grabbed Katsuki several times, but he was able to evade the attacks with a little help from Rillaboom. "This is insane! Thunderbolt!" Denki instructed.
The Electric Pokemon unleashed a powerful bolt of Electricity, but Muk managed to avoid the attack. "How annoying. I'll deal with you in a second." Suddenly, a pile of sludge managed to hit Katsuki. Rillaboom was caught off guard and tried to help his trainer, but another tendril struck him in the back. The two were slowly being dragged towards the mass of Muk that contained all the other students. As much as they tried to resist, it was futile.
"Bakugo!" Denki tried to help him, but it was useless. "H-Here, take this!" Katsuki shouted as Rillaboom threw something. Electivire caught them but was slightly confused at first, handing them to Denki.
They both looked at the mass, now growing even larger. "N-No way…" If this thing just beat Bakugo's own Pokemon, there was no way they could beat it.
"That was a demonstration of my power," Seiji said. "This test has an unusually low passing rate. Since All Might's retirement, we've reached a bit of a turning point. Wouldn't it make sense to increase the Heroes' numbers in his absence? What this implies is that they are getting rid of the weak. They are becoming ever pickier with the Heroes they choose to bring to the next level."
He stepped forward and Muk followed, releasing a barrage of tendrils right for the boy and his Electivire. "I support that idea, so I'll be removing you from the question."
Electivire used Thunderbolt and managed to protect Denki, but the attacks just kept coming. "That's why you haven't been tagging all those people! There's gotta be something wrong with you…"
"What's wrong is allowing ordinary people like you to run this world."
Denki let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've been hurling insults at us this whole time. It hurts, y'know?"
"That's because you have self-awareness. It'd be fortunate if you reflected on your actions!" Seiji snapped his fingers and Muk shot out even more tendrils, but Electivire managed to counter them with more Thunderbolts.
"I wasn't talking about me!" Once the tendrils retreated back into Muk, Denki threw one of Rillaboom's drum sticks right at Seiji, causing the boy to stumble back towards the wall. "He gave it to him back then?!" The boy remembered Katsuki tossing something to Denki, but he didn't pay any notice to it.
"By the way, 'sir.' You just fell into a great spot." Denki smiled and reached out his arm. "Electroweb!" Seiji and Muk tried to avoid the attack, but Electivire was fast. He trapped Seiji in against the wall with the web, and while Muk was temporarily stunned from the sudden attack, it gave them an opening.
Denki clenched his fist as he remembered the insults Seiji had just thrown at him and Katsuki. The boy was very aware of what Katsuki was capable of. Had he wanted, Rillaboom could have just slammed his drum into the ground and created a massive barrage of vines, completely bringing the bridge down… but he didn't. He didn't because he knew it would risk Eijiro and Denki himself.
"Bakugo may seem vulgar but he's really trying his best to be a Hero," Denki said as Electivire charged electricity in his fist. "Tossing me those sticks and not bringing the bridge down. He was calm enough to make the right judgment and wasn't just fixated on taking you out. Kirishima too. He's a good guy and he'd cross enemy lines for his friends."
He stretched his arm out and screamed. "I don't care what you've heard. You don't know anything about them! Don't insult my friends!" Electivire rushed forward and released a powerful Thunder Punch, causing Muk to lose his grip on the rest of the students.
This allowed Lycanroc to quickly get up and release a powerful Stone Edge right into Muk while Rillaboom finished the job with Wood Hammer.
"Thanks, Kaminari!"
"Took you long enough!"
Denki laughed, but his happiness was suddenly cut off when he saw something. "B-Behind you!" Suddenly, dozens of students were getting back up. They were all the ones that Seiji and Muk had caught in their grasp.
Katsuki smiled as Rillaboom roared. "Looks like we're passing this test!"
Meanwhile, Izuku, Hanta, and Ochako were still hiding from the insane amount of students hunting them down behind some rocks. They had done a good job of evading their hunters, but they knew it was only a matter of time until they were either found or until they hit the cap of 100 students.
"People are passing in groups. This is really bad, Midoriya." Hanta said as Galvantula crawled up his back. Izuku placed his hand on his chin and tried to come up with a plan. "I think there might be something we can do. The big group chasing us split into more manageable groups, so we might be able to do something about the one near us. All we need to do is stick together."
He stood up and turned to the other two. "When Blaziken and I were running, they were all rushing to try and get me. Some were even pushing ahead of the others." He said. "It's almost like they were panicking. When a large group tries to take out a small one like ours, they're gonna end up fighting over the prey."
"So you're saying that they're gonna keep going off on their own out of self-interest!" Ochako said, finally understanding where Izuku was going. "But what about us sticking together?" Hanta asked.
"They gave us balls to hit the targets with, so you might be thinking we need to do something like target practice. However, after thinking about it, that doesn't seem very effective. We're going against Pokemon we've never fought before, so combined that with the fact that they're constantly moving and protecting their targets and it's just not practical to try and hit each and every ball we're given."
Hanta smiled and nodded. "Okay, I see. So you're saying we need a way to stop them from moving around."
Izuku nodded and began drawing on the ground with his finger. "Right. The first thing we need to do is restrain enough people to let us pass. It's only then that we can hit them with the balls to get by." He drew six figures then crossed them out with an X. "Our class has a lot of trainers with Pokemon that are good at controlling the area, so I thought we'd be able to do it as a class, but it's still something to think about."
Hanta stood up and began trying to help think of some kind of plan as well. "Makes sense. Target practice is a pretty niche skill for a lot of Pokemon anyway. It'd make sense for them to be testing our situational awareness instead. Maybe if we-"
"Wait!" Ochako turned to behind them and listened carefully. She heard the footsteps around them getting louder, meaning they were getting closer. "We need to do something…"
"Blaziken and I will head out." Izuku said, getting a quiet "Huh?!" From Hanta and Ochako. "We can't do much when it comes to restraining a lot of people like that. We'll act as decoys so that you two can restrain as many people as possible."
Hanta let out a sigh. "You can't be serious… We're only three trainers here. If anyone of us gets taken out-"
"I'm in." Ochako cut him off, shocking Hanta and Galvantula. "Wait, seriously?!"
"Sero, this is the only chance we have!" The boy let out another sigh and smiled. "Alright, fine."
Izuku took the few moments they had to gather the attention of the small group following them. There were about eight or so, so Izuku knew they would be more manageable. Rather than fighting them head-on, he chose to run. He made sure he was always in sight, but he used Blaziken's ability to move fast to its highest potential.
It didn't take long until Hanta and Ochako gave him the signal though. "We're ready!" Hanta shouted as he and Galvantula moved forward to join Izuku. "Get them over here!"
The four did their best to try and gather the group into a small area, and when all things were in place, Izuku and Hanta, along with their Pokemon made their escape. "Do it, Uraraka!"
Ochako looked at Meowstic and pumped her fist. Meowstic closed her eyes and let go of whatever Psychic energy she was holding, causing a barrage of Electrowebs to fall down from the sky. It managed to hit basically all the members of the group and the ones that were left behind were easily taken out by more attacks from Galvantula.
"We gave Uraraka and Meowstic a couple of Electrowebs for them to use. It worked out better than I thought." Hanta said, smiling as he and Izuku joined Ochako. "I got the timing down right to make sure we got as many as possible!" She said.
The boy smiled and looked at the captured enemies in front of them. "Nice work, guys! You're seriously the greatest."
The group stepped forward to tag some people when one of the boys there began begging Izuku to not tag him. "P-Please! This is our last chance to get our licenses! We can't afford to fail!" He said. This boy must have been in his final year. It was indeed his last chance. However, Izuku knew he couldn't pass this opportunity up if he wanted to be a Hero. "Sorry, I can't afford to fail either."
Once Izuku, Hanta, and Ochako tagged their six people, Mera made another announcement. "Only 30 spots left, everyone! Hurry up! All competitors who have passed, please make your way to the waiting area."
On their way, they heard a voice calling out to them. "No way! Guys!" They turned and saw Denki calling out to them, with Eijiro also running up and congratulating them. The two of them, as well as Ochako, Hanta, and all of their Pokemon began cheering.
However, Katsuki ignored the group and walked towards Izuku. "You passed, huh?"
"A-Ah… Kacchan. Yeah, I did…"
"With your power, it's only natural I guess." He said as he walked past the boy, not even looking at him, much to Izuku's shock. Did Katsuki just… no way! "You've made that borrowed power your own." He said, echoing Izuku's words from when they had just started the school year.
All Izuku could do was watch in shock as Katsuki continued walking towards the waiting area.
Meanwhile, Yuga and his Swanna were simply hiding behind some rocks. It wasn't until Tenya and his Excadrill found them that they'd even move an inch since they were separated from the rest of the class.
"Aoyama! What are you doing here?" Tenya called out, rushing to the aid of his classmate. "I-Iida, you're alone? I'm here on my own too." He replied. He still spoke with elegance, but it was clear that Yuga was rattled by the entire test.
"I came looking for the others. I've been running around helping members of the class. Some of us gathered in one place so I wanted to bring back as many people as I could." Yuga's eyes widened in shock. "So you've just been running around alone?"
Tenya nodded, getting a laugh out of the boy. "You're weird, you know? Do you realize how many people are left that need to pass? What'll you do if the limit gets hit and you're left behind?"
"Well, I found you, right?" Tenya replied, shocking Yuga. "If everyone else passes, that's fine! I'm the class representative! It's my job to lead and serve all of you." He smiled as he looked down at Excadrill. "It's what my brother would've done. Everything I do is shaped by that dream."
Yuga looked down in shame. Had he really abandoned all hope just now? Tenya looked back at him and reached out his hand. "Will you help me?"
"Only 16 spots left!"
Tenya and Yuga ran around the battlefield, avoiding as many people as they could, but it was incredibly close. Swanna's Air Slashes and Excadrill's Iron Heads could only go so far in keeping them safe. They were slowly getting overwhelmed. "It'll be hard for us to survive now, Iida!"
"What are you talking about?! We're not giving up yet! Let's keep giving it our all!"
"N-No that's not what I- ack!" There was a sudden explosion near him, causing them to run away as fast as they could. The rest of 1-A wasn't doing too hot either. They were all hiding, desperately finding some kind of opening to pass.
"Looks like eight students just passed at once!" Mera announced, causing Ms. Joke to cheer. Those eight were none other than her own students, but Aizawa was sitting there anxiously. "Only eight spots left, and there were still seven of his own students in the field."
Even the rest of the students inside the waiting room sat there anxiously. That's a large portion of their class that wouldn't pass. They needed to do something now. However, the truth was that it was looking like not all of them would be able to make it.
Tenya, Yuga, and their Pokemon continued running, but it wasn't looking great. They were running out of time and something needed to be done right now. That's when Yuga had an idea. "Swanna, stop!" He and his Pokemon both stopped in their tracks, surprising Tenya.
"Bubble Beam into the sky!" The Pokemon looked at him with shock at first but soon realized what her training was trying to do. She smiled softly before turning to the sky and letting out a powerful beam of bubbles.
"W-What are you two doing?!"
"We're standing out!"
"Y-Yeah no joke! That's not what I meant!"
Yuga smiled and shook his head. "If you keep protecting us, none of us will pass. I don't know if you've seen it yet but both Swanna and I have two targets taken out. Chances are, we aren't passing anyway. A lot of people are gonna come after me to try and pass. You can use that chance to tag a few people and make it out of here!"
Excadrill tried to go in and stop Swanna, but she flapped her wings and let out an Air Slash, pushing the Pokemon back. "Stop it! Why?! What's gotten into you?!"
Yuga closed his eyes and turned his back against Tenya. "I know this might be sudden, but I've always wanted to be an equal to all of you." He said. After a few moments, Yuga heard the sound of footsteps approaching. "They'll be here soon! Quickly! Find a place to hide until you get the chance!"
"No… I… I can't just-"
"Hurry!"
The sound of a massive horde of participants arriving right in front of them sent chills down their spines, but just as Tenya and Excadrill were ready to defend their friend, they heard something else.
From beneath them, Diggersby emerged from the ground and began dealing powerful blows with its ears, swatting away several of the students. "That's-!"
"Nice work, Diggersby Keep them safe!" Koji ran up to the two and smiled as Diggersby continued using his long limbs to knock away the Pokemon and balls from his trainer and friends.
Grapploct and Heracross also came crashing down from above, protecting them from the horde of Pokemon approaching. Mezo and Rikido joined them and continued encouraging their Pokemon. "Keep giving them everything you've got!" Rikido shouted.
"Now's our chance!" That sniffly voice… they'd recognize it anywhere. From behind the crowd, Minoru's Sudowoodo slammed his arms into the ground, creating a massive wall of rocks with Stone Edge, separating the entire group into two.
"Let's go, Ampharos!" Toru and her Ampharos who were atop the rocks struck a pose as the latter jumped into the air. "Our Ultimate Move! Use Thunder Flash!" The Pokemon let out a loud roar as she began shining so bright that it stunned all the students there.
This allowed Toru and Minoru to run in and tag a few people, allowing them to pass. "Two more have just passed! We have six spots left!" Mera called out.
"What just happened…" Yuga and Swanna stood there in shock as they watched the rest of their classmates arrive to their aid. "Everyone was panicked and confused and we all didn't know what to do!" Rikido said. "That's when we saw your Bubble Beam and we were able to regroup! Let's finish the job!"
He jumped away to avoid an incoming attack and tackled a student to the ground, allowing Heracross to fly in and tag the targets. "That's one more! Five spots to go!"
Ms. Joke watched in complete awe as the UA students worked together to finally start passing. Mera too was astounded, watching with excitement as he saw the students passing one by one. "In these last few moments, it seems like the UA students have finally found their footing and are passing with some great combos!"
"Forgive me," Mezo said as his Grapploct tagged the target of a Gumshoos he had restrained in his tentacles. "Another! Four more!"
Koji smiled as he and Diggersby walked up to one of the Pokemon they knocked out and tagged the targets. "Final Three Spots left!"
In the distance, Camie tagged one of the Pokemon UA had managed to knock out, though she didn't seem too pleased. "Oh, and it looks like we have one from Shiketsu as well! It's the last two spots!"
Tenya, Yuga, as well as Excadrill, and Swanna were all dashing along the area, looking for those final two targets to pass. "Aoyama, I don't know what you think you are in comparison to the rest of us…" Tenya said as they spotted two dazed opponents. "But this was all thanks to you!"
All four of them tagged the opponents, taking them out as they leaped into the air. They had just clutched it right at the last moment. "That's it! The end of the test! 100 people have passed!"
Aizawa let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat. "Damn kids. You made me nervous. You'll need more training when we get back."
Joke let out a laugh as she watched him. "Oh come on, you're happy aren't you?"
"I'm angry."
"Your legs are bouncing in joy right now!"
"They're not."
Joke let out another laugh as the students cleared the area, ready for the next part of the test.
